Chapter 59 The deeper I love you, the harder I hit you

Chapter 59 The deeper I love you, the harder I hit you

Chapter 59 The deeper I love you, the harder I hit you

Li Chen's interview remarks were not regarded as a deliberate provocation by Manchester United fans.

Because now Manchester United has gradually emerged from the quagmire of performance.

And Ten Hag, who picked up the tactical idea of ​​quick defense and counterattack again, does not seem to be so useless.

Five wins in eight league games, plus consecutive home wins over Liverpool and Arsenal, have gradually made the Red Devils fans accept Ten Hag.

At this moment, Li Chen’s “expectation” is seen more like encouragement to Manchester United by Manchester United fans.

After all, if the strength does not reach a certain level, how can we play a game against Newcastle that can be called "exciting"?
Overnight, almost all Red Devils fans were looking forward to the crucial battle with Newcastle, and also looking forward to the return of Li Chen and Ronaldo.

No one is talking about Manchester United's 10-3 defeat to Manchester City in early October.

The recent three consecutive victories in the Champions League group stage and the Premier League have given Manchester United fans confidence.

Of course, the recent good results have given Ten Hag more confidence.

"I believe we have come out of the shadows at the start of the season when it seemed like Manchester United were finished.

But now, we have climbed to 6th place in the standings in just 7 league games.

During this period we only lost one game to Manchester City, and we won crucial victories against Liverpool and Arsenal.

Manchester United is still on the rise, I have no doubt about that, it will be a tough test for us against Newcastle, but I believe we will eventually win at home! ”

Speaking to reporters at the pre-match press conference, the confident Ten Hag declared victory.

In this regard, some fans expressed their doubts, but many fans also believed that Manchester United, playing at home, really had a chance to score points in the game against Newcastle.

After all, Manchester United rebounded from the third round of the Premier League and won an astonishing 10 games in 8 games on two fronts!
Apart from the loss to Manchester City in the league, they only lost one game to AC Milan in the Champions League group stage.

The hot performance allowed Manchester United to quickly climb from last place in the league to seventh place, and also temporarily ranked first in the Champions League group stage.

Therefore, many fans believe that Manchester United’s ability to score points is not a trick, but the current Manchester United does look in good shape.

After the winning streak, even Anthony has many Manchester United fans defending and praising him, saying that he has a positive attitude towards the game and excellent left-foot shooting, and that he has a promising future...

Everything seems to be developing in Manchester United's favor.

In a relatively friendly home atmosphere, on the afternoon of October 10, a packed Old Trafford welcomed the return visit of Li Chen and Ronaldo.

Amidst the applause and cheers, Li Chen patted his chest, bowed slightly towards the red stands around him, and expressed his gratitude to the Manchester United fans.

Ronaldo also kept waving and applauding towards the stands around him when he came on the field.

During this past summer transfer window, he had a lot of unpleasantness with Manchester United's new head coach and senior management.

But he always maintains absolute respect and love for Manchester United fans.

Such pre-match scenes made the game less tense.

Before the game, Li Chen also held hands with Ten Hag and had a great time chatting and laughing. It seemed that there was a sense of "mutual appreciation" between the two.

Manchester United fans now believe even more that Li Chen is optimistic about Ten Hag's personal coaching ability.

But for Li Chen, he really just wanted to exchange a few polite words with Ten Hag before the game.

Just like when he was interviewed by reporters before, he politely said that he hoped Manchester United executives would give Ten Hag more time.

But Ten Hag took the initiative to talk to him for a while longer and seemed very enthusiastic, so Li Chen had to fake a smile and chat with him for a few more sentences.

If the other party is a simple coach who is obsessed with tactical research and not very familiar with the ways of the world, then there is nothing wrong with Li Chen chatting with him more.

Is it Ketenghager?

To be honest, Li Chen has been coaching independently for more than a year and has seen all kinds of coaches.

