Barton's absence had a huge impact on the Manchester City team. Without the man who could control the situation in the midfield, the Manchester City team's offense appeared a little disorganized. George Wood and Albertini's cooperation in the middle of the midfield was getting more and more tacit. Reina and Bosvet, the two Manchester City MCs, could not find any effective way to break through Wood and Albertini's defense.
On the sidelines, Ribéry, who had a belly full of anger because he could not win, vented all his resentment on this game. His unbridled breakthrough on the left flank completely suppressed Wright Phillips' attack — the game had just begun, and Ribéry used his sharp breakthrough to give him the applause that the fans had just given to Pearce. Although the league tournament had only started four rounds, the local Nottingham media could not wait to announce that Franck Ribéry was Tony Twain's most successful acquisition this summer. It turned out that Keegan's task for Wright Phillips was to assist the strikers, but now he had to yell on the sidelines for Phillips to pay attention to the defense. Compared to Wright Phillips, Ribéry's breakthrough felt sharper, more determined, and bolder — relying on his speed advantage, he rushed to the opponent without slowing down, and used the constant change of direction and speed rhythm to shake off the defenders. This was Ribéry's forte in breaking through.
On the other side, Ashley Young used his youthful momentum to fight evenly with McMaraman. However, Twain did not expect Ashley Young to be able to suppress his opponent in this game. After all, McMaraman was different from Wright Phillips. He was an experienced veteran. The Forest team's offensive focus was on Ashley Young's side at the start, but this was a feint to make Keegan think that the Forest team would mainly attack this flank. When he saw that the Manchester City team's defensive focus slowly shifted, he immediately resolutely changed the direction of the main attack to Ribéry's left flank. Without hesitation, Ribéry forced a breakthrough three times in a row, turning the Manchester City team's defensive system upside down.
If Keegan adjusted the defensive focus back, he would give the football to Albertini and let him organize the attack. Anyway, although the Forest team's midfield looked parallel on the television screen, it was actually disc-shaped — the two side midfielders were forward, and Wood and Albertini were a little behind, so that there was a suitable depth for both offense and defense.
Forest's midfield role was to look for weaknesses in the opponent's defensive line through passing the ball. For Manchester City, there were still many weaknesses in their defensive line.
Sun Jihai might be at the top level in the country, but when facing Ribéry, he still seemed to struggle a little, not to mention that Wright Phillips could not help him at all in defense. In the tactics arranged before the game, Keegan also asked Sun Jihai to have a chance to help Phillips in offense. Now, they were completely suppressed near the defensive line and could forget about escaping.
The Forest team's frenzied flank offense was quickly rewarded. Viduka caught the problem of the center back partnership between Dunn and Distin. When faced with the physically outstanding Dunn, the Australian bull did not choose to win with the one-track minded defender. Instead, he unexpectedly chose to do a lob shot after getting the ball!
The timing was just right. Not only did it make Dunn's body useless, but it also completely disrupted the goalkeeper James' rhythm. His center had just sunk and was about to pounce on the high ball when he saw the football fly over his head and fall into the net!
"Lob shot! Lob shot! It's hard to believe … Viduka's lob shot! Look at James' eyes. It was as if he saw a visitor from the heavens! Nottingham Forest has taken the lead! The way this ball went in … is really unexpected. We're not talking about the result, but the way it went in. The way the goal was scored was too unexpected! The Forest team had the upper hand on the field. It's only natural for them to take the lead! "
If the Manchester City fans felt that Viduka's goal was luck and blind luck. There was no reason for the Forest team to take the lead so easily. Then, conceding another goal at the end of the first half would make them completely speechless.
The person who scored this time was Eastwood.
Ribéry's frequent breakthroughs tore Manchester City's defense to shreds. This time, Sun Jihai was deceived by his continuous swaying and lost his center of gravity. He could only sit on the ground and watch helplessly as the French newcomer broke through his and Wright Phillips' defense and charged into the penalty area …
Just when James thought Ribéry would shoot directly, he passed the ball to Eastwood, who had plugged in. What happened next made the City Ground stadium a sea of joy.
"2: 0! The score before the end of the first half. Keegan's face was ashen. There was a lot of negative news about him before the game. The position of the manager is unstable and the general is out of harmony. Look at Anelka's performance in this game. It's as if he's asleep! "
Trailing by two goals in an away game and filled with contradictions within the team, what else could the Manchester City team do?
At the end of the first half, when Anelka walked past Keegan, the two men's expressions were similar. Keegan looked into the distance and turned a blind eye to Anelka, while Anelka held his head high and completely disregarded the manager.
It was rumored that the unruly French striker and Keegan had always been at odds. The two even quarreled during training and had a poor relationship. Now that Tang En had seen it with his own eyes, it could be considered as confirming the rumors he had heard before.
This was a good thing that made him very happy. Other people's bad luck was good news for his side.
So, the second half of the game was a little uneventful. No one knew what happened in the Manchester City locker room during the halftime interval. Anelka was substituted at the start of the second half. The substitute, Carl Birmingham, was too young and could not pose a threat to the Forest team. Tang En's team was more open in terms of offense.
When Viduka scored a brace in the 71st minute, the Manchester City team completely gave up on the idea of forcing a draw with their opponent.
The game ended with Tony Twain's victory.
This was the Forest team's first victory of the season. With the three points in hand, Nottingham Forest's team song, "The World is in Our Hands," once again rang out in the stands of the City Ground stadium.
After the game ended, Keegan, who was in a bad mood, shook hands with Tang En perfunctorily and left in a hurry. Instead, it was Stuart Pearce who took the initiative to strike up a conversation with Tang En while shaking hands. Of course, the content was nothing new. It was nothing more than congratulating the winner and praising the Forest team, etc.
It was only when Pearce was about to leave that he said to Tang En, "There's something … I have to say thank you."
"Huh?" Tang En did not react.
"Seeing this Forest team full of hope now, it reminds me of the past. So … I have to say thank you. Thank you for letting us and the boss see Nottingham Forest wearing a red jersey in the top league. Of course, the boss won't say such words to you. He always shows his most indifferent side in front of the people he likes the most. "At this point, Pearce smiled." But I feel that someone has to say these words to you. Because you've really done well. You've done something that many of us can't do. So … thank you! I wish you good luck, Tony. I hope we'll have a chance to play against each other in the future. "
With that, Pearce turned and left.
Tang En said behind him, "I think we'll have one soon, Pearce!"
"Crazy" Pearce took Tang En's words as a blessing and did not care too much about it. He smiled and left the stadium filled with songs and joy. For Stuart Pearce, such a scene had been something he had not seen for a long, long time.
So, even if he was a member of the Manchester City coaching staff, even if his team lost the game, he was not the slightest bit upset.
This is what you deserve, Forest. Well done!
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