Chapter 1000: The Golden Body Is Broken
By the time the Premier League reaches the 35th round, winning the championship and relegation have come to an end.
Unlike last season, defending champions Chelsea have been pulled away by eight points despite being second due to Manchester United's strong side.
In the 35th round, Chelsea host local rivals Tottenham Hotspur, and if Chelsea lose this game, and Manchester United beat Arsenal, the difference between the two teams is more than 11 points, and Manchester United will win the title three rounds in advance.
Both of the title battles will be held in London, and for a while, the eyes of the entire football world are focused on London.
The first is the London derby between Chelsea and Tottenham, this battle is not only a derby for Chelsea and Tottenham, Chelsea still has a glimmer of hope for the title, and Tottenham is only three points away from fourth-place Manchester City, Chelsea can continue to maintain the pressure on Manchester United if they win, and Tottenham can ensure that they are not left behind by Manchester City.
The derby is undoubtedly the most special, and Tottenham have plenty of motivation to fight Chelsea, both for their own benefit and to the detriment of their opponents, and Chelsea have not kept any reservations about keeping their title hopes alive and maintaining their position as London's bosses, and the two teams have fought to the death at Stamford Bridge.
Tottenham went through Alex Sandro for a 19-minute run but Frank Lampard's long-range shot in the 45th minute of the first half caused Tottenham goalkeeper Gomez to get out of his hands and the ball rolled down Gomez's crotch to give Chelsea an equaliser in the first half.
Chelsea continued to besiege in the second half, but Tottenham's defense was very solid, Chelsea were never able to break through the Tottenham goal, when the game was 89 minutes, Chelsea fans were already desperate, the monster Drogba got rid of the back of the penalty area and shot, he did not hit the target in a hurry, but it turned into a pass, Kalou put the ball into the goal at the back post, Chelsea beat Tottenham 2-1.
Manchester United certainly didn't watch the game because in nine hours they will be heading to the Emirates Stadium to challenge the Gunners.
However, United heard the news of Chelsea's victory, and the way the Blues won was a bit of a concern, and the late goal in the second half showed that Chelsea were resilient enough, as well as enough fitness and fighting spirit, and if they showed that kind of form in the Champions League, a half-point advantage is not guaranteed.
However, it is too late for United to think about it now, and they now need to focus all their energy on their old rivals Arsenal.
Manchester United and Arsenal have played 211 meetings in the past, with Arsenal winning 77, drawing 46 and losing 88. Since the establishment of the Premier League, the two sides have played 46 games, and Arsenal has 11 wins, 13 draws and 22 losses, of which 7 wins, 6 draws and 6 losses at home have a slight advantage. In the last 4 meetings between the two sides, Arsenal has lost all of them. The Gunners' last win over Manchester United dates back to November 2008, with seven meetings going uncontested, one draw and six defeats. It is worth mentioning that the last time United were able to beat the Gunners five times in a row was in 1983-1985.
Despite their strength and psychological advantage, they had just played Chelsea in midweek, and although they won the game on the road, it was a huge cost and this game against Arsenal was very risky.
United's hopes of winning the title three rounds ahead of schedule were dashed by Chelsea's victory, but this game still needs to be won, otherwise Ferguson's plans will not go ahead.
The game has reached a critical period, and it is another crucial game, and there are not many Manchester United fans who went to the Emirates Stadium to help the game, but because Arsenal lost their hopes of winning the title, the fans who watched the Gunners have dropped a lot, basically similar to an ordinary league game.
In this game, Manchester United did not want another accident in the league, they sent all the main team to fight, and Arsenal, who had no hope of winning the title, except for Cesc Fabregas, who was injured in training, also sent the main team to face it.
Once the game began, Arsenal, who were playing at home, did not treat the game as an inconsequential game at all, and launched a full-court press on Manchester United from the first minute.
In the 3rd minute, under the pressure of the opponent, Vidic cleared the ball with a big foot and did not kick far, Wilshere stopped the ball on his chest at the front of the penalty area and shot with his left foot, and the ball was deflected off the right post.
In the 7th minute, Klich crossed from the left, Walcott cut into the box at high speed and shoveled from 8 yards, but Walket played the ball high under Ferdinand's defense.
Arsenal's two shots on goal made the United players feel they don't want to let them go out of the way.
Sure enough, then Arsenal continued to attack, constantly using pressing to speed up the pace of the game, and using their physical advantage to suppress Manchester United.
