From the man behind the football king to the football king.

Chapter 992 High Attention
在目前的英超积分榜上，曼联和利物浦都只赛了31场，曼联24胜6平1负积78分排名第一，利物浦21胜7平3负积70分排名第二。

If Liverpool can beat Manchester United at home in this rescheduled match, they will be only 5 points behind United with 6 rounds remaining in the league, still having a chance to overturn United's deficit.

However, if they lose to Manchester United again at home, they will be 11 points behind Manchester United with 6 rounds left in the league, which means they will basically lose the chance to compete for the Premier League title.

Even if they draw with Manchester United at home, trailing by 8 points after 6 rounds, it will be very difficult for them to win their first Premier League title in club history.

Therefore, Liverpool cannot accept any result other than winning at home in this match.

Manchester United, of course, hoped to win away from home, thus eliminating their formidable rival Liverpool from the competition early.

However, the schedule is somewhat unfavorable for Manchester United, as this match is only 3 days away from the FA Cup semi-final against Crystal Palace, and the players are experiencing some fitness issues.

In comparison, Liverpool, who played the FA Cup semi-final a day earlier, had an extra day of rest compared to Manchester United.

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This week's Premier League matches weren't limited to the Manchester United vs. Liverpool derby. Due to the FA Cup, one Premier League match in Round 30 was brought forward, while the other five were postponed.

Four of these matches will be rescheduled this week. Besides the Manchester derby, there's Newcastle United hosting Crystal Palace, Manchester City hosting Brighton, and Burnley hosting Southampton.

Of all these matches, the most anticipated is undoubtedly the Manchester derby. Firstly, the two teams are currently ranked first and second in the Premier League standings, making their match a crucial battle for the title. Secondly, both teams are top-tier clubs in English and even world football, boasting hundreds of millions of fans worldwide and wielding immense influence.

This season has been the most comprehensive competition between Manchester United and Liverpool.

In the already concluded League Cup, both teams reached the final, but Manchester United ultimately defeated Liverpool, giving them the first victory.

In last weekend's FA Cup semi-final, Manchester United and Liverpool once again defeated their respective opponents, setting up a final on May 14.

Last week, Manchester United and Liverpool both advanced to the Champions League semi-finals, and were placed in opposite halves of the bracket. If they can defeat their respective opponents, they will once again compete for this season's Champions League title on May 28th.

Furthermore, with both teams currently ranked first and second in the Premier League standings, it means that they are likely to be direct competitors on all four fronts.

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In the world of football, derbies are often among the most anticipated matches for fans. And the clash between the two strongest teams in a top league is often referred to as the El Clásico.

In the world of football, there are several national derbies that are universally recognized: Real Madrid and Barcelona in La Liga, Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund in the Bundesliga, and the Manchester derby in the Premier League.

Although Manchester City's rise in the last decade or so has made them Manchester United's biggest rival, the Merseyside derby undoubtedly receives more global attention.

Especially this season, with Manchester United and Liverpool taking their rivalry to the extreme.

However, if it were just a clash between two strong teams, a battle for the league title, this match wouldn't have received such a grand attention.

Another important reason is the news that Salah was poached by Manchester United earlier this month.

The news was broken by The Sun on April 1st, and many initially thought it was just an April Fool's joke. After all, there hadn't been a direct player transfer between Manchester United and Liverpool for nearly 60 years.

Whether it was Michael Owen, or earlier Paul Ince, or Peter Beardsley, although they all had experience playing for two clubs, their transfers did not occur directly between the two clubs.

The most recent direct transfer between the two clubs was Phil Chisner's move from Manchester United to Liverpool in 1964.

Chisner began his professional career at Manchester United, then under the management of Sir Matt Busby. In 1964, Bill Shankly persuaded him to move to Liverpool, and for the next 58 years, there were no further direct transfers between the two sides.

But soon the news was reported by more media outlets through more channels, quickly shaking the British football world and even the world, adding another layer of rivalry and enmity between the two teams beyond the competitive level.

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Following this news, Manchester United officially announced that they would submit a transfer request for Salah to Liverpool after the Champions League quarter-final match. Therefore, on the morning of April 14th, after the Champions League quarter-final concluded, Manchester United submitted a transfer request for Salah to Liverpool.

