Chapter 428: My weakness is seen through? Chen Xiaoliang: Why are you panicking? I'm here.
“Hiss~hiss~hiss~hiss~”
Chen Xiaoliang's cell phone, which was placed in the locker, was ringing, and he was already leading his teammates into Anfield through the player tunnel.
During the march, except for old teammate Gvardiol, all other Liverpool players kept their eyes away from Manchester United players, and even looked at them with some contempt, as if they would have just picked up their weapons and started fighting if there was no referee on the sidelines.
The moment he walked out of the tunnel, Anfield was filled with boos. Fans in the nearby stands also gave him the middle finger and cursed him with many words that were highly suggestive of "mom".
To some extent, this can be regarded as a "special courtesy" for the superstar at the home court of his arch-rival.
After the handshake with extremely stiff and perfunctory expressions on both sides, Van Dijk and Chen Xiaoliang started guessing the sides.
In the end, Liverpool kicked off first, attacking from northeast to southwest, while Manchester United kicked off later.
“Beep!”
Lou Yichen: "With the referee's whistle, the 214th Red Devils Derby officially begins!"
Gakpo pushed the ball back and Barrera followed up to receive the ball, but before moving the ball forward, he looked up at Chen Xiaoliang who was not far in front of him.
He had been waiting for this day for nearly half a year. Although his league statistics of 7 goals, 11 assists and 1.7 steals per game were definitely worthy of his 75 million euros, the 6-0 defeat at Old Trafford still made him toss and turn and unable to sleep whenever he thought about it.
Even though the team had a thousand reasons to lose that game, countless fans, including himself, believed that being sent off for irrational behavior was the main culprit for the collapse.
No matter what, this debt must be settled today.
Moreover, if we win this game today, not only will we give our arch-rivals their first defeat of the season and narrow the points gap between them, but we will also most likely eliminate their hopes of overtaking Manchester City and winning the league title.
You should know that Manchester United has not won the Premier League championship for 11 years. If this old giant wholly owned by the fund owned by the Qatari royal family is allowed to return to the top, it will be a nightmare for other Premier League giants, especially Liverpool.
With 19 top league titles, they are only one away from Manchester United's 20. No one in the world who supports the red power of Merseyside wants to see the gap widened again.
Klopp stood on the sidelines with his arms crossed over his chest and directed the game.
With the generals and commanders working together and the entire army fighting bravely, Liverpool's first attack showed threat.
In the 41st second, Liverpool organized in the midfield, and Barella, who was lagging behind, passed the ball to McAllister in the left front.
The Argentine midfielder pushed forward and Chen Xiaoliang ran sideways to intercept.
McAllister immediately passed the ball to Nunez on the left, who cut inside immediately. Milinkovic-Savic defended, but Nunez used his obvious speed advantage to continue cutting inside to the top of the arc.
Casemiro blocked the attack and wanted to double-team Milinkovic-Savic from the front and back. Nunez made a fake move to the outside and then dribbled directly into the penalty area between the two men.
In front of him, Casemiro intercepted the ball, and behind him, Milinkovic-Savic tried to use physical confrontation to slow down his advance.
As a result, Nunes fell forward and landed right on the top of the penalty area.
“Beep!”
Tim Robinson, one of the two new referees hired by the Premier League this season, blew the whistle. The referee, who is affiliated with the Sussex County Football Association, refereed two Premier League games as an assistant referee last season. At this moment, he penalized Milinkovic for a foul.
The other new referee is Darren Bond, who is affiliated with the Lancashire Football Association.
Milinkovic-Savic immediately appealed to the referee Tim Robinson, saying that he was just engaging in a normal confrontation, but the referee was completely indifferent and instructed Liverpool to prepare for a penalty kick.
Arnold ran over and started swinging the ball.
This season, he abandoned his previous dreadlock image and cut his hair into ordinary short hair. At the age of 25, which is the golden age, he seems to have returned to his heyday when he helped Liverpool win the Premier League and the Champions League. Whether he is a full-back or a defensive midfielder, his performance has been significantly improved compared to the "Route 66" of the previous two seasons.
Not only that, in terms of crossing and free kicks, he not only plays an important role in Liverpool, but also ranks high in the England national team.
