Nottingham Forest equalized the score in the final moments of the first half, which had a huge mental impact on Liverpool. Fortunately, the first half ended soon after, giving them a chance to adjust their emotions at halftime. Otherwise, if the game had continued like this, Nottingham Forest might have scored another goal soon.
This was not a joke. Countless examples had long proven that the most dangerous moment was after conceding the first goal. It was easy for the opponent to score two consecutive goals in one go. The morale and confidence of the team that conceded the goal would be severely affected, and it could almost collapse.
Liverpool certainly would not collapse like this. They had staged countless big reversals in key games. Tang En also knew this. Benítez would certainly summarize the first half of the game during halftime, and reassure people and boost morale to avoid any further blows in the second half.
What Tang En had to do was to make Benítez's efforts during the halftime interval go down the drain.
He did not tell his men to step up the offense in the second half, but to continue to contend with the opponent like in the first half.
Respond to changes with constancy. This was the wisdom of the ancestors.
"Whether we are ahead or behind, defense is very important. I believe that at the start of the second half, Liverpool will play with us slowly. Benítez is a manager who pays attention to stability. He will not let his team take risks easily. All of Europe knows that besides defense, we are best at counterattacks and sneak attacks. The final goal in the first half strengthened our image in their hearts. This is good. " Tang En nodded vigorously. "Benítez will not let his team bombard at the start of the second half because he is afraid of our sneak attacks. So, we are safe at the start of the second half. As long as we hold on to this draw, as the game goes on, even without Benítez's instructions, the Liverpool players will become impatient. They will not accept the score of a draw. They will want to beat us in ninety minutes. That's our chance. Remember. "
Tang En raised his right index finger. "We must wait patiently for the opponent to become impatient and start a large-scale attack, then we will counterattack. At other times, a solid defense is the most important. "
"Then, it is set pieces. Increase the quality of the set pieces. Even if we don't score, we must pose a certain threat to the opponent and let them know how powerful our set pieces are. This way, they won't dare to easily violate the rules in dangerous areas. That's our chance. "
The threat of a set piece was not limited to the aspect of direct scoring with a set piece. If the opponent was afraid of giving you too many set pieces and was timid in key positions and did not dare to foul, then it would also cause a great threat to the opponent's goal.
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Unlike Nottingham Forest's side, Benítez did not set up any tactics for the team at the start. Just as Tang En thought, he was indeed consoling the hearts of the people and boosting their morale. Because the blow of conceding the goal at the end of the first half was not small. After working hard for 45 minutes, it looked like they were about to enter the locker room with the lead. Everyone was in a good mood. At the last moment, the opponent equalized the score …
The Liverpool players finally understood how their opponents felt when they had reversed the situation time and time again.
After calming everyone down, Benítez began to lay out the tactics for the second half.
This time, it was the complete opposite of what Twain thought. The first thing he said to the players was, "The second half starts. Attack hard."
Hearing this, the spirits of the Liverpool players were lifted.
"Tang En will definitely think that because we are worried about their sneak attack, we dare not increase the intensity of the attack and do not dare to press for a strong attack. Their defensive strategy will be step-by-step and will not change. So, from the start of the second half, increase the intensity of the attack and press for a strong attack. Disrupt their defensive rhythm and take advantage of the chaos to score another goal. They will not expect it, definitely. "
Benítez used the word "definitely" twice, and his tone was quite certain. He understood Tang En to be very conceited. Once he made a judgment and a decision, he would go all the way. If he thought of himself as a steady person who would not easily take risks, he would be very determined to think so, and then use this as a basis to specify the Forest team's response strategy.
This was something that could be used.
The Forest team thinks that Liverpool will not dare to go all out after the start of the second half and that they still have to reserve the strength to fight back. Then what if we go all out and attack hard from the start of the second half?
"In addition to strengthening the long shots in the middle, the two sides actively press up and suppress the Forest team's side attacks. The key to victory or defeat is in the first half of the second half. I don't care what method you use, you must score goals! "
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The second half of the game resumed, and the two sides changed positions to fight again. The fans, who had rested for 15 minutes, were revived and active again.
