Captain George. Wood announced a contract extension as the team beat Manchester City 2-0 away. The combination of these two events has given Nottingham Forest's morale and confidence at an all-time high.

Celtic, the upcoming Champions League group stage opponents, Forest's players also said in interviews that there is no problem with winning at home.

Don asked Don to give him a list of people who had expressed this idea to the media or who were overconfident in their usual training. Then in the starting line-up for the first Champions League group game of the new season, none of these people were listed.

Overconfidence is the most serious problem in central midfield. The names of Shahin, Bostoke, Bentley, Kompany and Raphinha are all on that list.

Therefore, Celtic will see another Nottingham Forest team on the road - goalkeeper Akinfeev; Pepe and Woodgate at centre-back, Joe at left-back. Matok, right-back is Nkuru. The eternal captain of the midfield is St. George. Woodley continued to start without moving, and his position was unshakable. He was partnered with Thiago. Lennon on the right and Cohen on the left. Up front, Ruud van Nistelrooy is partnered by Abonlahor van Nistelrooy.

The failure to start Ibyshevic was motivated by a strategy to protect him and relieve pressure on him.

Celtic would never dare to say that they would be able to win comfortably against such a Nottingham Forest team. In fact, because Donn has always liked to take frequent rotations, the strength of each of his rosters is not far apart. Any set can be said to be the main lineup, and sometimes under his clever words, the one that is not favored can burst out with amazing energy...... Portsmouth in the 07-08 season was deeply touched by this, they thought that Nottingham Forest, who had greatly rotated the main lineup, was easy to bully, and planned to beat this invincible team and the invincible manager at home, they almost succeeded, but in the end they were beaten by the rampaged Nottingham Forest.

With these lessons learned, no one would dare to underestimate Nottingham Forest's second line-up......

Celtic have put on a defensive counter-attacking lineup on the road, trying to wait for an opportunity to sneak up on the basis of holding a point.

Donn expected his opponent to do the same. However, Nottingham Forest is no longer the team that only defended and counter-attacked. His squad is missing a playmaker like Shaheen. But George. Wood's offensive progress was also enough to reassure Done.

This midfield configuration also has the advantage of having two defensive midfielders in the midfield, cutting off the opponent's intended counter-attack route from the middle. In the formation, the two men stand side by side in the back, and the two wing-backs are very far forward, almost on the wingers, and it looks very far apart. But that's not the case in practice. With Wood and Thiago always taking turns forward, and the two wing-backs dropping back to pick up, there is no danger of being cut off if they are too far away.

Donn has always asked his players to be flexible, so his line-up doesn't mean the actual effect. Defensively, he demanded strict tactical discipline from everyone and did not do anything that should not be done. But offensively, he gave his players maximum freedom to play within the big frame of a tactic. As long as he can score, he doesn't care how it scores......

Back to the game itself.

The Celtics deployed heavy troops in the midfield and backfield, like a spider laying a web from heaven and earth, waiting for the post-80s Shaolin abbot to get out, and then using counterattacks to kill them.

Don is not a fool either, he demands that the team press properly, but the back line stays where it is. Jean Joe. One of the good things about starting Matok and Nkuru is that the two newcomers are much more obedient than the old fritters – yes, Bale has evolved into the old fritters! I know that stealing and playing slippery.

Donn didn't ask the full-backs to assist, but asked the central midfielders to plug in, which was originally two midfielders, but they kept taking turns to move forward in the game, causing the Celtic defense to be uncomfortable. Wood, in particular, has the speed and physicality that makes him a threat when he gets forward, not to mention his through balls getting sharper......

With only 30 minutes to play, Wood had already penetrated Celtic's heavy defence with two through balls, but neither Ruud van Nistelrooy nor Agbonlahor could get his hands on the ball.

But Celtic were also smart and immediately adjusted their defense. Shrink the backline even further and leave no room for Wood to pass through.

