However, Lineker had made a sharp assessment of Nottingham Forest a long time ago.
This is a young team, full of vigor and vitality, so they are not afraid of any opponent. That is why they can play beyond their imagination when facing strong teams. But it is also because they are young that their performance is very unstable. Therefore, when you want to place high hopes on Manager Tang En's team, they are likely to let you down. When you no longer have any hope for them, they can bring you surprises. So … don't believe any pre-match analysis of this team by any betting company. It is all nonsense.
After winning the first game in February, everyone thought that Tang En's team should continue to chase after Chelsea and put pressure on them. However, they lost to Arsenal at home in Round 25 of the league tournament on February 4.
In the previous round, because Chelsea tied with Aston Villa in an away game, the points difference between the two sides was originally only three points. But in this round, Chelsea took down the strong team Liverpool at home by 2: 0, while Forest lost to Arsenal at home.
The difference between the two teams went from three points to six points.
At this juncture, Tang En's team could not catch up to Chelsea. When the Champions League restarted, it would be too late to catch up to Chelsea in the league tournament.
The focus of the team was not static. It changed at any time. It was the league tournament now. After some time, the importance of the Champions League would clearly surpass the league tournament.
Arsène Wenger had pulled back a game in the contest with Tang En. His team had defeated Nottingham Forest, who had won eight consecutive matches in the league, at the City Ground Stadium. It also ended Nottingham Forest's unbeaten streak of 11 matches, which began on November 19 last year when they lost to Newcastle in an away game. At the same time, the victory also allowed Arsenal's ranking to return to the top five of the league tournament. They were only one point away from the fourth-placed Liverpool.
So when Tang En shook hands with Wenger after the game with a frown, Wenger even teased him, "The result is not too bad. Ferguson's team is still 12 points behind you!"
"They haven't played this round of the game yet …" Tang En shook his head.
He was not worried about Manchester United. He was just annoyed that he had repeatedly failed to seize the opportunity to catch up to Chelsea.
A day later, Manchester United's game ended. After the New Year, Manchester United, who continued last year's bad luck, beat Fulham at home with a score of 4: 2, narrowing the gap between them and the league's second-placed Nottingham Forest to nine points. For Manchester United, it might be good news and let them see hope. For Nottingham Forest, this should be a wake-up call …
Unfortunately, Tony Twain did not see it. Nine points was still within a safe range for him. He now had to focus all his energy on preparing for the Champions League round of 16.
On February 11th, in the 26th round of the league tournament, the Forest team, who had just ended their winning streak, won again. They defeated Blackburn Rovers 3: 1 at home. But the process of the game was not as easy as the score. It was not until the last minute of the game that the Forest team secured their victory. After a score of 2: 1, they were always in the situation of dealing with Blackburn Rovers' counterattack.
Of course, Nottingham Forest's supporters would say it was because Twain had sent nearly half of his substitutes to preserve their strength for the Champions League round of 16. But it was a fact that the young Nottingham Forest team had shown signs of fatigue in the face of three simultaneous advances.
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On the evening of February 22nd, Nottingham Forest, visiting the Scottish capital of Glasgow, welcomed the first leg of their Champions League round of 16.
The football of the city of Glasgow had to be linked with religion and politics. This had something to do with their special environment. Every year, the "Old Firm Derby" — that was, the intra-city battle between the Protestant Glasgow Rangers and the Catholic Celtic team — attracted a lot of attention.
Although the Scottish Premier League could only be ranked second in Europe, Glasgow Rangers and Celtic were still strong teams with strength that could not be underestimated.
Twain had made very detailed arrangements for this game before he set off.
But fortunately, this game was just an ordinary Champions League round of 16, not the "Old Firm Derby" between Celtic and Glasgow Rangers. Twain's team also did not represent any religious groups or interests. He did not have to worry about being stabbed in the back by the fanatical Glasgow Rangers fans after he got off the bus.
