Chapter 505: Chapter 504: Battle of the Cornered Beast
Home team locker room.
"Beckham and Veron are huge troubles!"
"We must find a way to deal with them."
Trigella was discussing targeted tactics with Deng Kai.
Maxa was communicating with the players about their emotions.
Today, those two Manchester United players with "Be" in their names performed "superbly enhanced"!
"Manchester United is aware of our ability to catch up, they won’t continue to attack fiercely in the second half," Deng Kai analyzed, "Ferguson will ask Veron and Scholes to invest more in defense."
"Beckham and Giggs will also fall back a bit in their positions."
"With that, Veron’s passes will completely lose the space to be effective."
"So our real trouble is only one, and that’s Beckham."
"Little Becks’s crosses are invincible, but his dribbling skills are simple, lacking the ability to beat players one-on-one, making it difficult to be effective when he’s got a ’Velcro’ sticking to him."
Having said this, Trigella also came to understand, "Evra, go and warm up, you’re going directly on in the second half."
"Guardiola, you’re going to take a break for a while."
Guardiola nodded, showing understanding and support.
He accepted being substituted.
Because, from the point of restricting Beckham alone, Evra was far more suitable than him.
Fifteen minutes blinked past.
The match between Manchester United and Sporting continued.
Everyone noticed Sporting’s substitution adjustment.
"Evra was brought in by Sporting from a low-tier French team this season, a player not too talented, so far at Sporting he has been more of a utility substitute."
"Having him replace Guardiola as a defensive midfielder, might be to use his running ability and speed to limit Beckham."
"But looking at Manchester United’s positioning, Beckham won’t play too forward in the second half. The adjustment by Sporting specific to Beckham might very well fall through."
The forty-ninth minute.
Everyone still underestimated Evra’s impact.
Admittedly, Evra’s defense was not strong, but his dogged running caused quite a bit of trouble to Manchester United.
Especially since Veron was unable to directly connect with frontline players.
Manchester United would not allow long passes from the back to the striker up front when they are in control.
They focus on wing attacks, more accustomed to progression and creating threats through football from Giggs and Beckham on both sides.
The offensive routines Manchester United pulled off in the first half mostly came from Veron finding Giggs and Beckham on the left and right flanks.
These two then created chances for the striker.
But when Giggs and Beckham both fell back, Veron had to wait for them to move into position to pass to them.
This timing doesn’t look long, just one, two, three seconds.
But it was these one, two, three seconds that greatly increased the difficulty of Veron holding the ball.
Peep!
The referee blew his whistle, pointing at Veron, and showed a yellow card.
Veron, while waiting for Beckham to move into position, was intercepted by Evra up front.
The turnover was dangerous at this position, and Veron immediately committed a foul by bringing Evra down.
The fifty-eighth minute.
Matthaus, Evra, and Deng Kai surrounded Veron.
Veron’s pass to Scholes was intercepted by Evra.
Evra passed the ball to Deng Kai.
Deng Kai quickly passed and shot, sending the football forward.
Drogba charged into the penalty area, but the football was cleared by Barthez, who was one step quicker, with a powerful punch outside the penalty area.
Sporting launched several threatening attacks in quick succession.
Causing Manchester United’s players to tense up.
The sixtieth minute.
Deng Kai passed the ball back to Maicon and simultaneously pointed forward, signaling Maicon to find a way to push up.
After Maicon passed the ball to Matthaus dropping back, he started moving forward.
Matthaus passed it laterally to Deng Kai.
Deng Kai lobbed the pass over Veron, getting the football to Ronaldo on the right.
Ronaldo faked a move to the right but couldn’t shake off Phil, yet in the next moment, he knocked the football across to the left.
Maicon, who was filling in at center-back, had sprinted to the right flank position.
Boom!
Phil turned around and slide-tackled, bringing Maicon down, he completed a one-on-two defense at the cost of a yellow card.
Sporting Lisbon was awarded a free kick from a distant position.
But Maicon lay on the ground, clutching his ankle.
"Maicon’s run-up was beautiful!"
"Foul! Phil Neville has received a yellow card."
"Oh! Maicon seems to be hurt. This is bad news; he had just found a way to help the team, his runs were very threatening."
"We can see Wu Xudong warming up."
"Sporting Lisbon is making a substitution. The fans back home should be a bit excited now, though I feel sorry for Maicon, but Wu Xudong is about to become the first player from our country to appear in a Champions League semifinal."
"This is a historical moment!"
"Alright! Sporting Lisbon substitution, Wu Xudong replaces the injured Maicon, wait, Ibrahimovic is also coming on, this early?"
"Not Drogba! Ibrahimovic isn’t replacing Drogba; it’s Matthaus who’s been taken off. Sporting Lisbon is... switching to a 442 formation?"
He Wei frowned, "It seems Sporting Lisbon has already surrendered. Ibrahimovic and Drogba upfront as strikers, Ronaldo, Kaka, Deng Kai, and Ronaldo in midfield. Evra, Feng Te, Vidic, Wu Xudong in defense."
"That’s a cautious choice; they don’t want to let Manchester United score again. I think their decision is correct. Since they no longer have a chance to win, they shouldn’t lose too badly."
"Otherwise, the players’ flaws would be exposed, and it would not be good for their value to plummet."
No sooner had He Wei finished speaking than Sporting Lisbon attempted a direct shot on goal from Deng Kai’s free kick.
But the distance was indeed too far, and the football wasn’t kept low; it flew into the stands.
The subsequent drop-back by Sporting Lisbon was indeed a 442 formation.
He Wei looked at Huang Jianxiang with a smug expression.
Meaning to say, look how awesome I am!
Huang Jianxiang shook his head.
Naive.
You know nothing about Sporting Lisbon!
Defend?
This team never defends when they are behind.
On the field, the pace of both sides had slowed down somewhat.
Sporting Lisbon used the Large Circle Tactics to control the ball for a long time, but neither side could find an opportunity, and the ball was quickly passed back.
The seventy-seventh minute.
Ronaldo returned the ball to Deng Kai, who passed it to Evra, and from Evra to Feng Te, and then back to Deng Kai.
Boom!
Suddenly, Deng Kai fired a shot!
A long pass to the right flank.
But strangely, after making the pass back, Ronaldo had been circling round in the midfield; this pass... was for whom?
Ronaldo five seconds later?
"Wu Xudong! Wu Xudong and Ronaldo switch places! He’s sped up!"
"So fast, Sporting Lisbon’s substitute right-back Wu Xudong is really quick!"
"Ronaldo completely distracted Giggs and Scholes, he created space for Wu Xudong to receive the ball."