After seeing it from the sidelines, Donn got up from the dugout and made his first adjustment of the game.

He put Ruud van Nistelrooy up front, Abbon Lajora to the wing, freed up the middle, and ...... Intensify long-range shots.

George. Wood, Thiago, Lennon, Cohen, Abonlaho and even Ruud van Nistelrooy will try to shoot from distance whenever they get the chance.

Although the goal rate of long-range shots is probably the lowest of all ways to score goals. But Celtic created such a good opportunity for Donn, he didn't have to be too violent - after the Celtic backline shrank, a lot of space was formed at the edge of the penalty area, and on several occasions when Wood got the ball in that position, no Celtic player rushed up to defend at the first time, giving the Nottingham Forest players too many opportunities to adjust.

What are you waiting for if you don't shoot in this case?

It's also bad luck for the Celtics.

Wood, who is usually not on the right head, hit the woodwork with two long-range shots in quick succession. Although there was no goal, it caused a huge cheer from the stands of the City Stadium.

The Celtics were too slow to react to this, and they still didn't rush up to contain Wood's long-range shot.

So the third shot from distance was scored by Wood.

"Oooh, oh, George. Wood!! Nice long shot! Fast speed, great power, and awkward angles! He's getting better and better! Nottingham Forest lead 1-0 at home! ”

George after the goal. Surrounded by his teammates, Wood ran to the sidelines in a huddle to enjoy his own cheers.

"This is the best gift he can give to the club after the contract renewal! As always, he has played a consistent form, and his consistency has made his opponents desperate...... Such a guy has signed a five-year contract extension with Forest, Tony. Don must be the happiest man in the world! ”

Donn stood up and applauded Wood's goal, while he turned his head to the side and smiled at Don next to him: "Your efforts have paid off." He's shooting at a different level now than he was when I first met him. ”

Tang also applauded: "It's his efforts, I didn't do anything...... Demi is quite right, he is also a genius in this regard. ”

Speaking of Demi. Don was a little distracted. If Albertini had been around him, the Italian man wondered how happy he would be......

※※※

After the goal, it was a lot easier for Donn and Forest.

The core of his tactics is to put himself ahead and then fight back against the opponent...... This tactic is obscene, but it works the most.

Now it's up to you what your opponent's mentality is.

If Celtic feel that it's okay to lose a goal away from home, then they will continue to hold on and wait for a counter-attack opportunity to tie the score in the final minute of the game, then they have really earned it. It's a tough one for Donn – 1-0 is the least secure scoreline in the world, and he has to keep his team on their toes for the rest of the day, nervous and beware of counter-attacks as they keep besieging Celtic. It's too tiring for the players to play like this, and he doesn't want to play the rest of the game if he has the choice.

Another possibility is that Celtic are not willing to lose on the road and want at least one draw. Then you will try to attack it for the rest of the game. It's Donn's favorite way to deal with it, and he can go back and forth with his opponents on the court...... Of course, it's not a counter-attack, a fool only plays against a team that is bent on scoring goals, and he defends and counterattacks. The roles of the two teams are reversed.

In his bones, he still likes to yin others......

This time the Celtics didn't go as he hoped. They chose to stay on the ground and wait for an opportunity to sneak attack.

As a result, Donn had to stand on the sidelines and supervise the game, asking his players not to let their guard down.

At half-time, Don repeated this request to everyone, he analyzed the current situation for the team, and then asked them not to underestimate the enemy, not to take it lightly, not to relax their requirements, and the back line was still not allowed to press, beware of the opponent's rapid counterattack.

In this game he pressed all the players who were confident to the point of conceit on the bench, and in terms of player mentality, he was not worried about anything.

Now it's just a matter of praying that there won't be some inexplicable surprises on the pitch.

At the beginning of the second half, Celtic planned to take advantage of the fact that the game had just started and the opponent's attention was not very focused, and reacted violently to equalize the score. But Tony. Done had long expected that Nottingham Forest did not show a "lack of concentration", but also calculated it, beat Celtic on the counterattack a few times, and almost scored.

