But when Oblak threw the ball, the Manchester United players found that he wasn't passing to Vardy, but to Mahrez on the left wing!
Mahrez was one of the players in the second wave running forward, and with Vardy providing cover in the middle, Mahrez had a lot more space.
Oblak's throw had a lot of power, and the ball quickly flew forward, bouncing once before the sideline. Mahrez looked ahead from his position on the wing. Gary Neville was coming forward to tackle him as he stopped the ball.
Mahrez's expression was focused. Before the ball landed a second time, he immediately sprinted, simultaneously using the outside of his right foot to flick the incoming ball forward with the outside of his foot!
Gary Neville was flustered, two meters in front of him!
It's over!
A no-touch rainbow flick!
Mahrez hooked the ball with his right foot behind Gary Neville, not needing to worry about the power at all, because the space behind Gary Neville was wide open!
Under the shocked gaze of the entire Cambridge United crowd, Mahrez sprinted around the sideline, overtaking his opponent!
His speed was so astonishing that it felt as if the entire stadium was moving with him!
The fans couldn't help but start cheering, encouraging Mahrez!
They were also thrilled by his performance.
After Mahrez quickly passed Gary Neville, Vidić and Evra in the middle, caught off guard, also began to retreat.
But judging by Mahrez's speed as he surged down the wing, they would be left behind in a few seconds!
The key would be his performance on his next touch!
Mahrez looked at Manchester United's goal with unwavering eyes. Although it was still half a field away, it seemed as if nothing could stop him from advancing!
He sprinted to the ball's landing spot in the front left area. The ball had already bounced a second time. Mahrez, without slowing down, continued to dribble the ball forward with the top of his foot, a seamless combination of stopping and dribbling, showing how solid his fundamental skills were, as if it were natural.
Manchester United's two defenders were now in pursuit, but they looked like they couldn't catch up to Mahrez!
Ferguson couldn't help but stand up from the dugout. He gritted his teeth slightly, his eyes showing a hint of indignation.
Manchester United had been unable to score for so long, would Cambridge United instead stab them again?
Van der Sar was forced to abandon his goal. As he rushed out of the penalty area, Mahrez had already reached him. Compared to Mahrez, who was dribbling and charging like a tiger descending a mountain, Van der Sar seemed a bit lacking in confidence.
When Mahrez kicked the ball past his right side and then ran past his left, Van der Sar was left like a wooden stake as Mahrez dribbled past him with the ball and himself!
When he caught up to the ball again, Mahrez had already reached the six-yard box. If he hadn't chased the ball, it would have rolled out of bounds. After catching up to the ball, he easily pushed it into Manchester United's empty net with the inside of his right foot!
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
Running over 70 yards in one breath, Mahrez scored a long-range solo goal!
The entire stadium was stunned!
Mahrez's long-range solo goal sent the fans in the Park Stadium stands roaring with excitement, waving their fists uncontrollably.
After scoring, Mahrez spread his arms and sprinted along the sideline, creating a spectacular wave of human celebration in the stands wherever he went!
The Cambridge United players roared as they chased after Mahrez's figure. At this moment, he was like the hero of Park Stadium!
"Mahrez! Mahrez! Mahrez! Mahrez!"
Andy Gray was constantly shouting Mahrez's name.
When he stopped shouting to catch his breath, Martin Tyler immediately said excitedly, "Mahrez scored a thrilling goal! He ran over 60 yards to score a goal. Although he only chipped the ball over a defender when receiving a pass from a teammate, his unparalleled speed thereafter allowed us to witness a super goal!
This goal helped Cambridge United complete a comeback against Manchester United. This goal showed us how outstanding the talents of Cambridge United truly are. This goal made countless The U's firmly believe that Cambridge United is moving towards Europe qualification!
Manchester United is not used to being scored on like this by opponents, but today they met Cambridge United. After failing to score for a long time, Cambridge United seized the opportunity and overturned the score in one fell swoop!"
Ferguson was already standing on the sideline. He looked at the young Mahrez and a word came to mind: priceless!
His judgment was not wrong. He had his eye on that Portugal talent back then, and today this Algeria talent is no less impressive!
He absolutely has such value, and he also has unlimited potential!
Mahrez, who has already scored 7 goals in his Premier League debut season, how many goals will he ultimately score this season?
