After the first two rounds of the new Premier League season, gaps began to appear in the situation of the championship contenders. Although it was only the beginning of the season, for the long race to the championship, all teams had to avoid making mistakes and losing points as much as possible.
Maybe the gap at the beginning of the season was not obvious, but maybe in the end, the gap was still so small. Then, would there be teams who regretted not playing those two games well at the beginning of the season?
Chelsea and Liverpool both got six points.
Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur had four points, Arsenal had three points, and Manchester City and Everton had one point.
The Premier League, which was defined by Fleet Street as a "seven-man race" in the new season, showed a situation of teams falling behind after only two games of the season.
When the third round of the Premier League tournament followed, Liverpool faced severe pressure from the competition schedule.
Two days after playing in the league tournament, they would go to Louis II Stadium to participate in the UEFA Super Cup.
Fortunately, the opponents in the third round were not strong. Comain rotated, and Liverpool's last summer signing was in the final stage.
Before the transfer window closed, Liverpool brought in the Portuguese midfielder Meireles for €14 million.
On August 27, the third round of the Premier League began.
Liverpool played at home against West Bromwich Albion.
With Kuyt's goal, Liverpool easily defeated their opponent at home with 1: 0 and won their third consecutive league game.
In the same round, Arsenal beat Blackburn Rovers 2: 1 in an away game.
Tottenham Hotspur unexpectedly lost 0: 1 to Wigan Athletic at White Hart Lane.
Chelsea beat Stoke City with two goals at Stamford Bridge.
The Red Devils Manchester United beat West Ham United with three goals at Old Trafford.
Manchester City was unexpectedly defeated at the Stadium of Light and lost 0: 1 to the Black Cats Sunderland in the last minute.
Everton also lost 0: 1 to Aston Villa at Villa Park.
Only three games of the new season had been played.
Fleet Street's pre-season publicity almost became the biggest joke.
On the scoreboard, Chelsea and Liverpool both led with three consecutive wins and nine points.
Manchester United followed with seven points and Arsenal with six points.
This was the traditional competitive structure of the BIG4.
What about Manchester City, Tottenham Hotspur, and Everton, the three teams that were thought to have the slightest bit of impact on the title in the new season?
Manchester City and Everton were only one point apart, eight points behind the top of the list.
Tottenham Hotspur might be a little better with four points, but they did not seem to have the potential to become champions. At the very least, their title contender at the beginning of the season had become a laughingstock.
It could be said that after three rounds, the wild talk of "seven heroes fighting for supremacy" had already been thrown to the back of people's minds.
The future was uncertain. At the very least, this season's Premier League was still a game for the BIG4. The final champion would definitely be among the BIG4.
Liverpool immediately embarked on their journey to Monaco after the end of the third round of the competition.
Even though Qin Xiong had won the Champions League four times, he only had one UEFA Super Cup title in his resume, and it was because he was injured and did not participate in the competition.
Therefore, he was very concerned about this game, which was regarded as useless by the outside world.
On August 29, before the start of the UEFA Super Cup, the group draw ceremony for the new season of the Champions League was held. At the same time, Qin Xiong received a series of awards such as the European Golden Boot, the Champions League's best scorer, best player, and so on.
It could be said to be a fruitful return. This would lay a good media foundation for him to compete for the Ballon d 'Or in the second half of the year.
The Champions League group draw ceremony was the focus of everyone's attention.
Liverpool's luck in the draw this season was average. They met Inter Milan again in the Champions League.
However, the other two opponents were indeed weak.
FC Twente from the Netherlands and Werder Bremen from Germany.
At 8 p.m., the Champions League champion Liverpool and last season's Europa League champion Atlético Madrid met on a narrow road at the Louis II Stadium in Monaco to compete for the UEFA Super Cup title!
In the stadium tunnel, Qin Xiong looked at Atlético Madrid's lineup, plus the opponent's manager, Flores, whom he knew before. It was really a group of old acquaintances.
When the players of the two teams walked into the stadium, the scene erupted in warm applause. Monaco's local fans were the main force in the stands. They were very welcoming for the two high-level teams to come to their hometown to play.
"The 2010 UEFA Super Cup is about to begin. Last season's Champions League champion Liverpool and last season's Europa League champion Atlético Madrid will play a peak showdown at the Louis II Stadium. The winner will be the king of Europe!
Due to the late start of the La Liga season and the start of the new Premier League season in early August, Liverpool had four official games before they arrived in Monaco. In terms of form, perhaps Liverpool's competitive form was better. But considering that they had traveled to Monaco just after the end of the third round of the Premier League the day before yesterday, it was clear that Atlético Madrid's physical state was much better than theirs and they were more prepared for the game.
Well, let's take a look at the starting lineup of both sides.
Liverpool's starting lineup: 433.
Goalkeeper: Reina.
Defenders: Johnson, Carragher, Agger, Aurelio.
Midfielders: Lucas, Alonso, Gerard.
Forwards: Raúl, Torres, Qin Xiong.
Atlético Madrid's starting lineup: 4132.
Goalkeeper: De Gea.
Defenders: Perea, Godín, Dominguez, Ujfalusi.
Midfielders: Reyes, Assunção, Raúl -Garcia, Simão.
Forwards: Forlan, Agüero.
The two champions of last season's European Cup are now competing for the crown of this year's King of Europe! "
Liverpool did have a long journey and a lack of rest in between. Although Comain made a rotation, they came to Monaco in a hurry. They arrived the night before yesterday and only had a day of rest yesterday. In addition, the rotation was not a full rotation. Some players still did not reach their ideal physical state.
Atlético Madrid was completely different. They were conserving their energy and the new league season had not yet started. They had plenty of time to prepare for the game.
Young Marshal Flores, who was fired from the Bat Corps, was now at the helm of Atlético Madrid. He stood on the sidelines and observed Liverpool on the field.
No matter how much the outside world belittled the value of the UEFA Super Cup.
But he hoped the team could beat last season's Champions League champions on the green field!
Therefore, he had a very accurate and objective judgment for the game and was fully prepared.
Liverpool's travel and lack of rest would affect Liverpool's competitive state.
The Red Army needed more time to get into the game, especially when the whole team played at the same pace.
Liverpool needed time?
Atlético Madrid could not give it!
When the game started, Liverpool, who had built up a strong self-confidence, wanted to slow down the pace of the game. They did need more time to get into the game.
But the whole Atlético Madrid team was like a wild beast, frantically pressing on the field and launching lightning-fast attacks!
Atlético Madrid seemed to want to break the pace of the game and crush Liverpool with a crushing force!
Before the Red Army could react, the game would be completely lost!
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