Super Marshal

Wednesday, April 6th, cloudy.

According to the draw rules, the first leg of the Champions League quarter-finals is scheduled to be held at the City Stadium.

The first Manchester derby in the history of the Champions League attracted the attention of everyone in the city.

On this night, Manchester was packed with people. Everyone was either in the stadium, at home, or in a bar, waiting for the start of this highlight event.

Both teams are equally well prepared for the game.

From the draw to the start of the game, both teams have gone through two rounds of the Premier League. Manchester City first defeated the demoralized Chelsea 2-0 in an away game. The Blues are empty-handed this season and head coach Scolari is destined to be fired, including Many veterans, including Drogba, may leave the team, and the team's morale has hit rock bottom, making it difficult to attack Manchester City.

After two weeks of national team competition, Manchester City played with a substitute lineup and beat Black Cat Sunderland 5-0 at home.

Manchester United's performance was equally unambiguous. They first defeated Bolton Wanderers 1-0 at home, and then defeated West Ham United 4-2 away from home, pushing the Hammers into the relegation zone. Ferguson even shouted before the game that he would strive to win the away game. The rhetoric of killing Manchester City.

The duel between the two Manchester City heroes has attracted the attention of fans all over the world. It not only determines whether the two teams can further break through in the Champions League, but also determines the future development trend of Manchester football.

Under the coaching of Gao Han, Manchester City's tactical framework has always been very stable and mature. Three, four, and three are the standard configuration of this team, and the starting lineup is basically not too surprising, especially after the weekend Premier League rotation. Finally, Gao Han's main lineup and tactical play are also ready to come out.

Everyone knows how Gao Han will fight, and the suspense lies in how Ferguson will respond.

Will he attack bravely like when Arsenal overturned Barcelona, ​​or will he adopt a more pragmatic defensive counterattack?

If it's the latter, how should we play?

Gao Han's formation was within everyone's expectations.

The goalkeeper is Petr Cech, and the defense is Vertonghen starting as the left center back in place of the injured Mascherano, with Javi Martinez in the center and Kompany as the right center back.

The midfielder is Xabi Alonso at the back, David Silva and Modric are in the middle, Kaka is forward, and the front trident is Cristiano Ronaldo, Benzema and Sanchez.

Except for the injured Mascherano who failed to play, Gao Han sent out all the main players to play, which shows that he attaches great importance to this game, and he also repeatedly emphasized his fear of Ferguson before the game.

The Godfather of the Red Devils also lined up his strongest lineup.

The goalkeeper is Edwin van der Sar, the defense is Leighton Baines, Pepe, Ferdinand and O'Shea, the midfielder is still Carrick and Matic trailing behind, Mkhitaryan is forward, and the Trident is It's a combination of Tevez, Berbatov and Rooney.

Ferguson's starting lineup also didn't have many surprises. It included three forwards and an attacking midfielder. This is also Manchester United's standard configuration this season. Tevez and Rooney are Manchester United's offensive strengths. Moshi Taliang also gradually replaced the two veterans, Scholes and Giggs, and players like Valencia, Park Ji-sung and Nani sat on the bench.

It is obvious that Ferguson's intention is to defend and counterattack.

Both sides knew each other well, so at the beginning of the game, there were not too many tests. Manchester United appeared to be very cautious and full of patience, fully retreating to the backcourt, allowing Manchester City to control the ball and take advantage, and stay firmly at the front of the penalty area, quietly. Wait for the opportunity to launch a fatal counterattack.

This is a pragmatic tactic adopted by many teams when facing Manchester City.

The overall formation recovery is very critical when defending Manchester City. This means that Manchester City will not be able to form a counterattack immediately after stealing the ball, hit the defensive players behind, and take advantage of the speed of their own players.

Quick counter-attacks are one of Manchester City's most lethal offensive weapons, including the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo, Sanchez, Benzema, Gareth Bale and Sturridge. Good hands.

The presence of David Silva and Modric, and the presence of Xavi Alonso and Xavi Martinez behind the scenes, make all teams have to look back at themselves when trying to beat Manchester City. Worried about being beaten up at any time.

But do you want to freeze Manchester City's offense just by relying on this?

Obviously, Ferguson was not sure.

Therefore, in this game, he placed Matic in the right position. The Serbian midfielder focused on the right side of the penalty area. As long as Cristiano Ronaldo scored in this area, he would not leave. The ground is close to him, and right-back O'Shea assists from the side.

Ferguson obviously knows better than anyone else that Cristiano Ronaldo is the nuclear weapon in the Manchester City team. As long as the Portuguese is frozen, Manchester City's offense will inevitably be affected, so he made this arrangement.

Facts have also proved that Ferguson's judgment was very accurate and his tactics were very effective. With the cooperation of Matic and O'Shea, Cristiano Ronaldo was restricted after the opening, forcing him to frequently leave his favorite and favorite team. Efficient active area.

Matic seems tall and bulky, and O'Shea seems nervous and at a loss. But no matter what, it is difficult for Cristiano Ronaldo to make a difference under the focused care of the two defensive players.

