Starting with saving Manchester United

The first goal of the Champions League final!

Beep!

Referee Keppers' whistle echoed throughout the Stadium of Light.

A deafening chorus of boos erupted from the crowd.

All we could see was Phil Jones colliding with Cristiano Ronaldo from behind while challenging him for a header on the right side of the center circle in Manchester United's half. The referee blew his whistle to indicate that Phil Jones had committed a foul.

Moreover, Kappers warned Phil Jones to back down.

In front of the away team's bench, Zidane walked up to Ancelotti and said in a very confident tone, "Manchester United can't hold on anymore. We need to seize the time and be decisive and fast when we counterattack."

"The best strategy is to initiate a long pass from the backfield to find the attacking third!"

Ancelotti thought for a moment, then nodded and said, "Go and tell them."

Zidane did not refuse. He quickly walked to the sidelines, called out the names of Coentrao, Ramos, and others, and waved his right hand continuously.

The players in the Real Madrid team all understand Zidane's gestures.

As Real Madrid's coaches, Ancelotti and Zidane are very familiar with the team's characteristics.

Positional warfare assault?

Real Madrid can do it, but they're not very good at it.

Because we lack a very strong center forward!

Cristiano Ronaldo, Benzema, and Gareth Bale, using the BBC trio to pin their opponents within 30 meters and launch attacking offensives, may look impressive, but the results are not necessarily good.

Therefore, when Mourinho was managing Real Madrid, he loaned out a powerful center forward like Adebayor.

In recent years, more and more people have been influenced by pseudo-strikers like Totti and scoring wingers like Ronaldo and Messi, seriously neglecting the role of the center forward.

Even players like Benzema and Suarez aren't considered powerful center forwards.

But when it comes to positional warfare, especially offensive battles, the role of a powerful center forward like Drogba is irreplaceable.

Both Ancelotti and Zidane believe that this point will be recognized by more and more people over time.

Real Madrid's greatest strength has never been in positional warfare.

It's about speed!

Lightning speed!

Whether it's Ancelotti or Zidane, their primary consideration is to maximize Real Madrid's speed.

After Real Madrid kicked off, they quickly switched the ball to the right flank.

As if to confirm Zidane's judgment.

Carvajal made a quick forward run, received the ball outside the 30-meter zone, and delivered a cross, aiming to find Ronaldo at the far post inside the penalty area.

As a result, Phil Jones effectively blocked Ronaldo near the left corner of the six-yard box, making it difficult for Ronaldo to get to the ball.

Valencia quickly retreated to the byline to receive the ball, but was disrupted by Di Maria. He immediately passed the ball to Carrick, who then launched a long pass into the attacking third.

At this point, Real Madrid's defensive line had pushed up to near the midfield line.

Carrick's long pass found its way behind the defense.

As Van Persie made a quick forward run, his body was pinned tightly behind him by Pepe.

Pepe beat them to the ball and passed it across to Carvajal, who was tracking back to defend.

Carvajal controlled the ball and dribbled forward with great strides, quickly initiating a counter-attack.

Real Madrid's attacking trident really took off, moving incredibly fast.

When Carvajal reached the halfway line, the BBC had already rushed to the edge of Manchester United's penalty area.

If the game had stopped at that moment, everyone would have noticed that Real Madrid's entire formation was completely disjointed.

All three BBC players have rushed to the outside of Manchester United's penalty area.

But what about Real Madrid's midfield?

Apart from Di Maria on the left side of Manchester United's 30-meter zone, Modric, Xabi Alonso, and others were all still near the midfield line.

Carvajal dribbled the ball to the right side of the center circle, where Coentrao was also running along the left sideline.

From the Manchester United penalty area to the midfield line, Manchester United players were tracking back to defend.

This is a typical counter-attack moment for Real Madrid!

Carvajal doesn't need to worry about much at all.

When he dribbled the ball to the halfway line, he saw Benzema already raising his hand outside the arc, asking for the ball.

