Chapter 414: Ferguson: "He is stronger than he was back then!"
This day will come sooner or later.
If Manchester United, which has not lost a single game on four fronts so far this season, has demonstrated its superior strength and excellent form in the pure field of football, then there is indeed not much room left for its opponents.
Therefore, they can only look for solutions in areas other than football.
Fouling, cutting off the flow of the game, or even committing flagrant fouls to cause injuries are all options.
The West Ham players had no idea what happened in the Manchester United locker room during the half-time break. Having tasted success in the first half, they activated their advanced plan after the start of the second half. After eliminating the wingmen, they began to target the core.
Just half a minute into the second half, Chen Xiaoliang received the ball on the center line and Harvey Barnes rushed over. Without any blocking or restraining movement, he directly tackled Chen Xiaoliang with both legs as he turned around and prepared to dribble forward.
Chen Xiaoliang pushed the ball forward, jumped lightly, and then started to dribble the ball forward.
Zakaria added.
He doesn't have the recklessness of the young Barnes, and he has to be a little more careful after receiving a card.
He turned sideways and tried to block Chen Xiaoliang's forward dribbling route in front of him, and then waited for Barnes to stand up and come over to double-team him.
Chen Xiaoliang began to change direction with the ball.
He first dribbled the ball to the right, and Zakaria turned to the left to block it.
As soon as Zakaria finished turning, Chen Xiaoliang turned to his left side.
While retreating, Zakaria shifted his center of gravity and moved closer to Chen Xiaoliang again.
As soon as Zakaria finished turning, Chen Xiaoliang changed direction again.
In these left-right and right-left changes of direction, one kept changing direction after the opponent moved his defensive center of gravity, while the other risked his life to keep shifting his defensive center of gravity after the opponent changed direction.
Finally, when Chen Xiaoliang changed direction for the fifth time, which was the third time he rushed to his right front, Zakaria, who was running back with his back turned and was dizzy, had not been able to adjust from the fourth change of direction and directly slipped and fell out.
This series of directional changes made not only Manchester United fans but even West Ham fans in the stands exclaim “OH! NO!”
James Maddison, who was lagging behind, and Tavares, who was drawing inward, rushed over from the right and left to try to double-team, but Chen Xiaoliang took a long shot with his right foot from 32 meters away from the goal!
West Ham's French goalkeeper Areola did not make any saving action, but just turned his body slightly to the left to make it easier to twist his neck so that his eyes could follow the flying ball.
“Bang!”
The ball hit the crossbar!
Through the microphone on the goal, the crisp and loud sound like a heavy hammer hitting a red-hot anvil suddenly spread throughout the stadium, followed by an exclamation of "Oh!" from the audience.
West Ham fans exclaimed that it almost went in, and Manchester United fans also exclaimed that it almost went in!
Less than a minute into the second half, Chen Xiaoliang almost scored a goal from the center line, which made Moyes on the sidelines break out in a cold sweat. He immediately shouted and waved, asking the players to firmly implement the defensive tactics.
Two minutes later, James Maddison made a cross from the right for West Ham, which was headed out by the retreating Milinkovic-Savic. McTominay immediately controlled the ball and passed it to Chen Xiaoliang in front.
Chen Xiaoliang started moving the instant he received the ball and dribbled forward.
But West Ham United clearly strengthened the hardness and "defense" of their defense this time.
Chen Xiaoliang first advanced to the left front, bypassing Zakaria who was retreating and passing by him to pull him back.
Then, taking advantage of the slowdown in the change of direction, Harvey Barnes on the side rushed over and tried to tackle the ball, but was shaken off by Chen Xiaoliang and didn't get anything. He did not give up, but directly pulled Chen Xiaoliang's right arm.
The whole body was exerted to pull him, and Chen Xiaoliang, who was halfway through changing direction and preparing to turn forward, immediately lost his balance and fell sideways to the ground.
But he pushed himself up with both hands, and in almost an instant, he stood up and caught up with the ball!
At this time, Zakaria, who had just retreated halfway and wanted to pull Chen Xiaoliang but failed, came up and used his body to push the right side of Chen Xiaoliang's body, who had not yet accelerated.
But because he had taken a card, he was a little reserved when he made the move, so Chen Xiaoliang just swayed and his balance was not lost. Instead, he relied on Zakaria's force to push himself and rushed forward.
At this time, Bowen, the hero of last season's UEFA Europa League winning goal and the right winger in this game, came all the way from the front and made a tackle. Chen Xiaoliang dribbled the ball again, jumped and dodged.
At this time, Ganacho had already run into an open space on the left. Chen Xiaoliang adjusted one step and made a long diagonal pass with his right foot. The ball went directly from behind the center line to the left side of the offensive third zone.