Contrary to Tang En's expectations, after the kickoff, Liverpool cut off the Forest team's attack. They did not deal with the midfield at all and directly hit the football to the front. If not for Kuyt's poor shooting, which deviated too far from the goal …
Two minutes later, the Forest team's attack was fruitless, and Liverpool made a comeback. Riise resolutely plugged in from the back half of the field. He ran a long distance and made a continuous one-two with his teammates on the side, and then passed the ball. Kuyt headed the ball, but with Pepe's close interference, he headed it too high.
Liverpool was attacking, which was in line with what Tang En had said during the halftime break. The Forest players were defending step by step. They had seen this kind of situation many times, so there was nothing to make a fuss about.
Moreover, Kuyt could play in any position except as a striker. His shooting ability was too poor.
Next, it was time for Liverpool's attack and the Forest team to stabilize their defense.
During this period, the Forest team organized a few counterattacks, but because the number of troops invested was not enough, they did not pose any substantial threat.
Liverpool was still attacking, and attacking continuously …
From the fiery atmosphere in the Stade Louis II, Tang En gradually sensed something was wrong.
Liverpool's attack was too fierce, far exceeding his expectations. In particular, Benítez actually allowed the two full backs to frequently press up to assist, as if completely unafraid of the Forest team's counterattacks.
It was not like this in the first half. No matter how Liverpool attacked in the first half, their two full backs rarely assisted in the front field. Occasionally, they would come up, but they would quickly go back, sprinting back and forth like this.
Now, there were a few times when he saw Riise go up and not go back at all, continuing to wait for opportunities in the front.
This was completely a scene of "a large army pressing on the border!"
Was Benítez not afraid that his back would be empty and the Forest team would sneak up on him?
He turned his head and looked over. The Spaniard sat in the technical area, surrounded by his own assistants. He still could not see anything.
He felt that something was not quite right, but he could not say for a moment what was wrong, what impact this would have on him, and what impact it would have on Liverpool. He still needed time to observe and analyze.
Tang En left his seat and walked to the sidelines. He crossed his arms and frowned as he observed the situation on the field.
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Gerrard had the ball, and opposite him was George Wood, his teammate in the England national team.
The World Cup failure was a thing of the past. Gerrard's position in the national team had not been shaken in the slightest. McClaren trusted him. Beckham, who was in the Forest team, was not so lucky. He was selected for the England team at the last minute last season, but after being injured in two games, he was again not selected.
George Wood was also called up to the national team every time, but he did not get a chance to start. In the World Cup, George did not get a minute of game time. After Eriksson left, McClaren came to power, and George Wood still could not gain the trust of the manager. Even though he was an unshakable main force in Nottingham Forest, England's best rookie, the best local player in the English Premier League last season, one of the captains of the UEFA Champions League, and was selected for the UEFA Champions League's best eleven. He still did not get a chance to prove himself in the England national team. Eriksson did not give it to him, and McClaren did not give it to him either.
As for the latter, some people said it was because of McClaren and Tony Twain's personal feud that led to Wood being implicated. What was the truth? No one knew.
Since they were teammates in the national team, Gerrard naturally knew how good Wood was. During training with the national team, his defense was something that many people could not surpass.
Gerrard was not good at dribbling, and he did not even think about dribbling Wood one-on-one.
His task was simple, to attract Wood over, then pass the football out, and rely on the pass to get rid of George Wood's marking. There was no player in the world who could stop a team's passing, not even George Wood, who was called a "monster" by the media.
Gerrard saw Wood closing in on him, so he passed the football out. Wood did not chase after the ball, he continued to follow Gerrard. The rest of Liverpool's other players would be dealt with by the Forest team. Gerrard was Wood's target for this game.
Gerrard was not worried about being frozen, because there was Alonso in the team to organize the attack. He was closely marked, but it was just one less point of attack. It did not mean that Liverpool's offense would be paralyzed.
