The legendary Red Devils coach: The road to success

Chapter 228 Giggs's stunning shot

“This is what genius is all about.”

--Inscription

Soon it was the 8th round of the league, and the Red Devils challenged Everton away.

This match was the second time the Red Devils had played against their opponent. Everton had already shown their impressive fighting power in the last match. In order to defeat the opponent, Ferguson used the starting lineup from the previous match, but replaced Giggs and Kanchelskis with the familiar left and right sides, specifically strengthening the straight-line impact on the wing.

The Red Devils played a wonderful team attack in the first half. In the 17th minute, they immediately launched an attack after intercepting the ball in the backcourt. Irwin made a straight pass to Giggs who was cruising to the middle to receive the ball. Giggs passed the ball directly and passed it to his teammate on the left at a small angle. At this time, all the offensive power of Manchester United was concentrated on this side. Hughes, McClair and Giggs formed a strike combination. When Giggs received the ball in the midfield, McClair beside him ran at high speed and ran straight into the penalty area without hesitation. Hughes on his left was not slow at all. After receiving the pass from Giggs, he immediately made a diagonal pass to the corner of the penalty area. These three passes tore open the opponent's defense line at once, giving McClair the opportunity to attack the goal. The Scottish striker dribbled into the penalty area, and the Everton defender could no longer intercept him. He could only watch him form a single-handed momentum. Facing the attacking goalkeeper, McClair easily pushed the ball into the dead corner without hesitation, and the Red Devils led 1-0.

Manchester United led 1-0 in the first half. Everton launched a series of attacks after the start of the second half, hoping to equalize the score as soon as possible, while the Red Devils stabilized the midfield and backcourt, waiting for an opportunity to counterattack. Everton launched several attacks, but none of them posed much threat. In the 68th minute, Everton's attack was resolved in the Manchester United penalty area, and the Red Devils immediately launched a quick counterattack. Webber passed the ball to Kanchelskis in the middle, and the Eastern European Express rumbled all the way to the opponent's hinterland. He first passed an Everton midfielder, then passed the opponent's full-back before entering the penalty area, and then dribbled directly into the penalty area. Everton's center gate was wide open, and the goalkeeper had to attack, but he had no choice but to knock Kanchelskis down. The referee decisively awarded a penalty kick, and Bruce easily scored the penalty kick, and the Red Devils won 2-0.

The Red Devils won five consecutive league games!

Ferguson is now very proud of himself. The Red Devils overcame the difficulties at the beginning of the season and won a series of victories, quickly catching up with the gap in the standings.

So far, after 8 rounds of the league, the top of the standings is Norwich with 19 points, while the second is Blackburn with 17 points. The Red Devils are temporarily ranked third with 16 points.

Liverpool? Leeds United? Arsenal? Tottenham?

None of them have emerged and are still struggling outside the fifth place.

The Red Devils' success came at a very timely moment. The points effectively restored the fans' confidence. After all, the fastest team, Norwich, was only one game ahead of them. Blackburn's crazy spending on buying players had only this much effect. The seemingly luxurious lineup was only one point ahead of the Red Devils.

Norwich is not something Ferguson should worry about. He has great confidence that he can catch up with this team that does not have the strength to win the championship.

The Red Devils are preparing to travel to Europe after a tough victory over the Toffees in round 8.

Because the Red Devils won the League Cup last season, they will compete in the UEFA Cup this season.

On September 1992, 9, the Red Devils faced Torpedo Moscow at home. This was Manchester United's first game of the UEFA Cup that season.

Facing the unfamiliar opponent from Russia, Ferguson was still very cautious. He rotated many players in this game. Walsh started as the goalkeeper, Schmeichel got a rest, Martin got a chance to start as the defender, Webber returned from a long break in the midfield, and Wallace was also sent to the starting lineup. Ferguson put Ince and Giggs out of the starting list, allowing some main players to rest. The Red Devils relied on the rotation of the lineup because Ferguson firmly believed that his team was much stronger than the opponent, and such a starting lineup was enough to deal with the visiting team from afar. The Red Devils took the advantage shortly after the start of the game and kept pressing the opponent's attack. Unfortunately, whether McClair, Hughes or Wallace could not score, they all missed the chance to score. Even facing an empty goal, the Red Devils' attacking players would incredibly miss the shot, just like Hughes shot a plane in front of the goal in the 32nd minute, which caused exclamations and sighs from the fans in the audience.

Ferguson continued to make substitutions in the second half, but the problem of not being able to score goals seemed to be contagious. Manchester United created no less than four excellent opportunities in the second half, but neither Webber nor Wallace, neither Bruce nor Irwin put on their shooting boots.

After the last 90 minutes, the Red Devils could only tie with their opponents 0-0. The whole team wasted nearly 10 shooting opportunities, and naturally they were criticized by Ferguson after the game.

Only the little guy Gary Neville was extremely excited because he got the opportunity to come on as a substitute for the first time and appeared in front of tens of thousands of fans at the Theatre of Dreams.

Many years later, Gary said, "Before the game, Kidd said, 'Little guy, you will be on the roster for this game.' I couldn't believe it at first, but later I was so excited that I would wake up laughing in my dreams. I still remember boasting to my friends that the camera would definitely capture my shot, but I didn't expect that in the second half, the boss (Ferguson) would personally ask me to warm up immediately and get ready to play."

"I was so dizzy that I didn't know what to do with my hands and feet. When I was standing on the sidelines and heard my name on the live broadcast, I almost fainted. I walked onto the court in a daze, and my legs were still shaking when I stood on the right side of the court. I had no idea what to do. I ran a few steps in a daze, and it seemed like the game was over."

Gary said, "It's a great moment for me anyway."

