Full-level pass, please call me the speaker of the Three Lions

Chapter 537: Undefeated season, perfect ending!
It is not uncommon for a team to reach the Champions League final for two consecutive years.

There are also many teams defending the Champions League title.

In the 35-year history of the European Club Champions League, there have been successful defenses. Real Madrid has won the championship five times in a row, and Ajax and Bayern Munich have also won three times in a row.

But in the 1990 years since 28, no team has successfully defended its title.

Five champion teams (AC Milan in 1995, Ajax in 1996, Juventus in 1997, Manchester United in 2009, and Real Madrid in 2016) reached the final again in the second year, but were ultimately defeated.

This is the well-known defending curse after the Champions League reform!

Although it is called a "curse", it is not as difficult to solve as those scientific puzzles. The most fundamental reason is:

There are more strong teams, and it becomes harder to win the championship!
In fact, in the first few years of the Champions League reform, some giants were very close to defending their title.

For example, from 1993 to 1995, AC Milan reached the finals three times in a row and defeated Barcelona 1994- to win the championship in .

A year later, they lost to Ajax by just one goal in the final.

Before the Bosman Act, Ajax was definitely the cradle of many superstars and one of the strongest teams in Europe.

After reaching the summit in 1995, they lost to Juventus in a brutal penalty shootout the following year.

Juventus has also reached the final three times in a row, except for the first time they defeated Ajax.
Why is it so easy to reach the finals in the Champions League?
Because each country only had one spot in the Champions League at that time, and the early 1990s was a time when the Champions League was not competitive enough, the English team that once dominated Europe was "confined" for five years after the Heysel Stadium tragedy, and was completely unable to adapt when returning to the Champions League, and the Bundesliga was also in a period of decline.

The only teams that have the potential to win the European championship are the representatives of the "Little World Cup" Serie A, the French Ligue 1 upstart Marseille, Cruyff's Dream Team Barcelona and a few others.

In addition, Red Star Belgrade disintegrated immediately after reaching the top of Europe in 1991, Marseille became the only French Champions League champion in 1993 but then broke out in a match-fixing scandal and withdrew from the center stage, and Ajax, which had the potential to be a dynasty, was also destroyed by the "Bosman decision." Since there are few favorites to win the championship, it is easy for super giants to meet in the final.

Since 1997, two teams from the top leagues have been allowed to participate in the Champions League. The participation of the runners-up has greatly increased the competitiveness of the Champions League.

In the 1999-2000 season, the Champions League was expanded again, with a maximum of four teams from the top league participating.

And La Liga became the first beneficiary.

In the end, three teams entered the semi-finals, with Real Madrid and Valencia meeting in the final.

Since then, Serie A and the Premier League have copied La Liga's group charge.

Since a single league can contribute multiple strong teams, the competition in the Champions League will naturally become more intense. Winning a championship is not easy, and defending the title is even more difficult.

The Champions League 20 years ago is completely different from the Champions League after its expansion.

进入新世纪以来，连续进入决赛的只有四支球队，分别是2000~2001的巴伦西亚、2008~09的曼联以及2012~13的拜仁，2016~17的皇马。

It is worth mentioning that Manchester United in 08-09 and Real Madrid in 16-17 both won the first final and lost the second.

They can be said to be the two teams closest to defending the title.

It’s a pity that Manchester United fell to Guardiola’s Dream Three Barcelona that year.

Last year's Real Madrid fell to the current Mourinho-style Manchester United!
With Mourinho's Manchester United reaching the Champions League final again this year, there is one more team that has reached the final twice in the new century!
As the previous champion, the Red Devils have reached the Champions League final for two consecutive years. Whether Manchester United can break this curse has become a hot topic among the public.

Eight titles in two years
Won the Premier League title for two consecutive years
If they can break the 20-year-long curse of defending the Champions League this year, then the new Manchester United led by Mourinho can definitely be called the new generation of the Red Devils dynasty!

Perhaps it was fate that the rising Red Devils dynasty’s final and strongest enemy turned out to be Real Madrid, known as the “King of the Champions League”!
The other Champions League semi-final the next day also kicked off at Anfield!

Back at home, with the song "You'll Never Walk Alone" playing over Anfield, the Red Army players burst out with amazing energy.

