The opening of Chapter 39 surprised everyone!
Brendan Rodgers calmly crossed his arms over his chest and watched his players kick off in the center circle.
At the pre-match press conference, he used many words of praise to congratulate Gerrard on his amazing achievements in the Scottish Premier League, and said that one day, Gerrard would join Liverpool and become the head coach of a top club.
Even though it was a place where he had been before, he did not have the opportunity to realize his dream.
Rogers was the manager during Gerrard
The best time for the two to work together was undoubtedly the 2013-14 season, with the coach and captain working together and the team being at the top of the Premier League for most of the season.
But if you ask Gerrard what his biggest regret at Liverpool is, the answer he will most likely get is that season.
That year, his century slip against Chelsea in the 36th round completely ruined Liverpool's hopes of winning their first Premier League title.
Runner-up? No one will sympathize with the runner-up.
After that, the two tried hard for another season, but still got nothing.
So one of them went to the American Major League Soccer, played for one season and then retired to become a coach;
The other was fired and went to the Scottish Premier League, where he led Celtic to a unsurprising victory in the country, winning the club's 100th championship, which was also his first.
Time flies, and now the two are no longer master and disciple, but meet again as opponents.
Gerrard admitted that his coaching philosophy was influenced by many of the coaches who had coached him before. He mentioned Houllier, Benitez, Hodgson and Capello, but not Dalglish and Rodgers.
Compared to Rogers' tactical philosophy of focusing more on ball possession, Gerrard appears to be more direct.
With the same emphasis on initiating attacks from the flanks, Rodgers hopes to advance while controlling the ball, while Gerrard requires his players to initiate quick passes.
Just like the current situation on the field, the ball is passing back and forth between Ndidi, Tielemans, Madison and others, but other players are not in a hurry to press forward, but are patiently looking for opportunities.
Gerrard also stood on the sidelines and watched it all.
In his plan, if Vardy is the most likely person to change the score on the Leicester City side, then Chen Xiaoliang is the one on the Rangers side!
After Madison took a few steps along the middle, he passed the ball back to Tielemans behind him. The Belgian did not stop the ball at all, but passed it diagonally to Barnes who had already made a run.
A wonderful behind-the-back shot!
But the Reds had already taken action. Barnes had just unloaded the ball when Chen Xiaoliang stepped out and directly intercepted the ball!
Barnes tripped, but the referee was standing by and didn't say anything!
Chen Xiaoliang didn't stop at all, and sent a high ball straight forward along the sideline. Little Haji and Aribo had already run forward!
They knew how Chen Xiaoliang would pass the ball, they just hoped that he could pass in the right direction. Whether they could catch up or receive the ball was their own business!
【Nice steal! 】
[Chen Xiaoliang's kick completely saw through Leicester's offensive routine and ran over to disrupt it in advance. This defensive awareness must be praised! ]
[Does anyone feel like I do that Chen Xiaoliang is getting faster and faster? ]
[Finally someone has the same idea as me, and I think his basic skills have improved a lot, he is no longer a rough guy]
[Fast? Men can't be too fast, right? ]
…
After previous training and adding points, Chen Xiaoliang's current speed has reached 15.
What is the concept of 15?
Even if he returns to Tottenham's first team, this speed is still one of the fastest in the team.
Where his pass landed, Aribo and Ndidi got entangled together!
The two are teammates in the Nigerian national team and are both 183cm tall. The two black guys are entangled with each other, you pull me and I hug you, just like two buffaloes wrestling with each other!
No one can completely control the ball!
Little Haji caught up at this time and brought Thomas, who was responsible for marking him, with him!
For a moment, within a small area on the wing, four players from both sides were fighting for control of the ball!
Chen Xiaoliang ran towards the middle, but there was no one defending him.
Rogers also made sufficient preparations for this game, especially facing Chen Xiaoliang, he even arranged a detailed response strategy!
