A five goal away win over Bolton is of great significance to Manchester United.
Manchester City, Manchester United's arch rival this season, is powerful and in amazing condition. At present, they have won four games in a row like Manchester United, and they are the biggest rivals for Manchester United to win the championship.
After the victory, Manchester United were tied with Manchester City in terms of points. With the advantage of the goal difference, Manchester City took the top spot, which made it easy for Manchester United to go away against Benfica, the biggest opponent in group C.
After the draw, the media directly said that there was no match in group C and group h. Manchester United and Benfica, Barcelona and Milan have been drawn into the last 16.
Of course, group C and group H in addition to qualifying, there are other suspense, that is, who will become the first group?
The four teams in group C are Manchester United, Benfica, Basel and gallats steel.
At present, Benfica's strength is still good. Although Aimar and Saviola have passed the peak period and sold kontran to Real Madrid at the price of 30 million euro, they also got Argentina international Gare from Real Madrid and signed Spain international Capdevila and Serbia midfield martini. Capdevila, in particular, will fill the vacancy after the departure of kontran. Therefore, compared with last season, Benfica's strength did not have much loss..
Although the strength is good, but the game is not convincing, Benfica met Holland in the qualification, the result of a lot of twists and turns in the road before the promotion.
However, Benfica also has a high reputation for Manchester United. In the 2005-2006 season, Benfica overtook Manchester United in the group stage and gave Manchester United the only group stage exit in the new century.
In addition to that painful lesson, Benfica has a 6-1 advantage in seven games in history. This time it is difficult for Benfica to repeat the good play of crushing Manchester United.
Basel, another team in group C, entered the group stage for the fourth time after the reform of the Champions League, and it is also their third qualification in the group stage in recent four years. Under the leadership of German Fink, Basel has shown a strong momentum and has replaced grasshoppers, youth and other teams in the past to become the new representative of Swiss football. At present, there are many foreign players in Basel.
They met Manchester United in the second stage of the 2002-2003 season, which is their only group qualification experience after the Champions League reform. In the group stage of last season's Champions League, Basel beat Roma away, which is a glorious scene for them in the Champions League.
Generally speaking, there is a big gap between Basel and Manchester United, Benfica. Can create some wonderful goals also become the only point, the possibility of qualification is very small.
As for the Romanian League champion gallats steel, it's their first time to participate in the Champions League. A point or a goal is the best result. I'm afraid too many dreams will bring more shame.
The first place in the group stage has the advantage of schedule, and the opponents in the knockout stage are relatively weak. Therefore, under the condition that there is no suspense about the group's qualification, ensuring the first place in the group is the only goal of Manchester United.
Judging from the strength of the three opponents in the group stage, Benfica is the one who can threaten Manchester United's first qualification in the group stage. Therefore, the away game against Benfica is also the most important and difficult game for Manchester United in the group stage.
Before leaving for Portugal, Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson and team core Gao Xiaodong were interviewed by the British media "Sky Sports". Sir Alex said: "I think we are lucky in the draw because sometimes you may draw a very difficult group, which not only means that there are a lot of excellent teams in the group, but also requires a long journey. You can study the group of Manchester City, which is separated with Napoli, Bayern Munich and Villarreal. It's a super death group, a group that makes no one happy. These four teams are all in the top seven of their national league, so no one in this group will be too relaxed
Afterwards, Manchester United manager Ferguson talked about the trend of the Champions League, saying that Italian football is now in a difficult time, looking forward to the end of England and Spain. "Italian football is now in a non virtuous cycle. Napoli are doing well and have some good players. The mainstream is England and Spain, so you're looking forward to the final stages of the two countries
After drawing lots for the group stage of this season's Champions League, Sir Alex began to talk about his team. "Experience will become very important in the away game against Benfica, so my team may become different on Wednesday. Benfica has always been a hard nut to crack. Our game here is always difficult. I've also seen a lot of their away games and they played very well. There is no doubt that young players will gain good experience in the Champions League, but it is important to qualify in the group stage. Our home game will be better than the present situation, our first home game is Basel, young players can participate in this game, Benfica's game, you should not only respect them, but also be careful
Gao Xiaodong made his debut in Portugal. At present, Benfica coach gusus played against Gao Xiaodong when he was in charge of Braga. Benfica's backup striker Yu Debao is still a good friend of Gao Xiaodong. Gao Xiaodong knows Benfica like the back of his hand.Because of the understanding, Gao Xiaodong dare not underestimate Benfica.
Gao Xiaodong told reporters: "although the Portuguese League is not as strong as the Premier League, the three strong teams Benfica, Porto and Lisbon should not be underestimated. They have very good personal ability. The team is mainly technical. To some extent, they have some restraint over the Premier League teams. Manchester United should never underestimate Benfica."
Gao Xiaodong also appreciates Benfica coach rezus. He thinks that rezus is an experienced coach. He is confident and passionate, and can stimulate the fighting spirit of the players. His team is very effective and never easy to deal with.
Finally, Gao Xiaodong also talked about his good friend Yu Debao, "Yu Debao is my friend, he has good scoring ability, but he is not very smooth in Benfica, I hope he can start, of course, the substitute is also good, as long as we can compete together again, of course, I will not be merciful because he is my friend, I will try my best to beat Benfica in this game Card, for the group to lay a good foundation
In Portugal, Benfica is also ready for the match against Manchester United.
Benfica coach Jose manus has a clear understanding of his situation in group C. he said: "Manchester United are the strongest team in group C. There is no doubt that they will get a place to qualify. Our opponent is Basel, but it does not mean that we will give up this game against Manchester United. We will definitely win this game. I believe we can win in the stadium of light We can beat any team
Speaking of Gao Xiaodong, rezus has a look of appreciation. "Gao is one of the best players in the world and the most versatile player. He can decide the outcome of the game. Like Ronaldo, he is cultivated in Portuguese football. He has a lot of fans in Portugal. I believe that on the day of the game, there will be many Portuguese fans to support him, so I hope Benfica If the stadium of light is occupied by the opponent's fans, it will be a joke
Yu Debao, a good friend of Gao Xiaodong, also talks about Gao Xiaodong. Yu Debao is very excited to say that Gao Xiaodong is the best player in the world and the pride of Chinese football. He has never played against Gao Xiaodong in the Champions League. He is eager for the arrival of Gao Xiaodong. He hopes to have a Chinese derby with Gao Xiaodong.
Yu Debao also warned his teammates that he must keep an eye on Gao Xiaodong. Even if he can't keep an eye on Gao Xiaodong, he should try his best to limit him. If Gao Xiaodong is allowed to play his best, it will be a disaster for the team.
The first round of the Champions League group match is about to start. Naturally, the focus of the battle is Barcelona vs. Milan. However, because Manchester United and his opponent Benfica have players from the Chinese team, this game in China has surpassed the battle between Barcelona and Milan and has become the most concerned match of Chinese fans and media.