The Miracle

Ferguson sat in the home dugout with a gloomy expression. Anyone could tell how he felt at that moment.

He knew full well that he had made a very foolish mistake: the substitutes' list.

Of the seven substitute players in his eighteen-man squad, there was no defender other than Evans. That was completely unacceptable, especially with the match developing as it had. He truly had no solution left.

Everyone knew Liverpool had tremendous momentum. Not only did they have an extra man on the pitch and complete control of the match, but their morale was soaring. Manchester United, meanwhile, had collapsed like a defeated army, their morale on the verge of total collapse. They had to come up with a more effective adjustment as soon as possible and turn the situation around.

But Ferguson had no one left to bring on!

Giggs? Scholes? Nani? Berbatov?

After running through his substitute players in his mind, Ferguson thought of Darren Fletcher. He was indeed a viable option—but he was a midfielder.

The Scottish veteran knew he had made a mistake, and one no less serious than Vidić's. But as the team's Head Coach, he could never admit it. That would undermine his authority within the squad.

So he quickly made the substitution, sending on Fletcher for the ineffective Anderson.

The Brazilian attacking midfielder had arrived at Manchester United under the halo of the "second Ronaldinho," with everyone placing great expectations on him. But gradually, he seemed to be developing toward becoming a defensive midfielder, while his performances were growing increasingly disappointing.

Ferguson's intention behind the two substitutions was obvious: he wanted to strengthen the team's midfield defense.

The match was now essentially being played under Liverpool's control.

After bringing on Fletcher, Manchester United began adopting a counterattacking strategy based on