Chapter 435 Trent, welcome to the Premier League!
After returning from Zurich with a full load, Ling Feng also transformed into a social media guru, posting photos of himself at the FIFA awards ceremony with senior football superstars on his social media accounts one by one.
After returning to the Carrington base, some teammates who watched the live broadcast curiously asked Ling Feng how he felt.
You know, for a major occasion like the FIFA Awards Ceremony, which is full of football bigwigs and superstars, only Ling Feng and Ibrahimovic, who are on the shortlist of World Footballer candidates, can participate in the Manchester United team.
Even Rooney was not invited!
When he saw Ling Feng sharing the group photo of the best team of the year with his teammates, as well as the high-spirited Ronaldo in the photo, Rooney couldn't help but feel emotional.
I think back then, I was also a member of the FIFA Team of the Year!
Rooney and Ronaldo are known as the "Twin Stars of Manchester United" and have jointly made a huge contribution to the Red Devils' dominance.
But since Ronaldo moved to Real Madrid, the relationship between the two has fallen into a freezing point.
Even if Ronaldo won the Ballon d'Or, he never sent a congratulatory text message to his former best partner.
Today, looking at Cristiano Ronaldo, who is the same age as himself, still standing at the pinnacle of football, not only helping Real Madrid win the Champions League again, but also leading Portugal to historically win the European Cup that he once dreamed of;
Looking back at myself , although in 2011, he also led Manchester United to win the Premier League championship and reach the Champions League final.
But in the past three years, his physical function has declined significantly, and he and Manchester United have fallen into a trough
Thinking of this, Rooney feels somewhat unwilling and helpless in his heart.
However, he also knew very well that his poor eating habits and alcoholism over the years had almost emptied his body.
No matter how hard you try, you can't get back to the top.
Moreover, at the age of thirty, he has matured a lot through experience.
Perhaps he does not have the self-discipline of Cristiano Ronaldo, nor is he as paranoid about winning.
However, as the player leader who has played for Manchester United for the longest time and has the most affection for this team.
He also hopes to lead Manchester United out of the trough and stand at the top of the Premier League again.
Even if it's not as a star player!
In the end, Rooney just put away the complicated emotions in his heart, patted Ling Feng on the shoulder, and sent a message with a smile:
"Ling, continue to maintain your current status and help Manchester United win If you win the championship, maybe you can defeat that narcissistic and stinky Portuguese next year!”
Hearing Rooney’s name for Ronaldo, Ling Feng raised the corner of his mouth and nodded firmly:
“I will, wazza!”
. . .
January is a time to take a breather for many Premier League teams who have just finished the Christmas Express schedule.
But for Manchester United and Mourinho, in addition to signings in the winter window, they also face trade-offs in various competitions.
With the FA Cup reaching the fourth round and the League Cup reaching the semi-finals, Manchester United retains a great possibility of winning the championship on all four fronts (League, Champions League, FA Cup, League Cup) .
The first thing to bear the brunt is naturally the League Cup, which will determine the championship the fastest.
Their opponent in the semi-finals was Hull City, newly promoted from the English Championship this season.
After half-way, as the team that conceded the most goals in the league, Hull City ranked 19th in the league.
Hull City, which is stuck in the quagmire of relegation, will definitely not miss the precious opportunity to continue to compete for the championship trophy in the League Cup.
So, should Manchester United be the main force in the two rounds of the game?
This is a question.
For Ling Feng, Hull City is his old acquaintance in the cup.
Leicester City, who were in the English Championship back then, stepped on the corpse of Hull City to reach the FA Cup final, and teamed up with Arsenal to create a classic and famous match at Wembley. Game!
And in last year's League Cup quarter-finals, Leicester City defeated Hull City again, and finally reached the final and won the championship.
However, considering that he will face the title rival Liverpool at home in a few days, Mourinho still chose to rotate the lineup to deal with the weak persimmon at the bottom of the league.
Anyway, the League Cup semi-finals are two legs.
It would be best if the rotation lineup can defeat the opponent in the first round.
If you really can't beat the opponent, it's not too late to send the main force to defeat the opponent in that round.
What makes Mourinho happy is that Manchester United’s rotation is also very impressive!
Although only one goal was scored through a set piece in the game.
However, on the defensive end, they did a perfect job and kept their opponents clean.
Of course, this is also because Hull City's offense really cannot threaten Manchester United's defense.
