Chapter 430 At the most critical end of the season, Chen Xiaoliang disappeared?
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Ge Lei Sen Gu Dong
2 to 3, and when it was almost 70 minutes, Klopp began to make substitutions.
But he has been entangled for a long time, and the reason for the tangle is precisely Sesko's fairy barb just now.
who?Scottish left-back Robertson left the field and was replaced by Greek left-back Zimikas.
How to change the midfield?
For Curtis Jones?Or replace Elliott?Or Bajcetic?
It seems that whichever one is replaced will only reduce the strength of the midfielder...
What about the striker?
The worst performer was Salah, and letting him go and replacing Luis Dias seemed like the best option.
But that's Salah. He is like Messi to Liverpool. Have you seen Barcelona and Argentina be the first to win Messi when their offense is not good?
The fans may not praise you if you win, but they will really spray you to death if you lose.
Thinking of this, Klopp is even more worried. Konate has been warming up for a long time, and he has not yet made a decision to replace Van Dijk, whose performance tonight can only be described as a disaster.
Being a coach is hard...
Being a head coach is even harder...
Being the head coach of a wealthy family is even more difficult!
The fourth official raised his sign first, Zimikas replaced Robertson, and the two clapped hands on the sidelines. It was already the 70th minute, and Konate, who was almost cold after warming up, couldn't help but look at the indecisive main Coach, I want to speak but I can't.
But he can't speak, someone will speak for him.
Sesco, who went crazy tonight, has become Liverpool's number one worry, and Chen Xiaoliang can also see that the reason why Gwadior has not changed defenses with Van Dijk for a long time is that he is afraid of entering the penalty area, so even if he is not there Within the shooting range, Gwadiol only assists in defense and does not focus on it.
Since you are afraid, then I will do it.
In the 72nd minute, Chen Xiaoliang took the ball in the midfield and took a few steps. Facing Barrera who was defending him, he distributed the ball to the left to Kwa, and then rushed towards the penalty area at high speed.
Barrera and Lavia followed the defense all the way. When approaching the top of the arc, Lavia switched defenses to stare at Kwa, who was advancing with the ball, while Gwadio and Barrera formed a double-team.
But Chen Xiaoliang's side was completely a feint. Kwa was on the left before entering the third offensive area. He saw the right time and directly passed the ball to Cesco's feet in the penalty area and at the penalty spot!
The ball was passed very hard. Cesko caught the ball with his back to the goal. After blocking the ball with his left foot, the ball bounced straight up from his feet. The commentator couldn't help but let out a sigh, I feel like I didn't stop the ball well.
However, Cesko tonight is on the four words "caught off guard". He has decided on Van Dijk twice in a row, and he has determined that the former first-guard is indifferent to those unforeseen unconventional shots. defense ability.
So, he looked at the ball bounced by his left foot and thought about Van Dijk who was sticking to his back to defend. He didn't stop doing anything, turned his back to the goal, and quickly adjusted half a step towards the outside of the penalty area, and then Half turn the body counterclockwise, swing the right foot out in the air, turn around and volley towards the ball that is still in the air halfway down!
This time Van Dijk moved. He took a step forward, trying to block the shot with his body, and even opened his arms in desperation-this is obviously a taboo for central defenders to defend in the penalty area.
But the ball almost passed under his right armpit and went straight to the bottom left corner of the goal.
Brazil's top goalkeeper Alisson once again watched the ball into the net in a half-squatting position without any save action, then stood up and sighed...
Lou Yichen: "Sesco! Beautiful, beautiful!"
"Just now he said 5000 million pounds! I don't know how much his worth will increase after today's double red meeting is over!"
"2 to 4, Manchester United took advantage of Van Dijk's disastrous state today, and stared at Cesco in the second half. Cesco also completed his second hat-trick this season!"
"The last hat-trick was also in a key game. In the 12th round of the league, I was a guest at the Emirates Stadium and scored 3 goals against Arsenal!"
Liu Yue: "Sesco scored 15 goals in the league, plus 5 assists, which is equivalent to contributing 20 goals."
"Counting this assist, Kvaratsheria's league assists have also reached 12 times, ranking fifth in the Premier League after Xiao Liang, De Bruyne, Salah and Saka. Combined with his seven league goals, that makes 5 league goals."
"In addition to Rashford with 13 goals and 4 assists, although there has been some decline in injury and rotation data this season, he also made 17 goals."
"As the saying goes, a good man has three gangs, and these three people help on the offensive line,"
Lou Yichen: "At this time, the camera was shown on Anthony on the bench. He was talking and laughing with his teammates to celebrate Sesco's goal."
"However, due to the significant reduction in the number of games he played this season, there is currently only one goal in the league and no assists. The remaining six goals are in the FA Cup and the League Cup. The Champions League also has 1 goals and 6 assists. Thinking of his 0 If the transfer price is 0 million, it will inevitably appear embarrassing."
