Reborn Liverpool

Chapter 424 Fighting for Hegemony in the League (1) (Thanks to Dafu Dashou for the reward)
The Premier League has entered the final sprint stage. Liverpool and Manchester City are neck and neck with a gap of 1 point. Tottenham and Chelsea are closely catching up with a gap of 10 points. Manchester United and Arsenal are also fighting for No.4.

On March 3, the 2th round of the Premier League kicked off. A focus match was held ahead of schedule at the Vitality Stadium. Manchester City beat Bournemouth 29-1 away. De Bruyne retired from injury, Mahrez scored a goal, and Aguero regretted it beam.

After Manchester City's 5-game winning streak, Liverpool temporarily surpassed Liverpool, which had one less game, by 2 points, and successfully dumped the pressure of the championship to Liverpool, who only played 2 days later.

Manchester City's recent momentum is very strong. In this game, Manchester City tortured their opponents for a whole game, which can be said to be insane!The opponent had 0 shots in the game, Guashuai football is too bad.

Almost every league has a top team, such as Juventus in Serie A, Bayern in Bundesliga, Paris Saint-Germain in Ligue [-], etc.

Today, in the Premier League, which is recognized by the outside world as the most competitive and the most balanced team strength, Guardiola's Manchester City stands out from Liverpool's pursuit, and has a tendency to become the Premier League version of the universe team.

No, in the 1-0 victory over Bournemouth, Manchester City showed their kingly demeanor, using suffocating pass-and-control football to make the Cherries feel the fear of being dominated, so that they could only do nothing throughout the game. In the battle of trapped beasts, even one shot was not completed.

Now is the critical period of the Premier League championship, Guardiola dare not have any negligence, he almost ranked the strongest team in this campaign.

Especially in the midfield position, Aguero, Sterling and Bernardo Silva form a trident, David Silva and De Bruyne form a dual-core drive, and Gundogan plays a single midfielder .

The game entered Manchester City's time from the very beginning. The strong midfield configuration allowed Manchester City's pass and control system to operate perfectly. The left and right full-backs Zinchenko and Kyle Walker formed two wings and continued to give Bournemouth Coupled with the frequent vertical penetration and lateral transposition of the Little Kuailing Trident, Manchester City's three-dimensional offensive system made Bournemouth miserable.

Manchester City's Tiki-Taka tactics also left Bournemouth helpless.

Judging from Manchester City's goals, the ball was continuously transferred from the left to the right of the penalty area. There were as many as 9 defensive players near the penalty area in Bournemouth. .

Bernardo Silva, De Bruyne and David Silva also had a smooth, small-scale, edge-to-center cooperation.

In addition, Manchester City's sharp counterattack also made the opponent frightened. In the 63rd minute, Sterling broke into the penalty area at a high speed, but unfortunately shot from a small angle and hit the side net.

Even from a corner, City centre-back Otamendi was able to find a chance to put his punches to work, and he completed a stretched volley barb in the middle of the penalty area, but it was a little over the bar.

Throughout the entire game, Manchester City's offensive methods were dazzling, with strong attacks from the center, through passes from the ribs, combination of side and center, and sharp counterattacks...

From the statistics of OPTA, we can also see the horror of Manchester City. The ball possession rate reached 77%, and the pass success rate reached an astonishing 91%. The advantages are self-evident.

In the offense, Manchester City's strength is even more amazing, the shooting ratio of the two sides is 23-0 (7-0 on target)!
In other words, Bournemouth was passively beaten throughout the game, and Manchester City goalkeeper Ederson was so bored that he could only move his muscles by taking a set kick.

If it weren't for Manchester City's poor finishing ability in this campaign, the score would not be so harmonious.

In Guardiola's tactical system, in addition to the double central defenders, almost all other personnel are involved in the team's offense, especially when the team presses heavily, sometimes the central defenders also need to make timely moves, Pull space and finish hits.

After losing the ball, quickly form a siege to prevent the opponent from playing the ball and try to win the ball again.

In this way, a system known as "Total Attack and Total Defense" is formed.

Under such extreme pass control, except for the goalkeeper, almost other Manchester City players can become heroes and saviors.

Last season, although Manchester City failed to reach the top of the Premier League, it broke a number of records. Among them, they scored 106 goals in the league and had a goal difference of 79 goals. This all shows Manchester City's strong firepower output.

In addition, Manchester City also has an enviable bench depth.

For many opponents, the game against Manchester City is too cruel:
The seemingly rock-solid defense line will be disintegrated in an instant under Manchester City's strong firepower output. The strikers led by Sterling, Sane, Aguero, Bernardo Silva and others made the opponents frightened.

A skilled pass control system is naturally the strongest magic weapon for Manchester City to defeat their opponents. With David Silva aging and De Bruyne injured one after another, Bernardo Silva and Kim Duoan and others cashed in. With their talents, they have gradually become the key players of Manchester City, and young players such as Zinchenko and Foden are also ready to fight.

