Chapter 402 Approaching Christmas
Manchester United officially announced that due to the impact of the freezing of the Broomfield Road Stadium, the Red Devils' away game against Blackpool, which was originally scheduled to be held at 17:30 local time on Saturday, will be postponed.
Recently, there have been snowstorms in most parts of Europe, and England is no exception.
Last week, several low-level league games have been postponed due to the snowstorm, and Blackpool's home stadium, Broomefield Road, does not have a geothermal system, so it is inevitable that the field will be seriously frozen.
A spokesman for Blackpool confirmed that the game would be postponed due to the freezing of the venue. The weather is too cold, the temperature has even dropped to minus 8 degrees, and there is even a large-scale frost on Thursday night, so the venue is no longer suitable for games. Our staff tried to defrost with heating, but these efforts did not ensure that the game against Manchester United could go smoothly.
Mr. Peter Wharton, the referee of the game, inspected the venue on Friday afternoon. He believed that the Broomfield Road venue could not be unfrozen before Saturday's game, and such conditions were not enough to host the Premier League.
Manchester United's official website reported that after discussions with the Premier League Committee, match officials and Manchester United, it was decided to postpone the match between Blackpool and Manchester United. The specific make-up time is to be determined, and Manchester United fans can still hold the ticket to watch the game after the postponement.
Although Manchester United, which has played one less round, may give up the top position after this round, they can save energy and go all out to play the next three key battles. In the middle of next week, Manchester United will play against Valencia at home in the final match of the Champions League group stage. As long as they draw with their opponents, they can lock the first place in the group. After playing Valencia, Manchester United will play against Arsenal at home and Chelsea away from home in the league championship battle. These three games will determine the trend of Manchester United throughout the season.
In December, many European players relaxed their minds, and it was almost the winter break.
Premier League players are more nervous than ever. Not only do they have no time to rest, but the intensity of the game is higher than other periods.
All of Europe has a holiday, only Premier League players do not have a holiday, and the physical and mental fatigue can be imagined.
Manchester United's recent hard fights are all unmissable games. Valencia's last round of the group match of the UEFA Champions League is related to the top of the group. It is a relatively simple task to achieve the goal without losing.
Playing one less round of the league is beneficial to Manchester United!
At the same time, Manchester United decisively adopted the strategy of giving up in the League Cup, and the non-main lineup went away to complete the League Cup match with West Ham.
The result can be imagined that although the Manchester United reserve players worked very hard, they were still defeated in the cold winter in England.
Obina is crazy! No one expected that Manchester United, which had been unbeaten in nearly 8 months and 29 games, would be defeated by deputy squad leader West Ham 0-4 away from home. What's more unexpected is that it was Obina, who blew up the whole line of Manchester United's defense, like chicken ribs in Inter Milan. I don't know how Benitez would feel when he saw Obina with such a performance.
Let's take a look at Obina's 4 goals in the game. In the 22nd minute, Obina made a right foot cross from the edge of the penalty area, and Spector inserted a defensive header to shake off Fletcher and scored; in the 37th minute, Spector passed the ball, and Obina's shot in the middle of the penalty area was blocked by Fabio, but the Brazilian slipped and fell, followed by Spector's strong shot.
In the 56th minute, Obina shook away Fabio with speed and made a cross from the left bottom line. Carlton Cole scored a header in front of Evans in front of the goal. In the 66th minute, Obina still sent a cross in the face of Lafar's blockade, and Carlton Cole got rid of Evans from the penalty area. The small angle shot opened twice. In 44 minutes, Obina removed the defending champion Manchester United eight pieces with three assists.
In addition to directing 4 goals, Obina also had many wonderful scenes in the game.
In the 16th minute, Obinner received Spector's pass and saw that no one came forward to block it at the first time, so he fired his left foot in front of the penalty area. The ball refracted and entered the net. Just as the Nigerians were celebrating crazily, the lineman had been persistently holding the flag.
Sure enough, the slow motion of the playback showed that the body of Spector, who was in the offside position, was refracted before the ball entered the net, and the goal should be invalid. In the 26th minute, O'Binner's shot in front of the penalty area was blocked, but unfortunately he was already in an offside position when he shot; in the 36th minute, O'Binner's free kick from the left side passed, and Tomkins' header was missed; in the 42nd minute, Green's big foot opened the goal, and Obina's shot from the edge of the penalty area was obtained by Kuzzzzak; in the 79th minute, since The confident Obina took a free kick 40 yards from the goal, but his shot was slightly higher; in the 89th minute, Obina's small angle free kick from the left side missed again; according to OPTA statistics, in the whole game, Obina made 3 shots and 1 shot did not score a goal; sent 4 threatening passes, 3 straight He received assists; dedicated 7 passes, 3 tackles and 2 successful tackles, and 1 counterattack. After the game, Sky Sports scored the highest score of 8 points for Obina, and in the score of fans, Obina also scored the highest score of 8.9 points.
Since the start of this season, Obina has been an expert in the League Cup.
