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Chapter 97 Two to zero

Ferguson was disappointed.

Three games, now all three teams he hopes to lose are in the lead.

Even though he knew that this was the most normal result, Ferguson was still very disappointed. There were only seven games left in the league, and Manchester United had to collided directly with Chelsea and Manchester City. If today was his lucky day, then maybe Manchester United's chances could be greater. Even if any team fell, it would increase Manchester United's chances of competing for the championship, but now, everything is the same.

It was still six points, standing in front of Manchester United, and there were still three teams.

Of course, disappointment is disappointment, but it is definitely not as much as despair.

The counterattack has always been Manchester United's specialty, not only limited to the game, but also includes the entire season. In the 95/96 season, Manchester United once lagged behind Newcastle by as many as 12 points, but Ferguson relied on psychological warfare to directly mess up Newcastle's head coach Kevin Keegan at that time. In the end, Manchester United won the championship with a four-point lead. This time, Manchester United chased 16 points. It is worth mentioning that Ferguson also tried to provoke a psychological war with Linsen more than once this season, but Linsen did not take the move at all. The same reversal drama also happened in the 20203 season, and that season Manchester United was once lagging behind Arsenal by as much as eight points, but Manchester United still won the championship.

Despair? What is that.

Manchester City scored a goal ahead, but it was not just Ferguson who was disappointed. For Arsenal and Chelsea fans, this is also news that disappointed them, because it means that everything is the same as before the game.

Manchester City is the first, Chelsea is the second, and Arsenal is the third.

Lin Sen still made a substitution, but he didn't change three at once. Previously, only one of the "scary" substitutes on the sidelines got the chance to play, that is Suarez.

Suarez replaced Petrov.

Then, four minutes later, the Uruguayan star gave an assist, and it was Reus who helped Manchester City secure the victory.

The game ends.

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After Reus scored a goal, Ferguson turned off the TV, but at this time, he was far away from Liverpool, Benitez chose to continue watching.

Because his starting point for watching this game is far less complicated than Ferguson, he doesn't care about the other two games. The first four are already a luxury for Liverpool. Benitez now only focuses on the next game, the Europa League game.

Benitez has always been the most commendable two points. One is his tough ability and the other is his cup record.

At Liverpool, the most classic thing about the former is two games, one is a four-goal victory over Real Madrid at home, and the other is a four-to-one away defeat to Manchester United. The latter's representative work is also two classic thrilling reversals, one is known as one of the greatest reversals in Champions League history. In the 0607 season, they scored three consecutive goals in the Champions League final and finally defeated AC Milan in the penalty kick, while the other is the 0506 season FA Cup final. Gerrard scored 90 minutes and eventually reversed West Ham United by penalty kick.

However, Benitez lost his two biggest capital this season. In the league, in addition to defeating Manchester United in the early stage of the league, Liverpool lost all the results with other strong teams. In the last round, Manchester United also found the game where they lost to them in the first half. In the league match against other traditional three teams this season, Liverpool only had the last game against Chelsea. The first five games, one win and four losses. The Cup was even more miserable. Liverpool were both eliminated early in the League Cup and the FA Cup. The Champions League was even more scammered in the group stage and could only relegate to the UEFA Cup...

Although the Liverpool board of directors still claims to the outside world that trust Benitez, Benitez knows that all this is just for "harmony", and the board of directors does not have much patience.

The Europa League will be his last life-saving straw.

Manchester City draws Liverpool, which is not good news for Linson, but Liverpool draws Manchester City, which is not bad news for Benitez. Benitez has enough reason to be optimistic. Since he came to Liverpool, plus the two matches this season, Benitez's Liverpool and Manchester City have played against Manchester City in total eleven times, with a record of five wins, five draws and one loss, with an absolute advantage.

Even this year's Manchester City, which has caused headaches for other giants, Benitez has never lost.

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April April Day.

On this day, the English tabloids, which were not so serious, were even more unscrupulous. Some April Fools' Day jokes seemed to be very thoughtful, while others were purely nonsense, such as Ferguson's announcement of retirement after the game, Manchester City had already signed Rooney, and the unlucky Benitez also became the target of the joke, but the content of the joke was a bit sarcastic: Benitez and Liverpool renewed their contract for four years.

