Football: Starting from the 05 World Youth Championship

On March 9, the day after the league ended, Real Madrid arrived in Liverpool early to prepare for the match.

Liverpool's city rivals Everton warmly welcomed Real Madrid's arrival, not only opening their training ground to Real Madrid free of charge, but also gifting them a collection of recent Liverpool match videos for Real Madrid's coaching staff to study tactics.

The enemy of my enemy is my friend, and Everton clearly wants to see their city rivals suffer a humiliating defeat at the hands of Real Madrid.

Liverpool is very close to Manchester, only 50 kilometers away.

Upon learning that Lin Feng had come to England, Sun Jihai and Zhao Xuri, who played for Manchester City, insisted on being good hosts and made a special trip to treat Lin Feng to a meal.

They both play football abroad, but because they can't find the time to get together, they rarely see each other except when the national team is playing.

So after meeting, everyone was very happy, and they ate and chatted to their hearts' content.

"Brother Lin, you guys are really on fire lately! You've won 10 straight games in the league, and even our local media are reporting on your matches every day!"

Lin Feng waved his hand: "Don't mention it. Our ten-game winning streak was just ended, and even if we get another ten-game winning streak, there's a high probability we won't win the league championship this season."

Is Barcelona really that strong?

Sun Jihai couldn't help but ask a question.

"Yes, they are very strong. Their style of play is very disruptive. Teams that are not familiar with their tactics will easily be overwhelmed when they first meet them. Weaker teams may not even be able to get into their own half."

These words sent a chill down the spines of both Sun Jihai and Zhao Xuri. Although the British media had reported on Barcelona extensively over the past half-season, they were still not entirely clear about Barcelona's strength.

But judging from what Lin Feng said, Barcelona's strength is probably much greater than they imagined!

"Even if you're really strong, you still managed to draw with us, right? Brother Lin, don't be so modest. Even if you don't have a chance in the league, you still have the Champions League. Since you can't win the league, you can focus all your energy on winning the Champions League. No team has ever defended their title since the Champions League was restructured. I think you can break that record!"

Lin Feng shook his head and chuckled: "Stop jinxing us, or you'll ruin our chances. Our team isn't strong this year. If we face teams like Manchester United, Bayern Munich, or Barcelona, ​​whether we can get through will depend on luck. Unless we get a good draw and avoid these powerhouses, we have little hope of winning the championship."

Seeing that the two were at a loss for words, Lin Feng changed the subject:
"I heard your team has a big boss who's generous and ambitious. Looks like your good days are finally here!"

Last summer, a consortium from Abu Dhabi completed its acquisition of Manchester City, and in the first summer after the acquisition, it splashed money in the transfer market, signing a large number of star players, showing its ambition to turn Manchester City into a top powerhouse.

"The big boss is indeed very rich, but we can't see any results from the money he's spent so far!"

"Last summer, the team spent over 100 million euros in the transfer market, but our performance this year has hardly improved compared to last year, and has even regressed."

That Brazilian you bought for tens of millions is either in nightclubs or on his way to nightclubs. He's often late for team training, yet he still has the nerve to take the highest salary on the team. Many players in the locker room, especially the veterans, are very dissatisfied.

Adding to the problem is the influx of new players last year, coupled with the purging of many veterans. Rumors suggest they'll continue recruiting this summer, likely leading to further player purging, creating an atmosphere of unease in the locker room where everyone's focus is no longer on the game.

At this point, Sun Jihai couldn't help but shake his head and sigh.

He has been with Manchester City for seven years, the longest he has ever played for the club, and he has a deep affection for it.

Although he may not be able to stay at Manchester City for long at his age, even if he leaves, I still hope that Manchester City can become better, instead of ending up in a mess.

Zhao Xuri shared the same sentiment, and even said with a look of regret:

"If you had accepted our offer and come to Manchester City last year, that would have been great. Not only could we have played like brothers, but with your arrival, the team's strength would have been greatly improved, and we might have been able to compete with giants like Manchester United and Liverpool!"

Lin Feng laughed and scolded:
"You complain about the terrible weather and bad food in Manchester every day, but you want to drag me into it. Is this how you act as friends?"

Lin Feng has no plans to come to the Premier League in the near future.

Moreover, Manchester City was really not good at this time. Despite the large investment, the team's development and logistical support were not up to par. Putting aside everything else, what kind of coach is Mark Hughes?

Can he lead the team to good results?

I can't carry them, I don't have the capability, you know that?

If Manchester City wants to achieve results, they need to continue to increase their investment. They need to strengthen not only the players but also the coaching staff. At the very least, they need to hire a more reliable head coach!
Otherwise, if you buy so many star players but the coach doesn't know how to use them, wouldn't that be a waste of money?

……

Anfield Stadium, April 12.

The huge stadium was packed to capacity, with countless Liverpool fans flooding in early to secure prime spots and create a formidable home atmosphere for their team.

As soon as the Real Madrid players came out, they were met with a deafening chorus of boos.

However, Real Madrid's players remained remarkably calm in response.

