In the second half, we changed sides and fought again, and Arsenal really made adjustments.
Djourou comes off the field and Traoré comes on. Gibbs moves from left back to right back and Traoré plays on the left.
This is a very risky adjustment. Although Gibbs is a left-footed player, he played on the right in his early years. Wenger hopes to use Gibbs's experience to limit Zhang Kuang's inward cutting, and let the stronger Traoré counter Rooney.
This adjustment did have some effect over the next few minutes.
Gibbs's defense against Zhang Kuang was much smarter than Jenkinson's. He did not rush forward rashly, but kept a half-body distance, blocking the inside line and leaving the outside line, forcing Zhang Kuang to go to the baseline.
In the 49th minute, Zhang Kuang tried an inside cut, but was blocked by Gibbs's advance prediction, and the ball was intercepted.
In the 52nd minute, Ramsey knocked down Carrick with a fierce tackle in midfield.
Webb blew the whistle decisively and took out a yellow card. Ramsey did not argue. He turned and walked away with a gloomy expression.
Arsenal pressed it out just as Ferguson expected.
Their pressing line was raised by fifteen meters. Rosický and Ramsey put pressure on Carrick at the same time. The frequency of Van Persie's retreat to catch the ball increased significantly.
In the 58th minute, Arsenal made the most threatening attack in the second half.
Rosický passed the ball to Arshavin on the left. Russia cut in and sent an overhead kick. Van Persie stopped the ball on the chest on the left side of the penalty area and volleyed. De Gea flew to save and lifted the ball over the crossbar with his fingertips!
"Van Persie's shot!" Martin·Tyler shouted, "Almost! De Gea made a top save! Arsenal really showed a different mental outlook in the second half."
Neville: "Arsenal is pressing hard and doesn't care even if they lose the ball again. This mentality actually makes their offense a threat."
He Wei analyzed in the live broadcast room. "Arsenal's adjustment in the second half was obvious. They no longer tightened their defense, but began to press forward."
This is both a danger and an opportunity for Manchester United. The danger is that Arsenal may steal the ball through high position and then counterattack on the spot.
The opportunity is that Arsenal leaves a large space behind it, and Zhang Kuang's speed can exert its greatest power in this space."
Zhang Kuang can feel this change on the court.
Arsenal's defense line has obviously improved. Koscielny's position is nearly ten meters further forward than in the first half, and Gibbs no longer stays behind.
This kind of space is what he likes best.
In the 62nd minute, Arsenal replaced Chamakh with Oxlade-Chamberlain.
The young winger England came on as a substitute. Wenger pushed Walcott to the center, letting Oxlade-Chamberlain play as the right winger, and Rosický was positioned further back.
This is a more radical adjustment, Arsenal's formation has changed from 4-3-3 to almost 4-2-4.
But it was also this adjustment that caused bigger cracks in Arsenal's defense.
63rd minute.
De Gea caught Arshavin's cross in the backcourt. He didn't pause and directly threw the ball to launch a counterattack. The ball flew nearly thirty meters and landed at the feet of Carrick.
Carrick Stop the ball and look up.
He saw Zhang Kuang accelerating on the left road and Gibbs chasing after him, but the distance between the two was rapidly widening.
Carrick exerted force with his right foot, and a 40-meter long pass flew into the frontcourt against the turf and landed accurately on Zhang Kuang's running route.
Zhang Kuang caught the ball while running at full speed. Behind him was Gibbs who was chasing after him desperately, and in front of him was Koscielny who was shrinking to the middle.
He didn't pass the ball.
He dunked the ball from the outside to the inside with his left foot, and Gibbs's center of gravity shifted by half his body. At the moment when the shift occurred, Zhang Kuang's right foot immediately moved the ball in the same direction.
It changes direction twice in a row, like a folding lightning bolt.
Gibbs was thrown away.
Zhang Kuang faces Koscielny.
France central defender took the ball, and he chose the most risky way, flying to block the shot, trying to use his body to block the shooting angle before Zhang Kuang took off.
But Zhang Kuang didn't kick off.
He moved the ball forward to the right, and his whole body passed in front of Koscielny's flying tackle. The ball and his body avoided the defense at the same time.
Koscielny's leg crossed in front of his toes, just a hair's breadth away.
Break into restricted areas.
Szczęsny struck again, and Poland goalkeeper chose to pounce on the far corner this time. His judgment came from Zhang Kuang's previous scoring habit. He is a left-footed player and likes to hit the far corner.
But Zhang Kuang didn't hit the far corner this time.
He raised his right foot and blasted a shot towards the upper right corner of the goal!
The ball tore through the air like a discharged cannonball and penetrated into the net in the completely opposite direction of Szczęsny's save, in the upper right corner of the dead corner!
The ball went in!
5:1!
Hat trick!
"GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOAL! Hat trick! Zhang Kuang's hat trick!" Martin·Tyler's commentary completely erupted, "Another personal performance! A long-distance attack! Two changes of direction to shake away Gibbs and Koscielny! Then a powerful and heavy blast into the blind corner! This is his third goal in this game! Perfect! Perfect! Perfect!"
Neville: "I don't know how to describe this ball. Gibbs was shaken by his two consecutive changes of direction and lost his center of gravity. When Koscielny was flying, he had already moved the ball away in advance. Szczęsny judged the wrong direction. He did not make any wrong choices. His decision-making every second was the optimal solution."
Martin: "Didn't you notice one thing? Gary, it seems that Zhang Kuang has scored more hat tricks this season. It should be that the more opponents who are familiar with him, the harder it is for him to score goals. On the contrary, his opponents are becoming more and more familiar with him, but he has scored more goals."
Neville: "Speaking of this, I found that Zhang Kuang's explosive shots are becoming less and less this season. Unlike last season or when he first came to Europe, he always made explosive shots."
Martin: "Gee, what an interesting change."
He Wei's voice was full of passionate restraint. "Hat trick! Zhang Kuang completed a hat trick in this game! A single push shot, a follow-up header, and a long-distance burst shot.
Three different ways of scoring goals, three different offensive methods! Arsenal's defense was completely dismembered in front of him! 5:1! Manchester United once again expanded the lead!"
Xu Yang: "This ball is completely a reflection of Zhang Kuang's personal ability. Look at his starting speed, look at his rhythm changes while running at full speed, and look at the power and accuracy of his last shot.
The right foot exerts force, the ball speed is extremely fast, and it hits the blind spot. Szczęsny has no chance at all. This is Zhang Kuang, this is the strength of the world's number one shooter."
Zhang Kuang ran towards the corner flag area, but this time he did not make his signature celebration move.
He stopped at the corner flag area, turned around, faced the entire Old Trafford, opened his arms, raised his head, and closed his eyes.
Theatre of Dreams made one of the loudest noises ever made at this moment.
The voices of seventy-five thousand people converged into a huge roar, and the name was shouted repeatedly:
"Zhang Kuang! Zhang Kuang! Zhang Kuang!"
In the stands, the fans in the North Stand collectively pulled up a huge banner: 'Red Lightning, Conquer Old Trafford.'
The red words are particularly dazzling in the sun.
Zhang Kuang opened his eyes, turned around, and was hugged by Berbatov who rushed towards him.
Rooney, Carrick, Evra, Rafael... everyone gathered around.
Giggs touched the top of his head from behind, using an old-timer-like pampering gesture.
Ferguson stood up from the coaching bench on the sidelines. He clapped, not very loudly, but very hard.
Meulensteen next to him also stood up. Ferguson turned sideways and looked at each other. The two old partners looked at each other and smiled.
Ferguson was chewing gum, with a smile that was almost showing off.
On the bench, Park Ji-sung is looking at Zhang Kuang on the court, his eyes focused and serious.
As the representative of Korean China national football team, he saw something in Zhang Kuang that made him both admire and wary.
He is carefully observing every running route and every receiving option of Zhang Kuang.
Maybe they will become opponents in the top ten next year.
Fletcher was outside the crowd. When he came over, he patted Zhang Kuang on the back.
His movements were not large, but his smile was sincere.
On the other side, there was dead silence on the bench of Arsenal.
Traoré was sitting on the bench, his hands folded on his knees, his expression empty.
Almunia is lowering his head to put on gloves, his movements are mechanical and slow.
Although he has not played yet in the second half, Wenger is standing on the edge of the technical area. His posture is the same as at the end of the first half, with his hands folded across his chest, but his chin is tightened a little tighter.
Van Persie stood in the center circle, arms akimbo, watching the Manchester United players surrounding Zhang Kuang.
Netherlands's eyes changed, from the restrained patience in the first half to an almost burning anger.
The game starts again.
After Arsenal kicked the ball out of the center circle, their offensive rhythm suddenly accelerated.
Van Persie retreated deeper, almost back to the midfield. He frequently raised his hand to ask for the ball, and then used his body to protect the ball and distribute the ball, mobilizing Walcott and Oxlade-Chamberlain.
In the 67th minute, Arsenal played an exquisite coordination.
Ramsey received the ball from Rosický in the middle. Without pausing, he penetrated the gap between Manchester United's midfield and the back line with a through ball.
Van Persie came in from behind and caught the ball in the penalty area!
Evans rushed to block it, but Van Persie was one step faster than him.
Netherlands uses his left foot to move the ball to the right, avoids the shooting angle, and then shoots with his right foot!
The ball drew an arc, passed De Gea's outstretched palm, and flew towards the far post...
The ball went in!
5:2!