He thinks that opponents like Guardiola, Klopp, Conte, Tuchel, Arteta, and Porter have good personalities and solid tactical skills, and he can basically talk to them.

But for Ten Hag, no matter how well he did on the surface, Li Chen felt that they were not the same kind of people.

"This guy has a lot of tricks up his sleeve. He always makes people feel a little uncomfortable."

After Ten Hag left, Carrick was the first to complain to Li Chen.

Li Chen also nodded slightly and did not refute Carrick's statement.

Ten Hag is indeed quite confident, and he is a coach with his own pride, so Li Chen does not believe that his courtesy towards him is out of admiration or gratitude.

Therefore, there is only one possibility for the opponent to perform such a scene before the game, that is, he is trying to numb himself as much as possible and make himself mistakenly believe that he does not have too many ambitions and pursuits for today's game.

"This Dutch bald guy is a bit cunning, but Pep certainly didn't fall for it at the time. He broke the rhythm before 60 minutes of the game."

Li Chen thought of the previous Manchester City 6-3 Manchester United game, and had some ideas in mind. He sat back in the coaching seat and waited for the game to begin.

Manchester United, playing at home today, chose a 4231 starting formation with a more balanced offense and defense.

Starting goalkeeper De Gea.

On the defensive line, Luke Shaw, Lisandro Martinez, Varane and Dalot formed a back four.

In midfield, Manchester United's new signings Eriksen and McTominay, introduced in the summer window, will play as double defensive midfielders, while Big B will still play as attacking midfielder.

Left midfielder Rashford, right midfielder Anthony, center forward Martial.

The visiting team Newcastle will play 433 today.

Starting goalkeeper Sommer.

On the defensive line, Gvardiol and Ramos formed a double central defender, with Marcelo on the left and Trippier on the right.

In midfield, Joelinton, Guimaraes and Palinha still form the midfield trio.

The front trident is still composed of Ronaldo, Havertz and Maddison.

The referee, who was marking the time, quickly blew the whistle.

Manchester United, who got the kick-off right, quickly deployed their formation at home and launched the first offensive attempt of the game against Newcastle.

Compared with last season, after taking office, Ten Hag made significant adjustments to the lineup and tactical system built by Li Chen.

In the first two rounds of the league, Ten Hag wanted to use Manchester United's lineup to force high pressure.

The result was that Manchester United, who could not hold the line for long, was easily caught by the opponent and rushed over, and then fell into the dilemma of being unable to unify tactical ideas, which led to the final disastrous defeat.

Fortunately, although Ten Hag has some problems in judging people, he is not so stubborn in the application of tactics.

At the critical moment, he directly used the counterattack tactics that Li Chen tailored for Manchester United last season.

With both Martial and Rashford being given important roles, Manchester United's record has made a big turnaround, seamlessly transitioning from losing streak to winning streak and rushing straight to the top of the standings.

However, this is different from Li Chen's changes in which he clarified the functional scope of each midfielder and required Big B to make more tactical sacrifices.

Ten Hag still uses his own set of transformation ideas to make each player fully participate in the team's offensive and defensive system.

Therefore, Fred, who was not smart enough, faded out of the main lineup and became a substitute.

Maguire, who did not have sufficient protection in front of him, was replaced by Martinez because he did not meet Ten Hag's tactical requirements.

The more obedient Anthony replaced Sancho in the starting lineup.

Therefore, among all the midfield and frontcourt players who started under Li Chen's coaching last season, only Martial who successfully transformed and Big B who has excellent personal abilities are still able to hold on to their positions.

So logically speaking, Li Chen should be relatively unfamiliar with the new Manchester United.

Although the foundation of the tactical play is still quick counterattack, the tactical details have undergone significant adjustments, and the starting lineup is very different from before.

But Li Chen just happens to understand Manchester United better than most people in the football industry today.

He not only understands the offensive threats of this Manchester United, but also understands the fundamental cosmetic flaws of this Manchester United.

Newcastle was very active in the midfield fighting with Manchester United.

