Starting with saving Manchester United

Chapter 96 It's Van Persie again!

Beep!

"Rizzoli came forward again and separated the players from both sides."

"Rooney and Dante are both a bit too excited."

"Manchester United players also quickly followed up to put pressure on the team."

"The slow-motion replay clearly shows that Dante's foul was indeed very wrong."

"But if he doesn't foul, and Van Persie gets past him, cuts inside from the right flank, and then fires a left-footed shot, that's one of Van Persie's signature moves."

"Manchester United players are also protesting this."

The players protested on the field, and Yang Fan was also "furious" on the sidelines.

If the fourth official hadn't stopped him, the furious Yang Fan would have stormed onto the field.

Most importantly, he kept shouting, "Red card! That's a damn red card!"

The television cameras captured the audio very clearly and broadcast it live to fans all over the world.

The fourth official was somewhat embarrassed.

Everyone says you're a newbie, but you can't be this bad, right?

How did he get a red card?

It's only been less than 20 minutes since the start of the game, and they've already given us a red card, and this is at Bayern's home ground! Do they want us dead?

Besides, Dante wasn't the last defender.

Everyone says that Manchester United's manager was domineering, but that was during Ferguson's era.

The old knight's seniority speaks for itself; even Platini had to treat him with utmost respect.

How come a newbie has arrived, yet he's so arrogant and unreasonable?

Yang Fan was nearby, and the referee from Italy, Rizzoli, naturally heard Yang Fan's shout. He gave him an annoyed look, then simply pretended not to hear and ignored him.

But after separating the players from the two teams, he still called Dante over, first pulling out a yellow card and giving him a stern warning, roughly meaning that if it happened again, he would definitely give him another yellow card.

Rizzoli then pointed to the spot where Dante had just committed the foul.

It's on the right side of the penalty area, about 25 meters from the goal.

After Rizzoli made his decision, Van Persie pulled Rooney up from the ground by the hand.

This immediately drew boos from the entire stadium.

That's so pretentious!

He was just lying on the ground, looking like he was about to die, but now he's all better?

Rizzoli was used to this kind of thing.

That's the smart thing to do.

This time, Robin van Persie will take the penalty for Manchester United.

Left-footed players have an advantage when taking free throws from this area.

But Manchester United only fielded six players in the attacking third.

Besides Van Persie taking the penalty, Rooney stood at the top of the penalty arc, while Fellaini, Vidic, Smalling, and Phil Jones lined up on the left side of the penalty spot, ready to attack the goal.

Bayern Munich, on the other hand, has invested a lot.

The human wall consisted of four people, with Boateng and Dante, two tall players, standing on the far right side of the wall.

This was clearly a precaution against Van Persie's curling free kicks towards the near post.

Five players were positioned near Manchester United's four tall players, ready to defend against free kicks at any time.

Mandzukic was among these people.

Thomas Müller positioned himself at the top of the penalty area, to Rooney's right, cutting off Van Persie's direct passes to Rooney.

If the defense succeeds, Thomas Müller will immediately run forward to prepare for a counterattack.

The Bayern Munich fans at the stadium also reacted very enthusiastically.

Especially in the area behind the goal, Bayern fans were constantly chanting and encouraging the team.

After Rizzoli had arranged the situation inside the penalty area, he quickly retreated and exited the penalty area, blowing the silver whistle he had in his mouth at the same time.

As soon as the whistle blew, Van Persie quickly took a running start and stepped forward.

The wall of players and the offensive and defensive players inside the penalty area moved at the same time, and the entire penalty area was thrown into chaos.

Then we saw Van Persie unleash a curling shot with his left foot.

But this shot didn't curl towards the right side of the goal; instead, it curled over the heads of the Bayern wall, where shorter players like Ribery were positioned, towards the far left side of the goal.

Is he going to pass it to his teammate?

No!

Neuer was initially fooled, but he quickly realized what was happening.

