In the opening stages, Barcelona organized a series of attacks and got several shots on goal, but they couldn't convert them into goals.

A single counter-attack from Manchester United created two great chances on goal.

Let the Barcelona players throw a bogey.

In the following period, the Barcelona players received instructions from stadiumside coach Ernesto Valverde.

The formation is a little more retractable, the three lines are balanced, and the ball is firmly controlled for opportunities.

Don't press too high.

Manchester United have also been given a slight respite.

Although Valverde has not played against Mourinho much, he has carefully studied the video of Barcelona's previous games.

In the past few seasons when I played a two-man turn with Real Madrid, the game was really good.

At that time, Barcelona still had the upper hand, but that was one of the purposes of Mourinho's move to Real Madrid to seek a challenge.

There has been a super heavy defeat of 0-5, and there has also been a victory that overturned Barcelona to reach the top of La Liga.

At that time, Mourinho was very good at attacking at Real Madrid, especially fast advancement, smooth and very good-looking.

Whoever says Jose Mourinho can't attack, then he definitely doesn't understand the ball.

And now, Valverde sees in Manchester United the shadow of the former Real Madrid.

While United don't have a super-striker combination like the BBC, they do have a top-class midfielder like Xia.

And Lukaku, Sanchez and other players are also good.

Add to that De Gea in front of goal, he is one of the best goalkeepers in the world.

Such a lineup, even Barcelona does not dare to underestimate.

And for the current Barcelona, their lineup is not as good as it was at the beginning.

After the departure of Neymar, who was entrusted with important tasks, Barcelona has not found a suitable successor.

You must know that Neymar is a top five in the world, and this kind of star is almost impossible to exist in the transfer market.

Although it cost a lot of money to introduce Dembele, it really didn't work.

Dembele's ups and downs in form and lack of experience at a young age are not to mention for the time being, but his frequent injuries alone are a headache for the club.

And Dembele is far less disciplined than his predecessors at Barca, and he has not met the club's expectations on the pitch.

Neymar is gone, Suarez is not in the same form as before, and Messi is injured again.

Barcelona's attacking power is far less than it used to be.

There's also the backline, and there are problems.

Umtiti was given a big job, but he was nowhere near the level of Puyol's successor.

Not even as stable as veteran Pique.

There are also Andres Iniesta and Sergio Busquets, both of whom are also old, more than a notch below their peak.

The current Barcelona is purely based on its integrity, and it can still hold on hard in European football, but no player alone has too much advantage over the opponent.

The same goes for this game.

Although it is appropriate to retreat for protection, Barcelona also have a lot of opportunities.

Either Dembele fired an anti-aircraft gun, or Suarez's shot was blocked.

Paulinho was very positive and this game was the biggest threat to Manchester United.

He can dribble forward, he has a good shot, and his fitness and strength are still on the line.

Unexpectedly, the Chinese Super League recruitment, which was not favored at the beginning of the season, has now become an important member of Barcelona.

Xia Xing simply retreated and decisively focused his defensive attention on Paulinho.

And since receiving special care from Xia Xing, Paulinho has never had a chance to attack the goal.

He was depressed.

What's going on?

When he played against Xia Xing in this game, he always had a special sense of superiority.

Inexplicably, I feel that this guy can't defend himself.

But I didn't expect it to be deadly.

It wasn't until later that he realized what was going on.

It turned out to be Xia Xing's Chinese face, which gave Paulinho too much familiarity.

But the familiarity doesn't taste right.

Who is he one of those defensive players who used to play in the Chinese Super League?

Throughout the first half, Paulinho even had a special thought.

If one day I return to Huaguo to play football again, will I be a little afraid to see the defenders with Huaguo's faces......

This is all the trouble caused by this guy in front of him......

The referee's whistle blew and the first half ended.

The two sides are 0-0.

Valverde frowned, he didn't get the result he wanted.

Mourinho, who was not far away, had a calm expression, and he was still acceptable to this result.

Although he asked his players before the game to have the belief that they must win, Mourinho also knew that it would not be easy.

It's good to have a draw in this game.

It was good to keep a clean sheet or to score a goal.

In the first half, Manchester United's defense was good, especially Xia Xing's retreat, and Barcelona's sweeping defense completely cut off the passing system.

Especially with the final kick on goal, Barcelona didn't even shoot a few shots in a down-to-earth manner.

Either they were rushed wide by the United defence or the pass was not converted into a shot.

Clean sheets, that's good!

At half-time, neither side made any substitutions.

Jose Mourinho was naturally pleased with the starters.

And there were no substitutions on Barcelona's side, not because Valverde was happy with everyone, but because there was no more suitable candidate on the bench.

The Barcelona squad at this stage is perhaps the thinnest in recent years.

On the bench are Vermaelen, Paco, Andre Gomez, and Mecedo, not to mention Barcelona, even if they are placed in other top giants, they are likely to be rotated or substituted.

Now Barcelona is really stretched, and can only rely on the starters to be tough, and then look forward to Messi's early return from injury.

Manchester United still defended unhurriedly, and the occasional counter-attacks were effective, which scared the Barcelona fans.

The clock kept ticking and the game was 69 minutes into it.

Substitutes from both sides were already on the sidelines and ready to play.

But just then, there was an accident on the pitch.

A not-so-threatening pass made its way to Suarez.

The Uruguayan striker takes the ball with his back on the line of the penalty area, knocks it back to Paulinho, and then turns and accelerates!

It's obviously a two-over-one preparation!

Centre-back Chris Smalling follows up quickly and blocks the angle!

But Paulinho didn't pass it back to Suarez, he passed it to Dembele!

Dembele took the lead and rushed into the box!

He's extremely explosive!

This time, he directly got rid of Manchester United's left-back Ashley Young!

Ashley Young was quick to pull back, but how could he keep up with the French striker, who was more than a decade his junior?

Dembele has a chance!

At this time, Phil Jones, another central defender of Manchester United, saw this and hurriedly made up for it!

A sliding shovel goes straight to Dembele!

Dembele sprints quickly and stabs the ball before Phil Jones tackles it!

The ball passed, but the man didn't.

He was put to the ground by Phil Jones!

The referee's whistle blows!

"The referee pointed to the penalty spot!

And showed Phil Jones a red card!

"Red dot package, good luck for Barcelona from the sky!

"Barcelona's attack has finally paid off!

"Manchester United are in trouble!" (End of chapter)