Football: The butcher in the midfield at the start, the magic bird stunned

London, Wembley.

FA Cup semi-final.

Torrential rain.

The opponent is Brighton.

After the game went to a penalty shootout due to a 1-1 score, Chen Xiaoliang laughed to himself.

Is a wry smile.

While laughing, I couldn't stop panting, my beating heartbeat, and the rain that kept hitting my face.

In the 108th minute of the second half of overtime, he relied on his physical advantage to pass two people on the right side of the ribs, broke into the penalty area at a 45-degree angle and scored a goal in the upper corner.

I thought it would be a lore, but I didn’t expect that in the 117th minute, the former Manchester United player Welbeck caught a high ball in the penalty area and hit the stomach of Milinkovic’s stomach. On, the refraction bullet went into his own goal...

Today is April 4, just two days ago, they just drew Chelsea 16-0 in the away game. Maximum rotation, but fatigue is still written all over everyone's face.

Last season's FA Cup semi-finals were also these two teams, but the score at that time was even more "clean". The two sides played 120-0 in 0 minutes. In the final penalty shootout, Manchester United won 7-6 and advanced to the final.

Unexpectedly, after changing a season, the score of the tie has changed, the result has not changed, and the flow of the story has not changed.

Due to the compressed schedule, the FA has no way to coordinate. After all, there are still Champions League games to come. They had to hold the two FA Cup semi-finals on the same day for the first time.

In the other semi-final earlier in the afternoon, Manchester City, which was fully rotated, almost voluntarily gave up. After a while, they finally lost 0 to 2 to Liverpool, which was all the main players.

For Manchester United, the advantage of Manchester City's formation is that they can know their starting lineup for the second round of the next Champions League semi-final. The downside is that their starting lineup gets a precious 3 days of rest.

In the previous league, the semi-main Manchester City beat West Ham 1-0, which also opened the gap with Manchester United, which had two games less, to 4 points.

Ten Hag also consulted the team's opinion, whether the FA Cup should be played recklessly with the main force, or, like Manchester City, send out a lineup dominated by substitutes and young people.

Opinions within the team are not unified. Chen Xiaoliang naturally insisted not to give up any game, but Varane and Casemiro said that it is reasonable to make an appropriate choice if they want to go to the end in the Champions League.

They took Real Madrid's three consecutive Champions Leagues as an example. The Copa del Rey has always been the last choice. This is one of the reasons why Real Madrid can have three consecutive Champions Leagues, but has never achieved the Triple Crown. After all, no one is strong.

But no one expected that on the morning of the FA Cup, something happened that shocked the club and even the entire European football world.

The club CEO Van der Sar had a sudden cerebral hemorrhage and was rushed to the hospital for emergency treatment. For a while, a sad atmosphere lingered over the team.

The great Dutch goalkeeper is 54 years old. He played for Ajax, Juventus, Fulham and Manchester United as a player. He helped Ajax and Manchester United win the Champions League in 1995 and 2008. Champion, also won four Eredivisie championships, four Premier League titles, and was elected UEFA Best Goalkeeper of the Year twice, Premier League Players Union Best Goalkeeper twice and a Premier League Golden Glove Award.

He also set a record of 2009 minutes in the five major leagues without conceding a goal in 15 Premier League games in 1311.

And it is De Gea who has played so far to replace him as Manchester United's No. [-] goalkeeper.

After retiring, his club management career was equally successful, helping Ajax, who had cultivated himself, to regain its glory, and also brought in and brought out De Ligt, Frenkie de Jong, Lima, Timber, Ziyech , Allais, Grafenberg, Mazraoui, Onana and other powerful players, of course, there are also Anthony, Van der Beek and other players who did not fully meet expectations but sold a lot of money.

Even Ten Hag, the current head coach of Manchester United, contributed to it...

Regarding whether the FA Cup should be given up strategically, there were different opinions within the team, but once this incident happened, everyone unified their thinking.

Van der Sar, who has won almost all championships at Manchester United, has never won the FA Cup.

In the 119th minute, Ten Hag replaced De Gea with Livakovic, who was better at saving penalties.

The exhausted players gathered around the sidelines, while replenishing water, while listening to Chen Xiaoliang's last encouragement:
"I kicked and kicked and fought hard. I know everyone is tired, and I am tired too."

