Goalkeeper Edwin van der Sar, the defense from left to right is Evra, Vidic, Ferdinand and Fabio, the midfield is Park Ji-sung, Giggs, Carrick and Valencia, the frontcourt is Rooney and Etienne
Hernandez.
Ferguson put together his ideal eleven-man lineup for this FA Cup final.
But what is surprising is that he did not adopt the commonly used 433 formation, but adopted a 442 formation.
The specific player positions cannot be observed until the game, but Ferguson has obviously adjusted his past playing style.
When Guardiola saw this style of play, he was obviously secretly relieved, and his eyes when he looked at Su Dong were full of affirmation.
He guessed it right!
Ferguson adopted a 442 formation because he actually wanted to defend and counterattack.
Manchester City's overall strength is not inferior to Manchester United at all, and is even slightly better. Coupled with the team's tactical advantage, it basically adopts active suppression tactics. Ferguson's 442 is actually a deliberate show of weakness and retreating to defend.
.
But if you think Manchester United is like this, you are wrong.
What Ferguson wants is counter-repression.
But there is also a question, that is, if we want to fight against suppression, why Hernandez?
"We all guessed wrong. He did not adopt a five-midfield tactic." Estiarte shook his head.
Among the speculations of the Manchester City coaching staff, Ferguson will choose Fletcher instead of Hernandez.
As a result, Manchester United adopted a five-midfield tactic. When counterattacking, Valencia and Park Ji-sung pressed up from the wings to find Rooney.
Manchester United has used this style of play before, and it can be considered that they are familiar with it.
But Ferguson didn't do that. He took off Fletcher and replaced him with Hernandez.
"He still wants to suppress our defense and control the ball in the midfield and backcourt." Guardiola thought about it for a moment and understood what Ferguson meant. Manchester City's ball control in the midfield and backfield is a problem for any team.
big trouble.
So will this be the case specifically?
…
With a whistle from referee Martin Atkinson, this world-famous Manchester derby finally kicked off.
At the beginning of the game, Manchester United, who took the first kick, quickly kicked the ball to Giggs. The latter made a diagonal pass to the right side of the front court. Valencia moved forward at great speed to get ahead of Marcelo.
Previously, he headed the ball forward and tried to speed up to catch up.
But Pepe took the lead and shoveled the ball out of bounds.
Less than ten seconds into the game, Manchester United got a throw-in opportunity in Manchester City's frontcourt.
The Red Devils quickly took a throw-in, but Manchester City held on firmly and did not give Manchester United a chance to threaten.
As the first wave of attacks began, the game slowly unfolded.
Manchester City was suppressed by Manchester United, and their tactics had not yet come into play, but Manchester United's tactics were already very obvious.
That is suppression.
Although they adopted a 4-4-2 formation, Manchester United did not adopt defensive tactics at the beginning. Instead, they actively pressed forward, especially using high-intensity pressure on Manchester City's midfield and backfield.
Park Ji-sung and Valencia's two wings were very active in pressing forward. Hernandez in the center was at the forefront, while Rooney was behind, fully responsible for suppressing Busquets.
This style of play allowed Manchester United to seize the initiative from the beginning and suppress Manchester City. They quickly entered the game and planned offensive threats twice, but unfortunately they failed to score a goal.
Manchester City was still a little uncomfortable with Manchester United's style of play. They tried to control the ball several times, but were intercepted by Manchester United.
Especially Su Dong, as soon as he gets the ball, there are at least two defensive players around him staring at him.
Under this circumstance, Manchester City's start was not smooth.
However, whether it is Sudong and Busquets on the field, Pepe and Kompany on the defense, and Guardiola on the sidelines, they are constantly calling on the players to calm down, not to be chaotic, and to maintain a good team.
order.
This is not the first time that Manchester City has encountered such a high-pressing team, so they all know that whether it is Manchester United or other teams, this kind of full-court pressing can only be temporary.
Su Dong also quickly adjusted his role. From being at the front, he began to retreat, specifically to grab Carrick's point.
This strategy is indeed very effective. Carrick himself is afraid of grabbing. When Su Dong withdrew, the pressure he faced suddenly increased. Manchester United's passing and receiving errors began to increase. Relatively speaking, Manchester City's control
There are more balls.
So, gradually, Manchester United began to retreat.
But by this time, ten minutes had passed since the game.
Ferguson's opening three axes came out with a bang as soon as they started.
It's a good thing if it works, but even if it doesn't, it can cause some trouble for Manchester City.
After three blows, Manchester United began to serve the main course, which was to shrink the defense.
Guardiola's guess was absolutely correct. Ferguson did not intend to go head-to-head with Manchester City, but wanted to avoid Manchester City's edge and adopt defensive counterattack tactics. This was the reason why he took the risk to play Hernandez.
To put it bluntly, he wants to defend, but is unwilling to defend.
This is in line with Manchester United's current mentality.
On the one hand, they admit that Manchester City is an opponent of equal strength and may even be slightly better than Manchester United. However, on the other hand, due to long-term historical reasons, they look down on Manchester City and feel that Manchester City is just a wealthy upstart and nothing special.
With this mentality, Ferguson adopted such tactics.
