Starting with saving Manchester United

A glimmer of hope has been forged.

The biggest regret in world football can basically be summed up in one sentence.

Tactics were outmaneuvered by star players; the best player didn't win the championship!

Looking at the history of world football, similar tragedies have occurred countless times.

But precisely because of this, stories of underdogs defeating stronger opponents, such as Manchester United in 99 and Liverpool in 05, are often considered classics.

Especially when a classic story also contains a plot twist with many twists and turns, it's absolutely amazing!

Even Yang Fan's previous life, Atletico Madrid, who fought Real Madrid in the Champions League final in 2014, is one of the things that many people find hard to accept.

Atletico Madrid led for so long, only to be equalized at the last minute and concede three goals in extra time.

Simeone's team absolutely has every reason to feel aggrieved about what they have been treated.

Whenever someone mentions it, they can't help but sigh, "It's all fate!"

Yang Fan refused to believe in fate!

Throughout the first half, apart from a brief period of aggressive play at the start where Manchester United had a slight advantage, Real Madrid controlled the game for the rest of the time.

Especially after the score was tied.

Manchester United even struggled to get past the midfield line.

It's not that Real Madrid's pressing pressure in the midfield and attacking third was that great.

On the contrary, the BBC did not actively engage in counter-attacking; they were also conserving their energy.

The real problem is Manchester United themselves.

Due to limited ability, they made too many passing and receiving errors when they reached the attacking third.

Sometimes, during a fast counter-attack, the team might pass the ball around and end up at the opponent's feet.

Or perhaps a player accidentally controls the ball too far when trying to stop it.

Under intense pressure, the technical skills of Manchester United players became very apparent.

Rooney, Fellaini, Ashley Young, Valencia —

That's basically the case.

There was even a time when Carrick passed the ball to Cleverley, only to pass it directly to Modric.

But in any case, Manchester United managed to hold on for a 1-1 draw.

At halftime, back in the home team's locker room, Yang Fan's first action was to point out this problem with the team.

"In the second half, when we transition from defense to attack, if we can't create any threats in the attacking third, we can pass the ball back and control the tempo a bit."

"We have three center-backs in our back line, and two wing-backs on the flanks, so we have a numerical advantage."

More importantly, Real Madrid's attacking trident did not show a strong desire to press high up the pitch.

It's more symbolic than anything else.

However, the three midfielders are very strong at pressing.

Modric and Di Maria, in particular, played incredibly hard.

Moreover, by constantly pushing like this, Manchester United's stamina is being depleted even faster.

In terms of preparation, Manchester United has the advantage in time and more time.

But age is a factor.

In addition, their tactical and technical disadvantages led to greater physical exertion for Manchester United.

If they continue to push themselves like this, Manchester United will definitely suffer in terms of physical fitness.

"Another point is that we didn't get a single corner kick or a single free kick within the opponent's 30-meter zone during the entire first half. This is largely due to our fast-paced attacking style of play."

"Don't forget, we practiced set pieces repeatedly before the match."

Real Madrid's set-piece attacks are exceptional, especially with Ramos, who is extremely threatening.

But Manchester United isn't doing badly either.

Especially against La Liga teams, where they have a height advantage, set pieces are a very important way to score.

After discussing Manchester United's attacking and counter-attacking issues, Yang Fan then moved on to Real Madrid.

Throughout the first half, Real Madrid's overall performance felt very stable.

The process might have been a little rushed in some parts, but overall it was very stable.

After conceding a goal, they remained composed; after equalizing, they remained composed as well.

That's really amazing.

Because they have an overwhelming advantage in overall strength, as long as they perform consistently, it will be enough for them to win the game.

On the other hand, Manchester United, being at a disadvantage in terms of strength, must do more.

Even an adventure.

Once the tactical details had been covered, Mike Phelan, Steve Lund, and others had given their instructions.