Liu Yue: "If Irankunda, who appeared on the bench today, will also enter the first-team roster next season, it will inevitably further reduce Anthony's playing time. With Sancho likely to leave the team in the summer, Anthony's The deal so far looks like a very poor value for money."
On the sidelines, the helpless Klopp could only make up his mind to make a substitution. With a big wave of his hand, he replaced Salah and Van Dijk with Luis Diaz and Konate.
Although most of the Liverpool fans at home still gave them sparse applause, some radical fans still booed harshly.
After all, this is the Shuanghonghui, a duel between mortal enemies. According to Xiaotian, if you lose this kind of competition, you are a war criminal.
After another 4 minutes, Elliott replaced Lavia.
For Manchester United, McTominay replaced Casemiro, Ganacho replaced Kwa, and Anthony replaced B Fee.
Liverpool, who had an advantage in the scene and technical statistics throughout the game, fell behind in score, and both goals were set kicks, and they were still unable to score in open play. This made them launch a fierce attack on Manchester United in the last 15 minutes. bombardment.
The newly replaced Luis Diaz has been pestering De Gea after the offensive and defensive transition. Four defenders, two midfielders, and even Chen Xiaoliang retreated to participate in the response. However, under Liverpool's desperate overall pressure, De Gea It was still very difficult for Geya to play the ball, and in the end he was forced to choose the safest way and drive forward with his big foot.
This made Manchester United's ball possession rate drop to 78% in the last 93 minutes of 15-36 minutes, and they were basically surrounded by Liverpool in the half court and constantly tried various offensive routines.
Nunes, Gacpo, and Dias are three relatively young forwards running, pulling, and supporting in and out of the penalty area, plus the tireless Barrera, McAllister, and Elio With the special external organization and the repeated insertion of the two wings, Klopp's tactical ability was perfectly demonstrated.
But Manchester United was passive, but they didn't concede the ball, because there was a King Kong gate on the penalty area line, and there was a wall of sighs on the goal line.
Chen Xiaoliang saw that Liverpool's offensive was surging, so he directly retreated to the midfielder position, sitting in the middle to intercept all through balls and prevent the opponent's frontal long-range shots.
Timber and McTominay, on the other hand, were like two destroyers, constantly running back and forth on the left and right sides, pressing Liverpool's offensive organization to the wing.
Liverpool moved around, but still could only try to cross from the wing.
In the end Ten Hag resorted to a 5-5-0 defensive formation, replacing Cesko and replacing Lindelof.
Under the two banners of being undefeated in the chasing season and competing for the championship, and with the guarantee of performance, the fans can accept any tactics arranged by the head coach that can win but the scene is ugly.
In the end, at 93 minutes and 27 seconds, the referee Tim Robinson blew the final whistle, and Liverpool lost 2-4 at home to Manchester United at Anfield.
This season's two double-red games added up to 10-2. While Manchester United double-killed Liverpool, it not only improved from last season's record of 1 win and 1 loss, but also avenged 7 goals in a row in the away game.
More importantly, with the victory of this make-up match, after all 20 Premier League teams have completed 35 league rounds, Manchester United has 29 wins, 6 draws and 93 points, surpassing Manchester City with 28 wins and 7 draws by 2 points. Return to the top of the list with the last 3 rounds left!
输掉这场的利物浦26胜6平3负积84分，往年这个绝对可以竞争冠军的积分，在本赛季已经落后曼城7分、落后曼联9分、且净胜球落后整整24个的情况下，只仅剩理论上的可能了。
Manchester United must lose all of the last 3 rounds, and Manchester City must not win a game in the last 3 rounds, and must lose 1 of them. Liverpool must catch up with 24 goal difference before they can reverse and win the championship.
99.9999% of the fans believe that aliens will take over the earth tomorrow and they will not believe that Liverpool can win the championship.
But they still have something to expect, that is the FA Cup final to be held on May 5.
In the post-match press conference, Klopp has stated that in the last three rounds of the league, as long as he gets 3 points to secure third place, he will devote all the resources and focus of the team to the FA Cup and Europa League. The two finals were tilted up.
On this point, he and Guardiola are consistent, except that the latter wants to ensure the last three league games and wait for Manchester United to make mistakes.
Will Manchester United make a mistake? "The Times" published a poll on the Internet, more than 6 fans participated in the vote, and 61% of the fans believed that Manchester United would inevitably lose the league or the FA Cup final in the process of competing for the Champions League. chain.
And Chen Xiaoliang also encountered a trouble, that is, when he and his teammates finished paying tribute to the opposing players after the game, thanked the Manchester United fans who came to the away game, returned to the locker room and turned on the mobile phone, they found 6 missed calls from his father. Phone, and then opened the text message, it turned out that my grandfather had passed away.
Immediately, his complacent mood because of defeating his mortal enemy just now fell to the bottom of the valley.
