Green Field Eunuch

Chapter 374 Ambitious Manchester United

The new Community Shield season has begun, and Manchester United are eager to compete.

This season, Ferguson has been very ambitious.

The Glazer family, who are usually stingy, gave Ferguson a considerable sum of money this summer. Ferguson brought Robin van Persie, the second-highest scorer in the Premier League last season, from Arsenal, and Shinji Kagawa, the Japanese midfielder, from Borussia Dortmund.

Full of fighting spirit, Ferguson wanted to reclaim the Premier League title and overthrow that noisy neighbor.

But to be honest, although I'm full of fighting spirit, I'm not entirely confident.

Manchester City underwent significant changes in the summer, with Guardiola's arrival being a particularly dangerous sign.

Ferguson's Manchester United suffered a crushing defeat to Guardiola's Barcelona in the Champions League final, and with Guardiola joining Manchester City, the presence of Guardiola and Shan Yongzhuo put immense pressure on Ferguson.

However, Ferguson was pleasantly surprised to find Shan Yongzhuo on the bench during this Community Shield match.

This put Ferguson at ease.

If Shan Yongzhuo doesn't play, Ferguson has nothing to fear.

As Ferguson predicted, Manchester United quickly gained the upper hand once the game began.

Guardiola continued to field his 3-4-3 formation.

The defense consisted of Kompany, Clichy, and Zabalet; the midfield was lined up with Yaya Toure, new signing Rodwell, Kolarov, and Milner; and the three forwards were Aguero, Silva, and Nasri.

For Manchester United, Ferguson opted for a 4-2-3-1 formation, a style he has never been a fan of.

The four defenders are Vidic, Carrick, Rafael, and Evra.

The two defensive midfielders, Cleverley and Anderson, anchored the midfield.

With three attacking midfielders, new signing Shinji Kagawa anchors the central midfield, Ashley Young and Valencia are positioned on either side, and Robin van Persie leads the attack.

Manchester City's lineup was somewhat reserved, at least Shan Yongzhuo did not play, while Manchester United clearly fielded their strongest lineup, except for Rooney. This is the strongest lineup Manchester United can field at the moment.

From the start of the match, Manchester United dominated the game, especially in midfield.

The midfield battle between the two teams was intense, but Manchester United clearly had the upper hand, especially Cleverley, whose performance was outstanding.

Cleverley came through Manchester United's youth academy, but for a long time he led a nomadic life on loan.

Cleverley was somewhat disheartened by the constant loan spells and ups and downs in Manchester United's first team.

Cleverley was once very confident, seeing himself as Scholes' successor, and he did indeed perform exceptionally well, once attracting Ferguson's attention.

However, most of the time, Ferguson loaned him out under the pretext of giving him experience.

With Scholes' retirement, Ferguson once again set his sights on Cleverley.

Last season, Cleverley finally stayed in Manchester United's first team and was not loaned out, and he did perform well in the first three rounds of matches.

However, subsequent injuries led to a turbulent career for him, and he never got another chance to play.

During the summer, Cleverley trained very hard, hoping not to be loaned out again this season.

Thank goodness, his efforts finally moved Ferguson.

In the first match of the new season, the Community Shield, Cleverley got the opportunity to start, and he played as the midfield core.

Ferguson's task for him was to revitalize Manchester United's midfield.

Cleverley is performing exceptionally well. Under his orchestration, Manchester United has completely dominated the game and has taken the lead with a goal.

In the 30th minute, Cleverley and Shinji Kagawa executed a one-two pass, followed by a brilliant through ball that found Van Persie, who had successfully beaten the offside trap.

Robin van Persie unleashed a powerful shot, opening the scoring for Manchester City. 0-1!

Manchester United have taken the lead.

This goal thrilled Manchester United fans around the world, who hadn't been able to gain any advantage against Manchester City for two seasons.

Now, in the first derby of the new season, they have completely dominated and are now in the lead.

Van Persie, who scored the goal, was greeted with a welcome from Manchester United fans almost immediately.

Cleverley, who passed the ball, was also very excited.

The commentator exclaimed, "This Manchester United team has shown us something different. Compared to the aging Scholes, Cleverley, a Manchester United native, may not be the strongest, but he has excellent vision and passing ability. He can definitely become Scholes' successor."

"As for Van Persie, he has already proven himself. Perhaps he is not an alien player like Shan Yongzhuo, but he is still one of the most terrifying strikers in the world."

"Shinji Kagawa's performance was also very lively; he was like a nimble dancer!"

"Manchester United this season is something to look forward to!"

The BBC commentator is clearly a Manchester United fan, praising the team highly.

Manchester City fans at the Etihad Stadium were very unhappy.

"We need to see the order!"

Why wasn't Dan allowed to play?!

"We want to see a single goal!"

"..."

The fans were shouting wildly, especially the thousands of cheerleaders from Shan Yongzhuo's women's cheerleading team, who were the loudest.

For the vast majority of these female casual fans, they don't understand anything about football; their purpose in coming here is simply to see Shan Yongzhuo score goals.

For Manchester City's knowledgeable fans, some of them have also noticed the problems with the team.

The defense is alright, but the main problem lies in the offense.

Manchester City wanted to control the game through possession and passing, but it was clear they lacked a midfielder capable of orchestrating the offense.

Therefore, Manchester City's current style of play looks very awkward. Not only is the tempo too slow, making it a bit sluggish to watch, but they also make it easy for Manchester United to lose possession.

In the past, Manchester City's attack, while lacking any particular rules or tactical ideas, emphasized a highly efficient combination of wing play and central attacks, as well as rapid counter-attacks, ultimately relying on players like Shan Yongzhuo or Aguero to deliver the decisive blow.

Or simply pass the ball to Shan Yongzhuo and let him score a goal using his individual skills.

Such an attack, though simple, was efficient and thrilling to watch.

Therefore, the unfamiliar Manchester City left the fans at the stadium feeling very dissatisfied.

Guardiola, sitting on the sidelines, also felt the pressure. He rested his chin on his hand, frowned, and fell into deep thought.

"Does this mean my idea won't work?"

"Am I, Josep Guardiola, going to end up like that guy Mancini?"

Finally, the stubborn Guardiola firmly shook his head.

"No, I want to prove myself!"

"I want to prove my tactical ideas, that even without Shan Yongzhuo, my tactics can lead Manchester City to success!"

(End of this chapter)