#头条创作挑战赛#
Chelsea, which ended with five consecutive wins, could only become the "leader" in the bottom half of the table in the middle of the season, and Manchester United, which was not much better than them, could only find confidence in some weak teams struggling for relegation, but it was these two down-and-out giants, in the first leg of the league, the Blues, who could not win in the middle of the table, successfully played the touchstone of only winning the weak Red Devils.
Chelsea, who could not win in the middle of the table, and Manchester United, who only won lower than them, were forced to test each other's litmus
After the end of November last year, Manchester United coach Ten Hag was shortlisted as a candidate for the best coach of the month with a record of 3 consecutive wins and 1 goal without conceding, but in the first week after entering December, the Red Devils, who finally began to improve, ushered in a series of new problems on and off the field, first in the Champions League life and death battle in the case of scoring 3 goals away from home, and was finally forced to draw by Turkish giants Galatasaray, and the final round of the group stage had to be defeated by Bayern, looking at the faces of the other two teams to know their fate, Back in the league against Newcastle, who suffered a massive attrition due to injury, Ten Hag's side lost to an opponent ranked higher than them "without surprise", and worse than the defeat was the humiliating attacking statistic of only one shot on target in the whole game;
In addition to the bad things on the field, the Manchester United dressing room off the field is also "lively", in the first half of the game with Newcastle, coach Ten Hag and Martial fierce "air communication" on the sidelines, was broadcast all over the world, after the game, a number of media broke out in a row, the Red Devils dressing room is no longer under Ten Hag's control, the Dutchman will be like several of his predecessors Moyes, van Gaal, Mourinho Sochaux, etc., by several "high-power" bigwigs in the dressing room;
At this time, if you change to the traditional top 6 or Newcastle Villa Hamham and other teams, to play against Manchester United, which has been worried about internal and external troubles, most people may be optimistic that the away team will take away 3 points in the Theater of Dreams, but unfortunately although Chelsea has gotten rid of the embarrassing situation of being in the bottom half of the standings, but since the elimination of Brighton in the League Cup in September, they have won 6 wins, 2 draws and 2 losses in the last 10 games, including a 4:1 victory over Tottenham and a 4:4 draw with Manchester City, but it still can't hide the team's offensive and defensive imbalance. From the lack of strikers at the start of the season to the recent goals conceded, it seems that Pochettino is still looking for the best match for this young Blues, coupled with Chelsea's poor record of 1 defeat and 5 draws in the last six games with Manchester United, it is difficult to find a win, almost no one will be optimistic about how many chances the visitors have to get out of the way, and the final result of the game also proves the pre-match prediction that a Blues who cannot win against a mid-table team and the Red Devils who can only win lower than themselves have become the touchstone of each other's strength.
The Times wrote a commentary on the matter immediately after Manchester United announced the ban on four journalists who had reported on the dressing room feud for Ten Hag's press conference, claiming that it was a lingering legacy created by United during the Ferguson era, and now we can all see the impact of this legacy in the bizarre decision to ban four journalists from reporting on discontent in the dressing room, "Manchester United claim that these reports are not a chance at the club' Commentary or explanation', of course, this treatment of the media may have been pioneered by Ferguson, although under the Scots it was often more systematic, part of a padded pattern of behaviour as Ferguson's successful brand of attacking football is so important to English football, which is why the Premier League has kept a blind eye when he criticises referees and questions the integrity of the fixture compiler. ”
Garnacho, who firmly occupies the attacking position on the left side, has become the biggest weapon for Manchester United's attacking line to tear up the gap in the opponent's defense recently, compared to only 2 goals scored so far this season, Rashford, who is "not enterprising" on the field, is not worth wasting a starting place for it, and although he is not used to playing the British star on the right side, he is also an Antony with unacceptable offensive efficiency, but this is good for the Brazilian winger in terms of running and attitude, and Ten Hag's trust has been won even more, and Manchester United should have opened the situation early. It was thanks to the Brazilian's creation in the sixth minute, and although he may not have meant it that way, the fact that he was slow to play created a foul on Enzo in the box, but unfortunately he couldn't capitalise on the penalty against Bruno.
