Chapter 207: A Difficult Choice
After winning the first leg of the Champions League quarter-finals and the Premier League's battle for Tianwang Mountain, Dai Zhiwei and Manchester United's subsequent fixtures have not become completely easy.
The second leg of the Champions League quarter-final against Bayern Munich was supposed to be an uphill battle for Manchester United, but their 6-2 home win in the first leg made it easy for the Red Devils to face this game, and Bayern Munich's return to Allianz in the second leg was a backwater. However, they only had one shot on target in the whole game, which was really inefficient.
Bayern Munich's "Roberry combination" is still quite active, Robben and Ribery each have a shot, both pose a greater threat to Romero's Manchester United goal, especially Muller's header in the 59th minute, the ball hit the crossbar of the Manchester United goal and popped up, which was also the closest Bayern Munich came to scoring in the whole game.
Throughout the game, Bayern Munich had an absolute advantage in terms of possession between the two sides, and they accounted for nearly seventy percent of the home games, and the shots were also 19 to 10, and the shots were 6 to 1, and the actual threat posed by Bayern looked obvious in terms of data.
Unfortunately, in terms of the all-important goal statistic, the two sides ended up 0-0 - with Dai Zhiwei only playing half the game, the Red Devils had few tricks to score, while Bayern Munich did not score at least four goals.
In the second minute of stoppage time, Muller kicked over Pogba near the touchline and was directly shown a red card by the referee.
In the end, Manchester United drew 0:0 away from Bayern Munich and advanced to the semi-finals of the Champions League with an aggregate score of 6:2.
Due to the unacceptable way of exiting and the lack of results when it was necessary to score at least four goals, there were transfer scandals after the game about Bayern's need for a "change of knife".
According to the newspaper "The Team": Bayern are willing to listen to offers from other teams for Lewandowski, provided that the offer is not less than 100 million euros.
Previously, Bayern Munich chairman Rummenigge and head coach Heynckes have both confirmed that Lewandowski will stay at Bayern. However, according to the newspaper, the Bayern hierarchy has reconsidered the issue in recent days and has a new idea.
"Team Newspaper" said: It is not difficult to convince Lewandowski to transfer, and he himself has a great desire to join Real Madrid. However, Bayern Munich's top management will not let go easily, on the one hand, if there is an offer of more than 100 million euros, they will consider it, and on the other hand, they hope to have a better and stronger striker to join, such as Dai Zhiwei.
In fact, the reason why Bayern Munich considered trading Lewandowski was because after Dai Zhiwei led the Red Devils to defeat Bayern, Bayern made a painful decision and was ready to adjust the personnel.
Lewandowski has scored 35 goals in 39 games for Bayern this season. In addition to Real Madrid, teams such as Paris Saint-Germain and Chelsea are also interested in Lewandowski.
Bayern Munich's favorite target is undoubtedly Dai Zhiwei, and it is even reported that they can exchange Lewandowski + 50 million euros for the Chinese sports superstar.
Unfortunately, this is just wishful thinking on the part of Bayern, on the one hand, Manchester United will never let go of their own star, and on the other hand, Dai Zhiwei does not look down on the Bundesliga.
In his opinion, giants like Bayern Munich and Paris Saint-Germain, who are invincible at home and take a break abroad, are not very interesting and will lose his commercial status.
For example, after Neymar joins Paris, how many fans will go to watch the match between Paris Saint-Germain and the middle and lower teams of Ligue 1?
Putting aside the possibility of joining Bayern, Dai Zhiwei was not satisfied with his performance in the second leg.
After playing just 63 minutes in the second leg, he said after the game that United had been attacking and that it was unpleasant not to get a goal.
On today's game, he said: "We know how it goes. Our goal is also to attack forward and restrain the opposition as we did in the last 20 or 25 minutes of the first half. But there were many times in the game where we didn't do a good job on the last pass. ”
'We didn't put enough pressure on Thiago at the beginning of the first half, he was a Bayern Munich player who switched on the ball. We were closer to him in the second half, but it was irritating that we didn't get on the scoresheet. The question is not whether we are always on the offensive or not. José said the same thing. We didn't create obvious opportunities, but we did create some space. ”
Regarding Pogba's violation by Muller, Dai Zhiwei also responded: "He took a few hits, but in the Champions League you need to fight with a thick bandage. ”
Regarding the draw for the semi-finals, Dai Zhiwei didn't care too much about the result: "Let's wait and see, there is no team that we prefer more. It's a lot of pressure for the players. ”
On the possibility of Manchester United winning the title, he replied very officially: "Of course, we are all very hungry for it. You can feel that the round is getting closer and closer. We certainly want to be successful. In the world of football, anything can happen. A confident 0:0 is worth more than one might think. ”
Just a day after Manchester United qualified for the last four of this season's Champions League, the draw for the 2017/18 Champions League semi-finals was announced.
