Chapter 189 No. 9 Don't rest!!

The devil's schedule has only just begun, but before Christmas, there are two important things waiting for Manchester United.

The first is the draw for the first round of the knockout match of the UEFA Champions League.

Manchester United drew AC Milan, which has Beckham on loan, this time.

In the Champions League 1/8 final, Manchester United has been associated with Milan for two consecutive years. Last season, it was Inter Milan. This time they met their old rival AC Milan again. In the first round, he visited San Siro on February 16 and returned to Old Trafford to meet the enemy. Whether the Red Devils can end the 50-year-old knockout history of not winning the Red and Black Army is here.

When Ancelotti was still coaching AC Milan, Ferguson lost twice to the current Chelsea coach. This time, the opponent was replaced by rookie coach Leonardo. Lord naturally felt that it was time to win. He was extremely looking forward to the arrival of the game, but he also said that the opponent was not easy to deal with: "We have met AC Milan many times, in After the quarter final or semi-finals, it will be a fantastic arrangement for the two great clubs. We are looking forward to the game.

However, compared with the victory or defeat, the media seems to pay more attention to the story of Beckham, who is about to join AC Milan on loan this winter, returning to the Dream Theater. Ferguson doesn't seem to be interested in talking about Beckham, who used to be in love with his father and son, but former Manchester United striker Sheringham and Beckham's former teammates predicted that Old Trafford would "unfold his most enthusiastic arms to welcome his return": "There is no doubt that he is a top player and an idol, and Manchester United supporters will love his return. Listen to how he says goodbye and watch him set foot on the court again.

Phil Townsend, Manchester United's news liaison officer, expressed satisfaction with the result of the draw. In an interview with Sky Sports, he said: "This is a fantastic match. I think anyone who goes to Old Trafford will be very happy. This is the meaning of the Champions League."

Phil Townsend hopes that Manchester United can defeat their opponents for the fans and end the unbeaten history: "In 52 years, we have met AC Milan four times and never been promoted. We still owe the fans a victory. It is crucial to play away from home first, which means that when you return to Old Trafford, you will know what you need. We will face AC Milan like last year's match against Inter Milan.

Speaking of Beckham's return, Phil Townsend also said that Manchester United fans will give him a grand welcome: "He will receive an unparalleled warm welcome. It is normal for him to return to Manchester United as a player. When he plays for this club, he is a very popular player."

Evra, who hasn't played with Beckham at Carrington Base, is looking forward to playing with Beckham at that time: "I'm happy for Beckham. He means a lot of great achievements for Manchester United. I hope to tell him, welcome home. I met him. He is a gentleman, a very good person, and a very good professional player, which is why Milan wants him to go back to play. I appreciate this type of player. He is still one of the best right-wing players in the world, but I hope he can play worse then.

In 2007, Manchester United was eliminated by Milan, which impressed Evra, but he felt that losing that game was very helpful to Manchester United's maturity: "That was really a failed year. We didn't play well in the first round. Although we won 3-2, I couldn't play in the second round. I could only watch TV. It's terrible to lose in that way. Yes, but we learned a lot of lessons after that game. The following year, we won the championship, and we reached the final last season. Now that we are still enjoying that experience, we can completely win this round.

Anyway, people expect to see the former No. 7 player again on the field of Old Trafford.

The second thing before Christmas is to challenge Fulham at Craven Farmhouse.

This game is the 69th match between the two clubs. Previously, Manchester United had an absolute advantage of 41 wins, 15 draws and 12 losses. However, nine months ago, Fulham finally ended the record of 45-year home defeat against the Red Devils, and remained unbeaten in the last eight home games with 6 wins and 2 draws. In this game, Andrew Johnson was still injured, but Murphy continued to start without injury. In terms of Manchester United, Vidic's calf was injured. Delet moved from the right to the central defender and partnered with Carrick to guard the fortress. Owen ushered in the fourth league start after joining Manchester United, forming a double forward configuration with Rooney, and the captain's arm was worn on Efra's arm.

