For this encounter with Tottenham, Ferguson can be said to attach great importance to it. In order to allow the players to face this game in the best condition, Sir Alex even strategically gave up the midweek Champions League game and took the risk of sending a large number of substitute players in the game with Olympiacos!
Unlike later, in order to win votes and win the support of those small national football associations, Platini adjusted the schedule and match list to deliberately get some inferior teams into the Champions League. The phrase "underdog". Although Olympiacos is the weakest team in Group D where Manchester United is located, but with Manchester United hiding a large number of main players, the Greek giant made the Red Devils pay a heavy price for this - under the leadership of Rivaldo Next, Olympiacos narrowly defeated Manchester United 2-1 at Old Trafford and won its first victory in the Champions League this season!
Giving away the three-pointer that he held in his hand, the originally relatively easy qualifying situation has become more serious... After paying so much, Ferguson and the Manchester United players have only one goal at this time, and that is to win this game. Defeated Tottenham in a direct confrontation and broke the curse of Manchester United being "invincible" after George took charge of Tottenham!
Goalkeeper Edwin van der Sar, right back Bardsley, left back O'Shea, and central defenders Ferdinand and Sylvester; in the midfield, Carrick and Hargreaves partnered in the center, and Joaquin and Park Ji-sung split the left and right wings. ; On the forward line, there is the combination of the "King of the Small Zone" Ruud van Nistelrooy and England's new ace Wayne Rooney!
The reason why they can only field such a shabby starting defense despite being fully prepared is because Manchester United's defense has encountered a wave of extremely serious injuries since the beginning of the season-Heinze, Gary Ney. Ware, Brown and other main or main rotation players have fallen down one after another, and O'Shea has only returned from injury not long ago. Otherwise, it would be impossible for Ferguson to put a young player like Bardsley into the starting lineup no matter what!
Compared with the back line, which is severely undermanned due to injuries, Manchester United can be said to be full of talents in the midfield and frontcourt - even if Giggs is absent due to injury, there are also Scholes and Fletcher on the bench. , Alan Smith, Saha and other stars are on call at any time and can deal with any situation!
Looking at Tottenham again, since they just had a battle with Lyon two days ago, George decisively made a large rotation of the starting lineup in this round of the league-goalkeeper Cech, defense Stephen Carr, Ledley · King, Dawson and Baynes lined up; midfielder Phil Neville and Davis formed a double midfielder, and teenager Dempsey got the opportunity to start; as for the offensive trident, George arranged this time Arshavin, Lennon and Klose teamed up!
Compared to Manchester United, which played almost all its main players, Tottenham, with many main players taking turns, is obviously slightly inferior in terms of overall strength. However, this does not mean that Tottenham have no possibility of winning on the road. In fact, if the players can play according to George's tactical arrangement, grasp the problem of Manchester United's lack of manpower in the back line, and at the same time pursue Bardsley and Sylvester's defensive zone, then Tottenham will still have a good chance. I hope to leave some profound lessons for Manchester United!
Ferguson is very aware of the team's problems at this time and knows that Tottenham must not be allowed to play a smooth offense. Therefore, from the beginning of the game, Manchester United took advantage of their home court to launch a fierce attack, intending to use offense instead of defense. With their strength and physical advantages, they forced Tottenham to retreat on defense, leaving them no time to devote extra energy to the offensive end!
Relying on these advantages, Manchester United quickly took the lead. Only seven minutes into the game, Rooney relied on a breakthrough to win a free kick on the left side of the frontcourt for Manchester United. Xiaopang personally took the penalty and hoisted the ball into the penalty area. Ruud van Nistelrooy got rid of Dawson, who was responsible for marking him, and directly shook his head seven meters in front of the goal!
Facing Ruud van Nistelrooy's close shot, Cech subconsciously raised his hand to block the ball. However, due to lack of preparation, he was unable to control the ball in his hands and instead threw the ball away. . Therefore, when Park Ji-sung, who followed up, fell to the ground and shot in front of the goal before Ledley King made a clearance, the Czech goalkeeper, who was beyond his reach, could only sigh in despair!
"Dummy left midfielder? Unexpectedly, Alex actually learned this trick from Del Bosque." George couldn't help but be surprised when he saw Park Ji-sung's goal. He didn't expect that the tactics Del Bosque invented to accommodate Zidane would actually be used by Ferguson on Manchester United!
Although he is named as a left midfielder, in fact, "Park Sam-chi"'s activities range throughout the entire stadium, and he can be seen in almost every corner. As for Manchester United's left attack and defense, O'Shea and Rooney are mainly responsible for it. Park Ji-sung's job is to take advantage of his super running ability and appear wherever he thinks he is needed to provide support for his teammates!
This is the biggest difference between Ferguson and those head coaches of his generation - while most head coaches stick to their own set of "successful experiences", Sir Alex Ferguson has never stopped absorbing new knowledge. He can follow the footsteps and apply what he has learned, so that he and Manchester United will not be eliminated by the times because they cannot keep up with the trend!
Being one goal behind did not make Tottenham players panic. With the comfort of Ledley King, Tottenham quickly stabilized their position. George's subsequent adjustments made Tottenham's defense more targeted, forcing Manchester United's offense to come to a standstill. Similarly, due to staffing and the strong pressure from Manchester United, Tottenham, which has limited investment in offensive forces, can hardly create much trouble for Manchester United's defense!
At his peak, Van Nistelrooy was worthy of the title of king of the small penalty area. But it is precisely because of his presence and habit of waiting for teammates to feed the ball in the penalty area that it is difficult to implement the cross-positioning of players in the offense that Ferguson has always expected to see, and it also limits the space for other Manchester United players to move. . In addition, Hargreaves and Carrick do not have a strong sense of forward penetration, so once Ruud van Nistelrooy is trapped, Manchester United's offense will often become quite difficult!
The stalemate between the two sides was not broken until the 68th minute. Arshavin diverted the ball past the inexperienced Bardsley, broke into the penalty area, and hit the goal decisively before Ferdinand could make up the defense!
With a stable performance throughout the game, Van der Sar almost became the culprit of Tottenham's first league defeat this season. The Dutch national goalkeeper first flew to save Arshavin's curved shot, and then stood up to block Dempsey's header. However, when Klose stole the ball from Sylvester and hit the goal for the third time in a minute, Van der Sar, who had made two consecutive wonderful saves, could only choose to surrender!
One to one! After going through all the hardships, Tottenham finally broke through Manchester United's goal with difficulty and brought the score back to the same starting line!
When can I find a more reliable defender to be my teammate? This is what Van der Sar wants to say most at this moment - less than three months after joining Manchester United, he can no longer stand Sylvester's endless low-level mistakes and the constant innovation of new tricks. He desperately wants to The team can introduce a more stable central defender to partner with Ferdinand!
In the end, when Howard Webber, who served as the referee of the game, blew the whistle for the end of the game, with Klose's goal, Tottenham successfully escaped from the Old Trafford stadium amidst Ferguson's roar of dissatisfaction. Retreat, ending this contest between the two sides with a draw!
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