Three days later, the Red Devils will play in the 9th round of the league, away to Tottenham.

In this game, Schmeichel, Ince, Giggs and other three main players who were rested in the middle of the week all started. Ferguson once again sent his son Darren Ferguson to play with Ince. Giggs played well in this game and showed his brilliance. He was very confident on the left, flexible and changeable like a butterfly, almost making the opponent's defender collapse. The Red Devils played an extremely wonderful attack in the first half. A long pass fell to the Tottenham backcourt. Giggs suddenly appeared in the middle. When the opponent's defender was in a hurry, he stretched out his foot like a lightning to grab the ball that the opponent could not control. The Tottenham defender fell to the ground to tackle and intercepted, but was flexibly dodged by Giggs. Then Giggs gently poked the ball and passed through the opponent's defender's legs. When the opponent had no time to turn around, he passed the obstacle directly like a butterfly.

Giggs's dribbling surprised the fans, but the more exciting scene was still to come. Giggs continued to push the ball into the penalty area at a relaxed pace. The other two Tottenham defenders chased him fiercely behind him as if they had just woken up from a dream. The Tottenham goalkeeper also realized that something was wrong and left the goal directly to prepare for blocking. Facing the double attack from the front and back, Giggs flicked the ball to the left with his left foot, and passed the opponent's goalkeeper with a light change of direction. This dribbling was amazingly fast. Although the Tottenham goalkeeper tried his best to block it and even used super technical moves to knock Giggs down directly, Giggs completely saw through his idea and would not let him do so. The two defenders were chasing after him breathlessly and were also deceived by Giggs's change of direction. They even bumped into the goalkeeper and completely lost sight of the target. Giggs, who had passed three people in a row, was still not satisfied. After catching up with the ball in the penalty area, he twisted his body and shot from outside the small penalty area. After finding the right angle, he shot the ball into the net!

This shooting action seemed to replicate the one that Hughes used to score against Barcelona two years ago, but Giggs's gorgeous performance before the shot was much more exciting.

Giggs dribbled past five players like a butterfly and easily scored the ball into the empty goal, showing his amazing talent.

This goal perfectly demonstrates Giggs's "fast" characteristics. He is so fast that it is hard to stop. He is fast in poking the ball, dribbling through the penalty area, changing direction at high speed, and shooting at a small angle. In addition to Giggs's speed, he uses superb feints. Not only does it make opponents take the feints seriously, but also many people are fooled by the subtleties. In addition, Giggs calmly predicted the ball's landing point, quickly inserted when no one was paying attention, quickly and skillfully intercepted the ball after a keen judgment, was bold and calm in the face of tackles, and was efficient and concise when advancing with the ball. These are all extraordinary high standards. In this attack, whether it is time and route, prediction and planning, technology and speed, bravery and calmness, Giggs performed perfectly.

Giggs' performance shocked the White Hart Lane fans. This was a little guy whose breakthrough effect far exceeded that of Gascoigne. Even from the perspective of Tottenham fans, Giggs was a talented and extremely confident young man when he first appeared. Unlike Gascoigne, who looked ordinary and suddenly showed a spark of inspiration, Giggs was a person who made people scream as soon as he received the ball. Even if he didn't receive the ball, he would use running to prepare for the attack, which made the fans pay attention to him. He combined technology and dexterity, and was full of courage and enthusiasm. In the game, he not only showed his speed advantage, but also showed a gorgeous technique. He confidently completed a wonderful attack and scored a classic goal that can be recorded in history.

"What did I see?" said Mitten, the commentator at the scene. "A world-class performance was right in front of me. How did he do it? So easy, so confident, so gorgeous and beautiful!"

Giggs' performance conquered the opponent's fans, conquered the opponent's coach, and conquered the entire Premier League.

Red Devils legend George Best commented on this goal and said, "I was very surprised when I saw this goal, it was so wonderful! Giggs is very elegant and full of energy. He is fast and accurate, and his change of direction is like a ghost. He can easily fool his opponents and complete various sudden stops and turns. I know that his offensive speed is amazing, and once he rushes up, he is like a 250-yard sports car, but what makes me happiest is not to see this, but that he uses his agility and changes to achieve his goals. He has his own unique weapons, more than one, and he also has an excellent sense in front of the goal. He plays so cool."

When asked if this goal could be compared to Best's most exciting goal, Best said with a smile, "It's still a little short". Best said: "Giggs' speed, feints and rhythm are all unparalleled, the only thing he lacks is a bit of dominance. This may be because he is relatively low-key and modest on the field. He is very confident, but what I want to say is that in addition to confidence, he also despises his opponents and has a sense of control over everything. Scoring a goal is not difficult for me, and the same is true for Giggs. I think Giggs's passing the first defender and the crotch pass through the second defender may be a copy of my moves, but I can't be as fast as him. From an offensive point of view, this goal is perfect, full of technical charm, and the beauty of violence and speed."

The Red Devils' frontcourt attack was very gorgeous, but there were many mistakes in the backcourt defense.

Schmeichel was most responsible for this match. He rushed out in the 77th minute and caused huge trouble. He did nothing wrong in attacking when the opponent crossed the ball, but he made a mistake in judgment. After jumping up, he not only failed to catch the ball, but also failed to hit it out in time. This time, the Red Devils' penalty area was in chaos. The Red Devils' defenders were also messed up by Schmeichel, and the ball was missed in the chaos. Several people crowded in front of the goal, but they did not clear the ball in time, and even failed to find the opponent's attackers and make effective blocks. In the chaos, the Tottenham player easily pushed the ball into the goal from the back point, and the Red Devils were finally tied by the opponent.

After the draw, Manchester United's efforts to catch up with the top of the standings suffered a slight setback.