Most importantly, Guardiola's football philosophy is still being updated and improved with the changing times:

For example, Guardiola no longer pursues too much control of the ball, and will recover it in due course after taking the lead, and hit the opponent's counterattack. The 21st round matchup with Liverpool this season is the best example.

All of this not only makes Manchester City stronger, but also makes Guardiola's tactics closer to perfection.

Although Guardiola has always been hailed as a gentleman by the British media, at this critical moment of winning the championship, the Spanish coach did not shy away from putting pressure on the leading Liverpool.

Relying on Zhang Mai's old friend Mahrez's winning goal, Manchester City defeated Bournemouth 1-0 away, not only won five consecutive league victories, but also overtook Liverpool with one more game, temporarily ranking first.

After the game, Guardiola commented on the game and said that De Bruyne may be absent for a while.

Guardiola first talked about De Bruyne and Stones who were injured in this campaign:

"Kevin (De Bruyne) may be out for a while, he has some problems with his hamstring. It's very difficult to play 93 games in 25 days, it will become a physical problem, we can't give the players recovery. time; John (Stones) wasn't a big problem, it was more of a precaution to take him off. We played one game, we didn't have time to recover, and then we had to play another game. Time is short and it's demanding a lot from us."

When it came to the game, Guardiola started gushing:
"It was an unbelievable game, one of the best we've ever put on. Ten players were in control of the ball at all times, everyone was very good in terms of second possession and set pieces. They are all very focused and you are honored and happy to be a part of this team."

"I want to thank my players, they are unbelievable. Regardless of the result of the season, these players deserve my admiration. We didn't allow the opponent to complete a single shot on target. After they used the ball with strong hands, set pieces When we start the offense and have players who are extremely fast, what we have achieved is almost unrepeatable."

"It's almost impossible to face a team with [-] players in the box, but we've been trying to figure it out over the last two or three seasons and now we're able to see some positives. result."

Guardiola concluded by praising David Silva and Zinchenko:
"David (Silva) is unbelievable, in the first half of the season he was one of the main reasons we were able to qualify for the knockout rounds of the Champions League, after that he got injured and it took some time, he recovered very quickly. Fast and unbelievable in three or four games in a row; Zinchenko was a big part of us, he played well, he was very focused with and without the ball, player We play because they deserve minutes and Zinchenko is determined, smart and knows everything, he has unbelievable qualities. But, I need to repeat, I am very happy with all the players."

……

Under Guardiola and Manchester City's calm preemptive strikes, two days later, on March 3, Liverpool ushered in their 4th round of the Premier League, challenging their old enemy Everton at Goodison Park.

This is the 233rd Merseyside derby in history. Liverpool has won 18 wins and 9 draws with Everton in the last 9 games.

Although Liverpool lost only one away game in nearly 11 league derby games, each victory has not come easily. Controversy and injuries go hand in hand, which can often affect the results of the Red Army's remaining schedule.

In the lively Toffees home stadium, the fans of both sides in the auditorium were shouting at each other in the air, and the big screen on the side showed the list of starting players of both sides:
Everton (4-2-3-1):

1- Wu Allen;
23-Coleman, 4-Kean, 5-Zouma, 12-Digne;

18-Schneiderlin, 17-Gayer;
11- Walcott, 10- West Goodson, 20- Bernard;
29- Calvert-Lewin.

Liverpool (4-3-3):

13- Alisson;
66-Arnold, 3-Maguire, 4-Van Dijk, 26-Robertson;
14- Henderson, 5- Wijnaldum, 10- Zhang Mai;

11-Salah, 27-Origi, 19-Mane.

Klopp dispatched all the main players who could play, and only used Henderson to rotate Milner.

Everton is all soldiers, showing all their family assets except the wounded.

After the start of the game, the two sides fought very fiercely, and it was difficult to form an effective organization and pass. The ball was more frequently exchanged near the midfield.

Walcott was booked for a tactical foul in the opening 7 minutes.The fierce confrontation between the two teams escalated, and the offensive organization made many mistakes under pressure.

In the 22nd minute, Arnold passed the ball, and Salah's shot from the right side of the penalty area was in Allen's arms.

Liverpool wasted a good opportunity in the 28th minute, Schneiderlin lost the ball in midfield, Zhang Mai sent a direct pass, Salah's single-handed shot into the right side of the penalty area was saved, and Henderson's follow-up shot from the edge of the penalty area was blocked again Blocking.

Although Everton fought fiercely in the midfield, the back line has always kept pace. Mane and Origi fell into the offside trap successively.

Everton's first shot appeared in the 38th minute. Keane passed the ball, and Walcott broke into the penalty area at high speed and shot on the right side.

In the 42nd minute, Robertson made a pass to Arnold at the far point, but Digne made a clearance first.

Before halftime, Zhang Mai made a free kick, and Van Dijk's header from a small angle on the right side of the penalty area missed the near corner. The Dutch iron guard regrettably missed the opportunity to score.

