Every time he collided with George, Ferguson could clearly feel George's growth.

When he first fought George, George could only use some crooked moves. There is also the opportunity to take advantage of the unfamiliar Blackburn players in English football to make a surprise attack. But with the training in the Premier League in the past few seasons, George's lineup and substitutions have made great progress.

This is not visible to outsiders.

Outsiders just think that George is very powerful. Led Blackburn Rovers to create one good result after another.

But Ferguson, who has played against George many times and is a rival, has a different feeling. George has gone from an inexperienced rookie coach to a famous coach who can wrestle with the world's famous coaches step by step.

Direct competitors like Ferguson are the ones who feel it the most.

George really grew.

However, Ferguson was very surprised to see Blackburn's starting line-up.

Because what is Blackburn's most powerful? All the managers who have played against Blackburn Rovers say two. Blackburn's strongest is the possession in the middle of the midfield and the other is Blackburn's wide attack.

Needless to say, possession in midfield.

Blackburn have the likes of Deco and Miku on the ball. And they are all midfielders who can control and pass, and even shoot very well. With them, Blackburn's midfield possession is unique throughout the Premier League.

Even against Manchester United and Arsenal, Blackburn's possession was dominant.

Normally, Blackburn spend more than 60 per cent of their possession in the Premier League.

And Blackburn's wide assault is counted in the entire Premier League, even in the entire European football world. Each player has its own characteristics. Pire can pass and pass, and even pull over and play the core of the midfield. It can be used as another offensive core in addition to Miku.

Duff is a complete winger. He is quick and has good skills, especially with his in-cut shots and breaking through into the box from the outside.

Bellamy, speed alone is already a headache for all opponents.

Hleb, albeit as a substitute. But he is an out-and-out king of excellence, and transcendence has become an art completely under his feet.

These four wide players have made Blackburn's wide play varied. And it can meet a variety of tactical needs. Blackburn's wide attack is also the most important part of their attack. Many clubs, precisely because they were unable to resist Blackburn's attack on the wing, were broken by Blackburn's defense.

Even some clubs tried to play bucket defense with Blackburn, but failed because they couldn't block them on the wing.

So any club is quite afraid of Blackburn's wings.

This includes strong teams like Manchester United and Arsenal. Ferguson and George have played against each other many times. On several occasions, he has learned the power of Blackburn's wings.

Especially Pire. Every time he plays against Manchester United, Pire's form is exceptional. Manchester United's right-back Gary. Neville, when talking about the player he least wanted to face, was Blackburn's Pire.

But when the starting line-up came out, Pire wasn't on it. Not even a single other wide player was in the starting line-up, and Ferguson couldn't contain his surprise.

In George's lineup, there is no wing? Weird starting lineup?

The goalkeeper and backline were regular, and they were expected by Ferguson. But the start of the midfield surprised everyone. None of George's four wide players in midfield were on the pitch. George's line-up in midfield is Hargreaves, Makelele, Deco, Miku and Kaka.

Among these five people, Makelele, Deco and Miku are all core players for Blackburn.

Needless to say, there are no Premier League opponents who don't know the three of them in European football. But now the midfield has no wings, and there are Hargreaves and Kaka piled up. Even the old and spicy Ferguson didn't see the purpose of George's arrangement.

It wasn't just the midfield line-up that surprised Ferguson.

George's choice of striker also surprised Ferguson. Blackburn Rovers now have a strong forward line, and it should be said that even compared to the continental giants, it is not bad at all.

Klose, last season's top scorer in the Premier League. Not long ago, he scored the hundredth goal of his career in the league. Of course, Klose has just made a comeback and is not yet fully in form.

Anelka, apart from being the best newcomer in the Premier League, has no personal accolades to take. But no one in European football can deny Anelka's quality. As long as Anelka is not brainless, he is definitely a world-class striker.

With these two strikers, Blackburn's forward line is not short of people at all. Any one of them on the pitch is a deterrent to United's backline.

But on the contrary, George did not put two world-class forwards, but went to Drogba. Klose has understandably just made a comeback, but isn't Anelka still there? Although they played a Premier League game a few days ago, they should be used to playing one game a few days.

Anelka won't have any problems coming on either.

But George chose Drogba instead. This was also unexpected by Ferguson.

Ferguson didn't get it.

