On the evening of August 17, the 2001-02 Premier League season officially kicked off. At 19:45, Blackburn Rovers sat at home to Derby County, who were not a strong opponent, in the opening game, and they had the advantage in the schedule.

Blackburn Rovers signed Stam, Frank Lampard and Cambiasso this summer, and the transfer fee of these three signings is as high as nearly 60 million euros, and the preseason game was a 5-2 victory over the French giants Marseille.

"I hope the new season can get off to a good start!" Blackburn Rovers including Mensa Bonsu and Monchi gathered in Arthur's chairman's box to watch the team's first official game of the new season.

"No problem, we've done so much work in the summer, it's just a little Derby, Mensah, don't be that nervous." Arthur quipped with a laugh.

From the tears of joy after Blackburn Rovers returned to the Premier League last season, to the full expectation of the team's future tension, Arthur's sense of Mensa Bonsu, the old man of Blackburn, has already changed drastically, knowing that if the club wants to develop in the long run, it cannot only be completely obedient to his descendants, and Mensa Bonsu is also indispensable for an old man like Mensa Bonsu who occasionally opposes himself but always loves the team.

After Blackburn's promotional song for the new season, the starters from both sides began to take action.

Jose Mourinho naturally attaches great importance to the team's first Premier League game, and Blackburn Rovers presented a relatively complete squad today, with new signings such as Stam and Frank Lampard all starting.

Blackburn Rovers start: 4-2-3-1.

Goalkeeper: 1 - Friedel.

Defenders: 3 - Finnan, 4 - Henning Berg, 6 - Stam, 2 - Jeff Kenna.

Defenders: 14-Alonso, 19-Cambiasso

Midfielders: 7-Benayoun, 8-Frank Lampard, 11-Darmian Duff.

Forward: 10 - Ibrahimovic.

"It's time to start!" Arthur interrupted the club executives who were still talking in the box.

"Drop!" With the referee's whistle blowing, Blackburn's 2001-02 season has officially begun!

With this whistle, tens of thousands of Blackburn Rovers fans in the stands immediately let out the first chorus cheers of the whole game, waving the air sticks in their hands issued by the club, and shouting loudly "Guns and roses!" Guns & Roses! ”

Whether it was the blue air stick waving in the hands of the fans or the new slogan, Arthur ordered the club to give a unified explanation to the home fans who watched the game, on the one hand, to boost the morale of the players on the field, and on the other hand, naturally to increase exposure.

Blackburn kicked off first, wearing half-white, half-blue jerseys and attacking from left to right in the first half. Derby County, who wore red jerseys, attacked from right to left.

However, it was not all smooth sailing from the start of the game, with Mourinho standing on the edge of the command zone from the first seconds of the game.

Jose Mourinho's team will not have much of a problem defensively, and it is clear that the team's attack has encountered problems at this time, after all, the official Premier League game is completely different from the warm-up game, and against Derby County, who are bent on shrinking the defence, Blackburn's sharp and fast attack is difficult to play.

Blackburn wanted to get a good result this season and win a cup trophy, and Mourinho had already formulated the team's tactics, which were to defend and counter-attack.

In Mourinho's view, he has two fast wing-backs, a centre-forward who is often like a god, a midfield core that is precise where to play and a top midfield core with a rhythm control, a midfielder who is as difficult as a kraft candy, and a backline that is both experienced and immediate...... With such a lineup, isn't it a waste of staffing if you don't play defensive counterattacks?

He doesn't need the team to play well, he needs the result.

In competitive sports, it doesn't matter how the scene is, winning is the last word!

Blackburn took the initiative on the pitch and Derby were clearly pinned down at half-time. The home side dominated 60 per cent of the time they had the ball and it was only a matter of time before they scored. Derby County have yet to have a shot on target, while Blackburn have had three shots, but the likes of Ibrahimovic and Duff, who are in their first Premier League appearance, are rather frizzy and are always close to scoring.

With about 20 minutes into the game, Blackburn's young players were in a much less restrained state. Frank Lampard, in particular, who has already played in the Premier League, has shown the psychological qualities of a modern striker, and his heavy shot from the top of the box gave the Derby County goalkeeper an embarrassing save.

In the games that followed, both sides were in improved form. Blackburn Rovers began to pick up the tempo at Mourinho's cue and try to find some opportunities by changing gears.

However, Derby County, who only wanted to get a point away from home, did not panic, they followed the tactics arranged by the coach to stabilize the defence, although they paid the price of two yellow cards in ten minutes, but did not let Blackburn's changes pay off.

It wasn't until near the end of the first half that Blackburn had their first real chance to score -

Duff's midfielder made a sudden change in the situation, and after receiving the ball for the last time, he pretended to continue to pass back, but suddenly stepped on the ball with the sole of his foot and flicked forward. Such a light little gesture immediately got rid of the defenders around him who were ready to intercept the passing route.

