In the 17th round of the English Premier League, the Red Devils Manchester United defeated Liverpool, who have been in good form recently, 1-0 away, not only breaking Liverpool's unbeaten home record this season, but also allowing the opponent to hover outside the top four in the standings. Coach Alex Ferguson was naturally quite satisfied with the result, but he still had some complaints about the attack.

"It's a classic Liverpool vs. Manchester United matchup. The spectators made quite a lot of noise, which made it difficult for the referee to make a decision. Ferguson said in an interview with Sky Sports. It doesn't matter if you can't play smooth football, it's important to win the game. I said before the game that it's important to play against the top teams and that it means a lot to us. In fact, Manchester United have won several important games 1-0 this season, including at home to Roma in the Champions League and away to Everton, another team in Liverpool City.

Facing his arch-rival Neng Shun Lì to take three points and temporarily overtake Arsenal in the standings to become top of the table, Ferguson also commented on the title race: "The whole season will be a long competition and struggle. If we can make it to the top around New Year's Day, then we'll have a good chance of staying at the top of the list. "With Arsenal dropping points in their last two league games, Manchester United have caught up with the Gunners for the time being, and the competition for the top spot in the Premier League is getting fiercer.

Whether or not he can win the game, in addition to the goal-scoring Jonker, the main contributor is the defensive stalwart Rio Ferdinand. It was his brilliant play that prevented the home team's repeated bombardment. In his post-match interview, Rio Ferdinand said: "It's difficult to play at Anfield. They defended well and used the home stadium to put us under a lot of pressure. Today we withstood their attacks. and score. ”

In fact, Liverpool's attacking momentum was far better than Manchester United's, but unfortunately they couldn't take their chances. 'They're a good team. We took advantage of a good chance and Rooney shot deflected wide of Jonker – a bit of luck. But we got it. "In this kind of strong conversation, a set-piece can often make the difference between winning and losing the whole game. Of course, the premise is to be able to hold the victory. 'The whole team defended aggressively, pressed tightly, and every time they passed the ball into the box, we were able to break it. It was thanks to the tight defence of the best duo of Rio Ferdinand and Nemanja Vidic that United took all three points. Ferguson won again against Benitez.

It's Anfield again, and it's a goal-breaker. Since Rafael Benitez took charge of Liverpool, three of the four home games against Manchester United have been lost, 0-1: it was Wayne Rooney who scored in 2004-05. Last season, it was O'Shea's late goal that broke Liverpool's 30-game unbeaten home run in the league, and this time it was Jonker's late first-half goal that stretched the gap to nine points.

With the victory, the Red Devils, who were unbeaten in six league games at Anfield, briefly regained top spot (reclaimed by the winning Arsenal three hours later) while Liverpool suffered their first home defeat in the league this season. After two consecutive defeats, it is getting farther and farther away from the top of the table. The Lord admits United didn't play very well. But against Liverpool, the result is the most important, "The match between Manchester United and Liverpool is like this, the Anfield fans make so much noise that it is difficult for the referee to blow. It's not about playing smooth football, it's about winning. ”

After last week's Champions League win over Marseille, Liverpool fans teased Benitez on the forum: "What's so hard about commanding the Reds? Torres in the front row and Carragher in the back. Gerrard is paired with Mascherano in the middle, and the rest of the positions can be rotated however you want. And Bei Shuai actually used the original team of Marseille to play in this battle. The narrator quipped: "This is not easy for Bei Shuai." ”

Liverpool did take advantage of the Champions Cup aftermath at the beginning. In the third minute, Gerrard's free-kick was headed over by Vidic, Torres crossed it back, but Hyypia shot high with his back. In the 12th minute, Reese broke the ball in front of the field and passed to Torres, who was jokingly called the "Eagle" by Manchester United deputy coach Queiroz.

Liverpool were very aggressive in the scramble and did not allow Manchester United to play a fluid attack. On the other hand, the Red Devils, boss Alex Ferguson warned before the game: "If you are scared like a sheep by the atmosphere at Anfield, then you are dead." But goalkeeper Edwin van der Sar made a number of low-level mistakes, giving Liverpool great hope: in the 28th minute, the Dutchman collided with two teammates while defending a corner, but Anderson blocked Colwill's shot on the goal line, and then Torres, who shot in the follow-up, was deflected wide by his interference! Three minutes later, Van der Sar collided with Nemanja Vidic when he attacked, and Ferdinand's return pass was about to go into the net, but Evra slid before the Liverpool player slid to save the danger, and Ferdinand was so angry that he reasoned with Van der Sar for a long time.

