During the halftime interval, Wenger emphasized that the team should pay more attention to defense in the second half. Then he talked to Reyes in private for a while. Finally, he went to Qin Xiong and told Qin Xiong to pay attention to his actions in the second half and not to get another yellow card. Otherwise, he would be sent off.
When the players walked out of the locker room to prepare for the second half, Vieira jogged past Qin Xiong and said to him, "The momentum in the first half was good. Don't relax in the second half."
Perhaps the scene of Qin Xiong and Rooney shouting and pushing each other might be interpreted as a kind of momentum, but in fact, Qin Xiong felt that he was defending his own interests.
Now that he was at the top level of competition, he could not relax at every opportunity or minute of the competition. He could not easily give in. He did not count on his teammates or his manager to speak up for him. He had always relied on himself!
He would not become the target of the opponent's attacks and be ridiculed by others. No, never!
Football was his career. The game against Manchester United was obviously a "big occasion." He would surge with a stronger fighting spirit and will to not only defend himself, but also to stand up and defend the team!
In the second half, the two teams changed sides and fought again.
The pace of the game did not slow down. The two teams put in an unusual amount of effort in the attack.
Qin Xiong headed the ball in a defensive position and the football flew towards Ljungberg, who was in the right position of the midfield. But just after Ljungberg stopped the ball with his chest, Heinz rushed up from the diagonal behind and used what seemed to be a physical confrontation with his elbow to make Ljungberg fall to the ground.
Mike Riley ignored the scene of Ljungberg falling to the ground. He signaled for the game to continue.
Heinz directly dribbled the ball to the front waistline and shot a long shot before Qin Xiong could make a flying tackle to block. Fortunately, his footwork was average and Lehmann easily received the ball.
Qin Xiong went to check on Ljungberg's condition. The Swede shook his head as if to wake himself up. Then he waved to the nervous team doctor on the sidelines to signal that there was no need for the team doctor to enter the field. He stood up and twisted his neck with an unhappy expression.
Not only him, but Arsenal's teammates and Wenger on the sidelines were about to explode with anger!
Two minutes later, Ashley Cole fiercely tackled Ronaldo in the defense on the flank. Mike Riley still did not say anything. Ronaldo knelt on the ground and roared at the referee in dissatisfaction.
Qin Xiong could see that Ronaldo's condition seemed to be declining. Compared to the first half, when he was able to control the ball and dribble, he was more restrained in the second half and passed more to his teammates. He did not dare to rashly dribble the ball to break through. It seemed that not only was Ashley Cole putting a lot of pressure on him, but Ferguson must have also used a hairdryer to educate him during halftime.
There was also a big premise that affected Ronaldo's condition. In addition to the European Championship in the summer, he also went to the Olympics. Not only did he not participate in Manchester United's pre-season training, but he also missed the opening stages of the new Premier League season. It was understandable that his condition fluctuated. He was different from Qin Xiong. At Arsenal, even if Qin Xiong was shelved by Wenger, there would still be Bergkamp, Fàbregas, and Manchester United's number seven position. Other than Ronaldo, who else could Ferguson send?
This made it impossible for him to continuously play at a high level.
In the 57th minute of the game, Reyes was once again taken down by Gary Neville. In the confrontation, he was awkwardly squeezed out of the sidelines!
Qin Xiong saw this scene and shook his head slightly.
As a teammate, he should support and help Reyes, and he continued to give Reyes chances, hoping that Reyes's performance would improve. However, things did not go as he wished. Reyes seemed to have given his knees to Gary Neville today. As soon as the two met, he immediately knelt down and called him father.
He did not expect Reyes to play at Pires' level, but at the very least, he should be able to control the ball, pass the ball, become a stable receiving point in the offense, and contribute a little to the team's offense. This would make Arsenal's offense more threatening.
However, the more Gary Neville successfully defended against Reyes, the more skillful he was at grabbing Reyes's weak points and attacking him to death!
When Reyes was no longer of any use, Qin Xiong's plugging in from the back also became less threatening because Phil Neville could concentrate on intercepting him!
Rooney was the most active player in Manchester United's front field. His position as the shadow striker was frozen by Vieira, so he frequently moved around the wings.
