Chapter 62: Night of Champions
Chapter 62: Night of Champions
They defeated Chelsea by a big score in the away game. The second round of the contest between the two sides can be said to be basically meaningless. It is not that no one has tried to make a comeback at the door of Fiorentina, but unfortunately no one has ever succeeded.
The next day, another semi-final of the UEFA Champions League, Premier League overlord Manchester United vs Gunners Arsenal, familiar opponents, different stage. Manchester United and Arsenal, the inseparable rivals of the Premier League, will usher in the belated first battle of the Champions League. One is full of pride and ambition to win the championship, and the other is eyeing, vowing to break the curse of the Champions League.
Just like the previous collisions between these two Premier League dominant teams, Old Trafford will be doomed to be dominated by ** again. More motivation to fight. The offensive battle will still be an eternal theme. After all, both Manchester United and Arsenal represent the peak level of offensive teams, but the Red Devils are full of domineering, open and close, while the Gunners are gorgeous and smooth.
Compared with Digan to Fiorentina, Messi to Barcelona, Drogba to Chelsea, Manchester United and Arsenal pay more attention to the role of the offensive team, and their power is daunting. Manchester United's attacking combination of Golden Mauro, Rooney and Berbatov, Arsenal's Adebayor, Cesc Fabregas, and Walcott's offensive echelon are all top-level in the world.
The only regret for the Gunners is that the "tsar" Arshar, who has been in full swing recently, cannot play, and with the absence of Van Persie, Arsenal will be at a disadvantage in the away game.
However, compared to Manchester United's difficulties in the third-line battle, Arsenal is better in terms of state and mentality. On a big stage like the Champions League semi-finals, the team's momentum is often more important than the state.
Arsenal have never won the UEFA Champions League in history, and their experience in major competitions cannot be compared with their old rivals. It is also doubtful whether the Gunners' desire for the championship can surpass the Red Devils' determination to defend the city.
For Manchester United, after strategically abandoning the FA Cup, the whole team has the same goal and strives for the two major trophies of the Champions League and the Premier League. The inherent strong temperament may be an obstacle that other strong teams cannot overcome.
Because of Mourinho, the duel of the Premier League's top coach once became a madman vs. Sir Alex. However, the classics are still where they are.
When Ferguson and Wenger met on the sidelines for the 38th time, the two old coaches should feel that the years have passed. They have competed for the 13th consecutive season and finally ushered in the duel on the stage of the Champions League. It seems that fate has long been arranged. .
Before the war, the two coaches even began to cherish each other and tout each other. However, the proud Ferguson still did not forget to remind his opponent that it is not so easy to cross his own level.
"It's not easy to win the Champions League. It took me 13 years, and now I'm looking forward to winning the championship for the second time." If you count it this way, the Frenchman, who has just entered the 13th year of coaching the Gunners, is it time to turn around? ?
The first match between the two coaches in the Champions League started at Old Trafford. Despite numerous opportunities, Manchester United finally won 1-0 with only O'Shea's goal. It means that the two teams will have a fierce battle at the Emirates Stadium in the next round.
The goal came in the 17th minute when Anderson's corner kick was diverted by Carrick to the unguarded right back O'Shea, who made a semi-volley shot from close range and gave Manchester United a one-goal lead.
But after the game, Manchester United coach Ferguson must have more regret than joy, because Lafayette felt that the "Red Devils" could score two or three more goals, and Arsenal coach Arsene Wenger should be thankful despite his disappointment.
Manchester United controlled the game with a "blitzkrieg" rhythm from beginning to end, making Arsenal exhausted for most of the time. If it weren't for the heroic performance of goalkeeper Almunia, the Gunners would not only be behind by one goal.
Although Arsenal and Manchester United are regulars in the Champions League, this is the first time they meet in Europe. Ferguson surprisingly put Rooney and Tevez in the front line at the same time, replacing Berbatov with Tevez in the starting lineup. Obviously in order to speed up the attack, Berbatov's state has declined too much recently, and he has not been fully integrated into the team's offensive system. It is normal to sit on the bench. The midfielder chose the young Anderson and Fletcher.
