Chapter 445: The lineup determines the lower limit, and the stars determine the upper limit!
“Glory belongs to Manchester United.”
“Glory belongs to Manchester United.”
The team song that rings at Wembley Stadium is endless.
The faces of all Manchester United fans are filled with happy smiles.
For the M's Red Devils, this championship is small, but its significance is self-evident.
This is not only an opportunity to cultivate a winning mentality and accumulate championship temperament, but it is also regarded as a turning point that can prove the revival of the Red Devils!
With such a landmark championship, how will Manchester United celebrate if they win the championship?
Under normal circumstances, clubs that win the league championship or cup championship will hold a championship parade.
This is the traditional culture of the football world.
The championship parade is, on the one hand, a reward for the players who have worked hard for a season, and it is also the best affirmation of their dedication and hard work for the club!
On the other hand, such celebrations are very helpful in promoting club culture, and can also interact closely with fans, expand the fan base, and allow fans to continue to walk side by side with the club in the coming season. !
However, in Mourinho's view, it is just a small League Cup championship.
With the status of him and Manchester United, they should not feel complacent about winning a small League Cup.
They are Manchester United!
England's most successful club!
Their ambitions and goals should not just be satisfied with a small League Cup championship!
Therefore, even at the award ceremony, Mourinho only smiled slightly and did not appear too happy.
In an interview with reporters at the post-match press conference, Mourinho even denied on the spot that he would hold any celebrations for the League Cup champion.
And he dropped a sentence very domineeringly:
"Win the championship parade? Let's wait until we win the league championship!"
And Mourinho's attitude has also been unanimously recognized by fans and celebrities.
This is the style of a "madman"!
You must know that Manchester United is the most successful team in the Premier League era and should have more ambitious goals and a higher positioning.
During the Ferguson period, Manchester United won a total of 13 Premier League championships, 2 Champions Leagues, and other cup and cup competitions for a total of 38 trophies.
It is no exaggeration to say that for the Red Devils of that period, winning the championship was commonplace.
Even in the wasted years of the post-Ferguson era, they also won an FA Cup championship.
But this is not enough!
If the head coach is not ambitious and domineering, how can he match everyone's expectations for Manchester United?
And Mourinho's "self-centered" temperament is a perfect fit with Manchester United!
For a time, everyone was touting how appropriate Mourinho's tactics were and how rich his experience in winning championships was.
Even if there was no star player Ling Feng, even if several main players such as Rooney and Herrera did not play, Manchester United can also defeat Southampton and win the League Cup!
Mourinho also used this game to prove to the world why he is one of the best coaches in the world today!
As for the "Lingfeng dependence syndrome" that was much hyped before the game, it was self-defeating.
Of course, no fan who understands football will think that Manchester United will be better without Ling Feng.
Just like Barcelona, they know that even if Messi is not on the court, the team still has the first-class level in Europe.
However, it is impossible for them not to let Messi play.
Because, Barcelona without Messi and Barcelona with Messi are two completely different teams!
The same is true for Manchester United, which has Ling Feng.
The team's overall lineup strength and the head coach's coaching level ensure the team's lower limit.
And having superstars like Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo, and Ling Feng who can change the situation of the war on their own determines the upper limit of the team!
For Ling Feng, sitting on the bench for the entire 90 minutes was a new experience.
After all, it was his performance that enabled Leicester City to defeat Liverpool and win the championship in last year's League Cup final.
But this year, he didn't even have to play. He just shook the towel on the bench and cheered, and the team won the championship.
The difference between the two is not only reflected in the strength of the team, but also in the level of the head coach.
Of course, it doesn't matter if you don't qualify for the final of a tasteless competition like the League Cup.
After all, he is not short of winning the League Cup.
Moreover, his ambitions and goals are even greater.
If Mourinho dared to "hide" himself in the Champions League final, he would never be as talkative as he is now.
Of course, in his opinion, Mourinho would not be so stupid as to "hide" his beloved disciple and star player in the Champions League final to demonstrate his authority in the team.
Ling Feng has always felt that the relationship between players and head coaches should be win-win cooperation.
