Chapter 42: Ancelotti (7000 words)

After the United States returned to England after dealing with all the things that followed the Warriors buyout, Blackburn brought almost all the bad news to Arthur at this time. Pen, fun, pavilion www. biquge。 info

Blackburn were knocked out of the Champions League by Manchester United before reaching the semi-finals this season, and although Carlo Ancelotti got off to a good start in the quarter-finals with a perfect first leg of 3-1 at the Rose Theatre, the Red Devils returned to Old Trafford to deliver their most beautiful comeback of the season, knocking Blackburn out of the tournament with a strong 2-0 performance.

Losing the Champions League wasn't Blackburn's only exit in March, as they were beaten 2-1 by Roberto Mancini's Manchester City in the Carabao Cup final and lost in the final for the first time since Arthur took charge, while Blackburn were knocked out 1-0 by Arsenal in the FA Cup semi-finals – in just half a month, Blackburn were left with only one Premier League front.

And in the Premier League, how did Blackburn perform in the Premier League?

When Arthur went to the United States to participate in the Warriors' acquisition, Blackburn ranked third in the standings with 41 points from 20 rounds, three points behind Manchester United at the top of the table, and when Arthur returned home, Blackburn's 34th round of league games had just been completed, and Blackburn's points were only 64 points after the game.

64 points, which also means that in the 4 rounds of the league from the 21st to the 34th round, Ancelotti only got 23 points.

Arthur was also clearly dissatisfied and angry when he saw the 64 points, because according to the Premier League points in previous seasons, even if Blackburn Rovers won the last four rounds, they may not be able to ensure that they can qualify for the Champions League.

But Arthur soon became surprised again, because Blackburn, who only had 64 points, are now second in the Premier League table, only six points behind Manchester United at the top of the table.

"Uh, what's going on?" Arthur really doesn't understand this season's Premier League, "Is it possible to win the Premier League title with more than 70 points?" ”

Although Arthur really couldn't figure it out, the facts told him that in the current situation, the maximum number of points that a Premier League team could get by the end of the season was only 82 points.

82 points?

Arthur recalled the 02-03 Arsenal unbeaten title season, and the tragedy of Blake's 90 points this season still unable to win the league title.

In fact, Arthur's doubts are only because there are more teams that can compete for the league title in the Premier League this season, and the original BIG4 have never been able to adjust their state to a satisfactory point.

Manchester United's problems this season have mainly been with Wayne Rooney: Rooney's poor form is the most unstable factor in the team, the prostitution scandal in September, and the explosive news that Fat and Alex Ferguson refused to renew their contract with the club before mid-October, but the end result is a five-year contract extension that has turned around happily, although the team's away results in the league have not improved much, although the first three points in the away game against Stoke City were the only win for Manchester United in the Premier League before the new year. Despite the dismal away results, the unbeaten run has kept Manchester United in the top three in the rankings, and has laid the foundation for a solitary top-of-the-table finish.

Behind Manchester United and Blackburn Rovers in the table is the Blues Chelsea. Manuel Pellegrini had already managed to establish Chelsea as an ideal force in the second half of last season, and it was thought that with last season's main squad and individual additions, the Blues had a chance to dominate the Premier League. However, the aging of the main squad and a series of injuries, coupled with the firing of assistant coach Wilkins, made Chelsea abandon their martial arts before they could meet the enemy, and the end of defeat was actually doomed as early as last summer.

Currently sitting fourth in the table is Blue Moon Manchester City.

The train runs fast because of the headband. As Manchester City manager, Roberto Mancini has his own qualities: defensively, consistency, and a penchant for gradual reinvention of the team. To coach an "upstart" like Manchester City, Mancini first needs to determine a set of fixed tactical play, and then optimize the allocation of resources as much as possible according to the personnel situation in the team, and the Manchester City coach still does a good job in this regard. Starting from the defense, improving the interception and destruction of the team's midfield, the front court mainly relies on Silva's strategy and Tevez's brave play, Mancini's tactics are very pragmatic, "build a high wall, accumulate food, and slow to be king" in exchange for Manchester City's dream of the Champions League this season.

Mancini certainly has his own shortcomings, such as cronyism, poor on-field command, lack of technical aspects in the team's attack, and over-reliance on a few players, but at least at this stage, he is still a competent Manchester City manager.

Manchester City's progress this season has been impressive, but they still have a long way to go from nouveau riche to aristocrats. Whether Roberto Mancini's side can replicate Chelsea's successful trajectory, time will tell.

