Chapter 346 The Super God De Gea, the Even More God Lin Quan!
After Van Gaal finished sighing, he stared at the court intently.
He tried hard to see through Manchester City's tactics in order to find flaws as soon as possible.
The sooner the opponent's tactical weaknesses are seen through, the better it will be for Manchester United.
If it continues like this, if the opponent scores a goal, the game will not be easy to play.
However, missing these two scoring opportunities did not affect Manchester City's morale.
In the 18th minute, Lin Quan performed a dribbling without solution, dribbling the ball all the way from the right to the front of the penalty area.
Manchester United defender Rojo was forced to put down a shovel and brought Lin Quan to the ground at the edge of the penalty area.
The referee did not hesitate to show Rojo the first yellow card of the game. The referee's penalty in this game was obviously much better than in the previous game.
This made Mansour, the boss of Manchester City, who came to the stadium box to watch the game, nodded slightly.
If the FA dares to continue targeting Manchester City, he wouldn't mind sending some judicious information to Fleet Street reporters.
This time the free kick was in a good position and Lin Quan chose to take it himself.
It's a pity that De Gea trained with him when he was in the national team and knows his free kicks better.
He predicted the right direction and saved Lin Quan's free kick.
If there were another goalkeeper, I might not have such good luck.
Manchester City's offense was not over yet. In the 20th minute of the first half, Fernando made a long pass from the backcourt, and Lin Quan stopped the ball and singled out Rojo.
Rojo, who had a yellow card on his back, did not dare to take action easily this time. After he did not dare to commit a foul, his threat to Lin Quan was greatly reduced.
Lin Quan used his excellent dribbling skills to make two sudden stops and changes of direction. After getting rid of Rojo's defense, he rushed to the right side of the small penalty area and completed a shot from a small angle.
Still De Gea!
This time he chose a very good position. After trying his best to expand the defensive area, he once again saved Lin Quan's shot in a thrilling way.
Seeing De Gea save the team once again, whether it was the Manchester United fans who came to watch the game or the fans watching the game at home, they couldn't help but call De Gea "big daddy" in their hearts!
Although De Gea is not good at attacking, his saving skills in the small penalty area are really nothing to say.
A goalkeeper with obvious shortcomings can still secure a starting position for a giant like Manchester United, which shows how terrifying his abilities are in other areas.
Seeing the opponent's goalkeeper performing so well, Manchester City fans couldn't help but howl:
"This guy is like a wall of sighs. I feel like I can't get past him!"
"It's too outrageous. Lin Huang's shots were saved three times in a row. In today's football, there are not many goalkeepers who can do this, right?"
"Lin has played against almost all the top goalkeepers in football, including Buffon, Neuer, Cech, and Casillas. I have never seen anyone push Lin to this level!"
"De Gea is still a bit awesome. I wonder if he can secure his position in Spain's starting lineup after Casillas retires!"
…
Although the outside world and the fans at the scene were praising and lamenting De Gea's wonderful performance, De Gea himself, as the person involved, only felt lucky.
Although he had predicted these several shots in advance, he still managed to save them very reluctantly.
This shows how exaggerated Lin Quan's shooting ability is!
When he thought of this, De Gea didn't dare to be careless.
The goalkeeper position cannot tolerate any mistakes. One mistake may wipe out all the previous achievements, and may even become the sinner of the team!
He felt that he had been lucky the previous few times and was lucky enough to make the save.
When we face Lin Quan next time, we may not have such good luck!
Seeing that the opponent's goalkeeper was in hot form, Lin Quan immediately changed his offensive options.
In the 21st minute, Manchester City made a series of exquisite cooperation. De Bruyne went straight into the penalty area, and Lin Quan received the ball and passed the ball very covertly.
While others are moving forward, the football also flies into the penalty area.
This time, he got the chance to face the goalkeeper.
Lin Quan only glanced at the door, raised his foot and shot without any hesitation.
De Gea's state in this game is really amazing. Facing Lin Quan's shot, he used his body to block this inevitable goal.
However, before the Manchester United fans could raise their arms and cheer, Lin Quan also used his body to block the blocked football into the goal.
He seemed to have expected that his shot would be saved!
boom!
Unimaginable noise erupted at the Etihad Stadium. Countless Manchester City fans jumped up from their seats in excitement, waving their fists and roaring wildly.
Finally scored!
