The UEFA Cup semi-final at Old Trafford attracted as many as 50,000 fans, with countless media outlets spotting the theatre of dreams.

For the Red Rebels, it was a dream to be able to play in this stadium, but the fans were not proud of it, because their pride was not in the southwest of the city, but in the east of Manchester, where an even more fantastic stadium was being built, which has attracted countless teams throughout Europe and even the world.

That's the home of the Red Rebels, the home of the Red Rebels fans!

Today, Old Trafford is just a hotel for Red Rebels fans, but even so, the Red Rebels still retain the title of the Devil's Home Stadium.

Unlike the Red Devils, the Red Rebels are always very hot, especially the fans, who are able to create a terrifying home atmosphere throughout the game.

The same stadium, two different teams, two very different home cultures, this is also a very unique scene at Old Trafford this season, and I believe that this scene will be even more interesting if the Red Rebels are promoted to the Premier League next year.

The most exciting thing about the Red Rebels in this game is who will replace Kaka and Juninho Jr. in the starting lineup, but Mourinho has been kept secret from the outside world until the game starts, and everyone was surprised to find that the formation of the Red Rebels has changed.

For a long time, the formation of the Red Rebels has been playing 4231, but in this game, Mourinho changed the lineup to 433, among the three players in the midfield, there is also a retreating back, and this back is Redondo!

........................ "According to the information we received before the game, Redondo had some minor injuries and would not be able to participate in this game, but I didn't expect that he was entrusted with a heavy responsibility as a starter, which is indeed a bit unexpected! "Andy? Gray said with some surprise.

"It's also surprising that Mourinho dropped his midfielder and used Essien and Yaya? Toure plays two central midfielders, is he going to defend at home? ”

Martin? Taylor shook his head, "I don't think it's likely, according to Mourinho's surname, he will definitely not be satisfied with a draw at home, he will definitely want to get a win at home, even if he wants to defend, then he will definitely stay away, he will use Essien and Yaya?" Toure, with a clear purpose, is to strengthen the interception capability in the middle. ”

"In the Red Rebels' tactical system, the midfield has always been a very important area to fight for, they have to win the midfield in every game, since Kaka and Juninho Jr. are suspended, then Mourinho simply uses Essien and Yaya? Toure went up to intercept, Redondo controlled the tempo in the back, and then the front trident played a counter-attack, which was also the tactic of the Red Rebels the previous season. ”

"Drogba's impact is very strong, Xiao Luo and Hleb on both wings are also fast and skilled players, these three players are excellent in terms of individual ability and team cooperation, especially Xiao Xiao Luo, after a season of carving, his performance in the Red Rebels is getting better and better."

Andy? After listening to this, Gray couldn't help but nod, because Lazio's starting lineup was still a thunderous 442, and the four midfielders were Inzaghi Jr., Simeone, Fiore and Stankovic, who were also brave and good fighters.

The forward pairing is Corradi and Worm López, the backline is Odor, Stam, Mihajlovic and Favali, and the goalkeeper is Peruci.

........................ "In this game, the area we are going to focus on is the midfield, their striker Corradi and Lopes are a very English combination, the former is tall and strong and has excellent headers, the latter is very technical and has a lot of awareness, but if we can break the link between their midfield and the attack, then Corradi will not do anything up front. ”

In the pre-match dressing room, Mourinho pointed to the tactical board to set up tasks.

"Cristiano, Alexander, the two of you have to drop back more, back and forth, suppress their attacks on both wings, focus on Corradi when defending, and control the second drop point at the same time, Michael and Yaya have to build a wall in the midfield, don't let the opponent easily pass through your defensive area."

The players nodded solemnly in agreement.

"Didil, this game is to pull Stam out of the penalty area as much as possible, retreat more, create space for the inward cuts of our two wings, and then the inwards of the wings should be ruthless, decisive, don't hesitate, trust your teammates, believe that even if you lose the ball, they can get it back for you!"

"In addition, Patrice, Colo, you have to be a little bit more forward, help the midfielder to suppress Lazio's wings, and at the same time increase our interceptions in the midfield, we have to control the midfield in this game!"

"Remember the tactical coordination we practiced earlier? We have to play succinctly, we have to be fast, we don't fight with the Serie A teams, once they have a defence organised, it will be difficult for us to threaten their goal, we have to end the battle in the first half! ”

Speaking of which, Mourinho looked at Redondo, who gave Mourinho a reassuring look.

According to the clues given by the laboratory, Redondo could only play half the game, and Mourinho was thinking from the beginning about how to make good use of the 45 minutes to cause problems for Lazio.

