Chapter 997 The Top Competition
Manchester United players finished celebrating and returned to their own half, where the home fans booed them. But Liverpool players were not afraid of this at all, and were very proud of it.
In away games, the boos from the home team fans are the greatest compliment to them!
Liverpool players are already standing in the center circle, ready to kick off.
The TV broadcast gave them several close-up shots, and the Liverpool players in the shots didn't seem to be hit too hard.
This is something that really makes Liverpool fans happy: after losing the ball, the most feared thing is that the team will be stunned.
And now it seems that Liverpool has not been defeated, so we can look forward to their next performance.
In a duel between masters, how could one be defeated so easily?
This match was a showdown of the highest level in British football and even in world football today. The game had only started for eleven minutes, so it was really too early to say that we were defeated.
"Now that Manchester United have taken the lead, how will Liverpool respond?" said Andy Gray.
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After the game resumed, Manchester United still had the upper hand with the momentum after taking the lead, and Liverpool could only shrink their defense for the time being.
But Manchester United did not score another goal in a short time. Liverpool's defense during this period was very well organized, and Alisson's high interception also made Manchester United's attack fail many times.
Manchester United's repeated attacks on Liverpool's goal were fruitless, and Liverpool instead seized the opportunity of Manchester United's offensive to counterattack.
In the 23rd minute of the game, Liverpool launched an attack. Arnold moved forward along the wing, received the ball on the right side of the penalty area, and made a cross.
Van Dijk and Gundogan didn't even jump, they just watched the ball fly to the front of the small penalty area, then Origi jumped high and headed the ball!
"Origi header--!"
Amid Andy Gray's shout, the football hit the right goal post and flew into the goal!
"Ah—Liverpool equalized the score!"
The moment the ball flew into the goal, Anfield Stadium exploded instantly. All the home team fans rushed out of their seats, shouting and cheering wildly, as if they had won the game!
"After falling behind for twelve minutes, Liverpool equalized the score! This is the strong confrontation we want to see!" Andy Gray said excitedly.
The game had only been going on for 23 minutes and there had already been two goals, one from each side. Such a confrontation truly deserves the title of the highest level confrontation in the UK.
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"Origi! Origi!! Origi!!!" Zhan Jun couldn't help but shout excitedly at this moment, "He just came on as a substitute for twelve minutes and he equalized the score for Liverpool!"
"If you ask who is the most handsome guy on the pitch for Liverpool, some people may say it is the Egyptian Pharaoh Salah, or some people may say it is the fiery King Mane, but I think the most eye-catching forward is this lucky son of Liverpool - Origi! Although he is only a substitute player in the team, in the few seasons he has played for Liverpool, he has saved Liverpool many times when he came on as a substitute! Today was the same. When Liverpool fell into an unfavorable situation, Origi came on as a substitute and quickly helped Liverpool equalize the score!"
"Now both sides are back on the same starting line! This goal is very crucial. It dealt a heavy blow to Manchester United when they were besieging Liverpool! The game is suspenseful again!"
Liverpool fans in front of the TV jumped up and cheered.
Although the game had only been going on for twenty-three minutes, the tense atmosphere of the final moments had already spread.
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After the game resumed, both sides attacked and defended each other, and the situation was relatively balanced. Everyone had opportunities and it was difficult to say who had the upper hand.
In the 28th minute, Henderson sent a straight pass to the right, and Arnold made a cross from the right, but this time it was not a high ball passed to the front of the goal, but a low ball passed to the front point, and Origi received the ball and shot at the front point!
Maguire came up to interfere with him, causing his shot to miss the target.
"so close!"
Manchester United then launched an attack. In the 31st minute, Bruno made a straight pass to the left from the left side of the frontcourt. After Harry Kane received the ball, he first used a dribbling action to shake off Matip. Facing Koulibaly who came to defend, he swung his foot as if to shoot, tricking Koulibaly into falling to the ground to tackle, but Harry Kane just gently pulled the ball back with his toes, and thus shook off another defender!
"Dribble past two people! Beautiful! Harry Kane!!"
Harry Kane shook off Matip and Koulibaly and dribbled into the penalty area. Although the angle was not big, he still chose to shoot!
Alisson was prepared for this and had already blocked the angle in advance. He fell to the ground and blocked Harry Kane's shot.
