Chapter 412: New and old heartthrobs, the Crescent Moon Scimitar returns to the Dream Theater
0-2, although Newcastle, playing at home, launched a crazy counterattack in the final moments, they were unable to shake Manchester United's control of the ball, which led to their second defeat in the league this season.
In other matches, Haaland scored a hat trick as Manchester City beat Bournemouth 6-0 at home, and ranked second with one more game to play, one point behind Manchester United.
Liverpool also won at home, beating Burnley 3-0, and still ranked third with 68 points, 4 points behind Manchester City;
West Ham lost 1-2 to Chelsea at home. With this victory, Chelsea and Newcastle have the same 62 points, and they have squeezed into the fourth place with a 4-goal advantage, while Newcastle fell to the fifth place;
Arsenal beat Brentford and are currently in 6th place with 58 points, 4 points behind Newcastle and Chelsea, with one game less.
In this game, Chen Xiaoliang scored one goal and made one assist, earning 9 training points (40→49) and 2 breakthrough points. With the doubled breakthrough points from [Beyond Peak Mode LV2] and the doubled breakthrough points from [Season Reward: When facing BIG7 and top opponents, breakthrough points are doubled] × 2, he finally earned 8 breakthrough points (94→102).
The time has come to “go beyond the limits”.
Passing, stealing, speed, burst, and strength are the only five attributes that are currently at 20, which means that the options for breaking through the limits are also among these five.
He had been thinking about where to add this point for a long time, especially when it got closer to 100 points, the more he thought about it.
After all, it may take most of the season for the index to rise to 100 points next time.
In the end, we have to "thank" Eddie Howe, Arteta, Klopp, Guardiola, and these head coaches who have put a lot of thought into him and tried their best to make him play uncomfortably and uneasy in the game, which is equivalent to guiding him to think about in which aspects to enhance his strength so as to minimize the opponent's containment effect.
Ten Hag also consciously let Chen Xiaoliang retreat during normal training. When practicing against strong teams with ball possession, the formation moves back as a whole and is more defensive, so Chen Xiaoliang has to take on a lot of interception and frontal defense.
To put it bluntly, it is prepared to fight against Manchester City and Barcelona.
At the same time, when encountering double-teaming and close defense like Newcastle and Liverpool when attacking, retreating and creating space is a very pragmatic response.
But being away from the goal means fewer opportunities for direct attack. In this case, you have to pass the ball to your teammates more often.
So, pass 20→21, breakthrough points 102→2
A dark golden lightning surged into Chen Xiaoliang's body, causing a tingling sensation.
The electric current flowed into his body from his limbs and finally rushed straight to the top of his head. For a moment, he felt that the hair on his body was about to turn dark gold.
Just like when he unlocked the skill before, countless classic pass scenes flashed through his mind and appeared before his eyes.
It seemed like a century had passed, yet it was only a moment.
But unlike before, after these images appeared, they all turned into fragments and turned into flying dust and disappeared.
His current passing ability has surpassed all players throughout the ages. Those master passing moments that he once learned and drew lessons from have now become a thing of the past.
Manchester United's next opponent is Tottenham, who will come to Old Trafford to challenge them.
With the recent 2 wins and 1 draw, Tottenham has overtaken Brighton and returned to the upper half of the standings. It currently ranks 9th with 35 points.
But Harry Kane went to Munich, Son Heung-min's form declined as he got older, and Muani, who was bought recently, wanted to leave because of the team's poor performance and chaotic internal management. This means that the team will not be able to return to the level when it reached the Champions League final in the short term.
However, although Tottenham is not to be feared, Manchester United's terrifying schedule is about to begin.
On March 17, they played at home against Tottenham, and just one day later, on March 19, they played away against West Ham, who were ranked 8th in the league, in the FA Cup quarter-finals;
Then on March 24, they challenged Liverpool away. Klopp's team has been in excellent form recently. The draw with Manchester City away from home kept the possibility of winning the championship. Coupled with the 6-0 victory in the first round of the league, the whole team wanted to take revenge at Anfield.
After that is the national team match cycle. On April 4, they will challenge Messi's Barcelona at Camp Nou, and then on April 7, they will play against Aston Villa, which is ranked 7th in the league, at home. On April 11, they will play the second round of the Champions League quarter-finals at home against Barcelona, and on April 14, they will face the second Manchester derby of the season at home.
At that time, this 32nd round of the league will largely determine who will win the league championship.
However, this is not the end yet. If they advance in the FA Cup, the semi-final will be on April 16, and they will also visit Stamford Bridge to challenge Chelsea on April 21.
To put it simply, the remaining schedule is Tottenham, West Ham, Liverpool, Barcelona, Aston Villa, Barcelona, Manchester City, Chelsea, plus a possible FA Cup semi-final, a total of nine games.
