Manchester United equalized the score with a penalty, which made Tang En furious. No matter how brilliant a manager was, he could not control the various set pieces that appeared in the game. At most, he could remind the players to avoid fouling in dangerous areas. But a football game could not go smoothly just by relying on pre-match arrangements. There would always be all kinds of accidents. For example, the penalty caused by Manchester United's quick free kick.
Calmly speaking, if Tang En were a television commentator at this moment, he would applaud Manchester United's sudden adjustment. It fully reflected the cunning and cleverness of Manchester United and Ferguson. But now that he was in the opponent's position, he could only mutter and curse.
In the end, it was still the Nottingham Forest players' own mistakes. If the players had not collectively let their guard down at that moment and were not focused enough, how could Ronaldo have seized such an opportunity? From the time Ronaldo received the ball to the time he broke into the penalty area and caused Pepe to foul, there was a full five seconds. The Forest players did not react and were dumbfounded.
If this was a basketball game, Tang En would have immediately called a timeout and pulled all the players to his side to scold them mercilessly one by one. He would have made them not dare to collectively lose focus during the game.
From this point, Tang En really liked the timeout rule in basketball. He would have seven chances in every game to adjust the team, or to reprimand the players for their poor performance in the previous game to give them a wake-up call.
Unfortunately, that would greatly reduce the excitement and fluidity of the football game, so he could only fantasize about it.
Now he roared angrily on the sidelines, waving his arms to express his dissatisfaction. As for how many of the players heard and saw it, and how many of them took it to heart, he could not control it.
"All right, guys! Now the score has been equalized again! All of you, focus! You no longer have the right to be distracted! "
※ ※ ※
Ferguson was very satisfied with the goal, even though Tang En would certainly say after the game that Manchester United was taken care of by the referee and the Football Association, and that Nottingham Forest had become the target of public criticism. But you have to allow the loser to find a way out of this embarrassing situation, right?
The important thing was that the score was equalized, and the game was back on track. Nottingham Forest's morale was affected and victory was bound to belong to Manchester United.
What he needed to do now was to get the team to keep up the pressure and take advantage of the Nottingham Forest players' unease to score another goal and completely crush the Forest team's fighting spirit.
His thoughts were good, but the reality was different.
※ ※ ※
Nottingham Forest did not panic because of a goal concede. While Manchester United stepped up their offense, the Forest team quickly organized their defensive line. A striker like Tevez had no chance when he was marked. In the end, he could only pull out of the penalty area to try a long shot. Step by step, he squandered the opportunities his teammates created for him.
Ferguson shook his head vigorously as he watched from the sidelines. In the end, he could not take it anymore and replaced Tevez with Paul Scholes in the 70th minute. Although they had replaced a striker with a midfielder, Manchester United's offensive strength had not actually weakened. In fact, it had even been enhanced. If Tevez wanted to do midfield work, wouldn't it be better to use a real midfielder to do it?
Do not underestimate the 36-year-old Scholes. His good professionalism and lifestyle habits had allowed him to maintain a very good state. When the team needed him, he would never let Ferguson down.
After he came on, he increased the midfield's ability to organize and score goals. Of course, Scholes also had to face a terrifying opponent — George Wood. Tang En would not tolerate such a person moving freely outside his penalty area. Wood would definitely keep an eye on Scholes. In that case, it would provide opportunities for the other Manchester United players.
Sure enough, after Scholes came on, Wood seemed to have automatically received a signal and stuck close to him.
Scholes could not get rid of this man vertically. He could only move horizontally and then pass the ball out. Only when Wood was attracted elsewhere would he have a chance to make a threatening long shot.
Akinfeev's performance was outstanding as he saved Scholes' shot.
After Scholes came on, the balance in the midfield of both sides changed. Manchester United, who had the advantage in numbers, began to continue to launch fierce attacks on Nottingham Forest's goal. Şahin's inability to defend was exposed. He was also completely at a disadvantage when he collided with Hargreaves and Carrick.
Although Tang En still insisted on the idea of attacking at Old Trafford, letting Şahin stay on the field could not change the situation. He also needed to make adjustments.
In the 75th minute, he replaced Şahin with Tiago.
"Is the configuration of two defensive midfielders a sign of defense?" The commentator said. "Perhaps Tony Twain feels satisfied to be able to get a point at Old Trafford. After all, this is an away game and facing Manchester United … "
The commentator was already looking for a way out of Tang En's failure, but Tang En did not want to go down this path. He wanted to go against the others and go against the flow.
