Dominate the midfield

Chapter 438 Chapter 438: Premier League half-time champion!
On December 26th, the No.19 round of the Premier League kicked off. After this round, half of the season is over.

Since the Wolves are five points ahead of the second-ranked Manchester United, they have actually won the half-time championship one round ahead of schedule.

At 26:07 on the evening of the 30th, the third-ranked Chelsea beat Birmingham [-]-[-] in an away game. The defending champion Manchester United continued to recover and beat Hull City [-]-[-] away. The points gap between them and Wolves narrowed to two points.

The teams ranked third and second both won, putting a lot of pressure on the Wolves. At 27:[-] pm on the [-]th, the media got the starting list of both sides. Wang Rui finally entered the big list, but failed to enter the starting list.

Anfield was crowded with crowds, red flags were fluttering, and fans of the Red Army warmly welcomed the players from both sides.Wang Rui, who was sitting on the bench, looked at those banners and felt his heart twitch.

"Wang, this can be your new home!"

"Wang, welcome to Anfield again!"

If Manchester City has malice towards him, then what the city has given him is kindness.

Liverpool is a giant. Although the results in the Premier League have been poor in recent years, their results in the Champions League are still good.

The current coach Benitez led the team to the Champions League final in the 04-05 season. In the case of being behind [-] to [-] in the first half, he reversed Milan strongly in the second half and equalized the score. Finally, he won the penalty shootout and won Fifth Champions League trophy in club history.

This game has become a classic of the Champions League final and a classic example of morale-boosting.

A year later, Liverpool reached the final again, and their opponent was still Milan, but they failed to perform the miracle two years ago when they fell behind by one to two, and they lost unfortunately.

They reached the semi-finals last season, but unfortunately lost to Manchester United and failed to reach the final.

For such a giant with a deep history, it is very attractive to players.In addition to the captain of the Red Army, Steven Gerrard, the soul of the team, showed his favor to Wang Rui more than once in front of the media. It would be a lie if Wang Rui was not tempted.

The reporters on the sidelines looked at these banners and were slightly shocked.

"Is this playing the emotional card? It's amazing!"

"Shameless, all these tricks have been used!"

"The fallen king, the king probably won't come to Liverpool..."

……

"Tick!..."

At 07:30, as the referee blew his whistle, the game officially started. Liverpool, who are at home, attacked Wolves under the leadership of Gerrard.

In the 3rd minute, Benayoun took a long shot from outside the penalty area and the football went wide of the goal.

In the 5th minute, Kendin succeeded in stealing from the backcourt and quickly launched a quick counterattack.Bell quickly advanced from the left, all the way to the front of the Liverpool penalty area. Facing Carragher's defense, the Welshman suddenly cut inside and shot!
Liverpool goalkeeper Reina flew out and bravely saved the football to the bottom line!
Missing the opportunity to score, Bell hugged his head in pain, and Ince, who was standing in the command area, cheered loudly, encouraging his favorite general.

Benitez came out of the bench, stood in the command area, and yelled at the defense on the right. He was very dissatisfied with the defense.

After the offensive tentative attack, the two sides became cautious and engaged in fierce competition in the midfield.Both teams are very good at pressing in high positions, counterattacking immediately after losing the ball in the midfield. After Bell's quick counterattack, it was difficult for the Wolves to organize a decent quick counterattack.

Positional warfare has never been good for the Wolves. With Wang Rui on the field, he can also use free kicks and long-range shots to threaten the opponent's goal. Without him, the Wolves' positional attack is in trouble.

On the other hand, Liverpool, with the organization of Gerrard and Benayoun in the front, and Mascherano in the back, after the Wolves contained their quick counterattack, their offensive position was much better than the Wolves.

In the 307th minute of the first half, Benayoun made a two-for-one with Gerrard outside the penalty area. The former made a strong shot, and the football flew towards the right side of the goal like a cannonball!

Wolves center back Craddock stretched out his right leg and blocked the ball from the baseline, defusing Benayoun's rather threatening shot.

Liverpool corner!
Reina kicked the football into the Wolves penalty area. None of the players in the middle could grab the point. The football flew backwards, causing Ince, who was standing in the command area, to feel his heart sink.

What the Wolves coach was worried about happened. Mascherano, who was ambushing at the back point, made a header without marking, and the football flew towards the near corner!
Oakes was powerless and could only watch the football fly over the goal line and into the net!

The ball is in!
The score became one to zero, and Liverpool took the lead in breaking the deadlock!