"But now, a ready-made opportunity to reach the final is in front of us, and all we have to do is put the ball in the goal!"

"Don't forget, when we met together this morning, we made the decision to win this game together."

"Edwin still can't hear our voices, but he has not given up. He is in a life-threatening match with his opponent. Now that we are standing here, we must not give up any chance!"

"We want to reach the final, win the FA Cup, for nothing but Edwin!"

Everyone: "For Edwin!!!"

After finishing speaking, De Gea took off his gloves and put them on Livakovic as a blessing, and everyone put a jersey with "No. 1 Van der Sar" on Livakovic They slapped the names on his back one after another.

Ten Hag also stood closely with the players. He and Van der Sar had created a new generation of Dutch guards in Ajax, and broke into the semi-finals of the Champions League. Forged a deep friendship.

With everyone's hearts, Livakovic walked towards the goal.

This was originally the jersey that the players wanted to wear at the club's jersey store after the game in order to support Edwin van der Sar, but it was used in the penalty shootout.

Although the team's move may be fined by the FA after the game, it still won unanimous applause from all the fans present.

Manchester United took the first free throw.

Zhan Jun: "The first penalty for Manchester United was Benzema."

"Facing Jason Steele... shot to the lower left corner and made a solid hit!"

"As expected of Mr. Ballon d'Or! Such a scene will not trouble Benzema who has fought countless battles!"

"Brighton took the first penalty from Enciso. Let's see if Livakovic, wearing Van der Sar's jersey, can reproduce the magical feat of consecutive penalty kicks in the World Cup!"

"Enciso... also made a free penalty!"

"Livakovic hit the right direction, but the ball was too fast."

"The penalty shootout between the two sides is 1 to 1!"

Subsequently, Anthony, Manchester United's second free throw, kicked the ball away, followed by Milinkovic and Luke Thomas.

For Brighton, captains Dunk, Gross, and Evan Ferguson all hit. Among them, Gross and Evan Ferguson's penalty kicks, Livakovic all judged the right direction, but they all missed the slightest distance.

Both times the Manchester United fans almost jumped up in celebration, which immediately turned into a long sigh.

The fifth one from Manchester United is Chen Xiaoliang.

Zhan Jun: "The 5th ball will be played by the captain!"

Zhang Lu: "The pressure can be imagined. The goal must be scored. If you don't score, it will be over."

Zhan Jun: "Xiao Liang kept taking deep breaths, slowing down his breathing rhythm, staring intently at the opponent's goalkeeper Steele, without turning his head to any other place."

"The referee whistles!"

"Xiao Liang runs up..."

"Wow!"

Zhang Lu: "Hey, hey, it's just a little bit..."

Zhan Jun: "Manchester United fans, how are your hearts?!"

"Steel's four fingers on his right hand touched the ball, but Xiao Liang's non-tricky shot was too powerful! After being touched, it still flew into the net!"

"The current penalty shootout score is 4 to 4, but Brighton still has a fifth round to play. Only by defending can they enter the sixth round."

Bratton's fifth penalty was James Milner, who arrived on a free transfer from Liverpool in the summer.

Zhan Jun: "As long as Milner scores this goal, Brighton will advance to the final!"

"Will the former Liverpool captain bring Brighton a chance to compete for glory?"

"You know, if they reach the final, their opponent is the Red Army Liverpool!"

"Milner didn't make too many run-ups...hit the goal!"

Zhang Lu: "Oh! This...is too thrilling!"

Zhan Jun: "Milner! The soles of his feet slipped and he kicked the ball flying!"

"This scene can't help but remind people of the same scene of Chelsea captain Terry in the 2007-08 UEFA Champions League final!"

"Is there really such a thing as reincarnation in the dark?!"

Zhan Jun: "The penalty kick has entered the sixth round, and the game has also entered a state where it may end suddenly at any time!"

"Manchester United, Dalot came to take the penalty."

"Wow! What a daring Yigao! He chose to push directly to the middle!"

At this moment, the camera panned to the face of a female Manchester United fan who was so nervous that she was crying.

Zhang Lu: "The fans dare not watch it, the process is too thrilling."

Zhan Jun: "Brighton, the sixth player to play is full-back Lamptey!"

"Very easy!"

Zhang Lu: "Livakovic is really good at saving penalties. You can see that he has scored six goals so far, and he has judged the right direction for five of them."

