Chapter 313 The Young General Is Mighty

(The last chapter was written incorrectly, Benfica was written as Lille)

"The Champions League games played at Old Trafford have always been wonderful, and I believe the applause from Manchester United fans will be very warm. No one wants to be a loser, and Manchester United will spare no effort to win."

"Manchester United and Arsenal do have a lot in common. The two teams started fighting at the same time tonight. Similar to the Gunners losing 6 generals, Manchester United also has many main players missing this game. Slightly different from the Gunners, Manchester United is the hardest hit area. In the midfield and backfield, it is just the opposite of Arsenal. Among them, the main right back Gary Neville and the main left back Heinze are both absent for a long time. The substitutes Brown and Fortune can only act as spectators. Rooney will also miss the game due to suspension. This For once, no matter how loud the 'Rooney for Rooney' chants were at Old Trafford, the Wonder Boy was not going to play."

"Giggs, Park Ji-sung, Scholes, Smith and Fletcher compete for the midfielder and left winger positions. Keane made a low-level mistake in the last round of the league, which caused Manchester United to almost lose the game. Ferguson has no patience. . The last round of the Champions League was missing Cristiano Ronaldo, and the second round was missing Rooney. The task of scoring goals will fall on Cristiano Ronaldo and Chinese Dong. However, these two are in good condition. It should not be possible to win Benfica at home. question."

"Why does the Champions League receive extra attention from teams? In addition to honor, money is also a factor that cannot be ignored. UEFA announced yesterday that teams participating in the group stage will receive a "bonus" of at least 2.37 million pounds for every win. The game can get 218,000 pounds, and the draw bonus is 19,000 pounds. The total bonus budget has increased by 3.3% compared with last season. The final championship bonus will be 12.2 million pounds. Another round of money-making movement has begun. So for financial constraints For Manchester United, the further the Champions League goes, the better."

Lineker then got the starting lineup for both teams for this game.

Manchester United: 433

Goalkeeper: Edwin van der Sar

Defenders: Basili, Ferdinand, Vidic, Richardson

Midfielder: Fletcher, Scholes, Giggs

Forward: Cristiano Ronaldo, Dong Fangzhuo, Smith

Substitutes: Howard, Park Ji-sung, Keane, Pique, Saha, Rossi, Silvester.

Benfica: 442

Goalkeeper: Moreira

Defenders: Nelson, Luison, Rocha, Leo

Midfielder: Beto, Petit, Manuel, Simao

Forwards: Miccoli, Nuno Gomez

Substitutes: Quaim, Anderson, Mantoras, Giovanni, Cariaka, dos Santos, Pereira

Eusebio, who participated in the 1968 Champions League final between the two teams, and England coach Eriksson were both present to watch the game.

"Hey, the Chinese director is wearing the captain's armband again. Why does Sir Alex Ferguson insist on letting him wear the armband? Aren't Scholes, Giggs, and even Ferdinand more suitable?" Martin Taylor was very puzzled by Sir Alex Ferguson's stubbornness. " There are so many veteran players in the team, why do we have to let young people take charge?"

"Maybe because he can score goals, boost morale, and drive the whole team. I think he does a good job. Except for the first game of the league, he performed well at other times and was impeccable." Lineker I have always been very optimistic about Dong Fangzhuo and don't think there is anything to make a fuss about.

Martin Taylor pursed his lips: "But I still think Rooney is the most suitable candidate..."

"Rooney? He is sitting in the stands now. It would be nice if the Manchester United fans did not surround him and beat him up. At least for now, Rooney has fallen behind. Even though he won the World's Best Rookie Award, this They are all past glory. This season, Rooney needs to do too much. From the beginning, he has fallen far behind Dong and even behind Ronaldo."

The camera was on Rooney. Even though the guy was wearing a hood and huddled in an inconspicuous fan seat, he was still found. Because he couldn't make the Champions League squad, this guy went out for a few days and seemed to be in a bad mental state.

"This kid will be useless if he doesn't work hard, alas!"

"Looks like Gascoigne in his thirties.

"Lineker's language is a bit exaggerated, although he looks older...

"Both Manchester United's full-backs are young players and may be tested. It will depend on whether Manchester United can control the midfield."

But Lineker was clearly overly concerned.

In the first minute of the game, Richardson from the left rushed forward and received a pass from Giggs, kicking off Manchester United's attack. His cross directly found Scholes outside the penalty area. , Scholes volleyed directly and the ball went over the crossbar.

Richardson showed great form from the start.

"Smith didn't run enough, and Richardson rushed up. What was he doing? Didn't he want to seize a main position? If he didn't work harder, he would still be cool. Is he really going to be transformed by Ferguson? Lower back?"

In the 3rd minute, Italian Miccoli received a long pass from the backcourt, cleverly controlled the ball at the edge of the penalty area, passed the tall Ferdinand and took a shot, but the ball also missed the goal.

Both sides looked intent on attacking.

In the 5th minute, Cristiano Ronaldo received a diagonal pass from the right side of Scholes. He took a step forward and immediately passed to the middle. Dong Fangzhuo quickly returned the ball with his left foot and stopped the ball. The opponent's central defender Louisson failed to follow up in time. Dong Fangzhuo turned around. Just cum!

A low shot with his right foot from 20 meters in front of the goal missed slightly.

"Phew! Almost, Dong is still so fast, he takes the ball quickly, shoots resolutely, and turns around to shoot. This is the performance of an excellent shooter. It would be very dangerous for the Benfica central defender to defend like this. Of course, we hope to see Manchester United as soon as possible To score goals, you can’t play so hard every game.”

But as soon as Lineker's words came to light, dangers appeared one after another in front of Manchester United's goal. In the 8th minute, Ferdinand missed the ball from the front of the penalty area. Miccoli volleyed with his right foot from a small angle on the right side 9 meters away from the goal. Van der Sar fell to the ground and used his fingertips to reach the far post. Benfica took a corner kick from the left and Ricardo Rocha hit a downward header 8 meters in front of the goal, and Van der Sar fought hard to resolve it.

After the thrill, Manchester United finally stabilized.

In the 14th minute, Smith tackled Beto in the middle and handed the ball to the right. The young player Bardsley did not hand the ball to Ronaldo, but chose to cross. Dong Fangzhuo leaned against Louison 19 meters in front of the goal, but another A central defender blocked him on the inside, and he could only stretch out his right foot and barely volley.

Duang!

The shot actually hit the crossbar.

"Oops……"

"It can't always be like this!"

"Sir Alex Ferguson should change the goalposts. He always prevents his own people from scoring goals."

There was a sigh in the stands, but soon, Manchester United's attack flew away again.

Scholes passed the ball to the left, and Smith took the ball directly. Dong Fangzhuo jumped up in the middle and failed to touch the ball, but Ronaldo jumped high at the back point and shook his head in front of Leon to score!

"goal!"

"gooooal!"

“goooooooooooal!”

"Cristiano Ronaldo!"

"He scored his first Champions League goal of the season."

"Manchester United's young players showed their strength collectively."

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