In the home dressing room at the Proact Stadium in Chesterfield, Chesterfield's starting players were all focused intently on the tactical board in front of them.
Drawn on it was New Manchester United's 4-3-3 formation. Each circle represented a player, with their number and name clearly marked.
"New Manchester United are a promoted side. Although they were only founded two years ago, they have already achieved quite remarkable success by entering League Two, which shows that they do have a certain level of strength.
"Their performance in the National League last season was even more admirable, but this season, ever since their main striker, Žigić, left, their attacking ability has fallen sharply."
Chesterfield's head coach was very young. He had previously been the team's centre-back, and after retiring, he had been hired as their manager. He had been in charge of the team for two years.
This year, he was determined to win promotion.
"Their manager came from Barcelona. He was once an assistant to the current Netherlands coach, Van Gaal, but he doesn't understand English football at all.
"He thought Barcelona's style could still work in England, but in fact, he was wrong.
"Right now, his position is under pressure, and the whole club, from top to bottom, must be desperate for a win. We cannot let them get what they want!"
"New Manchester United's biggest threat is their Brazilian midfielder. He is their playmaker.
"Mark him tightly, and New Manchester United's attack won't get going.
"In addition, their centre-forward is a problem. Without him, New Manchester United are like an old tiger with no teeth. No, they are more like a sick cat."
The players in the dressing room burst into laughter when they heard this. They seemed very relaxed about the match.
"Our attack will mainly target the left flank. New Manchester United's right side is a huge weakness defensively.
"We will be happy to help them expose it.
"From the moment the whistle blows, we will attack their right flank relentlessly and give them no chance to breathe, unless we score enough goals to secure the win!"
"As long as we play our usual game, we will definitely score first, and we will definitely win this match!"
Chesterfield's players were full of confidence. They loudly echoed their manager's rallying cry and rose from their seats.
Ten minutes later, Chesterfield's manager stared in disbelief at the scoreboard on the side of the pitch.
The zero on the right, which represented the away team, was changing to a 1, meaning New Manchester United had taken the lead away from home.
The thunderous drumming of the fans in the stands was deafening, especially their high-pitched singing. They were freely chanting New Manchester United's club song and making up praise for Kitson, who had scored New Manchester United's first goal of the match.
It was a very simple and direct goal, yet it caught everyone off guard.
Poulsen won the ball in midfield and passed it to Kitson, who had dropped deep to receive it.
Kitson used his body to hold off the opposing defender, then laid the ball off to Juninho Paulista, who had arrived with a late run.
Juninho then passed to Malouda on the left wing. Malouda crossed into the box, and Kitson headed the ball into the net.
The whole move was incredibly quick, almost too quick for Chesterfield's defence to react.
By the time their centre-backs turned to chase Kitson, he had already created enough separation, and they could only watch helplessly as he headed the ball in.
What was going on?
Chesterfield's manager looked at New Manchester United's manager, Mourinho, in disbelief. Mourinho had also walked to the touchline nearby.
They were both around the same age, and both were young.
Had he seen through our plan?
Chesterfield's manager refused to believe it.
He still instructed his players on the pitch to focus their attacks on New Manchester United's right flank.
He was certain that the Portuguese player named Bosingwa was not good defensively, at least worse than the Frenchman Abidal on the left.
Attacking his side offered a greater chance of success, and it could also suppress New Manchester United's attack.
But as soon as his players entered New Manchester United's half, he immediately noticed that Hleb, playing as a winger, had tracked back to defend, while Poulsen, one of the two defensive midfielders, had also shifted across to the right.
The two of them doubled up on Chesterfield's left winger.
Chesterfield tried to pass into the middle, but under pressure from Poulsen and Hleb, the pass went astray.
Alou Diarra, who had come up from behind, passed the ball forward to Juninho Paulista.
Without taking a touch to adjust, Juninho immediately sent the ball out to the right wing.
Hleb, who had just tracked back, was now sprinting forward at an extremely quick pace. He beat Chesterfield's left-back to the ball, took a heavy touch, accelerated after it, and crossed into the box from near the edge of the penalty area.
Kitson was being challenged by at least two opposing players inside the box and could not reach the ball.
Chesterfield's centre-back headed the ball away, but it did not go far.
Juninho, who had made a late run, chested the ball down.
Seeing the opposing defensive midfielder immediately close him down, he nudged the ball sideways, and Poulsen, who had followed up, unleashed a powerful shot.
It had to be said that Poulsen's shooting was truly dreadful. His effort flew straight into the stands, leaving him feeling rather embarrassed.
"Missed the target!" Poulsen explained to Juninho beside him as he ran back into his own half.
Juninho smiled and patted him on the shoulder. "Then next time, set yourself properly before shooting!"
Even though it was a wild effort, Poulsen's shot still sent a chill down the spine of Chesterfield's manager on the touchline.
His heart nearly jumped out of his chest. Long-range shots from that position had a high success rate.
Was there a problem with our defence?
