Chapter 235 Whoever qualifies from Group H will depend on my mood!

Nagelsmann stood in the coaching area, looking solemnly at the green field.

Previously, he divided Manchester United's offensive system by cutting off the connection between Chu Feng and his teammates, but today his tactics failed to achieve the same effect.

The main reason is that Chu Feng switched positions too quickly.

Retreat organization, transfer fulcrum, hinterland breakthrough, forward penetration to seize points. Although it can be seen that Chu Feng is not very skilled yet.

But the key is that Hoffenheim's players are not as good as Manchester United in terms of individual abilities, and they can achieve the current results only by relying on tacit coordination.

Chu Feng disrupted Hoffenheim's backcourt, which directly led to the collapse of the overall defense.

Less than 15 minutes into the game, Manchester United created three shooting opportunities, two of which hit the goal frame. If it weren't for goalkeeper Oliver's explosive performance, the score would probably have been changed.

But if this trend continues, it is only a matter of time before we concede a goal.

So Nagelsmann waved his hand, signaling the players to move forward and intensify the pressing, using running to make up for their personal lack of ability.

Classic German high pressure tactics.

In this regard, German coaches all learned from Rangnick, such as Klopp, Tuchel and others.

In fact, if you look closely, Nagelsmann is considered to be Tuchel's disciple, and the two once worked together in Augsburg.

This tactic has both advantages and disadvantages. The advantage is that it can cover up the weaknesses of some players, reduce single points and strengthen the overall situation.

The disadvantage is that it requires high physical fitness and is prone to large-scale injuries.

The tempo of the game suddenly became much faster. Manchester United gradually reduced the frequency of midfield possession and began to use long diagonal passes from both wings and speed to open up the offensive line.

Nagelsmann's 3-4-3 formation immediately revealed flaws.

Due to insufficient protection on both wings, Mahrez and Rashford could easily threaten Hoffenheim's goal after receiving the ball.

19 minutes into the first half.

Chu Feng switched from horizontal running to vertical running, deceiving Nuhu who was guarding him tightly, and Mahrez took the opportunity to pass the ball to the right side of the penalty area.

"Chu Feng! Shoot to the upper corner, the ball goes between Oliver's hands and into the goal!"

“Nice goal!”

"Manchester United opened the scoring first. The next game will be much easier. Hoffenheim's offense is not outstanding. The only player worth noting is No. 34 Joelinton."

"The 20-year-old Brazilian player is already worth 40 million euros and has been included in the final 20-man list for the European Golden Boy Award."

"His technical style is similar to Chu Feng's. Although he is 186cm tall, he has very delicate footwork."

"But his positioning awareness and movement habits are not very good, so I think he is more suitable for midfield than center forward."

"By the way, if you add this goal, Xiao Chu's current Champions League goal tally has reached 5, temporarily ranking fourth in the Champions League scorer list."

"Ahead of him are Salah (6 goals), Lewandowski (6 goals) and Messi (7 goals)."

"Xiao Chu needs to work harder! He won the Premier League Golden Boot last season, so he must win the Champions League Golden Boot this season."

Zhan Jun joked.

Zhang Lu next to him shook his head and analyzed seriously: "Manchester United was tied by Hoffenheim in the Champions League group stage and strategically gave up the game against Shakhtar Donetsk, resulting in the overall number of goals not being as good as other teams."

"And I saw that Manchester United actually had 10 games in December, including the Champions League, the Carabao Cup, the Club World Cup, and the Premier League, and they also had two strong teams, Arsenal and Liverpool."

"As long as Manchester United can win today's game, I think Mourinho will most likely give up the Champions League."

Zhan Jun also gave up the unrealistic idea, as what coach Zhang Lu said did make sense.

At present, Manchester United will definitely not let Chu Feng play frequently, but he believes that Chu Feng still has a good chance of winning the Golden Boot.

After all, the Champions League knockout round after February is the highlight, and Chu Feng has always given people the impression that he becomes stronger when facing stronger opponents, otherwise he would not have been able to create the miracle of a hat trick in the Champions League final.

Zhan Jun turned his gaze back to the screen.

As expected, Manchester United started a defensive counterattack after taking a one-goal lead.

As Zhang Lu said, Manchester United's schedule in the next month is too tight and they must win with minimal consumption.

Although Lindelof is the only injured player at Manchester United now, no one knows when the injury wave will come?

You have to know that this thing can cause the team to collapse. It is the lingering nightmare of every Premier League coach. The most representative team among them is Arsenal.

Sky Sports has compiled the injury statistics for all Premier League teams over the past six years.

