Manchester United immediately pressed forward as a whole, playing high-pressure defense.

This was also Manchester United's normal strategy in their previous match against Southampton.

Seeing Rooney and Carrick rushing towards him, Lallana did not take the ball forward, but turned around and passed the ball to Gu Ran behind him.

Manchester United continued to press forward, intending to squeeze Southampton into the vicinity of the penalty area, thus suffocating Southampton like in the last match.

but……

After Gu Ran got the ball, he didn't hesitate at all and directly passed the ball to the front court!

Manchester United's midfielders didn't react in time, the ball passed over their heads and landed precisely at the feet of Salah who was at the front! Salah's ball-stopping skills were very good, and he started immediately after stopping the ball!

Salah's speed was not inferior to Chamberlain, the second fastest player in the team, but second only to Gu Ran! This rhythm of stopping the ball and dribbling through the ball instantly panicked Manchester United's defense!

Fortunately, Rio Ferdinand is currently the world's best defender. Rio Ferdinand predicted Salah's breakthrough route and blocked Salah with his body.

Salah's breakthrough route was discovered, and he could only half turn to protect the ball and look for an opportunity to receive the pass.

Vidic rushed over from the other side and stretched his foot to steal the ball from Salah's feet.

However, Vidic underestimated Salah's ability to protect the ball! Facing two world-class defenders, Rio Ferdinand and Nemanja Vidic, Salah was not at all inferior and kept the ball firmly under his feet!

The Southampton fans at the scene were immediately excited! They originally didn't trust Salah as a single center forward, but just from this ball protection confrontation, the Southampton fans have already experienced Salah's pharaoh style! And the Manchester United fans were full of disbelief.

Ferguson didn't even understand where a small club like Southampton found a talented center forward like Salah.

Just as the Manchester United defenders on the field were being pulled by Salah, Henderson ghosted into the unmanned area in the frontcourt.

Salah saw the opportunity and immediately passed the ball to Henderson!

Salah's kick was very sudden and very accurate. Rio Ferdinand intercepted the ball with his hips, but missed it by a little bit.

After Henderson got the ball, he immediately dribbled forward.

Chamberlain also followed up on the left side, and right-back Hargreaves quickly pressed closely to defend, not giving Chamberlain any chance to get the ball.

Southampton's midfield and frontcourt players all pressed into Manchester United's half.

Manchester United players retreated to defend, with only the dashing Berbatov strolling alone in Southampton's half.

Less than a minute into the game, the situation on the field shocked everyone.

Everyone thought that this game would be like the FA Cup final, where Southampton would be suppressed by Manchester United. Even if they were not suppressed, they would have to play a defensive game with rights.

As a result, Southampton launched a strong attack right from the start, catching Manchester United off guard.

There is only one Manchester United left-back, Evra, in the weak area on the right.

It seemed that Henderson made a wrong pass on this ball? However, in the next moment, Gu Ran burst out at full speed and cut diagonally to the right!

Henderson's vision in the midfield is like a cheat! This pass is really amazing!

Even Ferguson was stunned! He thought Henderson's running posture was weird and he would never survive in a top-notch team. Unexpectedly, Henderson's ability was so strong! Facing Henderson's pass, Evra fought for it with all his strength.

Park Ji-sung, who was following closely behind Gu Ran, also tried his best to chase and intercept Gu Ran.

However, Gu Ran was too fast. Before Evra could touch the ball, Gu Ran touched the football first like lightning and kicked forward with a big kick.

Evra immediately reached out to pull Gu Ran, but Gu Ran threw his hand back and blocked Evra's pull, continuing to accelerate and sprint to the bottom! Gu Ran passed the ball to himself three seconds later! Gu Ran was in the defensive midfielder position, under the cover of Salah and Henderson in the frontcourt, ghostly inserted to the right side, and then relied on his speed and strong body to directly break the Manchester United's defense line that had no time to deploy, and crossed the ball from the bottom! At this moment, there was chaos in Manchester United's penalty area! Little Pharaoh Salah, Lallana, Henderson, Chamberlain, all in place! Southampton's offensive power has undergone earth-shaking changes! Even Gu Ran, who was crossing the ball from the bottom, had some happy troubles-with so many offensive points, who should he pass to? Obviously, Salah's running space was large!

Gu Ran made a precise cross to Salah on the left side of the penalty area.

Salah stopped the ball with his chest, and without waiting for it to hit the ground, he volleyed it sideways! This was a beautiful shot! But Van der Sar had a great position and a quick reaction to save the ball!

Van der Sar jumped sideways and blocked the ball with both hands!

Although the ball was saved, Salah's shot was so powerful that Van der Sar couldn't hold it.

Fortunately, the world's best defender Rio Ferdinand retreated in time, grabbed the first point, and kicked the ball across half the court.

Rooney sprinted across the midfield line and was ready to take the ball for a counterattack, but Mikel rushed up without hesitation, carrying the little tank Rooney and kicked the ball out of the sideline.

Although this gave Manchester United a throw-in, at least Southampton could retreat in time and deploy a defensive formation.

If it weren't for Mikel's precise interception, Rooney might have echoed with the cool Berbatov wandering in the frontcourt. Once Berbatov got the ball in the frontcourt, it would have been difficult for Southampton to withstand the elegant attack of the vampire duke.

Both teams performed very well in their first offensive and defensive performances.

And Southampton's performance was absolutely refreshing.

Southampton, which used to only be able to defend desperately and rely on Gu Ran's incredible performance to score points, now has the potential to compete with strong teams.

This wave of attack by Southampton was also very pleasing to the eye, and the coordination between the midfield and the frontcourt was also very good. If they had not been facing the powerful Manchester United, Van der Sar and Rio Ferdinand, and if Salah had not been still young and a little nervous and uncomfortable playing in such a big game for the first time, this goal would probably have gone in.

Although there was no goal, this new style of play made Southampton fans crazy!

...(End of this chapter)