During the half-time break, the locker rooms on both sides of the player tunnel corridor were like heaven and hell.
Today was different from last season's 7-0 match. In that match, the score was only 1-0 at halftime. When the midfielders from both teams walked into the locker room, they still didn't know what the outcome of the second half would be.
But today is completely different. Even the big names in the team such as Henderson, Van Dijk, Salah and Alisson did not feel the possibility of the team turning defeat into victory.
They were even thankful that only Barrera was sent off and the others were only given yellow cards. If there was one less person, there would be more space in the backcourt, and Chen Xiaoliang might not be just a madman, but a god.
The most confused one was Gvardiol. Although he had watched every video of Chen Xiaoliang's game and listened carefully to the detailed analysis of the Liverpool coaching staff, and he was also Chen Xiaoliang's old teammate and a die-hard member of the Roma training team, today he seemed to have no idea who the man in front of him was, wearing the bright red No. 7 jersey.
Before the game, Enzo had sent him a message, telling him that Chen Xiaoliang was now unreasonably strong, but Gvardiol did not take it too seriously.
What kind of team is Chelsea? They were ranked second on page 2 of the standings last season. How can they be qualified to talk about the strength of opponents like Liverpool?
Unlike Chen Xiaoliang, Kva and Cesco, he still maintains a very close relationship with Enzo. In his heart, he does not agree with Enzo in many aspects.
Of course, this is also related to the fact that his home country Croatia was eliminated by Argentina in the World Cup semi-finals.
In Gvardiol's value standard, players can transfer, but unless the club does not want you, you should not abandon your teammates halfway and run away for the so-called team fame and higher income.
Of course, in the end fate balanced out to some extent. He won the treble with Chen Xiaoliang, while Enzo didn't even get to play in the European competition this season.
But after halftime, he found that what Enzo said was right. The Chen Xiaoliang in front of him was no longer the same Chen Xiaoliang as before.
Especially his left foot, what's going on?
I have seen two-legged monsters who are also proficient in left foot. Chen Xiaoliang in Roma before was such a two-legged monster. He could dribble the ball with his left foot, and he could also make the final shot or the first pass with his left foot with very high quality, but in most cases he still touched the ball with his right foot.
Unlike today, when using the left foot you can even ignore the right foot.
However, although they were grateful and shocked, when Klopp asked them about their attitude in the second half, all Liverpool players expressed that they would fight Manchester United to the end and would never back down!
In the Double Red Meeting, it's either you die or I die. There is absolutely no such thing as compromise or preservation!
Barrera took the initiative to apologize to his teammates, saying that it was his lack of calmness that led to the passivity on the field. Captain Henderson and Van Dijk accepted his apology on behalf of the players.
Klopp also accepted the players' attitude. He replaced Bajicetic with Elliott and continued to fight with Chen Xiaoliang in the second half.
In Manchester United's locker room, even without Ten Hag's encouragement, the players spontaneously exchanged their thoughts and feelings about the first half.
Varane and Casemiro continued to remind Fred to pay attention to protecting the outside of the penalty area. Lima and Dalot discussed the things to pay attention to when playing as left back with his right foot. Rashford and Kva communicated on how to pull and support Chen Xiaoliang so that he could pose a greater threat in the second half as he was in a wild state today.
Bruno Fernandes also apologized to his teammates in public. Although his voice was much softer than usual, his words were clear and sincere, without any evasion or excuses.
However, unlike the embarrassing scene at Liverpool, his teammates laughed after he apologized.
De Gea even joked that this was his 13th season at Manchester United and it felt like the easiest game against Liverpool. He hoped that B Fee could "self-explode" in every game in the future and take the opponent's midfield core with him when he left the field, so that every game would be easy.
After saying this, not only did the teammates laugh even more happily, even Ten Hag laughed out loud.
After briefly explaining the key points on defense, Ten Hag asked McTominay, Sancho, Anthony, Williams, Maguire and others to prepare for warm-up.
