Ultimately, no new developments occurred in the first half. Clattenburg blew his whistle, and the two sides went into halftime with a score of 1-1.
Back in the locker room.
Li Shiguang immediately began to make adjustments to address the shortcomings of the first half.
The first thing that needs to be addressed is Leeds United's right flank.
In the first half, almost all of Manchester United's threatening attacks originated from this side, including Rooney's goal. The initiators of this attack were Ronaldo and Evra, who were active on this flank.
To be honest.
From the very beginning of the match, Ronaldo's pressure was simply too much.
At first, Li Shiguang thought he could use Alves' speed to go head-to-head with Ronaldo. Even if he couldn't take the ball away from Ronaldo, he could at least stop the Portuguese player from cutting inside and push him outwards, which would be considered a success.
Before the match, Li Shiguang had specifically instructed Alves on how to play.
But Alves' desire to attack surprised Li Shiguang.
Cristiano Ronaldo capitalized on several opportunities when Alves made runs into the attacking third, threatening Leeds United's goal.
Of course, Li Shiguang doesn't think Alves is bad. A strong attacking desire is not a bad thing. It's just that in an important game like today, Leeds United's defense needs stability more!
Looking at Alves sitting in the corner, Li Shiguang calmly said, "Dani, you can rest for the second half."
I know my own situation.
Alves didn't need to think too much to know why Li Shiguang substituted him.
Looking flustered, he stood up, intending to explain, "Boss, I just..."
“It’s alright!” Li Shiguang reached out and interrupted Alves. “You don’t need to worry. Your substitution has nothing to do with your performance on the field. It’s just a tactical necessity.”
"Huh?" Alves looked a little confused, not having been able to explain. He had thought that Li Shiguang had replaced him because of his poor performance.
"Nonsense." Li Shiguang smiled gently. "Don't worry, you won't be shortchanged on your bonus."
A harmless joke amused everyone in the locker room, easing the tension and putting Alves at ease.
Then.
Li Shiguang turned to look at Sun Jihai, who was sandwiched between Hummels and Reus, and said directly in English, "Jihai, you're coming on in the second half?"
Sun Jihai was somewhat surprised and pointed to himself: "Boss, I'll go?"
“Hmm…” Li Shiguang nodded. “If I remember correctly, you successfully defended Cristiano Ronaldo one-on-one when you were at Manchester City, right?”
Sun Jihai scratched the back of his head sheepishly: "Yes, that's true, but he had only recently joined the Premier League at that time. I was just lucky..."
"Don't underestimate yourself." Li Shiguang switched to Mandarin when saying this idiom, and then switched back to English. "If you defended well, you defended well. It has nothing to do with luck! Although he is much better than before, I believe that you haven't stood still in these two years at Leeds United, right?"
"Alright, Ji Hai, you only have one task: once you're on the field, you need to completely shut down Cristiano! Those kinds of plays from the first half—cutting inside to shoot or easily crossing the ball—are not allowed to happen again!"
"Alright! I guarantee I'll complete the mission!" Sun Jihai stood up from his seat and patted his chest vigorously...
“OK…” Li Shiguang looked around and summarized, “I’ve already told you all the rest. Remember what I’ve emphasized: we must focus on Luka and James and try to get the ball to Didico’s feet. Only in this way can we achieve final victory!”
····
Coincidentally.
When Li Shiguang was in the locker room giving instructions on how to defend against Ronaldo.
On the other side, Ferguson was also assigning tasks around Ronaldo.
“Move forward, just like Patrice did in the first half.” Pointing to Evra, Ferguson addressed the rest of the Manchester United players, particularly the three midfielders. “We can absolutely win by attacking around Cristiano!”
After saying this, Ferguson turned his gaze to Ronaldo: "Cristiano, you don't need to force your way through unless you're completely confident. Expand your vision, cooperate more with other players, or you could pass the ball to Wayne on the other side!"
“Okay, sir.” Ronaldo nodded, but added, “The opposing full-back likes to push forward, and I’m confident I can handle him.”
Recalling Alves' performance in the first half.
Ferguson felt that Ronaldo wasn't wrong, so he nodded and didn't dwell on the matter any further.
The old lord meticulously assigned all tasks one by one, then walked to the middle of the dressing room and clapped his hands vigorously.
"Kids, you played very well in the first half, I'm very satisfied! Just like I said, in the second half, stabilize your defense, mark those Leeds United attackers tightly, and then look for opportunities on the wings. Believe me, as long as we do these two things, we will definitely bring the Premier League trophy back to Old Trafford today!"
After the initial probing and observation in the first half.
The first fifteen minutes of the halftime break.
Both coaches have determined their key to victory.
Li Shiguang values the mid lane more.
Ferguson, on the other hand, placed his bets on both sides...
····
Fifteen minutes passed in the blink of an eye.
After a rest, the players from both sides returned to the field.
Ferguson immediately noticed that Sun Jihai had been substituted into the game by Li Shiguang.
Ferguson remembered this compatriot of Li Shiguang.
After all, when Sun Jihai was playing for Manchester City, their arch-rivals, he successfully defended against his protégé Cristiano Ronaldo one-on-one. He even pulled off a feat of defending against four opponents at once.
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