Chapter 194 Two-goal lead, the scary thing about the Red Army
Although it was only five minutes into the game that Leicester City penetrated the goal.
However, Red Army captain Gerrard did not blame Mignolet, but clapped loudly to encourage his teammates:
“Hey, cheer up!”
"The game has just begun!"
Wensheng looked at Gerrard standing in the midfield, at the man who would always be on their side and guide them on what to do.
The expressions of other Liverpool players could not help but become solemn, as if they had found a backbone. The helplessness and frustration of falling behind suddenly turned into a strong determination!
"Simon, throw the ball over!"
Hearing this, Mignolet fished the ball out of the net and threw it to Gerrard.
Witnessed Gerrard holding the ball, then trotting to the kick-off point in the center circle, and then placing the ball.
The Red Army fans in the stands suddenly burst into uniform applause.
This man wearing the red No. 8 jersey has experienced the decisive victory at Wembley and the miracle in Istanbul.
As long as this man is here, they will score. The possibility of equalizing or even overtaking!
As for the reason, it is very simple.
Just because this man’s name is Steven Gerrard!
As the ball kicked off again, Liverpool's players played more relaxedly.
Because they already have a clear understanding of Leicester City's playing style.
So, once again faced with the Blue Fox’s pressing attacks, the Red Army’s midfielders and backfielders no longer risked passing the ball through short passes, but instead played long passes into the frontcourt without hesitation. Lambert!
Of course, this tactic is very simple.
Whether it is Morgan or Vasilevskiy, in terms of physical confrontation, Lambert is not inferior at all.
As the regular central defender partner last season, the two had a perfect understanding.
One is responsible for marking Lambert and preventing him from easily getting the ball, and the other is responsible for defending late.
Faced with the double-team defense of men on top of men, Lambert, who also moves at an excruciatingly slow speed, finds it even more difficult to get the ball.
Therefore, most long passes have no chance of falling on Lambert's head and will be cleared.
Then the ball returned to Leicester City's side again.
Liverpool was unable to organize an effective attack in the frontcourt, so Leicester City could control the ball unscrupulously and then attack Liverpool's half.
Gradually, Leicester City took control of the rhythm of the game.
The score was already leading anyway, so they did not attack too hastily, but patiently moved and moved around the outside of Liverpool's formation. Scheduling, patiently pulling the opponent's defensive formation to find openings.
And Liverpool did not press rashly, but maintained a tight defensive formation and allowed Leicester City to attack.
They were mainly in the middle area of the midfield, guarding Ling Feng tightly.
Regardless of whether he appears on the left or right side of the midfield, Henderson and Lucas Leiva will stick to him immediately and prevent him from getting the ball easily.
As a teammate of the national team, Henderson knows Ling Feng better than many players.
For example, his dominant foot is his right foot, he likes to swing left and right when breaking through, and he likes to pull the ball back when holding the ball behind his back, etc.
It is precisely because of his understanding of him that when Ling Feng turned his back several times to prepare to catch the ball, Henderson would immediately use his strength from behind.
My hands were also secretly tugging at his jersey, preventing him from easily turning around or controlling the ball.
After Henderson stole the ball from his feet twice, Ling Feng reduced the number of back-to-back catches and kicked the ball as much as possible.
With other teams studying him and getting to know him better, his playing style and habits are no longer a secret.
But why can't other Premier League teams still find an effective way to limit his performance?
That’s because of his playing style, which allows him to seamlessly switch between having the ball and without the ball at any time!
With the ball in hand, his scalpel-like precise passing and sudden soup making are extremely threatening;
He is equally threatening without the ball!
The movement is very erratic, and he can often appear in the open space, and then receive the pass from his teammates to complete the final pass or finish the shot.
As the midfielder who has scored the most goals in the Premier League this season, almost all of his goals are the first touch of the ball after receiving a pass from his teammates!
It can be seen that his ability to run without the ball always allows him to appear in the most suitable position.
Seeing Ling Feng constantly running into open spaces, Henderson and Reva could only take turns leaving the midfield defensive area to follow him.
However, this defensive strategy had no impact on Leicester City's offense at all.
If Gerrard hadn't also retreated to the midfield position and increased the number of defenders, Ling Feng would have no pressure at all to pick up the ball in the middle.