After Duff ran more than ten meters on the side, he pushed the ball with a strong arch of his foot and went straight to Ibrahimovic on the forward line.

The Derby County No.5 made a tackle but did not touch the football, while the other centre-back spread his arms and pressed his body close to Ibrahimovic, who was about to receive the football.

Eevee leaned into position with his strong body and gently arched his ass to gain some more space. Before taking the ball, he raised his head, and in a flash of inspiration, he smoothed the ball with the arch of his foot while receiving the ball, and then launched a straight ball.

It's Frank Lampard again!

Frank Lampard was already on the run at the same time as Duff's pass, and now he was cutting into the box at high speed from the bevel corner of the box, and after receiving a clever pass from Ibrahimovic, he didn't stop the ball and fired a powerful shot at goal.

The Derby County goalkeeper was about to make a move, but his body couldn't keep up with the reaction, and he half-turned and watched the ball fly towards the far corner.

However......

With a "bang", the ball hit the post.

The Blackburn Rovers fans were ready to celebrate, but the next moment there was a huge sigh en masse.

'At the end of the first half, Derby had good luck and they should have been behind. We did a great job, especially Frank's two long-range shots, £16 million was definitely worth it! Mensa Bangsu commented with a hand of dance.

Arthur was not as optimistic as his deputy: "Mensah, what if the second half still can't open the game? To be honest, I would have liked the team to win, but Derby County don't seem to be bad defensively. ”

"Impossible! There will be goals in the second half very quickly, and definitely more than one. Mensa Bangsu replied conclusively.

After the start of the second half, it was still Blackburn who laid siege to Derby County.

In the 61st minute, a breakthrough by Benayoun created a dangerous situation.

After getting past a defender, Benayoun and Ibrahimovic played a small link-up. Benayoun's acceleration after a pass, Ibrahimovic received the ball, just like the first half-time pass to Frank Lampard, only lightly unloaded the power and immediately stopped the ball a metre away from him.

After Benayoun ran into place, he shot the ball angrily, and the ball grazed the crossbar and flew into the stands, causing a sigh from the Blackburn fans behind the goal.

Five minutes later, Blackburn Rovers were back in action, this time by Marcos Alonso, who sent a very high quality half-high ball through ball from the centre circle, but Ibrahimovic barely managed to get the ball under the interference of the opposition defenders, and the shot was finally held by the Derby County goalkeeper.

In the 71st minute, Ibrahimov fired another long-range shot from outside the penalty area, but unfortunately the angle was too square, and he was held in the arms of the Derby County goalkeeper again.

In the 82nd minute, after Ibrahimovic, who had already begun to be impatient, received the ball, ignored Benayoun's running position and chose to force a shot by himself, but unfortunately hit the shoulder of the opponent's defender and popped up the bottom line.

"It looks the same as I thought, maybe we are going to start the season with a draw." Arthur was not happy that his prediction was correct, but was a little depressed.

At this time, Arthur really hoped that the Blackburn players on the field could use the goal to hit themselves in the face.

"Alas!" Mensa Bangsu also shook his head frequently.

With 80 minutes played, the crowd at Ewood Park became increasingly anxious and noisy, with huge boos being sent to the Derby County players who were constantly delaying the clock.

At this time, Mourinho's three substitutions have been used up, and at this time, he can only rely on constant yelling on the sidelines to direct the game and make fine-tuning.

But in fact, when the game is played to this part, the effect of this method is not obvious, and it is more dependent on the player's own willpower to support the rest of the game.

The referee looked at his watch, and the two minutes of stoppage time were almost out.

In the last minute of stoppage time, Finnan took a corner kick that would be the final leg of the game.

Finnan's cross went straight to the penalty spot, and the defenders gritted their teeth against the Blackburn Rovers who tried to grab the spot, and the two sides became entangled with each other, and the whole box was overturned.

In the end, it was not known whether it was the defender or the attacking player who touched it, but the football ghost bounced towards the goal, but the Derby County goalkeeper did not react.

"Didi!"

Whistle blows!

Lore!

Blackburn Rovers really beat Derby County at the last second and got the new season off to a good start!

At this time, the emotions of more than 30,000 home fans in Ewood Park Stadium that had been brewing all summer finally came out, some hugging each other, some waving their fists, all shouting and cheering!

"It's really xxx beautiful!" Arthur also clenched his fists and shouted in the box, excited like an ordinary fan.

In this game, they gained far more than just three points in the standings, but a step for the growth and improvement of the entire young Blackburn Rovers club!

This step will lead Blackburn to a glorious championship road!