Chapter 426 Return to the Champions League knockout rounds!
In the end, it was with Ling Feng's volley that Manchester United was able to score three points at Goodison Park.
After fourteen league rounds, Manchester United continues to top the list with an impressive record of thirteen wins and one loss, accumulating 39 points.
What followed was a wave of seven consecutive victories from mid-October to early December, directly rushing to Chelsea, which is second in the league standings!
The Blues are only five points away from the Red Devils!
In third place is the "Gunner" Arsenal, with nine wins, three draws and two losses in 14 games, with 30 points.
As long as Wenger is still in the team, Arsenal will always be a strong contender for the top four in the Premier League.
Fourth, under the coaching of Klopp this season, the "Red Army" Liverpool finally showed its talents.
Fifth is the "Blue Moon" Manchester City who have the same points as Liverpool but are at a disadvantage on goal difference.
The "White Lily" Tottenham, which is playing a youthful storm, has been in poor form recently, with most draws and only ranking sixth.
Although, Tottenham, ranked sixth, has 27 points, and is as many as 12 points behind Manchester United at the top of the list.
However, there are still twenty-four rounds of the league, and nothing has been decided yet.
However, the better Manchester United performs and the better Ling Feng performs, fans and media have to mention another team whose performance has changed dramatically this season.
That is the "Blue Fox" Leicester City!
Leicester City, the defending champion who sold Ling Feng and Kante, has plummeted this season's record compared to last season's invincibility!
What a stark contrast to Manchester United!
Even with a large sum of money in hand, the lineup has been strengthened.
However, the poor performance of the new players and the changes in the tactical system have resulted in the team's ups and downs this season, and they have not won the games they should have won.
The only thing that can give the Blue Fox some comfort may be that the team has performed well in the Champions League and has secured the top spot in the group.
Seeing the defending champion, many fans couldn't help but lament the huge impact of Ling Feng's departure on the team.
On the other side, Manchester United, with Ling Feng, scored 39 points in fourteen games.
On this side, Leicester City, without Ling Feng, only scored 15 points!
One is the most popular team in the league championship, and the other is a team in the middle and lower reaches of the league.
In fact, in the eyes of insiders and football experts, Ling Feng is not the "culprit" for Leicester City's plummeting record
Kante is!
As the Premier League champion last season, Leicester City's anti-counterattack tactical system is based on the dominance of Ling Feng and Kante in the middle!
Without Kanter's sweeps and steals in the middle, no one on the team can protect the back line. As a result, the shortcomings of the central defenders Huth and Morgan's slow turning speed were fully exposed.
Without Ling Feng, Leicester City also lacks an instigator and promoter when switching offense and defense.
As a team with defensive counterattack as its core, defense is the most important part.
In comparison, the impact of Ling Feng’s departure is certainly not as great as Kanter’s departure.
It's just that Ling Feng's greater popularity and fame has concealed the deeper impact of Kante's departure on Leicester City.
Although Blue Fox fans are a little frustrated about the huge gap in the team's performance, But he still stood by the team.
The miracle of the blue fox is destined to be like a meteor that shines briefly but falls rapidly.
Being able to leave a mark in the history of the Premier League and even the history of football is already a great move that most teams cannot do!
The unparalleled moments of touching and excitement last season were brought to them by head coach Ranieri and players such as Ling Feng, Vardy and Mahrez.
Originally, the reason why they were able to miraculously win the Premier League championship had a certain amount of luck.
What's more, this season they suddenly lost the team's two core midfielders, and their strength was greatly reduced.
Coupled with the distraction of the Champions League, it is normal for results to fluctuate.
And, this is only their third season in the Premier League!
However, the support of fans cannot change the outside world's view of Leicester City's poor performance in the league.
After only three wins in fourteen league rounds, Leicester City coach Ranieri's odds of being sacked have soared to first place.
Many football experts and media believe that if Ranieri cannot reverse the situation as soon as possible, he may not last until the end of the season.