Defending champions Real Madrid face tough rivals Liverpool, while Manchester United draw Roma, who have just eliminated Barcelona.
There are four teams in the last four: Real Madrid, Liverpool, Roma and Manchester United.
Real Madrid, the defending champions of the tournament, will be aiming for a third in a row; Liverpool broke into the last four of the Champions League again after 10 years, and they beat Manchester City in the quarter-finals to advance, which is impressive.
Roma advanced after knocking out strong rivals Barcelona and reached the last four of the Champions League for the first time in 34 years.
According to the schedule, the first leg of the Champions League semi-finals will be played on 23 and 24 April, and the second leg will be played on 30 April and 1 May. The final will be played on 25 May at the Olympic Stadium in Kyiv, Ukraine, which hosted the Champions League final for the first time.
Although he talked in front of the media that no matter which team was drawn, it was not easy to deal with, but when he was drawn to Rome in the semi-finals, Dai Zhiwei was very proud, because Roma's strength is definitely the weakest of the top four, and it is also the only opponent that Manchester United may be able to pass easily.
However, Roma are definitely a hungry wolf team that can bite a big wound on the Red Devils, as they eliminated Barcelona to advance to the last four.
While Manchester United were complacent about their Champions League semi-final draw, they were overjoyed and carried away with their defeat in the league.
The day after the draw was announced, a key match in the 34th round of the Premier League was contested at Old Trafford, Manchester United lost 0-1 at home to West Bromwich Albion, and Jay Rodriguez scored the only goal of the game.
Dai Zhiwei did not perform well in this game, and many shots slid past the goal.
After the game, he also admitted that it was his own pot and did not shirk responsibility.
A key game was played out at Wembley Stadium, with Manchester City winning 3-1 at Tottenham, with goals from Gabriel Jesus, Gundogan and Raheem Sterling, narrowing United's lead to seven points.
Desperately chasing, describing Manchester City.
However, it didn't take long for Dai Zhiwei and Manchester United to prove that they had only taken a nap, and a week later, in the 35th round of the Premier League, they continued to cement their top spot with a big win.
The battle was contested at Bournemouth's home stadium, Sands, Anthony Martial, Marcus Rashford, Jesse Lingard, Marouane Fellaini, Luke Shaw, Jones and David De Gea.
The visiting United opened the game aggressively, but Marcus Rashford and Marouane Fellaini fell into an offside trap.
However, Manchester United was better after all, taking the lead in the 28th minute, Herrera's tactical corner kick was passed, Lingard crossed from the right side of the penalty area, and Smalling easily tackled the goal from close range, 1:0!
Manchester United expanded the score in the 40th minute, and the Bournemouth defenders tried to create an offside trap again, but Dai Zhiwei was not Rashford and Fellaini, after he successfully reversed offside, he easily shook the goalkeeper and scored an empty goal, 2:0!
Manchester United sealed the win in the 63rd minute, Pogba counterattacked and passed directly, Dai Zhiwei single-handedly pushed the far corner into the net from 12 yards on the left side of the penalty area, 3:0!
In the end, Manchester United won by three goals on the road.
In the other game of this round, Manchester City beat Swansea City 5-0 at home, with Silva, Raheem Sterling, Kevin De Bruyne, Bernardo and Gabriel Jesus scoring successively.
After this round, Manchester United and Manchester City have only four remaining league games left, and the Red Devils, who hold a seven-point advantage, have already touched the trophy with one hand.
However, the biggest news of this round does not belong to the Manchester duo, but to Arsenal and Wenger.
Arsene Wenger officially stated through Arsenal that he would leave Arsenal at the end of the season, and the veteran coach has also become the focus of public opinion. Among them, Manchester United coach Jose Mourinho is a special one. Mourinho said he was happy for Arsene Wenger and had nothing but respect for him.
