Chapter 605: One-sided
The eagerly anticipated first leg of the UEFA Champions League round of 16 came midweek, with Real Madrid hosting Manchester United at the Bernabeu, followed by the second leg at Old Trafford three weeks later.
Ferguson, in an interview, stated: "This is a match the whole world is waiting for, a heavyweight will be eliminated, so it's full of passion and highlights."
For the Galacticos, facing the Red Devils is nothing new. In recent years, Manchester United has fallen to their opponents many times, and Ferguson believes his players should be more patient. "No one knows better than us how strong the opponents are, especially Wang. I believe his praise could fill a book. Regardless of the situation, he always has the potential to turn the tide."
Karim Benzema, the main striker for Manchester United, who has just turned 25, said Real Madrid would pose a significant threat to the Red Devils, despite their apparent lack of lineup. "The Galacticos are a very close-knit team, everyone revolves around the absolute core, we all have a common goal and belief, and the energy we unleash will be very powerful."
The Frenchman seemed to imply something in his words. It is well known that as Ferguson's intention to leave deepens, he gradually loses control of the Manchester United dressing room, driving away Rooney and factions are emerging. All of this has been exposed as the club's performance has declined.
Van Nistelrooy, who played for Manchester United for five years, once said that the current team makes him feel strange. Although their strength on paper may be higher than that of the injury-plagued Galacticos, it's hard to say when it comes to actual competition.
"In the past, in the league, Manchester United would sometimes lead 1-0 and then go on to win convincingly, but when facing a 0-2 deficit, they completely turn into loose sand and fight individually."
"Every player on the field seems very anxious, they can't form a whole anymore. It's undeniable that Ronaldo is very strong, and he has staged many comebacks from adversity, but now the Portuguese seems to be gradually losing that feeling."
Before the start of the match, both sides announced their starting lineups. Real Madrid used a 4-2-3-1 formation, with Casillas as the goalkeeper.
The four defenders were Ramos, Arbeloa, Coentrao, and Essien.
The two defensive midfielders were Wang Feng and Alonso. After several rounds of substitute warm-ups, the Spaniard finally started in this important match, while Essien was placed in the full-back position.
The three midfielders were Modric, Carvajal, and Morata, with Iguaín as the lone striker.
Manchester United also used a 4-2-3-1 formation, with De Gea as the goalkeeper.
The four defenders were Rafael, Ferdinand, Evans, and Evra.
The two defensive midfielders were Carrick and Phil Jones, the three midfielders were Welbeck, Anderson, and Cristiano Ronaldo.
Benzema served as the lone striker.
With the whistle from the Hungarian referee Jigula, Manchester United kicked off first, quickly advancing to the frontcourt. Ronaldo broke through on the wing, evading Ramos and sending a cross, but Benzema's left-footed shot missed the goalpost.
"The Portuguese superstar seems particularly excited today. He probably wants to show some results to the world, proving that he deserves to be selected for the annual best XI and even the Ballon d'Or final candidates."
After noticing this, Wang Feng took the initiative to move over for defensive interception. Ronaldo's explosive start was astonishing and needed to be restricted.
In the 4th minute, Cristiano received a pass from Welbeck on the wing. The Chinese superstar stood two meters in front of him. Ronaldo attempted to use consecutive stepovers and feints to try to get past his opponent.
But Wang Feng kept his center of gravity low and stood firm, not fooled by the feints in front of him, making the Portuguese superstar look somewhat ridiculous, as if he had been electrocuted.
Helpless, Ronaldo could only choose to forcefully push forward with his left foot, then quickly accelerate to try to use his speed to break through, but the Chinese superstar's reaction was also not slow, immediately sticking to him.
At the same time, seizing the opportunity, he made a sliding tackle to poke the ball away from Ronaldo's feet. The Portuguese star exaggeratedly fell to the ground, rolling his face in pain and signaling to the referee for a foul.
However, Jigula remained unmoved and signaled for the game to continue. Wang Feng was also surprised. Even if he didn't mention that he touched the ball first, just now, it felt like neither of them made contact, right?
At this moment, the slow-motion replay on TV also revealed everything that happened just now to the global audience. After the Chinese superstar poked the ball away, Ronaldo suddenly stopped and then jumped forward, attempting to dive, but everyone could clearly see that the two were separated by almost three fists.
"This can only be said that Wang Feng's aura is too strong, scaring Ronaldo into diving repeatedly." Zhang Jun joked.
If failing to deceive the foul doesn't affect the Portuguese star's mentality, what happened in the 6th minute really broke his defense.
Morata failed to break through on the wing with the ball and passed it back. Wang Feng didn't stop the ball and directly knocked it into the penalty area. The two players cooperated to rush into Manchester United's penalty area. The Spaniard then shot a sideways volley from a distance of 16 meters from the goal. The powerful shot flew towards the far end, De Gea barely made a save, the ball passed his fingertips and changed direction slightly, but still hit the inside of the post and went into the net.
1-0! Real Madrid got off to a dream start!
This goal seemed like a thunderbolt hitting the hearts of everyone in Manchester United. Similar to the past, they began to feel a bit anxious and chaotic, even though there was still a long time left in the game.
Ferguson stood on the sidelines, trying to rally his players and constantly shouting for them to slow down the pace and play steadily, but it didn't have much effect because the tactical core, Ronaldo, was eager to attack.
Several consecutive high-speed breakthroughs were intercepted, and Ronaldo could only send out poor quality crosses or directly lose possession. Between these back and forths, Real Madrid began to take control of the game.
In the 22nd minute, Wang Feng dribbled the ball into the frontcourt, passed it to Carvajal on the wing, the Spaniard dribbled laterally to pull the defense, and then passed it back to Alonso in the middle.
Alonso volleyed with his left foot as the ball approached, placing it perfectly in the space between three defending players in the penalty area. The Chinese superstar, who had advanced, used his right foot to volley in mid-air, and the ball flew over De Gea's head into the goal.
"Gooooooooooooooal! The ball is in! Less than half of the first half, Real Madrid is already leading by two goals!"
"Wang Feng, Carvajal, and Alonso formed a continuous triangular pass, and finally the Chinese superstar seized the opportunity to break into the penalty area and score. This goal can only be scored by him."
"The only gap in the densely packed defense, without any stopping or adjustment time, as soon as the chance is there, he has to shoot immediately. After being a defensive midfielder for so long, it seems that Wang Feng hasn't lost his shooting boots. He's still the top-notch striker who always scores when given the chance!"
"This mysterious curve has both an upward and downward trend, as well as an outward arc, successfully deceiving Manchester United goalkeeper De Gea. He was positioned too centrally, so when the ball curved, he was helpless."
"No one expected that what was originally expected to be a fierce battle would turn into a one-sided situation. Manchester United is on the verge of elimination. What's wrong with them?"
"In terms of the game, all the players seem very restless, unable to produce effective offensive cooperation."
"Huh? What's going on? It seems that Ronaldo and Ferdinand are having a dispute. Could it be that the Portuguese star is blaming him for not timely blocking Wang Feng's shooting route just now?"
"But it's not a good time to provoke conflicts, especially since Ronaldo is the captain on the field. Other teammates hurriedly came to dissuade."
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