The most anticipated match in this round of the league tournament was naturally the Manchester Derby, where Manchester City would challenge Manchester United in an away game.
Before this game, Manchester United had the support of all Nottingham Forest fans, because if Manchester City were to lose this game, it would be equivalent to giving Forest a chance to overtake Manchester City.
Mourinho was asked this question during the pre-match interview, and he showed his usual arrogance.
"Nottingham Forest? What does that have to do with me? This is the Manchester Derby, not the Nottingham Derby … Of course I will win, but not for anyone else. … Whether this is the Manchester Derby, or any other game. Victory is what I pursue … "
He refused to answer any questions about Nottingham Forest and Tony Twain.
Even so, the Nottingham Forest fans still supported Manchester United, because they would never support their direct competitor, Manchester City.
Twain also did not express any opinion on this game. Since his comeback, he rarely publicly expressed any opinion on others in the media, even his old enemy Mourinho was no exception.
But it would be a lie to say that he did not pay attention to this game. How could he not pay attention to a game that concerned his own team?
It was just that he did not have the conditions to pay attention to it, because the Manchester Derby and Nottingham Forest game were held at the same time.
David Kerslake had been wearing headphones in the technical area, listening to the latest developments of the other game through the radio. As long as there was any new news, he would definitely tell Twain.
"Manchester City scored, they're in the lead … Damn it! What's Mourinho's team doing? "
After hearing the news of Manchester City's goal, he complained.
And in the stands, the cheers of the Forest fans also weakened.
Twain stood on the sidelines with his arms crossed, not saying a word.
In less than three minutes, there was another piece of news. This time, without waiting for Kerslake to say the content, a burst of cheers broke out in the stands.
Twain's face finally showed a smile.
"Manchester United scored, they equalized the score!!" Kerslake shouted excitedly to Twain. In such a noisy environment, he had to raise his voice and shout to ensure that Twain, who was close at hand, could hear him clearly.
After only briefly focusing on Manchester United, Twain retracted his gaze and looked back at the field. Nottingham Forest's away game against West Ham United was not an easy game.
The score was 0: 0. Ten minutes into the second half, the two teams were in a deadlock. The West Ham United fans were very proud. They were singing, "Manchester City lost, you can't win either! Want to go to Europe? No way!! "
Tang En was ready to make a substitution. He replaced the exhausted Balotelli with Agbonlahor. At the same time, he made some adjustments. He moved Chen Jian to the defensive midfielder position and let Wood slightly move forward.
Due to Chen Jian's outstanding performance over the past half a season, his opponents had already focused on studying him. He had been violated multiple times in the matches, which was obviously not conducive to the team's offense. Instead of letting Chen Jian continue to be attacked by the opponent in front, it was better to retreat and stay further away from the opponent's defenders so that he could display his other talent — controlling the tempo.
Chen Jian and Wood's characteristics were indeed very similar. However, under Tang En's guidance, the two of them did not clash when they were on the field at the same time. Instead, they formed a synergy. Another player would take over his job and continue to lead the team forward after anyone was seen to be dead. This was the benefit of having a "double core".
Tang En's adjustment was immediate. Previously, West Ham United's defensive deployment was against Chen Jian, but now it was changed to Wood. Although the two players' styles were similar, there was a difference in their abilities. The two could defend against Chen Jian, but they might not be able to defend against Wood.
Wood took advantage of the time when West Ham United had yet to adjust. He forcefully broke through in the middle and disrupted West Ham United's defense. Then he passed the ball to Agbonlahor, who had just come on not long ago. Agbonlahor broke into the penalty area and suddenly shot at the goal. The West Ham goalkeeper dove for the ball and let it fall, allowing Mitchell on the other side to take advantage of it and easily fill the empty goal.
At this time, the Forest fans in the stands erupted in cheers that were louder than when Manchester United scored. The group of people sitting in the technical area also let out a long sigh of relief. Tony Twain's team was best at playing games after taking the lead. They had nothing to worry about. Now more people began to pay attention to the game on the other field. As long as Manchester United could defeat Manchester City, Forest would surpass Manchester City after the game and take the sixth place in the league.