Li Yu did not appear on the team's list. Many fans are asking, is our No. 9 swollen? Hurt?

No, there must be nothing to do, but Ferguson wants Li Yu to take a rest. In the face of questions from the media, Lao Shuai also said something like this: "Rotate, nothing else! Maybe you don't know that the player who has made the most appearances this season is either someone else, or our No. 9. Now the front line is very complete, so you can give him some leisure time!"

In this case, after the game, it was unanimously believed by all the media that this was the stupidest sentence Ferguson said.

The reason is that Manchester United lost 0-3 to Fulham on Christmas Eve.

Without Li Yu, he lost two games in a row, one at home, now it is away, and it is still such a huge score.

After the game, Ferguson lowered his head and put his hands on his head. Looking at the old man's movements after the game, he could know that the old man himself might also be regretful.

Before Christmas, the great powers have given gifts in advance. The six games of England this Saturday exceeded the two major surprises. Liverpool, which played first, lost 0-2 in the military port, and then Manchester United lost more as a guest "farmhouse". They swallowed three duck eggs and went home. This is Manchester United who fell to Chelsea with the same score since April 2006. Since then, the biggest defeat away from home is also a two-season away defeat to Fulham and a goalless goal. In the past, Manchester United was once very horrious to go to Portsmouth, but now the nemesis has moved and become Fulham.

Coach Hodgson really used his skills. He did not give up the previous UEFA Europa League, which had nothing to do with the overall situation, because he played against Manchester United in this round. Instead, he won 3-1 in the last round of away against Basel. The team has been unbeaten in seven games, and Zamora has also exerted his power. After eating fruit in many games, he finally ushered in the season. High yield, scored 5 goals in 4 games, and was not empty-handed. Fulham won a big victory against Manchester United, which was in sharp contrast to the Wolves' previous practice of preserving strength for this theory and raising the white flag at Old Trafford. Fulham won the game and won the hearts of the people.

Of course, Manchester United has an objective reason for the empty city plan. At present, they only have Evra as the main defender. Vidic has just come back and is injured. Ferdinand, Evans, O'Shea, Neville and Brown are all tired for more than two weeks, but Ferguson's formation is the direct reason for the loss.

He unwisely formed the three-five-two formation, let Fletcher, Carrick and Delat guard the middle, let Evra and Valencia play the corridors on both sides, and the midfielder tried to let Scholes take the two newcomers, Anderson and Gibson.

This formation made Hodgson catch up and attack the empty space behind Evra and Valencia, completely defeating Manchester United.

Although Manchester United's play of replacing the central defender with the midfield has been successful for a while, it is inevitable to lose after playing for a long time. The first goal lost was the result of Carrick's blind tolerance that led to Murphy's shot.

Ferguson still did not change in the second half. He lost again in the first 18 seconds of the game. Duff made a cross from the right, and Dempsey headed the ball in front of the door. Carrick and others were not protected. Zamora scored a goal that established the victory in the six-yard area.

At this time, it was too late for Ferguson to change the team. Carrick and Fletcher still couldn't cope with Zamora's high point and were scored the third goal by Duff.

Liverpool's loss was caused by the team's lack of self-confidence and the sluggish state of the main force. Belhaggi's first goal was the result of Johnson's header, and Pikion scored the second goal from a small angle, which was the end of the defense. Liverpool lost and lost, Mascherano's rude invasion of Ben Khaim not only hurt himself, but also got a red card. Benitez boasted before the game, "guarantee" that Liverpool could return to the top four, but his subordinates were disappointing and lost seven league games, which was the worst half-time result of the season since Benitez took office. In his first season, he only lost six games in the same period, tied four games, and scored two more points than now.

The most explosive news in this round is that Hughes was fired. Seven consecutive games have laid the groundwork for him for his current class. Even if he narrowly beat Sunderland in this round, he failed to save his job.

Manchester City's poor defense was the culprit of Hughes' dismissal. In this round, Sunderland's lead by two goals was equalized, and the lead was equalized again 3-1. Santa Cruz scored the fourth goal to save the game, but it was not enough to save Hughes.

