Red Rebels

"After a 15-minute break, at the beginning of the second half, we seemed very proactive."

"Mourinho made adjustments in the midfield. In addition to letting Mikel replace Robben, who was in poor physical condition, he also moved Kaká's position forward, allowing the Brazilian to roam next to Drogba. Ronaldinho also strengthened his contact with Drogba to jointly contain Liverpool's defense."

After the start of the second half, the tactical intentions of both sides were clearly displayed in front of the fans. As a veteran commentator, Andy Gray quickly saw the tactical intentions of both sides.

It should be said that Benitez was very satisfied with the team's suppression in the first half, so he did not make too many adjustments in the second half. He just gave Gerrard more freedom on the offensive end. After all, the soul of the Liverpool team is to go up. Liverpool's best player in the half, he had two scoring opportunities, but Cech performed well.

"In the midfield, facing Liverpool's suppression, Mourinho asked Essien to press forward, giving full play to the Ghanaian's speed and physical advantages, and letting him limit the double midfielder composed of Alonso and Haman. Mikel dropped in at the back, giving full play to the Nigerian's excellent lateral interception and running ability."

Martin Taylor is looking forward to the adjustments.

"Essien is a player who is both offensive and defensive and very versatile. He is hailed as a buffalo by fans and a monster by his opponents. Together with De Rossi, he is known as the two most powerful defensive midfielders in the team. The competition and rotation between the two are also a guarantee of results. .”

"Many people now say that we have two of the best defensive midfielders in the world. Many professionals believe that if we continue to develop along the current trend, De Rossi and Essien will be the best sooner or later. Especially as Makelele and Vieira age, and as Keane is about to retire, their rise is only a matter of time."

"Mourinho asked the Ghanaians to press forward with a very clear purpose, which was to have Essien restrict Alonso and Hamann, plus Mikel and Beckham behind him, to completely disrupt Liverpool's midfield arrangement. At the same time, Essien Xin is fast and has strong dribbling ability. He can effectively attack Liverpool's defense, force them to make mistakes, and give Drogba enough help!"

Sure enough, as soon as Martin Taylor finished speaking, Essien made a beautiful lateral interception and intercepted the ball from Haman's feet. However, he could not find a chance and could only choose to knock it back to Mikel.

The offensive immediately slowed down, but slowly launched an offensive towards Liverpool.

After several cooperations, the ball came to Essien's feet again. He took the ball at the front of the penalty area, leaned on Haman with his body, and passed it across to Kaká, who ran in and cut in to meet. The latter stopped the ball and made a through pass. The whole movement was done in one go, indescribably elegant.

Drogba and Hyypia reacted almost at the same time, but the latter was unable to start due to Drogba's physical struggle. In addition, his speed was relatively slow, and he was quickly squeezed out of the position by Drogba. Behind the ball directly facing the goal.

Reina reacted quickly to Drogba's shot, but the latter's shot was so powerful that Reina couldn't save it and could only watch the ball go into the net, 0:2!

"Beautiful, a beautiful cooperation in the middle, Kaka's pass at the front of the penalty area, Drogba scored with a single shot, the whole process was extremely fast, Hyypia looked so old and weak in front of the strong Drogba, he was even beaten Pushed away easily!"

Andy Gray couldn't help but exclaimed after Drogba scored.

This is definitely the most demoralizing goal, especially when Liverpool takes the initiative to attack. The goal undoubtedly casts a shadow over Liverpool.

"Look at Drogba who scored a crucial goal. He ran excitedly across the field and scored with his first shot in the second half. They used their tenacity in this game where they were not dominant. His fighting spirit and efficient scoring opportunities resulted in 2 goals.”

Mourinho kept telling the players to retreat on the sidelines, not to get too excited, especially those in front, they must stay calm and continue to put pressure on Liverpool.

If it's against another team,

A 2-goal lead can give Mourinho peace of mind, but against Liverpool, the Portuguese madman does not dare to take it lightly, because he knows very well that this is an extremely tough team and they are fully qualified to win 2 goals behind. achieve reversal.

