On the afternoon of November 29th.
In the neighborhoods around Goodison Park stadium, the crowd of blue and red people was heading towards the stadium.
There were mounted police on the streets to maintain law and order to avoid conflicts caused by friction between the fans of the two teams.
Everton and Liverpool felt like brothers in distress during this period.
The fans of both teams were worried about their beloved teams and did not have the courage to mock and humiliate their arch-rivals.
Everton lived the same life year after year. In the past four seasons, Everton had reached fifth place for two consecutive years from seventh and sixth in the league.
It was enough to disappoint them that they failed to reach the Champions League for two consecutive years.
In the new season, the fans had hoped that Everton could go one step further. They did not dare to hope for the league title. They wanted to bite the championship group and seize the opportunity to enter the next season's Champions League in one fell swoop!
This was a slight step forward compared to the past four years, and this step seemed as unreachable as Liverpool's push for the league title!
The new season had been through 13 rounds of the league. How many games had Everton lost?
Five games!
The 1: 6 bloodbath by Arsenal in the opening game seemed to indicate that this would not be a season that would make Everton fans happy.
Including the three games that were tied.
How many games had Everton won in the 13 rounds of the league?
Five games!
Everton, with only 18 points, had been left behind by the BIG4 group by an average of about 10 points.
This gap was extremely disappointing.
Although a small number of Liverpool fans still gloated over Everton's recent situation, this mood would be a lot calmer considering the situation of their own team.
Liverpool, who had not won in five rounds of the league, was three points behind the team at the top of the table. It seemed that the gap was much smaller than when Everton wanted to reach the Champions League.
But in the real cruel competition for the championship, three points? Never mind three points, one point could be the dividing line between heaven and hell.
Liverpool's bus drove to Goodison Park stadium. Qin Xiong sat by the window and looked calmly at the fans on the street walking to the stadium.
Torres sat next to him. Dressed casually, Torres would not play today, but he insisted on going to Goodison Park with the team.
The team was now in a critical period and he needed to be involved instead of watching the live broadcast at home.
"The outside world is talking about how important you are to the team. When I first heard such voices, I felt very uncomfortable. I think Steven would feel the same way, including the other players. Why is it that the team is cut off from victory if they leave you? Without you, Liverpool can also win a lot of games. The only difference is that you alone have won more titles than Liverpool over the past few years. "
Torres was also looking out of the window with a calm expression. Qin Xiong turned his head and looked at him calmly. Then, he retracted his gaze and did not intend to respond.
Torres seemed to be talking to himself as he continued, "When we lost the first match, we were in a terrible mood. You weren't in the locker room, so you don't understand. I felt that something was missing. After losing to Lyon and drawing with Manchester United, the emotions in my heart turned into unwillingness! He really couldn't accept it! The outside world is right. Without you, Liverpool is no longer the Liverpool of August and September, a team that can challenge for the title.
In retrospect, this is actually the truth. Before you came, Liverpool had not won any titles for three years.
Sometimes, it's the most difficult to admit reality. But after losing the second match of the league tournament, the huge pressure of reality forced us to bow our heads and admit it. Qin Xiong, we relied on you. You will make the game simple. At least you will allow me to play my role as a striker to the fullest and fully release my ability.
Unfortunately, I'm injured and can't play with you in the next game.
Today, you will wear Liverpool's legendary number 7 shirt, set foot on the territory of our mortal enemy, and work hard to reverse Liverpool's decline. I hope you succeed!
Even if your success will set off how much the team needs you and your importance without you, I still hope you succeed.
Liverpool needs a hero now. Most of the time, I will be the hero, Steven will be the hero, and the other players will occasionally play this role. But in the past seven weeks, Liverpool has no hero. Now everyone wants Liverpool to have a hero.
And the person most likely to be a hero is you! "
Torres's tone was calm from beginning to end. After a long silence after he finished speaking, Qin Xiong turned his head and stared at Torres lightly. He said softly, "Torres, we are a team. That's all I know."
Having said that, Qin Xiong turned his head and continued to look out of the window.
Torres bowed his head and smiled silently.
Liverpool's bus drove into the Goodison Park stadium.
Qin Xiong and his teammates did warm-up exercises in the stadium, then returned to the locker room to change into their jerseys and get ready to go.
Comain, who had been under a lot of pressure recently and was on the verge of collapse, gave an impassioned pre-match lecture.
He was mobilizing the team's morale, but Qin Xiong seemed a little out of place. He did not cheer loudly with his teammates to boost their morale.
For him, what he needed now was to calm down.
He had just recovered from his injury, and hot-bloodedness could not let him reverse reality.
He needed to calm down and turn this calmness into a sharp blade that pierced the enemy's heart on the field!
Wearing a clean and tidy jersey, Qin Xiong walked out of the players' tunnel. He held his head high and stood in line with his teammates with a cold expression on his face, ready to play.
After the referees checked that there were no dangerous goods on the players, the players from both teams walked into the Goodison Park stadium.
The noise was deafening. The Merseyside derby was about to begin!
"Welcome to Goodison Park, the focus of the Premier League's 14th round, the Merseyside derby, will be staged here. Everton, at home, will face their city's arch-rival, Liverpool.
Today's game will be broadcasted live by me, Martin Taylor, and my partner, Andy Gray.
David Moyes is having a hard time. He has only won five out of the 13 games in the new season. Everton seems to have withdrawn from the ranks of competing for the Champions League tickets early, which is depressing. "
"It doesn't matter. Everton's arch-rival, Liverpool, is also having a hard time. Before the game, Comain was pressed by a Guardian reporter about whether he would leave midway. After a few dark weeks, Liverpool urgently needs to recover their lost ground in the league. The good news for them is that Qin Xiong has made a comeback!
Qin Xiong is in the starting lineup today, but he has just recovered from his injury. Whether he can dominate the game is a huge question. "
"Haha, Qin Xiong has made a comeback, but Torres is injured. No one can say for sure whether Liverpool can get through this difficult period!"
You've already exceeded your reading limit for today. If you want to read more, please log in.
Login
Select text and click 'Report' to let us know about any bad translation.
