Before Manchester United's home game against Benfica, Ancelotti issued a killing order: "We have won 5 consecutive victories. We must win this game and strive to qualify at the top of the group."
The British media are also optimistic about Manchester United. Former Chelsea assistant Ray Wilkins believes that no matter who it is, they must know the importance of qualifying for the top spot. The Red Devils cannot be tripped by the same stone (3-3 Basel at home).
However, after 90 minutes of the game, Manchester United conceded a goal first, equalized and then reversed, but was eventually tied 2-2 by Benfica. While handing over their opponent to the top of the standings, it also allowed Benfica to qualify one round early.
There were boos at Old Trafford in the 90th minute. The fans could only use boos to vent their dissatisfaction with the team's performance. In the three home games of the Champions League group stage, Manchester United only won one victory. No wonder the fans were dissatisfied with the team's performance.
Due to this dissatisfaction, Ancelotti heard boos from Red Devils fans for the first time since taking office.
After 5 rounds, Benfica and Manchester United are tied with 9 points. According to the UEFA Champions League competition rules, if two teams have the same points, the winning and losing relationships between the two teams will be compared first; if the winning and losing relationships are the same, the number of goals scored between the two teams will be compared in turn, and then the number of goals scored between the two teams will be compared.
Number of away goals scored per game.
Manchester United and Benfica both tied at home and away in the group stage, with a total score of 3-3. However, Benfica scored 2 away goals, while Manchester United only scored 1 away goal. Therefore, after 5 rounds, the ranking is below Benfica.
.
After Basel defeated Galati Steel 3-2 in this round's away game, the points reached 8 points. In the last round, Manchester United will go to Basel to challenge Basel. Since Benfica won one of the two games against Basel and drew one, therefore, regardless of Manchester United and Basel
Regardless of the outcome, Benfica is determined to qualify one round ahead of schedule.
In the final match of the group stage, Benfica will play at home against Galati Steel, which is the weakest team in the group and has lost all 5 games so far. There should be no big problem in winning and winning the first place in the group is a sure bet. If Manchester United wants to be the first in the group
To qualify, they must defeat Basel in the away game, and then hope that Galati Steel can draw or beat Benfica in the away game. You can imagine how difficult it is.
Currently, Bayern has been confirmed to qualify as the top of Group A one round in advance; Inter Milan has been confirmed to qualify as the top of Group B one round in advance; Benfica is temporarily ranked first in Group C; Real Madrid has been confirmed to be the top of Group D one round in advance; Group E
The current leaders of Group F are Chelsea and Arsenal respectively; the leader of Group G is APOEL from Cyprus; in Group H, Barcelona should be able to qualify first in the group as long as they do not lose to AC Milan away from home.
Since the draw for the Champions League 18 finals adopts the principle of avoiding teams from the same group and those registered with the Football Association, if Manchester United qualify as second in the group, it is likely that there will only be 5 choices. Among them, except for the mysterious trip of APOEL from Cyprus, the others
The four teams (Real Madrid, Bayern, Inter Milan and Barcelona Milan) are all top giants.
In other words, although Manchester United can guarantee qualifying if they do not lose to Basel in an away game, if they can only qualify second in the group, and Arsenal and Chelsea occupy the first place in the group, Manchester United has an 80% chance of being drawn.
Top wealthy family!
Although some Manchester United fans wrote on Weibo, "Who cares whether we qualify first in the group? If you want to be the best team, you must beat those excellent teams. Barcelona come here!" But to be fair,
, with Scholes and Van der Sar retiring, Giggs' physical condition not being able to support him playing regularly, Evra and Ferdinand's form declining seriously, and rookies such as Cleverley suffering from repeated injuries, Manchester United
If we really get drawn against Barcelona, I'm afraid we'll have a narrow escape.
And if they lose to Basel in an upset away game, Manchester United will suffer the misfortune of being eliminated from the group! This is probably unacceptable to all Manchester United fans no matter what. In a word, Manchester United has been forced to a dead end and has no retreat!
Benfica's Champions League group match against Manchester United is very important for both sides. Before the game, the two teams had 8 points in Group C. The winner will have an extremely favorable qualifying situation. Before the game, people's attention was focused on
Benfica's young midfielder Nicolas Gaitan is a potential new star who has been spotted by Ancelotti. This performance at Old Trafford is also an excellent opportunity for Gaitan to prove his strength.
