Chapter 43: When it comes to disrupting the situation, we treat everyone equally
Chapter 43: We treat everyone equally when it comes to disrupting the situation
The Red Derby between Manchester United and Liverpool is a derby battle that Premier League fans around the world have been looking forward to for a long time.
After all, it was only not long ago that Manchester United successfully avenged their defeat against Manchester City, and Liverpool beat Manchester United too badly in the first half of the league, so Manchester United was determined to take revenge.
As for Liverpool, even without considering the background of their current fierce championship battle with Manchester City, the significance of the Red Derby alone requires them to go all out.
Another thing, don't forget that Salah is now competing with Ronaldo for the Premier League Golden Boot.
After participating in the African Cup, Salah suffered a great loss in the battle for the Golden Boot.
By the time he recovered his scoring form and pushed his personal goal tally to 19 in recent league rounds, Ronaldo had already scored 22 goals in the league.
Although the head coaches of both teams said in interviews before the game that they would focus on team victory.
But the fans actually know that they will definitely create as many scoring opportunities as possible for the two top shooters in addition to the basic tactics.
Individual awards are often also a recognition of team work. Since there is a chance to compete for the Premier League Golden Boot, why not give the players a hand?
In the team and individual competition, both Liverpool and Manchester United have reached a point where they cannot retreat easily.
Li Chen did not play any tactical smoke bombs this time. He told reporters clearly before the game that he led the team to Anfield to win!
Klopp also responded strongly with the words "We will win big again."
The two men's tit-for-tat remarks also represent the attitudes of the fans of both teams at the moment.
The English Football Association certainly would not miss this wave of traffic and produced several very exciting pre-match promotional posters.
There are posters of Cristiano Ronaldo and Salah, as well as Li Chen and Klopp looking at each other in the same frame.
There are also posters showing the two teams' core players standing opposite each other in a tense competition.
For a while, countless fans around the world were closely watching the arrival of the Red Derby.
Finally, on the evening of April 4, Anfield expressed a "warm welcome" to their arch-rivals Manchester United who came to challenge them away with a terrifying home momentum!
Before the game, Sky Sports commentators and special guests proudly introduced Anfield, which was full early today, to fans around the world.
There is no doubt that this devilish home stadium in the Premier League can, to a large extent, represent the Premier League to show fans all over the world the popularity and grand momentum of the Premier League games!
Especially when Liverpool players and Klopp appear on the field.
The entire Anfield seemed to have turned into an erupting volcano, roaring and setting off a fiery red magma heat wave, making the atmosphere on the scene suddenly become hot!
But amidst the waves of excitement or anxiety, Li Chen's face remained calm. He even smiled and shook hands with Klopp.
There is pressure, for sure.
But the pressure Li Chen felt at this moment was the same as when he led his team against Chelsea and Arsenal.
Liverpool is undoubtedly one of the top teams in the world, so he must be cautious about such a strong opponent.
But apart from that, he has no more fear of Liverpool.
This may be related to the fact that he once helped Mourinho gain a slight advantage over Liverpool in many Premier League matches.
He understands the Liverpool team led by Klopp, and he understands Klopp's tactical system and team building ideas even better.
Even though Liverpool has achieved a lot of growth and evolution compared to previous seasons.
But the Manchester United under Li Chen's current leadership has also become stronger compared to previous seasons.
Besides, Manchester United has already overcome Manchester City, the biggest hurdle in the league, so why should they still be afraid of Liverpool?
After sitting back in the coaching seat, Li Chen signaled to several young players on the bench to put on their sports jackets and keep warm, while he and Carrick looked at Liverpool's starting lineup for today.
Because of Firmino's injury, Liverpool still chose the "Death Three" forward trident combination today.
Mane continued to play as the number nine, Diaz started as the left winger, and Salah was still on the right.
In midfield, Henderson, Fabinho and Thiago started together.
The defensive line is made up of the unshakable quartet of Robertson, Van Dijk, Matip and Arnold.
Starting goalkeeper Alisson.
There is no problem with the actual combat effectiveness of this starting lineup, and Klopp has verified it in enough games.
Whether it is Origi or Jota, these two forwards are now more suitable to come on as substitutes to enrich Liverpool's offensive tactics.
At first glance, Liverpool, which has temporarily solved its offensive system problems, is still ahead of Manchester United in tactical play.