United were not prepared to counter-attack for this game, they fielded an attacking line-up, but under Arsenal's pressure, they were forced to play a counter-attack.
In the 20th minute of the game, Manchester United finally got a chance to shoot, Nani counterattacked and went straight to the right, Gao Xiaodong burst into the penalty area and crossed past Koscielny, Rooney grabbed the shot in the middle and was blocked by defender Djorou.
The game was so difficult that set-pieces became an important weapon for Manchester United to score, Scholes took a corner, Gao Xiaodong rubbed the ball to the back post, and Patrice Evra at the back post hit the side-netting from a tight angle.
However, this was already Manchester United's most threatening attack in the first half, under Arsenal's strong suppression, Manchester United's counterattack either made a pass mistake or was damaged by Arsenal's foul, and failed to break through Arsenal's door.
Arsenal dominated the first half, and in the 32nd minute, Theo Walcott's cross from the right was met by Vidic who scrambled in front of Van Persie and slotted the ball out of the line, but the referee didn't find it.
There was boos at the scene, and judging by the slow-motion replay, Vidic reached out to block the ball. In the 36th minute, Klich passed the ball and Ramsey fired a low left-footed shot from 25 yards wide. In the 38th minute, Evra passed the ball and Rooney's long-range shot was blocked by a defender.
Arsenal were then unable to create too many chances, and the first half ended in a 0-0 draw.
At the start of the second half, Arshavin replaced Nasri, and Arsenal continued to strengthen their attack.
The Reds knew they weren't as fit as Arsenal as they were from a midweek game, so after a fifteen-minute break, they started attacking at the start of the second half, trying to catch Arsenal off guard and then counter-attack.
Arsenal's players are still relatively young, and they didn't expect Manchester United, who were sluggish in the first half, to suddenly launch a fierce attack, and they were really caught off guard.
In the 47th minute, Gao Xiaodong volleyed with his right foot from 24 yards, the ball was as fast as lightning, and Arsenal goalkeeper Szeciini did his best to save the ball.
Two minutes later, Nani cut inside quickly and fired a shot from a tight angle six yards out on the left side of the box, but it hit the side-netting again.
In the 53rd minute, Gao Xiaodong suddenly pulled to the right side of the cross, Hernandez nodded the ball a little slower, and the ball was cleared out of the penalty area by the goalkeeper.
Manchester United's offensive threat is not small, playing the Arsenal defense is scrambling, seeing that if they continue to persevere, the young Arsenal will collapse, but at this time the physical fitness dragged Manchester United back, and after ten minutes, their attack slowed down, giving Arsenal a chance to breathe.
Seeing Gao Xiaodong being sandwiched by three Arsenal players on the side to the bottom line, but no Manchester United player answered, and finally had to kick the defender's leg for a throw-in, Ferguson sighed, knowing that this game might not be able to be won.
Sure enough, after relieving their breath, Arsenal continued to press all over the field, once again suppressing Manchester United in the half-time onslaught.
In the 60th minute, Park Ji-sung replaced Scholes, and Ferguson strengthened his defense and realistically changed the three-point goal to one point.
The ensuing game turned into a half-court affair and defence, with United defending to the ground and Arsenal practicing various attacking and defensive routines around the United half.
In the 75th minute, Gao Xiaodong's physical strength was also exhausted, and he had to buy a small tonic pill to supplement his physical fitness, but Gao Xiaodong alone could not lead Manchester United's attack, so he could only involve part of Arsenal's troops to relieve the pressure on the rear.
The final 20 minutes were the saddest and most stressful for United fans this season, and United fans have long since given up on the idea of winning the three points, hoping only that United can maintain their unbeaten record.
However, the draw is also a luxury, without fitness, everything else is empty talk, Manchester United held on for 85 minutes, in the 86th minute, Arsenal midfielder Song cut off Rooney's pass in front of the field and handed it to Wilshere, Wilshere plugged through, Van Persie burst into the right rib of the penalty area to attract the defense and then reversed the triangle pass, the teenager Ramsey shot low with his right foot from 12 yards, Van der Sar could do nothing about it, the ball rolled into the bottom right corner, Arsenal led 1-0.
Counting stoppage time, Manchester United still had almost ten minutes to salvage the defeat, but Manchester United only came back to fight back for three minutes, and then was suppressed by Arsenal, and then when Van Persie volleyed from the top of the penalty area to make the score 2:0, Manchester United was unable to recover, and finally lost 0:2 away to Arsenal, not only lost the unbeaten golden body, but also was chased by Chelsea to 5 points.