Even though he is the meritorious coach of the team who led the team to win the Premier League championship for the first time and led the team to achieve the record of "qualifying the Champions League group" in team history
But in the world of sports competition, results are everything!
However, Lineker, who is a super loyal Blue Fox, also tweeted in support of Ranieri, who was looked down upon by the media:
"This season, the Blue Fox's goal is to show their football on the Champions League stage. As for the league, as long as they are not relegated, I think it will be a successful season."
"Coaching a club is a perseverance. It’s not just about hiring a world-class coach to build a giant club.”
A few days later, Manchester United announced before the Champions League group match against Celtic. At the meeting, Ling Feng, who attended with Mourinho, was also asked by reporters about his old club.
"Leicester City has struggled to win recently, and Ranieri's coaching position is unstable. As a former Leicester City player, what do you think?"
Interview Regarding this question, Ling Feng thought carefully for a moment before answering in a deep voice:
“In the football world, the replacement of a head coach is often linked to the team’s performance.”
“Every head coach’s dismissal is a regrettable change.”
“However, I think Leicester City's current predicament is not Claudio's fault, it's just that the team is adapting to new players and a new tactical system."
"I know Ranieri very well, he is. An experienced coach who can become friends with every player. "
"I think the club should give him more time and patience. He will definitely get the team back on track! ”
Ling Feng's public support also received support from many Blue Fox fans, who flocked to the Blue Fox's social media and official website to comment.
Ranieri was so moved by the public support from his former lover that he called Ling Feng to express his gratitude.
With the unanimous support of public opinion and fans, the Blue Fox official also issued an announcement clarifying that the team is considering the possibility of changing the head coach.
“Claudio has worked with us for more than a year and has brought us three championship trophies in a short period of time. He is our legend! We will support him as always!”< br>
Originally, Leicester City's poor record in the league eventually led to Ranieri being fired before the season was over.
But now, with the huge amount of money brought by Lingfeng's transfer and his public support, Ranieri's fate may be changed.
However, what is certain is that Maguire’s fate has long been changed!
As Huth and Morgan get older and injuries increase, Maguire has almost become Ranieri's first choice for central defender this season.
Although limited by the team's tactics, the Blue Fox's defense was repeatedly attacked by opponents.
However, his frontal defense and air defense capabilities have been unanimously recognized by the media and fans. With Vardy, Mahrez and other main players in sluggish form, Maguire time and time again cleared the opponent's high-altitude pass, and controlled the ball to move forward and complete the precise ball, which almost became the team's scene. Few highlights.
Many media and England stars have also called on Hodgson to recruit this young central defender with a kick into the team for training.
Unconsciously, the former English Premier League ace has now grown into a Premier League ace!
. . .
Ling Feng naturally sympathized deeply with his old club's plight.
However, he is no longer a Blue Fox player, and he also left a huge transfer fee to the Blue Fox.
Now, he is a Manchester United player, and what he has to consider is how to lead Manchester United to revival!
Manchester United’s final round of the Champions League group stage this season started at Old Trafford.
The opponent is Celtic, the dominant team in the Scottish Premiership.
The two sides met in the first round, and Manchester United was tenaciously tied by Celtic at home.
This time, regardless of the result, the team has qualified.
Therefore, Mourinho waved his hand and responded with a full substitute lineup.
The starting eleven have all been changed!
Damian, Romero, Jones, Rojo, Carrick, Blind, etc., all got starting opportunities.
Although there is no Ling Feng, no Ibrahimovic, and no Kanter.
However, Manchester United's substitutes also performed bloody well amidst the loud singing of tens of thousands of fans at Old Trafford.
In the end, Manchester United defeated Celtic 2-1 at home thanks to Rashford's solo breakthrough at the last moment of the game.
It also allowed the Celtics to be completely eliminated as the bottom of the group!
“Go back to Scotland and play basketball, the Champions League is not the place you should come!”
At this point, Manchester United’s Champions League group stage journey has come to a successful conclusion.
With four wins, one draw and one loss in six games, the Red Devils have a record of 13 points, second only to Barcelona with 15 points, and advance to the top 16 as second place in the group!
