Liverpool kicked off, had 6 shots to 1, 3 shots on target to 1, and 55% ball possession to 45%, but the score was 0 to 1.
The broadcaster once again displayed subtitles on the screen, and commentators from various countries immediately said excitedly:
"That goal was Chen Xiaoliang's 33rd goal in the league this season, and his 50th goal in all competitions this season!"
The attentive director then turned the camera to a black man in sportswear on the Manchester United bench, but unlike the goal data just now, most commentators did not know who this black man was.
However, soon, whether through reminders from veteran football fans or information provided by the live broadcast platform assistant, everyone got his information.
Lou Yichen: "The full name of the young player the camera was focused on just now is Nestri Ilankunda, 18 years old, currently playing for Adelaide United in the Australian League. Since joining the team on September 27, 2021, he has played for two and a half years. He has dual citizenship of Australia and Burundi in Africa, and is a player who came out of an African refugee camp."
Liu Yue: "Bayern Munich had in-depth contact with him last summer, but Tuchel was unable to give him a chance to play in the first team. It is said that the two sides have signed a personal agreement, but the player's current agent is Riise. Judging from his appearance on the Manchester United bench today and wearing Manchester United's training suit, he should have joined Manchester United."
The information the two commentators received was basically consistent with the facts, except that above the stands where the camera was not aimed, Riise was also sitting in the familiar Anfield stadium. Due to his relationship with Liverpool, he was unable to sit directly behind Manchester United's bench with his new players.
Manchester United has already started the process of selling Sancho, Elanga, Diallo, Pellistri, Brandon Williams and others. Judging from the team's current performance and future long-term development goals, these players are seen as lacking the ability to help the team. The success of the Roma trio, especially Chen Xiaoliang after joining the team, has also made the club begin to focus on the introduction of talented players under the age of 21.
In addition to the 18-year-old Irankunda, Ten Hag also promoted two Spanish defenders from the youth team, Alvaro Fernandez, commonly known as A Fee, and Marc Jurado, to the first team, and promised to give them some opportunities to play in official matches next season.
Interestingly, these two Spanish players were bought by Manchester United in the summer window of 2020 and arranged to train with the youth training team. The former is a product of Deportivo La Coruna youth training academy and later spent three years in Real Madrid U17, so he can also be considered as Real Madrid youth training. The latter is a native Catalan and has spent 9 years in Barcelona youth training.
The two of them will also travel with the team tonight to feel the thrilling atmosphere of the Red Derby.
On the field, Liverpool continued to attack tirelessly. Although Chen Xiaoliang's goal was caused by various flaws, they were not surprised. The tone set by Klopp in this game was very clear, that is attack.
It is very difficult to defend against Manchester United's attack. The only way to defeat them is to strangle their vital points and attack continuously.
As a team that has scored 96 goals this season and ranks first in the league's scoring list, they do have the strength to do so.
Although they are currently only third in the league, Klopp is no stranger to this situation.
In the 2019-20 season, Manchester City scored 102 goals, but finally ranked second with 81 points. Liverpool "only" scored 85 goals, but accumulated 99 points and won the first Premier League championship in team history.
In the 24th minute, Barrera took a long shot but it went high.
In the 29th minute, Arnold made a high cross from the right, which was headed out by Varane.
In the 32nd minute, Nunez cut in from the left and made a straight pass. Gakpo made a diagonal run to receive the ball on the left side of the penalty area and shot, but his shot was blocked by De Gea and went out of the baseline.
In the 33rd minute, Adeno took a corner kick, Milinkovic-Savic headed the ball away, Manchester United counterattacked and passed the ball to B Fee, who passed the ball directly to Sesco who was advancing in the middle. Sesco shot on the penalty area line, but was kicked out of the sideline by Gvardiol who was defending closely.
In the 34th minute, Manchester United had the ball on the right sideline. Chen Xiaoliang received the ball and made a direct cross. The ball accurately found Cesco, who seemed to be in very good form today. Wearing the No. 9 jersey of Manchester United, he headed the ball. The ball bounced off the ground and flew towards the goal, but was blocked by Alisson.
At this point, the shots were 10 to 4 and the game was very intense, causing fans of both sides to sigh, stamp their feet and exclaim again and again.
It wasn't until the 42nd minute that the game finally changed again.
