Chapter 72: The foundation of a wealthy family!
April 9, 2021, 20:00, Ibrox Stadium.
In the stands, the blue square of 47,000 Rangers fans sandwiched the red square of 10,000 Manchester United fans in the southwest corner of the stadium.
Many Rangers fans held up signs that read: The sky in Manchester is blue.
On the walkways adjacent to the fans of each other, there were two lines of security personnel forming a human wall.
For Rangers, the biggest positive news of this game is that captain Tavernier has recovered from his injury and returned to the starting lineup!
The rest of the lineup was basically the same as the previous game. Roofe and Balogun, who were suspended due to red cards, were replaced by Hagi and Holland respectively.
In addition to Chen Xiaoliang and Davis in the midfield, Aribo started again.
This guy has had a particularly good attitude in recent training, and has shown Gerrard through his actions his determination to correct his mistakes.
For Manchester United, the striker is Uruguayan veteran Cavani;
Behind him is Bruno Fernandes, with Rashford and Greenwood playing on the two flanks on the left and right;
The double defensive midfielder combination of Pogba and McTominay was deployed in the midfield;
The back line from left to right is Luke Shaw, Lindelof, Maguire, Wan-Bissaka;
The goalkeeper is De Gea.
According to media statistics before the game, the value of the entire Manchester United team is six times that of Rangers. Pogba and Maguire cost Manchester United 200 million euros, which is enough to buy all the players and staff of the entire Rangers club, and there is still tens of millions of euros left over...
Beep! Manchester United kicks off!
Cavani passed the ball back to Pogba to organize it!
Rashford and Greenwood started quickly and advanced along both flanks!
Tavernier and Barisic immediately set their sights on them!
The two teams, who are used to launching attacks from the flanks, started to compete against each other at the beginning of the game!
Manchester United wanted to get off to a good start. After all, away goals not only give priority to winning when the points are tied, but also put psychological pressure on the home team.
B Fee and Cavani also moved forward!
Chen Xiaoliang came to the vicinity of B Fee!
Since transferring to Manchester United for a fixed fee of 55 million euros + a floating fee of 25 million euros, Bruno Fernandes's nickname among fans has been constantly switching between "B Waste" and "Big Brother B".
But with the improvement of the team's performance this season, he has firmly established himself as the core of the frontcourt offense. He has scored 24 goals and contributed 12 assists this season. He is undoubtedly a target that needs to be focused on.
Morelos rushed forward and pressed Pogba, and Pogba passed the ball back to Lindelof behind him!
Lindelof made a long diagonal pass to Wan Bissaka on the other side!
Kent, who graduated from Liverpool's Kirkby Youth Training Academy, automatically went into a blood-thirsty state when he saw Manchester United. Facing Wan-Bissaka, who was a circle stronger than himself, he rushed directly to compete for the header!
The two collided in the air and neither of them could touch the ball!
The referee penalized Kent for a foul!
In the Penguin Live Room, although the game was at 3 a.m. Red Country time, the peak number of viewers still reached 5 million!
In addition to the veteran pairing of Zhan Jun and Zhang Lu, this match also invited Xie Hui, a famous Chinese football player who resigned due to the "pressing play" controversy some time ago, as a guest commentator.
Zhan Jun: "Thank you, Coach. The game just started and the Rangers showed their determination to press fiercely! What are your expectations for this game?"
Xie Hui: "Although Rangers are definitely weaker on paper, in football matches, the stronger team doesn't necessarily win, and Rangers has proven this many times this season.
I still stick to my usual opinion. If you want to win, you have to rush forward and press. It doesn’t simply mean to have more possession or attack times, but to press forward defensively and not let Manchester United comfortably control the ball and look for opportunities. ”
Zhan Jun: "Coach Zhang, what do you think?"
Zhang Lu: "Hey, both sides seem to be trying to get started. One is patiently controlling the ball, looking for a chance to score a goal, while the other continues to use the crazy pressing method that has worked so well in past games against strong teams to look for opportunities to counterattack.
I think the key lies in the first 20 minutes. Whoever scores first will have the initiative.