Romero, Mata, Carrick, Fellaini, Rojo, Jones, Damian
You must know that Manchester United’s rotation lineup, although it is among the top clubs in the league and the Champions League, The team's duel was almost interesting.
However, it is more than enough to deal with a small Kalami like Hull City.
Especially when paired with the defensive counterattack tactics that Mourinho is best at, the defense is even more impregnable!
This one-to-zero victory also made many media exclaim:
"The Muslin bus has finally arrived in Manchester!"
. .
After the rotation of the lineup won the victory, the main players of the Red Devils also ushered in the "Double Red Club" rematch with their arch-enemy Liverpool at the Theater of Dreams a few days later!
In the first round of the match, Ling Feng used a hat trick to silence Anfield.
And this time, the Red Army soldiers are also gearing up to regain their position!
However, the starting lineups of both teams have been affected by the African Cup of Nations.
The African Cup of Nations, which kicked off in January, can be said to be the most hated international event for teams in the five major leagues.
No one!
Because, whenever the team reaches the middle of the season in January, the team's African international players will leave the club to participate in the African Cup of Nations for nearly a month.
During this period, players are not only unable to play for the club, but also face a huge risk of injury.
Therefore, when the five major leagues consider introducing African players, they will also take the African Cup into consideration.
Of course, if the player is too good, the club can only accept it with a pinched nose.
Manchester United and Liverpool have both introduced international players from Africa this season.
Manchester United's main defender Bailly and Liverpool's forward Mane have both left the club and returned to their respective national teams to report.
It is worth mentioning that Liverpool’s Cameroonian central defender Matip had originally rejected a call-up to the national team and planned to stay at the club.
However, since FIFA has not yet stated whether Matip can play for the club, he cannot be included in the squad for this game against Manchester United.
In addition, some players are absent due to injuries, such as Klein.
Some have just returned from injury, such as Coutinho and Sturridge.
Liverpool can only use a few substitutes, such as youth players Arnold, Klavan, and Origi to fill the positions of key players such as Mane and Matip.
As for Manchester United, except for Bailly who participated in the African Cup, Rooney who took a rest, and Luke Shaw who did not start due to a minor strain, almost all the main players appeared!
With superior strength and the advantage of being at home, Manchester United took the lead and quickly took the initiative in the first minute of the game.
In the fourteenth minute of the game, Ling Feng and Ibrahimovic hit the wall in the middle. The latter used his strong body to lean on Liverpool defender Lovren and knocked the ball back.
Ling Feng accelerated, walked the ball directly into the penalty area, and then pushed and shot, easily breaking through Liverpool's goal!
This goal fully demonstrates the power of Ling Feng and Ibrahimovic, the strongest combination in the Premier League!
The two of them simply hit the wall and cooperated, and they directly penetrated Liverpool's defense!
However, just when everyone thought Manchester United would annihilate Liverpool at home, Liverpool equalized the score just five minutes later!
Firmino's long shot created a corner kick opportunity for Liverpool. When defending a corner kick, Smalling did not look at the ball when marking Lovren. He opened his arms during the push and was hit by the ball from Lallana.
As the Liverpool players raised their hands in protest, the referee Michael Oliver, who was just outside the penalty area, pointed decisively at the penalty spot!
Penalty kick!
Seeing this scene, Mourinho, who was sitting on the coaching bench and about to drink water, almost smashed the mineral water bottle in his hand.
Fortunately, he remembered his experience of being suspended not long ago and managed to hold it back in time.
Made!
The central defender combination of Smalling and Bailly is just not reassuring.
There is more than enough courage, but there is instability.
From time to time, you will make some low-level mistakes and give gifts to your opponents.
It’s okay and acceptable in the long league.
If it is the knockout rounds of the Champions League and you are still facing a strong opponent, such a mistake will be almost fatal!
This may even ruin all the team’s efforts so far!
Thinking of this, Mourinho frowned, turned his head and looked at assistant coach Faria:
"Is there any news from Southampton?"
The assistant shook his head. :
"They are unwilling to let go of the team captain in the middle of the season, and the players themselves are also generally willing. They hope to discuss the transfer after the end of the season."
"Benfica's side What?”
"Same."
It has always been very difficult to buy people in the winter window.
Mourinho had already expected this.
Fifty million should be able to directly knock down Benfica's "Iceman" Lindelof.