When leaving the locker room and returning to the court, Chen Xiaoliang was the last one to leave.
He walked out of the locker room and said to Ten Hag: "Coach, if you want to avenge last season, don't send Jadon (Sancho) too early today."
Ten Hah smiled helplessly and shook his head, then patted Chen Xiaoliang on the back and finally nodded in agreement.
How to activate this former Bundesliga dribbling king and assist king has become Manchester United's biggest headache.
Chen Xiaoliang had tactfully told Ten Hag a long time ago that in a counterattack against all odds, once the ball reached Sancho's feet, the rhythm of the counterattack would stop immediately, whether in training or in a game, just like an "offensive terminator".
But it was their own attack that ended.
He is hesitant to pass the ball, afraid to dribble past opponents, and lacks strength in confrontation. Without dribbling, he has no chance to pass the ball low, and his ability to pass the ball high is not enough. His ranking in the team has long been behind Kwa, Ganacho and Anthony.
If he is sold, it means that the investment of 85 million will be wasted, and the book loss will be at least 40 million. If he is not sold, Sancho, who is weak in the main games, can be rotated in general games, but it is unreasonable to spend 85 million to buy a rotation player who plays in the middle and lower reaches.
What's more, after the 2022 World Cup, Sancho suffered from serious psychological problems. The club even gave him a vacation and asked him to seek treatment from a psychologist. Although there was some effect, he still did not return to his performance in Dortmund.
Even after Chen Xiaoliang joined the team, with the addition of motivated youngsters like Cesco and Kva, the 23-year-old Sancho still seemed out of place.
Like Fred, the management tends to sell him and cash in while he is young. After all, the team's winger positions are overcrowded. Instead of giving Sancho another chance, it is better to train the 19-year-old Ghanacho.
However, back on the sidelines, perhaps in order to protect Sancho's already fragile heart, Ten Hag did not let Ganacho warm up in advance.
He did not like players interfering with his substitution arrangements. In the past, this was absolutely unacceptable. But now, under the advice of Sir Alex Ferguson and McClaren, with the absolute support of his boss Jassim, with the impressive team results and exaggerated personal data, and especially with the temptation of a 3-0 score, he had to convince himself to listen more to Chen Xiaoliang's opinions during the game.
After all, that 7-0 match was not only the shame of the centenary Red Derby, but also the biggest shame of his coaching career so far. If he doesn't retaliate, this shame will follow him forever.
“Beep!”
Zhan Jun: "The referee Robert Jones blew the whistle for the second half! What you are watching now is the 2023-24 English Premier League, the 213th Red Derby, which is the English national derby, brought to you by Penguin Sports!"
"Liverpool kicked off in the second half, and the overall formation did not show a conservative trend. McAllister retreated in the middle with the ball, and the two wingers continued to press forward. It seems that Liverpool still wants to change the situation of the game through offense!"
Zhang Lu: "But this position seems a little different. Gvardiol's position is a little bit preconceived. It feels like he is independent of the other two central defenders and stands closer to Elliott who plays as a defensive midfielder."
Zhan Jun: "The problem is that Gvardiol is not like Stones of Manchester City, who can play as a waist defender in the game. Even if Gvardiol joins, he does not have enough organization and dribbling ability."
The commentator was still analyzing it, but Chen Xiaoliang saw it at a glance.
Gwadior was coming for him.
Compared to Van Dijk who has to command the defense and Van der Ven who just joined the team in the summer, Gvardiol has stronger individual defensive capabilities and is more familiar with himself.
At this moment, he was like a man-marking central defender with a larger running range, standing in front of Chen Xiaoliang's offensive route at any time. Once Chen Xiaoliang got the ball and was ready to launch an attack, he would immediately enter a one-on-one defensive mode.
These jobs should have been done by Barrera .
