Lin Feng is Warming Up

Although Real Madrid did look extremely bedraggled on the pitch.

More than twenty minutes had been played, yet Real Madrid had only thirty percent possession and not even a third as many shots as their opponents.

For a stretch, Manchester United had even besieged Real Madrid's goal.

But Head Coach Mourinho was not flustered in the slightest.

Why wasn't Mourinho worried?

There were two reasons:

1. Real Madrid's tactics for this match were Counter-Attack; controlling possession was not their objective. Manchester United were no weak side, so it was perfectly normal for them to dominate the flow of play.

But Manchester United's relentless attacks consumed an enormous amount of stamina. By comparison, Real Madrid were expending far less energy. As long as they did not concede, all of this remained within his tolerance.

2. Lin Feng's return gave him enough confidence!

Mourinho had already calculated it in his mind. Once the opponents' stamina declined in the second half, he would send Lin Feng on and catch them off guard.

Ferguson could roughly guess Mourinho's plan, which made him somewhat uneasy instead.

Though Manchester United held the initiative on the pitch, it meant nothing without a goal.

Manchester United needed to break the deadlock as soon as possible and use a goal to seize complete control of the initiative.

On the pitch, Manchester United's attacks continued.

In the 18th minute, Cristiano Ronaldo changed direction down the right channel to beat his man. After Marcelo lost position, he fouled Ronaldo by pulling him from behind.

The Swiss referee showed the first yellow card of the match. At the sight of that card and the location of the foul, Mourinho, who had been sitting as steady as a mountain, finally began to feel restless.

"Marcelo was a little too hasty with that foul."