The legendary Red Devils coach: The road to success

Chapter 243 It’s a pity

"The sign of a mature team is often not to fight hard on multiple fronts, but to be able to release pressure appropriately when under pressure, shake off the impact of failure, and explode in adversity."

--Inscription

In the 28th round of the Premier League, the Red Devils traveled to Elland Road to challenge Leeds United.

This is a battle of roses that has attracted the attention of the whole of England. Not only will the freshest and hottest Cantona face his old club, but Strachan will also face his old club. There is another key point to watch in the match between Manchester United and Leeds United, that is, the top of the standings will face the defending champion.

The fans of Leeds United felt like they had experienced a world of difference. They were still competing with Manchester United for the championship at this time last year, and after a long battle of more than a dozen games, they had the last laugh and won the English League One championship last season. But after the start of this season, the title of defending champion seemed to have overwhelmed the team, or the players had lost more fighting spirit and desire. The authority of coach Wilkins was naturally strengthened, but he made a number of wrong decisions in succession when recruiting players, which led to the team's strength not being enhanced, but instead caused conflicts in the locker room. Not only that, Strachan, the biggest contributor to the championship, has seen a sharp decline in form and ability this season, while core striker Chapman has suffered a serious injury and has not been able to return for a long time. The forward problem that had been worrying about last season has continued to this day, but once it breaks out, it will show great destructive power. Not only that, Cantona, as a very talented striker, was frozen out by the coach this season, and the conflict with the team was on the verge of breaking out. In the winter, Leeds United suffered a series of defeats. Not only did the team fall out of the top of the standings early, they even fell into the bottom half. At this time, Leeds United suffered injuries to the main players in multiple positions. Cantona was also dismissed because of a conflict with the coach. When he left Elland Road, he made rude remarks...

Before the game, many Leeds United fans deliberately made banners scolding Cantona as a "traitor", but some of Cantona's die-hard fans also displayed signs thanking the Frenchman.

The atmosphere at the beginning of the game was destined to be a magnificent and fierce game between the two teams. The Red Devils played away, but the Red Devils, who had an advantage in points at this time, had no idea of ​​shrinking their defense. They started to attack their opponents and seize the initiative in the midfield. Leeds United was certainly not conservative in their home court. They also frequently played fast attacks and agile pressing, fighting hard with the Red Devils in the midfield. Although Leeds United retained most of the championship team, their performance this season has regressed. The Red Devils quickly took the advantage and created continuous shooting opportunities. In the 10th minute, Manchester United broke through the middle. After getting the ball in the opponent's penalty area, Mark Hughes used the rhythm of swinging to gain space. When he turned and controlled the ball to pull out the angle, he immediately shot and almost broke the opponent's goal. Unfortunately, the opponent's goalkeeper fell to the ground and saved it; in the 17th minute, Leeds United launched a threatening attack. Speed ​​intercepted the ball in the midfield and quickly passed it to McAllister. McAllister dribbled the ball along the left side of Manchester United and passed it to Chapman in the corner of the penalty area. The Leeds United striker volleyed the ball in front of the goal, but Schmeichel saved it steadily. After the 30th minute, Manchester United occupied the midfield advantage, and the ball possession rate once reached more than 60%, so Leeds United had to retreat on all fronts. In the 33rd minute, Manchester United made a cross from the left, and McClair headed the ball in the penalty area, but unfortunately it was off target; in the 37th and 41st minutes, Manchester United launched consecutive attacks from the left, and Cantona made two accurate crosses, but unfortunately Hughes and McClair both missed the excellent scoring opportunities in front of the goal. In the 44th minute, Manchester United besieged the opponent and took many long shots outside the penalty area, forcing the opponent's defense line to shrink into the penalty area. Mark Hughes pressed in the Leeds United penalty area at this time, but he also missed the gift from the opponent's goalkeeper. At that time, the Leeds United goalkeeper wanted to use a fake move to deceive Hughes, but this fake move could not deceive Hughes and was directly intercepted by the Manchester United striker. But after Hughes got the ball, he kicked it away facing the empty goal, missing the easiest scoring opportunity.

