Chapter 222 The Last Blocker

Back in China, Manchester United will play an away game against Blackburn.

Blackburn has no desire at this time. In the eyes of all parties, this is a three-pointer that deserves to be won. This is also the same for Manchester United club, but Ferguson said cautiously before the game that Blackburn has never been a team that can be easily defeated, and we must be careful.

Consistently favored, Ferguson still sent most of the main lineup in the game. Li Yu was the starting striker, and Rooney was still sitting on the bench.

Sure enough, the process of the game is really like Ferguson said. Manchester United is not easy to play away from home at all. Blackburn's extremely fierce defense has brought a lot of trouble to Manchester United players.

Manchester United players also deliberately avoided some big moves in the first half, but the score of 0:0 in the first half also reminded all the players that it is difficult to take any advantage of their opponents if they don't do their best.

Ferguson also pointed out this point during the halftime. It is surprising that the Manchester United bosses did not have a volcanic eruption, but the calm before the eruption also let the players know that if there is no change waiting for them in the second half, it will be a more ferocious eruption.

Manchester United finally improved in the second half, and Li Yu began to be active. However, even so, Manchester United's goal did not appear too early. It was not until 2 minutes before the end that Li Yu scored the only goal in this game in an offside.

1:0, Manchester United defeated Blackburn in the away game and got the key 3 points!

And the league champion rivals Chelsea and Arsenal will play in the FA Cup semi-finals. The game will be held in three days. Manchester United will lead the two teams by 6 points in the table in the case of one more game, and continue to lead the table. There are still four rounds left in the league. The days when Manchester United won four consecutive championships, the more It's getting closer and closer.

However, some people want to make trouble for Manchester United at this time, that is, Manchester United's sworn enemy coach Mancini, the 35th round will be the second round of the Manchester derby this season.

After a 5-1 victory over Birmingham at home, Manchester City is one step closer to next season's Champions League. Fans at Manchester City Stadium should break their fingers to figure out how long their team is from the Champions League.

In the Premier League table, Manchester City scored 62 points after 33 league games. At present, Arsenal, ranked third, has accumulated 71 points after 33 league games. With five league games left in the season, the gap of 9 points is basically irreversible. Therefore, Manchester City's more practical goal is to keep the fourth place in the league.

The 4th place in the league means the qualification for the Champions League playoffs. Among Manchester City's pursuers, Tottenham Hotspur is the closest. At present, Tottenham Hotspur has 58 points after 32 games, and the one behind Tottenham Hotspur is Liverpool with 56 points in 34 games. It can be said that unless there is a miracle, the Reds have basically withdrawn from the Champions League for a seat.

Tottenham Hotspur, who followed Manchester City, played one game less and fell behind by 4 points. This situation made Manchester City afraid to be careless.

Under such circumstances, the final stage of the competition between the two sides will play a vital role. Manchester City's last five games are: home vs. Manchester United, away against Arsenal, home vs. Aston Villa, home vs. Tottenham and away vs. West Ham; while Tottenham's last six games are: home vs. Arsenal, home vs. Chelsea, away vs. Manchester United, home vs. Bolton, away vs. Manchester City and away. Burnley.

Judging from the opponent's situation, Manchester City's last five opponents have four strong teams, and Tottenham's last six opponents also have four strong teams. For Manchester City, the advantage is that they have finished the game with Chelsea, who is eager to score points, and Tottenham has to face Chelsea. In addition, Tottenham Hotspur has just participated in the FA Cup semi-finals. Three days later, they will face Arsenal, which is a test of their physical strength. If the gap cannot be widened between the two sides before May 2, then the direct game between Manchester City and Tottenham Hotspur on May 5 will determine the ownership of the fourth Champions League place in the Premier League this season.

However, judging from the momentum, Manchester City is undoubtedly more optimistic.

In the last three Premier League games, Manchester City has scored 14 goals and has played well in a continuous good state like this. Only Chelsea has done it this season (from March 24 to April 3, the Blues beat Portsmouth 5-0 and 7-2 to Villa, but still conceded 3 goals, not Manchester City's two).

Manchester City's attack power is unstoppable. In fact, Manchester City's performance has been on the rise since Mancini took office. At present, Mancini has coached Manchester City for 16 league games, while his predecessor Mark Hughes has played 17 games. Whether offensively or defensively, Manchester City's last 16 games are better than the previous 17 games. Judging from the collective standing ovation of more than 45,000 spectators at Manchester City Stadium today, the atmosphere within Manchester City and between the team and the fans has reached the best.

But in the final analysis, everything has to be down-to-earth.

At present, the first level in front of Mancini is the next home game against Manchester United. After scoring 3 points in Black himself in this round of away games, Ferguson has admitted that it is not easy to get any 3 points at the end of the league. He still said that he would defeat Manchester City away.

