Reborn Liverpool

Chapter 441 Before the Second Round

The Premier League is stable, and the second leg of the Champions League semi-final will follow. Liverpool will sit at Anfield and play Barcelona again.

Despite losing 0-3 in the first round, Liverpool is still very confident about the reversal, because Zhang Mai has officially returned.

Although the MVP of the Premier League this season was given to Van Dijk, Zhang Mai, Liverpool's terrifying killer, is not inferior to Ronaldo and Messi at all!

This season, Zhang Mai missed 8 Premier League games and 41 Champions League games, but still helped Liverpool score [-] goals.

Moreover, Liverpool are all guards with knives. This season, Liverpool's defensive four-man combination has jointly contributed an amazing 38 goals. This number is equal to Ronaldo and surpasses world-renowned attackers such as Hazard and Suarez.

In Liverpool's 3-2 away game against Newcastle, Van Dijk scored with a header, Alexander-Arnold assisted Salah to score, and the Red Army's defense continued to fire.

According to British media statistics, as of now, Van Dijk has scored 6 goals and 4 assists in various competitions. The two full-backs Arnold and Robertson have 13 assists each, plus the two goals contributed by Maguire. The four together contributed 38 goals this season.

Zhang Mai and the contributions of these four defenders can already crush all famous attack combinations or players.

Ronaldo scored 28 goals + 10 assists in Juventus, equal to the sum of the Red Army's four major belts. Others like Manchester City's Sterling (goals plus assists, participated in a total of 37 goals), Barcelona's Suarez (35 goals) And Chelsea's Hazard (29 goals), the output is not even as good as the Red Army's defenders.

Arnold, who has become more and more brilliant this season, is the best of the Red Army's knife guards. The England right-wing winger who is the same age as Zhang Mai has been promoted to a right-wing superstar.

Before the Barcelona battle again, the 20-year-old Liverpool young defender Arnold finally became independent. He bought a house for 260 million pounds (about 2300 million yuan) and moved out of his parents' home.

The 20-year-old Arnold bought a five-bedroom luxury house in Cheschel this time, and his neighbors include Manchester United midfielder Pogba.

Arnold began to emerge in the Premier League three years ago, and he has been living with his parents throughout his adult life, and he was once a topic of discussion among British fans.

Now that Arnold has finally decided to move out of his parents' house and stand on his own, he will have his own space.

Regarding the upcoming life-and-death battle, Alexander-Arnold said that the Red Army did not give up the game against Barcelona. In the second round at Anfield, they will do their best to strive for a miracle.

The 0-3 first leg at the Nou Camp gave Liverpool little hope of qualifying for the Champions League final, but Arnold believes that the Red Army still has a chance:

"Of course we are very disappointed with the away result, but in terms of content, I think it was probably one of the best performances of the season. The statistics of that game show a picture. A team that can go to the Nou Camp to dominate Not many, we didn't take our chances and hopefully this time when we have the same chances we take them and punish the opponent."

Arnold also said that the gap of three goals is not an insurmountable gap:
"I think we've had some good results this season, some games with more than three goals. Zhang Mai is back and playing at home will definitely help us, the fans are behind us and I think the belief is still there."

"We knew it was going to be tough, it wasn't going to be easy, everyone was realistic. In the locker room we had a belief that anything is possible. Hopefully we can create a special night again."

The biggest disadvantage of Liverpool in this game is that the main forwards Firmino and Salah have both suffered injuries. Arnold said:
"Obviously the two main scorers are out, but it's an opportunity for the others, a chance for them to be heroes. If we do come back, then whoever scores will have their name in the history books."

The whole Liverpool team is actively preparing for the game, and there is no negative emotion, which can be reflected in Klopp's calm words this time.

Liverpool coach Klopp said that against Barcelona, ​​they will go all out. It is good to be able to come back. If not, as long as they can play a decent game, he can accept it.

The result of the 0-3 away game in the first round left Liverpool with little hope of a comeback. With the injuries of Salah and Firmino, the Red Army was in a difficult situation.