After explaining the specific details, Yang Fan took out a small cardboard box and placed it in front of all the players in the locker room.

The cardboard box contained sealed letters.

It was a letter that Yang Fan had asked the players to write on their first night in Spain, a letter to their future.

Because the recipients were not specified, their goals in writing the letters were different.

Some were written to their future selves, some to their future wives or girlfriends, some to their future children, and some were even written to Manchester United fans after the Champions League final.

All of these letters were neatly folded in a cardboard box.

Regardless of what the players were feeling when they wrote those envelopes, after a tough first half, seeing them again evoked a strange feeling in everyone.

It was as if they weren't letters at all.

It's more like a message they wrote to themselves before the game, expressing their courage and determination at this very moment!

Mike Phelan and Steve Lund were all very surprised.

When Yang Fan first asked the players to write letters, they all thought it was just a formality and meaningless.

But at this moment, when they saw the players' eyes as they looked at these envelopes, when they felt the emotional fluctuations and changes within the players, they suddenly realized something.

Could it be that Yang Fan had already planned to use this moment when he decided to have the players write letters?

"Do you remember the contents of the letter?"

"Would you like to open it and take a look?"

Yang Fan's question rang out in the locker room.

But no one answered.

No one reached out to take the letter.

They all still remember.

At least, I remembered everything.

"For the last 45 minutes, I'll say it again: we're not doing this for anyone else, not for the fans, not for Manchester United."

"We only care about ourselves!"

"Guys, for ourselves, give it your all in these last 45 minutes!"

"good!!"

The players responded in unison.

The start of the second half largely mirrored the end of the first half.

Neither team made any personnel adjustments or tactical changes.

Manchester United kicked off first, but after passing the ball back to their own half, it was intercepted as soon as it crossed the halfway line.

Real Madrid launched a quick counter-attack, but Manchester United tightened their defense and held on.

Both sides engaged in a fierce battle for possession inside and outside Manchester United's 30-meter zone.

The first truly threatening attack came in the 48th minute.

Cristiano Ronaldo dropped back to the left side of the center circle to receive the ball and then played a through ball to Gareth Bale.

At this moment, the Welshman is outside the penalty arc of Manchester United, receiving the ball with his back to goal, about to turn and unleash a left-footed shot.

Fortunately, at the crucial moment, Phil Jones rushed out of his goal and made a fierce sliding tackle to take the ball from Gareth Bale's feet without committing a foul.

Manchester United launched a quick counter-attack.

Rooney dribbled forward and played a one-two with Van Persie.

Just outside the center circle of Real Madrid's half, Pepe, who was trailing behind, caught up with him and successfully intercepted the ball.

However, Rooney was ruthless, immediately counter-pressing and entangled Pepe.

Ultimately, the ball hit Pepe and went out of bounds.

"Manchester United's throw-in."

"Both teams played very aggressively after the start of the second half."

"Manchester United are as ruthless as ever."

"Rooney has forced a throw-in in the attacking third for his team."

Although Manchester United's throw-in helped them reach the edge of Real Madrid's penalty area, they still couldn't break through.

The ball was cleared again and kicked back into Manchester United's half.

Two minutes later, Real Madrid created a throw-in opportunity in Manchester United's half.

Coentrao quickly took the throw-in, Di Maria received the ball, suddenly started, dribbled forward, first shaking off Rooney and then getting past Carrick, like a sharp knife stabbing towards Manchester United's penalty area.

But this time Valencia reacted quickly and decisively.

On the left side of the penalty area, he decisively fouled Di Maria, stopping him from entering the penalty area.

Referee Keppers immediately blew his whistle and waved towards Valencia.

The stadium was filled with a cacophony of boos and cheers, a chaotic scene.

"Yellow card!"

"This is the third yellow card of the match, given to Valencia."

"A very obvious foul involving pulling someone."

"It should be said that Real Madrid players are truly exceptionally talented individually."

