The legendary Red Devils coach: The road to success

Chapter 82: Don't care about life or death, just fight if you don't agree

"Some teams come to Anfield with their throats held shut and they can barely breathe. They have to grit their teeth and fight to avoid vomiting or suffocating to death."

———Ferguson

On the afternoon of April 1988, 4, the Red Devils went to Anfield to challenge Liverpool.

This is the 35th round of the league, the much-anticipated Manchester derby.

Liverpool ranks first in points and the Red Devils are second. Although the Red Devils are 11 points behind Liverpool, they are also the strongest team this season.

Liverpool vs. Manchester United, the match between the two most prestigious clubs in England, naturally attracted more attention from the media. Various conflicts and contradictions in the history of the two teams, even Ferguson's double-killing of Dalglish last season, were dug up as topics of conversation, and the encounter between the two sides this season was also hyped up.

Liverpool was more favored, but Ferguson also received a lot of support. The Scotsman achieved a rare double kill just after taking over the Red Devils. In the first encounter at Old Trafford this season, Liverpool tried their best to finally draw with the Red Devils, which could be called "escaping from Old Trafford" and was not as impressive as their fans boasted.

Ferguson said before the game: "We must strive for victory and strive to beat Liverpool. We are confident that we can beat Liverpool at Anfield and we have enough strength to beat our opponents. This is not a question of strength, but a battle of honor."

"Against Liverpool, we just want to win!"

Ferguson's attitude towards Dalglish has attracted much attention. "Dalglish? I remember he played for me back then and was a good striker. As for whether he is a good coach, I can't comment. Is he a good coach at Liverpool? Or is it that the level of Liverpool players is very strong and the structure is very mature, so anyone can lead the team to an advantage? Is Dalglish a great coach? No, I don't think so now. With such an excellent team at Liverpool, it would be no problem for anyone to tie a dog to the head coach position and win the championship."

Ferguson said: "The Red Devils can't stop their opponents from winning the championship? Of course we can. We almost beat them to a pulp at home, so what? We are full of confidence and of course have a psychological advantage."

Dalglish said: "Ferguson remains unbeaten? The Red Devils won two games? What does this prove? Who has the advantage in the standings now? Did the Red Devils win the league title? A team's goal is to win the championship, and Liverpool is doing better than them."

Liverpool has swept the English football world. If they beat the Red Devils at home, they can lock in the league title in advance. Dalglish said: "I am not worried about the team's psychological burden. We will definitely beat our opponents and give the fans a wonderful game. As long as we play to our strengths and use our tactical deployment, everything will be fine."

On the day of the game, Anfield was packed early. Liverpool fans shouted the name of coach Dalglish, cheered for the team, and ridiculed the Red Devils for their decline and their opponents for not winning the championship for many years. "Where is your championship? Isn't it shameful after 20 years?"

Liverpool fans sang, "We walk with the championship, but you have to go home alone!"

At the beginning of the game, Ferguson's specially deployed tactics came into play. Liverpool was at a loss and became a mess because of the Red Devils' tactics of grabbing the start. Ferguson's tactics were very clear. He started a stranglehold in the midfield and tried to break the deadlock early through active attacks. The Red Devils quickly gained the advantage after swinging three axes at the beginning. At one point, the Red Devils had 8 players in Liverpool's half, blocking, cutting off, stealing the ball, and attacking fiercely, directly suppressing Liverpool's friction.

The Red Devils attacked like a storm, quickly forcing the opponent to make a mistake. Liverpool player Gary Gillespie was flustered by Davenport's scramble, and the clearance was directly intercepted by the Red Devils players. McClair quickly started after receiving the ball, dribbled the ball from the right to the ribs, and then passed it diagonally. Davenport understood and ran back into the empty space, successfully receiving the pass. Then Davenport quickly broke into the penalty area with the ball and passed the opponent's left back at the edge of the penalty area line. Liverpool's defense was unbalanced, and the defender who replaced him was shocked and quickly stepped forward to block Davenport's shooting line. Davenport sent a precise cross pass to the middle of the penalty area when the opponent was in chaos. The Red Devils captain Bryan Robson made a timely outflanking and easily pushed the ball into the goal in front of the goal, and the Red Devils led 1-0!

The whole goal-scoring process was clean and neat, the entire Liverpool team was stunned, and the Red Devils got off to a dream start.

Liverpool fell behind at home, which was a situation they could not accept. They launched a counterattack soon after losing the ball, and the Red Devils began to shrink their defense. The Red Devils shrank too early at this time and it was difficult to withstand the opponent's crazy attack. In the 38th minute of the game, Beardsley received a wonderful pass from Houghton in the penalty area, dodged the tackle of the Red Devils defender and shot into the goal, helping Liverpool equalize the score.

In the 41st minute of the game, Liverpool made a comeback on the right. The full-back quickly crossed the ball from the bottom, and Gillespie jumped high in the penalty area and headed the ball into the goal, 2-1 - Liverpool overtook the score.

At the end of the first half, the Red Devils were temporarily one goal behind their opponents.

Ferguson waved his hands in the locker room and encouraged the players loudly, "We played with courage and blood, we are full of passion and fighting spirit, we will not give up, never! We have nothing left to lose, we had nothing in the first place. In the second half, we have to aim at the opponent's two ribs, which are empty areas. Go faster and harder, and attack hard!"

Ferguson said: "We are behind and our energy is depleted too quickly. Everyone is very anxious. But I want to emphasize that our opponents are also very nervous. Their performance is not outstanding and they made many mistakes. There is still the second half of the game. Our opponents will soon reach physical exhaustion and lose their concentration. But they will attack fiercely at the beginning of the second half. We must be vigilant and then fight back fiercely!"