In the third round of the League Cup, West Ham played away against Sunderland. Obina first assisted Pikione to break the deadlock, and then scored the winning goal after the opponent equalized, leading the team to defeat the Black Cat 2-1.
In the fourth round, Obina scored a goal in overtime to help West Ham beat Stoke City 3-1 at home.
In the fifth round, Obinner sent another assist hat-trick to help West Ham beat the defending champion Manchester United 4-0.
In three League Cup games, Obina scored 2 goals and 4 assists, which can be said to be West Ham's first contributor to the quarterfinals of the League Cup. After 11 league matches, Obiner finally scored in his 12th round of the Premier League. Last weekend, he scored 1 goal and assisted to help West Ham beat Wigan 3-1 at home, giving West Ham only 3 points away from escaping the relegation zone, rekindling confidence in relegation. In all competitions this season, Obina has scored 3 goals and contributed an amazing 9 assists for West Ham.
The media exaggerated West Ham's victory. Who told them to eliminate the Premier League hegemon Manchester United!
Ferguson doesn't care about it. In fact, it's really surprising that Manchester United gave up the League Cup.
It is likely that in the last year of his coaching career, Ferguson will easily give up a laurel.
Although I don't understand, Ferguson's courage is still obvious. In the face of trade-offs, the decisiveness shown by the Lord is also worth learning from other leaders.
Manchester United has made a great deal for the key battle in December.
Next, let's see how the real effect is.
Manchester United defeated Valencia by 1 goal in the group stage, and they can win the first place in the group by staying unbeaten in this game. Valencia has never won three visits to Old Trafford. Manchester United, which was postponed last weekend, set up a strong lineup, but Ferguson only used the third goalkeeper Amos to start in order to prepare Van der Sar for the Arsenal league next week. Manchester City winger David Silva also paid attention to the performance of his old club in the stands, although Valencia also secured a promotion place.
With Anderson's goal, Manchester United drew 1-1 at home with La Liga team Valencia and advanced to the top 16 of the Champions League as the group leader. In the game, Ferdinand was replaced due to injury, which made hundreds of millions of Manchester United fans worry that Leo would miss the next two championship games against Arsenal and Chelsea. But after the game, Ferguson revealed that the results of the first check were that Ferdinand's ligament did not suffer any possible long-term damage. And the Lord also believes that Rooney will soon reach his best condition.
In an interview with Sky Sports 2, Ferguson said, "Absolutely, Rooney did a good job today. Tonight's score, he played a role in front of the opponent's defense, his work efficiency, and his movement speed are very outstanding. And Xiao Pang was also quite satisfied with his performance after the game. "I feel that I am in good physical condition. I feel that my sense of smell is back inside and outside the penalty area. Generally speaking, I am very happy with my physical condition and my performance tonight."
The Lord also commented on Rooney's front-line partner Li Yu's performance on the court tonight. I think we should win the game. We have a lot of opportunities. Li Yu may be able to score 4 or 5 more goals tonight, but the opposing goalkeeper has made a lot of great saves. We noticed those shots. The reason why he didn't score tonight is that he is unlucky.
"You have to get the result you want. I think the lineup we have is enough to deal with anything and any opponent we encounter. Tonight, our goal is to get the sixth consecutive clean sheet in the group stage, but we didn't get it, but the most important thing is to win the top spot in the group, which is much more important than the record zero. The last 20 minutes are Valencia's best, but we know that a draw is enough for us. Sometimes the game is dangerous, especially when you lack experience on the defensive line. We have Fabio, Rafal, Smarin and Amos on our defensive line, which is a difficult task for them. Lack of experience may kill our efforts.
England is not a blessed place for Valencia. In the previous 13 away games against England, Valencia only had a record of 1 win, 8 draws and 4 losses. However, in the last five visits to England, Valencia has achieved an unbeaten record of 1 win and 4 draws. The only victory was a 1-0 away victory over Liverpool in the group stage of the 02-03 UEFA Champions League. Although Manchester United passed the first ever magical record of conceding zero goals in all six group matches in the Champions League due to Carrick's mistake, Ferguson's team still beat Valencia to win the first place in the group.
The Premier League officially announced the time of Manchester United's away challenge to Blackpool. The make-up match will be held on January 25 next year at 19:45 p.m. local time on Tuesday, which is undoubtedly good news for Manchester United.
On January 22 next year, Manchester United will play against Birmingham at home in the Premier League; on February 1, Manchester United will play against Aston Villa at home in the league. Between the two leagues, there will be such a less difficult away make-up match against Blackpool. I believe that Sir Alex Ferguson can't find any reason to be unhappy.
Because even if Manchester United beat Liverpool at home in the third round of the FA Cup held on January 9 and advance to the fourth round of the FA Cup to be held around January 29, the Lord is likely to continue to give up the FA Cup as last season and try his best to play the league at home after the make-up match. After all, the Premier League and the Champions League are Ferguson's most important events.
