Chapter 431: Four assists, IFFHS annual playmaker!
In the away game against Crystal Palace, Ibrahimovic scored twice this season for the fifth time.
As the leading shooter of the Red Devils, he has scored 14 goals in 15 league appearances, with a goal efficiency close to one goal per game.
Quite amazing!
Such a hot state not only severely punished those who were not optimistic about Ibrahimovic's ability to adapt to the Premier League before the start of the season, but also made the media and fans sincerely sigh:
The 35-year-old Ibrahimovic is still as fierce as a lion in his prime!
However, there is someone who is more explosive than "God".
That is his teammate, the newly released third man in the world and the current number one player in the Premier League - Ling Feng!
In fifteen appearances in the league, the Red Devils No. 7 contributed a terrifying seventeen goals and seventeen assists!
He scored 34 goals individually, averaging two goals per game! ! !
This number of participating goals ranks first among the five major leagues!
Neither Messi nor Ronaldo can compare with them!
Originally, before the start of the season, according to the league Golden Boot odds ranking given by the betting company, Ibrahimovic ranked third behind Kane and Aguero.
The reason why Ibrahimovic, who is debuting in England for the first time, is ranked third in the Golden Boot predictions is largely because he has Ling Feng, the Premier League assists king, behind him to make cakes for him!
And their prediction was not wrong.
Among Ibrahimovic's fourteen league goals this season, ten of them came from Ling Feng's assists!
It is conceivable that without Ling Feng, Ibrahimovic's number of goals will inevitably decline significantly.
Given Ibrahimovic's hot form in the league this season, he has a great chance to make history and hit the record of the first player to win the Eredivisie, Serie A, Ligue 1, and Premier League Golden Boots, as well as the age in the history of the Premier League. The biggest league golden boot.
However, success is as high as failure, as is failure!
No one would have thought that Ling Feng’s scoring efficiency would experience an explosive increase after moving to a new team!
During the same period last season, Ling Feng only scored nine goals; but this season, he has scored an astonishing seventeen goals!
Last season, he was the midfielder with the most goals in the Premier League;
And this season, if the momentum continues, he will obviously become the player with the most goals in the Premier League!
This means that if Ibrahimovic wants to make history, his biggest competitor is not the super forwards of other teams, but his teammates, the best partners who have always fed him. !
The strongest competitor is already in the battle!
As for the fierce competition between these two people on the scorer list, the happiest thing is the Manchester United club and fans.
Since Robin van Persie in the 2012-13 season, Manchester United has not had a forward who scored more than 20 league goals in a single season for several years.
And this season, they have two at once!
The combined number of league goals scored by Lingfeng and Ibrahimovic alone reached thirty-one, second only to Manchester United, Liverpool, Manchester City, Arsenal, and Chelsea, and surpassing the other fifteen teams Number of goals scored by the entire Premier League team!
It can be seen that this pairing is definitely the strongest pairing in the Premier League!
It was precisely because of the two who hit it off that Manchester United achieved an impressive record of fifteen wins and one loss in sixteen league games, firmly occupying the top spot in the standings.
Of course, Mourinho was not blinded by the current progress of the team.
With rich coaching experience, he knows very well that the team is indeed on the right path under his own transformation.
However, the season is not yet halfway through, so it is too early.
The second half of the season, which must take care of several fronts, is the real test for this new Red Devils!
Can they maintain their lead in the league while focusing on the Champions League?
Can you still try to win the League Cup or FA Cup?
These are the issues they have to face and consider next.
Perhaps also to give the main lineup a rest, in the seventeenth round of the league a few days later, Mourinho Austria also arranged for Ling Feng and Ibrahimovic, the strongest offensive combination in the Premier League, to take turns.
Also taking turns resting are Kanter, Bailly and other main players.
But Manchester United's substitute lineup, led by Rooney, encountered stubborn resistance at the Hawthorn Stadium.
In the end, the two sides shook hands and settled for a draw, each getting one point.
Of course, West Brom is very satisfied with this point, while Manchester United is very unhappy.
In the post-match interview, Mourinho also said directly:
“Our performance in this game was not good. We wanted to attack too much, but we failed to cooperate properly. The draw was a lucky result, we didn’t even deserve a point!”
