The legendary Red Devils coach: The road to success

"Not winning the top spot has deepened the suspense of the league title race, but Ferguson is still confident and he firmly believes that his team now has an absolute advantage."

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The Red Devils won a crucial away game against their arch-rivals Liverpool, which boosted the morale of the entire team and maintained their lead in the standings.

Many media have already predicted that the Red Devils will win the league title. With less than eight games left, the Red Devils have a relatively favorable schedule. The media have already emphasized that the Red Devils have achieved multiple unbeaten records this season and their stable performance in the past 8 games, believing that "Ferguson's team is now in its best form and is the strongest team in the league."

Manchester Evening News said: "In previous seasons, Ferguson's team was not stable enough. When they persisted to the end of the season, their fighting power had become a spent force. They often played some uncontrolled games and suffered unexpected defeats. But now they are obviously completely different."

The Times attributed part of the reason to the team not having to fight on multiple fronts. "Ferguson now only needs to play well in the league. They don't need to worry about the Cup Winners' Cup, the FA Cup or the League Cup. Without having to fight on multiple fronts, the Red Devils will be the strongest contender for the league title."

The BBC believes that it is more of Cantona's credit. "The biggest change for Manchester United compared to last season is that they have Cantona. The Frenchman's joining has made the whole team relaxed and more in control. They don't need to play to exhaustion like last season to end the game, and they don't need to play until their eyes are white to beat the opponent. Cantona brought dominance and a true championship mentality."

On March 1993, 3, in the 9nd round of the league, the Red Devils challenged Oldham Athletic away.

Oldham Athletic, which has now disappeared from the eyes of Premier League fans, was a strong team in its day with a distinct British style. Their formation was the traditional 442, and their style of play was long rush and short lob; this team had excellent physical fitness, emphasized physical confrontation, had simple tactics, a tough style of play, rough movements, and a defensive counterattack tactic that gave all the Premier League teams a headache.

In this match at Bounder Park, Oldham Athletic not only had the home advantage, they also had the physical advantage, because the Red Devils had just defeated Liverpool three days ago. The Red Devils had consumed a lot of their physical strength, and no one was sure how much they had recovered before going to Oldham.

Although the Red Devils were full of confidence and Ferguson repeatedly emphasized before the game that "we are ready and everything will be fine", the players' expressions could hardly lie and their fatigue was written all over their faces.

At the start of the game, Ferguson discovered a new problem, that is, the muddy and bumpy pitch. His players' ground advancement was hindered and the passing accuracy became very poor. Facing the opponent's tough style, the Red Devils were a little unable to keep up with the opponent's rhythm. Oldham Athletic continued to use hard-core long and short passes, basically not using the ball at their feet, not using ground passes to advance, always using high balls to challenge the Red Devils, always using their bodies and speed to challenge the Red Devils.

In normal form, the Red Devils have the advantage of speed, their techniques crush their opponents and their cooperation is more tacit, but in this game, the Red Devils' starting players could not keep up with the stamina and speed, and the Red Devils could not play tougher football than their opponents, so they could only hold on and compete with their opponents.

In the first half, Oldham Athletic had many chances to cross the ball while having the upper hand in physical confrontation. The two forwards frequently tried to head the ball, which created a huge threat. They crossed the ball from a corner kick in the 24th minute, and there was chaos in the Manchester United penalty area. In the melee, an Oldham Athletic player jumped up after grabbing a position in front of the goal and headed the ball hard into the lower right corner. Manchester United goalkeeper Schmeichel had no time to react and could only watch the ball go into the net. Oldham Athletic 1-0!

The Red Devils were behind in the score and were in a passive position on the field, which Ferguson certainly could not accept. Manchester United then launched a wave of fierce attacks, but the heavy rain during the game made the Red Devils' offensive chaotic. The muddy field and the small stadium caused trouble for the Red Devils. Even if the Red Devils attacked the front court, it was difficult to create opportunities through technology or passing, because the opponent shrank their defense and the penalty area was almost full of people. After taking the lead, Oldham Athletic defended with all their strength and took the initiative to shovel the ball many times, causing the Red Devils to suffer. The Red Devils' closest attack in the second half was in the 78th minute when Irwin sent a throw-in and Bruce headed the ball in the penalty area. Lee Sharpe rushed to the point and shot a ricochet, but the ball hit the crossbar and bounced out.