However, because Liverpool has accumulated a lot of troops in the middle and the space is extremely narrow, Leicester City can only make some fuss about Liverpool's two wings.
In this game, Pearson made targeted tactical arrangements for Liverpool's starting lineup.
One of the very key points is to focus on the right side!
Because, compared to Glen Johnson at right back, Manquillo, who is originally a right back but plays as a left back, is definitely the weakest link in Liverpool's defense.
So, Pearson told Mahrez on the right to increase his personal breakthroughs, and Ling Feng to come to the right to support him. The two took turns to attack Manquillo!
How to gain an advantage in the game is nothing more than three major factors:
Player strength, regional numerical advantage, and tactical position!
The latter two are achieved through tactics.
"Player strength" is more simple and crude.
Player strength is divided into three situations.
If a player has the strength to be in the football team and help the team win, that is definitely the best;
The player is not strong enough, but has potential, and can also be cultivated through a lot of playing time. , thus becoming a capable player;
As for those players who are not strong enough and have no potential, they will only be ruthlessly eliminated!
In the world of football, there are not so many people and sophistication, only the survival of the fittest.
The strong are respected, strength is the only criterion to measure the strength of a player!
From the perspective of player strength, Leicester City's overall strength is not strong, at most it is at the mid-level level of the league.
However, if only the front four of Leicester City were taken out, they would be among the best among all the frontcourt combinations in the Premier League!
Although Vardy, Mahrez and Lingard have not reached their peak.
However, under Ling Feng's teamwork, the three of them are much stronger than themselves at the same time in history!
If you use the overall game rating to evaluate a player's personal strength, the current overall rating of Vardy and Mahrez is around 80, which is approximately equal to the upper-middle level of the Premier League.
And Lingard’s overall rating is probably around seventy-five, which is probably the lower level of the Premier League.
But with Ling Feng’s blessing, the strength of the three of them is like adding a BUFF, and their strength will increase by two to three points!
And this is the true value of Ling Feng, the core of the frontcourt organization!
His presence can make the teammates around him better and stronger!
In contrast, Liverpool's team has many players with an overall rating of 80 or above.
Such as Gerrard, Sterling, Lallana, Henderson, Glen Johnson and so on.
However, Manquillo is definitely not included!
The 20-year-old full-back on loan from Atletico Madrid only plays a substitute role in Liverpool.
In his short playing time, he left only two impressions on Liverpool fans and other Premier League teams:
He is very hardworking and loves to shovel!
The opponent he will face in this game is Mahrez, who has the best foot skills in Leicester City!
In the 18th minute of the game, Mahrez broke through with the ball on the right side of the frontcourt.
Facing Mahrez's small steps forward, Manquillo turned slightly sideways, fought and retreated, and waited until Henderson in the midfield came to help defend.
However, Mahrez will not give him this chance!
He first slumped his shoulders and shook, trying to mobilize Manquillo's center of gravity.
As his upper body swayed, Manquillo was deceived by his fake move and tilted his body slightly to the right. At that moment, Mahrez just swung right and left very lightly, and then dribbled the ball past Manquillo's left side!
The whole thing is extraordinary and smooth!
“Wow!”
"Beautiful pass, Liverpool's left back Manquillo is like a wooden stake, no reaction!"
As soon as the commentator finished speaking, Manquillo was like a dream As if he had just woken up, he immediately turned around and chased back, and made a sideways tackle directly at Mahrez!
"Ah!!!"
With a scream, Mahrez was tackled to the ground with the ball.
This scene immediately caused a deafening agitation in the blue of the stadium!
Made, dare to shovel our people on our territory? !
With a bang, the referee Oliver immediately blew the whistle in his hand.
Ling Feng, who was nearby, immediately opened his arms and protested to the referee:
"Hey! Referee!"
"This is a red card move!"
"Relax, I saw it!"
As he spoke, Oliver came to the scene of the crime.
Ling Feng, on the other hand, quickly walked to Mahrez's side to check his injury.
“Hey Riad, how are you feeling?”
Faced with Ling Feng's concern, Mahrez just held his calf muscles tightly with both hands and shook his head.
Seeing this, Ling Feng waved wildly to the bench on the sidelines:
"Hey! Team doctor!"
