However, Lineker made a sharp assessment of Nottingham Forest a long time ago:

It's a young team, full of energy and energy, so they're not afraid of any opponent, so they can play better than we can do against strong teams. But because they are young, their performance is very unstable. So when you want to have high hopes for Donn's team, they can let you down, and when you don't have any hope for them, they can surprise you. So...... Don't trust any bookmaker's pre-match analysis of this team, it's nonsense.

After winning their first game in February, everyone felt it was time for Donne's side to keep up with Chelsea and put pressure on them. They lost at home to Arsenal in the 25th round of the league on 4 February.

In the last round, Chelsea drew away to Aston Villa and were only three points separating the two sides. However, in this round, Chelsea won 2-0 at home to strong team Liverpool, while Forest lost at home to Arsenal.

The difference between the two teams has changed from three points to six points.

At this juncture, Donne's team has not been able to care about Chelsea, and when the Champions League resumes, they will try to catch up with Chelsea in the league, but they are afraid that they will be weak at that time.

The focus of the team is not static, it is changing all the time, and now it is the league, and after a while the Champions League will obviously be more important than the league.

Arsene Wenger came back from the game against Done as his side beat Nottingham Forest, who had won eight league games in a row, at the City Stadium, ending an 11-game unbeaten run from their defeat at Newcastle on 19 November. The win also put Arsenal back in the top five of the league and are just one point clear of fourth-placed Liverpool.

So when Don shook hands with Wenger after the game, Wenger teased him: "The result is not too bad, Ferguson's team is still twelve points behind you!" ”

"They haven't played this round yet...... Don shook his head.

He's not worried about United, he's just frustrated that he hasn't taken advantage of the opportunity to catch up with Chelsea.

A day later, the game was over and the Reds, who had continued last year's bad luck after the New Year, won 4-2 at home to Fulham to close the gap on them to nine points at league runners-up Nottingham Forest. For Manchester United, this may be good news and gives them hope. And for Nottingham Forest, this should be a wake-up call......

Sadly, Tony; Don didn't see it. Nine points are still safe for him and he will now have to concentrate all his energy on the preparations for the quarter-finals of the Champions League.

On February 11, in the 26th round of the league, Forest, who had just ended their winning streak, regained a victory, winning 3-1 at home to Blackburn. But the game was not as easy as the scoreline, and it was not until the last minute of the game that the Forest team secured the victory, and after 2-1, they were always in a situation to deal with Blackburn's counterattack.

Of course, Nottingham Forest supporters will say it's because Donn has fielded nearly half of the substitutes to save strength for the Champions League quarter-finals. But it's a fact that young Nottingham Forest are already showing fatigue in the face of three fronts advancing at the same time.

※※※

On the evening of 22 February, Nottingham Forest welcomed the first leg of their Champions League quarter-finals on the evening of 22 February, visiting the Scottish capital of Glasgow.

Football in the city of Glasgow has always been linked to religion and politics, and this has to do with their particular environment. Every year, the "old house" – the Protestant Glasgow Rangers and the Catholic Celtic – derbies are in the spotlight.

Although the Soviet Super League can only be ranked second-rate in Europe, Glasgow Rangers and Celtic are still strong teams that should not be underestimated.

Donn made very detailed arrangements for this race before his departure.

Thankfully, this is just an ordinary Champions Cup quarter-final, not an "old-fashioned" derby between Celtic and Rangers, and Donn's side do not represent any religious groups or interests, so he doesn't have to worry about being stabbed in the back by a rabid Rangers fan after getting off the bus.

Of course, if his side end up winning against Rangers, then he and his players might want to think about that.

It's a city that's crazy about football......

As they warmed up on the pitch, the Forest players could already hear boos and shouts from all over the stands, and as home fans, they did everything they could to distract their opponents.

Playing in this environment really makes the Forest fans in Nottingham sweat for the team they support.

"Don't believe that nonsense!" Donn told his players in the pre-game locker room, "We're not Celtics, and we're not fucking old-fashioned!" It's just a normal Champions Cup quarter-final and doesn't mean anything. How we usually play, we still play today. ”

Before the game, the Scottish media announced that they wanted to show England the "passion" of the Suglans for football, and the pro-Rangers media also began to exaggerate the city's frenzy, even citing some sensational statistics. For example, the Heysel tragedy in 1984 shocked the world, but what is not well known is that in this year's "time-honored" derby, there were two attempted murders, two butcher knife slashing cases, one axe wounding case, nine dagger wounding cases and 35 group beatings......

There are even people who shout murderous slogans such as "football is modern warfare".

They want to make Nottingham Forest scared before they fight.

But Donn doesn't eat this.

“…… But I am not telling you this so that they will think that we are afraid of them. Don raised his right arm and clenched his fist in front of everyone, "If they want war, give them war!" ”

※※※

The competition was very intense, although the two teams participating in the competition were not as well-known as Chelsea and Barcelona, nor were they as good as Real Madrid and Arsenal, and they were not as good as Bayern Munich and AC Milan. But in terms of spectatorship, it was perhaps the best of the four quarter-finals of the night.

The two sides are not conservative and play attacking football. In the first half alone, the two teams scored three goals, 2-1, and the home team Glasgow Rangers took the lead.

At halftime, Donn roared in the locker room. Getting an away goal doesn't mean a win for him, he wants a total win – from the number of goals to the scoreline.

“…… It's shameful to think that you should be satisfied with an away goal! It's the idea that other teams don't have a chance, not our Nottingham Forest! If the Scots thought we were happy with the score and the result and would let up in the second half, they were very wrong! ”

"George! Disrupt their offense, every line and every point, to provide enough protection for our offense! ”

George in the second half; Wood galloped long and appeared in every corner of the court, stopping the opponent's attack. The post-match stats proved his efforts: 13 individual fouls, 7 violations, a yellow card, 13,000 kilometers of running, 60 passes, 39 successes, 21 tackles, 17 successes, 11 headers, 10 successes, and 18 turnovers...... He became the opponent who was booed at Hampton Park. But the more he was hated by his opponents, the more he proved his success.

ESPN's commentators were amazed by Wood's fitness, as he sprinted until the last minute of the race in a fast-paced, high-confrontation match, showing no signs of exhaustion. The more he got to the end of the race, the more desperate his opponents felt at this sprint-like running speed.

The Glasgow Rangers were finally overwhelmed by Wood's unreasonable physical prowess, and their attack could not be organised because of the ferocious George; Wood can be in any corner, showing you a spike or a "reasonable charge", stalking, and the offensive player has to put in more physical energy than usual when facing him, and the nerves are tensed to break through the defense, which is simply exhausting! Nottingham Forest's attack suddenly came into play in the last ten minutes of the game, and when the opponent was exhausted, they scored two consecutive goals in seven minutes, and the defeat turned into a victory!

Boos at Hampton Park resounded across the night sky over Glasgow, Tony; Don's bright smiling face was infinitely magnified under the spotlight.

“…… 3：2！ Three away goals, one win, Toney; Donne's side have almost made it to the quarter-finals of the Champions Cup! ”

(To be continued)