His task was to get Wood out of the defensive zone, and then give his teammates a chance to take advantage.
Alonso saw Wood running with Gerrard, and he took the opportunity to pass the ball to Torres.
Torres did not break through outside the penalty area, but raised his leg for a long shot. The football was slapped out of the end line by Edwin van der Sar, and Liverpool was awarded a corner kick.
Gerrard ran to send the corner kick. Wood returned to the front of the goal to participate in the defense. Although they were teammates in the national team, they had never played together. In the few games that Wood played for the national team, he would always come on and replace Gerrard.
Gerrard kicked the football out, and he looked for Agger, but George Wood headed the ball out before the Danish defender could.
Although he was not as tall as Agger, his jumping was better than Agger's. Coupled with his good positioning, Agger had no chance in front of Wood.
Liverpool's attack was not over yet. Wood headed the football out, and after Mascherano received the ball, he got into a posture of a long shot. Tang En had repeatedly exhorted the Forest players to be on their guard. Seeing Mascherano swing his leg, Pepe immediately pressed forward, ready to use his body to block the opponent's shot.
But Mascherano did not shoot directly. He took advantage of Pepe's back to him to pick up the football. The football passed the crowd in the penalty area and flew to the right.
That was where Gerrard was!
Gerrard, who had kicked the corner kick, had not had time to run back to the middle when he saw Mascherano pass the football over. Before he received the ball, he looked back at the assistant referee behind him. It was not an offside position!
After stopping the football with his chest, no one from the Forest team had time to come up to defend. The penalty area was full of people, and Gerrard chose to forcefully kick the football towards the goal. In this way, if no one blocked it, it would go straight into the goal. If someone blocked it, it would most likely be blocked into the goal …
The football flew all the way to the goal, and during this period, no one blocked its path. Except … Edwin van der Sar appeared in the right position and made a timely save. Gerrard's long shot was powerful and imposing. Edwin van der Sar did not intend to hug the football with both hands. He wanted to hit the ball directly out of the end line. But the ball was too fast and powerful. Edwin van der Sar's action had not been completed when the football whizzed up.
The result of not completing the holding motion was that Edwin van der Sar fell backward into the goal, and the football flew straight up into the sky.
Everyone, including the television cameras, followed the football up and down …
The Liverpool players who reacted desperately squeezed in front of the goal, hoping that when the football fell, they would be able to head it into the goal. The Forest players naturally thought of ways to keep the other side out and not let them get close.
Wood looked up in the crowd. The football had risen to the apex and was falling. Edwin van der Sar was still inside the goal, struggling to get up.
It was dangerous to head the ball to clear the siege in this position because he was facing the goal. When he jumped up, the opposing players were bound to interfere below. What was supposed to be a header to clear the siege was likely to become an own goal.
But it was certainly impossible not to clear the siege. Once the football fell, there would be chaos in front of the goal. Whoever touched it could knock the football into the goal close at hand.
How would it end?
Wood looked up at the falling football and leaned back at the same time. This posture …
George Wood suddenly leaped high from the crowd. His body leaned back, not to head the ball to clear the siege, but … to clear the siege with a barb!
The football was kicked by his swinging right foot and flew straight out of the sidelines!
"George Wood! A barb to clear the siege! Beautiful! "
This action won Wood a lot of applause. The Nottingham Forest fans collectively chanted their captain's name and cheered for him to clear the siege.
But Tang En, who was standing on the sidelines, was not happy at all. His brows furrowed even tighter.
He turned his head again to look next door. Just then, the Liverpool manager, Benítez, came out of the technical area. Clearly, he was sorry that the ball did not go in. Or perhaps … he was a little dissatisfied?
Benítez did not wave his arms on the sidelines or shout loudly. He just stood on the sidelines with his hands in his pockets, as if he was not interested in everything in front of him. But if he was really as calm as he appeared to be … Why did he come out from his seat in the technical area?
This was the first time he had left his seat in the technical area and appeared on the sidelines in this game.
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