…
After Manchester City took control of the ball, Sudong began to retreat to receive the pass from the midfielder, allowing Di Maria and Sanchez to go up and hold Manchester United's defense, especially the two central defenders.
At the same time, Su Dong also noticed that in order to help Manchester United's midfield, Park Ji-sung and Valencia moved more towards the center, leaving the wings free, so Su Dong began to run to the wings frequently.
After the Manchester City players saw Su Dong's running route, they also understood and began to frequently distribute the ball to the wing.
When Marcelo crossed the midline once, he passed the ball to Su Dong who retreated deeply and pulled to the wing to receive the ball.
Sudong blocked Fabio with his body, stopped the ball, turned around and cut in laterally. Before Carrick could get close, he suddenly sent a through ball with his right foot, accurately penetrating Manchester United's midfield and defense.
It fell to the left side of the penalty area.
Di Maria moved forward at great speed, and when he stopped the ball to hit the goal, Ferdinand blocked the ball out of the baseline.
The Argentine winger was tackled in the penalty area while dribbling with the ball, but referee Atkinson indicated that Ferdinand did not commit a foul.
Manchester City took a tactical corner kick. Su Dong dribbled the ball back along the left wing, passed it back to David Silva, and then quickly crossed into the left side of the penalty area.
When David Silva passed the ball across to Toni Kroos, the German midfielder passed the ball diagonally back to find Su Dong.
Su Dong jumped high and headed the ball back to the center, creating an opportunity for Sanchez to grab the ball in front of the goal.
“Man City’s shot!!!”
The entire Wembley Stadium was filled with exclamations from the fans of both teams.
At the critical moment, Vidic used his body to block Sanchez's shot, trying to keep Manchester United's goal intact.
"Too dangerous!"
"Manchester City's continuous attacks have created a threat."
"Su Dong did not stay at the front like before tonight. Instead, he retreated more and moved around the wings to pass the ball and create opportunities for his teammates."
"Whether it was Di Maria's opportunity in the penalty area or Sanchez's shot this time, Sudong showed a very high level and put a lot of defensive pressure on Manchester United, but his teammates failed to seize the opportunity."
At this moment, Manchester City planned another attack.
Su Dong ran to the right this time. After receiving Zabaleta's pass, he took the initiative to pass the ball to Toni Kroos. He ran horizontally to the middle. Toni Kroos quickly knocked back. Su Dong continued to move forward after getting the ball.
In the middle, pass David Silva again.
At this time, Su Dong suddenly spotted the opportunity and no longer ran sideways, but turned towards the goal and rushed forward.
David Silva's pass was accurately passed to Su Dong's running route. Su Dong quickly distributed the ball to the right side of the penalty area, handed it to Sanchez, and quickly rushed towards the goal.
Sanchez understood the idea, got the ball, got rid of Evra who was guarding him, and passed down the bottom line.
However, the pass from the Chilean winger was too close to the goal. Van der Sar grabbed the ball before Su Dong and fell down to save the ball, causing Su Dong to miss the chance to score in front of the goal.
Although he failed to score a goal, Su Dong's continuous cooperation with his teammates and his excellent running earned him applause from the audience and made Ferguson furious on the sidelines.
Damn it, Su Dong is like no one else!
How can we hold on if this continues?
Su Dong breathed heavily, and when walking back, he gave Sanchez a thumbs up.
The Chilean winger was a little embarrassed because he did not pass the ball well, but Su Dong did not blame him.
…
The game continues.
From the tenth minute onwards, Manchester City turned the situation around.
Guardiola watched nervously from the sidelines, but at the same time he was also very happy.
He asked Su Dong to retreat and pull aside and become a free man. Originally, he was worried about whether Su Dong was willing and whether he could do a good job, but now he is not worried anymore.
Su Dong not only cooperated with his tactics, but also did a very good job, even far exceeding his expectations.
If Manchester United's defense was not good enough, Manchester City would have had at least two scoring opportunities just now.
On the court, Su Dong also gradually found the feeling of playing as a free agent.
Although he is tall, he is fast, agile with his feet and has excellent explosive power. Once he charges, no one can stop him.
Just like this time, Su Dong retreated to catch the ball, turned around and started dribbling. Through continuous changes of speed and direction, the ball broke through the interception of three Manchester United players, and sent a direct pass from the front of the penalty area to the left side of the penalty area.
Di Maria crossed into the penalty area from the left and when he was about to hit the goal, he was saved by goalkeeper Edwin van der Sar again.
The Argentinian winger was so angry that he wanted to go crazy.
This is already his two shooting opportunities.
Su Dong has finally seen clearly that Di Maria is still not as good as Sanchez in terms of scoring goals.
Five minutes later, Manchester City attacked from the left, attracting all of Manchester United's defense to the left.
Su Dong took a look at the situation and felt that there was little chance of attacking, so he ran towards the gap on the right rib.
David Silva passed the ball back to the defense to reorganize. Pepe stopped the ball, looked forward, and quickly passed the ball to Su Dong's feet.
Su Dong stopped the ball and turned around, dribbling the ball forward again, heading straight for the Manchester United penalty area.