The first draw of the season also made Manchester United celebrities and fans who had long clamored for the championship realize that the team has not yet reached the point of sweeping the Premier League.
Especially the content of the competition is lackluster.
When Ling Feng and Ibrahimovic are not on the court, the team seems to be unable to score goals.
But it turns out that Rooney is simply unable to assume the role of the core of the offense.
Rooney plays everything as a winger, can he play as a winger?
He can't kick!
No such ability!
As long as the opponent arranges for someone to mark Mata and crush this frontcourt organizer with poor physical confrontation, Rooney does not pose much of a threat when taking the ball.
With Rooney's current physical condition, without Ling Feng to contain the defense in the middle, he would be a ruthless crossing machine from the wing.
Without speed, he can’t pass people with the ball.
Either pass back or pass directly.
Unfortunately, he is not Beckham and does not have such precise passing skills.
With Ibrahimovic taking a rest, the team does not have a high center forward who can respond to high ball passes.
And when the low ball was passed, Martial, who was being marked by the opponent's central defender, could not be found.
Had it not been for West Brom's striker's ability to seize opportunities, and Fellaini's header from a set piece to equalize the score, the league's top team might even have suffered a bitter defeat at the Hawthorn Stadium. The failure!
After this draw, the entire British football world was immediately talking about it.
And the Manchester United fans who had been silent for a long time also came back to the Internet:
"As expected of you! Still that fake strong team without championship temperament!"
"Wait. Just wait and see, this game will be a turning point for Manchester United to start falling behind in the league!"
"Without Ling Feng and Ibrahimovic, you are nothing!"
For a time, the major trending search lists in the UK and the sports pages of large and small media were all filled with news about Manchester United.
This is Manchester United!
The most popular and talked about team in the Premier League!
And through this draw, Mourinho completely understood that the team should be more pragmatic when making rotations.
Don’t think about controlling the ball, just play defensive counterattack!
First base yourself on defense, and then seize the opportunity to launch a concise and effective counterattack.
Moreover, in Mourinho's view, this draw came at the right time.
This is just a wake-up call for the Manchester United generals, pouring cold water on their newly rising arrogance and letting them reflect on it.
Wake up!
You haven’t won the Premier League championship yet, so it’s not time to be complacent!
What's more, at the cost of a draw, the main lineup got a week-long rest.
A great deal!
One week later, Manchester United returned to their home court and sent out their main players!
Under the leadership of Ling Feng, Ibrahimovic, Kante and others, they bloodbathed the "Black Cat" Sunderland six to one at the Dream Theater and gave him an early Children's Day gift!
During the game, Ibrahimovic scored his second hat trick in the Premier League with a head kick and an assist for Martial. Ling Feng completed four assists and became the sixth player in Premier League history to provide four assists in a single Premier League game!
This feat of four assists also brought his real-time assist count to 21, and subsequently achieved the extraordinary achievement of reaching 20 assists in the league for the third consecutive season!
Martial, Lingard and Rashford all scored.
In the last game, they were tied by West Brom;
In this game, they swept Sunderland with a big score.
The huge contrast also made the media and fans understand why the performance gap of the Manchester United team is so huge.
As the saying goes, when the tide goes out, you will know who is swimming naked!
It turns out that it was Ling Feng, Ibrahimovic and Kante's three core players who raised Manchester United to a height that did not belong to them!
Ling Feng and Ibrahimovic used their imaginative passing and explosive finishing abilities to bring a steady stream of goals to the team;
Kante used his Firepower and running cover the entire midfield, blocking all threatening attacks from the back line!
These three people also received the top three post-match ratings in the game:
Ling Feng scored a perfect ten points, Ibrahimovic scored a perfect ten points, and Kanter scored nine points!
This is also the first time that the famous rating website Sofascore has given two players full marks in a Premier League game.
This shows that the "one-zero" combination of Ling Feng and Ibrahimovic performed so well in the game!
After the game, Ibrahimovic and Ling Feng, the strongest pair in the Premier League, also showed a very good relationship when being interviewed by reporters together.
"Congratulations, what a beautiful victory!"
"Zlatan, this is your second hat trick in the Premier League. It only took you fifteen games to score ten. Seven league goals!"
"Your start in the Dream Theater and the Premier League is so wonderful. Have you ever thought about this scene?"
