Chapter 857: Hold on to 1 Point

This time it exploded.

A penalty kick is almost as good as a goal, and one person is sent off.

The person who received the red card was not an ordinary player, it was Vidic, the core of Manchester United's defense and the most popular candidate for captain.

Manchester United can achieve its current results, not to mention the performance of Gao Xiaodong, and the golden partner of Vidic and Ferdinand. Without the iron wall created by the two of them, it will be useless no matter how many goals Gao Xiaodong scores in front.

"Black whistle!"

"Misjudgement!"

"Cancel the red card!"

"Cancel the red card!"

…

There were not many Manchester United fans today, but at this time, the few Manchester United fans all jumped up. They roared towards the stadium and put pressure on the referee Atkinson.

The most anxious one is of course Vidic. He is anxious not only because this red dot package will affect the outcome of the game, but also because this is a critical period for Manchester United to select a captain. If he gets a red card and causes Manchester United to lose, what will happen to him? His influence is very great.

Vidic and Ferdinand are the biggest favorites for the captaincy, and they have received the most support from the old captain Gary. When Neville is about to retire, any bad influence may tip the balance of victory in favor of Ferdinand.

Vidic anxiously ran to Atkinson and said that he had unintentional handball. Manchester United players immediately gathered around and explained to Atkinson, but Atkinson had already taken out the red card. How could he put it back? He was cold With a straight face, he signaled that there was no problem with the penalty and asked Vidic to leave the court quickly.

Vidic was still unwilling to leave the field. He also wanted to argue with referee Atkinson, but Atkinson didn't listen at all and pointed to the outside of the field and told him to get out quickly.

Ferguson on the sidelines was also anxious. Manchester United had been unbeaten for 17 games. If Vidic was sent off, facing Chelsea who were eager to catch up with Manchester United, they would definitely attack hard from behind, and the defense was unstable. It would be almost impossible to maintain a draw. It’s harder than reaching the sky.

Ferguson also ran to the fourth official to protest. He believed that the ball should not have been awarded a penalty at all. It was just an unintentional handball.

However, the fourth official could not decide the referee's penalty. He could only explain to Ferguson with tears and laughter, and asked Ferguson to return to his seat.

Ferguson shook his head speechlessly.

I can only sigh with emotion and let Smalling change clothes and play as a substitute central defender.

Chelsea head coach Carlo Ancelotti smiled. He almost despaired in the first half. Unexpectedly, he received an unexpected gift at the last moment. Without Vidic, the opponent's defensive line will definitely not be as stable as before. This is also It means Chelsea's opportunity has come.

In the VIP box, Abramovich was overjoyed when he saw the red dot package. Now Chelsea's hope of reversal has greatly increased. It has really reversed, and the 8-point gap is not so desperate.

Joel's face darkened, and if Abu wasn't by his side, he might have cursed.

Playboy Edward also saw that the situation was not good for Manchester United. He was still chattering to Emma. Watson was so attentive that he didn't dare to speak now.

Vidic finally returned to the locker room helplessly. Chelsea's midfielder Lampard came to the penalty spot to prepare to take the penalty kick.

This is a confrontation between old rivals. Lampard and Van der Sar have played against each other for many years, and they both know the technical characteristics of their opponents. Whether they can score more goals depends on whether they can deceive their opponents.

Lampard took a small step up and hit a powerful cold shot towards the center of the goal.

This free throw was very tricky. Van der Sar had already made a sideways dive. When he saw the ball flying towards the center, Van der Sar sighed and could only watch the ball go into the net.

1:1

In the last minute of the first half, Lampard's goal equalized the score for Chelsea.

After scoring, Lampard raised his hands high and stood at the penalty spot, waiting for his teammates to come over and congratulate him.

Chelsea's players rushed forward and pressed Lampard to the turf.

The on-site commentator Andy Gray sighed: "The score was equalized and one player was missing. This change was so fast. In the blink of an eye, the situation suddenly changed. Manchester United, which had the advantage, was now completely passive. Let's take a look at Sir Alex Ferguson's substitutions. Deal with the situation.”

CCTV 5 commentator He Hui said: "Actually, the referee's decision today is questionable. It was a handball, but Vidic must have done it unintentionally. When Vidic had already received a yellow card, Atkinson's penalty We should be more cautious when receiving a yellow card. Originally, there was a balance on the field, but now, the balance has been broken. Chelsea probably attacked and Manchester United defended."

However, after the Chelsea people celebrated, the game restarted. Smalling continued to warm up, but Ferguson did not make any substitutions. The first half ended in just one or two minutes, and Ferguson was preparing to make adjustments after the halftime break.

The Manchester United players returned to the locker room in a depressed mood. They all thought they would be beaten by Sir Alex Ferguson's blower for another fifteen minutes.

However, Ferguson did not criticize the players. When he saw that the players were all here, he said: "Maybe you all think I will criticize you, but I will not criticize you today. You still played very well. The last yellow card and There's nothing we can do about penalty kicks. It can only be said that we are unlucky."

Seeing that Sir Alex Ferguson did not criticize them, the Manchester United players were relieved and they all talked about the problems that occurred during the game.

Ferguson and the other players had finished talking. He coughed and said to the players: "There is still half a half of the game. We are at an absolute disadvantage. Now we want to win the game. I am afraid it is already difficult. We have to recognize it." Realistic, but if we want to keep a point, I think there is still a lot of hope. Our goal in the second half is to get a point, put defense first, and wait for opportunities to counterattack. In the second half, Xiaodong will return to the middle. He is our The core of the counterattack, if you have the ball, you have to look for Xiaodong and let them organize it. On the front line, Rooney also has to come back to defend. You can only run more now. When you are tired, raise your hands and I will let you come down and rest."

The fifteen minutes of halftime passed quickly and the game resumed in the second half.

During the halftime break, Ferguson made substitution adjustments, replacing Scholes with Smalling, replacing him with a pure center back, and returning Gao Xiaodong from the winger position to the midfielder. Manchester United's The formation also changed to 441.

Ferguson's intention is very obvious. He gave up Scholes, a veteran with good passing skills, in the middle, and let Gao Xiaodong return to the middle. This is to defend one point.

However, fans and commentators all understand Ferguson's substitution. Chelsea is not just a cat or a dog. It was the league champion last season, and this is Chelsea's home ground. Here, Manchester United has only won one game in 8 years. How can they Dare to be careless. Besides, Manchester United is now 11 points ahead of Chelsea. They can't afford to draw this game, or even lose.