Hughes's practice of investing in the front line before the season did not make a qualitative change in Manchester City, and the emergency defense line was overstretched. But Mancini, who replaced him, may not be able to bring much opportunity to Manchester City. He took Inter Milan to draw a lot, and it took time for Manchester City to be reborn, but the owner just couldn't give it time. After spending 200 million pounds, people still couldn't see the hope of the top four. In the last round of the away game, he was defeated by Tottenham Hotspur, which also hit the top four, and the "stars" that Hughes bought with a lot of money finally hurt him.

Arsenal seized the good opportunity of losing the two northern powers at the same time and easily defeated Hull 3-0, losing only two points from Manchester United. If they win the make-up match with Bolton at the beginning of next month, they will overtake Manchester United by one point. It's just that the victory was slightly flawed. Hull failed to seize the opportunity to equalize the penalty, and Nasri, who provoked the dispute on the field, only got a yellow card. In the last round of playing Burnley, Arsenal only got a draw after being equalized by a penalty kick. If Genoavani's penalty score, Arsenal's results are still difficult to predict.

Is Manchester United's loss unexpected?

In fact, many omen have prompted the fans. First of all, Li Yu did not play, which is a big factor.

As we all know, Manchester United's series attack has transitioned from the Rooney era to the Li Yu era. Li Yu's series is more threatening, not only for himself, but also the whole team is full of the domineering spirit of forward attack.

It's more or less different to replace it with Rooney.

Then there are injuries on the back line. After this season, the prevention of injuries has broken out in full swing. Many people think this is a coincidence, but careful people will also find a problem. The former very strong Manchester United defender line is not only injured, but also facing the problem of the decline of players.

It can be said that Ferdinand is no longer the former Ferdinand!

These are not the most critical things. The key is that Manchester United's substitutes are often weak now. Manchester United fans must miss the baby-faced Norwegian at this time.

Perhaps it was because the team's attack was trapped by only one single striker in Rooney in the game that lost to Villa, so Ferguson has remade a 4-4-2 formation in the last two rounds. Because the league is about to enter the Christmas Devil's schedule, under the condition of retaining Rooney, let Li Yu and Owen, who have just returned from the FIFA Club World Cup, rotated first. In this game, Rooney's front-line partner was "changed" into Owen, which was only the fourth league start after the old golden boy joined Manchester United.

The characteristics of Owen and Li Yu are obviously different, and the biggest difference is that the old golden boy needs to rely more on his teammates to create opportunities for him, while Li Yu is more independent and has the ability to create opportunities for his teammates.

The Manchester City Evening News said: Owen's accumulated confidence in playing a hat-trick with Wolfsburg has obviously been exhausted. British media are right. Owen only used the home team's clearance error to have a shot in the 54th minute of the game, but the direction of the ball actually ran to the corner flag. In the 72 minutes on the court, Owen had only a poor 21 chance to touch the ball, which was still what he retreated to the midfielder in the first half and "worked hard" to win.

Losing this game is a setback for Manchester United's defending champion, while for Owen, his desire to go to the World Cup in South Africa is one point smaller.

A big score can always amplify the advantages and disadvantages of a team, which is even more touching after the match between Manchester United and Fulham. From sweeping the opponent 5-1 on August 20, 2006 to today's 0-3 defeat, which link has Manchester United exposed the most problems? The answer is a distinctive side attack.

In the opening match of the Premier League in the 2006/07 season, Manchester United played a hearty game, and the Red Devils played its characteristics to the fullest. The middle road firmly controlled the rhythm, and the side road quickly broke through and sent a good ball. As a result, Manchester United broke through Fulham City four times in less than 20 minutes. It is really necessary to briefly review a few wonderful goals of the Red Devils.