But if you really want to get Van Dijk, 50 million pounds may not be enough.
It's better to "seduce" a few signing targets in front of the media first, and then wait until the summer to win them in one fell swoop!
Thinking of this, Mourinho's thoughts were interrupted by a sudden burst of cheers.
Looking back, it turned out that Milner scored the penalty kick!
“The ball is scored!”
“James Milner! He is indeed Manchester United’s nemesis!”
"Red Jun equalized the score!"
So far this season, Milner, as Liverpool's first penalty kicker, has scored 6 penalty kicks, ranking first in the Premier League.
Moreover, Milner can be called the real nemesis of Manchester United!
Whether he is playing for Newcastle, Aston Villa, Manchester City, or Liverpool, Milner has scored against Manchester United.
Moreover, in the 45 Premier League games in which Milner scored, the team he played for remained undefeated, achieving 37 wins and 8 draws!
However, after this game, his "goal equals undefeated" record will be gone!
Although the score was quickly equalized due to a mistake by the defender.
However, the Manchester United generals and the fans in the stands were not panicked at all.
Because they have the strongest offensive firepower in the entire Premier League!
If you want to overtake, it only takes a matter of minutes!
As expected, when the game reached the 37th minute, Ling Feng and Martial changed positions and came to the left.
Facing the eighteen-year-old future "Premier League left winger quality checker" and "Route 66" Arnold, Ling Feng was not polite at all and let the youngster experience the fastest speed in the Premier League in advance. !
A simple and crude soup, he overtook directly from the outside, and then, two bodies ahead of Arnold, completed a very accurate cross pass with his left foot.
Ibrahimovic, who was outflanked in the middle, ran slightly past.
However, in the next second, he surprised everyone by rubbing the heel of his left foot and knocking the ball into the goal!
Mignolet had no reaction at all!
After completing the assist, Ling Feng did not go to celebrate with Ibrahimovic immediately. Instead, when he walked past Arnold, he patted his shoulder and smiled:
"Trent, welcome to the Premier League!"
Regarding the "blessing" from Ling Feng, a football senior, the young and energetic Arnold had no temper at all and just showed a wry smile.
Whether it is qualifications, status in football, or performance on the field, he has no right to be angry in front of Ling Feng, the top British player.
Besides, such jokes are also an incentive.
However, this eighteen-year-old young man will not be defeated so easily!
Even though he knew that he couldn't guard Ling Feng at all, he still tried his best to interfere with the number one player in the Premier League.
Even if I get the first yellow card of my career for this, I won’t hesitate!
In order not to continue to destroy Arnold, the future flower of Britain, so as not to cause a huge shadow to his young mind.
Ling Feng also showed mercy and wandered back to the center and right to bully other Liverpool players.
As the midfield whistle sounded, Manchester United returned to the locker room with a two-to-one advantage.
In the second half, the situation on the field did not change at all.
Liverpool continues to be beaten at Old Trafford!
Without Mane and Coutinho, Firmino, who is good at creating opportunities for his teammates, is unable to support himself in the frontcourt.
And Lallana and Origi failed to pose much of a threat to Manchester United's defense.
On the contrary, Ling Feng, Ibrahimovic, Martial, plus Lingard, repeatedly put great pressure on the Red Army defense line.
Although I had already expected the scene of this game.
However, Klopp on the sidelines kept shouting to his disciples, asking them to fight harder!
Losing, but not losing energy and energy!
However, goalkeeper Mignolet's performance in this game also made him frown involuntarily.
The goal line skills are acceptable, the attack speed is too slow, and there are errors in judgment when facing high-altitude balls
This season, whether it is Mignolet or the newly introduced Kariu Si, his performance in front of the goal cannot give Klopp much sense of security.
This also gave him the idea of buying another goalkeeper.
However, although there are many goalkeepers on the market, one must be an outstanding goalkeeper to meet the requirements of a Premier League giant like Liverpool.
And outstanding goalkeepers are treasures that no one will sell easily.
Unless they spend a lot of money to dig it out!
This season, he has spent a lot of money.
If he wants to buy a goalkeeper, he can only wait until next season.
As long as they qualify for the Champions League this season, Fenway Group will definitely be more willing to spend more money from their pockets full of money to strengthen the team!
Besides, the team is qualified for the Champions League, which is more attractive for outstanding players.
(End of Chapter)