For fans who know that this day is April Fools' Day, these jokes can only be a joke, while for fans who forget what festival they are today, most of them can only accept the mocked ending. However, this does not include Manchester City fans. They have no time to pay attention to the English tabloid today, because today, Manchester City has games and important games.

The city courts are still full.

In the first leg of the UEFA Cup quarter-finals, Manchester City faced Liverpool at home.

After two advantages of being away first and then home, Manchester City encountered a bad schedule at the most critical moment, this time Manchester City will be host first and then home.

At this time, the game had entered the second half. The big screen above the stands clearly showed the current score: 2 to zero.

The leading one is Manchester City.

As for Manchester City, the game was smooth.

Linson's rotation against Everton seemed to have achieved good results, because the two players who scored the goal got enough rest in that game.

The first goal came from Bale.

Glenn Johnson, who likes assists, has to take the biggest responsibility for conceding the ball, because it was his rash forward that gave Bale the opportunity to fly in the city court.

The second goal came from David Silva.

It seems that the Spanish midfielder has temporarily forgotten the harassment from Real Madrid. After assisting Bale, he used his gorgeous personal skills to cross two opponents to score the ball before the end of the first half.

Leading with two goals.

However, Lin Sen on the sidelines still dared not relax, and Manchester City on the field did not dare to relax.

In ordinary games, a 2-0 score will be called mastering absolute initiative in the first half, and in the second half, especially when there is not much time left, it will be called locking the victory. But this is not an ordinary game, this is a knockout match. Two ninety-minute games, combined, become a 180-minute game. Not to mention the result of a half, even the result of a game cannot be said to determine everything.

What's more, there is also a saying of away goals in the knockout stage.

Manchester City, which is leading two goals at the moment, looks very good, but in fact, Liverpool only needs to score one goal, then the winner will become unpredictable. Because this will be a away goal, which means that if Liverpool returns to home, theoretically, only one goal can eliminate Manchester City.

So, things are very simple. Manchester City still needs to concentrate and strive to continue to expand the score. Because only in this way can they be more calm in the second round.

Amid the fans' singing, Lin Sen looked serious, while Benitez looked angry.

The reason for anger comes from defense. Because the two goals were lost, almost all the players' good decisions. The first one was lost. When Kuyt was already involved in the offense, Glenn Johnson should not have rashly stepped forward, while the second one lost the goal, Lucas, who was responsible for marking David Silva, should not have been dumped so easily.

With two goals behind, Liverpool's hope can only be placed on the offense.

But now, Liverpool's offense is in trouble. The arrowhead Torres cannot take advantage of Kompany. Babel on the left and Kuyt on the right also defend more than attack in the battle with Robben and Bale.

Judging from the current game situation, Manchester City undoubtedly occupies the upper limit in the third match this season. However, Lin Sen knows that the reason why the situation on the field has changed compared to the previous two games is that he has taken advantage of some of the opponent's uneven lineup.

First of all, Torres has just returned from injury and is in average condition. Secondly, Liverpool is missing a key player, that is, Argentine's iron waist is still the best player in the first match between the two sides. In the two matches, he locked down Manchester City's core David Silva, but in this game, the Argentine was absent due to injury. The replacement given by Benitez is the 22-year-old Brazilian Lucas, but he and Mascherano are really far from each other when he is young. The simplest measure is David Silva's performance.

Two key figures, one is absent and the other is in poor condition, Liverpool can still only count on one person they have long-term expectations, that is their captain Gerald.

However, Gerald also met his opponent in this game, that is Vidal.

Vidal, who has been in excellent form recently, is different from the Harvey Martinez, who still has ups and downs. After the first half of the season, he has gradually become an indispensable figure in Manchester City's midfield. In this game, Lin Sen gave him the task of keeping a blind eye on Gerald, especially guarding against the opponent's long shot, because in the last game between the two sides, it was Gerald's long shot at the last moment that made Manchester City lose three points.

So far, Vidal's mission has been completed well, at least, it has not created any fatal opportunities for the Liverpool captain.

The game ended in the 71st minute, and Benitez finally lost his patience. He made his last move and replaced three people in one go.

Aquilani, Voronin, and Lela pounced on the battlefield.

But not all last-ditch attempts work, nor is it a place to replace an offensive player, and the offense will definitely be strengthened.

When the referee blew the whistle at the end of the game, a burst of warm applause broke out from the city court, and the score was 2 to 0.
Chapter completed!
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