The most active person on the field today was none other than Barrera. He certainly knew about the past between Salah and Real Madrid. The Egyptian who wanted to settle accounts with the Spanish giants never expected that after repeatedly expressing his intention to settle accounts in front of the media, he would add a new account to his account book after the game.
Barrera doesn't want that.
He was furious after being fooled by Chen Xiaoliang's fake move and kneeling on the ground to witness his clever shot into the goal. Now he had to do everything he could to help the team win the home game.
Lavia passed the ball to him on the right side of the midfield in the middle. After advancing for a while, facing Chen Xiaoliang's defense, he passed the ball to McAllister on the left, and then started moving to the left.
McAllister continued to advance with the ball across the center line. B Fee rushed over to defend. The Argentine midfielder pushed the ball forward and returned it to Barrera who had already run in front of him without the ball.
Facing Milinkovic's defense, Barella, who was not too fast, controlled the ball with his right foot and pretended to change direction, but while dribbling towards the top of the arc, he suddenly sent a wonderful through pass. The ball passed between Manchester United's two midfielders and rolled in front of Lima, accurately finding Gakpo who was making a forward run!
Gakpo took the ball one step further and was very close to the right corner of the small penalty area. Lima turned around to defend, but Gakpo had already made a move to shoot.
Lima didn't have time to think and went straight to the ground to make a tackle. After Gakpo's right foot landed, he changed the ball to the left.
With this dunk, his feet perfectly collided with Lima's legs as he made the tackle.
Gakpo fell, and referee Tim Robinson blew the whistle and pointed to the penalty spot.
Lima stood up and had nothing to say. No matter how you looked at it, it was definitely a penalty. Fortunately, the referee did not draw a card.
Chen Xiaoliang came over and patted Lima, telling him not to worry about it.
No one else said anything. Everyone makes mistakes. For a ruthless person like Lima, everyone knows that he will try his best to get back on track in the next game.
Salah stood on the penalty spot. Previously, when facing Manchester United, his penalty kick went straight away. However, the Egyptian striker did not make the same mistake today. He pushed the ball into the upper left corner of the goal with his left foot. The force was strong and the angle was sharp. In addition, De Gea did not judge the direction correctly, and the ball hit the goal steadily, tying the score to 1-1.
Soon the first half ended and both sides returned to their respective locker rooms calmly.
Judging from the course of the game, both sides had no problems in tactical execution, and even less in their mentality. A match like the Red Devils Derby, which was a century-old feud, did not require any mobilization, not to mention that it was mixed with some players' personal grudges.
Ten Hag and Klopp were seizing every second to arrange tactical adjustments for the players in the second half, especially for Manchester United. Since the opponent had seized on several weaknesses and hit them hard, he could only explain to Milinkovic-Savic in front of the whole team and then replaced him with Timber.
Milinkovic accepted it and he himself felt uncomfortable playing in the first half.
As a hexagonal midfielder, speed is indeed his weakness, but at the age of 29, he is no longer a jumpy young man. He knows his own weight. Moreover, he has players like Chen Xiaoliang, Casemiro and B Fee around him. As long as the team can win, he can accept substituting himself.
On the Liverpool side, Klopp emphasized the praise for Barrera's performance and kept emphasizing the need to improve calmness and concentration in the second half and continue to speed up.
Returning to the field in the second half, Klopp was a little surprised that Ten Hag could replace Milinkovic so decisively.
Compared with Milinkovic-Savic, Timber's attacking and long-pass abilities are much worse, but his stealing and reaction speed are much faster.
Before the kick-off of the second half, he kept waving at the stands, signaling the home fans to make louder noises to create more noise pressure on Manchester United.
“Beep!”
Manchester United kicked off in the second half, and Cesco pushed the ball to Chen Xiaoliang. After receiving the ball, Chen Xiaoliang did not rush forward, but waited for his teammates to move forward before taking action.
McAllister came up to defend and Chen Xiaoliang took the ball directly to the front left.
Barrera also ran over to double-team, but Chen Xiaoliang kicked the ball past him and passed it to Kwa on the left.
Both central midfielders were attracted away by Chen Xiaoliang, and Kva received the ball and began to cut inwards to the left rib.
Facing Arnold, whether in Rome or at Manchester United, he has an excellent one-on-one winning rate, but at this time, Arnold has Lavia by his side.
