Old Trafford sounded deafening cheers. Manchester United qualified with a record of winning six games in the group stage, scoring 21 goals and conceding only 3 goals, with a goal difference of +18, and the undisputed top spot in the group.
After the game, the UEFA official website immediately updated the UEFA Champions League group stage information:
Zhang Kuang: 12 goals and 7 assists in 6 games, ranking first in scorers and assists.
The second in the scorer list is Eto'o with 7 goals, and the second in the assist list is 272 and 4 assists.
This information has exploded on social networks.
"UEFA Champions League 12 goals and 7 assists in 6 games??? This is human information???"
"Messi only scored 6 in the group stage, Cristiano Ronaldo only scored 4 in the group stage. Zhang Kuang alone can beat them both combined."
"Fuck, are you going to break UEFA Champions League's single-season scoring record?"
"Calm down, the knockout rounds are the real test. Brushing data in the group stage cannot tell the whole story."
"But 11 goals is already the highest record in UEFA Champions League group stage history, okay?"
"Also... the previous record in the group stage was 8 goals scored by Cristiano Ronaldo and Van Nistelrooy. Zhang Kuang directly scored 11 goals."
"The key is 7 assists. This thing is not just a brush, it is a real team contribution."
"I have no more doubts. This man is truly a monster."
After the game, the best of the match award was undoubtedly awarded to Zhang Kuang.
When he was interviewed in the mixed zone, he looked relaxed but didn't say much, perhaps because the "wild talk" scandal a few days ago has not completely passed.
"Everyone played very well tonight," Zhang Kuang said. "Amos performed very well in UEFA Champions League's debut. Rooney and Berba both scored. Our frontcourt cooperation is becoming more and more tacit."
The reporter asked, "Today you had one goal and two assists, but your 'tie your shoelaces' fake move in the first half deceived the defensive players. Was this something you practiced specifically during training?"
Zhang Kuang smiled, "That's right, Carrick knows that I will start at that time, and I also know that he will pass the ball. There is a tacit understanding between us, and this tacit understanding takes time to cultivate."
The reporter asked again, "UEFA Champions League scored 12 goals and provided 7 assists in 6 games in the group stage. Are you satisfied with your performance?"
Zhang Kuang thought for a while, "I am satisfied, but the season is not over yet. The group stage is just the beginning, and the knockout rounds are the real test. My biggest goal in UEFA Champions League is to go as far as possible, preferably to win the championship."
"Do you think Manchester United can take UEFA Champions League?"
"Why not?" Zhang Kuang smiled, "We have the best coach, the best teammates, and the best fans. As long as we maintain our form in the knockout rounds, anything is possible."
He turned and left the mixing area, heading towards the tunnel.
The dust of UEFA Champions League's group stage has settled. Manchester United advanced with a record of six wins, and Zhang Kuang topped both the scorer and assist charts with 12 goals and 7 assists.
The next step for UEFA Champions League is to draw lots, and the draw ceremony will be held on December 17.
Before that, Zhang Kuang has one more thing to do: prepare for the upcoming intensive Christmas schedule. Premier League's "Christmas War" is the most brutal schedule in world football. From mid-December to early January, there is almost one game every three days, without any breathing space.
But for the current Zhang Kuang, he does not feel any pressure, but is full of expectations. He is even thinking about the next UEFA Champions League knockout competition, and the World Cup qualifiers Asia district competition starting next year.
Before UEFA Champions League's carnival of winning six games in the group stage had ended, Manchester United's entire team was brought back to reality by Ferguson.
On December 13th, Old Trafford, Premier League in the 17th round, Manchester United faced Arsenal at home.
This is not only a direct dialogue between the top and third place in the standings, but also the first time Zhang Kuang has faced the top three teams after participating in Premier League.
At the pre-match press conference, when Wenger was asked by reporters about his opinion on Zhang Kuang's habit of making wild remarks, France pushed up his glasses and said in a calm tone, "I only look at his performance on the court, and I don't comment on other things."
But when the reporter asked, "How would you restrict Zhang Kuang?" Wenger rarely showed a wry smile, "Restriction? Tell me, who has successfully restricted him this season?"
We can only try to compress his space as much as possible, but you know, for a player of this level, if you give him a gap for the ball, he can send the ball into the goal."
