February 12, Manchester, England—Old Trafford.
In the first leg of the Champions League Round of 16 knockout stage, Manchester United hosted Ajax.
Solskjær stood worriedly beside the home team's bench, and Manchester United looked somewhat passive from the opening whistle.
This was Solskjær's strategy. He wanted to begin cautiously.
What he had not expected was that Ajax, who had repeatedly played down their own chances before the match and appeared somewhat lacking in confidence, would launch an aggressive attack right from the start. The entire team had adopted a high press.
This was an away match, at Old Trafford!
Had Yang Yang and his young team gone mad?
Did they really think Manchester United's home ground was the same as their home ground in the Dutch First Division?
The stands at Manchester United were also packed with distinguished guests that night, most of whom had specifically come to support Solskjær.
Ferguson, Gary Neville, Giggs, and even Beckham had returned from the United States especially to watch the match. The stands at Manchester United seemed to have become a remembrance of the Class of '92, making the Old Trafford fans unusually excited and passionate.
Yet under such circumstances, Solskjær began cautiously while Ajax took the initiative.
After just five minutes, Ajax had pinned Manchester United near their penalty area. Frenkie de Jong chose to play the ball across to Yang Yang, who had dropped back to receive it. After controlling the ball and turning, he pulled it to the left before Matic could close in, then swung his left leg and fired a long-range shot.
Yang Yang's curling shot came out of nowhere, and the angle was extremely awkward.
De Gea reacted with astonishing speed. He dived and got one hand to the ball, pushing it onto the crossbar. It rebounded