Football Association Cup 4-2 defeated Chelsea and entered the semi-finals.
Before leaving the locker room after the game, Ferguson made a rare return to the locker room after attending the post-game press conference.
"Gentlemen," he paused, "There will be no competition for the next five days. I will give you two days off, a real holiday. You are not allowed to secretly practice more, you are not allowed to come to Carrington to 'take a look', you can just stay at home and spend time with your wife and children, or whatever you want to do."
The locker room was silent for a second, then burst into cheers.
Zhang Kuang leaned against the cabinet, wiping the sweat from his face with a smile on his face.
Five days, this is probably the most luxurious thing in this devilish schedule. From Milan to London, from White Hart Lane to Stamford Bridge, double matches for one week in a row, every muscle in the body is protesting.
"Everyone, since we have two days off, how about I treat you all to Chinese food?" Zhang Kuang said loudly after Ferguson made the announcement.
"Okay, I already miss Chinese food very much, but can you not cook too spicy dishes? My butthole can't stand it." Rooney said excitedly.
"Haha..."
"Are you feeling hot? It's sour and refreshing? Since you don't want to eat spicy food, you can eat light food. It just so happens that many light ingredients don't need to be transported from China, they are available here."
"Okay, when?"
"The day after tomorrow at noon."
"Then I won't eat from tomorrow. I want to save my stomach for a big meal at noon the day after tomorrow."
"Haha..."
At noon on the third day, Rooney was the first to arrive at the restaurant on the second floor of DoubleTree by Hilton Swinton.
Rooney: "Zhang Kuang, I can't wait to see what I'm going to eat today."
Zhang Kuang: "Don't worry, sit down and wait for someone to come. Come, drink some beer from China to quench your thirst."
Rooney grabbed Tsingtao Beer, "Wow, this is a good thing."
Hernández: "Hello, is this a restaurant where Zhang Kuang treats guests?"
Zhang Kuang glanced at it, dumbfounded. "No, go out and go downstairs, turn left, and walk 13,000 kilometers, that's where it is."
"You want me to walk to death?"
"Why don't you sit down quickly?"
"..."
Ferdinand and Vidić came together. They were wearing the same gray sweatshirts, like two college students who came to have a meal.
Giggs is on crutches and has a bandage on his calf, but with a smile on his face, "The boss said I can come, but I can't drink."
"Don't worry, I won't drink alcohol today, just soup."
Next up are De Gea, Carrick, Park Ji-sung...
When everyone was gathered, Zhang Kuang stood in front of the table and clapped his hands:
"Gentlemen, today I treat you to Chinese Cantonese food. You should have eaten it when you went to Hong Kong. It is basically seafood... wash the stomachs of you United Kingdom guys who can only eat potatoes and fried fish..."
Everyone protested, "Who is United Kingdom?", but Zhang Kuang had already waved to the waiter to serve the food.
The first course is plain-cut chicken, with golden skin and smooth and tender meat. It comes with a plate of ginger and scallion sauce.
Rooney couldn't wait to squeeze a piece with his hands, dipped it in the dipping sauce, stuffed it into his mouth, chewed it twice, and was stunned.
"... Okay, okay, it doesn't smell like chicken at all. Zhang, the chef here has been trained by you to be a top Chinese chef."
"Come, come, come, let's eat, let's eat, you're welcome, one chicken for each person, enough chickens."
"Wow, that's so cool."
"Unfortunately, this chicken is not that chicken."
"Xie Te, don't think about those trivial things while you're eating."
"Haha, yes, eat, bird, eat bird!"
The second course is steamed grouper. The whole fish is lying on the plate, covered with shredded green onions and ginger, and drizzled with hot oil. The fish meat is as white as snow.
The third dish is barbecued pork, the fourth dish...
Hernández carefully picked up a piece of grouper. After eating it, his eyes lit up and he used his chopsticks several times.
Pogba and Welbeck are sitting together, and they are still competing over the bet Football Association Cup.
Pogba forked a piece of barbecued pork and chewed it. "Zhang Kuang, your meal is worth it. It's a hundred times better than the captain's barbecue last time."
Welbeck retorted, "The barbecue last time was obviously delicious."
"You were hungry for three days."
