Chapter 54 First Goal

Ferguson attaches great importance to this Four Nations Invitational Tournament and regards it as a touchstone for Manchester United's summer training. And this event does have this potential, because Manchester United's three opponents are not unknowns: Barcelona, ​​Ajax

and Parma, both are European giants teams!

Of course, due to the format of the Four Nations Invitational Tournament, Manchester United will only face two opponents, one with host Ajax on August 2, and then another with Parma on August 4, but it will be against Barcelona.

They won't fight.

Speaking of Ajax, the only connection between Manchester United and it is its never-ending poaching. Of course, in this game with Ajax, Ferguson will not miss this great opportunity to observe Dutch players up close.

There are many young players in the Ajax team who have received "generous gifts" from Ferguson, but they finally chose to stay. In the 2001-2002 season, he scored the first goal of the new season for Ajax, and then

He has scored in 7 consecutive games and is also a young Dutch international. It is impossible for Ferguson not to notice Van der Vaart.

However, Van der Meyde is what Sir Alex wants most right now, but Koeman will definitely refuse to let him go. This game is actually a battle of competition and retention.

In fact, this summer, Manchester United has already competed with Ajax and won, that is, the competition for Yin Jun, the World Cup super star.

………………

The match between Manchester United and Ajax was held on the evening of August 2, local time. In the previous match, Barcelona defeated Parma 4:2 and currently ranks first with 7 points.

Although it was only a warm-up match, the Armstrong Arena was packed with Ajax wearing light blue jerseys.

Manchester United's main lineup made its debut in the new season. Ferguson sent 6 players who participated in the World Cup. In addition to Beckham and Ferdinand, there were also Butters, Silvestre, Veron, and Fran. Yin Jun once again started the game.

Sitting on the bench.

When former Feyenoord striker Ruud van Nistelrooy came on the field, the audience applauded and booed at the same time.

Ajax's offense was very smooth. Sikora continued to cause trouble for Manchester United's defense. Van der Meyde used his excellent dribbling skills to harass the opponent on both wings. Manchester United was relatively passive and it was difficult to exert its offensive advantage.

Soon after the start, Van der Meyde hit Sikora's pass high. After that, he made a breakthrough pass from the right. Van der Vaart passed between Ferdinand and Blanco, but his header hit the crossbar.

Forlan had performed well in the previous warm-up matches, but his performance today was mediocre. In the 29th minute, Ruud van Nistelrooy broke through alone, the goalkeeper blocked it, and Forlan made a supplementary shot high.

In the 38th minute, Swedish forward Ibrahimovic was brought down at the edge of the penalty area. Garacek took a free kick. The ball hit Ruud van Nistelrooy and bounced in front of Sikora, who was unmarked.

A volley shot into the net from 4 meters in front of the goal.

1:0, the home team takes the lead!

Manchester United tried to regain the score. Keane dribbled the ball into the opponent's half and passed it to Giggs, who missed the header. In the second half, Ferguson replaced Beckham and Veron with Butt and Scholes, and Fran pulled

To the right. But Manchester United's situation has not improved.

In the 58th minute, Ferdinand was replaced by Brown. In the near future, these two may be Manchester United's main central defender partner.

In the 71st minute, Butters seemed to have injured his leg while making a save. Ajax took advantage of this opportunity and expanded the score to 2:0 1 minute later. Ibrahimovic received a long-distance pass and made a pass on the edge of the penalty area.

A calm shot into the net.

………………

Butters was immediately replaced by Carroll. Yin Jun appeared with Carroll, and he replaced Giggs.

However, Yin Jun appeared on Manchester United's right wing after his debut, and Bart was adjusted to the left wing.

Yin Jun made a contribution to the team in just one minute after he came on the field. After breaking through Ajax's defense on the right, he took the ball to the penalty area at a 45-degree angle. Scholes, who came in behind, made a wonderful volley.

Shot on target.

Manchester United pulled one back and the score became 2:1.

Manchester United regained a victory and continued to put pressure on Ajax's goal.

In the 78th minute, Manchester United once again attacked the frontcourt. This time, Scholes returned the favor. He pretended to pass the ball to Ruud van Nistelrooy in the penalty area, but it turned out to be a fake move. The real target of the pass was Yin in the back.

hansome.

Yin Jun broke through on the right rib and shot from a small angle, breaking Ajax's goal and leveling the score at 2:2.

He contributed a shot and a pass in the 7th minute of his appearance, helping Manchester United equalize the score. Yin Jun's performance shocked Ajax and made the noisy Amsterdam Arena fall into silence.

Originally, when Yin Jun came on the court, Ajax fans booed him, obviously because Yin Jun rejected Ajax and chose to join Manchester United.

In the minds of many Ajax fans, Yin Jun's behavior is disrespectful to Ajax.

Now in 2002, although Jinyuan Football has begun to show its power, as the hegemon of the Eredivisie and the winner of four Champions League crowns, Ajax is still the top football team in Europe. Their fans often do not take only the

Manchester United, which has won two Champions Leagues, sees it, and some people even think that Manchester United is just a new upstart.

………………

Yin Jun's performance attracted great attention from Ajax, and Koeman even asked Ajax's defense to focus on marking Yin Jun. Ibrahimovic was called "Ajax's best player"

Brazilian left back Maxwell even gave up attacking for a time and tried his best to defend Yin Jun.

This Ajax team is indeed very strong, especially their defense. The central defender combination of Pasanen and Chivu, plus the two full-backs Maxwell and Trabelsi, is definitely the top defense in Europe.

, after they devoted all their efforts to defense, it was indeed difficult for Manchester United to break through their goal.

In the end, when the referee blew the three whistles at the end of the game, the score on the field remained at 2:2. The two sides shook hands and made a draw, each scoring 3 points.

After the first round of games, Barcelona ranked first with 7 points, followed by Ajax and Manchester United with 3 points. Ajax ranked second due to alphabetical order, and Parma was at the bottom with 2 points.

Manchester United's two new players performed well. For the whole game, Ferdinand performed normally, but he was responsible for Manchester United's first goal conceded, while Yin Jun was the major contributor to Manchester United's draw with their opponents in this game.

, he was also named the best player of the game after the game.

Ferguson affirmed the performance of the two after the game. He said: "We don't need to wait for Leo to adapt to the team, because he is already familiar with his teammates, and even more than that, he has already cooperated with some England internationals.

Passed. Yin's performance surprised me. He adapted to the team seamlessly, which is different from some players. Fran should learn more from Yin. For him, adapt to the team and relax.

It’s very important.”
Chapter completed!