Gaitan did not disappoint many people who were optimistic about him. The Argentine youngster was one of Benfica's most threatening players in the first half.
After the opening, Benfica turned away and took the lead. In the 3rd minute, Benfica played a pass and cut cooperation on the right. Gaitan inserted into the Manchester United penalty area and passed with his left foot. Manchester United central defender Phil Jones accidentally blocked the ball into his own door. Benfica won a dream
A general start; Chapter
In the 6th minute, Gaitan singled out Evra on the right, and the slightly embarrassed French veteran had to destroy the ball out of the sideline; in the 15th minute, Gaitan picked up the ball in the middle and pushed the ball forward without waiting for the ball to land. His superb
His ball control skills won a round of applause from the audience.
In the 19th minute, Gaitan turned his back and passed the ball to Aimar in the penalty area. The latter's attempt to pass the ball failed. The fans also marveled at Gaitan's flash of inspiration. In the 30th minute, Benfica made a quick counterattack.
Gaitan passed the ball beautifully in front of the penalty area to Aimar who came in behind. The latter formed a one-on-one shot, but the "Joker"'s final shot was saved by De Gea.
In the second half, Manchester United, who were eager to win, launched a massive attack. Benfica was completely suppressed in their own half, and Gaitan did not get many opportunities to perform. In the 48th minute, Gaitan received a through ball from his teammate and curled the ball with his left foot in front of the penalty area.
The shot was too on target and De Gea got the ball. In the 67th minute, Benfica head coach Jesus, who was satisfied with a draw, replaced Gaitan to strengthen the defense. Gaitan's performance at Old Trafford was also perfect.
take a bow.
In Sky Sports' post-match ratings, Gaitan also received the team's second-highest score of 7 points after Aimar.
The 23-year-old Gaitan was born in Buenos Aires, Argentina. He just joined Benfica from Argentina's Boca Juniors last summer for 7.2 million pounds.
Since coming to Benfica, Gaitan's outstanding performance has attracted the attention of teams including Inter Milan, Paris Saint-Germain, Manchester United and other teams. Manchester United is the most sincere buyer. Ferguson even sent scouts to keep a close eye on Gaitan. Although
Currently arranged by the team
Gaitan is the left winger, but Gaitan is very comprehensive. His most familiar position is the offensive midfielder behind the forward. When the team plays a 5-man midfielder, Gaitan can also switch to the right wing. In this game, Gaitan
Tan posed a huge threat to Manchester United on the right.
Gaitan's first season in Benfica was very successful. He scored 9 goals in total and won the "Best Breakthrough Player Award" in the Portuguese Super League that year. This season he has scored 1 goal and 3 assists in the league.
Helping Benfica reach 24 points, tied with Porto at the top of the Portuguese Super League standings.
In addition, Benfica's excellent record in the Champions League is also inseparable from Gaitan's performance. Before this game, he had contributed 4 assists, ranking first in the Champions League assist list. Benfica played at home in the first round of the Champions League group stage
At Manchester United, Cardoso's opening goal came from an assist from Gaitan. In this game, it was Gaitan's pass that forced Phil Jones to score an own goal, helping Benfica get a good start and eventually go smoothly.
Take away a point at Old Trafford.
It may not be easy for Manchester United to get Gaitan. The Argentinian just renewed a five-year contract with Benfica last month. Benfica set a break clause of 38.5 million pounds for Gaitan, hoping to scare off Gaitan's many
Pursuer." said in the interview: "I am lucky to play for a team like Benfica. I am very happy here. I am honored to be associated with Manchester United, but my wish is to complete my career at Benfica.
Contract, this is a great club. I know Sir Alex Ferguson thinks highly of me, but the closest I got to Manchester United was when the two teams met in the Champions League group stage."
Gaitan's appearance reminds people of the Argentine "wizard" Veron who once played for Manchester United. Veron joined Manchester United for 28 million pounds in 2001, but he never adapted to Manchester United's tactics during his two-year career at Manchester United.
system, and eventually had to leave Old Trafford to join Chelsea. The Argentine was also regarded as one of Ferguson's failed signings.
But Gaitan is completely different. This youngster plays a more forward position, is fast, has outstanding skills and is extremely talented. He is a great complement to Manchester United, which currently lacks creativity in offense. Judging from this performance, Gaitan
Tan is the person that Manchester United needs. He can not only create threats on the wing with his flexible movement, but also send precise through balls in the center. He can definitely occupy a place in Manchester United's current midfield and frontcourt configuration, and cooperate with Li Keqiang.
