At 2:40 in the afternoon, Old Trafford was in the player tunnel.
Players from both teams have returned to the locker room after the warm-up and are now standing in the tunnel waiting to enter.
The red color of Manchester United and the yellow-blue color of Arsenal are clearly distinct. There is about two meters of space between the two teams, and no one is talking.
This is the third time Zhang Kuang welcomes Arsenal at Old Trafford.
He had scored goals here in the previous two times, but today the feeling was particularly different.
He could read something subtle in the eyes of the Arsenal players: the uncertainty, the hesitation of 'are we really ready?'
Ramsey stood in the team, with a dignity beyond his age on the Wales young man's face. He is the brains of the Arsenal midfielder, but the vacancy left by Fàbregas obviously cannot be filled overnight.
Van Persie stands at the front, Netherlands's eyes are as sharp as a knife. He is the only pinnacle of this incomplete Arsenal.
Walcott Beside him, the young England winger kept shaking his body, trying to use muscle memory to fight against the tension in his heart.
Szczęsny stood on the goal line and was doing the final stretch. Poland goalkeeper only became the main force last year, but today he faced the most terrifying offensive line in Europe.
He took a deep breath, and when he took it out, he could see his lips moving, as if he was mumbling something.
Zhang Kuang looked away, lowered his head and straightened his leg guards, then moved his wrists a few times.
The chief referee Howard·Webb stood at the front of the tunnel, lowering his head to confirm the timer and record book in his hands.
This England golden whistle is famous for his decisive law enforcement style and accurate card play. He once enforced the World Cup finals in 2010.
Today's Premier League focus battle is given to him, which means that English Football Association does not want the game to get out of control.
Webb raised his wrist and glanced at the watch, then gestured to the captains of the two teams behind him: There are still two minutes. Vidić and Van Persie nodded at the same time.
It was very quiet in the passage.
There was only the sound of sneakers scraping gently on the concrete floor, and occasionally someone coughed.
At this moment, Evra's voice came from the middle of the Manchester United team, with a strong French accent. "Hey, look at the France people over there, are they a little nervous?"
He was looking in the direction of Arsenal.
Gibbs and Koscielny were indeed standing very close to each other. They were discussing something in a low voice, and Koscielny's hands were indicating the defensive position.
Zhang Kuang did not look back, but said in a moderate voice, "They are nervous not because of Manchester United, but because they know how many kilometers they have to run today."
Evra laughed loudly.
Webb, who was in front of the tunnel, looked back, probably feeling that the laughter was not in line with the solemn atmosphere of the game. But he did not stop it.
The referee is also experienced. He knows that keeping players relaxed before entering the court will help the quality of the game.
Two minutes are up.
Webb took a deep breath, turned around to confirm that the captains of both teams were in place, and then waved his hand!
"Let's go, gentlemen."
He took steps toward the light at the end of the passage.
Behind Webb were two linesmen, each holding the flag and walking steadily.
Then the captains of the two teams: Vidić and Van Persie walked out of the channel side by side. They each held a caddy's little hand, and their eyes were already focused on the bright green on the lawn.
Immediately afterwards, players from both teams filed out.
Zhang Kuang is walking in the middle of the Manchester United team. In front of him is Giggs, and behind him is Rooney.
The moment he walked out of the passage, the afternoon sun poured down suddenly, so bright that he squinted his eyes.
Then the sound wave formed by the convergence of 75,000 voices pressed down from all sides, like a moving wall.
It was the song of 'GloryGloryManUnited', a whistle, a shout, a stamp of feet, a huge roar formed by the superposition, amplification and reverberation of all emotions in a closed space.
Zhang Kuang After his eyes adjusted to the light, he saw the stadium that became more and more familiar to him.
On the north stand, a huge TIFO is slowly unfolding: a huge trident pattern is depicted in white on a red background, with a line of large characters written below: 'SHARPENYOURCLAWS', which means: sharpen your claws and prepare for the move.
In the visiting team's stands, about 3,200 Arsenal fans were waving yellow and blue flags. Although their area only occupied one-fifth of the entire stadium, their voices were still clearly audible.
The chants of "Weare the Arsenal, themighty Arsenal!" tenaciously penetrated the roar of the home team's fans.
The sun poured down from the west side of the stands, cutting the lawn into two halves of light and dark.
The turf was neatly cut, glowing with a dark green luster, and the water droplets sparkled in the sun.
