In the Champions League, Real Madrid has been quite invincible in recent years. Sometimes it can be metaphysical possession, sometimes it can be suppressed by blood, and with a large number of unnatural anti-science cases, the strength deduces "I don't know how to win, but I can win".
Although Liverpool and other Premier League powers have been quite strong in recent seasons, once the word Real Madrid is unfolded on the small note of the draw... Let's put it this way, if you don't meet Lv Bu, Second Master Guan sees who is the first to sell the bid; As soon as he met Lü Bu, he felt very honored to fight with the people in a group battle.
This game is the same, Liverpool, which is at a low point, still feels that they do not have the capital to play leisurely against Real Madrid, so Klopp opened with a crazy grabbing tactic that he had not come up with for a long time. Gakpo, Núñez and Salah pressed the first line of defense, Henderson and youngster Bayi followed up to grab the second line, wanting to use the forward line to interfere with Real Madrid's defenders after the ball, and then the midfield directly cut off the ball.
This set of plays is a weapon that old scumbags became famous for, but it is rarely played like this now. Because Liverpool's central midfield is aging and losing the ability to wipe their asses for this tactic, so this fight is actually fighting for life, if it cannot create glory, then it will be directly destroyed.
The good news is that the village grounds gave the Red Army a slight luck bonus. In the 4th minute, Salah took the ball on the right, and Real Madrid's formation was ready to break through or distribute the ball to Henderson to the bottom, but he suddenly shoved the ball in front of the goal unexpectedly, and Nunez suddenly flashed - and by the time the fans reacted, the ball had rolled into the goal with a heel force.
A smooth start allowed Liverpool to play some welcome changes.
For example, although Gakpo does not stand in the center, his points to the sides are all intelligent.
For example, after Nunez reached the left wing, the impact was significantly stronger than he was in the middle.
For example, even the maintenance of the stadium faced the reality of its own decline in strength, so it poured a lot of water on the turf.
Yes, due to the obvious flooding, there were slips on the soles of the feet from Henderson and Fabinho to Camavinga after the opening, and then the skating competition gradually spread to the back, and then something went wrong.
We all know that Zhan Jun + Zhang Lu + Benzema will cause the goalkeeper to lose his wisdom, but we don't know that this buff is now an indiscriminate attack. In the 14th minute, Courtois received a return pass that was not a knife mountain, then turned off the lights and closed his eyes, his soul was empty, he stopped the ball to Salah, and he went to enjoy the five senses climbing to the top... Salah accepted the gift and changed the score to 2-0.
Obviously, Liverpool have not enjoyed a two-goal lead in the first 15 minutes for a long time, coupled with unease with their own defence, so they quickly began to recycle. As a result, Anfield's leading dance was handed over to Real Madrid.
First, Modric took the initiative to increase the tempo and press the attack, pressing the Liverpool midfield back, leaving them to lose contact with the front.
Second, Rodrigo cuts inside the middle to run or pass, Benzema leans left, Alaba goes forward, Vinicius adds a personal breakthrough... A few people gradually threw the pressure on Arnold like piles of sand.
And the combination of Arnold + Gomez can't withstand any pressure. In the 21st minute, Vinicius single-handedly stirred up Liverpool's rib wishbone, then made it 2-1 with a very unbearish shot.
Since then, the scene has become more and more open. Gakpo teased Camavinga, Vinicius grabbed Arnold and tortured repeatedly, both teams had obvious targets, Pharaoh and Bear Emperor also had the opportunity to rewrite the scoreline, and then just when fans on both sides tied their hearts to fascial guns, Alison was suddenly injected into the soul by Karius.
- On May 27, 2018, Karius threw the ball into Benzema and bounced into the net.
——On February 22, 2023, Ali released his big foot and smashed into Vinicius, bouncing into the net.
Such is the case with Karius, who, despite staying away from the Premier League and not playing in the Big Five leagues for three years, has been justifying him in a special way – mocking him, understanding him, and then, becoming him.
In this way, the 2-2 score brought the most abstract first half of the season, and basically doused Liverpool's momentum. Had it not been for Robertson's stoppage-time sliding, Real Madrid would have turned the score around at half-time. However, Liverpool's coffin board only delayed a halftime.
In the 47th minute, Liverpool defended from a free-kick and five defenders stood side by side and watched Militão put the ball in.
In the 55th minute, Benzema's shot was deflected by Gomez, and Real Madrid changed the score to 4-2.
At this point, the game is actually over.
We've seen Liverpool concede similar back-to-back goals many times this season. So what happened to Liverpool?
It's actually quite simple. Over the years, Liverpool broke out because after Philippe Coutinho left, only sappers were left in the midfield, so they were forced to start a magical style of play.
A. Full-backs play as wing-backs, and their defensive tasks are shared between wingers and backs.
B. Midfielders play as hitters, and their offensive tasks are shared by the trident themselves or by the wing-back's diagonal pass.
C. The central defender plays in midfield, Van Dijk and Matip provide long passes and advance skills respectively.
D. The goalkeeper kicks in the piggy bank and deposits every clean sheet prize in the bank.
If you do it this way, you will find that Liverpool's tactics are completely different from the conventional thinking. Their frontcourt possession is given directly by defenders, wing-backs will let go up front to form a bilateral striker, Trident can often tinker with tricks on their own, and midfielders Henderson or Fabinho will feel like there are a lot more people just occasionally inserted in the front.
Yes, Liverpool has actually been relying on this system, using a 4-3-3 formation, playing a set of 3-5-3 or even 3-3-5 plays, relying on the super complements and one-on-one ability of central defenders, Henderson and Fabinho, pushing bilateral wingbacks to the front, stunned to give Liverpool the effect of playing one more man.
However, as this wave of people ages, Salah can no longer beat one against two, Henderson's return defense has not been effective, Fabinho's long legs cannot take care of both sides, so his slowness is highlighted, and Van Dijk's front top defense and retreat are not so stable as a dog...
In this way, the original 3-3-5 was beaten back to its original shape and became 2-3-5. In the past, opponents counter-attacks would pass Salah's return defense, Fabinho's interception, Henderson's return pursuit, Van Dijk's entanglement, and Alisson's divine save. And now as soon as the opponent in the midfield makes a long pass, there are only two people left in the Red Army defense ... Therefore, in the past, everyone took the symptoms of a small cold, but now it is a question of keeping big or small.
Of course, there are also demons like Modric who can live through the years, but most players still conform to the normal cyclical law. As far as Real Madrid's ability to fight back, if they work hard, they can even open a bottle of 82-year-old red wine for Liverpool.
In the end, after a Flash assist from the old demon, the match ended 5-2. Throughout the game, there were goalkeeper own goals, super huge mistakes, individual performances by the Bear Emperor, gorgeous escapes from the magic flute, header strikes, heel scores, and fantastic openings and shocking reversals.
Although it was a pleasure to watch as a spectator fan, for Liverpool, this game is a good fit to see as a farewell show for the Reds' generation of players. They used their best style of play to the desired effect, but because their current body could not bear the side effects of this style of play, they eventually lost the big score.
Speaking of which, Liverpool are only a year behind in midfield signings, Salah ages a year early, and new signings are a year slower to integrate, but after injuries and age, it eventually led to such a large-scale collapse.
No way, the green field is such a cruel world where you don't advance or retreat, your opponent is reading, your enemy is sharpening knives, your girlfriend is losing weight, and the old king next door is training his waist - you must keep working hard to make your opponent have no chance.
As for the Liverpool team we are familiar with...
The sunrise sets in the east and in the west, and the sea of people is scattered.
It's been cool for five or six years, and it's enough.