Kva changed direction and continued to cut inside, Arnold was responsible for the rear guard, and Lavia came up directly and closely.
Kva thought: Great, I knew Arnold couldn't defend me, so I ambushed him here.
He glanced at the position of Chen Xiaoliang who was running forward, then stopped and cut inside with a feint, and walked back to the side.
Luke Shaw has been asked by Ten Hag not to enter the opponent's offensive third zone at will, to ensure that he can return to his defensive position as soon as possible after the offense-defense transition. Therefore, he is standing about 5 meters past the center line, waiting for Kwa to pass back at any time.
Kva was reluctant to advance such a long distance, and he wanted to pass the ball back when he got close to the left corner of the penalty area, so he forced a breakthrough on Arnold.
But with the help of Lavia, Arnold didn't have to worry about Kwa shaking. He just had to block the outside line and hold his position tightly to prevent Kwa from passing.
Seeing that he was about to lose the ball if he continued to dribble, Kwa made a cross with his left foot, but Lavia jumped up and blocked the ball with his head, which went out of the sideline.
At this point, the originally smooth attack became fragmented. Kva raised his hand to signal to Chen Xiaoliang who was cutting into the middle that he had not handled the situation well.
Luke Shaw came up to throw the sideline ball, but Casemiro was blocking the position behind him. Kwa was still surrounded by two people. Luke Shaw had no choice but to throw the ball back to Casemiro.
Van der Gahe watched Kva's performance and said to Ten Hag who was sitting next to him: "He still wants to prove himself too much."
"This season he has a total of 9 goals and 14 assists. Last season in Rome he had 15 goals and 20 assists. He is obviously dissatisfied with his declining statistics."
Ten Hag nodded: "At 23 years old, he has to go through what he has to go through. Not everyone matures as precociously as he does."
The "he" here, of course, refers to Chen Xiaoliang.
Casemiro reorganized the team and Chen Xiaoliang retreated to ask Casemiro for the ball.
On the left, Kva asked for the ball again, but Chen Xiaoliang did not give it to him. Instead, he took the ball to the right and passed it to B Fee on the side.
After the ball was passed, he made a gesture to Kva to catch the ball behind him.
Unexpectedly, before the gesture was completed on this side, the offensive routine was already launched on the other side.
B Fee received the ball from Chen Xiaoliang on the side, and as he couldn't get past Robertson, he moved to the left rib. Wan Bissaka behind him made a full-speed forward run. B Fee pushed the ball to the side, and Wan Bissaka received the ball and directly passed it to the middle.
Everyone knows that he is not good at crossing, but this pass was really good.
With the required arc and accuracy, Cesco relied on his younger body to force himself to jump and head the ball before Van Dijk, and he headed the ball into an arc.
The ball was lifted from the right side of the penalty spot to the left side of the goal. Alisson, who was standing close to the goal post, didn't have time to catch it. Just as it was about to go into the goal, Gvardiol rushed towards the goal line and jumped suddenly, pushing the ball out of the bottom line before it fell into the goal!
When Cesco saw this, he immediately knelt on the ground and covered his face with his hands.
"Beep!" The referee Tim Robinson awarded Manchester United a corner kick on the left side!
Lou Yichen: "It was so close! Even Alisson had given up, but Cesco's old teammate, Croatian Gvardiol, predicted the trajectory of the ball and forced a clearance on the goal line!"
Liu Yue: "The contribution of this goal is no less than scoring a goal."
Lou Yichen: “That’s right!”
"Luke Shaw comes up to take the corner and look at the effect of this corner."
"It seems that Xiaoliang is talking to Cesco."
Players from both teams were standing by. Chen Xiaoliang was standing next to Cesco, with Kwa behind him. He covered his mouth with his hand and said:
"Don't be impatient, both of you. Think about what your opponent is afraid of. If one method doesn't work, try another one. Don't be so stubborn. You've encountered this hundreds of times during extra training."
After saying that, he patted Cesco's butt.
He grew up in a well-off family and unlike Kwa, he does not have a strong obsession with perfection. He has a more open-minded and free-spirited personality. For him, playing professional football does not mean he has too much obsession with changing his family conditions or achieving class transition. It is more of a pure love for it.
This also made him not very fond of fighting and competing.
But this does not mean that he does not pursue data and victory. Defeating more and stronger opponents certainly means that he has made greater progress in his favorite career.
