Reborn Liverpool

Chapter 427
On March 3th, the smoke of the Champions League was still not cleared, and Zhang Mai led a group of Liverpool's substitutes and rotations to continue fighting in the FA Cup. In the quarter-finals, Manchester United, which had fallen out of the top four in the league, was eliminated. .

Reminiscent of the rumors that Liverpool intends to introduce Leipzig striker Werner from the Bundesliga, Zhang Mai's behavior of actively competing in various cup competitions is more like leaving as many championship trophies as possible for the Red Army. Between Zhang Mai and Liverpool.

The suspense of "whether Zhang Mai will stay in Liverpool next season" began to ravage the major media and Liverpool fans. The Red Army's competitors even made waves in the media, intending to shake Liverpool's hard-won morale since Zhang Mai's return.

The outside world is turbulent, but the parties involved are silent, and the British media can only focus on the continued hot battle between the two heroes in the league.

On March 3th, the 17st round of the Premier League is approaching. A focus battle will be held at the Craven Villa Stadium. Liverpool will challenge Fulham away.

Liverpool have won all of their last five games against Fulham, both home and away.

When the starting lineups of the two sides were played on the sidelines, everyone discovered that Zhang Mai, who was fighting in the FA Cup yesterday, was indeed sitting on the bench, and Fabinho and Lallana played in rotation.

Liverpool's away win against Bayern in the middle of the week advanced, and today's game is the fourth game of the Red Army within 10 days.

Fortunately, there will be more than 10 days of national team game weeks for personnel rest, except for those like Henderson and Van Dijk who have national team game tasks.

The game started not long after, and the opening situation of both sides was relatively peaceful, but Liverpool quickly took the initiative.

In the 8th minute, Salah's shot from the right side of the penalty area missed the near corner.

After 3 minutes, Fulham striker Seri curled the ball from 25 yards and missed the far corner.

In the 19th minute, Arnold took a corner kick, and Maguire's header from 10 yards ahead missed the back corner.

Liverpool, who gradually mastered the situation on the field, finally took the lead in the 26th minute:

Mane continued to cut in after passing the ball. Firmino made a pass from the left side of the penalty area and Mane pushed into the net from 10 yards.

This is a classic trident cooperation. Mane has scored 3 goals in the last 5 games. This is also his 17th league goal this season.

The lagging home team naturally wanted to get back the score as soon as possible, but their skills were not as good as theirs, and the initiative on the field was still in the hands of the Red Army.
In the 32nd minute, Fabinho passed the ball, and Salah's shot from the right side of the penalty area was confiscated by Rico.

Two minutes later, Robertson and Lallana kicked the wall and then forced a shot from the left side of the small penalty area and was saved by Rico.

Fulham completed the second shot of the first half in the 36th minute, Babel passed the ball, and Carney shot with his left foot from 20 yards.

Then Liverpool quickly counterattacked, Arnold made a cross, and Salah's header also missed the goal.

Since then, both sides of the game lacked scoring opportunities. In the end, Liverpool led by 1 goal and ended halftime.

In the second half, the situation of the home team Fulham still did not improve, and the attack tide of the visiting team was still wave after wave.

In the 48th minute, Wijnaldum passed a shot from the right side of the penalty area, Firmino's heel shot from the edge of the small penalty area was blocked, and Rico confiscated it.

Liverpool missed the opportunity in the 52nd minute. Mane broke into the left side of the penalty area and fell under the defense of Mensa.

Three minutes later, Fabinho made a diagonal pass, and Van Dijk's header from the left side of the penalty area was saved.

In the 64th minute, Zambo's outside shot was blocked and then deflected. Ait's header in front of the small penalty area was ruled invalid due to offside.

In the 67th minute, Fulham missed the opportunity to counterattack with more strikes, and Zambo's long shot was confiscated by Alisson.

Liverpool failed to widen the score gap for a long time, and Klopp sent Origi and Milner to come off the bench together.

In the 73rd minute, Arnold took a corner kick, and Mane nodded forward and hit the crossbar.

Fulham equalized in the 74th minute. Milner made a big clearance and went to the backcourt. Van Dijk headed back to Alisson. The old Red Army player Babel broke the ball and scored an empty goal, 1-1.

The ex-Liverpool winger's refusal to celebrate after scoring a goal, maintaining a high degree of respect for his old club, is a sweet scene in the cruelty of professional football.

In the 81st minute, Liverpool once again exceeded the score. Milner passed the ball. Salah shot from the right side of the penalty area and Rico let go. 2.

