Chapter 33: Stability in Fluctuation, Atletico Madrid Attacks

Chapter 33: Stability in Fluctuation, Atletico Madrid Attacks

Chapter 33: Stability in Fluctuation, Atletico Madrid Attacks

"Chris has a great chance of scoring a hat trick today! Let Jaden and Marcus warm up in advance, as well as Juan (Mata). In the second half of the game, we must continue to maintain our offensive firepower and not give Burnley any chance to breathe!"

Li Chen stood up from the coaching seat and applauded Ronaldo, while speaking decisively to Carrick.

After receiving the order, Carrick quickly returned to the bench with the tactical board, called up several offensive players, and asked them to go to the sidelines to warm up.

The live camera soon turned to Manchester United's bench, where Sancho, Rashford and Mata were talking and laughing as they took off their substitute vests.

This scene is enough to illustrate the offensive desire of the Manchester United coaching staff. The Burnley fans at the scene were somewhat dissatisfied and booed angrily again!

Manchester United's players on the field eventually returned to the player tunnel amid deafening boos.

During the half-time break, Li Chen took the lead in making substitutions in the midfield, replacing Fred with Mata to further enhance the midfield's technical and creative capabilities.

This will certainly lead to a decrease in the interception hardness of Manchester United's central midfield, but with Greenwood's active help in returning to defense, Mata's side will not become a defensive black hole in the middle of Manchester United.

Sancho and Rashford listened to Li Chen's tactical adjustments for the second half of the game in the locker room.

However, they will have to sit on the bench for more than ten minutes, waiting for their teammates to further drain the physical strength and energy of Burnley's defenders, and then wait for an opportunity to go on the court to harvest the victory.

Li Chen's tactical intention at the beginning of the second half was very clear. He replaced Mata to provide more passing support to the striker.

However, Burnley's current head coach Dyche also saw an opportunity and directly signaled right winger McNeill and right back Roberts to press forward and attack in turns.

For a moment, Burnley's attack on the right was quite impressive and powerful.

However, Li Chen did not let Mata use more of his energy on defense due to pressure. Instead, he chose to shrink the defense line on the left, and then signaled Mata to continue to press near the center line, waiting for a counterattack opportunity.

This decision put more defensive pressure on both Luke Shaw and Matic.

But Burnley's right-wing attack was limited to the wing.

They couldn't get into the space on the flank where Matic was standing inward, and the crosses they sent were basically blocked by Maguire or Varane in the first place.

Ultimately it comes down to personal inability to meet standards.

Even though there was a tactical idea to use the space on the flanks, the attacking players with the ball did not have the ability to break through the midfield defense guarded by Matic.

On the other hand, Manchester United took advantage of the space left after Burnley's massive attack on the right and launched several successful counterattacks.

Mata's connection and coordination after getting the ball is very smooth. The number of threatening direct passes is less than that of B Fee, but the pass success rate is greatly increased.

He and Greenwood on the left cooperated repeatedly, penetrating the right side of Burnley's penalty area and creating killing opportunities!
Martial, who was closer to Greenwood, therefore had many opportunities to get forward and receive the ball.

This forced Burnley's two central defenders to focus their defensive attention on Martial first.

As I said, when he is healthy, Martial is an all-round striker who is close to the top level in football.

When the ball is given to him, he can dribble past opponents, connect the ball, and adjust his own shot.

His all-round attributes also mean that when he frequently gets the ball in the penalty area, the opponent's central defenders cannot ignore his threat at all.

He can choose not to shoot, trick you into stealing the ball and then pass it to you, but do you dare to bet that he will really not shoot in a certain offensive opportunity?

Burnley's two central defenders certainly didn't dare to take the risk, so they could only shift their target first - at least one central defender had to closely mark Martial.

When Li Chen saw this scene, he returned to the coaching seat from the sidelines with peace of mind.

For him, the tactical adjustments made by the coaching staff on the offensive end in the second half have begun to work.

When Burnley's entire back line was distracted by Manchester United's offensive penetration from the left and center, Ronaldo, who had more and more room to move, finally got the opportunity he wanted.

