Starting with saving Manchester United

Chapter 74 Beware of Van Persie!

From the moment they stepped into Old Trafford, everyone at Barcelona knew that tonight's match would be very difficult!

The fans in the stands turned all their fear, anxiety, and unease into wild cheers, supporting their home team.

The players on the field all looked determined.

This is clearly a fight to the death!

Especially when the players from both teams lined up near the center circle, ready to kick off, it wasn't hard for the Barcelona players to see the two words written in the eyes of the Manchester United players.

Go to hell!

Amid applause from Manchester United fans, Yang Fan walked out of the players' tunnel.

After a six-game winning streak, especially with victories against strong opponents, Yang Fan has successfully won over the discerning Manchester United fans.

At the very least, what greeted Yang Fan was no longer a half-eaten pizza.

Instead, it was their applause and cheers.

-

Yang Fan first went to the away team's coaching bench and shook hands with Martino.

The two exchanged a few polite words.

Yang Fan walked back to the home team's coaching bench and stood there. He glanced around the field and first noticed the positions of the Barcelona players.

It was exactly the same as the first round.

Manchester United kicked off first.

Van Persie and Rooney stood in the center circle, ready to kick off.

Messi is positioned on the right side outside the center circle, while Neymar is on the left side outside the center circle.

Iniesta is behind Messi, and at the bottom of the center circle are Fabregas, Busquets, and Xavi.

How things will change during the match is anyone's guess.

However, judging from the starting lineup, it's still the same as the first leg.

"This shouldn't be happening."

Yang Fan walked back to the home team's coaching bench and picked up a bottle of water.

"The formation shown on the TV broadcast had Fabregas playing as a false nine, Neymar on the left, and Messi on the right, but in reality, the situation was completely the opposite," Paul Brand said with a wry smile.

Yang Fan smiled as well.

He often noticed this problem when watching football in his previous life.

The referee for this match was Jonas Eriksson from Sweden.

The moment he blew the whistle to start the match, Rooney, in the center circle, passed the ball to Van Persie, who then kicked it back into the backfield and passed it to Carrick.

At almost the same time, Messi was already making a forward run at top speed, closing in on Carrick.

Neymar also charged forward at the same time.

In addition, Iniesta was also right behind Messi.

Barcelona displayed an aggressive style of play from the very beginning.

Carrick received the ball in his own 30-meter zone and, before Messi could get close, immediately passed it to Smalling, then to Ashley Young on the left wing.

But just as Ashley Young received the ball, Neymar had already rushed over.

Harvey also rushed to the left side of the center line immediately.

This allowed Ashley Young to control the ball initially and then try to cut past Neymar, but he failed and Neymar touched the ball instead.

In his haste, he tried to dribble the ball past Xavi, but ended up dribbling it out of bounds.

Barcelona's throw-in.

A round of applause still erupted throughout Old Trafford.

This is encouragement from Manchester United fans to Ashley Young.

Yang Fan glanced at the court and quickly walked to the sidelines.

"Tom!" he called out loudly, his hands cupped in front of his face.

When Cleverley looked over, Yang Fan pointed into the distance and said, "Pay attention to that side."

Cleverly raised his right hand high to indicate that he had received it.

Yang Fan promptly reinforced the left flank, but Barcelona failed to find an opportunity after throwing the ball in.

Xavi made a long back pass, sending the ball back to his own 30-meter zone and into Mascherano's hands.

Yang Fan stood on the sidelines, waving his hands and shouting, "Push them down! Engage them!"

This is also a lesson Manchester United learned after the first leg.

The pace of the game must not slow down!

Barcelona prefers a slow pace, and once they gain possession and slowly organize and penetrate the defense, Manchester United is in danger.

The victory in the first round was based on a fast pace.

Whenever Barcelona passes the ball back, it means they want to draw their opponents out of the box.

If the opponent doesn't follow, they can naturally control the pace of the game.

This is what many fans are familiar with: passing the ball around in the backfield!

One of the challenges of top-level professional football is that once the pace of the game slows down, it is very difficult for Manchester United, who are at a disadvantage in possession, to pick up the pace again.

It's practically impossible.