"Paul, you have no emotional intelligence. How can you say that the barbecue the captain invited is not delicious? Be careful of the captain wearing small shoes for you."
"Ah?"
"Haha..."
Zhang Kuang held a bowl of Laohuo soup and took a slow sip. This bowl of soup contained ribs, lotus root, corn, and carrots. It had been simmered for five hours. It was sweet and moist, and the whole person relaxed after eating it.
It is true that I used the name of the banquet to satisfy my appetite. During this period of time at Europe, I ate half-cooked steaks, greasy fish and chips every day, and occasionally had an authentic Chinese meal. It was simply a luxury.
Ferdinand forked a piece of steamed pork ribs with black bean sauce, chewed and suddenly sighed, "Zhang Kuang, if you retire, open a restaurant."
"No, I thought of a business that you like better. It's easier than running a restaurant and everyone likes it better."
"What?"
"A one-stop massage parlor."
"Wow, then I want to live there all year round."
The dining table was quiet for two seconds, and then everyone burst into laughter.
This meal lasted for nearly three hours, from 12 noon to about 2 pm.
Everyone couldn't eat anymore and were very full. Then everyone chatted together, drank some beer, and of course, at Rooney's suggestion, everyone went for a massage...
Well, everyone had a very relaxing day, and the media also captured it, but the Manchester United players didn't care at all, because they went for a regular massage.
Athletes often need massage. Isn't this normal?
The legs need to relax, they are too tired.
As for which leg will be massaged after the massage, that is another matter.
--
After the two-day holiday, the whole team returned to Carrington.
Ferguson first weighed the whole team on the training ground and was satisfied to find that no one exceeded the standard. The Cantonese cuisine arranged by Zhang was a success. It was low in oil and salt. These United Kingdom guys felt comfortable eating and actually didn't gain weight.
Training focuses on recovery. After all, there are only two months left in the season, and the real tough battle is yet to come.
UEFA Champions League semi-finals, Football Association Cup semi-finals, league finale.
Ferguson controls the amount of daily running training within 6 kilometers, and most of the time is spent on tactical drills and passing and cutting.
On March 24, in the 30th round of Premier League, Manchester United challenged Blackburn away from home.
Blackburn Rangers is located in Lancashire. Ewood Park Stadium has only 31,000 seats, but it was packed with seats on this day.
Blackburn is deep in the relegation zone, and every point is as important as life. Even if they are facing the league leader Manchester United, they have put on a fight-to-death attitude.
Before the game, Zhang Kuang met Blackburn's head coach Steve Keane in the player tunnel.
Keane took the initiative to step forward. "Zhang Kuang, can I take a photo with you? My son is your fan."
Zhang Kuang was stunned for a second, then nodded with a smile, "Of course."
Keane took out his mobile phone and the two people gave a thumbs up to the camera.
The Blackburn players next to them looked at each other in confusion. Their coach took a photo with the opponent's forward before the game. This scene was somewhat magical.
After the game started, Blackburn really fought hard.
In the first ten minutes, they even pressed forward and fought several counterattacks. The breakthroughs of Morrison and Hoilett caused some trouble for Manchester United's defense.
But the difference in strength began to show in the 15th minute.
In the 15th minute, Carrick intercepted the ball in the midfield and sent a through ball. Zhang Kuang successfully countered offside from the left and went to the meeting alone. Facing the attacking goalkeeper Robinson, he scored with a light shot.
0:1.
In the 28th minute, Rooney made a pass from the right, Hernández leaned over from behind and the ball bounced into the net.
0:2.
In the 34th minute, Zhang Kuang got the ball from the left and cut inside, passed two defensive players, and shot a low shot from the top of the penalty area. Robinson couldn't make the save, and the ball rolled into the far corner.
0:3.
Zhang Kuang scored twice.
In the stoppage time of the first half, Zhang Kuang once again got the ball at the top of the penalty area. He glanced at the goal and found that Robinson was standing forward, so he swung his legs and shot a lob.
The ball drew a high arc, passed over Robinson's head, and fell into the net.
0:4.
Zhang Kuang hat trick.
It was 0:4 in the first half.
In the second half, Ferguson replaced Zhang Kuang in the 60th minute to save energy for the league game four days later.
