Chapter 422 We want to dedicate the final FA Cup title to Edwin van der Sar!
Wembley, London.
FA Cup semi-final.
It was raining heavily.
The opponent is Brighton.
After the game entered a penalty shootout with a score of 1-1, Chen Xiaoliang himself laughed.
It was a wry smile.
While laughing, I was breathing heavily, my heart was pounding, and the rain was hitting my face.
In the 108th minute of the second half of extra time, he took advantage of his physical strength, dribbled past two players on the right side, broke into the penalty area at a 45-degree angle and shot into the upper corner to score a goal.
I thought it would be a lore, but in the 117th minute, Manchester United's old player Welbeck received a high cross in the penalty area and his weak volley hit the stomach of Milinkovic who was quickly returning to defense, and the ball was deflected into his own goal...
Today is April 16th. Just two days ago, they drew 0-0 with Chelsea away from home. They were unable to return to Manchester City after the game. They only had one day of rest to stay in London. Ten Hag has done his best to rotate the players, but fatigue is still written all over everyone's face.
Last season's FA Cup semi-final also featured these two teams, but the score was even more "innocent". The two sides tied 0-0 for 120 minutes, and Manchester United won 7-6 on penalties to advance to the final.
Unexpectedly, in a different season, the score of the tie changed, but the result and the flow of the story remained the same.
Due to the compressed schedule, the English FA had no way to coordinate. After all, there were still Champions League games to come. They had to hold the two FA Cup semi-finals on the same day for the first time.
In another semi-final held earlier in the afternoon, Manchester City, with all its players rotated, almost gave up voluntarily. After a while of struggling, they finally lost 0-2 to Liverpool, which fielded all its main players.
For Manchester United, the advantage of Manchester City's lineup is that they can know their starting lineup for the second leg of the next Champions League semi-final. The disadvantage is that their starting lineup got a valuable three-day rest.
In the previous league, Manchester City, with half of their main players, beat West Ham 1-0, and widened the gap with Manchester United, who had two games less, to 4 points.
Ten Hag also sought the team's opinions on whether to use the main players to fight hard in the FA Cup, or to send out a lineup mainly composed of substitutes and young people like Manchester City, and win if they can, and forget it if they can't.
There is no unanimous opinion within the team. Chen Xiaoliang naturally insists on not giving up any game, but Varane and Casemiro said that if they want to go to the end in the Champions League, the appropriate choice is reasonable.
They cited Real Madrid's three consecutive Champions League titles as an example. The King's Cup has always been the last option. This is one of the reasons why Real Madrid was able to win the Champions League three times in a row but never achieved a treble. After all, no one is made of iron.
But no one expected that on the morning of the FA Cup, something happened that shocked the club and the entire European football world.
The club's CEO Van der Sar suffered a sudden cerebral hemorrhage and was rushed to the hospital for emergency treatment. For a while, a sad atmosphere lingered over the team.
The great Dutch goalkeeper, now 54 years old, has played for Ajax, Juventus, Fulham and Manchester United during his playing career. He helped Ajax and Manchester United win the Champions League in 1995 and 2008 respectively, as well as four Eredivisie titles and four Premier League titles. He was twice elected UEFA Goalkeeper of the Year, twice won the Premier League Players Association's Best Goalkeeper and once won the Premier League Golden Glove Award.
He also set a record of 1,311 minutes without conceding a goal in the top five leagues in 15 Premier League games in 2009.
The person who replaced him as Manchester United's number one goalkeeper was De Gea, who has been playing for the club ever since.
After retiring, his club management career was equally successful. He helped the Ajax team he had trained regain their glory, and also brought in and brought out strong players such as De Ligt, Frenkie de Jong, Lima, Timber, Ziyech, Haller, Gravenberch, Mazraoui, Onana and of course, there were also players such as Anthony and Van de Beek who did not fully meet expectations but were sold for a lot of money.
Even Manchester United's current head coach Ten Hag was contributed by them...
There were originally different opinions within the team about whether or not to strategically give up the FA Cup, but this incident made everyone reach a consensus.
