The UEFA Cup semi-final, where Sporting Lisbon hosts Derby County, should have been the focus of attention, but in England, where Chelsea's Champions League vs Liverpool and the league title race are in a tense period, it is unlikely to attract media interest.

Perhaps this is also related to the influence of the UEFA Cup.

The world's eyes on the European arena are overwhelmingly focused on the European Champions Cup, and the second-tier League Cup is hardly attractive, not to mention, out of Portugal, Sporting Lisbon is really not a strong team that attracts attention, and because of this, this game does not attract many foreign media, not even England media who followed Derby County to Portugal.

Perhaps the only people who really care about the game are Derbyshire's own media, as well as a small number of media in various countries who care about their players' tables.

For example, there were a few reporters in China who came to interview, and they focused on the victory and defeat not because they supported Derby, but because Derby County was a team led by Wan Sheng.

There were also media outlets in Belgium and France, who focused on the form and performance of Leto Ziegler and Franck Ribery, so that they could 'persuade' the national team to call up players who were in good form.

In short, there is not much attention paid to the outcome of the UEFA Cup at Derby, and perhaps the UEFA Cup can only be attractive until the final.

In this news environment, the whole Derby County team silently went to Portugal, and then silently took away the victory.

Derby County put in a flashy attacking display at the José Alvalad, scoring three goals in the first half and leaving Portugal with a 1-3 scoreline.

With this victory, Derby County is equal to one foot in the final of the League Cup.

Despite the big win, the English media only gave a brief look at the game after the game, congratulating Derby County on their optimism of reaching the final, and then they began to care about the Premier League title race, with Derby County, Chelsea, Arsenal and Manchester United currently in the top four of the league standings. Derby County have four points more than Chelsea, Chelsea have nine more than Arsenal and Manchester United have four points less than Arsenal.

With only three rounds left in the league, it will not be easy to change this standings.

It can only be said that Chelsea still have a chance to win the title, and Manchester United still have a chance to surpass Arsenal to fight for third place in the league.

In this situation, Derby County's home game against Arsenal will be crucial.

Arsenal's current problem is with Thierry Henry.

In the last round, Arsenal took the win at White Hart Lane, but Thierry Henry was injured in the game, and the young Dutchman Robin van Persie scored the only goal of the game, and the result was in Arsenal's favour. They are still four points clear of Manchester United, but Thierry Henry's injury is definitely a blow to Arsenal who have to face Derby County without Thierry Henry.

The good news is that Thierry Henry only needs two weeks to be back in action, meaning he is still in time for the game at the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff, where the Gunners and the Red Devils will face off in the fiercest battle for the FA Cup title.

With the rise of Chelsea and Derby County this season, Arsenal and Manchester United seem to have disappeared, plus the Champions League was eliminated and the League Cup was taken by Derby. Both teams had to face the embarrassment of having failed all season, and with both teams having a good FA Cup finish and both reaching the final, this clash at Cardiff's Millennium Stadium was crucial.

Winner. The only championship trophy will be used to redeem the bleak table of the whole season, and the loser will suffer the embarrassment of getting nothing.

Arsenal's 'goalscorer king' Thierry Henry is expected to catch up with this "battle of life and death", which is good news for Arsenal. But they will first have to contend with a big game against Derby County without Thierry Henry, which is at stake for Arsenal in the league. After all, they are only four points clear of Manchester United, and if they lose, United still have a good chance of overtaking them.

But the situation for Arsenal is not good - they have lost Thierry Henry, and they are also playing away from home, and although many media outlets have used the word 'revenge' to boost morale, the sight of the big loss to Derby County in Highbury in the first leg still haunts the minds of the Arsenal players, and now that they have lost Thierry Henry, how many chances will they have at the Pride Stadium?

No one can answer this question.

Neither could Arsene Wenger.

In the pre-match interview, Wenger didn't talk much about the game, and was noncommittal about what the media called an 'attacking battle'.

This attitude has somewhat disappointed the media.

But in fact, the French have no choice, Arsenal's overall strength is okay, and it is difficult to say who wins and who loses in the head-on game against Derby, but it is completely different after losing Henry, Van Persie is not Henry after all, and it is difficult for Reyes, another 'sluggish' Spanish boy Reyes to carry the beam, in this case, it is very difficult to play against Derby County, which has a full lineup and stars such as Van der Vaart and Ribery, and wants to win.