In the 50th minute, Salah cut in from the left. At the suggestion of Lima, Dalot immediately rushed forward to defend Salah closely whenever he cut in from the second half and was protected by Casemiro.
Sure enough, as soon as Dalot touched the ball, Salah immediately moved his left foot back to his right foot and changed direction to the right to pass the opponent.
But Casemiro immediately blocked him, and Dalot turned around and formed a close double team with him.
Seeing that he failed to break through the line, Salah pulled the ball and turned to pass it back to Arnold who was behind him.
In the past, Arnold, who was good at crossing the ball, would have already made a high cross at this time, but unfortunately, there was only Nunez standing in the penalty area at this moment, so he passed the ball horizontally to the middle and gave it to McAllister.
McAllister made another cross pass to Robertson who was moving inwards from the left.
There were two consecutive passes without any delay, basically just one kick. Even Zhang Lu said that these quick transfers had the flavor of Liverpool when they won the championship a few years ago.
Robertson was followed by Rashford. After receiving the ball, he continued to stay in the middle for a few steps, then looked forward, pointed with his left hand, and immediately kicked a straight pass with his left foot!
Nunez, who was wandering in the middle of the penalty area just now, saw that Arnold had no chance to cross the ball, so he went around to the left sideline of the penalty area again.
Fred, who wanted to cut off Robertson's passing route, found that the ball rolled past his left side, and it was too late for him to turn around.
Vala's heart tightened, thinking that this Brazilian teammate was really impossible to teach. Chen Xiaoliang in front of him also frowned when he saw this.
At that moment, Fred was more than 10 meters away from Robertson in front of him and Nunez behind him. He had to either press forward to stick to the ball holder or retreat to stick to the receiver. As a result, he stood in the middle and tried to intercept.
With such a wide distance, the passing player can choose a variety of passing routes, which means that Fred's position has no defensive significance at all.
Sure enough, when Nunez took a step forward, the ball rolled to his side.
Varane immediately bent down, put his right foot forward, and watched every move of the Uruguayan striker.
While seemingly running to the left, Nunez touched the rolling ball with the outside of his right foot, and the ball immediately bounced one step to the right. Just like that, Nunez's body immediately followed one step to the right, completing the stop-and-go action in an instant. Varane, who was distracted by Nunez's action to the left, had no time to catch up, and the space for shooting had been opened!
Nunes swung his right foot back slightly, aimed at the far corner, and used the inside of his right foot to make a small arc!
The scene of the "Slanting God Tuinu Corner" that countless fans have been waiting for all night is finally going to happen!
Last season, Gakpo scored a similar shot from the same angle!
The ball has flown out!
The distance was too close and the hit was too sudden, De Gea had no reaction at all!
At this moment, a red shadow flashed in front of De Gea and intercepted the shot with a flying tackle!
The ball hit him, its speed slowed down greatly, and was easily caught by De Gea!
Zhan Jun: "Argentine butcher, slashing Lima!"
"He used his body to block Nunez's shot that was almost certain to go in!"
Zhang Lu: "The ball was too fast. He was able to defend it because he predicted it in advance. If Liverpool had scored at the beginning of the second half, there would have been suspense afterwards."
Guan Zeyuan: "It seems... the referee didn't make a decision."
Zhan Jun: "Eh? Sure enough, the referee Robert Jones was communicating with his colleagues in the headset and stopped the game!"
"Van Dyke and McAllister ran up immediately, and Xiao Liang also ran over."
Zhang Lu: "Hey, the referee said he doesn't want to listen, don't bother me."
Zhan Jun: "Wow! Penalty!"
"Referee Robert Jones pointed to Manchester United's penalty spot! He didn't even choose to check VAR!"
"Lima also ran up and explained to the referee that his arm was against his chest."
"Slow motion is coming!"
Zhang Lu: "There was a move where he raised his arm to block his face, and the ball hit that arm."
