Starting with saving Manchester United

From Olympiacos to West Ham United, and now to Manchester City, after this three-game winning streak, Yang Fan has finally stepped into the spotlight.

The morning after the match against Manchester City, major British media outlets were scrambling to report on the midweek rescheduled game.

If everyone attributed the comeback victory against Olympiacos and the resounding win against West Ham United to the players, then Yang Fan, as the team's interim head coach, received media recognition for his role in the match against Manchester City.

The Times commented immediately after last night's match, "The young Chinese have awakened Manchester United!"

The following morning, The Times published an analysis suggesting that Yang Fan had passed a major test.

In this Manchester derby, Yang Fan delivered a near-perfect performance!

The Times believes that the relentless attacking pressure in the first half and the decisive substitutions made against Manchester City's counterattack in the second half were crucial to the outcome of the match.

The aggressive attack helped Manchester United establish a two-goal lead in the first half.

The substitution of Mata for Cleverley in the second half quickly unified the team's thinking, stabilized their position, and even led to Van Persie's goal.

"Even if Ferguson were still alive, this would probably be the best he could do!" The Times commented.

In another report on the same page, The Times analyzed the tactics and player performances in the three games after Yang Fan temporarily took over the team.

Switching to a three-defender formation is a groundbreaking move in the Premier League.

But judging from the last three matches, the effect has been very good.

The decision to appoint Ashley Young and Valencia as wing-backs on the two flanks was particularly impressive.

More importantly, the three-defender formation perfectly solved the compatibility problem between Rooney, Fellaini, Juan Mata and Van Persie, becoming the optimal solution for Manchester United's current squad.

"According to information obtained by our reporter from Manchester United, Yang Fan devised the specific tactical arrangements with the assistance of Mike Phelan and Steve Lande. He is indeed completely ignorant of professional football tactics."

"But precisely because of this, he was able to stand at a higher strategic level, formulate the decision to switch Manchester United to a three-defender system, and successfully revitalize the team!"

According to The Times, after defeating Manchester City, Yang Fan has gained the Glazer family's approval and will lead the team for the rest of the season.

"For Manchester United, who are currently experiencing their lowest point in nearly 30 years, this is arguably the best option!"

The Times also reminded everyone that although the recent three-game winning streak has boosted Manchester United's morale, it has also led many to have unrealistic fantasies, even hoping for Champions League qualification next season.

"Whether considering the schedule or the team's strength, Manchester United's chances of participating in next season's Champions League are slim."

"Unless you're willing to believe that Manchester United can win the Champions League this season!"

Winning the Champions League would allow Manchester United to finish as defending champions and finish fourth in the league, qualifying for next season's Champions League.

But that's simply impossible!

……

The Guardian also gave extensive coverage to the Manchester derby in its morning paper.

In the dressing room after the 1-3 defeat to Manchester United, Pellegrini lost his temper and flew into a rage.

According to sources within Manchester City, Pellegrini even pointed at the players and yelled: "You handed over the Premier League title!"

The Chilean engineer did not lose his composure at the post-match press conference.

Regarding this match, Pellegrini believes that the team was a bit too overconfident at the start of the first half.

"We underestimated Manchester United's determination and fighting spirit."

"They put a lot of pressure on us through their hard work and the fighting spirit of the Red Devils."

Pellegrini did not directly comment on Manchester United's appointment of a 25-year-old rookie as manager.

"We lost a game we shouldn't have lost."

"We actually played very well at the start of the first half, but we made mistakes."

"Being down by two goals in the first half forced us to work even harder in the second half, and we played very well."

"When David Silva scored, everyone believed that we could turn the tide, equalize, or even defeat our opponents, and for a period of time afterward, we did just that."

"Van Persie's goal came after Mata came on; it was a very brave substitution!"

Besides The Guardian, British media outlets such as The Sun, the Daily Mail, the Daily Telegraph, and the Daily Mirror are also focusing on this match, especially Manchester United's transformation.

Unlike the past week, their evaluations of Yang Fan were mostly positive.

The Daily Mail even went so far as to deliberately stir up controversy by reporting that Moyes would never have made a substitution like replacing Cleverley with Mata in the second half.

Why has Manchester United, which had been in a slump for most of the year, been successfully revitalized in the past week?

"Moyes simply cannot bear the weight of Manchester United."

"But the young Yang Fan gave everyone at Manchester United a glimmer of hope!"

The BBC interviewed Manchester United's Rooney after the match.

In the three games since Yang Fan took over the team, Rooney has been the key player.

This was also the first time Rooney had commented on this rookie manager, who was being ridiculed by the whole of England, in front of the media.

"At the beginning, including myself, no one expected that a young man who had never played football before and was even younger than us could lead the team out of the mire."

"But he quickly made us feel the change."

"The biggest change?"

"I think it should be about communication; he was willing to listen and respect our needs!"

Did Moyes disrespect the demands of Manchester United players in the past?

"This is different."

"Some head coaches are willing to communicate with the players, but their purpose in communicating is to instill their ideas in us. They domineeringly tell us, 'Come on, I'll teach you how to do it.'"

"But Yang is different; he respects us a lot."

"His purpose in communicating with us was, 'Come on, buddy, tell me, how can I help you do better?'"

"And he really will do it."

Interestingly, Van Persie also mentioned this point in an interview with The Sun.

