The Red Devils' revival starts with retaining Mourinho

On the morning of March 14, Manchester United players left Greater Manchester on a club charter flight and rushed to North Rhine-Westphalia in western Germany to prepare for the away game against Dortmund in the UEFA Champions League quarter-finals.

In order to avoid a recurrence of the incident in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, Manchester United Club, through the relationship of former Manchester United player and German football star Bastian Schweinsteiger, received help from Schalke 04 Football Club, which is also located in North Rhine-Westphalia in western Germany. Manchester United players will borrow the Klosterpfort training base of Schalke 04 Football Club for pre-match preparations and will have an internal teaching training match with the first team of Schalke 04 Football Club.

The Klosterpfort training base of Schalke 04 Football Club is located in the suburbs of Bielefeld in the northeast of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, at the foot of the historic Teutoburger Forest.

The hardware facilities of the base are very outstanding. The hotel where we stayed is inside the base. The hotel is built according to five-star standards. The carpets in the guest room area and corridors are soft and thick. Every step is like stepping on clouds. The bed in the room is a huge luxury bed. The mattress is made of top-grade memory foam, which can perfectly fit the curve of the human body, making people feel like they are in a comfortable embrace.

In the bathroom, there is a huge massage bathtub, the wall of which is inlaid with colorful gems, shining under the light. On the side is a separate shower room, and the shower head can simulate a variety of water flow modes, allowing people to enjoy a comfortable spa experience while bathing.

Walking out of the hotel lobby is the training ground of the base. Two standard football fields are like green carpets carefully cut by nature, and every blade of grass is shining in the sun. The green lawn and the white boundary line set off each other, forming a simple and classic picture. And a few hundred meters away, there are several larger stadiums. These stadiums are like silent giants, lying quietly in a corner of the base. They are larger in scale, and the wide venues can meet various types of training needs.

When the bus of Manchester United drove into the base hotel, former Manchester United player Bastian Schweinsteiger, Schalke 04 Club Sports Director Christian Heidel, Schalke 04 Club First Team Captain Ralf Fehrman and some managers of the Klosterpfort Training Base were already waiting in the hotel lobby.

Club Chairman Rory, with Sports Director Solskjaer, Head Coach Mourinho and Assistant Coach Van Nistelrooy, got off the bus first and walked quickly to the people in the hotel lobby to greet them. On behalf of Manchester United, they expressed their gratitude to Bastian Schweinsteiger and Schalke 04 Club for their help.

At 3 o'clock in the afternoon of that day, Manchester United players dressed in neat training suits and came to the training ground next to the hotel to start their first training session in Germany.

The players first warmed up. Led by the team captain David De Gea, they ran on the track, and sweat began to seep from their foreheads. The crystal sweat beads sparkled in the sun, as if they were witnesses of their efforts. Assistant coach Van Nistelrooy stood in the center of the training ground, his figure like a general commanding thousands of troops. His eyes were sharp and deep, as if he could see through the inner world of each player. He held a training plan in his hand, which recorded the performance of each player in detail.

After the warm-up, head coach Mourinho led all the midfielders to practice ball control and passing. Marco Verratti, Dani Olmo, Bruno Fernandez, Rodrigo Hernandez and other main players in the midfield position skillfully demonstrated their superb ball control skills. The football seemed to be glued to their feet, allowing them to fiddle with it at will. Young players such as Aurelien Tsoumeni, Nico Williams and Jude Bellingham were studying hard on the side. They imitated the movements of the old players and worked hard to improve their ball control skills. Assistant coach Ruud van Nistelrooy led the forward line, the back line and the two goalkeepers to conduct targeted offensive and defensive drills.

Then, the team divided into two groups to conduct tactical drills. Head coach Mourinho loudly explained the tactical points on the side, and the players listened carefully. They constantly simulated the scenes of the game in their minds and imagined their positions and responsibilities on the field. In the tactical drills, the tacit understanding between the players began to gradually form. They looked for the best time to attack and defend through continuous passing and running.

