The legendary Red Devils coach: The road to success

Chapter 281: Reaching the League Cup Final Again

"Of course Ferguson wants the League Cup. This season, Ferguson is determined to command the team to win more championships, build a truly dominant team, and strive to win more honors. Which club's fans would dislike having too many trophies?"

--Inscription

On February 2, the Red Devils played in the first leg of the League Cup semi-final. Manchester United's opponent Sheffield Wednesday played very well this season, and they finally ranked 13th in the league standings, surpassing Liverpool and Chelsea.

This semi-final was very intense. Ferguson's Red Devils played their best and gave it their all, while the opponents, based on their home court, rushed and attacked fiercely, with no intention of retreating conservatively. Even though they were gradually suppressed by Manchester United on the field, they continued to launch counterattacks and kept trying to regain the initiative.

In the first half, Ferguson launched the offensive first. In the 23rd minute, Giggs made a cross from the left, and Cantona headed the ball in front of the goal. The Sheffield Wednesday goalkeeper reacted quickly and saved it in time. In the 31st minute, Sheffield Wednesday made a straight pass from the middle, and Manchester United center back Bruce cleared the ball in advance. Ince immediately launched a counterattack in the backcourt. He moved to the left. Giggs accelerated after receiving the ball, and made a two-on-one cooperation with McClair to pass the opponent's midfield interception, and then immediately dribbled the ball to the Sheffield Wednesday penalty area. When the opponent's center back came out to intercept, Giggs made a cross from the bottom, and Hughes shot in front of the goal, and Manchester United led 1-0.

Sheffield Wednesday, who were behind, launched a series of fierce attacks in the remaining time of the first half, and Manchester United's defense was under great pressure. Fortunately, Schmeichel played well and withstood all kinds of shots from the opponent. In the 43rd minute, Sheffield Wednesday made a quick advance. After Pros got the ball in the penalty area, he shook Bruce away and shot directly to the lower left corner. Schmeichel flew to save the ball and barely blocked it out of the goal.

In the second half, Manchester United intensified the competition in the midfield and the counterattack after stealing. Sheffield Wednesday continued to attack fiercely, hoping to equalize as soon as possible. In the 51st minute, Sheffield Wednesday sent a throw-in from the frontcourt. Midfielder Thompson made a cross from 8 yards outside the penalty area. Pros headed the ball near 12 yards in front of the goal. Schmeichel was well prepared and saved it steadily. In the 73rd minute, Sheffield Wednesday tried long shots in succession, but they were all blocked by Manchester United defenders. Manchester United made a quick counterattack in the 78th minute. Hughes retreated in front of the penalty area to meet Schmeichel's long pass, and then immediately passed the ball to McClair who was running at high speed. The Scottish shooter shot the ball, but unfortunately the powerful shot slipped past the goal and was only a hair's breadth away from scoring!

In the subsequent games, both sides fought back and forth, and the offense and defense were very fierce, but Ferguson's team was stronger and performed more stably. In the end, they defeated Sheffield Wednesday 1-0 and won the advantage of advancing to the final.

Then came the fifth round of the FA Cup, where the Red Devils travelled to challenge Wimbledon. This season, the Wildcats had an excellent record, and they had performed steadily throughout the league. The simple tactics of long passes and lobs were perfected, and the simple style of play also contained great power. Before this match, Wimbledon was in the top six of the standings, and not only did they have no worries about relegation, they also had enough ideas to compete with Manchester United for promotion to the FA Cup.

Ferguson's team had made tactical preparations early and sent out all the main players. Although the opponent's small home stadium limited their performance and the fans of Wimbledon were very rough and violent, not friendly at all, Ferguson's team still played like a fish in water and very freely.

Manchester United players knew that to deal with a team like Wimbledon, they had to clamp down on their midfield and stop their long passes. In addition to interfering with the passer and blocking the passing angle and line, it was also crucial to hold off the opponent's center forward in the backcourt and prevent them from grabbing the second point. Not only that, Ferguson's team knew that they had to disrupt the opponent's rhythm and the feeling of passing from the beginning in order to completely eliminate the hidden dangers.

