The night of Milan on March 7 is destined to be written into the history of AC Milan's annual sad war.
At the press conference after the game, Allegri looked livid.
"0:4 is not a true reflection of our strength," he said, "But football does not look at the process, only the results. Zhang Kuang's third goal was a flash of genius, and we can only accept it. Ibrahimović will return in the second round, and we still have hope."
When reporters asked about the injuries of Abate and Van Bommel, Allegri sighed, "Abate has a hamstring strain and will be out for at least three weeks."
Van Bommel has an ankle sprain and needs further examination. It should not be a serious problem. Zhang Kuang's rhythm changed too fast, and our players' bodies endured loads beyond their limits during frequent high-intensity emergency stops and changes of direction."
Ferguson appeared next, chewing gum and obviously in a good mood.
"0:4 is a perfect away result, but we will not relax because of it. AC Milan has Ibrahimović, and he alone can change the game. We will take it seriously in the second round and will not let history repeat itself."
A reporter asked, "UEFA Champions League can basically enter the semi-finals. What are your plans for winning the championship?"
Ferguson thought for a while, "Plan? Does this need a plan? Just win all the way. If you can't win, you will be eliminated. This is football."
--
Afterwards, Zhang Kuang was also stopped by reporters and asked him how he came up with the goal with the scorpion tail.
Zhang Kuang: "What else can you think of? As a shooter, when the ball comes, you must use all means to score a goal, whether it is your head, feet, or other parts. The rules of football only prohibit using your hands.
Therefore, there are no restrictions on what parts and movements to use to score goals. The scorpion's tail was just because I was pushed, and then I ran in the wrong position and missed the path of the ball, which forced me to hook the ball with the back of my foot."
Reporter: "Then how do you control the angle and intensity so finely?"
Zhang Kuang: "This is the feeling and talent. There is no way to explain it. Once your feeling comes and your talent comes, it will be done naturally.
Just like Van Persie's volley, he has a natural accuracy in volleying the ball, so there is no other way. Apart from me, there are only a few people in the world who can do his volley, right? This is talent and ball sense."
Reporter: "..."
--
On March 11, in the 28th round of Premier League, Manchester United challenged Tottenham Hotspur away from home.
White Hart Lane stadium, 36,000 seats are packed.
Tottenham Hotspur fans waved blue and white flags and sang loudly.
This season Tottenham Hotspur is playing very well under Redknapp. The midfield combination of Ber and Modrić is considered to be one of Premier League's most creative partnerships.
And Ferguson is also very greedy for Modrić. He can't buy it in summer and can't buy it in winter. This makes him hate Levy to the bone.
Therefore, Ferguson instructed that Tottenham Hotspur must be captured.
Before the game, Sky Sports's camera captured an interesting scene: Zhang Kuang bumped the ball with his heel three times during the warm-up, and then kicked the ball toward the stands.
It happened to fall into the arms of a young fan holding a slogan "Zhang Kuang 33".
The little fan was so excited that he almost cried. The father next to him patted him on the shoulder desperately.
Martin: "Viewers, welcome to the 28th round of the focus match of Premier League. Manchester United challenges Tottenham Hotspur away from home. I am Martin, and my partner today is Gary·Neville."
Neville: "Hello everyone. What's the biggest highlight of this game? Of course it's Zhang Kuang. He scored a hat trick against AC Milan in midweek and is in hot form. But Tottenham Hotspur's home court is not easy to play, and Ber's speed will cause huge trouble for Manchester United on the right."
Martin: "Yes, the two teams are currently ranked first and fourth in the standings. This game is crucial for the championship and the fourth place.
On Tottenham Hotspur's side, Adebayor and Ber are in equally good condition. Let's take a look at the lineups of both sides first. Oh, wait a minute, the signal from the front is coming, giving a picture of the scene..."
A scene in the player tunnel appeared on the screen.
Martin: "Let's continue to introduce the starting players of both sides..."
After the game started, Tottenham Hotspur really took the lead.
In the 8th minute, Modrić sent a precise overhead kick in the midfield, and Ber overtook Rafael on the left.
It felt like a Ferrari passed a family car, and then the Ber made a pass.
Adebayor beat Ferdinand and headed the ball towards the goal! De Gea pounced, but the ball still rolled into the net!
