i am beckham

Chapter 543 Nedved's Fiery Dream

At the end of the first leg of the Champions League, Manchester United's situation took a turn for the worse.

Manchester United, which lacked Beckham, met Leeds United, which is considered the strongest in history, and many media began to badmouth Manchester United.

The media believes that Manchester United players are not psychologically prepared for a tough battle at all.

After Stam scored an own goal, the mentality of Manchester United players has changed.

Leeds United seized the hard-won window period and scored two goals in the next 10 minutes.

The Manchester United team was blinded by the opponent's aggressive momentum. In the following games, they lost their offensive and defensive positions and failed to organize a decent offense.

If it weren't for the Leeds United players not seizing the chance of lore, the suspense might have been lost in this semi-final.

The second reason why everyone looks down on Manchester United is the absence of Beckham.

The heartthrob has played a vital role in the championship process in previous seasons, and Poborski has no way to fill the vacancy left by him.

To be honest, the performance of the Czech fast horse in the game cannot be said to be bad, but in such an important game, the gap between the World Footballer and the outstanding players is there.

Without the midfield composed of Beckham, Keane and Nedved, the combination of Batty and Dacourt did not show an overwhelming advantage.

In addition, Bowyer's defense also greatly limited Giggs' performance, and Poboski did not have much advantage compared with Kewell.

It is no exaggeration to say that Manchester United has encountered the biggest challenge in the past four seasons.

Of course, Ferguson absolutely does not admit this, he has always emphasized in several interviews: "There are still 90 minutes in the semi-finals, as long as the game is not over, anything can happen.

Over the years, we have faced various challenges, but Manchester United have always been victors in the end.

Leeds United players have performed well, but they have no experience in major competitions.

When it comes to the next game, everything will be different. "

In the following time, the atmosphere at the Carrington training base became very oppressive.

From the head coach to the players, they all felt the oppression of being behind by 2 goals.

In the following league, Manchester United encountered "noisy neighbours" Manchester City.

Manchester City, ranked third from the bottom, is deeply mired in relegation. With 3 games left, they are 4 points behind Derby County, who is fourth from the bottom.

If they fail to overtake their opponents in the next three rounds, Manchester City will be relegated to League One after being promoted to the Premier League for just one season.

If this is the case, the slogan of Manchester City's rise can only be a joke.

At the press conference before the game, the question everyone was most concerned about was whether Manchester United would send all their main lineup to stop Manchester City.

Hearing this question, Ferguson snorted coldly: "I will not make special arrangements just because the opponent is Manchester City.

Manchester City will not pose a threat to Manchester United for many years to come, and Manchester United's next task is to concentrate on preparing for the game against Leeds United.

I want to emphasize that Manchester City's relegation has little to do with a certain team.

They were relegated only because they screwed up the whole season. "

In fact, regardless of whether Manchester United is the main force or a substitute, the overall strength is better than that of Manchester City.

As everyone predicted, the two teams fought fiercely from the start of the game.

Andriy Shevchenko scored his 17 goals in the Premier League this season, and Manchester City stubbornly leveled the score before half-time.

In the second half, Butt's long-range shot once again helped Manchester United take the lead. The midfield formed by him and Keane simply messed up the opponent.

Taking the lead again, Manchester United gained possession of the ball. Manchester City obviously consumed too much physical energy in the first half, resulting in a significant slowdown in the offensive and defensive rhythm in the second half.

Coupled with Robben's continuous breakthroughs, Manchester City has no way to let go of the attack.

Manchester United's counter-defense skills are second to none in Europe, and Manchester City's rash approach is tantamount to humiliating themselves.

Just when everyone thought the game would end in the current state, Keane suddenly attacked Manchester City's Harland without warning.

Haaland was about to receive a pass from his teammate, and when he raised his right foot high, Keane suddenly stepped on his knee.

Harland turned half a circle in the air, and his body landed sideways, with a very painful expression.

After Keane fouled, he walked up to Harland, knelt down and whispered something in Harland's ear.

The Manchester City team immediately rushed up and pushed Keane away, and the players from both sides immediately formed a circle and pushed each other.

The referee immediately showed Keane a red card. The captain of Manchester United cursed and walked off the field. Ferguson was flushed with anger. He turned to Beckham and said, "We are all affected by you. We have received more red cards this season than in the previous three seasons combined."

Beckham was confused, what does this have to do with him.

He remembered that Old John had said this, even without his own influence, Kean from another world still kicked Harland.

The old Harland's career basically ended after this season.

His left knee was already injured. Keane's foul not only injured his right knee, but also aggravated the injury of his left knee.

This brutal foul basically established Keane's character as a villain. The FA suspended him for three games and fined him 4500 pounds.

A few years later, Keane revealed many sensitive events in his career in his autobiography, including a malicious foul on Haaland.

After the game, the English media criticized Keane.

Everyone has already guessed that this foul was premeditated, but Keane neither admitted nor denied it in the interview. This unsolved case was not revealed until a few years later in his autobiography.

Even if the autobiography was put on the counter of the library, Keane never admitted it himself.

He said that the reason for writing this way was to sell more copies of his autobiography.

The impact of this foul even surpassed that of the Manchester derby. Many people think that the penalty should be more severe, because such a foul is likely to ruin Harland's career.

Back at the club, Ferguson was very calm: "The media is nothing more than putting more pressure on us, what else can we do?"

In the next few days, Beckham could only be in a hurry.

He is now in recovery training, but has not reached the level of participating in the official game.

You'll have to wait at least another week if you want to compete.