He's already good enough. By the end of the season, his value will definitely soar.
Ferguson walked to the sideline, his expression serious and containing anger as he glared at his players on the field. He didn't give any instructions, but silently told the players: Fight for me! The Cambridge United players, after celebrating, saw Huang Hao's gesture to calm down as they walked back to midfield.
Huang Hao was not surprised by Mahrez scoring such a goal. He had speed, he had impact, and this goal was somewhat similar to the one Manchester United scored, both utilizing counter-attack opportunities after the opponent's corner kick attack failed.
The difference was that Mahrez's was not as complicated. After Vardy attracted firepower in the middle to provide cover for him, he only needed to get past Gary Neville to create a one-on-one attacking opportunity.
Now Cambridge United has taken the lead, achieving comebacks in two consecutive matches after falling behind. This is a testament to the team's tenacity and fighting spirit!
True heroes are revealed in adversity!
Mahrez walked back to his winger position with high spirits. His eyes were bright, and he held his head high with powerful confidence. He longed for the cheers of the fans to be even louder, for those cheers for him to reach the sky and spread to every corner of the world!
He knew his goal. He wanted to become a world-class star, a superstar, he wanted to become a legend!
The Manchester United players knew the situation had become difficult, but having experienced countless comebacks and counter-combacks, they would not be intimidated by the current adversity. After the match restarted, both teams continued to actively compete, and under intense confrontation, both teams' fouls increased.
Manchester United was eager to attack, to equalize before the end of the first half, while Cambridge United wanted to hold onto their advantage and limit Manchester United's offense.
In the 43rd minute of the match, Juninho extended his leg to challenge Fletcher in pursuit. The latter managed to push the ball away first, but was tripped by Juninho.
The referee, Vili, called a foul on Juninho, but did not issue a card.
Fletcher quickly took the free kick, passing the ball to Nani. The Portugal winger crossed from the right at a 45-degree angle. The ball landed in the penalty area. Berbatov wanted to head the ball, but unfortunately, the descending ball could not get over the head of Cambridge United center-back Lovren. He cleared the ball out of the penalty area, and M'Vila was first to kick the ball away, passing it to Kante.
Seeing Rooney and Nani pressing him, Kante pushed the ball towards the sideline, and Nani immediately followed. Kante, with no choice, powerfully pushed the ball forward, and as expected, Nani knocked it out of bounds.
Cambridge United took a throw-in from their own half. After three passes and two layoffs in the backfield, M'Vila played a through ball to Juninho, who was running forward.
Carrick's marking of Juninho was more aggressive. This time, Carrick's sliding tackle came by surprise before Juninho could even control the ball.
Juninho was tackled to the ground by Carrick without even touching the ball!
When Huang Hao saw this foul, he excitedly stood up from the dugout and rushed to the sideline, shouting onto the field, "That foul was a crime! Don't let that scoundrel, that thug, off lightly!"
The referee, Vili, blew his whistle and ran in front of Carrick to show him a yellow card. Carrick glanced coldly at Juninho on the ground. The latter stood up expressionlessly, stretched his left leg, and seemed fine.
Juninho looked at Carrick with his head held high, as if he wasn't afraid of him at all.
Carrick's lips curled into a cruel expression, and he turned to walk back to the edge of the penalty area to defend, his eyes dark.
Cambridge United's free kick didn't pose a threat, and the first half ended there.
Cheers from Cambridge United fans echoed through Park Stadium. The Cambridge United fans were naturally very satisfied with their team's first-half comeback against Manchester United.
Before walking into the player tunnel, Huang Hao specifically waited for the officiating crew to leave the field. He walked over to discuss Carrick's foul with the referee, Vili. He didn't want his players to be injured on the field by actions like Carrick's.
So he felt it was necessary to communicate with the officiating crew and make them aware of Carrick's behavior. As for whether he would be criticized by the outside world for interfering with the officiating crew or putting pressure on them.
Huang Hao didn't care about that!
Ferguson returned to the locker room with a grim face. He was angry at some of the Manchester United players.
After returning to the locker room, Huang Hao neither praised nor criticized the team's first-half performance. Overall, the offense achieved the desired results, but the defense always kept people on edge.
