Ferguson was a little annoyed, but what followed was something even more infuriating.
In the 17th minute, Ronaldo had already suffered several setbacks in previous matches, so when he saw Maicon and another player closing in on him on the right wing, he didn't force a breakthrough and instead passed the ball back to Carrick, who then passed it to Giggs on the left wing.
Giggs knew that if it came down to pure speed, he definitely couldn't beat his compatriot Bell.
So after he got the ball, he played a one-two with Scholes, who had already moved closer. He made an off-the-ball run to shake off Bale, and after receiving the ball back from Scholes, he continued to dribble forward.
After getting past Bale, he encountered Lahm who was pressing forward. The Welsh veteran immediately passed the ball to Berbatov, who was waiting nearby to receive it, and then accelerated towards the byline, waiting for Berbatov to pass it to him.
However, Berbatov did not choose to pass the ball to Giggs because when he received the ball, he saw Cannavaro running towards his passing route. Therefore, Berbatov had to choose a different passing direction, and Ronaldo, who had already entered the right side of the penalty area, became his new passing target.
So he put a little force into his right foot and kicked the lower half of the ball, trying to pass a half-high ball. But by sheer coincidence, the ball hit Mascherano's arm, who had already come up to him!
Berbatov was displeased and immediately raised his hand to report his former teammate's handball foul to the referee, even raising his hand above his head to indicate that the referee should pull out a card.
The referee did indeed stop the game, but Mascherano immediately rushed to the referee with a very aggrieved expression on his face. He used both his mouth and hands to indicate to the referee that his hands were tightly pressed against his body and not open at all, so this should not be considered a handball.
The referee ignored Mascherano's explanation but did not issue a card, simply indicating that Manchester United would take a free kick.
This decision immediately angered Ferguson, who leaped from the bench and rushed to the fourth official in just a few seconds, yelling and clutching his head, "That's a handball! Such an obvious handball and you don't show a card? What were you referees thinking?"
The fourth official first communicated with the referee through his headset, then turned to face Ferguson, pressing his hands down to signal him to calm down: "Alex, calm down. The referee saw it very clearly. The white team's number 6 player didn't open his arms. You've already gotten a free kick by getting a free kick."
But Ferguson was clearly unwilling to accept this explanation and continued to pester the fourth official relentlessly.
This prompted Li Shiguang, who was standing next to him, to turn around and joke, "Alex, this is Elland Road, can't we have a bit of home advantage? Hahahaha."
Upon hearing Li Shiguang's words, the fourth official's face darkened, and he looked at the two head coaches: "Watch your words, Li. Our refereeing team is fair and impartial. There is no such thing as home advantage! And you, Alex, if you continue to make trouble here, I may inform the referee to send you both to the stands!"
Upon hearing that they would be sent to the stands, the two head coaches exchanged a glance and wisely kept quiet, refocusing their attention on the field.
However, the photographers nowadays must have noticed this detail, as they gave close-up shots to the two head coaches.
Ferguson's face, flushed red with anger, contrasted sharply with the smile on Li Shiguang's lips.
Ultimately, Scholes took the free kick, but it went high and wide. Neuer simply stretched out his arms, looked up at the ball that was over the goal, and jumped up and down.
But Manchester United's series of attacks did not end there. Not long after, they came back again. Ronaldo finally made a breakthrough on the right wing, but Kompany, who came up to cover, tackled him out of bounds, giving Manchester United a corner kick.
It must be said that even away from home, Manchester United put a lot of pressure on Leeds United from the start, keeping the ball at their feet for most of the time and having more shots that threatened the goal than Leeds United.
Li Shiguang also understood that if the past two years were Ferguson's time to bide his time, cultivate players, and integrate the lineup, then this year would be the year Manchester United took off again.
What surprised him even more was that Berbatov integrated into Ferguson's tactical system in such a short time.
After Ronaldo was contained on the wing by Maicon and Ribery, Berbatov cleverly dropped back and joined Scholes in linking up play in midfield. Several threatening passes came from his feet in those few minutes, and he also had two threatening shots from outside Leeds United's penalty area.
Giggs took the corner kick. Besides Ronaldo and Rooney, several tall Manchester United defenders had already entered the Leeds United penalty area. However, instead of kicking the ball into the box, he sent it outside. Judging from the trajectory, the ball's destination was the left edge of the Leeds United penalty area.
And Berbatov was waiting there!
Mascherano, who was closely marking Ferdinand in the penalty area, reacted quickly. He saw the trajectory of the ball and immediately guessed Manchester United's intention. So he quickly abandoned Ferdinand and rushed towards Berbatov, who had already drawn his bow and was leaning to the right to shoot.
Perhaps because he was in a panic and forgot that his former teammate's dominant foot was right, Mascherano had just thrown his weight out to try and block Berbatov's shooting angle when he saw Berbatov retract his shooting posture, flick the ball up with his left foot, and lightly lift it up.
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