But Li Chen doesn't think so. He even feels that Liverpool's current tactical system has many problems.
Many times, Liverpool can rely on the strong personal abilities of the players to win the game safely, but it does not mean that the tactical flaws do not exist.
Li Chen also prepared a tactical gift for Liverpool today. He wanted to see if Klopp could come up with a solution on the spot...
Soon, the game started on time with the referee's whistle!
The Liverpool players who kicked off first launched an active attack on Manchester United in red jerseys.
Manchester United, who suddenly changed to a 352 starting formation today, took the lead in building a stranglehold on the midfield, not giving Liverpool the opportunity to quickly advance the ball.
Seeing that it was inconvenient for his teammates in the midfield to pass the ball to the wings, Mane took the initiative to retreat to provide support.
But as soon as he received the ball passed by Thiago, he felt his feet lighten!
"Oops! Mane's ability to protect the ball with his back is still too average. Fred poked the ball away from Mane's feet! McTominay passed the ball to the side!"
Mane, whose fulcrum role is average, still cannot, like his teammate Firmino, retreat to hold the ball under the pressure of opponent's defensive interference and then split the ball to lead the attack.
Li Chen arranged for Fred to grab the ball from Mane's feet today, which can only be regarded as the first step of tactical restriction.
Manchester United's counterattack arrangement was also quite simple and efficient.
McTominay passed the ball to Dalot who was running on the right and then he moved forward at full speed.
On his way down the field, Dalot made a simple one-two pass with Martial who pulled out to meet him.
After passing Robertson, he observed for a moment and sent a threatening cross before entering Van Dijk's defense area.
While Van Dijk was keeping a close eye on Martial who was sprinting into the penalty area, and Matip was marking Ronaldo at the back post, Martial, who came in from the middle, was able to calmly complete this header!
At the critical moment, fortunately Alisson was very focused and made a great save to push McTominay's header out of the bottom line, and Liverpool escaped!
At this time, the game time had just reached the third minute.
There was a huge cry of horror at Anfield!
Klopp also frowned as he watched. The "tactical surprise" that Li Chen brought him was indeed too big!
"McTominay didn't play as a defensive midfielder!"
Klopp had this guess when he saw Manchester United's starting lineup before the game. Compared with the previous Manchester United coaches, Li Chen is obviously much better in selecting and employing players.
He rarely lets his players play in positions they are not comfortable with, and he has the genius to fine-tune the positions of the players and stimulate their abilities.
So when Klopp saw Manchester United use Matic, Fred and McTominay as the starting players, his first reaction was that Li Chen would never use a bus formation with three defensive midfielders.
It now seems that his tactical intuition is still very accurate.
Li Chen directly let McTominay play as an attacking central midfielder today, which not only allowed Manchester United to form three flanking points during the counterattack, but also built the first interception line behind Ronaldo and Martial.
McTominay's defensive toughness is unmatched by B Fee.
From this perspective, in crucial battles, the tactical effect of using McTominay as a central midfielder may be even more outstanding than starting B Fee.
After figuring this out, Klopp looked at Manchester United's backcourt again.
Today, Li Chen did not let Maguire continue to start the game, but instead used a three-center-back combination of Luke Shaw, Lindelof and Varane.
This three-center-back formation has a hard time dealing with teams with strong center forwards, but they are not afraid of Liverpool's "death trio" on the front line.
Moreover, Luke Shaw and Varane formed two backcourt passing points on both sides of Lindelof.
Lindelof's defense is not the best in football, but it is decent and enough to help his teammates on the left and right.
It would probably be difficult for Liverpool to pull off Manchester United's defense through quick pressure counterattacks and rotation attacks in the frontcourt as they did when they met Manchester United in the first half of the league.
"This guy came prepared."
Scratching his slightly messy hair, Klopp tilted his head to look at Li Chen, who was signaling Xiaomai to return to defense on the sidelines.
To be fair, Manchester United, which did not start Sancho and B Fee today, is definitely inferior to Liverpool in overall strength.
But Li Chen made Klopp feel difficult by making targeted adjustments to the starting lineup and offensive and defensive tactics.
What Klopp is more worried about now is that Li Chen has also developed some tactical backup plans, waiting for Liverpool to make a mistake first.
After all, the opponent's most terrifying moves are always the ones he hasn't used yet.
