The league had gone through seven rounds. Nottingham Forest had two draws and five wins, temporarily in fourth place.
The competition had been fierce since the first round of the season. Now, in October, the difference between the top six teams in the league was only three points. Manchester United and Arsenal, the top two teams, had exactly the same number of points. They were actually only one point away from Nottingham Forest.
But now that the season had only started for two months, it was still too early to say who would win the title.
Tang En's plan for this season was to maintain the top four in the league and ensure the qualification for next season's UEFA Champions League. They had to at least reach the top eight or four in the Champions League. If they could win the title, they would fight for it at all costs. As for the EFL Cup and FA Cup, they were still used for the team's practice.
The away game against Atlético Madrid in the Champions League helped Fernández regain his form. But whether he could also show that kind of form in the league was still a question mark in everyone's minds.
In the eighth round of the league, Tony Twain continued to let Fernández start in Nottingham Forest's away game against Sunderland. He continued his performance against Atlético Madrid in the game. In addition, due to Bale's injury, Baines was not a full back with outstanding offensive ability. So, on the left flank, Twain did not ask Baines to assist or ask Fernández to return to defend. The Chilean could focus on dealing with the enemy's defensive players and threaten the opponent's goal with breakthroughs or passes.
Fernández's skills were undoubtedly outstanding in the English Premier League. Sunderland was also not a team with delicate skills. They were more like a traditional English team. Their skills were rough and they made many mistakes when passing and receiving the ball. But they had good stamina, dared to fight and snatch, and liked to engage in physical contact.
Fernández's performance in the game was better than theirs. He did not consider whether he would be injured in the fierce collision with the opponent. He only knew that if he did not work hard, he would not be able to stay in his main position for long.
The Chilean's body was thin and weak, but his skills were good, which more or less made up for the gap between the two sides. He used his superb footwork to protect the ball while being sandwiched by three Sunderland players. Under such circumstances, the Sunderland players only had two choices — one was to let Fernández successfully dribble the ball out, and the other was to foul.
Sunderland's manager was no longer Roy Keane. Tang En felt that even if Keane were still around, he would probably ask his players to ruthlessly kick Fernández. There was no need to be polite at all. Yes, because he was also a manager who would ask the same of his own people …
Fernández was the focus of attention. He was fouled five times in the first 45 minutes. Fortunately, he wasn't injured. In return, three of Sunderland's four defenders were booked because of him.
In the second half, Sunderland finally suffered because of their rough tactics. After Fernández dribbled the ball and forced a breakthrough into the penalty area, he was tackled to the ground by Sunderland's centre-back Paul McShane.
The referee awarded a penalty kick without hesitation. Although this caused a collective protest from the home team players and fans, the referee did not change the decision. Not only that, but he also showed a second yellow card to McShane, who already had a yellow card on him!
McShane was so agitated that he almost pounced forward to snatch the red card from the referee's hand. On the other side, Fernández, who had created a penalty and sent off a player for Sunderland at the same time, was being hugged by his teammates. He felt that he was gradually integrating into the team. He no longer thought about whether his transfer to the cold and humid England was the right decision.
There was no turning back. No matter what, he had to succeed here!
The penalty kick was taken by the team's number one penalty taker, Eastwood. He shot vigorously after a long run-up. The goalkeeper judged the direction correctly, but the ball was too fast. When he pounced, the ball had already hit the net behind him!
Nottingham Forest took the lead with this penalty kick in the away game.
Sunderland, who had a centre-back sent off, had to adjust their strategy. They brought off the Paraguayan striker, Oscar Cardozo, and brought on the centre-back, Anton Ferdinand. This man was the younger brother of Manchester United's centre-back, Rio Ferdinand. However, he was not as capable as his brother and was still young, so he could only play in the middle and lower tier teams.
This time, it was a completely passive substitution that disrupted Sunderland's deployment.
At the same time, when Fernández took the ball again, Sunderland's defenders had to hesitate again and again — they were all afraid that they would follow in McShane's footsteps. This made Fernández even more arrogant. He was not satisfied with his continuous breakthroughs on the flank. He simply moved to the middle and squeezed Şahin to the left.
He was proficient in long shots, passes, and breakthroughs. It gave Sunderland's defenders a headache.
In the 87th minute, Sunderland pressed forward and wanted to rely on their tenacious fighting spirit to equalize the score. But Fernández's long-range attack with the ball from the back shattered their dreams.
Due to his previous active performance, this dribble attracted the close attention of two Sunderland players. But he passed the ball to the completely unmarked Ibišević.
Super Ibi slightly adjusted the ball under his feet outside the penalty area and then lifted his leg to shoot a long shot, directly penetrating the ten fingers of Scotland's main goalkeeper, Gordon.
After the goal, Ibišević ran to the camera placed behind the corner flag again. Then he swung his right hand and slapped it hard in the face.
This was his fifth goal of the season!
This was the goal that sealed the victory, and also the goal that made the entire Sunderland team lose their fighting spirit.
In the remaining five or six minutes, Sunderland could no longer organize an effective attack, and just like that, they let the game come to an end.
Nottingham Forest beat Sunderland by 2: 0 in the away game thanks to Matías Fernández's brilliant performance.
After the game, Fernández received the champagne that symbolized the best player on the spot. Surrounded by reporters, he smiled happily.
Tang En also singled out Fernández for praise at the press conference. He now wanted to do everything possible to make Fernández feel that he had a future in the Forest team, and feel that Nottingham Forest was a team that was worth playing for.