In the 58th minute of the second half, after seeing Martial receive Mata's sudden through ball and shoot the ball into the post, Li Chen slapped his thigh and replaced Greenwood with Sancho who had finished warming up again.

Sancho, who came on as a substitute, played directly in Greenwood's position and continued to cooperate with Marta to put pressure on Burnley's defense.

Martial, who had hit the post before, has now become a thorn in the eyes of all Burnley defenders!
Soon after Sancho came on the pitch, he performed a great trick of dribbling the ball through the crotch on the left!

After playfully dribbling past Burnley right-back Roberts, Sancho made a low cross pass before Burnley center-back Tarkowski could get to the ball!
But this time, Martial's shot was a bit off target due to the interference of Burnley's other central defender Ben Mee and did not hit the goal frame.

Martial, who missed the opportunity, was not upset, but just grinned and gave Sancho a thumbs up.

The frightened Burnley defenders also decided not to let Sancho and Martial easily connect with each other anymore!
Two minutes later, Burnley's offensive cross from the right was once again blocked by Maguire.

After grabbing the opportunity, Matic did not choose to take the ball, but headed the ball directly to B Fee who was running on the right side of the midfield!
Big B suppressed the urge to pass the ball forward and made a diagonal pass, accurately finding Mata who was raising his hand to ask for the ball on the left.

After Mata unloaded the ball perfectly, he knocked it forward to Sancho who was waiting with his back to the goal.

This time, Sancho bravely withstood the interference of Roberts and returned the ball to the wing, helping Mata to successfully complete the ground penetration!
Mata quickly observed the situation in the penalty area and sent a smooth back pass!
Tarkowski and midfielder Westwood immediately double-teamed Martial!
But the three people who jumped up almost at the same time ended up not touching the football due to mutual interference.

At this moment, at the back of Burnley's penalty area, Ben Mee, who had tried his best to complete the defensive jump, was full of despair!

Because Ronaldo, who was jumping up and down beside him, was almost half a head taller than him!
"How the hell can this be 37 years old???!!!"

A question flashed through Ben Mi's mind, and then he turned his head while falling and witnessed Ronaldo's first hat trick of the season!

"Here it comes! Ronaldo's header at the back post! The ball goes in!!! Hat trick!!! Ronaldo's first hat trick of the season! An incredible header bombardment! Is this something a 37-year-old veteran striker can do?!

This is his 17th goal in the new Premier League season! Ronaldo is now the top scorer in the Premier League! It’s incredible!!! Just as Ronaldo himself said, he never chases records, but records chase him! "

"It's amazing, this state! It's hard to imagine, at the age of 37, most players have retired at this age, but Ronaldo can still score 17 Premier League goals! This is really an amazing performance and record..."

Along with the excited commentary of Zhan Jun and Coach Zhang, the Chinese fans who were watching the game late at night also posted comments such as "C Ronaldo is awesome!" in the live broadcast room.

The Portuguese superstar seems to be born to counterattack and slap others in the face.

This season, he has been facing such a difficult situation in the whirlpool of public opinion. Unexpectedly, more than two months later, he still became the key man to overturn the public opinion wave! At the age of 37, he scored 17 league goals in the Premier League, the most intense game in the world, and topped the Premier League scorer list!
This achievement is truly unprecedented and will be hard to surpass in the future!
After scoring this goal, Ronaldo smiled very happily.

Once again, he chose to celebrate this achievement with his young teammates.

Shortly after the Manchester United team finished celebrating, the fourth official raised the electronic substitution card on the sidelines.

Rashford was ready to come on the pitch, and the player he was going to replace was Cristiano Ronaldo, who had scored a hat-trick today.

The Portuguese superstar, who achieved his personal goal, left the field satisfied.

After encouraging Rashford, Ronaldo took the initiative to open his arms and hugged and communicated with Li Chen for a long time on the sidelines.

"You knew I could score a third goal today, didn't you?"

"Of course I know, Chris. I told Michael in the first half that you will definitely score a hat trick today. I have a feeling that you will."

"Haha...thank you, Li, thank you so much!"

"There's no need to say thank you between us, Chris. You know you will always be the best striker in my heart! Take a good rest and enjoy the cheers you deserve."

Li Chen finally patted Ronaldo on the back of his head and pushed him to the bench with a smile.

