On the evening of March 10, Liverpool and AC Milan played the second leg of the UEFA Champions League 18 finals in Anfield.
The starting players of the two teams met in the tunnel.
Standing in AC Milan's lineup, Ibrahimovic turned his head and glanced at Liverpool's starting lineup. He suddenly raised the corner of his mouth and said to Qin Xiong with a sneer, "Is the defending champion going to be a coward at home today?"
The AC Milan players could not help but laugh.
They were not arrogant. Due to the intense sparks from the clash between the two teams in the last round, it was understandable that the players were resentful in this round.
But to vent their resentment, of course, they had to rely on winning games.
So, when Ibrahimovic mocked Liverpool, his teammates immediately echoed. They would not go overboard, but they must put on a show.
In terms of the art of war, this was a provocation!
It disrupted Liverpool's established deployment.
Qin Xiong, who was standing behind Gerard, turned his head and pretended to sweep a glance at Liverpool's lineup. He saw Tiote, Mascherano, Meireles, and Gerard. Liverpool's midfield combination today was really tough and crazy!
Qin Xiong looked away and said nonchalantly, "I don't know who will be beaten into a coward on the field later. If AC Milan has the ability to suppress Liverpool in Anfield, you're good."
The Liverpool players suddenly showed a mocking smile.
Ibrahimovic still wanted to say something, but the leader, Nesta, turned to Ibrahimovic and said, "Don't waste your breath. You're making a fool of yourself."
Ibrahimovic was asking for a rebuff. Plus, the prestigious big brother in the team had spoken, so he kept his mouth shut.
In any case, the Liverpool players still respected Nesta very much. It was no exaggeration to say that many of their players grew up watching Nesta's heroics on the field.
Led by the referee team, the players of the two teams walked into the stadium.
The deafening noise in Anfield created a huge psychological pressure on the AC Milan players.
They had to overturn Liverpool by two goals in this stadium in order to enter the Champions League quarter-finals!
Their opponents were already very strong, and they had the advantage of the venue. Coupled with the terrifying atmosphere created by the fanatical fans in the stands, the hearts of all the AC Milan players became unusually heavy.
On the contrary, the Liverpool players stepped onto the pitch with confidence.
The tsunami of cheers filled them with even more fighting spirit. The support from the fans made them feel that their strength would become even stronger!
Defeat AC Milan and enter the quarter-finals!
"The second leg of the UEFA Champions League 18 finals is about to start at Anfield. The defending champions, Liverpool, are hosting AC Milan at home. In the first leg of the game, Liverpool took the victory away from the San Siro and led AC Milan with a total score of 2: 0. If AC Milan can't beat Liverpool by two goals in the away game today, then AC Milan will be eliminated. This is an impossible task.
Today, Liverpool's starting lineup is 442.
Goalkeeper: Reina.
Defenders: Johnson, Skrtel, Agger, Baines.
Midfielders: Mascherano, Meireles, Tiote, Gerard.
Forwards: Raúl, Qin Xiong.
Liverpool has adjusted their starting lineup today. The more commonly used 4-3-3 formation has been changed to 4-4-2.
AC Milan's starting lineup is 4312.
Goalkeeper: Abbiati.
Defenders: Abate, Nesta, Thiago Silva, Jankulovski.
Midfielders: Seedorf, Boateng, Strasser, Robinho.
Forwards: Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Pato.
After the kickoff ceremony, the two teams set up in their respective halves of the field and are about to start the battle! "
Liverpool's battle plan today was to frantically snipe AC Milan in the midfield, not to shrink back to play defense and counter-attack.
Mascherano, Tiote, Meireles, Gerard, plus Qin Xiong, who was playing as a shadow striker, would have a very high coverage in the midfield. At the same time, there was also a full-back who could adapt to the situation and throw himself into the midfield defense.
AC Milan could be said to have actually played a 4-3-3 formation because they needed to score goals to reverse the game!
But today, AC Milan's midfield was very weak.
The defensive contributions that Seedorf and Boateng could bring were very low. Strasser was only 20 years old. Although he looked like a dark and tough character in the midfield, he had little experience. Moreover, Liverpool's midfield generals were not unknown players. He was afraid that he would have a hard time today.
At the start of the game, Liverpool put on a posture in the midfield that looked like they were going to flatten their opponents.
Gerard, Meireles, and Tiote, the three of them lined up in a disc-shaped formation and pushed forward to attack.
The three of them had the advantage in running and fighting for positions. Then, Qin Xiong came to the front to provide support. Raúl pressed the opponent's defensive line, making AC Milan a little overwhelmed from the start.
In the third minute of the game, when Liverpool's midfield line crushed AC Milan's midfield by passing and cutting, Qin Xiong received Tiote's pass in front of the penalty area, and then Abate and Nesta formed a joint defensive line in the direction in front of him.
Raúl was marked by Thiago Silva and Jankulovski on the other side.
Qin Xiong did not force it. Instead, he casually passed the ball behind Raúl.
Strasser rushed to Qin Xiong, but he missed. Then, he saw Gerard, who rushed up from behind Raúl, receive the ball and shoot a long shot!
The football flew diagonally to the goal. Abbiati saw that the shot was powerful and from a tricky angle, so he just gave up.
Was the goal going to be breached just like that?
Abbiati thought in his heart, disheartened.
Bang!
The football hit the crossbar of the goal and bounced back!
The bounced football fell at the feet of Meireles again. He tried to pass a fatal straight ball, but the pass was a little too wide. It penetrated AC Milan's defensive line, but it also made Raúl unable to catch up with it after he reversed his offside position. The football rolled out of the end line.
There was a huge sigh from Anfield. The Red Army fans in the stands felt sorry for Gerard's long shot that hit the crossbar, and immediately there was a warm applause.
In any case, Liverpool's momentum was shown.
At the forefront of AC Milan's attack line, Ibrahimovic and Pato on the frontline looked at the rear defensive line in a state of panic again. Both of them were a little helpless and thought to themselves, What the hell?!
Allegri showed a classic embarrassed expression on the sidelines. He did not expect Liverpool to use such a tactic to deal with AC Milan at home.
In his opinion, Liverpool should be playing defense and counterattack.
This was the conventional thinking. After all, Liverpool did this in the Champions League last season. They established an advantage in the first leg and used defensive counterattack to secure promotion in the second leg.
But Liverpool's posture today could not be said to be balanced offensively and defensively. It was still leaning toward offense!
Using offense to oppress the opponent.
Because AC Milan's midfield was too weak today!
It was weaker than the combination of Gattuso and Flamini in the last round!
And Liverpool's midfield was extremely strong. Whether it was the offense to push forward, the defense to frantically press the ball, the physical confrontation and tackling techniques, Liverpool had the advantage!
In that case, Liverpool could perfectly cut AC Milan's midfield line today, make the opponent unable to connect the front and back, and then frantically destroy AC Milan!
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