Guan Zeyuan: "If I didn't block it, it would hit me in the face. This was actually a subconscious action."
Zhan Jun: "But for the referee, as long as the arm is not close to the torso and there is a hand-raising action, it can be counted as a penalty."
Zhang Lu: "And there is a very important basis for the penalty. If he hadn't stopped it, the ball would have gone in without a doubt."
No matter how many appeals were made, it was in vain. Referee Robert Jones shouted Manchester United players to retreat and instructed Liverpool to prepare for a penalty kick.
Salah picked up the ball and walked towards the penalty spot, only to find Chen Xiaoliang standing there.
Today, Manchester United's No. 7 scored a hat-trick in the first half and had already attracted enough attention. Salah didn't want to waste time talking to Chen Xiaoliang, so he walked over and pushed Chen Xiaoliang away with his body.
I didn't expect that it wouldn't open when I pushed it open.
Salah didn't waste time talking to Chen Xiaoliang and turned to look at the referee.
Unexpectedly, as soon as he turned around, Chen Xiaoliang said to him: "Come on, I'm rooting for you~"
Salah was stunned, and before he could speak, Chen Xiaoliang said, "Remember to hit the ball fast and the angle must be tricky, otherwise you will have to drink 7-Up when you go home tonight."
Before the referee came over, Chen Xiaoliang finished his words and walked away with a smile.
"Do you want to eat fried dough sticks... Damn it..." Salah muttered, placed the ball, and then looked at De Gea.
However, Chen Xiaoliang's "gentle" words, which were in stark contrast to his tough style on the court, lingered in his ears.
“Come on~”
"Please use more force~"
"The angle has to be tricky~"
Coupled with the equally unforgettable scoreline of 3 goals behind, and the pressure of scoring this goal to keep the team's hope of a comeback, it was no longer something Salah could get rid of by just taking a deep breath.
He knew it was interference, but when players face a decisive issue like a penalty kick, they will naturally have a question - where should they kick?
Salah decided to play according to his own habits, but subconsciously, he was deliberately resisting Chen Xiaoliang's words.
You want me to have a tricky angle, to be strong, and to influence me with words.
Okay, then I will show you what a perfect penalty kick that is hard to save is!
"Beep!" The referee whistled!
Zhan Jun: "Salah runs!"
"Hit the door!"
"It missed!"
Zhang Lu: "And it's a bit outrageous..."
Zhan Jun: "Manchester United fans are so happy."
"It's too far away... this ball..."
Guan Zeyuan: "This ball...his left foot didn't cover the ball."
The temperature in the UK in December was already cold. Klopp shook his head on the sidelines and covered his nose and mouth with his scarf.
Perhaps at this moment, his heart was even colder.
On the other hand, Manchester United, who still maintained a clean sheet, was jubilant and their morale was even higher!
De Gea, who escaped death, also shouted and encouraged himself.
Chen Xiaoliang walked forward from the penalty area line, waiting for his teammates to take the goal kick.
As he walked, he couldn't stop smiling, and did not forget to look back at Salah who was returning to his position with his head down.
Salah felt Chen Xiaoliang's gaze, looked up at him, and immediately shifted his gaze.
Chen Xiaoliang's smile became even wider.
I gave you a chance but you didn't use it...
I gave you the chance but you didn't make any use of it!
The game continued. Liverpool lost their hard-earned scoring opportunity. Except for Nunez and McAllister who were still fighting hard, the other attacking players temporarily slowed down their pressure.
As for Manchester United, 3-0 is definitely not the goal tonight. Chen Xiaoliang is still moving back and forth, stimulating the sensitive nerves of Liverpool's defense.
In the 59th minute, Chen Xiaoliang again received Casemiro's through ball with his back to the goal. Elliot had a hard time positioning himself and almost had to push forward with both hands.
Gvadiol immediately rushed over and double-teamed Chen Xiaoliang from the left side with Elliot.
