Grass roots glory

Chapter 159 Dangerous away game?

Zhou Tiancheng cut into the penalty area along the right side, Reina immediately moved to the near corner of the goal, with a high degree of concentration, his eyes moved back and forth between Zhou Tiancheng and the outflanking players in the middle, judging the timing and route of Zhou Tiancheng's cross.

He thought that Zhou Tiancheng would definitely hit the cross.

Zhou Tiancheng glanced at the middle, only Kuranyi and Altintop outflanked their positions, but the remaining two central defenders of Liverpool, Carragher and Skrtel, also did not lose their positions beside them. A goalkeeper who hits in a wide range, it is difficult to achieve the effect he wants by forcing a cross.

Almost at a thought, Zhou Tiancheng dribbled the ball sideways a step sideways, and then kicked his foot to the far end of the goal.

The choice at this moment was very different from Reina's prediction. He subconsciously stretched out one hand and jumped into the air, but because he was standing in the near corner, even if he stretched his body to the limit, facing the flying towards the far corner The ball is also powerless.

The excitement of all the Schalke fans could not be suppressed. At the moment when the ball hit the post and flew into the goal, this excitement finally turned into a loud cry, and the passion of the whole stadium was completely ignited .

"The hero who scored for us was—"

"Zhou!!!!"

The home fans shouted Zhou Tiancheng's last name under the guidance of the DJ.The portraits and banners of Zhou Tiancheng in many places in the stands were held up high by the fans.Obviously, Zhou Tiancheng has also gained a lot of exclusive fans among the local fans in Gelsenkirchen with his excellent performance in the past half of the season.

At the same time, the German media also fell into a burst of jubilation. Marcel Leif let go of his voice and shouted: "Impeccable goal! Zhou once again proved that no matter how strong the defense is, he is always Schalke's most reliable engine and finisher." By!"

At the same time, in the BJ studio, CCTV commentator He Wei praised the whole scoring process from a technical point of view: "This goal can be called a textbook! All the best interpretations of strength and skills are in the whole process. Zhou Tiancheng's breakthrough He is full of explosive power and can fight against the entire Liverpool midfielder. His confrontation ability is top-notch even in the Premier League. But the final shooting method is even more ingenious, and the ball feels wonderful. Of course, the psychological quality before shooting... everyone I know."

The British Sky Sports commentary booth was dead silent. Bob Clem and his partner Wayne House mercilessly criticized Liverpool's defense for making the three most serious mistakes.

"This conceded goal is completely unforgivable! First of all, the midfielder, the three midfielders can't stop one person! Even if Mascherano has concerns because of the yellow card, why don't Gerrard and Xavi Alonso come and let it go?" Down him? This attack should have ended in the midfield. Then Hyypia, as a 33-year-old veteran, was so easily deceived in defense at the back position. It was also a big mistake. In the end, why no one caught up when Zhou Tiancheng shot Even disturbing him? . . . Oh, God! This defense has been a disaster."

The partner next to him, Waynehouse, was more optimistic and said: "Bob, the situation is not that bad. I believe Liverpool will equalize soon. Liverpool, which is fully committed to attack, is simply not something that Schalke's defense can compete with."

Bob Clem glanced at him, not flattering his blind confidence.Waynehouse was born in Liverpool and has been a loyal Liverpool fan for 30 years. He once followed his father to cheer for Liverpool in the KOP stand at Anfield Stadium. Naturally, he has confidence in Liverpool at any time.

But this goal will make Schalke gradually gain momentum, which is a trend that anyone with a little rational attitude can see.

Benitez stood on the sidelines and made a gesture of pressing down with both hands, signaling the Liverpool players to stabilize.

But being scored in this way, even Gerrard, the team soul who has experienced many battles, flashed a little bit of loss, and it was difficult for Liverpool players to maintain a stable mentality.

On the next defensive end, the Schalke players, motivated by the score, seized the hesitation caused by some psychological fluctuations of the Liverpool players, and went up more decisively.Aurelio on the left originally wanted to try a breakthrough from the side, but Rafinha saw the timing and was directly stuck on the forward line to steal cleanly. In turn, Liverpool's left became a vacuum, and Rafinha Ya dribbled the ball all the way to the outside of the penalty area, and volleyed vigorously with the ball slightly higher than the crossbar.

