Arsenal made a change at half-time, with Arsene Wenger coming on for Wilshere and Denilson. It seems to strengthen the defense, but it is actually to prepare for a counterattack. Unfortunately, the difference of three goals on aggregate is too big, and if Arsenal want to advance, they must score four goals in 45 minutes and ensure that they do not concede a single goal.

It's an impossible task.

Arsenal did threaten Forest's goal at the start of the second half, but good times are usually short-lived. They still couldn't shake the advantage that Nottingham Forest had built up from the first half, George. Wood is indeed one of England's strongest midfielders today. Cesc Fabregas started to rise in passing errors under his marking, while his stamina declined.

Although he can also pass those sharp balls, but the whole team is beaten by the Forest team and can't find the north, what is the use of him being able to pass the ball alone?

The game was a tactical defeat for Arsenal, and no matter how good Cesc Fabregas was, it didn't help.

Halfway through the second half, Arsenal still failed to score. Arsene Wenger has already felt his defeat and he has begun to conserve energy for the league.

Cesc Fabregas was still running desperately on the pitch, passing the ball or shooting himself. He was not willing to admit defeat at this time.

The Spaniard was a little impatient on the pitch, while Wood was more composed. The boss asked him to keep an eye on Fabregas, and he carried it out meticulously. As for who Cesc Fabregas will pass the ball to, he doesn't care. Just as his teammates believe in him as the captain, he also believes in his teammates.

It is this tacit understanding that allows the Forest team to dominate the away team and grasp the initiative on the field.

Arsenal had few chances in the second half and Forest continued to threaten Almunia's goal. It's been a long time since Nottingham Forest fans have seen such an easy game at Arsenal's home turf.

In the 80th minute, some Arsenal fans started to leave the pitch early, and they no longer had any hope for this game. I could only comfort myself that "we still have the league" while leaving the stadium unwillingly.

Seeing that the overall situation has been decided, Don has also replaced several players who have been more tired recently. Bell was Joe. Mattok was replaced, Bentley was replaced by Mock and Ibisevic was replaced by Abang Lajo.

Every player who was substituted hugged Donn and celebrated their victory with joy.

With a 2-0 lead and ten minutes to go, Don couldn't imagine that he could still fail.

He could go back to Nottingham with a relaxed mood, and I believe that Shania in the box can breathe a sigh of relief.

※※※

In the final ten minutes, Arsenal launched a frantic comeback against the Forest goal, and they had all but given up on the pursuit of victory, but the self-esteem of a strong team made it impossible for them to tolerate having their heads shaved at home. They want to use that last minute to score a goal.

It's a pity that the Forest didn't get their way. The whole line was defended and the goal was blocked.

Cesc Fabregas finally played a full game and was not substituted early. Unfortunately, his efforts did not help the team win, or even bring a face-saving goal to the team.

When the referee blew the whistle for the end of the game, many of the Arsenal players were slumped on the pitch, and only their captain was still standing.

On the other side, Forest's substitutes rushed onto the pitch with cheers led by the assistant coach and hugged their teammates on the pitch in celebration.

And Tony. Don straightened his clothes and strode over to Wenger with a smile on his face.

"It's a pity." He reassured.

"Good luck now, Tony. Hopefully you'll make it to the finals. But I'm not going to give you the league title anymore. Arsene Wenger wanted to look personable, but he couldn't laugh after losing the Champions Cup.

Don smiled and didn't speak.

Wenger shook hands with him and turned to leave, Donn looked at his back, and there was something he didn't say in his heart: "Of course I won't tell you to give me the championship, Professor." I'll get it myself. ”

After shaking hands with Arsene Wenger, Don was surrounded by reporters.

"How does it feel to be in the Final Four again, Mr. Donn?"

"It feels great!"

"Is the goal of this season to win the Champions Cup as well?"

"Who wouldn't want to win the championship?"

"Was it a bit of a surprise to beat Arsenal away from home so easily?"

