Football’s First Defender

The first half was quite flat, and Liverpool's "not active" offense caused Manchester United, who was waiting for a chance to defend and counterattack, to have no good chances.

The pressing between the two sides in the midfield is not so much about the fierce competition for the ball, it is better to say that the two sides are playing "tacit ball", which has a sense of health preservation.

Without that face, you only need to defend step by step. When facing the individual performance of Liverpool's front line players, you only need to concentrate your strength and carry out the key defense of this round. Liverpool is very restrained in the investment of offensive power. In the first half There is almost no such large-scale offensive forward situation.

As for Liverpool, the result of the first half was not too bad.

Although the team is temporarily behind by one goal, it is no secret that Manchester United's poor defensive ability in the second half is in the Premier League.

Even a team like Crystal Palace, which has been in relegation all the year round, can play against Manchester United's defense in the second half. There is no reason why Liverpool cannot give Manchester United's defense a threat in the second half.

Rodgers' tactics of depleting the opponent's physical energy in the first half were actually good. Although there was no such fierce attack, it caused greater psychological pressure on the opponent. However, this kind of simple running consumption should be enough for Manchester United players. , went to worry about it in the second half.

During the half-time break, Liverpool, who were behind, prepared steadily without any pressure.

On the contrary, in Manchester United's locker room, Moyes is constantly using "blood" and "chicken soup" to stimulate his players, so that they can maintain the highlight performance of the first half in the second half and win this victory , success in hand.

At the beginning of the second half, the first thing Manchester United fans felt was Liverpool's offensive, which was much more violent than the first half.

If Liverpool in the first half was still a gentle and elegant girl, then the "Red Army" in the second half was like a reckless man riding a horse.

As soon as half-time passed, Liverpool were at Old Trafford, showing their sharpest fangs.

The team started to press forward while increasing the attacking numbers in the frontcourt.

The two full-backs, Glenn Johnson and Jose Enrique, did not have to shrink back as in the first half of the game, but dared to provide more support to the midfielders on the two sides.

The pressure on Manchester United's defense surged.

For the old pair of Vidic and Ferdinand, they formed the best central defender combination in the Premier League at Manchester United before.

The two are very good in height and physical confrontation, and they can complete excellent defense against many high-point centers of their opponents.

But back then, both of them relied on their excellent speed and good flexibility to complete the defense against some technical players.

Now, with the increase of age, the decline of physical function and competitive state, the two may still be entangled with striker players in physical confrontation for a period of time, but as the game time increases, the two are on the defensive end. There is no way to create a sustained suppression ability.

In the second half, as Liverpool's own offensive rhythm increased, Manchester United was the first to bear the brunt of the offensive pressure faced by Ferdinand and Vidic.

This game was Suarez's first show in England, and he happened to encounter a big scene like the "Double Red Club".

Suarez, who has the attributes of Mr. Key, is the kind of player who is good at playing himself in high-profile games.

In the first "Double Red Club", Suarez could only watch from the sidelines, watching his teammates defeat their old enemy and win in front of tens of thousands of home fans.

In this second "double red meeting", even in the away game, Suarez still showed his best form, proving to many kops that your king of strikers is here, Sturridge, the boy, Don't think about "seeking to usurp the throne" by taking advantage of these ten games.

Although in private, Sturridge and Suarez are players who belong to Yang Feng's extra training circle. This is how people are. When they spend more time together, the relationship between them is naturally very close.

The relationship between Suarez and Sturridge is good, and in terms of timing and position, as long as Rogers does not have brain twitches and makes major tactical reforms at will, the two will not overlap.

However, regarding the competition for the top scorer in the team, or even the top scorer in the league, the two still have to compete.

It's just that this kind of competition for the number of goals is more of a healthy competition within the Liverpool team on the basis of a good personal relationship.

The two's grasp of offensive opportunities is more based on the actual situation, and they will not shoot blindly. There are many passes between each other, which is in line with the offensive situation.

Of course, because of Suarez's suspension, most of this cooperation was shown in the last season.

However, although the media has been speculating on the possible contradictions between Sturridge, who has scored goals every game this season, and Suarez, who was once Liverpool's top striker.

However, within the Liverpool team, reports of such "infighting" are still more scoffed at.

The two "infighting" can talk and laugh together, eat and take a bath together during team training?

The two "internal strife" can cooperate seamlessly on the court and play a very tacit passing cooperation?

Can the two "infighting" completely explode the Premier League-level central defender combination like Agger and Kolo Toure?

"Infighting" is impossible for a team like Liverpool that has always scored victories.

As for the number of individual goals, anyway, the Premier League Golden Boot is only about 30 goals. Isn’t it good that Suarez and Sturridge each average one per game? Liverpool’s current peak offensive power is averaging 2 or 3 goals per game. The ball is not overdone at all.

Anyway, Yang Feng on the defense is a little bit involved, or to give Yang Feng and Mignolet a space to fully demonstrate their defensive capabilities. Liverpool invests more offensive numbers, which can completely make the team's offensive firepower reach a terrifying state.

Today's Manchester United will become the first team to support Liverpool's full offensive firepower in the new season.

What Marseille faced before was only the striker combination of Suarez and Aspas, but now Sturridge and Suarez, these two top forwards who have proved their terrifying scoring explosiveness and persistence in the Premier League in a short period of time , Will work together to show Liverpool's offensive power in full.

In the absence of Suarez, Sturridge performed quite well as the team's center forward.

His excellent shooting skills have been brought into full play, and he has a terrifying scoring efficiency.

But it has to be said that Sturridge's greater advantage lies in his excellent shooting skills and his ability to suddenly hit the goal after a lateral breakthrough.