Klopp was a little hesitant. He sincerely felt that Li Chen was just like his teacher Mourinho. Not only did he have many backup plans, but he was also quick to adjust on the spot. He was really difficult to deal with.
But considering the advantage of playing at home today, and thinking about the situation where Liverpool and Manchester City now have the same points, Klopp finally decided to withstand the pressure and continue to attack!
Otherwise, what else can be done?
He couldn't possibly be on the defensive against his mortal enemy at home, right? !
Seeing that Liverpool continued to break through on the offensive end without any stagnation, Li Chen finally smiled.
Letting McArthur play as an attacking central midfielder was an important change for Manchester United on the counterattack today.
But this is definitely not a critical tactical target.
When the entire Liverpool team paid more attention to the back-breaking attack from Manchester United's center, Manchester United's winning offensive tactics came into play!
In the 14th minute of the first half, Manchester United's pressing defense in the middle and low positions once again stopped Liverpool's rapid advancement.
This time, Diaz, who was eager to dribble past the opponent to open up the attack, was intercepted by Varane.
Dalot and McTominay who were actively advancing were like a signal, tempting Liverpool's defensive players to actively move towards their center and left sides to shrink their positions.
But after Varane took two steps forward with the ball, he decisively passed the ball to Luke Shaw who was making a run on the left!
Lingard's active running to the side helped Luke Shaw take away Arnold who was returning to defense.
At this time, Thiago, whose defensive attention had been attracted by McTominay, was unable to return to defense in time!
Liverpool's overly aggressive defensive choices turned their right-wing defense into a high-speed channel.
But this high-speed channel is not for them to reach their opponent's defensive hinterland.
Instead, it helped Manchester United open up a path for rapid advancement. Luke Shaw is the most dazzling Ferrari sports car on this highway at the moment!
Klopp didn't have time to think about it, and hurriedly shouted to Arnold who was retreating to stop Luke Shaw from moving forward!
With the support of the head coach, Arnold had no choice but to hesitate. He decisively let go of Lingard and turned to intercept Luke Shaw.
But the result is obvious. Luke Shaw passed the ball to the wing, helping Lingard get a chance to get to the bottom line!
Yes, at this moment all the fans in front of the TV thought that Lingard would make a cross from the bottom during this attack.
But as Ronaldo made a threatening advance in the left area of Liverpool's penalty area, Matip and Fabinho had no choice but to retreat.
Lingard decisively cut inside through the defensive gap left by Liverpool!
This is an offensive mode that Lingard likes very much.
He is indeed very good at this kind of passing and cutting cooperation with his teammates. As soon as there is a defensive gap, he likes to "drill" in with the ball!
It’s just that back then, he always liked to make what he thought was the right offensive choice after getting such an opportunity.
He dribbles when he should shoot, and passes when he should, which often causes Mourinho and Manchester United fans' blood pressure to rise.
Now he has gone through a series of attacks from public opinion, and it was not easy for him to get the opportunity to stay in Manchester United with the trust of Li Chen.
Lingard, who can be considered "mature", no longer has those strange thoughts in his mind. He is very calm at the moment.
It was just like Li Chen was shouting at him during normal training to remind him to pass the ball in time.
Before Liverpool's defenders were about to surround and double-team him, he passed the ball to his front right!
Martial, who was not in a hurry to move forward, comfortably received the pass from Lingard.
His smart positioning actually saved him from being trapped in Liverpool's defensive double-team.
After a slight adjustment, Martial firmly shot the ball out!
Alisson was dazzled by Martial's eyes before the shot and did not dive towards the far corner with determination.
The French center forward, who had been practicing shooting with Ronaldo recently, verified the results of his practice with a beautiful shot that went straight into the blind corner!
Alisson failed to become the superhero who saved the team this time!
Van Dijk's eyes were full of astonishment. He couldn't believe that his team was scored by Manchester United so early in the first half.
The excited cheers of thousands of Manchester United fans at the scene did not last long before they were drowned out by the angry boos of Liverpool fans!
But even so, the deafening boos could not conceal the excitement of the Manchester United players on the field!
Li Chen couldn't help but throw a punch down hard on the sidelines, then walked towards the boiling coaching seat with a smile on his face.
Maybe they have missed the chance to compete for the league title this season.
But as an excellent spoiler, they have to treat Manchester City and Liverpool equally!
(End of this chapter)