"No, Alain, kick Liverpool down... Mother... The throne is my greatest achievement! ”

This is what Alex Ferguson said in an interview with reporters in '02, and it is now a phrase that countless Manchester United fans are proud of.

After 14 seasons in the Premier League, Ferguson led United to eight league titles, and is a veritable Premier League hegemon.

And what about Liverpool?

Although they have not been able to win the Premier League.

But 18 English top flight titles, 5 Champions League trophies, 3 Europa League trophies, 3 UEFA Super Cup trophies.

It all represents Liverpool's illustrious past.

Now the two giants are meeting, just like two swordsmen from the old and the new.

One is prestigious, although he is old, but his legend is circulating in the rivers and lakes.

One has just ascended to the throne, and he is sharp.

The confrontation between the two will naturally attract countless eyes.

Liverpool, the hegemon of English football of the century.

Manchester United, the Premier League hegemon.

Two industrial cities, two different styles of football, two different religions, the same red.

Because of these factors, the collision of these two most successful teams in England has been given more symbolic meaning than the competitive factor on the field. As a result, it is known as the England National Derby.

On 22 October 2006, fans will once again welcome the English National Derby.

Manchester United host Liverpool.

This is the first meeting between the two teams in the new season.

The two sides have played 146 league games, with United holding a slight advantage with 54 wins.

However, in the 28 meetings in the Premier League, Manchester United have an absolute advantage with a record of 14 wins and 7 draws.

Although in the FA Cup in February, Liverpool won against Manchester United thanks to Crouch's goal. However, in the last four league games, Manchester United have won three and drawn one, and have not tasted defeat.

What's more, Liverpool's away form has been weak this season, and they have not been able to win three consecutive away games. Although Liverpool won the Champions League in midweek, most people are still optimistic about Manchester United in this key battle.

It didn't take long for the game to start when Manchester United created chances in front of goal.

Fletcher, who started the game, pressed Ritcher up front to get a chance, and the Liverpool goalkeeper made a mistake in clearing the ball and couldn't get his football. Fortunately, Alonso retreated in time to resolve the crisis of the empty goal.

After this mistake, Liverpool gradually became passive on the field, and Manchester United always controlled the ball.

Manchester United, who had more than 65 per cent of the possession, created one shot after another in front, but were never able to break through the Raina handle.

The fierce scramble between the two sides made Yu Liang, who was sitting on the bench, also feel what a national derby is.

The Antwerp City Derby and the England National Derby are nothing short of a drop in the bucket.

Often, a tackle formed by a Manchester United player in one second will be swept to the ground by a Liverpool player in the next.

In the 26th minute, Scholes formed a steal in front of Sissoko, but Scholes was put to the ground by Sissoko before he could stabilize the ball at his feet. Sissoko received a yellow card for a foul.

But the yellow cards didn't stop the players from committing fouls.

Such a derby is destined to be fierce in the course of the game.

It's not just about scrambling, it's about the attitude of the players.

In the 34th minute, Scholes's long-range shot in front of the field was directly blocked by Carragher with his body. Then, in the 35th and 38th minutes, Rio Ferdinand used his body to block two consecutive Liverpool shots.

The deadlock was broken in the 39th minute.

Manchester United attacked, Rooney won the ball in the middle to attract the defense, and then distributed to the left, Giggs crossed directly, and Scholes volleyed in front of the goal. The ball was blocked by Reina, but it was not able to stop the ball from continuing towards the goal. Then Scholes, who cut in, made another step up and stabbed the ball into the back of the net before Hyypia.

It was Scholes' 500th game for Manchester United and the goal was Scholes' 90th league goal for the Reds.

It also marks the 50th anniversary of Bobby Charlton's debut for Manchester United.

Before the game, to mark the 50th anniversary of Bobby Charlton's debut for Manchester United, the crowd sang Stone Rose before the kick-off.

In the middle of the song, Ferguson presented Bobby Charlton with a commemorative trophy.

Bobby Charlton then presented Paul Scholes, who was making his 500th appearance for Manchester United, with a commemorative trophy in front of a host of celebrities.

So when Scholes scored, the crowd chanted Scholes' name. To be able to score a monumental goal in this monumental game was nothing short of fantastic for Paul Scholes!

After taking the lead, Manchester United continued to strengthen their attack.

And in the 42nd minute, a chance was created.

This time it was Giggs, who had previously assisted Paul Scholes' goal, who created the chance.

After Giggs broke through on the wing in a row, facing the opposing full-back, he suddenly made a quick stop to smash the ball, shook off the opposing defender, and then crossed the ball with a low flat ball.

French striker Saha, who quickly advanced in the middle, shot angrily at the football.

The ball roared straight to the far end of the goal.

Just as all the United fans were about to chant for a goal, a hand appeared in front of the ball, changing its trajectory.

"Damn it!"

Yu Liang, who stood up from the bench and was ready to celebrate, scolded resentfully after watching Reina block the ball from the bottom line.

If he could have pulled away as soon as possible, he would have been able to appear on the pitch a point earlier.

Ferguson gave a good reason why he didn't get into the starting line-up for this game: "You don't understand what a derby is, you don't know what he means!" ”

Although Yu Liang did not refute, he was not qualified to refute.

But before the game, Yu Liang was still a little scoffed at Ferguson's reason.

However, after watching half the game, he felt that he did not understand the derby enough.

Especially when he saw the statistics of the first half of the game between the two sides, he was even more surprised.

With Paul Scholes' goal, Manchester United ended the first half with a 1-0 lead over Liverpool.

United dominated the entire first half, with 55 per cent possession saying it all. United had seven shots on goal in the first half, six of which hit the woodwork, and had it not been for Reina's save that United would have been several goals ahead of Liverpool.

On the other hand, Liverpool had 10 shots on goal, but only one hit the woodwork. After the high intensity of pressing by Manchester United, it was clear that they were not able to find their rhythm.

Over the course of 45 minutes, both sides made a total of 24 successful tackles and committed 15 fouls.

If it was just this piece of data in front of Yu Liang, he might not be able to make up for such a scene. But when he sat on the sidelines and saw it with his own eyes, he could understand what kind of game it was.

"Let's warm up!"

Yu Liang listened to Ferguson's words, immediately took off his jacket, rushed into the stadium and began to warm up.

Ferguson stood on the sidelines and watched for a moment, then nodded and walked towards the players' tunnel.

The England National Derby is much more than that! (To be continued.) )