Although there is no Zhou Tiancheng's footwork, the rapid advance really made the Liverpool players break out in a cold sweat.

The overall situation in the first half was divided by Zhou Tiancheng's goal. Before the goal, Liverpool had the upper hand, but from the beginning of the score, Schalke took the initiative.

Without extending the score to 2:0, it can only be said that Liverpool is lucky.

During the 15-minute intermission, thousands of British fans who followed Liverpool on a corner of the stand began to sing the hymn "You Will Never Walk Alone" in their hearts. When the Schalke fans recharged their batteries and calmed down, The singing still clearly spread into the ears of every fan in front of the screen through the broadcast.

The love and loyalty of Liverpool fans is touching. At a time when professional football has become highly commercialized and professional football has become highly commercialized, it is precisely because of such a group of fans that they have always followed that they can guarantee their success in Europe. The legendary status of football is still standing.

但这些利物浦球迷恐怕又要失望了。上半场沙尔克04的控球率57%对43%领先，射门6:3，角球5:2……从整个数据上，看不出利物浦有任何逆转的希望。

Before the start of the second half, Benitez first made an adjustment for the most problematic left wing.However, he replaced Aurelio, not to strengthen the defense on the left. The player who replaced him was Jermaine Pennant, an offensive winger known for his speed and wing assault ability. He temporarily played as a left winger. .It is not difficult to think that Benitez has no intention of solid defense at all, otherwise he should be replaced by Spanish full-back Arbeloa.

In order to be able to score goals, Benitez can really spare it.

Slomka stayed put, but he saw the opponent's substitutions and positioning, and immediately told Zhou Tiancheng and Rakitic to focus on the right side of the attack, and at the same time told Rafinha to be on the right side assist strength.

Since Benitez dared to take the risk of blowing up the defense on the left to gamble on offense, Slomka can naturally grasp his weakness.

However, at the beginning of the second half, the first focus of the two sides' competition was still in the middle. For these two teams, the initiative in the midfield is the lifeblood. Although there are good wing assaulters, they always only play a supporting role.

This time the two sides switched roles, because Liverpool took the kick-off in the second half, so they took the offensive initiative, and Zhou Tiancheng became the defensive side.

After a midfield adjustment, Liverpool returned to the familiar routine of advancing on the ground and combining the side and the middle.For the first time in the game, Gerrard moved forward, taking on the familiar role of playmaker.Alonso and Mascherano are also rare in this field to approach him across the arc of the middle circle.

"After being bitten by Schalke, Benitez was willing to return to the most familiar state. If he had abandoned those unrealistic fantasies from the beginning, I am afraid that this is not the case now." Bob Clem said Benitez's hindsight is still quite critical.

Waynehouse frowned slightly, and was silent for a moment before speaking: "Bob, don't be so harsh. When Liverpool's changes take effect, the facts will prove everything."

The two commentators had guns and guns in their words. If this was not broadcast live in the commentary booth, it is estimated that there would never be such superficial harmony.

Although Liverpool replaced Pennant as an assault strongman on the wing, they did not blindly count on his wing assault, but based on the vision and passing of Gerrard and Alonso, they first attracted Schalke through conduction. Part of the defense, and then distributed to the wing.

During the transfer process in the middle, Gerrard knew that Zhou Tiancheng had a strong sense of rhythm, so the transfer rhythm was fast and slow, hoping to disrupt Zhou Tiancheng's judgment on the timing of the attack.

But the actual situation is somewhat different from what he imagined.Liverpool made a series of crosses in the midfield, and only Rakitic stepped forward to interfere. Zhou Tiancheng stood in front of the central defender, like a crowd who had nothing to do with melons, watching the Liverpool players. Pass it back and forth, unmoved.

Moreover, Schalke adopted an active defensive strategy in the second half.It is not necessary to put pressure on the opponent with a very physically demanding high-position pursuit, but the two-layer defensive system is impenetrable, directly pushing Liverpool's midfield to 35 meters away.

This is also the reason why Zhou Tiancheng did not engage in pressing during this period. At this distance, it is difficult for the opponent to pose a threat.