The Red Devils kept pressing their opponents for nearly 30 minutes, trying various ways to shoot, but still failed to score. At the end of the game, the Red Devils lost to their opponents 0-1.

On the other side of the league, Aston Villa seized this precious opportunity and won the game.

After this round, the Red Devils and Aston Villa both have 60 points, and Ferguson's team still ranks first with the advantage of goal difference. After 33 rounds, Norwich has only 59 points and ranks third.

The 33rd round of the Premier League ushered in the most exciting focus battle, with the leading Red Devils and the second-placed Aston Villa facing off at Old Trafford.

Old Trafford was undergoing expansion at the time, and only left and right seats were available during matches. The stands were also divided by a lot of building materials, which was not very friendly. Villa fans gave up a lot of tickets, which made those Red Devils fans whose tickets were cancelled very happy. Almost all Red Devils fans came to the Theatre of Dreams. They packed the stadium very early, and the stands were full of various placards. The most popular Cantona billboards, and there were also many fans wearing T-shirts with Cantona's fan number and name printed on them, which was comparable to Robson. Among the many placards and scarves, a super huge banner engraved with the Red Devils logo was unfolded with great momentum in the West Stand where the Red Devils fans gathered.

Before the game, the media predicted that this would be a "final" to decide the league champion, but Ferguson intended to cool down the game before it started. He said: "Of course we will beat our opponents at home, there is no doubt about that. But I want to emphasize that this is not a final, and the result of the game does not determine who will win the league championship. This game is important, but the games that follow are also important."

"Is this a crucial game worth 6 points? It will indeed have an impact on the standings, but not as important as the reporters say. We not only have to win this game, but also continue to beat other opponents until we finally reach the top."

Ferguson made a lot of preparations before the game. In addition to studying Villa's latest changes in play, he also specifically analyzed the players and positions of the opponent. The day before the game, Ferguson and the coaching staff discussed the starting lineup and tactical play for a long time. Ferguson also suffered an unexpected blow. He had to take Kanchelskis out of the starting lineup the day before the game. At that time, he gave the reason that "Kanchelskis was a little injured in the last game, and we can't take risks." But many years later, he explained that it was not Kanchelskis who was injured, but that the Eastern European star had a dispute with the local underworld, and he had to allow the player to take leave to call the police to deal with these troubles.

Except for Kanchelskis, Ferguson sent out all the main players. Cantona led the team, Giggs and Lee Sharpe were on the wings, Hughes and McClair were the forwards, Ings was responsible for the midfield and backcourt hub, and the defense line was the five-man combination that had always been relied on: Schmeichel, Parker, Irwin, Bruce, and Pallister.

Villa is also giving their all, and they certainly hope to beat the Red Devils in an upset away game and take the top spot in the standings.

After the game started, the Red Devils were stimulated by the cheers of the home fans and quickly launched an immediate attack. Villa played a defensive counterattack and gradually gave up the midfield area. The Red Devils quickly advanced on both sides and tried several attacks. They took advantage of their speed, delicate skills and tacit cooperation, creating many good opportunities to score. First, in the 13th minute, Ins received Parker's boundary ball on the right and used the change of rhythm to get rid of the opponent's defender, and then accurately passed the ball to the penalty area. Cantona suddenly cut in, accurately received the ball, and after a slight adjustment, he directly volleyed sideways and almost defeated Villa's goalkeeper. Unfortunately, this shot was too straight, and Villa's goalkeeper blocked it directly without moving much. In the 17th minute, the Red Devils launched another offensive. Paster made a long pass in the middle of the backcourt. The ball flew a long distance and then hung into the opponent's penalty area. Villa had many defensive players, but none of them grabbed the ball. Giggs dodged in smartly and headed the ball horizontally. In the melee, Mark Hughes fell to the ground, pushed his opponent away and passed the ball slightly forward. Lee Sharpe rushed in and made a cold shot, but unfortunately, this excellent opportunity was only 8 yards away in front of the goal, and it was almost a win if he shot it, but Lee Sharpe hit it directly.