Instead of competing with each other for the right to speak about the team.
No matter how good the head coach’s tactics are, he can’t go on the field and play football himself. Players are still needed to implement specific tactics.
If we lose, the head coach and the players will bear the responsibility together.
If you win, it will be the joint credit of the head coach and the players.
If you want to win together, win together, and if you want to lose, lose together, you are a mature team!
On the night of the championship, the club just booked a hotel in Manchester and held a championship dinner in a very low-key manner.
The club also cashed in the League Cup winning bonus on the spot and handed the bonus to the players in cash.
Subsequently, Mourinho also announced that the team would have a day off!
For the players, they are able to relax for a while.
However, for Mourinho, this season is not time to relax yet!
Although they won the League Cup, they still have a great possibility of winning the championship on the other three fronts. In Mourinho's view, the priority of the league, FA Cup, and Champions League should be that the league is greater than the Champions League and then the FA Cup.
The season goal set by the club's senior management for the team is to ensure that they win the league championship and then reach the quarterfinals of the Champions League at least!
As the head coach who once led Inter Milan to win the Triple Crown this season, Mourinho knows very well that when coaching a giant, there must be trade-offs in multi-line operations.
Especially in the Champions League, where every game is a strong dialogue, a small detail may cause the team to lose everything.
And in a two-front battle, the physical condition of the team's main players will definitely be affected.
What's more, with their current lineup, there is a certain gap compared to Real Madrid, Juventus, Atletico Madrid and other teams who are favorites to win the Champions League.
So, if they want to achieve a breakthrough in the Champions League this season, they must not only carry out reasonable lineup rotation, but also must first ensure a greater lead in the league so that the team's main players can focus Preparing for the Champions League!
Before going to the Louis II Stadium in Monaco in mid-March, they have to play two league games and an FA Cup quarter-final match.
Since the FA Cup quarter-final match is too close to the Champions League match day, Mourinho has been prepared to give up strategically in advance.
As for the next two league games, his goal is to score all six points!
. . .
In March, two-thirds of the Premier League schedule has passed.
The championship drama has also reached a fierce stage.
In the 27th round of the Premier League that just ended, the league's top team "Red Devils" Manchester United defeated "Cherry Legion" Bournemouth 5-2 at home.
Ibrahimovic and Martial both scored twice, Ling Feng once again passed and shot!
With all three points, Manchester United achieved an impressive record of 26 games, 24 wins, 1 draw and 1 loss in the 26 rounds of the league.
Unknowingly, with one game in hand, Manchester United has led Tottenham, who are third in the league, by as many as 17 points!
However, Chelsea, Manchester United's biggest rival for the title, is also in great form.
With a record of 22 wins, 2 draws and 3 losses in 27 games, he accumulated 68 points. With one more game, he was only five points behind Manchester United!
The two sides have another head-to-head confrontation in the league.
Moreover, Manchester United is still distracted by the Champions League and may not be able to maintain its lead.
It is not yet known who will win.
However, the media and fans have unanimously concluded that the Premier League championship this season has become a two-man battle between the Red Devils and the Blues!
This reminds many people of the days when Manchester United under Ferguson and Mourinho's Chelsea competed for supremacy in the Premier League!
It’s just that things are different and people are different.
Ferguson successfully retired after leaving the last Premier League title for Manchester United;
Mourinho, on the other hand, went from being a strong enemy of Manchester United in the past to becoming the new Red Devils by accident. Talk about things!
A week later, Southampton, located on the seaside, welcomed the "enemy" who had just snatched away their League Cup trophy - Manchester United in the league!
Compared with the League Cup final, this time, Ling Feng did not sit on the bench, but started the game and took over the game!
This man who is recognized as the number one player in the Premier League and the strongest man in the UK took just forty-five minutes to complete a pass and a shot!
Throughout the first half, under the leadership of Ling Feng, Manchester United attacked wave after wave, holding the Saints in the half and frantically rubbing against each other.
In the first half, Manchester United's ball possession rate reached 70%, and they shot dozens to zero!