Because both sides use a double back and a single forward configuration in the midfield, how Bruno and Palmer play in their respective positions will largely determine how much of the offensive threat of the two teams is, but the two sides of the double back also have a very mirror tactical arrangement, Manchester United's wheat has long proved that it is a violent thing to be fixed in the back position, and the top scorer of the Scottish European qualifiers has repeatedly become the one who participated in the team to stop the attack;
The same is true for Chelsea, Caicedo, who has been transferred from Brighton at a high price, undoubtedly plays an important role in limiting Bruno and helping the defenders sweep the front of the penalty area, and his partner Enzo has similar responsibilities to the opposite Wheat, and he also needs to be involved in the organizational tandem of the team's attacking line. They worked harder than the visitors to win a game that manager Ten Hag could not lose.
After nearly 20 minutes of back and forth, Manchester United finally instigated an attack on the spot after the ball broke off in front of the ball by midfield, Garnacho's inverted triangle back pass on the left side did not have time to return to his own defense, and McTominay, near the penalty spot, stopped the ball and pushed the goal with his left foot, which turned out to be the first goal scored by the Red Devils with his left foot this season;
In Ten Hag's own words after the game, the most important takeaway from the game was not the win, but the way he wanted to play, "[McTominay] he has the ability, he has the ability to be in the right place at the right time, he has a good nose, he finishes very well, when talking about the tactical dynamics, sometimes he drops back, sometimes he is up front, but in our tactics and planning we often want him to be up front, so the team has to allow him to push up. to allow him to get into positions around the striker and then he can attack; ”
'He's very good at judging when to get forward and then he's got a really good shot and the team has to make sure they can get the ball to him at the right time, it's not difficult, it's just a matter of organisation, so we have to put the players in the right position, it's our job to put them in the right position, it also means that the other players have to stand up deeper and play what they do best, it's all about each player being in the right position on the pitch to get the most out of their characteristics.'
'So it wasn't a setback, in the end we won, but we could have made our lives easier because we could have scored three goals in the first 30 minutes, we started really well, very positive, very dynamic, very brave, we created a lot of chances in that moment, we could have led by two or three goals in advance, we played three games last week, two good performances, very good against Everton, one bad performance, but you can see that this team is moving in the right direction and improving a lotand we are satisfied with it; ”
'Sometimes you can play badly but still get results and that's the next step for us to take, when you stick together and have the right attitude and you have to fight for points even when you're not doing well, that's the next thing to do, you can see the way we play, dominate the game, with the ball or without the ball, that's the way I want to play, so I'm very happy with the team's performance today and for me it's a pleasure to watch.'
The implication of the above passage is actually very obvious, Rashford Anthony Martial and Sancho, who was relegated to the youth team, can no longer be a starter who can really work and contribute to the red shirt on his body, instead of Maguire Wheat, who was beaten into the cold palace at the beginning of the season, Garnacho, who was promoted to the first team from last season, and new signing Hojlen, Ten Hag, who just arrived at the Theatre of Dreams last year, can lead Manchester United, who has not yet completed the transformation, to replay the Champions League and win the League Cup. Why is it that this year, after spending more transfer money, has had a bad start to a number of humiliating records? This can only be attributed to a typical man-made disaster, not a natural disaster;
Manchester United had the opportunity to take a two-goal lead, but then made the same mistakes, and their mistakes gave Chelsea the opportunity to equalize or even overtake, but Mudryk Sterling, Jackson and others could not seize the opportunity to send it to the door, but Manchester City's academy produced Palmer, who has been a Manchester United fan since childhood, scored a goal for his favorite team before half-time, and the 1:1 score also made the second half full of possibilities.