And in Manchester City, Vieira said last week, "Since we have reached the top four, we don't want to come out." In the hearts of most Manchester City players, they will not forget that on September 20 last year, Manchester City lost 3-4 away to Manchester United due to Owen's last-second goal. Therefore, even the psychology of revenge will make Manchester City regard the weekend game as a must-win game. At that time, Rooney is likely to be absent due to injury. Without Rooney's Manchester United, only Li Yu supports the whole attack line. Manchester City has to ask whether it can be as it wants. Li Yu, the Manchester United killer!

There is also good news waiting for Li Yu. On April 15, the Professional Players Federation (PFA) announced the nomination of this year's Player of the Year. Manchester United strikers Li Yu and Rooney were selected into the two lists of Best Player and Best Young Player at the same time, but Li Yu has become the most popular award winner and is likely to take the lead in completing four consecutive championships for Manchester United in this award (the previous three men were Giggs last year and Cristiano Ronaldo in the first two seasons), which will obviously boost Li Yu in Manchester. Chester Derby's morale before the war.

Unlike the six nominations listed in previous years, there are only four candidates for each of the two awards this year. The finalists for the best player come from the top 5 of the Premier League's total goals and assists this season. Manchester United were selected by Li Yu (30 goals + 8 assists) and Rooney (26 goals + 3 assists), as well as Drogba (25+8) and Fabregas (15 + 13), the top players on the list. Lampard (17+12), who tied with Rooney and Tevez on the list, was not nominated. With Li Yu's excellent performance this season, there is almost no suspense about his final award. The gambling company has issued an ultra-low odds of 1.06. Rooney is the second favorite, with a odds of 11.0, and the other two are 23.0. In the poll, 60% of the fans supported Li Yu's election.

At the same time, Li Yu, Rooney and Xiao Fa were also nominated for the best youth players. Their competitors were goalkeeper Joe Hart, who was loaned from Manchester City to Birmingham, and Villa midfielder Milner. Due to Gwyn's unshakable position in Manchester City, Hart has become an unexpected rising star on loan this season. Milner was described by England coach Capello as "our most advanced player this year" a few weeks ago.

Li Yu was only 22 years old at the beginning of this season, so he absolutely meets the rules of competing for players under the age of 23 to be the best young player. Li Yu, who has not made her debut for a few years, is likely to win two awards at the age of 22. Only Villa striker Andy Gray in the 1976-77 season and Cristiano Ronaldo in the 2006-07 season have achieved this feat in history.

At the same time, there is also good news on Manchester United's official website that Manchester United officially announced a one-year contract extension with Paul Scholes, who has played for the team for 17 years. The new contract ends in June 2011.

Scholes has played 440 games for the Red Devils and scored 100 goals. He made 66 appearances for England and scored 14 goals.

Ferguson, the coach of Scholes, said emotionally, "We are very happy that Paul can play for another year. His performance this year proves that he is as strong as before, and he is also enjoying the game with all his heart. That's why he stayed. There are rumors that he has talked about retirement, but when you see that he enjoys training and games so much, you can see how much he wants to continue.

Scholes said, "I'm very happy to sign another one-year contract. I feel great. I will continue to enjoy football. I would like to thank the boss, the coach and staff, as well as the fans who continue to support me.

Before the Manchester derby, it was all good news for Manchester United.

In contrast to Manchester City, in the game between Manchester City and Everton last month, Manchester City coach Mancini was at the end of the game because of a physical conflict between an out-of-bounds ball and the visiting team coach Mois on the side. The FA fined him £20,000 on the 15th.

Because Mancini apologized to Moyes immediately after the game, and Mocini also said that he had forgiven Mancini, the FA did not impose a ban on Mancini, and the fine of 20,000 pounds was suspended until the end of the 2011/2012 season.

In the game against Everton on March 24, Manchester City, who lost 0:2, suffered their first home defeat, which made Mancini very depressed. When the game entered the injury stoppage time, Everton head coach Moyes, who deliberately delayed the time, took the ball when the ball was out of bounds; the angry Mancini came forward to grab the ball back and pushed Moyes hard. The referee then sent both of them off with red cards.

Mois said after the game: "Mancini apologized to me after going to the stage. There is no problem between me and him."

Mancini knew his mistake and opened up with the FA, allowing Manchester City, which was in a critical period of the league, to avoid the penalty of the head coach being banned.

Manchester City's Manchester derby against Manchester United will begin.

Less than 24 hours before the game, the FA temporarily replaced the referee of the game from the original Bennett to Atkinson, which surprised Manchester City.

Manchester City fans will never forget Atkinson. In the first round of the derby on September 20 last year, Manchester United played against Manchester City at home. Atkinson gave him 4 minutes of stoppage time, but he allowed Owen to play the final fatal kill in 95 minutes and 26 seconds, which made Manchester City at that time Coach Mark Hughes was furious.

According to The Times, Bennett, the original referee on duty, is still stranded in Romania because of the recent paralysis of European routes caused by Iceland's Eyjafjallajkull volcanic ash, and Bennett's flight was cancelled.