Especially when he saw the football coming towards the left side of the goal, he reacted immediately and dove to the side.

The German goalkeeper, already positioned to the left, made a diving save that completely blocked almost every angle on the left side of the goal.

But no one expected that Van Persie's free kick would dip sharply and bounce off the ground in front of the goal.

This was beyond Neuer's expectations.

The German goalkeeper made a diving save, his hand almost touching the falling ball in mid-air.

As a result, it still passed under his palm, bounced off the ground, hit the inside of the left post, and bounced into Bayern's goal.

"GOALLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL!!!"

"Van Persie!!!"

"A brilliant free-kick goal!"

"From the Dutch striker, Robin van Persie!"

After scoring, Van Persie turned and ran, spreading his arms wide and cheering and shouting continuously.

Yang Fan, standing closest to the away team's bench, rushed out excitedly the instant Van Persie scored, clenching his fists and repeatedly shouting, "Robin! Robin!"

Mike Phelan, Steve Lund, and others behind him also rushed out to celebrate, completely forgetting themselves.

Van Persie rushed to the sidelines, and upon hearing Yang Fan's shout, he immediately turned and ran over, excitedly grabbing Yang Fan around the waist and lifting him up in a hug.

The other Manchester United players also rushed out and huddled together in front of the away team's bench, firmly holding Yang Fan and Van Persie in the middle.

"A very touching scene!"

"Manchester United's season has been truly rollercoaster."

"Yang Fan, who is only 25 years old, has not even obtained the qualification certificate to coach Premier League and Champions League teams yet."

"But under his leadership, Manchester United emerged from their historic slump and defeated strong opponents one after another."

"Now, they've practically stepped into the Champions League final!"

"Many people say that Yang Fan has the potential to become the most successful interim head coach in history."

"Before this, the title belonged to Real Madrid's Vicente del Bosque."

"It was also after Vicente del Bosque took over Real Madrid midway through the season that he turned the tide and led Real Madrid to win the Champions League title in 2000."

"Interestingly, after Vicente del Bosque took over the team, he also adopted a three-defender formation, which strengthened Real Madrid's defense."

"But Yang Fan only took over Manchester United in mid-to-late March, so the challenge is greater than that of Vicente del Bosque, and the competition he faces is also more intense."

"Guardiola can't sit still anymore!"

From a distance, Ferguson could see Guardiola walking out in front of the home team's bench, one hand on his hip and the other touching his nose, occasionally shouting a few words.

Unlike when he sat calmly in the home team's bench at the start of the game, he now looked noticeably anxious.

"They're definitely going to be restless, aren't they? They're about to score four goals now, aren't they?" Woodward laughed.

Yang Fan is truly amazing!

Sometimes, he really wanted to pick Yang Fan up and kiss him.

"Yes, scoring four goals is too difficult; no one can be sure of it."

Ferguson could only manage a wry smile.

When Van Persie went to the sidelines with the Manchester United players to hug Yang Fan after scoring, Ferguson felt a pang of sadness.

But then again, in a match like tonight's, which is hailed as the most technically and tactically sophisticated professional sport in the world, Yang Fan not only handled it well, but also made Guardiola look quite embarrassed.

I have to say, this kid is a fucking genius!

From the perspective of a professional head coach, Manchester United's tactics and management still have many flaws.

The players' abilities are indeed not strong.

But so what?

Manchester United's tactics were to relentlessly suppress Bayern Munich.

Even now, Bayern's truly threatening attacks, those that threaten De Gea's shots, are a joke!

Just like in the first leg of the match.

No, compared to the first leg, Manchester United's defense against Bayern Munich was much more successful in this match.

Ferguson thought of Yang Fan's so-called RACI matrix, which supposedly involves reviewing and analyzing each game afterward, identifying problems, solving them, and continuously iterating the team's tactics.

Manchester United has been doing this all along.

It’s incredible!