Klopp did not complain:

"Two of the best strikers in the world can't play, we need to play Barcelona four goals in 90 minutes to qualify. It's a disadvantage of course, but as long as we have eleven players on the pitch, we will try. "

"If we can do it (comeback), it's great. If we can't, we have to get out in the most beautiful way. The score is closer. This is what we have to work hard to do, but it will be a difficult task. "

According to British media predictions, Sturridge and Origi are expected to start the game to replace Firmino and Salah.

But at the same time, Klopp also expressed his confidence before the game. He expected the players to play a wonderful performance:

"We not only need to score goals, we also need to prevent Barcelona from scoring. It doesn't happen very often that Barcelona don't score. We know how big the challenge is. The result in Barcelona was not good, but we have to deal with it, only step by step. I think Don't think about scoring goals in the first 10 minutes, in fact even the last five minutes is enough to score three goals. Let's try, it's something we always do again."

Speaking of Barcelona's situation, Klopp said that he still needs to be extra careful:
"Messi is difficult no matter where he is, and Suarez is the same. When you take a risk against Barcelona, ​​they punish you."

The foreign British footballers naturally fully support the Red Army's comeback, among which the speech of "Liverpool King" Dalglish is the most representative.

Liverpool King Dalglish also encouraged the team to comeback at home in an interview. He said:
"It's very difficult for any team to score four goals against Barcelona and qualify. But I think the game is still very open and there is still a chance for Liverpool. It would be foolish to say it's over now," said Klopp. It's hard to argue that the Camp Nou game was Liverpool's best away performance in two years."

"I believe Liverpool proved in the first leg that they are stronger and healthier than their opponents. The support of the fans will motivate them this time at home. Liverpool have had a lot of comebacks in European competitions over the years and I don't rule that out. It happened again. If a team can come back from three goals behind Barcelona, ​​it will be without a doubt the greatest comeback."

For the Hua Guochao giant Zhang Mai who is going to play in this game, there are many news that Zhang Mai will transfer after the season, and they have questioned how Zhang Mai will perform in this game.

Dalglish shrugs it off:
"Think about how many championships Zhang Mai has brought to Liverpool! I believe that as soon as he puts on the red jersey, he will fight to the end for Liverpool."

……

The Liverpool team was full of enthusiasm before the second round, while Barcelona and the Spanish media on the opposite side were cautious.

"Score a goal at Anfield!"

Monday's Spanish "Daily Sports" played such a headline.

The Catalan sports daily revealed that the Barcelona locker room believes that if Barcelona wants to enter the Champions League final without suffering, then scoring a goal at Anfield is very critical.

In the first round, Barcelona beat Liverpool 3-0 at home. If Barcelona can score 1 goal at Anfield, then Liverpool must score 5 goals to eliminate Barcelona.

It is not easy for a team to break through Barcelona's goal 5 times.

Last season, when Barcelona won 4-1 in the first round, the reason why they were reversed by Roma in the second round was related to their failure to score 1 goal in Rome away (0 to 3).

Because of this, Barcelona players realized the importance of away goals when they once again beat their Champions League knockout opponents with 3 goals at home.

This season Liverpool did have many big wins at home, such as a 4-0 victory over West Ham, Belgrade Red Star and Newcastle.

In addition, they beat Arsenal 5-1, Watford and Huddersfield 5-0, but the strength of these teams is obviously not comparable to Barcelona.

In addition, Barcelona has indeed been scored 5 goals by opponents in recent years. For example, they lost 4 to 5 to Levante last season, but they also scored 4 goals, and Barcelona had already won the championship at that time.

If Barcelona can score 1 goal for Liverpool, it will be very difficult for Klopp's team to reverse Barcelona.

What's more, before the second round of the Champions League semi-final, Klopp encountered a nightmare: the team's two main strikers, Salah and Firmino, may not be able to participate in the game against Barcelona.

It is worth mentioning that the famous coach Mourinho is not optimistic about Liverpool's reversal of Barcelona. He pointed out:

"0-3 is 0-3. It's hard to believe (Liverpool reversal) this kind of thing can happen. Barcelona have had a negative experience against Roma recently. I know it's really difficult to play at Anfield, Liverpool. Also very good, but if Barcelona scored 1 goal, then Liverpool would have to score 5 goals to qualify. I think this is too difficult to achieve, I think Barcelona has such ability (to prevent Liverpool from reversing), I think Messi and Barcelona The whole team will try to do it, and they can do it."

