358 The War Between Two Men Part 1 (1/2)

Albertini's return was not just about having one more player on the team; more importantly, it boosted the team's morale.

Next, on October 15, the Forest team challenged Tottenham Hotspur in an away game. After a fierce battle, the Forest team defeated their opponent with a modest win of 1:0.

Unconsciously, the Nottingham Forest team, which was short one match, had already accumulated nineteen points and was ranked second in the league table. First place was still Chelsea. Mourinho's team had won nine out of nine games from the start of the new season, topping the list with twenty-seven points.

Nevertheless, Twain was not focused on the Premier League at the moment, but on the Champions League tournament.

On October 19, the day of the Champions League game, the Forest team faced Benfica on their home ground. Twain adjusted his squad's lineup. Arteta was replaced by Albertini. With the end of his suspension, George Wood returned to the starting lineup and the Forest team's midfield was supported again.

What were the consequences of a supported midfield?

The Forest team finally won their first Champions League game on their home ground.

Nottingham Forest defeated last season's Primeira Liga champions, Benfica!

Before this game, there were doubts about whether Wood, who had missed two Champions League games, could keep pace with the team. However, Wood seemed to perform the same as usual. The reason was that before the game, Twain had told Wood to play the Champions League game as if it were a regular game and that they were all football games. There was no difference between the games.

Prior to the game, Benfica also thought Nottingham Forest was easy meat, but they did not expect to be beaten.

In fact, Nottingham Forest's performance was not bad for the first two group stage matches. It was only due to certain reasons that they had not won. In the first group stage match, the Forest team had scored the first goal over Real Madrid and was overtaken by Real Madrid at the last moment. And it was not easy for the exhausted Forest team to draw with Lille in the away game for the second group stage match.

No player was absent for the game. Everyone's physical fitness, mentality, and condition were good. Playing at their home grounds, the Forest team finally unleashed their real strength. Benfica, which had underestimated the Forest team, became its first victim.

After the game, the Portuguese media used ”an upset by the Forest Team” to describe it. On the other hand, the English media thought it was a given that the Forest team would defeat Benfica. The Sun mocked the Portuguese media's theory of an upset: ”The second-ranked team in the Premier League defeated the fourth-placed team in the Primeira Liga. How can that be called 'an upset'?”

There was no strong and detailed comparative analysis, but it was clear to people at a glance how absurd it was to use the term ”upset.” Although Twain did not like The Sun, it made Twain feel good that they had stood up for the Forest team.

In another group stage game held on the same day, Real Madrid easily defeated Lille at their home ground by 2:0.

As a result, the status quo in Group D became Real Madrid at the top with seven points from their two victories and one draw. Meanwhile, the Pot 4 team, Nottingham Forest, which was originally ranked second to last, suddenly became the second place in the group with four points because they beat Benfica. In the same boat of losing the games in this round, Lille and Benfica both had two points each and were ranked third and fourth.

After they beat Benfica, everyone looked at the Forest team from a different perspective. No one dared to look down on that tenacious team again. The latest installment of the UEFA Champions League Magazine introduced the game in this way: ”…The youngest Champions League manager has led his team to win its first game in the Champions League. Let us take a look at what other results Tony Twain can create.”

Being the youngest really was a good headline grabber.

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By the end of October, the Forest team had won in succession in the Premier League. It followed closely at the heels of Chelsea and kept Manchester United, Arsenal, Liverpool, and other strong teams at bay. They had also won their first victory in the Champions League. It looked like Twain should be feeling triumphant by now.

However, he still had a vexing matter which he had told no one.

On October 24, the day after the tenth round of the Premier League, Twain came to the Royal Hospital of Nottingham University to visit Freddy Eastwood.

After his first operation, the doctors found that his condition had not improved, and therefore a second operation was performed on Eastwood's right knee. The Romani Gypsy's comeback was pushed back once again. It had been seven months since he had been injured in the game against Sporting Lisbon. And it had been a frustrating seven months.

It was a cycle of surgery, recovery, lack of improvement in his condition, surgery again, and recovery.

There was no light at the end of the tunnel, and he did not know if his leg would suddenly have a relapse after recovery.

Twain still remembered that he had made a fervent speech to Eastwood in the hospital ward at that time. He had told him that fate was a massive network composed of choice after choice, in which people always had to face one choice or another. But regardless of the choice, one could never be at a standstill.

Seven months later, Twain felt ashamed to have said such things in front of Eastwood. He himself had waited in some despair. Every time there was bad news from the hospital, his heart sank further.

Twain did not ask for Eastwood's ward location in the lobby below. He went straight up. He did not need to ask for that number; he had long known it by heart.

However, he only saw an empty room when he opened the ward door. Twain thought he had the wrong room, so he pushed it back and looked up at the ward number. It was Eastwood's.

He stood at the door and thought for a moment. It was impossible for Eastwood to move out of the hospital without his knowledge. Professor Constantine kept him constantly updated on everything about Eastwood's developments.