Ganaccio received the ball and tried to overpower Czech right-back Caofar along the outside line, but after moving a few meters he found he could not open up the distance, so he made an emergency stop and passed the ball horizontally to the middle.
The ball was passed a little too far back, and Benzema, who was making a forward run, had no time to adjust. He had to make an emergency stop, then took a step back and jumped, heading the ball to Anthony who was moving inward on the right.
Anthony shot as soon as he received the ball, and the ball hit the left side of the goal. West Ham goalkeeper Areola dived sideways and blocked the ball with one hand.
Only four minutes into the second half, there were already two shots on target, and it seemed like they were just a stone's throw away, which made Moyes very annoyed.
He kept yelling at his players on the sidelines:
"Defend harder! Retreat faster!"
Zakaria and Harvey Barnes became more and more anxious as they listened. They had clearly rushed forward like they were launching a suicide attack, either tackling or bumping into the opponent, and even trying to pull people over, but it was to no avail. Chen Xiaoliang still launched two attacks.
While Moyes was giving a speech, Chen Xiaoliang was not idle either. He turned around and found Anthony Taylor:
"You just pulled me to the ground, why didn't you call a foul?!"
Anthony Taylor: "You were fighting for the half-ball just now. It is reasonable to have physical contact at this time."
Although he may have a visual impairment, Anthony Taylor is still very experienced. He knew that such words were not enough to appease Chen Xiaoliang's dissatisfaction, so he added: "Relax, believe me, I will pay attention to every move."
Ten Hag on the sidelines was also complaining to the fourth official: "Don't you think there are not enough players on the field?!"
The fourth official Gavin Ward said: "The referee said that the pull just now did not constitute a foul." Then he warned Ten Hag to return to the coaching command area.
Chen Xiaoliang was also held by Milinkovic-Savic and Benzema. The two veteran players did not want Chen Xiaoliang to receive a meaningless yellow card, but Chen Xiaoliang still shouted to Anthony Taylor: "This is not a foul, that is not a foul, so what is considered a foul? Put him on a stretcher?!"
The game eventually continued after a few minor setbacks.
In the stands, Sir Alex Ferguson, who came specially to watch the game, and former Manchester United CEO David Gill sat together.
David Gill joined Manchester United as financial director in 1997 and took over as CEO in 2003, witnessing the 1999 Treble and 2008 Double.
The 10 years under his leadership as CEO were the most successful decade for Manchester United in terms of competitive strength and commercial operations, and established the football club's absolute leading position in the development of the global business landscape.
He also served as the vice chairman of "G14", the predecessor of the "European Super League".
In 2013, Ferguson decided to retire. As a close friend and comrade-in-arms who had fought for Manchester United for many years, David Gill also chose to leave the position of Manchester United CEO. Subsequently, with his unparalleled influence and professional ability, he was elected as the vice chairman of the English Football Association. Together with the then FA Chairman Greg Dyke and Vice Chairman Anthony Fry, they were called the "Big Three of the English Football Association" by the outside world.
He was later elected as an executive member of UEFA and became vice president of FIFA on behalf of UEFA.
During his tenure, he actively exposed the corruption of then FIFA President Blatter and released the information publicly in 2015. He resigned from the post of vice president due to dissatisfaction with Blatter's re-election, and eventually helped the current FIFA President Infantino complete the "anti-Blatter movement."
This is a powerful figure in the football field who has far more influence and actual status than the head coaches and star players who stand in the foreground and have unlimited glory.
When Van Gaal, the Dutch coach who later became the head coach of Manchester United, teased the then CEO Ed Woodward for not understanding football and only knowing how to develop business, he also mentioned David Gill, saying that he was the CEO who truly understood football.
David Gill: "Those two passes and changes of direction just now were really like Chris."
Cris was the nickname given to Ronaldo by Manchester United back then. Of course, some people also called him Ronnie, mainly because his full name was too long.
Ferguson: "He's changing, I mean he's changing at the moment, he can become better than Ronnie."
David Gill: "Oh? Are you serious? In all the time I've known you, I've never heard from you that there's anyone better than your Ronnie."
Ferguson laughed and touched his red nose: "What he can see in his eyes and what he can think of in his heart are more than Ronnie's."
On the court, the game continues.
Manchester United players proved with practical actions that their shouting of Fark when leaving the locker room was not in vain.
In the 54th minute, Milinkovic-Savic got into a fight with West Ham United striker Antonio when he was leaning against him with his back to receive the ball.
