Chapter 336, The Opening Confrontation

On the afternoon of May 11th, the thirty-eighth round of the 2013-2014 Premier League season was held at the same time. The three most watched games were Manchester City's home game against Swansea, Tottenham's away game against Liverpool and Southampton Three games at home against Manchester United. These three games will determine the last two suspense of the Premier League this season: the league championship and sixth in the league.

At this time, the players were warming up before the game, and Sky TV explained the starting lineups of both sides to the TV audience.

"Manchester United's starting lineup is still 4-4-2 formation, goalkeeper De Gea, defenders Vidic, Smalling, Evra and Rafael, midfielders Kante, Giggs, Mahrez and Marcus. Charles, the forwards are Rooney and Van Persie. The seven substitute players are: Alisson, Jones, Alonso, Valencia, Nainggolan, Salah and Icardi. The biggest change in this game is Veteran Ryan Giggs replaced the injured Kevin De Bruyne, and it was his last Premier League game."

Morris had just finished speaking, but Raman said with some regret: "This game is very important for Giggs. This is the last battle of his 23-year career. This should have been an easy game. In the farewell show, Manchester United fans bid farewell to their meritorious ministers, and then there was thunderous applause from the audience. Everyone chatted relaxedly in the stands, reminiscing about the past. It should be like this. But today’s situation is not like this , Manchester United did not win the Premier League title in advance, they still need three points in this game to successfully defend the Premier League title. Therefore, this game is still a battle and a test for Giggs! "

Morris continued to introduce Southampton's lineup: "This game is indeed a bit difficult. Today Southampton coach Pochettino formed an aggressive 4-3-3 formation, with goalkeeper Boruc and four defenders from left to left. Right Luke Shaw, Lovren, José Fonte, Klein; the three midfielders are Schneiderlin, Wanyama and Jack York, and the three forwards are Lallana, Lambert and Steven ? Davis."

"Last season, Southampton was still fighting for relegation. This season, they have the opportunity to beat the top six and compete for tickets to the Europa League. The biggest contributor to this season is their head coach Pochettino. The high-pressing offensive football he created has caused many Premier League teams to fall at the feet of Southampton; not only that, Pochettino is also very capable in cultivating young people. The Southampton steel defense he built, Invincible in the Premier League, it has become an insurmountable obstacle for all teams. And the two midfielders Schneiderlin and Wanyama, their large area of ​​defense and active running, are also an iron gate for Southampton. Let us Take a look at today's game, Manchester United can break through Southampton's steel defense!"

"With the whistle of the referee, the game begins!"

"It was Southampton who kicked off first. They launched a fierce attack towards Manchester United's penalty area from the beginning! Schneiderlin controlled the ball in the midfield. He and Wanyama made short passes in succession. Davis dropped back to respond."

"Koke kicked a long pass,

Found Lallana! Lallana ran out of space, and Manchester United's ribs were empty! "

"Lallana went into the Manchester United penalty area! A volley!"

"De Gea did a great job! He flew to save Lallana's shot into the far corner!"

"Manchester United almost conceded the ball at the beginning! They were too careless! This ball was due to a problem with the cooperation between right back Raphael and Smalling, which allowed Lallana to find a chance in the gap. Fortunately, De Gea's He performed bravely, otherwise, if he concedes a goal in the opening game, Manchester United's league title may be over."

Both Rafael and Smalling were very sorry for the danger caused by mistakes. Smalling patted De Gea to express his gratitude; Rafael also waved his hand to express his apology.

Southampton got a good chance at the beginning, so they are even more excited.

In the 10th minute of the game, Schneiderlin got a good chance on the left. He and his teammates opened up the gap through passing and cutting and got a chance to cross. At this time, there are three points in Manchester United's penalty area, all of which have good opportunities. Schneiderlin passed the ball into the middle, and Southampton center forward Lambert headed hard. The ball slid out against the post and almost broke the United goal.

Now, Jin Taige couldn't sit still off the court. He stood up from the coach's bench, came to the sideline and loudly told his players to concentrate and pay attention to defense.

Phelan was also very anxious: "What's wrong with them? Why did they make mistakes again and again in the opening stage?"

Scholes said in a low voice: "This game decides the championship. Maybe they are a little nervous."

After Jin Taige loudly ordered, the Manchester United players gradually calmed down. They were indeed a little dazed by Southampton's offense just now. They didn't expect that they would attack directly at the beginning without any transition time. This caused several dangerous situations in front of Manchester United's goal. Today the captain on the field is Giggs. He also greeted his teammates loudly to calm everyone's emotions, and controlled the rhythm through short passes in the middle, so as not to let the rhythm of the game be taken away by Southampton.

The Manchester United players gradually stabilized, and under the leadership of Giggs, they also played several waves of threatening offensives.

"Mahrez broke through from the wing, he faced Klein's defense, and the two got entangled!"

"The young Klein's 1-on-1 defensive ability is really good. Mahrez, who has performed well this season, hardly got any good opportunities in front of him."

"Mahrez tapped his heel and the ball was handed over to Evra who inserted in the back row!"

"Evra made a cross! Van Persie grabbed the point! The ball was pushed out by Lovren! Southampton escaped!"

"Now that the game has progressed to 20 minutes, the players of both sides are playing offensive football. Southampton has repeatedly threatened the Manchester United players. They are young and hardworking; and the Manchester United players are also under the leadership of Ryan Giggs. They also created several threatening chances. For the two teams today, a tie means they lost the game, so they aggressively attacked and wanted to score the opponent's goal first."

"The youngsters of Southampton performed very well in this game. Not only did they perform exceptionally well on the offensive end, but they were also very stable on the defensive end. This back line is definitely at the top level in the Premier League."

"In the Manchester United team, not only Giggs is a veteran player, Evra, Vidic, and Van Persie are all over 30 years old. Whether they can rely on experience to defeat the youngsters on the opposite side, let us wait and see!"