In the 21st minute, Manchester United launched another fast break from the wing. This time, Giggs accelerated all the way, passed two consecutive defense lines, and made a sudden stop and turn on the opponent's penalty area line to pass the defender who made a flying tackle. Facing the attack of the Villa goalkeeper, Giggs shot with his not-so-good right foot. The shot was not powerful enough and the angle was not good enough, so the opponent's goalkeeper fell to the ground and saved it, and finally wasted this excellent single-handed opportunity.

Giggs missed the chance, and the next unlucky one was McClair. In the 38th minute, he got a chance at the penalty spot in the small penalty area. Cantona sent an assist with his chest, but McClair also played a lonely game. He also had a chance in front of the goal, but he also hit the ball completely wrong like Lee Sharpe.

Villa did not just defend. After stealing the ball in the midfield, they would also launch a simple and quick counterattack, which also caused a lot of danger to Manchester United. In the 23rd minute, Villa Knox made a long pass from the side backcourt, and Newton rushed into the Manchester United penalty area at high speed, almost making a single shot; in the 31st minute, Villa also made a long pass from the backcourt, this time it was an overhead ball from the middle that flew to the hinterland of Manchester United, which also caused a crisis in Manchester United's penalty area. In the end, Bruce rushed to clear the ball out of the baseline in advance, giving the opponent a corner kick. In the 33rd minute, Villa made a cross from the corner kick, and Manchester United did not keep a close eye on the opponent in defense, and the opponent's midfielder List got the ball in position at the penalty spot and headed the ball. Schmeichel reacted in time to save the ball.

The two sides were tied 0-0 in the first half.

Ferguson did not have many tactical points to remind the players during the halftime break, he just told the players to seize the opportunity. After the start of the second half, the rhythm of the game was exactly the same as the first half. Both sides played very fiercely and the offense and defense transition was very fast. Not long after the start of the second half, Villa attacked Manchester United's penalty area and was cleared, but then they intercepted the ball in the midfield area and immediately launched a counterattack. Villa's attack quickly shifted to the left, and Sharp's position on the Manchester United side did not have time to retreat, and the opponent cut open a gap. Villa player Newton suddenly shot from the edge of the penalty area. The ball drew a reverse arc, bypassed Schmeichel's fingers, and flew into the dead corner.

The Red Devils are trailing 0-1!

The Red Devils could not accept falling behind in the score. Ferguson commanded the players to press forward and attack fiercely, setting off wave after wave of attacks. After Manchester United missed another chance to score by hitting the goal frame in the 60th minute, the Red Devils continued to attack in the 80th minute. McClair dribbled the ball near the bottom line on the right side of the front court to get rid of the opponent's defender. When the opponent was blocking him, he knocked the ball with his heel and Irwin accelerated to meet the ball and immediately made a cross from the bottom. The cross was intercepted by the opponent's defender at the front point, but it still bounced and flew to the back point. Cantona accurately judged the landing point and headed the ball back to the front of the goal. Villa's defensive attention was taken away. Mark Hughes shook his head fiercely in the melee, and the ball went into the net. Villa's goal was finally captured!

The Red Devils finally shook hands with their opponents and each got one point.

The Defenders followed up with Ferguson and asked him if he was worried about not winning the league title because he missed too many chances in this game. Ferguson was very impressed by the logical thinking ability of these reporters, but he didn't want to suppress his anger at all. He mocked them very loudly, "You are definitely not a Manchester United fan. I don't know what the point of your worry is, because Manchester United fans are looking forward to the championship. You should worry that not having a good meal tonight will lead to the extinction of life on Earth billions of years later. We are still at the top of the standings. Isn't the result of the game favorable to us?"

"The subsequent games will be difficult? Is it easy to play against Villa? An obvious fact is that Villa consumed a lot of physical energy in this game. They may have problems in the next game or the game after that. Why are you worried about our team?"