The first half of the first leg of the Champions League semi-final between Liverpool and Manchester United came to an end after Gerard could not see the passing route and could only end the attack with a long shot. The football that flew into the stands made the Red Army fans feel a little worried.
The morale of the Red Devils was boosted after they heard the referee blow the whistle at the end of the first half!
They successfully held off Liverpool for 45 minutes. In a season when Liverpool was on a roll, such a situation would encourage the Red Devils. On the other hand, Liverpool might fall into anxiety and panic.
The players of the two teams returned to the locker room.
Comain saw the players whispering and discussing the content of the first half of the game.
Comain was actually a little confused.
Because in the 45 minutes, Liverpool's frontal attack did not have a good effect, which in itself was very demoralizing.
It was not that the players did not perform well, but the match of skills and tactics in this game was indeed tit-for-tat.
After a short thought, Comain made a decision.
If he was indecisive, he would be in trouble!
Instead of going into the second half with an unknown exploration, it was better to be firm and concentrate the forces in one way to attack. This could at least unify the team's thinking.
This was also to avoid Liverpool really falling into a situation where they were at a loss or were not united in the second half.
Because Liverpool knew too many things!
They were good at a wide variety of offensive methods. If someone wanted to pass from the side, someone wanted to penetrate in the middle, someone wanted to launch a one-man raid, someone wanted to rely on a set piece …
It was precisely because Liverpool was good at too many things that everyone wanted to win by surprise when the offense was blocked, so it was possible that there would be different ideas and the whole team could not unify their thinking.
This was different from the team's ideological divergence that most teams would make. The mistakes that most teams made in the game were that the players' offensive and defensive ideas were not unified.
Some wanted to attack and some wanted to defend, which led to the formation being disrupted and broken.
The problems that Liverpool could have now were much higher in level than this situation, but in the same way, if they were not avoided, the consequences would be equally unimaginable.
And the blow would be even heavier!
Comain clapped his hands, and the applause made everyone look at him.
Comain said to everyone in a deep voice, "We've seen what Manchester United is up to when they come to our territory. In the second half, we have to focus on containing Manchester United's counterattack. Secondly, we have to unify our thinking when we attack. Now listen to me, we'll focus on long shots in the second half.
Qin Xiong, you need to keep the outside of the penalty area in check and create space for the middle to come in from the back. Park Ji-sung and Rooney are very active in defending the flanks. They are the main targets that need to be distracted.
Gerard, do your best to restrain Carrick and intimidate Evra in the frontline.
Meireles and Alonso, the two of you will be the main attackers for the long shots!
My request for you is very simple. Shoot the ball into the goal range. It doesn't matter whether it is blocked by the opposing defenders or saved by Edwin van der Sar!
Raúl, you have to be more active in the penalty area. Once the long shots of your teammates in the back row create chaos in the penalty area, you have to be able to seize the opportunity to fish in troubled waters!
Baines and Johnson, you have to pass the ball to Qin Xiong and Gerard more and create opportunities for them to restrain their opponents!
Lads, today is a difficult game. Manchester United is more prepared for the game than we thought. They came prepared. We have to defeat them with the strength of a team! Now be mentally prepared to go out and fight! "
The Red Army generals stood up and shouted in unison in high spirits, "Yes, Boss!"
This should be the first time Comain gave an order in front of the Liverpool generals like a battle command.
Although there were many big names in the team, none of the players felt that there was anything wrong with Comain doing this. Everyone even responded to Comain's order at the first moment.
After walking out of the players' tunnel, the Red Army generals walked into the field with a dignified posture with a resolute expression.
The Red Devils generals must have listened to Ferguson's teachings during the halftime interval. They were still careful and cautious to face the second half of the game.
At the start of the second half of the game, Liverpool operated like a precision instrument. All the members of the team performed their respective duties.
In the 52nd minute of the game, Manchester United launched a counterattack from the flank and attacked from the right flank as a cover. Valencia dribbled the football to advance the attack. After crossing half of the field, he immediately passed the ball to Carrick in the middle, who quickly moved the ball to the left flank of the front field.
Liverpool's defense in the middle of the midfield had just tilted towards Valencia's side. They did not expect Manchester United to play a diversionary tactic and immediately adjusted their defense.
Giggs observed the offensive movement in the middle as he rapidly advanced forward. This time, Rooney and Hernandez followed up to the front line.
When he dribbled the football to Johnson, he pretended to raise his leg to pass. Johnson immediately raised his leg to block. Unexpectedly, the Premier League's evergreen Giggs' foot hooked the ball. He hooked past Johnson and then cut into the penalty area!
"Johnson has been broken through by Giggs! Liverpool's penalty area is in danger! "
Ferguson got up slightly from the technical area again. The Red Devils, Manchester United, could be said to be enduring hardships in this game. Under the situation of being suppressed by Liverpool on the field, they had to fight their way out of the darkness!
The diversionary tactic in the counterattack was beautifully played. It also allowed Giggs to break through one of the opponent's players. In other words, Manchester United narrowed the gap between the number of attackers and defenders.
Now it was up to the final part of the attack in the penalty area!
After Giggs charged into the penalty area, Alonso and Skrtel immediately formed a joint defense to block his passing route and shooting angle.
At the crucial moment, Rooney cut diagonally behind Skrtel. Giggs' foot kicked the ball diagonally in the direction of the end line. The football rolled to Rooney's feet. Skrtel immediately raised his hand to signal that Rooney was offside and quickly looked back. The assistant referee did not raise the flag!
Rooney controlled the ball near the end line. He did not have an angle to shoot, or rather, he did not even dream of scoring from a near-zero angle.
At this time, he could only look for one person: Little Pea Hernandez!
He saw Little Pea's running position, diagonally behind Agger!
That was definitely not offside because Skrtel's return to the penalty area was at the end of the line.
Rooney made a prompt decision. He kicked the ball to the back of the goal!
When the football flew over Skrtel, Reina, and Agger's heads and fell to the back of the goal, Hernandez could send the ball into the empty goal in front of him with a diagonal header.
The hearts of all the Red Army fans were in their throats. The Red Devils fans looked at Hernandez with great anticipation.
Just as Hernandez was about to head the ball, he felt someone close to his right side.
Baines!
Baines unexpectedly competed with Hernandez for position from the side. He almost caused Hernandez the Little Pea to lose his balance. Because Hernandez had been staring at the landing spot of the football, the direction of Baines' attack was out of his field of vision, so he was not prepared.
The football seemed to have hit the top of Hernandez's head and then bounced to the sideline!
Liverpool had escaped!
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