Arsene Wenger knew that, so he didn't talk much about it before the game.

At the same time, Derby County is also preparing for the game with peace of mind, in an interview, Wan Sheng does not talk much about the game, now at this time, he does not need to provoke the opponent with words, the most important thing is to win silently, if the really excited Arsenal has to start a life-and-death battle with Derby, there is no benefit to the team at all.

Before the game, the media was still more optimistic about Derby County, the reason is that Derby County has a full squad and is playing at home, while Arsenal has lost Henry and it is difficult to compete with Derby County head-on.

This is the opinion of many people.

In fact, they are right, after the loss of Henry, Arsenal's offensive efficiency has become a key issue, if it is a head-to-head attack, offensive efficiency can almost directly determine the outcome of the outcome, without Henry's Arsenal is obviously in a weak position, so Wenger had to adjust the tactics.

Arsenal did not opt to play against Derby County.

As soon as the game began, everyone saw that without Henry's impact on Arsenal, they didn't even dare to go head-to-head with Derby, but just repeatedly defended, defended, and constantly strengthened the defense, as if Arsenal had completely become a defence-oriented player.

It's not the first time Arsenal have done this season, but when they do it again, the media and fans are disappointed.

Arsenal are obviously looking to hold on to the back of the net and if Derby County make a mistake, they don't mind using quick counter-attacks to find a goal.

Overall, Arsenal are still defence-oriented.

Seeing Arsenal's style of play, Wan Sheng also had to say a word of admiration to Wenger, Arsenal was crowned 'England's best attacking team', but the French could see that without Henry, it was unwise to play against Derby County, so he chose to defend, it is very difficult to make this choice, because if it fails, it will definitely be criticized by the outside world, but for the sake of Arsenal's league form, Wenger still did it.

Because if they don't, they are likely to lose the game by a big score.

Derby County continued to play very well throughout the game, they played pressing, playing attack, the middle and the two wings continued to pass forward, putting great pressure on the Arsenal defence, although Arsenal defended very tightly, but Hundred Mi always had a mistake, and in the 73rd minute of the game, Derby County still scored.

It was Van der Vaart's goal!

After linking up with Morris, Van der Vaart ran into position and followed up with a powerful shot that hit Campbell with a pinpoint shot that Arsenal goalkeeper Lehmann couldn't save and could only watch the ball fly into the back of the net.

“Gooooooooal！”

“1：0！ Van der Vaart! ”

'Van der Vaart helped Derby County break the deadlock! The powerful shot showed the Dutch striker's composure in front of goal, Arsenal goalkeeper Lehmann barely reacted, and Derby County led Arsenal 1-0! ”

“”

With the excited shouts of the commentators, Pride Field also fell into a frenzy.

It was the only goal of the game.

Eventually, the game ended with the lost eyes of the Arsenal players, and in the midst of the noise, Wan Sheng and Arsene Wenger came to the middle to smile and shake hands with each other.

'You're playing well and hopefully in the next game you can win at Old Trafford!' Arsene Wenger said with a smile.

It seems that he doesn't care about losing at all.

Hearing Wenger's words, Wan Sheng was stunned for a moment, and then smiled and said, "I promise, it will." ”

With a gloating smile on Wenger's face, he turned and left the pitch, he only hoped that Wan Sheng would do what he said, then Arsenal would lose and it wouldn't matter

Overall, it was a disappointing race.

However, for Derby, a win was the best result, as a victory meant they were closer to the league title, and the Derby players and fans celebrated wildly after the game.

Wan Sheng also hugged the players on the pitch, but he was still very calm, after all, the league title has not yet been confirmed, and it is still a little too early to celebrate.

With two rounds left in the league, they have to win at least one round.

As Arsene Wenger said, Wan Sheng hopes to win the next round, because the next round is against Manchester United, which is at Old Trafford, and it would be very exciting to take the team to that glorious stadium to take away the trophy.

Up to now, three years later, Wan Sheng still remembers the loneliness when he left Manchester United.

He's just a junior coach, no one cares, and even if he leaves, Manchester United doesn't care at all, and only one McGuinness is gloating, and the others may not even remember his name.

Now, three years later, he has a chance to regain face.

He's going to lead his team to the league title at Old Trafford!! (To be continued......)