Chapter 20 Shaq and the "Beast"

On September 27, Manchester United defeated Sunderland 1:0 with Nani's goal away.

After the game, the media commented that Shaq's goal luck seemed to have been used up in the last League Cup. In this game, he only played the role of an offensive organizer. He successfully passed 66 times in 74 passes in the game. While revitalizing his own attack, he also had 4 steals and 6 headers contributed to the defense. The data was still very good.

But the fact is that after Shaq won five "Shaq goals" in the last League Cup 7-0 victory over Northampton, his goal seemed to be relieved. It just so happened that Shaq, Rooney and Nani had a happy time recently. Shaq and Nani's intimacy also reached 100%. This opportunity gave Nani a try to add the teammates.

Shaq's goal frenzy here ended, and another of the most fierce scorer in English football this season, Tevez, also ended his consecutive goals. Leeds United tied with Norwich City 1:1 at home. Van Gaal tried a new 4-4-2 formation and wanted to give him Nelson Oliveira some opportunities. The Portuguese did score a goal, but the "Young Guards" tied the opponent 1:1.

The two major super scorers in English football collectively remained silent, which made the English media very interested. They all believed that they wanted to continue the competition for "top scorers" to the Champions League.

Shaq has scored 8 goals in 6 league games, 5 goals in the League Cup, 3 goals in the Champions League, and 16 goals in 8 games in total. His efficiency of 2 goals per game is a miracle.

But the "Beast" Tevez's data is not inferior to Shakh. He has scored 13 goals in 6 league games. In addition to the League Cup, the European Super Cup and the first round of the Champions League group stage, Tevez has scored 15 goals in a total of 9 games.

Shaq and Tevez have become the biggest competitors for each other this season. Shaq's goal division is relatively balanced, but Tevez is the best in the league and has five more goals than Shaq. Speaking of which, who can laugh to the end is also an important highlight of this season.

Just like in the Spanish football world in recent years, Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo have been constantly using goals to break their personal goal records. Barcelona and Real Madrid have also turned the La Liga into the Spanish Super League. The confrontation between two super giants, and the competition between Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo has become the few points in the Spanish league.

But the English football landscape is completely different. In the past, the great powers coexisted, including Manchester City's two heroes, "Gunners", "Red Army", "Blue Army", and the later Tottenham Hotspur, they formed the Premier League championship team, and other teams with weaker strength also gained a lot of funds, and the team can also raise one or two good stars. This makes the Premier League a colorful group.

However, in the past two years, due to the rise of the "Young Guards", the retirement of "Sir" Ferguson and "Professor" Wenger have caused a huge change in the Premier League.

The gathering of famous coaches such as Mourinho, Pellegrini, Van Gaal, Shaq's transfer, the net transfer of twenty super teams this season's net transfer investment of up to 360 million pounds, and the total salary of up to 1 billion pounds of players, all of which have filled the Premier League this season with countless unknowns.

Can Manchester United revival?

Can the "Young Guards" continue their glory?

Can the "Gunner" enter the post-Winger era continue its excellent results?

Will Liverpool win the league title before Gerald retires?

Can Mourinho lead the "Blue Army" to rise this season?

After countless highlights piled up, the English Premier League this season was unanimously believed to be the most exciting season in the past decade.

However, after the six rounds of league matches, the "Red Devils" Manchester United showed a strong momentum of revival, with 18 points in all wins in 6 games.

The "Blue Army" Chelsea also ranked second with 5 wins, 1 draw and 16 points under Mourinho.

On the contrary, the defending champion Leeds United, who has only risen in the past two years, has now only achieved 4 wins, 1 draw and 1 loss and 13 points, ranking third, and Van Gaal's coaching ability has been suspected for the first time.

Leeds United fans claimed that the team could still accept losing to Manchester United away. After all, although the "Red Devils" who played at home in this game defeated Leeds United 4:2, the "Youth Guards" still showed strong competitiveness during the entire game.

But Leeds United tied the score 1:1 at home with a team like Norwich City. They tied the score when they were behind in the first half and almost lost at home. This result is not acceptable to everyone.

Even many professionals in the football circle are wondering, Van Gaal, an old guy, obviously played 4-2-3-1 with Leeds United, so why did he suddenly change to 4-4-2 after he had nothing to do. I really thought that after winning four games and fighting with Manchester United, he could underestimate other Premier League opponents?

In the Carrington base, Manchester United stars are training quietly, and from time to time, they even joke that their condition has been adjusted to a peak. Faced with the upcoming second game against Stuttgart in the Champions League group stage, the "Red Devils" are full of confidence.

Shaq has established his position in the team through his recent performance, and the new contract the club just signed with him also means that the violent midfielder who has only joined for £50 million this summer has become the club's number one.