It took Liverpool 5 minutes to pass back and forth like this, and the ball possession rate soared all the way to a [-]-[-] tie with Schalke, but there was no possession of the ball, and there was no threatening attack.

There was a burst of booing from the Schalke fans in the stands. They didn't mind that the time was running out like this, and they didn't delay them from seeing Liverpool as a joke.

"Liverpool played like Barcelona during this period, but Barcelona's passing is more than meaningless crosses."

Sometimes the game is played without the commentator talking. As soon as He Wei's words fell, Torres finally poked out half of the penalty area and grabbed Hewedes. Gerrard keenly saw this potential opportunity, and the high ball Pick a pass behind the Schalke defense.

Gerrard's pass was sudden this time, and the potential space was not easy to be noticed by the defensive players. However, Zhou Tiancheng reacted quickly, leaped high, intercepted the header in front of the penalty area, and gave it purposefully. Kittic, the latter scored the ball directly to the wing, Schalke 04 switched from defense to offense... Rafinha started to run wildly!
What's more exciting is that the left wingback Pennant stepped in to participate in the attack, and now he was left behind by Rafinha's sudden acceleration!

"My-God! The worrying thing still happened. The price of Benitez's big gamble on the sidewalk is revealed. Now the sideway is completely undefended no man's land!"

Bob Clem shouted, and even Waynehouse, who had always been a Liverpool fan, was sweating in his hands.

Quick counterattacks are Schalke's strong point. Almost instantly, five players rushed forward at the same time. Rafinha rushed forward and swept the low ball across the goal. Point to outflank, fell to the ground in a hurry and shoveled the ball out of the penalty area.However, Rakitic followed up at the top of the penalty area and volleyed directly into the dead corner.

Just after six and 10 minutes of the game, Schalke finally rewritten the score to 2:0.

Judging from the situation of the whole game, this score should have come a long time ago, but for the fans who supported Liverpool, this blow was too heavy.

Benitez took out a piece of gum and chewed it to relieve the pressure in his heart.This is the Champions League and is not subject to the FA rule that "managers are not allowed to chew gum".

In the process of chewing gum, Benitez is also making choices.

Two goals behind is not unacceptable for a two-round match.As long as the formation changes back to a four-back, a pure full-back is replaced to strengthen the defense, no more conceding the ball, and returning to the home court to fight back, there is still a chance.

Benitez rarely gave birth to a little retreat, mainly because Schalke 04's offensive ability made him mutter.

However, now that the team has no away goals, returning to the home court, is it sure to keep a clean sheet against Schalke?

Benitez thought for a while, then shook his head.Judging from the experience of the group stage, this is not realistic.

Then, the only way to go is to attack.In any case, we must score an away goal to reduce the pressure on the second round.

No. 605 minutes, Dirk Dirk replaced Babel, Benitez began to use the last trick of the bottom of the box, twin tower tactics, high point bombing.

Liverpool's offense has become the most traditional British style of play, with big feet on both sides moving into the penalty area, and two center forwards grabbing points in the middle.

But what is unexpected is that this style of play really restrained Schalke, even though Zhou Tiancheng had consciously withdrawn, but Hewedes' defensive leakage allowed Torres to catch a header from Dirk Dirk in the No.807 minute. Get one back.

In the overall score, Schalke could have won 2:0, but now that the opponent has scored an away goal, the outcome of the entire series has changed drastically.

Although they won the ball, the Schalke players were not excited. The last mistake made everyone feel stuck in their throats.

Marcel Leff commented on the scene after the game: "If there is no negligence at the last moment, this will be a perfect victory. Of course, Hewedes is young and inexperienced. This is an excuse, but the price may be to catch up with the team. The future of the Champions League will pay the bill... And this is not the most worthy of Slomka's consideration. In the last 10 minutes, when Liverpool attacked the defense in the most simple and direct way, Schalke was proud of the Bundesliga The air defense is their weakness against the Premier League teams. Liverpool found a way to deal with Schalke through this game, which is the most terrible thing! God knows what will happen at Anfield."

And He Wei and Xu Yang had the same views, and were also worried about Schalke's away game in the second round: "It's absolutely wrong, Schalke didn't keep a clean sheet at the last minute, and the away game...is a bit dangerous."

PS: The [-]-word chapter has resumed the normal update rhythm.

(End of this chapter)