Two Down, Three To Go 曼联三场球后见分晓
Manchester United took another step closer to becoming the first English team to win five trophies 奖杯 in one season, after beating Tottenham Hotspur in the final of the League Cup 英格兰联赛杯 on Sunday. Both sides failed to score during the first 90 minutes and in extra time 加时赛 so the match was decided on a penalty shootout 点球大战 which Manchester won 4-1. Manchester United’s young English goalkeeper 守门员 Ben Foster was the hero, saving Tottenham’s first spot kick 点球 after taking advantage of some technological assistance. Moments before the shootout 淘汰赛 began, Foster was shown video clips on a portable media player 便携式媒体播放器 of Tottenham players taking penalties in previous matches. "Just before the shootout I was looking at an iPod with goalkeeping coach Eric Steele," said Foster, "on it were images of Spurs 热刺队 taking penalties." "I’d been told if O’Hara took a kick, he would probably go to my left. It was great that was exactly what happened and I managed to get a hand to it," he continued. Manchester United have now won two out of a possible five trophies domestically 国内的 and abroad 海外, having already won the Fifa Club World Cup in December 2008. If they can go on to win the Premier League, the FA Cup and the Champions’ League, then they will make history to become the first ever team to win the quintuple 五个(奖杯). However, United manager Sir Alex Ferguson has been quick to pour cold water 泼冷水 on the idea that the quintuple is already in the bag 已经拿到了. "I’m not getting carried away with it, only the media will. We will keep our feet on the ground," said Ferguson, meaning that he will not allow himself to expect success that has not happened yet. United defender Rio Ferdinand echoed the sentiments 表示同感 of his boss saying, "we’ll take each game as it comes", which means they are not looking further ahead than the next game. "We don’t get ahead of ourselves 有超越感 and think which silverware 奖杯,银器 we are going to win next,” continued Ferdinand. Despite their restrained 严谨的 words, Manchester United are in pole position 领先位置 to succeed in all their remaining competitions. They are seven points ahead of Chelsea at the top of the Premier League, look likely to progress in the FA Cup 足总杯 and have the home advantage 主场优势 in their next European game against Inter Milan in a fortnight’s time. |