Van der Sar has won almost every championship at Manchester United, but the only thing he has not won is the FA Cup.
In the 119th minute, Ten Hag replaced De Gea with Livakovic, who was better at saving penalties.
The exhausted players gathered on the sidelines, drinking water and listening to Chen Xiaoliang's final encouragement:
"We have played and fought hard. I know everyone is tired. I am tired too."
"But now, we have a chance to reach the finals. All we have to do is kick the ball into the goal!"
"Don't forget why we made the decision to win this game when we met together this morning."
"Edwin can't hear our voices yet, but he hasn't given up. He is fighting a life-and-death match with his opponent. Now that we are standing here, we must not give up any opportunity!"
"We have to reach the final and win the FA Cup, not for anything else, just for Edwin!"
Everyone: "For Edwin!!!"
After saying that, De Gea took off his gloves and gave them to Livakovic as a blessing. Then, everyone put a jersey with "No. 1 Van der Sar" on Livakovic and patted the name on his back.
Ten Hag also stood closely with the players. He and Van der Sar created a new generation of Dutch guards together at Ajax and broke into the semi-finals of the Champions League, which became a good story at the time. The two also forged a deep friendship.
With everyone's wishes, Livakovic walked towards the goal.
This was originally a jersey that the players had the club's jersey shop stamped with in support of Van der Sar after the game, with the players intending to wear it when they walked around the stadium to thank the team. Unexpectedly, it was used in the penalty shootout.
Although the team's move may result in a fine from the English Football Association after the game, it still won unanimous applause from all the fans present.
Manchester United took the first penalty kick.
Zhan Jun: "Benzema was the first to take the penalty for Manchester United."
"Facing Jason Steele...pushed the shot into the lower left corner and hit it firmly!"
"He deserves to be the Ballon d'Or winner! Such a scene is no problem for Benzema, who has fought in countless battles!"
"Brighton's Enciso took the first penalty. Let's see if Livakovic, wearing Van der Sar's jersey, can repeat his miraculous feat of saving consecutive penalties in the World Cup!"
"Enciso...also made the free throw!"
"Livakovic dived in the right direction, but the ball was too fast."
"The two sides tied 1-1 in the penalty shootout!"
Then, Anthony, who took Manchester United's second penalty, kicked the ball away, and Milinkovic-Savic and Luke Thomas both scored.
On the Brighton side, captain Dunk, Gross and Evan Ferguson all scored. Among them, Livakovic judged the direction of Gross and Evan Ferguson's penalties correctly, but they were just a little bit off.
Manchester United fans almost jumped up to celebrate twice, and then immediately let out a long sigh.
The fifth person to go up for Manchester United was Chen Xiaoliang.
Zhan Jun: "The 5th goal was scored by the captain!"
Zhang Lu: "You can imagine the pressure. This ball must be scored. If it fails, it's game over."
Zhan Jun: "Xiao Liang kept taking deep breaths, slowing down his breathing rhythm, and staring at the opponent's goalkeeper Steele without looking anywhere else."
"The referee whistles!"
"Xiaoliang takes a running start..."
"Wow!"
Zhang Lu: "Oh my, just a little bit..."
Zhan Jun: "Manchester United fans, how are your hearts?!"
"All four fingers of Steele's right hand touched the ball, but Xiaoliang's shot was too powerful! It still flew into the net after being touched!"
"The score of the penalty shootout is 4-4, but Brighton still has the fifth round to play. Only by defending can we enter the sixth round."
Bratton's fifth penalty was taken by Milner, who joined on a free transfer from Liverpool in the summer.
Zhan Jun: "As long as Milner scores this penalty, Brighton will advance to the final!"
"Will this former Liverpool captain bring Brighton a chance to compete for honors?"
"You know, if they make it to the final, their opponent will be the Red Army Liverpool!"
"Milner didn't run much...shoot!"
Zhang Lu: "Ouch! This... is too thrilling!"
Zhan Jun: "Milner! His feet slipped and he kicked the ball out!"
"This scene can't help but remind me of the same scene in the 2007-08 Champions League final when Chelsea captain Terry played!"