It seemed only a matter of time before Liverpool scored, but they seemed to have been cursed, conceding under the same spell as they did last season. Even Rio Ferdinand admitted after the game that United were a bit lucky to score, "Anfield was difficult to play, they defended well and put pressure on us everywhere. Today we blocked their attack and then we got a goal. We only had a moment of flashing and Rooney's shot got to Tevez, which was a bit of luck, but we were willing to accept it. It was also Liverpool's second half-time down this season.

Anfield have been winless for the Red Devils in six years, and in recent seasons, the two teams have often been decided by the defenders: O'Shea last season, and the previous season United narrowly won at home thanks to Rio Ferdinand's goal, which was largely attributed to the second-half defence by Ferdinand and Nemanja Vidic.

Despite the fact that Crouch and Babel were brought on successively, especially with Babbel's sharp attack, which was just a millimeter away from a shot in the 76th minute, the Red Devils' defence was as solid as an iron bucket. Rio Ferdinand, who said before the game that he wanted to make up for the pain of the European Championship exit with a win over Liverpool, said after the game: "We were defending as a team, pressing on them, any ball they passed into the box was dealt with. ”

In the 78th minute, C. Ronaldo passed a good ball in the counterattack, and Rooney, who got a single chance, almost extended the score, but unfortunately shot wide. With Liverpool's last-minute free-kick shot fruitless, the Red Devils once again picked up a valuable three points, and the big leagues are currently leading the season with two wins and one draw. Boss Alex Ferguson said: "I emphasised before the game that the wins and losses between the big clubs this season are important. So this turned out great. It's a long season and we have to take our time, but if we are at the top of the table or in the top three at the new year's time. That's promising. ”

This is the sixth defeat of Liverpool's last seven league meetings with Manchester United, with their last league win coming back to April 2004 and their last home win coming back to November 2001. Under Becky, the Liverpool men have even scored zero goals against Manchester United (the only goal came from an own goal from O'Shea).

Benitez said resentfully: "We had a chance, but unfortunately we didn't take advantage of it. They only get one chance, but that's the difference. In the second half they were tightly formed. Defending aggressively and trying to hit counter-attacks. In the second half alone, we had two or three good chances but we couldn't take them. That's the difference. When you play against a team like Manchester United, you don't have a lot of chances. Where are our offensive differences? Corners, every time the second drop is theirs. ”

Liverpool have won 49 times against Manchester United in league history. But the 50th game was delayed. But Ferguson still has ideas for Liverpool. 'We will try to surpass Liverpool in the total number of league titles (currently 16-18) and become the number one in the country.'

Against Liverpool, United won exactly the same way as last season, with a slight advantage overall, but settled the game with a sudden blow in the stalemate. If last year's O'Shea's cold shot and this year's Jonker's lucky ball were both accidental, but chance plus chance, there is more or less an inevitable component.

Not everyone can make Liverpool's attack futile at Anfield. Manchester United relied on a strong defence. In the first 17 rounds, they conceded only eight goals. They have conceded the fewest goals in the Premier League. On this basis, Ferguson is firmly unbeaten, and a cold shot to score could mean three points, even if only one point is acceptable. United have failed to concede a goal to Liverpool in the last five meetings, so how can Rafael Benitez's side win?

Set-pieces have become Manchester United's magic weapon against Liverpool again. Giggs's clever corner caught his opponent off guard. The last two Reds breached the Reds, one from a Giggs free-kick and the other from a corner. Manchester United centre-back Palister scored two goals against Liverpool in one game, and this old tradition has been maintained to this day.

Now that the Premier League semi-finals have completed a small cycle, Manchester United have the best results in the strong dialogue. 1-0 away win over Liverpool, 2-0 win at home to Chelsea, 2-2 away stoppage time conceded "release" Arsenal; In comparison, Arsenal's 1 win and 2 draws are close, while Liverpool's 2 draws and 1 loss, Chelsea's 1 draw and 2 losses are difficult to contend with.

Last season, the strongest team in the semi-final cycle was Arsenal, but the Gunners at that time were not weak when they were strong or weak, and they dropped too many points on weak teams. This season's Manchester United have been different, losing to Manchester City and Bolton Wanderers, but winning 12 of their other 15 games and grabbing points with a ferocious momentum.

In the last four, Manchester United are the most balanced team. Liverpool and Chelsea are both individual teams, with poor overall performance, and Arsenal is dominated by the whole team, but lacks individuals who are significantly superior. Manchester United has both the whole and the individual, not only can play a good combination, but also have Cristiano Ronaldo, Rooney and other strong individual ability, plus their age structure is one of the most reasonable in the top four, and the competitiveness is at its peak.

