Reborn Liverpool

Chapter 281 You chase after me ([-])

Zhang Mai sent away the satisfied Silver Fox Lippi on December 12, and the old Italian coach's original worries about Er Zhang's long-term absence from the Huazu team's training camp were also swept away.

In just two days, Zhang Mai and Lippi also discussed the future of the Hua Guo team in the World Cup in Russia. The old and the young agreed that there is a possibility of qualifying for the group. !
After training with Zhang Yulin for two days, it will soon be the match day of the 21st round of the Premier League. Zhang Mai will play in rotation this time.

At 12:30 on December 15th, Liverpool faced Zhang Mai's old club - Leicester City at Anfield.

利物浦近6个主场对阵莱斯特城取得5胜1平。双方英超历史交锋23场，利物浦11胜5平7负占据上风，其中主场6胜2平3负。

The starting lineups of both sides were played on the sidelines:
Liverpool: (4-3-3)
22 - Mignolet;

12-Gomez, 3-Maguire, 6-Lovren, 26-Robertson;
7- Milner, 8- Fabio, 10- Zhang Mai;

11-Salah, 9-Firmino, 19-Mane.

Leicester City: (4-2-3-1)
1 - Schmeichel;

18-Amatai, 5-Morgan, 15-Max, 28-Fuchs;
25-Endidi, 21-Ibola;
20-Shinji Okazaki, 7-Gray, 11-Albrighton;
9 - Vardy.

Zhang Mai, Milner, Lovren, Gomez and Mignolet played in rotation.

There are many old friends of Zhang Mai in the Leicester City formation. Shinji Okazaki and Vardy alone held Zhang Mai’s hand and greeted for a long time before the game. The three met in Russia in the summer to have a good look at the Slavic girl.

At the beginning of the game, the Liverpool players were still warming up, and Leicester City took the lead in attacking.

In the 3rd minute, Leicester City took the lead, Gomez made a pass error, Ibola made a direct pass, Albrighton led Mignolet from the right side of the penalty area and made a cross, and Vardy shot into the empty goal in front of the small penalty area .

1-0!Vardy took the lead to give the visiting team the lead, and Liverpool suffered a sap at their home court first.

The Red Army who woke up from a dream immediately launched a stormy offensive. Without Kanter, "Drinking Brother" and Mahrez, the Leicester City midfielder soon fell into a disadvantage.

In the 7th minute, Liverpool missed the opportunity, Mane made a low pass from the left, and Salah shot from 10 yards and missed the left post.

Then Salah's shot from the left side of the penalty area was blocked by Fuchs, and then Milner's long shot was confiscated by Schmeichel.

In the 21st minute, Zhang Mai split the side in the middle, Milner and Firmino kicked the wall to cooperate, and finally Milner shot from the left side of the small penalty area and was blocked by Morgan.

In the 26th minute, Robertson made a pass from the left side of the penalty area, and Mane pushed the goal and was ruled invalid for offside.

In the 32nd minute, it was Zhang Mai's through ball again. Salah broke into the upper right corner of the small penalty area and shot out the sliding goal.

In the 41st minute, Liverpool's crazy attack finally worked. Milner passed the ball. Firmino's shot into the penalty area was saved by Schmeichel. Schmeichel, who got up from the ground, could only shake his head and smile wryly.

1-1, Liverpool equalized the score, Zhang Mai spread his hands to express his reluctance to congratulate, but he still won a hearty applause from the Red Army fans.

Before the end of the first half, Maguire passed the ball, and Firmino shot from 25 yards from the right was confiscated by Schmeichel.

In the end, the two teams entered the intermission with a score of 1-1.

In the second half, the two teams fought again in a different place, and Liverpool's defense was obviously more vigilant, in case the Blue Fox City repeated its old tricks.

In the 52nd minute, Liverpool overtook the score with superior skills. Mane passed the ball with his heel, and Salah scored a low shot from 12 yards after passing Amathai.

2-1!It was the Egyptian striker's 19th league goal of the season.

As Liverpool took the lead, the atmosphere on the field became tense.

In the 56th minute, Fabio tried to get the ball back and kicked off as soon as possible and had a dispute with Gray. Both were given yellow cards.

