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After seeing that Arsenal failed to take advantage of Tottenham Hotspur in two consecutive games, and instead were defeated by their opponents with defensive counterattacks, Ferguson clearly realized that under the leadership of George, , Tottenham have transformed from a half-dead mid-table team into a new force that cannot be underestimated in the Premier League!
Although Tottenham's two games against Arsenal were somewhat opportunistic, it is undeniable that Tottenham does have the strength to compete with Arsenal. Latest and fastest update If this were not the case, even if Tottenham resorted to defending in the center and playing on the sides, which is an extremely effective weapon against Arsenal, it would be difficult to push the Gunners with all the main players to this point. Regarding this point, those who used to The Premier League team that tried to imitate Tottenham's tactics, but ended up being taught by Arsenal, can be said to have the most say.
However, despite paying enough attention to the rise of Tottenham, Sir Alex Ferguson has no intention of blocking it. Because Ferguson knew very well that now that Beckham has left the team and other key members of the Class of 92 have aged, Manchester United, which is in the reconstruction period, no longer has enough ability to act as a road blocker on Tottenham's rise.
Another reason why Ferguson does not intend to hinder Tottenham's rise is that Sir Alex still regards George as the heir to his legacy. Therefore, although George, as the owner of Tottenham, is destined to be unable to take over Sir Alex Ferguson's coaching position at Manchester United, Ferguson still hopes that this disciple with whom he has a deep friendship can show his talents at White Hart Lane and win the title at Tottenham. Achievements that are dazzling enough to make him, a teacher, look good.
Therefore, in Ferguson's view, since Manchester United cannot be an obstacle to Tottenham's rise, it is better to be a bystander and watch the two upstarts of the Premier League, Tottenham and Chelsea, besiege Arsenal, which is at its peak, and create trouble for this mortal enemy. More obstacles prevent the Gunners from taking advantage of Manchester United's rebuilding period to dominate English football!
In Ferguson's plan, Manchester United only needs to ensure that they qualify for a Champions League at the end of the season in these two or three seasons. The main task is to complete the team's reconstruction as soon as possible. Therefore, the job of suppressing Arsenal must be left to other teams. Tottenham Hotspur, which has shown rising momentum this season, is a pretty good choice.
Not to mention Ferguson who is gloating at home, let us now turn the camera back to the game being played at White Hart Lane. Seeing that the game time was getting shorter and shorter, but the score on the field remained at 1-0, Wenger could not sit still. He walked to the sidelines and kept gesturing, conveying various messages to the Arsenal players on the field. instruct. At the same time, Wenger also replaced Ljungberg with veteran Ray Parlor and replaced Robert Pires with Spanish teenager Reyes to ensure the physical fitness of the frontcourt players and allow the team to suppress Tottenham on the offensive end. And maintain enough pressure to prevent the opponent from investing more troops in the counterattack.
However, Wenger's two substitution adjustments did not have the expected effect. In other words, only Parlor played his due role after coming on the field, while Reyes, who came on as a substitute for Pires, seemed to have not yet found the feeling of the game, but showed signs of holding Arsenal back!
Similar to Ljungberg, Parlor, who will turn 31 in just over a month, is also known for his hard work and tenacious style in the Premier League. And unlike the Swede, Parlor is one of the few players in the Arsenal team who has experienced the era of defense. It was only due to a knee injury that he had to give way to the rising star Ljungberg. Therefore, Parlor quickly integrated into Arsenal's tactical system after coming on the field, replacing Ljungberg and shining for the Gunners on both offense and defense.
If Wenger's move to replace Ljungberg with Parlor can be seen as a good matchup substitution, then replacing Reyes seems a bit hasty from the current point of view. This talented left winger who was praised by Zidane last year as "playing football on a motorcycle" did not show the amazing form he had when playing for Sevilla after arriving at Highbury this winter. Although his performance can be said to be satisfactory, he is still somewhat sorry for the 10 million pounds transfer fee Wenger paid for him.
In fact, fluctuations in Reyes' performance are inevitable. You know, Spain and the UK are almost completely different from each other in terms of living environment and football style. Coupled with Arsenal's unique offensive system, it is normal for Reyes, who is only 20 years old, to be acclimatized.
Therefore, after replacing Reyes, Tottenham's defensive pressure was reduced a lot. Because Reyes, who has just arrived, is not used to frantically cutting in and attacking in the game like Pires, but still retains a lot of traditional winger style, which inevitably compresses Henry's space for movement.
Sure enough, in the following time, Reyes and Henry, who are accustomed to moving on the left side of the court, repeatedly overlapped in their movements, leaving only Bergkamp in the middle, resulting in Arsenal's offensive threat. Further decrease. After all, Dawson, Vermaelen, Poyet and Kompany, a total of four players are marking Bergkamp alone. No matter how you look at it, it is unlikely that the Ice Prince will be able to break through this level of defense. Tottenham's goal.
