Manchester United fans and Manchester City fans certainly wouldn't have imagined that their hard-won temporary truce, joining forces to deal with Liverpool, would only boost Liverpool's morale even higher...

Liverpool was just like Saint Seiya, the more you beat him, the more miserable he got, and the stronger the cosmos he unleashed in the end...

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At the pre-match press conference after the final day of field adaptation, Ferguson looked confident and cool: "This is our home. That's all I have to say, thank you."

With just this one sentence, the old Sir Alex's dominance was on full display.

He didn't ramble on and on to please the reporters. He never needed to curry favor with the media.

When the Manchester media saw Ferguson like this, they felt even more confident about defeating Liverpool at home.

As if by coincidence, Liverpool's coach, Martin O'Neill, was also brief at the press conference: "I will not announce the starting lineup in advance. Also, this is the closest Liverpool has been to the Premier League title, and we have no reason to give up, even if it's away."

With that, he got up and left, and his press conference was over.

Leaving a group of reporters looking at each other in dismay—what was all that about?

Had the two coaches discussed it beforehand? How could they both be so concise today?

After a round of bewildered glances, everyone had to return to reality, because they had articles to write. As a pre-match press conference, this was the biggest source of material for everyone's pre-match news articles. But now that the two coaches were so stingy with words, how were they supposed to develop their stories?

Reporters need something to work with in order to develop their stories. If the two men said so little, they couldn't make anything up, even if they were novelists.

They could only start by extrapolating from the event itself.

Today's press conference was indeed unusual enough. Whenever something is abnormal, there must be a demon. Perhaps this abnormality reveals a deeper meaning?

The reporters all wore similar expressions as they left the press conference venue, all frowning, deep in thought.

And wouldn't you know it, after a night of effort, these reporters really did come up with something.

Everyone basically started their analysis from the two coaches' few words.

Both of them were being brief and concise, but could the effect and the meaning they wanted to express be the same with the same approach?

Of course not!

Ferguson's simple sentence, "This is our home," represented endless dominance. Martin O'Neill's, "I will not announce the starting lineup in advance," exposed his inner weakness, otherwise why wouldn't they dare to announce their starting lineup in advance? Everyone still wanted to see if Gerrard would start. Then he said, "Also, this is the closest Liverpool has been to the Premier League title, and we have no reason to give up, even if it's away," which was slightly verbose compared to Ferguson's words. What does verbosity indicate? It shows that he was feeling guilty and had to say more to cover it up.

So Martin O'Neill was simply imitating Dong Shi, trying to learn Ferguson's confidence and coolness, but he did it very unsuccessfully, and everyone could see through it at a glance.

Why would everyone think that Martin O'Neill was feeling guilty with the same performance?

Isn't it because of Liverpool's performance during this period? They were eliminated by Bayern Munich in the Champions League, and although they won in the league, they were always narrow victories. In addition, in the previous league match, Chen Hero, who had been in good form, inexplicably lost his touch. With so many unfavorable factors combined, anyone would feel guilty.

But he couldn't show weakness, because once he did, his team would immediately collapse. It could be said that Liverpool had not collapsed so far because Martin O'Neill was constantly supporting them with lies, which was truly a miracle.

But lies will eventually be exposed, and the more beautiful the soap bubble, the less it can last.

All of this will be revealed in this afternoon's match.

Liverpool's collapse is today!

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Martin O'Neill couldn't help but laugh as he looked at the comments and reports in the newspapers.

He didn't expect the media to analyze it that way. It seemed that Liverpool's performance before had indeed been very poor...

But that was fine, Manchester United would think that Liverpool was easy to bully, and they would die even more miserably then.

The war of words was over, and now it was time for a real showdown!

He looked back at the players resting in the hotel lobby waiting for the bus.

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As the most important match of the season, the decisive battle for the league title, the media gave the match enough attention. Five hours before the start of the match, several satellite broadcasting vehicles were already parked outside Old Trafford Stadium. Reporters from all over the world held microphones and stood in front of camera lenses, eloquently introducing the match.

"We are reporting live from outside Old Trafford Stadium in Manchester..."

"It's now 2:08 p.m. local time, less than two and a half hours before the start of the match..."