Chen Xiaoliang originally wanted to knock the ball back directly with his left foot, but Casemiro's pass was very fast, so he chose a more conservative way to stop the ball. He first stopped the ball lightly with his right foot, then picked up the ball with his toes and swept it back with his left foot.
As soon as Gvardiol pounced, the ball flew to his left rear.
Rashford started and went straight into the penalty area from the flank, with Robertson chasing beside him.
Rashford, who rushed into the penalty area on the right side and received the ball, slowed down a little, and Robertson had already stuck to his right side.
Seeing that there was no time left for a back-kick, Rashford simply pushed the ball to the back post with his right foot!
On the other side, Kva also got rid of Arnold and headed for the far post!
Alisson, who was blocking the near post, immediately ran to the other side of the goal, but Kva had already received the pass from Rashford. The only one who blocked his shot was Van Dijk who relied on his advance prediction!
Kva pushed the ball to the right, took a forced step forward, and shot with his right foot. Van Dijk, who was standing, stretched his left foot to the left, and his calf just blocked the ball, and the ball bounced back to Rashford again.
Rashford reacted quickly, lifting his right foot to take the ball, but Robertson, who was returning to defense, was already in front of him.
Rashford stepped on the ball with his right foot, and Robertson was about to steal the ball. Rashford pulled the ball back with his right foot. At this time, Chen Xiaoliang, who was rushing forward from behind him, took the ball!
Just now after Chen Xiaoliang passed the ball, Kva finally shot from the left. Seeing that Alisson was unable to get to the target in time, Gvadiol had retreated to the goal line to act as a human wall. Only Elliot was still staring at Chen Xiaoliang.
But Chen Xiaoliang suddenly moved forward to the right side of the penalty area, so he was unable to catch up.
At this time, Chen Xiaoliang received the ball from behind Rashford at the right corner of the small penalty area, and Elliot, who was defending behind him, also chased after Rashford.
Seeing that things were not going well, Robertson also blocked the ball near the goal post.
But tonight, there was only one word in Manchester United’s No. 7’s mind - shoot!
At this time, he was already at the right sideline of the small penalty area, and he would reach the bottom line in two more steps, but he still raised his right foot and kicked towards the goal with all his strength!
"ah!"
"yeah!!!"
First there was a huge scream captured by the microphone on the goal, and then there was a thunderous cheer from Manchester United fans in the stands of Old Trafford!
Zhan Jun: "Xiao Liang is good at shooting, no one can stop him!"
"The ball hit Robertson who was blocking it and bounced into the goal!"
"4-0! My fourth goal!"
"Just ask if Liverpool today didn't have 4 looking for 4!"
"He scored 20 goals in 15 Premier League games. He is the second player this season to break Salah's previous Premier League record of 20 goals in 25 games!"
"The last one was Haaland who scored 20 goals in 13 rounds this season!"
"Wow! These two are taking the Premier League by storm!"
Zhang Lu: "Klopp must make adjustments. It is impossible for this incomplete team to attack. If they continue to attack, they will lose the ball."
But the defeat on the field was not something Klopp could adjust just because he wanted to.
He replaced McAllister with Ward-Prowse, and then replaced the frustrated Salah with Jota, and swapped the positions of Nunez and Jota.
However, everything ultimately proved to be in vain.
In the 67th minute, Manchester United replaced Rashford with Anthony, Fred with McTominay, Dalot with Williams, Varane with Maguire.
Ten Hag has already made a superficial gesture.
As the saying goes, leave a way out for yourself so that you can see them again in the future. It's not that I want to kill them all, I have already put a lot of substitutes on the field.
But whether these substitutes want to kill them all is their own business.
The following game turned into a show between the two wingers.
In the 71st minute, Kva received a pass from the retreating Chen Xiaoliang and rushed up along the left side.
Although he failed to gain the upper hand in both encounters with Kyle Walker, Arnold is the type of full-back that Kvart can control.