In fact, Wenger made extremely detailed arrangements before the game.
Arsenal's starting lineup is 4-2-3-1: goalkeeper Fabiański; defense Sagna, Koscielny, Djourou, Clichy; double midfielder Song and Wilshere; forward line Nasri, Fàbregas, Arshavin; single forward Van Persie.
Wenger's tactics are very simple: Song and Wilshere double-team Zhang Kuang to restrict him from catching the ball; Fàbregas retreats to help defend the center; the two full-backs Sagna and Clichy are strictly prohibited from advancing forward at the same time, and always keep one person behind.
"Once Zhang Kuang gets the ball, at least two people should surround him and don't let him turn around." Wenger repeatedly emphasized in the locker room, "When he takes the ball with his back, he is only a threat, but once he turns around to face the goal, he is world-class. So the key is not to let him turn around."
But Wenger ignored one problem: you guarded against Zhang Kuang, Manchester United, Rooney and Berbatov.
The game started with the deafening singing of Old Trafford.
After the start of the game, Arsenal turned against the visitors. In the 3rd minute, Fàbregas sent a precise through ball from the midfielder. Van Persie succeeded in countering offside and faced Van der Sar with a single push shot.
Van Persie's shot was from a very awkward angle and went straight to the lower left corner of the goal. Van der Sar reacted quickly and blocked the ball out of the baseline with one palm of his hand.
Old Trafford's fans broke out in a cold sweat.
Van Persie held his head and looked up to the sky and sighed. Fàbregas ran over and patted his back. "Keep going, there will be opportunities."
Ferguson chewed gum faster on the sidelines obviously. He made a gesture to Carrick: Retract the defense line and don't give Arsenal any space behind him.
In fact, he likes Van Persie very much, but unfortunately Van Persie is a bit old, and Manchester United now has a bigger killing weapon Zhang Kuang, so his love for Van Persie has dropped by half.
In the 12th minute, Manchester United's first threatening attack came from a set kick.
Giggs took a left corner kick, and Zhang Kuang was flanked by Koscielny and Djourou in the penalty area, but he used his amazing jumping ability to forcefully take off and head the ball towards the goal.
The ball hit the crossbar and bounced back into the court, and Fabiański didn't even have time to react.
Old Trafford let out a huge sigh, which immediately turned into applause. Zhang Kuang patted the turf after landing, with a look of helplessness on his face.
He Wei: "Zhang Kuang's header was very powerful and had a very tricky angle. Unfortunately, the crossbar rejected the goal of this genius China.
Koscielny and Djourou couldn't hold down Zhang Kuang when they took off. His jumping ability has always been unique in football."
Xu Yang: "Zhang Kuang's waist and abdomen strength is so good that he stayed in the air longer than the two defensive players. Although the ball did not go in, Arsenal's defense was already feeling the pressure."
In the 18th minute, Wilshere intercepted Carrick's pass in the midfield and quickly handed it to Fàbregas.
Spain made a diagonal long pass and accurately found Nasri who was inserted on the left. Nasri cut inside and passed Rafael, and knocked the ball horizontally to Van Persie at the top of the penalty area.
Van Persie stopped the ball, glanced at Van der Sar's position, and shot a curve ball with his left foot.
The ball drew a wonderful parabola, bypassed Van der Sar's fingertips, and entered the upper right corner of the goal.
0:1.
Old Trafford was silent for two seconds. Van Persie ran towards the corner flag area with open arms and knelt down to celebrate. Fàbregas was the first to rush over and press on him, and then Nasri and Arshavin all rushed up.
Wenger clenched his fists and raised his arms on the sidelines, but his expression quickly returned to calm.
He made a "hold on" gesture toward the court.
Ferguson is not furious.
He just called Rooney to the sidelines and whispered a few words. Rooney nodded and ran back to the court, making signs to Zhang Kuang and Berbatov: press forward and press high.
In the 28th minute, Zhang Kuang took the ball from the left side of the frontcourt, and Song and Wilshere immediately doubled up. Zhang Kuang did not force a breakthrough, but knocked the ball horizontally to Rooney who was retreating to support, and then immediately ran back and inserted diagonally behind Arsenal's defense line.
Rooney understood the situation and passed the ball over the top with one kick.