Two defensive midfielders were actually the foundation of the offense. In Tang En's tactical thinking, all offense originated from defense. Only when the defense was good could the offense improve. So, if he wanted to strengthen the offense, it would not be as simple as changing a striker and removing a defender.
He would arrange two defensive midfielders in the midfield to contain Manchester United's midfield offense and regain control of the midfield. Then, he would launch an attack from there and directly attack.
If the midfield could not be taken down, he could only rely on the defenders to directly pass long passes to find the forwards to attack. The opposing defenders liked this kind of offense the most because they could defend effortlessly.
Wood and Tiago both had the ability to pass forward and could also defend at the same time. After Tiago came on, he immediately changed the Forest team's disadvantage in the midfield. Whether it was Wood or Tiago, they were not afraid of the physical confrontation with Hargreaves and Carrick. At the same time, they could also separate one player to take care of Scholes.
The substitutions of both coaches resulted in a tie. In the end, the game fell into a stalemate. No one had a better chance to score.
※ ※ ※
"I think Ronaldo should step up and play his role as a superstar. Now it's clear that Manchester United's offense is in a quagmire. It's no longer easy to tear apart Nottingham Forest's defense by relying on teamwork. Individual skills are more effective than passing at this time. He should try to break through more. "
The commentator advised Manchester United.
Ronaldo's performance throughout the game was indeed a little low except for the penalty. Especially after he was stepped on by Pepe, he almost disappeared for a while. Maybe it was because he was injured there and it affected his condition?
But at this time, he really needed to stand up and show his ability.
Ronaldo was also always looking for a chance to break into the penalty area again. After the Forest team attacked several times, he did not return to defend. Instead, he stayed in the front field waiting for Manchester United to counterattack.
In the 79th minute, he waited for such an opportunity. Vidic intercepted the ball that Tiago passed to van Nistelrooy and then passed it to Scholes. Ginger passed it to Ronaldo again and Manchester United launched a counterattack!
George Wood did not go forward to participate in the attack. He stayed in the back field to prepare to defend. Therefore, when Ronaldo received the ball, he also followed. After running a few steps, he began to speed up because Ronaldo was also speeding up.
Ronaldo had been dribbling the ball on the long sideline. Under the cheers of the fans, only Pepe, Woodgate and Akinfeev were in front of him. When he was five or six meters away from the penalty area, he suddenly cut inside.
At this moment, the two bullet trains that were traveling at high speed on different tracks met.
Wood saw the moment Ronaldo cut inside, he slid over and shoveled him out along with the ball!
Deafening boos rang out in the Old Trafford stadium. It was so deafening that it almost caused a cardiac arrest.
"This is a foul!!" The commentator screamed.
He was talking nonsense. Of course it was a foul. The referee whistled and ran over, while Ronaldo hugged his foot and curled up to one side. It looked like he was seriously injured — the part of the foot that Wood had just stepped on was the foot that Pepe had just stepped on.
Wood did not go forward to pat Ronaldo in a friendly manner. He did not comfort him or defend his actions. He got up from the ground and did not even look at the poor Ronaldo.
In his mind, it was a very necessary foul. It was better to foul on the sideline than in the middle. It was better to foul outside the penalty area than in the penalty area. He did not think what he did was wrong. As for injuring Ronaldo with the shovel? He did not want to do that. It was just a side effect …
The referee did not care what he thought. He called him over and took out the yellow card from his pocket!
※ ※ ※
Tony Twain breathed a sigh of relief off the field. From the start of Wood's foul, listening to the deafening boos in the stadium, he thought Wood would be sent off with a red card. Now it looked like Wood was really lucky!
"Ha! Well done! "Twain, who had relaxed, applauded and praised Wood.
This time, it was Ferguson's turn to fly into a rage.
He rushed to the side of the field and grabbed the fourth official. He pointed at everything that happened on the field and displayed his "hair dryer" technique. "This kind of foul is only given a yellow card?! What kind of foul is needed to be sent off with a red card? Breaking my player's leg or crushing his heart? This penalty is too f * cking bad! "
"Sir Ferguson, please watch your words …" The fourth official was a little helpless. He was really unlucky to be the fourth official of this game. On the left and right sides were fiery-tempered managers, one old and one young. He was sandwiched in the middle like the sausage in a hot dog.