Driven by this kind of personality, it is rare to see him getting stuck in a rut, such as responding with things like "I don't believe it", "I just want to try again", "What I do is my business and it's none of your business".
He had always admired "Liangzi", who had been with him for three years, so what Chen Xiaoliang said just now immediately prompted him to start thinking seriously.
Soon, he made a "three" gesture to Luke Shaw.
Van Dijk in the penalty area immediately shouted. The scout team had seen this gesture in Manchester United's game before!
In the last Champions League semi-final where Manchester United reversed Manchester City, Chen Xiaoliang made this gesture and then passed the ball to the penalty spot.
Van Dijk stuck closely to Cesco who was standing on the penalty spot, and according to the defensive responsibilities, as long as Chen Xiaoliang entered the penalty area during a set-piece attack, Gvardiol would be responsible for defending him one-on-one.
When Chen Xiaoliang saw his old teammate, he immediately started trash-talking: "Don't waste your energy. When have you ever beaten me?"
Gvardior said nothing and still stuck close to Chen Xiaoliang.
Chen Xiaoliang: "Is this the intensity? Have you forgotten what we learned during the extra training?"
Gvardiol remained silent.
Chen Xiaoliang: "What? Did you become mute after going to Liverpool? Or is it that no one loves you there? If no one loves you, come to Manchester United. I will protect you."
Gwadior: "You... who told you not to buy me and buy that Shabiting Bell instead."
Gvadiol has always been conceited and arrogant, and his arrogance is not the introverted type like Kvarva's. He is openly and openly arrogant. When he was first loaned to Roma, he didn't take Chen Xiaoliang seriously for a while.
Tingbel, who was staying near the center line, sneezed. If Chen Xiaoliang hadn't been in the penalty area preparing to kick off, he would have burst into laughter.
Chen Xiaoliang: "You really miss me. Hurry up and submit your transfer application. I will buy you in the summer."
Gwadior: "Go away."
"Beep!" The whistle sounded, Luke Shaw saw Cesco's gesture and started to run up to kick off.
For a moment, there was Chen Xiaoliang on the left side of the penalty spot, Varane at the front point, Cesco on the right side of the penalty spot, Kva at the back point, Casemiro in the small penalty area, and B Fee on the penalty area line. It can be said that attacking forces were deployed on the left, middle, right, far, middle and near.
A left-footed player takes a corner kick from the left side, and the ball spins and flies out of the penalty area.
After the ball came up, it first passed the front point, but the height was too high and Varane did not jump. Then it came to the front of the penalty spot. The ball fell rapidly. Chen Xiaoliang carried Gvardiol behind him and took a step forward and jumped hard!
Gvardiol followed closely and immediately let go of the right hand that was pulling Chen Xiaoliang's jersey, so as to avoid the referee's attention being focused on him and causing trouble.
But he did not jump. He saw the height of the ball and, based on his understanding of Chen Xiaoliang's tactical habits, he knew that Chen Xiaoliang's jump was just a feint and there was no way he could hit the ball.
The team's landing point is behind them, right on the penalty spot.
Based on his visual prediction, the ball will not fall too high, and with his understanding of Cesco's ability to compete in the penalty area, especially the two's past experiences in extra training and in the league in the first half of the season, the experienced Van Dijk should be able to easily overpower Cesco and destroy the ball in the header.
However, he forgot one thing. He knew Cesco, but Van Dijk did not. The former world No. 1 defender was still thinking about the "three" gesture that Cesco had just made.
Sure enough, the ball flew to the penalty spot!
He pressed his body on Sesco's back, and although there was no pulling action with his hands, this kind of confrontation and restraint could prevent Sesco from jumping at all, or from jumping high enough.
In his script, after the ball drops a little further, he will jump up with half of his body pressing on Cesco. The downward reaction force will further make Cesco lose the ability to compete for the header.
As expected, an accident happened.
When Van Dijk wanted to jump up, he found that he couldn't jump at all!
It turned out that he pressed forward on Cesco's back, and Cesco bent his legs slightly and half-sat back on Van Dyke's thighs!
If Van Dijk wants to jump, he can only step back, but this will not only not have enough time, but also give the stuck position to Cesco.
The falling ball arrived in an instant, leaving him no time to adjust. In desperation, Van Dijk could only push forward, trying to disrupt Cesco's balance.
