There is a dream called football

When this long shot came out, Barcelona's Rijkaard was also surprised, because the ball was pressed really well.

Valdez stretched out his hand to retrieve the ball, but it didn't touch the ball at all, and the ball continued to fly back until there was a bang.

The ball hit the crossbar hard. When Valdes turned around, the goalpost was still shaking.

"What a shame."

Martin Taylor and Alan Smith wailed like this at the same time, because if this goal is scored, then the game is basically over and Manchester United can go to Russia to play the final.

Ferguson patted Giggs and said, "Didn't you say you could get in?"

"Yeah, but how did I know it would hit the crossbar."

*****

The situation was unfavorable, and some of Barcelona's top players on the bench also started to warm up, such as Henry, Boyang, dos Santos, and Gudjohnsen.

Ferguson turned his head and glanced at the big names on the other side, feeling a little envious in his heart. You must know that looking at Europe, there are no more than 10 teams that can support such big names, and Manchester United and Barcelona are the best giants among them.

Especially Henry, this can be said to be the player that Manchester United is more afraid of. This guy caused a lot of troubles for Manchester United when he was at Arsenal, and many classic goals are still remembered by Manchester United to this day.

In fact, Henry was very eager to fight, but head coach Rijkaard considered that Eto'o and Messi were indeed stronger now, so he temporarily put Henry on the bench. This arrangement also made Henry very unhappy.

On the pitch, Barcelona still controls the ball.

When the ball reaches Xavi's feet, every cell in his body is full of passing potential. This is Xavi.

At this moment, he seemed to see that there might be a passing line between the straight lines formed by Manchester United's Anderson, Carrick, and Vidic, and this line was a fleeting opportunity, but

Even so, Harvey still chose to pass the ball.

This kind of ball really requires precision that is almost surgical. Even so, Harvey still passed the ball decisively.

When the ball was passed, even Barcelona themselves couldn't believe that this had really happened, because the ball was really incredible, as if it had come through the gap in the Manchester United defensive crowd.

So much so that Martin Taylor had to praise this goal.

"I know Manchester United fans may not be happy when I say this, but it was such a wonderful goal."

"That's true. It's clearer when you watch it in slow motion. In fact, there was only one route when Harvey passed the ball, but he just passed it."

Ferguson could only laugh at this, it was indeed beautiful, but fortunately Eto'o's shot after taking the ball missed.

Soon, Barcelona's offense made a comeback, this time passing the ball to Gianluca Zambrotta on the wing.

When he was young, Zambrotta was a master of assists, but after the 2006 World Cup, Zambrotta's running ability on the wing has indeed declined a lot, but once he runs forward, it means that he has found an opportunity.

And it's a good opportunity.

Sure enough, Zambrotta really succeeded this time, and Barcelona's crosses must be the kind of inverted triangle ground balls. After all, it is difficult for Eto'o and Messi to compete for headers.

I thought that such a ball was not a big threat, but by some strange coincidence, Zambrotta's cross actually found Messi in the penalty area. The Argentine could not turn around because Ferdinand was close to him, but at the last moment,

Messi still forced a half-turn and shot, but it was not accurate.

After an exclamation from Old Trafford, the first half was almost over and Manchester United left the field with a score of 1-0.

*****

The camera shows Martin Taylor and Alan Smith in the commentary box.

"Look at the enthusiastic fans behind us. This is Old Trafford. If Manchester United advances today, the whole city will become a sea of ​​joy."

"I think Sir Alex Ferguson and his disciples will not let us down."

The last time Manchester United reached the Champions League final was in the distant 1999. Alan joked: "The last time Manchester United advanced to the Champions League final was last century."

"Haha, it turns out to be so far away."

"Alan, we know you were a Manchester United player. If you were in Ferguson's shoes, what would you do in the second half?"

"Maintain the intensity of the offense. Intensive defense will not work at this time. Barcelona's defense must bear enough pressure."

"That's what I'm thinking too. It seems like it's too early to set up the iron bucket formation."

"Yes, if you are an inexperienced team, you may want to use a tin-barrel formation to resist Barcelona's offense at this time, but that will often fail. I think of Bayern in 1999. They started to defend after taking the lead.

,result……"

Alan added: "Because when the players' mentality is relaxed, it is impossible to get nervous again."

"I know this too. I have watched many games and this situation has happened many times. I don't think this kind of thing will happen to Ferguson."

*****

In the locker room, Ferguson was red-faced, reminding his players.

"We are very close to victory now, but we are even closer to defeat. Our opponents only need one ball to overthrow us."

"Don't imagine that you can win a lot in this kind of competition."

"Want to win 3? 4? Impossible." Ferguson sneered: "In this kind of game, we can only be nervous until the last second."

The players felt the tension. This was Ferguson's purpose. Even during the halftime break, he would not allow the players to completely relax.

On the other side, at Barcelona, ​​Rijkaard is relatively relaxed, at least that's how he appears in front of the players.

Because it's very simple, Barcelona has reached the Champions League finals in the past few years, and Rijkaard's second dream miracle is also happening, so long-term victory makes Rijkaard still very strong.

"We have reached the semi-finals in the past few years and have advanced, whether in the Copa del Rey or the Champions League. I think it will be the same this time. We need a goal to completely extinguish the opponent's arrogance."

When he came on the field in the second half, Rijkaard trotted onto the pitch. He took the initiative to walk towards Ferguson, shook hands with the old coach and then walked to his side of the bench.

The camera followed the two coaches closely, hoping to read something from their faces, but it was difficult, as the two coaches had no expression at all.

Manchester United's substitutes Nani, Giggs, Park Ji-sung, Hargreaves and O'Shea all got up to warm up.

Looking at Barcelona's side, Henry leads the way and is star-studded. Will the former Premier League top scorer play in the second half?