The game has also been developing according to Ferguson's setting. In addition to O'Shea's goal, Manchester United also wasted two excellent opportunities before half-time. In the 29th minute, Tevez passed the ball from the right to Jin Maoluo, who headed the ball Blocked by Almunia. Just three minutes later, Anderson made a wonderful pass behind the opponent, making the forward Tevez single-handedly, and it was Almunia who attacked in time to intercept.
In the second half, Arsenal counterattacked, but Manchester United still controlled the initiative. In the 62nd minute, Adebayor shot over the crossbar, which can be regarded as Arsenal's most threatening attack in the game. In addition, Arsenal's attack was lackluster.
And Manchester United still had at least three chances to rewrite the score, including Anderson's kick high after receiving consecutive wonderful passes from Jin Maoluo and Rooney, and then Jin Maoluo hit the crossbar with a strong shot. But it was judged offside first, but Giggs has no regrets, coming off the bench has allowed him to complete the brilliant performance of wearing the Manchester United shirt for the 800th time.
Winning the first round made Manchester United's promotion situation more favorable, but Ferdinand suffered a rib injury during the game and may miss the second round of the two teams. If Ferdinand is missing, the Red Devils will definitely have a lot of pressure on defense.
Manchester United beat Arsenal 1-0 at home, which is a normal result. Although there are not many goals, but compared with the previous victory over Chelsea in Fiorentina's away game, this game is not much more entertaining. The rhythm of the game is faster and the creativity of both sides is stronger, which should meet the expectations of the fans.
After going through the trough of the previous period, Manchester United has been on the right track in all aspects. The Red Devils bombarded the Gunners throughout the game, especially in the first half, but only scored one goal in the end. Perhaps this will become Ferguson's worry. A factor of the second round.
During the game, it can be seen how strong Manchester United's desire to win is. As a guest, Arsenal, on the other hand, were too slow, and Almunia could only rely on Almunia alone to reduce conceded goals.
Wenger arranged a 4231 formation in the midfield, but whether it was a positional attack or an efficient and quick counterattack, these previous killer moves were not reflected.
Walcott's speed was originally a sharp weapon for Arsenal, but Xiaohu's performance was not very convincing, not to mention Adebayor's performance was extremely poor.
After two injuries this season, Adebayor's state has been ups and downs. Although he scored a beautiful undercut goal in the Champions League before, his overall movement and touch on the ball are not good enough today. Poor support and ball protection.
Returning to the home court in the second round, if Van Persie can come back, this problem may be solved. Even Eduardo, who came off the bench today, seems to have a better connection with the midfielder than the Togolese.
Perhaps Wenger should be disappointed. The defense he carefully built for Arsenal was not breached by the protagonists of Manchester United, Jin Maoluo and Rooney. Instead, the "gap" was opened by O'Shea, the supporting role in the most inconspicuous position. The only thing that can comfort Wenger The most fearful thing is that the three generals of Manchester United organized a wave of offensives, but the limelight was resolved one by one by Almunia, who had been depressed by the opponent.
Saying that O'Shea is Manchester United's blessing, you can't accept it. As long as he scores goals, Manchester United will definitely win!
This "iron law" was fulfilled again in this game. With O'Shea's goal in the first half, Manchester United finally defeated Arsenal 1-0 at home in the first leg of the Champions League semi-final.
Arsenal's recent bad luck, piles of injuries, made the Gunners' strikers only Adebayor and Bendtner, so Ferguson had already calculated that Wenger would use a single forward defensive formation in the game, so Decisively resorted to the 4321 storm formation.
Compared with Arsenal, Manchester United's forward line has been in good shape recently, so for most of the game, the battle was played in Arsenal's half.
O'Shea's goal had an element of luck, and the Arsenal defender's clearance directly assisted O'Shea, but this was actually the inevitable result of the Gunners' defender under pressure from the opponent's powerful attack.