Now the Celtics are honest, retract and don't come out again.

The second half was rather dull. Nottingham Forest bombarded the Celtic penalty area and lacked some luck to keep scoring. And Celtic's few counter-attacking opportunities could not threaten Akinfeev's goal at all.

Nottingham Forest ended up with a narrow 1-0 win at home to Celtic to get their Champions League group of death off to a good start.

At the post-game press conference, Celtics head coach Rhodes. Stewater said helplessly: "This is football, I think a draw is a fair and reasonable result......

Donn almost laughed out loud - which eye of your old man sees a draw better for this game? He then said with a little sarcasm: "I'm not too happy because we only won one goal. ”

A reporter then asked: "Group C is the recognized group of death, does the victory over Celtic mean that Nottingham Forest have a head start on the road to qualifying from the group?" ”

"I don't think about it, as long as we keep winning, we're going to qualify. I'd rather focus on my opponent in the quarter-finals. ”

Scottish journalists may not have adapted to Tony yet. Donn is used to being arrogant, but England journalists are used to it, and they change the question: "Which two teams do you think will be in this group?" ”

Don tilted his head and looked at the reporter: "If I say that everyone has hope of qualifying, do you necessarily be very dissatisfied?" Think I'm prevaricating you? ”

He said the truth, to Tony. Donn's surname was so bad that he could hardly say anything that pleased everyone. So he went on to say his answer: "Nottingham Forest and any team. ”

What a big breath! All three teams in the group of death became his foils......

No one will find it strange. If Tony. Don is not arrogant, it may make people feel abnormal. That's what they reporters like to see, Tony. Dawn.

A group of people were excited to prepare the headline for the next day:

Tony. Don En has no one in his eyes

"Donn looks down on Juventus! 》

"Don pre-booked group qualifiers"

……

Wait a minute.

Don can certainly pretend to be arrogant in front of the media, but that's a way for him to confuse his opponents. Sun Tzu's Art of War has a saying that "soldiers never tire of deception", and the same is true in the football world.

In fact, his real thinking is that any opponent in this group is a threat to the team. However, there are three or six and nine in it - the most threatening team is Juventus, followed by Atletico Madrid, and the third is Celtic, whom he just won.

However, Donn is not too worried about the morale and form of the team against Juventus - the only team that did not win in the European Champions Cup two years ago, this time it must win! That's what everybody thinks.

Playing Atletico Madrid is a challenge for the team. It's an opponent they've never faced before, not to mention South Africa's World Cup silver boot goalscorer Sergio Aguero.

As for the Celts...... Returning to play them at home is also the final round of the group stage, and if the situation for the Forest team is decided, Donn doesn't care what it will do. If Celtic want to qualify, or fight for a place in the League Cup, they will have to launch an onslaught at home, and then the Forest will be able to play their best defensive counter-attack.

※※※

After the game, the media had mixed attitudes towards the game. Local Nottingham media were unanimous in their praise for Nottingham Forest's performance, saying they had won a crucial win and made a good start to qualifying in the Group of Death. Although the score is not high, and the scene is not exciting, but the three points are the most important.

The game has strengthened their confidence that they can once again hope that the team will be at the top of Europe......

Of course, there are also many media that ridicule Tony. Donn is completely "accustomed to being arrogant", and with the current Forest team, it is not certain whether they can qualify from the group stage, let alone the longer term. Playing Celtic, who are recognized as the weakest in the group, only won 1:0 at home, what face does it say: "The team that qualifies will be Nottingham Forest and any one"?

Public opinion is generally not optimistic about Nottingham Forest qualifying from this group, and they are more optimistic about Juventus and Atletico Madrid. As if to cite their thoughts, Juventus and Atletico Madrid drew 0-0 at the Estadio Alpi – and it seems that they are both ready to qualify together without hurting their spirits......

(To be continued)