On April 29, local time in the United Kingdom, Manchester United will play against Arsenal, in this regard, Mourinho said: "I am really happy for him. I'm pretty sure we at Manchester United will give Mr Wenger the respect he fully deserves, especially as both Wenger and Arsenal were Manchester United's biggest rivals during the Ferguson era for many years. ”
"I often say that for some people, memories are short, but for those who really understand the game, their memories will not be short. If Arsene Wenger is happy with his decision, I'm really happy for him too. I hope he doesn't leave the sport of football. ”
And Dai Zhiwei also expressed his praise and blessings to Wenger on his Twitter.
In fact, to some extent, Wenger was forced away by the ruthless and brainless Arsenal fans.
At least in Dai Zhiwei's view, Arsenal fans and Arsene Wenger can really say that "they were like a dog at the beginning, but now they are ugly".
What was Arsenal like before Arsene Wenger took over Arsenal? When he left, how much glory did he leave here?
Unfortunately, people are forgetful.
Out of respect for Arsene Wenger, Dai Zhiwei is ready to go on a killing spree when he encounters Arsenal from next season!
However, the current Dai Zhiwei and Manchester United are not yet concerned about the league game with Arsenal, because they have ushered in the devil's schedule at the end of the season.
Manchester United are the only team in European football to have a treble hopes, and they have taken the initiative in the Premier League, reaching the last four of the Champions League and facing Tottenham Hotspur in the semi-finals of the FA Cup.
This matchup is quite unfavorable for Manchester United, and there is no advantage in time and place.
In terms of timing, because midweek is the first leg of the Champions League semi-finals between Manchester United and Roma, in order to retain the Champions League, Mourinho obviously can't play his hole cards in the lineup, and Tottenham, who was out of the Champions League early, obviously has no concerns in this regard.
In terms of location, the semi-finals between Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur are arranged to compete at Wembley Stadium, a neutral stadium, although it is said to be at a neutral venue, but in fact, Wembley Stadium is Tottenham's home stadium this season, and the two sides have played each other in the past 3 seasons, and it is the home team that has the last laugh.
Perhaps the only thing United have the advantage of is a glorious history: Manchester United are looking to reach the FA Cup final for the 20th time for the 28th time, and Tottenham Hotspur are also looking for a 10th final for the 20th time.
The two sides have met 15 times in the FA Cup history, with 5 wins, 5 draws and 5 losses respectively. The two sides have met 188 times in history, with Manchester United having the upper hand with 88 wins, 49 draws and 51 defeats.
Jose Mourinho struggled with his starting line-up for the FA Cup semi-final, with Olivier Giroud, Mesut Ozil, Nemanja Matic, Valencia and Ashley Young rotating for the first leg of the Champions League semi-final against Roma in midweek.
Olivier Giroud played as the centre-forward, with David Tai on the bench and Jesse Lingard and Mesut Ozil on the wings. Nemanja Matic, Ander Herrera and Paul Pogba are in midfield. At the back, Phil Jones and Chris Smalling partnered in central defence, Ashley Young and Valencia left and right, and De Gea in goal.
Jose Mourinho is clearly hoping to win this semi-final with a defensive counter-attack, and then go to the bottom with Roma on Wednesday.
Tottenham Hotspur has no worries about fighting on multiple fronts, the main force is exhausted, Kane is a single arrow, and Eriksen, Ali and Son Heung-min are ambushed behind him.
Manchester United starting line-up: David De Gea; Valencia, Jones, Smaling, Ashley Young; Herrera, Nemanja Matic, Pogba; Lingard, Giroud, Mesut Ozil
Tottenham starting line-up: Worm; Kieran Trippier, Davidson Sanchez, Vertonghen, Ben Davies; Dale, Dembele; Eriksen, Ali, Son Heung-min; Harry Kane
Jose Mourinho's wishful thinking sounded, but Tottenham did not match his routine at all, and took the lead in the 12th minute, when Davidson Sanchez's long ball was met by Eriksen's cross from the right edge of the box, and the unguarded Alli at the far post fired into the net from close range.
At 0:1, Manchester United fell behind almost from the start.
Jose Mourinho is also stuck in a difficult choice.
When chasing points, can the Red Devils without Dai Zhiwei work?
(End of chapter)