Wigan Athletic's season has started a fantastic start.

They had a spectacular start to the tournament and even jumped into the top three of the league, behind Chelsea and Manchester City, and are considered the biggest dark horses of the season.

At that time, some media compared them to Derby County, who created a miracle of winning the championship with promoted horses last season, and Wigan Athletic's results were also outstanding, but their luck seemed to be a little bad, Manchester City and Chelsea this season were much stronger than last season, so they could only finish third in the league.

As the league went on round after round, as the other teams got familiar with the promoted side, they began to show the weakness of the small club squad and the lack of experience in the Premier League.

Wigan Athletic were promoted to the Premier League for the first time in their history and had no experience at all, even with manager Jewell, as a result of their results and rankings, but due to the accumulation at the beginning of the season, they are still in the top 10 and 2 tiers.

But this kind of result is nothing in front of Manchester City.

Manchester City is the first in the league, stronger than Chelsea, Wan Sheng led Derby County to the top of the league last season, the media has reason to believe that even if Manchester City is worse in the next results, they will definitely be able to maintain the top four, while Wigan Athletic is difficult to enter the top six, their strength at the beginning of the season can only keep them in the middle of the league.

That's the difference between the two teams in the league standings.

However, when it comes to the two teams, there is a difference between the two teams, in the league the two teams have met once, that game Wigan Athletic drew 2-2 with Manchester City, they scored two goals in a row in the second half, giving people a deep insidiousness, which is also a rare time for Manchester City in the league this season without three points, which is even more memorable.

So when the two teams meet in the Carabao Cup semi-finals. No one would dare to say that Wigan Athletic would fail.

Before the game, many media were still optimistic about Wigan Athletic, and their biggest reason was Manchester City's recent injury problems.

"Without Anelka, without David Silva, without Sinclair, it is questionable whether Manchester City can field all 11 starters"

This is just an exaggeration.

But this is what many media mean, and they believe that Manchester City have injury problems. When many main players are unable to play, it is naturally very difficult to play when they encounter a hard bone like Wigan Athletic.

'It's not easy for Manchester City to knock out Wigan Athletic in the Carabao Cup. This is the final conclusion reached by the commentators, and there are also media who hate Wansheng very much, directly sarcastic, "It is difficult to say whether Manchester City will go all out to deal with the game, that Chinese is very utilitarian, he will give up all other games for the league results, let alone the League Cup, Wigan Athletic has a greater hope of winning." They should be pursuing something in the Cup" The so-called 'pursuit' naturally refers to the fight for a ticket to the Millennium Stadium.

It was because of these media reports that Manchester City felt more indignant and took the game very seriously, and when Wan Sheng inspired the players, everyone was immediately provoked.

This is reflected in the game, that is, Manchester City is fighting fiercely.

That's how it started from the start.

Wigan Athletic only played Manchester City at Christmas, when they showed great skill and control. Just because of bad luck, or rather. Wigan Athletic were too good in the second half to be breached twice in a row before Wigan Athletic could claim a point.

So they were prepared for City's control, but now it was different, Manchester City not only showed extraordinary control in the opening game, but also fought fiercely. As a result, when Manchester City attacked, Wigan Athletic could only defend passively, and conversely, when they attacked, it was difficult to get past the halfway line. Because in their own half, City's defense began.

"Wigan Athletic was beaten without a way at all"

That's how George Woodgate summed up the first twenty minutes of the game.

In these 20 minutes, Manchester City has an absolute advantage, whether it is the number of passes, possession time, shots, etc., all have the absolute upper hand, in contrast, Wigan Athletic only defends, defense, and some media have to admit that "although Manchester City has been injured recently, they still have a great advantage in playing against small clubs"

There are also hard-mouthed media who don't admit defeat at all, because Manchester City have not scored yet, they hope that Wigan Athletic will be Manchester City's away game, and Wigan Athletic did it last time, although they were passive, they scored two goals in a row in the second half, so that Manchester City had no choice.

Football, after all, is a sport where the score determines the winner or loser.

Unfortunately, these media were quickly disappointed, because Manchester City not only had fighting spirit and suppression, but also had form in front of goal, and in the 32nd minute of the game, the first goal appeared, which was a free kick cross from Musampa on the side, and Andy Cole fired the ball directly into the goal from eight meters in front of the goal.

"Andy Cole! Goal！ ”

“1:0！ Manchester City scored! ”

Andy Cole's goal sent Manchester City fans into a frenzy, in fact, there are many Manchester City fans who have similar concerns, because the team only pressed and did not score, so for a long time, it is easy to fall into the dilemma of not scoring, and now with a goal, the situation is completely different, and they can rest assured to enjoy the game.