When Zhang Kuang came off the field, the fans of Blackburn actually stood up and applauded. You can't curse a player who has scored more than 80 goals in the league alone in a season.
In the 75th minute, Rooney scored with a long shot from outside the penalty area, 0:5.
In the 82nd minute, Hernández received a header from Valencia's pass and scored, 0:6.
At the end of the game, Manchester United beat Blackburn 6-0 in the away game.
Zhang Kuang 3 ball, Rooney 2 ball, Hernández 1 ball.
The headline of "Sky Sports" after the game had only one sentence. "Who will stop Manchester United?"
Why this title?
Because at the end of 30 rounds of the league, Manchester United leads the second place Manchester City by 17 points. This point difference is too big.
--
After playing Blackburn, Manchester United ushered in a luxurious rest window, with no competition for 8 days.
Ferguson gave the team three days off, then arranged four days of closed training, and made tactical preparations on the last day.
In these eight days, Zhang Kuang did several things:
On the first day, he flew to London to participate in a business event: to attend an event held by Anta. This was one of the few business events he held. He had no choice but to sign a contract.
When he came back, he brought a pair of Anta customized sneakers for everyone in the team.
On the fourth day, he invited the whole team to have hot pot at his home.
This time he didn't dare to choose a pot base that was too spicy, and made a mandarin duck pot: one side has clear soup and the other side is slightly spicy.
Rooney was so hot from the slightly spicy pot that his face turned red. He drank three glasses of milk and was laughed at by Pogba all night long.
The whole team felt that it was really a blessing to attend Zhang Kuang's food gatherings frequently, and they ate a lot of delicious food that they had never heard of.
On the seventh day, Ferguson held a short meeting after the training.
He stood in front of the tactical board and drew a big arrow. "Play Queens Park Rangers in the next game, win, and then in the next round we will have a chance to win the cup with Old Trafford. Of course, the premise is that Manchester City will lose points, but even if they don't lose points, we still have a chance to win the cup in the 33rd round."
So, gentlemen, there is no room for error in the next few games, do you hear me? I have worked hard for a season, and I don't want to fall short at this time."
"Copy that, boss, we'll go all out tomorrow!"
On April 2nd, in the 31st round of Premier League, Manchester United played against Queens Park Rangers at home.
Old Trafford, 75,000 seats were filled again.
Before the game, the fans spelled out a huge TIFO in the stands: "ONEMORESTEP" (one step further), next to it was a Premier League championship trophy.
Queens Park Rangers is ranked in the middle of the pack this season, with no worries about relegation and no hope of European competition. It is a typical team with "no desires and no demands".
But their head coach Mark·Hughes is a former player of Manchester United. At the pre-match press conference, he said with a smile, "Of course I hope Manchester United wins the championship, but I don't want to use us as a backdrop."
Ferguson responded more simply, "Hughes is a good player and now a good coach, but he can't stop Manchester United."
The competition program proves Ferguson's words.
In the 11th minute, Zhang Kuang took the ball from the left, cut inside and passed two defensive players. He hit a curve ball from the top of the penalty area and the ball hit the far corner.
1-0.
In the 24th minute, Rooney made a diagonal pass from the right, and Zhang Kuang succeeded in countering offside. Facing goalkeeper Kenny, he pushed the ball into the near corner and scored.
2-0.
Zhang Kuang scored twice.
In the 38th minute, Hernández was brought down by Taarabt outside the penalty area, and the referee decisively awarded a free kick.
Zhang Kuang did it himself and accomplished it in one go.
3-0.
Zhang Kuang hat trick.
In the 58th minute of the second half, Rooney received a pass from Carrick outside the penalty area and took a powerful long-range shot. The ball hit the lower edge of the crossbar and bounced into the net.
4-0.
In the 72nd minute, Hernández received a cross pass from Zhang Kuang and pushed the ball in front of the goal to score an empty goal.
5-0.
In the 80th minute, Ferguson replaced Zhang Kuang. The audience stood up and applauded, including Queens Park Rangers's fans of the Expeditionary Force.
Zhang Kuang The number of goals scored in the league this season has reached a staggering 86.
At the end of the game, Manchester United defeated Queens Park Rangers 5-0 at home.
After 31 rounds, Manchester United has 29 wins, 1 draw and 1 loss, accumulating 88 points.
