Chapter 454 Battle for the top spot: The No. 1 free kick master in modern football history?

Chapter 454: Battle for the top spot: The best free kick master in modern football history?
"aoaoaoaoooooooo——"

The packed Anfield stadium erupted into deafening roars, one wave after another.

The Liverpool fans in the audience were particularly excited, cheering for the home team who adopted a high defense.

At the beginning of the game, Arsenal, who had a kick-off advantage, was planning to organize an offensive step by step. Unexpectedly, the home team Liverpool all pressed high, so that Xhaka, who received the ball, was a little flustered and had to kick the ball out of bounds.

Arteta, who was standing in the visiting team coach's technical area, frowned and felt uneasy about the fanatical atmosphere that hit his face.

Klopp on the other end is full of passion, constantly using inflammatory body movements to instill tactical gestures into the players on the field to continue to apply pressure.

Most of the players on this team have played under Klopp for three years, and even Salah has played for one and a half seasons. The overall tactical integration is extremely high, and he has the ultimate execution of the tactics deployed by Klopp. force.

It is also true that the defending champion Arsenal was given a blow right from the start.

Coupled with being at home, the home team fans can give them extra boost, making the overall threat very high.

Martin was also surprised by Liverpool's strength. He did not expect that Liverpool, who could easily handle the European Super Cup and the first round of this season, would have such a big change in a few months.

To be cautious, Martin was positioned further back than he had been in the past few months, in order to protect the defense and prevent the rising Liverpool from seizing the opportunity to take the lead.

Once this Liverpool team takes the lead, the next game will be even more difficult.

Although he still maintains an astonishing record of not losing a game, he must be careful to sail the ship for thousands of years.

After all, records are meant to be broken.

What if?
Before Arnold threw a throw-in from the right, Martin also encouraged his teammates, hoping that everyone could wake up and not give Liverpool any chance.

In Martin's plan, he first bases himself on defense and then waits for opportunities to attack.

There is no good solution for Liverpool's positional battle, especially when facing a team with strong defensive capabilities like Arsenal.

The defense system led by Van Dijk is very solid, and Martin, Kanter, and Xhaka assist in protecting the space in front of the back line. Whether it is Firmino who retreats to participate in the offensive organization, or Fabinho, Neither Henderson nor Salah has the ability to send the ball to the most dangerous areas or grasp it personally in the ever-changing opportunities.

After surviving the home team Liverpool's three blows at the beginning, Arsenal, under the leadership of Martin, gradually created opportunities to threaten Alisson's goal.

It has to be said that Liverpool's investment in Alisson was well worth it. He defended the ball with a high pitch and tried to keep the goal.

As Arsenal started to attack, the home team fans at Anfield did not seem to have the momentum they had at the beginning, and were replaced by hesitation and uneasiness.

The look he looked at Martin was full of fear.

They all know that once Arsenal captain Martin is in shape, he is simply unstoppable.

Therefore, everyone hopes that the home team can break the deadlock as soon as possible before Martin exerts his strength.

Whenever Martin takes the ball, there will always be a wave of frightening exclamations above Anfield.

There is no other reason.

Martin is in excellent condition. He can threaten Alisson with the ball, dribbling, passing, and shooting from long range.

No one is sure that the Brazilian national goalkeeper will continue to perform like a god.

In the blink of an eye, the game came to ten minutes.

Liverpool used a wide range of running and high-intensity pressing to get some possession of the ball, but after the ball changed hands, they lacked a midfield core who could send the ball to dangerous areas.

To put it simply, Liverpool lacks a superstar like Martin who can create excellent opportunities.

Salah's speed, dribbling, and shooting are very good, but it is a bit difficult to expect him to pass through balls as precise as a scalpel.

In the 14th minute of the game, Martin got the ball in the middle and shook off Wijnaldum. He shot about 33 meters from the goal.

"Bang~"

Henderson was half a beat too slow to block, and the angle of the powerful and heavy football was quite tricky. Alisson stretched his body to the extreme without touching the football. When many Liverpool fans closed their eyes and resigned themselves to their fate, the football hit the right goal post heavily. The intersection with the beam made a crisp collision sound.

