Chapter 70: Fight with Swansea

Time flies, and soon it is October 25th.

The League Cup quarter-finals officially started.

Due to the format of the EFL Cup, only the semi-finals have two rounds, while the rest, including the final, are decided in one game.

Clubs with European competition tasks do not have to participate in the first two rounds.

In the third round, Manchester United defeated the Championship team Burton and advanced to the round of 16, and this time their opponent is Swansea.

Because the value of the English League Cup is not very high, strong teams basically don't look down on it.

Therefore, many weak teams will choose to fight for it with all their might, after all, this is one of the few championships they have a chance to win.

In the player channel at this time.

The players from both sides stood opposite each other without any communication between them.

Norton's eyes followed Chu Feng, thinking that if it weren't for Rashford's early attack last time, which caused his physical fitness to decline seriously, and his unfamiliarity with Chu Feng's technical characteristics, he would not have been so embarrassed by this kid.

Today he had made full preparations. He watched Chu Feng's game video over and over again and took two full pages of notes. He was determined to get back at the game.

Ji Sung-yueng in the center of Swansea's team also looked over there, wondering what he was thinking.

Soon they walked out of the player tunnel under the guidance of the referee.

The Liberty Stadium suddenly became noisy.

At this time in the LeTV Sports live broadcast room, Zhan Jun was giving a pre-match explanation.

"Let me introduce you to the starting lineups of both teams!"

"Swansea lined up in a 4-3-3 formation with only the main players."

"Goalkeeper:"

"From Swansea's recent record, they only won one game and lost four in six rounds, which shows that they are not in good shape."

"But the return of their midfield core Ki Sung-yueng from injury should give Swansea a boost."

"Let's look at Manchester United. They played a 4-2-3-1 formation and basically rotated players."

"Goalkeeper:"

"Among them, Chu Feng is 18 years old, Rashford is 20 years old, and McTominay is 21 years old. The average age of the whole team is no more than 24 years old. It can be said to be a young army."

"From the starting lineup, we can see that Mourinho does not intend to invest too much energy in the EFL Cup. He will focus on training and retaining strength for the match against Tottenham three days later."

"So the winner of this game is still unknown!"

Zhan Jun's tone was somewhat disappointed.

Because Manchester United did not send out the main lineup, if they eventually lost to Swansea, it is foreseeable how arrogant the Korean fans would be.

At this time, the fans who were watching the game in the live broadcast room also started a heated discussion. - [I guessed long ago that Mourinho would choose to give up the League Cup. ] - [It feels like Manchester United will lose with a high probability! ] - [It’s actually not bad, the central axis is relatively intact, and the offensiveness of the frontcourt players is not bad. ] - [Swansea is known as the Premier League’s little Barcelona, ​​and is very good at passing and controlling. ] - [So I’m worried that Manchester United will not have the old players to support them, and the young players will easily become anxious, which will lead to an imbalance in their mentality. ] - [Don’t worry, Xiaochu, come on! ]

Beep! With the referee's whistle, the game officially begins.

Swansea quickly advanced after the kick-off, obviously wanting to seize the start and take advantage of Manchester United's large number of young players to catch them off guard.

Ji Sung-yueng received the pass from his teammate, dodged McTominay's pressure, and then passed the ball to the left.

He is very tall and his passing and organization are first-class.

That's why he can become the core of Swansea's midfield organization. However, as he gets older, his overall technical level begins to decline and he often suffers injuries.

Ayew did not rush to receive the ball and turn around, but passed it back to his teammate in the middle.

"Swansea played very patiently and kept passing the ball around the outside."

"I have to say their tactics are very effective against young players, because Manchester United have to constantly adjust their individual positions in order to keep the formation intact."

"Some young players easily fall into the misunderstanding of focusing on the ball instead of the players."

"It's worthy of being the Little Barcelona of the Premier League!"

At this time, the situation on the field was constantly changing.