As Liverpool's opponent, Mourinho's task is to completely nip the hope of reversal in the cradle.

………….. The players who expanded the score seemed very motivated, especially the players on the field, who seemed particularly excited. They kept in mind Mourinho’s arrangement during the halftime break, with Kaká and Ronaldinho separated in two lanes. On the wing, Drogba is pestering Hyypia, Essien is responsible for Alonso and Hamann, and Beckham and Mikel behind him work together to protect the defense and freeze Aimar.

Judging from this set of tactics, it was undoubtedly done well, especially Mikel's appearance, which re-injected a touch of intensity into the midfield. When his teammates were exhausted, Mikel became the central midfielder. The most important iron gate on the field firmly protects the stability of the defense line.

Another person who cannot be ignored is Evra. He dealt with the amazing Gerrard on the left, but the Frenchman gritted his teeth and supported him. The latter was definitely Liverpool's best and most exciting player in this game.

Some people say that Gerrard is the spiritual symbol of Liverpool. This spiritual symbol is not very obvious when the team has the advantage, but once the team is lagging behind and in trouble, Gerrard's role is completely highlighted.

As early as the first half when he was leading, Gerrard continued to create threats, especially his close shot in the penalty area. If Cech had not saved the ball like a god, I am afraid that the current The situation has long been different.

After the start of the second half, Gerrard seemed to be everywhere. He launched an offensive on the right, but with poor results, he moved to the center, and then to the left. His frequent changes of positions made the defense very troublesome, and he was caught by him. There were several chances, but either his teammates failed to convert them into goals, or Cech performed well.

As time passed, Liverpool still firmly held the advantage on the field, but failed to score a goal. Cisse completely died under the defense of Vidic and Curtis.

In the 57th minute, Beckham had cramps, and the team doctor rushed into the field to observe his condition. Although there was nothing serious, for safety reasons, he could not continue to stay on the field for the game.

Mourinho had a cold face on the sidelines. He looked at the bench behind him and pointed at Michael Johnson.

"After you go up, hit David's position. Remember, keep a distance from John Obi Mikel and control Aimar!"

Michael Johnson nodded in agreement and ran to the sidelines to warm up a few times and wait for substitutions.

Beckham hurriedly took off the captain's armband from his arm, ran a few steps, and came to Curtis.

At this time, the focus of the audience was on Beckham and Curtis. Beckham personally put the captain's armband on Curtis, then hugged him cordially and leaned into his ear. He said something next to him, and then patted his captain's armband hard. The latter nodded solemnly in assurance!

"Some people say that Curtis was relegated to the sidelines by Mourinho. The previous explanations from both sides were unconvincing, but as long as you have seen this scene, I believe the rumors will be self-defeating. Who said that Curtis is making trouble to change his mind? Yes? Who said Curtis was relegated to the cold palace? "

Andy Gray couldn't help but laugh. As a fan, Martin Taylor was obviously very hurt by the recent speculation about Curtis' transfer. He had been holding back his anger and now he vented it out.

"Mourinho is undoubtedly a coach who is very good at training players and stimulating their potential and fighting spirit. I have always believed that suspending Curtis and depriving him of the captain's armband is just Mourinho. A manifestation of his fighting spirit."

"In the past few games, Curtis' performance has improved for all to see. In this game, his partnership with Vidic was even more effective. He seemed very calm and unhurried. Beckham gave him the captain's armband after coming off the field. I must want to tell him, don’t forget your responsibility!”

Having said this, Andy Gray couldn't help but glance at Gerrard with admiration.

"The captain of a team often represents the temperament of the team. David Beckham, Manchester United's Keane, Liverpool's Gerrard, Arsenal's Vieira, Chelsea's Lampard, especially Beckham. His playing style is the weakest, but he uses his conscientious performance and hard-working attitude on the court to explain his understanding of the captain's responsibilities."

"Terry and Curtis are the ideal successors for the next captain. Both have served as vice-captains for many years, and their performance has always been very satisfactory. Even players in the team such as Kaká and Ronaldinho respect them. I’m very convinced, and at the same time, they also interpret the spirit and temperament very well!”