After all, there was no cost to saying good things, so naturally, the more the better.
Fernández also mentioned his life in the Forest team in an interview with his hometown media.
He said, "… I like this team, and I'm slowly getting used to life here. Everyone is very friendly, and the boss — that's what they call the manager here — is a person with a unique charm. This team is different from other teams. I hope to win the championship here. I really enjoy my life here. "
"Will the language barrier be an obstacle?" The reporter asked him.
He shook his head. "Playing football is done with your feet, not your mouth. I feel that I'm forming a rapport with my teammates. "
He was right. "Forming a rapport."
Although they won the game against Sunderland, Tang En also praised Fernández, who won the Man of the Match award. But in reality, he was not as happy as he appeared on the surface.
Fernández had found his form, but the rapport still needed to be slowly cultivated. Their victory over Sunderland actually relied on individual ability, and not the overall strength of the team. Fernández chose to fight alone more often than not. This could be seen from his attack data of being violated ten times in the entire game.
Regarding Fernández's outstanding performance in the game, Tang En gave affirmation. But if it were to be like this in every game in the future, he would have to criticize the team with a black face. Nottingham Forest had never been the kind of team that insisted on the supremacy of individualism. The whole of football was his goal. If there was to be an individual heroism in this team, then that hero could only be Tony Twain himself.
※ ※ ※
After the league game against Sunderland, Nottingham Forest would once again leave England and fly to Italy.
This time, their opponent was their old rival from two seasons ago, Juventus.
Before leaving, Tang En accepted an interview with the media. Surprisingly, he did not show his usual brash style. Instead, he was cautious. "There's a certain degree of difficulty in playing against Juventus in an away game. Of course, I hope to win, but there's really no point in saying whether we can win or not now. A football is round. Until the last second, who knows the result? "
The media interpreted Tang En's attitude as him deliberately showing weakness. In fact, it was just a kind of psychological warfare — he wanted Juventus to think that Nottingham Forest was afraid of them and thus underestimate them. In reality? Suddenly giving Juventus a fatal blow when they underestimated them!
This was simply too in line with Tony Twain's style.
So, what he said must not be believed!
※ ※ ※
It was a miracle that Ranieri, as the manager of Juventus, had not been dismissed yet. Everyone thought he was an interim manager, but in the end, three seasons had passed … and he still sat firmly in this position.
Now this white-haired old man was studying their strongest opponent in the Champions League group stage, Nottingham Forest.
Judging from the current points ranking, the seeded team, Juventus, had one win and one draw, still below Nottingham Forest, who had two wins in two games.
Tony Twain's conversation before he came naturally did not escape Ranieri's eyes.
He was thinking about Tony Twain's motive for suddenly making such a positive statement …
According to Tony Twain's habit of looking ahead to the game and the future, he should have said arrogantly, "The three best teams in the world are Nottingham Forest, Nottingham Forest, and Nottingham Forest. So, our opponent is only ourselves. Whether our opponent is Juventus or Barcelona, I don't care, because there's only one result — we win! "
That was the only way to say it in line with his character.
Suddenly being cautious and willing to keep a low profile, this abnormal phenomenon could not help but make Ranieri doubly careful.
Does he want us to underestimate the enemy?
Is Juventus that kind of team?
Does he really think that the chances of winning against Juventus in an away game are not high? So, he's looking for a way out in advance?
Ranieri always felt that the possibility was too low …
What tricks does Tony Twain have up his sleeves? What does he want to do?
If his purpose is to deceive Juventus into underestimating the enemy, then he must want Juventus to attack heavily at home and then wait for the opportunity to fight back. But Juventus was not a team that would get carried away. Even at their home ground, Ranieri would not take the risk to do so. Juventus always prioritized "stability" at all times. Otherwise, they would not be called "Old Lady." This was a team style that would not change no matter how many coaches were changed.
Ranieri believed that Twain's IQ would not be so low as to think that Juventus would press on to attack at home and leave a large space in the backfield for the Forest team to fight back.
After all, two seasons ago, Juventus defeated Nottingham Forest not by relying on a strong offense, but on overall balance. Whether it was offense or defense, they might not be the best, but their overall strength was strong and there were no obvious weaknesses.
A football game was a game of hiding one's own weaknesses and finding and exploiting the opponent's weaknesses. From this point of view, Juventus' style of play had already made them "invincible."
Ranieri thought about it until his head hurt and could not figure out why Twain suddenly lowered his stance at this time, so he simply stopped thinking about it. No matter what Tony Twain was selling in his gourd, as the home team, as the biggest powerhouse in Serie A, Juventus, he just needed to stick to his own style and football.
Juventus' football was not the kind of football that would adjust to different opponents. If the football of the current football world's hegemon, Barcelona, was "aggressive like fire," then Juventus was "immovable like a mountain."
Ranieri decided to stick to his own style and deal with the myriad of changes by remaining unchanged.
Just like the first time the two sides played. He did not know much more about Nottingham Forest than the average person, so he stuck to Juventus' own style of play and eventually succeeded in beating Nottingham Forest at home and retreating unscathed in the away game. He felt that he did not need to make any changes. Juventus was almost born to counter Nottingham Forest.
What was a "natural enemy"?
Juventus was Nottingham Forest's natural enemy!
Tony Twain's tactical style did not seem to have changed much from two years ago. If it was still the same … Ranieri felt that if nothing unexpected happened, it should not be a problem for him to get three points at home. As for the away game, he really needed to be extra careful.
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