The ball passed over Koscielny's head and landed exactly on the path of Zhang Kuang's running. Zhang Kuang caught the ball on the left side of the penalty area, and Djourou had already covered it, blocking the inward cut.
But Zhang Kuang did not cut inside. He dunked the ball with his left foot toward the baseline, and then suddenly accelerated to the bottom. Djourou was shaken by him and lost his center of gravity and staggered.
Zhang Kuang didn't cross the ball after getting down. Instead, he rubbed the outside instep of his right foot and pulled it again. The ball reached his left foot. Then his left foot suddenly shook and he shot a shot from the outside instep.
Fabiański failed to save and the ball hit the net.
1:1.
Berbatov turned around and ran towards Zhang Kuang, and the two high-fived in celebration.
Rooney also ran over and ruffled Zhang Kuang's hair. "This ball is too bad, Djourou was so shaken by you that it couldn't find its way."
Zhang Kuang chuckled, "He thought I was going to cut inside and shoot, but I didn't. Thank you for your assist. Keep up the good work and pass me another good ball."
"Haha."
Sky Sports commentator Martin·Tyler: "Manchester United equalized the score! Zhang Kuang is on the left Lu's personal breakthrough tore apart Arsenal's entire defense. Djourou was completely deceived by his fake moves. His kicks and pulls with his left and right feet were as accurate as if they were measured with a ruler."
Rob·Hawthorn: "Wenger said before the game, 'Compress Zhang Kuang's space,' but how could Zhang Kuang's space be compressed? He used his speed and body to directly overpower Djourou.
This illustrates a problem: no matter how you plan your tactics, you can't stop your absolute talent."
Wenger frowned on the sidelines.
He walked to the sidelines and yelled at Song, asking for a tighter double-team.
But Zhang Kuang's second goal came faster than Wenger expected.
In the 41st minute, Manchester United won a free kick at the edge of the penalty area. Giggs and Rooney stood in front of the ball, while Zhang Kuang was on the edge of the wall.
Arsenal's defensive attention was all focused on Giggs and Rooney, thinking that these two people would take the penalty and shoot directly.
Rooney took a run-up and swung his legs, but did not shoot.
With a slight push, he knocked the ball horizontally to Zhang Kuang, who was relaxed on the left side.
Zhang Kuang made no adjustments to meet the ball and hit the goal hard with his right foot.
The ball passed through the gap in the Arsenal wall like a shell and hit the upper left corner of the goal. Fabiański flew to save the ball, but the ball was too fast and the angle was too awkward, and he didn't even touch his fingertips.
2:1.
Old Trafford was completely blown away.
Zhang Kuang ran to the corner flag area, jumped up high, turned around and waved his arms, a signature celebration.
More than 70,000 fans in the entire stadium shouted in unison, "SuperZhang! SuperZhang!"
In the stands, a banner flew up and down among the crowd. "Zhang Kuang, Wenger's nightmare."
The camera showed Wenger, and Wenger pressed his brow, and he looked a little helpless.
The camera switched to Ferguson, who was chewing gum happily with a smile on his face, seemingly satisfied with the result.
He Wei: "Hidden skill is hidden in the secret step, and a silent plan breaks through! Zhang Kuang's heavy artillery after receiving the free kick left Fabiański without any reaction!
Wenger said before the game, 'Give him a ball gap and he can score a goal.' Now Zhang Kuang tells Wenger with practical actions: He doesn't even need half a ball gap, a gap is enough."
Xu Yang: "The key is that Rooney's pass was too hidden. Arsenal's wall was focused on Giggs and Rooney's direct attacks. No one expected that the ball would hit Zhang Kuang.
This free kick coordination should have been practiced by Manchester United in training. The tacit understanding between Rooney and Zhang Kuang has reached the point where eye contact is not needed."
Arsenal's players looked at each other.
Fàbregas put his hands on his hips and shook his head, shouting a few words of encouragement to his teammates. Van Persie stood expressionlessly at the kick-off point in the center circle, his eyes full of helplessness.
Martin: "If Arsenal is like this, I'm afraid they can only compete for the top four this season. They can't defeat Manchester United."
Rob: "No, Martin, do you think who can defeat Manchester United right now? Are you overthinking it?"
Martin: "Uh, okay, I did overthink it. Maybe one day Chinese Zhang suddenly couldn't play for some reason, and then Manchester United's good momentum was interrupted?"
