our champion dream

Chapter 114 This is Anfield

Liverpool and Manchester United are long-standing enemies of the Premier League, so when the Manchester United bus arrived in Liverpool.

Along the way, they received warm hospitality from Liverpool fans.They kept waving their fists along the road, booed and shouted angrily, and looked out the window at those ferocious-faced fans in Liverpool jerseys. Li Xiaoming could feel the status of football, Liverpool, in this city.They are like city heroes.

Manchester United's team bus slowly drove into Anfield, and when he got off the bus, Li Xiaoming could clearly feel the unique atmosphere here.The atmosphere of the passionate battle lingered throughout the stadium.

This is the holy place for Liverpool people, this is the proudest place for Liverpool people.

Only as an opponent, not a tourist, can you feel the momentum of Anfield.Everyone at Manchester United stepped into the stadium with a dignified expression.This is the most difficult place for Manchester United to conquer. Liverpool, which was kicked off the throne by Ferguson in the past, is still one of the best players in the Premier League.

Walking to the locker room, Li Xiaoming had already heard the most proud singing of Liverpool people.

As usual, after a series of warm-ups on the court, Li Xiaoming returned to the locker room to listen to Ferguson's last roar.

"It's very rare to beat Liverpool in an away game. Last season, because of our mistakes, we were double-killed, so that all Liverpool people laughed at them for double-killing the league title, but we have to admit that against Liverpool's failure has cast dust on our champions and made them less than perfect." Ferguson spread his hands and continued. "We are here again this season. We want to use actual performance to tell the Liverpool people who is the real overlord of England. They were kicked off the throne by us. Now they want to continue to challenge us, so let them pay blood. price."

Ferguson's words were so passionate that the players present were all excited, which is what Ferguson wanted to achieve.As a coach, you must be born with a magic power to demagogue people.Ferguson knew very well that Anfield was one of the scariest home stadiums in England, and even in Europe, where countless teams were defeated. He had to stir up the fighting spirit of Manchester United in the first minute.

Used to fend off the non-stop singing at Anfield, that's the No.12 of the real team.

Before the start of the game, the Nou Camp stadium was full, and the atmosphere of the stadium can already be described as full of enthusiasm.

Before getting ready to enter the field, Li Xiaoming looked up at the very famous sign "This is Anfield". This sign was a gift from the great coach Shankly. He hoped that the players would remember that he was a Liverpool player and he was playing for Liverpool. And fight!At the same time, he also hopes that this mark can deter the players of the visiting team and let them know who they are fighting with!In every game, when players pass by here, they will always raise their hands and clap this mark, which has become a tradition.

When the players from both sides walked out of the channel and stepped into the stadium with the singing, there was a huge cheer from the stands at Anfield.

The cheers above Anfield were deafening and powerful. It is conceivable that every Liverpool player who stepped onto the pitch in such an atmosphere must be full of pride in their hearts. They feel that no one in this world can stop them from winning to winning. .

When players from both sides shake hands before the game, the visiting team players stand up and wait for the home team players to take the initiative to shake hands to show their welcome.

When Li Xiaoming shook hands with Gerald, the two hands briefly touched each other, and then they let go.Gerrard walked on, looking for Rooney.It was a normal, ordinary handshake, neither good nor bad.

But when Torres and Li Xiaoming shook hands next, Torres obviously looked at Li Xiaoming specifically.

That was definitely not a simple pre-match handshake.

Faced with Torres' sizing up, Li Xiaoming also looked at him with a smile, and naturally did not avoid his eyes.

However, the two of them just glanced at each other in the crowd, and didn't communicate much.

In the subsequent side-picking ceremony, Manchester United lost the right to pick a side. Manchester United chose the half-time game under the North Stand in the first half.In this way, Manchester United was placed in the half-court under the KOP stands.

The KOP Stand at Anfield Stadium is where the most die-hard and fanatical fans gather.

Let Manchester United play against their most fanatical fans in the first half. Anfield's intention is very obvious, hoping to put pressure on Manchester United under the influence of the fanatical atmosphere in the South Stand.You know, in this level of competition, fans can actually do a lot, and their contribution is far greater than people think.

