Chapter 45: A Crisis of Confidence

Manchester United fans showed great enthusiasm for this FA Cup fourth-round rematch between the home team and Leeds United, and the Old Trafford stadium turned into a sea of red under the combined efforts of 75,797 fans, and the attendance of the Old Trafford stadium this season has been maintained at more than 75,000 people, which is almost a full state, which is also because Simon? Grayson's "solar system tactics" can not only bring victory to the team, but also make the scene smooth and beautiful.

But this time, United fans weren't just here to watch the game, with every Manchester United fan group pulling out at least one banner in support of Shaq's language, at the call of the 'Red Knights'......

"Shaq, we love you forever!"

"Shaq, you are our true hero!"

"Shaq, no one understands you better than I do!"

"Lead the team on, our king!"

Today, the title of King of Manchester United has been moved from the head of "Chubby" Rooney to the head of Shaq, after all, Shaq has scored 72 goals and 15 assists for Manchester United in 38 games this season, which is much higher than the 37 goals and 20 assists in 33 games of "Chubby".

But Rooney is not jealous of this at all, first of all, Shaq is a close comrade-in-arms with him, the two of them plus Nani, that is a friendship with P, there is no jealousy at all, and now the "little fat" is really mature, he values the interests of the collective more, especially when Shaq's existence is even activated by him, this season his state is the best in his career in thirteen years. But compared with Shaq, this gap is still not small.

Rooney also often comforts himself that there is only one pervert like Shaq in this world, and the two guys in La Liga who brush data are really weak compared to him.

Backed by countless United supporters, the Reds were in excellent form of the game, starting with the game as they snatched the ball from the feet of the visitors, and the ball continued to pass at their feet. Very fluid, he pushed the attack into the opponent's big penalty area.

On 55 seconds, Nani fired a shot from a tight angle in the six-yard box on the right, only to have the ball slid past Leeds United goalkeeper Mark with the tip of his finger.

The goal was not scored, and the fans in the stands were so angry that even the commentator said hatefully: "Marc's luck is really good today." He was able to save such a ball, and he was really lucky with shit! ”

The ball didn't go in. But United's attack didn't stop. After the continuous passing of Ganso and Di Maria on the left side, Ganso crossed to find "little fat" in front of the goal on the right side, but it was a pity that Rooney was in Leeds United, Caruzo and Jonny? Hausen couldn't get the ball under the two men.

At 3 minutes, Di Maria crossed prunes? Vrsariko's left-footed shot then missed the ball and was picked up by Mark straight from the ground.

At the 8th minute, Nani received a cross from Shaq against Caruzo and Boyata in the penalty area on the right. A low volley deflected wide of the right post for Leeds United.

After that, Manchester United's attack went up and down, and Leeds United didn't play until the 15th minute. Oliveira had his first shot on goal with a header, but the ball was still powerless. Deh easily threw himself in his arms.

With 21 minutes played, United's onslaught finally paid off, and after Shaq, Di Maria, and Ganso all pulled to the left to pull Leeds United's defence over, Jose? Angel sent the ball to the right side of the small penalty area line of Leeds United with a precise cross. When Parker was fighting for the top, he used his strong body to resist the thin Ben? Parker, then flicked his head into the top left corner of the Leeds United goal!

“GOAL！！！！！！！！！！！！！！！！！！！！！！！！！！！！！！！！！！！”

The Old Trafford stadium exploded, and there was only one sound left in the stadium............

"The ball is in! Wayne! Wayne opened the scoring for the team at 21 minutes! A powerful header! ”

The "Red Devils", who were celebrating wildly, would never have imagined that the next trend of the game would be completely different from what they expected......

On 33 minutes, Leeds United, who had been dormant for a long time, suddenly erupted, and Dutch star Wijnaldum began to dribble forward in the centre circle, first using his speed past Flaney and then dribbling diagonally into the left side of the box from Papadopoulos and Van de Wiel.

At the moment when Papadopoulos and Van der Wiel closed the goal, Wijnaldum actually made a spinning shot with his left foot, the ball "swished" around the attacking De Gea, and then spun back from the direction that was supposed to fly off the baseline, and finally ...... Fell into the goal!

“GOAL！ GOAL！ GOAL！ GOAL！ GOAL！！！！！！！！！！！ ”

Now it's Leeds United's turn to celebrate wildly, and it's so important for them to be able to score at Old Trafford and under the high pressure of Manchester United.

The "Red Devils" who were equalized launched a crazy counterattack in anger, but in the 39th minute, only six minutes after Wijnaldum's goal, Leeds United sent a wonderful diagonal pass from Hamsik on the left side to Ravic on the right in the counterattack, the ball went straight through the players on both sides of the movement, and the speed slowed down in the big penalty area on the right side of Manchester United, and the follow-up Argentine striker Ravic decisively volleyed with his right foot, and the ball was blocked by De Gea and bounced into the goal...... 2:1, Leeds United came from behind and overtook the score!