Jade, Hernandez and others formed a good chemical reaction.
Although his high price may make people worry about whether he will become "Veron No. 2", Gaitan is just 23 years old this year. His age is his biggest advantage, and he still has a lot of room for improvement. I believe he will definitely be able to play in the old age.
He has further improved under the guidance of Sir Alex Ferguson. Perhaps for Manchester United, Gaitan is their best Christmas gift.
After experiencing a nightmare start, the Red Devils seemed to have lost their usual domineering attitude at Old Trafford and appeared very reserved on the offensive end. Li Yu, who was no longer on the first offensive line, was in the first half of the first half.
No chance to show off at all.
But almost as soon as he touched the ball for the first time in the game, Manchester United's No. 9 changed the trend of the game.
In the 30th minute, Manchester United organized an offensive on the left. Li Yu suddenly stepped forward and circled around the offside line, making the opponent elusive like Inzaghi. Nani saw the right time and sent a precise cross. Garay made an offside move and released Li Yu.
Manchester United's No. 9 was unmarked and the Lion headed towards the goal. The ball hit the right post and flew into the net. Although the opponent's goalkeeper tried hard to save it, it was still out of reach.
Judging from the slow motion, Li Yu was slightly over half of his body at the moment when Nani passed the ball. This was Li Yu's 25th goal in 25 Champions League games on behalf of Manchester United. Although there was some suspicion of offside.
, but the goal is real, and there is another point that Li Yu always starts quickly, which is probably a visual illusion!
Scored a goal in a sports battle! Li Yu, who broke the goal drought with cooperation, finally erased the cloud that filled his face at the beginning. The melancholy in his eyes was gradually shrouded in murderous aura. From that moment on, Li Yu was completely resurrected.
After scoring the goal, Li Yu had always been cautious in the previous games, frequently retreating to support his teammates behind him, and taking the initiative to ask for the ball, which suddenly revitalized the previously lifeless team's offense.
In the 31st minute of the game, Li Yu retreated from the middle to get the ball and took the opponent's two central defenders out of the penalty area. When Manchester United's No. 9 received the ball and turned around, he already saw Mata who was quickly inserted. Manchester United's No. 9 made a concealed through ball.
The ball instantly tore open the opponent's defense, and Mata got a chance to stand alone. Unfortunately, the opponent's goalkeeper bravely saved Mata's shot.
Playing again in another place, Li Yu played more and more contentedly. Only 30 seconds into the second half, Li Yu used a pass in his own half to cause a foul on his opponent. In addition to showing off his footwork, he also showed
It gradually overflowed with confidence in its new position.
In the 50th minute, Li Yu got the ball in the penalty area. With two defensive players surrounding him, Li Yu knocked the ball to Fletcher with his heel for the first time. The latter did not expect that Manchester United 9 could win in such a difficult situation.
The ball was passed out under the circumstances, but his reaction was a little slow, and he wasted the opportunity to shoot directly from the penalty area line. Just one minute later, Li Yu passed two people on the left rib of the penalty area, and struck the middle with the outside of his right foot to find a way to outflank him.
The Mata was in place, but unfortunately it was a little weak and was destroyed by the opponent.
However, the crazy state also made Li Yu a little overconfident when handling the ball.
In the 78th minute, Fabio passed the ball from the right, and Li Yu broke into the penalty area and faced the goalkeeper. Since all the Benfica players pressed up to create an offside, Li Yu had time to remove the ball and then choose to shoot directly or pass the goalkeeper.
Manchester United's No. 9 used the most difficult way to handle the ball. He faced the ball and volleyed directly sideways. The whole set of actions was done in one go, gracefully and elegantly, but in the end he shot the ball high. Seeing Li Yu waste such a sure chance to score,
Ancelotti couldn't help holding his head and sighing.
In addition, Li Yu had two goals that were called offside. People can't help but marvel that Manchester United's No. 9 seems to have quietly completed the transition from a technical shooter to an opportunity shooter.
Since the 2006-07 season, that is, 5 years ago, Ronaldo has maintained a scoring rate of at least one goal every two games at Manchester United. After joining Real Madrid, he even averaged more than one goal per game in the previous season. But it is only more than one goal per game.
