Chapter 97: Against Manchester United

Manchester United has recently won consecutive victories in the European war and the league, showing a small climax at the end of the season.

This also led to Manchester City coach Solskjaer being called "Solskjaer" by fans, indicating that the other party's coaching ability is excellent.

And Solskjaer has Manchester United blood, which also makes him more easily accepted by Manchester United fans.

Today's Manchester United fans are still immersed in the coaching era of Ferguson. For many coaches who have taken office, this is an extremely heavy pressure.

Even Mourinho needs to bear this pressure, but he failed to prove it and eventually left Manchester United because of the decision of the top management.

Today's Solskjaer is considered to be a good coach.

Solskjaer's tactical system is based on 4-2-3-1, which is the core tactic of the defensive midfielder.

Relying on Pogba's ability to further develop the team's offensive ability.

Whether it is offense or defense, it is necessary to get instructions from the defensive midfielder.

And Pogba plays the role of a helmsman in Manchester United.

This tactic is understandable, but the problem is that Pogba's mental attributes are not strong enough.

Occasionally, when Pogba is confused, Manchester United will encounter an extremely bad situation, which is also the reason why they have lost the ball by a large score many times this season.

Once Pogba is not effective, the Manchester United train is like a stalled engine.

This also requires that Pogba must be in good condition and have a clear idea of ​​the game.

For this reason, Solskjaer has placed a full-time bodyguard next to Pogba to help Pogba relieve pressure.

The only responsibility of this defensive midfielder is to help Pogba deal with all threats to the opponent.

But even so, Pogba often appears confused or in a bad state.

This state also makes the media and reporters feel that Pogba is unable to take on the responsibility.

In other words, he must be equipped with a bodyguard like Kante or Lucky.

But the problem is that with Lucky, there is no need for Pogba.

Lucky can do the work of two Manchester United defensive midfielders alone. Although it is a bit expensive, isn't it good?

Even Solskjaer keeps saying in front of the media that Pogba is an excellent player.

But he also secretly calculated in his heart.

Solskjaer doesn't think that Luka is a player of the same level as Pogba.

He said this to cater to the harmony of the other party and the team, but deep in his heart, he still agrees with Luka's ability.

Even if Luka is not his player, if Luka appears in the transfer market, it will definitely cause a scramble for all the giants in Europe.

This is the value of Luka!

For Solskjaer and Manchester United, Luka is an opponent after all, so they need to find a way to restrain Arsenal.

But no matter how they think and discuss, they can't find a specific and feasible plan.

In the end, they can only hope to rely on Pogba's ability to suppress it.

But is this really possible?

April 14, 2016\/2017 Europa League quarter-finals.

Arsenal VS Manchester United game.

As a home team, Manchester United is fully prepared to challenge Manchester United.

As for Manchester United, they are under pressure.

Solskjaer's expression is also very serious.

Although he didn't think so, the media would inevitably link Mourinho and him together.

In the first half of the season, they had already lost to Arsenal. If they lost this game again, he would really have a hard time explaining it.

If you can win, win. If not, a draw is fine.

The starting lineups of both teams are as follows:

Arsenal (4-2-3-1):

Goalkeeper: Martinez.

Defenders: Bellerin, Jimenez, Hummels, Robertson.

Midfielders: Campbell, Kante, Ramsey, Lukay, Mane.

Forward: Lukaku.

Manchester United (4-2-3-1):

Goalkeeper: De Gea.

Defenders: Damian, Rojo, Bailly, Valencia.

Midfielders: Rashford, Pogba, Mkhitaryan, Carrick, Lingard.

Forward: Brahimovic.

"Arsenal's lineup is missing two main players. Wilshere and Aubameyang were injured in the last round of the league, and Campbell and Ramsey started in this game!"

"Ramsey and Campbell are both players with good physical fitness. We can look forward to their performance in this game!"

"Manchester United has a patchwork of players. Their main players are seriously injured. Rooney, Ashley Young and Mata are all injured. The only good news is that Pogba can still stay healthy, but this lineup will put Manchester United under great pressure when facing Arsenal!"

Sky Sports commentator Paul Merson said.

Dixon on the side said; "We can expect a confrontation between the midfielders. Kai and Pogba will definitely have a fierce rhythm battle!"

Paul Merson turned his head and looked at the other party. Dixon's face was filled with a confident smile.

Everyone knows that Dixon is a fan of Lucky, so he naturally supports Lucky.

Dixon is most opposed to comparing Pogba with Lucky.

He believes that the two are not players of the same level.

And what this sentence means is that the difference will appear in this game.

Both sides walked onto the field, and after a series of pre-match awareness, they came to their respective halves.

Arsenal kicked off first.

Lucky was doing warm-up activities and reminding his teammates.

"Immediately apply pressure after the start, and be sure to give enough pressure in the frontcourt, whether it is offense or defense!"

After that, Lucky shouted to the front again: "Campbell and Ramsey, run more, your main task is to disrupt the opponent's rhythm!"

Listening to Lucky's words, everyone nodded.

Ramsey and Campbell also knew the reason for their starting.

Mourinho has reminded them that their job is to attack the opponent's back waistline.

Let Pogba continue to face pressure, and under rounds of pressure, break the opponent's rhythm.

Facts have proved that Pogba is not the kind of player who can withstand pressure,

Unlike Lucky, who explodes from time to time under pressure.

When Pogba faces pressure, the most common situation is to simply give up.

On the other side, Pogba also showed an eager expression.

He is still full of confidence in himself. He will prove to everyone that he is better than anyone else.

And he is also confident that he can help Manchester United win the game.

Pogba feels that he is in good shape.

At this moment, with the whistle, the game begins.

Lukaku passes the ball to the back, and after receiving the ball, Lekai continues to pass it back to the central defender.

Lekai waited for the opponent's offensive personnel to come forward before he took the initiative to retreat to receive the ball.

After continuous forward and backward passing, Lekai suddenly turned around and passed the ball to Mane.

Aubameyang was not on the field, and Mane became the main offensive line of Arsenal.

As for Campbell, his role was more of an auxiliary.

Mane's explosive power is still very good.

However, he could not attack the opponent's back line like Aubameyang, so after seeing that there was no hope, he continued to pass back.

But the force of the return pass was a little smaller, and Manchester United completed the interception!

"Don't worry! Retreat!"

After Lekai found the steal, he hurriedly shouted to let his teammates stabilize.

Hearing Lekai's voice, the players who were a little panicked before calmed down one by one.

Arsenal players retreated first, and after they stood in position, they began to counter-attack.

Campbell, Ramsey, Mane, and Lukaku were all running in the frontcourt and pressing.

Pogba got the ball and flicked it to the right to distance himself from the opponent.

In the past, at this distance, the opponent would give up and let another player come forward to limit him.

But Arsenal would not let him hold the ball easily.

Ramsey saw Pogba pulling the ball to the distance to open up the distance, and he couldn't help but sneer inwardly.

"Wishful thinking!"

Ramsey continued to run and press.

Pogba seemed extremely uncomfortable facing the sudden and strong pressing pressure.

He reluctantly passed the ball to Lingard in front, but when Lingard wanted to turn around, Mane suddenly ran to press, and the ball hit Mane's ankle and flew out of the sideline.

"Very good! Keep this rhythm!"

Lekai continued to encourage his teammates and took the initiative to press forward.

At the same time, he kept attacking and observing, waiting for the opportunity to exert force.