Even though it was time travel, the memory of this life is very clear. Suddenly, the image of the grandfather who brought him up as a child and those past events flooded his mind, which undoubtedly exacerbated his sadness.
But in order to prevent his teammates from noticing the abnormality and affect the morale in the final critical period, he did not show any abnormal emotions.
When the group returned to the hotel, he found Ten Hag and applied for a 5-day leave of absence. Ten Hag suddenly hesitated, saying that he needed to discuss it with his boss, Jassim.
It’s not that he doesn’t want to, it’s that everyone knows how important Chen Xiaoliang is to this team. During the five days when he is on leave, there will be an away game against Crystal Palace. The league championship was handed over to Manchester City, which contributed to the unprecedented four consecutive Premier League titles of its neighbors, plus a terrifying record of winning 5 Premier League titles in 11 years.
If it was the other way around, it was Manchester United who won the Premier League six times in seven years, and Ten Hag would let it go.
At this point, Chen Xiaoliang understood Ten Hag's difficulties and did not use his team status to put pressure on him.
The next day, the whole team returned to the Carrington base, some of the main players had a day off, and the rest had restorative training.
Jassim, Sir Alex Ferguson and technical director Fletcher are already waiting at the club.
The result is very clear, Jassim told Chen Xiaoliang on behalf of the club:
"Today is May 5. We are willing to give you 3 days of vacation to deal with family matters. If necessary, Fletcher will accompany you to the Red Country and express your heart on behalf of the club."
"And the club will keep everything under wraps until you think it's okay to make it public."
Chen Xiaoliang was very grateful, and declined the boss's kindness, and returned to the residence to pack his bags and set foot on the journey home as soon as possible.
And seeing the boss make such a decision on behalf of the board of directors, Ten Hag has nothing to say.
Ferguson saw his uneasiness and shared his past experience with him alone:
It was the 2004-05 season, Ronaldo's second season at Manchester United, who had just turned 20.
Arsenal won the championship unbeaten the previous season, and that season was when Abramovich's Chelsea rose strongly under the guidance of Mourinho.
It was also a critical moment at the end of the season. Ronaldo's father Avaro was critically ill. He found Ferguson and wanted to ask for leave to visit relatives.
At that time, Ferguson was still a devil coach with the famous "hair dryer". Just 2 years ago, on February 2003, 2, after the FA Cup was eliminated by his arch-enemy Arsenal at the time, Ferguson turned on the hair dryer in the locker room , and kicked a sneaker onto Beckham's brow bone, creating the famous "flying boot door" incident in football.
At that time, the young C Luo Yuan did not have the status in the arena later. When he found Ferguson, he was apprehensive.
But Ferguson told him: "It's okay, go! It's fine for 2 or 3 days. Don't worry about the game. Although it is true that the next few games will not be easy to play, I still wish your father to turn the crisis into safety."
His father, Alvaro, was a veteran of a disgraceful war, a victory that helped Portugal prevent the Angolan people from colonizing and gaining independence.
During the war, he witnessed many cruel atrocities, and therefore, he chose to numb himself with alcohol after the war.
Ronaldo has said many times that in his impression his father is an alcoholic who does not care about his family. Even in the amateur team Andorinha, he got a job cleaning players' dirty clothes. Introduced by Luo.
However, even though Ronaldo joined Sporting Lisbon, later transferred to Manchester United, and put on No. 7, Avaro did not get rid of his dependence on alcohol. Until his death from liver failure in September 2005, he also lost the opportunity to witness his son's great achievements. Chance.
This is also the biggest reason why Ronaldo was extremely disgusted with alcohol since he was a child.
When this past incident was interviewed and mentioned after Ronaldo returned to Manchester United in the summer of 2021, it still moved Ronaldo very much and shed tears on the spot.
Ferguson told Ten Hag that he did this because of an experience in his youth.
When he was 33 as manager of Scottish second tier side St Mirren, a young man approached him on a Tuesday and offered to take Friday off that week's matchday.
At that time, he immediately lost his temper, thinking that the young player wanted to go out to play, or find some reason to go out to play, and asked why he had to ask for leave on Friday.
As a result, the young man sadly told him that his mother had passed away.
Ferguson remembers very well the moment when he was overwhelmed and guilty of his emotions, he immediately agreed to the young man's holiday, and after that whenever a player approached him about asking for leave, he would always say: "OK, Is there anything I can do for you?"
Ferguson finally told Ten Hag:
"What you need to understand is that there are some things that are more important than the football club and the family is one of them and definitely never, never, ever put the football club before the family."
Ten Hag understands that Ferguson is not telling him the principle of "great light and righteousness", but that once the club puts its own achievements before the players' families, especially in matters of life and death, the players' future trust in the club, and The emotions between the clubs will be greatly reduced.
The same is true for fans.
In the end, it was Helena and Riise who accompanied Chen Xiaoliang to fly back to the East China Sea.
And he also took the initiative to inform the players that he would leave the team for 5 days to attend the funeral.
