Starting with saving Manchester United

The Manchester United players were acting strangely tonight!

Manchester City players had already sensed this change as they prepared to enter the pitch, even in the players' tunnel.

Once they entered the field and both sides set up their formations, the feeling became even stronger.

Dzeko and David Silva stood in the center circle, ready to kick off.

Manchester United players were positioned around the center circle in their own half of the field.

"Stay alert, don't let your guard down!" Manchester City captain Vincent Kompany, who had just returned from a red card suspension, tightened his armband and shouted to his teammates.

He also sensed the determination in the eyes of the Manchester United players!

This match will be tough!

As soon as referee Michael Oliver blew his whistle, Robin van Persie took the lead and charged straight into Manchester City's half, heading straight for Fernandinho at top speed.

Sure enough, Dzeko passed the ball to David Silva, who immediately passed it back to Fernandinho.

Before the Brazilian midfielder could even receive the ball, Van Persie had already surged forward.

Startled, Fernandinho immediately passed the ball to Yaya Toure, who then passed it back to Kompany.

Van Persie turned his gun on Kompany.

The Belgian passed the ball forward to David Silva on the right side of the midfield.

Almost simultaneously, Fellaini chased back from his own half and marked the Spanish midfielder.

David Silva was forced to pass the ball back to Zabaleta on the right wing.

Fellaini abandoned David Silva and turned towards Zabaleta, forcing the Argentine right-back to launch a long pass into the attacking third.

Dzeko managed to head the ball near Smalling, but only touched it and failed to control it.

The ball landed on the edge of Manchester United's penalty area behind them.

Ferdinand got there first, kicking the ball to Ashley Young on the left wing.

Ashley Young controlled the ball with the outside of his right foot, then made a low, direct pass to Fellaini at the halfway line.

The ball was passed very quickly, and Fellaini didn't control it properly on his first touch.

Zabaleta, Yaya Touré, and David Silva all came up to press the ball.

But the Belgians reacted quickly, kicking the ball back to Cleverley.

Cleverley passed the ball to Ferdinand in the middle, who then made a diagonal pass to Valencia on the right side of the midfield.

Valencia crossed the halfway line and passed the ball to Rooney.

Rooney was blocked and passed back to Carrick.

Carrick made a long diagonal pass, attempting to deliver the ball to the left edge of the penalty area.

Fellaini and Kompany, who rushed out of the penalty area, jumped at the same time to contest the header, but the Manchester City captain cleared the ball with a header.

At this point, less than 30 seconds had passed in the game.

Just as Yaya Touré got the ball and was about to dribble forward, Van Persie desperately chased back and pulled Yaya Touré from behind, trying his best to pull him down.

However, the Ivory Coast midfielders were too physically imposing, and no matter how hard Van Persie tried to pull them down, he couldn't get the better of them.

However, Van Persie's pull slowed down Yaya Touré's dribbling advance.

Manchester City's counter-attack failed to materialize.

Just 10 seconds later, Rooney tracked back to the right side of his own 30-meter zone, and together with Valencia, forcibly dispossessed Nasri and passed the ball back to Phil Jones in the back line.

The entire Old Trafford stadium resounded with cheers from Manchester United fans.

……

"He did not choose to retreat!"

In the away team's coaching bench, Pellegrini glanced sideways at Yang Fan in front of the home team's coaching bench.

He was surprised by Yang Fan's youth when they shook hands.

But looking at it now, Yang Fan was very courageous.

More importantly, Manchester United's players played very hard tonight.

Although it's a city derby and the game is played at home, the players are naturally inclined to fight hard.

But it also depends on who it is.

Didn't Moyes keep losing at home before?

"This kid does have some talent." Assistant coach Kucilias had a high opinion of Yang Fan.

At least he has a pretty good relationship with the Manchester United players on the field.

Pellegrini remained noncommittal.

In the second minute of the match, Manchester United once again intercepted the ball near the halfway line in their own half and launched another attack.

Let's send a direct pass to Fellaini.

Fellaini receives the ball on the left side of Manchester City's 30-meter zone.

If Manchester City catches the ball securely, their defense will be under pressure.

Unfortunately, he still couldn't stop properly.

This kind of ball is fast and powerful, and the pressure from the surrounding defenders is also great, making it very difficult to stop.

After Kompany intercepted the ball, he immediately passed it to Clichy on the left wing.

Clichy had barely left the 30-meter zone when Valencia charged forward.

Rooney also moved closer.

Although Rooney is overweight and slower, his physical fitness remains as good as ever.

And they play very hard on the court.

The most typical example is what happened one minute later.

Manchester City were met with strong resistance from Manchester United just past the halfway line, and quickly launched a counter-attack after losing possession.

I still want to target Fellaini.

But this time it's ground coordination.

The fight still didn't happen.

Just as Manchester City were about to launch a counter-attack, Rooney suddenly dispossessed Fernandinho.

Lu Xiaopang successfully intercepted the ball, causing the entire stadium to erupt in cheers.

When initiating a counter-attack with the ball, facing Demichelis, Lu Xiaopang immediately attempted a one-two pass.

The ball was passed out, but the player couldn't get through.