The purpose is not necessarily to regain the ball efficiently, but more to put pressure on B Fee and Eriksen to win the ball, causing them to make mistakes in passing.

Even after taking possession of the ball, Newcastle was not in a hurry to press forward and form an siege on Manchester United.

Instead, they preferred to control the game, trying to force Manchester United to press forward and press high.

This is very different from the tactical plan formulated by Ten Hag before the game.

The situation on the field of the game was also developing in a direction he had not expected.

There is no doubt that he wanted to arouse the offensive desire of the entire Newcastle team, and then use Manchester United's current very smooth counterattack to try to score first.

But Newcastle, who played in a 433 formation today, did not fall for it. Instead, they became the side that lured Manchester United into pressing forward.

It is impossible for Manchester United, playing at home, to play "in harmony" with their opponents when the game is evenly matched.

Now that Newcastle has given up the offensive initiative, Manchester United must pick it up.

Unless Ten Hag wants to suffer from public criticism again.

Facts soon proved that Ten Hag was not Li Chen. Apart from being tough-talking, he did not have the open-minded attitude to take responsibility generously.

Manchester United finally pressed forward and launched an active attack on Newcastle.

Rashford, who had scored goals and assisted in the past few games, no longer seemed magical in front of Newcastle's step-by-step defensive system.

Li Chen knows Rashford much better than Ten Hag.

Rashford doesn't actually need a lot of room to accelerate in order to perform well.

Although he lost some of his flexibility due to his rapid increase in height, he still had the technical foundation.

If the opponent presses forward and plays high pressure, then Rashford, who is in good form, will take on the responsibility of counterattacking and perform like a football superstar.

When breaking through dense defenses, Rashford can also make contributions by integrating into the offensive system of the scoring team, doing more passing and cutting, and attacking the ribs without the ball.

Just that threatening shot in front of the penalty area is enough to make the opponent double-team him in the defensive third zone. Of course, the premise is that he should not continue to stand in the spotlight at this time and take on too much offensive responsibility.

Perhaps, Rashford could have handled this kind of pressure back then, and his performance would have become even better with the pressure of public opinion.

But Rashford's mentality is no longer so stable.

There is not much point in assigning blame, and there is no reason to blame him too much.

As a head coach, the most important thing at this time is to let him perform normally in a suitable atmosphere and mentality.

This is how Li Chen used Rashford last season.

After beating the opponent up, put him in his favorite position, allowing him to fully display his technical expertise behind the big brother.

So in the second half of the first season, Rashford was always able to perform well after coming on as a substitute, his performance became better and better, and his personal confidence became more and more sufficient.

You have to know that Li Chen didn't play defense and counterattack in every game at that time. He often had to siege and break the opponent's bus.

Rashford can always help the team with his long shots and off-ball running in such situations.

At that time, no media said that he was only suitable for quick counterattacks.

But at this moment, Rashford, who was given too many tactical tasks by Ten Hag, once again lost his direction under the opponent's dense defense.

Big B doesn't seem to be as easily irritated and anxious as he was in the previous two seasons.

He also made fewer risky passes, but now his coordination with Martial in the frontcourt was not enough to break through Newcastle's top defense.

At this time, B Fee missed Sancho very much.

In other words, Martial and Rashford, like him, missed Sancho very much, who was able to hold the ball at such moments last season and constantly use his organizational and supporting abilities to pull open the opponent's defense.

Sancho could go several games in a row without recording any personal statistics and look mediocre.

But under Li Chen's correct use, he is the kind of core player who can make his teammates around him play more comfortably and more calmly.

He can catch the ball that others can't catch, and he can pass the ball that others can't pass.

As long as you are on the same cooperation channel with him, he will always be able to use an accurate short pass to enable you to perform well after you create an opportunity.

Anthony, who replaced him in the starting position, is very diligent.

Well, he is indeed very hardworking, and the whole Manchester United team recognizes this.

