inspire-indiana Chapter 391 The Familiar Feeling
Chapter 391 The Familiar Feeling
Chapter 391 The Familiar Feeling
After the Champions League game against Lyon, Manchester United ushered in an FA Cup game at home on the weekend against Portsmouth.
In the league, Manchester United led the standings, the Champions League advanced to the quarter-finals, and the FA Cup came to the quarter-finals.
At this point Ferguson didn't want to give up any games.He hopes to reproduce the great cause of the Triple Crown in 99, and he has been working hard towards this goal for so many years.
So in the weekend's game, Ferguson's starting lineup and the starting lineup against Lyon in the middle of the week did not change much.
But Ferguson's approach did not receive good results.
The players whose physical condition is worrying have not been able to enter the state after the start of the game.The midfield organization was disorderly, and the frontcourt offense was unfavorable, unable to break through Portsmouth's defense.In the defense, the players' running and fighting were not active enough, and the defense line was easily torn apart by Portsmouth.
If it weren't for Van der Sar's brave performance in front of the goal, and the high-resistance blocked Portsmouth's shots again and again, the score might have become 0-3 at the end of the first half.
Taking a wrong move, Ferguson immediately made two substitution adjustments during the intermission.
Hargreaves and Scholes were replaced, and Yu Liang and Carrick were replaced.
The playing of Scholes and Hargreaves had an immediate effect. Scholes sorted out in the midfield and finally provided some support for the frontcourt.The direct pass from the center directly tore through Portsmouth's defense, but Dong Wang's speed was a beat slower, and the football was directly confiscated by Portsmouth's attacking goalkeeper.
After returning without success, the Manchester United team quickly invested in defense.
The role of Hargreaves is reflected at this time.With abundant physical fitness and active running, it was like putting a shackle in front of the defense, successfully blocking Portsmouth's offense.
However, as time passed, neither side was able to open up the situation, which made the fans in the stadium anxious.
In fact, it is the head coaches of both sides who are more anxious than the fans.
Ferguson, who is aiming for the triple crown, basically stood on the sidelines and directed the game after the start of the second half.
Seeing that the time was running out, he immediately played the last card in his hand and replaced Anderson, changing the formation to 433.
Anderson's playing revitalized Manchester United's frontcourt. After Anderson, who had a breakthrough and pass, came on the court, he immediately created a murderous intention.After cooperating with Scholes in two-on-one, Rooney passed the ball to the penalty area. After stopping the ball with his back, Rooney scored the ball with his instep. Cristiano Ronaldo volleyed and broke the goal, rewriting the score to 1-0.
After breaking the deadlock, both sides breathed a sigh of relief.
The Portsmouth players were even more decisive when attacking, because at this time they don't have to count on the rematch.
The Manchester United players are more proactive. Although they are exhausted, they also hope to defend this hard-won goal.
In the end, relying on defense, Manchester United beat Portsmouth 1-0 at home and broke into the semi-finals of the FA Cup, two steps away from the FA Cup championship.
After the FA Cup match, Manchester United's schedule returned to one game a week.The main players who fought fiercely in a row finally got a chance to breathe.
In order to allow the players to fully relax, Ferguson gave the players three days off.
What a luxury a three-day holiday is in a busy game.
In order not to waste this extravagant three-day vacation, Yu Liang packed his bags and flew straight to London to find Agnes after returning home after the game.Since being forced into marriage by his parents before the Spring Festival, he now receives several calls from his parents every week. The purpose is very clear, that is, he hopes to hold his grandson as soon as possible.It made him go to Agnes whenever he had time, but no matter how hard Yu Liang tried, Agnes's stomach didn't move at all, so he could only continue to work hard in the process of making people.
While the Manchester United players enjoyed a luxurious three-day holiday, the rest of the Premier League teams were sweating in the training ground.
Some of them are fighting for the league championship, some are fighting for European qualifications, and some are fighting for relegation.
London Colney training base, which is Arsenal's training base.
At the moment, the Arsenal players are training seriously inside. Although Wenger standing on the sidelines is satisfied with the attitude of the players, he is still full of worry.
He is worried about the team's record.
Although they left the former captain Henry this season, the team's combat effectiveness has not weakened much under his training, and it was once ranked first in the standings.
Even after losing to Manchester United in the top game, they still maintain a strong competitiveness.After Manchester United lost the same city derby for the second time this season, they once narrowed the point difference to one point and still maintained the hope of competing for the title.
However, in the second half, especially in the last two rounds, the team's toughness began to decline. There were three consecutive draws, 4 points less than Manchester United, which had one less game.
If they want to continue to maintain their competitiveness in the championship, every next game must not be lost.
When the three-day extravagant vacation was over, the players who had fully rested returned to Carrington one by one, and devoted themselves to training for the battle.
Manchester United players visited Glory Park this weekend to challenge Derby County.
In this game, Ferguson was the main force, and the players who got a full rest, defeated Derby County 4-0 cleanly in the away game, scored three points, and widened the gap with Arsenal. 7 points.
The game between Manchester United and Derby County took the lead. When the game ended, the other games of this round were starting.
When the news of Manchester United's victory over Derby County reached Wenger's ears, he immediately frowned.
The 7-point difference is like a boulder on his chest. If they want to continue to maintain a tight posture, they must beat Middlesbrough in this game.
However, just when he had this idea, there was a wave of boos in the field, and he looked up and saw his own players standing on the field with their heads down, and the Middlesbrough players were celebrating happily on the field .
Wenger, who was in a bad mood, directly kicked over a bottle of mineral water in front of him, and then shouted on the sidelines, hoping that the players could cheer up, but unfortunately the effect was minimal.During the rest of the first half, the team's offensive development was extremely difficult.In the end, he returned to the locker room after one goal behind.
After arriving in the locker room, Wenger first calmed down the anxiety of the players.
As a professional player, I definitely want to play every game well, but there are always some uncontrollable factors that affect the performance of the players.
After appeasing the players, Wenger began to mobilize the enthusiasm of the players, hoping that the players could win the game.
After the change of sides, the mental outlook of the players has improved, but the team's offensive efficiency is not high, and it has not been able to pry open the opponent's door for a long time.
But they ended up with a draw, with the Middlesbrough players turning their three points into a point with an own goal just before the break.Compared with 0 points, Wenger is also satisfied with getting [-] point now.
But there is always an indescribable familiar feeling in his heart.
At the beginning of each season, he has the ambition to win the championship, but every time the season is interrupted, he has to start working hard to keep his qualification for the Champions League!
After the end of this round, Chelsea, who had experienced a coaching change and had one less game, scored the 64th point, followed by the third place in the league, and is very likely to surpass them.
The only good news is that Liverpool, who had one round less, suffered the same as their Arsenal. In the middle of the season, they lost 5 rounds and directly threw them out of the championship group. The victory in this round only won 56 The points are not enough to threaten their Arsenal's ranking for the time being.
Thinking of the league championship drifting away, Wenger felt a little stuck.Thinking about losing two captains because of the delay in winning the Champions League, Wenger felt even more frustrated.
With no hope of winning the league title and early exits from the FA Cup and League Cup, the only thing Wenger can fight for is the Champions League, which he has so far failed to get his hands on.
(End of this chapter)