The biggest test for Liverpool's journey in the first half of the new season was coming.
This test was an intensive competition schedule.
The EFL Cup had started.
The Champions League had also started.
Fighting on three fronts was a test of the depth of Liverpool's bench.
Comain's decision to purge some of the players who did not expect to play at the beginning of the season was not a big problem.
But in fact, he did not understand the strength of substitute players such as Degen, and the overall strength of the starting lineup made up of most of the substitutes was also a huge question.
In the third round of the EFL Cup, Liverpool was the guest to challenge Leeds United. Comain used most of the substitutes to replace the main players. He originally thought that the declining Leeds United would not be able to cause trouble for Liverpool. But at Elland Road, Liverpool was like a plate of loose sand on the pitch. The run-in between the substitutes was not complimentary. In addition, Comain instilled the team with a rapid passing and cutting technique, which required the team's overall understanding and technical ability to be high. If the substitutes' lineup did not meet the standard, it would be even more difficult to play at a high level.
2:1
Leeds United defeated Liverpool at home. Not only did Liverpool, led by Comain, suffer their first defeat in the new season, but it also led to the embarrassing result of Liverpool's elimination from the EFL Cup as soon as they set foot on the field.
Comain's face was ugly after the game. He did not see the scene he wanted in the entire 90-minute game.
The strength of many of the substitutes was too different from the main players!
This was also the reason why Liverpool's competitiveness had always been a little worse than the top powerhouses for many years.
Twenty substitutes with 60 points could not be compared to ten substitutes with 80 points. Liverpool lacked a sufficient number of substitutes who could play at any time and whom they had high hopes for.
The Red Army fans were a little disappointed. Even though the EFL Cup was of little value, they were eliminated as soon as they set foot on the field. Anyone would feel bad about it.
But in the context of the Premier League and the Champions League going hand in hand, the fans were not too harsh on Comain.
Fleet Street, on the other hand, had finally found a chance to hit Comain when he was down. They had praised him enough earlier, and now, they could start to belittle him!
Comain was too lazy to pay attention to the criticism from the outside world. He knew very well that if he was given Chelsea's bench lineup, the result would definitely be different!
In the seventh round of the Premier League, Liverpool faced the challenge of Hull City in Anfield.
Before the game, Manchester United and Chelsea in the BIG4 would start the game.
Manchester United defeated Stoke City by 2: 0 in the away game. Ferguson's team, after losing to Burnley, conveyed to the outside world their ambition of defending the league title with five consecutive wins.
Chelsea, on the other hand, had been defeated by Wigan Athletic!
Everything was normal in the second half of the game. The score was 1: 1, but in the 51st minute, Čech was sent off with a red card for a foul in the penalty area and gave Wigan Athletic a penalty kick. At this point, Chelsea, who had been steady in the new season, fell into a passive position and Wigan Athletic scored another goal during injury stoppage time.
3:1
Chelsea suffered their first defeat of the new season!
Wigan Athletic made a new record: they had won against a BIG4 powerhouse team for the first time!
Liverpool's game would not start until half an hour after Chelsea's game ended.
In the Anfield locker room, Gerard pushed the door open and shouted to his teammates, "Let me tell you some good news. Chelsea just lost this round of the league! They still have the same points as us, but after our game, we will monopolize the top of the rankings! "
"Yeah!"
The teammates in the locker room roared with excitement. This was good news, and it was hard to say whether it would put more pressure on Liverpool.
After all, compared to Chelsea winning, the Blues losing was obviously a better result.
Comain did not mention the game between Chelsea and Manchester United in his pre-game lecture.
He asked everyone to play the game step by step and did not mention a word about the EFL Cup defeat in the midweek. Let bygones be bygones, and there was nothing to summarize.
Liverpool made their debut at Anfield with a strong aura.
Hull City looked vulnerable when they came to Anfield.
Qin Xiong, Torres, Gerard, and Kuyt's attacking group showed their prowess. In the process of bombarding Hull City's defensive line repeatedly, they humiliated Hull City's goalkeeper, Mike Hill, again and again.
He picked the football out of the goal a total of seven times!
7:0！
Torres scored a hat-trick, Qin Xiong scored twice, and Gerard and Kuyt each scored a goal.
Anfield swept away the haze of the EFL Cup exit, and Comain stood on the sidelines with his head held high, looking extremely confident.
Was the EFL Cup exit an accident?
Even if it was not, it had nothing to do with Liverpool's true strength.
On the battlefield of the league tournament, the prairie fire set off by Liverpool still showed no signs of extinguishing, and the fire still dyed the sky red.
After defeating Hull City, Liverpool dominated the Premier League table after the seventh round of the new season, planting the Red Army's flag at the highest point of the English green world.
In another game that took place later, Arsenal defeated their local derby rival Fulham by 1: 0 in an away game. After two consecutive defeats, they won two consecutive victories.
Within the BIG4 Group, Liverpool led Manchester United and Chelsea by three points, and led Arsenal by six points!
After the league tournament, Liverpool moved to the European arena. The team took a plane to Italy to challenge Fiorentina in an away game.
This season, Fiorentina had a group of capable and promising star players. They were seen as a team that could become a dark horse in the Champions League.
Comain never dared to underestimate such a team, because he knew that the easier it was to underestimate a team, the more likely it was to create miracles!
After slaughtering Di Bissani 8: 0 in the first round, Liverpool was seen as unstoppable by the outside world. But at the pre-match press conference, Comain emphasized that the team had forgotten the big win in the first round.
"There are six games in the group stage, and the two teams with the most points advance to the knockout stage. A game, whether winning 1: 0 or 5: 0, only three points are awarded. Now Liverpool has three points, and that's it.
Fiorentina is a strong opponent and we will face a lot of pressure in the away game. But I have confidence in the players. Just like our performance in the league tournament, we will show our true level. We have enough strength to take the victory away. "
An Italian reporter retorted, deliberately suppressing Liverpool's momentum, and said, "Why can't Liverpool play like they did in the EFL Cup? That's also Liverpool. "
Comain nodded after hearing the words and said, "Well, what you said makes sense. I will tell the players in the locker room whether they are like the Liverpool team on the day at Elland Road, or the Liverpool team in the past seven league games. Your question is a warning. Thank you."
The Italian reporter was choked by Comain's answer, as if he was encouraging Liverpool instead!
Select text and click 'Report' to let us know about any bad translation.