Gareth Bale on the right wing has really taken off.

How to do it?

Carvajal delivered a long, low pass, sending the ball from the halfway line to the edge of Manchester United's penalty area.

BBC vs. Manchester United's three-man defense.

Benzema, who was originally standing with Vidic, suddenly pulled back, moved out, and rushed towards the ball. However, instead of receiving it, he turned sideways and used the inside of his right foot to chip Carvajal's pass into the right side of the penalty area behind the Manchester United defense.

At almost the same time, Gareth Bell had already taken off and cut diagonally into the area behind Smalling.

The entire stadium erupted in gasps of surprise.

In front of the away team's coaching bench, Zidane was already excitedly pointing towards Manchester United's goal.

"Charge! Kill Manchester United!"

"Goal! I need to see a goal!!!"

Gareth Bale is too fast.

Vidic quickly turned around to chase back, and Smalling tried to foul him, but it was too late.

Just as Gareth Bale was about to catch up with the ball, De Gea decisively rushed out of his goal.

Fall to the ground, turn sideways, slide, and catch the ball with both hands!

De Gea caught the ball just in time, ahead of Gareth Bale.

Benzema's pass was beautiful, but it was a little too close to the goal.

If it were just a little further to the right, Gareth Bale would have been able to take a shot.

All the fans in the stadium gasped in unison.

Manchester United fans were still shaken by the ordeal, while Real Madrid fans were more disappointed at failing to score first.

First they sprinted back to defend, and now they're sprinting to attack. Both teams' players are expending a lot of energy in this continuous rapid sprinting.

Everyone needs to catch their breath.

When De Gea got up from the ground, he was holding the ball in his hands, while the players from both teams around him were still catching their breath.

Gareth Bale reached out and ruffled De Gea's hair as a gesture of approval.

But the Welshman didn't notice that De Gea was completely oblivious to his actions, instead looking up into the distance.

There is someone raising their hand.

Fellaini clearly remembers that two months ago, when Yang Fan had just taken over Manchester United, he was approached for a talk.

The conversation revolved entirely around Moyes.

Yang Fan said that Fellaini's performance will determine everyone's evaluation of Moyes' time as manager of Manchester United.

This sentence has always inspired Fellaini.

Perhaps Moyes' experience managing Manchester United was destined to be a failure.

But Fellaini still hopes that through his own hard work and performance, everyone can see that Moyes's management of Manchester United was not entirely without merit.

Therefore, he worked exceptionally hard in every match.

Not to mention the Champions League final!

When Carvajal launched a counter-attack, Fellaini was the first to be caught off guard and immediately tracked back to intercept.

However, Carvajal passed the ball to Benzema near the halfway line, and Fellaini stopped.

He did not continue to retreat to defend.

Because he saw that Cleverley, Carrick, Ashley Young, and others had all gone back.

More importantly, he had a mission.

If they concede the ball, it will be too late for him to go back.

But what if the ball hadn't been lost?

Manchester United's counter-attacks were slow.

This is a widely accepted fact!

Therefore, counter-attacks cannot rely on the speed of the players, but on the speed of the pass.

When Fellaini saw De Gea rush out of his goal and dive to catch the ball, he immediately realized the opportunity.

The Belgian quickly turned to look around.

Carvajal and Coentrao are both still pushing forward.

Modric and Di Maria also made forward runs.

Even Xabi Alonso has caught up with Fellaini.

Before Fellaini, only Pepe and Ramos were ahead of him.

Teammate Robin van Persie also remained in Real Madrid's half.

When Fellaini's gaze met Van Persie's, the two exchanged information.

As De Gea got up from the ground and Gareth Bale reached out to grab his hair, Fellaini had already started running forward.

But instead of running straight toward the goal, he veered slightly to the left and raised his right hand high.

His right hand is the lighthouse!

His positioning was to create space between Pepe and Ramos.

De Gea saw it.