Finally kicked the ball into the opponent's damn goal!
When they saw De Gea using his body to block Lin Quan's shot, their hearts went cold.
Fortunately, the ball was scored in the end!
"Damn it!"
After seeing Manchester United lose the ball, Van Gaal's expression suddenly changed and he couldn't help but curse in a low voice.
The game only lasted 20 minutes and Manchester United fell behind.
This result was beyond his expectation and made him worried about the next trend of the game.
In this game, Manchester City's condition was much stronger than he imagined.
Especially Lin Quan, the opponent's core player, is extremely active in the frontcourt and can be seen in almost every attack.
It's not like Van Gaal has never deployed defensive tactics against Lin Quan, and Manchester United's players have also tried hard.
But all these efforts failed!
You can't guard this guy one-on-one. If there are multiple double-teams, this guy is very smart and can always find an opening to pass the ball.
And he is not just passing the ball out, his passing is more like organizing an offense, and each pass can form a new threat.
This makes Manchester United's defense very passive!
How could there be such a monster player in football?
There are many stars in the Manchester City team. In addition to Lin Quan, there are also stars such as De Bruyne, David Silva and Yaya Toure on the field.
These stars also have the ability to make the final decision!
If you don't defend strictly and give them a chance, they can still score.
This is still Manchester City after it has been weakened. If Manchester City did not have so many injuries, they would have more threats and it would be more difficult to defend.
When he thought of this, Van Gaal couldn't help but feel a little drumming in his heart:
Can his team still beat Manchester City in this state?
After scoring, Lin Quan ran to the sidelines and took off his jersey in front of the camera, revealing a white vest.
A line of text on his vest was displayed on the big screen at the scene: I hope the coach will recover soon!
In the hospital ward, despite the objections of his family, Pellegrini insisted on watching the live broadcast of the game. After seeing this scene, his nose felt a little sore:
"This boy can always come up with new tricks for me!"
Although he said so, he was still very moved in his heart.
Just thinking about his condition made him sigh.
According to the doctor, he will not be able to return to the team and continue coaching in a short period of time.
I really can’t let go of these players. We still have a lot of things to do and we really don’t want to give up halfway...
After taking the lead, Manchester City's offensive not only did not weaken, but further strengthened.
In the 25th minute, Zabaleta dribbled the ball down and completed a cross with the outside instep of his left foot.
Lin Quan, who was at the front, made a clever move and gave the ball to Jovetic behind him.
After receiving the ball, the latter calmly pushed the ball into the lower left corner of the goal.
However, De Gea, who doesn't like to attack, struck early this time and fell to the ground to seal the must-goal.
Jovetic held his head in disbelief, seemingly unable to accept the result of such a shot being blocked by the opponent.
He finally felt the feeling of Lin Quan's previous shots being blocked by De Gea one after another!
Manchester United fans applauded De Gea's wonderful performance, and began to worry in their hearts.
The better the goalkeeper's performance, the more unfavorable the situation on the field is for them.
De Gea's outstanding performance alone is not enough. Players in other positions of the team must step up!
If they continue to be so inactive and unable to pose a threat to Manchester City's goal, then Manchester United will definitely lose!
However, after De Gea handed the ball to his teammates, the ball was intercepted by a Manchester City player before it had passed a few shots.
Di Maria fell to the lawn after losing the ball and did not get up immediately, but the Manchester City players ignored him and continued to attack Manchester United's goal.
Taking advantage of the opponent's defense focusing on Lin Quan and several teammates in the frontcourt, Yaya Toure stole the ball and drove the ball forward, even trying to get into the penalty area.
Blind accidentally hooked Toure while he was on the ground making a tackle, and was shown a yellow card by the referee.
This is the second yellow card Manchester United has received in this game!
This time the free kick was in a good position, but Lin Quan did not take the kick himself, but gave the ball to Yaya Toure.
This was an opportunity created by the opponent himself, and Lin Quan planned to leave it to him.
Yaya Toure was very ambitious. He saw De Gea's previous outstanding performance, so he thought about it for a long time before taking the penalty kick, intending to play a position that was as tricky as possible so that the opponent could not pounce.
Yaya Toure's idea is good, but his footwork doesn't seem to support his idea.
After taking a run-up, he kicked the ball away and failed to pose a threat to Manchester United's goal.
