As time went by, the atmosphere of the Champions League final in London became more and more intense, and more and more fans wore red Manchester United jerseys and blue and black Inter Milan jerseys.
The most exciting showdown of European football this season is about to kick off in London.
On May 28, 2011, the day of the final, countless fans from both teams gathered outside Wembley Stadium from the morning.
Especially for Inter Milan fans who came from far away, many of them did not even stay in the hotel the night before, but directly set up tents in the square outside to spend the night.
In the evening, after dinner, many local London fans also came to Wembley Stadium, waiting to enter.
At 18:00, the stadium entrance opened and fans from both teams began to check their tickets and enter.
The Wembley Stadium in this Champions League final is nominally a neutral venue, but the stadium is in the UK. As a Premier League giant, Manchester United naturally has many advantages, which is equivalent to playing at half home ground.
In the 90,000-seat Wembley Stadium, Manchester United fans account for about half, Inter Milan fans account for one third, and the rest are neutral fans who come to watch the fun or celebrities, politicians, players' families, etc.
Lu Wenbin’s girlfriend Kate and agent Mendes were naturally also present.
After 8 p.m., the stadium was almost full.
The brief opening ceremony began as England's legendary striker Lineker kicked the final whistle ball into the field from the podium.
English stars and artists performed various song and dance shows. The track and field superstar and 100-meter sprinter Bolt, who is known as a Manchester United fan, came to add to the fun. Finally, the British Royal Guards brought the Champions League trophy into the stadium, causing cheers from the audience.
The opening ceremony did not last long. After the actors left and the stadium was cleaned up, the real Champions League began.
Vidic and Zanetti, as captains of their respective teams, led Manchester United and Inter Milan into the stadium. After the Champions League theme song played, they shook hands, took photos, and tossed sides. The much-anticipated Champions League final was about to begin.
At 20:45 on the evening of May 28, with the referee's whistle, the 2010/2011 UEFA Champions League final between Inter Milan and Manchester United officially began at Wembley Stadium in London, England, amid the applause of 90,000 spectators.
Inter Milan's starting lineup was goalkeeper Cesar, defenders Maicon, Lucio, Samuel, Zivu, defensive midfielder Zanetti, wingers Lu Wenbin and Stankovic, attacking midfielder Sneijder, and forwards Milito and Eto'o.
Manchester United's starting lineup was goalkeeper Van der Sar, defenders Fabio, Ferdinand, Vidic and Efrain, parallel midfielders Giggs, Scholes, Carrick and Park Ji-sung, and forwards Rooney and Owen.
Both sides fielded their main players and the stars shone brightly, with Lu Wenbin continuing to play in midfield.
As soon as the game started, Manchester United took advantage of the kick-off right and launched a wave of offensive amid the cheers of more than 40,000 Manchester United fans.
Giggs broke through the wing and made a cross, Rooney headed the ball to Michael Owen, who came out from behind Samuel and poked the ball, but it went wide of the goal due to Samuel's interference, causing Manchester United fans in the stands to sigh and hold their heads.
It would be perfect if we could score a goal in the first attack.
However, even so, it still shocked Inter Milan players and fans.
Giggs, Rooney and Owen are all superstars. This wave of offensive gave Inter Milan a warning, forcing Inter Milan to avoid the attack and stabilize the defense first.
However, Inter Milan plays a defensive counterattack and is not afraid of the opponent's attack.
Manchester United continued to attack, trying to take advantage of the opening attack to score a goal and seize the initiative.
Inter Milan pulled back their defense, consolidated their defense, and waited for an opportunity to counterattack.
In the 7th minute, Carrick's straight pass almost broke through Inter Milan's defense, and Rooney almost got the ball and had a one-on-one chance, but fortunately Samuel fell to the ground from the side and shoveled the ball out of the sideline.
In the 10th minute, Manchester United had the best chance since the start of the game.
Ferdinand launched an attack from the backcourt, Park Ji-sung made a cross from the bottom, and Lucio missed the header in the competition with Owen at the front point, and not only failed to head the ball, but also hit his teammates Samuel and Cesar hard.
The ball passed over Lucio and Owen and fell into the corner of the small penalty area.
Rooney and Maicon rushed towards the landing point at the same time. Maicon hesitated for a moment because he was afraid of being awarded a penalty kick in the penalty area. He did not dare to fall to the ground to tackle the ball. Instead, Rooney fell to the ground and poked the ball, touching the ball first.
Cesar was at the front point just now and had not yet reached the back point. As long as Rooney's ball hit the goal frame, it would be an empty goal.
Manchester United fans in the stands have already raised their hands and are ready to cheer.
As a result, Rooney's shot did not hit the goal frame, but hit the post and bounced back into the penalty area, and was kicked to the midfield by Zanetti who rushed back to defense.
Manchester United missed the best scoring opportunity at the beginning of the game. The frustrated Rooney lay on the ground for a long time without getting up. One can imagine how depressed he was.
After this attack, although Manchester United continued to attack, they never got such a good opportunity again.
Until the 20th minute, Manchester United had not scored a goal and only had two shots within the goal frame, but both were not threatening and were directly confiscated by Cesar.
Under Mourinho's coaching, Inter Milan, with the defense of top defenders such as Zanetti and Lucio, makes it difficult for any team to tear through Inter Milan's defense in a positional battle.
If the attack fails for a long time, there will naturally be punishment. Lu Wenbin and Eto'o's counterattack speed is not to be underestimated.
In the 27th minute, Manchester United made a comeback, but Owen took the ball too far in the frontcourt and was intercepted by Lucio, who then passed it to Samuel.
Before Rooney came up to grab the ball, Samuel made a long pass to Sneijder in the midfield, and Sneijder then passed it to Lu Wenbin who was on the wing, and Inter Milan launched a quick counterattack.
Seeing Lu Wenbin rushing forward with the ball on the wing, the Manchester United fans in the stands booed loudly. The Manchester United players also quickly returned to defense and blocked Lu Wenbin's way.
However, Lu Wenbin is not obsessed with individual performances of speed and dribbling. His 17-point judgment attribute allows him to make relatively calm decisions that are conducive to the team's victory.
The individual dribbling breakthrough and counterattack is too slow.
Before being snatched away by Hugo Lloris, Lu Wenbin made a long pass to the top of Manchester United's penalty area.
The 20/20 pass made Lu Wenbin's long pass very accurate.
Originally Eto'o was behind Ferdinand, but the moment Lu Wenbin passed the ball, Eto'o gained the upper hand in the speed competition with Ferdinand.
When other Manchester United players who were pressing forward had not yet returned to defense, Eto'o surpassed Ferdinand and received Lu Wenbin's long pass before Ferdinand.
Eto'o did not stop the ball, but dribbled it into the penalty area.
With Ferdinand pulling him and Van der Sar blocking him, Eto'o calmly shot the ball into the far corner before being pulled down by Ferdinand in the penalty area.
However, the ball had already passed Van der Sar's palm and flew into the goal along the far post.
In the 27th minute, Lu Wenbin assisted Eto'o with a precise long pass to score the first goal, and Inter Milan led Manchester United 1-0.
Suddenly, Inter Milan fans in the stands cheered and screamed, and neutral spectators also applauded.
Manchester United, who had been attacking aggressively, failed to score any goals, but Inter Milan took the lead with a simple counterattack.
Moreover, Inter Milan originally played a defensive counterattack. Manchester United will definitely have a harder time in the next game.
Sometimes, football is so cruel.