Lovren, who returned to the goal, reacted very quickly and headed the ball over the baseline with his head before Mahrez.

"wowoowoowoooooo——"

The frightening exclamations swept through the entire Anfield stadium in an instant.

Arteta, the coach of the visiting team, was directing the technical area with his hands on his head, his face full of disbelief.

If the angle had been further in, the score would have been ahead.

What a pity!

Arsenal players on the pitch and on the bench felt sorry for this.

On the other hand, the person involved, Martin, was unfazed. He just shook his head lightly.

The Liverpool players who took a deep breath looked at Martin with eyes full of fear, envy and jealousy.

How could he... be so strong?
The live director gave Martin a close-up shot of his face.

Xinying Sports commentator Jin Xiangkailang said: "Martin is in great condition! If Liverpool can't limit Martin's performance, I think... Arsenal's goal is not far away..."

Immediately, Mahrez's offensive corner kick from the right was not of good quality, and the ball was easily picked off by Alisson who jumped high and decisively hit the edge of the small penalty area.

The Brazilian national goalkeeper is very capable of launching counterattacks, and the pre-match tactical drills also included relevant links. He used the cover of central defender Lovren to bypass the players in front of him to the right, took two lunges on the edge of the small penalty area on the right, and kicked the ball away with his big feet. To the right of the frontcourt.

"Oops!"

Martin in the penalty area immediately realized that something was wrong.

Alisson is very capable of launching counterattacks with his big feet, which is exactly the same as Salah's movement.

Neither Kante nor Ricardo Pereira, who was behind to defend Kante and Ricardo Pereira, was particularly fast. He had an advantage at the beginning, but as the running distance increased, he fell flat and fell behind...

The Liverpool fans at Anfield went crazy and roared with deafening roars.

I saw the running Salah passing by the right sideline, stopping Alisson's well-timed big kick in one go, and dribbling the ball towards Leno's guarded goal without slowing down.

"Salah!"

"Single sword!!"

PP sports commentator Zhan Jun is a Liverpool fan, and at this moment his high-pitched voice echoed throughout the live broadcast room.

Whether they are Liverpool fans at the scene or in front of the TV, they are all very familiar with this scene.

The extremely fast Salah dribbled the ball straight in, faced goalkeeper Leno and easily kicked the ball into the far corner of the goal.

Kanter and Ricardo Pereira, who were chasing each other all the way, stopped in place depressedly, shook their heads and sighed.

Xinying Sports commentator Jin Xiangkai said: "This is the charm of football. You never know what will happen in the next second. We once thought Arsenal was very close to opening the scoring. Unexpectedly, Alisson assisted Arsenal with a big kick. Lage scored with a single goal and took the lead! Next, I think the game will be even more exciting!”

At the same time, Klopp's iconic farmer's three punches, standing in the home team coach's technical area, reappeared in Anfield.

However, his celebration did not last long. Then he came to the sidelines and reminded the players on the field to continue to stay highly focused and continue to score goals while ensuring that there are no problems with the defense!
He wants to tell the world that records are meant to be broken!
No team can beat Martin's Arsenal?

Sorry, that’s all in the past tense!

Arsenal head coach Arteta pursed his lips and shook his head, until his eyes glanced at Martin, and his slightly uneasy mood was instantly replaced by peace of mind.

Liverpool players felt the huge cheers from their fans and were a little more confident in defeating Arsenal at home.

※※※※※

The game restarted, and Arsenal, who had a kick-off advantage, focused on stability.

Liverpool, who scored the first goal at home, seemed to be on fire. They ran every one without hesitation, obviously intending to win the defending championship in one go.

Martin had already expected it, so after getting the ball, he ran in a wide range and connected with Xhaka.

Kanter has stronger defensive ability, but also has strong transition ability.

He is often able to deliver the ball to defensive gaps in tight coverage.

Arsenal's iron triangle in the midfield was operating comfortably, but Liverpool's high pressure was difficult to work. After several consecutive waves of defense, they failed to seize the ball, so they could only choose to defend position honestly.

In this way, Martin will have more room to operate.

Judging from the defensive players alone, Liverpool is obviously strong in offense and weak in defense.