At half-time, the coaches on both sides used up a substitution, and they were all used at full-back, Manchester United replaced Lindelof with loan Sergio Reguilon, Luke Shaw recycled and Maguire to form a new centre-back partnership, and Chelsea replaced Marc Cucurella at right-back with James who had ended his suspension, and this adjustment did not change the situation in which United dominated the game in the first 45 minutes of the Theatre of Dreams, if it were not for Garnacho's repeated wasted chances on the left. Soon after the start of the second half, the Reds could take the lead again early;
In the 63rd minute, McTominay, who had left the back position because of his many assists, gave Chelsea a lot of counterattack opportunities, grabbed the corner kick and shook his head to attack the goal, but unfortunately the ball was confiscated, and after the game, Wheat was also annoyed that he could not complete the hat trick, only 6 minutes later, after receiving Garnacho's exquisite pass on the left side, McTominay and Hojlen double-ghost shot, the Scotsman jumped high at the back point and smashed the ball into the net to score a brace, giving up a lot of ineffective ground conduction and more tactics of opening and closing, In addition to creating more shooting opportunities for big center Hojlen, it is probably also tailored for a midfielder like Wheat, who has outstanding physical conditions and excellent ability to score after cutting;
Falling behind again made Pochettino decide to break the boat, replacing high striker Armando Broja with a late central striker to try to salvage the defeat, and the Blues did have a chance to equalise 10 minutes before the end of the game, as the Reds' attacking line was still squandering a good chance to score, and Chelsea's luck was not good, as the Albanian striker's header was denied by the goalkeeper;
From three consecutive wins in November to the on-field and on-field troubles in December, Manchester United's managership has never been a good job, but since Ten Hag decided to accept the challenge, all the problems and tricky situations he has encountered now may have been more or less foreseen, banning the media from publishing negative news, banning Sancho, colding last year's top scorer Marcus Rashford, and reusing the unpromising Maguire wheat and other measures, all of which are the same as the "domineering" that Ferguson said in the dressing room back then There are similarities, but the biggest difference is whether the Dutchman can bring consistent wins and championship glory to the team, if he can then he is right, otherwise he has to pay for it, professional football is never absolutely right or wrong, here is more only the winner and the loser.
After replacing players such as Marcus Rashford and other players who did not work hard, Manchester United and Chelsea had 18 shots on goal in the half. The expected goals of 2.78 were also 2.78, the highest expected goals in the first half of any team in the Premier League so far this season, and United completed 28 shots at the end of the game, the second highest in a single Premier League game since Ten Hag took charge, and the 4.07 expected goals of Manchester United in the field were the third highest in a single Premier League game since Ten Hag took charge (this figure is the second highest in a single game of any Premier League team so far this season, behind Chelsea's 4.12 in the win over nine-man Tottenham), while United's 41 touches in the opposition box were fifth in Ten Hag's era;
After beating Chelsea at home, Manchester United has won 5 and drawn 7 in the last 12 Premier League games against Chelsea, which is also the first time in the team's history that the team has been able to maintain a 12-game unbeaten streak against the Blues in the Premier League, Chelsea has not won Manchester United away from home for 10 years, and the last away win over Manchester United was back in May 2013, when Oscar assisted Juan Mata's stunner, and finally Chelsea took three points from Old Trafford 1:0, and McTominay, who scored two goals alone, is undoubtedly the biggest contributor to the team's victory. According to statistics, among Manchester United's Premier League goals this season, McTominay scored 5 goals alone, while Manchester United's strikers scored only 4 goals in the Premier League: Anthony Martial, Garnacho 1 goal each, Rashford 2 goals;
McTominay's expected goals in this game are 1.97 goals (7 shots, 5 on target, 2 goals), which is more than double the Chelsea team as a whole (0.86 goals), Manchester United have won seven league points this season thanks to McTominay's goals, and Wheat's five goals in the Premier League this season have set a new career high, in addition to goals, Wheat's pass completion rate is as high as 95.5%, and he has also contributed one interception and one tackle in defence.
Manchester United on the "right path".
After winning the 15th round of the league with Chelsea, fans were surprised to find that Ten Hag, who was complained about by the outside world for a whole league start, actually led Manchester United to the same number of wins as the city rival Manchester City, Manchester City won 9 wins, 3 draws and 3 losses in 15 rounds of the Premier League this season with a winning rate of 60%, while Manchester United won 9 wins and 6 losses in 15 rounds with a winning rate of 60%, and Chelsea, which has not taken away 3 points from the Theater of Dreams for 10 years, has lost 17 Premier League games so far in 2023. That's more than they did in 2022 and 2021 combined;
Reece James, who returned from suspension, said in an interview that it was hard to say why we lost but the team had to keep going, "It's disappointing to come here and get nothing, we were probably lucky to keep the score at 1-1 at half-time, they missed a penalty in the first half and there was another chance to score, to win you need to take chances, we had a lot of chances in the first half and some in the second half, we created a lot of chances but we didn't take them calmly. And the opponent grasped it; ”