The weather today is great, with a gentle breeze blowing, which is a perfect condition for quick transition between offense and defense.
Players from both sides line up on both sides of the center circle, with their backs to their familiar halves of the court.
Play the Premier League theme song, shake hands, exchange team flags, and guess coins.
Vidić won the coin guess, and Manchester United chose to kick off first.
Rooney and Berbatov stood in the center circle, and Zhang Kuang stood outside the center circle on the left, lowering his center of gravity, looking across the half court, and locked on the goal behind Szczęsny.
Arsenal's defensive formation has been set up.
Jenkinson is standing opposite Zhang Kuang. The 21-year-old right back is about five meters away from Zhang Kuang at this moment. His breathing rate is obviously faster than normal.
Djourou is on the inside of him, Koscielny is behind him, and Gibbs is on the left.
Szczęsny stood in front of the goal, adjusted his gloves, and then clapped his palms hard.
Webb confirmed that all players were in place and looked down at the timer.
He raised his right hand and held the whistle in his mouth, his chest rising slightly.
"Beep--!"
In the third round of the 2011-12 season Premier League, the match between Manchester United and Arsenal officially begins.
He Wei: "China Central Television, China Central Television, good evening, viewers, welcome to watch the focus of the third round of the 2011-12 England Premier League game: Manchester United vs. Arsenal..."
Rooney passed the ball to Berbatov, and the Bulgarian returned the ball to Carrick.
The moment Carrick caught the ball, he looked up and observed the frontcourt, and then passed it horizontally to Evra on the left.
Evra took the ball two steps forward. Seeing that Zhang Kuang had begun to sprint diagonally forward, he hit the ball directly behind Arsenal's defense line.
Zhang Kuang started off like a spring, and Jenkinson hurriedly turned around to chase, but the explosive power of the two people was not at the same level at all.
Fortunately, Koscielny predicted the passing route in advance and rushed out of the penalty area to defend. The moment Zhang Kuang was about to receive the ball, France central defender flew to intercept it and destroyed the ball out of the sideline.
"What a risk! In less than a minute after the game started, Manchester United created a threat!" Martin·Tyler's voice rang, "Koscielny's defensive awareness is very critical. If Zhang Kuang receives the ball, it will be a one-on-one confrontation with the goalkeeper."
Gary·Neville answered, "This is the reality that Arsenal will face today: as long as Zhang Kuang gets the ball, they will be at a disadvantage.
Koscielny has a very heavy task today. He not only has to guard Zhang Kuang's inward cuts, but also has to cover behind Jenkinson at any time. A 21-year-old right back facing Zhang Kuang... I find it difficult just thinking about it."
He Wei: "Dear audience friends, we saw that Manchester United showed a strong desire to attack from the beginning. Although Zhang Kuang's forward thrust failed to result in a shot, the signal was very clear. Arsenal must work hard today."
Zhang Kuang picked up the ball thrown by the ball boy from the sideline, stood outside the sideline and looked at his teammates on the court.
Evra was raising his hand to ask for the ball, but Zhang Kuang's eyes swept across Arsenal's penalty area. Koscielny had already retreated, and Djourou was standing beside him, with the distance between the two people wide.
He did not rush to serve, but waited for Giggs to run up from the backcourt to respond.
The veteran Wales slowed down ten meters away from him. Zhang Kuang gently threw the ball to him, and then moved laterally to the inside.
After receiving the ball, Giggs returned the ball to Carrick, and Manchester United began to reorganize.
In the first ten minutes of the game, both sides were testing. Arsenal's high-position press was not aggressive. They were more about piling up people in the midfield, trying to cut off the connection between Carrick and Giggs.
Rosický moves against Carrick like a shadow, giving Manchester United's midfielder no chance to calmly release the ball.
But Manchester United is in no hurry.
Fletcher and Giggs spread the width on both wings, and Carrick returns Vidić or Evra to readjust the rhythm.
Zhang Kuang constantly changes his running route on the left: sometimes he sticks to the sideline, sometimes he moves in to the ribs, and sometimes he suddenly retreats to support. Every move he makes tests Jenkinson's ability to follow up and defend.
In the 12th minute, Giggs received a direct pass from Vidić in the midfield. Without stopping the ball, he directly stabbed Zhang Kuang with a diagonal kick from the left.
Zhang Kuang caught the ball with his back, Jenkinson got close to him, put his left hand on his lower back and pushed hard.