"In fact, sometimes we don't even know if the ideas we come up with are right or if they can be done."

"Because the head coach has to consider the overall teamwork."

"Some head coaches communicate with the players frequently, but the results are terrible."

How bad was it?

"It's like when I tell him I'm hungry, he'll instinctively argue back, 'No, I don't think you're hungry. You just ate, you can't be hungry...' and then he'll come up with a whole bunch of reasons to try and convince me."

"But is it possible that I am actually hungry?"

"What makes Yang Fan different?"

"When I tell him I'm hungry, he'll tell me, 'Okay, shall we have some afternoon tea? Or something else?'"

Van Persie stated that Yang Fan truly doesn't understand football.

"But he's the kind of person you'd genuinely want to play for!"

"Is that why you hugged him after scoring?"

Van Persie nodded. "It was an impulsive act, but he really helped me!"

……

Yang Fan looked at the news briefing submitted by Jackie Kay, which was almost entirely full of praise.

Especially the reports about Manchester United players commenting on themselves.

But the style of the following illustrations is a bit off.

Manchester United beat Manchester City 3-1 at home, what does that have to do with Liverpool?

However, in an interview with the Liverpool Echo, Gerrard surprisingly said that he watched the game with great excitement.

Why are you getting so worked up? You're just being agitated!

When Liverpool thrashed Manchester United 3-0 at Old Trafford, how could you not be excited?

And Mourinho.

This bastard even jumped out to make his presence known, praising Manchester United's management for making a timely change of manager, saying that the 3-1 victory dashed Manchester City's championship dreams.

Ultimately, it's all the champion's fault!

Currently, there are only three teams in the Premier League that are qualified to compete for the title.

After losing to Manchester United, Manchester City has 67 points and is ranked 3rd in the Premier League.

Chelsea leads the table with 69 points, followed closely by Liverpool with 68 points.

Having already played one game less, if Manchester City had beaten Manchester United, they would have 70 points and would have directly topped the table.

Now look what's happened! Manchester United has crushed Manchester City, benefiting Chelsea and Liverpool.

More importantly, this weekend's match is Manchester City's away game against Arsenal, who are currently fourth in the Premier League.

If Manchester City gets crushed by Wenger in London, Chelsea and Liverpool will be thrilled.

Thinking about it this way, Yang Fan actually felt that Mourinho and Gerrard hadn't been praised enough.

"Jackie, next time you give a presentation, try to avoid these kinds of praising reports and listen to more constructive feedback. We still have a lot of flaws," Yang Fan instructed his assistant.

Jackie Kay smiled and nodded, but her eyes betrayed her disbelief.

Little brother, you were laughing so hard when you were looking at the briefing, are you still pretending?

……

After having breakfast at the restaurant, Yang Fan went to a small conference room to have a meeting with the coaching team.

Because they had a day off in the morning, the coaching staff had plenty of time.

Last night's battle was indeed a beautiful victory, but it also exposed many problems.

The first issue is injuries.

It's perfectly normal for professional athletes to have injuries.

By March and April, player injuries had become commonplace.

But Manchester United can't afford any more setbacks right now.

Especially the key players.

"Andy, Paul, you guys need to keep a close eye on Van Persie's knees."

"And Rooney, Ferdinand, Carrick, oh, and Evra."

According to the player physical assessment report submitted by Andy Walker, Evra also has a serious risk of injury.

If he also gets injured, then Manchester United will only have Ashley Young left on the left flank.

"I know, we will keep a close eye on it."

"We also need to pay attention to the training schedule," Yang Fan said, looking at Steve Lund.

The latter immediately nodded in agreement.

"Although we won the game 3-1 last night, there's still something to talk about regarding the goal we conceded."

As soon as Yang Fan finished speaking, Mike Phelan took over the conversation.

"In a three-defender formation, the area between the wing-backs and the center-backs has always been a major challenge for defense."

Previously, Navas tightly marked the right flank, mainly relying on crosses, which posed little threat to Manchester United's defense.

But later, when Milner came on, he would cut inside laterally or diagonally whenever he had the chance, looking to link up with David Silva and Yaya Toure, which caused Manchester United a lot of trouble.

That's how we conceded goals.

"You need to think of a solution as soon as possible, and we also need to focus on strengthening it in training." Yang Fan's expression was very serious.

You can relax when you need to, but you need to tighten up afterward.

"Don't forget, a week from now, we'll be visiting Camp Nou to face superstars like Messi, Neymar, and Sanchez. They all possess exceptional individual abilities, and the threat they create when they get the ball will be far more terrifying than Milner's!"

Yang Fan's words instantly dispelled the relaxed atmosphere brought about by the winning streak and media reports, making everyone tense again.

Manchester United really have little chance of winning against Barcelona.

Never take chances!

"Now that we've already exposed our weaknesses in the match and we're aware of them, our opponents will definitely take them seriously and make targeted adjustments."

"If we don't solve this problem, we're doomed when we get to Camp Nou!"

Yang Fan is very unprofessional; he doesn't know how to solve this problem or how to improve it, so he can only leave it to the coaching staff.

Mike Phelan and Steve Lund will understand.

His current role is to point out the problems and urge them to find solutions as soon as possible.

While Yang Fan and the coaching staff were having a meeting, Woodward, accompanied by John Motaff, visited Carrington again.

Woodward also brought Yang Fan the latest news.