Chapter 190: King to King
On 5 May 2009, Manchester United will take on their Champions League semi-final rivals Arsenal at Arsenal's home stadium at the Love Song Stadium in the second leg of the match. To see the latest chapters of the book, please go to (). For more up-to-date chapters, visit wèn:щww.
It was a pivotal game, considering that in the first leg between the two sides, Manchester United and Arsenal played to a 1-1 draw. Arsenal got away goals, so in this game United have to attack, they have to score goals and try to win.
Ferguson can imagine that this game will be difficult, Manchester United and Arsenal, Ferguson and Arsene Wenger, this is a contest between old rivals in the Premier League, both sides are familiar with each other, if the person who knows you the most is the opponent, then, obviously, Arsenal and Manchester United are the ones who know each other the most.
In terms of tactical arrangement and lineup arrangement, Ferguson showed his boldness. The strongest lineup, away from the press out to attack.
Carlos Tevez and Wayne Rooney continued to start together, and the impact and speed of the duo were Ferguson's most relied upon weapons in this game.
Paul Scholes in the middle, Ryan Giggs on the left and Nani on the right. This is the trident of Manchester United's attack. Ferguson had only one requirement for them – to get the ball into the opposition penalty area as quickly as possible.
In the midfield position, Alex Ferguson brought on Michael Carrick, who has just returned from a two-match ban after receiving a red card in the first leg of the quarter-final tie against 'Boertu'.
At the back, Rio Ferdinand and Nemanja Vidic were in the middle, with O'Shea starting at right-back, Patrice Evra at left-back and goalkeeper Edwin van der Sar.
Before the start of the game, the camera showed the grandstand box at the Emirates Stadium, where the suspended Yang Fan was sitting, he could not play, but could only cheer for the team in the stands.
Arsenal's overall performance was very good in this game, and they scored quickly in the early stages of the game, with Theo Walcott using his pace to tear apart the United defence and set up Bam Adebayor for a goal.
1 to 0!
The aggregate score is 2 to 1!
Arsenal took the lead on aggregate, the entire Emirates Stadium cheered thunderously, Arsenal football "fans" were excited, as the Premier League giants, Arsenal has never won the Champions League, this is the biggest regret of this giant' team, and it is also the biggest reason for Manchester United and Liverpool football "fans" to express disdain for Arsenal. They are extremely looking forward to Arsenal reaching the final and winning the title, preferably against Barcelona, and Arsenal want revenge.
※※※※※※※
United were 1-0 down at half-time, a scoreline that was on the verge of being knocked out of the competition.
However, in the second half, United still held their fate firmly in their own hands.
At the beginning of the second half, Ferguson made two substitutions in a row, Nani went down, the injured Cristiano Ronaldo came on as a substitute, Carrick went down, and Park Ji-sung came on as a substitute.
Cristiano Ronaldo has just recovered from injury, and the media originally predicted that Ronaldo would not play in this game, but Ferguson still placed Ronaldo on the bench.
Manchester United's goal finally arrived.
Tevez made a beautiful breakthrough after the 'shot' and 'goal' was blocked, Arsenal's 'goalkeeper' saved Almunia's hand, Rooney followed up with the 'shot', and the ball went into the net!
One-to-one!
United equalised to level the aggregate at 2-2 and now have an away goal and the two sides are back on the same page.
The goal came with five minutes to go, and the Arsenal were hoping to reach the Champions League final, but United did not expect to score in the last minute.
It's a psychological contrast, United haven't given up, they've been working hard, while Arsenal are already looking forward to the post-game celebrations, and now the two sides are back on the same starting line, meaning they will have to go into extra-time if Arsenal can't score in the next few minutes.
Manchester United's goal was a big blow to Arsenal's morale. Most of the players are reluctant to play extra-time, and even less willing to play penalty shoot-outs, which is a double torture for all players, both physically and physically.
Arsene Wenger was a bit conservative at this time, and he 'handed over' his tactical adjustments to the players on the pitch, with Arsenal retracting from the defence and not conceding any more goals and waiting for extra-time against Manchester United. Arsene Wenger doesn't think Arsenal have a chance to score in the remaining minutes, and if they press out to attack, the backline will inevitably be free, and if Manchester United score another goal at this time, it will be completely finished. Therefore, Arsene Wenger's idea is to stabilize the next few minutes of the game and wait for extra-time and Manchester United to fight hard.
