Manchester City continued to strengthen their offense. In the 34th minute of the game, they finally had a decent pass after Kolarov's assist to the front field. However, Dzeko's header was slightly forced and did not have enough power. The football fell lightly into Reina's arms.
Liverpool's offense was equally sharp.
A minute later, Meireles assisted to the front field. He cut into the middle to receive Alonso's straight pass. Faced with Yaya, Touré and Barry's defense, he transferred the ball to Qin Xiong's feet.
Qin Xiong controlled the ball on the flank. Boyata, the young rookie, was a little nervous in front of Qin Xiong. He needed his teammates to assist in the defense. However, before that, Qin Xiong had already sent the ball out.
The outer arc of his right foot's instep went around the back of Lescott and Kompany. Suárez, who was agile, ran diagonally to Kompany's side. Kompany could not touch the ball. However, as the football circled back, Suárez was able to touch it. He rushed forward and used his forehead to head the ball towards Manchester City's goal.
In a panic, Hart subconsciously blocked the ball. The football rebounded into the small penalty area. Suárez immediately followed up after the header and stabbed the ball into the bottom left corner of the goal before Kompany could.
Suárez turned his head and gave Qin Xiong a thumbs up as he ran to celebrate.
He had long heard of Qin Xiong's ghostly passing skill with the outer instep. It was often an eye-opener during training. However, it was still rare for him to cooperate with his teammates in a game.
Today, he finally got to see the threat of Qin Xiong's pass.
"Liverpool has really extended their lead this time! Although Suárez's header on Qin Xiong's pass did not penetrate Hart's fingers, he made Hart's save slip. He followed up and shot the ball into Manchester City's goal! "
"Qin Xiong's pass is really pleasing to the eye. It can be called a work of art. The beauty of the arc, bypassing the opponent's defender and making the goalkeeper hesitate to attack. This is a world-class pass! Wonderful beyond words! "
While the Liverpool players were celebrating, Mancini was expressionless on the sidelines. He had already realized that he had made a huge mistake.
But when Manchester City fell behind by two goals, he could only make the best of it and continue down this path.
What else could he do?
Was it too late to adjust the team's posture now and use defensive counterattacks to fight Liverpool?
Liverpool continued to play defensive counterattack after the goal and did not change their stance.
After the Manchester City team attacked to the front field, they found it difficult to move forward. It was difficult for their offense to advance into the danger zone.
Liverpool intercepted the ball in the 43rd minute of the game!
Gerard and Suarez attacked from the front and back to steal the ball from Yaya Toure's feet. Suarez first harassed Yaya Toure from behind, forcing Yaya Toure to pass the ball forward. Gerard then took the opportunity to steal the ball and succeeded in one fell swoop!
After Gerard intercepted the ball, he quickly passed the ball diagonally back to Alonso, who then sent the ball straight to Meireles.
After Meireles took two steps forward, he saw Qin Xiong cutting diagonally in front of the penalty area. He passed the ball straight to Qin Xiong.
With his back facing the penalty area, Qin Xiong had Lescott and Boyata behind him.
When the football rolled over, he used the instep of his foot to flick the ball to the left behind him. Then he turned from the right side and went forward.
The football rolled between Lescott and Boyata, and then Qin Xiong rushed into the penalty area to form a one-on-one ball diagonally to the goal.
The goalkeeper, Hart, abandoned the goal and came out. Qin Xiong calmly and selflessly passed the ball across.
Suarez, who ran all the way past Kompany, faced the empty goal and shot the ball into the net!
"Suarez scored a brace! The Red Army Liverpool's offense is simply brilliant and beautiful. The quicksilver offense, and Qin Xiong passing the ball with his back. Although it's a little different from Bergkamp's classic back-to-back stop-and-dribble, the effect is the same! Qin Xiong originally had a chance to shoot himself, but he saw that Suarez had a better chance, so he selflessly assisted his teammate! "
"Manchester City is completely wrong today. Liverpool sent their main force on the field, not to save face at home, not to fight with dignity, but to destroy Manchester City! Mancini has miscalculated this game. It's obvious that Manchester City is overconfident. In Anfield, not many teams dare to attack here! "
The first half of the game ended, and the score was 4: 1. Liverpool was far ahead!
The Red Army fans were particularly excited. They did not expect the team to be able to score four goals in the first half. Although strictly speaking, Qin Xiong's accidental goal should not count, the score was enough to satisfy them.
Back in the locker room, Comain pulled the tactical board in front of the players and said with a serious expression, "In the second half, we're going to completely crush Manchester City! They must think we'll play defense and counterattack comfortably, but they're wrong!
They must think we're satisfied with the score of 4: 1, but they're wrong!
They must not think that we're going to attack in the second half and show them what it means to dominate the game! "
Comain's words gave everyone a jolt of energy. Yes, Liverpool had a higher chance of winning by playing defense and counterattacking, but it also depended on the situation.
If the opponent did not attack, then there would certainly be few chances to counterattack.
And now that Liverpool was leading by a large score, what would Manchester City do in the second half?
It was simpler than trying to figure out Manchester City's tactics yesterday.
Comain was now going to do the opposite.
Because Manchester City was behind in the score, their mentality would definitely change, and the stakes would be higher!
Manchester City was going to attack, and Liverpool was going to attack too. Would there be a counterattack?
No!
Absolutely not!
Because Liverpool's midfield was stronger and more dominant than the opponent's!
In the second half, the two sides switched sides and fought again.
Mancini really put all his eggs in one basket and ordered the team to attack unscrupulously.
But Liverpool's formation pressed forward instead, and they frantically pressed Manchester City in the midfield.
Manchester City could clearly feel that Liverpool's speed was faster than in the first half.
Not only when they were playing fast attacks, but almost all the time, Liverpool was in a frenzied state.
In the 54th minute of the game, after Balotelli was tackled by Mascherano and Skrtel in the front field, Liverpool's fast attack swept toward Manchester City's half of the field like a wave.
The full back, Baines, Alonso, Gerard, and Meireles in the midfield, the four players in an orderly three-dimensional attack pushed forward.
After a series of passes and cuts pushed the attack to the front line, Suárez ran forward to bring out the depth of the attack. Qin Xiong received Gerard's pass diagonally from the rear and attracted Manchester City's defensive forces. He then passed the ball back.
Baines, who rushed from the back, received the ball and shot directly!
Hart blocked the ball head-on, and the football that rolled out of the penalty area was sent into the goal by Meireles with a long shot!
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