"Many people say that the Premier League likes to admire heroism most, so they often like to call a certain team his or her team, or call a certain period of time the era of so and so, but if To explain, I believe that after today’s game, no one will say whose team it is, but will only say that this is a team that belongs to everyone!”

"There were no big problems with Mourinho and Benitez's command and adjustments in this game, but Benitez was not wrong in causing the current 0:2 score. He did not lose to Mourinho. , but he lost to the bench players and the players’ fighting will!”

"Replacing Mikel, the midfielder achieved suppression, but Benitez knew that Hyypia was injured and in poor condition, but he could not replace him because he knew very well that the man on the bench The 17-year-old Roque may be even worse than Hyypia, especially when facing powerful players, young people are under greater pressure!"

…………After Beckham left the field, the frontcourt combination of Drogba, Essien, Kaka and Ronaldinho found several good opportunities. Among them, Drogba in the 66th minute, Facing Hyypia, there was an incredible back-heel pass. Hyypia was eaten up abruptly. The latter passed the pass and passed diagonally to Ronaldinho on the left, but the Portuguese followed up and hit the goal with Gerrard. He got high under the harassment.

Although he failed to score, Drogba's performance aroused cheers from the fans at the scene.

The elephant king of Côte d'Ivoire, who used to be called the rough brother, is now becoming more and more technical. With first-class physical fitness, his ability to stop the ball is getting better and better, especially his observation and application of the surrounding situation, which fully reflects his ability to stop the ball. He is a top-notch center.

This is also in line with the coaching staff's plan for him. After all, as age increases, physical functions are bound to decline. By then, Drogba will no longer be able to use his physical advantage to attack the opponent's defense like he did when he was young, and strengthen his ability to stop the ball. It can allow Drogba to achieve transformation and greatly extend his playing career.

Perhaps seeing Hyypia's inability to face Drogba, Benitez finally decided to replace him, replacing Hyypia with Pongler and letting Riise play as a central defender instead of Trau. Ray, the reason is simple, the latter performed equally poorly throughout the game.

Seeing Benitez making adjustments, Mourinho made another substitution. This time he replaced Ronaldinho, who performed reasonably well, with youngster Theo Walcott. The English youngster attacked from the left, using his Speed ​​and impact to harass Liverpool's defense.

"It can be seen that Benitez is very disappointed with Hyypia's performance in this game. He would rather let Riise play as a central defender than let him stay on the court." Andy Gray couldn't help sighing.

The football field has always been a cruel arena where only the newcomers laugh and the old ones cry. There is only cruelty and no mercy. Hyypia is old, his body function has declined, and he has some injuries. These can be his performance The poor reasons are indeed sympathetic, but they cannot prevent him from becoming the team's sinner.

To put it bluntly, professional football is so cruel!

"If during the winter break, Benitez really gets Daniel Agger as he wishes, perhaps the bench will be waiting for Hyypia, but judging from this game, he was not able to restrain Germany well. Robba, if Liverpool is suppressed in the midfield, then they are very thin in the forward line and the defense line."

This is exactly what Benitez wants to change, but is unable to change for the time being! [ban^] First release

As both sides made substitutions, they began to consciously delay the game and slow down the pace. After all, the team was not as good as Liverpool in terms of physical fitness. With two goals in hand, focusing on defense is also a combat strategy.

Gerrard was obviously unwilling to lose at home. He tried his best to launch attacks again and again, but was helpless and interesting. Liverpool was never able to break the goal.

When the referee blew the whistle to end the game, the players collapsed on the court one by one. They all breathed a huge sigh of relief. They looked particularly satisfied after trying their best. The team they played for got 3 points. .

Liverpool had 10,000 reasons to be unconvinced by the result of the game, but they couldn't change anything. This is football!

Gerrard took the initiative to find Vidic, and the two exchanged jerseys. Obviously, the Serbian had left a deep impression on Gerrard in the previous collision.

"They are a respectable opponent. Although it is sad, they deserve this victory!" When interviewed by the media after the game, Gerrard rarely actively praised his opponents.

This is a game with no losers!