As the training progressed, the players' physical strength began to gradually consume, but their enthusiasmThere was no let-up. In the final physical training session, under the leadership of veteran players such as Kepler Laveran Lima Ferreira (Pepe), Raphael Varane, Edinson Cavani, all the young players gritted their teeth and insisted on completing every training project.

At 9 a.m. and 1 p.m. the next day, Manchester United conducted two more training sessions for the purpose of tactical drills.

At 4 p.m. that day, Manchester United and Schalke 04 started an internal teaching training match. In order to keep the tactics confidential, the match declined interviews from media reporters, but was open to Schalke 04 players' relatives and friends and some club annual card members.

The lineup sent out by Manchester United head coach Mourinho for this internal training match is still the 4-3-3 lineup that Manchester United has been using this season:

Goalkeeper position: Captain David De Gea,

The four defenders from left to right are: Theo Fernandez, Raphael Varane, Kepler Laveran Lima Ferreira (Pepe) and Ashraf Hakimi;

The three midfielders from left to right are: Aurelian Chuameni, Marco Verratti and Rodrigo Hernandez; the three forwards are Edinson Cavani, Romelu Lukaku and Erling Haaland.

Schalke 04 head coach Domenico Tedesco arranged a 3-3-2-2 lineup:

Goalkeeper position: Captain Ralf Fehrmann

Three defenders (from left to right) are: Benjamin Stambouli, Ronaldo Aparecido Rodriguez, Mattia Nastasic;

Three midfielders (from left to right) are: Abdul Rahman Baba, Sebastian Rudy, Daniel Caligiuri.

Two attacking midfielders are: Omar Mascarell, Amine Arit

Two forwards are: Mark Uth, Guido Burgstadler

On the green field with sunshine, the internal training match between Manchester United and Schalke 04 kicked off. The players of both sides stepped into the field with a firm gaze and a desire for victory.

The opening whistle sounded, and Manchester United took the lead. Edinson Cavani gently passed the ball to Romelu Lukaku, whose strong body was like a heavy tank, carrying the ball directly forward. Schalke 04's defenders did not dare to slack off, and Mattia Nastasic quickly stuck to him, trying to interfere with Lukaku's control of the ball. Romelu Lukaku used his physical advantage to cleverly protect the ball, and then passed the ball back to Aurelien Chuameni who was inserted.

After Aurelien Chuameni received the ball, his eyes were calm, observing the situation on the field. His pass was accurate and decisive, and a long pass directly found Erling Haaland who was advancing at high speed. Erling Haaland was like a flash of lightning, instantly breaking through Schalke 04's midfield defense. However, Schalke 04 defender Ronaldo Aparecido Rodriguez reacted quickly and filled in in time to resolve the crisis.

In the 10th minute of the game, Schalke 04 started to attack. Omar Mascarell cleverly got rid of Marco Verratti in the midfield and passed the ball to the attacking midfielder Amine Arit. Amine Arit was skilled at his feet. He dribbled the ball like a fish in water in Manchester United's half, and dribbled past the defenses of Kepler Laveran Lima Ferreira (Pepe) and Raphael Varane. At the edge of the penalty area, Amine Arit suddenly shot the ball, and the ball flew towards the goal like a cannonball. Manchester United goalkeeper David De Gea reacted extremely quickly and flew to save the ball, defusing the danger.

Manchester United had a great chance in the 15th minute. After Ashraf Hakimi broke through on the right side, he made a cross from the bottom and the ball found Romelu Lukaku accurately. Romelu Lukaku jumped high, overpowered the Schalke 04 defender, and headed the ball into the goal. Unfortunately, the ball went slightly over the crossbar, and Manchester United missed the chance to take the lead.