If he praised the attacking players and criticized the defensive players, it would be too rigid and would make the players feel unbalanced.
So he simply moved on, looking ahead to the second half, offering encouragement for morale and spirit, and urging the players to strive for a better performance in the second half. In the second half, both teams returned to the field and switched sides.
The Red Devils began to actively press from the very start of the second half.
Huang Hao noticed that Manchester United had made a very clear tactical change.
All the midfield players dropped back to the midfield line when defending, which allowed them to compress the central area with the defensive midfielders and defenders. Once they won the ball, they would then surge forward from midfield. Whether it was the attacking players' runs or the passing and movement between teammates, it would be more unpredictable.
Because the further away from the goal, the more options players have for their running lines during forward runs. In the 51st minute of the match, when Kante advanced to the attacking midfield, he found himself surrounded. Rooney was pressing from behind, Giggs was blocking the right flank, Fletcher was to his left-front, and Carrick was far ahead. He had an ominous feeling that if he dribbled one more step, just one step, he would very likely lose the ball.
Fletcher would come over to press without hesitation, forcing him to change his control, then Giggs would follow up, and even Rooney might complete a tackle from behind.
Kante risked a diagonal long pass to the left wing.
As Mahrez was about to control the ball on the left wing, Gary Neville came up to mark him tightly. This was a tactical adjustment Ferguson made at halftime.
When defending, Manchester United first had to use all their players to compress space in their own half, and then, in terms of marking key Cambridge United players, they needed to be more aggressive and adopt a high-pressing tactic.
Once Mahrez, Tadić, and Juninho were allowed to dribble the ball and given enough space for their dribbling variations, only a nightmare awaited Manchester United!
Gary Neville, braving the danger, bent down and courageously headed the ball away before Mahrez could extend his foot to control it. Mahrez's foot almost kicked him in the face!
His clearance surprised countless fans in the stadium. Even Mahrez paused, looking somewhat surprised at the nonchalant Gary Neville.
Manchester United fans cheered for Gary Neville!
But they didn't know that Gary Neville was actually feeling quite bleak inside.
Manchester United had a tiger, born in '92.
He was also one of them, but unfortunately, he was never the shining star of Old Trafford, nor an unshakeable starter for the team.
But as long as he wore the Manchester United shirt, he would give his all for the Red Devils!
In the 54th minute of the match, Cambridge United completed a long-range shot in the attacking third. Juninho received a cross from M'Vila who had made a late run, then passed the ball to Tadić on the right wing outside the penalty area. The latter cut directly across to the central area in front of the penalty box, and shot before Carrick could press him. Unfortunately, the shot was blocked by Vidić's body.
Although Manchester United's change in defensive strategy in the second half had some effect, they couldn't completely shut down Cambridge United, and their offense also didn't perform ideally in the early stages of the second half. The reason was probably that after the formation dropped back and compressed in midfield, they tried to quickly launch counter-attacks after transitioning from defense to offense, but were too hasty and made mistakes.
In the 57th minute of the match, when M'Vila intercepted Fletcher's diagonal pass to Nani in the defensive midfield, Cambridge United wanted to launch a deadly counter-attack. M'Vila passed the ball horizontally to the right wing, De Vrij surged forward to assist and then played a diagonal pass to Kante, who then launched a long pass to Lewandowski in the central attacking area.
Lewandowski, marked by Ferdinand, headed the ball down to Vardy, but he misdirected it, and Carrick instinctively intercepted it midway with his leg.
Carrick controlled the ball and turned to face Cambridge United's half. He looked at the situation in the attacking third. Manchester United's attacking players, who had initially been running back, now started running forward again, but their running lines were unclear. Carrick did not want to pass rashly.
Fletcher was immediately pressed from front and back by Juninho and Kante.
Carrick simply dribbled the ball forward himself to advance the attack.
He dribbled the ball past the halfway line in one go without anyone stopping him. Perhaps Cambridge United was used to Manchester United's attacks mostly being organized by Fletcher.
With Carrick, everyone was somewhat surprised.
Carrick advanced the attack to the edge of the dangerous zone, and only then did Juninho rush over to press him.
Carrick then played a horizontal pass, and the ball rolling to the left wing was received by Giggs, who calmly observed the situation under the double-team of Tadić and M'Vila.
