When Gerard received Qin Xiong's pass in front of Barcelona's penalty area, Barcelona's back line was penetrated again!
Keita was unable to block Gerard in the first place.
Guardiola was stunned as he watched on the sidelines. Liverpool had a tactical change in the second half, and this change made Barcelona's adjustment in the midfield against Qin Xiong and Torres fail directly!
Even his thinking was confused by Liverpool's overall offensive and defensive posture in the first half!
Piqué and Maxwell were guarding against Torres. Piqué did not dare to act rashly. In such a critical moment, only Puyol dared to take a risk!
He immediately moved to the front of Gerard, afraid that Gerard would raise his leg to shoot, and also afraid that Gerard would directly dribble the ball into the penalty area.
As the defensive midfielder, Keita naturally subconsciously went to block Gerard at this moment.
But when Puyol and Keita went to block Gerard together, the exposed gap in Barcelona's defensive line expanded imperceptibly.
Qin Xiong directly ran to cut inside after passing the ball, taking advantage of this sudden gap!
Puyol was aware of Qin Xiong's running position, but he could not take care of it now. He could only resolutely go to the defensive side. Since he had come to the front of Gerard, he naturally could not leave the defensive area to chase after Qin Xiong. And in order to disrupt Liverpool's attack, which seemed to be completely destroying Barcelona this time, he had to be more decisive to go up one-on-one with Gerard.
But Gerard did not give Puyol a chance at all.
Liverpool's attack this time was not accidental. During the preparation period, Liverpool had practiced such a tactic. In such an environment, Gerard knew what to do.
The opening had already appeared, and Qin Xiong had already moved into position to cut inside. Gerard did not hesitate to send a straight ball!
The football rolled through the gap between Keita and Puyol and cut straight into the ribs of Barcelona's defensive line. Like a sharp knife, it completely tore apart Barcelona's defense.
Qin Xiong completed the reverse offside position. He was diagonally facing the goal and the football rolled to his front. He took a precise step, adjusted his pace, and directly raised his foot to shoot the goal!
Qin Xiong didn't use a rubbing shot, nor did he use a push shot. His eyes were almost closed as he completed a burst shot without thinking!
Great strength creates miracles!
Boom!
The goalkeeper, Valdés, wanted to make a save in front of the goal, but when the football flashed in front of his eyes like a meteor, he could not react in time.
When he came back to his senses, the football was already spinning in the goal behind him!
When Qin Xiong saw the football blast into Barcelona's goal, his cold expression suddenly became wild and ferocious. With a roar, he rushed to the front of the Kop stands to celebrate the goal!
Anfield was boiling with excitement!
The Red Army fans were ecstatic as they cheered for Qin Xiong and shouted his name. The die-hard fans immediately sang a battle song in praise of Qin Xiong!
"Liverpool widened their lead shortly after the start of the second half!
Another counterattack, another counterattack!
Liverpool's counterattacks were interpreted in a violent aesthetic!
They simply and sharply attacked Barcelona's defensive line effectively.
This time was no exception. Qin Xiong dribbled the ball on the left side of the front field and attracted a number of Barcelona's defenders. After he pinned down Barcelona's defensive team, he created an opportunity for Gerard, who plugged in from the middle, to drive a chain reaction in Barcelona's defensive line. Gerard then assisted Qin Xiong, who cut into the penalty area. Qin Xiong's shot was earth-shattering. It was strong and powerful, and the speed of the ball was astonishing!
Valdés did not respond. He had no response. He could only raise his hands in surrender.
Barcelona is down 1: 3 in Anfield! This is a dangerous score. The defending champions of the Champions League have encountered their biggest crisis in the European competition in two years! "
The Red Army players cheered wildly to each other to celebrate the goal. Everyone felt a sense of pride and satisfaction for the opportunity created by the team's concerted efforts to build an advantage!
Comain finally smiled on the sidelines, and then celebrated with the assistant manager. They hugged each other.
At this stage, Liverpool's construction this season could be said to have borne fruit.
Now Liverpool were not afraid of strong opponents, were brave to accept challenges, and were not afraid of failure. They became stronger step by step. From the outside to the inside, from the team's skills and tactics to the inner fighting spirit, Liverpool were condensing and shaping the temperament of a real powerhouse!
Guardiola was expressionless. He seemed to be deep in thought, but also seemed to be a little dazed by Liverpool's goal.
He could imagine that the key point of Liverpool's attack in the middle was Gerard's conscious effort in the second half!
This was the subtlety of Liverpool's tactical arrangement in this game.
Comain dug a hole for him!
And he jumped in!
This was intolerable for Guardiola.
Guardiola looked up at the scoreboard. The score of 3: 1 on it made his heart heavy.
If it was 2: 1, Barcelona still had a chance to make adjustments. But 3: 1, in other words, Barcelona had to return to their home ground with at least 2: 0 to advance to the Champions League semi-finals.
The opponent was Liverpool. Guardiola only dared to say that the gap between the two teams was within one goal.
In other words, it was normal for Liverpool to win against Barcelona by one goal, or for Barcelona to win against Liverpool by one goal, or even for the two teams to draw.
Now that Barcelona was two goals behind, it forced Barcelona to score again to shorten the gap between the two teams.
Otherwise, it would be a game of life and death when they returned to Camp Nou, and Barcelona would be very passive.
Guardiola murmured softly, "3: 1, 3: 1 …"
This score made him very embarrassed. He could not let Barcelona shrink their defense and stabilize the game. It was also difficult to resolutely let Barcelona burn their boats and go head-to-head with Liverpool.
Amidst the hesitation, the competition continued.
Barcelona's players were also in a heavy mood. When loud songs rang out in Anfield, and the Red Army fans praised Qin Xiong's bravery, greatness, magic, and power, Barcelona was under tremendous pressure.
Especially for Barcelona's defenders, Qin Xiong was like a nightmare that they could not get out of their minds.
In the 59th minute of the game, Iniesta controlled the ball in the middle. He was trapped in a circle of five Liverpool players. It looked like a classic scene, reflecting Iniesta's skillful ball control.
But when Iniesta could only pass the ball back to Xavi, Barcelona's offense was still helpless.
Guardiola seemed to have figured it out on the sidelines.
The game at Anfield was already a situation where they had to fight!
If Barcelona retreated, perhaps the psychological blow to Barcelona would be far greater than losing a game and being eliminated from the Champions League.
Because Barcelona was the six-time champion last season!
They were now recognized as the strongest team in Europe!
Even if Liverpool was a strong challenger, Barcelona could not take the initiative to show weakness by retreating!
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