This ranking meant that they could directly qualify for next season's European competition.
And Manchester City would be kicked into the abyss by them.
After Forest took the lead, the situation of the game was completely under their control. The home team, West Ham United, hoped to equalize the score but did not dare to press out to attack. They were worried that they would not be able to score a goal and would instead be defeated by Forest. The commentator in charge of the game sighed. The game had entered garbage time ahead of time.
On the other field, the game had entered a white-hot stage.
After Ferguson's departure, the tension in the city derby between Manchester United and Manchester City had lessened a lot. With Mourinho's arrival, both sides were at each other's throats again. With Mourinho's big mouth, it was impossible not to offend people. Coupled with the special meaning of the city derby, the game was full of tension after Manchester United quickly equalized the score and began to develop in another direction.
First, a Manchester City player tackled Manchester United's striker to the ground and received a yellow card. Then, a Manchester United player retaliated by kicking another Manchester City player, but it was only a verbal warning. This immediately aroused the dissatisfaction of the Manchester City players.
After that, both sides continued to play dirty tricks, tripping each other and making endless small moves. The referee had to whistle again and again and take out his cards again and again.
At the 77th minute, the players from both sides finally clashed.
At that time, Manchester United's midfielder passed a through ball behind him. Manchester City's goalkeeper, Josh Connor, rushed out to pounce on the ball. But although the 32-year-old veteran, Rooney, was old, his temper did not weaken. He did not pull back his leg when he rushed up and collided with Connor fiercely.
This was going to be interesting.
Connor lay on the ground in pain, while Rooney did not have any intention of apologizing. He got up and patted his butt to leave.
He was immediately surrounded by angry Manchester City players. Seeing that their old captain was about to suffer, Manchester United's players also swarmed over. Both sides collided and a fierce physical fight broke out.
The referee's whistle was no longer able to calm them down. In the end, the coaches of both sides had to go on the field to separate the clashing players.
In the face of such a scene, if the referee did nothing but give a verbal warning, it would only make the scene more chaotic.
Chaotic times called for heavy punishment.
So, the referee raised his hand and gave Manchester City a red card and Manchester United two red cards. Rooney, who started the fight, was one of them.
This decision naturally made Mourinho very unhappy. He roared angrily on the sidelines and accused the referee of being unfair. If his assistant manager had not pulled him down in time, he would have been sent to the stands by the referee, who was determined to establish his dominance.
Manchester City's manager, Mark Brown, was also very angry. He felt that his team was a complete victim. Why did they have to send off a player?
The conflict between both sides on the field and the technical area was an indispensable part of this game. If a city derby did not have a fiery scene, it would only make people feel that it did not live up to its name.
※ ※ ※
The news of the conflict between Manchester United and Manchester City and the sending off of players from both sides immediately reached Tang En's ears.
Everyone could see Kerslake's elated expression. Many people, like him, were happy with the news.
Because in their hearts, the best outcome would be for Manchester United to win against Manchester City. But after a tough battle, Manchester United lost a lot of players to get this Pyrrhic victory. Nottingham Forest could then sit back and reap the benefits.
Now the development of the situation was infinitely close to the "best outcome" in their hearts.
A smile also appeared on Tang En's face. This result was also what he wanted.
He was not worried that Manchester United would lose to Manchester City on their home ground.
On this side, he stepped up his demands on the team's offense. A one-goal lead was the most unsafe score in the world.
The series of attacks by the Forest team subsequently paid off. Wood's long shot directly blasted open West Ham United's goal. Nottingham Forest was leading by 2: 0 in the away game. With less than ten minutes to go, there was no doubt that the Forest team would win the game.
But on the other side, the format of the game was much more dangerous.
