Reborn Liverpool

Chapter 432 Champions League semi-final first leg

4月10日，2018-2019赛季欧冠1/4淘汰赛首回合进行了一场焦点大战，英超豪门利物浦主场迎战波尔图。

The home team Liverpool has performed very well in the Premier League in recent seasons, and this season is even stronger. The team currently ranks first in the Premier League standings.

As the defending champion of the Champions League, Liverpool's overall style of play this season is relatively conservative, unlike the passion of previous seasons. The team's offensive firepower is slightly inferior, and its defensive ability is good.

After Liverpool won Southampton in the Premier League away game in the last game, the team won nearly 9 games in all major competitions, and the elimination of Bayern in the round of 16 is even more gold-rich.

Since Zhang Mai returned to the team, the power of the midfield has increased dramatically. The team is better at pressing, and the iron triangle Salah, Firmino and Mane in the frontcourt cooperate tacitly, making it difficult for opponents to defend.

The hard power of Porto, the Portuguese super powerhouse, is very strong. This season, they have performed relatively well in the Portuguese Super League, but they have declined recently, and the top position has also been taken away by Benfica.

Porto performed very well both offensively and defensively. The team's offensive ability is good, and the team also pays more attention to defense this season.

Porto's road to promotion is relatively easy. In the knockout round, Roma barely advanced through penalty kicks. The team has also performed well recently, with 5 wins and 1 tie in the past six games, and both offense and defense are fairly stable.

However, it is worth mentioning that Porto's performance in the away game is much worse than at home, and it is a well-known home dragon in the European arena.

Liverpool is currently in a state of multi-line combat. Not only must they be unbeaten in the league, the Champions League is also the team's goal this season, and there is a certain amount of psychological pressure.

But fortunately, the team is strong and has won a wave of consecutive victories in the league recently. As a strong competitor in the Champions League, it is still full of threats.

The two sides had a goalless draw in the last regular season of the Champions League, but Liverpool had won 5-0 before that game, and the team played very relaxed.

The Red Army has a very tenacious fighting spirit this season. Coach Klopp also said that he will take every victory as his main goal and will not give up any chance of winning.

The starting rosters for the two teams are as follows:
Liverpool (4-3-3):

13- Alisson;
66-Alexander-Arnold, 6-Lovren, 4-Van Dijk, 7-Milner;
14-Henderson (captain), 10-Zhang Mai, 8-Keita;

11-Salah, 9-Firmino, 10-Mane.

Porto (4-4-3):
1 - Iker Casillas;
2-Maxi Pereira, 28-Philippe, 3-Militang, 13-Teles;
17-Corona, 22-Danilo Pereira (captain), 10-Oliver Torres, 25-Otavio;

11- Marega, 29- Tiquinho Suarez.

Klopp replaced three starters, Lovren replaced Maguire, Milner replaced the suspended Robertson, and Keita replaced the slightly injured Wijnaldum.

In the 114th second of the opening, Corona made a cross from the right and touched Fabinho's toe line. Malaga shot a half-volley from 12 meters in front of the goal and missed the right post.

In the opening stage, the Portuguese Super League giants showed their tenacious fighting spirit. They pressed the defense line very high, giving Liverpool's midfielders a strong sense of oppression, which also led to Liverpool playing a game that was not ideal. The start of the game, coupled with the general feel of the Red Army players in the first few minutes, Porto also had an advantage in the situation for a while.However, if "one time" has an exact length, it would be 5 minutes for Porto today.

In the 5th minute, Liverpool took the lead with their first shot:
Milner made a long pass from the backcourt, Mane stabbed a pass from the left, Firmino made a point in front of the penalty area, and Keita shot from 14 meters in front of the goal and touched Oliver Torres' leg and changed into the upper right corner.

1 to 0!Keita scored in 2 consecutive official games, and had never scored in 27 games on behalf of the Red Army. He also became the first Guinea player to score in the Champions League knockout round.

This is only Liverpool's first shot attempt in this game. Even the famous sports commentator Zhan Jun can only say: "Luck is here, I can't stop it!"

For Naby Keita, scoring goals in two consecutive games is of great significance. After Fabinho found his feeling, Keita can also find his peak state, which is undoubtedly very important for him personally and the team. good news.

Liverpool, who scored a goal, instantly boosted their morale. For their opponent Porto, this was undoubtedly a difficult moment. The control of the ball, I hope to be able to take advantage of the flexible feet of the Portuguese Super League players, but Conceicao may have forgotten that the Champions League is one of the most exciting competitions in football time, and it must be extremely important to maintain a strong pressure on the opponent. After changing the team's overall style of play, the balance on the field began to tilt towards Liverpool.