Manchester United's players rushed to the opponent's midfield at the beginning of the game, and soon the opponent was in a mess, and the opponent's passing accuracy was completely destroyed. After occupying the midfield advantage, Manchester United's own rapid advancement, especially the wing attack, was very successful. In the 31st minute, Giggs quickly crossed the ball from the wing, assisting McClair to score smoothly in front of the goal, and Manchester United led 1-0; in the 39th minute, Manchester United advanced in the middle, Ince and Keane supported each other and pushed the offensive forward, Cantona dribbled the ball straight into the penalty area, passed an opponent's defender and shot to score, Manchester United extended the score to 2-0.

The first half ended with Manchester United leading by two goals, basically securing the victory. After the start of the second half, Wimbledon launched several consecutive attacks, using long passes from the midfield to hit Manchester United's penalty area many times. The entire Manchester United team maintained a very tight formation and was very focused on defense. Bruce and Pallister won the opponent in every header and resolved the threat in the penalty area in time. After stabilizing the defense, Manchester United did not want to defend all the time, but instead pressed out to the midfield to actively steal the ball and compete for the initiative in the midfield. In the 59th minute, Manchester United's midfielder intercepted the ball in the middle and immediately launched a quick counterattack. Keane dribbled the ball in the middle of the midfield, Kanchelskis responded on the right, and then quickly crossed the ball from the bottom. Forward Hughes rushed to the penalty area before the opponent's central defender, and shot at the front point, giving Manchester United a 3-0 lead.

In the remaining time, Manchester United continued to play steadily and finally defeated the opponent by three goals and returned with the victory.

After this game, the Red Devils once again won three consecutive league games and seven consecutive wins in all competitions. Ferguson's team seemed unstoppable.

After the FA Cup match, Manchester United will play in the 2th round of the Premier League on February 26 against West Ham United.

There were many hot topics before the game. The first one that cannot be avoided was the last season of English Football League One, when Ferguson's team was beaten by West Ham United and eventually lost the English Football League One championship that was within their grasp. The Red Devils were very unconvinced by the defeat, and Ferguson said to the media fiercely at the time, "We will remember this!"

The second gimmick is the hatred of the Hammers against Manchester United. Ince, who caused a scene in the training ground in order to leave the team to join the Red Devils, is a scar that West Ham United cannot face. Many Hammers diehards still cannot get rid of their hatred and still clamor to kill this "nigger" at Upton Park, and also clamor to smash the evil club Manchester United.

Ins hit back strongly before the game: "I transferred from West Ham United to the Red Devils, and I don't owe West Ham anything. My performance during my time at West Ham has already demonstrated my dedication and responsibility. I don't have any intention of belittling West Ham United, but I have never been afraid of the insults and threats from some extreme fans. I will continue to work hard on the court and fight for my own goals!"

Ferguson said: "We don't owe West Ham United anything. Everything is done in accordance with the contract. I want the players to remember our experience here in 1991-92. It was not a pleasant process. We endured all the humiliations and various blows, which ultimately led to the failure of our season. We must respond to this now, and a victory is our goal."

Ferguson started Ings, but Giggs, who was slightly injured, was not in the starting lineup. All the main players were sent out for other positions. The Red Devils players, who were irritated by the crazy taunts and insults from West Ham fans before the game, were already furious. They actively fought with their opponents in the midfield at the beginning of the game, actively strangled them in the midfield, and then pressed their opponents to attack after taking the initiative. West Ham United still hoped to take the initiative at home, but they were quickly broken up by the powerful opponents. It was difficult to grab the ball in the midfield, so they could only shrink their defense.

Manchester United's attack was very sharp from the start. In the 11th minute, Keane made a two-on-two with Cantona after stealing the ball on the right side of the midfield, and then dribbled the ball straight to the opponent's right bottom line. When entering the opponent's hinterland, Keane made a diagonal through-pass to the penalty area, quickly passing the opponent's three consecutive interceptions on the line. The West Ham United goalkeeper could not attack and could only watch the ball come to the back post. At this time, Manchester United striker Mark Hughes arrived in front of the goal just in time and easily shot the ball into the goal!

