Super Marshal

Ferguson has always had a good impression of the new Wembley Stadium.

Here last season, his team defeated Tottenham Hotspur and won the League Cup.

And this afternoon, his team will face a title defense battle.

But this time the opponent is no longer Tottenham Hotspur, but Manchester City coached by Gao Han.

"Our opponents in this game are different from all previous opponents. They are more terrifying and difficult to deal with. We must be fully prepared mentally. This will be the most difficult game of the season."

"If we want to win, we have to work harder than usual."

In a conference room at the hotel where Manchester United stayed, Ferguson and Manchester United were having a morning tactical preparation meeting. Assistant coach Mike Perrin had just explained the game strategy against Manchester City in detail to all the players, and Ferguson, as usual, Conducting final summaries before the game to unify the team's thinking.

This is crucial for Manchester United.

Only by unifying their thinking can they clearly know what they should do when they get to the court.

"I believe I don't need to say more about the strength of Manchester City. Everyone knows it. There will be no surprises in this game. I can guarantee that Gao Han will still use the game method he admires and is the one he is best at. That is Keep the ball and attack.”

Manchester City this season is like a towering mountain standing in front of all Premier League teams, making people look up to them.

More than 20 consecutive wins not only continued Gao Han's legendary resume, but also made Blue Moon a nightmare for all Premier League teams. You must know that this team only finished tenth in the league last season.

Looking around the world, besides Gao Han, who else has this ability to turn decay into magic?

As for Manchester City's investment of more than 400 million euros, it has indeed played a role, but without Gao Han, let alone their performance as well as it is now, it is difficult to say whether they can even spend the more than 400 million euros.

Since this season, Gao Han has only one style of play, no matter which team he faces, no matter how his team's lineup is rotated and adjusted, and that is passing and controlling.

So far this season, Manchester City's statistics are quite astonishing. The average passing control per game is close to 70%. This is simply an incredible statistic, but what is even more frightening is that Manchester City has played an amazing offensive power. and goal-scoring ability.

Judging from the current efficiency, by the end of the season, there is no suspense that Manchester City will score more than 100 goals this season, and may even exceed 110 goals. This will set a new record for the number of goals scored in a single season in the Premier League.

In addition to the team as a whole, Cristiano Ronaldo's scoring efficiency is also quite amazing. It is no exaggeration to describe it as overwhelming. In addition, with the help of stars such as Benzema, Sanchez and Kaká, Manchester City's entire frontcourt The attacking lineup is terrifying.

In this game, Manchester City has no injuries or illnesses and is expected to send out all its main players.

"Believe me, you must not retreat when playing against Manchester City. If you retreat, you will only die faster and more miserably." Ferguson shouted with an extremely firm tone, "We must hold on to the midfield no matter what, and fight with them Fight hard, fight with them, and don’t let them control the ball as they please.”

"I don't care what method you use, as long as you don't get cards easily, as long as you don't get a red card, you can do everything you can to prevent them from controlling the ball."

Everyone present knew what Ferguson meant by these words.

"Manchester City's possession of the ball is very oppressive, and their offense is also quite threatening. When many teams face their style of play, they will inevitably have a mentality of retreating to be safer, but what I want to tell you is , beating Manchester City, retreating will only make us die faster and more miserably."

"So, in this game, our midfielder and our frontcourt must be mentally prepared. No matter what the situation is, they must hold on to Manchester City and never take a step back."

The more Ferguson spoke, the more energetic and powerful he became.

Manchester United is indeed quite embarrassed this season. It can be said that it completely violates the strategy formulated by Ferguson before the season.

Ferguson said at the beginning of the season that Manchester United should improve its efficiency in scoring points in the strong dialogue, but as a result, except for Arsenal, Manchester United's games against Liverpool, Manchester City and Chelsea ended in defeats, not even a draw.

So many fans have ridiculed that Ferguson's Manchester United can only bully Arsenal's little wife.

Ferguson also knows the situation of his team very well, and he is also very clear about where the problems lie.

Therefore, when facing Manchester City in this game, he was fully mentally prepared and arranged a 4321 Christmas tree formation. The purpose was very clear, he just wanted to fight Gao Han to the death.

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At 15 o'clock in the afternoon, the League Cup final started on time at Wembley Stadium.

Ferguson formed a 4322 formation, with Edwin van der Sar as the goalkeeper, Leighton Baines, Pepe, Ferdinand and Gary Neville as the defense, and Matic and Kawhi as the three deep-lying midfielders. Rick and Fletcher, the two frontcourt players are Tevez and Park Ji-sung, and the lone forward is Rooney.

Giggs and Scholes, the two most creative and offensive threatening players on the team, were both left on the bench by Ferguson, which made his attitude clear from the beginning.

The bayonet saw blood, and it was a fatal blow!

Manchester City's starting lineup is not surprising at all. Even if there is no injury or illness, Gao Han is also the main force.

The goalkeeper is Petr Cech, the defense is Kompany, Javi Martinez and Mascherano, the midfielder is Xavi Alonso at the back, and David Silva and Modri ​​are at the front. Odd, the attacking midfielder is Kaka, and the front three is Cristiano Ronaldo, Benzema and Sanchez.