At 5 pm on May 5, B Fei put on the long-lost captain's armband and led the team to appear at Selhurst Park, the home stadium of Crystal Palace.
In order to ensure that there are no accidents, Ten Hag sent the strongest lineup after the rotation.
Goalkeeper De Gea;
Back four Dalot, Lindelof, Lima, Luke Shaw;
Back midfielder Timber, Casemiro, front midfielder B fee;
Left winger Kwa, center Benzema, right winger Anthony.
Although Crystal Palace has no desires, cannot enter the European competition, and will not drop the British Championship, but they are willing to perform well in the critical period of the championship at the end of the season and change the trend of the championship by themselves. From the first minute, he showed an attitude that would not let Manchester United get what they want.
In the 7th minute of the game, Crystal Palace defender Klein took the initiative to kick the ball out of the boundary. The players, staff and all the fans in the stands applauded Chen Xiaoliang for 1 minute to express their respect for this Mr. Double Material and the face of the Premier League today. Lose family support.
In the 8th minute, Kwa threw a penalty and directly threw the ball back to the Crystal Palace goalkeeper and former Manchester United player John Stone, and the game returned to normal.
But the subsequent game was not as harmonious as the scene just now. Crystal Palace, who had no burden of losing, launched a desperate attack. Cooperating and then attacking the ribs, No. 10 midfielder Eze and Ghanaian striker Jordan Ayew rushed towards the penalty area.
In the 31st minute, the goal of Manchester United was broken. Olis made a cross from the bottom of the right side to the goal. Jordan Ayew's stab shot was blocked by De Gea. Eze followed up and scored. The score was 1-0.
At the same time, Manchester City, which kicked off one hour earlier and entered the 1nd minute of the game, has already led Brentford 72-3 at home, almost winning.
When Van der Garhe showed Ten Hag the real-time score, Ten Hag felt intensely uneasy.
In midfield, Ten Hag and B Fernando led the impassioned speeches, before Casemiro delivered his first and possibly last official dressing room address of the season.
I usually don't say it because there is a real leader, Chen Xiaoliang, but at this moment, he must stand up.
Casemiro: "If our captain is only absent for today's game throughout the season, we lose the ball. Then when he comes back, what face do we have to fulfill what we said to him when he left, and we will definitely take the ball. What if the team carries it on their shoulders and waits for him to come back with victory?!"
"If we lose today, people will always say from now on, this is Chen's team alone, without him, we are nothing!"
At the same time, Ten Hag adjusted his tactics, actively instructing the players to play against Crystal Palace in the second half, and use stronger offensive strength to destroy their weak defense.
The change worked.
In the 55th minute of the second half, Kewa received a pass from B Fee, passed two people in the left rib, and made a fake shot in the penalty area to knock down defender Josim Anderson and goalkeeper John Stone. It was tied 1 to 1.
At this time, Manchester City's game has ended, and the score of 3 to 1 has not changed. According to the current results of the two sides, they will have 94 points, and Manchester City will temporarily return to the first position in the league by virtue of goal difference.
Then in the 65th minute, Benzema received the ball from the penalty area and passed it to Luke Shaw who was on the left. , Manchester United overtook.
In the 73rd minute, the water attack relied on the melee caused by a corner kick, and Eze scored another goal to equalize the score 2-2.
Ten Hag started to make substitutions, Cesko, Milinkovic and the injured Rashford all played.
In the 85th minute, Cesco took the ball with his back outside the penalty area, and then passed it back to Casemiro not far behind. Johnstone flew over the head of the attacking goal, 2 to 3!
In the 92nd minute, Crystal Palace, which was trying to get back 1 point, had an empty defense. Manchester United counterattacked.
In the end, there was no danger. After the 36th round of the league, the two undefeated teams are still ranked in the top 2. Manchester United leads Manchester City by 96 points with 2 points.
The good news is that Manchester United, who have been fighting continuously, can finally usher in a week of rest, but the bad news is that their opponent in the next round is just a 2-1 home victory over Middlesbrough, and they are currently ranked fifth in the league with 80 points. Arsenal are only one point behind Newcastle in fourth place.
If Newcastle win in the next round and Arsenal lose to Manchester United at Old Trafford, the difference between the two teams will be widened to 4 points, and Arsenal will completely miss the Champions League next season.
All of a sudden, everyone who wanted Manchester United to win the championship hoped that Chen Xiaoliang would come back soon.
And all those who do not want Manchester United to win in the next round, whether it is Arsenal, Liverpool, Manchester City or others, do not want to see Chen Xiaoliang appear in the Theater of Dreams on May 5.
However, the reason why the king is a king is that he will never let his comrades down, and he will never break his promise to those who believe in him.
Chen Xiaoliang, who left the team for 4 days and took care of everything at home, showed up at the Carrington training base on time on the early morning of May 5.
The paparazzi who had been squatting outside the base immediately posted the photos of David driving Chen Xiaoliang to participate in the training on the Internet, and the "Daily Telegraph" even directly used such a headline——The return of the king, all the dust has settled!
