In the early morning of Beijing time today (28th), the first leg of the Champions League semi-final continued. Liverpool beat Villarreal 2-0 at home to take the lead in the two-legged match.
In terms of control, Liverpool are the strongest.
At home, Villarreal was relegated 2-0 and Liverpool stepped into the Stade de France with one foot. In the 29 seasons since the Champions League changed the semi-final to two legs in 1994-95, only Barca have led by at least two goals in the first leg and failed to reach the final. Moreover, it is Liverpool who has the advantage of two goals.
It was Liverpool's 55th game of the season, with 43 wins, 9 draws and 3 losses, and the most common score was 2-0, a total of 12 times. Excluding the Champions League quarter-finals against Benfica, a two-goal lead at home and then "blessed" a 3-3 happy draw, Liverpool have led 2-0 this season and failed to win the match twice, the Premier League at home to Brighton and away to Chelsea. The draw by Chelsea took place the day after the New Year. Since then, the team has not encountered such embarrassing scenes. The red army now has one word: stability. There is no unsolvable problem, no passive situation that cannot be reversed.
Like the Last Round Premier League Derby, Liverpool encountered stubborn resistance from their opponents in the first half, and how to play was not smooth. To repel Everton, it was a good change for Origi. Playing "Yellow Dive", there is no need to wait for the "koi" to play, and the opponent will do it. Henderson crossed, looking for Louis Díaz at the back post. Halfway down the road, Estupinean stretched out his foot in the left gate of The Yellow Submarine, and the ball changed line to hang goalkeeper Lully. It was the 53rd minute, nine minutes ahead of Robertson's goal in the previous game.
Everton carried it for more than 20 minutes before disarming, and Huang Qian surrendered in less than two minutes. Salah drilled through the small goal of the visiting centre-back Paulo Torres, and Mane poked the score to 2-0 in front of the goal, equaling the Goal Record for an African player in the Champions League set by Drogba 10 years ago. Huang Qian came to the away court to seek peace, and there was only one shot on goal in the whole game, and he had not yet hit the target. Before they did this, luck helped, they could eliminate Juventus and Bayern in succession, but when they met Liverpool, it did not work.
Hitting the door frame was originally a very evil thing. Thiago shot straight into a dead corner, but missed a dime at the junction of the goalpost and the beam. In the face of the "natural divine power", all kinds of evil gods were also overwhelmed. Natural divine power? This is the saying of the British media Ah Klopp, specifically referring to those gods whose personal temperament and ability transcend the limitations of nature. Before Klopp, it was Ferguson who enjoyed this honor.
Klopp does not engage in scientific research, does not invent his own chaotic position, goes with the flow, and has already perfected the realm of the Buddha blocking the killing of the Buddha. Huang Qian is a well-known brown candy, and his strength is not strong by tenacity. They can eliminate Juve, and what they catch is the negligence of the other side's defense. At home, they were ready to shoot penalties at each other. It's just that the old woman in Serie A made another mistake, making the score look more incredible than the real thing. For Bayern, their luck is even better. Bayern could not attack for a long time, and as soon as they made a mistake, they were caught by their opponents, and even the opportunity to extra time and bet on penalties was gone. Huang Qian passed two levels in a row, his luck was exhausted, and Liverpool realized that the other side was difficult, and he was careful everywhere, and did not let Emery's wishful thinking succeed.
Huang may still have some struggles at home, but it will be difficult to shake Liverpool's lead. They inherently lacked the means to score, and most of the goals were caused by counter-attacks. Even after Juve and Bayern, Villarreal is the first to host and then the guest, keeping the first leg unbeaten, and Xu Tu is behind. This time the first to play at home is Liverpool, Emery led the team to England's track record, the loss is not unexpected. But two goals behind, more or less reflecting Villarreal's mood at that time.
After the first 45 minutes, he lost the ball after playing less than 10 minutes in the second half, which was too demoralizing. Before he could wake up from his trance, Mane delivered another fatal blow. Villarreal has no way back and will have to rush in the second leg to cut Liverpool's advantage as early as possible. Such a hit is right in the heart of Liverpool. Salah and Mane's counter-attack efficiency has been proven many times at the highest level. Liverpool's means of breaking the secret defense are already rich enough, only eat fast reaction, more than enough to deal with Huang Qian. Is it possible for Huang Qian to emulate Arsenal, stabilize the position at home, and then launch a total attack in the 60th minute?
What they could think of, of course Klopp thought of. Moreover, the victim of this tragic ending is None other than Liverpool. Klopp no longer seeks to cripple his opponent and win. After being forced to draw away from Chelsea, Liverpool went unbeaten in 14 consecutive matches in all competitions, with only two draws, both in the League Cup. There was only one game with a goal difference of five or more – a Premier League play against Leeds United.
