Chapter Forty-Six: Subtle Group Forms

When the referee blew the whistle for the end of the match, Martinez shook his head. Then he rubbed his face, which was a little stiff by the cold wind, put on a smile again, walked to the players' tunnel, shook hands with Ancelotti very gracefully, and then turned and walked into the players' tunnel.

There was nothing to be ashamed of losing to Manchester United.

Although Lukaku was a little depressed, when the game was over, he still found Li Qingshan as soon as possible, and the two chatted with each other for a while, and then exchanged jerseys.

Overall, it was a more easy game for United than originally expected.

Carlo Ancelotti's confidence is now high and it seems that this United is even stronger than he expected.

Being able to get a job at another big club immediately after being fired by Real Madrid, and having a good chance of winning the title in his first year in the year, made Carlo Ancelotti feel very happy.

The manager is in a good mood and the players are not far behind, especially when Ancelotti announced that he would give the team a day off, and Ancelotti immediately felt the support of the players.

This chubby old Italian man is comfortable in everything he talks and does, and he is a person who is hard to hate.

……….

Li Qingshan is now enjoying his life in Manchester, where he has far more friends than Madrid.

He would sometimes go to Newton's Sith Bar for a few non-alcoholic drinks, and sometimes he would go back to his old school.

The rest of United's players found that Li Qingshan's behavior was only in line with the imagination of this group of Westerners for Chinese only when he was not on the football field.

Of course, the day of holiday is fast in the day, and the day after the players return to the training base, the United squad will be flown to Russia for the third round of the Champions League group stage against CSKA Moscow.

With Champions League commitments, double matches a week are inevitable.

Away from Russia has always been difficult for England's side. The long journey, as well as the low temperatures in Russia, were a serious test for United's players.

On top of that, United will have to take into account the league action at the weekend. Because this weekend, Manchester United will face their local rivals Manchester City at their home stadium.

Although Manchester United have won nine in a row in the league, Manchester City are second in the league table with six points of difference.

Six points seems like a lot, but it's actually just a matter of two games. If anything goes wrong in the derby at the weekend and City win away at Manchester United, the difference will be immediately closer to one point! Coupled with the fact that the Premier League is so competitive, Manchester United found themselves ahead after a run of nine consecutive wins.

And in terms of importance, the match with Manchester City is a matter of historical feud between the two sides, and it will also affect the league standings, which is certainly more important than the away game against CSKA Moscow in the Champions League.

Carlo Ancelotti also affirmed this before the game, saying: "For me, the Premier League is the most important thing, the Premier League title comes first. I know what the Red and Blue War means to the city of Manchester. ”

Although Manchester City also have Champions League games in the same city, their matches are played at home. Compared to Manchester United, who went to Moscow, Manchester City must have had a much smaller physical exertion than Manchester United before the Manchester derby.

Therefore, Ancelotti's decision to rotate a certain amount away from home is no exception.

Key players including Angel Di Maria, Juan Mata and Ander Herrera did not even come to Moscow with the team. Of course, there is no problem with Li Qingshan's physical fitness.

CSKA Moscow, playing at home, is Russia's biggest team. The last time the two sides met was in the Champions League group stage in 2009-2010, when CSKA Moscow held Manchester United to a draw at Old Trafford.

The group United are in now has a more delicate form of points. With all four teams on all three points, United are currently top of the group on goal difference, but that advantage is undoubtedly fragile.

The third round of the league is a very crucial round, and after three rounds of group stage, it is equivalent to all the teams in the group meeting once.

Manchester United, despite their league success, are currently only one draw and one defeat in the Champions League, which is far inferior to their performance in the Premier League.

Therefore, for CSKA Moscow, PSV Eindhoven can beat Manchester United at their home stadium, they are not inferior to PSV Eindhoven, and their home advantage is even greater, and it is not impossible for CSKA Moscow to beat Manchester United at home in the Manchester derby that Manchester United will have to distract from the weekend. This is a home game, if they can beat Manchester United with their home strength.

CSKA Moscow currently sit top of the Russian Premier League and they have been in excellent form of late. Their opponents, Manchester United, are tired from long flights, low temperatures in Moscow, and almost half of the squad rotated, making the local media in Moscow full of expectations for beating Manchester United.

"Let the ice and snow of Moscow be the grave of Manchester United!"

This was the front-page headline of the local media in Moscow.

When the whole United squad got off the plane at Moscow Airport, all the players couldn't help but shudder.

It's only mid-October, and the temperature in Moscow is already around freezing, and the latitude of England is relatively high in Europe, with an average temperature of seventeen or eighteen degrees at this time.

This temperature difference of more than ten degrees is really difficult to adapt to for a while.

The impact of low temperatures on Manchester United's players was evident from the arrival of players from both sides. On United's side, the players are wrapped in thick down jackets, while the CSKA players, who have long adapted to the bitter cold of Moscow, are at most wearing thermal underwear and even wearing short sleeves.

In the stands, the sturdy Russian fans took off their shirts and shouted feverishly, mocking the cowards from "Warm England", despite their skin red from the wind.

Ancelotti made a rotation of up to five players in the main squad for this game.

The centre-back partnership was replaced by Chris Smalling and Jones, while Blind and Michael Carrick replaced Herrera and Kramer at the back.

Nani and Little Pea Hernandez took the place of Di Maria and Juan Mata. Carlo Ancelotti lined up in a 442 formation away from home, with Li Qingshan and Hernandez up front. Carlo Ancelotti wants to win this game in the most economical way possible.

The impact of the low temperature on Manchester United seems to be greater than expected. From the start of the game, the United players didn't seem very excited, and CSKA Moscow seized the opportunity to press aggressively.

Fortunately, Manchester United's defense was quite solid and did not allow the opponent to score.

It's just that Manchester United's side also failed to score. Li Qingshan's streak of consecutive goals was ended in the bitter cold of Moscow.

The final score was 0-0, while the other game in the group, PSV Eindhoven and Wolfsburg, were tied 2-2, and after three rounds of group games, the four teams are tied on four points, and the form of this group is still unclear.