Ferguson is hoping to overtake Arsenal after the New Year, with the Africa Cup of Nations in January giving them a chance. Chelsea have been the most affected, with the central axis of the midfield being removed, Arsenal also missing Toure and Eboue (Togo did not qualify for the Africa Cup of Nations, Adebayo is not leaving), and Manchester United, like Liverpool, are the least affected.

In another key match, Chelsea have had a 17-game winless run against Arsenal; Since the end of Claudio Ranieri and the arrival of Jose Mourinho, the Blues have become an unattainable mountain for the Gunners, going 10 games unbeaten (since the Champions League quarter-finals in March 2004). The madman is gone, and it is Arsenal's turn to raise their eyebrows and win a miserable 1-0. The Blues' 16-game unbeaten run has come in the wake of defeats at Manchester United and Arsenal, and they are now the worst performers in the semi-finals.

Winning this battle, Arsenal, who had just gone to the north-east to play two depressing games, washed away the decline and opened up the points gap with Chelsea and Liverpool. But Arsene Wenger remained cautious: "After the defeat to Myburgh, we showed a strong mental strength and made a comeback. However, the game was not decisive as Liverpool were still in contention for the title and Chelsea today showed they are capable of fighting for the title. However, the most stable ones at the moment are Manchester United and Arsenal. ”

Grant just got his claim as head coach last week, signing a four-year contract. A loss is clearly not the ideal way to celebrate. The Israeli, who had confidence in himself, exchanged a pre-match tribute with Arsene Wenger. However, when a reporter asked Arsene Wenger if Chelsea were playing better than before. The professor carried forward the spirit of "I didn't see it", "I don't see many of their games, so it's inconvenient to comment." ”

Arsene Wenger took a gamble and sent the three midfielders of Cesc Fabregas, Hleb and Flamini, who had only returned to normal training last Friday, to the bench instead of Robin van Persie, who had returned to the Champions League last Wednesday and had a good performance. And Chelsea still don't have Drogba, Essien and Carvalho, so naturally their strength suffers a certain loss.

This is Ashley. Cole returned to Arsenal for the first time since defecting from Chelsea, and Arsene Wenger begged fans to let him go before the game. But the home fans are clearly not going to listen. From the outset, Ashley drew boos when he intercepted Sagna's cross for a handball foul. Soon after, he closed the door with Mikel to block Flamini's breakthrough. There seems to be movement in his hands, and he is destined to be cared for by the gunman's supporters throughout the game.

After a short period of fire reconnaissance, the two sides immediately set off a white-knuckle battle, and the offensive and defensive transitions were very fast. But the tragic scramble was not coherent enough. On average, there will be a foul every two or three minutes, and after half an hour, each will receive two yellow cards, and the whole game will have 10 yellow cards, two small brawls, and two people will be invalidated. Neither side had many chances in the first 70 minutes. Alex's header back was almost an own goal, and the likes of Rosicky, Wright Jr. and Sheva were almost the closest they came to finding the back of the net in the first half.

In the 29th minute, Xiaofa fell in front of the penalty area, and the ball had flown away. Terry struck another sliding tackle at Smallfa, who was furious. He led a physical altercation between several players on both sides. In the 34th minute, Eboue hit John Terry in the foot with a kick in the attack, and the latter had to come on for treatment, but despite holding on for a while, he quickly gave up and was replaced by Benhaim. Grant revealed after the game that John Terry's injury was not good, but fortunately he did not have a fracture, and the details will not be known until Monday's examination.

Benhaim was unlucky, in the second minute of first-half stoppage time, Xiaofa drove a corner kick from the left, Cech did not touch the ball, and the guide zhì pulled the head of Benhaim into the empty goal.

After the change of sides, Chelsea took the initiative and repeatedly took the ball into the box, but it was either pushed out by a defender or confiscated by Almunia. Frank Lampard, Makelele and other midfielders made a lot of passing errors, and in the 59th minute, it was rare to play a smooth combination. Kerr moved the ball to the right side of the box and Wright Jr.'s cross crossed in front of goal. Soon, Eboue was beaten by Joe on the touchline. Cole tackled a stretcher and Van Persie came on to make a killing move, but Cech reacted well to his low 15-yard shot.

In the last 20 minutes, the game became more and more open, and the two sides created several times the previous chances. In the 75th minute, Frank Lampard's cross was found to be off target when Wright Jr. shot wide five yards out of goal, and he was immediately replaced by Kalou. In the 77th minute, Arsenal launched a smooth counterattack by Adebayor, and Hleb received the ball from the Togolese man and burst into the penalty area to cross Van Persie, only to sigh that the latter hit high. Immediately afterwards, Kalou cut inside from the left and hit the side-netting.