In the first half, the team took a two-goal lead thanks to the wing combination of Salah and Mane.

However, Real Madrid players are still more experienced.

Especially Cristiano Ronaldo, he showed the momentum of the top scorer of the Champions League.

Within ten minutes, he scored twice with a header from a corner kick and a long shot with his back foot, which penetrated the goal of Liverpool goalkeeper Karius.

Although in the last minute of injury time, Van Dijk still scored a goal from a corner kick to overtake the score.

However, they still eliminated Liverpool with an aggregate score of 4-3 and reached the Champions League final again!
In this way, this year's Champions League final will once again be a red-and-white showdown!
Manchester United VS Real Madrid!

This is also the second time the two teams have met in the Champions League final after last year!

Of course, most media and fans had anticipated such a matchup.

This can be seen from the fact that UEFA deliberately avoided Manchester United and Real Madrid when drawing lots.

However, this script is indeed popular with everyone!

Last year, if Manchester United had not come out of nowhere, Real Madrid might have become the first team to break the curse of defending the Champions League title.

And this year, under the manipulation of UEFA, Real Madrid got the script for revenge!

It is worth mentioning that after the game where Real Madrid eliminated Liverpool, Ling Feng was the first to send a congratulatory text message to Luo Ge.

Luo Ge also replied with a confident text message:

"I told you, we'll see you in the finals!"

Perhaps because of the defeat in last year's final, Luo Ge is eager to take revenge in the Champions League.

With his brace at Anfield, he has now scored sixteen goals in the Champions League so far!

Tied with Ling Feng!
The decisive battle between the two superstars Ling Feng and Ronaldo in the final is also a big highlight.

Real Madrid's official social media was also the first to make some fun, releasing a photo of Real Madrid players gathering in the player tunnel before the 1516- Champions League final:
"Here we go again, at the top of the Champions League!"

Many Real Madrid fans also began to frantically show their presence on the Internet:
"Yeah! Revenge!"

"We have a score to settle with Manchester United!"

"This time, I will take back everything that belongs to us!"

Of course, fans must cheer for their team online before the game. You can't criticize your team before the game even starts?

As for whether we can win, we’ll tell when the game comes.

After all, if we were to talk about the strongest team in Europe today, Manchester United might be the choice of many people.

Not to mention that they are invincible in the Premier League and have never lost a game.

In the Champions League arena full of strong teams, Manchester United's journey to the Champions League can be said to be full of gold content.

In addition to the pressure-free group stage, they met the Europa League champions Sevilla in the round of 16, the La Liga champions Barcelona in the quarterfinals, the Bundesliga champions Bayern in the semi-finals, and finally met Real Madrid, the team with the most Champions League titles, in the final.

If they can beat Real Madrid for the second time in the final to win the championship, then the value of this Champions League title will definitely be no less than the championship that the MSN combination won in the 14-15 season when they swept the league titles of various countries!
This ultimate showdown to determine the king of Europe is bound to become the most anticipated event in football.

Will Manchester United defeat Real Madrid again and become the first team to successfully defend the title since the Champions League was reformed?
Or will Real Madrid successfully complete their revenge and become the revenge team that prevents the Red Devils dynasty from rising again? !
The answer will be revealed on May 5th at the Olympic National Sports Complex!

. . .

Of course, before the Champions League final, both sides have to temporarily turn their attention to the domestic arena.

Compared to Real Madrid, which has no hope of winning the league and the King's Cup, Manchester United has not only won the Premier League championship in advance, but also has an FA Cup waiting for it to win.

If Manchester United defeats their final opponent Chelsea, they will complete the Grand Slam of domestic competitions this season (League, League Cup, FA Cup)!
However, this FA Cup match was scheduled after the league ended.

Therefore, Manchester United must complete three league games before they can face two crucial cup finals.

On May 5, the team first came to Brighton in southeast England to face this season's newly promoted team, the "Seagulls" Brighton.

This match is less than seventy-two hours away from Bayern's previous Champions League semi-final second leg.

Therefore, Mourinho also boldly adopted a rotation lineup.

The main players, including captain Ling Feng, main center forward Ibrahimovic, main midfielder Kante, and number one goalkeeper De Gea, all got the chance to rest.

Perhaps because they have not yet completely avoided relegation, Brighton also fielded its entire main lineup at home.

