host must win

Chapter 302

In this round of the Champions League knockout round, not only did Manchester United gain a more obvious score advantage, but another game that started on the same day had an even more disparity in the score: Serie A giants AC Milan conceded a goal at home, and Kakamei scored. For the second time, Sheva scored a goal and Pirlo scored a wonderful free kick, thus beating Deportivo 4:1!
If Manchester United's 2:0 victory over Porto at home is half a foot into the semi-finals of the Champions League, then after the Rossoneri won a 4:1 victory, they have basically held a ticket to the semi-finals.

No one would think that this year's Champions League semi-finals do not have a place for AC Milan!
In the other two quarter-finals played one day later, Real Madrid also played a big score against Monaco at home, and the Galacticos won 4:2 at home!

In the eyes of the vast majority of fans, there are basically three places for the semi-finals of the Champions League this season, namely the nine-time champion Real Madrid, the five-time champion AC Milan and the defending champion Manchester United.

The only thing that still has some suspense is the Premier League civil war between Arsenal and Chelsea.The Blues drew 1-1 with the Gunners at home and were at a disadvantage in the two knockout rounds.

Arsenal is too strong this season, they are still unbeaten in the Premier League, and they also broke into the semi-finals of the FA Cup.

With Arsenal's strength, it is extremely unlikely that the Blues will comeback at Highbury Stadium.

Real Madrid, AC Milan, Manchester United and Arsenal have advanced to the semi-finals of the Champions League this season. This is definitely a very dreamy situation.After all, these four teams are basically the four strongest teams in European football today!
For neutral fans, this season's European competitions are definitely feasts.

In the 3th round of the Premier League starting on March 28, Manchester United's visit to Highbury Stadium to challenge Arsenal is undoubtedly the first feast!
………………

On the first day of daylight saving time in 2004, Highbury Stadium became the focus of the world.Because this matchup is likely to be the game that determines the title of the Premier League champion this season!
在本场比赛之前, 两支球队高居英超积分榜前两位。其中阿森纳22胜7平, 积73分排名第一。红魔也是毫不逊色，23胜4平2负，也拿到了71个积分。

Behind the two teams, Chelsea, which ranks third, has only achieved a record of 20 wins, 4 draws and 6 losses. In the case of one extra round, it is 7 points behind Manchester United and 9 points behind the top of the list, Arsenal. It is difficult to threaten the competition between Arsenal and Manchester United.

If Arsenal can beat Manchester United at home, their lead will be extended to 5 points, further expanding their lead.But if Manchester United can beat Arsenal in the away game, they will overtake their opponents and return to the top of the standings.

If Arsenal remain unbeaten in this game, it will break the record of 1973 unbeaten starts in a single season created by Leeds (1974-1987) and Arsenal (1988-29).And their cross-season unbeaten record will reach 30 games, surpassing Manchester United's previous unbeaten Premier League record of 29 games.In the entire history of England's top league, it is second only to Nottingham Forest's 42 unbeaten games, Leeds United's 34 unbeaten games, and Arsenal's 31 unbeaten games.

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At four o'clock in the afternoon on March 3, British local time, players from both sides entered the field.

Huge cheers erupted at Highbury Stadium.

The live broadcast showed the starting lineups of both sides.

Arsenal's starting lineup: goalkeeper No. 1 Lehmann; defense No. 12 Lauren, No. 23 Campbell, No. 28 Kolo Toure, No. 22 Clichy; midfielder No. 8 Ljungberg, No. 4 Vieira, No. 17 Edu, No. 17 Pires; striker No. 9 Reyes, No. 14 Henry.

"Ashley Cole is injured, and Wenger can only use the young Clichy today. In this game, Clichy's performance is worthy of attention, whether he can withstand the impact of Mr. The key to whether Naner will concede the ball," said John Mortensen.

At the same time, the TV screen has already played Manchester United's starting lineup.

Manchester United starting lineup: goalkeeper No. 13 Carroll; back line No. 2 Gary Neville, No. 6 Wes Brown, No. 27 Sylvester, No. 22 O'Shea; midfielder No. 24 Fletcher, No. 16 Roy Keane, No. 18 Scholes; striker No. 8 Yin Jun, No. 10 Van Nistelrooy, No. 11 Giggs.

"It's also interesting to say that on Arsenal's side, Ashley Cole was injured on the training ground, and on Manchester United's side, central defender Van Buyten was injured during warm-up, so Wes Brown temporarily replaced him."

"Manchester United's defense has always had problems since 2004. First, Ferdinand was suspended. The ability of Van Buyten introduced in the winter transfer window is good, but there are problems with his teammates. Now he is simply injured." John Mortensen said, "Wes Brown's performance in the previous few appearances can be called a disaster. His here may be Arsenal's breakthrough, just as Manchester United will focus on Clichy's place."

For the commentators, if there are more goals in this game because of these two accidents, it is naturally what they are most happy to see.

………………

Amid the huge cheers at Highbury Stadium, players from both sides lined up to enter the field.

The live radio is playing the names of the players from both sides.

When the names of the Arsenal players were announced, the atmosphere was warm and the applause continued.When the name of the player of the visiting team Manchester United was read, there were harsh boos at Highbury Stadium.

Originally, there was not much feud between Manchester United and Arsenal, but since Wenger became the head coach and the two teams became the biggest rivals in the Premier League, the relationship between the two teams has been worsening day by day.

Especially Manchester United coach Ferguson and Arsenal coach Wenger, the war of words between the two is often a scene in the Premier League.

In addition, the confrontation between the captains of the two teams, Vieira and Keane, is also very famous.

………………

Players from both sides enter the field and line up.

The players of the visiting team Manchester United took the initiative to shake hands with the Arsenal players and the referee. The captains of the two sides exchanged team flags and guessed coins.

Arsenal captain Patrick Vieira lost to Manchester United captain Roy Keane in the coin guessing session, so Manchester United won the right to pick a side and Arsenal kicked off first.

Seeing this result, Yin Jun shook his head, and said to Scholes beside him: "Actually, I prefer that we can kick off first."

Facing a strong opponent like Arsenal in an away game, it is best to be able to get the kick-off right, control the football at your own feet from the beginning of the game, and then be able to control and influence the rhythm of the game as much as possible.

"It doesn't matter, anyway, our tactic is to defend and counterattack, and the ball is nothing at the feet of Arsenal." Scholes said.

Yin Jun glanced at his partner. Scholes's statement was correct, but the specific opponent should be analyzed in detail.

At the Highbury Stadium, Yin Jun knew that his team could not show weakness too much, because once Arsenal kicked up their game, it would be impossible to save.

Must be tough!

(End of this chapter)