West Ham United, who were behind, then launched a free kick attack. The free kick fell into the penalty area. In the melee, West Ham United's center forward jumped high and headed the ball towards the Red Devils' goal. Red Devils goalkeeper Schmeichel was highly focused and jumped up to block the ball just before the goal line. Then the Red Devils' defense line was bombarded by West Ham's right cross again. This time the cross reached the back of the Red Devils' penalty area. Right back Irwin made a mistake and failed to hold off the opponent's forward. As a result, the opponent got the ball 5 yards in front of the goal and kicked it in!

West Ham United drew 1-1 with the Red Devils!

Manchester United was a little tired in the second half, and the Hammers played even more bravely after equalizing. They launched a long pass counterattack, and the ball was passed directly into the Red Devils' penalty area. The Red Devils defender passed the ball back to the goalkeeper, but Schmeichel did not adjust it well and passed it to the opponent in a panic. West Ham United immediately counterattacked on the spot, Bruce could not stop the opponent's bottom line, and Pallister and Schmeichel could not block the opponent's forward's sudden shot.

The Red Devils lost 1-2 to West Ham and were overtaken by their opponents.

Schmeichel's mistake stunned everyone, but the Red Devils, who had seen big scenes, would not be confused by it. They quickly calmed down and launched a fierce offensive. Manchester United's offensive became more and more sharp, and the rhythm became faster and faster, which made the opponent breathless. In the 72nd minute, Irwin passed the ball in the frontcourt, and Keane responded in front of the opponent's penalty area line. After fierce competition, he won the ball and quickly passed the ball to McClair in the penalty area. The Scottish striker leaned sideways to hold the opponent's defender, and after a slight adjustment, he shot hard, but unfortunately the ball was blocked by the opponent's defender; in the 77th minute, Manchester United made a corner kick, Bruce headed the ball in front of the goal, but unfortunately he did not hit the target; in the 83rd minute, Manchester United made consecutive long shots outside the penalty area, but they were all blocked by the opponent's dense defenders, and the bombardment of artillery fire did not succeed. In the final stage of the game, Manchester United pressed forward and Bruce also pressed over half the field to act as a center forward. In the 89th minute, Manchester United advanced in the middle. Irwin's overhead pass was sent to the right. Keane arrived just before the ball went out of the baseline and immediately made a cross. The West Ham United goalkeeper fell to the ground to save the ball but failed to catch it. The Red Devils' substitute striker Thornley rushed to make a supplementary shot at high speed, but was blocked by the opponent's goalkeeper. In the melee, the ball was blocked and did not fly into the goal, but rolled in the area 8 yards in front of the goal. At this time, the West Ham United penalty area was in chaos and everyone was in the melee. Ins, who was under great pressure, was extremely brave at this moment. He risked breaking his foot and the possibility of his ribs being broken, rushed into the penalty area at high speed, and kicked the ball directly into the opponent's goal!

In a flash, the Red Devils drew 2-2 with West Ham United.

After scoring the goal, Ins ran wildly. This unruly tough guy kept waving and shouting to celebrate this crucial goal.

In front of tens of thousands of fans of his former club, in an arena full of malice, Ins was so tough, so unruly, and so happy!

He showed the bloodiness and ruthlessness of the Red Devils players, showed the spirit of never giving up until the very end, and showed the tenacity to fight to the end, and finally helped the team get a point from the away game and escape unscathed.

After this game, the Red Devils continued to lead the standings, with 29 points after 68 league games, ranking first among the 22 teams. On the other hand, Blackburn Rovers was arranged to play a series of tight games. They fought for 30 league games and their points rose to 61 points, but they were still 7 points behind the Red Devils, and they had played one more game.

On March 1994, 3, Ferguson's team went to the second game of the League Cup semi-final. Facing the challenge of Sheffield Wednesday, Ferguson sent out a mixed starting lineup of main players and substitutes, and still had a great advantage. After the game started, the Red Devils quickly launched a fast break, Giggs and Kanchelskis flew on both wings with great power, Cantona, Keane and McClair played smoothly, scoring goals one after another, and finally helped Manchester United easily beat the opponent with a score of 2-4 and successfully advanced to the final.