Manchester United set up a five-man wall at the penalty spot, with the remaining players scattered around the penalty area to defend other Liverpool players.
“Beep!”
Referee Tim Robinson blew the whistle. Arnold was standing behind the left of the ball and Salah was standing behind the right of the ball. The two looked at each other.
Lou Yichen: "Arnold's running start!"
"Huh?! It stopped suddenly!"
“It’s Salah!”
"Arnold again!"
“Ouch!”
"This ball was played with great quality, but De Gea also made a great save!"
Liu Yue: "The two Liverpool players changed the rhythm. Arnold took two steps and suddenly stopped. At this time, Salah started to run. When the defenders' attention shifted from Arnold to Salah, Arnold, who was already behind the ball, suddenly kicked the ball."
"The ball went straight to the top right corner of the goal. Fortunately, De Gea was focused and moved sideways into the air to block the ball with his left hand. Luke Shaw immediately cleared the ball with his foot."
The thrilling opening did not change the score, nor would it change the tactical arrangements of both sides.
As the game went on, Manchester United discovered that Klopp had proposed a new solution to the issue of how to defend Chen Xiaoliang - that is, not to defend specifically.
Before, he had used Bayicetic as a special defense, and tried midfield double-teaming and special defense plus partial double-teaming, but the results were not very good, and the outcome was worse each time.
After watching three consecutive games between Manchester United and Manchester City a while ago, Klopp, who had been racking his brains and thinking hard, suddenly felt relieved.
He realized that facing a player like Chen Xiaoliang, there might not be a perfect targeted defensive tactic in the world that could completely curb him. Since there was no such tactic, there was no need to ponder it any further.
On the other hand, just like in boxing, taekwondo, kickboxing and other competitive games, no matter how strong the player is, it is impossible to defend all the attacks of the opponent. He will always have to take a few heavy blows in the game. But in the end, whether it is a knockout or a points count, it all depends on who can inflict more blows on the opponent under a certain defense.
This is the defensive level. On the offensive level, the parts of the opponent's body that are hit in these confrontational movements are the weakest or most fatal parts allowed by the rules.
So tonight, with the midfield iron triangle of Barrera, Lavia and McAllister, Klopp did not arrange any specific defensive tactics against Chen Xiaoliang. No matter which way he goes, there will be a corresponding midfielder to defend him, and then other teammates in the corresponding positions will assist in defense according to the actual defensive situation and position.
In other words, this is no different from the defensive tactics most teams use against their opponent's key players.
But in terms of offense, Klopp put in a lot of effort.
In the 6th minute, Wan Bissaka's mid-range pass to Cesco was blocked by Van Dijk, who moved up first. Barella took control of the ball and Liverpool launched an attack.
Robertson made a high-speed run from the left, Barella passed the ball to him, and Robertson rushed forward with the ball. Nunez was always active in the left corner of Manchester United's penalty area, pretending to be ready to move forward at any time, attracting the defensive .
Robertson easily shook off B Fee who ran over from the offensive position to defend, and then passed the ball to Nunez.
Nunes feinted forward and Wan Bissaka and Milinkovic-Savic immediately came over to double-team him. Nunes pushed the ball back to the wing, Robertson received the ball again and prepared to cross the ball without any defensive pressure.
Wan Bissaka turned around and rushed over, but before he could get close to Robertson, Robertson's high cross became a low horizontal pass.
Nunez on the other side waited for Wan Bissaka to turn his head and leave, then immediately ran down the left sideline of the penalty area. The sudden start made Milinkovic-Savic, who was tall and strong but lacked flexibility, unable to keep up at all. When Robertson passed the ball to him, Nunez was the one standing one step in the penalty area with no one around him.
Nunez turned and dribbled the ball towards the small penalty area, and Varane immediately made a follow-up move.
Lou Yichen: "Pass the ball horizontally in front of the goal!"
“It’s dangerous!”
“Fortunately, Argentine central defender Lisandro Martinez made a timely substitution and fell to the ground to shovel the ball out of the sideline before Gakpo could get in position!”
"Let's watch the replay again. Whether it's Wan-Bissaka, Milinkovic-Savic or Varane, they were all running with the ball moving back and forth on the left side of Liverpool. They were all forced to defend, which resulted in the defense always being one man short."
