Chapter 876 We all guessed wrong!
The goalkeeper is Van der Sar, the defense line from left to right is Evra, Vidic, Ferdinand and Fabio, the midfield is Park Ji-sung, Giggs, Carrick and Valencia, and the front court is Rooney and Hernandez.
Ferguson fielded his ideal starting eleven in this FA Cup final.
But what was surprising was that he did not adopt the commonly used 4-3-3 formation, but instead adopted a 4-4-2 formation.
The specific positions of the players can only be observed in the game, but Ferguson has obviously adjusted his past playing style.
When Guardiola saw this style of play, he was obviously secretly relieved, and his eyes were full of affirmation when he looked at Su Dong.
He guessed right!
Ferguson adopted a 4-4-2 formation, actually wanting to defend and counterattack.
Manchester City's overall strength is not inferior to Manchester United, and is even slightly better. In addition, the team's tactical advantage basically adopts an active suppression tactic, while Ferguson's 4-4-2 formation is actually a deliberate show of weakness, retreating to defend.
But if you think that Manchester United is like this, you are wrong.
What Ferguson wants is counter-suppression.
But there is also a question, that is, if it is counter-suppression, why Hernandez? "We all guessed wrong, he did not adopt the five midfield tactics." Estiart shook his head.
There is speculation among Manchester City coaching staff that Ferguson will use Fletcher instead of Hernandez.
In this way, Manchester United adopted a five-midfield tactic. When counterattacking, Valencia and Park Ji-sung pressed up from the two wings to find Rooney.
Manchester United has used this style of play before and is very familiar with it.
But Ferguson didn't do that. He took off Fletcher and replaced him with Hernandez.
"He still wants to suppress our defense and control the ball in the midfield and backcourt." Guardiola thought about it for a moment and understood what Ferguson meant. Manchester City's control of the ball in the midfield and backcourt is a big problem for any team.
So is this actually the case? ...
With the whistle of referee Martin Atkinson, the world-renowned Manchester derby finally kicked off.
At the beginning of the game, Manchester United, who took the lead, quickly kicked the ball to Giggs, who made a diagonal pass to the right side of the frontcourt. Valencia moved forward at a very fast speed, got ahead of Marcelo, headed the ball forward, and tried to speed up to catch up.
But Pepe got there first and shoveled the ball out of bounds.
Less than ten seconds into the game, Manchester United got a throw-in opportunity in Manchester City's frontcourt.
The Red Devils quickly kicked the ball out of bounds, but Manchester City held on firmly and did not give Manchester United any chance to threaten.
As the first wave of attack began, the game slowly unfolded.
Manchester City was suppressed by Manchester United, and the starting tactics had not yet been implemented, but Manchester United's starting tactics were already very obvious.
That is repression.
Although they adopted a 4-4-2 formation, Manchester United did not adopt a defensive tactic at the beginning of the game. Instead, they actively pressed forward, especially against Manchester City's midfield and backcourt, and adopted high-intensity pressing pressure.
Park Ji-sung and Valencia were very active on both wings, Hernandez in the middle was at the front, while Rooney lagged behind and was fully responsible for suppressing Busquets.
This style of play allowed Manchester United to seize the initiative from the start and suppress Manchester City. They quickly entered the game and created two offensive threats, but unfortunately they failed to score a goal.
Manchester City was still somewhat uncomfortable with Manchester United's style of play. They tried to control the ball several times but were intercepted by Manchester United.
Especially Su Dong, as soon as he gets the ball, there are at least two defensive players around him.
Under such circumstances, Manchester City's opening game was not smooth.
However, whether it was Sudong and Busquets on the field, Pepe and Kompany on the back line, or Guardiola on the sidelines, they all kept calling on the players to stay calm, not to panic, and to maintain order in the team.
This is not the first time that Manchester City has encountered a team that uses high-pressure pressing, so they all know that whether it is Manchester United or other teams, this kind of full-court pressing can only be temporary.
Su Dong also quickly adjusted his role. From being at the front, he began to retreat and specifically attack Carrick.
This strategy was indeed very effective. Carrick himself was afraid of being robbed. When Su Dong retreated, the pressure he faced suddenly increased. Manchester United's passing errors began to increase, and relatively speaking, Manchester City had more ball possession.
So, gradually, Manchester United began to retreat.
But at this time, ten minutes had already passed in the game.
Ferguson's opening three moves came out with a bang.
If it works, it would be a good thing. Even if it doesn't, it can still cause some trouble for Manchester City.
After the three moves, Manchester United started to serve the main course, which was to shrink the defense.
Guardiola's guess was absolutely correct. Ferguson did not intend to play head-on with Manchester City, but to avoid Manchester City's edge and adopt a defensive counterattack tactic. This is why he took the risk of using Hernandez.
To put it bluntly, he wanted to defend it, but he was unwilling to do so.
This is in line with Manchester United's current mentality.
On the one hand, they admit that Manchester City is an opponent of equal strength, or even slightly better than Manchester United. But on the other hand, due to long-term historical reasons, they look down on Manchester City, thinking that Manchester City is just a nouveau riche and nothing special.
