Manchester United legend

Chapter 131 Peter Pan Overmars

Many years later, when Ferguson looked back at the home game against Arsenal in 1998, he would still feel the great power of fate.

His Manchester United missed many chances to score goals, and at the same time made repeated mistakes in the penalty area, and was finally killed by a sharp blow from the opponent, handing over a victory to their arch-enemy.

For Ferguson, it was an unbearable blow, an ominous sign of the end of a failed season.

That day, long etched in Ferguson's memory, was a cursed time for Manchester United, and at that moment there was nothing the 57-year-old could do.

When the Premier League schedule came to March 3, Manchester United played against Arsenal at home.Before the game, the media said that this is a game that determines the direction of the championship, and it is a duel between the rulers Manchester United and the impact of the new power Arsenal.

Will the overlord suppress the novice or succeed in the chasing challenge?Under the unanimous hype of the media, this game turned into a battle for the final league championship, and the heat before the game was like cooking oil on fire.

It has actually been less than a month since Arsenal became a worthy challenger to Manchester United.

When the clock was still in January 1998, Arsenal were a miserable sixth in the league, 1 points behind leaders Manchester United.But Wenger's team is full of magic and incredible. In addition to the explosive golden boot striker Bergkamp, ​​they also have more masters who can destroy the city, such as Anelka, Wright, Pratt and the newcomer Overmars.

I have to use a little more space to talk about Overmars.This Dutch winger who joined Arsenal in the summer of 1997 came to London with the huge halo of the Champions League and the serious suspicion of a serious knee injury-Wenger put a huge bet on him.

Facts have proved that, just as no one dared to question the talent of the Dutchman, Overmars used his performance in one season to conquer the full-backs of the Premier League teams.

He is one of the best wingers in the world of football. What scares opponents is his 10-meter speed of 5 seconds, as well as his omnipotent and flexible line changes. The young winger overcame his injuries, and British football set off a storm: Overmars became an important accelerator on Wenger's Arsenal chariot.

Before this game, the right backs of the entire UK were tortured by Overmars. He dribbled the ball, made a sharp turn inside, or used his speed to force the opponent, or received a pass from his teammate and directly killed the back.

England's defenders knew his characteristics and retreated half a meter to guard against him, but they found that this distance was not safe, and they would never want to catch up with Overmars who accelerated.

"Probably only Ryan Giggs can stop Overmars, if only speed and dribbling skills are compared."

Before this game, Overmars has been called "Peter Pan" by the Arsenal fans who love him. His outstanding performance on the wing can be perfectly explained by scoring twice in the game against Leeds United.

At the beginning of Arsenal's catching up in the second half of the season, Overmars also started a magical performance almost at the same time, and his fiery state continued until the away game against Manchester United.

The Gunners lineup that came to Old Trafford on March 1998, 3 was neat. Captain Adams had recovered from injury when they needed it most, and Arsenal's proud defense became solid again.

But Manchester United has no way to form the strongest lineup. Among the two central defenders, Ferguson took the risk of partnering David May and Gary Neville, and the right back became the Achilles heel of the opponent's assault.

In addition, Ferguson's attack line lacks Giggs, and his offensive ability is greatly weakened.

In actual combat, Arsenal really concentrated on attacking Manchester United's right wing. Overmars upset Manchester United's defense on this side. In the first half, there were two opportunities to directly pass the right back to face goalkeeper Schmeichel.

The other time, Overmars made a quick change of lane, which directly knocked him out of his head, leaving Overmars to face the goalkeeper easily.

With luck, Overmars missed all his shots.

Manchester United, sitting at home, did not play a strong suppression, and the two sides were also tightly clamped by their opponents.

Without Gary Neville's containment and edge assists, it would be difficult for Beckham to even have a few chances to catch the ball under the defense of the opponents.

The creativity of midfielders Scholes and Butt did not show. Manchester United, which lacked Jost, was almost evenly divided by Vieira's confrontation with the Manchester United midfielder.

Under the difficult stalemate, Manchester United still found opportunities by relying on the opponent's mistakes. Arsenal's Dion made a cross pass from the right without pressure, and was intercepted by Cole in front of the penalty area. Then the ball was caught by Sheringham in the entanglement, and he went directly into the penalty area to face the Arsenal goalkeeper.Arsenal's goalkeeper Manninger made a great contribution this time, directly blocking Sheringham's strong shot.