But Zhang Kuang's center of gravity was as stable as a rock. He leaned on his opponent with his body, pulled the ball back with his left foot, and then turned around suddenly!
The speed of this turn was too fast.
Before Jenkinson had time to adjust its center of gravity, Zhang Kuang was already facing the direction of the goal. He dribbled the ball and cut inside the center. Koscielny and Djourou moved in this direction at the same time, and Arshavin also chased the double team from behind.
Zhang Kuang raised his left foot before the three people surrounded him!
Not a shot.
When his foot came down, it turned into a horizontal knock, and the ball rolled diagonally to the right side of the penalty area. Rooney inserted it from that side at high speed and hit the ball with a blast!
'Bang!'
The ball flew towards the goal like a cannonball. Szczęsny flew to save it and lifted the ball over the crossbar with one palm.
"Rooney's shot!" Martin·Tyler shouted, "Full of power! Szczęsny made a world-class save!"
But this attack was initiated by Zhang Kuang's breakthrough. His distribution of the ball in the three-man team was just right, tearing apart Arsenal's defense!"
Neville: "Zhang Kuang's ability to play the ball when facing double teams is underestimated by many people. People always pay attention to his goals, but his ability to read the game is also excellent."
If the ball was scored just a few tenths of a second later, the ball would have been intercepted. If it had been a few tenths of a second earlier, Rooney hadn't reached the position yet. He was stuck at that precise point in time."
There was a burst of applause in the stands, and Manchester United fans were satisfied with the result of this corner kick.
Zhang Kuang moved his shoulders near the corner area and watched Giggs walk to the corner flagpole to swing the ball.
A corner kick was taken, and Giggs flew an inswinging ball towards the center of the penalty area.
Vidić and Djourou jumped up at the same time. The two collided with each other in the air. The ball was pushed out of the penalty area by Djourou. Ramsey caught the ball at the top of the arc and tried to launch a counterattack, but Fletcher got stuck in position in advance and regained control of the ball with a back pass.
Manchester United's ball possession rate is steadily increasing.
Although Arsenal's defense was intensive, it lacked oppressiveness. Wenger obviously chose the strategy of tightening the defense first and then waiting for an opportunity to counterattack.
Van Persie is alone at the front, Walcott and Chamakh are roaming on the wings, but the support from the midfielder is very limited.
Rosický and Ramsey put too much energy into defensive tasks, and Arsenal's offensive organization almost completely stagnated.
In the 19th minute, Arsenal finally completed a threatening offensive.
Rosický sent a diagonal pass after getting rid of Carrick on the left. Walcott cut in from the right, used his speed to get rid of Evra's defense, and volleyed from a small angle at the edge of the small penalty area!
De Gea struck early to seal the angle, and the ball hit his leg and bounced off the baseline.
"Walcott's shot was blocked by De Gea!" Martin·Tyler said, "This is Arsenal's first shot on target in this game, but the chance is really good. Walcott's speed is still a huge threat on the right."
Neville: "But look at Manchester United's formation. When Rosický takes the ball and moves forward, both Carrick and Fletcher recover it very quickly.
They gave Walcott space, but at the same time compressed Van Persie's receiving area. Wenger needs to find a way to incorporate Van Persie more into the offensive system, otherwise it will be difficult for these side crosses to cause real damage."
Zhang Kuang glanced at Wenger on the sidelines while returning to defense on the left.
France was standing on the edge of the technical area, with his hands folded in front of his chest and a solemn expression. He shouted something to the field, but was drowned out by the singing in the stands.
23rd minute.
Carrick got the ball in the backcourt, and Arsenal's pressing line was pressed near the midfield.
Rosický is approaching him, and Ramsey is also surrounding him from the middle.
Carrick did not risk passing the ball forward.
He passed the ball to Rafael on the right, and then ran forward to receive the ball.
Rafael took the ball two steps forward and encountered Gibbs's marker. Brazil's right back did not force a breakthrough, but passed it back to Vidić in the middle.
Vidić Stop the ball, look up, and observe.
At this moment, Zhang Kuang started on the left.
He didn't run to the side, but diagonally hit the center from the ribs.
Jenkinson followed for two steps, but Zhang Kuang's sudden pause made him lose his balance. Zhang Kuang took advantage of the rhythm difference to accelerate again, scurrying behind Arsenal's defense line like a loosened spring snake.
Vidić saw it.