Antonio did not have many defensive tasks, so he had not "sacrificed" himself in today's game, but the cheeky action of raising his right elbow and pointing it at Milinkovic-Savic behind him showed that he was ready to "lose his virginity".
Milinkovic-Savic thought, Serie A is just a little slower and there are less confrontations, but there are just as many old bastards like you. What's more, do you think I'm a vegetarian every day when I'm at Lazio?
The moment the ball fell, Milinkovic jumped over Antonio.
Antonio's right elbow hit Milinkovic's right hip joint. He immediately felt a numbness in his right hand, and his shoulder was pressed by Milinkovic's left hand.
But with the limited vision of the referee Anthony Taylor, he only saw Antonio elbowing someone after he failed to jump.
“Beep!”
Anthony Taylor decisively showed a yellow card to Antonio, who was stunned and spread his hands to question the referee. Other players from both sides also gathered around and started arguing.
What's interesting is that there were two people from West Ham who came to try to mediate the fight, especially Tavares and Zakaria who had already received cards, but except for Joe Hart from Manchester United, the other 10 people all came to quarrel. Even though James Maddison pulled Zakaria away, Anthony and Ganacho still chased after him and cursed him.
Suddenly, the home fans started to curse, and the atmosphere in the entire stadium soared, as if they were competing with the Guoan Workers' Stadium in the Red Country.
Seeing that the situation was about to collapse, Anthony Taylor had to resort to the ultimate method of smoothing things over - giving both sides a slap on the wrist, and gave a yellow card to Ganacho and defender Cao Far, who were the most abusive and relatively unimportant on both sides.
The game was stopped for two minutes and then continued, but West Ham players seemed to feel that Manchester United was starting to toughen up their game.
Once the team's momentum changes, the players' mentality will also change. Seeing three players injured in the first half, the situation was obviously very good, but they could not score for a long time and were kicked out of the offensive by Manchester United. West Ham players began to get impatient.
They attacked more fiercely and snatched more vigorously, but also became disorganized.
In the 65th minute, the score was finally changed.
Under Antonio's high pressure, Joe Hart passed the ball to Luke Thomas on the left, who then kicked the ball forward under Bowen's pressure.
The kid listened carefully to Professor Chen's passing lessons and also studied Cesco and Benzema's ball receiving habits.
Both forwards have a good ability to receive the ball outside the penalty area and pass it back.
The long pass went across most of the field. Benzema stuck his butt out and carried West Ham's 28-year-old Moroccan central defender Aged on his back as if he was carrying a scapegoat, then headed the ball back to the back.
Chen Xiaoliang flashed in from the right rib and caught the ball.
Because Luke Thomas' long pass was too sudden, Harvey Barnes and James Maddison, who wanted to double-team and intercept Chen Xiaoliang in the midfield, didn't have time to turn around and catch up with Chen Xiaoliang, and were left behind.
Chen Xiaoliang took two steps and before Zakaria caught up with him from behind, he shot directly with his left foot from 30 meters away from the goal!
The ball flew to the left, then to the right, and then changed direction to the left again when it flew in front of the goal!
A typical S-shaped trajectory long shot!
West Ham goalkeeper Areola tried to change his center of gravity twice, but when he saw the ball suddenly change direction and fly towards his head, he could only jump up and reach out to grab it.
But the ball still flew over his right hand and hit the goal!
Xu Yang: “World wave!”
"Xiaoliang seemed to be assisted by God in the second half! It was as if after recreating Beckham's scimitar in the last game, he was possessed by the former Ronaldinho in this game!"
"This goal was not a violent shot like Gerrard or Riise's in the past, but a goal that clearly showed the skill and power of controlling the hitting position and making the ball change direction multiple times in the air."
"Faced with the collective shouting of West Ham fans, Xiao Liang did not celebrate. Instead, he stood in the middle of the field and looked around, as if he was fighting back at those fans with his eyes - insidious and despicable tricks will never work with me!"
"I have to say that Xiao Liang is now more determined and has a stronger leadership temperament than Xiao Luo back then!"
"Before the game started, I was still saying that we shouldn't let West Ham get away with a world-class goal just because Joe Hart started. But in the second half, Xiao Liang scored a stunning long-range shot with Benzema's pass!"
Seeing Chen Xiaoliang looking at the fans in the away stands with contempt outside the penalty area like Cantona did in the past, the West Ham fans cursed even louder. However, stimulated by the one-goal lead, three injuries and the captain's angry scolding in the midfield, Manchester United finally woke up.
After West Ham fans had been cursing for only seven minutes, many of them gave up and left the stadium silently to express their helplessness and depression.
