host must win

Chapter 644 Back to the Top
In the early morning of February 2th, Manchester United played against Fulham at home in the 5th round of the Premier League.Park Ji-sung scored his first league goal, Cristiano Ronaldo scored twice, and Yin Jun also scored a goal.This is Yin Jun's 25th goal scored in 24 league games this season. With his recent consecutive goals, his lead in the scorer list is unshakable!
In the end, the Red Devils beat Fulham 4:2.

After this game, Manchester United's devilish schedule has temporarily come to an end, and the whole team got a week's rest.Then they went south to Portsmouth and challenged the Pompey Legion at Fratton Park in the early hours of February 2.

Good news from Middlesbrough ahead of United's clash with Portsmouth, with ex-Manchester United assistant McClaren's side handing out Mourinho's worst defeat since taking office at the Riverside: 0 :3!

It is not the first time Mourinho has lost in coaching, but there are only three times when he has lost so badly: the first time, when he took Benfica in 2000, he lost 0:3 to Marittimo; the second time, when he took Porto in 2002 The score fell at the feet of Belenenses.

这也是穆里尼奥执教以来切尔西头回输球超过两个, 该队将近4年不曾如此一败涂地，上次输0:3还是2002年的4月，对手是曼联。

However, what surprised the media was not the loss, but the loss by so much, and it was the loss to Boro. "The Times" ridiculed: Never looked like a loser who lost so much, never looked like a winner won Chelsea!
A book about Italy's lower leagues is called "The Legend of Blood Castle", and this season at the Riverside Stadium is enough to write a "Legend of Boro". The 14 home games have only won 4 times, but they beat Arsenal 2:1, Manchester United 4:1 and now Chelsea 3:0, playing better each time; in the 5 home draws there are Liverpool and Tottenham, compared to Everton and Middlesbrough were the real "giant killers" who made Chelsea lose points the first time.

Inexplicably, Middlesbrough gave away 3 points against Sunderland, Charlton and Villa, which also earned McLaren the nickname of "Robin Hood". s story.

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Chelsea's fall naturally gave Manchester United behind them hope: before the start of this round, the Red Devils were only 1 point behind Chelsea.As long as Manchester United defeats Portsmouth in this round of the league, they will definitely be able to regain the top spot in the standings after 20 rounds!
曼联上一次排名英超积分榜首还是在去年的9月18日，当时红魔在安菲尔德球场以1:0的比分击败利物浦，迎来队史最佳开局的7连胜的时候。

However, on September 9, after Manchester United was tied 24:2 by Blackburn at Ewood Park, the Red Devils gave up their top position.

Seeing the dawn of returning to the top of the standings, Manchester United used their lives at Fratton Park to seal the victory in just half the game.

Manchester United took the lead in the 18th minute. Giggs and Ruud van Nistelrooy cleverly cooperated with each other and then broke into the penalty area and passed goalkeeper Keeley. , Ruud van Nistelrooy followed up with a header and scored an empty goal. This is the Dutchman's 10th league goal this season.

Manchester United expanded the score in the 38th minute. Yin Jun sent a precise pass. Cristiano Ronaldo shot with his left foot at the top of the arc in the penalty area.

In half-time stoppage time, Ruud van Nistelrooy passed the ball from the left, Rooney broke through the center and passed it straight, Ronaldo hit O'Brien with a strong shot from 10 yards from the right rib of the penalty area, then deflected into the far corner and scored twice. This is his seventh league goal of the season.

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Manchester United called it quits at the start of the second half: Yin Jun and the injured Van der Sar were substituted, and Howard and Alan Smith came off the bench.For Portsmouth, Routledge also replaced Argentine midfielder Alessandro who was sleepwalking in the first half.

The two sides once formed a stalemate in the second half.

This is the situation that Ferguson and Manchester United hope to see. With a big lead, the team naturally hopes to score 3 points with the least consumption.

Portsmouth did not regain a victory until the end of the game, which was regarded as saving a bit of face.In the 87th minute, Routledge volleyed a pass from the far corner from the right, and the unguarded Matthew Taylor headed into the net.

In the end, Manchester United won 3:1 away.

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Manchester United won 3:1 and Chelsea lost 0:3. Such a result made Ferguson double happy.

In the current Premier League standings, Manchester United scored 22 points with 2 wins, 2 draws and 68 losses, ranking first.In addition, they scored 77 goals and conceded 27 goals, and they still have a goal difference of up to 50!

No.2的是切尔西，蓝军目前的战绩是21胜3平2负，以2分之差紧随曼联。他们打进了52球，失球数则是只有16个，净胜球也达到了36个。

No.3 is Liverpool. The Red Army has completed 2 make-up games and tied Manchester United and Chelsea in the number of games played. However, their record is a bit far behind the previous two teams. Got 15 points.The goal difference is only 6!
After the game, Ferguson accepted the interview very happily. He said: "Chelsea has had a few draws recently. This kind of thing will always happen. Every team may lose points. We hope Chelsea can keep losing. Who knows what's going to happen? If we keep winning and moving up the table, then we have a chance to have a good season."

"Chelsea will definitely have problems, but we have to focus on our game and try to get as many points as possible. Who said we gave up? Our goal is the same, we will play like we did in the first half today and then See if something happens with Chelsea. In a league like this, it's competitive and you're bound to drop points."

"We were a little distracted in the second half, but Portsmouth didn't give up," Ferguson said. "They had a little chance because of it. They had some good attacking players who could cause us problems. Lua Lua was very good in the second half. Well, he's a big threat to us."

What pleased Ferguson the most was Ronaldo's performance. The Portuguese scored 2 goals in this field, and the feeling of scoring is very good.

"It's good to see Ronaldo scoring goals again," Ferguson said. "Last week he scored two goals, today he scored two goals, it's fantastic, his first goal was unbelievable, one kick. Brilliant shot, but this kid has the ability to do it. He should score more goals, 2 or 2 a season, he's a good scorer."

(End of this chapter)