"Ed."

"Um?"

"We must keep Yang Fan at Manchester United."

Woodward was stunned and found it hard to believe.

Ferguson nodded seriously and said, "This kid is truly a genius; given time, his potential is limitless!"

This was the first time Woodward had seen Ferguson speak so highly of a coach.

Even when he strongly recommended Moyes to manage Manchester United, he never gave him such high praise.

Most importantly, Woodward knew very well that Ferguson's relationship with Yang Fan was very, very ordinary.

In fact, it has absolutely no relation to anything.

"Understood, I'll think of a way!" Woodward nodded.

The head coach for next season has already been chosen.

Van Gaal, handpicked by the two Glazers, has accepted Manchester United's terms and conditions.

The Dutchman has even communicated with Manchester United about transfer targets.

All that's left is to wait for the World Cup to accept him and then officially take office.

But Woodward still hoped that Yang Fan could stay.

How could we let such a capable ally go?

The game continues.

After conceding a goal, Bayern launched an even more frantic counterattack.

The pace of the game is getting faster and faster, and Bayern's attacking intensity is also increasing.

But mistakes are also increasing.

They were getting increasingly anxious.

Four goals forced them to break through Manchester United's defense as soon as possible.

The more rushed you are, the more likely problems will arise.

Especially after 20 minutes, Manchester United made two long passes that reached behind the defense.

Bayern pushed their defense past the halfway line, and Neuer rushed out of the 30-meter zone to receive the ball.

Although no serious incidents occurred, there were indeed potential risks.

When this hidden danger resurfaced time and again, Bayern quickly exposed their problems.

In the 27th minute, Manchester United successfully intercepted the ball outside their own penalty area.

Smalling passed the ball to Fellaini, who then passed it to Ashley Young on the left wing.

At this point, none of Bayern's players chose to retreat; instead, they immediately pressed the ball back, trying to trap Manchester United within their 30-meter zone and intercept it.

Almost half an hour into the first half, Bayern hadn't even had a single truly threatening shot.

How can I not be anxious?

However, Ashley Young dribbled the ball sideways, bypassed Robben, and then delivered a long pass with his right foot.

The ball was passed diagonally from the left side of Manchester United's 30-meter zone, behind Bayern's defense.

It crossed the center line and landed near Bayern's 30-meter zone.

Just like before, Bayern's defense simply didn't have time to retreat.

But Rooney is making a quick forward run, chasing after the ball's trajectory.

Neuer acted decisively.

This has happened four or five times already.

Everyone felt that this time it was a close call but ultimately safe.

As usual, Neuer got there first, clearing the ball with a header.

But unlike before, this time Neuer's header clearance wasn't far enough due to Rooney's interference.

Seeing only the height and not the distance, it landed on the outer edge of the 30-meter zone.

"Danger!!"

"Neuer's header failed to clear the ball."

"The ball landed in uninhabited area!"

"Van Persie has caught up."

In that instant, Neuer no longer cared about winning the ball; instead, he immediately ran towards the penalty area.

Boateng, Dante, and Schweinsteiger—all of them forgot about winning the ball and rushed towards the goal.

When Van Persie caught up with Neuer's header clearance, he didn't even wait for the ball to hit the ground before swinging his left foot up and unleashing a powerful volley to meet the falling ball.

The football, like a cannonball, glided through an elegant arc before speedily penetrating the undefended Bayern goal.

In that instant, the entire Allianz Arena fell into a deathly silence!

"Goal!!"

"It's Van Persie again!"

"Another volley!"

"A long-range shot from a full 33 meters away from the goal!"

"We were just saying that Neuer's repeated runs out of the penalty area were too risky."

"Now, Manchester United have seized their opportunity."

"Van Persie's long-range shot gives Manchester United another goal."

"2 to 0!"

"The final score is 4-0!"

"Bayern Munich needs to score five goals to come back from behind!"