The legendary Red Devils coach: The road to success

Chapter 288 Successfully Defended the Title

"Ferguson's team successfully defended the title two rounds ahead of schedule in the second season of the Premier League. The team's strength has been further improved, and in the eyes of the media, it has become the strongest overlord and the most prosperous giant in British football."

--Inscription

Manchester United won three games in a row and the Red Devils looked unstoppable, while their title rivals Blackburn Rovers made mistakes under pressure and suffered another upset the next day, losing 1-2 to Coventry City.

The game has been played so far, the situation has been revealed, and the championship battle has been settled. Manchester United has 40 points after 88 games, while Blackburn has only 41 points after 83 games, 5 points behind Manchester United.

This means that Manchester United successfully defended the title two rounds in advance and won the Premier League championship this season!

Even if Manchester United loses all of its remaining two games and Blackburn wins its final opponent, the championship will still belong to Manchester United!

Manchester United's winning streak showed the team's tenacity and real strength under pressure. In these rounds of games, the Red Devils did not win the opponents easily. In some games, they were even in a passive situation and fell behind in the score. However, the Red Devils always maintained a strong fighting spirit and great confidence. Although Manchester United wasted a lot of opportunities in these games, both Hughes and Cantona missed the chance to score in front of the goal, but the team was still able to seize the key opportunities, especially the opportunities when the opponent made consecutive mistakes. Whether it was against a mortal enemy or a rival in the same city, whether it was in the lead or behind, Ferguson's team played domineeringly and showed an indomitable momentum, and finally won consecutive key victories.

Blackburn Rovers, on the other hand, were in high spirits, catching up and even surpassing Manchester United after falling far behind. They had a chance to stay ahead in the standings, but they failed to seize it. Instead, they were exhausted after a wave of consecutive wins and lost their composure under pressure. When Manchester United beat Manchester City, they failed to beat Southampton in the most crucial match, which caused their morale to drop rapidly at the end of the season and they could no longer maintain their winning streak.

Under the pressure of the Red Devils' winning streak, Blackburn started to make mistakes, losing points in the three most crucial games and failed to hold on until the last minute.

In this way, Ferguson led the Red Devils to win the toughest challenge. This strong defending champion team withstood the test of slackness and complacency, withstood the challenge of strong opponents, and won the Premier League championship one round ahead of schedule.

Ferguson led the Red Devils to successfully defend the Premier League title for the first time, once again making a significant contribution to the book of honors.

In the home game against Southampton, which was the 41st round of the Premier League, the Red Devils had already won the championship in advance. Although there was no award ceremony for the championship trophy before or after the game, the Red Devils fans, who had already been immersed in joy, flocked to the game, hoping to celebrate the victory of defending the title at home.

Before the game, the atmosphere at the Theatre of Dreams was almost boiling. Red Devils fans were everywhere singing, waving Red Devils scarves, calling out the players' names, celebrating the team's victory and Ferguson's successful defense of the title. A T-shirt made on short notice was very popular. The theme was Ferguson happily holding up the Premier League trophy, but the image was greatly exaggerated. Almost all the fans in Manchester flocked to the Theatre of Dreams. In addition to celebrating in the square in front of the gate, they also drove cars for a parade. Many fans drank, sang, and waved homemade models of the championship trophy. They were intoxicated with self-satisfaction and enjoyed the joy of winning the second Premier League championship.

Among the fans at the scene, a 7-year-old kid named Hunter was the happiest. He was selected to participate in the dressing room preparation ceremony before the game. Ferguson's rules are of course very strict. When Hunter came to Manchester United's dressing room and heard the players were as quiet as chickens, he thought something had happened. Later, he learned that Ferguson asked the players to try their best before the game and not to just get by because they won the championship in advance. "We must live up to those fans who rarely come to visit the stadium, and even more so, to those diehard fans who love and support us all their lives, including this little guy!"

Hunter was pleasantly surprised to receive from Ferguson a football signed by all the team's main players, a set of Cantona jerseys he specifically requested (Cantona also gave two sets of small jerseys and a pair of shoes), goalkeeper clothes from Schmeichel, Premier League trophy models from Giggs and Beckham, a commemorative album signed by captain Robson, and more than 20 sets of championship scarves. What made him most proud was that before the game, Hunter took a group photo with the whole team and had a special souvenir.

