Old Trafford. Pen % fun % Pavilion www.biquge.info

At this time, the half-time break was over, and the players and referees from both sides began to return to the field. The referees led by Ivanov were the first to emerge from the tunnel, and they were greeted by shrill boos from the entire Old Trafford stadium.

In this regard, although Ivanov and the others were a little ugly, they did not have the slightest look of surprise on their faces. As early as half-time, like Manchester United fans, they watched the slow-motion replay of Scholes' goal before the end of the first half through various means, knowing that they had made a penalty that the whole of Old Trafford hated, even hated, so they were already mentally prepared for the current treatment.

Then the players of Porto and Manchester United who came out in twos and threes seemed much calmer, whether they were greeted by piercing boos or deafening cheers, they all had cold faces, unmoved, and their eyes flashed with cold and sharp eyes.

Obviously, Ferguson and Mourinho did a good job of supervising the game at half-time, and the United players did not have the irrepressible anger on their faces when they left the first half, and the Porto players did not have the prostration and panic they had at that time, and showed a confident and calm appearance.

When Li Lei walked out of the players' tunnel and sat down on the bench, the players from both sides had already exchanged places on the field, and the start of the second half was waiting for Ivanov's whistle.

"Whew~"

Looking at the field, Li Lei couldn't help but lean his back on the back of the chair and breathe a heavy sigh of relief. At the same time, the index finger of his right hand began to tap his knee incessantly, a habitual movement after he had a premonition of uneasiness in his heart.

I don't know why, although an important good goal was blown away at the end of the first half, Manchester United, who can play at home from the overall situation, should undoubtedly be the more favorable side, but he has an inexplicable feeling of uneasiness in his heart.

He has always been very confident in his instincts. But here, he hoped it was wrong.

"Toot-"

Before he could think any further, Ivanov's final whistle interrupted his thoughts. He immediately looked intently at the pitch, hoping that his United team-mates could help him extinguish the uneasiness in his heart at the moment.

As the situation of Manchester United in the first half was still a worrying side in general, Ferguson did not say anything more at half-time except for a few words of advice to the Manchester United defence that had made mistakes in the first half, and decided to replace the poor first-half Jemba with Saha at the beginning of the second half.

So, overall, at least at the beginning of the second half, Manchester United's tactics didn't change much compared to the first half.

On the other hand, Porto has changed a lot. Among them, the most obvious point is that after the start of the second half, Porto obviously strengthened the power investment in the attacking end, although it has not reached the level of madness of desperate efforts, but it has been significantly strengthened compared to the first half, at least the overall formation of Porto is no longer shrunk in the back like the first half, and began to take the initiative to press out, and Manchester United launched a direct head-on confrontation in the midfield.

This was obviously a bit unexpected by Manchester United and Ferguson, who had thought that Mourinho would not press out until at least 60 minutes after the second half, but did not expect him to do so at the beginning of the second half.

It was for this reason that the first threatening shot of the second half would have come from the Porto side, rather than from a slightly unprepared Manchester United.

With McCarthy, who scored a brace in the first leg, more cared for by United's defence, Porto's other striker, Alberto, has clearly been given more room to manoeuvre, and this time is no different. In the 51st minute of the second half, Alberto was able to go head-to-head with O'Shea after McCarthy drew the attention of Gary Neville and Brown. After receiving a pass from midfielder Kostiani, he used his body advantage to force a squeeze past O'Shea and completed a slick half-turn right-footed outside volley. Although the football unfortunately missed the far post in the end, it also scared Li Lei, who was sitting on the bench, into a cold sweat.

However, after watching the football jump out of the bottom line, Li Lei did not relax, but frowned, and looked at Howard who was getting up from the ground on the field at this time with anxiety and confusion.

Others may not notice, but Li Lei, who is also a goalkeeper, is keenly aware that something is wrong with the Americans. Although he had just made a full save, his reaction speed was definitely below his normal average, and it was definitely not good news to start with such a sluggish form in such an important second half.

In the past, Li Lei might have wished that he was so sluggish in every game, but today is an exception. In the case of Manchester United's successful qualification to the quarterfinals of this season's Champions League, although he is a little unhappy in his heart, he really hopes that Howard can reverse this slump as soon as possible and have a good performance.

Just when Li Lei was worried about Howard's condition, the game on the court continued to be fierce. Although Porto started the second half with a small surprise attack on Manchester United under the command of Jose Mourinho, unlike in the first leg between the two sides, this time Ferguson and his coaching staff were clearly more tactically prepared.