"Maybe the height is a little shorter, and if you grow another five centimeters, your wingspan will increase accordingly, and you may be able to save one or two more."

Zhan Jun: "He is 188 centimeters tall, the same as Atletico Madrid goalkeeper Oblak, and slightly shorter than De Gea who is 192 centimeters. It is true that this height is not high among goalkeepers. Donnarumma is 196 centimeters, Courtois It even reached 2 meters."

Zhang Lu: "How much is Van der Sar?"

Zhan Jun: "197 cm."

Two people: "Huh?!"

Zhang Lu: "Hey! This is interesting!"

Zhan Jun: "Just now I was talking about Livakovic!"

"I didn't expect that Manchester United's seventh player was goalkeeper Livakovic!"

"The players standing on the center line hugged the teammates beside them tightly, and the young Ganacho couldn't bear to look at him anymore!"

"And Anthony, who was kicked away just now, knelt on his knees and kept praying to heaven!"

"Look at the Croatian goalkeeper, taking the penalty kick himself, what kind of effect will it be!"

"A run-up...very solid!"

Zhang Lu: "Haha! This kick is not lost to some forwards at all!"

Barrage: [Anthony: Just report my ID card directly...]

Zhan Jun: "Now the leader is Manchester United, and the pressure is on Brighton!"

"Their seventh player to play is Welbeck, a former Manchester United player who also played for Arsenal!"

Livakovic slapped his hands hard a few times, and there was a "bang bang bang" sound when the gloves collided.

Zhan Jun: "Welbeck..."

Zhang Lu: "I feel a little restless, looking around."

Zhan Jun: "The whistle sounds, indicating that free throws are allowed."

"Livakovic deliberately stretched out his left hand and pointed to his left side."

"Welbeck's run-up..."

"The game is over!!!"

"Livakovic! Save Welbeck's penalty!"

"He pointed to the sky with his hands and yelled!"

"His teammates charged at him!"

"Everyone surrounded him, and he took off his jersey and held it high!"

"The substitutes have already put on the jerseys with Edwin van der Sar's name on them, and they still have the spare jerseys in their hands. They ran into the field and handed them to their teammates."

"Although this is just an FA Cup semi-final!"

"But in this atmosphere, the results somehow don't matter anymore!"

"The camera was on Ten Hag, who couldn't help but shed tears, as well as Lima and Anthony, who also worked with Van der Sar!"

"De Gea's eyes are also red. When he was young, he once said that his idol is Van der Sar. I didn't expect that in 2011, he could really take over Manchester United's No. 1 jersey from his idol!"

"It's been 13 years in a flash!"

"The Brighton fans also applauded the Manchester United players, and everyone was shouting Edwin!"

"Football transcends winning and losing at this moment, and is intertwined with life!"

Zhang Lu: "This is what football should look like."

Zhan Jun: "Bless Van der Sar! Hope the legend returns soon!"

After the game, the players who walked around the field to thank them returned to the locker room, and the immediate feeling was a huge sense of relief and an indescribable sense of fatigue.

Even the players who did not play were tense all night on the bench because of the difficult progress of the game and the tense penalty shootout.

They had to rush back to Manchester City non-stop the next day, and then spent almost a whole day on muscle physiotherapy and recovery training, using external factors such as stretching, massage, and specific meals to relieve muscle and internal fatigue.

These four games can be called the "worst" four games of Manchester United's record this season. Not counting the penalty kick in this FA Cup, one win and three draws, the winning rate is only 25%, but the 2-0 game won Manchester City's game is worth a thousand dollars, and the league continued its unbeaten run for 90 minutes under the onslaught of Chelsea's home court, and the FA Cup also entered the final.

The opponent in the final will be the biggest rival Liverpool.

But the FA Cup final on May 5 seems as far away as the sky for the current Manchester United players. In front of them is the three battles against Manchester City in the Etihad the day after tomorrow.

Guardiola has already said at the press conference that defeating this Manchester United team and entering the final will be the biggest challenge of his career and the most fulfilling result.

And it is rare for him to encourage Manchester City fans to make the most violent cheers at home at the press conference, helping the team reverse and advance to the Champions League final.

The penalty kick win against Brighton allowed Chen Xiaoliang to get 3 skill points (26 → 29). In addition to the massage and assisted stretching by the club physiotherapist, Helena also showed the ancestral skills of the Red Country after returning home—— Acupuncture and cupping, in short, the whole team is making every effort to reduce the impact of fatigue on the main players.

