Chapter 574 Leading the Premier League

The draw rules for the quarter-finals say that teams from the same league will not meet, teams ranked first in each group will not meet, and teams from the same group will not meet. Therefore, Liverpool’s next opponent can only be another one. Second place in seven groups.

However, there is bad news for Liverpool. During a routine check-up after the game, the team doctor found that captain Henderson had strained his calf muscle and will have to be out for at least two weeks. Mane also suffered an ankle injury.

What makes Klopp even more worried is that forward Salah has symptoms of discomfort in his shoulder. Now there are three players in the frontcourt and they will not be able to play in the next round.

Fortunately, Liverpool's opponent in the next round is Fulham, the current bottom team in the Premier League, and Liverpool will still play at home.

Liverpool has defeated its opponents in four games in recent years. The two sides have met 26 times in the history of the Premier League. Liverpool has the upper hand with 16 wins, 4 draws and 6 losses, including 8 wins, 4 draws and 1 loss at home, so Liverpool has an absolute psychological advantage.

Therefore, after careful consideration, Klopp determined the game lineup. The backcourt personnel is the same as the Champions League group stage lineup. Alisson is still at the goal, and Arnold, Gomez, Van Dijk and Robertson are all the main defenders.

In front of them are the double midfielders Fabinho and Wijnaldum, the frontcourt of Milner, Shaqiri and Li Qing, and Firmino as the single arrow.

Because the game between Liverpool and Fulham is at 12 noon, and the games of Chelsea, Arsenal and other teams will be played later, the Liverpool game has become the focus of countless people's eyes.

Liverpool had already made the best start to the Premier League, winning 11 consecutive games, successfully breaking the records of Bayern and Roma. However, because Paris Saint-Germain defeated Marseille and Lille one after another, their winning streak increased to 12 games. .

And Paris Saint-Germain will visit Monaco later. Based on Monaco's recent decline, everyone believes that Paris Saint-Germain's thirteenth consecutive victory will not be a problem.

Therefore, in Klopp's mind, this round's game with Fulham must be won, so that he can create enough pressure on the opponents chasing behind him, and at the same time, he can continue to set new records.

But Fulham showed a tenacious fighting spirit in the game and even fought against Liverpool during the game.

But in the end, Liverpool were superior. Li Qing broke the deadlock in the 40th minute of the first half. Because the opponent scored an offside kick, Liverpool goalkeeper Alisson took the opportunity to kick the ball quickly. Arnold sent a precise direct pass. Li Qing received the ball and broke into the penalty area to shoot a low shot. Break the door.

The entire process, from the opponent's offside to Li Qing's goal, Liverpool's blitz took less than ten seconds.

During the halftime break, neither the coaches of the home or away teams made any personnel adjustments. Liverpool continued to expand the score in the 60th minute. Robertson received a tactical corner kick from Li Qing and the unguarded Shaqiri volleyed to score. Expanded to two to zero.

Then Klopp saw that the overall situation was decided, replaced Li Qing with Lallana, replaced Wijnaldum with Keita, Sturridge replaced Firmino, and began to slow down the pace of the game.

In the end, Fulham had no intention of fighting again. Liverpool easily defeated their opponents at their home court, extending their winning streak at the beginning of the season to 12 games.

Although Liverpool's captain Henderson and forward trident Mane and Salah were absent from the game throughout the game, under the leadership of Li Qing, the team still maintained suppression of their opponents.

Liverpool controlled the ball at their feet for most of the game and took far more shots than their opponents. If it weren't for Fulham goalkeeper Rico's heroic performance and five saves, Liverpool would definitely have swept their opponents with a huge score.

However, Liverpool and Li Qing's nearly invincible performance in this game continued to lead the Premier League standings, putting considerable pressure on the opponents chasing behind them.

In the subsequent game, Chelsea had a boring draw with Everton at home. Morata and Hazard both missed good opportunities in the game, but Chelsea still maintained a certain advantage in the standings.

That afternoon, at 4 pm local time in England, Manchester City competed with their city rivals Manchester United at the Etihad Stadium.

The two teams have met forty-two times in the history of the Premier League. Manchester United has a certain advantage regardless of home and away games.

But today's Manchester United is no longer the all-powerful team in the Ferguson era. Manchester United cannot compare with its rivals in the same city in almost every position.

But after all, it is a battle between the same city. Both sides want to win the game. From the beginning of the game, the confrontation between the players of the home and away teams has been very fierce. After many tests, Bernardo of Manchester City passed the ball back from a distance, and Silva was in the penalty area. A sudden shot of cold arrows broke the goal.

Manchester United, which conceded a goal first, became more intense with its opponents, while Manchester City tried to control the game through passing and receiving.

Although Manchester United tried to equalize the score, they did not make too many mistakes. In the 48th minute of the second half, Lingard was intercepted in midfield. After Aguero and Mahrez collided with each other, they blasted a shot from the small penalty area and expanded the goal. score.

At this time, Mourinho sent on Lukaku, the little monster. Although the little monster scored a penalty as soon as he came on the court, Manchester United moved back to the first city with Martial's penalty.

But at the last moment of the game, it was Bernardo who once again posed a fatal threat to Manchester United. His pass allowed Gundogan, who had just come on the field, to successfully counter the offside. After stopping the ball at the edge of the small penalty area, he calmly pushed and scored, killing the game. The final suspense.

In the end, Guardiola was superior, and finally beat Mourinho's Manchester United 3-1, not falling behind in the pursuit of Liverpool.

At the same time, in another game, Arsenal was at home, with all the main players available, to face Wolves.

But to everyone's surprise, the powerful Arsenal was defeated by the visiting Wolves and scored the first goal. If not for Mkhitaryan's equalizer at the end of the second half, Arsenal would have almost capsized at their home court.

Arsenal's inconsistent performance at their home court disappointed the fans very much.

As a result, only Guardiola's Manchester City can still put some pressure on Klopp's team, and several other teams have begun to show signs of fatigue.

Under this situation, the international match day has arrived again, and the leading stars of all teams have been called up by the national team and are preparing to participate in their respective national team games.

Due to Henderson's injury, Three Lions coach Southgate recruited Li Qing, Lallana, Gomez and Milner from the Liverpool team.

Prepare for the next friendly match against Costa Rica, as well as the UEFA Nations League home game against Croatia.