The legendary Red Devils coach: The road to success

Chapter 321 The Defeat of the Double Red Club

"Liverpool defended the honor of their home ground. They brought a painful defeat to Manchester United, dealt another blow to Manchester United in their title race and also gave the Red Devils more topics to talk about in their battle against each other."

--Inscription

The Red Devils then faced the strong team Liverpool again. This was a focus match in the 34th round of the league, and Manchester United visited Anfield.

Ferguson naturally couldn't help but bring up the past. "I've said before that when English teams come to Anfield, it's often like being strangled by the neck and unable to breathe, and they can only let their opponents do whatever they want. As opponents of the Red Devils, every time we come here, we feel the greatest hostility from the opponent's entire club and fans, but Manchester United will never be afraid."

The media is more concerned about whether Liverpool will cause trouble to Manchester United at home and slow down their charge to the top of the standings. The Daily Mirror said, "Liverpool lost the possibility of winning the championship early, but they still have the temperament of a strong team. At Anfield, against the strongest overlord in the league, this strong team should be able to play at its best."

Sky Sports said, "Whether or not it is to help Dalglish and his Blackburn Rovers, Liverpool, as the now downtrodden side in the Red Devils derby, will definitely go all out in this game. They certainly don't want to see their arch-rivals showing off their power in their home stadium, let alone see their arch-rivals win and directly overtake the points leader."

Liverpool's home stadium was packed with people on Sunday, and the sound was like thunder. Liverpool fans kept singing team songs, constantly shouting insults and provoking opponents, and wantonly exerting pressure on Manchester United players. Manchester United was indeed fearless, and Ferguson even walked into the stadium with a smile.

Liverpool sent out their best players and Manchester United also fielded their strongest lineup.

At the beginning of the game, Ferguson found that his players were not strong enough. He probably knew that it was because the game against Tottenham was too intense and the players' physical strength had not recovered. This situation made him very worried. In the Manchester derby, any weakness and deficiency will be seized by the opponent and will be continuously expanded.

The game soon entered a fierce battle stage. Manchester United and Liverpool both deployed their formations in the midfield area and fought hard in the midfield, hoping to suppress their opponents in the confrontation and seize the initiative.

Liverpool was aggressive and took the initiative after about the 10th minute. Manchester United was gradually suppressed in their midfield and backcourt, and was forced to play a defensive counterattack. As the offense and defense changed, Manchester United began to fall into a passive situation and the pressure on the defense line increased. Liverpool played very well today. Almost the whole team tried their best. Every second, every inch of grass, and every person began to output almost crazy. This kind of fighting spirit and attitude is very, very rare.

Liverpool's attack became more and more fierce. In the 17th minute, they quickly attacked after stealing the ball in the midfield. The long pass caused chaos in Manchester United's penalty area. Liverpool midfielder Reece Knapp took advantage of the melee in front of the Red Devils' penalty area to control the ball again outside the penalty area, and then dribbled the ball straight into Manchester United's penalty area. Manchester United's defense missed a man, and no one at the top of the penalty area could withstand the opponent's impact. He cleverly shot into the far corner, scoring Liverpool's first goal, and Manchester United fell behind 0-1.

Liverpool continued to launch a fierce attack. In the 26th minute, Fowler and Collymore cooperated and entered the penalty area. He shot directly and almost expanded the score. Fortunately, Schmeichel reacted quickly and saved the ball in time. The Red Devils then fought back. In the 29th minute, Giggs broke through the left side. He passed a Liverpool midfielder and a right back and went straight to Liverpool's penalty area. Unfortunately, his feint was seen through when he tried to pass the Liverpool central defender. He was frustrated in the physical confrontation and failed to break through. His attack was disintegrated by the opponent.

Manchester United continued to attack in the 31st minute. This time McClair retreated to the middle to support the opponent. He withstood the opponent's midfield defense and passed the ball to Kanchelskis on the wing. Kanchelskis accelerated on the right sideline and passed the opponent's left back with a feint. Unfortunately, there were too few Manchester United teammates in the opponent's penalty area when the cross was made, and the final shot was not made.

Liverpool still had the advantage in attack and defense. They played more running and pressing, which made Manchester United's midfielders make many mistakes. Some of the mistakes were very low-level face-to-face passing mistakes, which made Ferguson shake his head on the sidelines. In the 33rd minute, Liverpool's midfielder intercepted the ball and attacked directly, almost making a single shot opportunity. Schmeichel stepped out in time to resolve the crisis; in the 38th minute, Liverpool intercepted the ball again in Manchester United's backcourt, and then directly passed the ball to the penalty area. Collymore headed the ball at the back point. This unguarded header almost broke Schumi's ten fingers. Fortunately, the Dane flew up at the last moment, and his fingertips just touched the ball and lifted it out of the goal frame. In the 43rd minute, Manchester United attacked from the left. After many transfers and passes in the frontcourt, the full-backs and all the midfielders pressed the frontcourt, but in the end Hughes' shot on the edge of the penalty area was blocked by the Liverpool defender, and the offensive spark was extinguished. Instead, the opponent seized the opportunity to counterattack. McMaraman received the ball in the midfield. He was also a fast horse. When he dribbled the ball straight into the Manchester United penalty area, the Manchester United central defender and full-back could not keep up with him. Bruce, who was left behind, stood in the penalty area to prepare for the final interception, but McMaraman shot directly after entering the penalty area. This shot was originally kicked in a hurry and did not have effective force, but it hit the Red Devils defender Bruce and refracted, and finally changed direction and flew into the net!

