"We can see that from the very beginning of this match, New Manchester United were determined to attack Blackpool's two flanks. Blackpool had obviously anticipated New Manchester United's move, so they didn't give New Manchester United this opportunity, placing heavy defensive cover on the flanks to make up for the two major weaknesses in their defensive line," Scarlett commented as she watched the match.
"Yes, but in doing so, Blackpool's attack couldn't get going, and their momentum was completely suppressed by New Manchester United. In a football match, momentum is especially important. Whoever controls the momentum controls the initiative of the match," Martin Tyler praised.
He had commentated on many New Manchester United matches with Scarlett, and he admired New Manchester United more and more.
Although this team were in a lower league, their play was not conservative at all. While they played an aggressive style of football, they were not dirty, at least compared with other lower-league teams that often resorted to rough tackles. New Manchester United were relatively more disciplined.
What surprised Martin Tyler the most was that this team's performance was becoming increasingly mature, especially in their ability to control momentum.
"I think New Manchester United are a team that are very good at controlling momentum, and once such a team get into rhythm, it is truly frightening!"
"Do you think Blackpool can hold them off?" Scarlett asked.
Martin Tyler shook his head. "I think it will be very difficult. It has been fifteen minutes since kick-off, and New Manchester United have been relentlessly attacking Blackpool's two flanks in turns. Although the results haven't been great, Blackpool's attack has been completely suppressed, without even a decent counterattack. And this is very, very dangerous in a match against a team like New Manchester United!"
"But they seem more concerned with defending!" Scarlett teased the away team.
Martin Tyler shook his head with a smile. "No, Blackpool also want to counterattack, but they can't, because the defensive pressure on their two flanks is too great, and New Manchester United have even pushed their defensive line forward. Look at Curtis. He is frequently appearing in Blackpool's half. In this situation, Blackpool's counterattacks can only rely on long passes, but their forwards can't control the ball at all, so their counterattacks can't materialize!"
"Of course, this is only our view from the sidelines. I believe the Blackpool players on the pitch feel it even more deeply. Look at their two full-backs. They're already out of breath. This is obviously related to the pressure they're under!"
Martin Tyler's words made Scarlett look closely at the pitch, and she found that after just over fifteen minutes, both of Blackpool's full-backs looked as if it were already the second half. Could it be that the pressure they were under was really that heavy?
...
Perhaps only by being there in person could one understand how much pressure Blackpool's two full-backs were truly under!
New Manchester United's two wingers both had strong individual attacking ability. Hleb and Wright-Phillips's wing play was even more outstanding. That was not the main concern. What truly caused headaches was their frequent position changes.
According to the information Blackpool had received before the match, Wright-Phillips was a right-footed player, but he often appeared on the left flank. Why? To cut inside!
And this short player was as slippery as an eel, very fast and flexible. With just a moment of inattention, he would already be out of the defender's control.
Kitson, who was originally playing furthest forward, was also given more tasks to drop back and support. Because he was always double-teamed by two defenders, he basically did not let the ball stick to his feet. He was essentially a transition point, receiving the ball and immediately moving it on.
What caused the biggest headache was that whenever he wanted to pass, New Manchester United players would always appear around him to receive the ball, then decide whether to lay it off and reorganize or continue the attack. Blackpool had no say in the matter and could only be dragged along.
The manager on the sidelines saw this situation and could only repeatedly signal his players to drop back, trying to compress New Manchester United's attacking space and prevent them from easily controlling the ball in front of their own penalty area.
But the cost of dropping back was the loss of counterattacking ability.
As Martin Tyler said, New Manchester United were a team that understood how to control momentum. From the very beginning, they relentlessly attacked both flanks precisely to suppress Blackpool's attack, forcing them to focus only on defending. And the opponent's retreat would only further fuel New Manchester United's momentum, especially with the support of the home supporters.
After forcing Blackpool back into their own half, New Manchester United relentlessly attacked Blackpool's two flanks, using Kitson, the penalty-area target man, to firmly pin down defenders and create threats in the opponent's box.
Although the situation on the pitch seemed to be in a stalemate, everyone knew that Blackpool were on the defensive, and the passive side always faced immense pressure and equally high physical exertion.
In this situation, New Manchester United, on the contrary, appeared calm and unhurried. Both the players on the pitch and the manager on the touchline knew very well that winning this match was only a matter of time.
From the moment Mourinho decided to start Wright-Phillips, who had stronger attacking ability, instead of Malouda, he had already known that this match could be won!
...
Just before the end of the first half, the opposing left-back tripped Wright-Phillips during a defensive play, resulting in the referee showing him a yellow card, the first yellow card of the match.