Just as Zhan Jun said, Manchester United's defense was indeed not good enough, especially in the flanks and ribs, where people were often missed.

8th minute of the game.

Ji Sung-yueng made a precise long pass to find Dyer on the right, who passed Blind and made a direct cross.

Abraham headed the ball near the penalty spot, but was disturbed and failed to exert his full strength.

Romero is Argentina's main goalkeeper after all, and he saved the ball easily.

There was a sudden burst of warm cheers at the Liberty Stadium. Through this attack, Swansea fans have seen the dawn of victory.

If they can't beat the full Manchester United, can they beat the young team? Swansea's left corner kick, Ji Sung-yueng directly kicked the ball to the back post, and Abraham rushed to the goal, but it was slightly off target.

"Don't be in a hurry, take your time, and stabilize your defense first!"

As a veteran in the team, Blind immediately reminded his teammates loudly.

The Manchester United players nodded upon hearing this.

After the game restarted.

Manchester United players first passed the ball frequently in the backcourt, and then strengthened communication with each other.

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

They also gradually let go of the tension in their hearts and began to try to move forward.

But unlike the last time, under the command of Ki Sung-yueng, Swansea's defense became very clear.

The distance between the three lines of defense is just right, dividing and surrounding the Manchester United players before coordinating to make steals.

Manchester United's problem of lack of organizing players was exposed.

After all, both McTominay and Lingard lack the ability to plan attacks and are unable to connect with their teammates.

As time went by, the situation on the field gradually became stalemate.

27th minute of the game.

Chu Feng received the pass from Tuanzebe on the wing and quickly dribbled forward.

He wanted to use his personal abilities to tear through the opponent's defense.

But Norton learned his lesson and did not rush to grab the ball rashly. Instead, he called on Ji Chengyueng and Fair to cooperate in defense.

At the same time, Mawson headed forward, making it difficult for McTominay to receive the ball easily, and another central defender closely marked Rashford.

Swansea formed a perfect man-to-man defense.

Manchester United's two defensive midfielders Herrera and Tuanzebe both had important defensive tasks and were unable to support their teammates.

Chu Feng did not break through arrogantly, but decisively passed the ball back to his teammates.

After all, it was difficult for him to get through facing the defense of three people.

If the ball is lost, it will cause huge pressure on the team's backcourt.

Mourinho on the sidelines did not seem too worried. He quickly made a tactical adjustment gesture, signaling the Manchester United players to strengthen their rotation and not stick to one area.

In his opinion, the strength of this youth team is not weak, not to mention Rashford and Chu Feng for now.

Lingard is good at creating chaos in the opponent's flank through long-range running, which is his personal characteristic.

Although McTominay's defensive, passing and dribbling abilities are insufficient, he has good ball protection in confrontations.

Therefore, the technical characteristics of the four front players can fully complement each other. At least when facing Swansea, which is in the middle and lower reaches of the league, they can definitely create enough threats.

All that's left is waiting.

Thanks to the book friend "Aliang Ni Meng" for the reward of 500 points.

Thanks to book friends "Xiong Baba", "Aspirations to the top of the mountain will not be broken halfway", and "Yi Wu Ke" for their monthly tickets.

Because I am going to Sanjiang today, I would like to write a small message of thanks.

To be honest, as a new author, I am a little flattered.

Because I am also a reader and I know how hard it is to keep up with the latest book updates, so I want to thank you all the more. To be honest, I might not have been able to hold on without your support. But now that the PK is over, I can continue to support it. Just support it with a first order (hehe).

Also, I see that everyone is discussing issues like nationality. Actually, when I write novels, I am used to putting myself into the story. As I said above, even if I could stand on the World Cup champion's podium, it would be difficult for me to accept the national anthems of other countries playing behind me. So I will not join the Chinese national football team, and I will never join any other country.

I won't say too much, thank you all for your support! 　　 　 (End of this chapter)