Martin O'Neill praises his players so they don't lose morale. When Ferguson praises his players at halftime, it's because he's genuinely happy.
In the first half, despite falling behind early, Manchester United remained calm and fought back tenaciously. They not only equalized but also took the lead, exceeding expectations.
He was very satisfied with the players' performance in the first half, so naturally, he had to praise them.
What made him even happier was that Liverpool's performance in the first half seemed to confirm his judgment once again—Liverpool was exhausted after a series of tough battles. Their goal in the first two minutes was just a flash in the pan.
In the following match, Manchester United completely controlled the situation. Although Liverpool wanted to play a defensive counterattack, they could only shrink back and defend under Manchester United's pressure. Counterattacks were out of the question.
Ferguson was satisfied with the match situation. As long as they continued to put pressure on Liverpool in the second half, the third goal would come soon. And when Manchester United took a two-goal lead over Liverpool at home, Liverpool would completely collapse and withdraw from the league title race.
There is nothing more fulfilling than defeating such a stubborn opponent at your home ground!
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When the players from both sides returned to the field, the stands were once again packed—the fans who had left during the halftime break had long returned, and before the players even appeared, they were singing all kinds of songs, as if in a singing competition.
Of course, this was a solo performance by Manchester United fans. Liverpool fans couldn't get a word in.
Those Liverpool fans who firmly believed that Chen Hero had sensed their intentions looked coldly at the jubilant Manchester United fans, snorting disdainfully.
Be happy now? Just wait until the second half!
"The players from both sides are out, a highly anticipated second half is about to begin!"
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Unknowingly, ten minutes had passed in the second half. Manchester United still controlled the situation on the field. They had the upper hand, attacking around Liverpool's half, seemingly ready to break through Liverpool's goal at any moment.
Rooney had a shot that almost went into Liverpool's goal. If Reina hadn't tipped it with his fingertips, and if Carragher hadn't returned in time to kick the ball that Reina had pushed out, who knows what would have happened…
The Liverpool fans in the stands began to feel disappointed.
Ten minutes, Manchester United pressing Liverpool, possibly scoring at any moment… It seemed their hero hadn't heard their calls, nor was he in tune with them as they had thought.
But this was quite normal… If they were in tune with each other, that scene at the Allianz Arena wouldn't have happened. Liverpool wouldn't have been eliminated by Bayern Munich, and now they would have a chance to compete for the championship on two fronts…
It seemed that there were indeed no supernatural phenomena in the real world. Their three thousand people could not compete with the seventy-two thousand.
Was the ending really predetermined?
Phil Gibbs bit his lower lip as he watched the field below. The ball flew back and forth in the air, and Manchester United kept passing the ball towards Liverpool's penalty area. But now Gibbs didn't care about this, he was thinking: "Are we really out of the running for this championship?"
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"The English Premier League was established in February 1992. The 1992-93 season was the first season of the Premier League. Since then, twenty-two years have passed, and twenty-one seasons are about to pass. Liverpool, this former English powerhouse, has never won the championship of this event. Is this normal? At first, everyone felt it was abnormal, unacceptable, and unaccustomed to it. But now no one is discussing this issue anymore, except for the Liverpool fans themselves… Everyone has long been accustomed to accepting this reality—Liverpool is the overlord of the English First Division, but when English football entered the Super League era, they lagged behind and are no longer a dominant team. They should be in the same category as teams like Everton, Tottenham, and Manchester City, far behind their arch-rivals Manchester United, not even seeing Manchester United's shadow…"
"This game is simply a microcosm and representative of Liverpool's problems—why can't Liverpool always win the league title? Because they always choke at critical moments when facing their old rivals. The history of not winning a league title in the past twenty seasons is like a curse, cursing them and putting tremendous psychological pressure on them. Whenever they face this kind of title-contending moment, they can't help but recall those past failures—they were once very close to the league title twice, but in the end, they made it happen for others… How can they perform well under such a heavy psychological burden?"
"Glorious history was once a source of pride for Liverpool, but at the same time, the terrible past has become a heavy shackle around Liverpool's neck. How can they run with this heavy shackle?"
The voice of the Sky TV commentator echoed on the television. Those Liverpool fans who could not go to the stadium to watch the game and could only watch it through the television had different reactions to the commentator's words.
Some were silent because they felt the commentator was right.