This attack also caused Liverpool fans in the stands to exclaim continuously. The cheers rose and fell, rose and fell again, but in the end all turned into a sigh.
"Oh no! Harry Kane! He missed a great chance! All his performances before the shot were perfect, but the angle of the final shot was too small... and was blocked by Alisson."
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In the 40th minute, Manchester United organized another attack, and Bruno pulled to the left to ask for the ball. But as soon as he got the ball, he was kicked from behind by Fabinho.
There was a harsh booing at Anfield, and then the referee's whistle sounded, judging Fabinho to be fouled and giving Manchester United a free kick on the left side of the penalty area.
Bruno took the free kick himself and shot directly, but the ball went over the crossbar.
Three minutes later, Mane dribbled the ball along the wing, unstoppable all the way. He first shook off Luke Shaw with a change of rhythm, and then faced Bruno who came to defend. He didn't even raise his head, but rushed past Bruno with a quick dribble, leaving Bruno's slightly messy figure behind...
"Damn, this is bullying!" Bruno looked back at Mane's receding back and couldn't help but mutter.
When Mane passed two players from Manchester United, including Bruno, whom they regarded as their biggest enemy, cheers broke out at Anfield.
Amid the cheers, Mane met Kante who came up to block him. Facing the Frenchman who is known as the world's best defensive midfielder, Mane did not dare to deal with him in the same way as he dealt with Bruno. He slowed down, then made a feint and cut inside!
Kante went for the ball, but was a little slow. Instead of poking the ball away from Mane's feet, he knocked Mane to the ground.
Referee Anthony Taylor blew the whistle and Mane earned a free kick for Liverpool, and the position of this free kick was better than Bruno's previous one.
This is in the middle, thirty meters away from the goal.
"Mane's speed was too fast, Kante had no choice but to foul..."
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Liverpool's free kick was taken by Scottish full-back Robertson, but his free kick, like Bruno's before, also went over the crossbar.
However, Liverpool's offensive was not weakened by this, and they came back again a minute later.
Robertson made a diagonal pass from the left side of the penalty area, and the ball was passed to the right side of the top of the penalty area. Origi received the ball here, opened up the angle and shot!
"Origi! Beautiful--"
The football flew along the grass towards Manchester United's goal!
De Gea had already lost his balance when Origi feinted before, and now facing Origi's shot, it was difficult for him to make any standard save. When he fell to the ground, he could only swing his legs as far as possible, hoping to kick the ball.
This reflex-like action eventually saved Manchester United's goal. The ball kicked by Origi hit De Gea's calf, then bounced high and passed the crossbar...
"Oops! Origi missed a great chance! De Gea made a great save!"
Seeing that the ball he shot was blocked by De Gea's legs and hit the crossbar, Origi held his head in his hands with an expression of disbelief.
His previous fake move was very beautiful and successful. Not only did he shake off Van Dijk in front of him, but he also made De Gea lose his balance. He thought he had a sure win. But he didn't expect that the ball was blocked by De Gea's legs...
This luck is so bad!
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"This may be Liverpool's best scoring opportunity after they equalized the score! Liverpool's two flanks were in great form during this period, and Manchester United had a hard time coping with them. Dangers frequently appeared on the back line... Fortunately, the first half was about to end, and Mourinho still had time to make adjustments during the halftime break... He had to make adjustments, otherwise if Liverpool continued to play like this, I'm afraid the opponent would completely take the initiative in the second half..."
In the end, no one was able to break the deadlock in the first half, and when Anthony Taylor blew the whistle to end the first half, the score was still 1:1.
This result is actually acceptable to Manchester United, because as long as they can draw with Liverpool away from home, they will continue to maintain an eight-point lead.
With six games left in the league, they have an 6-point lead, which is big enough. Although Ferguson's Manchester United had an experience of leading by 8 points with five games left but eventually lost the championship, Mourinho's Manchester United has been very stable in recent seasons and has not been overturned.
本赛季的曼联，表现也是非常的稳：31轮24胜6平1负，场均可以拿到2.52分。
According to this scoring efficiency, Manchester United's final points this season will be as high as 96 points!
Just from this data, we can see how terrible Manchester United is this season.
Of course, it can also be said that Liverpool and Manchester City, who have been closely following Manchester United, have performed equally well. Because if Manchester United's performance is put into any league, it will be the rhythm of winning the championship ahead of schedule.