Unfortunately, Juninho's free kick was headed over by Curtis, wasting a scoring opportunity.
However, during half-time, Mourinho instructed his players to ease up on attacking Blackpool's right flank and relentlessly attack their left flank, because their left-back had already received a yellow card and would definitely be more cautious when defending, not daring to make tackles like in the first half.
In fact, Mourinho's decision was correct!
In the forty-eighth minute, Wright-Phillips received a pass from Juninho on the right wing, dribbled past Blackpool's left-back, sprinted down the flank, and crossed the ball.
Kitson arrived in the middle, and after wasting several chances in this match, he finally seized the scoring opportunity, overpowering the opposing center-back and heading the ball into the net from close range.
1-0!
New Manchester United played even more steadily after scoring a goal.
Just as Martin Tyler said, the yellow card received by the left-back was like New Manchester United clutching Blackpool's throat, capable of taking their life at any moment, and scoring a goal was only the beginning.
In the fifty-sixth minute, New Manchester United's attack down the left wing was unsuccessful, and the ball was transferred with a long pass to the right wing. This time it was Hleb, who, facing the opposing left-back, skillfully feinted and tried to dribble past the opponent, but was pulled down from behind by the left-back. The referee did not hesitate to show a second yellow card, then immediately followed it with a red card, sending him off.
With one man down, Blackpool completely lost their ability to resist, and the match immediately turned into a one-sided affair for New Manchester United.
In the sixty-first minute, Hleb crossed from the right wing, and Kitson rushed in front of goal to head the ball into the net.
2-0!
In the seventy-eighth minute, Juninho sent a long pass to Kitson, who headed the ball to the left wing. Wright-Phillips, who had been outstanding in this match, suddenly made a forward run and successfully beat the offside trap. After receiving the ball, he dribbled past the goalkeeper and slotted it into an empty net.
3-0!
After taking a three-goal lead, New Manchester United clearly began to slow down their attack, but they still firmly controlled the situation on the pitch. Even if Blackpool, playing with one fewer man, wanted to counterattack, they were already out of steam and were forced to swallow the bitter pill of a three-goal defeat.
...
As the team scored their third goal against Blackpool, Ethan received a text message from the south coast of England. The match between Brighton and Cardiff was still 0-0, with both teams drawing, and the match was deadlocked, indicating a high probability of a draw.
Ethan almost shouted with excitement when he received the text message.
New Manchester United beating Blackpool and Brighton drawing with Cardiff meant that both teams would have the same points, but New Manchester United would take top spot in the league on goal difference. This would also be New Manchester United's first time at the top of the league table this season.
The coaching staff below had obviously received the same news. Villas-Boas even ran out of the dugout and went to Mourinho, telling him the good news. Mourinho, who was usually so aloof that he seemed unapproachable, suddenly turned around and raised both hands, waving to the supporters in the stands.
Clearly, at this moment, the Portuguese was extremely excited, because after his team's slump at the beginning of the season, their subsequent performance could only be described as stunning. Even the most critical person could not find fault with his team.
Conservative? Their goal tally was the strongest among the twenty-four teams in League Two, and New Manchester United's matches were always full of passion.
If Ethan, with his perspective from his previous life, were to look at Mourinho's team, he could only say that the New Manchester United currently coached by Mourinho were completely different from any team Mourinho coached in his previous life, not even resembling Real Madrid.
This New Manchester United emphasized off-the-ball movement and support, while also having faster passing and receiving, and the team created greater pressure on opponents. Especially when they found weaknesses in the opponent, it was almost impossible for the opponent to resist.
Of course, because the individual abilities of New Manchester United's players were not as good as those of Porto, Chelsea, and Inter Milan under Mourinho in Ethan's previous life, let alone Real Madrid, the team also made more mistakes, and Mourinho was not satisfied with some details.
But it had to be admitted that this team was on the right track.
Ethan had a premonition that as long as they continued on their current development trajectory, when Messi and the others grew up, and New Manchester United boasted a group of famous players like Messi, Kaká, Curtis, De Rossi, Essien, Juninho, Terry, Evra, Bosingwa, Wright-Phillips, Hleb, Crouch, Olić, and Palacio, who could still stop New Manchester United?
But just as Ethan, full of confidence, thought his team would reach the top, another text message arrived at the moment the referee blew the final whistle.
In the last minute of stoppage time, Brighton's defensive midfielder scored an astonishing world-class long-range goal, helping Brighton defeat Cardiff!
Upon seeing this message, Ethan was completely dumbfounded. He even ignored the supporters around him who stood up and cheered, celebrating the victory. He just kept cursing inwardly.
Damn it, this has to be a fixed match!
(To be continued.)