Even if the second half restarts, it will be difficult to recover from that level of physical exhaustion.

That's why Yang Fan asked the players to push forward.

Van Persie and Rooney, the two attacking players, quickly rushed forward, forcing Barcelona's two center-backs to pass the ball back to the goalkeeper.

Busquets ran back along the middle, raising his hand to receive the ball.

But when Pinto passed the ball to Busquets on the left side of the penalty area, just outside the box...

Fellaini quietly advanced behind Busquets and almost intercepted the ball.

Busquets was caught off guard and almost lost the ball, so he immediately passed it back to goalkeeper Pinto.

Pinto, seeing the situation was not good, immediately kicked forward with a powerful kick.

The ball crossed the halfway line and landed outside Manchester United's 30-meter zone.

Amid cheers from the crowd, Vidic rushed out first and headed the ball back into Barcelona's half.

But Barcelona quickly regained control of the second ball and won possession again.

Manchester United tracked back very quickly.

By the time Barcelona passed the ball to Manchester United's right flank and gave it to Iniesta, with Alba following up to launch an attack, Manchester United's defensive formation was already largely in place.

Phil Jones, Carrick, and Valencia, in particular, have all come on top.

Iniesta immediately passed the ball back to the center, to Fabregas, then to Xavi, and then to Neymar on the left wing of Manchester United.

As soon as Neymar got the ball, Ashley Young had already rushed up to him.

Just as the Brazilian was about to attempt a breakthrough, he noticed Smalling and Cleverley closing in, so he immediately braked and passed the ball back.

The help defenders have already closed in. Even if Ashley Young gets past them, whether he goes to the baseline or cuts inside, it will be very difficult for him to get past the help defenders again.

Barcelona then passed the ball back to their center-backs and tried to switch it to Manchester United's right flank.

Still no chance, so the ball is passed back, and then back to the left side.

When Alves moved forward to join the attack, Iniesta, playing on the left wing, had already appeared in the middle.

Yang Fan noticed it from the sidelines.

Messi mostly plays in the middle, holding off Manchester United's center-backs, ready to make forward runs at any time.

Clearly, in the first leg, Messi's solo goal against Ferdinand and Vidic has inspired Martino to try and replicate that at Old Trafford.

"Nemanja, watch out!" Yang Fan pointed at Messi and shouted at Vidic.

Vidic did not respond after hearing this, his attention was focused on Neymar's attack on the left, but he still turned his head to glance at Messi to confirm the Argentine's position.

With Neymar and Alves, plus Xavi, and Iniesta coming over, Barcelona had a total of four players committed to Manchester United's left flank.

But Manchester United's lineup includes Smalling, Ashley Young, Cleverley, and Fellaini.

Although it was supposed to be a four-on-four defense, Manchester United had the support of the sidelines, and the Red Devils didn't actively try to win the ball, focusing more on blocking and cutting off Barcelona's passing lanes.

After several short passing combinations, seeing that he couldn't break through Manchester United's defensive formation, Alves passed the ball back to the center-back again.

The Manchester United fans in the stands erupted in thunderous applause once again.

Being able to repel Barcelona's attack is itself a successful defense!

The whole process sounds long, but it actually took only 2 minutes; the pace was very fast.

Barcelona kept passing the ball back and forth on both flanks, but couldn't find a chance.

When the ball returned to Manchester United's right flank and was passed to Alba, who had already moved to the winger position, the Spaniard, upon receiving the ball, did not continue to the byline but instead cut inside, attempting to pass between Valencia and Carrick.

As a result, he was double-teamed by two defenders and the ball was stolen.

Alba fell to the ground, but the Swedish referee did not blow his whistle to call a foul, instead signaling for the game to continue.

Manchester United launched a quick counter-attack.

Unfortunately, this attack down the right flank ended with Valencia's cross hitting Pique and being collected by Pinto.

Yang Fan applauded the players enthusiastically from the sidelines.

The Manchester United fans in the stadium cheered.

"We saw that Barcelona gained possession smoothly after the start, but Manchester United's defense remained solid."

"Very orderly."

The camera panned to the sidelines, where Manchester United's young head coach, 25-year-old Yang Fan from China, was on the pitch.

