Benítez got up from his seat. He was dissatisfied with the referee's decision. He thought Zanetti had fouled the tackle.
After a few minutes of observation, Benítez thought he had seen through Li Ang's tactical adjustments. Chivo, Zanetti, and Evra played as the three defenders. In the midfield, they used Juan Carlos and Soulé Montari to sweep to disrupt Liverpool's offense. Modric, in this case, seemed to be more involved in the defense. No, to be exact, Mata, Arshavin, and even Diego Milito were also providing help to Inter Milan's defense.
"They seem to be satisfied with the score of 1-0. Their goal is to hold on to the one-goal lead before halftime!" Herrera voiced Benítez's thoughts.
At this time, in the commentator's box, the commentator was also analyzing Inter Milan's current tactics.
"Inter Milan's defense is quite good. Li Ang's adjustments are very effective. It's not easy for Liverpool to score goals. But for now, this adjustment also has its drawbacks," Ferrari said.
"It's just that this also means that Inter Milan lacks an effective force in the offense." Rossi took over the topic and said, "It looks like Li Ang's goal seems to be to hold on to the score of 1-0 in the first half of the game!"
The camera panned to Inter Milan's technical area. The Italian powerhouse's manager, Li Ang, stood on the sidelines and cheered for the team's captain, Zanetti's successful interception. It looked like he was satisfied with the current situation on the field.
"This is not the Li we are familiar with. He will not be satisfied with the initiative in the game in the hands of the opponent," Ferrari said.
"Is the initiative in the game really in the hands of Liverpool now?" Rossi suddenly asked. At this time, Liverpool's attack on the field was once again resolved by Carlos and Evra.
*****
Benítez looked at the time. He was disgusted with Inter Milan's blind defense. He did not want to let Li Ang succeed in his goal of holding on to the one-goal lead.
Liverpool also needed to step up their offense and try to equalize the score before the end of the first half.
In Liverpool's technical area, Benítez took advantage of a dead ball to find Gerrard again. He pointed in the direction of Inter Milan's half of the field and quickly wrote and drew on the tactical board with a serious face.
Gerrard listened very carefully, and then quickly ran back to the field to convey the manager's tactical instructions.
When Li Ang saw this, he smiled and said, "Pablo, did you see that? Your good friend has taken the bait."
He was not joking. Li Ang had just learned that his assistant, Banderas, and Benítez were friends and had a good relationship. This was one of the reasons why Banderas admired Benítez previously. Of course, this was also because Benítez was indeed very capable.
Rafael Benítez was born in Real Madrid. When he was young, he was a player in Real Madrid's youth training. In his early years, he served as the coach of Real Madrid's youth training and became the manager of Real Madrid's Castilla in the 19931994 season. In 1995, Benítez, who was Box's assistant, left Real Madrid. Banderas had been working with Real Madrid's youth team and had worked with Benítez.
Of course, given that Li Ang also came from the Real Madrid youth team and was a product of Real Madrid, he and Benítez still had some ties.
Banderas smiled bitterly and shook his head. "I'm afraid that Rafael is really as you expect. He's going to be fooled!"
He glanced at Liverpool's technical area and sighed in his heart. He also admired Li Ang even more. Benítez was indeed a gap with Li Ang. He was stepping into the tactical trap deployed by Li Ang.
*****
It was all premeditated.
Inter Milan had focused all their attention on defense during this period of time. They were caught in a melee in the midfield and did not invest too much in offense. It was like inserting a white lotus into the cold steel gun's eye, making people temporarily forget the threat.
Li Ang got up and walked to the sidelines. He did nothing and returned to the technical area to sit down.
The meaning of this silent action was: It was time to tear off the disguise.
The game was already forty-one minutes into the first half. There were still four or five minutes left in the first half.
Liverpool's offense suddenly intensified again.
However, in the face of Inter Milan's tight defense, it was as if they were facing a wall. They could not really threaten Inter Milan's goal.
After two consecutive attacks were disrupted, Liverpool's fighting spirit and energy began to ease as the first half of the game came to an end.
Gerrard received a pass from Alonso. In the face of Carlos and Modric's joint pressing, he passed the ball to Lucas, who directly shot a long shot. The football flew over the crossbar and into the stands. It did not pose any threat to Inter Milan's goal.
Lucas, who fired the anti-aircraft gun, clearly saw the mocking smile at the corner of Carlos's mouth, which made the Brazilian furious.
*****
Inter Milan Team's goal.
The goalkeeper, César, did not directly kick the ball to the goal. Instead, he kicked the football to Chivu, who turned around and passed the football to Carlos, who retreated to receive.
The Liverpool players had a headache over Carlos's sweeping and interceptions in the midfield. At the same time, they were also glad that Carlos was of little help to Inter Milan in the offense compared to his defensive strength. Therefore, in the eyes of the Liverpool players, Carlos in the offense was more "harmless." So, when Carlos took the ball forward, Liverpool did not have anyone to mark him.
Even Lucas could only pay a little attention and did not go up to close and intercept. There was no need because Carlos would eventually pass the football to Modric or other attacking players.
In fact, as Lucas expected, Modric retreated to receive and Carlos passed the football over.
When Modric took the ball, the situation immediately changed. Lucas immediately went up to interfere, and Babel also moved closer to this side.
After a few years of growth, the young Modric had grown into a top midfielder. He was rated by France Football as one of the top ten players under the age of 23 who were most likely to win the Ballon d 'Or. Among the other nine players, there was Manchester United's Portuguese star player, Cristiano Ronaldo, and his English teammate, Wayne Rooney, Barcelona's Argentine player, Leo Messi, Arsenal's Spanish player, Fàbregas, AC Milan's Brazilian player, Alexandre Pato, and Lyon's French player, Karim Benzema. In addition, Modric's Spanish teammate in Inter Milan, Juan Mata, his Argentine teammate, Aguero, and his Spanish teammate, David Silva.
However, Inter Milan's other young star player, Juan Carlos, was not on the list of "Future Ballon d 'Or" candidates because of his attributes as a defensive player.
Among the ten players, Inter Milan occupied four spots. In addition, Lyon's Benzema was also trained by Li Ang. France Football praised Li Ang, saying that the China coach, raised one hand and grasped half of the future of football!
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