The legendary Red Devils coach: The road to success

Chapter 247 The Great Bruce

"No one could have imagined that at the most desperate moment of the game, it was a defender who scored two goals in a row to help the Red Devils complete a stunning reversal. At this moment, Bruce is the god in the hearts of all Red Devils fans!"

--Inscription

A draw with Arsenal was not what Ferguson wanted, but it was not the worst. The Red Devils still had hope, with seven games left in the league.

Ferguson said: "I firmly believe that we have to continue to win, we have to do our best, then we will have a chance. I have repeatedly warned everyone that we must not be like last season. If we want to win the championship, we must beat all the opponents we face. At this time, we must persist. I repeatedly reminded them and talked to the players one by one in person."

Ferguson said: "Of course I know that putting too much pressure on players may also lead to collapse, but I firmly believe that the tightrope must be tightened now. I always believe that a team that can win the championship must have a steel will and be able to overcome all difficulties."

On April 1993, 4, the Red Devils played away against Norwich.

This is a battle between two teams in the top group of the standings. It is a must-win game. Losing or drawing will be meaningless for both the Red Devils and Norwich.

Norwich played at home and launched a massive attack from the start. The Red Devils were not to be outdone and started to deploy a strong attack formation in the midfield, fighting against the opponent. Not long after the first half started, Schmeichel threw the ball to start a fast break after defusing the opponent's attack in the penalty area. Cantona received the ball near the center circle and immediately passed it. This pass penetrated the opponent's defense. Giggs ran all the way and got the ball earlier than the opponent's defender who returned to defense, then passed the goalkeeper alone and easily scored the ball into the empty goal.

The Red Devils became more confident after taking the lead. Pallister cleared the ball in the penalty area and passed it to the opponent's hinterland. Kanchelskis made a transition from the midfield, and Ince passed it to Giggs who was running wildly. It was Giggs again. The Red Devils' magic wing advanced at high speed. The opponent swarmed up and wanted to foul. Giggs immediately passed it to Irwin who came in from behind. Irwin passed the ball through the opponent's defense. This time it was Kanchelskis who ran all the way to win the race. He also passed the opponent's goalkeeper in the penalty area and easily shot the goal. The Red Devils led 2-0.

The quick and concise counterattack, the lightning-fast understanding, the concise and deadly charge, the direct single-knife assassination...the Red Devils were completely unstoppable.

With two goals in hand, the Red Devils played with more confidence. In the second half of the first half, Ins intercepted the ball in the backcourt and immediately launched a counterattack. Ins pushed forward, changed direction and dribbled past two opponents, then used a clever feint to avoid the opponent's flying tackle and ran more than 50 yards to the opponent's penalty area. When the opponent's goalkeeper left the goal, Ins did not take the credit and flicked the ball to Cantona with the outside of his foot. Cantona easily outflanked and changed the score to 3-0.

Despite a second-half goal from former Manchester United player Robins, the Red Devils prevailed.

The Red Devils won, Villa also won the game, and they are still 1 point ahead of the Red Devils.

In the 4th round of the Premier League on April 10, the Red Devils faced Sheffield Wednesday.

Ferguson sent out the strongest starting lineup: Schmeichel guarded the goal, Parker, Irwin, Bruce and Pallister formed the back line, Ince, McClair, Giggs and Sharp formed a highly offensive midfield, and Cantona and Mark Hughes partnered up in the front line.

The Red Devils players were full of fighting spirit at the start of the game, and they formed a formation to attack the opponent, quickly pushing the game to a fast-paced climax. The opponent Sheffield Wednesday team stabilized the defense line and did not let go of the Red Devils to attack. They retreated in the midfield early, and arranged the defense line tightly in the core area of ​​the backcourt, tying up the fence and not giving the Red Devils too many opportunities.