In addition, according to the "Daily Sports" report, although the Liverpool players publicly stated that they would not give up, it can be heard that the Liverpool players do not have enough confidence.

Few players in Liverpool believe that they can really achieve a big reversal against Barcelona in the second round of the Champions League semi-final. It seems impossible to reverse the score of 0 to 3. Even the Anfield stadium effect cannot create such a miracle.

The Western media will be reversed by Rome as a warning, but the attitude of the Barcelona players is very correct.

According to the Spanish "Daily Sports" report, Barcelona players are satisfied with the team's 3-0 victory over Liverpool in the Champions League semi-finals, but the team did not celebrate with joy.

If you pay attention to social media, you can see that the reaction of Barcelona players is very calm.

Obviously the Barcelona players feel that the team has not yet won the knockout series, and in football, anything can happen, it is important to maintain professionalism and prepare well for the second leg.

The team is cautious about the second round of the game and does not think that the second round is just a formality.

The experience of being reversed by Rome last season, coupled with the elimination of Paris and Juventus this season, proves that everything is not taken for granted.

The first part of the semi-final is done but there are still 90 tough minutes to go and the Barcelona players know that.

Although Barcelona led 3-0 in the first round, coach Valverde is still very cautious. He said that Barcelona has not yet advanced to the Champions League final:

"The score of the first leg, it doesn't affect us. We will take the second leg as seriously as if the first leg hadn't been played. Any score of the first leg that enters our minds, it's wrong. "

Liverpool lacks many players, such as Salah and Firmino, Valverde said:

"They are key players and we hope Firmino, Salah and Dembele recover. It will be nice to see them in the game tomorrow."

Barcelona led 4-1 in the first leg last season, but suffered a major reversal in the end. Valverde said:
"Tomorrow's game, this scene may also happen. We face a great opponent, they are very good, they only lost one game in the Premier League. We may beat them, they may beat us."

The Spanish media "Mundo Deportivo" also reported on Barcelona's latest preparations, pointing out that the Barcelona team is still vigilant, and the players still regard the experience of being reversed by Roma last year as a wake-up call at Anfield.

Valverde, who had asked the media not to rehash what happened at Roma last season after the last-16 tie with Lyon, made a reference to that game himself after last week's 3-0 win over Liverpool at the Nou Camp:

"Last year we also had an advantage of three goals, but in the end we failed to advance."

Although Roma were not mentioned by name, the influence of that game on Barcelona is still there.

Facing the game at Anfield, what happened in Roma was a positive lesson to avoid any overconfidence in the team.

In the last round of the league, Ernesto Valverde made a big rotation of the team. The coach still wants to send a clear message to the dressing room, that is, the game in Liverpool will be very difficult.

The players also remember what happened in Rome and mentioned it many times after the victory over Liverpool. For the red and blue players, there is nothing more attractive than correcting the mistakes of last season and reaching the Champions League final.

……

On May 5, at the press conference before the official match, the two sides announced their respective rosters:
Liverpool (4-3-3):

13-Alisson; 66-Arnold, 32-Maguire, 4-Van Dijk, 26-Robertson; 14-Henderson, 17-Fabinho, 7-Milner; 23-Shaqiri, 10- Zhang Mai, 19-Mane.

Subs: Mignolet, Wijnaldum, Lovren, Gomez, Olic, Brewster, Woodburn.

Barcelona (4-3-3):

1-Ter Stegen; 20-Roberto, 3-Pique, 15-Langlet, 18-Alba; 4-Rakitic, 5-Busquets, 22-Vidal; 10- Messi, 9-Suarez, 7-Coutinho.

Subs: Cillessen, Semedo, Arthur, Malcom, Umtiti, Vermaelen, Alenia.

Liverpool's two main players, Salah and Firmino, were both absent due to injuries, and Zhang Mai, Shaqiri, and Milner were replaced.Barcelona has the same starting lineup as the first leg.

(End of this chapter)