The first leg of the Champions League semi-final between Liverpool and Manchester United in Anfield was not as earth-shattering as expected.
On the contrary, it was a more dull tug-of-war. Liverpool had the upper hand, but it was difficult to create great opportunities.
In the eighth minute of the game, Meireles and Alonso passed the ball to Qin Xiong in the front field after passing the ball in the midfield.
Qin Xiong had just stopped the ball and he observed the situation around him.
Fabio was close to the direction of the penalty area, obviously intending to block his cutting route.
Carrick guarded the middle and did not come over to help defend, but Park Ji-sung and Rooney rushed towards him. Park Ji-sung took the lead and Rooney planned to act according to the situation from another angle in the middle.
After Park Ji-sung rushed over, Qin Xiong suddenly started in place and cut to the middle. He dribbled the ball and broke through the narrow gap between Park Ji-sung and Fabio, which surprised the two Red Devils players. Qin Xiong's ability to burst out in place was rarely used. Perhaps it had something to do with the different situation of the game in the past.
In the past, when Manchester United played Liverpool, both teams had a wide open style. They fought fiercely and fought for every inch of ground. In such a game situation, Qin Xiong broke through directly in motion most of the time and rarely waited for the ball to start the burst.
In today's game, Manchester United was obviously weak and focused on defense, which led to Liverpool's extremely difficult siege. Qin Xiong had no choice but to control the ball in place and look for the possibility of a breakthrough.
Just after he broke through Fabio and Park Ji-sung, and before Carrick moved to his side, Rooney took the lead to attack.
Qin Xiong and Rooney were unstable in the physical confrontation, and Rooney poked the ball away. In the chaos, Raúl could not take advantage of Ferdinand.
Manchester United's defense was successful.
Ferdinand quickly passed the ball diagonally to the left flank. The football rolled to Evra's feet, and Evra immediately passed the ball straight to the front.
Giggs dribbled the ball forward from the flank near the center line to attack.
Liverpool's defense in the backfield was ready.
It had to be said that Liverpool also paid extra attention to defense today, at least more so than in all the previous games of the season.
Giggs was like a lone hero as he charged forward on the flank.
He knew that even if there was only a sliver of a chance, he had to race against time to attack the frontlines.
Because Manchester United's offensive today would not be large-scale.
Since Rooney had participated in the defense just now, it was impossible for him to directly charge to the front line.
On the other hand, Manchester United's attack line only had Little Pea Hernandez to provide support in the middle.
Ryan Giggs decisively crossed before meeting Johnson on the flank.
He kicked the ball behind the Liverpool defenders, bypassing the defensive line in an attempt to let Hernandez get a chance to shoot as he charged forward.
Arendaz used a Flying Tackle to send himself flying forward.
The sole of his shoe kicked the football, but because he could not control his footwork well, the football deviated from the goal by about two meters and flew out of the end line!
Reina had a false alarm at the door.
Manchester United was still focused on attacking the flank today. Liverpool's focus on containing the opponent's counterattack was the most important thing.
The Red Devils were not Shakhtar Donetsk. Once Manchester United scored first, Ferguson's on-the-spot dispatching and reaction would probably make it even more difficult for Liverpool to face the game.
Five minutes later, Liverpool's front field tried to tear apart Manchester United's defense by constantly moving the ball horizontally to attack.
But there were always two troublemakers in the midfield!
Rooney and Park Ji-sung!
They made Liverpool's offense in the middle quite fearful. On the one hand, they were afraid of losing the ball. On the other hand, they were worried that once they plugged in from the back, Park Ji-sung and Rooney's plugging in from the middle could lead to the sublimation of the Red Devils' counterattack power!
Therefore, Liverpool could only rely on three axes to break through the tight defense in the end.
Long shots, set pieces, and individual breakthroughs!
In the 16th minute of the game, Meireles's long shot from the left side of the front field, which was 38 yards away from the goal, flew into the stands.
The Red Army fans in Anfield Stadium were puzzled by the team's performance.
It seemed that Manchester United was more difficult to deal with than they thought!
Ferguson was right about one thing. In the league tournament, Manchester United lost at the starting line, which made Manchester United very passive throughout the season.
But the Champions League was different.
Manchester United would not be led by Liverpool by the nose, and their tactical play would not be so easily figured out by Liverpool.
Comain looked serious on the sidelines.
Manchester United's defense today was a combination of movement and stillness. The combination of movement and stillness was quite effective.
The most important thing was that the two Red Devils, who could not run to death, brought Liverpool's offense obstruction.
Apart from Park Ji-sung and Rooney, the other players in the midfield and backfield were very stable in their defense!
As a result, Liverpool's individual surprise attacks would also be limited.
In the 24th minute of the game, Qin Xiong knew that he would be met with great resistance if he broke through in the middle or cut inside, so he pulled the side and dribbled the football towards the end line. Then he pretended to pass the ball in front of Fábio, and then he turned the ball back and passed it at a 45-degree angle.
Raúl lost to Vidic in front of the goal for a header. Manchester United's two center backs, Vidic and Ferdinand, almost made Liverpool's offensive efficiency of passing the ball to zero!
Manchester United also fought back as soon as they had the chance.
But their offensive push was not ideal. In the 30th minute of the game, Valencia dribbled the ball forward from the right side. After being sandwiched by Meireles and Baines, he directly sent out a pass from the side and turned to run towards the backfield.
It was as if he did not care about the quality of his pass.
It could be seen that Manchester United paid more attention to defense and put defense first.
The situation became even more stalemate.
Both teams made a lot of mistakes in the midfield. Because of the fierce competition, the defense did not make any excessive moves, but tactical fouls were an indispensable means for the two teams to restrict each other.
In the 36th minute of the game, Qin Xiong controlled the ball at the front waistline. After he attracted Valencia, Fábio, Park Ji-sung and Rooney, he passed the ball short to Gerard, who was close to him, under the heavy encirclement.
Gerard faced Carrick's defense head-on. Evra, who was in the front right, was also moving towards him. Rooney had already turned around and ran towards him.
Gerard flicked the ball horizontally and then diagonally passed the ball to Raúl in front of the penalty area.
Raúl observed his teammates' running positions before he touched the ball. Gerard was blocked by Carrick's passing route. Qin Xiong was also plugging in front, but he was surrounded by too many people. Park Ji-sung had always cleverly blocked the route between Raúl and Qin Xiong.
In a flash, Raúl decided to try it himself. After he flicked the ball horizontally, he intended to shake off Vidic behind him. Then, he flicked the ball diagonally behind Vidic and bypassed him to rush into the penalty area. It was a very clever breakthrough idea. The breakthrough route was the opposite of Raúl's movement path.
But after Raúl rushed into the penalty area, Evra took the lead to control the ball and blocked Raúl with his back!
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