But he has been entangled for a long time, and the reason for the tangle is precisely Sesko's fairy barb just now.
who?Scottish left-back Robertson left the field and was replaced by Greek left-back Zimikas.
How to change the midfield?
For Curtis Jones?Or replace Elliott?Or Bajcetic?
It seems that whichever one is replaced will only reduce the strength of the midfielder...
What about the striker?
The worst performer was Salah, and letting him go and replacing Luis Dias seemed like the best option.
But that's Salah. He is like Messi to Liverpool. Have you seen Barcelona and Argentina be the first to win Messi when their offense is not good?
The fans may not praise you if you win, but they will really spray you to death if you lose.
Thinking of this, Klopp is even more worried. Konate has been warming up for a long time, and he has not yet made a decision to replace Van Dijk, whose performance tonight can only be described as a disaster.
Being a coach is hard...
Being a head coach is even harder...
Being the head coach of a wealthy family is even more difficult!
The fourth official raised his sign first, Zimikas replaced Robertson, and the two clapped hands on the sidelines. It was already the 70th minute, and Konate, who was almost cold after warming up, couldn't help but look at the indecisive main Coach, I want to speak but I can't.
But he can't speak, someone will speak for him.
Sesco, who went crazy tonight, has become Liverpool's number one worry, and Chen Xiaoliang can also see that the reason why Gwadior has not changed defenses with Van Dijk for a long time is that he is afraid of entering the penalty area, so even if he is not there Within the shooting range, Gwadiol only assists in defense and does not focus on it.
Since you are afraid, then I will do it.
In the 72nd minute, Chen Xiaoliang took the ball in the midfield and took a few steps. Facing Barrera who was defending him, he distributed the ball to the left to Kwa, and then rushed towards the penalty area at high speed.
Barrera and Lavia followed the defense all the way. When approaching the top of the arc, Lavia switched defenses to stare at Kwa, who was advancing with the ball, while Gwadio and Barrera formed a double-team.
But Chen Xiaoliang's side was completely a feint. Kwa was on the left before entering the third offensive area. He saw the right time and directly passed the ball to Cesco's feet in the penalty area and at the penalty spot!
The ball was passed very hard. Cesko caught the ball with his back to the goal. After blocking the ball with his left foot, the ball bounced straight up from his feet. The commentator couldn't help but let out a sigh, I feel like I didn't stop the ball well.
However, Cesko tonight is on the four words "caught off guard". He has decided on Van Dijk twice in a row, and he has determined that the former first-guard is indifferent to those unforeseen unconventional shots. defense ability.
So, he looked at the ball bounced by his left foot and thought about Van Dijk who was sticking to his back to defend. He didn't stop doing anything, turned his back to the goal, and quickly adjusted half a step towards the outside of the penalty area, and then Half turn the body counterclockwise, swing the right foot out in the air, turn around and volley towards the ball that is still in the air halfway down!
This time Van Dijk moved. He took a step forward, trying to block the shot with his body, and even opened his arms in desperation-this is obviously a taboo for central defenders to defend in the penalty area.
But the ball almost passed under his right armpit and went straight to the bottom left corner of the goal.
Brazil's top goalkeeper Alisson once again watched the ball into the net in a half-squatting position without any save action, then stood up and sighed...
Lou Yichen: "Sesco! Beautiful, beautiful!"
"Just now he said 5000 million pounds! I don't know how much his worth will increase after today's double red meeting is over!"
"2 to 4, Manchester United took advantage of Van Dijk's disastrous state today, and stared at Cesco in the second half. Cesco also completed his second hat-trick this season!"
"The last hat-trick was also in a key game. In the 12th round of the league, I was a guest at the Emirates Stadium and scored 3 goals against Arsenal!"
Liu Yue: "Sesco scored 15 goals in the league, plus 5 assists, which is equivalent to contributing 20 goals."
"Counting this assist, Kvaratsheria's league assists have also reached 12 times, ranking fifth in the Premier League after Xiao Liang, De Bruyne, Salah and Saka. Combined with his seven league goals, that makes 5 league goals."
"In addition to Rashford with 13 goals and 4 assists, although there has been some decline in injury and rotation data this season, he also made 17 goals."
"As the saying goes, a good man has three gangs, and these three people help on the offensive line,"
Lou Yichen: "At this time, the camera was shown on Anthony on the bench. He was talking and laughing with his teammates to celebrate Sesco's goal."
"However, due to the significant reduction in the number of games he played this season, there is currently only one goal in the league and no assists. The remaining six goals are in the FA Cup and the League Cup. The Champions League also has 1 goals and 6 assists. Thinking of his 0 If the transfer price is 0 million, it will inevitably appear embarrassing."
Liu Yue: "If Irankunda, who appeared on the bench today, will also enter the first-team roster next season, it will inevitably further reduce Anthony's playing time. With Sancho likely to leave the team in the summer, Anthony's The deal so far looks like a very poor value for money."