At the same time, Manchester City lost 0-1 to Arsenal in the away game. Van Persie scored the only goal in the 67th minute. Manchester City had 21 wins, 5 draws and 5 losses, and accumulated 68 points.
With 7 rounds left, Manchester City can theoretically win 89 points.
And Manchester United only needs to get 1 point in the next round, or in other words, as long as Manchester City doesn't win in the next round, Manchester United can win the championship 6 rounds in advance.
The opponent in the next round is Wigan Athletic.
Moreover, it is still at Old Trafford.
This simply creates the perfect conditions for Manchester United to be crowned. The whole world is discussing whether Manchester United will win the championship 6 rounds in advance.
This season's Manchester United is really frighteningly strong, and the league title lost its suspense early on.
Various TV programs are discussing it, especially Sky Sports.
During the program, Andy Gray, Martin Tyler, Gary Neville, Jamie Reknapp and others had a heated discussion.
Martin: "Jamie, are you against this Manchester United? Why? Because they are too strong and won the championship early?"
Jamie: "Of course, the reason why Premier League is the world's number one league, the biggest charm is that the championship often has to be competed until the last round. This is the basis for attracting fans, but Manchester United has stifled this attraction for two consecutive seasons, which is wrong."
Neville: "I agree with the first half of your sentence, but I disagree with the second half. The appeal of Premier League is indeed due to fierce competition, but this has nothing to do with Manchester United winning the championship in advance.
Is it possible that Manchester United obviously has the ability to win the championship early, but Manchester United still deliberately delays it? Deliberately losing a few games to ensure the attractiveness of the league? This makes no sense.
This cannot be blamed on Manchester United, it can only be blamed on the weak competitiveness of other teams in Premier League. If other teams could get close to Manchester United's score, wouldn't it be wonderful? It's a pity that there is no such team."
Jamie: "I understand what you mean. Although what you say makes sense, you have to admit the fact that if Manchester United continues to monopolize the championship so early, Premier League will lose its appeal. This is also a fact. Do you think my conclusion is correct?"
Neville opened his mouth to refute, but after thinking about it, it seemed that he really couldn't refute.
Andy smoothed things over. "So, don't blame Manchester United for being too strong, because competitive sports means the survival of the strong, and this is the biggest attraction.
But it's also to blame that Manchester United is too strong. Because it is too strong, it easily monopolizes the championship and makes the league lose its appeal. This is like Ligue 1 and Lyon 8 winning consecutive championships, which makes people lose interest in Ligue 1.
Both of you are right, so how to solve this game? Let Manchester United deliberately weaken its own strength? Or let other teams in the league improve their strength?"
Martin: "Manchester City has invested hundreds of millions this season. It can be said that he has bought all the first-class players available on the market, but he is still no match for Manchester United. How can he improve? How many teams have Manchester City's financial resources to improve?"
Jamie: "In fact, there is only one reason why Manchester United is so strong. Everyone knows that as long as this factor does not exist, the strength level of the Premier League team's winning players will be at a level above."
Neville: "Oh, Shet, Jamie, do you mean to let the world's top scorer leave Manchester United, leave Premier League? Let him increase the attractiveness and commercialization of other leagues? Do you know how much more money Premier League will make in the East with his existence?"
Jamie:"Yes, I admit it, but..."
Neville: "But what? But for the attraction of your so-called 'competition to the last round to determine the championship', and then drive away the most capable and commercial players from Premier League?"
Jamie: "You know, I didn't mean it that way. This is a very confusing point."
Martin: "You understand, everyone understands, there is no need to worry, this is our luck and our misfortune.
Yes, fortunately we are witnessing an era of such great players. Unfortunately, such great players have made other stars and competition unattractive. Unfortunately, such great players have made other stars and competition unattractive."
Andy: "Haha, I think you are all unfounded. We only need to use information and facts to speak. How much did Zhang Kuang join Premier League to increase the ratings, topicality, and commerciality of Premier League?
If these are all increasing, then this is positive, and we must try our best to keep him. If these are all declining... well, you know!"
"..."
This program aroused heated discussions among many fans and public opinion, and even caused a big discussion in society. Some people asked Zhang Kuang what he thought about this issue.