Once the Spanish goalkeeper determined the direction, he didn't hesitate at all, quickly stepped forward, and launched a long kick.

The football was like a cannonball, flying at extremely high speed from Manchester United's penalty area, across the halfway line, and into Real Madrid's half, landing on the left side of the 30-meter zone.

"Danger!"

"Manchester United's swift counter-attack!"

Fellaini kept turning his head back, judging where the ball would land.

Pepe is doing the same thing.

The two rushed towards the landing point on the left side of the 30-meter area at almost the same time.

Pepe is no longer concerned with heading the ball back into Manchester United's half; he's just focused on heading it out of bounds.

This is the cleanest and most efficient solution.

But once Fellaini gets going, it's like a heavy tank speeding down a highway at Ferrari speeds.

The two jumped at almost the same time, but Pepe was at a disadvantage.

Because Fellaini can fully utilize the momentum gained from a sprint.

More importantly, Fellaini had no intention of doing anything to the ball.

His task was simple: head the ball towards the penalty area.

So, the Belgian only headed the ball once before colliding with Pepe.

Almost simultaneously, Van Persie sprinted forward along the middle, confusing Ramos.

When Pepe and Fellaini had both judged the landing point and were running to head the ball, Van Persie suddenly changed direction, running diagonally behind Pepe and cutting into the left side of the penalty area.

When Fellaini's header came in, it landed on the left side of the edge of the penalty area and bounced up, just as Van Persie arrived in time.

Ramos's speed in getting back to defense was incredibly fast, and his concentration was extremely high; he stayed right next to Van Persie the whole way.

His plan was to wait until Van Persie controlled the ball, then cut inside and block Van Persie's shot with his body.

Or it could force Van Persie to stop the ball on the left side of the penalty area, making it impossible for him to shoot.

Real Madrid goalkeeper Casillas also felt that Ramos was faster, more agile, and positioned on the inside, which should have been able to stop Van Persie's shot.

Therefore, Casillas did not come out, but stood in the left side of the six-yard box near the post, blocking the near post.

It should be said that neither of the Real Madrid players handled the situation very well.

Anyone who has played football knows just how fast and difficult to control a long pass from such a distance, after being headed on and bouncing off the ground.

For any other striker, the safest approach would be to control the ball first before taking a shot.

In this way, Ramos was able to cut in.

But they happened to encounter a guy named Van Persie who didn't play by the rules.

We saw that after the Dutchman caught up with the ball, he didn't stop it, but instead chased after it and adjusted his pace.

On the left side of Real Madrid's penalty area, as the ball fell again, Van Persie steadied himself with his right foot, then grabbed it with his left and unleashed a powerful volley.

This was completely beyond Ramos's expectations.

By the time the Real Madrid center-back realized what was happening and tried to stop it, it was too late.

Even more absurdly, Van Persie's volley wasn't aimed at the near post.

Such a fast ball, a volley shot, and it even hits the far corner?

Casillas was standing on the left side of the six-yard box when he saw Van Persie unleash a powerful shot, and he was thinking of making a save at the near post.

As a result, a gust of wind swept by, and the football struck the inside of the net on Real Madrid's right post with lightning speed.

Casillas didn't even have time to make a save.

The ball had already gone into the far corner.

"GOALLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL!!!!!!"

"16th minute, 16th minute of the first half, Van Persie!!!"

"A spectacular volley from Dutch striker Robin van Persie!"

"My first Champions League final goal of my professional career!"

Van Persie let out a roar that seemed to go on forever, then turned and rushed to the sidelines, shouting incessantly.

Fans throughout the stadium rushed out of their seats in excitement, shouting at the top of their lungs.

The moment Van Persie scored, Yang Fan excitedly rushed out of the coaching area, waving his hands incessantly.

"Well done, Robin!"

Manchester United players rushed off the pitch and surrounded Van Persie on the sidelines.

The score on the scoreboard instantly became 1-0!

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