The commotion at Elland Road was interrupted by Berbatov's goal. After a brief silence, the friendly Leeds United fans showered Berbatov, who was surrounded by Manchester United players in celebration, with even more enthusiastic cheers.
The television broadcast also began replaying the entire process of the goal.
"Berbatov's shot was brilliant! It's hard to imagine seeing this kind of inspiration, almost unique to South American players, in an Eastern European player. He completely outmaneuvered Mascherano," Lineker praised Berbatov's dribbling before his shot. "Berbatov is in excellent form today. With Cristiano heavily marked by Leeds United, he stepped up and dealt a heavy blow to his former club!"
"Yes, although Manchester United didn't score in the first 20 minutes, they still dominated the game, and now they're finally reaping the rewards." Blackwell was a little pleased with Leeds United's deficit, and his tone unconsciously rose a few decibels. "It seems that Lee's unconventional adjustment today didn't have the effect he expected. After Berbatov voluntarily dropped back from the front line, the disadvantages of Leeds United's single defensive midfielder became apparent."
“Hmm.” Blackwell’s analysis was echoed by Reinkel: “This is indeed an objective problem. It remains to be seen how Lee will adjust. Perhaps moving Toure back to the defensive midfield position would be a good option…”
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Li Shiguang also noticed this problem. Even he felt that Berbatov had played very cleverly in the last few minutes. His retreat made Mascherano a little hesitant.
But contrary to what Reinkel said, he did not intend to change his tactical intentions.
Once Toure is moved back to the defensive midfield position, Leeds United will lack an important pivot in the midfield and attack. It will be very difficult for them to break through Manchester United's defense by relying solely on Bale's solo breakthroughs or through balls from the midfield and backfield.
After a moment's thought, Li Shiguang called Kompany to the sidelines before the match restarted.
After Milner left the team, Li Shiguang did not let the older Cannavaro take over as captain. Instead, he made the young but very composed Kompany the new captain of Leeds United.
Li Shiguang handed Kompany a bottle of water and began to explain his intentions: "Vincent, after the kickoff, if Dimitar still drops deep, then you should also move your position forward a bit. You don't need to follow him too closely, just keep him within your defensive range and don't let him pass the ball easily."
"Mmm." Kompany replied, spitting out the water in his mouth.
"Also, you and Javier should communicate beforehand and try to cut off the connection between Dimitar and Scholes. Tell the guys not to panic, we're only down by one goal. What I said in the locker room before the game remains the same; we'll still organize our attack according to the original plan!"
Kompany threw down his water bottle, nodded heavily, and returned to the field.
After the match resumed, Kompany, as instructed by Li Shiguang, began to consciously stay by Berbatov's side.
After Kompany seized several opportunities to dispossess him, Berbatov knew he was on the list of players his old teammates were tightly marking. Helpless, he had no choice but to return to the front line and wander around the penalty area.
Seeing that the central area was too tightly marked, Manchester United began to focus their attacks on the flanks again.
In the 35th minute, Scholes unleashed a long-range shot, which Neuer brilliantly saved and pushed out for a corner. Manchester United won another corner.
Giggs took the penalty again, but this time he kicked the ball directly into the penalty area.
Having just caught their opponents off guard, Leeds United were already on guard. Apart from Podolski, who remained near midfield, the other Leeds United players had all found their targets to defend.
Especially Berbatov, who scored earlier, Mascherano has been following him around the penalty area several times!
In this situation, Giggs opted to pass the ball to the far post of Leeds United.
Kompany, standing there, leaped high to head the ball, clearing it before Rooney could reach it.
The ball landed at Lahm's feet, and without making any further moves, he passed it directly to Toure, who was already running towards Manchester United's half.
As soon as Toure received the ball, Carrick rushed up to meet him from directly opposite. However, perhaps fearing another yellow card, Carrick did not choose the most direct sliding tackle. Instead, he used his body to push past, trying to stop Leeds United's counter-attack through a reasonable collision.
Touré understood Carrick's intention, stepped on the ball with one foot, and turned 180 degrees. As he turned, he gently pushed the ball to his other foot and dribbled it to Carrick's left.
"Wow-----" Just as Toure completed the move, Eddie Gray's exclamation came through the microphone: "What did I just see! A Marseille turn! Yaya Toure used a classic Marseille turn to get past Carrick, who was rushing up to try and steal the ball. Leeds United's quick counter-attack!"
Amid the cheers of the surrounding fans, Toure used his long legs to catch up with the ball and began to dribble towards Manchester United's goal. Behind him, Bale, Ribery, and Torres also started to run quickly towards Manchester United's half.
Manchester United, on the other hand, were a step behind, only starting to track back after Carrick was beaten by Toure.
In this contrast, Leeds United quickly found themselves in a 5-on-3 situation.
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