The first goal was passed by Giggs on the left, and Saha headed the goal; the second ball was passed on the left side, and Rooney pressed and led to Pierce's own goal; the third ball was a cross from the right side, and Saha's shot was blocked and Rooney made a make-up shot; the fourth ball was passed from the left, and Cristiano Ronaldo pushed the goal; even the fifth ball was Brown was attached to the bottom line on the right side. The close cross assisted Rooney to open twice. That game is also seen as the most self-styled match played by Manchester United in recent seasons.

In just two and a half years, although Manchester United's skeleton is still there, due to various reasons such as transfers and injuries, they have completely lost what they are good at. There was almost no movement in Valencia's 45 minutes on the right side. Ecuador's wing speed and ball advantage were completely lost under the close defense of Konchesky. It was not until the 50th minute that Valencia found an opportunity to complete the shot in the penalty area, and was finally confiscated by Schwarze.

The right side is not good, and the left side is not good either. Although Evra wore the captain's armband in this game, the Frenchman was not in the best economic condition. Several shots in the second half were the most obvious. Every time he controlled the ball must stop behind him, and the direct result was that the attack speed could not be improved. In addition, Panthill resolutely implements the coach's requirements and tries his best not to let Evra play the ball, so we can see that Manchester United can only rely on Gibson and Rooney and others to test their feet on the periphery most of the time, and only 16 shots in the whole game are only 2 times, which also shows how inefficient Manchester United's attack is.

The Manchester City Evening News commented after the game: Valencia's last pass is too poor, and although Evra is the most impactful person in the team, he is not in the best condition. Of course, this defeat is enough to make Ferguson and his coaching staff ashamed. Maybe a player can't change the situation at that time, but there are Obbotan and Welbeck on the bench. Why didn't Ferge make adjustments in time when the team was passive? After Fabio's debut, the team's offensive effect on the right side immediately improved. Since you have lost the game, you should at least find some positive factors and learn some lessons from it. After all, it's a small thing to lose three points and lose a championship!

"This is the worst performance I have seen since I supported Manchester United in 1956. I have nothing else to say." A senior Manchester United hardcore spit out bitter water in the message book of the Manchester City Evening News. In fact, after Manchester United was defeated by Fulham, the Red Devils fans exploded.

What does 0-3 defeat Fulham mean for Manchester United? It means that Manchester United lost by a huge loss of three goals in a single game for the first time in the last 28 rounds. The last time they lost their helmet was nine months ago, they lost 1-4 to Liverpool in the 28th round of last season. It is said that there is a comparison to distinguish, especially under the premise that Man Lenovo has won the Premier League four consecutive championships.

With one game left to complete the half of the league, Manchester United has lost its fourth game, which is the same as the loss in the whole season in the 2006/07 and 2007/08 seasons, one more than last season. The fourth away defeat also means the 07/08 season. The number of games lost is the same, and there is one more game as the other two championship seasons.

No wonder Ferguson said in an interview after the game: "I hope this loss will not cost us to lose the league championship. We need to return to a better state as soon as possible. We spent too much time narrowing the gap. At that time, there was no light at the end of the tunnel." McNutty, a senior BBC reporter at Craven Farmhouse, commented: Manchester United may have forgotten that the team has any positive factors in this game, because there is no positive at all!

In the previous 17 rounds, Manchester United only lost the ball due to poor positioning ball defense, and this game lost twice in the strongest ring in the past. This is the first time in 50 years that Fulham has been defeated twice in a row! Because the last losing streak was on December 10, 1949. And 0-3 is the worst defeat of the two clubs in Manchester United's record in more than 100 years since their first confrontation in March 1908! No wonder Manchester United fans are upset and dissatisfied with the team's performance after the game.

As for losing 4 games in the first 18 rounds, this is also the worst performance of Manchester United in the past 8 seasons. The last time they performed so badly before half-time was in the 2001/02 season. In that season, the Red Devils lost 6 games in the first 18 rounds. Although they won 7 consecutive victories after that, the final league ranking was only one season. It's just an army, so what will happen to Manchester United this time?

"Please let our great No. 9 start!" Manchester United fans have found the crux of the problem.