Fighting again in the second half, Everton obviously strengthened the offensive, showing a high-spirited home team momentum.

In the 48th minute, Digne took a corner kick and Calvert Lewin's header from 10 yards was confiscated by Alisson.

Two minutes later, Zhang Mai handed the free kick he got on the right side of the front court to Arnold, who shot directly from the free kick and was confiscated by Wu Ailun.

In the 54th minute, Wijnaldum passed the ball, and Origi shot from the left side of the penalty area and missed the near corner.

Three minutes later, Maguire made a long pass, and Salah dribbled the ball into the upper right corner of the small penalty area. Keane poked the ball first to make a clearance.

In the 60th minute, Everton's cross was blocked by Maguire from the bottom line, Digne took a corner kick, and Zuma's header went wide.

The battle between the two teams was stalemate, and Klopp, who was eager to get all three points, immediately started personnel adjustments. In the 63rd minute, Milner and Firmino came off the bench.

Two minutes later, Digne made a diagonal pass from the left, and Richarlison's header lacked a threat.

In the 69th minute, Van Dijk headed the ball in the free kick melee, Firmino's thigh stopped the ball slightly larger, and Digne took the lead to clear the siege on the right side of the small penalty area.

In the 74th minute, Digne made another cross and Calvert-Lewin missed the goal with a header.

3 minutes later.Everton made a comeback, Sigurdsson passed the ball, and Tosun's shot was confiscated by Alisson.

Arnold frequently stepped forward to assist, and the gap left by Liverpool's right was used by opponents many times. Everton's left back Digne was very active.

In the 80th minute, Zhang Mai took a corner kick and Maguire missed the goal with a header.

In the 84th minute, Mane, who was doing nothing in the audience, was replaced by Lallana. Seeing that Liverpool had no choice but to gain 1 away game point.

Three minutes later, Liverpool won another free kick on the right side of the penalty area. This time, Zhang Mai did his part. He kicked the round moon machete around the wall and went straight to the near corner of the goal. The ball slid Wu Ailun's fingertip into the goal , 3-1!Zhang Mai's free kick helped the Red Army kill Toffee.

The remaining game time passed quickly, and in the end Liverpool won the Merseyside Derby 1-0 again, still leading the Premier League by 1 point.

Liverpool narrowly beat Everton 1-0 away in the Merseyside derby, once again suppressing Manchester City by one point in the standings. After the game, Klopp said that he is not worried that Liverpool is not currently at the top of the list.

Regarding the strong wind at Goodison Park, Klopp expressed his views:
"Okay, it was a tough game, with wild winds. The wind was coming from all directions so it didn't help anyone, it was a difficult game with the ball, Salah and Divock Origi, Mane. Chances to score, I didn't know they had chances, 1-0 kept us unbeaten against them, that's the game we wanted, a normal Premier League game."

Regarding the control of the game scene, Klopp admitted that the Red Army is not dominant:

"To be successful in football you have to be consistent, today we were the better side. The wind was very strong today and it didn't help us, every time we had to fight for the second point. We had 5-6 chances, But Wood Allen and the defenders blocked us. I don't think the opponents had a real chance, we weren't perfect but it was enough, taking three points from Everton is always a success because it's the toughest we've had this season Away game. You need consistency, but this game is different, I don't want Keita to deal with the situation, I used Lallana. We did a good job defending from set pieces, created some threats, and at the same time Our free-kick scored."

Speaking of the strength of his opponent Manchester City and the current Premier League standings, Klopp expressed his Buddhist attitude:

"As the leader, I don't feel there is a problem at the back. Who wants to be at the top at the beginning of March? There are still a lot of games to play, so it's very good. I watched the matchday highlights yesterday and saw Manchester City celebrating, Manchester City There were 900 chances to score one goal and it was with the reverse foot. You have to be ready for those chances."

Klopp also said that he did not consider Manchester City:

"My wife is not here today so my heart is with the fans. I know how important they are and we fight together. Mane is doing well and Firmino is looking good. Salah needs to keep fighting, Zhang Mai's turnaround was purely routine. We didn't think about Manchester City, even though they were only one point behind us. They have to win, we have to win, let's see who wins in the end."

Don't look at the relaxed and unrestrained Uncle Scumbag now. Before Zhang Mai's return, Liverpool went from leading by 14 points to trailing by 1 point. They almost lost their lead in 10 rounds. The German coach did not have a good life.

However, Liverpool has only stopped the decline in the league now. If they want to end happily at the end of the season, the next 5 rounds of the league are the key:

Liverpool's opponents in the next 5 rounds:
March 3 Liverpool v Burnley

March 3 Fulham v Liverpool

March 3 Liverpool v Tottenham
April 4 Southampton v Liverpool

April 4 Liverpool v Chelsea

Liverpool's opponents in these 5 rounds have two top four teams. It seems that Klopp's easy moment is far from coming!

(End of this chapter)