Ferguson rejected Bruce's request to play in this match, as he thought the core central defender was injured when he played, so he should not try his best in this match. Schmeichel was also injured in the previous match and was rushed to the hospital for examination after the match. It was confirmed that he had a broken leg. He could not play in this match, but he insisted on coming to the scene to watch the game. Ferguson sent out the full main lineup in this match. Walsh started as the goalkeeper, Keane was arranged to play as a central defender and partner with Pallister, Irwin and Parker guarded the two flanks, and the midfield was composed of Ince, Sharp, Giggs and Kanchelskis. Cantona and Hughes were still in the frontcourt.

The Red Devils were full of momentum in this match, while the opponent had no desire to win and played the game a bit casually. Manchester United attacked the opponent right from the start. In the 12th minute, Giggs quickly advanced along the left side and rushed to the opponent's backcourt. When he was blocked by two people, he immediately passed the ball to Keane. Keane completely got rid of the role of central defender at this time. He continued to rush after receiving the ball in the frontcourt. He even dribbled past the opponent's flying tackle and rushed to the bottom line of the opponent's penalty area before passing it back to Giggs in the corner of the penalty area. Giggs then made a cross and sent the ball to the front point in front of the goal. The Southampton goalkeeper stretched out his hand to block the shot. Cantona just got in front of him and grabbed the ball directly. Then he dribbled the ball to avoid the opponent's goalkeeper and shot at the empty goal, but this shot was kicked by him and flew directly out of the bottom line!

Cantona himself couldn't believe it. He stood there with his legs apart for a long time, touched his chin with his hand, and was unable to come back to his senses for a long time, wondering why he had missed such an opportunity.

Manchester United continued to attack. In the 31st minute, Giggs came back from the left. He rushed forward with the ball at high speed. When facing the opponent's defender, he directly passed the opponent with a fake move. Then he played a two-on-one cooperation with Ince and entered the opponent's penalty area. When Giggs dribbled the ball to the left side of the penalty area, he moved two steps sideways to find space, and then immediately shot hard. This powerful shot went straight to the near corner of the goal, but unfortunately the opponent's goalkeeper was fully focused and flew to save the ball in time, barely blocking it. In the 37th minute, Manchester United made a corner kick, Cantona jumped up at the corner of the small penalty area and headed directly for the goal, but unfortunately the header was only 10 centimeters away from the upper right corner of the goal. Bruce, who was watching the game on the bench, slapped his thigh and exclaimed that it was a pity! In the 41st minute, Manchester United attacked from the middle. Cantona dribbled the ball and attracted two defenders to intercept it. Then he passed it to Ince, who then moved it to the left side of the penalty area. At this time, Keane rushed over again. Taking advantage of the opportunity when no one was blocking him, Keane shot hard to the upper right corner of the opponent's goal. This shot was powerful, but the Southampton goalkeeper was well prepared. Keane's shot did not hit a really tricky angle and was finally saved by the opponent's goalkeeper.

In the second half, the Red Devils continued to strengthen their attack, while Southampton continued to defend. In the 55th minute, Manchester United attacked from the left midfield. Giggs passed the ball diagonally after crossing the center line. Cantona chested the ball and dodged the opponent's steal, then passed the ball to the right. Ins on the right received the ball and advanced more than ten meters, then passed it directly to Irwin who was already at the bottom line. Irwin immediately advanced to the opponent's penalty area after receiving the ball, and quickly passed it to Kanchelskis in the penalty area after seeing the opportunity. The Ukrainian Express found the right time and space when the whole team pressed forward to attack, and quietly ambushed near the upper corner of the opponent's penalty area. At this time, he received the pass from his teammate and shot the ball directly to the near corner of the opponent's goal. The power of this shot and the tricky angle caught the opponent's goalkeeper off guard, and even if he fell to the ground quickly, he could not stop the ball from entering the goal.

Manchester United took the lead 1-0. The Red Devils fans cheered and sang the championship song over and over again, bringing the atmosphere in the Theatre of Dreams to an exciting climax.

