Chapter 0069: Opening Raid

At 4 p.m. GMT on March 13, the quarter-finals of the 2015-16 English FA Cup season will be contested. Manchester United host West Ham United at Old Trafford.

This is United's 200th FA Cup home game and the 132nd regular meeting between the two clubs, with the Reds holding a 61-win, 28-draw and 42-defeat advantage.

Especially in the last 10 matchups, West Ham United has 4 draws and 6 losses without a win, of which the 67 games at home are 46 wins, 7 draws and 14 losses, and the Hammers have been away from the Dream Theater in the last 9 times 1 draw and 8 losses.

Although the two sides have drawn four wins, two draws and four defeats in 10 meetings in the FA Cup, the last time the two teams met in the FA Cup in 2012-13, the two sides won 1-0 at home in the third round of replays.

In this campaign, Lingard, who was banned in Europe, returned, he replaced Juan Mata and returned to the starting lineup with Herrera and Carrick; For West Ham, defensive greats Tomkins and Collins were absent and Carroll was in the attack.

The Hammers have been doing well this season, and they are now sixth in the Premier League table with 49 points, just one point behind the fourth- and fifth-placed Manchester City duo, with Champions League hopes under the leadership of Frenchman Payet, who are at the heart of the team.

Moreover, they have won four in a row on all fronts, and their momentum is only below Manchester United, who have won six in a row on all fronts. Arguably, this is a direct conversation between two teams in England's best form at the moment.

So, it's not an easy opponent to deal with.

………………

Manchester United's formation for this game is 4231, Varela, Smalling, Blind and Rojo are lined up at the back, Carrick and Fellaini are in the back two, Anthony Martial, Herrera and Jesse Lingard form the attacking line, and Rashford is one to break forward.

Marcus Rashford was very active after the start of the game. He remembers that Manchester United drew with West Ham in this game, and in the end, when the two sides replayed, Manchester United won 2-1 away from West Ham to advance to the FA Cup semi-finals.

However, now Rashford does not want that to happen again, and in order to achieve the treble, for his ultimate mission, for the sake of the coveted reward, Rashford must ensure that United can finish their opponents within 90 minutes and retain as much strength as possible for United.

And Rashford's positivity has also paid off.

After the start of the game, Manchester United did not take advantage of the kick-off opportunity to storm West Ham, but slowly passed in the midfield, and the advantage of West Ham United was grabbed.

For West Ham, this year's FA Cup is a good time for them to win the trophy. Because the other three teams in the top four that have been decided before are Crystal Palace, Watford and Everton, West Ham United have a clear advantage over these three teams. A win over Manchester United to reach the semi-finals would give them a good chance of being the winners and taking home their fourth FA Cup in the club's history.

While the temptation to qualify for the Champions League is great, the FA Cup is no less appealing. After all, with their strength, even if they enter the Champions League, they are likely to be a group round, but they can win the FA Cup, which is an honor that can be recorded in the club's history.

Therefore, West Ham United have a strong desire to attack.

In fact, seeing Manchester United unhurriedly transmitting in the central midfield, West Ham United unceremoniously grabbed and forced the football back into the Manchester United penalty area.

However, West Ham were on the hook and seeing the lure in action to lure the enemy deeper, United goalkeeper David De Gea didn't hesitate to kick the ball off and find Fellaini near the halfway line. Marouane Fellaini's header flicked back and Anthony Martial, who played as a left-sided midfielder, received the ball on the left.

West Ham's right-sided centre-back Winston Reid was shocked and was well aware of United's talent's ability, as the team's right-back Antonio had just stepped forward to press and had not yet returned to a defensive position, and if Anthony Martial broke through himself, his own goal would be in danger.

So, Reed didn't hesitate to shovel Martial and knock him to the ground.

However, Anthony Martial had already passed the ball before he could be brought down. Seeing this, the referee did not stop the game immediately, signaling that the attacker was in favor and the game continued.

Up front, Marcus Rashford received a pass. He didn't hesitate to dribble and swoop straight into the West Ham penalty area.

Another West Ham centre-back, Angelo Obonna, came to defend Marcus Rashford.

However, compared to Rashford, who has a prominent dribble and super speed, the strong Ogbonna looks a little bulky and cannot keep up with Rashford's rhythm at all.

Marcus Rashford burst into the box and, when West Ham goalkeeper Randolph came to his defence, did not choose to continue to dribble past Randolph, but did not hesitate to shoot with his feet.

He continued to shoot and the ball curled in a beautiful arc over Randolph's head and into the West Ham goal.

Marcus Rashford scored one minute and 10 seconds into the game as United took a 1-0 lead at home to West Ham United.

………………

This goal came a little suddenly, because a moment ago, Manchester United was still slowly reversing the ball in the backfield, who would have thought that in just a few seconds, Manchester United suddenly scored a goal.

Therefore, Old Trafford did not burst into cheers at the moment of scoring, but was silent for a short second or two.

But in the next moment, Old Trafford erupted in earth-shattering cheers. The announcer at Old Trafford raised his voice and shouted, "Goal! The goal was—"

More than 70,000 home fans chanted in unison: "Marcus Rashford-"

Old Trafford, whose voice vibrates, is trembling.

However, after Rashford's goal, instead of celebrating, he ran towards Anthony Martial. Because he found that Martial was still lying on the ground, not getting up.

In front of Marcus Rashford, the referee of the game had already run towards Anthony Martial after signaling that the goal was valid.

After asking about Anthony Martial, the referee motioned for United's team doctor to come in. He then waved to West Ham right-back Winston Reid, who had just committed a foul, motioned for him to come over and showed him a yellow card.

Slow motion shows that just after Martial's pass, the New Zealander kicked him in the calf and hit the cheekbone.

The United fans cheered after the goal, only to find out that Anthony Martial might be injured and were in no mood to cheer and celebrate. The Frenchman, while not as close to his own children as Marcus Rashford, is an important member of the Manchester United squad today and cannot afford to be hurt at this crucial moment in the race for a Champions League spot.

Fortunately, Anthony Martial was only injured, and after a little treatment by the team doctor, he stood up and walked to the sidelines, looking like there was no problem.