However, just three minutes later, the situation on the field changed dramatically.
Scholes's long-range shot hit Gallas's small 'leg' and changed direction, and Almunia reacted quickly and saved the ball with great courage.
Corner kick.
Giggs's corner kick went into the penalty area, Klich pushed the ball out, Cesc Fabregas passed the ball to Rosicky, who was about to dribble forward, but was tackled by Park Ji-sung and decisively passed the football to Tevez in front, who was just about to turn around and was tackled to the ground by Gallas.
Manchester United were awarded a free-kick from a pretty good position outside the box.
Cristiano Ronaldo stood at the penalty spot.
His free-kick was quite beautiful, it went around the wall and also around the hand of Arsenal 'goalkeeper' Almunia, and flew into the net!
※※※※※※※
“gooooooooooooooooooooooaaaaaaaaaal!”
"Cristiano Ronaldo, goal-in, goal-in, goal-winning, goal-winning, goal-winning, Manchester United have overtaken the scoreline. ”
Ronaldo began to celebrate his goal wildly on the pitch, and the Manchester United players poured towards him like a tidal wave.
In the stands, Yang Fan jumped up, shook his fist vigorously, and let out a shout from his mouth. Cheer for Ronaldo's goal, which would have given United a 2-1 lead and two away goals, which means that if Arsenal want to turn the tables, they will have to score two goals in a row in the remaining game time, and there is not much time left in the game, which is almost an impossible task.
Almost at the same time as United scored, the fourth official held up an injury time sign on the sidelines. Time three minutes. This stoppage time is no longer of much significance for Arsenal, and their 'spirit' spirit was also crushed by Ronaldo's goal, and they were 'pumped' out!
Arsene Wenger on the sidelines rubbed his face vigorously, and the professor was now haggard and unable to recover.
There were three minutes of stoppage time, but at a minute and a half, United's substitutes gathered on the sidelines and waited for the referee to blow the whistle before rushing into the pitch to celebrate.
The camera once again cast to the grandstand box, Yang Fan was no longer there, and then, the camera captured Yang Fan who walked down from the stands and came to the bench, he couldn't wait to celebrate with his teammates. Although I know in my heart that in the remaining minute, Arsenal will not say that it will score two goals in a row, but it is very difficult to score a goal, but Yang Fan's heartbeat is still strong, the team reached the Champions League final, this will be Yang Fan's first time playing in the Champions League final, this is the ultimate dream of every player, it is the highest stage, Yang Fan's heart is 'excited' can't do it, he is worried in his heart, he said that football is round, a qiē is possible, accidents are a common thing?
Finally...... In this feeling of apprehension and 'agitation' and 'intercourse'......
Toot-toot-toot!
Three whistles!
"It's over!"
"The referee blows the whistle!"
"It's time for Manchester United, 2-1 Arsenal, they won away and eliminated Arsenal 3-2 on aggregate, defending champions Manchester United reached the final, they will fight the winner between Barcelona and Chelsea for the European title! Congratulations to Manchester United, congratulations to Ronaldo, congratulations to Yang Fan, congratulations to Wayne Rooney!
At the moment when the whistle sounded, Yang Fan, along with everyone else on the bench, rushed into the court 'excitedly' and hugged his teammates when he saw them. While hugging, shouting and screaming, 'excited' can't help themselves.
Yang Fan's eyes were full of tears, and his lips trembled because of the 'agitation', the final of the Champions League and the final of the Champions League!
I'm coming!
Yang Fan is here!
Here it comes!
Wait!
Are you ready?!!
That big stage, Yang Fan is here!
※※※※※※※
Ronaldo, who beat Arsenal in the last minute, was surrounded by most of his teammates as the goalkeeper.
Rooney knelt on the ground, his mouth full of words and 'excited'.
Yang Fan pulled Rooney up and celebrated the victory together.
"We're in the final. Yang Fan said with a serious face.
"Final!" Rooney nodded, his eyes shining as if they were shining.
In the 2008/2009 Champions League final, one ticket was produced as Manchester United eliminated Arsenal 3-2 to advance to the final.
After this match, Yang Fan, who has ended a three-game ban, will also be able to appear in the final.