And this is Manchester United's return to the knockout stages of the Champions League after three years!
After the game, "Manchester United" also began to praise Mourinho again:
"The successful master of the Champions League brought his team back to the land he once ruled. ! ”
After qualifying from the Champions League group, Mourinho and the Manchester United generals can finally breathe a little easier.
At least until the knockout rounds begin in February, they can temporarily focus on the league.
A few days later, on December 11, they faced Tottenham's challenge at Old Trafford!
This is a matchup between the first and sixth teams in the league, and it is also the first time the two sides have met this season.
As one of the BIG6 in the league and the team with the youngest average age in the league, Tottenham's performance this season has been outstanding.
The record against championship opponents is also commendable.
Draws with Liverpool and Arsenal, victory over Manchester City, and only lost to Chelsea!
However, young people are motivated and have the momentum of a newborn calf who is not afraid of tigers, but their experience is still a little lacking.
We were tied by mid-range teams such as Bournemouth, West Brom, and Leicester City, and lost a lot of points.
This game is an away game against Manchester United. If they want to retreat, they must be the first to use frequent interspersed running and the impact of young people to attack Manchester United's relatively slow back line. Line of defense.
So, Pochettino also put together the strongest lineup:
The goalkeeper position is French goalkeeper Hugo Lloris;
The four defenders are Britain's number one defender Walker, Belgian central defender partner Alderweireld and Vertonghen, and winger Marros;
The double defensive midfielder is Kenyan midfielder Wanyama, plus the "Tottenham real core" Dembele;
The three offensive midfielders, South Korea's first brother Son Heung-min and Danish commander E Rickson is separated on the left and right, and Ali, the new British Emperor star, is in the middle.
The single forward arrow is White Hart Lane darling Harry Kane!
The DSEK combination is in its youth, with the ball-carrying midfielder Dembélé and midfielder Wanyama, a full-back combination with both wings flying together, a stable Belgian double central defender, and the French goalkeeper.
In Ling Feng's opinion, this lineup is definitely Tottenham's strongest lineup in the past ten years!
Even better than Manchester United in terms of overall strength and age structure!
This season, in addition to the British striker Hope Kane who continues to perform well, Ali's explosion makes people seem to see Ling Feng who was born out of nowhere!
Even compared to Ling Feng back then, Ali's shooting from behind and his sense of smell in front of the goal are stronger.
However, no matter how good they are this season, when Tottenham's twin stars Alli and Kane met their two big brothers in the national team, they were still naturally shorter.
At least in the player tunnel, it was Kane and Ali who took the initiative to say hello to Rooney and Ling Feng.
Manchester United also attaches great importance to this strong dialogue.
In order to defend the unbeaten record at home, Mourinho also used all his main players!
The only change is that Fellaini replaced Herrera who was absent due to injury.
Fortunately, Herrera's injury is not serious, just a hamstring strain, and he will be able to return in two weeks.
After the game started, Manchester United quickly took the initiative at home.
With victory after victory, the Red Devils led by Mourinho are no longer the hypnotic ball control team they were last season.
Coupled with the joining of Ibrahimovic and Ling Feng, the team has brought a bloody and domineering attitude to the team!
In the eyes of many fans, today's Manchester United is still not as energetic as the Red Devils under Ferguson.
However, there have been great changes.
The mental outlook and attitude of the players on the court also allowed the fans to see their positivity and hard work.
When I saw Ibrahimovic’s passionate celebration on the court and his arms raised when he fell behind;
When I saw Kanter constantly running and sweeping in the midfield;
When he saw Ling Feng fell to the ground being violated again and again, he still stood up as if nothing was wrong;
Whether it is the Manchester United players on the field or on the bench, they seem to be facing soul torture in their hearts:
Have you really fought for the team?
Have you ever tried your best every minute and every second on the court like them?
Under the iron-blooded transformation of Mourinho, and under the leadership of the two wolves Ibrahimovic and Ling Feng, the Red Devils have gradually regained their former style of dominating the Premier League and reaching the top of Europe!
(End of this chapter)