In stoppage time at the end of the game, Wijnaldum shot wide of the arc in the penalty area and missed the post. Salah then shot from 12 yards and was rescued by Rico.

At the end of the game, Mane scored consecutively and made a penalty kick. Milner made a lore. Former Red Army winger Babel once equalized. Liverpool temporarily led by 3 points after winning 4 consecutive victories.

On March 3th, the 18st round of the Premier League played at Old Trafford. Manchester City beat Manchester United 31-2 in an away game. Bernardo and Sane scored successively. Manchester City still scored 0 point after 11 consecutive victories. Behind Liverpool, Manchester United fell behind the top four by 1 points.

Liverpool's next Premier League game is at home against Tottenham Hotspur on March 3.

……

In this round, Liverpool performed well at the Craven Stadium. After being equalized, they counterattacked and defeated Fulham. This time, Mane became the protagonist.

Since entering 2019, Mane's goals are tied for the most in the Premier League. Like Manchester City's Aguero, in recent games, he has provoked the burden of the striker.

From the current point of view, Mane is close to becoming Liverpool's most important player, especially when Zhang Mai is absent and Salah is in poor condition, Mane's role becomes even more important.

In this game, Mane scored a goal and created the winning penalty. Now the Premier League teams are starting to pay more attention to him.

Generally speaking, when the opponent formulates a plan against Liverpool, Zhang Mai and Salah are the first to pay attention, and Firmino and Mane may be behind them.

Obviously, this brings great convenience to Mane, just like he showed in this field.

Opponents generally pay attention to the speed and goals of Zhang Mai and Salah, Firmino's running position and series assists first, and then worry about Mane.

Against Fulham, Salah and Firmino leaned in the middle, paired with attacking midfielder Lallana, while Mane pulled more wide.

The firepower of Liverpool's center attracted the opponent's defense to shrink in the middle, and Mane was very smart. He kept the width of the wing and completed the penetration extremely effectively before the full-back noticed him.

Although his starting position is wide, Mane is very good at timing his penetration into the penalty area. This season, he has touched the ball in the penalty area more than in the past.

In the game against Fulham, Salah was obviously the most forward striker, but Mane had only two fewer touches in the opponent's penalty area than Salah.

This shows that Mane is constantly going back and forth between the wing and the center, and his interspersed movement has revitalized Liverpool's offense.

In recent times, Mane has become Klopp's key pawn. If Liverpool can really make Premier League history this year, then the Senegalese striker's credit will not go unnoticed.

Of course, after the recent outbreak, opponents will use Mane as a key defensive target. In this case, Zhang Mai, Salah and Firmino will have more opportunities.

Liverpool narrowly beat Fulham in the away game and continued to suppress Manchester City in the first game. According to the "Echo", the Red Army coach Klopp was obviously very happy after the game and happily answered many questions about the game:

For the team's conceded goal-"We responded well, but our performance was not perfect."

On the team's first penalty taker - "When Milner is on the field, he will take penalties, which is very reasonable. I have no doubts about Milner, he is also human and makes mistakes. Mind you, no Milner could have been 1-0 today!"

Regarding the Premier League title race - "I'm pretty sure we won't be under pressure, let alone panic like you expect. We are strong now, it is difficult for other teams to beat us, so we have a chance to win the Premier League for three consecutive times. "

"City don't look like they're going to drop many more points, so we have to keep winning. It was important to win the game today, and you can see our reaction after the game. The most important thing now, after the international break, is that everyone can Come back healthy. We want to make sure we stay in the championship game."

For this game - "We made a lot of small mistakes before they scored the equalizer. We couldn't quite control the game and then gave Fulham a chance. We've had a high-intensity week, this game The game was evenly matched, but it was a good result.”

"Fulham have done a great job in many ways, they are a fantastic team and have a lot of potential. I appreciate how calm they look, they will accept the situation and keep playing. It's difficult to play against them."

For Zhang Mai-"Zhang Mai played in the FA Cup yesterday, so he will naturally take a rest today. Liverpool has the ability to deal with multiple competitions."

For Henderson-"Henderson will report to the national team, but first he will stay at the training base for another two or three days. His recovery is very optimistic. He is in contact with Southgate."

In professional football, victory is always the panacea that accentuates any good quality on the pitch.

For the 31st round of the game, the two Liverpool teammates fought for the pot, and staged a drama of "reconciliation":

Liverpool defeated Fulham 2-1 away. The main central defender Van Dijk and the goalkeeper Alisson made a mistake and gave the opponent a goal. After the game, Van Dijk admitted that the ball was his own problem, but first the teammate Milner who made a big-footed clearance error But rushing to "take the blame".