Martin. Taylor and Andy. Gray didn't see it either.

If he could, George would definitely be a manager who would be willing to take risks. And George is also a very decisive coach, which can be seen from the fact that George adjusted the lineup several times in the first half. But George was still a conservative man at heart.

Ferguson understood this, Martin. Taylor and Andy. Gray is also clear.

Therefore, they absolutely did not believe that George was a deceitful and unconventional manager in the formation. So they were all thinking about the reason why George arranged it this way.

It's just that the game hasn't started yet, and they can't see George's purpose.

Ferguson could only wait. When the game starts, you can see what George means.

………… As the referee's whistle blew, the Champions League semi-finals finally began.

Manchester United and Blackburn Rovers are old rivals.

In his four seasons in charge, George has had many collisions with Manchester United. So it should be said that there are no secrets between the two teams. There is no need to be tempted to start the game. But George's strange lineup made Manchester United have to be careful.

Looking at the somewhat cautious Manchester United, George couldn't help but laugh.

After every time he played Ferguson, George was able to see his growth. Although George has memories of his previous life, he has a great advantage in selecting players. But George never considered himself a genius.

That's why George paid special attention to the summary after the game. Every time he plays against a world-class coach, George sums it up. What I got from it is my own experience.

And after last season's Premier League title, George's self-confidence has also risen. Of course, winning the Premier League title this season has made George even more arrogant.

Now George has truly overcome himself and his fear of those famous commanders. Fear in the depths of the heart. George's previous arrogance was not to hide the fear in his heart.

If it had been before, George would have thought first about how Ferguson would have lined up his troops. How should I deal with Ferguson. George must have racked his brains to figure out how to contain United. But now George's thinking is completely different.

Why should you think about how to restrain Manchester United, why don't you play according to your own ideas.

Ferguson, although he didn't admit it before, was indeed a big stone in George's heart. But since winning two Premier League titles in a row, George has really started to have the mental qualities that a world leader should have. Now George's arrogance is about his own self-confidence.

Therefore, George arranged the starting lineup completely according to his own ideas for this game. A big surprise for Ferguson.

Manchester United tentatively played for a while only to find out that Blackburn's starting line-up was nothing remarkable.

Ferguson found out.

Blackburn's style of play in this game was more defensive. Including Drogba in front, as well as several people in the middle and even Miku were involved in the defense. Blackburn Rovers are desperate in the middle.

However, Ferguson can still vaguely judge the position of the Blackburn midfielder.

Hargreaves, Makelele and Deco are in the back, while Miku and Kaka are in the front. Kaka is a bit to the left, while Miku is to the right.

However, when defending, Hargreaves will support the right, Makelele will support the left, and Deco will control the tempo of the game in the middle.

Does George want to defend away and attack at home?

Even the experienced Ferguson didn't see George's thoughts at all at this time. If it was the first time he played George, then Ferguson would really think so. But this is not the first time Ferguson has played George.

Ferguson was never convinced that George would pass up his chances of scoring on the road.

But the current scene is very difficult for Ferguson to see.

Drogba? Will he score? Although Drogba has scored Manchester United's goal from distance, Ferguson still has a slight disdain for Drogba. Because Drogba is currently the player who wastes the most single strokes among the current Premier League strikers.

Blackburn's style of play, especially with the likes of Pire and Miku, has seen Didier Drogba's chances of getting a single shot far more than many other club strikers. But Drogba hasn't scored a couple of solo goals.

Therefore, Drogba has always been ridiculed by the British media.

And Miku, the strength is very strong. But now without the support of the two wings, what can he do in midfield alone. He is not Maradona, and he can pass five levels in the midfield. Chopping off the side, this is completely self-defeating.

Ferguson could never have imagined that George would have such a line-up arrangement.

In midfield, Claude Makelele, Hargreaves and Deco are all defensive. How to attack?

I couldn't understand George's arrangement, and Ferguson wasn't in a hurry. What if you can't see it? If you can't see it, you won't play, so Ferguson waved his big hand and directly let Manchester United attack the heart of Blackburn.

Because Ferguson really can't see any attacking ability for Blackburn.

And Ferguson believed that George had some other purpose in hiding. As long as Blackburn is pushed on his side, George's purpose will definitely emerge.

(To be continued)