With this mentality, Ferguson adopted this tactic.
…
After Manchester City took control of the ball, Sudon began to retreat, receiving passes from the midfield, allowing Di Maria and Sanchez to move forward and hold up Manchester United's defense, especially the two central defenders.
At the same time, Su Dong also noticed that in order to help Manchester United's midfield, Park Ji-sung and Valencia moved more to the middle, leaving the flanks empty, so Su Dong began to run to the flanks frequently.
After seeing Su Dong's running route, Manchester City players understood it and began to pass the ball to the wing frequently.
When Marcelo crossed the center line, he passed the ball to Su Dong, who retreated deep and moved to the side to receive the ball.
Su Dong blocked Fabio with his body, stopped the ball, turned around and cut inside, and before Carrick got close, he suddenly sent a straight pass with his right foot, which accurately penetrated Manchester United's midfield and defense line and landed on the left side of the penalty area.
Di Maria moved forward at a very fast speed, and when he stopped the ball to shoot, Ferdinand kicked the ball out of the baseline.
The Argentine winger was tackled in the penalty area with the ball, but the referee Atkinson indicated that Ferdinand had not committed a foul.
Manchester City took a tactical corner kick. Su Dong dribbled the ball back along the left side, passed it to David Silva, and then quickly cut diagonally to the left side of the penalty area.
When David Silva passed the ball horizontally to Toni Kroos, the German midfielder passed it diagonally back to the back post to find Su Dong.
Su Dong jumped high and headed the ball back to the middle, creating an opportunity for Sanchez to score in front of the goal.
“Manchester City’s shot!!!”
The entire Wembley Stadium was filled with exclamations from fans of both teams.
At the critical moment, Vidic used his body to block Sanchez's shot, keeping Manchester United's goal safe.
“It’s too dangerous!”
"Manchester City's continuous attacks created threats."
"Su Dong was not at the forefront like he did in the past tonight, but retreated more and moved around the wings, passing the ball to his teammates and creating opportunities."
"Whether it was Di Maria's chance in the penalty area just now or Sanchez's shot this time, Su Dong showed a very high level, which involved a lot of defensive pressure on Manchester United, but his teammates failed to seize the opportunity."
At this moment, Manchester City planned another attack.
This time, Su Dong ran to the right, received the pass from Zabaleta, and took the initiative to pass it to Toni Kroos. He ran horizontally to the middle, and Toni Kroos quickly knocked the ball back. After Su Dong got the ball, he continued to the middle and passed it to David Silva.
At this time, Su Dong suddenly saw the opportunity and stopped running sideways. Instead, he turned towards the goal and rushed forward.
David Silva's pass was accurately given to Su Dong's running route. Su Dong quickly passed the ball to the right side of the penalty area, gave it to Sanchez, and then rushed towards the goal quickly.
Sanchez understood what he meant, got the ball, got rid of Evra who was defending him, and made a cross from the bottom.
But the Chilean winger's cross was too close to the goal and was caught by Van der Sar before Su Dong could get there, causing Su Dong to miss the chance to score in front of the goal.
Although he failed to score a goal, Su Dong's continuous cooperation with his teammates and excellent positioning won him applause from the audience and made Ferguson on the sidelines furious.
Damn, it's like Su Dong is in a no-man's land! How can we defend it if it goes on like this? Su Dong panted and gave Sanchez a thumbs up as he walked back.
The Chilean winger was a little embarrassed because he did not pass the ball well, but Su Dong did not blame him.
…
The game goes on.
From the tenth minute, Manchester City turned the situation around.
Guardiola was nervous watching on the sidelines, but also very happy.
He asked Su Dong to retreat and move to the side to be a free man. Originally, he was worried whether Su Dong was willing to do so and whether he could do a good job, but now he is not worried anymore.
Su Dong not only cooperated with his tactics, but also did a great job, even far exceeding his expectations.
If Manchester United's defense hadn't been good enough, Manchester City would have had at least two good chances to score.
On the court, Su Dong gradually found the feeling of playing as a free man.
Don't be fooled by his tall stature, he is fast, agile on his feet and has excellent explosive power. Once he charges, no one can stop him.
Just like this time, after Su Dong retreated to receive the ball, he turned around and started dribbling the ball. Through continuous changes of speed and direction, he broke through the blockade of three Manchester United players and sent a straight pass to the left side of the penalty area at the front of the penalty area.
Di Maria cut into the penalty area from the left and was about to shoot, but was again saved by goalkeeper Van der Sar.
The Argentine winger was so angry that he wanted to go crazy.
This was his second chance to shoot.
Su Dong also saw clearly that Di Maria was really not as good as Sanchez in terms of shooting and scoring.
Five minutes later, Manchester City attacked from the left, attracting all of Manchester United's defense to the left.
Su Dong looked at the situation and felt that there was little chance of attack, so he ran to the empty space on the right rib.
David Silva passed the ball back to the defense line for reorganization. Pepe stopped the ball, looked back and forth, and quickly made a long pass to Su Dong's feet.
Su Dong stopped the ball and turned around, then rushed forward with the ball again, heading straight for Manchester United's penalty area.
(End of this chapter)
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