Although Chen Xiaoliang doesn't have to worry about physical problems, the soreness of muscles and the slight pain caused by the wear and tear of joints and ligaments under continuous high-intensity competitions are real.

Even though he has the blessing of [Passive Skill: The duration of all sports-related negative states is halved], the rest time of the day is still too short...too short.

This is true for Chen Xiaoliang, and even more so for other players.

Casemiro said in physiotherapy that he was so tired for the first time in his professional career playing for more than ten years. You must know that the 32-year-old did not play until overtime in the game against Brighton of.

Of course Manchester City is also tired, but the overall situation is better than Manchester United.

By the evening of April 4, the starting lineups of both sides were almost like playing cards, and there were no surprises.

The home team Manchester City is still 3-2-4-1:

goalkeeper Ederson;
Three central defenders Akanji, Dias, Ake;
Double midfielders Stones and Rodri;

Left midfielder seat B, double central midfielders De Bruyne and Bellingham, right midfielder Kyle Walker;
Center Harland.

The visiting team Manchester United also followed the usual formation of 4-2-3-1:
Goalkeeper De Gea;
Back four Wan-Bissaka, Varane, Maguire, Luke Shaw;

Double defensive midfielders Lima and Casemiro, central midfielder Chen Xiaoliang;

The three forwards are Kwa, Sesco and Anthony.

B Fee, who is close to returning from injury, and Rashford, who still needs at least 2 weeks, also came to the away game with the team to cheer for his teammates.

Almost half of the well-known legends in English football who often come out and walk around have come to the scene, and even before the start of the game, the camera has been repeatedly aimed at Manchester United or Guardiola. The man who lost - Mourinho.

大巴黎主场2比0，客场0比1，总比分2比1干掉了纽卡，提前挺进了最后的决赛。

Coupled with the fact that Ligue 11 is leading by as much as 3 points, it is possible to win the championship three rounds ahead of schedule in two more rounds. He is naturally here to investigate potential opponents in the finals, and to watch the performance of the former God of War Chen Xiaoliang tonight. .

However, no matter how many legends, famous records, and fans predicted the process and result of the game before the game, they never thought that Manchester City beat Manchester United 30-3 in less than 0 minutes in the first half at the Etihad.

The total score also instantly became 3 to 2. Not only did the 2-goal lead in the first round disappear, but if this rhythm continues, Manchester United will go home.

Laughing last is the best laugh. Not only will the first defeat of the season given to Manchester City in the first leg be quickly forgotten by people, but also if such a Manchester United team cannot beat Manchester City, the sky of Manchester will be completely shrouded in blue in the future.

Ten Hag, Casemiro, B Fee who couldn't play, and even De Gea, who didn't like to yell actively, all tried to motivate his teammates in the midfield locker room, and Chen Xiaoliang was of course no exception.

But tonight's problem is not that everyone has no spirit, no belief in winning, or is really powerless.

In the 11th minute, Manchester City made a series of repeated lateral passes in the midfield. Lima rushed out to grab the ball and moved a little away from the penalty area line. Seat B slipped in.

De Bruyne made a straight pass, the B seat picked a pass, and Harland forced Varane to score with a header in the penalty area.

1 to 2, the Manchester United players did not panic at the time, but only 8 minutes later, Rodri advanced outside the penalty area, and De Bruyne and the B seat were active on the left rib at the same time, attracting Chen Xiaoliang's defense.

Rodri, on the right side, received a cross from Kyle Walker from the right. With a dunk with his right foot, he passed Casemiro who stole the ball with his right foot. He directly used his left foot at a place about 26 meters away from the goal. The shot, the ball circled an arc, and De Gea almost hit the post with his head after landing, but he couldn't catch the shot that hit the upper left corner of the goal.

The game score was 2-0, and the total score was 2-2. The situation was completely changed.

Manchester United began to push forward, trying to regain the initiative, but in a corner attack, Chen Xiaoliang's shot from outside the penalty area was blocked by Bellingham, who mainly defended him today, and De Bruyne directly made a long pass to find the best goal. Harland ahead.

De Gea rushed out of the penalty area and wanted to intercept the long pass ahead of time. He was about to hit it, but the ball was rushed up by Harland, who changed the trajectory with his head.