, 7

"A truly remarkable manager. Since taking over Manchester United, they have won six consecutive games."

"Before this, he had no coaching experience whatsoever, and he had never even played football."

"According to the information we have so far, he just received his Level 1 coaching certificate from the FA this past weekend."

"Under normal circumstances, he would not be eligible to lead a team in the Premier League and the Champions League, but Manchester United applied for an exception for him."

"Therefore, at the time of official registration, Manchester United's manager was actually Mike Phelan."

-

"But it was this very manager who led Manchester United out of their slump this season, achieving a six-game winning streak, and even pulling off a 2-1 upset against Barcelona in the first leg away game."

"Look at Barcelona's attack this time."

"Three minutes into the game, Barcelona still couldn't find an opportunity to penetrate Manchester United's defense."

"Messi finally couldn't resist and pulled out to receive the pass himself."

"Messi gets the ball, starts from the right wing, breaks diagonally towards the center, and shoots directly with his left foot."

"I'm getting a little anxious."

"Messi's long-range shot went high."

"We all know that Messi's shots are always aimed at the corners of the goal, so it's rare to see a shot like this that goes high and wide."

"This also shows that Messi might actually be getting a little anxious."

"The Barcelona players' mentality is very important right now; they must be patient."

"Manchester United goal kick."

"From the long-range main camera footage, we can see that Barcelona did not retreat far, but still gathered around the perimeter of their 30-meter zone and near the midfield line, preparing to compete with Manchester United for the first ball."

As De Gea placed the ball and slowly backed away, the Spanish goalkeeper glanced ahead.

Almost everyone guessed that he was going to find Fellaini.

This is an open card!

De Gea quickly took a running start and stepped forward.

A loud thud was heard on the pitch as De Gea swiftly kicked the ball away, sending it flying in an arc at high speed towards the left side of the 30-meter zone outside Barcelona's defenses.

That was exactly the gap between Alves, Mascherano, Busquets, and Xavi.

Fellaini, however, had anticipated this and rushed over quickly.

When the ball arrived, he leaped high into the air and tilted his head back to glide over it.

The ball hit Fellaini's head, but instead of heading it back into Manchester United's half, it grazed and landed back in front of Fellaini's original position, in front of Barcelona center-back Mascherano.

Just as Mascherano strode forward, preparing to rush over and seize the second landing spot, he saw a red figure rushing over quickly.

While everyone's attention was drawn to Fellaini, Rooney quietly surged forward, leaping before Mascherano could react, and headed the ball past Fellaini's header.

But this time Rooney headed directly into a large area behind Mascherano.

For a moment, the Argentinian's mind went blank, and he blurted out, "Gerrard, watch out for Van Persie!"

Pique's reaction time was quick, but Van Persie's runs were like a ghost.

By the time Pique caught up, the Dutchman had already secured the best position.

Van Persie quickly caught up and, on the left side outside the arc, after Rooney's header bounced off the ground, flicked the ball with his left foot.

The Dutch striker's exquisite footwork was on full display in that instant.

The football, like an obedient child, was flicked by Van Persie, soaring over Pinto's head as he rushed out to the edge of the penalty area, and landing on the unguarded Barcelona goal behind him.

The entire process, from Van Persie's movements to the arc of his chip shot, was indescribably elegant.

After the chip shot, Van Persie turned and rushed towards the sidelines.

"GOALLLLLLL!!!!!"

"Goal!!"

"It's only been 3 minutes and 12 seconds since the start!"

"My God! Just over three minutes into the game, Manchester United have scored the first goal against Barcelona!"

"Van Persie scores!!!"

"This is Manchester United!"

"Two header passes, culminating in a volley from outside the penalty area by Van Persie."

"The whole process was very quick, without any delays."

"It's only been a little over 3 minutes!"

The entire Old Trafford stadium was instantly engulfed by the cheers of Manchester United fans!

All the Manchester United players chased off the pitch and embraced Van Persie on the sidelines to celebrate the goal.

The Barcelona players were a bit bewildered.

The feeling of helplessness I had when facing Bayern last season unexpectedly resurfaced.