Sturridge is a top finisher, and may have passing ability, but he is definitely not a player who relies on exquisite passing to make a living.

But Suarez is different. In the winter transfer window of that year, when he came to the "down and down" giants Liverpool, Suarez was able to quickly show his strength, gain a firm foothold, and become the offensive core of the team's subsequent team building.

Successfully replaced Torres, the "darling" on Liverpool's striker, and Carroll, Liverpool's most valuable player at the same time, Suarez's growth is obvious to all.

As a striker, Suarez is definitely an extremely comprehensive player, with superb shooting skills, excellent running positions, a great overall view, and a selfless spirit. When sending a pass for other players, absolutely Will not be greedy for merit.

At the beginning of the second half, Suarez used a quick forward to attract Ferdinand's attention, and then suddenly retreated to receive a precise pass from Gerrard in the penalty area.

This time Suarez relied on his own running position to win a chance to immediately complete the kick and hit the goal near the penalty area line.

However, Suarez turned around and hit the goal more than half of the time. Looking at the defenders in the Manchester United penalty area, he rushed to his position desperately. The moment Suarez touched the football with his foot, he still chose to push it lightly. The ball is sent diagonally to the left side of the penalty area.

A very penetrating pass, the ball passed through the defense of two Manchester United defenders, and it was Sturridge who kept up.

Although Vidic tried his best to supplement the defense, he still couldn't stop Sturridge from completing a closer kick.

Without making adjustments, catch the ball and hit the goal with a left-footed volley.

For Manchester United fans, fortunately, Sturridge's shooting angle is not so wide. De Gea's divine reaction is enough to block the exposed goal.

Sturridge's shot hit the goal within the range of the goal frame, but was blocked by De Gea from the bottom line and completed a successful save.

You have Mignolet, and I have De Gea. The growth of De Gea, a young man, is the biggest treasure for Manchester United after Ronaldo.

Manchester United's two zero-block games this season relied on De Gea's magical saves. Otherwise, Manchester United will concede more goals in the defense this year, and the statistics will be even worse.

De Gea's attack proved that he is in a good state today, but it also proves that Manchester United's defense, as always, will start to stretch his hips in the second half.

For Liverpool, although Suarez and Sturridge did not score a goal this time, there is still plenty of time. For Liverpool, this attack is just a display of their offensive attitude in the second half That's all.

For Manchester United, although they are still continuing their own defensive counterattack tactics, but looking at it now, the defense that was still very solid in the first half was a bit shaky under the constant impact of Liverpool.

After Liverpool invested enough offensive personnel, they began to form batches of offenses, quite threatening offenses.

Sturridge's performance in this game also began to get better and better under the "stimulation" of Suarez.

After Jose Enrique's forward penetration increased, he was able to pull away part of Manchester United's wing defense for Sturridge.

With Sturridge holding the ball on the left, there will be more space for him to display his breakthrough ability.

Valencia, a wide player known for his offense, was of considerable help to Manchester United's strong attack early in the first half.

But in today's defense, Valencia has no speed, but in terms of defensive skills, it is impossible to completely restrict Sturridge.

In the previous game, Valencia had the help of other teammates, and performed fairly well in the defensive part of the first half.

But at this time, without the help of other teammates, Sturridge got a 1v1 chance on the wing, and Valencia's defensive weakness began to be clearly displayed.

Sturridge not only has a certain advantage in physical confrontation, but also combined with Sturridge's foot movements and changes in the offensive rhythm, Valencia has no chance to try to take the initiative to defend.

Sturridge fully demonstrated his personal offensive ability, continuously changing the offensive rhythm, breaking through directly from the left and entering Manchester United's penalty area.

Sturridge's "doing whatever he wants" on the offensive end had to force Manchester United's defense in the penalty area to quickly tilt to this side.

However, as a top shooter, Sturridge's biggest limitation compared to Suarez may be in the overall situation.

Sturridge was still too obsessed with creating personal chances to hit the goal, and he held the ball for too much time, giving Manchester United defenders room to defend.

But although Sturridge missed the opportunity to pass the ball, Sturridge's personal offensive ability is strong.

Even though he was double-teamed by Manchester United players and defended near the bottom line of the penalty area, Sturridge still forcibly used his personal ability to stumble and pick the ball out of the encirclement.

Sturridge pulled the ball back and took it out, and Manchester United's "encirclement" followed closely. At this time, Sturridge's teammate finally appeared in his sight.

Although it wasn't a regular red, but amidst the red that represented the Red Devils, a touch of white appeared, which made Sturridge eagerly send out the hot "potato" under his feet.

And the one who received the ball was Suarez, who was most familiar with his partner and came to support the fastest.

When Suarez was in the upper left corner of the penalty area and received a short pass from Suarez, the Manchester United players had been held back by Sturridge before, ignoring that Suarez's defensive loopholes were directly exposed.

Suarez took a step horizontally when there was almost no defensive interference, and then shot directly with one foot and went straight to the goal.

The ball drew a wonderful arc in the air and went straight to the upper right corner of the goal.

This arc is huge, and the arc rotates from the outside to the inside, almost heading for the upper right corner of the goal.

The fans at the scene and the audience in front of the TV all held their breath at this time, as if they could feel the beating pause of the heart in an instant.

"Go in!"

"Don't go in!"

At the critical moment, the tall figure in front of Manchester United began to become stalwart.

Suarez's kick has reached the extreme, a shot from the outside to an absolute dead corner, but De Gea took off with sufficient air, and blocked the ball the moment he flew into the goal.

Rejected, De Gea made another contribution to Manchester United.