A 5-goal away victory over Bolton is of great significance to Manchester United.

This season, Manchester United's city rival Manchester City is strong and in amazing form. He has won four consecutive victories like Manchester United, and he won a big score every time, making him the biggest opponent in Manchester United's championship.

After winning this game, Manchester United was on the same level as Manchester City in points, and topped Manchester City with the advantage of goal difference, which allowed Manchester United to go away to fight Benfica, the biggest opponent in the group.

Manchester United's draw in the group stage of the Champions League this season was very good. After the draw, the media directly stated that there was no match between the Group and the H Group, and Manchester United and Benfica, Barcelona and Milan had already been drawn into the top 16.

Of course, there are other suspenses in addition to qualifying in the group and the H group, that is, who will become the first in the group?

The four teams in the group are Manchester United, Benfica, Basel and Galaz Steel.

Benfica's current strength is still good. Although Aimal and Saviola have passed their peak period and sold Coentran to Real Madrid for 30 million euros, they also obtained Argentine international Gare from Real Madrid, and signed Spanish international Capdvilla and Serbian midfielder Matic. In particular, Capdvilla will fill the vacancy after Coentran left. Therefore, compared with last season, Benfica's strength has not suffered much loss...

Although his strength is good, the game is not convincing. In the qualifying round, Benfica met Twente of the Eredivisie, but he ended up staggeringly in the away game.

However, if we look at history, Benfica has had a lot of highlights against Manchester United. In the 2005-2006 season, Benfica defeated Manchester United in the group stage to qualify, and at the same time gave Manchester United the only group stage elimination for the New Century.

In addition to that painful lesson, Manchester United has an absolute advantage in 7 matches between Benfica and Benfica in history, and this time it is difficult for Benfica to repeat the good show of defeating Manchester United.

Another team in the group, Basel, entered the group stage for the fourth time after the Champions League reform, and it was also the third time they qualified for the group stage in the past four years. Under the leadership of German Fink, Basel has shown strong momentum and has replaced the past teams such as Grasshoppers and Youths, becoming the new representative of Swiss football. Unlike many small teams, Basel's current framework is Swiss local players.

I met Manchester United in the second stage of the 2002-2003 season. This was also their only experience of qualifying in the group after the reform of the Champions League. In the Champions League group stage last season, Basel defeated Roma away, which was a glorious scene for them in the Champions League.

In general, there is a big gap between Basel's strength and Manchester United and Benfica. Whether or not he can create some exciting goals has become the only highlight, and the possibility of qualifying is very small.

As for Romanian League champion Galaz Steel, this is their first time participating in the Champions League. Scoring one point or a goal is the best result. Too many dreams may lead to greater shame.

The first place in the group stage has an advantage in the schedule, and the opponent in the knockout stage is relatively weak. Therefore, when there is no suspense in the group qualifying, ensuring that the first place in the group is Manchester United's only goal.

Judging from the strength of the three opponents in the group stage, Benfica is the one who can threaten Manchester United's first qualifying group. Therefore, this away game against Benfica is also the most important and difficult game for Manchester United in the group stage.

Before leaving for Portugal, Manchester United coach Ferguson and team core Gao Xiaodong both accepted an interview with the British media "Sky Sports". Sir Jue said: "I think we have a good luck in drawing lots, because sometimes you may draw a very difficult group. This refers not only to the group with a large number of excellent teams, but also requires a long journey. You should study the group at Manchester City and beside Naples, Bayern Munich and Villarreal. This is simply a super death group, a group that will not be happy for anyone. These four teams are the kind of teams that rank in the top 7 of their national leagues, so no one in this group will be too easy."

Then, Manchester United coach Ferguson talked about the trend of the Champions League, saying that Italian football is now in a difficult time and hopes that England and Spain will go to the end. "Italian football is now in a non-virtuous cycle. Naples is doing well and has some good players. The mainstream is still the English team and the Spanish team, so you will look forward to the teams in these two countries reaching the final stage."

After talking about the draw of the Champions League group stage this season, Sir Joseph began to talk about his team, "Experience will become very important in the away game to challenge Benfica, so my team may become different on Wednesday. Benfica has always been a tough bone, and our game here is always difficult. I have also seen many of their away games, and they play very well. There is no doubt that young players will get good experience in the Champions League, but the important thing is to be able to qualify in the group stage. Our home game will be better than the current situation. We will play Basel for the first time at home, and young players can participate in this game. Benfica's game, you must not only respect them, but also be cautious."

Gao Xiaodong debuted in Portugal. Currently, Benfica's head coach Jesus played against Gao Xiaodong when he coached Braga. Benfica's substitute forward Yu Debao is also Gao Xiaodong's friend. Gao Xiaodong knows Benfica well.

Because of his understanding, Gao Xiaodong dared not underestimate Benfica.

Gao Xiaodong told reporters: "Although the Portuguese league is not as strong as the Premier League, Portugal's top three Benfica, Porto and Sporting Lisbon should not be underestimated. They have good personal abilities. The team mainly plays in a technical way. To a certain extent, they restrain Premier League teams. Manchester United must not be careless about Benfica."

Gao Xiaodong also admires Benfica's head coach Jesus, believing that Jesus is an experienced coach. He is confident and passionate, and can inspire the players' fighting spirit. His team is very combat-effective and difficult to deal with.

Finally, Gao Xiaodong also mentioned his friend Yu Debao, "Yu Debao is my friend. He has good scoring ability, but he is not going well with Benfica. I hope he can play, and of course the substitute is also good. As long as we can compete in the same game again, of course, I will not show mercy because he is my friend. I will definitely try my best to beat Benfica in this game and lay a solid foundation for qualifying in the group."

In Portugal, the general Benfica is also ready for this match with Manchester United.

Benfica head coach Jesus knew very well about his situation in the group. He said: "Manchester United is the strongest team in the group. There is no doubt that they will get a qualifying place. Our opponent is Basel. However, this does not mean that we will give up this game with Manchester United. We will definitely strive to win this game. I believe that at the Stadium of Light, we have the ability to beat any team."

Speaking of Gao Xiaodong, Jesus looked at him, "Gao is one of the best players in the world and the most versatile player. He can decide the outcome of the game. Like Ronaldo, he was trained by Portuguese football. He has many fans in Portugal. I believe that on the day of the game, there will be many Portuguese fans to support him, so I hope that Benfica fans will buy tickets to support Benfica. If the Light Stadium is occupied by opponents' fans, it will be a joke."

Gao Xiaodong's friend Yu Debao also talked about Gao Xiaodong. Yu Debao was very excited to say that Gao Xiaodong is the best player in the world and the pride of Chinese football. He has never played against Gao Xiaodong in the Champions League. He longs for Gao Xiaodong's arrival and hopes to have a Chinese derby with Gao Xiaodong.

Yu Debao also warned his teammates that he must keep a close eye on Gao Xiaodong. Even if he can't keep a close eye on Gao Xiaodong, he must try his best to limit Gao Xiaodong. If Gao Xiaodong is allowed to perform his best, it will be a disaster for the team.
Chapter completed!