Chapter 130: Steal and Counterattack, First Goal Scored
Chapter 130: Steal and counterattack, first goal·Part 2
The rain at the Etihad Stadium was getting heavier, and the hearts of Manchester City fans were getting heavier. Otamendi's hasty pass did not open the angle, and Li Qing, who was running at lightning speed, stretched his foot to change the trajectory of the ball.
Li Qing was facing Caballero guarding the goal, and Otamendi was facing his back to his own goal. He subconsciously reached out to pull the jersey but only caught a ball of air, which meant that he could only watch Li Qing chase the ball.
Another central defender, Stones, did not give up. He gritted his teeth and swung his hands quickly to try to drive his strong thighs to speed up the alternation frequency, but speed was not his strong point, even his height and long legs could not help.
Jin Xiangkai, the commentator of Xinying Sports, looked at Li Qing and the football on the broadcast screen and blurted out: "Li Qing intercepted the ball from Otamendi's feet. In front of him, only goalkeeper Caballero was left!"
"Oh-Shit!"
Guardiola, who was standing in front of the home team's coaching bench, shook his hands angrily, expressing his strong dissatisfaction with Otamendi's slow handling of the ball.
He had said countless times before the game that you must be alert when passing the ball in the backcourt on rainy days. If you are not sure, just kick the ball directly and never stop the ball.
This...what I said just a few minutes ago was ignored!
If there is really no central defender available, he would never use Otamendi again!
It's too watery!
Goalkeeper Caballero is good at goal line technology and is not good at attacking. He didn't know what to do with the sudden single-handed shot.
According to his understanding of Li Qing before the game, it seems that he has never lost the single-handed shot so far...
How to defend against this?
"wuwuwuwuwuuuu——"
Manchester City fans booed hysterically over the Etihad Stadium, trying to use this method to influence Li Qing who was chasing the ball at high speed.
However, Li Qing failed to influence him, but instead might have influenced Stones, the central defender who was returning to defense at full speed.
The rainy day made the grass wet, and Stones, who was tall and long-legged, had a high center of gravity. I don't know if it was the overwhelming booing that affected his running rhythm. The front of his right foot did not have enough grip on the ground, and he slid forward. His heart thumped and he thought to himself, "Oh no."
In order to avoid straining during high-speed running, he quickly lifted his left foot that was dragging behind...
His center of gravity was unstable, and he fell to the ground with a "pop".
Li Qing, who rushed to Manchester City's defensive half at lightning speed, naturally did not pay attention to Stones who fell to the ground. He used the outside of his left foot to push the ball forward while running at high speed.
The two central defenders fell to the ground, and the two sidebacks were in front of the two central defenders. It was too late to turn around and chase Li Qing.
Leshi Sports commentator Zhan Jun shouted excitedly: "The opportunity Liverpool has been waiting for has come! Li Qing suddenly accelerated to intercept the ball passed by Otamendi to Stones, and now he is directly facing goalkeeper Caballero!"
"Will Li Qing, who has never lost a single shot since the beginning of his career, help Liverpool open the record?"
As a well-known commentator, Zhan Jun knows better than anyone what it means for Liverpool to take the lead as a guest.
Manchester City, who is at home, can't afford to lose. If they fall behind in the score, they will definitely strengthen their offense. In this way, the extremely fast Li Qing and Mane will have the opportunity to help Liverpool expand the score!
This is also the fundamental reason why the media recently reminded Guardiola's team not to lose the ball first.
In a blink of an eye, Li Qing brought the ball to the front of the top of the penalty area. Goalkeeper Caballero roared in his heart, which was considered to be a boost for himself, and then abandoned the goal to attack.
Li Qing was waiting for this opportunity. When Caballero came to the penalty spot, he slowed down his dribbling speed, adjusted his footsteps, and raised his left foot.
Caballero subconsciously stopped on the spot, lowered his center of gravity, and prepared to save at any time.
But the next moment, he raised his head depressedly, staring at the football that took off from the ground into the air...
"Left foot lob!"
Andy Gray, the commentator of Sky TV, burst into high spirits: "Gooooooooooooal——"
At the same time, the boos made in the Etihad Stadium came to an abrupt end, replaced by the hysterical shouts of Liverpool fans who followed the team on the "expedition".
After making sure that the football fell into the snow-white net, Li Qing turned a corner and ran to the visiting team's coaching seat. He first excitedly high-fived the head coach Klopp, and then played a cooperative celebration of the goal with Arnold.
"This goal celebration is really creative."
Jin Xiangkai, the commentator of New England Sports, said excitedly while watching Li Qing and Arnold on the broadcast screen.
Ten meters away from the visiting team's coaching booth, Manchester City coach Guardiola shook his head and sighed. After losing the ball at home, the next game was bound to be difficult.
The on-site director then gave the broadcast screen to Manchester City's stars one after another. Aguero, David Silva, De Bruyne, Sterling and other players all felt depressed to varying degrees. Otamendi, who was absolutely responsible for the loss of the ball, did not dare to look up. If Yaya Toure had not reached out and pulled him up, he would probably have no steps to go down.
The next game was just as Guardiola predicted. In order to guard against Liverpool's quick counterattack, the team did not dare to invest too much manpower in the attack.
The two full-backs Clichy and Fernandinho could not assist at the same time, and the offense became less three-dimensional. In addition, Fernandinho's best position is defensive midfielder, so it is somewhat awkward for him to play as a right back. When receiving the ball, he would always subconsciously lean towards the middle, so that the positions of Yaya Toure, De Bruyne and David Silva overlapped.
Guardiola, who was standing on the sidelines, was very worried that the team's inadaptability would lead to new goals.
However, as the game progressed, Guardiola's worries gradually dispelled, and the Tiki-Taka tactics he implanted in the team completely controlled the situation.
But Liverpool's defense during this period was very good, which meant that Manchester City only had the advantage but did not score.
In a blink of an eye, the game came to half an hour, and the scoreboard showed that Liverpool, the guest, was still leading Manchester City 1:0.
The moderate rain in the sky turned into light rain, and the person who was worried changed from Guardiola to Klopp. His team had not touched the ball for several minutes, and the players' mentality had changed greatly, and even some players became a little irritable.
This... is not a good phenomenon.
A normal mind does not necessarily mean you can play a good game, but you must have a normal mind to play a good game.
Emre Can fouled Sterling's left-wing cut at the top of the penalty area. The referee Michael Oliver saw it clearly. In addition to whistling to indicate a foul, he also gave Emre Can a yellow card.
Leshi Sports commentator Zhan Jun said in a deep voice: "This position is very dangerous. It is always close to the goal. Aguero, De Bruyne and David Silva can all try..."
Immediately, Aguero took a run-up and made a fake shot. De Bruyne followed up with a shot. The football fell to the upper left corner of the goal with an obvious right-foot arc. Goalkeeper Mignolet was shaken by Aguero and it was too late to save.
"aoaoaoaooooo——"
The huge cheers at the Etihad Stadium have already explained something...