"My player is injured! He is lying on the ground moaning. You want me to watch my words? I want you to watch your enforcement standards! This foul is definitely a red card! Now it's very good. After the game, that guy Tony Twain will not say that the Football Association is biased towards our Manchester United! Now it's my turn to say it! "
The fourth official decided not to talk back. He just recorded the performance of the two managers in the game report and submitted it to the Football Association. Let them be the bad guys …
After Ferguson scolded him harshly, his face became even redder. He panted heavily and walked back to the technical area, ready to call Nani to warm up.
Ronaldo looked like he was seriously injured. Just the time he spent lying on the field for treatment took up to four minutes. The Manchester United fans who were cursing Wood and Nottingham Forest in the stands believed that Ronaldo's leg had been broken by Wood.
The visual effect of that foul was too terrifying — Ronaldo's whole body flew into the air, rolled half a circle, and then fell heavily to the ground face down. George Wood's tackle was like a bulldozer moving at high speed, cutting down the big tree that was Ronaldo.
"Let's not discuss whether Tony Twain has the chance to manage Manchester United. Anyway, I think George Wood has no hope of playing for Manchester United in this life … In the game between Forest and Manchester United, how many times has he seriously violated a Manchester United player? This time he was lucky and escaped the referee's red card punishment, but he can't escape the hatred of the Manchester United fans. Listen to the boos, it can practically kill a person! "
The television broadcast gave a close-up shot of Wood, who was unmoved with a straight face.
※ ※ ※
The injured Ronaldo was eventually replaced by Park Ji-sung. Although he finally stood up with a limp, Ferguson did not let him continue to play for the sake of protection. Any player who liked to dribble the ball would be treated like this by the opposing defensive players. It was not the first time Ronaldo was kicked like this. He was really lucky to be able to persist until today …
But in Ronaldo's heart, he probably did not have a good impression of George Wood.
Fàbregas and Kaka would still treat Wood as a worthy opponent, or hope to become a teammate. Cristiano Ronaldo, on the other hand, could not wait for George Wood to disappear from the face of the earth.
After Ronaldo left the field, the game resumed after a six-minute hiatus. The fans' boos had not stopped. As long as George Wood had the ball, a fierce wave of boos would attack him. Fortunately, he played in the middle. If he played on the side, there might be all sorts of junk thrown down along with the boos …
Nani was once called the second Cristiano Ronaldo. He was somewhat similar to Ronaldo in terms of finishing characteristics. But there was a big difference in overall strength and experience. He worked very hard after he got on the field, wanting to prove that he could help the team defeat a strong opponent. Unfortunately, Tiago and the Forest defenders kept a close eye on him, and he did not get any good opportunities.
Over there, Nani was replaced. Here, Twain also replaced the exhausted van Nistelrooy with Ibišević. He had scored nine goals in the Premier League so far this season, and scored a total of three goals in the EFL Cup and Champions League. He had already scored 12 goals. Now, everyone was generally not optimistic that Carl Spicer would win the bet, unless Ibišević suddenly suffered a serious injury in the second half of the season and missed all the remaining games. Otherwise, with his momentum, he would continue to score goals.
Twain sent him on at the last minute in the hopes of using him to attack Manchester United's rear defensive line and create some opportunities.
But Vidic and Rio Ferdinand's defense was quite solid. Ibišević did not have many opportunities under the two men's defense.
The game continued to fall into a stalemate. In the subsequent games, both sides had some opportunities, but no one took advantage of them. Ibišević once had a close shot, but it slipped out of the goal. Berbatov also had a cold shot, and after Akinfeev missed the ball, it caused chaos in the Forest team's penalty area. In the end, it was George Wood who beat Rooney to it and kicked the football out with a big foot. Of course, his clearance brought him boos from the Manchester United fans, because those people thought he had handball before he cleared the siege …
The game went on until the 88th minute, and the score was still 1: 1. But no one knew if this score could be maintained until the end of the game. Because starting from the 85th minute, both sides had tacitly given up on defense and played very openly. There were endless opportunities to attack, and the number of active mistakes was rising.
Clearly, neither side wanted the game to end in a draw.
The two managers stood on the sidelines, nervously watching every change in the field, looking forward to their side scoring a goal to break the deadlock.