Ronaldo, with a smile on his face, high-fived his teammates one by one, put on a sports jacket, sat next to Cavani and chatted with him.

There was not much suspense in the subsequent development of the game. Rashford, who came on as a substitute, made a lob pass to assist Martial in scoring Manchester United's fourth goal in the 84th minute of the second half.

The final score of the game was 0-4.

Manchester United, playing away from home, took away a 4-0 victory and continued to sit firmly in the third place in the league standings, and was showing signs of widening the points gap with Chelsea.

However, just as Manchester United fans were looking forward to the team's further advancement in the league and narrowing the gap with Liverpool.

Three and a half days later, Manchester United, playing at home, was unexpectedly tied by the visiting Southampton!
At this point, many media outlets, finding an opportunity, jumped out and questioned Li Chen's choice of personnel.

It is understandable to rotate players, but is it too arrogant to rotate nearly half of the main players at one time?

Or does Li Chen now think that Manchester United can defeat the lower-tier Premier League opponents at home by sending out only half of their main players? !
Public doubts were brewing, but in an interview after the game, Li Chen expressed his satisfaction and acceptance of the result very calmly.

For veterans like Ronaldo and Matic, the coaching staff had already decided on a rotation strategy of one game per week.

Martial's hamstring discomfort forced Li Chen to rotate at the center position.

Fortunately, Cavani is recovering well now.

With the help of tactical support, he was able to score the equalizer, which also demonstrated his current level of strength.

Maybe Sancho and Rashford performed averagely in this round of the league, but Li Chen doesn't want to blame them.

Getting a point with a major rotation is a good result. After all, it's better than losing, right?

Moreover, the stability shown by Manchester United's defense makes Li Chen very satisfied.

To put it bluntly, the competition in the second half of the league is about the stability and tenacity of the teams.

Manchester United's bench depth is a bit insufficient now, so there is no need to force the stability of the offensive ceiling. The important thing is to maintain the stability of the defensive lower limit first.

After the end of this round of the league, the arrival of a full week of rest also gave Manchester United a chance to catch their breath.

Martial returned from injury three days later, and Ronaldo and Matic's physical condition recovered well, which made Li Chen more confident.

During this week's rest period, Li Chen also practiced additional set-piece defense and offensive tactics.

This is not only a preparation for facing the relegation teams that parked the bus in the second half of the league, but also a preparation for Manchester United's upcoming first round opponent in the Champions League knockout round, Atletico Madrid!

On the afternoon of February 2th, Manchester United traveled to challenge their old rival Leeds United.

The two teams, neither of which was willing to play conservatively, staged an exciting offensive battle at Elland Road!
For Manchester United, Cristiano Ronaldo scored the first goal shortly after the start of the game!

Rashford returned to the starting lineup and scored with a lob in the 23rd minute of the first half, expanding the team's lead.

Leeds United responded in the 29th minute of the first half, with striker Rodrigo scoring.

Four minutes later, Sancho dribbled past two players on the right and then B Fee made another shot!
At halftime, the score was 1-3. The four goals scored by Leeds United and Manchester United were all exciting, and the fans at the scene and in front of the TV were really excited!
However, as time went by, the physical fitness of the starting players of both teams declined.

Even though the two teams were still stabbing each other in the second half of the game, the accuracy of the shooting was still affected.

However, Manchester United still created more threatening opportunities.

Ronaldo scored with a long shot in the 54th minute of the second half. He was in really hot form.

But Li Chen replaced him and Sancho, who also performed well today, in the 58th minute of the second half.

Manchester United did not score any more goals after that, and Leeds United scored another goal in the injury time of the game, changing the score to 2-4.

Despite slight fluctuations in results, Manchester United has maintained its pace of progress and maintained its top three position in the league before the Champions League battle.

After this round of the Premier League ended, Premier League fans once again turned their attention to the upcoming Champions League knockout matches.

More than a week ago, Manchester City and Liverpool, who were the first to represent the Premier League, both won the first round of the knockout stage.

Chelsea also made their debut yesterday and beat Creel 2-0 at home.

Now, we just have to wait for the result of the first leg between Manchester United and Atletico Madrid!

(End of this chapter)