He tried to cross on the left wing but was sniped by Lauren, so he began to cover for Ryan Giggs.
In the 64th minute of the game, it was under his cover that Giggs successfully plugged into the empty space in the front of the penalty area. Fortunately, Lehmann chose the right choice to abandon the goal in time. Touré also blocked the path of Giggs' cross, forcing Giggs to shoot. In the end, Giggs' shot was blocked by Lehmann because the angle was very small.
After Rooney moved around on the left wing for a while, he ran to the right wing.
In the 68th minute of the game, Ronaldo dribbled the ball forward on the flank. Before he encountered Ashley Cole, the Portuguese genius seemed to have taken a blow to his confidence. He did not dare to go past him and quickly passed the ball across!
Rooney was right beside him and stepped into the penalty area. The football that rolled from behind was gently pushed in the direction of the end line. Then Campbell, who was guarding him, raised his leg to block his forward direction.
It looked like Campbell just casually raised his leg and immediately withdrew it. There was no strong collision with Rooney, but Rooney fell forward exaggeratedly in the penalty area.
Campbell suddenly turned his head and cursed at Rooney. Then he turned around and was stunned to see the referee, Mike Riley, pointing to the penalty spot and giving Manchester United a penalty kick!
Campbell's eyes were as wide as a frog's. Rooney got up from the ground and raised his fists in joy.
"Manchester United has been awarded a penalty kick! Rooney seems to have been kicked down by Campbell in the penalty area. Campbell looked as if he had seen a ghost. Vieira, Ashley Cole and Campbell surrounded the referee to protest. They accused Rooney of diving! Through the slow-motion replay, it was true that Campbell had lifted his leg, but his action did not seem to have caused Rooney to fall in the penalty area so dramatically. Moreover, Rooney immediately stood up and ran to celebrate with his teammates as if nothing had happened when he saw the referee's finger go in. Haha, Wenger was going crazy! Arsenal did not give Manchester United any good chances to shoot, but now they have to be tested by a penalty kick at Old Trafford! "
Mike Riley's decision caused the Arsenal players to be filled with resentment.
But the result of the penalty could not be changed.
When van Nistelrooy stood at the penalty spot to place the football, he was surrounded by Arsenal's players.
Lehmann stood in front of him and interfered with him placing the football. Vieira kept repeating in van Nistelrooy's ear the scene of van Nistelrooy missing the penalty kick last season, while Ashley Cole kept mocking Manchester United.
"Hit the plane, hit the plane! It's a disgrace to kick this ball in. You used a dive to get the chance back. Haha, what a disgrace! "
Arsenal's players were interfering with van Nistelrooy, but when van Nistelrooy faced the penalty alone, it was as if the world had become quiet.
Lehmann stood on the right side of the goal line. He opened his arms and pretended to be relaxed. He deliberately left the area on the left side of the goal. Then, when van Nistelrooy started to run up, he suddenly ran quickly to the left side of the goal to make a predictive save.
As a result, van Nistelrooy's penalty kick was hit on the right side and Lehmann's confusion did not succeed!
"Manchester United equalizes the score through the penalty kick! Van Nistelrooy's shot is a success! In the 70th minute of the game, the game is back to the starting point, 1: 1! "
Van Nistelrooy's celebration after the goal ignited the excitement in Old Trafford, while Arsenal's players were unwilling!
Wenger's expression was dignified on the field. He made a substitution.
Pires stood on the sidelines, and Reyes was substituted off the field.
"This must be a game that Reyes doesn't want to remember. When the outside world thought he had overcome the psychological trauma of the game in the new season, he showed his true colors in front of Gary Neville at Old Trafford! This situation will disrupt Arsenal's plans for the season. As Wenger said, Reyes was brought in to prepare for this season. He should play a bigger role this season. But if Reyes can only perform this absolutely unqualified in a key game, then how can Arsenal count on him? Now, Wenger must take the risk of using Pires, who has not recovered from his injury. He does not know if Pires can contribute effectively to Arsenal's offense. There are still 20 minutes left in the game. We'll wait and see. "
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