In fact, Li Shiguang had made a lot of preparations before the game, and made significant changes to the lineup compared to previous games, focusing on stabilizing the defense first!
Ferguson's main focus this season has been on the two flanks, especially the right flank. Ronaldo was already a strong player with great attacking ability, and with Evra joining in the winter, he has become even more formidable. In the last month of matches, the two have been working together more and more seamlessly on the right flank, a move that Li Shiguang has to be wary of.
Therefore, instead of choosing Ribery and Bale, who have stronger attacking attributes, for the starting two wingers today, he started Milner and Camoranesi. His aim was to have these two defensively stronger wingers help Lahm and Maicon in the backfield.
In the defensive midfield position, Li Shiguang did not start Modric, but instead fielded the combination of Mascherano and Alonso, hoping to strengthen the midfield's sweeping ability.
Even though Li Shiguang believed he had made sufficient preparations, he couldn't have predicted that Leeds United would concede a goal in less than a minute. To make matters worse, not only did they concede a goal, but he was also forced to use his first substitution.
The assist came from Giggs on the left wing, but the goal wasn't even scored by a Manchester United player; it was an own goal by Mascherano.
Moreover, the process of scoring was extremely simple. After Manchester United kicked off, they made a few simple passing combinations in midfield, but found that they couldn't pass the ball in. So Scholes passed the ball to Giggs on the left wing. After Giggs took a couple of steps, he probably just wanted to try his luck and launched a long ball into the Leeds United penalty area. Mascherano, who was running back, did not notice that Schmeichel had come out to defend.
As a result, Mascherano not only headed the ball into his own net where no one was defending, but also injured Schmeichel's wrist.
After the team doctor came on the field and took a look, he gestured to Li Shiguang to make a substitution. Helpless, Li Shiguang could only rub his forehead and replace Schmeichel with Neuer. Neuer, who will turn 20 at the end of this month, also ushered in his first official match.
But that wasn't all. In the 11th minute, Ronaldo made an audacious straight run down the right flank, overtaking Lahm and then cutting inside past Mascherano who came to cover. His shot from the edge of the penalty area was brilliantly saved by Neuer, but Rooney, lurking in the box, pounced on the rebound and easily slotted home to breach Leeds United's goal. Less than 15 minutes into the game, Manchester United were already leading 2-0.
"Oh my god, what am I seeing? Ten minutes ago, I thought this was going to be a close and exciting match, but now, it looks like a one-sided massacre!" Lineker exclaimed. "The game has only been going on for 11 minutes, and Manchester United already has a two-goal lead. Sir Alex Ferguson, are you trying to ruin Leeds United?"
Lineker's witty commentary drew laughter from the Manchester United fans in the stadium, while the Leeds United fans sitting below the commentary box turned around and offered him various heartwarming family greetings.
"Ah! This start is even more despairing than the last time at Old Trafford, and now Leeds has already used one of their substitutions. Although I don't want to say it, it seems that this game is going to be really tough for Leeds United." Eddie Gray, sitting in the studio today, said in a low voice.
Subsequently, the cameras captured the figures of the two head coaches. Li Shiguang, standing on the sidelines with a serious expression and his arms crossed, and Ferguson, sitting on the coaching bench with a smile and chewing gum, formed a stark contrast!
Li Shiguang heard Lineker's words. He didn't even need to open the system. He could tell from the atmosphere on the field that the Leeds United players were demoralized. But he knew very well that as the team's head coach, he absolutely could not lose in terms of temperament!
So he took a deep breath and, before the game restarted, yelled at the players, "Guys! Keep your heads up! The ball is round, believe in yourselves, there are still 80 minutes left! Run, focus on the game, and stop thinking about that damn goal we conceded! OK?"
Perhaps it was Li Shiguang's encouragement that gave the players some motivation, or perhaps it was because Manchester United slowed down their attacking pace after taking a two-goal lead. Gradually, Leeds United regained some control of the game and began to launch some threatening attacks.
"Wow! That was a fantastic shot from Xabi Alonso making a run into the box, but Van der Sar was focused and caught the ball securely!"
"A counter-attack from Ronaldo, poor Lahm, once again dribbled past by Ronaldo's unreasonable attack, but Kompany came in just in time and cleared the ball out of bounds."
"Here we go again, oh dear!!! What a pity, Falcao's shot went just wide of the goal. Leeds United have been attacking fiercely lately, and it's clear they haven't been completely crushed by their poor start; they're trying their best to pull one back!"
Lineker's voice resounded throughout the stadium.
As their team gradually regained its form, the Leeds United fans in the stands cheered and waved for their beloved team with all their might!
In a short period of time, both sides traded blows, with Leeds United putting up a fierce counterattack, trying to recover some of their deficit before the end of the first half!
But often, ideas are grand, while reality is harsh.
Just as Leeds United were launching a full-scale attack, Manchester United's sharp counter-attack dealt them another heavy blow—no, two blows.
In the 39th minute, Giggs broke through on the left and passed the ball across. Rooney attracted most of Leeds United's defense at the near post, but he cleverly let it pass, and Ronaldo followed up with a powerful shot in the penalty area, making it 3-0.
Just five minutes after that goal, Li Shiguang was already considering how to adjust tactics during halftime to turn the tide in the second half when Scholes received a header from Saha outside the penalty area and scored a stunning world-class goal!
"My God!" Lineker's voice was on the verge of cracking. "I take back what I said earlier. I didn't just imagine it, I actually witnessed a massacre! The first half isn't even over yet, and Manchester United are already leading 4-0. In fact, I think they can already start thinking about what pose they'll strike when they lift the trophy!"
"Bang!" The mineral water bottle in front of him was kicked far away by Li Shiguang.
Simeone, standing behind him, didn't dare to breathe. He didn't know why this was happening. Leeds United had clearly started to improve, but then Manchester United blasted them back into the abyss!
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