Liverpool's manager, Rafael Benítez, was also surprised by Li Ang's substitution.
When he found out that the man standing on the sidelines was Sélé Montari, he turned his head to look at Li Ang in Inter Milan's technical area. The Spaniard seemed to want to see through Li Ang's mind.
"This substitution is strange," said Benítez's assistant, Herrera.
Benítez frowned and looked away from Li Ang. He was thinking hard and analyzing. He had to see through Li Ang's substitution as soon as possible so that he could make the most accurate response.
"I think we don't have to pay attention to Inter Milan's substitution," Ayestaran suddenly said. Ayestaran was Liverpool's fitness coach and assistant sports manager. He was a member of Benítez's think tank.
Benítez did not come to Liverpool alone. He had a solid and huge think tank team. The Guardian had sent a reporter to Liverpool's training camp for an interview. At one point, they spent a week, but they were unable to take a "family portrait" of the entire coaching staff. Benítez had to work more than ten hours a day, and none of his Spanish assistants were idle either: the goalkeeping coach, Ochotorena, collected information on the opponents in addition to training the goalkeepers; the fitness coach and assistant sports manager, Ayestaran, also arranged the players' fitness training and sorted out the players' fitness data; Herrera, in addition to participating in tactical discussions, also helped Benítez block all the distractions. In addition, Herrera had been helping Liverpool to establish a new transfer data system, and Benítez also called him a "consultant." It could be said that Benítez's coaching team was a fast-moving and efficient team.
*****
Ayestaran's words caught Benítez's interest. "Tell me what you think."
"No matter how Li Ang adapts, one thing is an ironclad fact! One of their players has been sent off, and we have the numbers advantage! This is a good opportunity for us to step up our offense and score a goal! "Ayestaran said. His meaning was clear. He wanted to deal with changes by sticking to the status quo. As long as Liverpool seized the opportunity to score, they did not need to pay attention to Inter Milan's changes.
Benítez nodded. Ayestaran's words were exactly what he considered. Yes, using the advantage of numbers to launch an attack and strive to equalize the score first was Liverpool's most important work and goal at the moment.
Moreover, they could not see the true meaning of Li Ang's substitution for the time being. In that case, let the team press out to attack and test Inter Milan's reaction!
Benítez shouted the name of the team captain, Steven Gerrard, from the sidelines. Gerrard ran towards the sidelines. Benítez pulled Gerrard and gave him instructions in his ear. After receiving the tactical instructions from the Spanish manager, the Liverpool captain, Gerrard, ran back to the field and immediately called over his two Spanish teammates, Harvey Alonso and Fernando Torres, to convey the manager's tactical instructions.
Benítez walked back to the technical area and suddenly felt something. He turned his head to look at Inter Milan's technical area, but saw that Li Ang was also looking over.
Li Ang smiled slightly and nodded to his Spanish counterpart.
Benítez also nodded in response and then returned to his seat. When his buttocks touched the seat, he could not sit still. It was as if there was a tentacle monster under the seat touching his buttocks, making him restless.
*****
Liverpool began to exert force in accordance with Benítez's tactical instructions and tried to launch a fierce attack on Inter Milan's goal.
However, they soon realized that they had hit a wall.
Liverpool played an offensive combination. Babel passed the ball from the side and Lucas cleverly plugged in. He rushed to the landing point of the football.
Huge cheers erupted in the stands at the Anfield stadium, cheering for Liverpool's attack. Then the cheers turned into boos.
An Inter Milan player rushed over. He took the lead and blocked the position. When he successfully broke the football out of the end line, he collided with Lucas. The Brazilian looked as if he had been hit by a rifle and flew out. It looked exaggerated.
"Foul …" The Liverpool fans shouted angrily.
"What a beautiful frontal defense!" Ferrari shouted. "Lucas's body is not frail. On the contrary, it is relatively strong! However, he was completely defeated in front of Juan Carlos! The Liverpool fans thought that Carlos had fouled, but it was a reasonable collision. As for why Lucas flew out, poor Lucas's attention was on the football at the time and he was completely unprepared for Carlos's tackle. Of course, the most important thing is that Carlos is too strong! "
Benítez frowned in the technical area. He vaguely guessed the real intention of Li Ang's substitution adjustment.
*****
Subsequently, Liverpool attacked several times. Carlos and Montari were almost omnipresent in the midfield. They used tough defense and interceptions to block Liverpool's offensive momentum. At one point, the field was in a mess and the scene began to fall into chaos.
Harvey Alonso had just taken the ball when he was pressed by Modric. Then, Alonso had no choice but to choose to pass the ball to the side. Babel received the ball and then he was marked by Montari. The two men were entangled, which made Babel unable to speed up. Without the speed advantage of the Dutchman, the two men pulled each other forward. Babel looked a little impatient. He reached out and pushed. Montari was waiting for this. He immediately fell to the ground.
The referee's whistle sounded and he blew for Babel's foul.
This caused an outpouring of boos from the stands at the Anfield stadium.
Inter Milan's free kick in the front field, Modric kicked the football. The football was headed out by Carragher. Carlos stopped the ball with his chest. Instead of passing the ball forward, he chose to pass it back. After a few passes, the football reached the feet of the goalkeeper, César.
Then, the Inter Milan goalkeeper passed the football forward again.
Chivu took the ball and dribbled the ball forward unhurriedly.
Torres rushed up and wanted to grab the ball.
Chivu passed the football to Montari, who retreated to receive.
Montari pulled the ball and turned around. Modric got the ball and sent the ball over the top to Arshavin.
The experienced Hyypia suddenly stepped forward and headed the football out.
*****
"Liverpool's counterattack!" The Liverpool commentator shouted excitedly.
Then, everyone saw Liverpool's left back, Aurelio, dribble the ball to the front field. After he faced off with the Inter Milan Team captain, Zanetti, he fell to the ground together with the ball.
"Beautiful tackle! Zanetti's judgment is very accurate! "Ferrari shouted." Inter Milan's defense is very good! "
"Yes, when Zanetti went up to grab the ball, we can see Montari's position retreating and filling the gap behind him!"
"Many managers, when their center backs are sent off with a red card, their first thought and choice is to bring on a center back to fill the gap. However, Li Ang did not do that! Li Ang brought on Montari, added a defensive midfielder, and changed the formation of the rear defensive line to three defenders. This was a change that no one expected, but it had a magical effect. The midfield contained Liverpool, and the rear defensive line became stable! "Ferrari was full of praise." Li is indeed a master tactician! His genius ideas and designs were an eye-opener for us. Now it's up to Benítez to counter it! "
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