The Red Devils passed the ball on the periphery most of the time, and several crosses into the penalty area were resolved by the opponent. Cantona's retreat did not take away the opponent's defender, and Ince's long-range shot did not score... Ferguson used Sharp to play on the left and Giggs on the right in this game. He originally wanted Giggs to bully the opponent's weaker left back, but with Sheffield Wednesday's full-line defense, Giggs did not have enough space to sprint, and there was no one-on-one opportunity. Cantona, Giggs, Hughes, Sharp... Almost every Red Devils frontcourt player was caught in a melee with the opponent, and Cantona, the best in the attacking group, received the most attention. Although he tried to get rid of the two opponents in the first half, passed two good balls to his teammates, and also formed a good shooting opportunity, unfortunately McClair and Giggs both missed.

It was already difficult to play against the opponent after they retreated, and the opportunity that finally came was wasted. Ferguson was extremely anxious watching on the sidelines.

The game changed suddenly in the second half. The Red Devils continued to attack actively, while Sheffield Wednesday retreated to defend.

In the 55th minute, McClair dribbled the ball from the midfield all the way to the opponent's penalty area arc, passed the ball to the right, Giggs set up a cannon, Cantona's lob was too straight and was easily confiscated by the opponent's goalkeeper. Then Ings intercepted the ball in the midfield and advanced, but no teammates got a position in the penalty area. Under the siege of the Red Devils, all kinds of methods failed to work, and the defense line inevitably made mistakes. Sheffield Wednesday seized the weakness and launched a sneak attack. In the 65th minute, Sheffield Wednesday intercepted the ball and immediately counterattacked. Thomas dribbled the ball forward, and after two simple passes, the ball went directly to the penalty area.

The Red Devils had pressed too far forward, and the defenders were too late to chase back. When Norwich striker Swift controlled the ball and entered the penalty area, only Ins had arrived in the penalty area. Ins, who was anxious and desperate, made a flying tackle and tackled the opponent's striker and the ball together. The referee directly awarded a penalty kick!

Sheffield Wednesday's Sheldon scored in one fell swoop, and the Red Devils fell behind 0-1!

This was like a thunderclap at the Theatre of Dreams. Even Ferguson did not expect the situation to take a turn for the worse so quickly and his team would fall into defeat.

Ferguson made a decisive substitution at a critical moment. He replaced right back Parker with the old captain Robson, and changed to an extreme 3-325- deployment with three defenders: Ince and Robson in the midfield, and Giggs, Sharp, Cantona, McClair and Hughes in the frontcourt.

After Robson came on, he quickly stabilized the midfield, completely freeing up Cantona and McClair. The Red Devils continued to press forward, the formation changed to three forwards, and the style of play became more three-dimensional and varied. Cantona's position was advanced, and he was more threatening. He passed the ball on the left and passed it past the opponent's defender. Unfortunately, Hughes didn't head the ball. Then Irwin tried a powerful shot from the edge of the penalty area, but it was barely saved by the opponent's goalkeeper. Cantona received the pass from his teammate and passed two people to Giggs' position. But unfortunately, Giggs was in poor form today, and his cross was easily cleared by the opponent; the Red Devils continued to press, and Mark Hughes got the ball at the top of the penalty area, and then passed three people and entered the penalty area, but the shot was saved by the opponent's goalkeeper.

The Red Devils won a corner kick, and the game had entered the 85th minute. Ferguson made a desperate move and sent Bruce to the front court to play as a center forward. Seven Red Devils players rushed into the opponent's penalty area to compete for the header. Except for Giggs and goalkeeper Schmeichel at the corner kick point, the Red Devils almost left other players behind.

Giggs took a corner kick from the right side, and the ball flew directly to the front point outside the small penalty area. There was no Sheffield Wednesday player defending this area, and they all huddled tightly in the small penalty area. At this time, a burly figure rushed out, and the Red Devils' sword-wielding guard Bruce stepped forward. He twisted his body and headed directly into the goal. This position was 15 yards away from the goal, which was too far for a header, but Bruce's header was aimed at the blind spot and hit a parabolic arc. In a flash, Bruce's header made the opponent's goalkeeper and defender unable to stop it, and they could only watch the ball fly straight into the net along the inner edge of the crossbar!

1-1, the Red Devils equalized the score!

Ferguson waved his fist on the sidelines and then called on the players to continue attacking and win the game.