Their tireless shouting, singing and yelling can interfere with visiting players.

Let Van der Sar guard the goal for 45 minutes at a place close to them. There is a slight psychological fluctuation, maybe he will lose his hand in a save?
Because Liverpool won the right to pick a side, Manchester United naturally won the kick-off.After the game starts, they will take the lead in kicking off, which means that possession of the ball is at Manchester United's feet when the game starts.Li Xiaoming doesn't care which side he plays on, but it's great to be able to control the ball on his own side.This is also the policy of Manchester United this season. In the Barcelona game last season, Ferguson found the gap between him and the Cosmos team, which is the control and control over the rhythm of the game. This is why he values ​​​​Li Xiaoming. Li Xiaoming can do well. Assuming the role of game controller, Ferguson even felt that as long as Li Xiaoming accumulated enough experience, his upper limit would be higher than that of a player like Gerrard.

While the captains of the two sides were still getting together to complete the ceremony, Li Xiaoming grabbed Rooney and said to him, "Wayne, as soon as the game starts, you go forward, run to their defensive ribs, and keep running."

Rooney was surprised: "Keep running?"

"Yes, keep running." Li Xiaoming nodded. "When you run past their back line, you have to be ready to catch the ball." Li Xiaoming said. "I will pass the football in front of you, behind their line of defense. At that time, there should be space behind their line of defense. After you catch the ball, it should be near the penalty area line. As long as you have the opportunity, just play. Foot shot."

When Li Xiaoming finished these things, the captains of both sides returned to their respective camps, and everyone walked to their positions one after another, waiting for the whistle to sound.

When Manchester United kicked off, Li Xiaoming did not stand in the middle circle. Manchester United played 442 in this game, Scholes did not play, and they only had one midfielder, which was Carrick, which Ferguson gave to Manchester United. The task is to grab the start, attack with all your strength, and try to completely beat Liverpool when they are still entering the state.And Li Xiaoming was also given high responsibilities on the field, and Ferguson asked him to help Manchester United open the situation within a limited time.

Manchester United's kick-off was kicked off by Manchester United's double forwards in this game, Berbatov and Rooney.

Li Xiaoming was standing just outside the middle circle, waiting for the football to be passed.

With the whistle of the referee, Berbatov knocked out the football, and Rooney turned around and passed the football back.

Sure enough, the football fell at Li Xiaoming's feet.

After everyone started to invest in the game, Rooney started to run forward.And this kind of running looks very amateur. Under the cover of Berbatov coming back to catch the ball, no one even noticed Rooney's forward drive.Liverpool thought it was just a simple move.

But at first he was hesitant. Looking back, he found that Li Xiaoming did not pass the football directly, but continued to pass it back. He knew that Li Xiaoming wanted to allow enough time for himself.So he didn't dare to neglect, stopped looking back at the situation behind him, and began to accelerate forward.

After Li Xiaoming put the football back on, he quickly looked back and saw Rooney running from the back.I also saw Berbatov stepping forward to meet him.

So he turned his head again and signaled Carrick, who was receiving the ball, to pass the football to himself.

In Ferguson's tactical arrangement, Li Xiaoming enjoys a high right to the ball.So Carrick passed the ball directly to Li Xiaoming's feet without any hesitation.

After Li Xiaoming received the ball, he did not turn around and pass it forward, but passed it to Nani sideways.

After kicking the football out, he quickly turned his head and looked ahead again to determine Rooney's position.At the same time, although he didn't look at Nani, his hand had already passed the ball to Nani.

When Nani passed the football to him, his head had already turned back, just in time to see the football rolling towards him.

He lifted his foot to catch the ball and completed the turn at the same time.Pretending to pass to Berbatov in front, it seems that his movements seem to hit a wall with Berbatov.Anyway, Berbatov and Liverpool teammates think so.

At this time, after Manchester United kicked off, including Rooney's pass to Li Xiaoming, there were only five passes in total.

Five passes, just a few seconds.