But what else can we do besides diligence?

It seems that the only decent thing about him is his passing and shooting with his left foot.

But this one trick is not enough to break through the opponent's defense, let alone make the opponent focus on him and double-team him.

Anyway, B Fee really has no expectations for Anthony's personal abilities.

In this situation, he can only hope that Ten Hag can discover the offensive problem earlier and see whether to take the risk of moving Eriksen's position forward and let the Dane participate in the frontcourt's chain attack.

Li Chen also looked at Ten Hag, who was sitting in the coaching seat, with interest.

He was looking forward to seeing what kind of tactical answer this bald Dutchman would give to the tactical challenge he had first raised.

But Ten Hag's attitude of continuing to sit firmly in the coaching seat soon made Li Chen a little disappointed.

"It looks like he doesn't plan to let Martinez go forward to help Eriksen. If Eriksen doesn't press forward to participate in the attack, should we still attack their center?"

Carrick asked Li Chen while holding the tactical book. Li Chen touched his chin and nodded firmly.

"Fight! We will fight even if they don't move. It's time. Hit them in the middle."

Li Chen's tactical adjustment allowed the Newcastle team, which had almost figured out Manchester United's three offensive tactics, to quickly enter the counterattack stage.

Guimaraes' decisive attack caused Rashford to lose the ball first.

The transfer of the ball from Havertz's retreat gave Joelinton a great opportunity to attack quickly!

McTominay, who had been in a forward position because of his heavy involvement in the attack, was completely unable to keep up with Joelinton's pace on the defensive end.

So Eriksen, who was responsible for passing the ball, became the only player in Manchester United's midfield capable of intercepting Joelinton.

The Danish midfielder did not lack the courage to confront, but the result was obvious. Joelinton seemed to "bounce" him away without much effort.

At this moment, Havertz was concentrating on moving forward at high speed, while Maddison on the other end was moving inside to meet Joelinton.

But Joelinton avoided Manchester United's central defense at the critical moment and passed the ball to Ronaldo who was running to the side.

Marcelo moved down the flank tacitly, diverting Dalot's defensive attention.

And Ronaldo did not take this opportunity to dribble inside, but after completing the observation, he sent a beautiful back pass!
Varane was originally focused on Havertz, who was the most threatening header in Manchester United's penalty area at the moment.

But a glimpse of a familiar figure running forward caught his eye and made him shudder!
In an instant, the words of the captain he respected many years ago who taught him to seize the opportunity to attack forward were still ringing in his ears.

The next second, this senior once again demonstrated the classic example of "reverse attack"!

"Ramos's header!!! Oh-!!! Martinez was 'destroyed'! Ramos 'smashed' the ball directly into the Manchester United goal! De Gea had no way to deal with this header from his old captain!"

"Oh my God, Ramos is flying in the Manchester United penalty area! His physical fitness is really explosive!"

"The legendary connection between Ronaldo and Ramos! The old superstars of Real Madrid are still performing their legendary stories in the brand new club!"

Ramos, who headbutted Martinez and headed the ball into the Manchester United goal, put his hands behind his ears and ran towards the Manchester United baseline with an arrogant look on his face to celebrate passionately!
C Ronaldo, who assisted him, did not show too much excitement, and when the two hugged, he was drowned by other teammates who rushed over.

It was not until the collective celebration ended that Ronaldo pursed his lips and trotted back to the kick-off point in silence.

It is obvious that he is not willing to hurt the Manchester United fans who loved him so much last season at Old Trafford.

The same went for Li Chen. He did not celebrate loudly on the sidelines, but just nodded silently to show that he was satisfied with his disciples' performance.

But other Newcastle players don't have such concerns.

Marcelo even performed a complex hand gesture celebration with Ramos near the baseline, which looked quite interesting.

At this moment, Ten Hag's face was already livid, and he was quite dissatisfied with his players' performance in the previous defense.

But he should have expected it.

