Football: I can see player entries.

Chapter 154 Guidance Battle?

Game start.

Both sides were playing a defensive counter-attacking style, and neither wanted to take the initiative to attack.

This resulted in the game having already started for several minutes, but both teams' players were still strolling around there.

Mourinho and Lee Yeon-cheong stood on the sidelines, neither of them willing to overlook any detail on the field.

"Both sides were behaving somewhat cautiously."

"Mourinho deployed his most effective tactics, and Li Yanqing's side also abandoned their previous aggressive style, resorting to a tactic identical to theirs..."

"It's still difficult to predict how this match will go."

The commentators didn't consider Burton a weak team, after all, Manchester United's form was hardly good either.

His only concern was whether the match would satisfy the fans.

Chris sat on the coach's bench with his arms crossed. He hadn't attended the pre-match tactical meeting, so he wouldn't comment on the game for the time being.

Both he and Robinson have one advantage: they don't care whether the team plays beautifully or not, as long as they win in the end.

The person who seemed most worried was Lyman.

Because the players appeared somewhat fatigued, Burton did not use their usual tactics for this season in this match.

Previously, key players such as Ibrahimovic, Cazorla, and Anderson did not play.

The midfield and forward positions are still filled by the same players who used to play in the Championship; they have a lot of experience in counter-attacking.

This resulted in them falling far behind in terms of sheer strength on paper.

"Pogba, find an opportunity to pass the ball forward!"

"Since they're not making a move, we'll take the initiative and attack!"

Mourinho quickly understood Li Yanqing's intention, but unlike the latter, he was not afraid to let the team get the ball.

Parking buses is his signature tactic, but he's not just good at it.

Pogba didn't seem too keen on accepting Mourinho's instructions, but after hesitating for a moment, he did as he was told.

The ball was passed to Rashford, who was playing as a winger in this match.

However, the latter did not find any openings, so he sent the ball back to the middle.

After passing the ball around several times, an opening was created on the flank.

Lukaku had already moved to the wing and dribbled past Matias with a powerful dribble.

"That big, fat, dark-skinned guy is really fast..."

"No wonder his net worth is close to 100 million."

Li Yanqing was amazed by Lukaku's amazing skill. He had watched many Manchester United match videos and had a certain understanding of the player.

But seeing him play football live still made me sigh with admiration.

Even a proper winger like Mattias was left far behind by him.

However, Lukaku's dribbling skills still need improvement. When he noticed Blind blocking his way, he immediately chose to send the ball towards the middle.

Under pressure from Enzo and Baselli, Rashford, now positioned in the middle, was unable to win the ball.

This attack didn't pose any real threat, but it showcased Manchester United's attacking capabilities.

Keep in mind that they only committed three offensive players.

Even Matic in the middle didn't cross the midfield line.

If it were Burton, Matthias, Murphy, and Miller certainly wouldn't have achieved the same results.

If he's lucky, Matthias might be able to break through, but Murphy needs some space to get going.

His performance in positional play was far inferior to Rashford's.

Miller is even less of a concern; he offers virtually no help to the offense.

"Change seats!"

"Miller! You switch with Louis!"

Li Yanqing quickly made a decision.

He's basically using Luis as a free agent now, making him play as a striker no matter which position he's responsible for.

Given this, his role in the attacking third is slightly more significant.

At least it will be plugged in.

The ball is now at Quinn's feet, and he doesn't have many passing options.

Only Murphy and Matthias.

He chose the latter because the former was now surrounded by enemy forces.

Matthias, not to be outdone, showcased his signature move: a dribbling pass.

Since being promoted to the Premier League, he has become a fringe player in the team, with the attacking core being either Anderson on the other side or in the middle.

Having finally gotten a chance to shine, of course I'm going to kick like crazy.

He dribbled past Rashford and Dalot in quick succession, bringing the ball to near the byline all by himself.

After drawing in a center-back, he delivered a cross.

"A beautiful attack!"

"He attracted the attention of at least three opponents and then passed the ball out!"

This was the first time Lehmann had seen Matias play like this, and he couldn't help but exclaim in admiration.

He had previously thought this player was one of the fringe players the club was planning to offload.

However, their problems are similar to those of Manchester United.

Nobody could catch the ball.

Murphy couldn't get the ball, while David Lewis was surrounded by multiple players.

The "late runs" from the midfield and defense are mainly about surprise attacks; putting him in the striker position makes him seem a bit lost.

However, the result was not bad.

They also proved that they have good attacking ability, and they only committed three strikers.

The probing phase has ended.

Mourinho continued to make changes.

"Move the formation forward a little!"

"But the defenders must not leave their positions!"

On Burton's side, Li Yanqing also issued the same instruction.

The two sides went back and forth...

In a small town, Wenger was nestled in a rocking chair, watching the live broadcast of the match.

Twenty minutes into the game, he suddenly burst out laughing.

"Mourinho..."

"Is he really taking the team seriously in the matches?"

"Arsène, why do you say that?" Another elderly man, also watching television, didn't quite understand what he meant.

"Guy."

"Look at how they're playing now?"

"Mourinho made the first move, and then Lee started to learn his moves."

"You take one round... I'll take one round."

"This doesn't really resemble a life-or-death struggle; it's more like a battle between master and disciple..."

"Guidance warfare?"

"Right, that is it."

"He seemed to hope that the Chinese boy could learn all his skills."

"But he doesn't know Li's true level yet, so he's testing him step by step."

"Let's keep watching, the second half of this match is going to be very interesting..."