Especially for Manchester United, if they can take the lead like they did in the first game against Slavia Prague, it will be difficult for Rangers.
Just like Xie Hui said, once Manchester United takes the lead and controls the ball comfortably, the ball is basically hanging.”
Zhan Jun: "There is an interesting thing about the live broadcast of this game. Unlike previous games which were one-sided, the online audience support for this game was 7 to 3, with 30% of the Red Country fans choosing to support Manchester United to win!
Among the 70% of fans who support Rangers, a small number expressed the hope that Chen Xiaoliang could win at home, but in the end Manchester United would be able to advance in two rounds. "
Zhang Lu: "Yes, this is the foundation of a wealthy club. It is not only the team itself, the players themselves, but also the fans. This is the mentality of a winner."
On the field, Wan Bissaka took a free kick and passed it back to Maguire.
Manchester United began to pass the ball between the four defenders and two midfielders in the midfield and backcourt, patiently looking for opportunities!
And B Fee's running almost covered the entire midfield. He ran to the wing to provide support, and then retreated to help receive the ball from the midfielder.
Once Chen Xiaoliang follows B Fee to leave the central midfielder position, then Rashford and Greenwood, whoever is on the weak side, will run to the middle to support and share the defensive pressure for Cavani who is in the front!
If you mark the player, you will lose your position. If you don’t, B Fee will have a lot of space to control the ball and organize!
Davis and Aribo will be responsible for cutting off the connection between McTominay and Pogba as much as possible and marking them at the same time.
Especially Pogba. Although this world-class midfielder has been plagued by negative news off the field, once he is left alone on the field, his passing and forward runs are extremely threatening!
This is no longer simply a test of Chen Xiaoliang's personal ability, but a test of his understanding of the game and his overall perspective!
Just as Manchester United was slowly passing the ball back, McTominay suddenly sped up after receiving the ball and dribbled past Aribo who was unprepared!
Chen Xiaoliang quickly moved to fill the position!
McTominay immediately passed the ball to Bruno Fernandes who was left open!
B Fee didn't give any explanation, he received the ball, stepped on it and made a long shot from 30 meters outside the penalty area!
The ball fell sharply halfway through its flight!
McGregor, who had taken position in advance, did not dare to use his hands to hug the ball, but chose a safe dive from the outside!
The saved ball landed at the feet of Holland who rushed back to protect it!
Holland didn't dare to delay for a second and kicked forward with his big foot!
Aribo, who had just been passed, headed on McTominay and passed the ball to old Davis!
Old Davis passed the ball back to Chen Xiaoliang behind him, and Chen Xiaoliang made a long diagonal pass to the side, but Barisic had already run up!
Seeing this, Kent ran directly into the penalty area and took away Manchester United's right-back Wan Bissaka!
There was no one around Barisic, so he rushed to the left side of the penalty area and made a cross directly!
Morelos ran quickly to the front point!
Headed the ball towards the left side of the goal! Very fast!
However, the ball hit Maguire's back halfway through the flight and deflected to the right!
De Gea, who was disturbed, just stretched out his right hand, and when he saw the ball change direction, he lay down to the left as if possessed by a ghost, stretched out his left hand and pushed the ball out of the goal with his fingertips!
Luke Shaw and Hagi tackle the ball together!
The two men collided and the referee blew the whistle!
Little Haji fouled!
All the Rangers fans in the stadium were crying and sighing! Helena and Riise in the box also sighed loudly!
[Damn it, in this fifty-fifty game, why did the referee always give the ball to Man Gou?! Did Man Gou bribe the referee again?]
[De Gea is really awesome ... Maguire is simply an undercover agent...]
[A street in Manchester! Find out who the dad is! Duck dad is awesome! ]
[This ball is definitely one of the top ten saves in 2021]
[Basic exercises, okay? The only people who can really threaten De Gea are Manchester United's own people! ]
[This Maguire is really like an old lady entering the bed, it made me laugh! ]
[The person above, I warn you to delete that sentence and let me post it instead (funny)]