In the Premier League, Martinez can use his aggressive and fierce interceptions to stifle many offensive threats outside the penalty area.

But once the ball is passed over Manchester United's penalty area, without Maguire's dominant air defense ability, Martinez must face his height defect.

The 36-year-old Ramos taught him a good lesson.

Tell him that without top-notch jumping and predictive talents (Cannavaro), it would be very difficult to suppress opponents in the penalty area with a height of less than 1 meters.

Of course, if you look closely at the entire process of Newcastle's attack, fans can easily see that the area where Manchester United made the fatal mistake was in the middle of the midfield.

McTominay is really not suitable to play as a pure defensive midfielder. Although he covers a large area, his burst speed is too average, and his defensive positioning is not outstanding.

Instead of letting him act as Eriksen's thug, it would be better to let Fred start and focus on sweeping and assisting defense.

However, the stubborn Ten Agger is destined not to compromise in this regard.

He looked at Casemiro who was eager to try sitting on the bench, and ultimately did not choose to make a substitution in the first half.

After the game resumed, Newcastle found their offensive feeling and began to press forward more, which was a good thing for Manchester United.

Because they can finally exert their strength on the counterattack and find the game rhythm that they are most familiar with in recent times.

The defensive defense led by Guimarães once again seriously disrupted Rashford's performance.

Li Chen directly arranged Guimaraes to be positioned in the right flank area of ​​his own half, waiting for Rashford to get the ball and break through.

The result was that Rashford, who was highly anticipated by the entire Manchester United team, was made extremely uncomfortable by Guimarães' several quick and fierce kicks and blocking defense.

Newcastle continued to exert force on the offensive end, constantly pulling and pressuring Manchester United's defense.

In the end, Havertz once again overpowered Martinez and completed a header pass, assisting Ronaldo to score from the back of the Manchester United penalty area!

The precise cross from Marcelo allowed Havertz to fully jump and exert his strength.

But on the high-altitude battlefield, Martinez's little tricks in ground fighting are no longer effective.

He can't win the fight, unless he dares to make a dirty move in the penalty area, but if he does that, Manchester United might lose even more shamefully.

Seeing that the game was only in the 24th minute of the first half, Newcastle continued to take advantage of the flaws in Manchester United's lineup and scored repeatedly. Ten Hag was also worried and signaled the team to shrink its formation.

There's no point in thinking about attacking now. It would be good enough if we can hold the defense and prevent Newcastle from scoring any more goals.

Ten Hag made up his mind and replaced McTominay and Anthony with Casemiro and Sancho at the beginning of the second half.

He needs more offensive changes and needs the midfield to stabilize the defense, which forces him to bow to players he doesn't like to use.

But his adjustments did not prevent a big-score game from happening.

In the 31st minute of the first half, McTominay's helpless pulling foul on Maddison gave Newcastle a direct free kick opportunity on the left side of the frontcourt.

C Ronaldo and Maddison stood in front of the set piece about 26 meters away from Manchester United's goal.

It seems that Ronaldo, whose free kick success rate is a bit low, will continue to take free kicks. His stubbornness is recognized.

The audience also did not think that Madison could snatch the free kick penalty away from the Portuguese superstar.

But with the referee's whistle, Ronaldo just shook his body without any follow-up action, and it was a feint.

Madison, who actually took the penalty kick, used a perfect arc ball that amazed everyone and broke through De Gea's defense again!
Countless viewers were deceived by Ronaldo, but they had no time to complain about Newcastle's free kick design at this time. They were all immersed in Madison's world wave curve ball.

Before half time the team was beating Manchester United 3-0!

It looks like Newcastle is going to replicate the massacre of Manchester City against Manchester United in the 9th round of the Premier League!
Li Chen and Ronaldo still did not make any passionate celebration moves. At this moment, no fan would doubt their feelings for Manchester United.

But the fans have no doubt about the two men's determination to beat Manchester United.

It's true that the deeper I love you, the harder I will hit you!
(End of this chapter)