At the beginning of the game, Manchester City took the lead in launching an offensive and got a free kick opportunity in the frontcourt in the first minute. When Cristiano Ronaldo got the ball, he was tripped by Gary Neville just as he was about to start. On the ground.

David Silva took a free kick and passed into the penalty area, but failed to create a threat.

The game restarted and Manchester United continued to strengthen the midfield pressure on Manchester City.

Ferguson's formation in this game was obviously to restrain Manchester City's possession of the ball. Both players Park Ji-sung and Tevez stayed relatively behind, keeping a distance from Matic, Carrick and Fletcher, forming a formation A five-man pressing team in the midfield is dedicated to suppressing Manchester City's midfield ball control, and the battlefield is focused on the midfield area.

Rooney was wandering alone in the frontcourt, patiently waiting for opportunities, and at the same time forcing Manchester City's defense. The defense led by Ferdinand was also very targeted. While staying compact with the midfield and frontcourt, it also restrained Manchester City's defense. Trident.

Running and teamwork have always been Manchester United's strengths, and they showed a very high level at the beginning of this game. Especially Manchester United's players decisively committed fouls during the game and never sloppily allowed Manchester City to control the situation. They have the advantage in terms of ball, but it is difficult to organize an effective offensive.

Even the first threatening shot of the game occurred in the 12th minute. After receiving a pass from Modric, Sanchez got rid of Leighton Baines and broke through along the right, but the ball was passed during the cross. It hit Pepe's feet and bounced out of the penalty area. Benzema followed up with a push, but it missed the post and went out of the baseline.

But soon, Manchester United regained its footing.

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Gao Han stood on the sidelines, his eyes staring at the situation on the court like lightning. He was very aware of Ferguson's wishful thinking, but he knew even more clearly how Manchester City should win the game.

There are two ways to win in football, first strike or last strike.

The former are usually strong teams and can take the initiative in the game, while the latter are often more passive. They first establish themselves as invincible and then wait for their opponents to make mistakes.

Manchester City now undoubtedly belongs to the former, so Gao Han often thinks about how to better use his own advantages to break through the opponent's defense and defeat the opponent.

Manchester United's targeted tactics in this game are to contain Manchester City's possession of the ball and make Manchester City anxious and confused, so that they can take advantage of troubled waters.

Therefore, Gao Han quickly walked to the sidelines and shouted loudly to the players on the court, signaling Xabi Alonso to stabilize the team.

"Don't worry, control the ball, control the rhythm, and be patient. The game has just begun and the situation is in our favor."

Gao Han shouted without any scruples, and it naturally reached the ears of Ferguson in the coaching area on the other side.

In fact, Gao Han shouted to him on purpose, and Ferguson himself knew it.

Teams that use a pass-and-control style of play tend to have an advantage in terms of physical consumption. A style of play like Manchester United may be able to sustain it in the first half, but once physical consumption reaches a certain level, it simply cannot sustain this kind of play. scene.

On the court, Xabi Alonso, as the captain of Manchester City, was also loudly conveying the coach's meaning to the teammates around him. He was very calm, knew the situation on the court well, and knew that he could not act too hastily now, so soon, David ·Silva, Modric and Kaka all began to cooperate with Xavi Alonso, trying to control the ball first.

But Manchester United is not a fuel-saving lamp. The Red Devils players seemed to be very motivated, chasing the ball and preventing Manchester City from easily controlling the ball. The referee's whistles also came one after another, and the game was frequently interrupted, which seemed a bit chaotic.

But the look on Ferguson's face on the sidelines did not relax at all, because he knew Gao Han's plan.

Fight a war of attrition.

This is what Gao Han is best at, taking advantage of passing and controlling the ball, and using passing passes to consume the physical energy of the opponent's players. When the consumption reaches a certain level, it is time for them to start to exert their strength.

The game time passed quickly, the competition between the two sides was fierce, the ball changed hands back and forth, and the rhythm was fast.

Manchester City had the advantage in possession of the ball, but they were never able to organize an effective offensive. The ball often advanced into Manchester United's half and was soon forced to pass it back to the home team. Manchester United was in an even worse situation and could only press the ball blindly. Press to contain Manchester City's offense and passing, or use foul tactics to nip danger in the bud.

Fortunately, the referee in this game was soft on the whistle.

Ferguson said secretly gladly.

If the referee had been tougher on the whistle, Manchester United would have been dealt a long time ago.

Of course, on the other hand, if the referee is tough on the whistle, the Manchester United players will definitely restrain their actions appropriately.

They are all professional players, and everyone knows very clearly how to control their actions within the tolerance range of the referee.

But as the game time went by, in the fast-paced offensive and defensive battle, the consumption of Manchester United players was indeed not small, especially when Manchester City opened up defensive loopholes through passing the ball many times, in order to ensure the stability of the midfield and backcourt , Manchester United had to retreat again and again.

Ferguson watched anxiously from the sidelines and kept shouting at the players, indicating that they could no longer retreat, but to no avail.