Liu Yue: "Whether it was Robertson just now or Arnold who tried to press forward to assist on the right, the two Liverpool full-backs pressed forward very much today and cooperated with the wingers in some areas of the wing. The poor defense on the right side of Manchester United just now was also related to the shortcomings of the players."
"Wan-Bissaka is very strong in one-on-one defense, but his ability to cover and assist in defense against the opponent's off-ball players is average. Although Milinkovic-Savic is excellent in headers and confrontations, his speed and flexibility are his two major weaknesses. Facing the very fast Nunez, he can be easily shaken off by the latter."
"Varane didn't expect that his two teammates were completely thrown away by the short passes of the two opposing players. They had to come over to defend. Fortunately, Lima anticipated and reacted quickly, otherwise if Gakpo had made a flanking move, the ball would have most likely gone in."
On the field, Robertson threw the ball out from the left side, McAllister stepped forward to receive the ball and attracted Wan Bissaka's defense, then knocked the ball back to Robertson. This time Robertson decisively kicked the ball and made a cross. Nunez, Gakpo and Salah surrounded the Manchester United penalty area at three points in front, middle and back. Finally, Nunez's header from the left side of the small penalty area was too straight and was hugged by De Gea and fell to the ground.
At this time, the broadcaster displayed subtitles on the screen, listing the offensive data of both sides after the opening.
Lou Yichen: "Seven minutes into the game, the home team Liverpool had already had three shots, while Manchester United had not yet gotten the ball into Liverpool's penalty area."
At this time, De Gea saw that the people around him had dispersed, so he stood up, patted the ball twice, threw the ball on the ground and prepared to pass it to his teammates.
As soon as he threw the ball, Gakpo, who had retreated outside the top of the arc, immediately rushed up.
Nunez and Salah also rushed over to Varane and Lima on the left and right sides of the penalty area.
De Gea didn't expect that Liverpool's three forwards would come back. In a panic, he saw that both central defenders were being targeted, so he had no choice but to kick the ball forward.
Ten Hag frowned suddenly on the sidelines.
The blind kick naturally ended up at the feet of a Liverpool player. Lavia chested the ball and passed it to Salah on the right. Liverpool attacked again. Salah cut inside from the right and shot, but was saved by De Gea again.
However, this time when De Gea stood up, Gakpo was still hanging around him. De Gea didn't dare to throw the ball to the ground, and the central defenders on both sides were still being watched. He couldn't throw the ball far enough, so he had no choice but to kick the ball forward again.
Fortunately, this time Chen Xiaoliang moved forward and used his strong body to suppress Lavia and headed the ball down.
Lou Yichen: "Let's see if Manchester United can launch a complete attack."
Chen Xiaoliang turned around and attacked Lavia. Lavia used his body to squeeze Chen Xiaoliang, but it was like hitting a concrete wall and bounced himself back. Barella and Arnold on the side began to approach the direction of Chen Xiaoliang. Chen Xiaoliang immediately passed the ball to Luke Shaw on the left, and then moved forward into the penalty area.
Seeing that there was no one in front of him, Luke Shaw decisively dribbled the ball forward along the left side. Kwa let him go and took Arnold to the left rib.
Lavia pounced on Luke Shaw, who made a direct cross at a 45-degree angle. Barella and Gvardiol stuck to Chen Xiaoliang, while Van Dijk defended Cesco alone. As a result, the ball was a little too big and goalkeeper Alisson rushed out of the small penalty area and jumped up to grab it.
On the other side, Luke Shaw was still raising his hand to "say hello" to Chen Xiaoliang and Cesco, indicating that the pass was not good. On this side, Alisson did not give Chen Xiaoliang and Cesco in the penalty area any chance to press and pressure, and had already thrown the ball far away to McAllister who was waiting outside the penalty area.
After McAllister received the ball, Liverpool's midfielders and two full-backs rushed towards Manchester United's half like a tide. McAllister made a diagonal pass to the right. Arnold had already run into position and caught the ball and rushed forward.
Luke Shaw, who had been raising his hand just now, chased after him desperately, but when he caught up, Arnold had already poked the ball to Salah who cut in from the right.
