Green Field Eunuch

Chapter 493 is still not quite right.
The game started soon.

From the outset, Manchester United displayed a very aggressive approach, launching a fierce offensive against Manchester City.

The overlapping runs of the two wingers made Manchester United's entire formation appear very advanced, and their attacks often reached the byline. Fortunately, Ashley Young and Welbeck were indeed a bit selfish, so there weren't many opportunities to actually deliver crosses.

Manchester City then gradually stabilized the situation and began to launch counterattacks.

Manchester United's defensive retreat was very quick. Apart from Van Persie, who was at the forefront, everyone else was able to quickly retreat to their own half during the transition between attack and defense, showing everyone their determination to defend.

Manchester City didn't get many good chances against Manchester United's tough defense. Their attack was interrupted after passing through midfield. Manchester United then launched a counter-attack, but Shinji Kagawa's pass was blocked. Rooney won the ball back and passed it back to Carrick, which stabilized the situation a little. After that, a series of passes from the backfield slowed down the pace from the fast pace at the beginning of the game.

At this point in time, everyone thought Manchester United would take a break and slow down the pace of the game a little.

In fact, that's exactly what they did. In the following period, Manchester United's attacking speed was not fast, the passing and coordination between players slowed down, there were far more lateral passes than forward passes, and they didn't have much time to attack into the frontcourt from the middle and wings.

Then, when Manchester City launches an attack, they will immediately face Manchester United's tough defense.

Once, twice.

After ten minutes of play, the overall offensive and defensive rhythm of the two teams and the overall situation of the game gradually became clear.

Then people were surprised to find that Manchester United had changed.

Although Manchester United is not a representative of attacking football, they are generally considered to be a team that focuses more on attack in the Premier League. They are also a typical English team that relies on both wings and emphasizes fast-paced attacks down both flanks.

However, after ten minutes of play, people noticed that Manchester United's 4-4-1-1 formation seemed to have turned into a 4-3-3 formation. The midfield consisted of Carrick, Ashley Young, and Welbeck as the three defensive midfielders. Although Shinji Kagawa and Wayne Rooney became the two wingers among the three forwards, they spent most of their time near the midfield line and would immediately drop back if there was any danger. Only Robin van Persie was truly up front.

This is a very typical defensive counter-attacking style of play.

The fans in the stands around the stadium naturally noticed this. They never expected that Manchester United would play this Mourinho-style 4-3-3 formation, which they used to despise, at their home ground.

The Manchester City players on the field felt it even more acutely. Every time they attacked, no matter which way they started, they faced Manchester United's toughest defense, and the entire defensive line was tough against them.

Manchester United's attack was mediocre. Apart from a few strong attacks at the beginning, they slowed down the pace afterwards, as if they were just stalling for time, constantly passing the ball around and back, without any hurry to attack.

This is not like Manchester United.

Manchester United now gives the impression of constant defense, with everyone on the defensive and only Van Persie positioned up front to look for opportunities.

Commentator Gary Lineker also pointed out: "Manchester United played very cautiously today, focusing 80% of their attention on defense. If you only look at their performance, it's hard to believe this is Manchester United..."

Guest Alan Shearer quipped, "I thought Manchester City's opponents this round were West Ham United and Everton..."

The BBC invited two guests: Alan Shearer and Gary Neville, a Manchester United legend who recently retired. Faced with Alan Shearer's taunts, Gary Neville had to stand up for his mentor.

"This is the right thing to do!"

"If the game were played normally, Shan Yongzhuo alone would be enough to give Manchester United a huge headache." "I have played against Shan Yongzhuo on the field before. His strength is completely unreasonable. Defending against him alone could bring down the entire defense. That's football. Victory is the only goal."

"The boss chose the right approach: solidify the backline defense and use Van Persie as a pivot, along with the attacking power of Ashley Young and Welbeck on the wings, to launch counter-attacks. This is the best way to minimize Shan Yongzhuo's threat."

Gary Neville's analysis was indeed Ferguson's idea.

The last match between Manchester City and Malaga spurred Ferguson to realize that he was truly helpless against Shan Yongzhuo, and even felt a deep fear of him. Rather than wasting endless energy on Shan Yongzhuo alone, he might as well simply adopt the same tactics Mourinho used against Barcelona and launch a defensive strategy.

While we may not be able to defend the goal, we can at least minimize Shan Yongzhuo's chances of scoring.

In this league match, a victory isn't always necessary; a draw would also be a good option for Manchester United.

After all, they were still leading by three points.

Although parking the bus at home in a city derby would look bad, that doesn't matter.

For Ferguson, encountering Shan Yongzhuo at the end of his coaching career was already tragic enough; now he only wants to help Manchester United win back a league title before retiring.

Of course, it all depends on the performance of the players on the field.

Especially Shan Yongzhuo's performance.

On the field, Shan Yongzhuo remained the focus of attention, even though he barely touched the ball, the cameras still frequently pointed at him.

In the past fifteen minutes of the game, Shan Yongzhuo had touched the ball three times, was dispossessed twice, and could only pass it back to his teammate the last time.

Facing such a tough and dense defense from Manchester United, it's difficult to even seize opportunities to use skills, let alone rely on one's own strength.

Shan Yongzhuo also deeply understood this point.

Fifteen minutes into the game, even without outside analysis, players like Shan Yongzhuo, whose tactical abilities were relatively limited, had already grasped Manchester United's tactical philosophy.

Fortunately, Manchester United opted to park the bus, which gave Manchester City more attacking opportunities.

Dan Yongzhu retreated twice, trying to find opportunities on the outside, and also got a chance to lob the ball over the goalkeeper.

Unfortunately, the position was still too far away. Without using his powerful leg kick, even though the quality of the shot was very high, the power was still lacking, and it was ultimately saved by De Gea, preventing him from scoring.

“It’s still not working!”

After trying twice, Shan Yongzhuo shook his head helplessly.

A series of lobbed shots did present a chance, but the odds were slim, given the distance. However, the opponent's defense in front of the penalty area was incredibly strong. Even with skills, dribbling forward wouldn't be easy, given the tight and compact defense; finding a shooting opportunity would be extremely difficult.

(End of this chapter)