Let’s not talk about the three heroes of the Red Arrows. Fabinho, Henderson and Wijnaldum are said to be both offensive and defensive, but in fact they are stronger in offense than defense. The two full-backs Robertson and Alexander-Arnold are representatives of modern full-backs. Known for his participation in assists.

In other words, the two central defenders Lovren and Matip are purely defensive players.

Of course, the two also have strong offensive attributes in corner kicks and set pieces.

Breaking them one by one is the best way to break the goal.

Liverpool head coach Klopp captured something keenly. He took advantage of the dead ball opportunity to remind the players on the field to pay special attention to each other's defense and never give Arsenal players a chance. In particular, they must pay attention to Martin's ball and try his best to Don't foul within thirty meters. Players receive tactical instructions immediately, but many times the plan never catches up with the changes.

Arsenal's attack went from the left to the right. Mahrez, who was close to the right sideline, accelerated the football passed by Xhaka sideways and accelerated it.

Robertson didn't react for a moment, and center midfielder Wijnaldum on the left came over to help defend.

Cavani, who was originally at the top of the penalty area, suddenly accelerated and made a diagonal pass in front of Lovren into the space behind Robertson.

Lovren was worried that Mahrez, who was cutting inside, would send a direct pass. Since he didn't know what was going on behind him, he could only follow Cavani towards the baseline.

Mahrez used the outside instep of his left foot to pass the ball back to the receiving Xhaka very covertly. The latter kept picking up the ball with his left foot and used the arch of his foot to pass the ball to the right.

Ricardo Pereira drives forward at high speed!
Mane was very active in defense. He was originally going to follow Ricardo Pereira, but when he saw Mahrez passing to the unmarked Xhaka, he turned around and tried to steal the ball. Fight back.

Unexpectedly, Xhaka had no intention of taking the ball, and his shot was clean and neat.

By the time Mane realized something was wrong, it was too late to tackle Ricardo Pereira.

Ricardo Perez, who was running at full speed, pushed Xhaka right into the ribs and stopped. Robertson was taken away by Mahrez's pass to defend. It was obviously too late to go back to defend. Left center back Lovren had to Take advantage of the situation and pull it out to cover the defense.

Matip, who was originally marking Aubameyang, had to mark Cavani, and Arnold moved in to mark Aubameyang.

Mahrez took advantage of Robertson's position and alertly ran from the front of the right penalty area to the right rib of the penalty area.

Wijnaldum was half a beat behind the defense and his position was obviously further back.

Klopp, who was standing in the technical area where the home team coach was directing, had his pupils narrowed, and he suddenly realized that a huge gap was exposed in the defense line at this moment.

Oops!

"wowoowoowoooooo——"

At the same time, there was a burst of exclamations in the sky above Anfield.

Ricardo Pereira sent an inverted triangle kick from around the two-meter area where the edge of the penalty area and the bottom line on the right side meet.

The pass is directed towards Mahrez who is in the lead!
Liverpool captain Henderson, who was guarding the center of the penalty area, felt nervous, but his hesitation did not come from Mahrez, but... Martin suddenly passed by at high speed in front of him.

The running Mahrez is in an inverted triangle passing route, and almost all Liverpool defenders think he will shoot directly.

Unexpectedly, Mahrez, who was running, picked up his non-dominant right foot but failed to shoot.

He passed the ball.

Henderson's premonition became reality!

But there was nothing he could do...

"Martin!!!"

The live broadcast screen provided by the on-site director covered Liverpool's entire 30-meter defense zone, and Sky TV commentator Andy Gray's voice suddenly rose an octave higher.

Martin, who was running fast, started to hit with his right foot. The instep of his right foot was stretched very straight, and the instep of his right foot hit the middle and lower part of the slightly bouncing football.

Boom~
A crisp muffled sound emerged spontaneously.

The kicked football was like a cannonball, passing through the defensive gap between Matip and Lovren at lightning speed. Aubameyang, who was in the flight path, instinctively pushed his butt back and gave way. Subtle space.

Goalkeeper Alisson didn't even react when faced with such a violent shot from close range. All he could do was turn his head to keep his vision of the football.

