I'm a little late today, I apologize to everyone!
-----
As Comain walked towards the players' tunnel, he was sweating profusely. The first half was actually the most thrilling stage, but Liverpool pulled through!
After calming down, Comain's expression became extremely solemn, and his eyes became very sharp and spirited.
When the Liverpool players returned to the locker room, Comain walked up to everyone and said loudly, "You guys are amazing. In the first half, I actually thought that it was a good result for us to be able to draw with Barcelona, but now we're leading 2: 1. Whether it's psychologically or in terms of the actual situation, it's more advantageous for us. Does everyone still remember our tactical arrangements at the pre-match preparation meeting yesterday?"
The Red Army generals nodded together.
Everyone knew that the first half of the game was actually a foreshadowing. Liverpool's real strength was in the second half.
Now that they were ahead of Barcelona, it could be said that Liverpool achieved better in-progress results than expected.
Comain once again emphasized in the locker room how the team should deal with Barcelona in the second half. Every player listened attentively, ready to really go all out in the second half!
After the halftime adjustment, the two teams changed sides in the second half.
Barcelona's players must have also been adjusted by Guardiola during the halftime interval. They perked up and did not seem to fall into a passive state because of the deficit.
"With the referee's whistle, the second half of the first leg of the Champions League 14 final between Liverpool and Barcelona has officially begun. The score is now 2: 1. The home team, Liverpool, is leading Barcelona. Let's see how the two teams will perform in the second half."
At the start of the second half, Barcelona still shaped the offensive situation with passing and control, while Liverpool did not seem to have changed much from the first half. They still concentrated on defense and seized the opportunity to attack and defend to counterattack.
Comain stood on the sidelines with his chin slightly raised. He glanced at Guardiola, who had his hands in his pockets, supervising the game. It would be a lie to say that he was not envious and admired them.
After all, Guardiola was young and promising. They became famous as soon as they debuted and became the top manager in European football. Coupled with Barcelona's unique environment, it could be said that there were few managers in the world who did not envy Guardiola.
As a manager, who would not want to have a godfather of the club who supported them from behind the scenes? Who wouldn't be envious of a manager who had a good relationship with the club chairman?
Barcelona was very strong. Their ability to attack in positional play was second to none in the European football world. This was Barcelona's advantage.
But Comain would not give in or admit defeat. He had players comparable to Barcelona. He could not turn Liverpool into the second Barcelona because it was simply unrealistic.
In the English football environment and atmosphere, if the team played in the style of Barcelona, most of the fans would not buy it. Most of the fans wanted to see fierce confrontations, a long, fast-paced game, and a big opening match that was in line with the English fans' aesthetic.
This was the best league in the world in the eyes of the English fans.
Liverpool would never become Barcelona. Even Arsenal, who used to be known as the most pleasing to the eye in European football, had to conform to the aesthetic standards of the English fans in terms of rhythm. Otherwise, they would only be spurned by the fans.
On the basis that Liverpool's own style did not change, Liverpool could still do a lot of things because there were many tactics in the football world. They were rich and varied. There was no tactic that could absolutely suppress or even sweep away all other tactics.
Only the tactics that suited the team could be powerful.
Liverpool's first half today was a process of exhaustion and foreshadowing. The real fight was in the second half.
Comain's carefully designed tactics might not be complicated, but it was also in line with the environment of the game against Barcelona. To break Barcelona's control, the simpler, more direct, and more violent the tactical play was, the more effective it was. The more complicated and delicate the tactics were, the more counterproductive it would be, because Barcelona's decisiveness and speed in defense were actually rare in European football.
An attack that was faster than Barcelona's defense could produce the desired effect.
In the 52nd minute of the game, when Messi broke through Aurelio on the right flank and forced his way into the corridor in front of the penalty area, he was successfully blocked by Mascherano and Alonso. Liverpool launched a new round of counterattacks.
Lucas passed the ball to Gerard in the midfield, who directly passed the ball to Qin Xiong on the left flank.
Qin Xiong dribbled the football forward to attack. Keita was the first to retreat. He could not make the same mistake he made when he lost the second goal in the first half.
He was disconnected from the defensive line!
When Qin Xiong came to the dangerous attacking zone forty yards away from the goal.
Keita, Alves, and Puyol formed a triangular encirclement from his front, side, and diagonally in front of him.
This was the defensive deployment that Guardiola emphasized during the halftime interval.
In any case, even in the face of Liverpool's sharp counterattack, Barcelona's defensive system must form a joint defense, and it must be a three-man joint defense posture. Otherwise, it would be difficult to seal off Qin Xiong!
For Torres's defense, a two-man joint defense was enough.
But for Qin Xiong, it must be at least a three-man joint defense system!
Qin Xiong still stubbornly moved toward Puyol's steering wheel in the face of a three-man pincer.
Puyol was as immovable as a mountain. He was not ready to go forward to intercept Qin Xiong, because his teammates would come forward. As long as Alves or Keita forced Qin Xiong to make a breakthrough, then the success rate of Puyol's interception would be greatly increased!
But when Alves and Keita formed a defensive formation to close the door together, Qin Xiong suddenly stopped dribbling and then pulled the ball back half a meter. Immediately after, he turned sideways and passed the ball to the middle of the penalty area!
Puyol looked in the direction of the ball's rolling direction and suddenly his pupils shrank. He was stunned.
Gerard shook off Xavi and rushed to the front of the penalty area!
Gerard's momentum when he ran forward was completely different from the first half. It was not that he suddenly became stronger in the second half, but that Gerard was holding back in the first half!
Comain's eyes became extremely sharp at this moment. He clenched his fists and looked forward to Gerard's performance deep in his heart.
Liverpool had been using Qin Xiong and Torres to attack in the first half. They constantly harassed, attacked, and attacked Barcelona's defensive line.
Whether it was a successful attack or a failed attack, it would cause Barcelona to form a certain mindset in their defense and neglect Liverpool's other attacking players.
And the reason why Comain said that Liverpool completed the task beyond expectations in the first half was because Liverpool had made two counterattacks. As a result, Barcelona would pay more attention to Torres and Qin Xiong and ignore Liverpool's other attacking players who plugged in from behind.
Now, Gerard was the unexpected attacking point that completely disrupted Barcelona's defense!
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