Li Yu, who is one year and nine months younger than Ronaldo, has already broken Ronaldo's record. When Ferguson was in office, he had no choice but to fully stimulate Li Yu's offensive potential. After Ancelotti took office, he considered more
The overall problem, in fact, is that no matter who coached Manchester United, Manchester United was actually declining year by year, especially when the defense line needed to be replaced on a large scale. The young newcomer strategy adopted by Ferguson before his retirement made An
Celotti was a bit hard to do.
Ancelotti's move to withdraw Li Yu's position was also a helpless move. It was completely impossible for Li Yu to act like he was in Real Madrid and just concentrate on attacking. Especially when Rooney was missing this season, Li Yu retreated.
It has become an inevitable choice.
After returning to the Premier League from the Champions League, all teams now know that Manchester United's once impregnable defense has a fatal weakness, that is, left back Evra is afraid of the impact of speedy wide players.
The declining explosive power and the large number of assists that still refuse to accept his old skills often leave opponents with a large open space behind the French veteran. Therefore, Manchester United's left wing has become a back garden for those speed demons to run wildly.
From the moment he was abandoned by Manchester United, Obotan has been looking forward to the opportunity to play against his old club. Being able to prove his strength in front of his former teammates is obviously the best way to wash away the shame of being kicked out by the Red Devils.
The French winger said confidently before the game: "Leaving Manchester United is never a good thing. There may be some regrets, but after such an excellent start to the season in Newcastle, I no longer feel any regrets. Evra is me My good friend, I called him before and said that I have been training in the gym for two weeks, so he needs to be careful. When you leave a club, you always have this idea, and you have to be careful when you come back. Prove that you've gotten better, and that's what I'll do."
When Obotan, wearing a Newcastle jersey, appeared at Old Trafford as a guest player, the Manchester United abandoned player used his sharp wing breakthrough to prove that the previous warning was by no means alarmist, even though Obotan was considered by many to be Although he is a one-cell player with great physical fitness, Evra still has no way to deal with this speed monster's aggressive attack.
In the 19th minute, Obotan accelerated from the right edge of the penalty area and left Evra far behind. Then he easily sent a cross near the baseline. Vidic rushed in front of Demba Ba and made a hasty header to clear the ball. The ball fell to Ryan Taylor at the back point. Taylor's powerful shot was firmly confiscated by De Gea. In the 38th minute, Obotan received Demba Ba's through ball and took the ball all the way to the bottom line. Evra He could only chase after him in embarrassment. If Ferdinand hadn't made up his position in time, Obotan would have almost fought all the way to the small penalty area.
In the 42nd minute, Obotan sent two crosses in front of Evra. At that moment, Evra's defense was almost useless. Fortunately, the anti-aircraft battery composed of Vidic and Ferdinand performed very steadily and continuously cleared the ball.
In fact, perhaps because the young Fabio was more likely to make mistakes, Newcastle's offense in the opening stage was mainly concentrated on Manchester United's right. However, after Gutierrez failed to challenge Fabio twice in a row, Newcastle The focus of the attack shifted to Obotan's side. As a result, they found that the so-called experienced and experienced Evra was much easier to deal with than the childish Fabio. Obotan used his speed to beat Evra almost instantly. A sudden and accurate move, and the shaky defense on the left side made Ferguson sit on pins and needles in the coaching bench.
In stark contrast to the embarrassment on the defensive end, Evra's performance on the offensive end was very impressive. In just 7 minutes of the opening, Evra sent a high-quality overhead long pass to Xiaopea, who cut inside The shot also poses a certain threat.
In the 55th minute, Evra quickly stepped in when Giggs was double-teamed. The Welsh veteran knew what he was doing and sent a through ball from behind. Evra passed the last defensive player on the right side of the opponent and drove straight in, and set up a pass for Ashley Young. After sending a high-quality low pass, the latter fired an angry shot into the far corner in front of the penalty area, and the ball missed the goal post. In the 70th minute, Evra started dribbling the ball from the left rib of the midfield, using his body to lean on the opponent and run all the way to In front of the penalty area, he completed a furious shot, showing his amazing confrontation ability and ball protection skills.
In the 83rd minute, Evra faced Sami Ameobi's clearance corner kick and drew a curved ball with the outside instep of his left foot on the edge of the penalty area. The ball went straight to the upper left corner of the goal. Unfortunately, with the help of God, Krul flew over and took the ball. The ball saved the baseline.
It's lucky that such a defense brought back 1 point in the away game.