At Old Trafford, Manchester United's offense was affected due to the sending off of two players. Manchester City, on the other hand, felt that they had been treated unfairly and their morale soared. They actually managed to push Manchester United back near their penalty area.
This made Mourinho very angry off the field, and he made a substitution because of this. He did not increase their defensive strength. Instead, he took off a defender and brought on a striker, maintaining that there were still two strikers on the front line. Through this substitution, he expressed his determination to the Manchester United players on the field — they must win!
Then the morale of the Manchester United players recovered. They were stronger than Manchester City in the first place, and they were at home. Gradually, they gained the upper hand on the field again.
As the game entered injury stoppage time, Manchester United broke into Manchester City's penalty area through a series of brilliant coordination in the front field. Lee Barnett, who had the ball, was knocked to the ground by the Manchester City captain, Richards. The referee did not hesitate to award a penalty!
The penalty was tantamount to a death sentence for Manchester City. Being awarded a penalty during injury stoppage time did not even leave them time to equalize the score.
The Manchester City players naturally surrounded the referee for a while to argue and protest, but to no avail. The referee seemed to feel that he had sent off one Manchester City player and two Manchester United players. It was not very good to do so on Manchester United's home ground, and he had to find some balance. Naturally, they would not let Richards off the hook for the collision that could or could not be judged.
Just like that, Manchester United won the Manchester derby at home with this controversial penalty, defeated Manchester City, and consolidated their first place in the league.
When the news finally reached Tang En's ears, Tang En and his men were already in the locker room. The news made the entire team jubilant. Everyone knew that they had successfully squeezed out Manchester City and occupied the sixth place in the league. As long as they consolidated this position in the last two rounds, they would be able to participate in European competitions next season.
The excited players not only cheered, they also wanted to continue celebrating. But their attempts were quickly stopped by Tang En's hand gesture.
"There are two rounds left in the league. We have one away and one at home, and our opponent in the home game is still Manchester United. If you think you can start celebrating now, then wait to cry after the last round of the league. "
Tang En said coldly.
Suddenly, the joyous atmosphere in the locker room was swept away.
"Remember, the season is not over yet. It's too early to start celebrating now. These last two games are the key. It's time for the final sprint of a kilometer, guys. I don't want you to fall behind before the finish line. If you want to celebrate, wait until the game against Manchester United is over. "
After saying these words, he was the first to turn and walk out of the locker room.
The players in the locker room were silent for a while before they came out one after another, got into the car and left.
Tang En's words poured cold water on them, but Tang En was not worried that it would affect their morale. If the team that he had forged for more than half a season could not accept such harsh words, he would not have raised the goal of returning to Europe.
Forest must reappear in the European arena next season, whether it was the Champions League or the Europa League. In short, Nottingham Forest's name must be on the European list. This was Tang En's last gift to Dunn.
※ ※ ※
Nottingham Forest and Tony Twain both got the results they wanted. Only one person was angry.
"The referee's performance in this game was very poor! My team was wronged, no one should be sent off, only that guy in black! "
Mourinho angrily criticized the referee of the match at the press conference. The "man in black" that he mentioned should be sent off was the referee.
"We will appeal the decision of this game."
A reporter stood up and asked a question that instantly turned Mourinho's anger from fire to ice.
"Are you worried that these two red cards will affect Manchester United's game against Nottingham Forest in the final round?"
Mourinho, who had just angrily questioned the referee, did not immediately answer the reporter's question in the same tone. He just stared at the reporter for a while before saying in a calm voice, "I'm not worried."
The reporter still wanted to ask more questions, but Mourinho had already pointed to someone else. The topic returned to the game conflict that everyone was most concerned about at the moment.
The reporter sat down with some reluctance. He still wanted to continue digging into the final match of the league tournament between the Forest team and Manchester United.
Although there were still two weeks until that game, the reporter felt that the game in the middle could be completely skipped and went straight to the climax. The fated showdown between Tony Twain and Mourinho was finally staged again after many years. Such an exciting story attracted the audience more than any game conflict.
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