Football King Bale

At noon on October 23rd, Greenwich time, Old Trafford was buzzing with people. More than 70,000 Red Devils fans turned the Theater of Dreams into a sea of ​​joy. Although the game has not started yet, they are already using their words to cheer for the team they support.

At the entrance of the tunnel, Bell, as the captain of the field, led the players to prepare to play.

Vidic, who had just returned from injury but received a red card in an away Champions League match, was not included in Sir Alex Ferguson's squad for unknown reasons. Joining him in missing the roster is veteran Ryan Giggs, who was given a rest in midweek.

Vidic, the first captain, did not play, and Bell, as the team's second captain, naturally wore the captain's armband.

Today's Manchester United starting lineup has changed a lot from the game in Bell's memory. Sir Alex did not arrange the traditional 442 formation, but unexpectedly chose the 4231 formation. The goalkeeper position is De Gea, and the four defenders from right to left are Smalling, Ferdinand, Evans and Evra; Fletcher and Phil Jones serve as double midfielders, and on the forward line, from right to left They are Ashley Young, Sneijder and Bale respectively, with Rooney as the single arrow.

This starting lineup is somewhat similar to the lineup that visited Anfield a week ago. However, unlike Sir Alex Ferguson who had most of the substitute lineup at that time, Manchester United almost used all their main players in this game.

On the Manchester City side, the starting lineup is no different from what Bell remembers. Goalkeeper Joe Hart, four defenders Richards, Kompany, Lescott and Clichy, midfielder Barry, Yaya Tou The partnership of Ray, Milner and David Silva, the double forward is composed of Balotelli and Aguero, Balotelli advances, Aguero is ambushing behind Balotelli, acting as either The role of Shadow Striker.

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For this game, the media and betting companies are overwhelmingly optimistic about Manchester United.

Such a result is due to the fact that Manchester United's record in the past year and more has been really good, with 51 unbeaten league games, 19 consecutive home wins, and six consecutive wins against Manchester City. Since being beaten twice by Manchester City at home and away in the Premier League in the 2007-2008 season, Manchester United has happily achieved revenge in the following three seasons, killing its rivals in the same city six times in a row.

On the other hand, Manchester United is as strong as ever in the Premier League this season. They have scored 35 goals in 8 league rounds, which is even crazier than any season in the past. Although Manchester City is strong, facing such a Manchester United team, their chances of winning are really slim.

Furthermore, although many people say that Manchester City is stronger than Manchester United and has a better lineup than Manchester United, in the latest transfer market price rankings, Manchester United has crushed Manchester City.

How expensive is this game? According to statistics from the famous German website "Transfer Market", Manchester United's 25 first-line players are estimated to be worth 495.3 million euros; Manchester City's first team also has 25 players, and the total estimated value is slightly lower than Manchester United, also reaching 433.5 million euros.

The "transfer market" has the highest valuation for players from both sides. As the most popular star in football today, the 22-year-old Bell is worth as much as 100 million euros. Followed by Rooney, Xiaopang's worth is also as high as 60 million euros, followed by Aguero and Tevez with 40 million euros, Vidic with 38 million euros, Nani with 35 million euros, and Sneijz with 32 million euros. Virtue. The number of players worth more than 30 million euros in both teams reached 7, with Manchester United leading 4:3.

If we look at the value in the "transfer market", this is a gold-dollar lineup battle with a total value of nearly 930 million euros.

The starting lineups of Manchester United and Manchester City are both worth over 100 million pounds. The total investment in Ferguson's starting lineup is about 200 million pounds. In this lineup, the transfer value exceeds 25 million pounds, including Bale, Ferdinand, Sneijder and Rooney. In addition, the introduction prices of De Gea, Phil Jones, Ashley Young and Smalling also exceeded 10 million pounds. That is, Evans and Fletcher, who came from Manchester United’s youth training.

And Evra, who was relatively unknown when he was introduced, didn't cost much.

Manchester City's investment in the starting lineup is not much worse than Manchester United, reaching 150 million pounds.

Not only is the starting lineup expensive, but even the benches of both sides are filled with stars worth 20 million pounds, such as Nani, the former successor of Cristiano Ronaldo in Manchester United, the dashing Bulgarian striker Berbatov, and those who were dismissed due to strike. Manchester City ban Tevez.

Before this game, the Super Cup held by the Milan duo in Beijing in August this year was worth 470 million euros and was hailed as the most expensive city derby in history. But with a large number of superstars such as Aguero and Nasri joining Manchester City, Manchester has now successfully surpassed Milan and is approaching Barcelona and Real Madrid's 1.1 billion euro Spanish "El Clasico".