Rooney, who has always loved money, lost the highest salary in the team this time, and even his position as the "King" of Manchester United is in danger. But this time he did not have a quarrel with the team, but instead calmly voted for the club's decision.

"I knew Shaq was a great guy a few years ago. Now I seem to have a good eye, but we all underestimated him. He has the potential to be the king of football. I have never seen a player as talented as him! Shaq is the best, he will definitely become the world number one! I believe that everyone who has played with Shaq will feel... great!"

Rooney highly praised Shaq, naturally not because they had a lot of fun together. But because he really felt that Shaq's ability was stronger than himself, and he was convinced from the bottom of his heart.

Moreover, "Little Fatty" now enjoys the feeling of playing football with Shaq. In the past, whether in Manchester United or in the "Three Lions", Rooney has always been the one with the most pressure. However, since Shaq grew up, Rooney has felt that the pressure he has been under is getting smaller and smaller. Even now, many times he can break away from the opponent's defense and play football in the way he likes. This feeling of freedom is something he has never enjoyed since he became famous, so... I am very happy to play football with Shaq!

On September 30, Old Trafford welcomed the German powerhouse Stuttgart. This old-fashioned team that was once famous in German football has finally recovered in recent years under the guidance of their young coach Bruno Labadia. It has reached the Champions League final this season and is called "Germany's Leeds United" by German football.

But this time, Stuttgart encountered a game that was enough to hit their confidence...a complete defeat at Old Trafford Stadium!

Just 5 minutes into the game, Shaq cooperated with Gansu in front of the left penalty area. The two people directly tore open the triangle defense line composed of three defensive players through running and passing. Shaq received Gansu's pass in the penalty area and parked the ball in the air with his right foot. Before the ball landed, he pulled the ball into the far corner with his left heel... 1:0!

In the 27th minute, Manchester United took a corner kick from the right. Papadopoulos jumped high in the small penalty area on the left, and a powerful header hit the ball into Stuttgart's goal again... 2:0!

The game ended in 40 minutes. Left-back Jose Angel assisted to the frontcourt, received a return pass from Di Maria, and slapped the ball to the small penalty area on the right of Stuttgart forty-five degrees. "Little Fat" Rooney ran to the landing point of the ball, leaning against the only Danish midfielder Kwest who was guarding him, pushed the arch of the left foot. The ball rolled into the empty goal... 3:0!

The team's three-goal lead in the first half was not the most satisfying thing for Manchester United fans. The "Red Devils" possession rate of up to 73% is truly gratifying. In the entire forty-five minutes, the ball was passed back at the feet of Manchester United players, almost never leaving Stuttgart's half. The German's only shot was still high.

In the second half, Manchester United players played too relaxed and played all kinds of fun. As a result, Shaq and Rooney made wonderful shots. One of them mentioned the ball to the junction of Stuttgart's right post and the crossbar and bounced horizontally along the goal line to the goalkeeper's hand, and the other shot the ball to the left post and bounced back.

These two shots were Manchester United's two most threatening shots in the second half, and other shot opportunities were wasted by them. The score of this game was always frozen at 3:0!

After the game, Simon Grayson was very generous and said with a smile: "It's enough for the team to win the game. This result is very important! On the premise of ensuring victory, if the players can enjoy the fun of the game, that's what I'd like to see!"

After the "Solar System Tactics" took root in Manchester United, Simon Grayson's requirements for the team were not so strict. While the team continued to win, why not do it if the players could enjoy football?

The "Red Devils" Manchester United's condition is getting better and better, while the "Youth Guards" are getting worse. As the defending champion of the Champions League and the "four champions" last season, Leeds United should have been the favorite of the Champions League this season, and they seemed to have proved this when they defeated Austrian underdog Salzburg 8-1 in the first game of the group stage, but just two weeks later, Leeds United lost 1-3 to Benfica.

Nelson Oliveira scored Leeds United's only goal. Although he broke through the goal of his old club, he was still quite happy because his goal helped the team take the lead in the first half.

Unexpectedly, the situation changed suddenly in the second half. Benfica, who played at home, scored three goals in a row, and eventually reversed the game 3:1.

After the game, Tevez, the "Beast" sent by the substitute, opened fire at Van Gaal: "I don't know why Van Gaal didn't send me to start, but I can be sure that there is no problem with my body!"

After Van Gaal's tilted approach to using people has brought setbacks to the team, the "Beast" has begun to become restless. You should know that Ravic, who replaced Tevez as the starting player, was a player who couldn't even get into the Argentine national team. But because he was bought by Van Gaal for 15 million pounds, he replaced Tevez's position in the club, even though Tevez had always used his goals to continuously push the "Youth Guards" forward.
Chapter completed!