…………………… The referee blew the whistle for the start of the game and Lazio were given the right to kick off.

In the four midfielders, Fiore and Inzaghi Jr. were separated from each other, with Simeone and Stankovic occupying the middle of the midfield and playing as a double midfielder, but Simeone was a little further back.

Lazio's attack was more from the two flanks, with arrowheads like Corradi in the middle, but the Red Rebels defended fiercely on both flanks, Essien and Yaya? Toure's frequent appearance on the flanks to participate in the defense, coupled with the full-back position up front, made Lazio's wide side unable to play.

Even if he occasionally passed a ball or two, but under Curtis's close watching, Corradi could not take even the slightest advantage in the confrontation.

On the other hand, the Red Rebels also started the game with a firm foothold, playing with the idea of controlling the midfield and letting the game enter their own rhythm, so they did not show their hideous fangs in the first 15 minutes, but when Lazio's attack was suppressed, they began to prepare for counterattacks.

Although Xiao Xiao Luo and Hleb frequently retreat, they basically maintain a characteristic, that is, when the ball is on the left side, Xiao Xiao Luo retreats to participate in the defense, but the Hleb on the right side must be on top, on the contrary, Evra at right back stepped forward to participate in the defense, Terry leaned over to fill in for him, and Colo? Toure must have returned to his defensive zone.

This kind of tactical coordination has long been clearly divided in the Red Rebels' defensive and offensive systems, and everyone knows exactly what they should do and when.

Redondo played more like a libero in central midfield in this game, although he did not have much direct confrontation with opponents, but he relied more on his own experience and awareness, judging the passing routes of his teammates in advance, intercepting them, and Mourinho gave him the task of making him ready to attack at any time.

By Evra, Terry, Curtis and Colo? Toure's backline, plus midfielders Essien and Yaya? Toure's two powerful midfielders, and Drogba in front, under the tutelage of Mourinho, the defensive master, the Red Rebels' defense completely suppressed Lazio's attack in the first 15 minutes of the game.

But this is only the first step, and there is a more crucial step to follow, which is to fight back!

With Didier Drogba dropping back deep and players on both flanks also actively involved in the defence, Lazio's backline moved forward to take on the midfielders, especially the two full-backs.

Mourinho saw Favali on his side on the sidelines, turned behind him and smiled at Cassel.

The latter also returned the smile with confidence, and yes, that's what Mourinho wants.

In the 21st minute, Essien broke the ball down the left side of midfield and passed it back to Patrice Evra, who was not far behind him, who crossed to Terry, who took a few steps forward and handed it to Redondo.

Redondo had already noticed that he was like an old fox who seemed to help the defense, but in fact ran to a more relaxed place, and after stopping the ball, he hit Lazio with a long pass with a big foot.

The ball passed through the gap between Stam and Favali very accurately, Hleb stabbed out diagonally, used his speed, grabbed the ball before Favali, took advantage of the situation, pressed Favali with his body, cut into the penalty area, faced the attack of goalkeeper Peruci, calmly picked the shot, scored the goal, 1:0!

After the goal, Hleb excitedly ran to the sidelines, gestured to the fans in the stands to make the cheers more violent, and then hugged his teammates who came forward to celebrate him.

The fans in the stands also erupted in the loudest applause and sang the Hleb song, delighted with the performance of the Belarusian, who has also been the best performer in the Red Rebels squad this season, and the improvement in the team over the past few seasons has been very noticeable.

Mourinho on the sidelines made a fist-hued squat after seeing his team score, convinced that the game was already in his hands, especially when he saw the anxiety of the Lazio players after falling behind.

"Just kick as you did and watch out for Lazio's counterattack!" Mourinho casually called Redondo, who ran over to drink water, and reminded him.

The latter nodded and walked away, then communicated the manager's intentions to the players on the field.

Leading Lazio, this situation was expected before the game, and he also kept reminding his players to be careful of Lazio's counterattack, especially in the 10 minutes after taking the lead, which was the most deadly!

Sure enough, Lazio immediately launched a fierce counterattack after falling behind, but the formation of the Red Rebels was flexible and orderly, relying on unremitting running and interception, repeatedly disrupting Lazio's attack, and struggling to survive this time.

When Lazio's offensive slowed down and the situation on the field gradually returned to stalemate, the Red Rebels once again showed their bloody fangs, this time Drogba, who used Stam to lose concentration in a counterattack, stopped the ball and made a one-two cooperation with Xiao Xiaoluo on the side, entered the opponent's penalty area, and scored a goal, 2:0!

It was almost a goal that condemned Lazio to failure, but no one could have imagined that this was only the beginning of the disaster!

(To be continued)