The Hammers at home and Emery, who is good at playing against strong teams, can be said to be no easy target except Tottenham.
Ten Hag specifically listed the logos of these teams at the team meeting and repeatedly tapped the tactical board, telling the players that the results of this season's .
If you can fight hard, you can compete for the championship. If you can't, you can only give up strategically.
According to the board's idea, the priority from high to low is the league, the Champions League, and finally the FA Cup.
But if the team really wins the treble, Jasim has prepared an extra bonus package to reward the players, coaches and all the staff of the club.
Under the dual motivation of spirit and material, the team entered an unprecedented state of concentration. During the six days of training, Ten Hag was very satisfied with the overall performance of both the main players and substitutes. Everyone was also fully focused in the tactical meeting, and no one was distracted, whether in the first row or the last row.
Especially the young players like Ganacho, Menu and Ibragimov listened carefully. Although the devil's schedule is very challenging, the average of a game every four days also means that the team needs a large number of rotations to maintain sufficient physical fitness and condition. Although they may not all have a lot of playing time, being able to come off the bench in key battles will be a great opportunity to show themselves.
After recording 24 training points (49→73), Chen Xiaoliang once again led his team out of the player tunnel at Old Trafford to start a new game.
It rained quite heavily today. Although the fans in the front and the players on the field were soaked by the heavy rain, as a UEFA five-star stadium, Old Trafford's grass drainage system is top-notch, so there was no water accumulation on the field. On the contrary, because the grass was fully moistened, friction was reduced, making the speed of the ground ball faster than before.
Unlike Manchester United's starting lineup of Milinkovic-Savic, Eriksen, Anthony and others, which made small rotations, Tottenham coach Postecoglou sent all the new signings in the summer window to the field in order to establish a new order in the locker room.
There is Muani on the front line. Although the French striker is in a bad mood, it is directed at the management and owner Levy. He always tries his best on the court. After all, if he gives up, it will definitely be a loss for the 25-year-old himself.
The midfielders are Okafor and Tielemans, and the defensive midfielder Ndidi has been transformed into a central defender by Postecoglu to save the aging and weak defense line.
The goalkeeper is Maignan.
The rest are basically players who have joined the team not long ago, such as Bissouma who came a year earlier, and Perisic who doesn't like to get involved in messy things.
However, this lineup, which can still fight against mid- and lower-level teams, lacks confidence in itself. Facing Manchester United away at Old Trafford, the performance throughout the game was like the 31-year-old Son Heung-min facing the 26-year-old Wan-Bissaka in the prime of life on the wing and flank. It can only be described as struggling.
In the 17th minute, Son Heung-min cut in from the left and shot with his right foot into the far corner, but this shot seemed to be possessed by Nunez from last season, heading straight for the corner flag and almost going out of the sideline .
In the 25th minute, Tielemans passed the ball to Muani, who overpowered Timber and headed for the goal, but the ball was about half a head high . Muani failed to get the ball and turned around to complain to Tielemans with his hands spread out.
The place is a mess, and people are either impatient or complaining.
On the other side, Chen Xiaoliang's pass was like a sword energy cutting through the water curtain in the rain, which amazed the home fans who were watching the game in the rain time and time again.
In the 31st minute, Chen Xiaoliang had just crossed the center line on the right when Eriksen passed the ball to him.
During the attack and defense transition, before Bissouma had time to come over to mark Chen Xiaoliang, Chen Xiaoliang immediately sped forward and left-back Sessegnon pounced on him.
Suddenly, Chen Xiaoliang stopped.
Sessegnon, who wanted to keep some distance to prevent Chen Xiaoliang from dribbling past him, was like a robot with a short circuit. He had no idea what Chen Xiaoliang was going to do and was caught in a dilemma.
Chen Xiaoliang kicked the ball, about 15 meters away from the right corner of the penalty area and just about 10 meters past the center line.
In the slow-motion replay later, fans all over the world saw that a football kicked out by his right foot was spinning at high speed in the air, scattering the raindrops that hit the surface. Like a comet, it drew an arc in the rain and flew towards the center of the penalty area.
Rashford, a striker who is not good at heading and is not a standard center forward, all he has to do is face the ball, walk quickly to the penalty spot without leaving the ground with both feet, and then lower his head.
The ball bypassed Anthony's feint and Eric Dier who was defending him and flew to Rashford, but Romero next to him couldn't reach it even if he stretched his neck.
Rashford's header headed towards the right side of the goal, bounced on the ground, passed Maignan's left hand, and flew into the goal.
1 to 0!
The rain kept falling, but the atmosphere was unusually hot. The director's camera first turned to Beckham, who was sitting outside the box in the stands and watching the game.