Soon they were more at ease.

Before half-time, Morris's through ball down the middle gave veteran Reyna a chance, but the experienced Reyna conceded the ball to the back post.

His moves fooled almost all the defenders.

As a result, all Wigan Athletic players could almost only watch the Belgian teenager Leto Ziegler, who was outflanked at the back point, complete the volley, and the push from nine meters in front of the goal made goalkeeper Ferran helplessly spread his hands, and he didn't even react at all.

Leto Ziegler's goal reassured Manchester City fans.

At this time, the media who are so extreme have all shut their mouths, with Manchester City leading by two goals, they can only think about Wigan Athletic to win, but they still have hope, because this is the League Cup semi-final, the League Cup semi-final is different from the previous League Cup matches, the home and away two legs decide the winner, that is. Even if Wigan Athletic lose, they still have a chance to turn the tables at Manchester Stadium.

But if they lose the game by just two goals, their chances are very slim, you know, now at the JJB Stadium, Wigan Athletic's home stadium. With two goals lost at home, who can expect them to go to Manchester Stadium to beat Manchester City? It's a bit whimsical no matter how you calculate it!

Therefore, those media hostile to Manchester City only hope that Wigan Athletic can score a goal, as long as they can score a goal, the suspense will be left until the second leg, and then there will be a chance.

Maybe their ideas were good and their pursuits were not high, but at the start of the second half, Morris's goal completely made them desperate.

It was the fifty-first minute of the game. Just five minutes into the second half, after Wigan Athletic struggled with a few waves of attack, Manchester City regained control, and they used constant passing and running to make Wigan Athletic choose to shrink their defence again, only to be caught off guard by a sudden fast attack.

City played five back-to-back shots in quick succession down the middle and left before the ball reached Morris, who crossed and shifted to Andy Cole, who then crossed back. Wigan Athletic's defender made a run error and gave Morris a chance. After receiving the pass, he didn't even have time to adjust the angle before he raised his foot to shoot.

Such a comfortable shot is rare in the game.

Morris also seized the opportunity when he played the ball straight into the far corner and goalkeeper Ferran was on the right track. But he still couldn't save the ball.

3:0！

The winner is decided!

Sky TV commentator George Woodgate has concluded, "It looks like Manchester City have booked a ticket to the Millennium Stadium!" He then started talking about the Carabao Cup semi-final yesterday, "Manchester City drew 1-1 away at Blackburn Rovers yesterday, which is not bad for an away game, back at Old Trafford. Manchester United have a good chance and maybe we can already look forward to the Manchester derby at the Millennium Stadium! ”

As for Wigan Athletic on the pitch, there is no need to be mentioned as they are almost certain to lose

The game ended 0:3, and the away Manchester City won a complete victory, as George Woodgate said, there was a 0:3, Manchester City stepped into the Millennium Stadium, and there was no need to worry about the next leg.

Also as George Woodgate said, fans are already looking forward to the Manchester derby.

But not the Manchester derby at the Millennium Stadium, it's a normal league, with City hosting Manchester United for the second meeting of the season three days after the Carabao Cup tie with Wigan Athletic.

The first round of the Premier League was the Manchester derby, when Manchester City challenged Manchester United away at Old Trafford, and that game was still fresh in people's minds, because in the end Manchester City won by five goals, even the most ardent Manchester City fans, this result would not have been expected, for Manchester City fans, that game was so happy.

Now the two teams are about to meet again.

For Manchester United, it was a battle of 'revenge', with a five-goal defeat in the first round of the Premier League being a shame for them, and they had to beat Manchester City to confirm Manchester United's football dominance in Manchester.

But in fact, the situation for Manchester United is not good.

A trip to Cardiff next month (the Carabao Cup final) will certainly not compare to a visit to the Stade de France (the venue for the UEFA Champions League final) in May, but given that United have already been knocked out of Europe and Chelsea and Manchester City are so far ahead of the league table, United manager Alex Ferguson will have to try to knock out Blackburn Rovers and secure a ticket to the league final, the only trophy that United have had the chance to compete for up close in two seasons (the other being the FA Cup).

They had no hope of winning the league and were out of Europe, so they had to fight for the cup, but Blackburn Rovers were by no means easy opponents to deal with, so in order to get closer to the trophy that was once regarded as "chicken ribs", the lord did not hesitate to play "smokescreen tactics" with his former protégé, Blackburn coach Mark Hughes.

