After the end of the FIFA match day, Qin Xiong returned to the Melwood Training Ground to prepare for the Premier League weekend with the team.
He could clearly feel that his teammates who had returned from the national team were tired.
However, Liverpool's Premier League schedule this year could be considered extremely unlucky.
After the FIFA match day, there was the Merseyside derby, plus the visit of Meazza to challenge Inter Milan in the middle of next week.
On the afternoon of October 16, the Merseyside derby was the first to kick off at Goodison Park.
The exhausted Liverpool faced a fierce battle against Everton.
Shortly after the start of the match, Aurelio was knocked down by Yakubu while he was filling in for Mascherano!
Comain flew into a rage and argued with the fourth official, arguing that the opponent's collision was too big and caused the injury of the Liverpool player.
Insua was called on to play in the nick of time.
Before the first half was 20 minutes old, Carragher was injured in a scramble with Yakubu!
Comain's face turned livid this time.
Agger came on to replace Carragher.
Liverpool's rhythm in this game was difficult to unify at the same pace.
In particular, the rear defensive line was full of loopholes, allowing Everton to seize the opportunity to play a threatening fast attack.
Mascherano's performance was disappointing. It was clear that his physical burden from the South American trip to Europe was too great. Not only was the journey consumed by the game, but he also had to deal with two jet lag.
Everton took the lead in the first half of the game through Cahill to receive Osman's pass from the side and shoot a low shot to break the goal. Osman broke through the defensive line on the left side guarded by Insua.
Less than ten minutes into the second half, Agger's header was not far away in an attack opportunity from a corner kick. Arteta received the ball outside the penalty area and adjusted to shake off Alonso. After he directly lifted his leg and shot a long shot directly through Liverpool's goal again!
In the Merseyside derby, Liverpool was two goals behind!
Comain could not stand it anymore. He replaced Kuyt with Lucas and added a defensive midfielder to defend. He took the lead to ensure that the midfield defense would not be penetrated by the opponent, and at the same time increased the defensive midfielder's mobility to assist in the defense on the flanks.
After that, Liverpool was able to gain a foothold in the game. It was only under the premise of a stable defense that the offense in front could continuously put pressure on the opponent.
Qin Xiong appeared to be alone in the game. Most of the time, he could not coordinate with his teammates. His rhythm was obviously fast.
It was not until the second half that there was an improvement.
He began to work with Raul, and Gerrard attacked Everton's defense in the front.
In the 71st minute of the game, Qin Xiong, Alonso, and Raúl played a triangular pass in the front field. After cutting inside to get into position, they received Raúl's return pass. Qin Xiong blasted the goal with a heavy kick that penetrated the ten fingers of the American goalkeeper, Howard!
Liverpool pulled a goal back.
Everton's manager, Moyes, made a tactical adjustment to defensive counterattack. This adjustment made Everton completely unable to control the game in the last 20 minutes of the game.
In the 83rd minute of the game, Insua assisted from the left. He crossed the ball from the flank to the top corner of the penalty area on the other side. Gerard's header there caused the goalkeeper, Howard, to lose his hand to save. Raúl was tripped by Distin and fell to the ground.
The referee decisively awarded a penalty kick.
Qin Xiong withstood the pressure and took the penalty kick in one move, helping Liverpool equalize the score in the away game.
Although Liverpool still mustered the courage to attack wildly in the last minute, they repeatedly missed the goal and could not stage another comeback.
At the end of the game, the fans of both teams were quite unwilling.
Comain and Moyes also quarreled.
Comain was still holding a grudge against Yakubu for injuring Aurelio and Carragher.
In the post-match press conference, Comain expressed regret that the team could not win the game.
"Liverpool may have only played less than 70% of their true strength today! FIFA games have a great impact on the players' state. You know, Mascherano just returned to the United Kingdom from Argentina the night before yesterday. He is very tired and needs to rest. But we have to play such an important game. Liverpool needs him, and so do the other players. "
"But Qin Xiong did not return to Asia for the game. He went on vacation."
"So Qin Xiong scored two goals in the game. He was the best player in the game. Unfortunately, we did not get the victory. Now we have to start preparing for the Champions League game next week. "
.....
The FIFA virus had a great impact on the strong teams in the Premier League.
Chelsea's 0: 0 draw with Aston Villa might not have been convincing, but Manchester United's two-goal lead was first Evra's own goal, followed by the old goalkeeper Edwin van der Sar's low-level mistake that allowed the opponent to equalize the score. It simply made the Red Devils fans collapse.
Only Arsenal's 2: 1 victory over Birmingham City seemed normal.
After this round, Liverpool continued to lead the table with 20 points, followed by Chelsea with 19 points.
Arsenal's 13 points showed signs of catching up.
Manchester United's 11 points were even three points less than Manchester City's four-game winning streak, which made the Red Devils unable to lift their heads.
Liverpool rushed to Milan, the capital of Italy, after the Merseyside derby, to prepare to challenge Inter Milan in Meazza.
The two teams were really enemies on a narrow road.
In addition to last season's Champions League final meeting, the current Inter Milan manager, Benítez, also had a deep relationship with Liverpool.
At the press conference before the Champions League game, Benítez talked about the current Liverpool team and said, "If there was a Chinese boss who used his personal relationship to let a player like Qin Xiong join the team during my coaching of Liverpool, Liverpool would have won the Premier League title. Now, except for Qin Xiong, the other key players in the team are the core team left behind when I was coaching."
Benítez's words were irreproachable.
Even Johnson, who had grown up, was a player he signed before he left, and players like Alonso, Torres, Kuyt, and others were all brought to Anfield by him.
Comain did not care.
"Benítez has worked for Liverpool for so long. Naturally, he has made an immeasurable contribution to the club. The club is also grateful for his contributions. But we're not here in Milan to reminisce about the past. We're here to play! I'm looking forward to playing against Inter Milan, but unfortunately, it's no longer Mourinho. "
Liverpool had six points in the group stage and Inter Milan had four points. The two-legged back-to-back games were likely to determine the group's advancement.
The outside world was concerned about whether Inter Milan or Liverpool would be the first to advance.
Comain also responded to this.
"We have a lot of pressure on our schedule this season. In order for the team to be more relaxed in the second half of the season, we will of course work hard to get first place in the group and then get a good draw in the knockout stage. Inter Milan must be thinking the same. Tomorrow's game will be crucial. Liverpool will go all out to win in Meazza! "
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