The legendary Red Devils coach: The road to success

Chapter 249: Final Winner

"The league title was won by Ferguson and his team ahead of schedule. The Red Devils' hard work throughout the season finally paid off at this moment, a rich reward."

--Inscription

The Times' prediction was very accurate. Ferguson's team didn't even have to wait until the end of the league to see the dawn of winning the championship.

On April 4, the Red Devils traveled to Selhurst Park to challenge Crystal Palace.

This match is the 40th round of the league and is also a hotly discussed match by the media. The media is not concerned about the strength of the two teams, but whether the result of the match will affect whether the championship will be announced in advance.

As long as Ferguson's team wins, and if Villa, who is 3 points behind, loses to Oldham Athletic in the subsequent game, the Red Devils can lock up the championship in advance!

Ferguson specially convened a meeting with the players. He did not do more mobilization, but instead relieved the pressure on the players.

Ferguson said: "We don't need unnecessary excitement now, and we can't lose ourselves just because the championship is in sight. There are still three games left in the league, and we have a 3-point advantage. Considering the opponents in these games, we are likely to win the championship in advance. But this is not what we should all consider now."

Ferguson also specifically asked Cantona to share his thoughts based on his championship experience while playing for Leeds United.

Cantona said, "I have experience in winning championships. It's too simple, you just need to do your best and don't need to care about other things. Leeds United ranked first at about this time last season. At that time, we were always focused on our own games. Wilkinson always reminded us that the team's goal is to win this game and the next one. Now I want to say that this is our best period. We don't need to be nervous, let alone have too much pressure. Even if we lose this game and Villa wins, we will still be ranked first. We don't need to doubt ourselves. The pressure now is on Villa. They are not sure even if they win all the games, and now they have reached the peak of their intensity. I think they will most likely collapse."

Before the game started, Ferguson came to the locker room to do a pre-match mobilization, "Every step we take now will be engraved in the history of the team. This is the great road to the championship, and we will achieve this goal. The league championship is waiting for us, but before that, please put away your pride. I can feel everyone's urgent expectations and the desire for victory, but we will fight instead of accepting the surrender of others. We need a victory instead of waiting for others to give up. Dull results. Now is the time for us to release pressure and show our courage. We need to win and fight. Why can we lead the standings? Why will we win the championship? Because we are the best team, we have the best players, the strongest fighting spirit, and the strongest combat effectiveness. We will win the championship and we will reach the most glorious peak of the Premier League!"

The Red Devils players were screaming with excitement; they had been looking forward to the championship for too long, especially the crushing defeat in the last few games of last season, which the players had always regarded as a shame. They had always wanted to wash away the humiliation of failure with the championship honor.

Ferguson sent out all his elite players, and Robson was included in the substitute list after recovering from injury. When the commentator read Robson's name, all the Manchester United fans cheered. The Red Devils immediately launched a massive attack on the opponent at the beginning of the game, even at the opponent's home court. The players of Crystal Palace fell into a completely passive situation before they had a firm foothold. Not only were they completely confused tactically, but their strength was not enough to withstand the offensive frenzy of the Red Devils, and they could only shrink in the backcourt to be beaten. The Red Devils' multiple sharp attacks in the first half caused continuous chaos in front of the opponent's goal. The Red Devils were close to scoring in the 8th minute, but unfortunately this opportunity in front of the goal was wasted. After missing many opportunities in front of the goal, Cantona received a pass from his teammate on the left and dribbled all the way to the edge of the penalty area in the 15th minute. He made a cross after faking to avoid space. This cross flew directly to the unguarded area at the back of the penalty area. The Red Devils striker Hughes met the ball and shot directly, and the ball blasted into the near corner of the opponent's goal like a cannonball, and the Red Devils led 1-0.

This goal showed the speed of Manchester United and the characteristics of fast attack. From Cantona's pass to Hughes's heavy shot, and then the ball flew into the net, the opponent's goalkeeper had no time to react.

The Red Devils still maintained a fierce offensive with a ball in hand. In the 19th minute, Manchester United launched an offensive on the left. Giggs dribbled the ball through the defense, bravely crossed the opponent's shovel, and then snatched the ball from another defender of the opponent, and then dribbled the ball all the way to the bottom line. When approaching the opponent's bottom line, Giggs made a cross with his left foot, and Hughes was in position in front of the goal and shot. Unfortunately, the shot was too straight and hit the opponent's goalkeeper.

In the 31st minute, Cantona showed his outstanding skills to the fans. He started the attack on the left side just after passing the center line. After receiving the ball, he did not move forward as usual, but made a long pass. Cantona is not only an attacker, but also a midfield master. His precise long pass found Ings in the middle, and Giggs crossed and interspersed with Ings in time, taking away a defensive player. On the other side, Hughes suppressed the opponent's other central defender at the farther end. Crystal Palace had only one defender who reluctantly followed Ings and had lost his effective position. Ings dribbled the ball all the way without hesitation. Even if the Crystal Palace defender caught up to him, he still carried it hard and rushed into the penalty area regardless of anything. Ings' body is not a vegetarian. The opponent's defender followed him helplessly, and the close interference did not take any advantage, and he could not even stretch his foot to shovel the ball. Ins rumbled into the penalty area like a chariot. Facing the opponent's goalkeeper who came out to intercept him, Ins swung his leg slightly and made a cold shot, helping the Red Devils to break through the opponent's goal again.

