host must win

Chapter 291 All-round competition
After the draw at Craven Farm, which was tied by the Gunners in the standings, Manchester United's intensive schedule finally came to an end temporarily, and they got a full week of rest.This is undoubtedly very important to the tired Manchester United.

However, even if they get a week of adjustment time, there are a few bad news from Manchester United.Sylvester has not yet recovered from his injury, and Fortune in the back line was injured again in training.

Although the South African is not the main force of Manchester United, he is capable of playing multiple positions in the midfield and is also a useful supplement to Manchester United's defense.Especially in the near future, Manchester United's defense has encountered a shortage of personnel, and Fortune's role has become more prominent.Now he is also injured, and it has dealt a big blow to Manchester United's defense.

Not only that, Manchester United's next game, Gary Neville will also be suspended due to accumulated yellow cards.This made Ferguson's formation somewhat stretched.

Under such circumstances, Ferguson had to continue to use Wes Brown, who made consecutive mistakes in defense in the early stage.

Despite this, Ferguson still dare not use Wes Brown in the key position of central defender.In the weekend's FA Cup quarter-final against Fulham, Ferguson was in the game, dropping captain Roy Keane deep in defence, alongside Van Buyten at centre-back and Phil Neville with Wes Brown plays full back.

This season, Fulham can be described as the nemesis of Manchester United. In the first round of the league match between the two sides, Manchester United lost 2:3 at home.In the second round of the league a week ago, the Red Devils were drawn away by their opponents again.

Naturally, Ferguson does not want to have another accident in the third game against Fulham, so even if the UEFA Champions League game at home with Porto will be ushered in next week, Ferguson is still sending the strongest lineup to play.Fletcher and Scholes partnered as double midfielders, Yin Jun continued to serve as the attacking midfielder, Ronaldo, Ruud van Nistelrooy and Giggs formed the striker trident.

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As soon as the game started, Manchester United got off to a fantastic start. Cristiano Ronaldo crossed the middle, Ruud van Nistelrooy cut into the penalty area and then passed the ball to Giggs. Although the Welshman's shot was blocked by Van der Sar, Van der Sar was helpless when faced with Yin Junhou's supplementary shot. .

The leading Manchester United continued to besiege Fulham, but Ruud van Nistelrooy missed the goal three times in a row.

It is said that God will be blamed for not taking it. Manchester United quickly paid the price for losing the opportunity. In the 22nd minute, American international Brian McBride got rid of Roy Keane from the left and passed into the penalty area. Wes Brown made another blunder, tripping Boa Mott in the penalty area and referee Rob Stiles awarded a penalty, which was scored by French striker Louis Saha, who had been linked with Manchester United in the winter transfer window , Helping the visiting team equalize the score.

The defense dug holes for Manchester United for many consecutive games, but fortunately, Manchester United's attack line is really strong, and it took only 2 minutes to surpass the score again.Yin Jun scored the ball from the center, Giggs made a pass from the left, and Ruud van Nistelrooy scored with a half-volley from the center.

The strength of this Fulham team is indeed good. In the 35th minute of the game, they almost equalized the score again.After Zack Wright received a diagonal pass from Malblanc, a long-range shot from 30 yards hit the crossbar hard and bounced off the bottom line. Manchester United escaped.

Before half-time, Manchester United extended their lead.Yin Jun took a free kick from the left and kicked a nearly unsolvable free kick 30 meters away. Although Van der Sar flew forward, he still couldn't stop the football from flying into the goal.

This is Yin Jun's 38th goal for Manchester United in all competitions this season, more than any player in the same period.

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Although Manchester United had a 3:1 lead in the first half, Manchester United was not satisfied with it. They still maintained high morale in the second half and continued to besiege Fulham's goal.

In the 49th minute, Fletcher passed the ball to Giggs, and the Welshman's shot hit Van der Sar's arms.

In the 55th minute, Woltz fouled Fletcher with a tackle, and Yin Jun's free kick went directly over the crossbar.

It is said that there are only three things, and after being within striking distance of scoring twice, Manchester United finally scored.

In the 62nd minute, Fernando made an accurate pass to Ronaldo on the right. The Portuguese made a pass from the right. Ruud van Nistelrooy scored from far and close range. This is the Dutchman's 26th goal of the season, second only to Manchester United Yu Yinjun.

The score on the field was rewritten to 4:1, and Manchester United can be said to have completely sealed the victory.In order to save energy for the midweek Champions League game, Ferguson quickly made substitution adjustments. He replaced two people in a row, replacing captain Roy Keane with O'Shea, and replacing it with defensive midfielder Djemba. Yin Jun.

Although Fulham launched a fierce offensive at the last moment and caused Manchester United to panic in the half, the Red Devils finally maintained a score of 4:1 and advanced to the top 4 of the FA Cup first.

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Immediately after Manchester United's victory and advancement, the Gunners also swept Portsmouth 5:1 in the away game and broke into the semi-finals.

A day later, Sunderland beat Sheffield United 1-0 at home, while Millwall and Tranmere drew a goalless draw at home in a lower-tier clash, with the two teams to play ten days later. rematch.

In the subsequent FA Cup semi-final draw, Manchester United drew Arsenal, and Manchester United played away.Sunderland is the winner between Millwall and Tranmere.

Regarding the result of such a draw, neither Manchester United nor Arsenal are willing to see it.For both sides, the best outcome is to meet in the final.

However, with both FA Cup semi-finals four weeks away, it's still a long way off.At present, Manchester United's main focus is still on the league and the Champions League.

At present, Manchester United and Arsenal are also inseparable in the league.

After 27 league rounds, they all scored 67 points.Manchester United only relied on the advantage of goal difference to rank first, but Arsenal remained undefeated, and they were equally imposing.

Judging from the status and performance of the two teams this season, the entanglement between the two sides may continue, and it will be difficult to tell the winner in the short term.

This season, Manchester United and Arsenal performed very well on all fronts. They went hand in hand in the league, and both reached the semi-finals in the FA Cup. In the Champions League, both teams won the first round of the round of sixteen.

The competition between the two sides can be described as all-round!
Of course, the most imminent thing for Manchester United is to defeat Porto and advance to the quarter-finals of the Champions League.

Although in the first round of the game, they narrowly beat their opponents 3:2 at the Dragon Stadium and took the lead in the two rounds of the Champions League knockout round, it is difficult to say that Manchester United has achieved a clear advantage.

After experiencing the first round of the game, Manchester United has seen the strength of Porto and their tenacity.Even if they win the away game in the first round and Manchester United want to advance to the final, the second round is still very difficult, and there is a possibility of capsized at home if they are not careful.

(End of this chapter)