In the second half, Liverpool launched a fierce attack, but the Red Devils failed to implement Ferguson's plan. In less than two minutes, Liverpool scored again. Steve McMahon kicked a world wave outside the penalty area and the Red Army extended the score to 3-1.

The Red Devils seem a little confused. They are two goals behind and playing away from home. Do they still have a chance?

Liverpool's three goals were all very exciting, and their momentum was even stronger. The Red Devils' midfielders were in a mess, Robson and Strachan could not provide enough help to the defense, and the defenders only focused on the opponent's forwards, but were successfully scored by the opponent's three midfielders and backfielders. Liverpool took advantage of the two-goal lead and continued to attack the Red Devils. Liverpool's offensive made the Red Devils' goal dangerous. In addition to the three goals, they also wasted a lot of scoring opportunities, and the Red Devils goalkeeper Turner became the busiest person in the game.

Commentator John Motson said, "This is an incredible game. Liverpool is so outstanding. The Red Devils were beaten so badly. They can't stand Liverpool's firepower at all!"

Liverpool fans were so happy that they sang merrily and enjoyed the lead with great excitement. Some fans even thought that Liverpool would continue to score goals and beat the defeated team.

The Red Devils suffered another misfortune not long after. Midfielder Colin Gibson made a mistake in defense and knocked down the opponent's Steve Nicol. He was sent off with two yellow cards.

In this way, the Red Devils not only fell behind by two goals, but also had one less player. This was too difficult...

Even so, the Red Devils would never give up. Ferguson's team would not give up if they fell behind, especially Liverpool. The Red Devils and Ferguson would give up? No way!

Ferguson was indeed furious, but he calmed himself down first when Gibson was sent off. He then quickly made substitutions and waved his hand to make a downward gesture to calm the Red Devils players down first. The key at this time was to stay calm and not rush to attack to avoid losing more balls.

After the 60th minute, the Red Devils had overcome the most difficult physical barrier, and the will to not give up made the whole team prepare for a counterattack. In the 66th minute, Bryan Robson took a long shot from outside the penalty area. The ball bounced off a Liverpool player and refracted, and flew into the opponent's goal in the chaos, 2 to 3!

The Red Devils recovered a goal and launched a more intense attack. The players began to increase their pressing, and everyone ran as hard as they could, making up for the disadvantage in numbers on the field. The game reached its most intense stage, with people falling and horses falling everywhere, and all kinds of fierce tackles and close combats continued to appear. Liverpool could not launch any offensive for a while, and the scene began to panic.

In the 77th minute of the game, the Red Devils counterattacked after stealing the ball in the midfield. Davenport dribbled the ball in the midfield and sent a wonderful pass before the opponent could close in. This accurate long pass passed the Liverpool defense line, and Strachan got in behind to receive the ball, and then dribbled into the penalty area. Facing the opponent's defender chasing and blocking and the goalkeeper falling to the ground to block, Strachan calmly shot the ball into the dead corner, 3-3!

The Red Devils equalized the score!

The Red Devils continued to attack. The completely crazy Red Devils players continued to attack their opponents after the equalizer. Strachan and McClair both had shooting opportunities, and Robson also had a wonderful long shot, almost achieving a big reversal at the last moment.

In the end, this classic Red Derby ended with a score of 3-3.

The game was so exciting, with strength and rhythm, speed and coordination, every second was full of tension and suspense. The two sides took turns in leading, equalizing, overtaking, expanding the advantage, and catching up. The intense situation, wonderful coordination, superb passing, wonderful breakthroughs, incredible shots, magical saves; bad fouls, red card penalties, fierce conflicts, unexpected scores... The result could not be known until the last moment, which made people feel shocked!

The Red Devils equalized the game in desperate situations. This is the power of never giving up. No matter what difficulties they encounter, they never lose confidence; no matter what dangers they face, they always fight to the end.

Dalglish couldn't control himself after the game and ridiculed the Red Devils for only knowing how to kick players and said the draw was just a fluke.

Ferguson certainly would not tolerate him and launched a fierce counterattack. "Dalglish and I were not watching the same game. Our players were violated, kicked roughly, tackled to the ground, and even strangled and had their vital parts pinched in the penalty area. Everyone saw it. When it came to Dalglish, he shouted that the Red Devils only knew how to kick people. Only the crying children get the milk, right?"

Ferguson believed that the referee had plotted against the Red Devils. "I didn't have to play in the game. I and everyone else were watching the whole process. To be honest, I felt like I had been strangled and couldn't speak. No one would think that being treated differently was a pleasant experience. My players suffered crimes. Every time they were violated, they were almost unprotected. They were in a more miserable situation than me. They were playing on high-voltage wires, and every touch of the ball was like walking on a mine. It was a crazy experience."

Ferguson believed that the Red Devils were the team that should have won the game and that his and his players' efforts were stifled by a "despicable" referee.

The English Football Association quickly decided to fine Ferguson and ordered him to keep silent, but this price could not stop Ferguson's sharp criticism.

Ferguson later made a very vivid metaphor in a radio interview: "Many managers raised their hands before bringing their teams to this stadium. They knew that if they resisted, there would be some unspeakable dangers, such as the risk of choking in the stadium, or the risk of having their noses blocked and unable to breathe... I want to tell everyone that the game needs a fair and just environment, and the Red Devils will always strive to be treated fairly."

Dalglish said helplessly to reporters: "Maybe you should talk to my daughter. What she said is more meaningful than that. Anfield is our fortress, but we never have any excessive pressure. Do we feel good about playing at Old Trafford?"

The Red Devils drew with Liverpool, but this did not stop their sprint. Nine days after the game, Liverpool swept Nottingham Forest 5-0 at home and won the English League One championship four rounds in advance.