He didn't hesitate, and made a 40-meter diagonal pass directly to the left rib of Arsenal's defense.
The ball flew through the air, drew an inward arc, and fell accurately towards Zhang Kuang's running route.
Zhang Kuang looked up while running to judge the landing point, and his speed did not slow down at all.
Koscielny rushed over from the side, Jenkinson desperately chased back, and Djourou defended in the middle.
The three people formed a Zhang Zheng network that was closing in, but Zhang Kuang was faster than all of them.
The ball falls about one meter above the ground.
Zhang Kuang stretched out his right foot and gently flicked it in the air with the instep of his outside foot. This stopping action almost violated the laws of physics. The ball seemed to be pulled by an invisible thread and landed steadily on the turf in front of his feet, and the rotation was completely removed.
There is no slowdown.
Zhang Kuang carried the ball through the gap between Koscielny and Jenkinson. Before the France central defender even had time to stretch his legs, Zhang Kuang had already broken into the penalty area.
Single sword!
Szczęsny attacked, he opened his arms and rushed out to block the angle.
Poland The goalkeeper made a decisive choice, blocking the near corner!
He lowered his center of gravity and spread his legs to cover as much space as possible.
Zhang Kuang didn't hesitate.
He used his left foot to push into the far corner.
The ball flew close to the ground, crossed the turf with internal spin, passed in front of Szczęsny's outstretched toes, and accurately drilled into the lower right corner of the goal.
The ball went in!
1:0!
Martin: "GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOAL! Zhang Kuang! The 23rd minute! A perfect display of personal ability!
Long-distance running, stopping the ball, breaking through, and shooting! He did it all by himself! Koscielny and Jenkinson were left behind him like two road signs!"
Neville: "This is the number one shooter in the world! Vidić's long pass is as accurate as a missile, but what's even more incredible is Zhang Kuang's stoppage: He unloaded a 40-meter long pass with a light touch of his outside instep while running at full speed! This kind of ball sense is simply God-given!"
He Wei's voice was full of passion. "In, in, in, beautiful! Zhang Kuang! This is Zhang Kuang! He received the long pass from Vidić and stopped with an incredible instep. The ball completed the connection, and then broke through the double-team of Koscielny and Jenkinson, pushing the ball into the far corner to score! Manchester United led Arsenal 1:0 at Old Trafford's home court!"
Xu Yang answered, "This ball is so powerful! We must pay attention to the fact that before Zhang Kuang catches the ball, he first runs laterally towards the center, and then suddenly changes to move forward.
This movement without the ball completely stunned Jenkinson. And if you look at the replay, his stoppage of the ball was completed while running at full speed.
He pushed his left foot on the ground, stretched out his right foot, and smoothed the outside of his instep, as if the ball was stuck to his foot. To be honest, it is really hard to imagine that this kind of technical ability can appear in the Asia player."
When Xu Yang said 'Asia player', there was a little pride and a little emotion in his tone.
He Wei: "Zhang Kuang once said that the training method of Asia players, at least China players, is wrong. It is not that Asia players cannot do some actions. Asia people have two less little toe bones than Europeans and Americans, but those two bones cannot determine which actions can and cannot be done.
In fact, Asia people can do the movements that Europeans and Americans can do, but Europe people may not be able to do the movements that Asia people can do, such as Asia squats."
"..."
Zhang Kuang ran towards the corner flag area, jumped up, turned around in the air, moved his hands down, and roared!
The entire celebration moves smoothly.
Theatre of Dreams The North Stand instantly erupted into a tsunami of cheers, and the shouts of 'Zhang Kuang! Zhang Kuang! Zhang Kuang!' overwhelmed all other sounds.
Rooney was the first to rush over and hugged him from behind. "Beautiful! This stop is so damn beautiful!"
Berbatov also jogged over and bumped fists with him. His face was still expressionless, but there was an almost invisible upward movement at the corner of his mouth.
Giggs gave Zhang Kuang a thumbs up from a distance.
The Arsenal players stood there with different expressions.
Koscielny put his hands on his hips and looked down at the turf under his feet. Jenkinson stood not far away, his face a little pale. His defense just now was completely thrown away. The speed gap made him feel a strange sense of powerlessness.
Van Persie walked back from midfield, patted Jenkinson on the shoulder, and whispered something.
Netherlands's tone is gentle, he is comforting this young teammate in his own way.
Wenger turned around on the sidelines, but his arms were clasped in front of his chest tighter than before.