On the eve of the game, the old Jazz vowed not to field their strongest squad at Ewood Park, under the pretext that it was a derby clash with Manchester City, but by Wednesday, only striker Ruud van Nistelrooy did not start, but the Dutchman came off the bench in the 82nd minute.

Ferguson's surprising emphasis on this game may not only be related to the team's desire for a title, Blackburn, who have won five consecutive games before the game, is by no means an easy opponent to deal with, and more importantly, although Ferguson has led the team to defeats Brian Robson (West Bromwich Albion manager) and Bruce (Birmingham City manager) in the Carabao Cup this season, Hughes has not tasted defeat in a direct confrontation with his mentor since taking over Blackburn. In other words, Hughes's Blackburn Rovers are still unbeaten against Manchester United.

In fact, the former Wales manager has lost just two of his 14 cup games in the 16 months since he took charge of Ewood Park.

This made Ferguson want to lead the team to victory.

The initial on-field situation in the Blackburn Rovers match against Manchester United confirmed Ferguson's fears, and even when he played with the main team, Manchester United was once disadvantaged. Blackburn Rovers came close to taking the lead just 30 seconds into the game, but it was United who were the first to break the back of the net, with veteran Ryan Giggs delivering a well-placed through ball for Saa, who had started in place of Ruud van Nistelrooy, who used his speed to shake off a defender and calmly slotted into the corner for the Frenchman's fourth goal in the Carabao Cup this season.

Even with the opening goal, the goal failed to seal the win for United, who have won just one of their last six visits to Ewood Park.

It is worth mentioning that United's last away win over Blackburn Rovers was on 22 January 2003, and that 3-1 victory also coincided with a Carabao Cup semi-final (second leg), which resulted in the Reds beating their opponents 4-2 on aggregate to reach the final. In the end, it was only a 2-0 defeat to Houllier's Reds at the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff.

Coincidentally, Blackburn's defeat was saved by Norwegian left-back Pedersen, who scored twice on 24 September last year to help the team win 2-1 away to Manchester United, the young man known as "Norway's Beckham", who is known as a Manchester United fan, cut inside with Gary Neville's marking just five minutes after Saa's goal, and then swung his team-mate Kutch's header into the far corner with his right foot, which he is not good at.

However, while Manchester United is difficult to win, it can also be seen that it was Manchester United who took the initiative in the second half, although Manchester United ultimately failed to convert the advantage of the field into a victory, which also shows that the current Manchester United should not be underestimated.

Hughes took a detour after the game and complained that Styles had failed to send off "Mob" Smith with a red card. Otherwise, "the game is likely to have another outcome."

Ferguson, for his part, avoided the topic and instead drew attention to the second leg. "Today's result was satisfying, but the game is not over. Blackburn Rovers beat us at Old Trafford a while ago and I'll give a good reminder [of the second leg] to our players. ”

Then Ferguson was asked about the upcoming Manchester derby.

The reporter wanted Ferguson to talk about his thoughts on the derby, and the old jazz seemed to be prepared for this, and he said directly, "They are very strong. But we are confident that we will face the race. To borrow a phrase from him, this is a must-win game for us. ”

The answer was distressing for journalists, who in fact wanted Ferguson to say about City's recent injury situation, but Ferguson clearly has a lot of experience. He will not leave the reporter with the handle that "Manchester United can only take advantage of Manchester City's injury" handle.

Then the question was pushed to Wansheng.

Immediately after the match against Wigan Athletic, Wan Sheng was also asked about the derby, and Ferguson's 'must win' was also placed in front of him.

Wan Sheng just smiled slightly, and said as if chatting about family life, "That's what he said?" It's funny, to borrow my words, it's my pleasure, but I think my words only work if I say them. ”

Many reporters laughed along.

These are the journalists who support Manchester City, and they love nothing more than to hear Wan Sheng say bad things about Manchester United.

Then another reporter asked Wan Sheng to talk about his views on Manchester United's recent situation, this kind of question was the first time, Wan Sheng was stunned when he heard it, and then he saw that it was a reporter from Manchester Sport.

In the past, there would have been no reporter asking him to talk about Manchester United, and if he did, he would have been questioned, "What qualifications does he have to talk about Manchester United?" As for what he said, it didn't matter at all.

But now it's different.

Journalists who support Manchester United want Wan Sheng to talk about Manchester United and comment on Manchester United's situation.

This shows that Wansheng already has a lot of influence, and is even qualified to talk about mortal enemies.

Wan Sheng felt a sense of accomplishment, so he smiled at Manchester United reporters for the first time and talked eloquently about the situation at Manchester United. (To be continued......)