Southampton, who were behind, then launched several attacks, but none of them posed much threat. In the 64th minute, the strongest attacker of the Saints, Le Tissier, received the ball with his back to the goalkeeper in the Manchester United penalty area. He wanted to break through Pallister's close defense, but the ball was stolen by Keane in time. In the 67th minute, Southampton's midfielder made a long pass to the Manchester United penalty area. In the melee, Manchester United goalkeeper Walsh took the initiative to attack and knocked the ball away with both hands. After Manchester United withstood several waves of attacks from the opponent, they continued to launch a strong offensive. In the 77th minute, Cantona passed the ball from the wing to assist, and Hughes quickly rushed to the middle to make a flanking move and scored a goal, helping the team expand the score to 2-0.

The subsequent game was uneventful and the Red Devils defeated their opponents with a score of 2-0!

On May 5, Manchester United played against Coventry at home. Ferguson's team enjoyed a rare courtesy in this game. The opponent's coach personally led the team and all lined up to welcome the champion team to the stadium. Manchester United's starting lineup was also very interesting. Ferguson specially arranged for the legendary captain Robson to appear first, so that the old captain could enjoy the praises specially given to him by the fans. When Ferguson appeared on the field in a suit and full of energy, the fans in the stadium burst into even louder cheers. Almost all the fans in the stadium cheered Ferguson's name, accompanied by the never-ending song of "Champion, Champion".

This match was the last one of the season. Ferguson's team still played very actively. The players launched a fierce attack from the beginning, which quickly put Coventry into a passive defensive situation. Before the match, the Sun reported that "at least six of Ferguson's main players went out to drink to celebrate the championship. It is very likely that they were drunk and lost their way during the game." However, during the game, the commentators did not see any confusion among Manchester United players, let alone the drunken state mentioned by the Sun.

Cantona, the superstar who has won three consecutive league titles since 1992, was still very active. In the 23rd minute of the first half, he entered the opponent's penalty area, turned his back to Kanchelskis' cross from the right, and after interfering with the opponent's central defender, he made a golden overhead kick when the opponent's header flew straight into the sky. This wonderful overhead kick aroused the exclamation of the fans in the stadium, and the ball flew directly to the right side of the opponent's goal and almost flew into the opponent's goal, but unfortunately the Coventry goalkeeper was very alert and jumped sideways in time.

In the second half, Ferguson sent Dublin off the bench, hoping to further increase the attack. The opponent continued to defend and counterattack, and did not take the initiative to attack. In the 52nd minute, Manchester United midfielder Lee Sharpe rushed forward with the ball at high speed. When he reached the area about 20 yards from the top of the penalty area, he made a two-on-one cooperation with Cantona, and then continued to receive the ball on the right and rushed into the penalty area. Seeing the gap in front of the penalty area, Lee Sharpe decisively passed a diagonal ball. Dublin successfully beat his opponent to score, but unfortunately his flying shovel shot did not kick the ball. After being blocked by the opponent's central defender, the ball hit Dublin's hand and bounced into the goal.

Dablin was ecstatic. He thought he was going to help the team achieve a classic victory. However, he didn't expect that before he could celebrate, the referee ruled that it was a handball and the goal was invalid.

Manchester United quickly got rid of the unpleasant mood of having the goal blown off and continued to attack. In the 69th minute, Manchester United's Lee Sharp made a long pass directly to the opponent's penalty area in the frontcourt. This high cross was headed back to the middle by McClair at the back post. Dublin shot the ball outside the penalty area. The shot was powerful, but unfortunately it was too straight and the opponent's goalkeeper fell to the ground to save it. Although the Coventry goalkeeper saved the shot, the ball came to Keane's feet on the left. Keane made a supplementary shot in front of the goal and scored the ball into the opponent's goal. Manchester United led 1-0!

Keane’s celebration did not last long, as his goal was again disallowed by the referee due to being an “offside goal”!

This was a real misjudgment, and it was also a definite wrong decision. Ferguson on the sidelines was furious and immediately went to negotiate with the fourth official, "Fuck, is the referee blind?! This is not a good ball, how could Keane be offside?!"

The fourth official also knew that he was in the wrong and could only respond with a few words, trying helplessly to comfort the furious Red Devils coach.

In the final period of the game, the entire Manchester United team began to feed the ball to old captain Robson. In the 79th minute, Robson found an opportunity on the right side of the penalty area and shot hard, but unfortunately the volley went astray. Robson could only face his teammates' questions with an awkward smile.

The referee finally blew the whistle and the game ended. The Theatre of Dreams then held a grand championship award ceremony, and Manchester United fans all over the world witnessed this moment together, "Manchester United is the champion!"