For a game of 10 minutes, a few seconds is just a very short moment.Even a few seconds too late to do an ordinary feint.

What is this very short moment enough for?

Liverpool's attacking players have just moved near the 30-meter area of ​​Manchester United. Torres intends to come up and attack Li Xiaoming, steal his ball, and then attack directly.He was lying on Li Xiaoming's passing route, and on the other side, Gerrard also surrounded him.Looks like it's a Liverpool encirclement.

But just when Gerrard rushed up, Li Xiaoming who was holding the ball suddenly made a long pass and kicked the football straight to Liverpool's defense line, or to be more precise, the space behind Liverpool's defense line!And what Liverpool is good at is oppressing the offense. The conditions of oppressing the offense mean that Liverpool's defense will also be pressed, so that there will be a large gap.

The football crossed all obstacles in the air with a graceful arc, like a precision-guided missile, and flew towards the space behind Manchester United's back line.

Six seconds is enough for someone with the speed of Rooney to pass through several lines of defense and reach their destination.

With the ball in the air, Wayne Rooney played a pass between Liverpool centre-backs Maag and Carragher.They are not players who are good at chasing the ball. They are tall and strong, and their turning speed has become their biggest obstacle.And Rooney is like a tank at this time.

Breaking out, broke through the entire back line of defense.

"Wayne Rooney!" Martin Taylor exclaimed.He was just preparing to open his own information, like the fans in front of the TV, introducing the players from both sides of the match, and even if he had time, he could also give the audience some science on the situation and knowledge of the match between the Double Red Club, but now he is devoting himself to Manchester United. During this attack, he didn't even have time to explain the cause and effect, so he could only shout Rooney's name loudly.

As Liverpool's goalkeeper, Reina originally wanted to attack, but he just ran to the penalty spot. Li Xiaoming's long pass was of a high level, and he controlled the football's landing point very accurately. After the football landed, it was Outside the penalty area, and will be closer to Rooney, so Rooney will get the ball earlier by him.And Rooney's speed is definitely much faster than his own goalkeeper.

Just when Reina hesitated to attack or not to attack

Rooney, who rushed past the back line, looked back and saw that the football had fallen towards him, so he adjusted his pace and was ready to catch the ball.

Rooney raised his foot and used the instep of his foot to unload the football in the air. He stopped the ball perfectly, and the football landed in front of his body!This position gives him the option to shoot directly or past the goalkeeper.

"Wayne stopped the ball beautifully! It's a great stop!" Martin Taylor couldn't help but praise.

A good stop is almost half the battle in this counter-attack.

Rooney stopped the ball and looked up at Reina.

Reina happened to be on the penalty spot at this time. He was in a very embarrassing situation. If he moved forward, he might be slammed or broken, so what was left for Rooney was an empty goal, and Rooney was given more opportunities to play backwards. If it is such a close-range and vigorous withdrawal, I can only pray to God that Rooney did not bring his shooting boots to Liverpool today.

After only half a second of hesitation, Reina—it was too stupid to retreat halfway through the attack, and he didn't want to make such an amateur mistake.

He rushed to Rooney.But the Spaniard's attack obviously did not interfere with the very experienced Rooney.As a top goalscorer, he remained calm enough in front of goal.Rooney kicks decisively and shoots!He did not choose to lob, but chose a low shot, and the football flew forward against the turf, not far from Reina.

But this kind of shot makes Reina very uncomfortable when he pounces, because the goalkeeper is most afraid of bouncing the ground ball, and what makes them most uncomfortable in the ground ball is the kind of ball that is close to their body or not far away. that kind of ball.Because the speed at which goalkeepers fall to the ground is slower than the speed at which they rise into the air, and the position closer to their bodies can be regarded as a blind spot for fighting with hands, which is determined by the structure of the human body.

Therefore, more thief shots will choose to play this position.

Sure enough, Reina was half a beat behind when he fell to the ground. Before his hand could touch the football, the football had already rushed past him!

He looked back at the football, then watched it... rolled into the net!

(End of this chapter)