Salah did not confront Casemiro head-on. After receiving the ball, he continued to dribble to the left and headed straight for Milinkovic's defense. The latter, like Luke Shaw, also failed to return to defense.
In order to prevent Salah from shooting in front of the penalty area, Casemiro could only defend all the way.
Suddenly, Salah lowered his shoulders and made a move as if he was going to break through. Casemiro immediately stuck to him to prevent him from speeding up. Salah then turned around with the ball and pushed the ball to the right side of the top of the penalty area. That should have been Casemiro's defense area, but now it was empty. Arnold, who had already cut inside, shot without stopping!
The ball flew out like a cannonball, De Gea flew to the left to pounce on the ball, blocked the ball with his right hand but failed to completely change the trajectory of the ball!
Manchester United fans' hearts were in their throats, until finally with a "bang", the ball was lifted up and hit the crossbar and bounced out of the bottom line!
“Ouch!!!”
Liverpool fans in the stands around sighed in unison, and Klopp also shook his hands vigorously, complaining about the team's bad luck, otherwise they would have been leading by 2 goals.
However, he immediately applauded and shouted loudly, signaling the players to maintain the rhythm and continue to press and advance actively.
Chen Xiaoliang now completely realized that Klopp was coming with his heavy metal frenzy to hit the snake at its most vulnerable part tonight.
On the left side, Liverpool players avoided one-on-one confrontation with Wan Bissaka, and instead used the support of the midfielder and full-back. Nunez continued to put pressure on Wan Bissaka in the flank, and then through passing the ball back and forth, his shortcomings in defensive ability were completely exposed.
On the right side, although Luke Shaw's one-on-one ability is not as strong as Wan Bissaka, he is not an easy target in one-on-one situations due to his balanced abilities.
But Luke Shaw has an obvious flaw. Like Evra, Manchester United's left-back back then, he has good offensive and defensive abilities and needs to frequently press forward to participate in the attack. However, once he does, facing fast wingers who are good at dribbling, it is difficult for him to catch up in the first time. This is the so-called biggest problem of full-backs - they can press forward but cannot withdraw.
Therefore, along the way, Liverpool did not press him in the half-court, but actively lured other Manchester United players to pass the ball to Luke Shaw, who then moved forward and waited for the offense and defense to switch directly to the space behind him.
There is another hidden danger on Manchester United's two flanks. Although Kva and B Fee have a good attitude towards returning to defense, their defensive ability is very average.
Today, Anthony was not used on the right side but Bruno Fernandes was used. Ten Hag wanted to strengthen the connection in the frontcourt, but this position is just a guest role for Bruno Fernandes after all, which further magnified Wan Bissaka's problem of neglecting one thing while focusing on another.
In the defensive midfielder position, Casemiro's strength is obvious to all, so Liverpool's attack today actively bypassed him and focused on Milinkovic-Savic's side as much as possible.
Milinkovic-Savic is not a defensive midfielder by nature, and his slow speed is no secret. In the Serie A league, which has a relatively slow overall speed and focuses more on tactical coordination, this shortcoming is not too obvious. But in the Premier League, where the rhythm of offense and defense transitions is extremely fast and there are many players who are good at individual blasting, this problem is quite obvious.
It just so happens that high-position pressure and fast-paced offensive transitions are Klopp's signature tactical style. Nunez, who played on this side, used his speed to get rid of Milinkovic-Savic with the help of Robertson today.
The last weakness is the goalkeeper’s ability to pass the ball.
David De Gea may be the most "retro" of the main goalkeepers of today's football giants. He has a strong ability to save shots on the goal line. His high-altitude ball ability, which was repeatedly ravaged when he first came to the Premier League, has long since transformed after so many years of beating. However, his ability to control and pass the ball has never improved, which makes him increasingly look a bit different under the changes in modern football.
Back then, Liverpool spent a whopping 72.5 million euros to bring Alisson from Roma. In addition to his goalkeeping ability, they also needed his passing ability.
This was also confirmed by Guardiola. In the summer of 2017, he brought Ederson, Alisson's substitute goalkeeper in the Brazil national team, from Benfica for 40 million euros in order to strengthen the backcourt's passing ability.