For the next time, he can only stand in the stands like a fan, cheering for his club.

On May 5th, Manchester United and Leeds United launched the second round of the Champions League at home.

In the other semi-final that ended yesterday, Bayern beat Arsenal 2-1 at home.

The total score of the two sides was tied 2-2, but Bayern entered the final with the advantage of more away goals.

After the start of the game, Leeds United did not behave conservatively because of their lead. They still competed with Manchester United for every inch of the field.

Leeds United is a style of rushing and playing. The previous games have proved that once they fall into defense, their performance will be compromised.

The open situation gave both teams a lot of chances.

In the 10th minute, Nedved took the ball all the way to the front of Leeds United's penalty area. He did not wait for the defenders to approach, and immediately fired from a long distance.

Seeing that the Leeds United goalkeeper couldn't touch the football at all, Beckham stood up excitedly.

It's a pity that the shot hit the crossbar, and Beckham sighed like the Manchester United fans around him.

If the goal can be scored at the beginning, the pressure will be transferred to the side of Leeds United.

Pity!
In the rest of the first half, both sides had good chances, but neither of them converted them into goals.

During the intermission, Beckham kept encouraging his teammates: "They obviously can't play football, as long as we can score a goal, they will immediately panic!

Come on guys, we're only 45 minutes away from the final.

The first round was just an accident, they weren't that strong! "

After the start of the second half, Leeds United played significantly more conservatively.

At this moment, even if it is the leading party, the heart will suffer a lot.

Manchester United surrounded their opponents and launched an attack, while Leeds United struggled to support.

This moment is a great test for the psychology of both teams.

Manchester United were eager to score goals, while Leeds United wanted the game to end as quickly as possible.

Beckham believes that such a situation is beneficial to Manchester United. They only need one goal to make their opponents panic.

The long-awaited goal finally arrived in the 78th minute, and it was Pavel Nedved.

The Leeds United players were not far away from the siege, the Czech volleyed the ball decisively, and the football passed through the defenders and hit the upper right corner of the goal.

2 is better than 3!

Nedved's goal ignited the entire Old Trafford stadium, and the fans all cheered in unison.

Beckham excitedly hugged the fans around him. He saw that the waists of the Leeds United players were all bent, which meant that the opponent's morale was extremely low.

Ferguson replaced Keane with Scholes and Heskey with Solskjaer, and Manchester United launched the final counterattack.

In the 84th minute, Manchester United won a corner kick. Stam grabbed the first point and headed the ball towards the bottom right corner of the goal.

The Leeds United players standing on the goal line shoveled the ball out of the penalty area. Bowyer took the ball and immediately kicked the ball forward. Alan Smith was like a small tank, throwing off the defense of Irvine and Gary, and broke into the penalty area alone.

At the critical moment, Van der Sar made a decisive attack, first blocking Smith's single-handed shot, and then shutting down Bowyer's supplementary shot.

In just a moment, Beckham broke out in a cold sweat.

The scene just now was really dangerous. If Leeds United scored in this time period, it would basically kill the game.

Opportunities returned to Manchester United's side. The Red Devils launched a tidal attack on their opponents, and Leeds United's goal was in danger.

In the 89th minute, Manchester United won a corner kick.

Giggs' corner kick was cleared by the defender and the football landed at the feet of Scholes.

Scholes' shot hit Woodgate's head and popped out of the penalty area.

Kewell took the ball and immediately passed it to the frontcourt. Seeing Alan Smith dribbling the ball and rushing to the frontcourt alone, Beckham's heart sank. Gary tried his best to catch up with him.

Just when Beckham had started to build his mind, Nedved chased after him.

The Czech was very strong on his legs and quickly passed Gary.

Seeing this scene, Beckham clenched his fists and stood up from his seat.

On the court, the Czech iron man with his head up and down has an extremely ferocious face.

He gritted his teeth and ran up desperately, catching up with Smith 10 meters before the penalty area.

Beckham's blood was already spurting at this moment, he could see clearly that Nedved was running with his life.

And Smith, who had rushed for a while, was already at the end of his strength, and the bodies of the two began to collide violently.

Hearing that Nedved's breathing was not disordered, Smith panicked, his legs went weak in front of the penalty area, and the ball was cut off by the opponent.

Amidst the tsunami of cheers at Old Trafford, Nedved dribbled forward with a firm eye.

Smith still wanted to chase the ball back, but after running more than ten meters, he jumped up and down on the ground.

This dude is cramping!

Barty stepped forward to defend, Nedved passed the ball to Scholes, and then asked for the ball back.

Dacourt stepped forward to intercept again, and Nedved still did the same, controlling the football in his own hands.

Just when Leeds United predicted Nedved's passing route, the Czech suddenly accelerated forward, and then suddenly kicked 5 meters in front of the penalty area.

Leeds United defenders wanted to step forward to intercept, but it was too late.

The football kicked by Nedved flew into the upper right corner of the goal like a shell.

If Leeds United were petrified and stood still, he would have no time to react.

3 to 3!Manchester United equalized the score after two rounds!
"Yeah~!"

There was a loud noise at Old Trafford in an instant. Ferguson raised his hands and hugged McLaren. Beckham got up and high-fived the fans around him.

Leeds United, which was equalized, collapsed in an instant, and did not organize a threatening attack in the last few minutes.

At the end of the game, Manchester United advanced to the final relying on the advantage of more away goals!
While the other players were celebrating each other, Nedved simply lay on the ground, panting heavily.

After the game, Beckham took the initiative to hug Nedved, and he felt a hot heart.

(End of this chapter)