McTominay received the ball and passed it to Chen Xiaoliang. At the same time Chen Xiaoliang received the ball, the left-back Tavares made a tackle and tried to intercept the ball. Chen Xiaoliang accelerated and touched the ball, then shook off the opponent and ran towards the middle.
Then Harvey Barnes pounced.
Chen Xiaoliang took a few steps sideways and pretended to go back. Barnes got up from behind Chen Xiaoliang and wanted to steal the ball, but Chen Xiaoliang made a feint and instantly exerted force to his right side and started to rush forward.
With this flash, Barnes was left behind.
But Barnes did not give up. He chased after Chen Xiaoliang, chasing him desperately while stretching out his left hand to pull him.
As a result, he stretched out his hand once and failed to pull it. Then he swung his arms and ran two steps, then stretched out his hand again to pull it, but still failed to pull it.
Zakaria on the side didn't care whether it was a foul or not. He just got down to the ground and slid towards Chen Xiaoliang with both feet.
It was obvious that this kick was not intended to steal the ball, but to steal Chen Xiaoliang's foot.
Chen Xiaoliang took a big step forward, kicked with his left leg, lifted his right foot and stepped over Zakaria's legs first, then jumped lightly with his left leg, completely avoiding being touched by him.
Now, there are only two central defenders left in front of Chen Xiaoliang.
Central defender Zouma was the first to rush forward. He had just taken two long shots from open space, one hit the crossbar and one scored a goal. Allowing Chen Xiaoliang to shoot now would be tantamount to giving up the game.
After Zouma lost his position and tried to steal the ball, the full-backs Caofar and Tavares on both sides quickly moved inwards. After all, the middle of the penalty area is the place that needs the most protection.
Seeing that Zouma blocked his shooting route, Chen Xiaoliang wanted to pass the ball to Benzema and pass it behind him to help him shoot. However, in a split second, he saw the full-backs on both sides moving inwards, so he immediately kicked the ball to Luke Thomas who was cutting in from the left.
Chen Xiaoliang's original idea was to use himself to attract the defense's attention, move forward after passing the ball, and then Luke Thomas would take the ball to the bottom and make a cross or a reverse triangle pass to assist Benzema or other players who came in from behind to shoot and score.
Luke Thomas did exactly that, but the final result shocked everyone!
He received the ball and ran towards the baseline. Before West Ham’s right winger Bowen caught up with him, he swung his left foot and kicked the ball...
All the commentators thought it was a cross, all the fans and players also thought it was a cross, including West Ham goalkeeper Areola.
But the ball he kicked out with his left foot drew an arc that Chen Xiaoliang didn't know how to kick, and flew towards the West Ham goal!
Areola, who had deliberately stood forward to prevent a cross pass in the middle, waited for the ball to fly over and found that it did not curve towards the penalty spot. Only then did he realize that it was actually a shot and he could only retreat quickly.
But the falling ball was like a falling meteor, getting faster and faster.
He jumped with all his might, but in the end he just became the first spectator to appreciate this unreasonable lob shot from the closest distance.
This ball completely stunned West Ham fans.
Moyes on the sidelines could only shake his head.
This ball made them realize that what ultimately depends on the court is strength, talent, and resolute competitive spirit, rather than those sinister and despicable tricks.
At the same time, Anthony Taylor, whose eyesight had finally recovered briefly because of dangerous actions and two-footed flying tackles, showed Zakaria a second yellow card and sent him off the court.
Manchester United played with 10 against 11 and were 2 goals behind, but they became more and more powerful as the game went on.
At this point, the game became a one-sided revenge.
In the 77th and 86th minutes, Manchester United scored two more goals without making any substitutions in the second half.
Benzema was tripped by Zouma in the penalty area and Chen Xiaoliang gave the penalty to him. The French veteran scored in one fell swoop, making it 0-3.
In the final moments, Milinkovic used his height advantage in a corner attack. After Maguire's header was blocked, he jumped up for the second time and lofted the ball into the goal.
0 to 4.
Finally, this embarrassing game ended amid the boos of West Ham fans.
After the game, in addition to the two world-class goals, there was a statistic that the media talked about a lot.
Chen Xiaoliang completed an exaggerated 11 dribbles in the game, two of which involved dribbling past three people at once.
Many fans also posted the goal videos and animated graphics on social media, tagging Cristiano Ronaldo who was far away in Saudi Arabia, but several days have passed and the person involved has not responded.
The media and fans throughout England and even Europe soon forgot about the incident.
Because Manchester United has set off for Barcelona, the new captain of Manchester United, the new No. 7 of the Red Devils, who is most likely to become the next king of football on the planet and seemed to be possessed by the young Ronaldinho in the game a few days ago, is about to face the world-recognized old king of football.
Lionel Messi!