You know, two years ago in the summer of 2015, the transfer fee of the then unknown Ederson from Rio Ave to Benfica was only 500,000 euros. Guardiola was willing to pay 400 times the price. In addition to being closely related to Benfica's black spot attributes, it also shows that such a goalkeeper is the type urgently needed in the current trend of football tactical reform.
In addition to his passing ability, De Gea also has the characteristics of a classic goalkeeper, which is his attacking and covering ability.
This brings us to Neuer, the most famous figure who changed the goalkeeper type. With his large coverage range and interception ability outside the penalty area, Neuer demonstrated the future direction of modern goalkeepers on the defensive end, and to some extent gave the team half an extra defender.
Ten Hag, who likes to use his old players, wanted to buy Inter Milan goalkeeper Onana last summer, especially after Onana had a complete falling out with the national team and Cameroon Football Association President Eto'o at the Qatar World Cup and withdrew from the national team. From the club's perspective, this African goalkeeper who does not have to participate in the Africa Cup of Nations is not only more modern in ability, but also has no worries in use.
But the money spent on buying the three Roma players and Timber was too much, and Inter Milan asked for 60 million euros, which would make Manchester United's net investment in the summer window exceed 400 million euros, which would definitely trigger the UEFA Finance Committee's punishment for violating the Financial Fair Play Act. Therefore, they gave up and bought Livakovic, who has the same classic style but is extremely cheap and cost-effective.
Tonight, Klopp made it clear that he was going to "ignore" Chen Xiaoliang at home and attack Manchester United's main weaknesses. Like a boxer, if he couldn't knock him down completely, he would use more points to win the game.
However, compared to Ten Hag who was frowning on the sidelines, Chen Xiaoliang on the field was not too panicked.
To him, weakness looks scary, but in fact it is not that scary.
Because everyone has weaknesses, and every team has its weaknesses.
Klopp has calculated so many of Manchester United's weaknesses, but has he ever calculated how to make up for Liverpool's weaknesses?
Chen Xiaoliang didn't care whether Klopp had made any plans or not, he just knew that he knew it clearly.
In the 18th minute, after enduring Liverpool's 6-shot storm, Manchester United launched another attack.
Still on the left, since Liverpool did not press Luke Shaw in the half-court, the ball naturally went to him.
The only difference this time is that Chen Xiaoliang also moved to the left rib area.
As Luke Shaw advanced and crossed the center line and approached the attacking third zone, Lavia began to approach him. After a brief eye contact, Luke Shaw and Chen Xiaoliang continued to move forward.
Seeing that he had entered the offensive third zone and was close enough, Lavia stepped forward and began to press, trying to steal the ball.
Luke Shaw was prepared. Without waiting for Lavia to get close, he passed the ball to Chen Xiaoliang with his left foot.
Chen Xiaoliang received the ball and turned around. McAllister was on his right and Barrera was in front of him. The two had formed a siege, but because of Chen Xiaoliang 's sudden starting speed, they were more than three meters away from Chen Xiaoliang.
Chen Xiaoliang took two steps forward, suddenly lowered his center of gravity as if he was going to break through, and then rushed forward a step.
McAllister and Barrera quickly stepped back to prevent Chen Xiaoliang from overtaking them in two or three steps at an extremely fast speed, but when they looked closely, they saw that only Chen Xiaoliang's body moved, while the ball under his feet did not move.
His kick also attracted the attention of Lavia on the left rear. At this moment, Chen Xiaoliang pushed the ball to the left front. After the ball was passed, Luke Shaw, who was running forward without the ball, received the ball again and completed a two-pass cooperation with Chen Xiaoliang.
This time, Chen Xiaoliang, without the ball, started rushing towards the top of the penalty area.
Arnold and Luke Shaw rushed over with the ball, and there was no choice but to rush forward to defend.
Luke Shaw repeated his old trick, passing the ball directly to Kwa in front without making contact with him.
The moment he passed the ball, Kva made a run forward after being offside, and Arnold immediately turned back to chase him, but Kva stopped and passed the ball while taking advantage of his speed to shake off Arnold and break into the left side of the penalty area.