"Is there really such a thing as reincarnation?!"
Zhan Jun: "The penalty kicks have entered the sixth round, and the game has entered a state where it may end suddenly at any time!"
"Manchester United, Dalot comes over to take the penalty."
"Wow! He is really a man of great skill and courage! He chose to push the middle lane directly!"
At this time, the camera pushed to the face of a female Manchester United fan who was so nervous that she was crying.
Zhang Lu: "The fans didn't dare to watch it. The process was too thrilling."
Zhan Jun: "Brighton, the sixth player to appear is the full-back Lamptey!"
“Very easy!”
Zhang Lu: "Livakovic is really good at saving penalties. Look at the six goals he has scored so far, and he has judged the direction of five of them correctly."
"Maybe he's a little short. If he grows another five centimeters, his wingspan will increase, and he might be able to save one or two more."
Zhan Jun: "He is 188cm tall, the same height as Atletico Madrid goalkeeper Oblak , and slightly shorter than De Gea who is 192cm tall. Indeed, this height is not considered high among goalkeepers, like Donnarumma who is 196cm tall and Courtois who is 2m tall."
Zhang Lu: "How much is Van der Sar?"
Zhan Jun: “197 centimeters.”
Both of them: “Huh?!”
Zhang Lu: "Hey! This is interesting!"
Zhan Jun: "I was just talking about Livakovic!"
"I didn't expect that the seventh player to come on for Manchester United would be goalkeeper Livakovic!"
"The players standing on the midline hugged their teammates tightly, and the young Ganacho was too scared to watch!"
"And Anthony, who was kicked away just now, knelt on the ground and kept praying to God!"
"Look at this Croatian goalkeeper taking the penalty kick himself, what will the effect be!"
"The run-up... is very steady!"
Zhang Lu: "Haha! This kick is not inferior to some forwards!"
Barrage: [Anthony: Just report my ID card...]
Zhan Jun: "Manchester United are now leading and the pressure is on Brighton!"
"Their seventh player to play was Welbeck, a former Manchester United player who also played for Arsenal!"
Livakovic clapped his hands several times, and the gloves collided with each other, making a "bang bang bang" sound.
Zhan Jun: "Welbeck..."
Zhang Lu: "I feel a little uneasy, looking around."
Zhan Jun: "The whistle blows, indicating that you can take a free throw."
"Livakovic deliberately stretched out his left hand and pointed to his left side."
"Welbeck's run-up..."
“The game is over!!!”
"Livakovic! Saved Welbeck's penalty!"
“He pointed his hands to the sky and shouted loudly!”
"His teammates rushed towards him!"
"Everyone surrounded him, and he took off his jersey and held it high up!"
"The substitute had already changed into a jersey with Van der Sar's name on it and was holding a spare jersey in his hand, running into the field and handing it to his teammates."
“Even though it’s only an FA Cup semi-final!”
“But in this atmosphere, the results are no longer important to some extent!”
"The camera showed Ten Hag, who couldn't hold back his tears, as well as Lima and Anthony, who also worked with Van der Sar!"
"De Gea's eyes were red with tears. When he was young, he once said that his idol was Van der Sar. He never expected that in 2011, he would really be able to take over the No. 1 jersey of Manchester United from his idol!"
“It’s been 13 years in a flash!”
"Brighton fans also applauded the Manchester United players for their actions, and everyone was shouting Edwin!"
"Football at this moment goes beyond winning or losing and is intertwined with life!"
Zhang Lu: "This is what football should be like."
Zhan Jun: "Bless Van der Sar! I hope the legend will return soon!"
After the game, the players who had thanked the players around the field returned to the locker room. Their immediate feeling was a huge sense of relief and an indescribable sense of fatigue.
Even the players who did not play were on the bench with their nerves tense all night because of the difficult progress of the game and the tense penalty shootout.
They had to rush back to Manchester the next day and spend almost a whole day doing muscle therapy and recovery training, using external factors such as stretching, massage, and specific meals to relieve muscle and internal fatigue.