"...Many fans from both sides have gathered outside Old Trafford Stadium. The police are on high alert, and the fans from both sides are separated into two distinct areas to ensure that they do not have the opportunity to make contact...As everyone knows, Liverpool and Manchester United are bitter enemies..."

"We have arrived at the periphery of Old Trafford Stadium, where we have seen many fans from both sides...In just over two hours, Hero will usher in his most important match of the season at this stadium! If he wins, it's the league title, if he loses, he may fall short!"

The reporters used their respective national languages and accents, becoming a unique sight outside the stadium, further highlighting the crucial nature of the match.

Some media reported on the fans, while others naturally focused on their colleagues.

"A total of 189 national and regional media outlets have been approved for on-site coverage, including 50 television stations, 30 news agencies, 28 radio stations, and 81 print media, with a total of 1,032 reporters, television commentators, photographers, and videographers! Look at this scene, it's truly spectacular!"

As the on-site reporter spoke, the cameraman gave the working media a shot.

"These media come from 40 countries on four continents...It is foreseeable that the headlines of many countries tomorrow will give way to this match. German fans watch the live broadcast online, and newspapers are selling out. In Oslo, the capital of Norway, savvy merchants have installed giant television screens in the square, and thousands of fans can watch the match outdoors. In the United States, it is estimated that as many as 20 million people will watch the match. Al Jazeera will also broadcast the match in Arabic in 25 countries today, with an estimated audience of up to 90 million...I'm not talking about the El Clásico between Real Madrid and Barcelona, but the English national derby! The match between Manchester United and Liverpool has never received so much attention around the world as it does today—this contest between bitter enemies, for the first time, matches their respective identities, status, and level of hatred..."

"This match has been scheduled for the afternoon, fully taking into account the feelings of Asian fans, because this is the golden time for them in the evening, and they can enjoy this peak showdown without staying up late! Just one China, because of Hero, I think there may be hundreds of millions of people watching! What an exciting number! You must know that this is just a Premier League match, not a World Cup final!"

"Tickets for today's match at Old Trafford Stadium are hard to come by. Along the way, we saw many fans holding signs for tickets, but unfortunately, no one would be foolish enough to give up the tickets in their hands...According to the Manchester United press officer, there were about 350,000 applications for tickets for this national derby through official channels, which five Old Trafford Stadiums could barely accommodate! On the black market, it is said that a Chinese fan spent 10,000 euros yesterday to buy a ticket but failed to get one...Although the financial crisis has not dissipated, you definitely cannot feel that the world is in a financial crisis before this match..."

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The fervor around the stadium was transmitted to the players on both sides through television signals.

They were also watching TV to pass the time while waiting to board the bus. Of course, at first only a few were doing so, while more people were using their mobile phones to browse Twitter and Facebook, or playing games on handheld game consoles.

But when one person started to glance at the TV screen, his gaze never moved away again.

Then one, two, three, four...more and more players put down what they were doing and looked up at the TV screen.

This time, Sky Sports in the UK had also put in some effort, using helicopters for aerial photography, so the situation around Old Trafford was clear at a glance.

Everyone saw the grand occasion at Old Trafford Stadium.

Because the stadium had not yet officially opened for entry, the entire area outside Old Trafford was full of people.

This time, Manchester United was the home team, and Manchester United wore their red home jerseys in the match, while Liverpool wore their black away jerseys.

Looking down from the air, the red and black torrents were constantly colliding, but just as they were about to make contact, they were blocked by the dam formed by the police.

But the fans on both sides were unyielding, and continued to launch offensives against each other, like tides, wave after wave, each wave higher than the last.

Seeing this scene from the sky, there was an indescribable magnificent beauty, leaving people speechless.

The players on both sides, in different hotels and different settings, were just watching, and endless power was growing in their hearts.

The strongest opponent, the most critical moment, the most suspenseful result, no one can afford to lose—this is the best match!

Chen Hero looked at the TV and suddenly said, "Brothers, the stage is set..."

Ferguson said to his assistant Whelan, "The script is there, the director is there, everything is there, all that's missing are the actors."

Yes, everything is ready except for the opportunity.

The stage is there, go up and perform a great show!

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ps, today there will be six updates, six updates!