9 September, Manchester, Old Trafford.

The weather was overcast and the raindrops began to fall on the grass gradually.

Media seats.

John Krauss tweeted it as soon as he got the two-team list, and there were constant comments during this time.

[Yes, I think it's really the strongest lineup of both teams.] 】

He replied to one of the netizens.

Chloe leaned over, "John, which side do you like?"

"This is at Old Trafford. Chloe, I don't remember much of Jose losing at home against a strong team. ”

"Do you think QPR is a strong team?"

"At least from José's pre-game attitude, for sure, you know what I'm talking about. ”

Chloe smiled and turned her gaze to the court.

There, Kristen Lu was walking out of the tunnel in a black suit.

The Sky Sports reporter remembered some rumours about Christine and Patrick in the past few months about The Sun and that Twitter account.

Did the pretty boy get it? Or is it still just unrequited love? And if it's really like the gossip rumors, then it's not the same as the player's one-sided affection. It's a huge professional stain on the 28-year-old Kristen Lu.

****

When Lu Ling walked into the court, he saw Jose talking to Tim. Tim smiled, and the Portuguese had an unpredictable expression.

When he returned to the coach's seat, Lu Ling asked, "Tim, what did Jose tell you just now?"

'He asked me if I would be interested in joining the Manchester United coaching staff. ”

"What do you say?" she asked, frowning slightly.

"I said: Please, Jose, we all know your habits, maybe you won't say that when the game is over. What's more, I'm having a lot of fun at QPR. ”

After listening to this, Lu Ling glanced at Manchester United's coach's box. When shaking hands just now, José didn't say much.

But he did try to use some off-the-cuff moves in a couple of encounters with QPR.

For example, in a press conference before the game, the Portuguese said: "I think a team that has spent close to £100 million is naturally looking forward to good results this season. But I think it puts a lot of pressure on them because if they don't finish in the top four this season, a lot of their young players will want to go to bigger teams. ”

Oh, it seems that whether you like it or not, you'll have to get used to Jose's off-the-board tricks in the future.

Lu Ling knew very well that if he kept using this trick on you, you should know that in his eyes, he was a real threat.

Not only that, but José said: "I brought a lot of good wine, which Pep tasted last season. Maybe I'll invite Christine over for a drink tomorrow after the game. ”

Lu Ling waited for the good wine after the game.

And for this game, she also specially prepared something for Jose.

The first real tough battle of the QPR season is about to begin.

****

Manchester United's starting line-up:

De Gea;

Luke Shaw, Chris Smalling (c), Bailly, Fabinho;

Witsel, Pogba;

Anthony Martial, Antoine Griezmann, Mkhitaryan;

Ibrahimovic

QPR's starting line-up:

Hans-Bachmeier;

Yu Zixiang, Glenn Mitchell, Mario Fernandez, John O'Connor;

Ian Parker (c), Mensah;

Vargas, Patrick-Amber, Campbell;

León Ferreira

When the starters were on the Sky Sports screen, commentator Martin Taylor lamented the strength of the lineups on both sides.

Manchester United have fielded their new signings Fabinho, Witsel and Antoine Griezmann, while QPR has four of the six, with Harding and Dzyuba on the bench. It is worth mentioning that the average age of the starting line-up for QPR today is the youngest in the Premier League so far. But their strength, we have all seen. ”

The game begins.

United didn't press and press up front from the start.

Both Lu Ling and Tim expected this.

Starting this season, Wayne Rooney is no longer an absolute starter in the Manchester United squad. I didn't make it this one. Zlatan Ibrahimovic, who had a very high goal percentage last season, is still the main player in the team. So Jose Mourinho insisted on using the Swedish centre-forward, who is close to 36 years old, as a single arrow. But the centre-forward has never been known for his hard work. What's more, at this age, he can't take on the task of pressing a QPR defender up front.

With the striker unable to press, Jose had to let the whole team recycle.

In this way, the initiative is ceded.

As a result, even though the QPR is away from home, at the Theatre of Dreams, it has a super high possession rate from the beginning.

The Red Devils fans at the scene seemed to have gradually become accustomed to the home team's style of play, and there was not much dissatisfaction for the time being.

QPR tried a couple of attacks, but Manchester United's defence was very tight and the results were mediocre.

Moreover, Patrick didn't get the ball much.

The camera gives a close-up of the QPR's manager. She didn't look in a hurry, sitting in the coach's seat with her chin half-propped up. Whisper to your TA from time to time, or make some notes in your notebook.

Ten minutes passed, twenty minutes passed.

QPR managed 67 per cent possession but they only had one shot on goal compared to United's one.

Chloe, who was in the press room, shook her head helplessly.

'Is it really two Premier League teams playing against each other? I think it's a bit boring. ”

John shrugged his shoulders and guessed, "I think both managers are probing. ”

Interestingly, while the Old Trafford home fans were singing Jose Mourinho, the away fans were chanting a song for their manager: Christine's blue and white!