Facing the reporter's question, Ibrahimovic just raised his eyebrows and replied matter-of-factly:
"Of course! I have never doubted whether I can adapt to the rhythm of the Premier League."
"A lion, no matter where he is, he is a lion!"
Looking at the "football king" Ibrahimovic at close range showing off in front of the camera, Ling Feng standing aside also raised the corners of his mouth crazily.
And this look of trying to suppress a smile was caught by Ibrahimovic, who directly stretched out his arms to hug Ling Feng and raised his hand to point to his best partner:
"Of course, I I have to thank the handsome guy standing next to me.”
“He is the best passer among all the players I have ever played with.”
After praising Ling Feng, Ibrahimovic did not forget to add a pretentious quote:
“Without his help, my time to conquer the Premier League might have been even later.”
Hearing this, Ling Feng also smiled brightly, and he felt sincerely in his heart:
As expected of you!
"Zlatan, Ling, you have both scored 17 goals in the league now, and you are tied for the top scorer list. You have a good chance to compete for the league golden boot this season, and you will become competitor. Have you discussed this privately?”
Looking at Ibrahimovic, Ling Feng responded:
"Well this is a good question. In fact, we have not talked about this issue. We are very clear about our roles on the field. Who scores the goal? It doesn’t matter, the key is that the team wins.”
As soon as he finished speaking, Ibrahimovic added:
“We’ll see after the season ends. He is the best goal scorer in this league!”
And Ling Feng also smiled and accepted Ibrahimovic’s “challenge” in front of the camera
"Happy to accompany you!"
At the end of the interview, the reporter did not forget to ask:
"Who do you think will win the Premier League championship this season?"
Facing When the reporter asked this question and saw Ibrahimovic next to him, Ling Feng had an idea and suddenly asked the reporter:
"Which team am I playing for?"
As soon as these words came out, the reporter and Ibrahimovic were a little confused.
However, the reporter responded immediately:
"Manchester United."
"That's Manchester United!"
As soon as he finished speaking, he took the lead. After reacting, Ibrahimovic also sighed at Ling Feng's show of pretentiousness. He directly stretched out his hand and high-fived Ling Feng:
"Wow, good job!"
Finally, looking at the backs of Ling Feng and Ibrahimovic walking away together, the reporter also had a dumbfounded expression.
Grass!
Two pretenders!
. . .
December is always the season when major football awards are announced.
After the Golden Globe Award, on December 29th, Ling Feng once again received good news:
That is, he defeated Messi, Iniesta, and Kremlin. Top midfield organizers such as Rose and Ergou were elected IFFHS 2016 Playmaker of the Year!
IFFHS Playmaker of the Year is an award selected by IFFHS (International Federation of Football History and Statistics) since 2006.
The criteria for the award are naturally to select the player who can create the most opportunities this year.
It is worth mentioning that, except for the 2007 winner who was Kaka who was still playing for AC Milan in Serie A, the award-winning players in the other years are all from La Liga.
Xavi was elected four times, Iniesta twice and Messi once.
The election of Ling Feng not only breaks the eight-year monopoly of La Liga players on this award, but is also the first Premier League player to be elected for this award!
It can be said that it is a good fight for the Premier League!
You know, in recent years, with the addition of capital and commercial operations, the Premier League's league atmosphere has become more mature and its brand effect has become more successful.
The fast pace and high intensity make every game enjoyable to watch.
The addition of outstanding players has narrowed the huge gap between the teams and made the competition more intense.
The changes in the league environment have also made many Premier League fans feel that the Premier League is already qualified to compete with La Liga as the world's number one league.
The fact that Ling Feng defeated Messi and was elected as the IFFHS Playmaker of the Year is enough to prove that the Premier League can also cultivate superstars who can rival Messi and Ronaldo!
However, La Liga fans sneered at the confidence of Premier League fans.
They also directly used the number of Champions League wins and the number of Champions League top 16 places to reply to Premier League fans:
"Four teams in La Liga have reached the top 16 of the Champions League, and only three in the Premier League! The No. 1 league in the world? You It’s still a bit young!”
“Tell me about it when you win the Champions League again!”
“The Premier League is just a nouveau riche league controlled by capital”
(End of this chapter)