As the game progressed, the confrontation between the two sides became more and more intense. In the 20th minute, Schalke 04 midfielder Sebastian Rudy committed a foul in a fight, and Manchester United got a free kick in a good position. Rodrigo Hernandez stood in front of the ball, took a deep breath, and then kicked the ball. The football drew a beautiful arc and went straight to the dead corner of the goal. Schalke 04 goalkeeper Ralf Fellmann tried his best to save the ball from the bottom line. Manchester United got a corner kick.

After the corner kick, Raphael Varane grabbed the first point and headed the ball. The ball was cleared on the goal line by Schalke 04 defender Benjamin Stanboli. Manchester UnitedThe continuous attack brought great pressure to Schalke 04's defense.

In the 25th minute, Schalke 04 launched a quick counterattack. After receiving the pass from Abdul Rahman Baba in the frontcourt, Mark Uth used his speed to get rid of Theo Fernandez's defense. Mark Uth went straight in, facing Manchester United goalkeeper David De Gea, and he calmly pushed the ball into the lower right corner of the goal. Although David De Gea made a save, he still failed to prevent the ball from entering the net. Schalke 04 took the lead in breaking the deadlock and led Manchester United 1:0.

Manchester United was not discouraged after conceding the goal. They quickly adjusted their tactics and strengthened their offense. In the 30th minute, Romelu Lukaku received a pass from Erling Haaland in the penalty area and turned to shoot. The ball was saved by Schalke 04 goalkeeper Ralf Fellmann, but Theo Fernandez followed up in time and scored a goal, Manchester United equalized the score, 1:1.

After equalizing the score, Manchester United's morale was boosted, and they continued to launch a fierce attack on Schalke 04's goal. In the 35th minute, Erling Haaland received a pass from Aurelien Tsoumeni outside the penalty area and shot directly from a distance. The ball was like a cannonball, with a very fast speed. Although Schalke 04 goalkeeper Ralf Fellmann made a save, he still failed to prevent the ball from entering the net, and Manchester United overtook the score, 2:1.

However, Schalke 04 did not give up, and they launched a very threatening attack in the 40th minute. After Amine Arit broke through several Manchester United players in the midfield, he passed the ball to Mark Uth. After receiving the ball in the penalty area, Mark Uth cleverly dribbled past Raphael Varane's defense and then shot. The ball went in and Schalke 04 tied the score at 2:2.

At the end of the first half, the two sides were tied 2:2. This game was exciting, and both players showed superb skills and tenacious fighting spirit.

In the process of scoring, Schalke 04's first goal, Mark Uth fully demonstrated his speed and calmness. Abdul Rahman Baba's pass was just right, and Mark Uth quickly started after receiving the ball. His lightning speed caught Theo Fernandes off guard. When facing Manchester United goalkeeper David De Gea, Mark Uth did not panic at all. His push angle was tricky, leaving David De Gea helpless.

Manchester United's first goal, Romelu Lukaku's turn shot in the penalty area was very threatening in the center position. Although Schalke 04 goalkeeper Ralf Fehrmann saved the shot, Theo Fernandez's follow-up shot was very timely. He keenly caught the opportunity and shot the ball in front of the goal without hesitation.

For Manchester United's second goal, Erling Haaland's long-range shot showed his strong explosiveness and shooting skills. Aurelien Tsoumeni's pass created a good shooting opportunity for him. Erling Haaland did not waste this opportunity. His shot was powerful and fast, making it difficult for Schalke 04 goalkeeper Ralf Fehrmann to defend.

For Schalke 04's second goal, Amine Arit's breakthrough in the midfield played a key role. He was like a sharp blade, easily tearing through Manchester United's defense. He and Mark Uth had a tacit understanding, and Mark Uth's shaking movements and shooting skills were also fully demonstrated.

In this half of the game, players on both sides were running and fighting hard for the honor of the team. Every attack and every defense was full of passion and enthusiasm. This internal teaching match was undoubtedly a visual feast.