Red flags fluttered at Anfield, cheers were thunderous, and their team swept away the downturn of a week ago.

If it was the past, their cheers would definitely not be so loud, because the Wolves are the leader and have no defeat against the other three giants. They are known as "giant killers"!
For the score behind, Wolves players have encountered many times, they did not panic, in the next time, continue to put pressure on Liverpool's defense.

It's a pity that Wang Rui is missing, and their offense has lost the sharpness of the past. When the referee blew the half-time whistle, they can only accept the situation of being one goal behind with regret.

The turning point for the Wolves came at No. 15 points in the second half. Ince let Wang Rui go into battle. Unexpectedly, the home fans gave Wang Rui thunderous applause.

Wang Rui didn't feel weak because of the applause. He is a professional player, and he thought that if he didn't perform well, he would be sorry for the applause.

Three minutes after playing, Wang Rui launched a threatening attack. He cooperated with Peter on the right to tear through Liverpool's tight defense.Wolves' first striker overwhelmed Glenn Johnson and shot hard in the penalty area. The football was like a sharp arrow and went towards the near corner.

Liverpool goalkeeper Reina continued his heroic performance, like an eagle, stretching his arms and saving the football from the bottom line.

The wonderful offensive and defensive battle won thunderous applause from the audience!

Benitez's face turned red, and he shouted loudly to his defense line that he must mark Wang Rui to death.Wang Rui was surrounded by Liverpool in the following time, and the Red Army didn't give him any space to shoot.

Wang Rui's playing made the Wolves' offense less chaotic, strengthened their offense, and relieved the pressure on the defense. Kenting also had the opportunity to attack.

In the 207th minute of the second half, Wang Rui and Bell launched an offensive on the left. Under the tight defense of the opponent, Wang Rui crossed the football to Kenting who was on the attack.

After the Wolves' midfielder took the ball, they ignored Mascherano's defense and shot a heavy shot outside the penalty area!
Reina, who had twice saved the Wolves' must-goal goal, failed to touch the football this time, and the football flew over ten centimeters before his fingertips.Just when the Wolves players thought the football was about to fly into the net, there was a loud noise of "Pong!...", the football hit the post hard and flew out of the bottom line!
Ince, who was standing in the command area, shook his head helplessly. The god of fate was indeed not on the side of the Wolves tonight.Liverpool fans were covered in cold sweat, they felt like they had taken a trip to hell.

Although this goal failed to break through Liverpool's goal, it inspired the morale of the Wolves. In the following time, they had the upper hand on the scene.

With only ten minutes left, Liverpool had to shrink their defense, and they hoped to keep the victory until the end of the game.They desperately needed a victory to boost their morale after a surprise defeat to last-placed Portsmouth.

Seeing that the game is coming to an end, Liverpool's victory is in sight, and the situation on the field changes suddenly.In the No.40 second minute of the second half, Peter took the ball from the right and dribbled the ball laterally. Glenn Johnson tripped him. The referee whistled and awarded Wolves a direct free kick in an excellent position.

The atmosphere at Anfield became tense, and Wang Rui's free kick had become a nightmare for all Premier League teams.

Wolverhampton TV football commentator Andy Keogh exclaimed: "Time is running out, can Wang change the fate of Wolves?"

"Tick!..."

The referee whistled, Wang Rui took a deep breath, and slowly ran towards the football.

"Snapped!……"

The football flew up from the turf, like an extremely beautiful rainbow, flew past the human wall, and fell rapidly!
Reina, who flew out, looked at the lightning-like football in shock. He stretched his left arm to the extreme and was getting closer and closer to the football, but the distance between them could not be reduced to zero.

The football flew over 20 centimeters in front of Reina's fingertips!

In the shocked eyes of the audience, the football flew over the goal line and got into the net!

The ball is in!
The score became one to one!

At the end of the game, the Wolves tied the score with Wang Rui's wonderful free kick!

After Wang Rui scored the goal, he didn't run all over the field excitedly, but walked silently to the middle circle after high-fiving his teammates.The Wolves bench turned into a sea of ​​joy, and after a few seconds, Liverpool fans burst into thunderous applause.

In the following time, neither team could change the situation on the field. After 3 minutes of stoppage time, the referee blew the whistle to end the game, and the two sides shook hands one-on-one.

So far, the half of the Premier League this season is over, and the Wolves lead Manchester United by five points and win the half championship!

(End of this chapter)