Chapter 503: Chapter 502: Manchester United Changes Formation
""Ronaldo’s Dream Theater Debut Hat-trick! Red Devils Fans Give Applause!"
"Ferguson Applauds in Appreciation, Ronaldo’s New Summer Club Emerging?"
"Thirteen Goals to Top the Champions League Scorers! Europe’s 16-Year-Old Bronze Boot Is Getting Stronger!"
"Keane, Solskjaer See Red, Nine-Man Manchester United Levelled by Sporting Lisbon!"
"Pepe, Barzagli Suspended, Sporting Lisbon’s Defense Worrisome Next Round!"
"Holding Three Away Goals, This May Be Sporting Lisbon’s Only Chance to Advance to the Final!"
"Advantage Flip? Is Sporting Lisbon’s Win Rate Already Better Than Manchester United’s? CCTV Commentator He Wei Doesn’t Think So!"
"The Round’s Most Classic Match is Out! And Once Again, It’s Made by Sporting Lisbon!"
Post-match, the discussion about the related topics remained vigorous.
Sir Alex Ferguson was also asked about Ronaldo’s performance.
He replied, "When any player scores a hat-trick at the Dream Theater, he’s no longer ordinary. I am very optimistic about Ronaldo, I believe he has the potential to be a world-class forward."
"Considering bringing Ronaldo in? Of course, every team would want such an excellent forward... I think the outside world needn’t worry about the atmosphere within Manchester United, our forwards are also excellent, and I believe they would not fear competition."
"The final? Of course, I have no doubts about Manchester United reaching the final. Sporting Lisbon have done beautifully, but victory will belong to Manchester United, and we are fully mentally prepared for the next leg."
"Real Madrid? I don’t want to talk about Real Madrid at the moment. What we should do is go all out for the next game."
Ferguson’s response was noteworthy, conveying Manchester United’s confidence without seeming complacent or arrogant.
Therefore, the vast majority still believed that the momentum was with Manchester United.
April 27, the 33rd round of the Primeira Liga.
Sporting Lisbon vs. Benfica.
Sporting Lisbon, having already secured the Primeira Liga title ahead of time, rested their entire squad once more.
But after the match, they were not criticized.
Because the "Sporting Youth" played another decent game.
Chinese player Yu Shihao scored a brace, powerfully helping his team to draw with Benfica.
Benfica’s spirit and vigor were all spent in the last round against Porto, making them relatively weak in this game.
April 30.
The semi-final second leg between Real Madrid and Bayern Munich took place one step ahead.
Real Madrid, relying on Golden Ball winner Raúl’s assist and the goal from World Footballer of the Year Figo, held Bayern Munich to a one-to-one draw at home.
Thus, they advanced to this year’s Champions League final with an aggregate score of three to one.
For a moment, the ’Galácticos’ were absolutely dominant.
That same evening, Manchester United flew to Lisbon quietly.
Their morale wasn’t high as they were completely out of the running for the league title.
Only Liverpool still retained a slim chance.
But after the next round of the league, barring any surprises, Arsenal were set to be champions.
Manchester United’s streak of three consecutive Premier League titles was over.
If they couldn’t secure a Champions League trophy, the red dynasty might truly come to an end.
No one can be invincible forever, that Manchester United had achieved such honors was already a miracle, but all the creators of miracles hope their miracles last forever.
At least, everyone hoped the end would come later rather than sooner.
May 1.
Both teams announced their starting line-ups one after another.
Manchester United made significant adjustments.
Ferguson set aside his pride, letting Manchester United return to traditional play.
A 4-4-2 formation signaled their willingness to sacrifice everything for the continuation of the dynasty, including Ferguson’s pride.
Van Nistelrooy and Fran formed the dream duo up front.
Yorke was on standby on the bench.
Giggs, Scholes, Veron, and Beckham made up a dream midfield.
Dribbling down the left, passing to the right, long-range shots... The only thing this midfield lacked was defense.
This was the sole problem brought about by Keane’s absence.
If Keane were still around, Ferguson probably would have asked last year’s Premier League superstar, Veron, to take a seat on the bench.
In fact, Manchester United, with their traditional style of play, did not really need a midfielder with Veron’s attacking flair.
They needed defensive-minded midfielders with additional abilities, or even those versatile enough to be considered utility players.
Veron’s versatility and defensive qualities were very weak, and if he couldn’t leverage his strengths, he’d just be a second-rate midfielder.
But considering Manchester United’s tactics, with duties on the offensive front having been largely allocated to their left and right sides, there wasn’t much space for Veron to shine.
In the backline, Phil Neville, Blanco, Silvestre, and Gary Neville constituted the defense.
The goalkeeper was still Barthez.
O’Shea had a decent start in the last match, but ever since Ronaldo scored, he fell apart.
Ronaldo turned him into a sieve throughout the game.
Before that match began, O’Shea was seen by many United fans as the Crown Prince.
But after that game, not mentioning O’Shea at all was already the greatest respect anyone could show him.
Therefore, with Gary back on his feet, it was natural for Gary to start.
On the other side, Sporting Lisbon had also made significant changes to their starting lineup.
The most surprising aspect was they added an extra defender to help with defense due to a drop in the quality of their backline.
They continued with a formation featuring three center-backs.
They even fielded Maicon, who is not a specialized fullback, as an impromptu center-back:
Ronaldo, Drogba
Kaká, Deng Kai, Ronaldinho
Matthaus, Guardiola
Feng Te, Vidic, Maicon
Reina
This caused the outside world to be puzzled.
But looking at Sporting Lisbon’s full roster, it all became clear.
Even Feng Te was starting.
That indicated Sporting Lisbon did not have more quality defenders available.
So rather than play an additional low-level defender, they opted to maintain a high-quality midfield and forward lineup.
In the afternoon, Sporting Lisbon supporters gradually made their way into the stadium.
Today the home ground was a sea of green and white, forming a striking contrast to the Red Devils’ home colors.
There were fans carrying banners, others painting artistic patterns on their faces.
The atmosphere was incredibly intense.
As the capital of Portugal, Lisbon has residents from many other regions who are fans of their local football teams.
But today, they all donned Sporting Lisbon jerseys and came to the stadium.
It was even reported that the president of a well-known supporters’ club from Benfica was spotted in the crowd, cheering on Sporting Lisbon.
Compared to that, there were only a handful of Manchester United fans.
Soon, the players from both teams entered the locker room to prepare for the match.
Then, to the rousing Champions League anthem, they walked onto the pitch with children in tow.
Among them, Deng Kai was hand in hand with his die-hard young fan, B Fernandes.
Young B led the way with boundless glory on his face.
The camera even cut to the stands where Pepe and Barzagli were dressed in suits, watching the game, their expressions even tenser than those of the players on the pitch.