The two sides tied 0-0 in the first half. After the start of the second half, Leeds United recovered and launched a series of powerful attacks. McAllister's organization in the frontcourt was very accurate and sharp, and Batty and Chapman both had many shooting opportunities. The Red Devils' defensive pressure increased greatly for a while, but fortunately Schmeichel performed well and played bravely, and finally kept the goal. After 60 minutes, the situation reversed and the Red Devils began to counterattack. After Wallace was substituted, he continuously attacked the opponent's right rib through fast breaks and passing. Leeds United's previous strict defense against Cantona led to the emptiness of this side. Now the defense line has been penetrated again and again, and it is possible to lose at any time. In the 63rd minute, Wallace dribbled the ball and passed the opponent's central defender. After entering the penalty area, he almost scored with a powerful shot, but unfortunately the shot was too straight and was saved by the opponent's goalkeeper. In the 66th minute, Cantona got a one-on-one opportunity. He also easily defeated his former teammate Speed, dribbled into the penalty area, and then kicked a powerful shot into the upper left corner of the opponent's goal. This shot was finally saved by the opponent's goalkeeper and failed to score. In the 68th and 69th minutes, Manchester United took consecutive corner kicks, but Bruce only got one chance and failed to press the line. The header flew high.

The two sides fought back and forth and the game was very intense, but neither side was able to score, and the game ended with a score of 0-0.

It was a pity that we didn't beat Leeds United, but Ferguson had no time to feel upset as he immediately directed the team to start a new game.

On February 1993, 2, the Red Devils played in the fifth round of the FA Cup. Their opponent was an old acquaintance, Sheffield United, who had just played a game in the league.

The Red Devils also played with all their main players in this game, and the situation on the field was always active. Sheffield United was also passive from the beginning. But unlike the previous game, Manchester United did not play enough threatening attacks and did not create many scoring opportunities. Because Ferguson had hidden Cantona, Manchester United's frontcourt was a bit like blooming but not bearing fruit in this game. Giggs and Kanchelskis kept crossing the ball, but it felt like thunder without rain. In the 17th minute, McClair received a cross in the opponent's penalty area and made a cold shot with a half turn. This was almost the best chance for Manchester United in the entire first half. Unfortunately, this shot with a distance of less than 9 yards had neither power nor angle, and was easily caught by the opponent's goalkeeper. Manchester United controlled the initiative on the field, but could not stop the opponent's simple counterattack. In the 29th minute, Sheffield United played a simple long pass and attacked directly from the backcourt. The ball passed the midfield and fell into the Manchester United penalty area. The Sheffield United striker directly inserted into the empty space and forcibly tore through the Red Devils' defense line, and then volleyed and scored.

Manchester United is trailing 0-1.

In the second half, Manchester United replaced several main players and tried to quickly equalize the score, but the defense made the mistake of being too aggressive again and was penetrated by the opponent's almost identical counterattack. It was also a long pass from Sheffield United's backcourt, and it was also a loophole caused by Manchester United's defense being too forward. It was also a high-speed attack by the opponent's attacking players and Manchester United had no defenders to block them. In the end, the opponent scored a goal.

曼联55分钟已经0比2落后。弗格森随后指挥红魔加大压力，把对手全部压回到禁区一带防守，并且通过冲吊传中在72分钟由布鲁斯扳回一球，曼联1比2暂时落后。

In the following time, Manchester United continued to attack, McClair shot continuously, and Hughes also fired several times in the penalty area, but none of them posed much threat. Giggs's breakthrough was difficult to pass several levels, and the opponent did not leave him enough space. The same was true for Kanchelskis, who also lacked enough sprint distance. Manchester United's fierce attack forced 10 opponents to return to the penalty area at one time, but the siege did not result in a goal. Manchester United did not give up until the last moment. In the 85th minute, Manchester United made a cross from the right side, and Giggs shot at the back point, but unfortunately it flew away; in the 87th minute, Manchester United advanced in the middle, and Ins' long shot in the penalty area was blocked. In the 89th minute, Ins broke into the opponent's penalty area. When he was about to pass, he was pulled down by the opponent's defender, and the referee awarded a penalty. Under pressure, Bruce actually missed the penalty kick. The ball he shot hit the post and bounced out, and Manchester United missed the last chance to equalize!