"No, it's Arsenal, it's not me."

There was also a reporter who wanted to ask a question, but Don raised his hand and refused: "What other questions to ask at the press conference, I have to go with my team!" ”

He lined up and walked onto the pitch to celebrate the victory with the Forest players.

"What a big name......," someone in the reporter muttered quietly.

"But he's qualified to play a big name." Someone next to him shrugged, "Who called him the winner?" ”

※※※

Winning Arsenal and progressing to the semi-finals made Nottingham's media enthusiastically hype for days. The Wilford training base was bustling with excitement every day, with die-hard fans coming to support the team and news outlets.

Forest, who reached the semi-finals, were in luck, and their semi-final opponents were not strong, Ligue 1 side Lyon. On the other side is the Spanish derby between Real Madrid and Barcelona.

This semi-final has the Spanish media excited, as they have two teams in the semi-finals. The Premier League, which has long dominated the semi-finals, has been completely defeated this season, and in the end, only one team from Nottingham Forest has represented the Premier League in the semi-finals.

Foreign media gloated about this, claiming that the Premier League was finally going to give up the first league position, and the Spanish media even shouted that they wanted to be on top, and the Spanish media was the first league in Europe.

The Italian and German media, as always, chose to remain silent.

The English media, who were unanimously optimistic about Arsenal before the game and cheered for Arsene Wenger's team, are now turning to Nottingham Forest like a wallworm, touting Donne's side as "the only hope of English football", "a fighter for the dignity of English football", and "the heir to the glory of English football".

Don didn't care if he was being buttoned up to the big hats, and now he had to take his heart back and prepare for the league. Let's wait until the Champions Cup is in front of us.

Prior to the Champions League, Forest had been tested by two strong teams, but neither Chelsea nor Arsenal could complete the task of stopping them, and Donne's side were well in second place, one point ahead of third-placed Liverpool and three points behind first-placed Arsenal, with a goal difference and fewer goals than Arsenal, and Arsenal still had a big chance of winning. Judging from William Hill's latest Premier League title odds this season, Arsenal are still favored.

Cal. In order to prove that he had won the bet with Donn, Spike analyzed the Forest's weaknesses in his show. In terms of fixtures, he said that the Forest team will face two strong teams and two weak teams. The strong team Forest has already played, and the weak team is the real test.

Neither team has been out of the relegation zone until now, and the worse news is that they have not been relegated early. It's a scenario that any opponent fears – a team in the relegation zone or on the brink could either be relegated to the Championship after three league games or be relegated at the last minute. Heaven and hell are in between that line.

No one wants to go to hell, everyone wants to go to heaven. Don is the same, if he fulfills others, he will go to hell. He is not the kind of saint or Buddha who loves all beings in the world and is willing to sacrifice himself to fulfill others. So you can expect these two games to be very intense and exciting.

The two matches were played in the 35th and 38th rounds of the league, respectively.

In the 35th round, Forest played Portsmouth away. Round 38, the last game of the league, home to Sunderland.

If Nottingham Forest can beat Portsmouth and Sunderland can win, then the final round may not be so bad for both teams – Sunderland have already been relegated and Nottingham Forest will no longer have to face a desperate battle for survival.

It's an ideal future, but Don doesn't think their luck will be so good.

You must know that in the 35th round, Sunderland's opponent is Manchester United. How could Manchester United let Sunderland go at home in order to qualify for the Champions League? Sunderland, on the other hand, have only one home game in the final round of fixtures, and two of the other three away games are against fierce rivals, and the relegation situation is much worse than Portsmouth.

Therefore, the media have already pronounced Sunderland's death sentence in advance, compared to Portsmouth, who only have Forest, a strong opponent in the last four rounds, they look more like they can succeed in relegation.