These four games can be regarded as the four "worst" games of Manchester United this season. Not counting the penalty in this FA Cup, they had one win and three draws, with a winning rate of only 25%. However, the 2-0 win against Manchester City was worth a fortune, and in the league they held out for 90 minutes under Chelsea's home attack, continuing their unbeaten streak and reaching the final of the FA Cup.
The opponent in the final will be their biggest rival Liverpool.
But the FA Cup final on May 16 seems so far away for the current Manchester United players. They will face Manchester City for the third time at the Etihad the day after tomorrow.
Guardiola has already said at the press conference that defeating this Manchester United team and reaching the final will be the biggest challenge of his career and the most fulfilling result.
And he also rarely encouraged Manchester City fans to make the loudest cheers at home at the press conference, helping the team to reverse the situation and advance to the Champions League final.
The penalty shootout victory against Brighton gave Chen Xiaoliang 3 skill points (26→29). In addition to the massage and assisted stretching by the club's physiotherapist, after returning home, Helena also used the Red Country's ancestral skills - acupuncture and cupping. In short, the whole team is doing everything they can to reduce the impact of fatigue on the main players.
Although Chen Xiaoliang does not have to worry about physical problems, the muscle soreness and slight pain in the joints and ligaments caused by continuous high-intensity competition are real.
Even though he had the [Passive Skill: All Sports-Related Negative Status Duration Reduced by Half], a day's rest time was still too short... too short.
This is true for Chen Xiaoliang, and even more so for other players.
Casemiro said during the physical therapy that it was the first time he felt so tired in his more than ten years of professional career. You know, the 32-year-old did not come on the field until overtime in the match against Brighton.
Manchester City is of course also tired, but the overall situation is better than Manchester United.
By the evening of April 18, the starting lineups of both teams were almost known, with no surprises.
The home team Manchester City is still 3-2-4-1:
goalkeeper Ederson;
The three central defenders are Akanji, Dias and Ake;
Double defensive midfielders Stones and Rodri;
Left midfielder B Silva, double central midfielders De Bruyne and Bellingham, right midfielder Kyle Walker;
Center forward Haaland.
The visiting team Manchester United also followed the usual 4-2-3-1 formation:
goalkeeper David de Gea;
The back four: Wan-Bissaka, Varane, Maguire and Luke Shaw;
Double defensive midfielders Lima and Casemiro, central midfielder Chen Xiaoliang;
The three forwards are Kva, Cesco and Anthony.
Bruno Fernandes, who is close to returning from injury, and Rashford, who will need at least two weeks to return, also came to the away game to cheer for their teammates.
Almost half of the famous legends who are still active in English football came to the scene. Even before the game started, the camera was repeatedly pointed at the man that neither Manchester United nor Guardiola wanted to see but could not be erased from history - Mourinho.
Paris Saint-Germain beat Newcastle 2-0 at home and 0-1 away, with a total score of 2-1, and advanced to the final in advance.
In addition, the team is leading by as many as 11 points in the French Ligue 1, and with two more rounds to play, it is possible to win the championship three rounds in advance. In this game, he is naturally here to observe the potential final opponents and to watch the performance of his former god of war Chen Xiaoliang tonight.
However, no matter how many legends, famous reporters, and fans predicted the course and outcome of the game before the game, no one had expected that Manchester City would beat Manchester United 3-0 in less than 30 minutes of the first half at the Etihad.
The total score instantly became 3 to 2. Not only did the 2-goal lead in the first leg disappear, but if the pace continued, it would be Manchester United that would go home.
The one who laughs last laughs best. Not only will the first defeat of the season inflicted on Manchester City in the first round be quickly forgotten, but if such a Manchester United team cannot defeat Manchester City, then the sky of Manchester will be completely shrouded in blue in the future.
Ten Hag, Casemiro, Bruno Fernandes who was unable to play, and even De Gea, who has never been fond of shouting, were all trying to motivate their teammates in the midfield locker room, and Chen Xiaoliang was no exception.
But the problem tonight is not that everyone lacks the determination and belief to win, but that they are really powerless.
In the 11th minute, Manchester City made a series of horizontal passes in the midfield. Lima rushed out to grab the ball and moved a little away from the penalty area line, and B Silva slipped in.