On the sidelines, the helpless Klopp could only make up his mind to make a substitution. With a big wave of his hand, he replaced Salah and Van Dijk with Luis Diaz and Konate.
Although most of the Liverpool fans at home still gave them sparse applause, some radical fans still booed harshly.
After all, this is the Shuanghonghui, a duel between mortal enemies. According to Xiaotian, if you lose this kind of competition, you are a war criminal.
After another 4 minutes, Elliott replaced Lavia.
For Manchester United, McTominay replaced Casemiro, Ganacho replaced Kwa, and Anthony replaced B Fee.
Liverpool, who had an advantage in the scene and technical statistics throughout the game, fell behind in score, and both goals were set kicks, and they were still unable to score in open play. This made them launch a fierce attack on Manchester United in the last 15 minutes. bombardment.
The newly replaced Luis Diaz has been pestering De Gea after the offensive and defensive transition. Four defenders, two midfielders, and even Chen Xiaoliang retreated to participate in the response. However, under Liverpool's desperate overall pressure, De Gea It was still very difficult for Geya to play the ball, and in the end he was forced to choose the safest way and drive forward with his big foot.
This made Manchester United's ball possession rate drop to 78% in the last 93 minutes of 15-36 minutes, and they were basically surrounded by Liverpool in the half court and constantly tried various offensive routines.
Nunes, Gacpo, and Dias are three relatively young forwards running, pulling, and supporting in and out of the penalty area, plus the tireless Barrera, McAllister, and Elio With the special external organization and the repeated insertion of the two wings, Klopp's tactical ability was perfectly demonstrated.
But Manchester United was passive, but they didn't concede the ball, because there was a King Kong gate on the penalty area line, and there was a wall of sighs on the goal line.
Chen Xiaoliang saw that Liverpool's offensive was surging, so he directly retreated to the midfielder position, sitting in the middle to intercept all through balls and prevent the opponent's frontal long-range shots.
Timber and McTominay, on the other hand, were like two destroyers, constantly running back and forth on the left and right sides, pressing Liverpool's offensive organization to the wing.
Liverpool moved around, but still could only try to cross from the wing.
In the end Ten Hag resorted to a 5-5-0 defensive formation, replacing Cesko and replacing Lindelof.
Under the two banners of being undefeated in the chasing season and competing for the championship, and with the guarantee of performance, the fans can accept any tactics arranged by the head coach that can win but the scene is ugly.
In the end, at 93 minutes and 27 seconds, the referee Tim Robinson blew the final whistle, and Liverpool lost 2-4 at home to Manchester United at Anfield.
This season's two double-red games added up to 10-2. While Manchester United double-killed Liverpool, it not only improved from last season's record of 1 win and 1 loss, but also avenged 7 goals in a row in the away game.
More importantly, with the victory of this make-up match, after all 20 Premier League teams have completed 35 league rounds, Manchester United has 29 wins, 6 draws and 93 points, surpassing Manchester City with 28 wins and 7 draws by 2 points. Return to the top of the list with the last 3 rounds left!
输掉这场的利物浦26胜6平3负积84分，往年这个绝对可以竞争冠军的积分，在本赛季已经落后曼城7分、落后曼联9分、且净胜球落后整整24个的情况下，只仅剩理论上的可能了。
Manchester United must lose all of the last 3 rounds, and Manchester City must not win a game in the last 3 rounds, and must lose 1 of them. Liverpool must catch up with 24 goal difference before they can reverse and win the championship.
99.9999% of the fans believe that aliens will take over the earth tomorrow and they will not believe that Liverpool can win the championship.
But they still have something to expect, that is the FA Cup final to be held on May 5.
In the post-match press conference, Klopp has stated that in the last three rounds of the league, as long as he gets 3 points to secure third place, he will devote all the resources and focus of the team to the FA Cup and Europa League. The two finals were tilted up.
On this point, he and Guardiola are consistent, except that the latter wants to ensure the last three league games and wait for Manchester United to make mistakes.
Will Manchester United make a mistake? "The Times" published a poll on the Internet, more than 6 fans participated in the vote, and 61% of the fans believed that Manchester United would inevitably lose the league or the FA Cup final in the process of competing for the Champions League. chain.
And Chen Xiaoliang also encountered a trouble, that is, when he and his teammates finished paying tribute to the opposing players after the game, thanked the Manchester United fans who came to the away game, returned to the locker room and turned on the mobile phone, they found 6 missed calls from his father. Phone, and then opened the text message, it turned out that my grandfather had passed away.
Immediately, his complacent mood because of defeating his mortal enemy just now fell to the bottom of the valley.
Even though it was time travel, the memory of this life is very clear. Suddenly, the image of the grandfather who brought him up as a child and those past events flooded his mind, which undoubtedly exacerbated his sadness.