Liverpool beat Manchester United 2-0!

The goals scored by McManaman and Reece Knapp made Liverpool fans very happy, especially since they were both talents from Liverpool's youth training. The Premier League media also tactfully declared that Liverpool's youth training was full of talents and young players were shining. This old powerhouse will make great progress and the hope of re-emergence lies tomorrow.

In contrast, the defeated Manchester United had no highlights throughout the game, and the youth training that had been highly praised before was seriously overshadowed by the opponent. At that time, the Red Devils' youth training was not as popular as Liverpool's. The Red Devils' Class of 92 did not become a well-known brand, but the young people of Liverpool had a strange name of "Liverpool's fledglings".

Indeed, Manchester United's youth training is also excellent, but they are mostly supporting roles, unlike Liverpool, who can truly be regarded as the main force. Lee Sharpe and Giggs are the main players of the team wherever they are placed, but their positions and performances are not enough to become the most dazzling superstars in Manchester United. Their role is not as irreplaceable as Liverpool's core players such as Fowler, Reece Knapp, McManaman, etc. And Scholes, Butt, Beckham and Gary were not enough to become the main players of the team at that time.

After the game, the Times discussed the comparison between the youngsters of the two teams. Commentator Tomby said: "Liverpool's youngsters have already shone in the temple of Anfield, but Ferguson's Manchester United only has Giggs as the only youngster. The other youngsters seem to have disappeared."

Ferguson's plan to actively grab points suffered a major blow after two consecutive defeats. Manchester United encountered strong opponents in the final part of the season, which further increased the difficulty of the team's original plan to catch up with the opponents.

After one crisis comes another, the Red Devils faced another strong opponent after playing against Tottenham and Liverpool, this time it was Arsenal.

Ferguson was confident about this battle, because he knew that Arsenal's tactical play had reached a dead end, and his team had more ways to defeat the enemy. Not only that, Manchester United also had enough time to rest before the game, and Lee Sharpe also announced his return from injury before the game, which gave Ferguson more cards.

Lee Sharpe is a thorn in the eyes of Arsenal fans. The young man who once played for Arsenal in the past started the game, which strengthened the Red Devils' lineup. The Red Devils washed away the decadence, and Mark Hughes's wonderful performance cleared the haze over the Theatre of Dreams. Mark Hughes has fully recovered his good form and is fully committed to physical confrontation, not afraid of the opponent's steel defense.

In the first half, the Red Devils attacked fiercely. Mark Hughes took advantage of the chaos to shoot in front of Arsenal's goal to open the scoring for the Red Devils. Then the Red Devils' attacking quartet of Cole, Hughes, Kanchelskis and Lee Sharpe worked together to play a very wonderful cooperation. Lee Sharpe shot hard on the turret set up by Hughes and scored, changing the score to 2-0. Lee Sharpe's "swing dance" familiar to the Red Devils fans once again reappeared in the Theatre of Dreams. The young player who stunned Arsenal with a single shot has now become a midfielder rotation for Manchester United, but this still won't stop him from shining again.

In the second half, the Red Devils persisted in attacking. Giggs made a solo breakthrough and his shot was saved. Kanchelskis made a follow-up shot from the right. His action and reaction were both excellent. His shot was at a very small angle and the opponent's goalkeeper was completely unable to react. The ball flew straight into the dead corner of the back post and went into the net. In the end, the Red Devils won 3-0.

At the end of March, the Red Devils had 35 points after 73 games, still 3 points behind Blackburn, who had played one game less.

Manchester United fought hard for 4 rounds, and from 11 rounds to go, they were 3 points behind their opponents. Now, with 7 rounds left, the gap is still within one goal. Blackburn did not seize the opportunity to expand their lead. They had physical problems at the end of the season and seemed very slack mentally.

The opportunity has come, but unfortunately Manchester United has only won 2 games in the past few games, one draw and one loss, which is equivalent to losing 5 points in vain. If Manchester United can maintain a perfect record, then the Red Devils will now overtake their opponents by 2 points in the standings.

Manchester Evening News said: "At this point in the league, all teams are facing physical and mental challenges. The so-called ambition is no longer enough to support the team. Now all they can rely on is resilience, mutual support and encouragement within the team."

The Times believes that Manchester United is under greater pressure and is more likely to make mistakes. They said: "Ferguson's team has missed many opportunities, and they will make mistakes and give others opportunities. The competition is now the most intense. The result of each league game may change the ranking of the standings. Ferguson's Red Devils are not without opportunities to overtake their opponents, but they lost points to Tottenham and were beaten by Liverpool at Anfield. These facts show that Ferguson's team lacks stability. Of course, the same is true for Blackburn. They have also frequently lost points and made continuous mistakes, which shows that they also lack sufficient strength to crush all opponents."

The Times concluded, "Comparing the two, we are still more optimistic about Blackburn."

Ferguson doesn't care what the media discusses. He now knows that it is very difficult for the team to achieve three consecutive league titles. Not only must he not make any mistakes, but the opponents must also make mistakes, so that there is hope.

Will it be difficult to catch up to 7 points in 3 games?

It doesn't seem difficult, but if the opponent is in excellent form and performs stably, it will be very difficult. Considering that the opponent has maintained the lead for nearly 20 rounds and has never been caught up, Manchester United's difficulties are very great.