Cesco leaned forward slightly, facing the left side of the court, and gently shook his head, and his right forehead accurately hit the falling ball.
Although Barella, who was defending Casemiro in the small penalty area, had reached the near post at this time, and Alisson also made a save, no one expected that Van Dijk would not be able to make any obvious defensive interference and damage to Cesco's header.
This header attack from penalty kick distance caught the potential energy of the ball falling high, flew towards the left goal post at an extremely fast speed, and then flew into Liverpool's goal!
Lou Yichen: "Ouch! The ball actually went in!"
"Van Dijk! He was just scolded by McAllister. I wonder what will happen this time."
Liu Yue: "The two should have been trying to restrain each other's movements. It seemed that Cesco was stuck in position, and Van Dijk was unable to jump up, so Cesco almost stood still and adjusted his posture fully, and easily headed the ball into the goal."
Lou Yichen: "Not long after the second half started, in the 47th minute, Manchester United changed the score again, 1-2, leading Liverpool away from home!"
"Liangzi! Liangzi!"
On the court, Cesco, who was celebrating, saw Chen Xiaoliang coming over and shouted excitedly:
"You're right after all. If I can't handle him by jumping, then I might as well not jump! Haha!"
Chen Xiaoliang also laughed. Actually, this was not what he originally meant. He wanted Sesco to play more ground defense, and if he felt that the header was not good, he could play ground-to-ground shooting and other routines...
Unexpectedly...
Now that the opportunity to load coins had come, he had to finish loading them even if it meant crying. He patted Cesco:
"Now that I have the feel for heading the ball, I can try using my feet to catch them off guard!"
Cesco: “Haha, yeah!”
This time McAllister was also confused. He was short and defended Bruno Fernandes on the penalty area line. Unexpectedly, he turned around and saw Cesco standing and headed the ball into the goal...
Alisson spread his hands and looked at Van Dijk speechlessly. He had no idea what happened to this good partner who could defend everything two or three years ago, tonight or in the past two years.
Gvardiol was also helpless, but he didn't have enough time, he was too young, and he didn't have the World Cup or America's Cup championship, otherwise he would have wanted to ask Van Dijk what was wrong.
But he can't switch positions with Van Dijk. Compared with Chen Xiaoliang, a killer who can score 50 goals in a season, Cesco can only be regarded as a small threat.
If Van Dijk really switches positions in defense based on his current state, the disastrous scene in which Chen Xiaoliang scored 5 goals in the last game might be repeated.
Klopp on the sidelines crossed his hands in front of his chest, lowered his head and paced back and forth in thought.
Van Dijk is not Milinkovic-Savic, who can be signed easily. After Milner and Henderson left, he became the team's first captain. Although he no longer has the ability and form of a world-class defender, he is still a reliable top central defender in most games. In addition, he has worked diligently and made great contributions to the team over the years. He is needed to maintain the team on and off the field, as well as in the locker room.
Even if it really needs to be solved, it has to wait until the end of the season.
He chose to wait a little longer and let French center back Konate start warming up.
However, this wait led to an unexpected result.
In the 57th minute, Liverpool scored a goal from a corner kick. Arnold made a curved shot from the right. Gvardiol headed the ball in the middle and it bounced off the ground but was cleared by Lima. However, the ball was not kicked far and was caught by Van Dijk who had already retreated outside the top of the arc.
He was feeling particularly frustrated playing tonight, so he raised his right foot and shot the ball, but the ball didn't hit the goal frame, but hit B Fee's open hand squarely.
At that moment, the entire Anfield, from Liverpool fans to Liverpool players, raised their hands.
Referee Tim Robinson did not dare to be careless. As a newcomer with only two and a half years of experience in refereeing in the Premier League and his first season as a referee this season, he chose to go and watch VAR.
The result is very clear. B Fee's left hand did leave his torso. Although it was not intentional handball in any way, it was the so-called "ball hitting the hand", but the rules are the rules.
However, VAR also clearly showed that the handball occurred inside the arc and outside the penalty area line.
“Beep!”
He made the VAR gesture and awarded Liverpool a free kick in front of the penalty area.
At the beginning of the first half, Arnold's free kick from almost the same position almost went in. This time, Arnold and Salah appeared behind the penalty spot at the same time again, and Manchester United lined up a 6-man wall to protect the goal.