Because Chesterfield were mainly focused on attacking in this match, they had only used one defensive midfielder.
When Poulsen took that shot, the defensive midfielder had been occupied by Juninho Paulista, while the two centre-backs were marking Kitson.
In addition, Poulsen's run had been very sudden, with no warning, so Chesterfield's attacking players had no time to track back.
This was planned!
Even if Chesterfield's manager were a fool, he could see that this was New Manchester United's attacking pattern.
From the very beginning of the match, he had noticed that New Manchester United's style of play was completely different from what had been shown in highlight reels and reported in the newspapers.
They played very quickly. Whether it was the players' passing and receiving, or the team's overall movement forward and back, everything looked swift and organized.
In attack, New Manchester United's Kitson was not playing as a lone striker in the same way as before. Instead, he kept dropping deep and then making runs forward.
The two wingers pushed up very quickly, and their attacks always started from both flanks, either with crosses from the byline or with cuts inside for shots.
Furthermore, unlike before, when Juninho Paulista was responsible for organizing play, their three central midfielders were positioned in a flat line today.
Both Poulsen and Alou Diarra frequently made forward runs, but one thing remained constant. Whenever two of them pushed forward, the third would always stay back, and among the two who advanced, one would always be able to return to his position immediately if the opponent won the ball and launched a counterattack.
As a result, New Manchester United's two full-backs also began to enter the opponent's half frequently without worrying too much about counterattacks.
Understanding this only made Chesterfield's manager feel powerless.
He did not even know how to counter the opponent's tactics, especially when he saw New Manchester United's players becoming more flexible on the pitch, their coordination and passing becoming smoother, and their attacking and defensive transitions growing faster.
When Chesterfield's players were completely led around by the opponent, he was utterly helpless.
Like their manager, Chesterfield's players on the pitch were also bewildered by New Manchester United's new tactics, especially whenever the opponent suddenly raised or lowered the tempo.
They had no choice but to follow the opponent's rhythm, which left them very passive on the pitch. In the final twenty minutes of the first half, they conceded three goals in quick succession.
In the 28th, 34th, and 41st minutes, New Manchester United scored through Kitson, Juninho Paulista, and Hleb, helping the team take a temporary 0-4 lead over Chesterfield.
During halftime, Chesterfield's players walked off the pitch looking exhausted, while New Manchester United's players looked full of energy, as if they had been injected with stimulants.
The away dressing room at halftime was not as jubilant as the outside world might have imagined, nor did it reflect the excitement of the fans in the stands.
Instead, the players were all thoroughly criticized by Mourinho.
"If it weren't for our own problems, we could have scored 10 goals against them in the first half. Yes, 10 goals.
"And if it weren't for their poor ability to take their chances, they could have scored at least 2 goals against us, because they had three opportunities to enter our penalty area."
Mourinho's words made the players, who had just been in high spirits, lower their heads, not daring to meet his gaze.
"I told you before the match that when defending, the distance between the winger and the full-back should be around 25 metres, and the defensive midfielder should pay attention to providing cover, helping to control the space on both flanks.
"That way, we can compress the opponent's dribbling space as much as possible and prevent them from entering our final third too easily.
"But how well did you do?"
A few players pursed their lips, seemingly wanting to argue, but in the end, they chose to remain silent.
"Don't tell me you're not familiar with this tactic. We trained it for an entire week!" Mourinho noticed that detail.
After saying that, Mourinho turned to Juninho. "Ribeiro, on the pitch, your movement has to be more flexible.
"You can move freely between the positions of centre-forward, winger, and defensive midfielder. Everyone else is supporting you.
"You need to be more active with your movement, and you also need to pay attention to the timing of your passes to your teammates."
Then Mourinho drew a few diagrams on the tactical board.
"Whether it's Kitson, Malouda, or Hleb, when they are facing an opposing defender one-on-one, you can pass to them, because as long as the pass gets through, it becomes an opportunity.
"However, if the opponent's defensive midfielder or other defenders are nearby, then you must abandon the pass.
"Don't pass it, because I never believe that any player, no matter how technically gifted he is, can single-handedly deal with two or even three aggressive defenders in such a confined space.
"Unless, of course, you think your teammate is Ronaldo!"
Mourinho's words immediately eased the tense atmosphere in the dressing room.
After spending this period of time together, the players had discovered that Mourinho did not shout like Bruce, but the pressure he brought was greater than Bruce's, because he always had a way of pointing out their mistakes and shortcomings.
He was a very special coach.
"Lads, we drew two and lost two in the first four league matches, falling into the relegation zone.
"People outside are criticizing us heavily and questioning our ability.
"I've had enough, so I'm going to fight back. And I believe you've also had enough. You've all been holding in that anger.
"So in this match, I hope that besides getting the three points we badly need, we can also win beautifully, win thrillingly, and ideally, use one match to completely shut the mouths of those doubters, then slap them hard across the face!"
When they heard this, the players immediately erupted in agreement, their emotions surging.
In fact, they did it!
(To be continued.)