The Red Devils quickly launched a new offensive. Ins rushed the ball in the midfield and rushed to the front of the Sheffield Wednesday penalty area, where he was knocked to the ground and won a free kick. Robson's free kick flew to the right side of the opponent's penalty area, and the Red Devils player headed the ball back to the small penalty area. In the chaos and tension, Mark Hughes was a step too late and failed to grab the landing point. The opponent's defender barely stretched his foot to clear the ball and kicked it out of the baseline.

The Red Devils got another corner kick. Irwin's cross flew into the penalty area, but Pallister hit the ball hard. Soon, the Red Devils made a comeback. Giggs made a cross from the left at a 45-degree angle. Mark Hughes bent over and shot in the crowd, but the opponent's goalkeeper held it firmly. Then Giggs launched an attack from the left again, and his cross from the bottom was cleared by the Sheffield Wednesday defender. Under the siege of the Red Devils, the opponent almost turned the clearance into an own goal, but the ball finally hit the post and went out of the bottom line.

The Red Devils got another corner kick. The game's extra time reached the 7th minute. The referee kept looking at the watch and the game was about to end.

Giggs sent a corner kick, and the opponent's defender in the penalty area successfully cleared the ball and headed it out. Giggs then received the ball and made another cross, but the ball was still cleared out and fell to the feet of Pallister on the right. Pallister made a cross from the right, and the ball flew into the penalty area for the third time. The Sheffield Wednesday defender still controlled the landing point, but he wanted to head the ball farther but failed, because Pallister's pass was not strong, so he could only head the ball a little outside the penalty area. In the melee, Bruce started quickly in the penalty area, grabbed the key landing point, and headed the ball into the net with a header.

2 is better than 1!

Incredible goal, incredible comeback, incredible victory!

Ferguson jumped up from the coaching booth and rushed to the sidelines. He jumped like a child, waving his hands high. Assistant coach Brian Kidd ran out, jumped three feet high, shouted loudly, and then knelt on the grass... The players on the field were also cheering and celebrating wildly; the bench was also boiling, everyone was shouting and shouting, merging with the fans' voices.

The referee blew the whistle and the game ended.

The Times special edition praised Bruce's miraculous performance. They said, "We witnessed a miracle today. Manchester United won this crucial victory incredibly. How great is Bruce's contribution to the Red Devils? Real Red Devils fans don't need to list facts and provide evidence. He is the most critical cornerstone for the Red Devils to establish a dynasty and the biggest contributor to Ferguson's Red Devils winning the first league. We even want to emphasize that Cantona is great enough, but so is Bruce!"

Many years later, Bruce recalled with emotion: "This is the most unforgettable game in my career. I will never forget it. I have scored many goals for Manchester United, but none of them is as important as this goal. Did I save the championship chance at the last moment? No, no, no, I just want to say that helping the team win is the most exciting. This is crazy, I can't believe the final process."

Bruce has always emphasized that he still had infinite strength at the time, which enabled them to persevere to the end and wait for the miraculous opportunity. Bruce said: "What I am most proud of is that no matter whether we are behind or wasting opportunities, no matter whether we make consecutive mistakes or are in a slump, the fans will always encourage us and always give us strength in various ways. This is a victory dedicated to the fans!"

It was not until after the game that the Red Devils fans learned that their superhero Bruce played with an injury and persisted to the end. Before the game started, the team doctor also advised Ferguson not to include him in the squad.

Bruce said: "I was still injured, with injuries to my knee and thigh. I was advised not to participate in the competition, but who would give up?!"

The Red Devils won the game, but Villa only drew. The Red Devils overtook their opponents and regained the top spot.

The reversal against Sheffield Wednesday can be said to be the most crucial game of the Red Devils this season, and also the most magical battle of the team. The Red Devils fought bravely and finally won the reversal, fully demonstrating the team's courage to never give up, the indomitable will, and the fighting spirit of the whole team.

The game lasted 7 minutes of extra time, and some people later regarded the extra time as Ferguson's way of interfering with the referee. A reporter said with certainty, "This is the origin of 'Ferguson time'!"

They all forgot the time wasted due to the referee's injury and the substitutions made by both sides.