De Gea kept reminding the human wall to pay attention to the changes in the opponent's free kick coordination.
But the ball still couldn't be defended.
Just after the referee blew the whistle and indicated a penalty kick, neither Arnold nor Salah moved. Instead, Barrera, who was standing behind the two, started to run up, as if he was ready to shoot a powerful shot like Roberto Carlos.
Cesco, Casemiro, Timber and others in the human wall quickly turned their heads to the side, covering their chests and crotches, to avoid being kicked away with one kick that would destroy their happiness for the rest of their lives.
The moment Barrera touched the ball with his right foot, Cesco, who was the tallest, jumped slightly.
As a result, Barrera kicked the ball on the ground, and it happened to roll past Cesco's feet.
No one was prepared for this sudden low free kick, and De Gea just stood there without making any save!
Lou Yichen: "2-2! 60th minute! Barrera!"
"Wow, he was so excited. If he hadn't been given a yellow card for taking off his shirt, he would have ripped his jersey to pieces."
Liu Yue: "The red card in the last game, coupled with the 6-0 score, caused him to be warned by a large number of fans and even received death threats. This kind of experience is something he has never encountered in Serie A."
Barrera was indeed excited. He grabbed the Liverpool logo on his shirt and ran to the Kop stand with red face and shouted to the diehard Liverpool fans:
"Ah!!! We will never let them take any points from us!!!"
"Ah!!! No way!!!"
This crucial goal made Liverpool fans instantly regard him as a hero. Many burly Merseyside men also shouted to him with red faces and thick necks:
"Destroy them!!!"
"England is only one shade of red!!!"
Bruno Fernandes was speechless. Logically, this ball was his fault, but his teammates did not blame him.
He actively ran over to block Van Dijk. Normally, when running, one's hands are close to the body. Who would have thought that the guy's footwork was so accurate, kicking anywhere but at the hand...
I can only say that when I'm unlucky, even drinking cold water will get stuck in my teeth.
Cesco took the blame and told his teammates that it was his fault and he shouldn't have jumped.
But again, no one blamed him.
Chen Xiaoliang patted him on the shoulder, walked towards the center circle to prepare for the kick-off, and told him that he would pass him two more balls later.
Cesco: "Okay, I'll do as you say."
Chen Xiaoliang: "Okay."
As expected, accidents happened again...
Chen Xiaoliang thought that Cesco's "do as you say" meant to pass the ball to him more times and attack more often, but Cesco still remembered what Chen Xiaoliang said when he accidentally succeeded in showing off, "try using your feet next time"...
Liverpool didn't have long to be happy about equalizing the score. Six minutes later, in the 66th minute, Manchester United attacked on the right.
This time, B Fee and Chen Xiaoliang switched positions. Chen Xiaoliang moved to the side and received the pass from Dalot, who replaced Wan Bissaka, and rushed forward.
Robertson followed Klopp's tactical arrangement and retreated directly to the penalty area line, leaving the close defense to McAllister and the retreating Nunez.
It is impossible to completely defend against Chen Xiaoliang, so we have to focus on the attack.
Klopp’s strategy is to defend against breakthroughs rather than passes.
Although Chen Xiaoliang's pass was also abnormal, it was less threatening than his sudden entry into the penalty area and facing the goal. Moreover, once the ball was passed, Chen Xiaoliang's threat was gone, and the remaining shots had to be completed by his teammates. As long as others defended well, no matter how good the pass was, it could not be converted into an offense.
It can only be said that although Klopp said that he would not make any special defense against Chen Xiaoliang, he still took the Manchester United captain too seriously in his heart.
And in his heart he may still think that he is coaching the former Premier League champion and Champions League champion, and forget that the team did not even make it to the Champions League last season, and even forget that the offensive combination he faced won the treble for Roma last season.
No one’s success is inseparable from accidental factors, that is, luck, but for a success like the Triple Crown, luck only plays a very small part. Without the ability to defeat all opponents, no matter how good your luck is, it will be in vain.
We can only blame Chen Xiaoliang for being too dazzling. Anyone who sees a player who can score 50 goals and provide 40 assists in a season will be unable to sleep all night.
Then my eyes couldn't help but focus on him, forgetting how outstanding his teammates were.
Just like Villa next to Messi and Benzema next to Ronaldo.