Ins perfectly illustrated the bestial midfield style, and even if the opponent's defenders hung on him at the beginning, they could not stop his ferocious minions.

The Red Devils lead 2-0.

In the second half, Manchester United slowed down the tempo a bit, and the opponent began to find some counterattack opportunities. However, in front of Manchester United's full-strength defense, especially when Ince and McClair were very focused on protecting the midfield and backcourt, Crystal Palace only had some sporadic counterattacks that hit Manchester United's penalty area, and ultimately did not pose any threat. Instead, Manchester United once again strengthened the midfield and frontcourt interceptions and the midfield pressure after 65 minutes, taking the initiative on the field back. In the 71st minute, Manchester United attacked from the right, Kanchelskis and Cantona teamed up to pass the opponent's two midfielders, dribbled into the opponent's penalty area, and shot hard before the Crystal Palace central defender came up to intercept. The error was less than 10 centimeters away from the goal, and the ball just flew out of the goal. In the 79th minute, Manchester United took a corner kick. Bruce, who has excellent heading ability, rushed to the front of the opponent's penalty area and shot, but was blocked by the opponent's goalkeeper with his quick reaction; in the 84th minute, Manchester United made a long pass in the middle, Cantona received the ball at the top of the penalty area in the frontcourt and made a horizontal pass, but Hughes was a step late and shot wide... In this way, Manchester United controlled the rhythm and maintained the advantage until the end of the game.

Manchester United won 2-0 and won five consecutive league games.

Manchester United now has a 6-point advantage and is waiting for Villa's league results.

On May 5, title rivals Aston Villa could no longer withstand the pressure and suffered a shocking defeat at home to Oldham Athletic.

In this way, Ferguson's team has now secured the league championship two rounds in advance with its points advantage!

champion!

we are the champion!

On May 5, Old Trafford was specially opened to broadcast the match for the Red Devils fans who were concerned about the Villa match. As soon as the result of the match came out, the Red Devils fans were immediately excited! All the fans were extremely excited, and the fans waiting outside the stadium also burst into huge waves of cheers. Not only that, this place soon became a gathering place for the Red Devils fans, and the fans who flocked to the stadium directly filled the entire Old Trafford stadium and the square at the entrance.

Some celebrating fans were singing the Manchester United team song, some were shouting "We are the champions!", some were raising their hands up with champagne and beer, some were setting off fireworks and fireworks, and some were making banners that read "Manchester United is the league champions!" and displayed them. More people were immersed in joy, crying, laughing, singing and dancing to vent their passion.

Villa lost, they couldn't withstand the pressure and sent Manchester United to the throne!

The competition is so direct, so intense, and so cruel that the Red Devils no longer need to win seven games in a row. The opponents can't stand the pressure in front of the Red Devils' tenacious fighting spirit and have collapsed in advance.

Ferguson never felt that fate was favoring him. The only thing he firmly believed in was to fight hard, break through the siege, and climb to the top through his own efforts.

Just a month ago, Ferguson was still struggling in anxiety. His team encountered obstacles even in the last 10 rounds. After the Red Devils were defeated 1-0 by Oldham away, they suffered three consecutive draws, which suddenly allowed their opponents to overtake and lead the standings.

But the Red Devils were resilient and tenacious enough to persevere even in such an unfavorable situation, and after defeating the powerful rival Norwich, they completed this wave of 5 consecutive victories with great momentum, achieving a counterattack in the league points. In contrast, the former leader Norwich fell into a slump early, and Villa was lucky enough to take advantage of the Red Devils' four-game losing streak to overtake, but they were unable to maintain their form. Villa soon lost its hold after taking the lead, and played poorly in the last few games of the season. They did not have the demeanor of a strong team at all, so it was normal for them to lose games and points.

The battle for the Premier League title is like a battle among heroes. If you don't advance, you will retreat. While the Red Devils have won five games in a row, their competitors have missed opportunities one after another. Whether it is Villa, Norwich or Blackburn, they have all fallen into various difficulties, failed to show enough resilience, and failed to keep hope to the end.

The entire Premier League is now in shock. Everyone is staring in amazement at the Red Devils as they boost their morale and charge forward. Everyone is watching the Red Devils forge ahead and win battle after battle. Everyone is watching the red overlord sweep away all enemies in the Premier League and climb to the top of the Premier League championship like a whirlwind.

The Red Devils won the championship two rounds in advance, which was a shocking news to the entire English football world. The ambitious Ferguson finally fulfilled his promise, and the Scottish bull that had been mocked by the British media finally broke through the fence. The proud Red Devils coach now led his team to the throne, and everyone had to express congratulations.

Ferguson's goal was finally achieved after such a long and arduous season.

Ferguson led the team to show extremely strong fighting capacity even when the team was not optimistic about the team's development after repeated changes of leadership. He started by preparing for the season when the situation was not good at the start and made bold signings when the core players were injured successively. He decisively gave enough trust and support to Cantona when he introduced him. He remained patient when the team suffered many defeats and gained confidence when they suffered three consecutive defeats. He also endured the final stalemate when the team took the lead repeatedly.

Even though the opponents were chasing him all the time, and even though the pursuers once took the lead, in this final burning journey, his Red Devils won five consecutive games, thus winning the league championship ahead of schedule and achieving the final success.