Southampton did make a great advance in the following period.
In the 31st round, they beat Hartlepool 3-2 at home.
In the 32nd round, facing second-ranked Norwich away from home, Southampton played a watertight game. They controlled Norwich's offense and relied on two set kicks by two high center forwards.
Scored a goal and defeated Norwich 2-0 away from home.
In the 33rd round, against mid-table Walsall away from home, Southampton played a hearty goal battle and swept their opponent 5-0.
It wasn't until the 34th round that Southampton sent out most of their substitutes in preparation for the League Cup final. As a result, they drew 0-0 with Wycombe, who were fighting for relegation, and their six-game winning streak ended.
However, Southampton fans are not dissatisfied. After this wave of good results, Southampton has stabilized in the eighth position. The 56 points have allowed them to leave Milton Keynes by four points.
The most important thing is that Huddersfield, which is seventh behind, has only two points left, and Millwall, which is sixth behind, has only five points left...
Although the gap is still not small, with twelve rounds left in the league, there is still great hope to catch up and hit the top six!
Being able to achieve this point despite losing ten points at the start, what else do Southampton fans have to be dissatisfied about?
The only thing they regret is that according to regulations, even if the winner of the League Cup locks a Champions League spot, the runner-up will not be postponed to qualify for the Europa League. Only the runner-up of the FA Cup can be postponed.
But this is not a problem for Noriya. He has always only wanted the championship in this final, not the runner-up.
There is no achievement in being a runner-up!
Manchester United is a formidable opponent.
There is no doubt about this.
In the first two seasons, they reached the Champions League finals for two consecutive seasons, defeated Chelsea, and lost to Barcelona. This season, they have entered the knockout stage of the Champions League. At the same time, they are inextricably tied with Chelsea in the Premier League...
Sir Alex Ferguson, who just celebrated his 68th birthday three months ago, is still getting stronger and braver with every battle, showing no signs of aging.
This season's Manchester United lineup does not seem to be very strong, but it has always been able to maintain strong strength - for example, in the summer before the start of this season, they lost Cristiano Ronaldo, but Ferguson did not buy any big-name players.
, the largest expenditure was spent on the Ecuadorian winger Valencia, and at the same time, they only introduced former England national team captain Michael Owen on a free transfer. With such investment, if it were not for Ferguson's team, it would definitely be eliminated by everyone.
No one is optimistic about it.
However, Manchester United's performance seems to be no worse at all. Rooney, who was promoted to the main striker, scored consecutive goals. People lamented that Sir Alex Ferguson actually sacrificed Rooney's offensive ability in order to better use Ronaldo...
…
Ferguson never answered directly on this point.
"After the establishment of the Premier League, no team has been able to defend the League Cup? I don't know about this, but we will work hard to defend the title. Manchester United will never have too many championships." Ferguson said with a smile during an interview.
But it is also strange. Before the establishment of the Premier League, although there were not many teams that defended the League Cup, there were several times. For example, Liverpool won four consecutive League Cups and Nottingham Forest also defended the League Cup twice, but the Premier League was established.
It's been almost twenty years, and it's really strange that there isn't even a team that has defended the League Cup.
"I don't need to say more about the greatness of a team like Manchester United, and I don't need to say any more about the greatness of Sir Alex Ferguson. It's just that we have reached the final and we will try our best to win the championship. Repeat Swindon's miracle? Of course I hope so.
But even if we can't do it, we have nothing to regret." Ji Ya replied during the interview.
After hearing this, although Ferguson was not so shallow as to get carried away by a compliment from a young coach, he still felt that what this kid said was the truth.
And he has watched Southampton's recent games, especially the performance of the League Cup in which they eliminated five Premier League teams in a row. It can be seen from the game that their offense is indeed quite good, but more concentrated in the middle, with two
He is a powerful center, and the midfielder is responsible for forward penetration, passing, and breakthrough. Each young attacker is considered to be very unique.
Although these attackers are not very high in Ferguson's eyes, they are all good young players.
With the offensive ability of these young players, coupled with their excellent coordination and fighting spirit, it is not unusual to defeat those lower-ranked Premier League teams.
It's not that Ferguson has a high vision, but that Southampton has eliminated five Premier League teams in a row. The highest ranking is Aston Villa, which is ranked sixth in the Premier League so far. However, their good results come more from their defensive counterattack tactics.
, their players are very suitable for this kind of counter-attack tactics, but when facing Southampton, they were unable to defend against counter-attacks well, and it was not surprising that they lost.
As for the other teams, the highest-ranked Birmingham City is also outside the tenth place, and Portsmouth is at the bottom of the points and relegation is a foregone conclusion. To say that this kind of team can represent the level of the Premier League is laughable.
Southampton was very good, but not to the point where it could impress Ferguson. They were able to reach the final not only because of their good performance, but also because of good luck in the draw.
Compared with Southampton, which is not a strong team, this half of Manchester United is miserable. Manchester United, Manchester City, Liverpool, Arsenal, and Tottenham are all in this half. Southampton is the only strong team in this half.
It was Chelsea who were defeated by Blackburn in a penalty shootout in the quarter-finals, allowing Southampton to take advantage of them in the semi-finals.
Therefore, Ferguson felt that he did not need to pay special attention to this game.
After all, everyone knows that what Ferguson values most is the league and the Champions League.
The league is because Manchester United has won the top league 18 times now, just like Liverpool. If it doesn't surpass Liverpool, how can it fulfill Ferguson's vow to "pull Liverpool off their fucking throne"?
The other one is the Champions League. Ferguson has already won two Champions Cups, but for a head coach of his level, two Champions Leagues are indeed a bit less. It would be best if there were three.
After all, Ferguson is already 68 years old, not 58 years old. Before this age when he will retire, he can only focus more on the league and Champions League.
Even the FA Cup is secondary, let alone the League Cup.