Chen Xiaoliang dribbled towards the baseline, McAllister stayed inside to prevent him from forcing his way in, and Nunez blocked his route to the inside, but both were about 3 meters away from him, firmly following the coach's tactic of defending against breakthroughs but not passes, and in their hearts they were hoping that Chen Xiaoliang would quickly pass the ball close to the right side.
As soon as Chen Xiaoliang saw this posture, he knew what they were going to do.
I thought to myself: If that’s the case, then I’ll grant your wish.
He aimed at the position of Cesco, who was in excellent form today, and dribbled the ball over.
But after the ball went out, he himself was stunned.
He was clearly aiming for the spot one step in front of Cesco as the landing point, and the ball was passed very accurately. This landing point would allow Cesco to take a step forward for a run-up, then jump up and exert force to make a header, increasing the power of his header.
However, Cesco did take a step forward towards Van Dijk who was defending him, but after rushing past him, he turned his back to the goal...
Beside him, Bruno Fernandes had already made a feint and jumped up, and Guevadiol saw that the ball was not landing on Bruno Fernandes, so he came over to help Van Dijk double-team Cesco, but when he saw Cesco turning around, he was also stunned.
"Is it?! You're going to hook me?!"
The moment the ball fell, this thought suddenly flashed through Gvardior's mind, but the time was too short and his body had no time to move.
The next moment, he saw Cesco raise his right leg and use his thigh to cushion the falling ball into the air.
"What the hell is this for?!"
This question is not only raised by Gvardiol, but also by countless fans, both at the scene and in front of the TV!
In just about half a second, the ball flew up, reached the highest point, and then fell down.
Van Dijk didn't move, neither did Gvardiol. All the Liverpool players in the penalty area didn't know what would happen next and didn't move.
Then Cesco fell back, leaned on Van Dijk's chest, raised his right foot, and kicked the ball towards the goal with a back hook shot!
The ball flew over Van Dijk's head and straight to the upper right corner of the goal !
Alisson jumped slightly with his feet, which was the goalkeeper's preparatory action before diving sideways, but that was all. What he did after that was to turn his head to the left and watch the ball hit the bottom of the crossbar and bounce into the goal!
"Fuck! This kid!"
Chen Xiaoliang grinned and rushed towards Cesco to celebrate.
The Manchester United players on the sidelines all jumped up, and Ten Hag even stood up and hugged his bald head with his mouth wide open!
Lou Yichen: "Big explosion!!! 2 to 3!"
"Cesco! Scored twice! Helped Manchester United take the lead again!"
"Watch the replay! It was done in one go! Talent is visible to the naked eye!"
"Not only did he score with a back-heel, but he even stopped and adjusted the ball before shooting!"
"Van Dijk, standing there helplessly with his hands on his hips and his head down, it seems like he has met his nemesis today. He conceded three goals and made almost no effective defensive moves!"
Liu Yue: "Except for Xiaoliang's first goal, he really seemed to have no way to score the next two goals."
"If I remember correctly, this should be Cesco's 20th goal in all competitions this season. At 50 million pounds, this deal seems to be really worth it."
Lou Yichen: "Indeed! 14 goals in the league, 1 goal in the FA Cup, 5 goals in the Champions League. According to the current price index in European football, 50 million pounds is absolutely worthwhile to buy a striker who can score 20 goals stably in a single season, not to mention that he also plays a large role in the penalty area."
Cesco ran to the sidelines, and Manchester United's substitutes rushed over to celebrate with him. After a round of cheers, Cesco high-fived Chen Xiaoliang again:
"Liangzi! Your idea is really good!"
"Sure enough, once I used my feet, they were caught off guard!"
"Damn, Liangzi you are so awesome. If you act as a striker we will all be out of work."
Chen Xiaoliang thought to himself: "This kid is in really good shape today. I should have told him to use his butt..."
Cesco: "Liangzi, I seem to be in good shape today. Pass me two more balls later. Where do you think I should shoot from?"
Chen Xiaoliang: "You..."
He really wanted to say use his butt, but at this time the two men were approaching the center circle, and Nunez and Gakpo, who were preparing to kick off, turned their heads and looked at them.
Chen Xiaoliang cleared his throat and pretended to be mysterious: "Remember, catch your opponent off guard. You are in good shape today. Try to score goals in ways that your opponent wouldn't expect."
Cesco: “Yeah!”