From the man behind the football king to the football king.

Chapter 572: Mu's Bus Has Departed

"Let's take a look at Manchester United's starting XI."

Manchester United starting lineup (451):

Goalkeeper: David de Gea

Defenders: Cancelo, Maguire, Van Dijk, Luke Shaw;

Midfield: Kante, Fellaini, Herrera, Bruno, Gundogan;

Striker: Harry Kane.

"Three defensive midfielders? I really didn't expect that." Sun Jihai shook his head. "Coach Mourinho's lineup surprised me. The defensive line is a normal partnership. Kante, Herrera and Fellaini form three defensive midfielders in the midfield..."

"In fact, it should be a 4-3-2-1 Christmas tree formation, with three defensive midfielders in the midfield, and then Gundogan and Bruno behind Harry Kane to deliver ammunition for Harry Kane." Zhan Jun said.

"The outrageous three defensive midfielders! This is a regression in artistic football. Only Mourinho can deploy such a crazy conservative formation to win." The commentator who supports Manchester City said sarcastically, "Obviously, Mourinho is also afraid of Manchester City's offensive ability."

Guardiola was also shocked to see Mourinho deployed an astonishing three-midfielder formation, with Kante in the middle, Fellaini on the left and Herrera on the right, which directly blocked the delivery path in the midfield. He had never seen a head coach so conservative.

Then, Guardiola wanted to yell, "What a bastard! That guy vowed in the pre-match press conference that he would compete with Manchester City in goals and attack, but he came up with a starting lineup like this?!"

It's common for the head coach to release smoke bombs before the game, but other people just release smoke bombs, but this bastard is releasing poison gas!

………………

"Three defensive midfielders can't stop us from scoring!" shouted the commentator who supported Manchester City.

"Manchester City will be in trouble." Compared to the commentator who supports Manchester City, Sun Jihai frowned and said, "Manchester United is known for its ability to fight and intercept. Now with three defensive midfielders, Fernandinho and De Bruyne will be in trouble. It will be difficult for them to have a brilliant performance." He is a little worried about this game now.

"Sterling and Sane, one on the left and one on the right, I hope they can tear open Manchester United's flanks." Sun Jihai continued, and then he shook his head.

Obviously, Mourinho has been prepared for this game. When healthy, Luke Shaw is the best left-back in the world today. His speed and strong physical fitness make him a solid barrier for Manchester United's defense. He has excellent interception and marking skills, which can effectively limit the opponent's offensive threats. In addition, his understanding and contribution to the overall defensive organization are also very important.

Luke Shaw has been in good health this season, unlike his injury-prone state last season. British media say that Luke Shaw has completely recovered from the serious broken leg injury two years ago.

And with a healthy Luke Shaw, it is very difficult for Sane to take advantage of him.

………………

The referee of this game is the famous German referee Felix Brüch. He is having the final communication with the linesman. After confirmation, he will blow the whistle to start the first half of the game on time.

Soon, amidst huge cheers from the Etihad stands, the focus of the second leg of the 2017-2018 UEFA Champions League semi-final, the Manchester derby between the Red Devils Manchester United and the Blue Moon Manchester City, officially began!

Mourinho returned to the coaching booth and sat down, looking through the materials at hand. He happened to see the information about the referee of this game.

According to the media, Mr. Felix Brüch is a referee with a "strict and tough" enforcement style. Players on the field will be penalized for any slightly violent movements, and may even be shown a yellow sapphire card. Brüch is also called a "card-playing machine" by the media.

Such a referee is not friendly to Manchester United. Manchester United is good at fighting and sometimes the movements are relatively large. On the contrary, such a referee seems to be more beneficial to Manchester City, which pursues smooth cooperation.

………………

The boos at the Etihad Stadium rang out again.

Fellaini very kindly extended his hand, trying to pull up his national team teammate De Bruyne, but the latter obviously did not appreciate it. He ignored Fellaini's right hand, got up by himself, and glared at Fellaini fiercely.

Referee Felix Brüch raised two fingers at Fellaini, meaning it was the second time.

Fellaini defended himself somewhat innocently, saying that he just touched De Bruyne lightly, but when he saw the referee's unhappy face, he immediately shut up wisely.

At this time, the first half of the game had been going on for 25 minutes, and the Manchester City players on the field and the Manchester City fans in the stands had accumulated too much dissatisfaction.

"That guy committed a foul! It's the second time!" De Bruyne, who had climbed up, shouted at the referee, "It's time to give him a card."

The referee's expression immediately changed. He pointed at De Bruyne and sternly warned the Manchester City midfielder to shut up. If he kept talking, he would give him a card.