The speed is too slow.

This is one of the problems Manchester United is facing now.

No speed!

Welbeck is fast, but his playing style is not mature enough.

Most of the other players are not fast.

"So, his current strategy is to focus his defense in the midfield, or even the attacking third?"

Pellegrini was very surprised.

If this were told to others, who would believe it?

Rooney and Fellaini are easy to deal with, but Van Persie is notoriously capricious.

Should we encourage him to actively engage in pressing and winning back possession in the attacking third?

Putting aside whether his body could handle it, Wenger couldn't even get him to agree because of his personality.

However, in the 5th minute of the match, Manchester United launched an attack down the right flank.

Valencia passed the ball to Van Persie, allowing the latter to make a forward run into the attack.

Van Persie wanted to dribble the ball from the right sideline of the penalty area into the penalty area.

As a result, Demichelis was perfectly positioned and intercepted the ball in time.

Just as the Argentine center-back intercepted the ball and was about to launch a counter-attack, Van Persie, who had lost possession, immediately turned around and chased back, intercepting the ball from behind and diving to steal it before Demichelis could pass it.

As a result, the ball touched the ground, but Demichelis was tripped first.

The referee immediately blew his whistle, indicating that Van Persie had committed a foul, and showed him a yellow card.

This made Pellegrini on the sidelines widen his eyes.

Was that guy making that sliding tackle Robin van Persie?

Are you sure I haven't mistaken someone for someone else?

How could Yang Fan get this troublesome guy to put so much effort into defense?

……

Yang Fan had always found it strange that Moyes and Van Persie had ended up like that.

There's absolutely no logic to this!

Why?

Because Van Persie's purpose in coming to Manchester United was very clear, and he invested a huge sunk cost.

He was even subjected to a barrage of insults from Arsenal fans and looked down upon by countless others in his attempt to join Manchester United.

It could be said that, given Van Persie's achievements with Arsenal, he was destined for the Hall of Fame.

Now?

fart!

After investing such a huge sunk cost, Van Persie has no reason not to give his all in the game.

The only reason is that Moyes' series of actions completely disheartened Van Persie, even causing him to give up his professional pursuits.

At this moment, Yang Fan stood in front of the home team's coaching bench, watching Van Persie receive a yellow card and the Manchester United fans cheering for him, but he did not feel proud.

He didn't just persuade Van Persie with words; he had a series of supporting measures.

The Dutch are going to participate in the Brazil World Cup!

But he will fight tooth and nail for Manchester United!

Thinking of this, Yang Fan quickly walked to the sidelines and clapped loudly at Van Persie, who had just received a yellow card and was walking back.

"Well done, Robin, but be careful not to get hurt!"

After hearing Yang Fan's call, Van Persie nodded slightly and quickly rushed towards Demichelis, who had the ball.

"Who said Van Persie doesn't want to defend?"

"Given enough temptation, he's the most ferocious hyena on the field!"

Of course, Van Persie's most important tactical value lies in attacking, not in counter-pressing.

In 2026, everyone said that the transition between offense and defense in tactics is getting faster and faster.

Many people have mentioned the so-called 3-second rule.

Three seconds is just a general term; famous coaches like Guardiola and Mourinho each have different benchmarks.

But a quick transition between offense and defense is one thing, but what happens after it's done?

The player completes the transition between offense and defense within their own 30-meter zone, and is 70 meters from the opponent's goal.

Aside from Real Madrid, which boasts a group of freakishly fast and exceptionally talented players, who else can create such an effective counter-attacking threat from such a distance?

Manchester United?

With Manchester United's current snail-paced pace, they simply can't create any fast counter-attacking threats.

Therefore, neither Moyes nor Van Gaal, either, would generally take it back.

If we take it back, we won't be able to launch an attack.

Especially in such a clash of titans, the speed of offense and defense shifts is extremely fast.

If Manchester United completes a transition within their own 30-meter zone, even if they are able to advance into the opponent's half, by then the opponent will already be on high alert.

Isn't that how the passing squad came about?

After two consecutive victories, Yang Fan and the players have gained some confidence.

In addition, Manchester City doesn't like to have too much possession of the ball.

Pellegrini's team also prefers to quickly move through the midfield, passing the ball to Nasri, David Silva, and Yaya Toure in the attacking third, creating a siege around the penalty area.

Nasri and David Silva are short, agile, and have exquisite footwork.

Yaya Touré's ability to create chances outside the penalty area and his attacking prowess when making runs into the box are among the best in the world.

In this situation, retreating is tantamount to suicide.

However, we shouldn't push too hard either.

Manchester City also has a fast winger, Navas.

Therefore, Yang Fan focused his pressing and tackling efforts on the midline in this match.

Besides these, he also has a specific trump card up his sleeve.

That's Fellaini!

Judging from the first few attacks, they haven't been effective yet.

But Yang Fan stood on the sidelines and looked around. After five minutes of play, all 11 starting players were still in good condition.

Everyone's [organization] is in the yellow light.

But for several people, their confidence has turned green and they are steadfast!

This means they are all willing to risk their lives.

It includes Robin van Persie dressed as a hyena.