De Bruyne made a straight pass, B Silva made a lob pass, and Haaland headed the ball past Varane in the penalty area to score.
The score was 1-2, and Manchester United players were not panicking at all. However, only 8 minutes later, Rodri advanced to the outside of the penalty area, and De Bruyne and B Silva were active on the left flank at the same time, attracting Chen Xiaoliang's defense.
Rodri on the right flank received a cross pass from Kyle Walker on the right side, dribbled past Casemiro who intercepted the ball with his right foot, and shot directly with his left foot from about 26 meters away from the goal. The ball made an arc, and De Gea's head almost hit the goal post after landing, and he failed to save the shot which hit the upper left corner of the goal.
The match score was 2-0 and the total score was 2-2. The situation was completely changed.
Manchester United began to press forward, trying to regain the initiative, but in a corner attack, Chen Xiaoliang's shot from outside the penalty area was blocked by Bellingham, who was mainly defending him today. De Bruyne made a long pass directly to Haaland in the front.
De Gea rushed out of the penalty area and tried to intercept the long pass in advance. When he was about to touch the ball, Haaland headed it and changed its trajectory.
Lima, who was staying in the backcourt, wanted to go up and use his body to push Haaland away, but was knocked forward to the ground by Haaland instead.
Haaland caught up with the ball and scored into the empty goal, 3-0!
The total score is 3 to 2!
At this time, the time on the big electronic screen had just reached 30 minutes, but Manchester City fans were already in the stands with their backs to the stadium, hugging each other, and dancing the Poznan dance to celebrate!
However, the nightmare was not over yet. In the 51st minute of the second half, Chen Xiaoliang made an extremely rare mistake. When he retreated to the penalty area to help Maguire defend Haaland, he jumped and successfully headed Bellingham's cross, but he did not head it far, but headed to the left side of the top of the penalty area.
De Bruyne was right there. The Belgian midfielder took the ball off his chest and swung his right foot towards the ball. Although Casemiro flew over to block it, he was still a beat too slow. The ball shot by De Bruyne hit the bottom of the crossbar on the left side of the goal and then bounced into the goal.
4 to 0!
The total score is 4 to 2!
This is no longer revenge, this is the beginning of a tragedy!
De Gea stood with his hands on his hips helplessly. Many keyboard warriors in the barrage had already started to criticize Manchester United for not buying Onana in the summer window, and not using Livakovic , but still using De Gea who was prone to shortcomings in important games.
In addition, many La Liga fans, or fans who do not like the Premier League, began to praise Guardiola's coaching level, saying that "Teng Hai"'s true colors have been exposed and the Premier League's competitive level is just so-so.
Not only De Gea, but Maguire, Luke Shaw and others also showed somewhat confused looks. They didn't know how to change the situation on the field, or how to get rid of the fatigue that seemed like double torture when they were behind by a large score.
Manchester United fans, who only had 3,500 tickets in the stands, were also confused. Many of them began to hold their chins and couldn't help shaking their heads.
Standing on the field, Chen Xiaoliang knew that Guardiola’s harsh words before the game were not just talk, and he was almost about to achieve what he called his “greatest achievement”.
But there is still time for the game. Since his first trial match in Tottenham, he has fought to the last minute and will definitely not fall down here.
He could do nothing about his teammates' fatigue, but the team's unity and cooperation were not abandoned.
However, the more extreme the collectivism, the more it can accommodate the emergence of extreme heroism.
Only the ultimate hero can gain the greatest benefit for the team at the most critical moment.
Chen Xiaoliang moved a little closer to the sidelines and said something to Ten Hag before the ball kicked off, but at this distance, they were communicating more through tactical gestures.
With the score at this point, Ten Hag had no time to hesitate. He replaced Varane, who was in poor form due to fatigue, with Milinkovic.
Lima retreated to form a double central defender with Maguire, while Milinkovic-Savic and Casemiro partnered as defensive midfielders again.
When the game was restarted later, people found that the person standing in the center circle and kicking off the game was Chen Xiaoliang.
