Chapter 527: Double Red Meeting

There are still 9 rounds left in the league. For Manchester United, it is impossible to ignore it for a moment.

Among their opponents in the last 9 rounds of the league, there are several strong enemies.

In the 31st round, they played Liverpool at home, a double-red battle; in the 33rd round, they played Chelsea at home, and this game may be directly related to the championship; in the 35th round, they played away at Manchester City, and the Manchester Derby will definitely not pass so easily; 36 In the first round, they played against Tottenham at home, which is not an opponent that can be easily won. Then 37 rounds away to play Sunderland, the black cats are always strong when they are strong.

If you want to achieve four consecutive league championships, you must do your best in every game.

Ferguson convened a meeting with the players and unified their thinking: To play this game, the league must be secured first; of course the Champions League cannot be given up, that would be a pity, but the league must be the main focus. The FA Cup is optional, and the next games will be played by substitute players and rotation players.

In the 30th round of the league, Manchester United swept Fulham 5-0 at home. Ronaldo scored a hat-trick for the first time in the Premier League, while Ricardo contributed 3 assists and scored a direct free kick himself.

So far, although Ricardo has been absent for two months, he still ranks first in the scorer list with 22 appearances and 26 goals, and also temporarily ranks first in the assist list with 13 assists. .

After Ronaldo's outburst at the beginning of the season, he fell silent for a long time in the middle. Until the recent hat-trick, he played a total of 17 league games and scored 10 goals. He is still an efficient shooter.

Irving, Rooney, etc. also performed well, and the veterans are also playing their residual heat. Giggs, Neville, etc. can still contribute to the team and jointly support Manchester United to the present.

On the afternoon of March 21, the Premier League ushered in the double red meeting. Manchester United vs Liverpool.

Once again, Old Trafford was full of seats, singing "Glory to Manchester United", and the away fans who came from afar were not to be outdone, singing "You never walk alone" resounding through the stadium.

Ferguson continued to use 4231, goalkeeper Van der Sar, defenders Neville, Ferdinand, Vidic and Evra, midfielders Fletcher and Carrick, midfielder Rooney, left winger Ricardo, right winger Nani, striker It was Ronaldo who had just scored a hat-trick.

Benitez also put up a 4231 formation, goalkeeper Reina, defender Glenn Johnson, Carragher, Agger, Insua; midfielder Mascherano and Lucas Leiva, in front of Cue Special, Gerrard and Maxi Rodriguez, single striker Torres.

Only look at the strength on paper,

Liverpool is qualified to challenge Manchester United. When the two teams met in the first round, Liverpool also taught Manchester United a lesson.

The two teams played against each other nearly 3 times, all of which were won by Liverpool. Although Manchester United won the championship last season, Liverpool double-killed Manchester United. This is the biggest stain on the Red Devils last season.

And this encounter, Manchester United must win, otherwise it will be very unfavorable in the next schedule.

But it was Liverpool who reaped the rewards first. Only 4 minutes out, Manchester United have not yet entered the state, Torres succeeded in stealing from Fletcher in the midfield, and handed the ball to Gerrard, Gerrard quickly transferred the ball to the right, who was plugging in at high speed. .

After a calm cross from the bottom line of the ball, Didier Torres shook off the marking defender and headed in with ease, scoring his 18th goal of the season.

The lagging Manchester United began to strengthen the control of the midfield. Ricardo often retreats to assist the midfielder in possession of the ball, while Evra on the left often assists very far to meet Ricardo. This is a common routine for Manchester United this season.

When Ricardo takes the ball in the left forward position, he can choose to shoot, pass to the center forward, transfer to the right in a wide range and hand it over to Nani, or pass it across to Rooney or Cardo. Rick can also suddenly plug in Evra who is plugging in from the left. Ferguson's tactical system will always ensure that he has more than 5 shots.

This season, everyone knows that Manchester United's tactics are seriously left-leaning. As long as they prevent Ricardo Evra's line, they can contain most of Manchester United's offense.

But to contain Ricardo? Easier said than done. Although Benitez asked Ricciardo's national team teammate Lucas Leiva to mark him closely, the effect was not obvious.

In the 11th minute, Manchester United launched an attack from the left again. Evra broke through the midfield with the ball and gave the ball to Ricardo.

Ricardo cut inside after taking the ball, Evra continued to insert, and when he was near the bottom line, he received a through ball from Ricardo.

After stopping the ball, Evra took a look. Ronaldo and Rooney were stared dead in the penalty area, so he passed the ball back to Ricardo.

Ricardo took the ball in the corner of the penalty area, kicked it across, and then gave the ball to Rooney who ran out of the penalty area to respond.

Rooney made a wall and hit the ball back. Ricardo had already started to throw away Lucas Leiva, and he shot the ball. The football drew a rainbow-like arc and went around Reina's arm. Fly into the goal.

In the next game, Manchester United had a greater advantage, but Liverpool also had some opportunities to counterattack.

In the 22nd minute, Nani sent a cross after dribbling past Insua, and Ricardo's header flew out of the baseline against the post.

In the 29th minute, Fletcher sent an over-the-top long pass, Ricardo kept the ball and passed the ball directly to the penalty area, and Ronaldo volleyed the ball without stopping the ball, which was slightly high.

In the 35th minute, Gerrard's long shot made Van der Sar flustered.

In the 39th minute, Evra received a pass from Ricardo and sent a cross at high speed. Ronaldo swung the ball in the middle, and the football flew out against the far post.

In stoppage time, Manchester United still had a chance to overtake, but Ricardo's free kick did not fall fast enough after bypassing the wall, hitting the crossbar and popping out.

In the first half, Manchester United's ball possession rate reached 61%, the advantage is very obvious, and the pass success rate is 10% higher than that of the opponent.

Despite Liverpool's hard work, the disparity in quality, and Manchester United's home advantage, all set the tone for this game.

Next, they can only do their best to maintain the tie and want to lead again, unless Manchester United makes a mistake.

But United made no mistake.

In the 60th minute of the second half, Rooney distributed the ball to the right in a quick counterattack. Fletcher doubled and sent a cross. Break through Reina's Ten Fingers.

Liverpool began to attack aggressively, which instead gave Manchester United a chance to counterattack.

In the 76th minute, Ricciardo sent the ball to the bottom line on the right side of the penalty area after passing two people in a row. Nani made a low pass and Ronaldo shot from the center, extending the score to 3:1 for Manchester United.

In this double red meeting, Manchester United had the last laugh.

The key point is that Chelsea were tied by Blackburn in the away game, and the points gap between them and Manchester United was once again widened to 7 points.

With only 7 rounds left in the league, the ownership of the league champion seems to be about to lose suspense.