Arsenal continue to play the role of the "race for four" this season - but unlike the previous chasers, this season's Gunners have become chasers and are likely to fail.

Objectively speaking, compared to the dismal end of the previous season, the Gunners have improved this season, reaching the final of the League Cup, and the Premier League still has hope of winning the title until the last minute. However, it must also be noted that the Gunners have missed too many great opportunities during this season, and the emergence of a series of tragedies can be seen as inevitable by chance, because Arsenal does have many problems of their own, such as losing good games; Slow growth and lack of experience among young players; Arsene Wenger is stubborn and ineffective in recruitment; As well as too many injuries and too many ups and downs.

As for Liverpool, who are in 6th place?

Well, the Reds are no longer the team that Arthur needs to focus on, because the Reds without Steven Gerrard are hardly a match for Blackburn.

It was in the absence of the rest of the powerhouses that Blackburn, who had been strangely in the doldrums this season, were able to occupy second place in the Premier League table with a rare low of 64 points, and were just six points away from Manchester United at the top of the table - just two wins away.

Thanks to Blackburn's defence, they have only conceded 17 goals in 34 rounds and currently have a goal difference advantage of 53, while Manchester United has only 34 goal difference, which means that as long as Blackburn can catch up with the six-point gap, then with a goal difference, Blackburn can squeeze Manchester United out and successfully defend the league title.

So, does Blackburn have this chance to take his destiny into his own hands?

On May 21, in the 38th round of the Premier League, Blackburn will face Manchester United at home!

"Ancelotti, this guy is really tough!" Arthur couldn't help but sigh, although he had promised Ancelotti that he would not fire him as long as he didn't lose all four this season.

But as the head coach of a champion like Blackburn, can Carlo Ancelotti, who has only won the Community Shield, UEFA Super Cup and Club World Cup this season, really be able to secure the position of manager after the season?

Ancelotti would not have been naïve enough to trust Arthur's assurances in a casual message.

However, if they beat Manchester United in the final round of the season and win the title with a miraculous comeback, Carlo Ancelotti will undoubtedly be Blackburn's manager next season.

That's why Arthur said that Ancelotti was hard.

But Carlo Ancelotti's life doesn't stop there.

At 21:05 on May 1, the 35th round of the 2010-11 English Premier League staged a key match: Arsenal at the Emirates Stadium at home faced the leader Manchester United.

This is Arsenal's 100th home game to face Manchester United in an official match, after the Gunners had an absolute advantage with 56 wins, 17 draws and 26 losses, but the last 7 matches between the two sides, the Red Devils are unbeaten with 6 wins and 1 draw, including 4 clean sheets against the Gunners, and Manchester United, which has only 5 wins away from home in the Premier League this season, has also significantly improved in 4 away games in April with 3 wins and 1 draw without defeat, while Arsenal has not won a win in the last 3 rounds.

In this game, Arsenal Rosicky and Cesc Fabregas were exempted due to injury; For Manchester United, Paul Scholes remains suspended, Ryan Giggs is rested, and the starting line is still a combination of Wayne Rooney and Dimitar Berbatov.

At the start of the first half, Arsenal dominated possession. In the 3rd minute, Walcott crossed from the right, Ferdinand cleared the ball poorly, and Wilshere hit a right-footed shot from the middle. Nani then tried to shoot high from the right corner of the penalty area.

In the 7th minute, Van Persie received a pass from Sri and headed the ball out of the bottom line. Immediately, Klich crossed from the left and Walcott managed to get the ball past the woodwork when he was close to the guard.

In the first 10 minutes, the ratio of possession between the two sides was 78%:22%. In the 14th minute, Wilshere broke into the penalty area with the ball and crossed to the far end, and Evra grabbed the ball before Walket cleared the ball out of the bottom line to save. After 15 minutes of fruitless Arsenal's onslaught, the tempo of the game slowed down.

In the 20th minute, Fabio cut in at high speed and received a pass from Nani and knocked it horizontally, and Berbatov's shot was directly blocked by Sagna from the bottom line. In the 31st minute, Theo Walcott's diagonal cross from the right was clearly outstretched by Ferdinand to reach out with his left hand to interfere with the ball when he cleared before Van Persie, and Arsenal's Dutch striker ran to the linesman but protested to no avail.