1:0! White Hart Lane is boiling.
Adebayor ran to the corner flag area and imitated Zhang Kuang's iconic celebration: jumping up, turning around, swiping his hands down, and roaring, but his movements were obviously much clumsier.
The camera showed Zhang Kuang, who smiled happily and even gave his thumbs up.
Martin: "Haha, Adebayor is imitating Zhang Kuang's celebration! But to be honest, this imitation is a bit imitating."
Neville: "This is the Zhang Kuang effect. Now Premier League forwards want to imitate his celebration, but few can do it with such momentum."
Manchester United didn't panic.
In the 15th minute, Carrick intercepted the ball in the midfield and directly made a long pass to Zhang Kuang on the left.
Zhang Kuang stopped the ball and cut inside. Facing the double-teams of Walker and Parker, he suddenly made an emergency stop, then moved the instep of his left foot and passed between the two!
After entering the penalty area, Zhang Kuang faced Friedel and shot low into the far corner! The ball rolled into the lower right corner of the goal!
1:1! Zhang Kuang's 71st league goal this season.
Martin: "Calm down! Calm down! Zhang Kuang's goal is so calm that it's scary! He passed two people as easily as in training, and then pushed into the far corner! Friedel had no chance at all!"
Neville: "This is the difference between Zhang Kuang and ordinary forwards. Ordinary forwards would choose to pass the ball when being double-teamed like this, but he chose to break through and succeeded."
Before the end of the first half, in the 43rd minute, Rooney made a pass from the right. Hernández shot from the front. Friedel pounced, but the ball bounced to the back. Zhang Kuang followed up with a follow-up shot.
The ball went in! 1:2!
Zhang Kuang scored twice, the 72nd goal.
In the 67th minute of the second half, Rooney's long-range shot from outside the penalty area bounced off the post. Hernández made a supplementary shot and succeeded in an empty goal. 1:3.
In the 82nd minute, Berbatov, who came on as a substitute, passed through the middle, and Rooney scored with a single push shot. 1:4.
The final score was 1:4, Manchester United defeated Tottenham Hotspur in the away game.
After the game, Ber was asked about Zhang Kuang's performance in an interview, "He is the most difficult opponent I have ever seen. His rhythm changes so fast that you can never guess what he will do next. But he is also a very good person. We chatted a few words before the game and it was very sincere."
Zhang Kuang was surrounded by reporters in the mixed area. "What do you think of Adebayor imitating your celebration?"
Zhang Kuang wiped his sweat. "Everyone is warmly welcome to do this. In fact, anyone can do it. I don't think this is my patent. Only I can do it. Anyone can do it, not just football players. Anyone can do this action as long as it can express your feeling of victory."
The reporter asked, "How did you think of doing such an action back then?"
Zhang Kuang: "I just feel so happy. When people are most excited, they want to jump the most, and they also want to punch and shout as hard as they can. So, when I was dreaming, I dreamed of a football superstar who would do this action as soon as he scored a goal.
Then I learned it in my dream. In reality, I found that no one was doing this move, so I did it first. Therefore, this move was not invented by me, but by the superstar in my dream. I just carried it forward."
Reporter: "So what does the superstar in your dream look like?"
Zhang Kuang: "Can you clearly remember the faces of the characters in your dreams? I don't remember them anyway. Besides, it's been so many years. It's like something from another time and space. How can I remember it so clearly?"
Reporter: "..."
--
The schedule is so dense that there is not much time to adjust.
On March 14th, UEFA Champions League 1/4 finals second round, Manchester United faced AC Milan at home.
Old Trafford, 75,000 fans filled the stadium to capacity. Before the game, the fans spelled out a giant TIFO: Zhang Kuang portrait in the stands, with "KINGOFOLDTRAFFORD" written next to it.
For AC Milan, Ibrahimović returned from injury and started the game. Every time he touched the ball during the warm-up, Manchester United fans booed.
Ibrahimović played against Manchester United many times while playing for Inter Milan, and there were many grievances.
Allegri made harsh remarks before the game. "0:4 is not the real gap between the two teams. We have Ibrahimović. Today we have to prove ourselves against Old Trafford."
Ferguson downplayed. "We have Zhang Kuang."