George's response was swift. Seeing Reyes and Henry frequently "colliding" on the court, he immediately realized that this was because the two had not yet formed a tacit understanding. So, without waiting for Wenger to make up for it, George made a big move and replaced the veteran Poyet with Ribery, and at the same time let Villa return to the center to partner Toni on the strike!
He actually chose to step up his attack! George's behavior surprised everyone. No one could have expected that George would replace a defensive midfielder with a winger when he was leading the score and the tactics he deployed proved to be extremely restrained against Arsenal!
"This guy, by weakening the defense at this time, isn't he afraid that we will take the opportunity to equalize the score?" Seeing George's substitution choice, Wenger, who was about to make some adjustments to the team's lineup, couldn't help but be surprised, and felt in his heart Another calculation was made, "After Poyet leaves the field, Tottenham will definitely not be able to protect the front line of the penalty area and the back line as tightly as before. Maybe we still have a chance to come back?"
If Wenger really thinks so, then he has just fallen into the trap set by George. The reason why George replaced Poyet with Ribery was because, on the one hand, the internal friction of Reyes and Henry greatly reduced Arsenal's offensive threat, and they no longer needed to defend the center as tightly as before; on the other hand, Arsenal was less threatening on the offensive end. On the other hand, it is to lure Wenger, make the professor feel that Arsenal has an opportunity, make him feel lucky, and let the incompatible combination of Reyes and Henry coexist on the court for a while!
In the 86th minute of the game, Reyes and Henry once again appeared on the left side of the court at the same time, but Tottenham players still concentrated their forces in the center in a tacit understanding, ignoring the two people huddled together on the left side.
Seeing that the opponent's penalty area didn't even have a teammate to respond, and it was also crowded with Tottenham players, Henry could be said to have no tears. He felt that Wenger was really unlucky to send Reyes in this game. An outright mistake - letting such a newcomer who has not yet integrated into Arsenal's tactical system be on the field, it would be better to send Kanu or Wiltord. At least the former's height of 1.97 meters can restrain Tottenham's defense, while the latter's confrontation ability and glorious experience (helping France equalize the score at the end of the 2000 European Cup final) are enough to make Tottenham defenders afraid. Three points.
And what about Reyes? Apart from competing for territory with himself, Henry really doesn't think this new teammate can provide him with much help.
Like Henry, Reyes was feeling quite depressed at this time. With his outstanding football intelligence, he has realized the problem and wants to take the initiative to give in so that Henry, the team leader, can get more room to move, but he can never find a way to solve the problem - after meeting the Tottenham players After that fierce defense, Reyes didn't dare to cut inside like Pires.
This has nothing to do with football intelligence, it is purely because Reyes has not yet adapted to Arsenal's tactics and England's football style, and still retains the habits he developed while playing in Sevilla. Therefore, if Wenger does not want this 10 million pound investment to be wasted, he must fundamentally change Reyes' soft style of play and let the Spaniard develop from a traditional winger to Pires. !
Seeing that Reyes did not dare to go to the center to help him attract the defense, Henry had no choice but to rush towards the Tottenham penalty area alone. As a result, as soon as Henry dribbled the ball into the penalty area, he was attacked by Dawson and Kompany!
Although Dawson and Vermaelen lack game experience and are not as capable as the main players Vidic and Ledley King, they both have a very positive attitude towards the game and work together. Coupled with Phil Neville's guidance from the side and the continuous defense of midfielders such as Kompany and Basturk, if Arsenal, who have abandoned their martial arts skills, think that without Poyet, they can win over Tottenham. Opening a hole in the defense line is really nonsense!
Seeing this, Henry did not dare to try to break through the two defenses with the ball. He quickly made an inverted triangle back pass and passed the ball to Bergkamp who was responding at the top of the penalty area - in the faces of Dawson and Kompany. The fierce look on his face, as if he wanted to knock Henry to pieces, really frightened the King of Highbury, fearing that these two stupid young men would not be able to hold back and injure themselves.
In Henry's view, this is just a League Cup semi-final, and it is not a game about the league championship. There is no need to be so desperate with these young people.
Under Kompany's entanglement, Bergkamp failed to receive Henry's pass, and the ball was intercepted by Vermaelen's foot. The Belgian central defender who successfully stole the ball immediately launched a long pass to counterattack. Ribery used his speed advantage to leave Lauren far behind, and after receiving Vermaelen's long pass, he broke into the penalty area and scored a single goal!
Facing Lehmann who decisively abandoned the goal, Ribery did not choose to challenge the opponent this time. Instead, he faked a shot and knocked the ball to the center. Villa followed up with a fatal blow. Rewrite the score to two to zero!
Two to zero! Villa scored his second goal of the game to help Tottenham seal the victory!
After seeing Tottenham rewrite the score to 2-0, Wenger, who knew the situation was over, had to sigh and replaced Henry with Nigerian international Nwankwo Kanu, announcing his surrender and giving up the League Cup semi-final. !
In the end, when the game ended, Tottenham defeated Arsenal with two goals at White Hart Lane and advanced to the League Cup final with a total score of 2-0!