There are signs that Manchester United will have some personnel changes this winter and next summer. The Sun said that if 40-year-old van der Sar chooses to retire at the end of the season, Ferguson will talk to him after Christmas. Although Van der Sar's wife, Ann Marie, prefers that Manchester United's goalkeeper can return to the Netherlands after retirement, Manchester United prefers to offer Van der Sar a position. However, Lao Fan's position will not affect the position of the current goalkeeper coach Steele, but more likely to be a royal scout or Manchester United ambassador.
Manchester United's match against Arsenal in the next round of the Premier League has become the focus of fans all over the world.
The two teams can be said to be old enemies of the Premier League for nearly ten years. Before the start of the competition, the war of words between the two teams had already penetrated into the hearts of the people, and they felt a little bored.
Before the confrontation with Arsenal, Manchester United's main defender Evra mocked the Gunners' results, calling Wenger's team rubbish.
Manchester United will play against Arsenal at Old Trafford on Monday. Evra took the lead in the psychological battle. He said, " Arsenal, such a big club, has not won any trophies in five years? For me, this is a crisis. It's really rubbish.
Arsenal is a young team with good style. I will watch their game and enjoy it, but can they win the trophy in the end? That's why people remember you.
"People always praise Arsenal's style of football, but what honor can they show in the end?"
Evra believes that the match with Arsenal is not decisive, and the championship competition will be between Manchester United and Chelsea. We may lose to Arsenal next Monday, but what will they do in the end? Nothing. They can't win the championship.
"Our real opponent is Chelsea, and we are more concerned about Chelsea's results than Arsenal. Maybe it seems arrogant to say this, but if Manchester United doesn't win the championship, it's Manchester United's problem.
"For me, the real enemy is Chelsea, because they have the ability to win the championship. We are not afraid of them, but they are the team we care about."
Evra also said that Manchester United likes to play Arsenal very much. When we played against Arsenal, we all enjoyed it. They were not a team that put eleven people in the back line. Arsenal sometimes can't end the game, but we are on the contrary and efficient.
"People are too easily subdued by Arsenal's style. I hear people compare them with Barcelona, but after 20 years, people will not remember what Arsenal is. When people say that Arsenal is like Barcelona, I can't help laughing. Barcelona plays beautifully, but they can win the championship, and the only team that interests me is the championship.
Soon, Arsenal coach Wenger counterattacked the sarcasm of Manchester United defender Evra, saying that the French defender showed disrespect for other teams.
Manchester United and Arsenal will meet at Old Trafford on Monday. Evra said that Arsenal is a team that can't win the championship. In this regard, Wenger believes that this is a disrespectful performance.
Wenger said: "Before the game, Evra gave the media some good materials."
"Our guideline is what style of football we want to play, not what our opponents comment on us."
"From a personal point of view, I think if you are a well-known player, you should always respect your opponent, which is exactly what we have been doing."
"It's up to you to judge whether Evra is disrespectful to his opponent. Before such a game, we don't want to get involved in an unnecessary war of words. We want to focus on our own style and ignore any provocations before the game.
"Our motivation is the desire to win the game and the quality of football we want to play."
Contrary to Evra, Manchester United coach Ferguson called on Old Trafford's fans to respect their opponents and not act disrespectful to Wenger. In last season's game, Wenger was sent to the stands and had nowhere to go and had to stand next to Manchester United fans. Some people insulted him. The magistrate apologized to Wenger after the game, and Ferguson called on the fans to respect the other team's coach before the game.
Wenger said, "I think you should respect everyone and be respected. So every time Manchester United comes to Arsenal, we always ask our fans to show respect.
Speaking of the confrontation with Ferguson, Wenger said: "The situation between us has changed a little. We respect and understand each other. This may be what you call 'softening'. But what matters is not Ferguson vs. Wenger, but Manchester United vs. Arsenal.
Manchester United coach Ferguson confirmed that in the Premier League top match with Arsenal on Monday, the three main players of the Red Devils, Rio Ferdinand, Evra and Scholes, have recovered and will be able to play in this key game.
Ferdinand withdrew from the Champions League group match with Valencia on Tuesday due to injury. He felt that there was something wrong with his hamstrings. Scholes had missed the last three games of Manchester United because of a groin injury, while Evera did not play against Valencia for physical reasons, but Ferguson said that against Arsenal on Monday, All three of them can play.
"Everyone is healthy," Ferguson said. "Scholes participated in the training yesterday. Although it was only a slight practice, he should have no problem on Monday, and Ferdinand should also recover."
In terms of reserve players, defenders Evans and Brown have been unwell recently due to a cold, but now they have recovered. Ferguson said: "Evans and Brown have caught a cold recently, and this is spreading in this area, but now they are much better. We should be able to play the whole team on Monday."
Of course, Ferguson's "team-wide" does not include two long-term injuries, Owen and Hargreaves. Owen has recently resumed training and the situation is getting better. Ferguson said, "He still can't catch up with Arsenal, but he's doing well in his rehabilitation."