Star card system

After hearing Mourinho's words, Perrin was temporarily absent-minded.

Confrontation?

It has been a long time since I heard this sentence from Mourinho.

"Jose, it would be more dangerous for us to attack Manchester City..."

"It's really dangerous. Their offensive power in the midfield and frontcourt even exceeds ours."

"This……"

"I would say that between the two of us."

“Indeed, they have world-class forwards like Sergio Aguero, the fast forward Sterling, and the dribbling genius Sane; in the midfield, they have world-class stars like David Silva and De Bruyne, and With strong players like Bernardo Silva and Gundogan, and defensive heroes like Fernandinho, their strength is more balanced."

"Especially when many of our defensive players are missing, especially without Matic and Fellaini, it gives me a headache."

"So, you just want to play against them?"

"That's right! I'm going to put all my money into this game and fight them!"

"But I still feel very dangerous..."

"If we defend, we will die; if we attack, we will fight [-]-[-]. So we must take risks!"

Looking at Mourinho's firm eyes, Perrin suddenly looked forward to the next game.

What will it look like in a Manchester derby with full strength and freedom of attack?

Really looking forward to it!

After drawing with Swansea on March 3, Manchester United took a short break and they once again ushered in intensive competition.

On the evening of April 4th, the lights of Old Trafford were shining.

Today there will be the fourth Manchester derby of the season.

This rarely happened in previous seasons.

And it is also in an important event of the Champions League, which has made countless fans look forward to it.

At this time, players from both sides have entered the stadium to warm up, and the stadium is already full.

Some Manchester United fans who did not buy tickets gathered in the square of the Old Trafford Stadium to watch the game on the big screen and cheer for their team from close range.

The TV broadcast screen was cut in advance, showing players from both sides warming up.

In the live broadcast, two commentators were introducing the starting lineups of both sides.

"Manchester United still played in a 4-2-3-1 formation today.

"Goalkeeper De Gea,

"The back four of Luke Shaw, Smalling, Rojo, Darmian,

"Double defensive midfielders Herrera and Xia Xing,

"The three attacking midfielders Rashford, Pogba and Sanchez,

"Center Lukaku,

"Rooney, Blind, Martial and other players are sitting on the bench waiting to come on.

“Man City, they have a 3-4-3 attacking formation.

"Goalkeeper Ederson,

"The back four of Kompany, Otamendi, Kyle Walker,
"The three midfielders are David Silva, Bernardo Silva, Fernandinho and De Bruyne.
"Three forwards: Sane, Aguero, Sterling.

“On the bench are Jesus, Gundogan, Danilo and other players.

“Both teams are so familiar with each other;
“Looking at the lineup, both sides are equally strong.

"Maybe the outcome of this game requires some luck."

Carragher next to Alan Shearer disagreed with these words. "Are the lineups equally strong?

"I don't agree with this view!
"Looking at this starting lineup alone, Manchester United is obviously weaker than Manchester City!
"Look at their injured list: Ashley Young, Valencia, Matic, these three are the absolute main players of Manchester United.
"Without the three of them, Manchester United's defensive strength has dropped by more than one level.

"Also recuperating from injury is Fellaini, who is Matic's substitute in the defensive midfield position.
"Now he is also injured, and Manchester United's two toughest defensive midfielders are unable to play.
"How can Manchester United defend Manchester City's attack like this?"

Alan Shearer pointed to the Manchester United lineup on the screen: "Today Mourinho asked Xia to retreat to defend and partner with Herrera, who has excellent running ability. Their combination is no problem."

Carragher pouted.

"Forget it, xia's defense is pretty good, I admit it.

"But Herrera is an offensive player after all. He is just good at defense and can play as a defensive midfielder.

"He is still far from top-notch defensive players like Matic and Fellaini.
"I'm sure that in this game, Manchester United's defense will be beaten to a pulp by Manchester City!"

There is some truth to what Carragher said.

After all, Manchester United does lack defensive capabilities today.

Regarding this point, Guardiola will naturally not let it go.

After returning to the locker room after the warm-up, Guardiola once again asked the players.

“Today we’re going to kick off with a swoop!
"Strive to score goals as soon as possible and suppress Manchester United in the whole game!

"Their defense was already average, but now they are missing half of their main players.

“It can’t stop us. Today I hope not only to win, but also to strive for more goal difference!

"We need to establish victory early before their injured players come back in the next round!"

Guardiola's tactical requirements are already very clear to the Manchester City players, and now they are just continuing to strengthen their offensive awareness.

Mourinho's tactical requirements made the Manchester United players find it very interesting.

Especially for offensive players.

Under Mourinho, it is difficult for offensive players to attack vigorously.

Especially this season.

Mourinho relied on defensive counterattack tactics to break out of the siege many times, and Manchester United's attackers rarely had the opportunity to kill all sides.

Two days ago, when Mourinho proposed to play against his opponents in this game, the players were a little confused.

Yes, counter attack?
What's going on with the head coach?
Is he joking?

Or is it testing us?
At this time in the locker room, Mourinho emphasized again:.

“We must attack with all our strength in this game!
“Especially in the opening stage, grab the opening and pounce on Manchester City!

“Try to score goals as soon as possible!
"have you understood?"

"Understood!" Everyone said in unison.

However, someone still asked again: "Coach, are you sure I can attack with all my strength?"

Mourinho glanced at Lukaku who asked the question: "If you are not sure of scoring, I can say hello to the match officials now and say that you slipped and got injured in the locker room and need to make substitution adjustments. Maybe they can also What do you think about allowing us to make adjustments directly without wasting a substitution?"

"I have no problem! I will definitely score a goal! Defeat Manchester City!" Lukaku confirmed, patting his chest.

Everyone roared with laughter.

Mourinho nodded with satisfaction.

“Boys, we were in a lot of trouble before this game.

"The team has added four more players to the injury list, and they are all important defensive players.
“I also wanted to play steadily in this game, but we really don’t have the conditions.
“So, we must use our strengths and avoid our weaknesses and use everyone’s offensive capabilities.

“I allow you to concede goals today, but you must score more goals than your opponents!
"Come on, boys!
"Overwhelm Manchester City with sharp offense!" (End of this chapter)