But in order to prevent his teammates from noticing the abnormality and affect the morale in the final critical period, he did not show any abnormal emotions.
When the group returned to the hotel, he found Ten Hag and applied for a 5-day leave of absence. Ten Hag suddenly hesitated, saying that he needed to discuss it with his boss, Jassim.
It’s not that he doesn’t want to, it’s that everyone knows how important Chen Xiaoliang is to this team. During the five days when he is on leave, there will be an away game against Crystal Palace. The league championship was handed over to Manchester City, which contributed to the unprecedented four consecutive Premier League titles of its neighbors, plus a terrifying record of winning 5 Premier League titles in 11 years.
If it was the other way around, it was Manchester United who won the Premier League six times in seven years, and Ten Hag would let it go.
At this point, Chen Xiaoliang understood Ten Hag's difficulties and did not use his team status to put pressure on him.
The next day, the whole team returned to the Carrington base, some of the main players had a day off, and the rest had restorative training.
Jassim, Sir Alex Ferguson and technical director Fletcher are already waiting at the club.
The result is very clear, Jassim told Chen Xiaoliang on behalf of the club:
"Today is May 5. We are willing to give you 3 days of vacation to deal with family matters. If necessary, Fletcher will accompany you to the Red Country and express your heart on behalf of the club."
"And the club will keep everything under wraps until you think it's okay to make it public."
Chen Xiaoliang was very grateful, and declined the boss's kindness, and returned to the residence to pack his bags and set foot on the journey home as soon as possible.
And seeing the boss make such a decision on behalf of the board of directors, Ten Hag has nothing to say.
Ferguson saw his uneasiness and shared his past experience with him alone:
It was the 2004-05 season, Ronaldo's second season at Manchester United, who had just turned 20.
Arsenal won the championship unbeaten the previous season, and that season was when Abramovich's Chelsea rose strongly under the guidance of Mourinho.
It was also a critical moment at the end of the season. Ronaldo's father Avaro was critically ill. He found Ferguson and wanted to ask for leave to visit relatives.
At that time, Ferguson was still a devil coach with the famous "hair dryer". Just 2 years ago, on February 2003, 2, after the FA Cup was eliminated by his arch-enemy Arsenal at the time, Ferguson turned on the hair dryer in the locker room , and kicked a sneaker onto Beckham's brow bone, creating the famous "flying boot door" incident in football.
At that time, the young C Luo Yuan did not have the status in the arena later. When he found Ferguson, he was apprehensive.
But Ferguson told him: "It's okay, go! It's fine for 2 or 3 days. Don't worry about the game. Although it is true that the next few games will not be easy to play, I still wish your father to turn the crisis into safety."
His father, Alvaro, was a veteran of a disgraceful war, a victory that helped Portugal prevent the Angolan people from colonizing and gaining independence.
During the war, he witnessed many cruel atrocities, and therefore, he chose to numb himself with alcohol after the war.
Ronaldo has said many times that in his impression his father is an alcoholic who does not care about his family. Even in the amateur team Andorinha, he got a job cleaning players' dirty clothes. Introduced by Luo.
However, even though Ronaldo joined Sporting Lisbon, later transferred to Manchester United, and put on No. 7, Avaro did not get rid of his dependence on alcohol. Until his death from liver failure in September 2005, he also lost the opportunity to witness his son's great achievements. Chance.
This is also the biggest reason why Ronaldo was extremely disgusted with alcohol since he was a child.
When this past incident was interviewed and mentioned after Ronaldo returned to Manchester United in the summer of 2021, it still moved Ronaldo very much and shed tears on the spot.
Ferguson told Ten Hag that he did this because of an experience in his youth.
When he was 33 as manager of Scottish second tier side St Mirren, a young man approached him on a Tuesday and offered to take Friday off that week's matchday.
At that time, he immediately lost his temper, thinking that the young player wanted to go out to play, or find some reason to go out to play, and asked why he had to ask for leave on Friday.
As a result, the young man sadly told him that his mother had passed away.
Ferguson remembers very well the moment when he was overwhelmed and guilty of his emotions, he immediately agreed to the young man's holiday, and after that whenever a player approached him about asking for leave, he would always say: "OK, Is there anything I can do for you?"
Ferguson finally told Ten Hag:
"What you need to understand is that there are some things that are more important than the football club and the family is one of them and definitely never, never, ever put the football club before the family."
Ten Hag understands that Ferguson is not telling him the principle of "great light and righteousness", but that once the club puts its own achievements before the players' families, especially in matters of life and death, the players' future trust in the club, and The emotions between the clubs will be greatly reduced.
The same is true for fans.
In the end, it was Helena and Riise who accompanied Chen Xiaoliang to fly back to the East China Sea.
And he also took the initiative to inform the players that he would leave the team for 5 days to attend the funeral.
At 5 pm on May 5, B Fei put on the long-lost captain's armband and led the team to appear at Selhurst Park, the home stadium of Crystal Palace.