"Van Persie! Beautiful kick!" Martin·Tyler shouted, "Arsenal once again pulled a goal back! Robin·Van Persie used his signature shooting method to score Manchester United's goal! This goal was so exciting, he stopped the ball, adjusted, and shot into the far corner all at once! Arsenal didn't give up after 5:1!"
Neville nodded. "Van Persie is a fighter. In situations of 4:1 or 5:1, many players will choose to give up and save their energy for the next game.
But he didn't, he kept running and fighting. He deserved this goal. It's a pity that he is old, otherwise there would still be a place for him in football."
He Wei: "Van Persie's ball is so beautiful! His left-foot skills are definitely top-notch among forwards at this level! Although Arsenal is currently three goals behind, Van Persie's goal shows his pride as a shooter."
Van Persie didn't celebrate after scoring. He rushed into the net, picked up the ball, ran all the way back to the center circle, and placed the ball at the kick-off point.
He didn't wait for his teammates to come back, he stood in the center circle, hands on his hips, looking in the direction of Manchester United's goal.
His eyes are as sharp as knives.
In the 68th minute, Manchester United made a substitution.
Ferguson replaced Fletcher with Ashley Young.
This is a matchup adjustment. Fletcher was hit on his calf by a tackle from Ramsey in the defense just now. Although the problem is not big, Ferguson doesn't want to take the risk.
After Ashley Young came on, he played as a right winger, and Rooney moved to the center like an attacking midfielder and a shadow forward.
Zhang Kuang is still on the court.
Ferguson originally wanted to replace him to rest, but Zhang Kuang made a "no need to change" gesture near the sideline.
Sir Alex saw it, he hesitated, then waved his hand to let Ashley Young come on first, without rushing to move Zhang Kuang.
This kind of trust is not common at Manchester United.
But Zhang Kuang has earned this privilege game after game.
71st minute.
Manchester United attacks again.
Park Ji-sung has already begun to warm up on the sidelines. He is wearing a fluorescent green training vest and keeps running back and forth near the sideline. But at this moment, the game on the field is still going on.
Ashley Young picked up the ball in the midfield. He had just come on the field and was full of energy. He took the ball two steps and then crossed to Rooney in the middle.
The moment Rooney caught the ball, Arsenal's defense was retreating. Gibbs and Koscielny moved in the direction of Zhang Kuang at the same time, obviously trying to limit his space to catch the ball.
But Rooney was not passed to Zhang Kuang.
He raised his head and glanced at the door, then took a step forward, kicked up and shot!
The ball flew towards the upper left corner of the goal with a falling arc!
Szczęsny made a save. His fingertips touched the ball, but the force of the ball was too great. He only changed the direction slightly and still got into the net!
6:2!
Rooney's second goal!
"GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOAL! Rooney! Scored twice!" Martin·Tyler shouted, "A powerful and heavy long-range shot! Although Szczęsny touched the ball, it could not prevent it from entering the net! Manchester United led 6:2!"
After Rooney scored, he ran towards Zhang Kuang, and the two high-fived again.
Rooney smiled so hard that his eyes narrowed into slits.
He Wei lamented in the live broadcast room. "Manchester United's offensive firepower in this game is terrible! There are three Zhang Kuang, two Rooney, and one Berbatov.
The front three scored all six goals! This level of terrifying attack power is extremely rare in the history of Premier League."
In the 73rd minute, Arsenal made another adjustment. Wenger replaced Arshavin with Gervinho. Ivory Coast winger made his first appearance on behalf of Arsenal in Old Trafford.
After the substitutions, Arsenal's formation changed to a more radical 4-2-4. They had obviously given up on defense and just wanted to save some face on the offensive end.
In the 74th minute, Ramsey once again knocked down a Manchester United player in the midfield, this time it was Carrick.
Webb was whistled for a foul again, but no card was played. He just verbally warned the Wales midfielder.
Ramsey's expression was a little gloomy, his movements became larger and larger, and it was obvious that his emotions were on the verge of losing control.
Arsenal's attack continues.
Van Persie picked up the ball at the top of the penalty area, leaned against Vidić, and then suddenly turned around and shot. De Gea saved sideways, and the ball was blocked from the baseline. Corner kick.
Rosický took a corner kick, Koscielny grabbed the spot in the crowd and missed the header with his header.
76th minute.
Manchester United launched a quick counterattack.
De Gea confiscated the cross from Walcott and threw the ball to Rafael. Rafael advanced forward and crossed to Carrick in the middle.
Carrick was assigned to Zhang Kuang who cut inside to the middle. Zhang Kuang had just switched positions with Berbatov.
He got the ball in the middle and was double-teamed by Koscielny and Traoré.
Zhang Kuang passed the ball across to Ashley Young on the right, and then ran forward himself.
Ashley Young did not pause and made a cross pass to find Zhang Kuang who was advancing in the middle.