In Sky Sports' post-match interview, Van Dijk first took the initiative to take the blame:
"I have no excuses, I should have handled it better. They scored and we scored again, got the three points and are top of the table so we can go home happy."

"We won the game and there are mistakes on the pitch, obviously something happened and that's the reality, but we moved on."

"We obviously knew that this would be a very difficult game, especially in the second half. We played a little hard ourselves and were not calm enough when we had the ball. My mistake made the opponent more excited. Fortunately, we got three points in the end. .”

Hearing Van Dijk's self-blaming remarks, Milner, who was standing aside, rushed to "take the blame", and he excused Van Dijk and said:

"That missed goal, the source was me, it was the biggest refraction I've ever seen, but to be honest, I put Van Dijk in the quagmire."

"The manager was telling us to calm down and hold the ball, and I was putting the ball over the head and putting him (Van Dijk) under pressure. I didn't do it ideally. Fortunately, we Got the results and did what we needed to do."

Speaking of the winning penalty, Milner said that he made up for it:

"The important thing is to put the mistakes behind you and try to make up for them. Over the years, I have practiced a lot on penalty kicks. In the game, you just need to play the effect of your practice and stay calm."

Blaming each other is a routine operation, and it is rare to be the first to take the blame. This shows that Liverpool's current team unity is doing very well.

But there are always those who can't see the Red Army's good, let alone Liverpool's opponents in the Premier League, even Liverpool's own media and some fans have been led by outsiders.

After defeating Fulham 2-1, Liverpool stabilized the top spot, but Salah's performance aroused heated discussions among Liverpool fans. Many people, including Carragher, criticized him for playing too "selfish".

Relying on the goals of Mane and Milner, Liverpool defeated Fulham away and gained valuable 3 points.But they also squandered chances throughout the game, with Liverpool fans believing that Salah often took his own shots when passing the ball was a better option.

As a guest commentator, Carragher commented on Salah's "selfish and greedy", and many Liverpool fans agreed with Carragher's views.

Fan 1: As much as I love Salah, he needs to stop playing greedily. There are many times when he could pass to his teammates to shoot or create opportunities, but he shoots himself and puts the team in danger. I hope this summer. Sign a creative midfielder.

Fan 2: Salah needs to pass the ball. Realizing that his feet are cold now, he passes the ball.He's starting to look a little greedy.

Fan 3: Salah has never been like this last season. The selflessness of the front trident is the cornerstone of our success.You can be the best player in the world, but if you don't rely on your teammates, you are just an average player.Look at Messi, sometimes he passes the ball several times before he scores.

Fan 4: Salah started to become selfish and needs to talk to him.

Fan 5: There will indeed be some thoughts. Salah's desperation has made him selfish. This almost cost us the victory. Klopp needs to talk to him.Van Dijk is human too and Alisson couldn't have done more.Mane and Robertson were excellent and Divock Origi played very efficiently when he came on.Liverpool never walks alone!

As for the turmoil of "Will Zhang Mai leave Liverpool?" that intensified, the "Liverpool Echo" also fired the first shot in a roundabout way.

The "Liverpool Echo" quoted the German "Sport Bild" as reporting that Liverpool had contacted the Leipzig Red Bull to express their interest in Werner and asked for some updates on Werner's future development.

According to reports, Werner is the signing target of the Red Army coach Klopp next season, and they hope to fill the vacancy of a player who may transfer this summer.

It was previously reported that Werner's agent had reached an agreement with Bayern, but Leipzig coach Ralph Rangnick recently responded to this:

"A possible agreement will not be reached now, no one from Bayern has contacted us, there will not be something like what happened with Werner before Goretzka and Lewandowski."

"The option doesn't exist, we don't need to discuss the situation. The clubs that want to sign him will make an offer in the summer and we'll find a fair, mutually agreeable solution then. Everything else is not. choose."

It is reported that Leipzig has doubled Werner's annual salary of 520 million pounds to keep him.But his contract expires in 2020, and Leipzig may need to hurry to make a decision if they want to secure a lucrative transfer fee for him.

Rangnick's ambiguous answer to the scandal between Werner and Bayern made the British media think of Klopp, Zhang Mai and Liverpool.

This caused Zhang Mai, like Salah, to fall into the troubles of media news violence. Fortunately, the two were mentally strong, so they took the opportunity to fight a cold war with the news media.

(End of this chapter)