In the 38th minute, Rooney received a pass from Evra on the left flank, and a low shot from outside the box touched Julu and missed the bottom line. In the 39th minute, Rooney actively pushed down Wilshere and received a yellow card. In the 43rd minute, Anderson's shot from the edge of the penalty area lacked power and was held by Szczesny.

In the first half of the game, Arsenal and Manchester United maintained a 0:0 draw and entered the half-time break.

At the start of the second half, Rooney's direct right-footed free-kick from 30 yards out was blocked by Szczesny, and Patrice Evra's low-angle tackle hit the side-netting. In the 52nd minute, Sania cut inside and fired a powerful low left-footed shot from 22 meters out that missed the far end. One minute later, Nani's cross from the right flank was unsuccessful for Berbatov to head over and the ball was confiscated by Szczesny.

In the 56th minute, Van Persie received a through ball from Ramsey in the middle of the field and burst into the right side of the penalty area to get rid of Evra and then did it back, Ramsey scored with a low right-footed shot into the bottom left corner of the goal from 13 meters, Arsenal 1:0.

It was also Ramsey's first goal back at Arsenal after returning from a broken leg.

In the 62nd minute, A-Song kicked down Evra and held the ball to delay time, which caused dissatisfaction between Nani and Rooney, which once caused players on both sides to gather and argue, but fortunately, the situation was quickly controlled.

In the 73rd minute, Berbatov replaced Berbatov. One minute later, Rooney's direct free-kick from the left rib was held by Szczesny.

In the 85th minute, Ferguson brought on Macheda to make a last-ditch push for Carrick. In the 87th minute, Rooney picked up a pass, and Klich kicked Owen in the box and the latter fell, but referee Foy still refused to award a penalty.

After 4:14 of stoppage time, the game ended at full-time, and Arsenal beat Manchester United 1-0 to take all three points.

Arsenal relied on the winning goal of the post-90s teenager Ramsey to defeat Manchester United 1-0, subduing the Red Devils for the first time in two and a half years, achieving the first win in the last four league games, and also extending the unbeaten league record at home to 11 games, and Manchester United got their fourth league defeat of the season.

In the other game of the round at the same time, Blackburn Rovers take on Newcastle United at the Rose Theatre.

This is the 24th meeting between Blackburn and Newcastle in the Premier League era, the first 23 times Blackburn have 14 wins, 4 draws and 5 losses, including 9 wins, 1 draw and 1 loss in 11 home games, and the last five home games against Newcastle have all won.

In this game, Blackburn's two captains, Duff and Frank Lampard, Torres and Thiago Silva, are all suspended, Drogba and Hernandez form a double striker, and Alonso wears the captain's armband for Blackburn for the 400th time, ranking second in Blackburn's all-time appearance list behind Cech and Lampard.

In the 7th minute, Branislav Ivanovic crossed from the left side of the penalty area, Nolan cleared the ball with a header, and Ozil's shot from the right side of the penalty spot slid past the left post. One minute later, Didier Drogba played the ball and Bale's powerful shot was blocked by a defender on the touchline.

In the 10th minute, Blackburn broke the deadlock on the field, Bentley crossed from the right, Drogba's header was blocked by Williamson, and J Ronaldo's 16-yard follow-up shot flew into the net after refraction, scoring the third goal in the last two games, 1:0!

In the 18th minute, Bale's free kick from the left side flew directly out of the right post.

In the 23rd minute, Kompany's powerful 25-yard shot caused Krul to save the ball, but the Newcastle goalkeeper reacted quickly to save it before Mesut Ozil and Drogba could make a follow-up shot.

At the end of the first half, Blackburn Rovers led Newcastle 1-0 thanks to J Ronaldo's goal.

Newcastle came close to equalising just 40 seconds into the second half, when Nolan's cross from the left was met by Barton's post-mortem shot from the right post.

In the 47th minute, Hernandez's right-hand volley from the penalty spot went wide of the right post. In the 58th minute, Bale's cross from the left side of the penalty area hit the crossbar with a miraculous touch.

However, 1 minute later, Blackburn still managed to extend the lead, Cech opened a big kick at the back, Hernandez was brought down by Williamson near the bottom line on the left side of the penalty area, referee Wharton awarded a penalty, Drogba deceived Krul and shot into the bottom left corner of the goal, 2:0!

It was Drogba's fourth consecutive Premier League goal.

In the 65th minute, Blackburn extended the lead to three goals, Hernandez mistakenly hit and Drogba to complete a 2-over-1 cooperation, and the Mexican shooter pushed into the bottom right corner of the net in front of the small penalty area, 3:0!