"Although I know they don't want the game to end in a draw, I want to say that the cruel reality tells them that this is very likely — the fourth official on the sidelines raised the sign for injury stoppage time. Six minutes of stoppage time! That's really long, but it's normal for it to be delayed because of Ronaldo's injury … "
If it had been any other time, the six minutes of stoppage time would have made Twain fly into a rage on the sidelines, thinking that the referee was too blatant in favoring the home team. But now, he could not wait for another six minutes. He clapped on the sidelines, reminding the players to continue attacking.
※ ※ ※
The 92nd minute. The Forest team's attack was lost by Agbonlahor, and Manchester United immediately counterattacked very quickly.
They passed the ball to the front field with three passes and two passes. Rooney relied on his speed on the sidelines to force Baines to pass the ball to the center of the penalty area. Pepe unexpectedly headed the ball in a fight for a header, which caught Woodgate and Akinfeev off guard, so much so that Woodgate did not have time to react when Berbatov stopped the ball with his chest.
The striker, who cost Manchester United 30 million pounds, did not shoot directly. Instead, he stopped the ball with his chest, and then shot cleverly, pushing the ball to a place where Akinfeev could not reach …
"The ball's in! The ball's in!! "The commentator roared wildly. "2: 1! Manchester United is in the lead! "
The Manchester United fans in the stadium also collectively fell into a frenzy. They rushed to the front of the stands, waving their arms and shouting Berbatov's name.
The Manchester United players ran to him no matter how far they were, opening their arms to hug him.
Ferguson even jumped up on the sidelines, as happy as a child who had received candy. The substitutes' bench behind him had long been huddled together.
"A goal in the 92nd minute! This is the final kill! The final kill! It's amazing! Manchester United finally reversed Nottingham Forest when they were one goal behind! Berbatov's goal kicked the Forest team into the abyss! Pepe made an unforgivable mistake. He actually headed the ball in the penalty area! I really don't know what he was thinking at that moment! "
※ ※ ※
Twain did not hold his head in his hands off the field like Pepe did. He waved his arms at the players on the sidelines and yelled, "Put the football in the center circle! There's still time! There's still time! Don't f * * king give up! "
In such a noisy environment, how could anyone hear his voice? But as the Forest team's captain, George Wood thought the same as him. He picked up the football from the net and ran to the center circle. The Manchester United players were still celebrating wildly, and he had already pressed the football on the kick-off point in the center circle. After doing all this, he turned to clap some of his dejected teammates and yelled, "It's not over yet! It's not over yet! "
Then he ran to the referee and reminded him that Manchester United's celebration was a little too long.
The referee looked at his watch. It was indeed a little too much. But there are only three minutes left. Do you still want to equalize the score? That's just wishful thinking …
Although he thought so, the referee still performed his duty. He ran over to pull the Manchester United players back onto the field and gestured for them to continue the game. After all, the game was not over yet.
Every Manchester United player who returned to their positions had an unconcealable smile of excitement on their faces. They were very satisfied and happy with the final kill against Nottingham Forest. There would never be such a good time again. You shoveled and injured our players, and we'll make you pay the price with your failure!
The goalkeeper, Ben Foster, even turned to the fans in the stands and made provocative gestures, motioning for them to sing louder.
The Forest team launched a long pass attack just after the kick-off. Such a hurried attack was naturally easily intercepted by the Manchester United players, and then the Forest team's counterattack.
"Without Şahin, the Forest team can only rely on such long passes to attack. It's simple and brutal. It doesn't work at all against Manchester United's two tall center backs. Eastwood is also not a striker who is good at headers, and Ibišević doesn't seem to be in the game yet … "
The commentator felt that the Forest team was just making a last-ditch struggle.
Van Nistelrooy, who had been replaced, stood on the sidelines with his team jacket draped over his shoulders and stared anxiously into the field. He did not want the game to end in this way. Although he had played for Manchester United before, he was now a Forest player. He was eager to beat Manchester United and Ferguson.
"Come on! Steady! Don't panic! "He shouted off the field like a coach, cheering his teammates on.
The 93rd minute passed amidst Manchester United's wild celebration. They used a whole minute. There would be no stoppage time at the last minute. The six minutes of injury time would actually only last five minutes.
In the 94th minute, Nottingham Forest's offense was a mess. A simple long pass could not threaten Manchester United's goal at all. Instead, Manchester United almost scored another goal with a spurt of energy. Rooney's long shot hit the crossbar and flew out of the end line, stopping the cheers of the Manchester United fans on the sidelines.