This 1.0 version of the heartthrob showed his signature smile, clapped excitedly, and high-fived his friends nearby.
He wore an English vest over the shirt and paired it with an exquisite dark tie. The elegant and fashionable outfit seemed to be isolated from the heavy rain outside into two different worlds.
Once upon a time, people said he could only cross the ball, but later they found out that he was the only one who could cross the ball.
But now it’s different. Another heartthrob wearing the No. 7 jersey has brought the lost skill of the Crescent Moon Sabre back to the Theatre of Dreams in the confusing rain.
Chen Xiaoliang, who was celebrating, also heard the excited shouts from the crowd. He looked up at the big screen and saw a shot of Beckham.
He turned and looked towards the box area and waved to the former Red Devils No. 7, while Beckham also waved and raised his hands to applaud his junior.
With this assist, Chen Xiaoliang broke the record for assists in a single season in Premier League history, surpassing Henry and De Bruyne with 21 assists, and took the first place!
Two generations of Manchester United No. 7 thus carried out a legendary relay in an epoch-making manner.
However, after paying tribute to Beckham, the director continued to "make things happen" and turned the camera to the Red Country singer Xiao Jingteng, who was on vacation in the UK with his wife.
He also came to watch the game and was a die-hard fan of Chen Xiaoliang.
The comments immediately clicked into perspective.
[No wonder it rains so heavily today...]
[The Rain God appears, with boundless power, you can't resist]
[Next time, go to the Sahara Desert. Stay there for a year and the desert will turn into an oasis]
…
Unlike Manchester United's jubilation and excitement, Tottenham players seemed to feel the cold rain hitting their faces, as if God was shedding tears for their disappointment.
After playing for 31 minutes, the offense had no effect at all, and the defense even conceded a goal with this magical long diagonal cross from the opponent. The words "tired and unloved" were written all over my heart.
The problem is that Chen Xiaoliang is not done yet.
His style of play today completely made the midfield defense plan arranged by Tottenham head coach Postecoglou before the game a complete waste.
Whether it was Bissouma's defense, Skip's strangulation, or even Hoiber's foul blocking, none of these were useful at all because the other team didn't even get involved.
What Postecoglu didn't know was that Chen Xiaoliang's playing style today not only surprised him, but also completely surprised the players and coaches of Manchester United.
Ten Hag thought about it and didn't remember that he had ever arranged for Chen Xiaoliang to retreat and serve as the core of the organization.
But this method, which even he himself had not thought of, made Chen Xiaoliang addicted to playing football.
In the 70th minute of the second half, Benzema replaced Rashford. Chen Xiaoliang again moved to the right to receive the ball, but this time it was farther than the one in the first half.
Bissouma did catch up this time and "set up camp" in front of Chen Xiaoliang's left. He thought it through well, as this would allow him to catch up with Chen Xiaoliang when he accelerated and broke through, and at the same time block the route of his low diagonal ball.
But his eyes were all on Chen Xiaoliang, while Chen Xiaoliang's eyes were not on him at all.
Still with a swing of his left hand, a sweep of his right leg, and the inner instep of his right foot, he kicked a curve ball over 45 meters long and sent it directly to the front right of the penalty spot.
Tottenham goalkeeper Maignan was also in tears. He didn't follow the basic rules at all for this ball. It was clearly flying towards the goal when he kicked it, but it suddenly seemed to stop halfway and turned to the left.
Benzema moved forward the moment he saw Chen Xiaoliang pass the ball. As the ball fell in an arc, Eric Dier, who was returning to defense, jumped up with all his strength, but the ball seemed to have been calculated and flew past his head about 10 centimeters away, without even touching his hair, and then landed in front of Benzema.
If this ball was taken by the young Rashford, he would have been in position with his speed and explosive power, and would have only needed to kick the ball towards the goal with the arch of his foot. However, the 36-year-old Benzema's explosive power has obviously decreased, but he still relied on his strong predictive and goal-scoring abilities to fall to the ground and shoot with his left foot!
The shot was taken right at the penalty spot. Maignan was unable to react at all and could only watch the ball roll into the goal from his left side again.
2 to 0!
Beckham himself clapped his hands and shook his head in amazement, while Manchester United fans in the stands near the box shouted at him: "David, we finally have a No. 7 who can pass the ball better than you!"
Chen Xiaoliang understood very well the heritage significance of the number 7 to Manchester United. He took the risk of getting a yellow card, took off his jersey, turned it over, raised it up, pointed the white number 7 in the direction of Beckham, and then silently put it back on before the referee Michael Oliver completed his deliberately slow card-pulling action.
The Manchester Evening News wrote after the game:
"Under Beckham's witness, Chen brought the Beckham arc back to the Theatre of Dreams"
