Chapter 212: The Proud Prince
With the end of the national team break, the major leagues are back in flames. Pen, fun, and www.biquge.info
Manchester United visited Goodison Park at the weekend and won three in a row thanks to Saha's goal to make it three wins in a row with a narrow 1-0 win over Everton. After six rounds, they have 11 points and are in fourth place in the standings. Two points away from Arsenal, who are at the top of the table with one game less, this gap is not very large.
Throughout these three games, Manchester United's performance has not been particularly outstanding. But as Ferguson said, they will chase it back point by point. It's only been three rounds since the chase is 2 points away from the top of the table. Even if Arsenal won the rematch match, it was only a five-point gap. The title is not out of the question, and for a time the media was there touting Manchester United.
Amid a wave of media acclaim, Manchester United boarded a plane to Lisbon.
On August 31, Manchester United, Roma, Sporting Lisbon and Dynamo Kiev were placed in Group F at the Champions League group draw ceremony held in Monaco. Looking at the strength of the four teams, Manchester United, who invested as much as 60 million pounds in the summer, is very clear about qualifying.
However, it is difficult to say whether they will be able to qualify as top of the group.
First of all, Roma will surely beat Manchester United over two legs. After the group draw, Roma captain Totti threatened to take revenge when he was interviewed by the media. The score of 7-1 nailed them to the pillar of shame. In the summer, they acquired Brazilian defender Juan and French winger Giuli to add depth to the team's bench. At the end of the three rounds of Serie A, they have scored a total of 7 goals and conceded 0 goals, sitting at the top of the table. He is a force to be reckoned with and will compete with Manchester United for top of the group.
As for Sporting Lisbon and Dynamo Kyiv, although the strength of the two teams is a little weaker, their combat effectiveness is not bad, and there is no shortage of outstanding players in the team such as Moutinho. Their strong home game ability can still cause problems for Roma and Manchester United, and this group is a real spoiler.
In addition to the highlights of Roma's revenge, another highlight of Group F is Cristiano Ronaldo's face of his old club. Four years ago, Manchester United's warm-up match against Sporting Lisbon changed the fate of Cristiano Ronaldo, and the 18-year-old Ronaldo has since joined the giants and embarked on the road to superstardom. Without Sporting Lisbon or today's Cristiano Ronaldo, Ronaldo, who worked hard from a small place, has always remembered the kindness of his old club.
After getting off the plane, the Manchester United players were also shocked by the scene in front of them.
"Huh, so many fans?"
Looking at the dense crowd of fans at the exit, Yu Liang sighed, Manchester United's influence is really everywhere!
However, it is not difficult to find that most of them are still wearing the number 28 shirt of Sporting Lisbon with green and white stripes, and some of them are wearing Manchester United's number 7 shirt, and it is obvious that they are not coming for Manchester United, they are coming for Ronaldo.
When Ronaldo appeared in front of the fans, there was immediately a burst of cheers, and the fans immediately chanted Ronaldo's name.
The current Cristiano Ronaldo is far from reaching the point of Portugal's national idol, and there is a golden generation led by the likes of Figo and Costa in front of him. But in Lisbon, Cristiano Ronaldo is a national idol because they have witnessed a young teenager grow into a world superstar.
After getting the approval of Ferguson, Ronaldo returned to the hotel alone after fulfilling the wishes of most fans at the airport.
The warm scene is still ongoing, as long as Ronaldo appears, there are bursts of applause, which provokes the envy of other Manchester United players.
The game kicked off in peace.
Although Sporting Lisbon has changed a lot of personnel in the summer, the strength is still there. After the start of the game, Sporting Lisbon, cheered on by the fans, did a good job of containing Manchester United's attack.
Locked out of the final by Milan last season, Ferguson has strengthened his recruitment this season and is aiming for Champions League glory. So in this game, he directly discharged the strongest lineup, and Dong Wang partnered with Ronaldo on the front line. In the middle are Carrick and Scholes, and Ferguson still trusts Scholes in this position in central midfield, but Yu Liang has also been given many opportunities in the new season. Separated on the flanks are youngster Nani, also from Sporting Lisbon, and Ryan Giggs, the king of the left. At the back, Brown, Rio Ferdinand, Nemanja Vidic and Patrice Evra have remained largely unchanged with Gary Neville not returning and they are injury-free.
Under Sporting Lisbon's containment, Manchester United didn't get a chance until the 18th minute.
After Ronaldo dribbled the ball on the right side of the front field to attract the defense, he knocked on the middle, Scholes sent a straight kick without stopping the ball, and the football passed through the defense line of Sporting Lisbon to the penalty area. King Dong missed the chance to open the scoring for his team.
After King Dong missed a good chance, Manchester United's attack was lackluster and could not threaten the door of Sporting Lisbon. Although Sporting Lisbon had many chances, they were unable to break through the door of Van der Sar's handle, and the two sides ended in a draw in the first half.
Yibian fights again.
At the start of the second half, neither side was able to threaten the opponent's goal.
Seeing that he couldn't open the situation for a long time, Ferguson began to make adjustments and sent all the players on the bench to warm up.
Rumble!
There was an exclamation in the stadium, and the stalemate in the stadium changed.
King Dong headed the ball in front, Brown who was inserted in the back received the ball and crossed, and the follow-up Ronaldo headed the goal.
1-0!
Manchester United took the lead.
After the goal, Ronaldo clasped his hands together and did not make any celebratory movements, and even the expression on his face was very indifferent, as if this goal had little to do with him.
This is how he shows his respect for his old club.
And Ronaldo's way also won the love of the fans, after the silence in the Alvalad stadium, there was a warm applause, and the fans on both sides gave Ronaldo warm applause.
After breaking the deadlock, Manchester United became more and more aggressive.
However, the attacking prowess could not lead to a second goal for the Reds, and the score remained 1-0 until the end. The visiting Manchester United relied on Ronaldo's goal to win all three points and ushered in a good start to the Champions League.
Cristiano Ronaldo was substituted in the 80th minute, and he enjoyed a unique treatment, with fans on both sides giving Ronaldo a round of applause. In this moment, he is the hero of the José Alvaladé Stadium, he is the pride of the Sporting Lisbon fans, he is the prince of the hearts of Manchester United fans.
(To be continued.) )