After the game started, Manchester United's offensive was overwhelming.
In the 12th minute, Zhang Kuang took the ball from the left and faced Abate's substitute Bonera, who obviously did not have the speed of Abate.
Zhang Kuang shook him away with a shoulder-sinking fake move, then cut inside and shot! The ball hit the inside of the far post and bounced into the net!
1:0! Zhang Kuang The 22nd UEFA Champions League goal!
Martin: "Zhang Kuang! Zhang Kuang again! Bonera is like a wooden stake in front of him!"
Neville: "Poor Bonera, he was just a substitute, but he was pushed up to face the world's number one forward. This is not his fault, it is Allegri's tactical arrangement that went wrong."
In the 31st minute, Ibrahimović responded in his own way.
Sweden caught the ball at the top of the penalty area, held Ferdinand, then turned around and volleyed! De Gea pounced on the ball, but the force was too great and the ball still rolled into the net!
1:1! Ibrahimović opened his arms after scoring a goal and looked around Old Trafford like a king.
Zhang Kuang glanced at Ibrahimović and raised the corners of his mouth slightly.
In the 44th minute, before the end of the half, Giggs took a corner kick. Zhang Kuang attracted three defensive players at the front point. Vidić nodded the ball in front of the goal. Rooney scored with a shovel in front of the goal! 2:1!
In the 63rd minute of the second half, Zhang Kuang showed off its power again.
He caught the ball on the left, cut inside and kept shaking, shaking away Bonera and Mexès, and then shot low, and the ball rolled through Abbiati's wicket and into the net!
3:1! Zhang Kuang scored twice!
The whole place was boiling.
"Song of Zhang Kuang" echoed Old Trafford.
In the 78th minute, Ibrahimović had another chance, and his header was saved by De Gea.
The final score was 3:1, and Manchester United advanced to the semi-finals with a total score of 7:1.
After the game, Ibrahimović found Zhang Kuang, hugged Zhang Kuang on the court, and exchanged jerseys.
Ibrahimović said something in his ear, and Zhang Kuang smiled and nodded.
The reporter later asked Ibrahimović what he had said, and Ibrahimović said expressionlessly, "I told him that if he comes to AC Milan, I can give him No. 9."
Zhang Kuang's answer was simpler, "I told him that we can talk about it after he catches up with me in UEFA Champions League's goals."
Ibrahimović's UEFA Champions League has a fixed number of goals at 33. Zhang Kuang has scored 48 goals in the two seasons combined, and Zhang Kuang only played for two seasons.
On March 18, in the 29th round of Premier League, Manchester United faced Fulham at home.
Old Trafford,75,000 fans.
Before the game, Ferguson rotated some of the main players, but Zhang Kuang still started the game. The league was too important to lose any points, so Ferguson was reluctant to put him on the bench.
The Manchester City behind was chasing very closely and could not lose any points.
The competition turned into Zhang Kuang's personal performance.
In the 14th minute, Zhang Kuang cut in from the left, passed two defensive players, and violently shot into the far corner.
1:0, goal 73.
In the 31st minute, Giggs made a through pass, and Zhang Kuang succeeded in countering offside. He faced Schwarzer alone and scored with a shot.
2:0, goal 74.
In the 67th minute, Rooney made a pass from the right, and Zhang Kuang directly jumped into the air and scored the goal.
3:0, hat trick, 75th goal.
In the 82nd minute, Valencia made a pass from the right, and Hernández scored with a header. 4:0.
At the end of the game, Manchester United defeated Fulham 4:0.
Zhang Kuang has scored 75 goals in the league this season, with 9 rounds left in the league, and his average efficiency of 2.59 goals per game continues.
After the game, Sky Sports's title was. "75 goals! Zhang Kuang continues to set the league scoring record in a single season."
Zhang Kuang was surrounded by reporters in the mixed zone. "You have raised your single-season scoring record to 75 goals. Where do you think the end point will be?"
Zhang Kuang: "There are still 9 rounds left, try to get 100 balls."
The reporter was shocked. "Do you know what your record means? No one has ever done it before. I'm afraid only you will be able to break it."
Zhang Kuang scratched his head. "To be honest, records are not important. What is important is that Manchester United can win and win the championship. If the goal can help the team win, then I will score. If not, then I will pass the ball. It's that simple."