In order to ensure that there are no accidents, Ten Hag sent the strongest lineup after the rotation.
Goalkeeper De Gea;
Back four Dalot, Lindelof, Lima, Luke Shaw;
Back midfielder Timber, Casemiro, front midfielder B fee;
Left winger Kwa, center Benzema, right winger Anthony.
Although Crystal Palace has no desires, cannot enter the European competition, and will not drop the British Championship, but they are willing to perform well in the critical period of the championship at the end of the season and change the trend of the championship by themselves. From the first minute, he showed an attitude that would not let Manchester United get what they want.
In the 7th minute of the game, Crystal Palace defender Klein took the initiative to kick the ball out of the boundary. The players, staff and all the fans in the stands applauded Chen Xiaoliang for 1 minute to express their respect for this Mr. Double Material and the face of the Premier League today. Lose family support.
In the 8th minute, Kwa threw a penalty and directly threw the ball back to the Crystal Palace goalkeeper and former Manchester United player John Stone, and the game returned to normal.
But the subsequent game was not as harmonious as the scene just now. Crystal Palace, who had no burden of losing, launched a desperate attack. Cooperating and then attacking the ribs, No. 10 midfielder Eze and Ghanaian striker Jordan Ayew rushed towards the penalty area.
In the 31st minute, the goal of Manchester United was broken. Olis made a cross from the bottom of the right side to the goal. Jordan Ayew's stab shot was blocked by De Gea. Eze followed up and scored. The score was 1-0.
At the same time, Manchester City, which kicked off one hour earlier and entered the 1nd minute of the game, has already led Brentford 72-3 at home, almost winning.
When Van der Garhe showed Ten Hag the real-time score, Ten Hag felt intensely uneasy.
In midfield, Ten Hag and B Fernando led the impassioned speeches, before Casemiro delivered his first and possibly last official dressing room address of the season.
I usually don't say it because there is a real leader, Chen Xiaoliang, but at this moment, he must stand up.
Casemiro: "If our captain is only absent for today's game throughout the season, we lose the ball. Then when he comes back, what face do we have to fulfill what we said to him when he left, and we will definitely take the ball. What if the team carries it on their shoulders and waits for him to come back with victory?!"
"If we lose today, people will always say from now on, this is Chen's team alone, without him, we are nothing!"
At the same time, Ten Hag adjusted his tactics, actively instructing the players to play against Crystal Palace in the second half, and use stronger offensive strength to destroy their weak defense.
The change worked.
In the 55th minute of the second half, Kewa received a pass from B Fee, passed two people in the left rib, and made a fake shot in the penalty area to knock down defender Josim Anderson and goalkeeper John Stone. It was tied 1 to 1.
At this time, Manchester City's game has ended, and the score of 3 to 1 has not changed. According to the current results of the two sides, they will have 94 points, and Manchester City will temporarily return to the first position in the league by virtue of goal difference.
Then in the 65th minute, Benzema received the ball from the penalty area and passed it to Luke Shaw who was on the left. , Manchester United overtook.
In the 73rd minute, the water attack relied on the melee caused by a corner kick, and Eze scored another goal to equalize the score 2-2.
Ten Hag started to make substitutions, Cesko, Milinkovic and the injured Rashford all played.
In the 85th minute, Cesco took the ball with his back outside the penalty area, and then passed it back to Casemiro not far behind. Johnstone flew over the head of the attacking goal, 2 to 3!
In the 92nd minute, Crystal Palace, which was trying to get back 1 point, had an empty defense. Manchester United counterattacked.
In the end, there was no danger. After the 36th round of the league, the two undefeated teams are still ranked in the top 2. Manchester United leads Manchester City by 96 points with 2 points.
The good news is that Manchester United, who have been fighting continuously, can finally usher in a week of rest, but the bad news is that their opponent in the next round is just a 2-1 home victory over Middlesbrough, and they are currently ranked fifth in the league with 80 points. Arsenal are only one point behind Newcastle in fourth place.
If Newcastle win in the next round and Arsenal lose to Manchester United at Old Trafford, the difference between the two teams will be widened to 4 points, and Arsenal will completely miss the Champions League next season.
All of a sudden, everyone who wanted Manchester United to win the championship hoped that Chen Xiaoliang would come back soon.
And all those who do not want Manchester United to win in the next round, whether it is Arsenal, Liverpool, Manchester City or others, do not want to see Chen Xiaoliang appear in the Theater of Dreams on May 5.
However, the reason why the king is a king is that he will never let his comrades down, and he will never break his promise to those who believe in him.
Chen Xiaoliang, who left the team for 4 days and took care of everything at home, showed up at the Carrington training base on time on the early morning of May 5.
The paparazzi who had been squatting outside the base immediately posted the photos of David driving Chen Xiaoliang to participate in the training on the Internet, and the "Daily Telegraph" even directly used such a headline——The return of the king, all the dust has settled!