In this game, the Red Devils eventually lost 1-2 to Sheffield United and were eliminated from the FA Cup.

The FA Cup loss to Sheffield United was a bit of a destiny. They had just finished a league match before this one, and Ferguson's team won that game, but in this one, it seemed that they had used up all their luck in scoring goals, and none of the players had any luck in scoring goals. After wasting countless goals, Manchester United's attackers could only hand over the victory.

On February 2, in the 20th round of the Premier League, the Red Devils faced Southampton at home.

In this game, the Red Devils lost the ball first. The two central defenders, Pallister and Bruce, who had been starting for a long time, were too tired and their condition declined. They were unable to block the opponent's forward in the penalty area and were forced to get rid of by the opponent, and then a volley hit the dead corner and went into the net. The Red Devils, who were behind, launched a counterattack and took advantage of an opportunity to defend the opponent's free kick to play a textbook counterattack. Schmeichel rushed out and hugged the opponent's free kick and immediately threw it to his teammates. Lee Sharpe made a precise through ball in the backcourt. Cantona quickly pulled to the left and received the ball and continued to advance all the way to the edge of the penalty area. He attracted three opponents to double-team and passed a straight pass to Giggs. This was a very comfortable ball at his feet. Giggs dribbled into the penalty area at high speed and easily pushed the ball into the goalkeeper to score. The Red Devils tied the score 1-1.

After the equalizer, the Red Devils were greatly encouraged and continued to launch a fierce offensive. Mark Hughes headed the ball to the top of the opponent's penalty area, and Giggs made another ghostly run, led the ball into the penalty area and faced the goalkeeper directly, and easily shot into the dead corner with his left foot, and the Red Devils reversed the opponent 2-1!

No reversal, no red devil!

In the 30th round of the league, the Red Devils faced Middlesbrough at home.

In this game, Giggs continued his excellent form. In the first half, he quickly sprinted through the left side and turned this side into a smooth corridor. In the 32nd minute of the first half, Giggs advanced into the penalty area at high speed and blasted open the opponent's goal with a heavy shot, and the Red Devils took the lead 1-0!

In the second half, the Red Devils continued to attack. In the 57th minute, Giggs was brought down while dribbling the ball on the left. Manchester United won the game when Irwin showed his excellent free kick skills. He took the free kick from a superb distance 40 yards away from the opponent's goal. A high-speed spinning arc ball went directly into the opponent's goal!

After leading by two goals, the Red Devils played more freely. Mark Hughes dribbled the ball near the midline and got rid of the entanglement of two opponent players. He passed the ball like a scalpel to cut through the opponent's defense. Cantona understood the situation and started to get the ball in time. He made a series of fake moves to pass the opponent's defender. After entering the penalty area, he shot hard, but the opponent's goalkeeper saved it. Cantona was very aware. He immediately kicked the ball again and sent the ball into the opponent's net. The Red Devils won 3-0!

After scoring the goal, Cantona sincerely thanked Mark Hughes, waved to the fans and thanked them for their support.

French newspaper L'Equipe sent reporters to watch the game. After returning, they published a long report describing and commenting on how Cantona was welcomed at Manchester United, how he enjoyed his leadership, how he showed top-level skills and abilities on the field, and how he led the team to victory. They wrote romantically, "We even felt that this was a love affair, a passionate love affair between Cantona and this club."