Chapter 11: Opportunity
On 7 March, after the FIFA break, Manchester United took on Wolves away. This is the first time since the start www.biquge.info of this season that Yu Liang has not appeared in the starting lineup. Although Yu Liang's form was up and down before, sometimes good and sometimes bad, when Yu Liang did not appear in the starting lineup, many media thought that this was Ferguson's normal rotation.
Yu Liang also thinks so. But what he didn't expect was that he would sit for 90 minutes. Aside from a warm-up with his team-mates at half-time, he never left the bench and didn't even get up to celebrate when the goal came in.
In March, Wolfhampton had come out of the cold winter and was taking small steps towards spring. The most noticeable change is the increase in temperatures, especially in the Molineux stadium.
But even so, Yu Liang didn't feel the slightest warmth. On the contrary, he was beginning to cool inside.
It was the first time he had missed a game this season.
1-0, Manchester United beat Wolves away.
Previously, many people shouted that Yu Liang had dragged the United team back, but in this game, the Manchester United players seemed to be refuting the truth they knew with their actions.
Although they beat Wolves away from home, it was a worrying look at Manchester United's performance throughout the game.
The attack is not smooth, the defense is not good, it is a true portrayal of Manchester United.
Had it not been for Van der Sar's brilliant play and Rooney's stunning free-kick, they might have only been able to leave the Molineux Stadium with a defeat.
From this game, it can be seen that the reason for this situation for Manchester United is not due to Yu Liang.
The media saw it as Ferguson's pickback to those who questioned him.
Yes, it must be.
Yu Liang, who sat on the bench for 90 minutes, comforted himself in this way.
However, the harsh reality was that in the second leg of the Champions League quarter-final at home to AC Milan on 11 March, he once again sat on the sidelines and watched his team-mates put on a show. 4-0, Manchester United slaughtered AC Milan, who had won the Champions League seven times, at home, with an aggregate score of 7-2 over the two legs, and Manchester United advanced to the quarterfinals.
Such a big win has doubled the confidence of fans who have been worried about Manchester United's performance to defend the Champions League.
Three consecutive Champions League titles, this can only be imagined in the early days of the Champions League. After the Champions League is restructured, many people can't even imagine two consecutive championships, let alone three consecutive championships? But since they successfully defended their title last season, there has been nothing United fans would not dare to think about. Two consecutive championships have been achieved, why can't three consecutive championships?
The 4-0 win over AC Milan really made Ferguson a little more relaxed.
The team's poor form this season has put him under a lot of pressure. Although they won the Carabao Cup early, they were knocked out of the FA Cup on their debut, and the league fell behind Chelsea at the top of the table, putting them at the bottom of the trophy contention. Now that they have beaten AC Milan to qualify for the Champions League, they have more or less regained a little bit of their former glory.
After the Champions League quarter-final tie with AC Milan without the drag of the FA Cup, Manchester United have come back from a busy schedule and are back to one game a week.
After coming out of the heavy and intensive schedule, Ferguson, who breathed a sigh of relief, began to think about Yu Liang's problem.
Standing in front of the window, Ferguson looked inside the training ground with a frown.
Although he was on the cold bench for two consecutive games, did not get a minute of play, and was not even required to do a basic warm-up, Yu Liang's heart was indeed uncomfortable, but he did not give up, and he still actively worked hard to complete the training in the training ground.
All this was seen by Ferguson.
He knows that Yu Liang is a hard-working player, and among the players he has experienced so much, perhaps the only one who can be so persistent is Cristiano Ronaldo, who is now wearing Real Madrid's No. 9. He also firmly believes that Yu Liang can achieve great achievements in the future. This is also the reason why he still started Yu Liang when he was in such a poor state.
But these two games did not give Yu Liang a chance to play for a minute, and he actually wanted to take this opportunity to clarify the fact that the team's poor performance had little to do with Yu Liang. But the effect is not particularly good. The reason for this is that in the second Champions League game against AC Milan, Manchester United performed a little too perfectly.
Thinking of this, Ferguson laughed self-deprecatingly. There are probably not many managers in the world who want their teams to underperform.
Of course, he won Yu Liang in these two games, and there is a deeper intention.
A big reason for the team's poor performance this season is the attacking problems. A team is like a sophisticated machine, and the two parts of attack and defense are the functions that this machine should perform. If there is a problem in the offensive link, it will naturally affect the team's defensive link.
What are the problems in the offensive link?
Anyone with a discerning eye can see that it is Berbatov. Although he has the task of organizing tandem attacks in the middle, his chic style of play is indeed a bit out of place for Manchester United. But the reinforcements that cost tens of millions of pounds were abandoned like this, which is obviously unreasonable. What's more, Berbatov's performance was not particularly bad.
That's where Ferguson has been hesitating.
Give up Berbatov, alas! If you don't give up on him, it's like a fish choking in your throat, uncomfortable!
Of course, he also knows how to amplify Berbatov's threat on the field. But the backcourt players don't have that ability, and it's too costly to change the whole team for one person. If Berbatov had been ten years younger, perhaps Ferguson would have done so, but it is absolutely impossible now. There's no way he's going to change his style for a player who's almost 30.
So hand over the power and hand over the attacking responsibilities to another player?
Ferguson has also been trying.
This is one of the main reasons for the team's ups and downs.
But after Scholes gets old, there are not many players who can take on the team's offensive responsibility, and Yu Liang is one of them.
With a wide field of vision and excellent scheduling ability, Yu Liang is an indispensable member of Manchester United's quadruple title. This is the main reason why Ronaldo said at the award ceremony that Yu Liang was not able to make it to the top three.
However, Yu Liang's state has fluctuated a lot this season, and he has been under a lot of pressure later, so he has not shown a normal level. This is also the reason why Ferguson did not dare to directly let Yu Liang shoulder the heavy responsibility. But Ferguson also knows that he can't drag on this forever, which will not only affect the team's results, but also waste Yu Liang's youth.
Just as he was thinking about whether to consider giving Yu Liang a chance, Ferguson was interrupted.
"Alex, it's not good!"
Ferguson, who came out of his contemplation, looked at Fran, who was not very good in front of him, and asked puzzledly, "What's wrong?" ”
"Dimita is injured!"
Ferguson frowned at first. Obviously Dimitar Berbatov is injured at the wrong time and now is the time for them to chase Chelsea.
"Seriously?"
"I guess I'll have to rest for four weeks!"
Ferguson breathed a sigh of relief, not too serious, and thought about it, wasn't this just an opportunity?
Ferguson, who had made up his mind, said to Fran: "I see! "Then turn around and make new arrangements right there!