In the Premier League, apart from the invincible Manchester United, the most difficult team to deal with is not the league's BIG6, but the relegation team at the end of the season!
For the sake of points, to stay in the Premier League, and for the 700 to 800 million pounds in broadcasting dividends, they will turn into crazy hyenas and try to bite off a piece of meat from any team!
Perhaps it is because of this that Manchester United's first away game

In the first half, thanks to a long-range goal from Ling Feng's former teammate and last season's Championship MVP Konakat, Brighton actually led the league champions 1-0 at home!
Of course, Mourinho was very unhappy with the direction of the game.

During the half-time break, Mourinho returned to the locker room and turned on the hair dryer mode directly, severely criticizing several players who were not positive enough.

At this time, the captain Ling Feng, who was watching the game in the stands in the first half, also played the role of a good guy.

"Guys, there's no need to be nervous, and there's no need to be affected by the other side's rough moves!"

"You are fully capable of turning the situation around, that's why you are playing for Manchester United!"

"As long as we take every ball seriously in the second half and compete with the opponent, we will definitely win the game!"

I don’t know whether it was Ling Feng’s encouragement that worked, or whether they had adapted to Brighton’s game rhythm and intensity, but after the second half, the Manchester United players gradually regained the initiative through active passing and running.

After all, it is a newly promoted team. Even with all the main players, there is still a certain gap between them and Manchester United's substitute lineup.

Finally, thanks to Ashley Young's goal and Lingard's goal, Manchester United scored two goals in the second half and reversed the victory!

It is worth mentioning that after scoring the goal, Lingard also came to the sidelines and pointed at Ling Feng in the stands to celebrate.
After enjoying the sea breeze in Brighton, the Manchester United players came to bustling London for the 31st round of make-up match.

The opponent is the "Hammer Gang" West Ham United.

In this game, Mourinho showed no mercy and sent out all the main players!
Manchester United took firm control of the game from the first second.

Captain Ling Feng made one pass and one shot in the first half.

Even though we relaxed at the last moment and conceded a goal to our opponent, it did not affect the outcome of the game.

When the time came to May 5th, the Premier League ushered in the final battle.

Manchester United will face Watford, who have already secured relegation, at Old Trafford.

In this game, Mourinho also adopted a comprehensive rotation.

Of course, in order to ensure the team's unbeaten record throughout the season, he still let captain Ling Feng start and lead the substitutes and young players to experience the atmosphere of the Premier League.

It is worth mentioning that the sixteen-year-old Mason Greenwood also got the chance to come on as a substitute in this final match.

Greenwood can definitely be regarded as the strongest youth training of the new generation of Carrington!
At the age of sixteen, he has performed well in the U18 Premier League this season, playing seventeen games and scoring sixteen goals!

Almost one goal per game!

He also led the team to win the Dutch ICGT Youth Championship and was awarded the Golden Ball Award.

Many people regard him as the next Rashford!

Therefore, three months ago, Mourinho specially allowed this youth training gem to skip the U21 echelon and train with the first-team stars!
This kid's talent and learning ability are amazing.

Especially his balanced ball sense with both feet and his natural shooting skills have made many Manchester United stars exclaim:

We have our own Van Persie!

In this game, with the help of Ling Feng, Greenwood actually scored his first Premier League goal in his Premier League debut!
For Greenwood, this game is definitely worth remembering for a lifetime.

Not only did he surpass Angel Gomes last season, he became the youngest Premier League player in Manchester United's history!
He also surpassed Everton's James Vaughan to become the youngest goalscorer in Premier League history!
With the selfless and generous passing of captain Ling Feng, not only Greenwood, but also two other young players including McTominay scored goals.

In the end, Manchester United won the last league game at Old Trafford with a 5-0 victory.

It also brought an end to this almost perfect season!
This season, Manchester United has 110 wins and draws in games, accumulating points, creating the best record and the highest points record in the history of the Premier League!

Winning the championship undefeated, how terrifying!
As the biggest contributor to Manchester United's dominance in the Premier League, the team's captain and core Ling Feng once again won the Premier League Golden Boot and Assist King with his terrifying statistics of 61 goals and 27 assists in 33 appearances!

Sixty-one goals is the highest single-season goal record in the five major leagues and even in football history!
(End of this chapter)