After winning the League Cup, Klopp turned on an economical and practical win mode, and even had fewer games with a net difference of 3 goals, only playing Manchester United won 4-0. Leading by two goals is the standard score for Liverpool, who are neither worried about being tied, nor injured or angry. Even if they meet Norwich, Watford, and Everton who can't fight for Burnley, Liverpool are all point to the point, leading one to collect troops. If the other side resists, it may be beaten very badly. The historical responsibility of the season "senior joy" is in front of us, there is no need to kill the fish belly in order to be quick, and spoil the grand opportunity of the grand slam that has not been encountered in a hundred years.
Shrewd calculation is difficult to defeat the strength gap, and the Yellow Submarine miracle ends here?
No matter how shrewd the calculation, in the end, it cannot offset the gap in hard power. Villarreal defeated Anfield. Compared with the countless "tragedies" that have occurred here before, the 0-2 result is not too ugly. Unfortunately, with such an ugly scene, it is difficult to believe that there will be a miracle in the next one. Of course, Juve and Bayern have all come all the way, and Emery's team really has no psychological pressure.
3,000 Villarreal fans came to the rock city with the team. Club president Roig sponsored millions of euros as an expeditionary allowance to allow as many fans as possible to witness history. The song of "Yellow Submarine" resounded throughout the streets of Liverpool, and local fans echoed the familiar melodies and lyrics. Although the team lost, Villarreal fans won respect and friendship at Anfield.
Emery lined up a fairly secure formation, as always on the road, nominally 442, with Lo Celso joining the midfield and Parejo, Kirkland and Cap sinking to the edge of the penalty area to assist in the defence, similar to the strategy against Bayern. But unlike Bayern, who are focused on attacking goals, Liverpool attach great importance to pressing in the front, so much so that Villarreal has difficulty clearing the ground after receiving the ball at the back, and can only move forward with a big foot. This completely destroyed Emery's tactical conception.
The weakness of "Yellow Dive" on the left side of the road was also caught by Klopp. Salah and Alexander-Arnold pounced on Estupinian at this point. Ecuadorian left-backs have a good sense of technique and assists, but the downside defense appears to be technically crude, always being wrapped around the opponent or flanked. Arnold doesn't even have to push to a certain depth to deliver a very threatening cross, a technique that previous opponents have not had.
In terms of the chances in front of goal created by Liverpool, Villarreal's defence did not perform well, more than once putting forward Mane and Luis Díaz into the small penalty area. But when it comes to air defense and single-player confrontation, veteran Albior has played at the highest level. On the contrary, the goalkeeper Lully, who had previously performed prominently, was very cute, always judging the wrong point of the cross from the left, and looked very panicked in and out.
However, the two goals conceded by the team in this game have little to do with Rulli. At least until Estupinian accidentally blocked the cross into his own goal, "Huang Qian" had a luck bonus, holding a breath and having the determination to defend until the end, waiting for Liverpool to make mistakes first. But as soon as the ball was lost, the mentality of both sides immediately reversed. Then the second goal came. Liverpool's straight-line attacking level is unmatched by Villarreal's previous opponents, with the speed of Paul Torres and Albior's turning, the defensive line originally contracted very deeply, and then caught by the opponent to the space behind them, almost impossible to save.
As with his visit to the Allianz Arena, Villarreal is looking for a quick attack routine on the ground. However, Liverpool's attack was always fast-paced, the pass was flawless, and it was difficult to form a counterattack after stealing from a higher position. At one point, Lo Celso tried to restore the ball before returning to his own penalty area, which made Danjuma and Chukuveize an "island", and it was difficult for both to play without superior speed and confrontation. It can be seen here that the team lacks a very erratic striker such as Herard Moreno, who has no ball and is very erratic, and it is impossible to form a systematic strike only by relying on the strong attack of the ball holder. Only Bliy Dia, who came off the bench, had a very grudging shot in the game, and the timing was not very good.
If you return to the home court or the same scene, the flip does not make sense in the sand table deduction. According to Emery's style, only by opening up and fighting can we change the situation. The important thing is that Jeremy Pino and Moreno will be able to return at that time, while Liverpool, like Juve and Bayern, have made mistakes at key moments. It seems to be a very small probability event, after all, although Danjuma is in a very hot state, it is not Benzema after all. Emery admitted: "The result could have been worse, and there was no reason to get a better return based on our performances. The only way out at the moment is to go back home and play a completely different game. ”
Wen | Lin Liangfeng Wu Yifan
Edit | Peppery Soup