Chapter 639: Chapter 638: Ronaldo Unable to Turn the Tide, Villa’s Debut at Manchester City
But in order not to let Van Nistelrooy think he was really the most important forward on the team, Ferguson purposely tilted the tactics, having Van Nistelrooy participate in the defense and granting Ronaldo the ultimate firing rights.
However, who would have thought... Van Nistelrooy’s fallback was lackluster, and Ronaldo, who stayed in the penalty area, was like an angel with clipped wings.
Watching the dissatisfied Manchester United fans, Ronaldo’s gaze slowly turned cold.
The twenty-eighth minute.
Ronaldo directly retreated from the penalty area to the vicinity of his own center circle!
His position was even deeper than Scholes’s.
Van Nistelrooy could only take the forward position in the penalty area.
Then Ronaldo received Keane’s back pass, turned, and dribbled past Toure with a feint.
Facing Essien, he performed consecutive stepovers, followed by a nutmeg pass, catching Essien completely off guard.
He almost single-handedly pierced through Manchester City’s defense from the middle.
In the penalty area, Van Nistelrooy got the ball, shook off Bonucci 𑁋 Chiellini, and fired a shot.
Bang!
Cech made a miraculous save!
Almost everyone in the stadium thought the ball was definitely going in.
But then...
"Oh! Cech, what a waste of brilliance!"
"He denied Van Nistelrooy’s goal, and also Ronaldo’s stunning performance! Had that shot gone in, Ronaldo’s assist would surely have featured in the highlights of his career."
"A Ronaldo with more ball control, roaming freely on the field, is what a forward of his age should be like."
Although there was no goal, Manchester United was gaining momentum!
The thirty-ninth minute.
Giggs dribbled the ball continuously on the left wing.
Maicon was retreating while combating.
Giggs passed the ball back to Phil Neville.
Phil passed to Ronaldo, who was falling back for support.
Ronaldo half turned and delivered a quick pass!
Deng Kai: ???
Although it lacked precision, that was Deng Kai’s signature quick pass.
Giggs, cutting inside without the ball on the left, went straight past Maicon.
After receiving the ball, he faced Desailly and performed two quick dribbles.
Ultimately, Desailly was a bit too old; he could keep up technically and experience-wise, but physically, he couldn’t.
His steps became disordered, and he was left in Giggs’s wake.
Bonucci and Essien both lunged at Giggs.
Cech also stepped out slightly to maximize the blocking angle against Giggs’s shot.
Bang!
Giggs lofted a pass right into the small penalty area.
The football sailed over Cech’s hands.
Ronaldo, who had been pressing forward since his pass, rushed up to meet the ball and executed a mid-air Ground Cutter.
He firmly slotted the football into the net.
"GOAL! Manchester United finally pulls one back!"
"That’s the dominant Manchester United of the last Premier League season."
"They produced a fluid combination play, and the key players exhibited their greatest strengths."
"Giggs’s dribbling was spectacular, and Ronaldo’s slash shot was incredibly forceful!"
"Of course, Ronaldo’s incisive pass after falling back for support undeniably reminds people of Deng Kai. When he was at Sporting Lisbon, Deng Kai always delivered such passes for Ronaldo."
"Who would have thought Ronaldo had this move too!"
"He became the link between Manchester United’s midfield and forward line, a role previously fulfilled by Beckham."
"In comparison, Cech’s positioning just now was clearly flawed! He’s far from where a goalkeeper should be, won’t Manchester City consider correcting this issue?"
"Manchester City’s biggest mistake was letting Lehmann go; they shouldn’t have brought in a young goalkeeper like Neuer, but rather a mature one."
"I even think Manchester United’s Barthez would be a good choice."
"Given the relationship between Deng Kai and Ferguson, if Manchester City actually made the request, Ferguson might be willing to sell Barthez, who is on United’s bench."
"As long as Manchester City is willing to sell Ribery to Manchester United."
"Then Manchester United could truly fly on both wings."
In the 41st minute, Deng Kai completed a wonderful pass with the back of his heel.
Yaya Toure took the ball and charged straight into the penalty area.
Bang!
Toure took a low shot.
This time, Howard finally succeeded in making the save.
In the 44th minute, Manchester United continued to counter-attack, with Berrion delivering a cross from the flank.
Ronaldo rushed in and took a shot, hitting the post.
However, the linesman then raised his flag, indicating that Ronaldo was offside.
This wasn’t a problem with Ronaldo’s ability to get to the ball; it was an issue of understanding with Berrion.
The teams then entered the halftime break.
Neither side made any superficial adjustments.
In the 51st minute, Manchester City, after controlling the ball for a long time, lost possession due to a siege by Manchester United.
But as Manchester United’s counter-attack was halfway through, Essien made a successful tackle.
Manchester City started a counter-attack of their own.
Ronaldo made a split-second decision and pulled down Deng Kai.
The next moment, the football flew past Deng Kai; had it reached his feet, with his passing skills and vision, it would likely have been another goal.
Beep!
The referee showed Ronaldo a yellow card as he helped Deng Kai to his feet.
Manchester City’s players drowned Ronaldo with jeers.
In the 54th minute, Van Nistelrooy attracted attention on the wing.
On the right, Gary Neville and Berrion executed a one-two, followed by a low cross.
Ronaldo suddenly retreated to the edge of the penalty area.
The cross from Gary was aimed just for that spot.
Ronaldo turned and volleyed as he met the ball!
It was utterly unexpected!
Clang!
The ball struck the post again, with a loud noise.
Hiss, hiss, hiss!
Manchester City’s fans continued to boo Ronaldo.
But this time, it was with a bit of fear.
Including the defenders from Manchester City, everyone furrowed their brows.
Ronaldo was strong, to begin with.
Now, with this accelerated style of play, it was clear he was gearing up.
Although Ronaldo himself wasn’t fully comfortable yet, if he did adapt, then Manchester City would truly be unable to stop him.
What Deng Kai hadn’t expected was that some Manchester United fans also jeered.
Most were fans dissatisfied with Ronaldo replacing Beckham, and a few were fans of Van Nistelrooy.
After all, Van Nistelrooy had joined Manchester United a year before Ronaldo, and he indeed carried Manchester United’s attack that season.
First impressions last, and Van Nistelrooy had his loyal followers.
In the 62nd minute.
Toure and Scholes contested the ball, with Toure, of course, the winner.
But as Scholes went to the ground and Toure tried to step over him,
Scholes was also attempting to get up and chase after the ball.
As a result, Scholes’ head brushed against the studs on Toure’s boots.
The referee immediately showed Toure a yellow card.
Dangerous play.
Taking advantage of the dead ball situation, Manchester City substituted the physically spent Baggio for the new signing, David Villa.
"The Spaniard David has entered the game! Manchester has lost one David only to gain two! But it remains to be seen if either of these Davids is a tenth as good as the other one!" Huang Jianxiang playfully twisted his tongue around the words, "Yuanyuan, do you think Manchester United still has a chance in this game?"
Huang Jianxiang’s implication was quite obvious.
He wanted Gao Yuanyuan to say Manchester United had a chance, to keep the suspense of the match alive.
Gao Yuanyuan shook her head frankly, "Manchester United can’t catch up now, they might score another goal, but it’s highly unlikely they’ll get two."
