Chapter 589: Ferguson’s Plan B
“GOALLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL!!!!!!”
“The ball goes in!!!!”
"Just over a minute into the second half, Bayern scored again and reversed the score."
"It was a long shot from Su Dong that came very suddenly. Although Van der Sar tried his best to save it, he was powerless and could only watch the ball go into the net."
“Two to one!”
"Bayern got off to a fantastic start in the second half!"
After scoring the goal, Su Dong excitedly rushed out of the stadium, jumped over the billboards and the athletic track again, and rushed to the bottom of the stands where Bayern fans were, celebrating his goal.
Soon, he was surrounded by his teammates again.
…
On the sidelines, Ferguson in front of the visiting team's coaching booth cursed angrily, then angrily spat out the gum in his mouth and returned to the coaching booth. He was obviously very dissatisfied with the goal conceded less than two minutes into the second half.
"Su Dong's long shot was very sudden, with great strength and a tricky angle. It's not his fault that Van der Sar didn't save it. It's also understandable that Carrick and Vidic didn't block it immediately," Assistant coach Queiroz analyzed.
Ferguson certainly knew that.
Sometimes, we cannot simply blame the players for what happens on the court, because human resources are limited.
Just like Su Dong's goal just now, can we say who made the mistake? Vidic had already caught up, and Carrick also immediately helped in defense. The problem was that they were all responding passively, while Su Dong's retreat, stop the ball, turn around, and then kick the ball, the whole process was done in one go, and did not give the Manchester United defenders any time to react.
Such a ball cannot be defended! "This kid's shooting skills are really amazing, every shot goes straight to the blind spot, even Van Nistelrooy can't do such a superb shooting skill, coupled with his foot strength, it's simply amazing!" Ferguson sighed helplessly.
Queiroz nodded repeatedly.
He had watched Su Dong and Ronnie grow up, but the two of them took completely different development paths.
Su Dong insisted on all-round development and improved in every aspect, whether it was technology or physical, he developed very quickly. After joining Manchester United, Ronnie survived the difficult adaptation period and quickly found a path that suited him, transforming himself into an offensive core, especially a frontcourt finisher.
The difference between the two lies in their attitude towards shooting. Ronnie tends to shoot recklessly, and will take a shot when he has the chance. He also has superb ability, so many times he scores goals while shooting recklessly.
Su Dong is different. He is like a perfectionist. Every shot he makes is aimed at the blind corner, which makes him not shoot easily. He is like a sword hidden in a scabbard, which will not show its edge easily, otherwise it will draw blood.
What's even more terrifying is that Su Dong is not only tall and strong, with a body that is no less than Drogba's, but he also has incredible footwork and lightning speed. This is what makes him most terrifying.
Such a player is impossible to defend! Manchester United had arranged two central defenders, Vidic and Ferdinand, to follow Su Dong closely tonight, but he still scored twice.
Such players are indeed a headache.
Queiroz frowned, thought for a moment, then looked up at Ferguson, "Let's go to plan B."
"Now?"
Queiroz nodded, "We can't wait any longer. Time is not on our side."
If this goes on, Manchester United's players will only become more and more anxious.
Ferguson understood what Queiroz meant and stopped hesitating.
…………
…………
The game starts again.
After Bayern's 2-1 comeback, they started to play more steadily.
Mascherano and Schweinsteiger both actively protected the defense, and neither wing was easily pressed forward.
Heynckes' strategy is very clear, which is to stabilize the defense first and let Manchester United press forward.
Manchester United is best at defensive counterattacks, but now they are one goal behind, it is only a matter of time before they press forward.
But Bayern was prepared.
The two sides once again entered into a stalemate.
Especially in the 55th minute, Ferguson decisively made the first substitution of the game.
Giggs replaced Scholes.
This looks like a positional substitution, but it isn't.
After coming on the pitch, Giggs was more active on the right side, targeting Bayern's left side.
Rooney, Tevez and others were also actively cruising on this side, and Manchester United's several counterattacks were also intended to attack this side.
This made everyone realize that Ferguson did not want to attack Marcelo's side where Bayern's defense was weak, but he had been keeping it as a trump card and had been hiding this trick.
Now, it's the second half, and Manchester United is behind in the score. They must equalize the score as soon as possible.
So Ferguson no longer held back.
Everyone knows that Bayern's left-wing defense is a weak point. Bayern also made sufficient preparations for this before the game. However, when Manchester United frequently counterattacked and attacked Marcelo's side, Bayern's left-wing defense was still forced into a very embarrassing situation.
Ronnie once suddenly changed his position to the right, attacked Marcelo's side, and entered Bayern's penalty area, but his shot was confiscated by Kahn and he failed to score.
Afterwards, Manchester United launched attacks from the right every time.
Although he had the protection of Schweinsteiger, the support of Pepe, and even Ribery in front actively returned to defense, Marcelo's defense on the left still seemed to be stretched.
There's no way he was ever a defensive back.