In the end, Blackburn beat Newcastle 3-0 at home, while Manchester United are three points ahead of Blackburn Rovers with three games remaining in the league.

On May 8, the 36th round of the English Premier League will be the focus of the match: Manchester United at Old Trafford will face Chelsea. The game was the 161st main meeting between the two clubs and the fourth meeting in 68 days, with the Reds beating Chelsea twice in the Champions League last month, but the Blues have now won three games in a row in the league. In this game, Manchester United team except for the injured Evra is absent, the rest are the strongest configuration, Rooney and Berbatov continue to partner in the attack; For Chelsea, Sheva was on the bench, Nicolas Anelka in the middle, and Kalou and Malouda on the wings.

Just 36 seconds into the first half, United scored a dream start. After the ball was broken on the left side of the Manchester United backfield, Giggs immediately instigated a counterattack, Park Ji-sung went straight in the midfield, Luis failed to tackle, and Berbatov successfully pushed the left corner of the goal from 16 meters to score his 20th goal of the season, 1:0!

In the 19th minute, Anelka's header in the box was blocked by Friedel, and Kalou's reshot was confiscated by the American veteran.

In the 23rd minute, Ryan Giggs got rid of Kalou's cross after combining a tactical corner kick with Park Ji-sung on the left, and Ferdinand headed the ball from the edge of the six-yard box to give Manchester United a 2-0 lead, which was also the fifth goal of the season for the Manchester United captain.

In the 30th minute, Anelka's direct free kick from the left rib from 30 meters away was blocked by Friedel. Two minutes later, Nicolas Anelka had another shot from a free-kick that had been moved to the right from about a distance, but this time it was wide of the near corner.

In the first 35 minutes, Chelsea had 79 per cent possession but were two goals down. In the first half, Manchester United led Chelsea 2-0 into the half-time break.

At the start of the second half, both teams made changes at the same time, with Chelsea bringing on Ramires and Alex and United bringing on Evans for O'Shea. In the 51st minute, Malouda's low shot from outside the area was about to deflect off the right post. One minute later, Valencia broke through and crossed the ball into Gerrard's outstretched arm in the box, but referee Webb did not award a penalty. In the 61st minute, Manuel Pellegrini played the last card and replaced Kalou with Sheva.

In the 68th minute, Ramirez took advantage of Evans' tight and accurate cross on the right side, Bosingwa jumped up to head the ball, Ferdinand fell and failed to be offside, Gerrard stretched out his left foot on the edge of the small penalty area to stab a point back, 1:2. Gerrard, who scored in three consecutive games, scored his 13th club goal of the season.

Immediately, Manchester United made a successful tackle in front, Berbatov crossed from the right side of the penalty area, Rooney fell to the ground and swept the ball away from Alex, who was in the position of the fill-in, in front of the goal line.

In the end, Manchester United defeated Chelsea 2-1 at home to win 16 consecutive home games and get three valuable points.

In the same round of Blackburn Rovers, they still maintained their strong position, going to Craven Cottage to beat Fulham 5-2. Bale scored the fastest goal of the season in the Premier League just 31 seconds into the first half, and then the Welshman scored two more to complete his hat-trick, scoring his seventh goal in the last three games, and the first hat-trick of his career. Fernando Torres scored the third goal, while Didier Drogba also had a net. For Fulham, two goals from Dembele and Sidwell saved face for the home side.

After this game, the difference between Blackburn Rovers and Manchester United is still three points, and they can see the dawn of the league title again.

This season's Premier League title race is destined to continue until the final round.

In the 37th round of the Premier League, Manchester United is still a tough battle, facing the sworn enemy Liverpool.

Ferguson rotated in this game, Friedel and Park Ji-sung were not in the squad, Evra sat on the bench and used the strongest combination in the attacking line, Nani and Valencia were separated on the wings, and Giggs made his 573rd Premier League appearance, surpassing James' record of 572.

However, it was Liverpool who scored first, in the 20th minute, Rodriguez received Glen Johnson's cross from the right and just rubbed it, Kuytert stopped the ball in the penalty area and then divided the ball, and Carroll, who was unguarded at the back point, fired a low left-footed shot into the far corner from 6 yards, Liverpool 1:0.

This is Carroll's 14th league goal this season, and after training at Blackburn, he is much stronger in this life than his own in the same period in his previous life in terms of confidence, technology and other aspects, although he still has not been able to play the level of last summer's European transfer champion, but it is not considered a parallel import.