'We know Manchester United are a good team and it's difficult to play against them away from home. They didn't surprise us, it's hard to say why we lost, but we need to keep going, we want to win games, but it's still a young team, we're learning game by game, the preparation is the same for every game, whether we play against teams in the top half of the table or teams in the bottom half, it's tough now, but we know we have the ability to win every game. We need to start again, we'll look back at this game and then prepare for Everton, we need to try to climb up the table. ”
Pochettino, who was interviewed, believes that the team's defeat is more due to the lack of a good start, "The disappointment is because we didn't start the game well, it feels like they started better than us, they were more energetic than us, and we couldn't keep up with their energy, I think they played better. We created enough chances, we drew 1-1 in the first half, there were some good chances, we should have scored and played more calmly, that's the problem, in the second half we started well but then we conceded goals, of course you need more energy to be more aggressive, we had some chances but not enough to come back to the game again, overall my feeling is that they are stronger than us; ”
'It's similar to the last few weeks, weeks ago, months ago and of course we need to improve in the table and, in fact, we did well before Newcastle but we didn't get what we deserved. Of course I think Newcastle and the result today were fair, yes, not worried, because there were so many situations where we had to explain why we didn't play well, against Brighton we played one less man for almost 60 minutes, I think that did have some impact on the players' energy and performance, and then too many players were injured and we need to get them back as soon as possible so that we can be more competitive, we can have a choice, we can present the team we want, it's not an excuse, that's all, yes, the opponent played better. I think we need to focus on getting the team back and getting ready for the games ahead. ”
Speaking to Manchester United after the game, Wheat, who won the Man of the Match award, said the team had to perform like this every week, "It's a game where we have to show the fans that our attention is on the pitch and we want to react [to the defeat to Newcastle] but it has to be like that every week, that's what we're talking about in the dressing room, we can't just react in one game, we have to show every week, we know the fans are very demanding and the players are the same, so that's what we expect." Looking back at the game against Newcastle, we know that we weren't good enough, it still stings us, when we go to a certain stadium and don't play at the level and fighting that we should have, we can't do that, tonight is a standard, we need to take it step by step, we can't get carried away; ”
"I think we started the game very, very well, obviously the fans were very happy with the way we started, we responded positively after a rather poor performance against Newcastle and everybody was very frustrated with the performance in that game, it wasn't good enough at all, it was a highlight to be able to win tonight, that's something we can build confidence in, and as for the biggest contributor to be honestly the manager, there were a lot of relaxed training sessions to keep the energy going. Keep it fresh and prepare for the next game because it did come so fast and it was a night for us that we should be very happy about and a night where we could build confidence. ”
Speaking to the club's official media, United boss Erik ten Hag said he was very pleased with the result: "Actually, I don't think it's a response, we played four games after coming back from the international break, one was a disappointing result, and we had two very good games before today's game. Today we had another really good performance and, of course, the result. Ultimately, it's about the results, and I'm very happy with that. I think the players played well, against Galatasaray, against Everton, we played very well, so you can see the improvement of this team and we are moving in the right direction; ”
'In the second half of the first half we had a bit of a dip in form but in the second half we improved a bit and we played against Chelsea, a very good team, they had a lot of possession and if you didn't press in the right way, you didn't communicate with your team-mates, you didn't have great organisation then you were crushed by them, but we did a good job and we had a lot of chances to counter-attack;'
'I think with or without the ball they were very good, very energetic and very proactive, they won a lot of duels together, McTominay was in the right place and scored two wonderful goals, we wanted him to be a little bit further up the pitch, we wanted to find him there, he needed to attack the opposition defence from the back because he was good at that, he had a good nose and was in front of goal at the right time, he was a great finisher. I think Amrabat is adapting, he's improving, you can see he's getting more and more comfortable and he did well against Galatasaray last week and tonight as well. ”
Write at the end
"People don't know where to go, peach blossoms are still smiling in the spring breeze", the former Manchester United will Matic in an interview, talking about some unknown inside information in the team's dressing room at that time, he bluntly said that there are always some people in the Manchester United dressing room who are unprofessional, Pogba, Sancho is always late, another Manchester United legend Roy Keane said he was not surprised, and did not think they were good professional players;
'At Manchester United, being late happens almost every day, with players such as Paul Pogba, Jadon Sancho and a few others, and those of us who are always on time are angry, so we decided to set up an internal disciplinary committee with me as the head. Roy Keane said, "I'm not surprised by what they've been mentioned, there's plenty of evidence that these people aren't good professional players. ”
Nemanja Matic added: 'At Chelsea, the players are very professional, they are always on time and never late for training. [Nemanja Matic played for Chelsea from 2014 to 2017] but at Manchester United it happens almost every day, so I put a piece of paper on the wall of the dressing room with the names of the latecomers, and in a given season we received a fine of about £75,000, which we had planned to use to have a party in London, but because of the pandemic, we didn't. ”