Liverpool still insists on the "old routine" of pressing the frontcourt with high pressure and kicking the ball from the backcourt to hit the opponent behind. Going early also gave Liverpool players more energy on the defensive end.

It is often seen that Liverpool's frontcourt trident returns to the midfield to assist the defenders in defense, and sometimes even returns to the bottom line. This posture of the whole army returning to defense also prevents Porto from getting a few opportunities to organize offenses in the frontcourt.

Although Liverpool's top offensive player Zhang Mai seems to be more focused on defense, Liverpool, which is full of soldiers, has never lacked someone who stands up.

In the 14th minute, Keita knocked horizontally, and Salah volleyed with his left foot 19 meters in front of the goal. Casillas got the ball after he let go.

5 minutes later, Otavio made a mistake in the return pass from the midfielder. Salah cut the ball forward to form a single goal. Facing Casillas at 12 meters in front of the goal, he rubbed his left foot lightly and slid out of the right post!

In the 25th minute, Henderson made a through pass to find Arnold, who was obliquely inserted into the penalty area. The latter made a cross pass and directly assisted Firmino with a NO-LOOK-SHOOT kick to push the empty goal.

2-0！利物浦扩大比分！菲尔米诺近2个赛季欧冠参与21球（13球，8次助攻），比他更快完成个人欧冠前13球的巴西球员只有阿德里亚诺（20场）和内马尔（21场）。

Porto didn't take the first shot on target until the 30th minute. Oliver Torres scored the ball. Marega's left-footed push from the left side of the penalty area 9 meters away from the goal was blocked by Alisson!

Then Alisson hit teammate Alexander-Arnold's left arm when he saved the ball from the bottom line. The Spanish referee Laos communicated with VAR and decided that it was not a penalty.

In the 37th minute, Porto created a threat with a corner kick. Marega volleyed the ball 7 meters in front of the goal and Alisson got it.

In the 44th minute, Keita scored the ball in midfield, Henderson made a pass from the right side of the penalty area, and Firmino shot from the back point 12 meters away from the goal and went out close to the corner of the goal.

After the intermission, neither team made personnel adjustments, and Porto seemed to have expected the situation of 2 goals behind.

Three minutes into the second half, Henderson picked a pass from the left side of the penalty area. Mane volleyed into the far corner with his left foot 3 meters in front of the goal, but was ruled offside and the goal was invalid.

In the 52nd minute, Corona took a corner kick from the left, Pereira nodded and was destroyed by Lovren.

In the 59th minute, the visiting team took the lead in making substitutions and adjustments, and Brahimi replaced Tiquinho Suarez.

In the 62nd minute, Otavio made a direct pass from the right, and Marega broke into the penalty area and shot from a small angle on the right side, which was confiscated by Alisson.

Two minutes later, Mane and Keita played together, and a curve ball 2 meters in front of the goal missed the right post.

In the 69th minute, Zhang Mai scored the ball from the left in front of the penalty area. Mane volleyed the goal with his left foot, but was offside again.

In the ensuing game time, neither side could create too good chances.

In the final moments of the game, Uncle Zha replaced Mane, Firmino, Origi and Sturridge. After all, the Red Army will have a big battle with Chelsea on the weekend. At this moment, it is of course possible to save some energy. is good.

The game ended with the singing of the Red Army fans ALLEZ ALLEZ ALLEZ.

利物浦最终2比0胜出，克洛普取得执教生涯正式比赛第400胜（美因茨109胜；多特蒙德180胜；利物浦111胜）。

Throughout the game, Liverpool's easy victory stemmed from "one person changing positions, all benefiting".

The key figure in Liverpool's lineup adjustment today is Henderson. The captain of the Red Army was given the important task of organizing the offense for the first time today, and the team's top scorer Zhang Mai took his place as the "block gate".

Before this, the performance of the captain of the Red Army on the field has been jokingly called by the fans: "Strong mental attributes, return the ball after receiving the ball."

One thing is for sure: Henderson doesn't play comfortably when he's in the holding midfielder position.

On the one hand, the focus must be on defense, and on the other hand, it is difficult for Henderson, who is located in the midfield, to show his wide field vision.

In the last few games, because Fabinho started to play better and better in the midfielder position, and various rumors about Zhang Mai, Klopp is bound to rearrange the midfield.

Therefore, Henderson's position can be advanced, and he has come to the position of the midfielder. In this position, he can not only deliver ammunition to his teammates with his own vision, but can even strengthen the team's midfielder's pressure on the opponent's midfielder. , directly pushed the starting point of the Red Army's counterattack from the backcourt to the midfield.

It can be seen from the goals in the last game and the combing of many offenses in this game that this kind of Henderson is the real Henderson, the captain who was personally handed down by Gerrard.

