Star Card System

In this game, both sides played very chaotically.

Now the game has been going on for 30 minutes, and there is still no goal.

At this moment, both sides seem to have lost their absolute offensive backbone, and all of them are making ineffective passes and destruction in the midfield.

There are not even a few decent shots.

Especially in the opening stage, Barcelona still had a few good shots.

But now, their offensive line is silent.

In the past ten minutes, only Paulinho made another long shot and hit it high. In the rest of the time, Barcelona rarely had the opportunity to let the ball enter the Manchester United penalty area.

This is all because of one thing-Messi was locked.

It's rare that Messi was locked.

But looking at the people defending him, you can understand it.

Xia Xing.

In today's international football, there are not many players with excellent defensive strength in the midfield position, but there are some.

And Kante and Xia Xing, the former Leicester City midfield defense combination, are called the best defensive midfielder combination of this era by countless football experts.

Of course, this is to regard Xia Xing as a defensive midfielder.

Regardless of Xia Xing's offensive attributes, he is also superb in defense.

Defending Messi in this game made Messi suffer completely.

Messi rarely had the opportunity to control the ball and make moves at this stage. Many times, he would seize the time to deal with the ball as soon as it reached his feet.

In the 37th minute of the game, when Xia Xing shoveled the ball again, Messi shook his hands in annoyance.

After shoveling the ball out, Xia Xing lay on the ground and did not get up.

Although anxious, Messi still went over to ask Xia Xing: "What's wrong with you? Are you injured?"

"It's okay, I'm tired, lie down for a while."

Messi stretched out his hand to pull Xia Xing up, and Xia Xing got up reluctantly, then looked at the backcourt.

"Well, good, my teammates are in position, OK."

Messi shook his head helplessly: "Xia, you are really a top defensive organizer."

"Thank you for the compliment."

"But don't you think your offensive talent is wasted?"

"I think a little bit."

"However, let's all go on offense and compare the number of goals?"

"Forget it, I still like to play with you and be closer to you."

"Not that bad..."

"Haha!"

Looking at the helpless Messi, Xia Xing smiled brightly.

Although the game was fierce, Xia Xing looked very relaxed.

And this relaxation made the Barcelona players more anxious.

Until the end of the first half, neither side scored.

The referee blew the whistle and the first half ended.

When he walked off the field, Messi complained: "Xia, I'm going to the visiting team's locker room, do you want to continue following me?"

"That's not necessary, see you in the second half."

"I really don't want to see you again... I still want to suggest you, I admire your offensive talent, we can let go of the offense and present a wonderful game to the fans."

"No, no, no, Manchester United fans prefer victory, whether it's exciting or not is secondary."

"Are you willing to defend the whole game? Don't you attack?"

"Anyway, there is only one Messi in the world. Defend well in this game, and you will have more offensive opportunities in the next Champions League game."

"..."

Messi was completely speechless.

Okay, let's do it.

In the second half, Valverde made tactical adjustments.

He let Messi run a wider range, especially the three-way crossover with Suarez and Dembele, which was very active.

But Xia Xing didn't care.

You can go wherever you want, anyway, I'll follow you!

Fortunately, Manchester United's defensive players today are also quite capable of running, and they are not driven by Barcelona's offensive line, and they still maintain a solid defense.

Manchester United is determined to defend in this game, and Barcelona has no way to deal with Manchester United.

Time passes, the game has been 70 minutes, and Barcelona still can't attack for a long time.

Valverde has used up three substitutions, and the formation has become 2-4-4.

They are in urgent need of a goal now!

But Mourinho made a decisive substitution adjustment. He withdrew Pogba and Ashley Young and replaced them with Herrera and Luke Shaw to ensure defensive strength.

Especially after Herrera came on the court, Manchester United completely turned into a four-back system.

Messi is still running hard and looking for scoring opportunities.

But it's too difficult.

In the 80th minute of the game, Lukaku was also replaced and Rooney came on as a substitute.

The reason for replacing Rooney was not to strengthen the offense, but to stabilize the midfield.

After Rooney came on the court, he retreated to the midfield. Rooney at this time was mature and stable enough, and his use in calming the field was obvious.

Barcelona pressed forward until the 88th minute.

Xia Xing cleared the ball from the backcourt and kicked the ball straight to the frontcourt!

The only remaining striker Sanchez rushed to the ball!

At this time, Vermaelen was the only one left in Barcelona's backcourt!

Facing the faster Sanchez, he couldn't keep up!

Despite this, Vermaelen still sprinted quickly and kicked with all his strength to block Sanchez!

Sanchez dribbled the ball forward, the ball passed, but he was knocked down!

The referee whistled!

"It's a penalty!

"The foul was committed in the penalty area!

"This is the last moment of the game, and Manchester United actually got a valuable penalty!

"This is so dramatic!

"Sanchez has made a contribution!

"Xia has made a contribution!

"The two's passing and running cooperation actually created a miracle!

"Who would have thought that after defending Messi, Xia could quickly make a long pass and find Sanchez?

"Who would have thought that Sanchez's running position was so flexible and he still had enough physical strength at this stage?

"The referee not only gave Manchester United a penalty, but also gave Vermaelen a red card!

"The Barcelona central defender was sent off!

"In two rounds of matches, one central defender from each side was sent off!

"But it is obvious that Barcelona's situation is more serious this time!

"Even if Manchester United misses the penalty, they will still face the disadvantage of 10 vs. 11!

"Even if they equalize at the last moment, they will still encounter huge physical problems in overtime!

"And they have now used up three substitutions!

"The game is actually over!

"Manchester United is only one step away from the Champions League quarterfinals!

"Let's see what happens next?"

Sanchez, who was tackled to the ground, had already climbed up, and several Manchester United players with good physical fitness rushed up and hugged Sanchez tightly!

"Man, you are awesome! "

"If we score this goal, we will win!"

Although it was Sanchez who created the penalty, Sanchez did not intend to take the penalty.

On the one hand, Xia Xing was the first penalty taker in the team. On the other hand, he had just slightly sprained his ankle, which would affect his strength and was not suitable for taking the penalty.

So Xia Xing took it and took the responsibility.

But Xia Xing did not go to the penalty spot.

He turned around and stuffed the ball into the captain Rooney's arms.

"Captain, my foot feeling is not very good now. After all, I have been defending throughout the game and I have no feeling for shooting.

"This penalty is given to you!

"Score a goal and completely kill them!"