At the end of the first half, Manchester United was 1-0 down.

At the beginning of the second half, Manchester United played without hurry, and in the 60th minute, Berbatov burst into the box with the ball and was brought down by Reina, and the referee awarded a penalty after asking the linesman's opinion.

Wayne Rooney tricked Reina into sending the ball into the back of the net to give United a 1-1 equaliser, but the one-point draw was not a satisfactory result for United, who were only three points ahead of Blackburn.

However, as a sworn enemy, although Liverpool is destined to miss the European competition this season, they are still willing to add to Manchester United's blockage, and in the end, under Liverpool's stubborn defense, Manchester United had to swallow the ending of a 1:1 handshake with Liverpool.

Manchester United have dropped points against Liverpool, so can Blackburn make the most of this opportunity?

An hour after the Manchester United and Liverpool game, Blackburn Rovers host Chelsea.

Chelsea made changes to their starting line-up for the final home game of the season, with Sheva, who announced his retirement after the season, making a rare appearance as a centre-forward, Nicolas Anelka and Benayoun alongside Fernando Torres and Malouda on the bench. In midfield, Essien and Mikel were both rested on the bench, with Ramires and youngsters McKecheren and Steven Gerrard forming the midfield. At the back, Alex and John Terry partnered in central defence.

Carlo Ancelotti is also determined to win this game, not only because he wants to catch up with Manchester United in front of him, but also because Blackburn Rovers are only 4 points ahead of Chelsea, if this game is lost, then once Blackburn can not win in the final round, then not only will he not win the title, but he may even slip to the third place in the standings.

However, Carlo Ancelotti seemed to be overly concerned, as Blackburn broke the deadlock just two minutes into the opening period, when Frank Lampard's corner from the left was met in front of goal, Torres nodded the ball back, and Branislav Ivanovic followed up in the middle to outflank the net from close range to make it 1-0.

In the 7th minute, Torres received Mesut Ozil's through ball from outside the box and fired a powerful volley, but the ball was deflected.

However, Chelsea equalised just three minutes later when Steven Gerrard's powerful volley from outside the box hit Ramirez's ass in ambush and rolled into the net to make it 1-1.

For such a goal conceded, Blackburn is helpless in addition to helplessness.

Luck, sometimes it's really such a headache.

In the 20th minute, Frank Lampard's free-kick in front of goal was not far away from the Chelsea defenders, but Bale's volley from inside the box was deflected wide.

In the 27th minute, Chelsea's attack from the left was widely shifted to the middle, and the old Sheva volleyed a powerful shot from outside the box, but the ball went just wide. In the 28th minute, Benayoun broke through and crossed in front of the goal, and Vermaelen cleared the siege and almost set himself up for an own goal.

In stoppage time, Ramirez was shown a yellow card by the referee for a foul at the back. At the end of the first half, Blackburn Rovers drew 1-1 at home to Chelsea.

In the second half, the two sides changed places, and in the 47th minute, Ashley Cole split the ball on the left, and Bale got the ball outside the box and adjusted it to volley from the right, but the ball was slightly wide.

In the 64th minute, Blackburn made a substitution, Drogba replaced J Ronaldo, Chelsea also replaced Ramirez by Malouda, and Essien replaced McEachran, and it is clear that both Pellegrini and Carlo Ancelotti are ready to bring the final decisive moment forward to this moment.

In the 73rd minute, Chelsea exceeded the score at home, and Bridge, who had not become a "green hat" in his life, took a free kick from the right side of the penalty area to the goal, Cech made a mistake, and Alex scored 2:1 with an empty goal at the back point.

In the first minute of injury time of the game, Blackburn Rovers stubbornly equalized, the old captain Duff sent a corner kick from the left, Thiago Silva took advantage of the corner kick opportunity to head the goal from 2 meters in front of the goal, and the ball went into the net, 2:2.

At full-time, Chelsea were held to a 2-2 draw by Blackburn Rovers in the final home game of the season thanks to a very lucky goal from two defenders, Ramires and Alex.

Although Blackburn Rovers equalised late to secure a top-two spot in the league this season, the failure to take all three points was a failure for them - they were unable to secure the crucial three points despite a draw held by Manchester United.

Before the final round of matches, the gap between Blackburn and Manchester United is still three points, who is the champion, is still uncertain, and the next round of direct competition between the two teams will be the highest climax of the Premier League this season.