Of course, in addition to the price, the Manchester Derby is also expected to surpass the Milan Derby in terms of competitiveness and intensity. In addition to the value, this game is also a battle for the top of the Premier League standings. Manchester City's strong start to the new season has shocked the entire Premier League. Most media and fans already believe that Manchester City, after taking off its explosive outerwear, has truly become a top team comparable to the four giants and has the strength to challenge Manchester United.

Italy's "prodigy" Balotelli even joked: "Maybe the game between Manchester City and Manchester United is better than Milan and Inter Milan. If I could only choose one to watch at home, I think I would watch Manchester United against Manchester City."

In fact, after 8 rounds of games this season, the two teams of Manchester City have strongly occupied the top two spots in the standings, causing the British media to sigh "Is Manchester the world in the new season?"

Historically, the Manchester duo have never tried to compete in an all-round way like today at the same level at the same time. Even Ferguson regarded this game as the most important Manchester derby he has experienced since coaching.

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Liu Xian'er also appeared in the stands at Old Trafford during this game, but she did not appear as Bale's girlfriend, but as a special guest of Manchester United and the Premier League's broadcaster in the East. With her is Xiao Ding, a well-known Eastern snooker player.

And the two of them have another identity externally, that is, they are Manchester United fans.

Since Liu Xianer met Bale in Switzerland a year ago, she has stated in public more than once that she is a Manchester United fan, so when she appeared in the stands at Old Trafford this time, no one expected that she would be a Manchester United fan. A few months ago, there were rumors in the East about her special relationship with Bell.

The same is true for Xiao Ding. This year is his eighth year of training and competition in the UK. Because he is deeply infected by the British sports atmosphere, Xiao Ding often watches the Premier League on TV at his home in Sheffield after training and competition. He publicly stated that he was a Manchester United fan.

Although Xiao Ding has had the experience of watching live games at Old Trafford before, watching the Manchester United and Manchester City derby at close range really made this recognized "calm emperor" on the billiards court uneasy. The first time he accepted the invitation He shared the news with his domestic friends on his Weibo, and his expectations for this trip to Manchester United were revealed between the lines: "I'm going to Manchester City to watch the Derby on Sunday. I haven't seen it so far. It should be quite exciting. ."

At the game, Liu Xian'er, Xiao Ding and Manchester United legend Gary Pallister had a video interaction with the audience of the Manchester United watch party in the East. The strange thing is that both of them were wearing Manchester United's No. 7 jersey, but Xiao Ding The name of Ronaldo is printed on Liu Xianer's jersey, but the name of Bale, the current owner of Manchester United's No. 7, is printed on Liu Xianer's jersey.

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However, when the game actually started, Bell discovered that the game still had the same formula and taste as he remembered: Manchester United besieged Manchester City in the opening game, but they repeatedly missed shots and had no advantage on the field. As a result, they gained the momentum and failed to score. On the contrary, it was Manchester City's attack that broke through Manchester United's goal.

In the 22nd minute, Balotelli received a pass from Milner and pushed forward. Evans failed to block it and the ball went into the lower right corner of the goal.

Evans has a big responsibility for Manchester United's goal loss. Ferdinand was already struggling to catch up with Silva. Evans should have followed Balotelli, who was preparing to outflank, but he failed to keep up with the striker. When pushing, he chose a strange action. He fell down and blocked the goal. He was far away from the opponent's shot. Instead, he seemed to raise his hands in surrender. It also caused interference and misjudgment of De Gea.

"The goal is scored! Balotelli, the talented striker from Italy has made great achievements. He has scored goals in the past four rounds of the Premier League."

"The main reason is that Milner's passing is so accurate, and he is responsible for one-third of the goals. Milner is the best wide player in the Premier League, bar none."

"He is a jack-of-all-trades. He can play as a left-back or midfielder. He is fast and has good skills. His 45-degree crosses are as stable as Pikachu. He can line up the wings and has high mental attributes."

"In front of him, the Welsh boy is a rookie among rookies. 1:0, Manchester City made a perfect start at Old Trafford. The game was much simpler than we thought."

The City-supporting media had nothing but praise for Milner.

After Milner assisted Balotelli to score Manchester United's goal first, he also cast a provocative look at Bale. He remembers very clearly that Bell snatched away the PFA Young Player of the Year award that he almost won two seasons ago. That season, while playing for Villa, he played 49 times in all competitions, scoring 12 goals and assisting 19 times. His performance was very good, but in the end he lost to Bell in the competition for the best young player and missed the award. .

On the Manchester United side, there was a sigh. The team had an overall advantage before, but several attacks ended in vain, and then the opponent scored a goal first. It was really a disaster.

What made Manchester United players and fans even more angry was that Balotelli, who scored the goal, lifted up his shirt and the inside of the shirt read "Why always me?"

Although Balotelli received a yellow card for his brainless provocation, Bell, who witnessed this scene with his own eyes, felt more and more angry.