In the 85th minute, Adebayor, Rosicky and Van Persie played a beautiful triangle, and the Dutchman counterattacked and scored, but unfortunately Rosicky was offside by half a body. Three minutes later, Cech made two great saves in quick succession, denying Van Persie's powerful 12-yard shot and Cesc Fabregas's bounce from eight yards out. In the 90th minute, Bam Adebayor scored a one-handed pass over Cech's 10-finger pass, but was ruled guilty of a foul on Benhaim. In the third minute of stoppage time, Sheva, who had just returned to the weak header, shot a free kick from 25 yards out with great momentum, but unfortunately it lacked angle and was held up by Almunia with both hands. At the last moment, Xiaofa kicked Ashley uncleanly behind his back. Cole, another skirmish. Grant was unconvinced: "We deserve at least a draw. ”

When Mourinho completely withdrew from the English football scene, the Premier League championship gradually returned to the traditional competition between the north and the south.

The 1-0 split between the two games on December 16 widened the gap between Arsenal and Manchester United and Chelsea and Liverpool, with the 40-point leader Arsenal and Manchester United, Chelsea and Liverpool (with one game less) with a gap of 1 point, 6 points and 10 points respectively.

Manchester United continued their luck at Anfield, while Arsenal came out of an embarrassing 10-game winless run against Chelsea at the Emirates Stadium and, more precisely, against Jose Mourinho.

Unfortunately, the "Super Sunday", which claims to attract 1 billion viewers in the global market, the four teams' performances on the pitch may not be worthy of such a super title. Two defensive errors were the direct cause of the two 1-0 games, but some deeper changes have already been made visible in the league race: Manchester United are smarter, Arsenal are more tenacious, and Liverpool and Chelsea lack the inspiration to break the deadlock in the league.

As the threat of the second group gradually intensifies, these subtle changes between the big four are enough to turn the big four into a two-man rivalry. Benitez stressed before the game that "one mistake can make the difference in the game", and he was on the right track, but he never expected that a mistake would happen to his own team.

Manchester United, who have been replenished with fresh blood in the summer, are still one point behind Arsenal, but their bench depth is incomparable to that of other competitors.

As at Anfield last season, United did not have much of an advantage on the pitch, with less than 40 per cent possession, and in the eternally passionate Anfield, the Reds kept a cool head. Taking advantage of set-piece opportunities, Tevez goalkeeper's long-range shot from Wayne Rooney was a bit of a fluke, but it was also a defensive mistake by Liverpool. If O'Shea's stoppage-time goal was the luckier last season, the away win reflects further maturation for the Red Devils.

Manchester United can have a new addition like Super 25 Jonker to seize the fleeting victory, but Liverpool can only watch the Spanish golden boy Torres miss the opportunity - Van der Sar's state may be worse than Cech, who has just returned from injury, but unfortunately Liverpool only has one Torres who can pose a threat to the goal. Rafael Benitez maintained their winless league run against Alex Ferguson since taking charge of Liverpool in 2004, drawing one and losing six, scoring one goal and conceding eight.

Rafa Benitez will be in talks with the two American bosses after the game, and it is uncertain whether they will be able to resolve their labor differences after the defeat, but the boss will feel more reason to strengthen his squad.

Compared to Liverpool's desperate attempt to win Marseille in the Champions League away in midweek, Manchester United have a better squad and a better squad.

Arsenal are in a similar situation, with Arsene Wenger deciding earlier this month that Arsenal would focus on the league throughout December, even if they lose top spot in the Champions League group stage. Arsene Wenger gave several injured midfielders plenty of time to rest, and with Cesc Fabregas, Hleb and Flamini all back at the same time, the professor was able to put out a full squad.

If Manchester United won smarter, then Arsenal's victory was more due to control of the game: 57% possession only explained part of the game, and Chelsea, who were without Didier Drogba and Essien, played cautiously but were uninspired in attack, and the front three arrows lacked coordination. After John Terry's injury, Cech and his two centre-backs, Alex and Ben Haim, were not in a tacit understanding, so they failed to save the ball from a corner, giving Galla the chance to stab his old club and end Chelsea's 16-game unbeaten run.

It's hard to get a big game, and Super Sunday was a dull one, even though there were 10 yellow cards in the London derby.

The Gunners Red Devils, once again, proved the fact that they were slightly more capable than half the way through the powerful dialogue, pulling the two most threatening opponents apart. The next Christmas and New Year's match will test the endurance of the top two league players.

Ferguson has already said that he wants to establish Manchester United's leading position in the Premier League in January, and it is no wonder that Ferguson will say this, in recent seasons, Arsenal will always drop the chain at key moments, and Manchester United is undoubtedly better than endurance and bench depth, and there is reason to believe that this devil's schedule will definitely not belong to Manchester United who have made a good start! (To be continued......)