Lima, who stayed in the backcourt, wanted to go up and knock Harland away with his body, but was knocked forward by Harland in turn and fell to the ground.

Harland caught up with the ball and hit an empty goal, 3 to 0!

The total score is 3 to 2!

At this time, the time on the electronic big screen had just reached 30 minutes, but Manchester City fans were already in the stands with their backs to the pitch, hugging each other left and right, and dancing Poznan dance to celebrate!

However, the nightmare was not over yet. In the 51st minute of the second half, Chen Xiaoliang also made an extremely rare mistake. When he retreated into the penalty area to help Maguire defend Haaland, he successfully hit Bellingham's cross after taking off. But it didn't go far, but went to the left side of the arc top of the penalty area.

It happened that De Bruyne was there. The Belgian midfielder unloaded the ball from his chest, raised his right foot directly to the ball and swung it up. Although Casemiro flew up to block it, he was still a bit slow. The ball blasted by De Bruyne hit the lower edge of the crossbar on the left side of the goal, and then bounced into the goal.

4 is better than 0!

The total score is 4 to 2!

This is no longer revenge, this is on the way to create a tragedy!
De Gea crossed his hips helplessly, and many keyboard warriors in the barrage had already begun to complain about why Manchester United didn't buy Onana, and played Livakovic, who showed his prowess in the last game, without using it, but still De Gea who is prone to shortcomings in important games.

And many La Liga fans, or fans who don't like the Premier League, began to tout Guardiola's coaching level, bluntly saying that "Teng Hi" showed his true colors, and the Premier League's competitive level was mediocre.

Not only De Gea, Maguire, Luke Shaw and others also showed a little confused eyes, not knowing how to change the situation on the court, how to make myself feel tired after falling behind by a big score, as if doubling the torment disappear.

The Manchester United fans who only had 3500 tickets in the stands were also stunned. Many people also began to hold their chins and couldn't help shaking their heads.

Standing on the field, Chen Xiaoliang knew that Guardiola's ruthless words before the game were not for words, and he was almost about to achieve what he called "the biggest achievement".

But there is still time for the game. From the first time he played in the trial game of Tottenham, he did not fight until the last moment and never gave up, and he will definitely not fall here.

There was nothing he could do about the fatigue of his teammates, and the unity and cooperation of the team was not abandoned.

However, the more extreme collectivism, the more it can accommodate the emergence of extreme heroism,
Only the ultimate hero can win the greatest benefit for the team at the most critical moment.

Chen Xiaoliang moved a little closer to the sidelines, and said something to Ten Hahe before the kick-off, but at this distance, he was more communicating with tactical gestures.

With the score at this point, Ten Hag had no more hesitation. He replaced Varane, who was in poor form due to fatigue, and replaced him with Milinkovic.

Lima retreated and formed a double central defender with Maguire, Milinkovic and Casemiro partnered again as a midfielder.

And when the kick-off was resumed later, it was discovered that the person standing in the arc of the middle circle to kick-off became Chen Xiaoliang.

Thanks to the club's chief director [Yu Qingfeng] for the 2 monthly tickets!
Thanks to the executive director of the club [Don't forget to always get the original heart] for the 12 monthly tickets!
Thanks to the executive director of the club [Zhetian] for the 9 monthly tickets!
Thanks to the executive director of the club [Jiazi i] for the 5 monthly tickets!
Thanks to the club executive director [brany] for the 4 monthly tickets!
Thanks to the executive director of the club [Great Emperor Jiang Xuan] for the 3 monthly tickets!
Thanks to the executive director of the club [Cloud Wind] for the 2 monthly tickets!
Thanks to the executive director of the club [Immortal Peel] for the 2 monthly tickets!
Thanks to the club executive director [lionlss] for the 2 monthly tickets!
Thanks to the executive director of the club [book friend tail number 33514] for the 2 monthly tickets!
Thanks to the executive director of the club [book friend tail number 52254] for the 2 monthly tickets!
Thanks to the executive director of the club [I am also crazy] for the monthly pass!

Thanks to the executive director of the club [Ba Jin 1618] for the monthly pass!

Thanks to the executive director of the club [, Gao Xiansen] for the monthly pass!

Thanks to the executive director of the club [Spicy Hatch] for the monthly pass!