At 3.30pm on May 11th, all 19 English Premier League stadiums sounded the kick-off whistle. The final round of the 13-14 English Premier League season kicked off at the same time.
Every Nottingham Forest fan in the stands of the City Ground stadium would bring a radio with them to pay attention to two games at the same time. One was the game between Forest and Sunderland in front of them, and the other was Arsenal and Manchester City in faraway London.
The radio said that Arsenal had the upper hand from the start of the game, and the entire Manchester City team was not in form. The Forest fans in the stands began to curse Manchester City and McClaren.
The game between Forest and Sunderland was more normal. In order to survive, Sunderland fought desperately against Forest in an away game. Although Nottingham Forest was at home, they did not have the initiative on the field.
Tang En sat in the manager's seat and stared at the field with a straight face without saying a word.
Kerslake's task was not there. He sat next to him, wearing headphones and listening to the game broadcast on the radio. The expression on his face kept changing along with the commentary on the radio.
After listening for five minutes, he took off his headphones and said to Tang En next to him, "Arsenal has the upper hand … Manchester City does not care about this game at all …"
Tang En smiled, "It's quite normal. Manchester City has no reason to go all out in this game."
But he was gnashing his teeth in his heart. Damn Manchester City! The next time I meet them, see how I'll slaughter you!
His protective measures were in place. None of the Forest players knew about the situation over at Manchester City's side. They stepped onto the field with infinite confidence and hope. He was deceiving his players at the time, but he could not tell them the truth before the game and then watch them be discouraged, could he?
He could only hope that Manchester City could put up a little bit of a fight. Now it seemed that even this request had become an extravagant hope …
McClaren, Manchester City … This time, he really encountered the blackest combination in a thousand years.
"Don't worry about Manchester City, others are always unreliable … Tell our people to step up the attack. If we keep letting Sunderland drag on like this with us, the players' mentality will have an adverse change … "Tang En got up and walked to the sidelines. He did not shout anything, nor did he make any hand gestures. He just stood there with his arms crossed. He knew that the players would know what he meant when they saw him on the sidelines.
Subsequently, Nottingham Forest stepped up the intensity of the attack. More players pressed on during the attack, and the two full backs also began to actively assist.
The commentator kept saying that Nottingham Forest and Sunderland were not on the same level and that Nottingham Forest was far stronger than Sunderland, so there was no doubt that Nottingham Forest would win this game. The only uncertain factor might be how many goals Nottingham Forest could win …
Then, as he commentated on the match, he changed the topic to London. He talked about the match between Arsenal and Manchester City. The Forest players on the pitch might not know what was going on at the Emirates Stadium, but the audience would definitely know. Even if the commentator did not say anything, the Forest fans would hold the television remote control in their hands and frequently change the channel.
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Ten minutes later, the news of a goal came from the Emirates Stadium. There was no suspense at all as to who scored the goal. A rolling caption appeared at the bottom of the television broadcast screen, indicating that Arsenal had scored in the 16th minute, and the scorer was Robin van Persie.
The stands of the City Ground stadium erupted in loud boos when they heard the news. Even if the Forest players were in possession of the ball, the boos still rang out.
The players were stunned for a moment, and then they knew what was going on.
Kerslake wanted to update Tang En on the situation, but was stopped by Tang En's hand gesture. "Listen to the boos, I know everything."
Kerslake was speechless.
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Van Persie ran excitedly amidst the deafening cheers of the entire stadium. His Arsenal teammates behind him clenched their fists and roared loudly.
Wenger also rushed down from the manager's seat excitedly, jumping up and down.
He had reason to be happy for taking the lead in the 16th minute.
The Arsenal fans rushed down from the stands, wanting to be closer to their hero. Everyone was chanting Van Persie's name.
At the other end of the field, the Manchester City players did not react to the goal concede. Their faces were wooden. Rather than saying that they were dumbfounded, it would be better to say that they were indifferent.