"Goooooooooooooooal——"

"Martin! The Liverpool lead only lasted seven minutes! 1:1! The Arsenal captain equalized the score!"

"Arsenal's attack was so beautiful this time! The coordination was dazzling!"

……

The commentators in the live commentary box/remote live broadcast room shouted in unison.

The Arsenal 'Expeditionary Force' at Anfield Stadium were waiting for this moment. They released all their passion and fully cheered for the team that equalized the score.

The Arsenal players on the field were also extremely excited, frantically venting their joy at the equalizer.

Only Martin, who scored the goal, hugged his teammates who stepped forward to celebrate the goal like a normal person.

Head coach Arteta's celebration was particularly exaggerated. When Liverpool scored a goal, Klopp hit the iconic farmer's three punches, and he punched several times in a row, as if he was responding to something from a distance.

Klopp frowned, obviously feeling something.

Arsenal's morale has been boosted by the equalizer, and his team's desire to score points at home is likely to be empty talk.

Therefore, there is actually very little that Klopp can do.

The tactics developed before the game are very detailed, and now he can only give spiritual encouragement when the team lacks confidence.

……

After celebrating his goal with his teammates, Martin raised his clenched fists and said loudly: "Brothers, it's time to overtake the score. Are you confident?"

"Have confidence!"

The Arsenal players said with high spirits.

as predicted!

The Arsenal team's morale was greatly boosted by the equalizer, and their physical running caused great trouble to Liverpool, who organized the attack.

The offense simply couldn't find any room to exploit.

With only three minutes left in the game, Arsenal switched from defense to offense and turned into a positional battle when there was no chance of counterattack. Martin took the ball and passed the ball to Mahrez who was diagonally inserted into the ribs. The latter used his skillful feet. Technical foul caused by Fabinho.

"Fabinho should be more calm."

PP sports commentator Zhan Jun shook his head and sighed.

Guest commentator Li Yuankui nodded in agreement: "It's really inappropriate. Henderson's defense was in place."

Klopp actually didn't object to Fabinho's foul. If he hadn't fouled, Henderson, who was well defensive, would have exposed the space behind him. Martin, who was moving ghostly, was not for show.

With Mahrez's field of vision, it is impossible not to see Martin moving forward.

Once Henderson is out of position, the area in front of the top of the penalty area will be exposed to Martin.

This...is undoubtedly tantamount to dropping the ball.

The free kick is a foregone conclusion, so we can only pin our hopes on Alisson.

The broadcaster gave the location of the foul as being approximately 26 meters from the goal and approximately 80 degrees from the right goal post.

This position is best suited for left-footed players to take kicks, but Martin has extremely good free kick skills, so he has to stand in front of the foul spot.

Alisson slowly set up a human wall, and Martin also retreated to a comfortable distance.

"Beep~"

Atkinson blew his whistle.

"wuwuwuuwuuu——"

The Liverpool fans at Anfield knew the power of Martin's free kick. They booed harshly in an attempt to influence Martin who was about to take the free kick.

Martin, who was taking a three-step approach, could not hear anything from the sidelines. His last left foot was about 25 centimeters to the left of the football.

The body's center of gravity is tilted to the left, approximately 70° to the ground. The left arm is raised naturally to maintain body balance, and the inside of the right foot is kicked toward the lower right edge of the football in a sharp manner.

The football rose from the ground with a strong inward arc and passed over the head of Fabinho, who was in the rightmost wall of Liverpool's six-man jumping team. The football flew over the penalty area like a rainbow across the sky, brushing the intersection of the top inner edge of the right goal post and the crossbar and rushing into the net.

Goalkeeper Alisson had no reaction just like the previous goal.

The only praiseworthy thing is that the vision did not lose the ability to capture the football.

However, it makes no sense.

"Beautiful! Martin!! Scored a wonderful free kick!"

"He scored two goals in just five minutes to help Arsenal take the lead at Anfield!"

"2:1!!"

Xinying Sports commentator Jin Xiangkai said passionately: "The number one free kick expert in active service is indeed well-deserved! I think... with Martin's free kick shooting percentage, he can definitely be called the number one in history!"

(End of this chapter)