The final result showed that Arsenal took the top spot with a total of 10,285 days of injuries.

But can Manchester United be any better? No, Manchester United ranked second with 9,600 days, and Liverpool ranked third with 8,044 days.

Chelsea has the least, with only 4,559 days.

Mourinho is really scared by injuries and would rather bear the stigma of being utilitarian and conservative than experience the feeling of collapse.

The first half of the game was quickly declared over. Hoffenheim, who returned from the halftime break, launched a fierce attack at all costs. Now they only have 4 points, and only by winning today's game can they continue their hopes of qualifying for the group.

Another match in Group F at this time.

Shakhtar Donetsk played against Lyon away. The former had no hope of qualifying, but still maintained high morale.

Perhaps this is the persistence of wanderers.

Lyon attacked fiercely in the first half but failed to score a goal, but they did not dare to change their tactics easily.

After all, if Hoffenheim wins, Manchester United will have to fight them to the death in the last round, and they have no confidence of defeating Manchester United at home.

It can be said that who can qualify from Group F depends entirely on Manchester United's performance.

Hoffenheim is still strengthening its attack, but the players' physical fitness has declined rapidly, and their counterattack after the attack was blocked is not as effective as before.

In the 81st minute of the second half, Hoffenheim had just made a substitution and sent a corner kick of poor quality.

David Luiz headed the ball away and Matic made a long hook pass.

The football flew directly over the midfield and fell into Hoffenheim's backcourt.

Chu Feng instantly accelerated and rushed towards the goalkeeper with the ball. After entering the penalty area, he pushed the ball into the far corner and scored!

Nagelsmann's Champions League dream was shattered and he lay in the coaching booth in frustration.

Hoffenheim players had lost their spirit and the score did not change until the final whistle.

As for Lyon, they drew with Shakhtar Donetsk.

Manchester United currently ranks first in the group with 13 points, and Lyon ranks second in the group with 8 points. Regardless of the result of the last round of games, both teams have already advanced to the next round in advance.

"Your tactical concept is very good. Keep going and you will definitely gain a lot." Mourinho breathed a sigh of relief and walked in front of Nagelsmann. "I look forward to playing against you next time."

Nagelsmann shook Mourinho's hand and asked a question: "I see that your main framework rarely changes. Doesn't this make the tactics too simple?"

"The five major leagues have a nine-month schedule, and stability is the most important thing." Mourinho shook his head.

Nagelsmann fell into deep thought after hearing this. - When it came to December, Manchester's temperature did not drop much because it was close to the sea, but the temperature difference between day and night became larger.

Carrington training base.

"There's only one lap left, hurry up and finish it!"

Chu Feng's breathing was not disordered at all, and he urged Lukaku.

Due to the tight schedule in December, Manchester United players reduced the intensity of training and basically only carried out the most basic exercises.

But not Lukaku.

He has barely played since the start of the season, and his physical condition is definitely the best in Manchester United.

So Chu Feng simply took Lukaku with him for extra training, trying his best to get Lukaku back on track as soon as possible.

After all, Manchester United needs another center forward in the future.

As the schedule became more and more intensive, Chu Feng gradually felt overwhelmed, and that was not a problem that the injury immunity module could solve.

He must reduce his attendance, otherwise something bad will happen by February.

Mourinho also talked to him about this matter.

Although Lukaku was very tired, he did not complain because he knew that Chu Feng and Mourinho were doing this for his own good.

There is no mistake in the poem, post, content, and read the book on 6, 9, and bar!

After several days of training, the 14th round of the Premier League kicked off.

Manchester United players arrived in snowy Southampton, the largest seaport in the UK and the departure point of the Titanic.

Last season, Southampton ranked 17th, only three points away from the relegation zone. The start of this season was not satisfactory. They are second to last in the league and have only scored 10 goals in the first 13 rounds.

Mourinho fielded a semi-rotated lineup. Chu Feng wrapped in a down jacket sat on the bench, discussing the situation on the field with Matic.

"Kovacic has made good progress recently. He is not as slow as before in advancing forward and his ball selection is more reasonable."

"McTominay is also good! Especially his defensive positioning, which is about the same as mine at 7 points."

"How come Lukaku's right foot is still so weak? He can kick the ball into the sky even from 15 meters away from the goal?"

Fortunately, Mourinho did not use a defensive lineup, but instead arranged multiple attacking points in the frontcourt. Lukaku alone could not expect to score a goal quickly.

39th minute of the game.

Lingard broke into the penalty area on the right side and made a triangle pass in front of the goal, and Kovacic scored with his heel.

