"Nice one, Tang!"
Two goals down, Van Gaal had no choice left, and he imdiately made substitutions to bolster the attack.
Mata was substituted off, Depay ca on.
Schneiderlin was substituted off, Fellaini ca on.
Adapt to changing circumstances.
Just two minutes after Manchester United made their substitutions, Pellegrini also made tactical adjustnts, subbing off the veteran Yaya Toure due to poor stamina and bringing on the new-generation English midfielder Delph to strengthen the sweeping capabilities in the midfield.
Then the starting striker Agüero was also taken off.
But this was a forced substitution because Agüero, who had just delivered an assist, was clutching his thigh, indicating frustration due to a strain.
So Bony, recently in explosive form, appeared at the derby scene.
"Here?" Tang Long asked.
"Haha, indeed!" Bony replied!
Ranocchia decided to test Icardi once more.
His coordination with Caballero in the backfield was becoming more and more fluent.
After Manchester United brought on two players consecutively, the attack showed so improvent.
As the bridgehead on the front line, Icardi felt it was his unquestionable responsibility to score now!
He used the last of his stamina to launch a high-pressure attack.
But Caballero and Ranocchia, like two midfielders trained in ball control, made Icardi look foolish.
Icardi went to steal the ball, Ranocchia passed back to Caballero, and Icardi missed.
Icardi originally expected Caballero to kick it long, but unexpectedly, Caballero flicked with the outside of his foot, sending the ball back to Ranocchia moving toward the center.
Icardi imdiately turned to press!
Ranocchia rotated like Harvey on the spot, dodging Icardi, and cheekily stuck out his tongue at him.
Infuriated, Icardi made a surprise turn to press again!
Ranocchia didn’t pass wide but handed the ball back to Caballero once more.
"Maintain formation, Mauro, don’t press wildly!"
The experienced captain Rooney already noticed that Icardi had fallen into Manchester City’s backfield trap.
But with his mind blank, Icardi couldn’t hear his teammate’s reminders?
Sure enough, facing Icardi’s pressing, Caballero, without panic, lightly flicked with his toes, sending the ball three ters past in front of Icardi, landing at Ranocchia’s feet.
This series of moves left Manchester United’s coach Van Gaal in awe!
Wow, when did Manchester City’s backfield control get so good?
Playing like this in the penalty area, the skill and courage are incredible.
Ranocchia seized the gap and began to push forward with the ball.
In theory, after the mockery and entering the second half, Icardi shouldn’t have the stamina to chase back;
But he seed to have taken a stimulant, disregarding everything, angrily chasing Ranocchia all the way from the penalty area to the midfield, until handing the ball to Tang Long, Icardi was still chasing!
He had chased for a full 50 ters before sidestepping and tripping Tang Long.
Perhaps hearing the encouraging applause from Old Trafford, or feeling that Icardi’s own goal in the first half was really pitiful;
The match referee, feeling a pang of sympathy, didn’t issue Icardi a yellow card, only awarded a free kick.
Manchester City’s players were displeased, crowding around the referee demanding a yellow card.
Icardi didn’t dare say a word, obediently retreating, ready to form the wall.
But during the dead ball’s few seconds of pause, Bony glanced back at Tang Long, and Tang Long caught Bony’s gaze, quickly pressing the ball to the ground for a chipped pass!
The football leaped high towards Manchester United’s penalty area!
This was a quick free kick!
At this mont, Manchester United’s defenders hadn’t reacted yet, only Icardi retreated to start forming the wall, watching the ball about to fly over his head.
Icardi thought, I can’t let this ball pass, or else 4:1 would be disastrous...
He leapt high, using his strong waist and abdominal strength to get up high, intending to head the ball away.
But the fatigue from his earlier long-distance chase finally exploded at that mont.
Due to severe exhaustion, his technical movents were distorted, his arms inadvertently raised.
The ball was indeed disrupted, but it was blocked with his elbow!
The Manchester City players surrounding the referee demanding a yellow card were all taken aback, then once again turned to surround the referee: "Penalty, handball in the box, it’s a penalty!"
This ti the referee had no rcy, decisively pointing to the penalty spot.
De Gea felt like crying...
Brother, if you can’t defend, stand upfront sincerely and stop adding chaos before , okay?
Icardi stood frozen in place, utterly confused.
His heart was about to break.
He couldn’t understand why his efforts in attack were fruitless; instead, his defensive efforts only added trouble.
"Ahhh!!!"
Icardi stomped heavily in anger then slapped his thigh loudly, leaving a bright red palm print.
At this mont, Wanda on the stands had no mind for watching the ga; since halfti, she was glued to her phone, angrily typing replies to social dia comnts saying her husband was useless, only scoring own goals.
"Just you wait, Mauro will surely make his contributions in the second half!"
After retorting to the last fan, Wanda put her phone down, breathed a long sigh of relief, only to hear her phone buzz incessantly again, countless private ssages flooding in.
"Dear Wanda, I was wrong, your husband indeed has other contributions!"
"Icardi can score own goals, and he can deliver own assists too!"
"My goodness, look at what your husband has done; if Manchester United were to catch a mole, Icardi would be the first!"
"Please, take your sweetheart away from Manchester United; even my wheelchair-bound grandma would be better than Icardi on the field, at least she wouldn’t add chaos!"
Van Gaal was furious enough to explode!
If you can’t defend, you could stand still, what’s with raising your hands blindly?
Before Manchester City could execute the penalty, Van Gaal used his last substitution at the 70th minute, replacing striker Icardi with veteran midfielder Carrick.
Icardi stood on Old Trafford’s turf, surrounded by loud boos.
Like a stubborn mule, he was reluctant to leave the field, arguing with the referee that the ball didn’t hit his arm, only brushing his shoulder.
Several Manchester United players kindly persuaded him, but Icardi snapped back at them.
Finally, Ranocchia forcibly dragged Icardi down the field by pulling his shirt.
Icardi walked unwillingly, arguing with Ranocchia along the way.
"Co on, let’s go off, Mauro!"
"Is the referee blind? Whether he’s blind or not, your defensive performance today was pretty blind."
"What, you say next year coming to Itihad, you’ll score 7?"
"If you score 7 own goals, De Gea might retire on the spot; think about your teammates and yourself~"
With Agüero not present, Tang Long was the second penalty taker.
Deceiving De Gea, he smoothly shot into the center!
In the 72nd minute, Manchester City led 4-1 away!
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