David Silva quickly came over and pulled De Bruyne away, then he went to negotiate with the referee.

David Silva not only protested against Fellaini's foul on De Bruyne at this time, but also complained about the small actions of Manchester United's defensive players after the start of the game.

The referee said he had received David Silva's protest and then told him to shut up.

"Let's take a look at the subtle movements of Manchester United players when they were defending," Zhan Jun said. "Such subtle movements are harmless and subtle, so it's hard for the referee to spot them right away, and even if he does, he can't issue a card."

"Manchester City fell completely into Manchester United's trap, and the two sides fought in the midfield, which is exactly what Mourinho wanted to see," said Sun Jihai.

………………

After the game started, the three defensive midfielders of Kante, Herrera and Fellaini were like a wall in front of the back line, which made it difficult for Fernandinho and De Bruyne to pass the ball, and it could even be said that it became difficult for them to get the ball comfortably.

This caused Sterling and Sane to have to retreat frequently to ask for the ball, but the problem was that it was not easy for either Sterling or Sane to continue moving forward after getting the ball.

The task that Mourinho gave to the three defensive midfielders was simple and clear: do not let Manchester City's midfielders get the ball comfortably, let alone let them organize an attack.

In a word, do whatever it takes to paralyze Manchester City's midfield organization.

Kante, Herrera, with Fellaini assisting on the side, the three of them completed the tasks assigned by Mourinho very well.

For any artist who can defend Manchester City, Kante knows exactly what to do. He led two helpers to encircle Manchester City's midfield, using covert and practical little moves, rationally using physical confrontation to impact the opponent, and taking tactical fouls at the right time without getting a card. Kante led Herrera and Fellaini to play very skillfully.

Facing Manchester United's three defensive midfielders, whether it was Fernandinho, De Bruyne, David Silva, or the young Sterling, Sane and Bernardo Silva, they all seemed helpless. They were pressed and embarrassed.

Especially Sterling, facing this very tough physical confrontation, the happy boy from England felt very uncomfortable. He had just recovered from a hamstring injury. He was obviously a little scared of the tough physical confrontation, as if he was worried about getting injured again. Later, when Herrera saw Herrera rushing towards him, he avoided kicking.

………………

"If Sterling is in good physical condition, he will have a way to get past Herrera, but Sterling is still recovering both physically and competitively," Sun Jihai defended Sterling.

"It's not three defensive midfielders." Zhan Jun shook his head and smiled, "When necessary, Gundogan also defended and retreated very deep."

Guardiola walked around the sidelines, feeling restless. He thought that Manchester United would choose a conservative tactic after winning 3-0 in the first leg, but he didn't expect Mourinho to be so conservative.

Guardiola thought that Mourinho would repeat his old tricks in this game. Guardiola was well prepared for this game and was very experienced in the tactics of fighting against Manchester United again. However, he did not expect that Mourinho would be scared this time.

Faced with Manchester United's almost rogue conservative style of play, Guardiola and Manchester City have no better solution.

The game had been going on for more than thirty minutes and the two sides had only five shots in total, with Manchester United having one shot and Manchester City having four shots, most of which were long shots. This shows how boring the game was on the offensive end.

"Score a goal," Guardiola said to his assistant Arteta. "We must score in the first half, otherwise the second half will be more difficult."

Arteta nodded in agreement. From Manchester United's conservative tactics, it can be seen that Manchester United's goal today is to be satisfied with a draw away from home, or even a small loss of one or two goals. After all, Manchester United had a huge advantage in the first leg.

If the game ended in a 0:0 draw in the first half, it would only stimulate Manchester United coach Mourinho to continue to stick to this boring and conservative tactics.

………………

Guardiola said goals would come, and then goals came.

In the 39th minute of the game, the goal finally came. Manchester United broke the deadlock with its second shot in the game.

"GOOOOOOOOOOOOALLLLLL!!!!!!"

"Bruno Fernandes--!!! Beautiful long shot! This is Bruno's signature way of scoring goals!" Zhan Jun stood up and shouted loudly with his fists clenched.

"This was an unexpected goal. Kante pressed Sterling, who hastily passed the ball. Fellaini and De Bruyne went up to grab the ball. De Bruyne made a sliding tackle, and the ball accidentally flew to Manchester City's half. After Bruno got the ball, he dribbled forward for a distance, and suddenly took a long shot before Manchester City's defense closed in. The Manchester United captain delivered a fatal blow in the 1th minute of the first half! Manchester United took the lead 0:4 away from home, and the total score has been rewritten to 0:!"

"This is Bruno's 12th Champions League goal this season. He is catching up with his national team captain in the scorer list. Ronaldo's Champions League Golden Boot does not look so safe!"