In the 95th minute, Nottingham Forest received a corner kick. Akinfeev wanted to rush up to help. But he was reprimanded by Wood.
Pepe rushed to the Manchester United goal and wanted to score a goal to make up for his mistake. Unfortunately, when he jumped up to fight for the header, he pushed Vidic down. The referee mercilessly whistled for a foul, and the Forest team lost another opportunity to attack. Pepe still wanted to complain to the referee that it was Vidic who dived, but he was pulled back by Wood. What was the use of arguing with the referee now? It was just a waste of his time!
"There's no hope for Nottingham Forest. There's still half a minute before the end of the game. And it's Manchester United's ball. They just need to keep passing the ball in the backfield and they can drag out this half a minute … "
The Manchester United fans were already singing and dancing in the stands to celebrate the victory.
The Manchester United players did not really pass the ball in the backfield because Ibišević and Eastwood rushed up to rob wildly. The defenders were afraid that they would make mistakes and counterattack after the opponent intercepted the ball, so they simply kicked the ball in the front field and let the ball go as far away from their goal as possible.
Pepe finally did not head the ball again. He intercepted the ball in the air with a powerful header. Rooney moved to the middle, intending to receive the ball and then shoot.
But his ball was blocked by Tiago with his body.
It was chaos in front of the penalty area.
Wood rushed out in the chaos and swung his leg to kick the ball to the front field. It looked like he was helping out …
The ball flew like a cruise missile to where Ferdinand was.
At the same time, Ibišević also rushed to the ball's landing point. At this point in the game, only he, who had just come on not long ago, had the stamina to sprint. Eastwood was willing but unable to do so. He could only watch from near the center circle.
The two men and the ball quickly met.
Under Ibišević's interference, Ferdinand did not head the ball straight, but rubbed the ball backwards …
But he was still more than ten meters away from the goalkeeper, Foster, and the ball could not be rubbed into Foster's hands.
Instead, it let Ibišević take advantage of it!
He bypassed Ferdinand, who lost his balance, and pounced on the ball.
"Mistake! Ferdinand made a mistake! Is this not a foul? The referee signaled for the game to continue! This is Nottingham Forest's last chance! Ibišević received the ball, Foster rushed out … "
Loud boos rang out at the same time.
Amid the boos, Ibišević used the arch of his foot to bounce the ball forward while it was still in the air!
Foster jumped to pounce on the ball, but the ball passed under his armpit!
Everyone at Old Trafford watched the ball pass through Ben Foster, cross the goal line, and then hit the net …
"Unbelievable! Unbelievable! Unbelievable!! "
After the goal, Ibišević ran to the sidelines and once again made a celebratory slap gesture. But this time it was more powerful than the previous twelve times. This was a goal to equalize the score. This was a goal that pulled Nottingham Forest back from the edge of the cliff! This goal was extraordinary!
"This is like a dream … Nottingham Forest actually equalized the score in the last minute of the game! They really did it! I take back what I said three minutes ago. That was not the final shot! The Manchester United people thought they were going to win! But the Nottingham Forest people stood up and said, 'No! The game is not over yet! Even if there is only half a minute left, we can still score!! 'What a great goal! Super Ibi —!!! "
Amid the commentator's crazy voice, Tony Twain forgot himself and celebrated on the sidelines. He used a somersault to express his inner excitement. After he was done, he faced the stands and waved his fists, demonstrating to the already stunned Manchester United fans. This time, no one booed him again …
"This is really crazy injury stoppage time … Both sides scored two goals in the last six minutes. No one won, and no one lost. Just these six minutes are worth the ticket price! "
The Manchester United players, who were equalized in the last second, stood rooted to the ground, dumbfounded. Most of them could not accept such a result: three minutes ago, they thought they were the winners, and three minutes later, they felt they were the losers …
The Nottingham Forest players swarmed toward Ibišević, pressed him to the ground, and piled up like a human pyramid. They celebrated wildly, but the referee would not come up to interfere because the game was over. Nottingham Forest had forced a draw with Manchester United with this goal in the 96th minute.
Perhaps for Twain before the game, this result would not satisfy him. But for him three minutes ago, this was the perfect result …
You've already exceeded your reading limit for today. If you want to read more, please log in.
Login
Select text and click 'Report' to let us know about any bad translation.
