Chapter 1006: Bounce Goal
Although Gao Xiaodong did not score, it greatly dampened Chelsea's fighting spirit.
With less than 40 minutes to go, Chelsea still need to score two goals to progress, and now is the time to fight hard, but Gao Xiaodong's dangerous shot greatly shocked Chelsea's defenders, making them worry about the assist and not dare to put all their energy into it.
Manchester United and Chelsea are a team of the same level, Chelsea cannot attack with full force, and it is very difficult to break down Manchester United's defence.
Manchester United was not ready to attack with all their might, but in the second half they attacked and failed to break through Chelsea's defence, and immediately came back to shrink and counterattack, and if Chelsea did not attack with all their strength, Manchester United had no chance to score.
Neither side had a chance to find the back of the net and had to fight in midfield close to Manchester United.
Whether the goal is scored or not, the clock is ticking, and thanks to United's first-leg victory, the old man of time is now on Manchester United's side.
Even if United don't do anything, they can qualify for the Champions League final at Wembley Stadium after just 90 minutes.
Chelsea couldn't wait, they had to score, and as time went on, their worries quickly disappeared and all that was left was anxiety.
In the 65th minute, Carlo Ancelotti made his first substitution, with Nicolas Anelka coming on to replace Torres.
The last time Carlo Ancelotti replaced Drogba, he did not replace Torres, who performed mediocre but was loved by his boss Abou, and was ridiculed and criticized by reporters and fans, this time he no longer considered the feelings of his boss and acted completely according to his own will, replacing Torres.
It's not that Ancelotti suddenly has such a big boldness, this is forced by the situation, and now Ancelotti has sat on the crater, as long as he can't lead Chelsea to reverse Manchester United today, his fate is to get out of class, at this time, where is Ancelotti in the mood to consider Abu's feelings.
There is still a good understanding between Anelka and Drogba, and when Chelsea launched the onslaught, United adopted a dense defensive tactic, and at this time, Anelka played a bigger role than Torres.
In the 70th minute of the game, Branislav Ivanovic assisted Manchester United's side of the penalty area to ferry the header to Drogba, Drogba wanted to volley directly after stopping the ball on his chest, but Ferdinand blocked it quickly, and Drogba lost the line of shooting after stopping the ball.
Drogba had no choice but to arch the ball to Frank Lampard, the heart of the midfield.
Frank Lampard received the ball and was about to shoot, but the ball was slashed across Anelka on the wing.
If it was Torres, the ball would have to go it alone, but Anelka and Drogba had a tacit understanding, and when he received the ball, he took advantage of the situation and passed the ball to Drogba.
Rio Ferdinand tried to break the ball from behind, but Drogba was strong enough to hold it and turn it back to Frank Lampard.
Drogba didn't have any problems with the ball, but today it was Gao Xiaodong who defended Frank Lampard, Gao Xiaodong reacted and was faster, he stepped forward and broke the ball.
Lampard was ready to shoot, but he didn't expect the ball to be cut off by Gao Xiaodong, who was experienced and pounced on Gao Xiaodong as soon as possible, preparing for a tactical foul.
Frank Lampard showed the determination of a world-class midfielder, but Gao Xiaodong also had a full set of midfield skills, and after he made a steal, he immediately made a change of direction to get rid of Frank Lampard.
When Gao Xiaodong got rid of Frank Lampard, Wayne Rooney and Hernandez rushed behind the Chelsea defenders as soon as possible.
With the advantage of the first leg, United were all about counter-attacking today, with Hernandez having a one-on-one chance in the first half, but Hernandez was unable to capitalise on it.
After getting rid of Frank Lampard, Gao Xiaodong has a short time to handle the ball, and he can either pass to Carrick or direct the two strikers with long balls.
Gao Xiaodong is the heart of the midfield, has a lot of power in the team, and dares to take risks, he took a look at the front of the field and hit a long ball directly behind the Chelsea defender.
This kick is looking for Rooney, compared to Hernandez, Gao Xiaodong believes in the mature and strong Rooney.
Rooney wasn't as fast as Hernan's Des, but he was solid and physically strong, stumbling to the ball against Alex.
Wayne Rooney dribbled straight into the box and Alexca was a position behind, but he was in hot pursuit on the inside.
Rooney slotted into the box at high speed and pushed the ball into the far corner with a shot from goalkeeper Petr Cech, who was attacking and blocking.
Alex followed closely, keeping his eyes on Rooney's feet, and when Rooney shot, he decisively fell to the ground and tackled, just to block the ball off the line.
Hernandez was sorry for the stall hand, he felt that Rooney passed to him better, and he almost missed the goal.
"Reckless man!" Gao Xiaodong couldn't help shaking his head, he thought that it was better for Rooney to dunk the ball, shake Alex and then hit the goal or pass, Rooney played too directly, and he didn't treat Alex as a dish.
United's counter-attack came close to finding the back of the net, showing how porous Chelsea's backline is.
But there is no other way for Chelsea, even if the back is dangerous, they have to attack, time is not on their side, if they don't attack, they will be eliminated at the end of the game.
The Manchester United players understood what was at stake for Chelsea, so they waited for Chelsea to attack at the back and play Chelsea counter-attacks when they had the chance.
Although it was a home game, the United fans also understood the importance of the game, and instead of urging their players to attack, they responded with a round of applause for every successful clearance and tackle, encouraging them to defend well.
With the 75th minute of the game, Chelsea were running out of time in the Champions League and they had to score right away, and if they didn't, there was no time.
Carlo Ancelotti made another substitution, with Malouda coming on to replace midfielder Ramirez and give it a go.
At this time, Manchester United also made substitution adjustments, Ferguson is really old, not only did they not replace the defender, but replaced Nani to strengthen the control and breakthrough on the wing.
Ferguson's substitution had an immediate effect.
In the 78th minute, Chelsea's wide cross was misplaced and the ball was headed wide by Nemanja Vidic and picked up by Nani.
Nani flicked the ball past Anelka and dribbled quickly into the Chelsea half.
Malouda followed Nani in hot pursuit, and after Nani passed half-time, he quickly handed the ball back to Gao Xiaodong in the middle.
Gao Xiaodong stopped the ball in the middle, handed it to Rooney again, and quickly stepped forward.
Rooney dodged Essien's flying tackle and dribbled quickly down the wing, while Gao Xiaodong and Hernandez cut in at high speed to flank the box.
At this moment, Chelsea attacked heavily and when Manchester United counterattacked, the fullbacks did not come back, and Rooney hit the bottom line and saw that there was no one to defend, so he immediately cut into the penalty area along the bottom line.
Gao Xiaodong and Hernandez were swooping into the penalty area, and when they saw Rooney cut in, Gao Xiaodong was very clever and stopped and retreated, throwing off Terry who was following him closely.
Rooney's vision was very wide after he cut in, and when he saw Gao Xiaodong throw off Terry, he immediately passed an inverted triangle to Gao Xiaodong.
The ball was not very comfortable, it was very close to Gao Xiaodong, but Terry in front of Gao Xiaodong was making a sharp stop and turning back, and Lampard behind Gao Xiaodong was about to arrive, Gao Xiaodong reluctantly kicked it, and he didn't make any effort.
However, it bounced off the ground and flew past Petr Cech, who had fallen to the ground to save, into the net.