In ecstasy, the entire United team did not stay on the pitch for long. After all, it's not good to be too publicized on other people's turf. Their celebrations were moved to the locker room.
Everyone was celebrating, yelling and shouting, and someone opened the champagne, shook it vigorously, and then slammed open the bottle as a weapon.
Ferguson's face was full of red light, the game was full of ups and downs, Manchester United scored two goals in the last five minutes, this process was too **, the old coach's heart almost couldn't bear it.
Ferguson waved his hand to silence the group. Then loudly announced, "You guys are doing well, now...... Let's go to the finals!"
The team returned to Manchester with glory.
Now, Manchester United is really likely to hit the quadruple, the League Cup is in hand, the league only needs to win one more game to win the title, the FA Cup is in the final, will compete with Chelsea for the title, and the Champions League is also the first to reach the final.
※※※※※※※
The next day, another Champions League semi-final was also over, with Barcelona drawing 1-1 at Stamford Bridge and ending the two legs 1-1 on aggregate, with Barcelona picking up an away goal to knock out Chelsea and advance to the final.
There were a lot of controversial penalties in this game, and the English media was in an uproar, bluntly saying that the existence of the 'yin' conspiracy theory: UEFA does not want Manchester United and Chelsea to meet in the final, and does not want to see the Champions League finals for two consecutive seasons in the Premier League civil war, so it favors Barcelona and sends Barcelona to the final.
Although there is a lot of controversy in this game, and some people even claim that Chelsea should be awarded seven penalties, in fact, strictly speaking, the real misjudgment of this game should be three:
The first time was in the 26th minute of the first half, when Chelsea striker Didier Drogba burst into the opposition penalty area and faced the 'goalkeeper' to form a one-on-one goal, which was pulled down from behind by Barcelona defender Abidal, and the referee did not make any decisions. It was clearly a penalty foul that should have been awarded, and Abidal should have even been sent off with a red card because he was the second-to-last defender of his side who had broken the opposition's obvious chance, and could have been given a red card under the rules.
The second time was in the 66th minute of the second half, when Chelsea striker Nicolas Anelka brushed off with Barcelona defender Abidal when he burst into the opposition penalty area, and the referee sent Abidal off with a red card. If Abidal did trip Anelka, there would be no problem in sending him off under the rules, but a slow-motion replay can confirm that Abidal did not have any contact with Anelka, whose fall was entirely self-inflicted, so it was clearly a miscalculation.
The third time came in the 82nd minute of the second half, when Chelsea striker Nicolas Anelka picked up the ball on the edge of the opposition box and tried to get past him, but the ball was blocked by Barcelona defender Pique in the box with a clearly open right hand, and then Pique cleared the ball and the referee did not give any penalty. It was clearly a deliberate handball in the box and a penalty should have been awarded, and Pique should have even been booked.
Of the three real miscalculations, two were Barcelona and one was Chelsea, so it was Chelsea who suffered in this game alone.
Of course, if the foul that happened on 26 minutes had been fairly adjudicated, Abidal had been sent off and Chelsea had been awarded a penalty, the game would have been different from the start, and there would have been no second-half mistake for Abidal, so overall, Chelsea have suffered a loss, so it's no wonder the English are so angry.
※※※※※※※
Manchester United knocked out Arsenal and the Red Devils reached the final.
Barcelona knocked out Chelsea and Barcelona reached the final.
Manchester United will face Barcelona in the final for European title this season.
Considering the war of words between Manchester United and Barcelona before, especially the old grudge between Yang Fan and Barcelona, coupled with Cristiano Ronaldo, the duel between these three talented players, this final has not yet come, and the media is already full of various remarks and comments.
After Manchester United's training session the next day, Yang Fan was surrounded by reporters, and the questions were all about Barcelona, the opponent in the final.
"The opponent in the final is Barcelona?" Yang Fan shrugged, "It doesn't matter who the opponent is, the important thing is that we enter the final, our goal is the championship, of course, the opponent is Barcelona, which is even more 'great'!"
"Last time you said Barcelona was afraid of you?"
"Did I say that?" Yang Fan smiled, and smiled very happily, "I am a striker, of course I hope that all opponents are afraid of me, but this is impossible, but you have to have such a goal, have such a heart, so there is nothing wrong with this, right?"