Zhang Kuang caught the ball at the top of the penalty area, and Koscielny pounced on it.
Zhang Kuang did that action: he stepped on the ball with his left foot, tilted his body to the left, and Koscielny's center of gravity moved to the left.
Then Zhang Kuang moved the ball to the right with his right foot, and his body violently rotated in the opposite direction. It was exactly the same as Berbatov's goal in the first half, but faster! The magnitude was even greater!
Koscielny was shaken away!
Zhang Kuang After changing the shooting angle, he shot low and the ball went in!
7:2!
Martin: "GOOOOOOOOOOOOOAL, Zhang Kuang, Big Four, 7:2, 7:2, my God, is this a massacre? This is a massacre of Arsenal, this... Arsenal fans are crying..."
Neville: "It's 7:2, oh, is this still Arsenal? Even as a former member of Manchester United, at this moment, I really... don't want to see such a score. This is disrespectful to Arsenal."
Martin: "But this is football. You can't let the ball go in just because you want to respect the opponent."
Neville: "Yes, I don't mean to blame anyone, nor do I mean not to let Manchester United score, but...Martin, you know, back then our generation was sympathetic to Arsenal... I didn't expect that one day Arsenal would be beaten 7:2 by Manchester United."
Martin: "Neville, don't rush to feel sad for Arsenal. The game is not over yet, and this score is not necessarily the final outcome."
Neville:"..."
After his senior year, Zhang Kuang hadn't even finished celebrating when a substitution sign came up on the sidelines.
Manchester United Substitutions: Park Ji-sung comes on for Zhang Kuang, Hernández comes on for Berbatov. This is changing the two strikers. Is this a signal to stop the attack?
Or?
Could it be that Sir Alex also felt compassion for Arsenal? He couldn't bear to score any more goals?
After the substitutions were completed, there was a wonderful attack on the field.
In the 78th minute, Ashley Young got the ball on the right. He had just come on and was full of energy.
Facing Traoré's defense, Ashley Young made a Stepovers, and then cut inside. Traoré was knocked away by him, and Ashley Young raised his foot and blasted the goal 25 yards away!
The ball drew a weird outward spin arc, passed over the heads of all the defensive players, and hit the upper right corner of the goal!
Szczęsny flew to save, but his hands couldn't reach that position at all!
The ball went in!
8:2!
"GOOAL! Ashley Young! After coming on as a substitute, his kick made waves in the world!" Martin·Tyler's voice contained a hint of coping. Maybe he felt that being more passionate at this time would be like a last-ditch attack on the Arsenal fans.
Martin: "Twenty-five yards! Outswing arc! Dead angle! This is the horror of Manchester United's bench depth! Even if the core players are replaced, the substitute players can still score goals!"
Arsenal ah Arsenal, what happened to you today? Ah, I saw a large number of Arsenal fans in the stands leaving the field, many of them left with red eyes from crying...Arsenal, please don't cry!"
Neville: "Although Ashley Young's ball is very beautiful, I really can't express my excitement! Arsenal used a formation that was almost completely defenseless to create a tragedy for himself. This... is a very tragic tragedy."
He Wei: "Ah, 8:2! What a score this is! Premier League Manchester United's biggest victory against Arsenal in history! Zhang Kuang has four goals! Rooney scored twice! Berbatov and Ashley Young each scored a goal!
The record for this number of goals was set last season in 1990-10 Chelsea 8:0 Wigan Athletic.
Going forward, it was still the 2009-10 season, Tottenham Hotspur defeated Wigan Athletic 9:1. Another win with more than 8 goals was the 99-00 season, Newcastle 8:0 Sheffield Wednesday, let's talk about the 98-99 season Manchester United 8:1 Nottingham Forest, and the 94-95 season Manchester United 9:0 Ipswich.
But those games were all scores between strong teams and weak teams. Today this is Arsenal, this is Arsenal. I really didn't expect such a big score."
Xu Yang: "This game is destined to go down in history. Manchester United's offensive firepower was fully demonstrated on this night, and Zhang Kuang once again proved that he is world-class.
Four goals, one assist, Zhang Kuang was directly involved in five goals. Fans of Arsenal will hate Zhang Kuang to death, right? But this is football, there is no way.
Arsenal cannot blame anyone else for its fiasco, but only themselves. Arsenal's lineup has undergone major changes this summer, and several important players have left the team. Because Arsenal is repairing the stadium and has no money to bring in good players, coupled with the pressure from the fans, internal players' wandering thoughts, etc., these are the reasons for Arsenal's fiasco."
He Wei: "What's more important is Wenger's radical tactics today. He could have played steadily, but he was too radical and once set up a 424 formation...
Facing a world-class player like Zhang Kuang, if the team has almost no defense against him, it will suffer a big loss, not to mention the strength of Manchester United's trident..."