Ashley Young sat on the substitutes' bench with his head lowered. He did not want anyone to see the smile on his face — this was Manchester City. This was the Manchester City that had the ambition to overtake Manchester United, Milan, and pull Real Madrid down from the throne of the world's best club!
McClaren was a little dissatisfied. Perhaps the reason for his dissatisfaction was just because they conceded the goal so early. Although he was dissatisfied, he did not do anything other than grumbling a few words in the manager's seat. He did not even get up from his seat.
Bendtner stood in the center circle waiting for the kickoff. Robinho, who stood opposite him, looked indifferent.
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"Manchester City resisted symbolically for ten minutes." After the boos stopped, Kerslake described the situation in detail to Tang En. "They put in very few players when they attacked. The forwards lacked support at the front. The three lines were very far apart. It seemed like they did not have a unified tactical idea. The rear defensive line wanted to defend, and the forwards … "He paused here." The commentators often mentioned Bendtner. He was the name that appeared most frequently in the Manchester City team. He was very active, but he did not get any support in the midfield. "
Tang En did not make any comments on Bendtner's performance. He only said, "Don't care about them. We still have a draw here …"
Sunderland fought fiercely. They were almost desperate to snatch the ball. They did not consider whether the team's stamina could hold on at all. This kind of fighting also caused a lot of trouble for the Forest team's offense. Whether it was the forwards or the defenders, or even the midfielders, they could not control the ball steadily under such pressure. Not to mention organizing an effective attack. Sunderland's burst of energy to survive gave the Nottingham Forest team a headache.
Coupled with knowing that Arsenal was in the lead, the morale of the team was shaken for a moment …
Some people thought: Arsenal is in the lead. Even if we win against Sunderland, what's the point?
Others were focused on the match between Arsenal and Manchester City. Even though they were in the City Ground stadium, their hearts had already flown to the Emirates Stadium.
How could they still play in a match like this?
Tang En stood by the side of the field and frowned.
This is not the match I want to see … Tang En muttered in his heart.
Then he shouted Wood's name loudly, "George! You're the captain! Do something! Look at your team! Look at their eyes!! "
Wood heard Tang En's voice. He obediently turned his head to look and found that everyone was a little distracted.
He was not the kind of captain who liked to shout slogans on the field to raise the team's morale. Compared to words, he preferred to use actions to express what he meant.
So, when Sunderland tried to continue using their pressing tactics to contain the Forest team, George Wood immediately retaliated with a foul. This foul earned him a yellow card and a collective protest from the Sunderland players. But he won thunderous applause from the stands and a different look from his teammates.
After seeing him commit the foul, Tang En continued to shout, "Don't just stand there! This is our match! It's our own match! Score their goals! Bastards! "
Nottingham Forest, who had been woken up by Tang En's scolding, finally welcomed their goal three minutes later.
The goal was scored by Bale. He used a direct free kick to blast open the Sunderland goal. This was also in line with the characteristics of Sunderland's tactics — frequent pressing brought frequent fouls, especially fouls in dangerous areas. This gave the Forest team many opportunities for free kicks. Before this goal, Bale had already received three direct free kicks. Two were shot high and one was directly hit on the human wall.
This time, he finally seized the opportunity and kicked a beautiful direct free kick. It bypassed the human wall and drilled into the far end of the goalpost. The goalkeeper could not save in time and could only watch as the goal was lost.
Huge cheers erupted from the stands. The Nottingham Forest fans finally had a reason to release their pent-up emotions. They celebrated heartily in the stands and temporarily ignored the fact that Arsenal was still ahead of Manchester City.
"Gareth Bale! A beautiful free kick! No matter how Arsenal and Manchester City are playing, his goal gives the Forest fans a little breather! "
Bale was hugged by his teammates, but his mind was thinking: I wonder if Shannon is watching this match …
This goal also relieved Tang En's nervousness. His team was ahead of Sunderland. Then he could start to hope again … for a miracle to happen.