Sunderland may be the only ones who haven't given up, and the local media are constantly cheering the team on, believing that if they stick together, they can do wonders. There have even been suggestions that Sunderland bring back former head coach Keane, as he had done a similar miracle – he had taken over the team at the bottom of the table and led them to promotion to the Premier League half a season later. This is the only time Keane has achieved a brilliant result as a head coach. Later, his coaching career did not go very well, so such an offer was completely out of the question. There's no way Keane could have agreed to come out and be a substitute for the dead.

There is a statement that seems to make sense.

“…… Tony. Done's team is currently playing on three fronts, with a lot of physical exertion and a lot of pressure on the players. I don't think Sunderland is yet to throw up their hands and surrender, as long as we don't fall behind before the final round, we might still have a chance to fight the exhausted Nottingham Forest...... Think about it, the fatigue of fighting on three fronts in a row, and the huge pressure of having to win the league title or else their head will eat the table...... No team can play at a normal level in such a situation......"

But any piece of bad advice looks plausible until it gets bad.

In short, Sunderland is still dying. Don won't be unforgiving because he has loaned young players to them on a number of occasions and has a close personal relationship with their former head coach Keane. Just as he will show no mercy to Portsmouth's men, he doesn't care about any opponent but himself. As long as they stand in front of him and become a stumbling block that hinders him from moving forward to win the championship and pursue victory, he will kick away mercilessly.

※※※

On April 19, in the 35th round of the league, Nottingham Forest challenged Portsmouth away.

Portsmouth did put up the momentum of the relegation team, but it seems that they only put out 80 per cent. With news from Old Trafford, Sunderland trailed United after just three minutes. Sunderland's deficit has lightened the pressure on Portsmouth, who want to win this game but are not willing to fight for everything. After all, there are still three rounds in the league, and if you fight hard with the Forest team, then the remaining three rounds may only be able to watch the opponent surpass them and get out of hell.

It is a very dangerous thing to play against Nottingham Forest, who are bent on winning and chasing Arsenal with such ambivalence.

The Forest players don't have so many complicated thoughts in their minds - if they win this game, what will they do next? The game was exhausted, what about the second half?

Things are simple for them - this game is won, and the next game will continue to be won. I gave my best in this game and continued to give my best in the second half.

In the 25th minute, Nottingham Forest broke the deadlock thanks to a long-range strike from Raphinha as they took a 1-0 lead away from home.

Portsmouth, who were behind, stepped up their attacking efforts, and their manager yelled on the sidelines not to give up. Ten minutes later, Portsmouth scored past Akinfeev from a corner. 1：1。

This time it was Donn's turn to rage on the sidelines.

At half-time, Donn replaced Thiago, who was not doing well, with Gago and continued to strengthen the attack.

In the seventy-first minute, Forest finally scored. Wood's long-range shot deflected off the Portsmouth defender's body and bounced right at Mitchel's feet, where he struck the ball and the ball went into the net.

Portsmouth, who were behind, tried to fight back, but just three minutes later, Matthias. Fernandez blasted Portsmouth's goal wide with a long-range shot, which completely destroyed Portsmouth's fighting spirit. Nottingham Forest controlled the tempo for the rest of the game, and Donn also made substitutions to give more players a break.

The only discontent was the Portsmouth fans watching from the stands. They protested by leaving the venue early.

When the referee blew the whistle for the end of the game, the latest news from Old Trafford was that Sunderland had also lost to Manchester United, so that the situation of the two teams had not changed, and both teams were still likely to be relegated and both could be promoted.

When Donn got up to shake hands with the Portsmouth manager, Chris Lack, who was next to him, leaned over and said: "Arsenal have won too." ”

Don nodded, didn't say anything, still with a smile on his face, and stretched out his hand to the opposing head coach.

The two teams are still three points apart, and nothing has changed.

Nottingham Forest can only guarantee consecutive wins and then expect Arsenal to make mistakes themselves.

But Arsene Wenger and his Arsenal, who have been knocked out of the Champions League and have only been contested for the league title all season, could they make a mistake and give Done a big gift?

(To be continued)