"Most importantly, they dare to take the ball, dare to dribble, and dare to break through."

"Looking at the Manchester United squad, you really can't find a player like that right now."

This position is perfect for Ronaldo to take the penalty.

Manchester United took this very seriously, and everyone withdrew.

The human wall and defense are both on high alert.

De Gea was also on high alert.

After all, Cristiano Ronaldo's reputation as a free-kick expert is well-deserved.

The Portuguese player's final penalty kick was also quite unexpected.

To everyone's surprise, he threw a ground ball, which went through the jumping wall of players.

It was only at this moment that Yang Fan suddenly realized that it seems relatively rare to see a layout where another person is lying behind a human wall.

However, De Gea stood firmly in his position, kneeling down and holding the ball securely in his arms.

Yang Fan and the fans at the scene applauded enthusiastically.

The tense match made time fly by.

The situation in the game seemed to have frozen.

In the 57th minute, Modric received a through pass from Pepe in the center circle of Manchester United's half, controlled the ball, and turned to dribble past Cleverley.

But Xiao Congrong used both his hands and feet to entangle him.

Modric has great footwork; although he couldn't shake off Cleverley, he still managed to turn around.

Almost at the same time, Carrick quickly switched over.

It looked like the two players were about to double-team each other.

Modric reacted quickly, immediately sending a through pass, trying to get behind Manchester United's defense.

Vidic reacted quickly, diving to intercept the ball and passing it to Phil Jones, who then passed it forward to Rooney.

Rooney was on the right side of the center circle. He didn't control the ball well with his first touch and only managed to control it near the right sideline.

Remembering Yang Fan's instructions during halftime, he didn't continue forward but passed the ball back to Valencia.

It was then passed on to Phil Jones.

Carrick ran back, raised his hand to ask for the ball, received it, and then passed it back to Vidic.

Everyone immediately understood that they needed to control the situation in the backcourt.

Manchester United controlled the ball, and Real Madrid initially tried to win it back in the attacking third, but failed and gradually retreated back to their own half.

After receiving the ball, Carrick first dribbled to the right, but instead of passing to Rooney, he feinted and then suddenly passed the ball to the left side of the midfield.

Ashley Young came up, stopped the ball along the left sideline, and before Modric could rush over, he kicked the ball forward and quickly cut inside the flank.

Fellaini received the ball near the left sideline in the attacking third, stopped it, and without turning around, flicked it behind him.

"A beautiful one-two pass!"

"Manchester United's attack down the left flank."

Ashley Young received the ball, took a touch to the side, and suddenly accelerated to catch up, breaking past Xabi Alonso's defense and rushing into Real Madrid's 30-meter zone.

When Ashley Young dribbled the ball to the left side of Real Madrid's penalty area, Van Persie and Rooney had already moved up to challenge him, but they were blocked by Real Madrid's defenders.

Ashley Young didn't hesitate. After catching up with the ball, he suddenly unleashed a curling shot with his right foot.

"Suddenly unleashing a long-range shot!"

"Casillas made a diving save to tip the ball over the crossbar."

"A very threatening long-range shot, at a very high level."

"This is also the area where Ashley Young is most confident in taking a shot."

"Manchester United corner kick."

"This was also Manchester United's first corner kick of the entire match."

"A long-range shot from Ashley Young."

"Let's look at it from another angle. It's a tricky angle. Casillas is very focused and tips the ball over the crossbar with one hand."

"That was a beautiful save."

"Look at Manchester United's corner kick."

Rooney sprinted quickly from the right side of the penalty arc towards the left corner flag.

He is Manchester United's corner kick taker.

Yang Fan, standing in front of the home team's coaching bench, was calling out the names of several players, signaling them to go up.

We finally managed to win a corner kick, which gave us a glimmer of hope, so of course we have to make the most of it.

On Real Madrid's side, Ancelotti and Zidane also went to the sidelines, loudly reminding the players.