It's just that this goal was completed by O'Shea, which makes people feel a little surprised. However, O'Shea seemed to have a premonition about his goal. In an interview after the game, he also smiled and said: "Today is my goal. On my birthday, I knew I was going to do well and I'm happy that my goal helped the team win."
"I am satisfied with the performance of the players. Their passing and running positions have shown a high level." Ferguson praised his players after the game, but it was difficult for Ferguson to smile about the result of the game, "1: 0 is a bit disappointing, we should have scored four goals in the game, including of course the one that Cristiano hit the crossbar."
In fact, even if it was 1:0, Ferguson's set goal had already been achieved. He revealed to the media before the game that the ending he most hoped for was a victory without conceding a goal.
"It's just halfway through the game but I think Arsenal will suffer because they also know that we are capable of scoring goals at the Emirates and that's their biggest burden because they didn't score today."
This game was completely Manchester United's offensive performance. The unbearable Wenger has already said that he wants to let Manchester United see a different Arsenal at the Emirates Stadium. However, Wenger's rhetoric is obviously a little lacking in confidence. Arsenal, who can't even come up with two forwards, how can they use against Manchester United?
Back at home, it is inevitable for Arsenal to aggressively attack, but does Wenger dare to let Adebayor and Bendtner start at the same time? Van Persie is still recovering from his injury, and Arshavin cannot play in the Champions League.
On the contrary, Manchester United, who are going to "play field" at the Emirates Stadium, can attack even crazier then. With the excellent form of striker f4, it should not be difficult to score a goal in Arsenal's territory, and this should be enough to guarantee them a walk into the Olimpico in Rome.
When the result of this game was obtained, Degan had already arrived in Milan with the team, preparing for the 35th round of the league with Inter Milan. Manchester United won, and Degan was not surprised at all.
"This is a normal result. I am also very much looking forward to meeting Manchester United in the Champions League final for the second time. Of course, I want to look forward to David even more!"
Beckham also expressed the same meaning in a subsequent interview: "If I can walk into the Olympic Stadium in Rome with Manchester United, it will be a very strange experience for me. The most important period of my career, that is the best memory, but if I can really meet Manchester United in the final, I hope that the winner will be Fiorentina!"
The final is still far away, and now is not the time to think about those issues. For Fiorentina, the most important thing is the current game. There are still four rounds left in the league. The difference between Fiorentina and the second-ranked Inter Milan is eleven As long as they win this game, Fiorentina will win the championship three rounds ahead of schedule.
To be able to celebrate the victory at the door of the rival's home, for every player in Fiorentina, there is obviously nothing more refreshing than this.
"I like the opponent Inter Milan very much, because every time I meet them, good things always happen." When Degan was interviewed, his tone seemed very relaxed, "To win the championship at the door of the opponent, that will It's a very strange feeling, and I'm looking forward to seeing Fiorentina celebrating the victory at San Siro when the game is over!"
Degan and his teammates are looking forward to the league title at Meazza, and what Inter Milan has to do is to work hard to prevent this from happening.
At the current level of the league, it is basically impossible for Inter Milan to reverse and win the championship, but at home, let the opponent step on their shoulders to win the cup, this is something that every Inter Milan person absolutely cannot allow.
Madman coach Mourinho said at the press conference before the game: "We have our own pride. This pride does not include sending our opponents to the championship podium. Degan said that Inter Milan is his favorite. Opponent, this statement is very interesting, I think tomorrow's game will definitely leave a very deep impression on him!"
For this game, Mourinho can be said to be ruthless. In order to prevent Fiorentina from reaching the top at Meazza, he deliberately rotated some of the main players in the last round of the league for tomorrow's decisive battle.
In the first season of coaching Inter Milan, Mourinho will face an ending of all four. Although Moratti has expressed his support for him, if he cannot win the game against Fiorentina, his handsome position I'm afraid it will be shaken too.