In the 59th minute, Leicester City made a quick counterattack, Gray passed the ball, and Vardy's shot from the left side of the penalty area was blocked by Mignolet.

Liverpool immediately counterattacked, Zhang Mai made a direct pass in the middle, and Salah single-handedly lobbed a shot from 10 yards from the right rib of the penalty area.

In the 63rd minute, Zhang Mai made a direct pass again, and Mane's goal was disallowed due to offside.

Leicester City also had a few good scoring opportunities afterwards, Ndidi missed a long shot, and then Gray's shot on the right side of the penalty area was blocked again.

In the 76th minute, Firmino passed the ball, and Milner made a wonderful pass with his heel immediately. Zhang Mai turned around and got rid of Morgan, then broke into the penalty area and shot into the near corner 12 yards from the right rib.

3-1, Zhang Mai scored twice to help Liverpool seal the victory. This is his 20th league goal this season, surpassing his teammate Salah's 19 goals to lead the scorer list.

Zhang Mai still did not celebrate after scoring, but ran back to his half silently.

In the 83rd minute, Klopp, who felt that the overall situation was settled, made personnel adjustments. Wijnaldum and Klavan came off the bench to strengthen the defense, replacing Salah and Firmino.

Liverpool finally defeated Leicester City 3-1 and achieved a winning streak at home.

After the game, Zhang Mai hugged and bid farewell to his old teammates in Blue Fox City. After returning to the locker room, he received the results of several other games:

This round of the Premier League game can be said to be a "draw night". Except for Liverpool and Chelsea who won the six giants, the other four giants all drew with their opponents.

Manchester United drew 0-0 with Southampton and suffered three league rounds without victory. Even Mourinho complained after the game: both strikers were injured and Manchester United was missed a penalty.

Arsenal drew 1-1 away at West Brom, and Arsenal suffered a 3-game away tie in the league. Wenger also bombarded the referee after the game: England referees have no progress, they can't be touched.

上轮还大发神威5-2胜南安普敦的热刺，本轮回归平凡，主场1-1被排名联赛第17位的西汉姆逼平。

The last and most important rival for the championship, Manchester City, was tied 0-0 by Crystal Palace in the away game, handing over the league leader position to Liverpool, and Manchester City's 16-game winning streak was ended.Manchester City's generals Gabriel Jesus and De Bruyne retired from injuries and are expected to be absent for at least 5 weeks. This is another good news for Liverpool.

After this round, Liverpool and Manchester City have the same 57 points. Liverpool ranks first in the league with a goal difference advantage, 13 points ahead of third-ranked Chelsea.

The situation in the Premier League this season has shown the trend of Liverpool and Manchester City "two dragons winning the pearl", and the remaining few giants can only compete for the Champions League qualification.

The injury and retreat of Jesus and De Bruyne have a great impact on Manchester City's frontcourt offense, especially the absence of De Bruyne, Manchester City's "bread feeder", Manchester City's offensive firepower will be reduced by half.

Manchester City is different from Liverpool. Melon's ambition is much greater than that of Uncle Scum!Now that the 16-game winning streak has ended, the test for Manchester City has just begun.

This season, Blue Moon will compete in the Premier League, Champions League, League Cup, and FA Cup. They will fight on all four fronts and have a chance to win the championship.However, the game against Crystal Palace cast a shadow over Manchester City's prospects.Will the winter window introduce new aid to strengthen the lineup?How should physical strength be distributed in the four events?Guardiola still has many, many problems to solve.Liverpool is now only concentrating on the league and the Champions League, and has already given up the two domestic competitions in the UK, the League Cup and the FA Cup. That is to say, the chances of injury for players are much smaller, and there are more opportunities for rest. Stick to the rotation system.

Furthermore, Liverpool's main lineup has a considerable age advantage, and the characteristics of being young and strong and recovering quickly have brought rich returns:

The main lineup is intact, and there are few injuries among the rotation and substitute players. At present, only Henderson, Moreno and Klein have minor injuries.

At present, the Premier League has entered the middle stage, and the completeness of the lineup is even more important than the strength of the players and skills and tactics. Now Liverpool is undoubtedly slightly better than Manchester City.

(End of this chapter)