Rob: "Hey, Martin, are you implying something?"
Martin: "Oh, no, no, no, don't misunderstand me, I just said if, if, there is no bad intention."
Rob:"Hey..."
At the end of the first half, Manchester United led 2 to 1.
In the locker room, Ferguson didn't say much, but gave Zhang Kuang a thumbs up. "That free kick, I never saw you kick it so accurately during training."
Zhang Kuang took a sip of water. "You weren't there to watch during the training."
Ferguson laughed and cursed, "You bastard." Then he turned to the whole team. "Stabilize your defense in the second half, Arsenal will definitely counterattack."
Carrick and Fletcher protected the front of the defense and did not give Fàbregas any space to pass the ball. Zhang Kuang and Rooney counterattacked, and their two central defenders turned slowly. This is our opportunity."
At the beginning of the second half, Arsenal launched a fierce counterattack.
In the 52nd minute, Fàbregas shot a long shot from outside the penalty area, and the ball missed the post.
In the 58th minute, Nasri's shot after cutting inside was firmly held by Van der Sar.
In the 63rd minute, Arsenal almost equalized the score.
Fàbregas made a through ball, Van Persie succeeded in countering offside, and faced Van der Sar with a kick. The ball passed over Van der Sar's head, but was cleared by Ferdinand's header in front of the goal line.
Van Persie knelt on the ground with his head in his hands, Fàbregas stared at the goal line in disbelief.
Ferdinand got up from the ground and gave a thumbs up to Van der Sar: "Brother, I owe you once."
Van der Sar patted his shoulder. "You saved my life."
In the 70th minute, Wenger made a desperate move and replaced Walcott and Bendtner, changing the formation to 4-4-2 to strengthen the attack. Manchester United's defense line was in turmoil for a while.
But Manchester United's counterattack was equally deadly.
In the 78th minute, Zhang Kuang intercepted Wilshere's pass in his own half and ran 50 meters with the ball. Arsenal's defense quickly retreated, and Song and Koscielny worked together to block it.
Zhang Kuang suddenly stopped at the edge of the penalty area and made a fake shot.
Song and Koscielny jumped up to block the ball at the same time, but Zhang Kuang knocked the ball horizontally to the unmarked Rooney on the right.
Rooney met the ball with a blast. The ball flew straight to the lower right corner of the goal. Fabiański flew to save it and blocked the ball from the baseline with one palm.
Rooney held his head with an expression of "I'm not going in even now." Zhang Kuang ran over and patted his back. "It's okay, I'll come in next time."
In the 85th minute, Arsenal's last offensive. Walcott broke through from the right and made a pass. Bendtner headed the ball over, and Van Persie volleyed from the back of the penalty area.
The ball was hit too straight and was confiscated by Van der Sar.
The final whistle blew, Manchester United defeated Arsenal 2 to 1.
Zhang Kuang was named the best in the game.
In an interview after the game, he was asked "How does it feel to score Arsenal's goal twice?" He smiled, "Arsenal is one of the best teams in Premier League. I am very happy to score two goals against them. But more importantly, we won."
At the press conference, when Wenger was asked by reporters about Zhang Kuang's performance, Professor France was silent for a moment, and then said something that stunned all reporters, "He is the best young player on the planet, bar none. If Arsenal had him, we should be at the top of the list now."
The reporter asked, "Will Arsenal try to sign him?"
Wenger smiled bitterly, "Have you forgotten what Zhang Kuang said before? He said that some clubs have money but no ambition, some clubs have ambition but no money, and some clubs have money and ambition but poor management...
Don't you know who he is talking about? Arsenal is that club that has ambitions but no money."
This passage was quoted by "The Guardian" as a front-page headline the next day. "Wenger: Zhang Kuang is the best young man, but we are a club with ambitions but no money."
Reporter interviewed Ferguson: "Manchester United had the last laugh in the strong dialogue, but Arsenal obviously performed better in the second half. Did you have any different arrangements in the midfield?"
Ferguson shook his head. "No, Arsenal did play better than us in the second half, but obviously, luck was not on their side, so they did not break our goal."
"Manchester Evening News" wrote in the newspaper the next day, "Ferguson: Even if we were beaten by Arsenal in the second half, they still couldn't score a goal. God prefers us Manchester United!"