Cesco had moved to the right side of the penalty area at this time, attracting the defensive attention of Gvardiol and Robertson, while the others in the Liverpool penalty area were all staring at Kwa who was rushing in.
Kva made a back pass with his left foot, and the ball came to the feet of Chen Xiaoliang who had already rushed to the left side of the penalty spot!
Manchester United's teammates on the bench and 2,000 Manchester United fans in the away fan zone at Anfield all stood up.
They all knew what the consequences would be if Chen Xiaoliang got the ball in the opponent's penalty area.
The shouts of celebration have reached the tip of his throat, and his waving hands have been raised to the ground. According to the script, Chen Xiaoliang should kick the ball, and then everyone should shout in unison and celebrate!
Then Chen Xiaoliang turned 180 degrees to receive the ball, then turned half a circle to face the goal, but did not shoot.
He made a shooting motion with his right foot, and Barrera, who had already chased back to his left side, immediately fell to the ground and slid past him, trying to block his shot.
Chen Xiaoliang faked a move, stepped on the ball with his right foot, and gently pulled it back. Barrera had already slid from in front of him to his right side, and was turning around and trying to get up to perform a second defense.
But this time Chen Xiaoliang would not give him another chance, facing the huge goal and Van Dijk standing with his hands behind his back and bending over about 4 meters in front of him to block the ball, he gently pushed the ball into the lower left corner of the goal.
There was no explosive shot, no powerful hit, just a precise shot that was right against the inside of the goal post, like a golf putter on the green for birdie.
Alisson immediately got to the ground and stretched his hand to his right, but the ball still rolled steadily into his own goal.
Lou Yichen: "Beautiful! In the 19th minute! I didn't expect that Manchester United, who had survived Liverpool's fierce attack at the start, actually scored a goal with the first shot of the game, leading the home team Liverpool by 1 goal away from home!"
Liu Yue: "This ball was played smartly and elegantly. He first played two defenders outside the penalty area with a fake move, then passed the ball to Luke Shaw, and then rushed into the penalty area without the ball, and stood on the left and right sides of the penalty area with Cesco, increasing the defensive density in Liverpool's penalty area."
"Then he faked a shot and calmly stepped on the ball, completely deceiving Barrera who rushed over to tackle him. Finally, he made an accurate shot. The ball seemed slow, but it rolled steadily into the goal."
"As if to counter Liverpool's aggressive attack tonight, Chen Xiaoliang played leisurely and unhurried football."
Lou Yichen: "Old Liu is right! Let's see! Haha, Barrera really wants to win. He kneeled on the ground and slapped the grass hard to vent his dissatisfaction. McAllister on the side, regardless of whether he was the captain or not, loudly questioned Van Dijk why he would rather stand still with his hands behind his back than go close to Chen Xiaoliang and disrupt his shot."
Liu Yue: "You are the Champions League champion, and I am the World Cup champion, so it seems okay for me to say a few words to you."
Lou Yichen: “Hahaha!”
Van Dijk and McAllister on the field were indeed arguing, as the audience saw, but only McAllister was speaking.
Van Dijk clearly remembers that he was criticized for the same thing by Milner, the old captain who has now left the team, because he did not jump in time.
After Chen Xiaoliang celebrated with his teammates, he couldn't help but smile when he saw Van Dijk helplessly trying to walk away McAllister who was staring at him and spraying him.
This former "world's No. 1 defender" has long since fallen from the altar. Although he is still a very good central defender at the age of 33, he has obviously declined a lot since his heyday, most notably in his speed and reaction ability.
Barrera's violent temper was also accurately grasped by Chen Xiaoliang. When he saw that he was about to shoot, Barrera, who was always thinking about revenge and doing things in a hurry, would definitely rush over and slide to block the shot regardless of his own safety.
Adding the two together, that's how we got the goal just now.
Chen Xiaoliang made a gesture of pressing down with both hands towards Ten Hag, who had a relaxed brow. Ten Hag could not help but shook his head and laughed, then simply sat back on the bench.
The old coach McLaren on the side also laughed and said to him: "This kid asked you to relax, so just relax."
Ten Hag was still smiling and shaking his head: "Yeah, this kid is giving orders to the head coach. Maybe one day when I can stand on the sidelines and give orders, I will have to listen to him."