It stands to reason that this kind of danger of putting a shovel behind your back is The action, regardless of whether the ball is tackled or not, constitutes a red card.
However, Manquillo kept making circles with his hands, emphasizing that he scooped the ball first.
After Oliver thought for a moment, he took out a yellow card from his breast pocket.
This yellow card caused a burst of boos from the home team fans in the King Power Stadium.
Obviously, they were very dissatisfied with the referee's decision.
The Liverpool players are still fans, and even Manquillo himself breathed a sigh of relief.
If Manquillo directly receives a red card and ends the game, Liverpool, which is already at a disadvantage, can basically declare surrender with one less player.
Although they were very dissatisfied, the Blue Fox generals did not continue to put pressure on the referee.
The referee has already made a penalty and it cannot be changed!
Thankfully, after being examined by the team doctor, Mahrez was fine and can continue to play.
With this breakthrough from the wing, Mahrez won an opportunity for Leicester City to take a set kick on the right side of the frontcourt.
Ling Feng stood in front of the ball, and after observing the positions of everyone in the penalty area, decided to hit the ball to the front spot!
With a "bang" sound, the ball drew a beautiful arc in the air and flew into the penalty area.
Blue Fox captain Morgan, who rushed to the front point, jumped up first, and then stepped back to meet the ball, which happened to change the trajectory of the ball and fly into the small penalty area.
Mignolet reacted a little slower, hesitated, and did not choose to attack.
Just as everyone was trying to grab the ball, a blue figure suddenly jumped out. Before Skrtel could make a clearance, he aimed the ball with his sole and kicked it hard. !
The next second, the ball bounced off the ground and flew into the goal from Mignolet's side!
Immediately afterwards, the player who scored the goal opened his arms and rushed towards the corner flag area.
That distinctive mohawk hairstyle and strong figure.
The person who scored the goal is none other than the team's top scorer - Vardy!
“The ball has been scored again!”
“Jamie~~~Vardy!”
"The England international scored his eighth goal in the Premier League!"
"Their performance this season is amazing!"
With Vardy The supplementary shot scored, and the stands at the King Power Stadium suddenly turned into a blue ocean of joy.
Blue Fox fans kept waving scarves and flags in their hands to celebrate the team's lead.
Seeing his team lose the ball again, Rogers on the sidelines could no longer hold back his inner anger.
He suddenly turned around, spread out his hands, and complained to his assistant:
“Damn it!”
“Like this again!”
"He should have come out with this ball!"
This conceded goal fully reflects Liverpool's problems with positioning ball defense.
In the past two seasons, they have ranked among the top in the league in the number of goals conceded from set pieces.
In addition to the problems with the defense, goalkeeper Mignolet's poor timing of attacks is also one of the important reasons for conceding too many goals.
Rogers couldn't help but swear in his heart that after this game, the current set-piece defensive tactics must be improved!
What surprised all the fans and viewers in front of the TV was that only twenty minutes into this much-anticipated "red and blue battle", the newly promoted Leicester City had already lost two games at home. The ball is ahead of last season's Premier League runner-up Liverpool!
It is worth mentioning that Leicester City's record at home this season can be said to be very strong.
Except for the draw with Arsenal in the third round of the league, Leicester City won all other home games!
In other words, so far, the Blue Fox has not lost at their home court!
The two-goal lead allowed Leicester City players to play more relaxedly.
During the rest of the first half, Leicester City still firmly controlled the initiative on the field and continued to launch waves of attacks against Liverpool.
And Liverpool also began to increase the pressure in the frontcourt, trying to seize the ball.
The two sides fought fiercely in the midfield area, and time came to an end before they knew it.
Beep~Beep~~~
With the referee's long whistle, the unsatisfactory first half of the game came to an end.
The Leicester City players walked into the tunnel with relaxed expressions.
The Liverpool players, led by Gerrard, frowned and looked solemn.
However, when he returned to the locker room and saw the relaxation and smiles on his teammates' faces, Ling Feng frowned.
Although already leading by two goals at home.
However, he does not think the team can open champagne at halftime.
Especially the opponent is the "Miracle Team" Liverpool!
You know, the scariest thing about the Liverpool team is their tenacity.
Whether it's 2-0 or 3-0, they won't give up until the last minute of the game!
(End of this chapter)