Manchester City officials are not only very dissatisfied with the FA's decision to temporarily replace the referee, but more importantly, the FA did not give any explanation for the decision to temporarily replace the referee. It is reported that Manchester City has contacted the chairman of the Disarmament Commission, Hackett and Mike Riley, to ask them for a formal explanation.

Of course, it is not Manchester City that is dissatisfied with Atkinson, and Manchester United is also very disgusted with Atkinson. In the 12th round of this season's league, Manchester United lost 0-1 away to Chelsea. After the game, coach Ferguson bombarded the referee Atkinson for not judging the free kick that led to Chelsea's goal, and then pointed out that before Terry headed the goal, Drogba pulled down Brown in the penalty area.

In the 07-08 FA Cup quarter-finals, Manchester United played against Portsmouth at home. In the game, Atkinson first let go of the opponent's defender Distin's foul of knocking Cristiano Ronaldo in the penalty area, then sent off Manchester United goalkeeper Kuzak, and finally gave Pompeii a winning penalty, causing the Lord to play. The anger was uncontrollable. The Lord angrily bombarded Atkinson after the game, "Absolutely ridiculous decision (no penalty given to Cristiano Ronaldo). I can't explain it. I can't think of any reason. The manager should finish the class for this. Will Atkinson continue the law enforcement competition next week? It's ridiculous. There is no answer to this question.

Saturday is coming, and Manchester City will welcome the fourth Manchester derby of the season at Manchester City Stadium (including two rounds of the League Cup semi-final). Whether it was a temporary change of referee before the game or Manchester United's efforts to make good news, the two old men of the Manchester Evening News who have been following the two teams for a long time and have watched more than 100 Derbys agreed that "this may be the most important derby in 40 years."

In the late 1960s and early 1970s, Manchester City ushered in a glorious period for the club: they first beat Manchester United to win the league championship in the 1967-68 season, then the FA Cup the following year, and the League Cup and the European Cup Winners' Cup in 1970. The weekend derby can compete with the Derby at that time: for Manchester United, this game is related to the final hope of four consecutive championships; for Manchester City, it is related to competing for the top four with Tottenham.

Coincidentally, both teams have the problem of strong attack and weak defense this season. Manchester City has never completely solved the problem of defense from Toure + Lescott in the era of Mark Hughes to Toure + Compani in the Mancini era. In the previous three matches between the two teams this season, Manchester City conceded 8 goals. In the last two games, Manchester City has won Burnley and Birmingham in a row, but they have also been attacked by their opponents.

In this game, they will encounter Li Yu, the number one scorer in the Premier League so far this season, as well as Rooney. Although he missed the game against Blackburn last week, he began to resume light training on Monday (12th), and his comeback is expected. In the three games against Manchester City this season, Li Yu and Rooney have both an enviable performance.

But Manchester City coach Mancini, who has been tested by the Milan derby, made a tough statement: "It's better for Rooney to play, so that both teams are in the strongest lineup, and whoever takes 3 points can be called a real victory in the derby. Rooney is a wonderful player and has been in excellent shape this season. He has always been a threat, but we have defeated them at home this season. Why can't we do it again? But I think Manchester United No. 9 is the one who really determines the fate of the game. I don't understand why there are always people here who like to talk about Rooney, but intentionally or unintentionally ignore Manchester United No. 9!"

In addition to Rooney, Giggs, who was injured on the field, also recovered and could make a comeback. However, Park Ji-sung, Fletcher and Carrick, who took a break from Blackburn, are expected to return to the starting lineup.

Similar to Manchester United, Manchester City also has a proud offensive line: in the last three league games, they have scored 14 goals, showing their strong strength. In particular, Tevez has scored 28 goals this season, chasing Rooney, which is also a revenge battle for him. In contrast, Manchester United's fragile defense, which may damage Ferdinand again, will be tested again.

Mancini chose to fight against Tevez before the war. "Carlos has been our important player, and he has improved a lot this season, because he has never scored 28 goals in a season (15 and 19 goals in Manchester United and 10 goals in West Ham). When you say top player, you will compare him with Rooney and Messi. Of course, Messi is the most popular now, but Rooney and Tevez are not far away.

Mancini believes: "This is undoubtedly the most important derby in the past years, because near the end of the season, Manchester United is competing for the championship, and we are competing for the top four. But for us, ending Manchester United's championship efforts is far less important than our own goals. This game is not easy for both teams. We'd better focus on our own business and hit the level of the last month. Do we win 1-0? The score is good enough for me, but I don't know what the lord thinks.

Captain Toure is also full of confidence. "Our striker and midfielder seem unstoppable when they hit the opponent. We love big scenes. This season, we have defeated Manchester United (League Cup), Arsenal and Chelsea at home, defeated Chelsea away, and tied with Liverpool twice. To ensure the top four, we must concentrate now.

While wanting the championship, while wanting a place in the Champions League, the doomed decisive battle is about to be staged!