The Portuguese were also very angry about this.

…………

…………

"Ma Dan!"

Cristiano Ronaldo got up from the ground, swallowed the grass clippings stuck to his lips, and cursed angrily.

Just now, after receiving a pass from David Silva, he tried to dribble in from the left and drive towards the center. Unexpectedly, the seemingly clumsy Serbian midfielder took the lead and connected with him. The man was dribbling the ball and tripped at the edge of the penalty area.

What's even more hateful is that the referee didn't blow the whistle yet, thinking it was a good defense.

Oh my God, he has no idea what's going on. This is Manchester City's home ground.

The Portuguese wiped his face vigorously, his hands covered with sweat, but as soon as he took a closer look, Matic and O'Shea came up again.

"I said, is this your mission in this game?" Cristiano Ronaldo asked angrily.

Now that the ball is in the frontcourt, he and the two "bodyguards" beside him can take a break.

"Yes," O'Shea replied.

Matic glanced at Cristiano Ronaldo coldly, said nothing, and continued to stare at the situation in the frontcourt.

Compared to O'Shea, the Portuguese are more afraid of Matic, at least he is very focused.

Several times after the start, he had shaken O'Shea away, only to be blocked by Matic.

"The old man looks down on me a little. Two people may not be able to trap me." Cristiano Ronaldo said confidently.

This time O'Shea didn't speak and looked solemn, but Matic asked coldly, "Really?"

The Portuguese stopped talking because he saw the ball was stolen in the backcourt and started to counterattack.

Suddenly, Cristiano Ronaldo sprinted back and raised his hand for the ball.

"Stop!" O'Shea was shocked and hurried after him.

The ball quickly passed from the feet of Xavi Alonso to the front of Cristiano Ronaldo. After stopping the ball, the Portuguese turned around and calmly faced O'Shea who came forward to press, with a proud smile on his lips. .

After O'Shea felt the figure shaking in front of him, he mistakenly thought that the Portuguese was still going to cut to the center, and immediately made an instinctive move. However, he did not expect that this time the Portuguese chose to rush towards the baseline along the left road.

In this moment, Cristiano Ronaldo easily broke through O'Shea's defense.

But just when he broke through O'Shea's defense, he saw Matic coming from the side to help defend. The Serbian had obviously been paying close attention to his every move and responded immediately.

However, Matic is more wary of him cutting inside.

Cristiano Ronaldo made another sudden stop to accelerate, and after half a body, he passed the ball to the penalty area with his left foot.

In the penalty area, Ferdinand blocked Benzema behind him and blocked the low pass, but it did not go far. Kaka came up from behind and didn't wait for the ball to hit the ground. An angry shot from the leg.

This shot was powerful, heavy, and very fast, causing all the fans in the audience to exclaim, thinking that the goal was achieved.

But at the critical moment, Van der Sar flew up and lifted the ball with one hand, and then Pepe caught up and cleared the ball directly out of bounds.

Only then did the City Stadium let out a heavy sigh.

What a pity!

Kaka's shot was of high quality, but the result was just a little bit worse.

Cristiano Ronaldo didn't seem angry after seeing Kaka's shot blocked, and walked back with a smile, but in front of him, the expressions of Matic and O'Shea completely changed.

This is the power of a superstar!

Not only can he cut inside and hit the goal, he is proficient in both left and right feet and can make crosses from the base.

In the penalty area, Benzema, Sanchez and Kaka all have outstanding personal abilities. Once the ball is passed to the penalty area, Manchester United's defense will fall into a passive situation.

"Take your time, it's only about ten minutes now, it's still early." The Portuguese chuckled.

It can be seen that he has strong confidence in his own strength and the strength of the team.

Matic and O'Shea were shocked by the breakthrough pass just now. Not to mention the already nervous O'Shea, even the calm and composed Matic could not help but feel a little uneasy.

This guy is too difficult to deal with. Neither of them can restrain him. His personal ability is too strong.

"Be careful." Matic looked at O'Shea, and the two nodded in unison and immediately followed the Portuguese.

Soon, Manchester City sent a throw-in and the offense struck again.

A minute later, Cristiano Ronaldo got another chance. He suddenly ran from the left to the center. After receiving Modric's pass, he directly hit the goal with a long shot. The quality was very high, but it was slightly High.

Two minutes later, Cristiano Ronaldo received Vertonghen's pass and forced a breakthrough pass from the left. However, as soon as the ball entered the penalty area, Benzema was suddenly hit before he could catch it. Matic's tackle destroyed.

When the Serbian got up from the ground, he looked provocatively at the Portuguese who wanted to hit the wall with Benzema after passing the ball, and his face became extremely solemn.

This guy is so scary!

He is simply like a perfect offensive machine, able to create killing opportunities in any way and from any loophole.

Matic looked at the panting O'Shea again. In the previous defense, he was almost fooled by Cristiano Ronaldo. If he really got a one-two into the penalty area, then...

The Serbian couldn't help but look forward.

Why hasn't there been any movement yet?

If we don't hurry up, the defense may not be able to defend it!