Dribbling, shooting, passing, and crossing, these are Chen Xiaoliang's fatal weaknesses!
Why bother to arrange someone to carry out special surveillance!
There was another scuffle and tug of war among the four, and finally Thomas kicked the ball and passed it to Tielemans in the middle, ready to launch an attack again!
But before the ball rolled far, Chen Xiaoliang, who had predicted Thomas' passing route, was already in position. He intercepted the ball and immediately rushed forward with it!
Gerrard repeatedly reminded him before the game that the key to Leicester's central attack is the central axis connection between midfielder Tielemans, attacking midfielder Maddison and forward Vardy!
At this time, Leicester City's two defensive midfielders Ndidi and Tielemans were not by Chen Xiaoliang's side. The only ones who could stop him were the two central defenders standing near the top of the penalty area!
Se Yunju came up, the Turkish central defender had been in the Bundesliga for many years and had a tough and decisive style. He ran a few steps following Chen Xiaoliang's pace and stretched out his foot to prepare for a steal!
Several offensive players of the Rangers were very surprised. Why didn't Chen Xiaoliang pass the ball out immediately after getting it today, but instead carried it forward himself?
Seeing Se Yunju defending him one-on-one, they felt discouraged and were ready to move in advance to defend against Leicester City's counterattack!
Unexpectedly, Chen Xiaoliang pushed the ball slightly to the left with his left foot, accelerated with his right foot, and used the simplest change of direction to directly pass Se Yunju!
Not only the Rangers fans who came to the away game, but also the fans of Leicester at home exclaimed!
Roof and Kent, who had already changed to jogging, were also shocked when they saw this scene, but as professional players, they immediately realized that this was a huge opportunity!
Because Evans was the only defender in front of them!
The 32-year-old Evans is fighting and retreating. Although he was kicked out of Manchester United by Van Gaal, his successor, after Ferguson retired, he is still one of the best central defenders in the Premier League as he has won three Premier League titles.
Although he was surprised that Chen Xiaoliang, who had never had a record of dribbling past anyone, easily passed Se Yunju, Evans was not panicked. He wanted to use continuous interference to slow down Chen Xiaoliang's advance, so that his teammates would have time to quickly return to defense.
At this time, Evans was in front of Chen Xiaoliang, and Ruff and Kent were on the left, so passing the ball to them was the best choice.
Behind him was Se Yunju who was chasing frantically to fill in the position. If he slowed down, he would be caught up by him at any time!
Thomas was chasing back on the right rear, but Hagi, who was also running along the sidelines, had already attracted Thomas' defensive attention.
It seems that the best option for Chen Xiaoliang is to pass the ball to Roof or Kent on the left!
How could Evans not see this? He moved sideways early on and got in the way of Chen Xiaoliang and the other two's passing!
Schmeichel was already leaning over to the right side of the goal, covering all foreseeable shooting routes!
Seeing that they were about to enter the penalty area and could no longer make any large defensive moves, Evans had to move forward and hold Chen Xiaoliang tightly, and he could start to make more small movements with his hands.
Chen Xiaoliang did the same thing, pushing with his right foot and kicking with his left foot again!
However, Evans was mentally prepared after seeing Se Yunju being passed by, and Chen Xiaoliang's change of direction did not throw him off!
But Chen Xiaoliang suddenly stepped on the ball to stop it!
Se Yunju, who was chasing after him, was caught off guard and bumped into Chen Xiaoliang's back!
“Beep!”
The referee blew the whistle decisively! Free kick on the penalty area line!
[What's going on?! I'm having a great time!]
[This is the first time I saw Chen Xiaoliang pass the ball! ]
[Did Gerrard give him special training? 】
[What a shame! Two steps forward would have been a penalty! ]
[You think Sakuragi Hanamichi made it to the national competition from a layman in just two months? That’s something that only happens in exciting novels. How could it be possible in real life!]
…