Bayern also created threats with several quick counterattacks, and Su Dong even made a very threatening pass to Robben, but the Dutchman's right-foot shot failed to hit the right angle, and the ball flew directly out of the court, missing a good opportunity.
In the 71st minute, Manchester United finally tore through Bayern's left defense again.
Rooney, Tevez and Giggs, plus Brown who came in from behind, Manchester United this time deployed four players on the right side, creating a melee on the wing.
Bayern got the ball first, Marcelo tried to clear the ball, but Tevez blocked it sideways.
The ball fell to Giggs' feet.
After stopping the ball, the Welsh veteran cut inside and took two steps. Before Mascherano came up, he sent a curved ball with his left foot, diagonally passing it to the back of the penalty area.
The ball went over Lucio's header and landed at the back post.
Cristiano Ronaldo quickly made a diagonal run into the penalty area. Although Lahm stood between the Portuguese and the goal, Ronaldo still jumped high and headed the ball, pushing Giggs' pass back to the right.
When Kahn saw the ball passed to the back post, he quickly moved to the left, but he didn't expect Ronnie to suddenly hit the back post. Although he tried his best to save it, he was ultimately powerless.
The ball went into Bayern's goal.
2 to 2! After Ronnie landed, he raised his arms excitedly and let out a roar.
Manchester United players also rushed up, surrounded him and cheered along with him.
Giggs, the substitute player sent by Ferguson, played a key role.
Schweinsteiger grabbed his head in frustration and squatted on the field, looking very painful.
He was responsible for the goal because he failed to block Giggs in the first place, allowing him to easily pass the ball diagonally into the penalty area.
…………
…………
After equalizing the score, Manchester United continued to adopt their defensive counterattack strategy.
The Red Devils players had obviously consumed too much physical energy. After the 70th minute, their physical strength began to be a bit exhausted, which allowed Bayern to adopt a more aggressive offensive tactics and press forward.
Soon, Su Dong created an opportunity in the frontcourt. When he received the ball with his back, he attracted the attention of Vidic, Ferdinand and Hargreaves, and then he passed the ball to Robben with his heel.
The Dutch winger quickly entered the penalty area and had a one-on-one opportunity, but Van der Sar decisively left the goal to attack.
Robben's shot hit Van der Sar directly and was held tightly in the arms of the Dutch veteran.
Robben was very depressed after missing the opportunity.
Bayern continued their offensive.
Manchester United's physical strength was rapidly declining, and Bayern gradually took control of the situation on the field.
In the 76th minute, Ribery dribbled the ball on the left to attract the defense's attention, and then passed it to Marcelo. The latter shot with a powerful volley from the left side of the penalty area, but it was saved by goalkeeper Van der Sar.
In the subsequent corner kick, Lucio grabbed the ball and headed it, but it hit the top of the crossbar and bounced out of the bottom line.
The continuous attacks created dangerous situations in front of Manchester United's goal.
Ferguson made a decisive substitution, Fletcher replaced Rooney and continued to strengthen the midfield defense.
Ronnie was pushed to the forward position, forming a double striker formation with Tevez.
Just after 80 minutes, Robben made a precise straight pass near the center line, directly behind the Manchester United defense. Su Dong quickly cut in diagonally and caught up with Robben's pass on the right side of the penalty area, but with Ferdinand and Van der Sar completely blocking him, his shot had a small angle and his right foot shot hit the side net directly.
If Robben's through pass had been smaller, Su Dong would have been able to handle it better.
Despite this, Su Dong still gave Robben a thumbs up from a distance to show his gratitude.
After the score was tied, Bayern took the initiative on the field and launched frequent attacks, but was always one step away from scoring.
In the 84th minute, Bayern continued to maintain offensive pressure on Manchester United. After Su Dong formed a cooperation with Marcelo and Ribery on the left, he passed the ball back to the front of the penalty area. Schweinsteiger followed up and shot directly.
The shot was very accurate, but Van der Sar was very brave and dived sideways to save the ball.
Bayern was a little depressed as the consecutive attacks failed to work.
Manchester United finally seized an opportunity and launched a quick counterattack.
Ronnie and Tevez quickly formed a two-on-two situation, but Pepe and Lucio took one-on-one approaches respectively. Pepe, in particular, forced Tevez directly into the right corner and used a decisive tackle to knock the ball out of bounds.
Throw-in for Manchester United.
Wes Brown quickly ran to the frontcourt and Manchester United's overall formation also pressed forward.
Although the Red Devils were passive on the field, they were still unwilling to miss such a good opportunity and tried to create threats with out-of-bounds balls.
Brown quickly threw the ball into the penalty area, looking for Vidic.
Vidic blocked Pepe with his body, but Pepe behind him put considerable pressure on him, making it difficult for Vidic to stop the ball, so he could only stop the ball directly in front of the penalty area.
But at this time, the one who appeared at the front of the penalty area and received Vidic's pass was Su Dong who returned to defense.
(End of this chapter)
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