****

In fact, Lu Ling was not tempting.

She was waiting. Although she was a little anxious.

She deployed to the team before the game, which was to reverse her feet on the periphery and mobilize the opponent.

Now this Manchester United, many players in the team have strong individual ability.

There are some weaknesses though.

After N'Golo Kante left, Jose brought in tall Belgian defender Witsel to partner Pogba in a double midfield. Both of them are tall and have long legs, but they both weigh a little more. Mobility is not so good.

After they are repeatedly mobilized by the QPR, it will drag down their fitness. And Pogba is not a pure defensive player in his own right, and now that he is in such a position, he will be restless and slack.

Lu Ling was a little surprised that Jose put Pogba in his current position. Putting £89 million worth of attacking talent in such a position would not only be detrimental to his own performance, but would also be a drag on the team.

Thirty minutes is almost up.

In other words, the first period of fatigue for the players on the field has arrived. This will be particularly evident for United's two big men in midfield.

The first move that Lu Ling gave Jose was about to come out.

She stood up, walked to the sideline, and made a gesture to several defenders.

Immediately afterwards, the inverted foot of the QPR backline, first to the left, and then immediately back to the right, right centre-back Mario Fernandez took the ball.

The Brazilian, who has been playing for CSKA Moscow for many years, is still adapting to the Premier League and does not speak English, which has caused some difficulties. Although Lu Ling's Spanish (Mario speaks Portuguese, but the two languages are not very different) has improved greatly, he still needs to rely on the help of a translator for many specific tactical details.

The reason Lu Ling values him is that Mario has a crushing physicality in the position of "defender" - Mario's explosiveness, speed and power are excellent.

He's an attacking player (like a lot of Brazilian defenders) and he's very skilled, playing as a centre-back or as a wing-back.

As a defender, he has the nickname "Jaguar" in Brazil.

The jaguar has been confined in the ice and snow of Russia for too long, and now it is time to release him.

After Mario Fernandez received the ball, he handed it to Ian in front.

Ian drew the ball to Griezmann's defence, but immediately tapped the ball across to the right.

Mario was already in motion, and Ian's well-powered pass gave him room to accelerate.

QPR's new centre-backs this season rushed to the opponent's position with the ball!

Griezmann was very positive, and when he saw Mario coming up, he quickly turned around and wanted to rush over to interfere, but his position was not dominant and he was carried away by one shoulder.

Reasonable collision, the referee did not blow the whistle.

Mario took the ball, sprinted through the centre circle, ran it to Witsel's side, and then used his speed to go straight past the Belgian.

Patrick appeared.

He rounded Pogba, who had been on the guard by the Frenchman, but a little sloppy Pogba didn't realise that Patrick had snuck fifteen metres away from him.

Manchester United's backfield, due to Mario Fernandes' sudden outburst, was poked into a big hole in an instant, and Patrick is now in the hole.

Patrick got on Mario's pass and raced diagonally past the two centre-backs in front of United's backline, but Smalling couldn't make a tackle.

After that, the QPR's No.7 suddenly made an outside instep and picked the ball behind the Manchester United defence.

Vargas has plugged in.

Face De Gea.

The Chilean couldn't stop well on the first shot, but still poked the ball to León on the other side before it got out of control.

De Gea swerved in time to save the ball at Leon's feet.

Leon didn't catch the ball, he just slipped it under his crotch, and then he was knocked to the ground by the unstoppable Manchester United goalkeeper.

Hoel Campbell had already cut into the box from the right and nudged the empty net with his left foot.

It was the Costa Rican's maiden goal for the QPR. (with photos)

The score becomes 0:1!

At the Theatre of Dreams, Queens Park Rangers lead the defending champions by one goal!

Lu Ling turned around and clenched his fists, and then high-fived Tim and the rest of the coaching staff. She didn't expect to succeed on the first attempt.

Afterward, instead of looking at the celebratory players, she glanced at the home team's dugout.

Jose crossed his waist and looked at the QPR players who were celebrating, and after about a few seconds, he picked up the notebook on the floor and jotted down something. He called Pogba over again, covered his mouth and whispered.

Next, How will Jose play?

The time on the scoreboard was 33 minutes, with more than ten minutes left until the end of the first half.

Meanwhile, Manchester United's centre-back Smalling suffered a hamstring strain after failing to press Patrick and was replaced by Dutchman Blind Blind.

After scoring a goal, the QPR began to press ferociously up front, turning the game into pieces.

In the press booth, John Kraus asked Chloe, "Did you notice that Christine was good at pre-game tactical set-up?"

"That's true, but it's funny that her mentor, who is her ex-boyfriend......" laughed as she said this, "and she's pretty good at pre-game set-ups." However, Nick's on-the-spot adjustment seems to be much stronger than Christine. ”

The latter part of the first half passed quickly and unspectively, and in the ferocious confrontation, the QPR left the home United without doing anything for the time being, and the one-goal lead remained unchanged until half-time. 166 Reading Network