In the tunnel at Old Trafford.
Ferguson chewed gum and looked at George Li, who was once his disciple.
George Li looked a little different today. At least this time, Li was chewing gum and bubble gum without provocation.
Originally, every time he played against Manchester United, George Lee would chew something in his mouth to provoke Ferguson.
"Here~"
Ferguson took out a piece of chewing gum and handed it to George Li.
However, Li Juejue waved his hand and refused.
This is the second leg of the English League Cup semi-finals. In yesterday's other semi-final, dark horse Wigan Athletic continued to be upset, drawing 0-0 with Arsenal in the away game and advancing with a total score of 1-0 over the two legs. League Cup final.
So today's semi-final between Manchester United and Leeds United will also determine who will enter the finals to compete with Wigan for the championship.
In terms of strength, whoever reaches the final between Leeds United and Manchester United will have a great chance of winning the championship.
"Why today..."
Ferguson wanted to ask what was going on, but was interrupted directly by George Li.
"Old man, I'm going to win today's game. Even if Jesus comes, I won't be able to stop you. I said so."
"What......"
George Li zipped up his down jacket with the team logo and followed the players out of the tunnel.
^^^
"We saw players from both sides starting to enter the stadium, with the home team Manchester United wearing red jerseys and the visiting team Leeds United wearing white jerseys."
The broadcast rights for today's game are in the hands of the BBC, so the BBC has sent the commentary team of Lee Dixon and Joe Champion.
Lee Dixon began to introduce the starters from both sides.
"First of all, let's take a look. Leeds United has put together a lineup of 3241 that has been used frequently before but has not been used for a long time in recent times. The goalkeeper is still the veteran Edwin van der Sar. The Dutchman has played quite steadily since coming to Leeds United, giving Leeds United's young main defense has provided a lot of valuable experience, and we have seen that this season Van der Sar's range of activities is wider than before. The three defenders from right to left are Mills and Albuche. Sen and Matteisson, these are also the three central defenders commonly used by Leeds United when they play three defenders. Among them, Mills and Matheisson are the type who can play both sides. The two defensive midfielders are Scott Parker partnered with De Jong. This season we have seen that after Parker arrived, De Jong's playing time has been slightly reduced, and the two of them have not played at the same time. Of the four midfielders, we see Graveson and Edgar in the middle. Davis, the two wings are Smith and Van Persie, Smith is on the left and Van Persie is on the right.”
Joe Champion mentioned it when Dixon introduced him.
"Today Smith appeared on the left wing. This is the first time we have seen it. This situation is relatively rare."
"It may be related to Grenjaer's injury. We saw that the Danish winger was not selected for the game today. So Leeds United's top player is Kevin Davis, who transferred from Bolton at the beginning of this season. .”
"After Kevin Davis came to Leeds United, it also added some problems to our coach Li."
"Oh, what do you say?"
"Because there are people at Leeds United with the same name as him, and there are people with the same surname as him. We know that the Dutch midfielder is also called Davis, Edgar Davis. Then, Leeds United has a backup defender named Kevin - Dawson, so whether George Lee is called Kevin or Davis, two people agree."
"Have you ever been interviewed?"
"I'm talking nonsense. Let's take a look at Manchester United's starting lineup."
"The goalkeeper is former Leeds United goalkeeper Paul Robinson. The four defenders are Gary Neville, Wes Brown, Nemanja Vidic and Patrice Evra. Among them, Vidic and Evra was just introduced by Manchester United during this winter break. Vidic spent 7 million and Evra spent 5.5 million. Although the price is not expensive, he is indeed a relatively powerful player. This Evra is fast , strong in body, and more delicate in footwork. As for Vidic, he has firmly occupied the position of a main central defender since his arrival. We are looking forward to the combination of Vidic and Ferdinand."
"Because of Roy Keane's departure, Ferguson moved Ferdinand to the defensive midfield position to partner Fletcher. Today, both midfielders of Manchester United are very defensive, and the two wingers are Cristiano. -Ronaldo and South Korean Park Ji-sung. The forward combination is Wayne Rooney and Saha."
"Both teams had some strange moves today. Leeds United put Alan Smith on the left, while Manchester United used Ferdinand and Fletcher as double midfielders. We will wait and see who wins."
On the court, after the two teams shook hands, Smith and Neville came to the referee's side and started guessing the ball.
Smith shook hands with Gary Neville, glanced at today's Manchester United captain, and remembered what his head coach said to him before the start of the game.
"Today you appear on the left side of the team and have two main tasks."
"First, I helped Matteisen to keep an eye on the bicycle guy. I didn't need to press too hard, as that would be bad. I just cooperated with a few people in the midfield to keep compressing his space. Remember, don't give him any space. One-on-one opportunities.”
"The second thing is your attack on the wing. Unless you have a good opportunity, don't insist on getting in behind. You just grab the ball on the wing, protect the ball under your feet, and then wait for your teammates in the center to catch up. We are here There is a numerical advantage in the midfield, or we can wait for Matteisen behind to catch up."
After Smith came on the court, he also performed these two points very well.
In the 7th minute of the game, Manchester United launched a counterattack. Evra on the left made a long pass across the half court and found Ronaldinho on the right from the left.
Ronaldinho made fists with both hands, slightly bent his knees, and stopped the ball with his chest.
Then he habitually started dribbling at a faster pace.
Leeds United quickly began to surround and attack, limiting Ronaldinho's range of activities.
Matteisen began to move to the left to defend Ronaldinho. De Jong quickly retreated to fill the gap between Matteisson and Albuchesson. Parker stood in the passing line of Ronaldinho and Rooney.
Edgar Davis began to lean towards Ronaldinho, while Smith was chasing after Ronaldinho.
Ronaldinho, who had taken a few steps, started to raise his head and prepare to play the ball, because he found that the opposite frontal defensive player always kept a distance from him and did not give him a chance to eat the opponent one-on-one.
However, he glanced at his teammates and only saw Rooney behind Parker. As for the other forward Saha, he didn't know where he was.
On the team's court, Ferdinand and Fletcher couldn't move forward so fast, or they had no intention of moving forward at all.
Seeing the people on the opposite side getting closer and closer, he saw a person in a red jersey coming towards the middle. When he looked closely, he saw that it was Park Ji-sung.
Ronaldinho passed the ball to the Korean, but he stretched out a leg halfway and knocked the ball away.
It's Graveson.
The bald head appeared on the passing line, poked the ball away, and the ball went to Parker's feet.
Now the situation was instantly reversed, and it was Leeds United's turn to counterattack.
Parker passed to "Wild Boar" Davis and then saw the Leeds United players begin an orderly counterattack.
Kevin Davis glanced at Vidic next to him, and without deliberately stepping back, he moved slightly closer to his teammates and pretended to respond.
At this time Vidic hesitated. The opponent was counterattacking, but the person he wanted to mark did not move forward.
"Return to defense, return to defense!"
Ferguson shouted desperately from the audience.
"Dong~"
Vidic was about to turn around when he saw the football flying over his head.