Had it not been for the entire Southampton team to retreat, and if Ling Feng had not taken the blast too seriously, perhaps they would not have been able to hit both goals.
I wanted to take revenge for the League Cup final, but I was stunned by Ling Feng.
Until this moment, all the Southampton soldiers understood how merciful it was that Mourinho did not play in the League Cup final!
In this first half, the media and fans also saw the difference between Manchester United with Ling Feng and without Ling Feng!
Same opponent, but different game scene!
One is defensive counterattack, and the other is complete suppression.
Which one is higher and which one is lower is clear at a glance!
Since the team will go to Monaco in a few days to participate in the second leg of the Champions League quarter-finals, and already has a two-goal lead, Mourinho also chose to play in the 60th minute of the second half. Then the two core players, Ling Feng and Ibrahimovic, were replaced and rested.
However, what he never expected was that this decision would make the team lose control in the remaining thirty minutes
With the dismissal of Ling Feng and Ibrahimovic, Manchester United's The attack was not enough to suppress Southampton.
In addition, the players were a little slack after taking a two-goal lead, but Southampton created more opportunities.
First, Saints captain Van Dijk beat Smalling with a header from a corner kick to win the game.
Then, with high morale, the Saints continued to strengthen their offense amid the cheers of their home fans.
When Manchester United's defense was under tremendous pressure, Smalling, who returned to the starting lineup in this game, made another low-level mistake.
Facing Van Dijk's long pass from the backcourt, he made a mistake in judgment and jumped directly, giving Gabbiadini behind him a chance to face De Gea alone.
The latter steadily sent the ball into the near corner and equalized the score for the team!
From 2-0 to 2-2, it took the Saints less than twenty minutes!
Sitting in the coaching bench and witnessing the team being equalized, Mourinho looked solemn.
At this moment, he was trying hard to hold back the anger and impulse in his heart.
Many years of coaching experience tell him that if he wants to truly win the Champions League, he must replace the out-of-service Smallin!
Under normal circumstances, Manchester United's frontcourt attack is too sharp, and the defense line naturally has little pressure.
Coupled with the protection of Kante in front of the defense line and the attacking central defender partner Bailly, most of the opponent's offensive attacks were almost blocked.
Even if he can finally come to Smalling, it will be at the end of his efforts.
This is also one of the important reasons why Smalling has performed so well as the team's deep-lying central defender this season.
However, once the team's offense is unable to suppress the opponent, and the opponent seizes the opportunity to switch offense and defense to quickly counterattack, or the opponent provides continuous high-intensity pressure, Smalling will appear very panicked. As a result, various mistakes and errors occur.
When a central defender is not stable enough, he is not suitable to start in a wealthy team like Manchester United!
Especially compared to his opponent's starting central defender Van Dijk, Smalling was simply blown away!
However, just as Mourinho stood up and looked back at the bench, trying to find a suitable candidate to replace Smalling, he also hesitated.
Because the center back on the bench is not much better than Smalling!
Jones, a center back who has no ball, no body, only hard work;
Blinder, has the ball, but has average physical fitness and cannot guard against most forwards;
Rojo has a body, is tough enough, and has comprehensive abilities, but his state is ups and downs and he is easy to get into trouble
It is worth mentioning that during the Van Gaal era, there was such a consensus among Red Devils fans:
Smolin and Jones play together, if they don't lose, they will be lucky!
But these people are the cards Mourinho can currently play.
All he can do is watch the food and eat.
If he persists a little longer, he can spend money to sign a reassuring central defender in the summer window!
After thinking for half a minute, Mourinho made a choice among the three:
"Marcos (Rojo)! Go warm up!"
When his name was called, Rojo immediately stood up and ran to warm up.
A few minutes later, Mourinho replaced Smalling with Rojo, who was closely involved in conceding two goals.
With Rojo's appearance, the defense felt a little more at ease.
In the end, after a "fantastic first half" and a "shit second half", Manchester United was tied 2-2 by the Saints at St. Mary's Stadium and only scored one point. .
(End of this chapter)