The stadium at Old Trafford fell silent, and the United fans watched in amazement at what was happening in front of them...... What's going on!?

Our Team ...... What's going on!?

Obviously, Manchester United took the advantage of the game, and it was obviously Manchester United who scored first, but in the blink of an eye, Manchester United was tied by the opponent from a 1:0 lead, and then it became a 1:2 behind!

Until the end of the first half, Manchester United was still 1-2 behind Leeds United, and what worried Manchester United fans was even more worried about the development of the game. Many have begun to wonder in their hearts that Simon? Grayson insisted on using "solar system tactics" to let the team always play around Shaq, but look at this game, Shaq only made 23 passes in the first half of the game, of which only 20 were successful, and 3 shots were also missed. This is also at the expense of Shaq's ability on the defensive end, Shaq, who entered the professional league as a midfielder, has never disappointed in defense, even if his form has not been very good in recent times, Shaq's defense is reassuring.

So. Shaq didn't show his value at all in this game, and it was Shaq's own poor form that was the fault. Or Simon? Grayson insisted on arranging for him to play as a front midfielder?

At halftime. The commentator is already grumbling: "I think Simon should be thinking about letting Shaq play his part now, even if he can't help the team in attack, Shaq can play his housekeeping skills when defending, and after we stabilize the defense, we can attack the opponent on this basis, in this case." We still have a chance in this game. ”

After hearing the commentator's words, Manchester United fans also felt that it made sense, if Shaq could not play an offensive role, his defensive ability would not be able to show. So what else does he have to do on the field?

What if that's Simon? If Grayson doesn't let him play at the back and refuses to replace him, then "Brutal Simon"'s coaching ability is very questionable, at least his ability to command on the spot will be criticized.

When Manchester United fans began to doubt Simon? Grayson's coaching level and Shaq's personal form, Simon in the home team's dressing room? Grayson was angry, and the target of his criticism was not Shaq, who was average in the first half of the game, but ...... Fullback!

"What did you do in the first half? Kyriakos, you're our mid-marker, what were you doing when Wijnaldum broke through? What are you doing, you say? And Jose, how can you get Ravitch to run to your inside to catch the ball? Kindness? Don't you even know the most basic card position for a defender!? And Gregory, Kyriakos defending Nelson? Oliveira, don't you know how to fill in to limit Hamshik's passing? As long as the quality of his pass is a little bit worse, will we concede the ball? Marouan, you're a midfielder, how can you get Leeds' midfielders through midfield like a walk!? Hmph, you all think about it, how are you going to play in the second half! ”

"Bang!"

Simon? Grayson slammed the door and left without looking back, leaving a room full of people looking at each other, Simon? Grayson's anger made Manchester United's stars dare not speak one by one, but even the "little fat" felt that the manager seemed to be a little too much, today's game Manchester United actually still occupies the advantage on the field, the whole team worked hard to create a lot of shooting opportunities, there were as many as 16 times in the first half, but because Shaq did not play well, he failed to win the game in the first half, otherwise Manchester United should be at least one or two goals ahead of the opponent at this time.

There are a few people who have the same thoughts as Rooney, but everyone won't say it, first of all, Simon? Grayson's coaching level is still very high, the team is unbeaten this season, and has set a record of 35 consecutive wins in all competitions, which Manchester United did not do in the Ferguson era, and Shaq's personal ability is also worthy of recognition, this pervert has only been in poor form recently, and he is definitely worth 50 million pounds.

But...... That's not a reason for "Brutal Simon" to get angry at the defenders!

At the critical moment, Shaq stood up: "Guys, I'm sorry everyone, because I was scolded by the boss because of my relationship, but please believe me, I will find my form in the second half, I will definitely score!" ”

Looking at Shaq with a serious face, the Manchester United stars didn't know what to say, they believed that Shaq was capable of deciding the outcome of the game, because he had done it more than once, but ...... That's the old Shaq, and the recent Shaq is really in a sluggish state and it's worrying!

It has been four weeks since Manchester United beat Leeds United 8-3 away to Shaq for his senior four, and Shaq has played seven games during this time, except for the 3-1 win over Arsenal, five club games and one national team game, Shaq's performance is only passing.

This kind of Shaq is definitely abnormal, but at this critical moment, when Manchester United fell behind Leeds United 1:2 at home, Shaq actually stood up and said that everyone should believe in him, should they continue to trust him, or ...... Still is......

The Manchester United players looked at Shaq one by one and were silent, and finally the captain "Little Fat" stood up first, and he patted Shaq on the shoulder: "Shaq, I will help you tear up their defense in the second half, and then it's up to you!" ”

Shaq's other friend, Nani, also spoke: "Shaq, in the second half I'll cut inside and pass the ball to you, you have to stay in your box, don't let my pass miss." ”

With these two people taking the lead, the others naturally had a choice, and everyone chose to continue to trust Shaq, and this ...... It's their only choice at the moment! (To be continued......)