I may not have the advantage in a speed competition with him, but he is easily fooled.
Kva used his signature move, first feinting to the right, then tapping the ball with his right foot and back to his left foot, instantly breaking forward. After Arnold changed his center of gravity twice and fixed his center of gravity on blocking the wing, he tapped his left foot again and then rushed to the front right like an arrow.
Arnold tried to change direction again, but he stumbled and fell to the ground.
At this time, all the Manchester United fans in the stadium cheered loudly, and the entire screen was filled with [Route 66].
Kwa ran all the way, and Van Dyke and Ward-Prowse came to defend one after another.
They also knew that Chen Xiaoliang was going crazy today, his feet were so smooth, and he scored no matter how he played. It was very likely that Kva would find a chance to pass the ball to him.
But they have to guard against Kva. If a player like this is given a chance, he can also score a goal.
Both parties are like facing an open conspiracy, they know it clearly but cannot change it.
This is the dominance of the attacking side over the game situation!
On the bench, Bruno Fernandes waved his fist and shouted, "Go! Kobe! Go!"
At this time, Chen Xiaoliang and Kva completed a cross-running move. Kva with the ball rushed to the top of the penalty area, while Chen Xiaoliang without the ball ran towards the left side of the penalty area.
This is another classic counterattack move, which requires the defenders to be able to adapt quickly.
When two offensive players cross positions, should the defensive players guarding them switch positions?
Chen Xiaoliang passed behind Kwa, which meant that Elliot and Gwadiol who were defending him also passed through this area. On the other side, Van Dyke and Ward Prowse who were defending Kwa passed through Chen Xiaoliang.
At this time, some people may say, why not just continue following?
Next, Kwa seized the opportunity and gave the best demonstration!
Just after two attackers and four defenders formed a cross with six people, Kva immediately swung his right foot back to prepare to pass the ball!
At this moment, no one knew whether he was going to pass the ball or shoot.
But Gvadiol, who was passing by him and was closer to him and was supposed to defend Chen Xiaoliang, could only follow the principle of "defending nearby" and stopped to kick Kva, who was not his main defender.
There was no warning for Kva's sudden kick, and there was no notice for Gvadiol's stop and interception. Van Dijk and Ward-Prowse, who were defending Kva, were still staring at Kva as he ran.
As a result, the number of people defending Chen Xiaoliang changed from "2" to "1", and there was only Elliot left defending from behind.
Kwa would not miss such an opportunity. Once he missed it, he would be tortured repeatedly by Chen Xiaoliang during extra training and asked to practice the same routine dozens of times.
He put down his right foot and pushed the ball to the front left. The ball passed through Gvardiol and Van Dijk in the lightest way and rolled to the most deadly area - the left side of the penalty area!
Chen Xiaoliang shot as soon as he received the ball.
Today, whoever stands in my way will be killed. In one word, shoot. Add another word, it’s explosive shooting!
He kicked the person rolling towards him with his left foot and kicked him hard with the instep!
What corner shots, what curve balls to the far corners, let's not get into so many complicated things today.
Use your ultimate strength to defeat all opponents in front of you!
Alisson was almost there and made the save.
But unfortunately, in front of Chen Xiaoliang, there was no teammate to help him block the shooting route.
At such a distance, exposing a wild shooter directly in front of the goalkeeper is no different from giving away points.
Zhan Jun: "Xiaoliang! Close corner!"
"This ball! Goes! In! Again!"
"Five sons passed the imperial examinations!"
"How many people could have imagined before the game that this highly anticipated Manchester United derby would end up being a solo performance by the new No.7 of the Red Devils and the new captain of Manchester United!"
Zhang Lu: "Now there is only one suspense, how many games Liverpool will lose in this game."
Guan Zeyuan: "I think 5 is enough. If I were in his place, I wouldn't be able to let the score go any further even if I defended to the death."