Of course, if his team eventually defeated Glasgow Rangers, then he and his players might have to consider this point.
This was a city that was crazy about football.
When they were warming up on the field, the Forest players could already hear the boos and curses coming from all over the stands. As the home team's fans, they did everything they could to disturb their opponents.
Playing in this kind of environment really made the Forest fans far away in Nottingham sweat for the team they supported.
"Don't believe that nonsense!" Twain told his players in the locker room before the game. "We're not Celtic, and this isn't a f * cking 'Old Firm'! This is just an ordinary Champions League round of 16. It doesn't mean anything. We'll play like we usually do today. "
Before the game, the Scottish media had announced that they would let England witness the "passion" of the Scottish people for football. The pro-Rangers media also began to exaggerate the city's fanaticism and even listed some sensational statistics. For example, the 1984 Heysel Tragedy shocked the world. But what was not well known was that in that year's "Old Firm" derby, there were two attempted murders, two cases of people being stabbed with a butcher's knife, one case of people being stabbed with a mountain axe, nine cases of people being stabbed with a dagger, and 35 cases of gang fights.
There were even people who shouted murderous slogans like "a football match is a modern war."
They wanted Nottingham Forest to cower before the battle.
But Twain did not fall for it.
"… But I'm not telling you all this to let them think that we're afraid of them." Twain raised his right arm and clenched it into a fist in front of everyone. "If they want war, then we'll give them war!"
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The game was very intense. Although the two participating teams were not as well-known as Chelsea and Barcelona, they were also not as popular as Real Madrid and Arsenal, and could not compare to powerhouses like Bayern Munich and AC Milan. But in terms of viewing quality, this was perhaps the best of the four round of 16 matches that night.
Both sides did not hold back and played offensive football. In just the first half, the two teams scored three goals. The score was 2: 1, with the home team, Glasgow Rangers, in the lead.
During the halftime interval, Twain roared in the locker room. Getting an away goal did not mean victory for him. What he wanted was an overall victory — an overall victory in terms of the number of goals scored and the score.
"… Those who think that they should be satisfied with an away goal are shameful! Those are the useless thoughts of the other teams, not our Nottingham Forest! If the Scots think that we'll relax in the second half because we're satisfied with this score and result, then they're sorely mistaken! "
"George! Destroy their attack, every line, every point, and provide enough protection for our attack! "
In the second half, George Wood sprinted for a long time, appearing in every corner of the field and blocking the opponent's attacks. The statistics after the game proved his efforts: 13 personal fouls in the whole game, seven violations, one yellow card, running a distance of 13,000 meters, passing 60 times, 39 successful times, 21 tackles, 17 successful times, 11 headers, 10 successful times, and 18 errors … He became an opponent who was constantly booed by the Hampton Park stadium. But the more he was hated by his opponent, the more it proved his success.
The ESPN commentator was surprised by Wood's stamina. In this fast-paced and intense game, he was still sprinting with all his might until the last minute of the game. There was no sign of exhaustion at all. The closer it was to the end of the game, the more his sprint-like running speed made his opponent feel despair.
Glasgow Rangers was finally worn down by Wood's unreasonable stamina. They could not organize their attacks because the ferocious George Wood could appear in any corner, flashing his studs at them, or make a "reasonable collision" or pester them. The attacking players had to expend more energy than usual when facing him. They had to tighten their nerves in order to break through the defense. It was simply too tiring! Nottingham Forest's attack suddenly exerted force in the last ten minutes of the game. Taking advantage of the opponent's lack of stamina, they scored two consecutive goals in seven minutes, turning defeat into victory!
The boos at Hampton Park rang through the night sky of Glasgow. Tony Twain's bright smile was magnified infinitely under the spotlights.
"… 3: 2! Three away goals, one victory. Tony Twain's team is almost in the top eight of the Champions League! "
(To be continued, if you want to know what happened next, please log on to WWW. CMFU. com. More chapters. Support the author. Support original reading!)
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