0-1!

Immediately before the end of the first half, Lukaku passed the ball to the right at the front of the penalty area, and Mahrez shot into the far corner.

0-2!

The second half of the game seemed very dull, but in the 88th minute, a ridiculous scene appeared on the field. Lukaku accidentally stepped on the court and sprained his ankle when stopping the ball.

Chu Feng could only be substituted temporarily, and before his body could warm up, the referee blew the whistle to end the game.

Looking at Matic who was laughing secretly on the bench, Chu Feng spread his hands helplessly and said, "I don't even need to take a shower when I go back."

Mourinho next to him rubbed Chu Feng's head vigorously and said, "Next time I encounter this situation, I will replace Matic."

Matic's smile froze when he heard this, and he stared at Mourinho resentfully, thinking, love will disappear, right?

You should know that he donated a football stadium named "Mourinho" in his hometown.

But after coming to his senses, he nodded in approval: "Boss, it's agreed that I must go up next time. Isn't it good to get tens of thousands of pounds in appearance fees for nothing?"

The Manchester United players all laughed and returned to the locker room arm in arm.

The drifting snowflakes slowly fell, and only Southampton players were left on the field. Maya Yoshida looked at the back of Manchester United's No. 7, and his thoughts drifted to the game a year ago.

At that time, he partnered with Van Dijk as a central defender and blocked Chu Feng's many attacks in succession.

Unexpectedly, in just over a year, Chu Feng has become a flagship figure of Manchester United, Van Dijk has also established himself in Liverpool, and only I am still stuck in Southampton.

The huge sense of gap makes people extremely frustrated.

After Chu Feng packed up simply, he went to attend the press conference, and the reporters immediately became excited.

However, the reporters did not ask about the game. After all, Chu Feng only played for less than 5 minutes.

"Manchester United have already qualified for the Champions League group stage. I want to know which team you most want to face?"

"Well, Barcelona, ​​because our boss is the only head coach in the football world who has led his team to defeat Barcelona three times." Chu Feng said half-jokingly and half-seriously.

"Chu, Barcelona has already secured first place in the group and has qualified in advance like Manchester United. The only options you can choose now are Atletico Madrid, Roma and Schalke 04."

A reporter from The Guardian gave a reminder.

"Oh, then let's go with Atletico Madrid. We didn't have enough fun playing against them last time. I hope we can have a chance to play two more rounds."

Chu Feng's tone was full of indifference, as if he was just talking about what to eat tomorrow.

Manchester United fans who were watching the live broadcast felt a slight tremor in their hearts. Atletico Madrid is currently ranked second in the La Liga, 8 points ahead of third-placed Real Madrid. Its overall strength should not be underestimated.

Besides, you have to know that Atletico Madrid in the UEFA Super Cup final was not in full form.

If the two teams play another game now, no one would dare to say that Manchester United will win for sure, and most fans even think that Atletico Madrid has a greater chance of winning.

Because Simeone recently came up with a logging tactic, which is a strategy targeting the opponent's core players.

Just as the name suggests.

As long as the opponent's core player has the ball, they will adopt foul tactics against him, trying their best to prevent him from exerting his abilities, even at the cost of turning the game into a foul war.

Moreover, Atletico Madrid players have undergone special training, so their fouls are very covert and they can easily escape the referee's judgment.

A few days ago, they used this trick to tie with Barcelona and defeat Real Madrid.

Real Madrid's rising star Vinicius even said to the media after the game: "Thank God, I played another game without any illness or disaster."

Under Atletico's targeted tactics, he was completely locked on the wing and couldn't participate in the attack at all, and even developed fear later on.

"Are you confident in yourself for the European Golden Boy Award which will be presented in the middle of this month?"

Another reporter raised his hand to ask a question.

"We won't talk about the results before the competition is over. I think the same applies to the awards." Chu Feng did not answer directly. After all, it would never go wrong to be cautious.

English journalists were very unhappy.

In their opinion, Chu Feng had already secured the award, and being overly modest now was just a sure thing.

Why don’t you say that the English media exaggerate? And their exaggeration is not ordinary exaggeration. For example, if you have a score of 60, others will exaggerate it to 70.

But what about the English media? Why can you get 100 points? Because the full score is only 100 points! Why didn't so many British stars play?

Being blown away by the media may be one of the reasons.

"Excuse me, about the match against Arsenal in four days, huh—"

Chu Feng did not answer any more questions. He stood up and left the scene with Mourinho. He didn't care what the media said. The key was to do his own thing well.

(End of this chapter)