Many reporters feel that Yang Fan is secretly changing concepts and arguing with strong words, but you can't say that what people say is wrong, this is a striker's ideal, it is his goal, Yang Fan said so, what else can you say.
However, a reporter caught the taste of disdain in Yang Fan's smile, and decided in his heart to take this as a matter. For journalists, never doubt their ability and level of provoking trouble.
However, no one dared to laugh at Yang Fan, although he felt that his words were a bit arrogant, but the reporters reminded themselves that this kid was not easy to mess with, and he had already 'slap' everyone who questioned him and ridiculed him with practical actions.
Now you laugh at him, don't be arrogant, Barcelona will be afraid of you?
If he said that, maybe he would have slapped you with a goal in the final? And, thinking about it this way, I think the possibility is really high.
Don't doubt Yang Fan's ability to score goals, this is a consensus of all media reporters who have contacted Yang Fan at present. Of course, the person who deliberately found fault and deliberately hacked him said something else.
※※※※※※※
Barcelona and Manchester United will meet in the final, and the global media will pay attention.
Manchester United has Cristiano Ronaldo, Yang Fan, Barcelona has Messi, these are the three most watched talents in football today.
This final is a showdown between Manchester United and Barcelona, and it is also an opportunity for these three to show their football talents to everyone on this big stage.
This is Ronaldo's second Champions League final, having stood at the top of Europe with a win over Chelsea in last year's final. For Yang Fan and Messi, this is their first Champions League final, and both of them have been looking forward to the highest stage of this footballer's dream.
Defending champions Manchester United reached the Champions League final with the whole of England cheering, and after Chelsea were ''gone' by UEFA, the Englishman put their hopes of revenge on Manchester United.
In addition, no defending champions have been able to defend their title after the Champions League restructuring, and now that Manchester United have reached the final, everyone expects Manchester United to break that curse.
Especially considering that Manchester United are also one step away from the title in the FA Cup, in the league. The possibility of Manchester United winning the quadruple has only added to the excitement of Manchester United's fans, who are now in a state of extreme euphoria, with Manchester's bars now regularly full.
England was in a big airfrenzy, jubilant, and in Yang Fan's motherland, China, it was even more popular -- just kidding! The first appearance of a Chinese player on the stage of the final of the top competition in European football was definitely a big event that made history. This is a memorable day in the history of Chinese football.
Many people say that this is the happiest day except for the 2001 World Cup in South Korea and Japan. Many people think that with this one thing, Yang Fan is enough to become a figure worthy of special mention in the history of Chinese sports.
With UEFA's promotion of the Champions League, the Champions League's influence around the world is now increasing day by day, and even some surveys show that the ratings of the Champions League final are not much different even compared to the World Cup final.
Now, Yang Fan is going to play the Champions League final with Manchester United, and Yang Fan is not a cat and a dog on the bench, he is the offensive core of Manchester United, an important star of Manchester United, the second place in the World Footballer and European Footballer of the Year, and one of the most "outstanding" stars on the planet. The stage of the Champions League final will be a new *** and a sublimation of Yang Fan's career.
Some media are already hoping and predicting that if Yang Fan can help Manchester United successfully defend the title, win the Champions League and stand on the top of Europe, Yang Fan will be the most powerful contender for the European Footballer of the Year in 2009.
In addition, some Chinese football 'fans' are also thinking that if Yang Fan wins the Champions League, his influence will reach a new peak, and when the time comes, I am afraid that the Chinese Football Association will no longer be able to turn a blind eye to Yang Fan, is this an opportunity for Yang Fan to return to the national team? !
Where do these simple ball 'fans' know, not to mention anything else, Yang Fan ranked second in the selection of World Footballer of the Year and European Footballer, he scored goals like hemp in Manchester United, he is an important star of Manchester United, is the core of the attack, and any of them, how can the Football Association not know, any of them, let alone Chinese football, is to change to Brazil, Argentina, Italy, Yang Fan is the absolute main force of the national team, is the core of the team, and only the Chinese Football Association pretends not to see it, can't hear it, it seems that Chinese football has never produced such a big star as Yang Fan who is dominating the world football......
Regardless, Manchester United and Barcelona will meet in the Champions League final, which is considered to be the most anticipated final in recent years. Cristiano Ronaldo, Yang Fan, Messi, the duel and collision between these three talented superstars. A king-to-king contest!