I believe that after this game, Liverpool fans who have been complaining that the team's midfield offense is too dependent on Zhang Mai can finally breathe a sigh of relief, after all, they also have their own "golden midfield".

In the first leg of the quarter-finals of the Champions League, Liverpool beat Porto 1-4 at home, and the prospects for advancement are bright.

In an interview after the game, Liverpool coach Klopp said that Liverpool gave the opponent too many set pieces, and the team did not do well in this regard, but 2:0 is still a very ideal result.

"We were very happy, we scored two goals and controlled the game for the most part. We lost our way for a while in the second half but that's nothing to criticize. 2-0 was a very good very good result."

Klopp believes that the team did not play well because it gave Porto too many free kick opportunities:
"We gave too many free-kicks to the opposition, I think 40 per cent of Porto's shots came from set-pieces. We also saw a few shots from the opponent's frame, but the rest of the time we played well. "

Most of Liverpool's fouls in their own backcourt came from Lovren, who had been out of battle for a long time, and "defensive midfielder" Zhang Mai. These two big men never showed mercy in their blocking moves.

Klopp is very satisfied with his latest adjustments, and he is also full of praise for Liverpool's latest avant-garde attack combination-Henderson and Keita:

"Every player in Liverpool is an attacking player, Henderson and Keita are all-around!"

For the second round to be a guest at Porto, Klopp said that the team has to continue to work hard:
"We know that we still have a second round to play, and we can't predict the trend of the game, so we can only go to the away game to fight again."

……

Compared with Liverpool, which was going smoothly, in the other quarter-finals of the UEFA Champions League in the upper half, Tottenham at White Hart Lane defeated Manchester City 1-4. Aguero missed a penalty and Harry Kay En was injured and retired, and Sun Xingmin finally made the lore.

This is the scene Liverpool is most willing to see-a crisis in Manchester City!Gua Shuai is caught in the dilemma of the Chinese Premier League and the Champions League, with Tottenham and Manchester United eyeing each other.

In the first round of the quarter-finals of the Champions League, Manchester City lost 1-4 to Tottenham in the away game, temporarily falling behind in the promotion situation.

If you use one word to describe Manchester City in this game, it is definitely "conservative".

It can be seen from the starting list before the game that players like De Bruyne and Sane who play key roles in the offense have all sat on the bench.

Even if he was unable to start the game for a long time, Guardiola did not choose to replace these powerful attackers in his formation.

De Bruyne and Sane were not brought on until the 89th minute, and both substitutions were more like routine.

The 0-1 result does not seem so unacceptable to Manchester City, but it is definitely not very good.

Although it is generally believed that the side that goes first and then hosts is more dominant, even if the away game is tied or lost by a small score, there is a great hope of being able to advance back home.

But judging from the current situation of Manchester City, first of all, Tottenham are not a weak team, they are a very strong team, even in Manchester City's home court Tottenham are still difficult to deal with;
Secondly, Manchester City did not score at Tottenham's home court. Once Tottenham scored at Manchester City's home court in the second round, they would have the advantage of away goals.

This is a gap that Manchester City cannot make up at that time. They can only score as many goals as possible in order to defeat their opponents with a total score and successfully advance.

But in such a fierce strong dialogue, it is not easy to score so many goals. Besides, Tottenham's counterattack is not inferior to Manchester City.

Another factor that is more unfavorable to Manchester City is their schedule. Manchester City still insists on three-line battles in the league, Champions League and FA Cup, and all three competitions have entered a fierce stage:
In terms of the FA Cup, Manchester City will face the final with the arch-rival Liverpool. It will undoubtedly be another fierce battle.

The quarter-finals of the Champions League are also very important for Manchester City, which is aiming to win the Big Ears Cup, and they were eliminated by Liverpool in the quarter-finals last year;
Needless to say in the league, Manchester City is currently 1 point behind Liverpool in the standings, ranking second.

The two teams are not giving in to each other, and even a draw may change the situation of the championship.

Liverpool defeated Porto 2-0 in the UEFA Champions League at the same time today, and they are very likely to advance, and among their recent opponents, only Chelsea and Porto are stronger.

On the other hand, Manchester City, they have a double match every week this month. Not only do they have to fight Tottenham three times, but they also have to usher in the Manchester derby in the league.Therefore, in terms of the schedule and the intensity of the game, Manchester City is not the dominant side.

From some of the methods Guardiola adopted in today's game, it can be seen that Manchester City does not intend to give up a certain event yet, and is still accumulating strength for the tough battle behind.

But for the current Manchester City, it is really difficult to fight on the third front. If you are not careful, you may not get anything in the end!

So think carefully about how the rest of the season for Manchester City should go?Perhaps it is the most headache for Gua Shuai at present.

(End of this chapter)