It was just that the way he waved his fists on the sidelines made Shania worry in the box …
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After Sunderland fell behind, there were rousing cheers coming from another stadium. That was Portsmouth's home ground. Because the Portsmouth fans knew very well that as long as Sunderland lost, the result of Portsmouth and Tottenham would be the same no matter what.
At this moment, the Portsmouth fans were cheering for Nottingham Forest and forgot to pay attention to their own game. They even hoped that Nottingham Forest could win the league title and then Portsmouth would eventually stay in the Premier League. It was the best result.
In the Premier League, there were not many people who supported Nottingham Forest. The Portsmouth fans usually would not forget how the Forest team had scored six goals at half-time and humiliated them 7: 4. But this time, they had to rely on Nottingham Forest. At this time, perhaps they were Nottingham Forest's only supporters and allies … and an "ally" who could only shout slogans.
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Since the Forest team was ahead of Sunderland, then according to the development of the situation, Sunderland would not be able to pose any threat to the Forest team. The Nottingham Forest fans began to hope that Manchester City could put up a fight. It would be good if they could force a draw with Arsenal. After all, Arsenal only had a one-goal lead. Didn't Tony Twain always say that a one-goal lead was the most unsafe score in the world? Then let Arsenal see how unsafe it was!
Unfortunately, their beautiful wishes were dashed.
Before the end of the first half, in the 44th minute, there was news of a goal at the Emirates Stadium. This time, it was still Arsenal who scored. Fàbregas' long shot gave Arsenal a 2: 0 lead before the end of the first half.
The commentator in charge of the Forest team's game sighed after hearing the news, "The game has ended early, Arsenal has won the league title. Now, no matter how many goals Nottingham Forest scores against Sunderland, it's useless. I suddenly feel that Nottingham Forest is a little tragic … "
Not to mention him, even the Forest fans who were watching the game in front of the television were silent at this time.
It looked like this season's league title … was out of the question.
Twain, who heard the news, stood on the sidelines with his head lowered, not letting anyone see his expression. He suddenly felt a wave of fatigue hit him.
As expected, there was a limit to one's strength. In this world, not everything would be rewarded if you worked hard …
It was only then that he realized that his shirt was already drenched in sweat.
Until the end of the first half, he stood on the sidelines with a blank expression and did not say a word.
The stands had long been filled with boos against Manchester City and Arsenal, but what was the use? Even if he booed here, no one could hear him.
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Bendtner listened to the overwhelming cheers at the Emirates Stadium. He felt that it was piercing. Those voices were not cheering for Arsenal, but mercilessly mocking Manchester City's weakness and incompetence. As a member of Manchester City, he was naturally mocked.
But he could not agree with this kind of mockery, because he had worked hard from the start to the end. It was just that he lacked support …
He glanced at the substitutes' bench. Ashley Young was leaning against the chair, his eyes narrowed as if he was asleep. It was a little hot this afternoon, where could he be so calm? Did he really not have any hope for Manchester City?
Bendtner thought to himself, if he was sure that he would be leaving the team next season, how would he perform in this game?
The weather was so hot that it made people feel dizzy. Would he not run on the pitch if he could? Would he not put in any effort? Would he be full of thoughts about his new life in the future and be indifferent to this game?
Unfortunately, he did not have the chance to verify it.
The whistle at the end of the first half was music to the ears of the Manchester City players. They could finally return to the cool changing room from the scorching sun to enjoy a fifteen-minute break. As for this game … Arsenal was already leading by two goals, were we still going to struggle?
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When the referee blew the whistle twice to end the first half, Twain was the first to turn from the sidelines and walk towards the tunnel. The fans in the stands were still using boos to express their dissatisfaction with the game between Arsenal and Manchester City. But the sound was equally piercing to Twain's ears.
He felt very tired and wanted to find something to support him with.
If he gave up just like that, his heart probably would not have to endure such torture, right?
No!
When he entered the tunnel, Twain clenched his fists. He could even clearly hear the sound of his heartbeat.
I like to make things difficult for myself!
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