host must win

Chapter 129 Ferguson's Blessing
In the Premier League standings, the point difference with the top Arsenal was reduced to 2 points. The Manchester United flew to Valencia, Spain with a more relaxed mood, for the final match of the second stage of the Champions League group stage.

This is an insignificant game, because Manchester United has already qualified and locked in the first place in the group.In addition, Juventus is basically determined to qualify second in the group.In particular, Valencia has been declared out in advance. Six days ago at the Alpen Stadium, Tudor's 93rd minute goal ended Deportivo's dream of qualifying.If Basel wants to qualify, it needs to beat Juventus 4:0 or beat the Old Lady by 5 goals or more, and Valencia is unbeaten at home.

Because there is no game burden, Ferguson did not hesitate to carry out a big rotation again. He not only tried a three-back formation, but also took advantage of the great opportunity to train new players. Young players such as Lynch, Rocher, Fletcher, and Puff started the game. Spanish goalkeeper Rica Do also get another chance to play.

In last week's home game, Manchester United sent Fletcher and Richardson two young people under the age of 20. UEFA officials threatened to sue them according to the relevant provisions of the Champions League regulations must also send the strongest lineup to participate) to punish Manchester United.But UEFA finally decided not to pursue it, and clarified that as long as the players sent are on the team A list and B team list that have been submitted for UEFA approval.

With this Shangfang sword, Ferguson dispatched the youth army more blatantly this time.On the flight to Spain, there were no first-line players such as Beckham, Ferdinand, Scholes, Ruud van Nistelrooy, Keane and Veron. Yin Jun was also not in the squad, and Giggs was injured because of Fortune. It was replaced when it was not healed.

As a result, Manchester United lost 0:2 at the Mestalla Stadium. Except for Fletcher's passable performance, the Manchester United newcomers who played were unsatisfactory.

Since Basel beat Juventus 2:1 at home, the points situation in this group is a bit weird.After four consecutive victories, Manchester United only achieved 1 draw and 1 loss, with 13 points in the end, ranking first in the group; but Juventus, Basel and Valencia all scored 7 points, comparing their confrontation records , Juventus won the second place in the group and became the fifth team.

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Both Ferguson and Manchester United didn't care about the away loss. After returning to Manchester, they devoted themselves to preparing for the next game.

While Manchester United is already preparing for the next round of the Premier League, the life-and-death battle between Arsenal and Valencia to qualify for the Champions League is also close at hand.After losing the game against Deportivo, Ferguson didn't feel much depressed after losing the game. Instead, he played a psychological crime with Wenger.

In the post-match press conference, Ferguson said he hoped Arsenal could beat Valencia to qualify.Ferguson also hopes that Arsenal will qualify for the FA Cup quarter-final rematch with Chelsea on March 3.

All of a sudden, Ferguson seemed to have given up on Wenger and instead cheered on Arsenal like a Gunners fan.

This is not that Ferguson has really changed his character. I hope Arsenal can repeat the miracle of Manchester United's triple crown four years ago.Instead, he hopes to use the temptation of the treble to drag Arsenal down and let the opponent get nothing.

The coming week will be a truly decisive one for Wenger and Arsenal. On March 3th, they challenged Valencia in the Champions League life-and-death battle. On March 19rd, they faced Everton, No.3 in the league table. On March 23th, they played Chelsea in the FA Cup rematch.For gunmen aiming to win the "Triple Crown", if any of these three shots miss, it will be a devastating blow.

Heaven or hell, all in one thought!
Considering Arsenal's strength, the possibility of hell is unlikely; but due to Arsenal's recent poor state, it can be said that the probability of heaven is even smaller: from January 1st to 1th, Arsenal It has been 25 consecutive games without a winning streak. How can they be expected to win three consecutive victories when they are so tired?
In fact, Wenger's team lost the first of these three shots. They lost 1:2 to Valencia in the away game and also lost the qualifying battle. The dream of the Triple Crown was completely hopeless.

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At 3:22 noon on March 12, British local time, Manchester United will sit at Old Trafford to face Fulham.If they can beat Fulham, they have a chance to top the league standings for the first time this season.

Ferguson has long been preparing for this game, and now he is naturally trying his best to win.Ruud van Nistelrooy became the most dazzling star of the game, performing a hat-trick.Especially the second goal he scored surprised the whole world.

In the 67th minute, Ruud van Nistelrooy got a through ball from Yin Jun in the middle before the half-time. This position is actually not very good: there is still some distance from the center line, and there are many players in the opponent's half-court.

Ruud van Nistelrooy took the ball with his back, turned around quickly, first passed the Fulham midfielder Legwanski, and tore open the first breakthrough.Then, there were five Fulham defenders on the other side of the half, in a plum-shaped defensive pattern, which seemed to be impenetrable.

But Ruud van Nistelrooy then seemed to be inspired by Maradona's 1986 World Cup against England and Giggs' 1999 FA Cup, full of passion and improvisation, Oddo, De Jato, Melville... After being left behind one by one, Van Nistelrooy went straight into the left side of the penalty area after running nearly 70 yards at halftime at high speed, and faced goalkeeper Taylor with a beautiful push into the net.

Wonderful!

Yin Jun, on the other hand, got an assist by accident.

After this big victory, Manchester United topped the league standings for the first time this season.Although they were kicked off by Arsenal only one day later, this short ascension to the top still boosted the confidence of Manchester United. Everyone really felt that the league championship was close at hand!

Even Ferguson, who was as calm and sophisticated as Ferguson, seemed very excited after the game. In an interview with reporters, he said: "This is exactly what we want. This is an important moment of the season. It's really exciting. Of course, the top of the list Teams will always feel the pressure and Newcastle have a lot of momentum, but we just have to do our jobs."

Next, Manchester United will face Liverpool at home, Newcastle and Arsenal away, and at the same time, they will face Real Madrid in the Champions League. For so many tough battles, Ferguson showed a strong desire to fight, he told reporters : "It's so exciting. If you want to be the champion of this country, you have to want to win these games. I am very satisfied with the performance of our players."

(End of this chapter)