Of course, Liverpool immediately announced that they had rejected Manchester United's transfer request, stating that Liverpool would absolutely not sell Salah to Manchester United.

However, after both clubs released their announcements, Salah did not say that he wanted to stay at Liverpool, nor did he start contract renewal negotiations with Liverpool, which made Liverpool fans very disappointed and angry.

Despite Salah's excellent performance on the pitch, it has done nothing to diminish the dissatisfaction of Liverpool fans towards him.

His outstanding performance on the pitch has only fueled the anger of Liverpool fans, as it stands in stark contrast to the future: what does it mean that such a high-performing attacking core of the team is not renewing his contract with only one year left?
Considering Salah's good personal relationship with Manchester United captain Bruno Fernandes, and the fact that Salah has repeatedly refused to renew his contract with Liverpool over the past three years, many Liverpool fans believe they have discovered the truth: Salah is determined to leave Liverpool and join Manchester United!

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Many Liverpool fans believe that Salah's transfer to Manchester United this summer was not the worst outcome, as it would at least bring Liverpool a substantial transfer fee.

In the latest Transfermarkt market, Mohamed Salah, who will soon turn 30, is valued at a staggering €120 million. Even with only one year left on his contract, if a transfer happens this summer, the transfer fee will be at least €100 million!
The worst-case scenario is that Salah neither renews his contract with Liverpool nor joins another team this summer. Because if he waits until the winter transfer window, with only six months left on his contract with Liverpool, Salah can negotiate a contract with Manchester United and then join them as a free agent next summer.

After Liverpool secured a draw against Benfica at home and advanced to the Champions League semi-finals, every Liverpool player received applause and cheers from the home fans, except for Salah.

When he came on as a substitute in the 57th minute of the match, there was applause and cheers, but also a clear and piercing chorus of boos.

Liverpool fans are angry at Salah, and also angry at Manchester United for poaching their players.

The mix of rivals vying for the championship and enemies who poached key players is what makes this crucial match so highly anticipated.

If Manchester United can not only snatch away Liverpool's key players in the transfer market, but also steal their league title at Liverpool's home ground, it would be a double blow to Liverpool.

Liverpool, on the other hand, with their attacking linchpin Salah potentially being poached by Manchester United, naturally hope to retaliate by defeating Manchester United head-on.

Everyone wants to win this match. But victory can only belong to one side, and someone is destined to be the loser after this match.

Which side will it be?

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Before the match even started, the two sides were already exchanging words.

Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho publicly criticized the Premier League schedule: "We just finished playing Crystal Palace in London, and we have to rush back to Manchester, rest at home for a day, and then rush to Liverpool. There are only two days in between! The team is not getting any proper rest, and the players are very tired."

"On the other hand, Liverpool played their FA Cup match a day earlier than us, so they don't have to move after they go home. They can rest and relax at their home ground..."

“I really don’t understand why there’s such a terrible schedule? Why can’t we push our game against Liverpool back another day? Why can Burnley and Southampton play on the evening of April 21st, but we have to play on the evening of April 20th? Are Burnley and Southampton playing in the Champions League? Can’t the league schedule be more flexible and make temporary adjustments for special circumstances?”

To be honest, José Mourinho's complaints are valid.

Manchester United just finished playing the second leg of their Champions League quarter-final against Manchester City on the evening of April 13th, and on the afternoon of April 17th they will travel to London to play the FA Cup semi-final. After that, Manchester United will immediately take a connecting flight back to Manchester.

The team then disbanded on the spot, but the players could only rest for half a day. On the afternoon of April 18, the team had to gather for training.

Even so, Manchester United only has two days to prepare. Two days later, on April 20th at noon, the whole team will have to take a bus to Liverpool to prepare for the game that evening.

During this time, the entire Manchester United team was indeed "non-stop," flying from Manchester to London, from London to Manchester, and then from Manchester to Liverpool.

Three trips in four days, three cities—let alone professional players who require high physical fitness, even ordinary people would be exhausted after such a grueling journey. And Manchester United players are about to face a high-intensity and important match.

(End of this chapter)