Some retorted angrily: "What you said is bullshit! We're just a little unlucky!"
But no matter what, everyone felt that Liverpool might really miss the league title this time…
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Outside Old Trafford, the gathered Liverpool fans were listening intently to the sounds coming from the radio.
Many people were apprehensive and dared not speak loudly, as if they were afraid that doing so would affect the team's performance.
Ten minutes into the second half, and there was still no good news from the stadium or the radio.
Limited by the live broadcast format, they were unable to directly understand what the current situation of the game was like. The commentator, Hartson, could only say that Liverpool was now being pressed by Manchester United, and Manchester United controlled the situation on the field. But how exactly did Manchester United control the situation? Did Liverpool really have no chance at all? What was the mental state of the Liverpool players now?
No one could answer these questions for them.
They could only listen quietly to the game broadcast, while waiting for Hartson to suddenly raise his voice, his voice becoming sharp—that often meant that a turning point favorable to Liverpool had occurred on the field, and Hartson would be so excited.
Therefore, they were quiet, afraid of not hearing the signal from Hartson in the noise…
This pious state of mind was like praying to God.
Perhaps God was also moved by their piety and heard their inner voices…
Thirteen minutes into the second half, Old Hartson's sharp, high-pitched voice suddenly came from the radio!
"Gareth Bale… beautiful! Beautiful dribbling! He dodged Rafael da Silva! Beautiful breakthrough!!"
At the same time, the noise inside Old Trafford suddenly increased. Experienced Liverpool fans knew that this was the booing from Manchester United fans!
Being able to make them boo like this could only mean that Liverpool's attack had threatened Manchester United's defense!
They immediately dared not speak out, just listened intently, afraid of missing any detail.
On the radio, Hartson's voice continued to come, his pitch getting higher and higher.
"Bale passes the ball! He gives the ball to Suarez in the inside channel. Suarez carries the ball forward… He makes a direct diagonal long pass! Good ball! Sanchez raises his foot and steadily stops the ball!! He's feinting to go down, but suddenly cuts inside… Hero is running into position!!"
When Hartson shouted Hero's name, some Liverpool fans couldn't wait to cheer: "Hero—!!"
Soon this sound spread throughout the stadium, and everyone cheered, no longer able to hear the sound from the radio…
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Inside Old Trafford, the booing from Manchester United fans was getting louder and louder, just like Old Hartson's voice.
But the Liverpool fans, only three thousand in number, let out huge cheers, cheering for Liverpool.
Sanchez cut inside, feigning a long shot, and the Manchester United defenders dared not not defend. Two of them immediately went up to block the Chilean winger head-on.
At the same time, Chen Hero suddenly cut diagonally from outside the penalty area, running towards the gap behind those two Manchester United players!
Phil Jones, the other center-back for Manchester United in this match, followed him closely. At this time, playing the offside trap was very dangerous, so it was better to stay inside and not give him a chance to shoot.
Seeing Chen Hero's run, Sanchez did indeed use the outside of his right foot to gently flick the ball, and the ball flew past between the two Manchester United players who did not have time to close the door, flying straight towards Chen Hero's running path.
"Beautiful through ball, not offside!" Hartson shouted.
"Stay inside him, don't let him get a shot off easily!" The Manchester United commentator anxiously instructed Phil Jones on how to defend.
In fact, this was not an excellent opportunity, after all, Phil Jones was still inside. As long as he did not lose his position, Chen Hero would not have a chance to shoot. Because when Chen Hero received the ball, he would not be facing the goal directly. He had to adjust, and this adjustment would give Phil Jones the opportunity to close in…
In many people's minds, the next scene should be like this: Chen Hero had his back to the goal, stopped the ball and adjusted, Phil Jones quickly closed in, sticking to Chen Hero, preventing him from getting a chance to shoot, and then other defenders quickly returned to defense, surrounding Chen Hero, preventing him from having any space to shoot.
This defense would be considered successful…
But they underestimated Chen Hero…
Chen Hero did not stop the ball and turn around to adjust. He turned sideways to the goal, let his body yield, let the ball pass, and then swung his right foot… and volleyed directly!
The ball was like a cannonball, flying over the head of Phil Jones, who had been positioned, and the wind even ruffled Phil Jones' hair…
"Hero—!!!"
Accompanied by Hartson's roar, the ball slammed into the underside of the crossbar, and then smashed down into the goal!