When Porto's attack was about to start here, the veteran coach took the lead to the sidelines and gestured to Scholes, who had retreated at the start of the second half and played to organize the midfield. As an important member of the 92 class, Scholes has already formed a deep tacit understanding with Ferguson, and as soon as the old handsome gesture was played, Jiang Tou immediately understood the meaning.

He immediately began to send the ball behind Saha, Ryan Giggs and Ruud van Nistelrooy in the midfield position, which was ready to play the gap behind the Porto defence after the formation was pressed.

On the other hand, Mourinho is obviously not unprepared for this. After Manchester United showed that they were going to play a counter-attack, Maniche and Kostiani in the Porto midfielder immediately began to fiercely surround Paul Scholes, the core of Manchester United's organization at this time, under the instructions of Mourinho.

Porto are obviously prepared for this change in the current situation on the field, and have practiced many times before the game, otherwise they would never have been so rigorous and decisive as they are now. In the 56th minute of the second half, Maniche immediately completed an apparently deliberate slip tackle behind Scholes when he was turned away from a stoppage by Scholes' clever back-heel knock. After standing up, he didn't explain to Ivanov, who showed him a yellow card, at all, and just retreated with a cold face.

Although in terms of effect, Scholes is not an unacceptable result for a midfielder in Porto to get a yellow card, but the kind of army-like ruthlessness and decisiveness shown by Porto in this foul is not only frowned by Ferguson on the sidelines, but also Li Lei on the bench.

If Ferguson relied on his years of experience in coaching at this time to make his judgment, then Li Lei relied on his previous experience in the slums to make his assessment. When he was in the slums, he had always stayed away from gangsters or gangsters who showed a ruthless and decisive temperament like the army from time to time in the Porto players on the field, because he knew very well that a person or a group of people with such a temperament was a hard bone to gnaw.

However, unlike in the past, if it was before, he could still take the initiative to avoid such people because the gains outweighed the losses. But now, on the football field, there is a retreat, because there is always only one side that can win in the end.

The worst moment is coming!

After perceiving that more and more Porto players on the field began to exude this army-like ruthless temperament, Li Lei immediately came to such a conclusion in his heart.

Obviously, Ferguson thinks the same way as him. When, on the 59th minute of the second half, Porto's main defensive midfielder again mercilessly brought down Paul Scholes, who was about to get rid of him and rush forward, the veteran coach immediately gave his latest instructions on the sidelines.

"Press it down, Nicky (Bart)! Press it up!! Don't let them be too presumptuous! ...... "Due to Keane's suspension, Ferguson had no choice but to hand over the task of a tough confrontation with the Porto midfielder to Bart at this time. The old coach knows very well that at this time, he must not let Porto use this fierce temperament to play with momentum, and he must press them down.

If it is Real Madrid, Barcelona and other La Liga giants on the field at this time, they may use a smooth pass to maneuver with Porto, rather than choosing the most attritional way of hard encounter, but Manchester United is not good, although Manchester United's ability to control the ball is already the top in the Premier League, but in continental Europe, even in front of Porto does not have much advantage.

What's more, that's not Manchester United's style, tough and tough, straight like a sharp machete, chopping melons and vegetables. That's what Manchester United is all about, and Ferguson never forgets it and doesn't throw it up.

So, under his order, the situation on the field may not have become good-looking, but the intensity began to soar upward.

On the field, Ivanov's whistle kept sounding, the smell of gunpowder between the players on both sides began to gradually thicken, and the whole Old Trafford began to enter the ancient Roman arena like an almost frenzied crowd, sometimes cheering, sometimes booing harshly, Li Lei sitting on the bench couldn't help but get nervous with the fierce situation on the field, sitting on the bench he tensed up, and the speed of his right index finger hitting his knee became faster and faster.

In the 62nd minute of the second half, Scholes did not concede the ball after a physical confrontation with Deco, but it directly caused him to go too big, and when he saw that the football was about to be taken away by Alenichev on the side, Jiang Tou directly made a vicious sliding tackle and brought down the Russian international without showing weakness.

Just when Ivanov, who had already taken a step forward and left coldly after getting up, showed a yellow card to the Porto players who were still surrounding him and complained, Li Lei's eyes couldn't help but look at the big scoreboard in the stadium.

It's only 28 points! Come on! Resist!!

At this moment, Li Lei was looking forward to it so eagerly. But at the same time, what made him particularly uneasy was that the uneasy premonition in his heart, which had been particularly strong since the beginning of the second half, had not weakened at this time, but had become stronger and stronger.

This made him sit on the bench, unable to do anything about what happened on the field, and he could only pin the hope of the team's victory on his teammates on the field.

His gaze began to grow anxious as he looked inside the stadium!

It's hot again!!