Manninger was a godsend in this game, and then he blocked Cole's attack from the center line again, and on the left side of the penalty area, Cole's strong shot was perfectly saved by him again!Manchester United lost their best two chances!

After the start of the second half, Overmars once again showed his power on the left. It was the 79th minute. Arsenal defended successfully in the backcourt. Keown made a long pass from the right. Bergkamp successfully competed with Gary Neville on the right side of Manchester United's penalty area.

This was Overmars's third solo - from outside the corner of the penalty area, he calmly stabbed the ball past Schmeichel's leg, and he finally scored Schmeichel's goal. 1-0, Manchester United fell behind.

Gary Neville later recalled, "I was placed by the boss in the middle of the game that day, close to the right side. I don't think I was negligent at the center back. The opponent's two forwards didn't get any good shooting opportunities.

But I could only watch helplessly as the area I was in charge of turned into the opponent's free zone - because Arsenal sent two forwards, David May and I were firmly restrained by Bergkamp and Anelka, and we couldn't relax for a moment.

And Overmars is obviously their surprise soldier, and our unprepared right was sieved by them.

I remember David May yelling in the penalty area when the ball was lost, and Schmeichel wished he could swallow that defender alive. I just stared beside him, and I didn't even think about how to deal with that little Dutch man in the future. "

In the following time, Manchester United aggressively attacked, but Arsenal's defense was very tight and did not give the Red Devils many opportunities.Even if all of Manchester United's players pressed into the opponent's penalty area to attack, Arsenal's defense remained unmoved, and their final retreat to the end!
Behind Wenger cheering and celebrating the victory, Ferguson felt that his team was falling into the last hell of the Black March!
Manchester United not only lost this crucial game, but to make matters worse, Schmeichel also strained his thigh!

Ferguson and Kidd were livid on the sidelines, and the team seats were dead silent.Everyone knows what such a result means to Manchester United. Although Manchester United is still at the top of the list at this time, it is only 6 points ahead of Arsenal and has 3 more games!
Although he refused to admit defeat, Ferguson maintained his demeanor after the game, and he did not attribute the failure to other factors too much.

Although disappointed with the result, Ferguson still insisted. "To be fair, it should have been a draw. We also got countless chances to score goals. Losing to Arsenal is not the result we expected, but I still believe that we still have chances in the following games."

At the press conference, Ferguson refused to comment on the changes at Arsenal under Arsene Wenger.

However, after a long time, Ferguson himself admitted that such a duel allowed him to see a new style of Arsenal, which made him a thousand times more vigilant.Indeed, it is fair to say that this is a team that pays attention to technique and speed, as well as group cooperation and teamwork. Their style has not only inherited the toughness of the old Arsenal, they are still rough and tight in the midfield, but they have set off a tactical revolution in the attacking line of the frontcourt!
Wenger is bringing gorgeous technical flow football to Arsenal!This is also the new impact the French brought to the Premier League!

The media made a big fuss, and Ferguson once again let them fall into a carnival.In their writings, this matchup is full of suspense, great significance, and many gimmicks: "Wenger led the Gunners to the Tianwang Mountain", "In such a crucial game, we actually saw a game that wasted opportunities and abilities. Isn't this just a game that tests Ferguson's heart?!"

"Wenger has become the white knight of the English FA and the Premier League. He has saved the suspense of the championship and brought something new to the whole English football. Those scenes are not only wonderful and gorgeous, they will definitely be as intoxicating as drugs, and more teams will follow suit!"

"To be fair, this is not a wonderful game in terms of the results alone, but it is of epoch-making significance for the trend of the Premier League!" - this buddy predicted the greatest significance of this game almost two months in advance. "

Less than 100 hours after the loss to Arsenal, Ferguson's Manchester United ushered in another tough challenge on the field.That is the second round of the Champions League knockout round.

Misfortunes never come singly, and Manchester United suffered successive blows. The bad luck that came almost at the same time as the defeat to Arsenal was extremely heavy. Manchester United finally regretted stopping the Champions League.

Manchester United was not defeated by their opponents in the two knockout rounds, but fell again unwillingly before the away goals rule of the Champions League.

(End of this chapter)