Seeing the ball flying into the stands, Yaya Toure himself was a little embarrassed.
After being besieged by Manchester City for half an hour, Manchester United finally launched a decent attack.
In the 30th minute, Luke Shaw broke through from the left, and Zabaleta knocked him to the ground while defending.
The referee verbally warned Zabaleta and gave Manchester United a free kick.
Van Persie took a free kick and wanted to find Fellaini in the penalty area, but the ball flew in the air and was cleared by Van Dijk in advance.
Manchester United failed to seize this opportunity to counterattack.
After holding it in for half an hour, they launched such an anticlimactic attack, which made their players' mentality seem to become anxious.
When Navas was about to take a big kick, Smalling wandered in front of him several times and was given a yellow card by the referee.
The latter retreated to his own side while cursing!
I didn't get the advantage and got a yellow card. It's true that I stole the chicken but lost the rice.
However, Smalling's bad luck didn't seem to be over yet.
In the 39th minute, Manchester City's offense once again hit Manchester United's 30-meter area.
Lin Quan dribbled the ball from the right, and Smalling stepped forward to intercept.
Lin Quan didn't do any fancy performances. He simply used the change of center of gravity to easily get past him. He then cut inside to the edge of the penalty area and completed the shot.
Maybe it was because the referee's previous penalty made him feel angry, or maybe it was because Lin Quan passed him by so cleanly that he felt humiliated.
Smalling didn't know what he was thinking. After Lin Quan passed half of his body, he put a shovel behind his back and knocked Lin Quan to the ground.
The referee did not hesitate to take out a second yellow card to warn him, and then took out a red card and expelled him.
Generally speaking, the referee will be more cautious when showing yellow cards to players who have received yellow cards.
But Smalling is too arrogant. If such an obvious and egregious foul were not called, it would definitely cause countless arguments after the game.
In addition, the Football Association has repeatedly emphasized before the game that this game must be fair and just and strictly in accordance with standards.
In this case, we can only send Manchester United's iron guard off to rest.
"madness!"
Seeing Smalling taking the initiative to apply for a red card, Van Gaal couldn't help but change his face and cursed angrily.
He had never felt so worried when the team fell behind before.
But at this moment, when the team was sent off one person, Van Gaal's heart suddenly lifted.
Although Manchester City is not in its prime now, it is still too reluctant for Manchester United to challenge with 10 people.
The difference in numbers will prevent him from unleashing his tactical power. Even if he sees through the opponent's weaknesses in the second half, it may be difficult to use them effectively!
Lin Quan was pulled up by his teammates. Without even looking at Smalling, who took the initiative to apply for a red card, he carried the football to the spot where the foul was committed and prepared to take the free kick.
The position of the ball was not very good. Lin Quan did not shoot directly. Instead, he hoisted the ball into the penalty area and let his teammates compete for the top.
It's a pity that neither Van Dijk nor Demichelis caught the ball, and the ball was cleared by a Manchester United player.
Manchester United quickly made substitution adjustments, replacing Carrick to ensure the integrity of the back line, and replaced Januzaj.
Carrick guest-starred as central defender, and Manchester United's formation changed to 432.
After taking advantage of the numerical advantage, the situation of the game fell completely into Manchester City's control.
In the 42nd minute, Yaya Toure sent the ball straight to the penalty area. When Lin Quan stopped the ball and turned around to shoot, he was knocked down by Fellaini in the penalty area.
The referee decisively awarded a penalty kick.
Seeing Lin Quan standing at the penalty spot, De Gea was extremely nervous.
He has watched Lin Quan's penalty kick training. This guy will definitely choose to hit the blind spot of the goal!
But the question is, which blind spot is he going to hit?
De Gea had no way to predict in advance and could only wait passively.
Sure enough, Lin Quan chose to hit the blind corner, and it was the upper left corner.
But De Gea could do nothing about it and could only watch the ball go into the net.
Before the end of the first half, Manchester City expanded the score to 2:0.
Considering that there are only 10 opponents, Manchester City, which holds a two-goal lead, seems to be able to declare victory in this game!
However, Manchester United does not seem to intend to surrender just like that.
During the halftime break, Van Gaal indeed made adjustments to Manchester United's lineup.
After the start of the second half, Manchester United's offensive intensity became much stronger, and the players' performance on the field became more active.
It seems that after sleeping in the first half, they finally woke up!