--
After playing Fulham at home, the whole team of Manchester United went to London non-stop the next day because they had to pay for the previous draw of Football Cup and had to temporarily add an extra round of games.
A few days ago, Manchester United played as a substitute against Chelsea in the quarter finals of England Football Association Cup, which ended in a 2:2 draw, so it had to be a rematch.
In that game, Ferguson hid the trident of Zhang Kuang, Rooney and Hernández, and sent out a full substitute lineup.
Chelsea was one goal ahead but Manchester United's substitute scored two goals in a row. Mata's last-minute kill barely equalized the score.
After the game, Chelsea acting head coach Di Matteo looked livid at the press conference. "Manchester United used the substitute lineup to tie us, which is a humiliation in itself. They will definitely send all the main players in the rematch, but this is exactly our opportunity, because we have no way out."
That's right, Chelsea has changed its head coach again. The young Boas was fired by Chelsea's Russia boss at the beginning of March because his results did not meet expectations.
This is an old tradition of Chelsea. This Russia boss is a bit eager for quick success. If he is not competing for the top two, or has no hope of competing for the championship, he will directly change the coach, no matter how chaotic the team is, let alone what the head coach thinks, anyway, he just doesn't like the head coach who can't compete for the championship.
Therefore, Boas's assistant coach Roberto Di Matteo temporarily took over as coach and played Chelsea's remaining games.
In another time and space, this lucky interim coach led Chelsea to win the UEFA Champions League championship, but in this time and space, Chelsea has been eliminated in UEFA Champions League.
Let's get back to reality.
After the draw, Ferguson smiled and said to reporters after the game, "Rematch? Very good. Now we don't have to hide."
Therefore, on March 20th, Stamford Bridge Stadium. England Football Association Cup 1/4 final rematch, Chelsea will face Manchester United at home.
The headline on the front page of "The Sun" the day before the game was. "Zhang Kuang: The nightmare of Chelsea is about to return!"
The accompanying picture is a photo of Zhang Kuang scoring Chelsea's goal in last season's Football Association Cup final.
"The Daily Telegraph" analyzed the psychological warfare between the two sides. "Manchester United drew Chelsea without any blood, forcing the opponent to usher in a rematch despite huge physical exertion.
And Chelsea just played a 120-minute League Cup final three days ago, and both physical fitness and morale are at a low point."
This is indeed the case.
Chelsea fought fiercely with Liverpool for 120 minutes in the final of League Cup on March 17, and finally won the championship through penalty kicks.
(Yes, in this time and space, Chelsea was going to lose the championship to Football Association Cup and UEFA Champions League, so they won League Cup!)
After only two days of rest, they will face Manchester United with all the main players in the Football Association Cup rematch.
Blues's physical fitness account was already in deficit before the game.
The biggest suspense before the game was Rooney's injury.
He injured his ankle in the League Cup final and was still limping during pre-match training. But in the end he passed the physical examination and entered the starting lineup.
For Chelsea, captain Terry is suspended due to a red card. David·Luiz and Gary·Cahill form a new central defender combination.
British media generally believe that this pair will be in danger when faced with the trident of Zhang Kuang.
At the same time, before the game, there was an "internal secret": there was news that some players in Chelsea's locker room had doubts about Di Matteo's tactics, and some veterans questioned his too conservative style of play.
However, captain Lampard publicly denied it at the pre-match press conference. "Our whole team is united around Di Matteo and is very focused on preparing for the game. This Football Association Cup rematch is our opportunity to prove ourselves."
The problem of moles in the team seems to be a major problem for many Europe teams. Mourinho caught moles in Real Madrid, and Chelsea also had moles. Later, after Moyes became the head coach of Manchester United, he heard that he also wanted to arrest moles...
Isn't it said that Westerners value loyalty the most and will not betray or become traitors?
How can you play football and end up with so many moles and traitors?
Of course, Zhang Kuang is not allowed to question this, because there will always be some people who will whitewash these Westerners and say that they are not traitors or betrayals, but are 'moving closer to justice'.
Zhang Kuang smiled when he thought of this, and then concentrated on preparing for the next game. Chelsea was not as easy to deal with as expected, although he scored a goal in the game against Chelsea.