Anfield is no stranger to them; they visited last year and had a wonderful experience there – a 4-1 victory over Liverpool!
Especially for Lin Feng, he scored 5 goals in the two matches against Liverpool last year, and it is no exaggeration to call him a Liverpool killer.

So Real Madrid really has nothing to fear; on the contrary, their opponents should be the ones who fear them.

Benitez was indeed wary of Real Madrid's arrival. Although everyone said that Real Madrid's strength this season was not as good as last season, Liverpool's strength had not improved either. In fact, Liverpool's strength had declined because of the poaching of Mascherano.

Given Liverpool's loss in the first leg, they must defeat Real Madrid in this match to advance to the next round, putting considerable pressure on the Reds' attack.

However, Liverpool's attack is not weak, especially when playing at home, where they rarely fail to score.

For Benitez and his team, the challenge is not scoring goals, but preventing the opponent from scoring.

Real Madrid's fast counter-attacking tactics are undeniably effective. Last season, Liverpool suffered greatly from this tactic, with Lin Feng scoring a long-range lob from near the center circle.

This season they must avoid repeating the same mistakes. Benitez studied the two games in which Real Madrid were defeated twice by Juventus and came up with a lesson.

That means that at any time, the team must maintain at least three defensive players in their own half.

In this way, when the opponent launches a counterattack, these three can form two lines of defense, slowing down the enemy's advance and buying time for other teammates to return to defense.

Therefore, he specifically designed a defensive tactic against Real Madrid, intending to put it into practice in this match.

The starting lineups for both teams were largely unchanged from the previous match, with only minor adjustments made to certain positions.

For Real Madrid, Thiago Silva, who performed brilliantly in the last match, gained Mourinho's attention and was brought to the stadium, making the 18-man squad. However, Mourinho was concerned that he might not be able to adapt to the strong teams in the Champions League and did not include him in the starting lineup. Unfortunately, apart from Thiago Silva, none of Real Madrid's winter signings were able to represent them in the Champions League due to registration restrictions.

For Liverpool, Israeli youngster Benayoun is sidelined due to injury, while captain Gerrard, who was also injured, has made a surprise return to the lineup.

This was Gerrard's 100th European match for Liverpool. Before the game, a giant tifo symbolizing loyalty and companionship was hung in the Kop stand at Anfield, with Gerrard's name and the number 100 printed on it.

The fans' support has given Gerrard endless motivation.

After the start of the game, Liverpool's captain was exceptionally active on the field. In the 3rd minute, Gerrard made a sudden stop and passed the ball to Babel, who flicked it past Cannavaro with his heel and fired a close-range shot, forcing Casillas to make a last-ditch save.

A minute later, Gerrard received a pass from his teammate and unleashed a powerful shot from just outside the penalty area, forcing Casillas to make another world-class save!

If Liverpool's initial onslaught was intended to intimidate Real Madrid, then they have achieved their goal.

The numerous dangerous situations in front of their own goal in the early stages of the game kept Real Madrid fans on edge and extremely nervous.

Anfield is one of Europe's most notorious and challenging home grounds. From the moment the match began, the Kop stand, packed with tens of thousands of Liverpool die-hard fans, kept creating a buzz, singing Liverpool's well-known anthem, "Never Walk Alone," and transmitting the fans' passion to every Liverpool supporter in the stadium through their singing.

Spurred on by this, the Liverpool players on the field became like a pack of mad dogs, running tirelessly and launching a frenzied attack.

In the 7th minute, Pepe fouled Gerrard at the edge of the penalty area, giving Liverpool a free kick in a very good position.

Gerrard chose to take the penalty himself, firing a low shot with his right foot from 22 yards out that went through the wall.

But Real Madrid's goalkeeper Casillas was very focused and was not fooled by his opponent, easily collecting the ball.

Gerrard couldn't help but shake his head and sigh. He had originally intended to take advantage of his opponent's mental inertia and launch a surprise attack, but he hadn't expected the opposing goalkeeper to be prepared.

Casillas was on guard because he often practiced with Lin Feng during team training, and Lin Feng's free-kick tactics included this move.

Having suffered many losses, Cassie naturally learned his lesson.

It would be impolite for Real Madrid not to respond to Liverpool's fierce attacks.

In the 8th minute, Real Madrid launched a counter-attack. Lin Feng dribbled the ball into the attacking third and was tripped by Lucas, giving Real Madrid a free kick in the attacking third.

The ball's position wasn't as good as Gerrard's free kick, but because Lin Feng was taking the free kick, everyone at Liverpool was on edge.

However, Lin Feng did not attempt a direct shot, but instead delivered the free kick into the penalty area to find his teammates.

Ramos charged in from behind like a bull, leaping high to seize the landing spot.

Unfortunately, his header missed the mark, and the ball went over the crossbar.

A few minutes later, Lin Feng sent a through pass from the middle lane to Raul.

Raul broke into the penalty area and easily slotted the ball into the far corner.

Just as Raul got up to celebrate, he saw the linesman raise his flag.

"What a pity, the linesman ruled it offside, the goal is disallowed."

"But why do I feel like the ball wasn't offside?"

Inside the CCTV studio, both commentators felt sorry for the goal.

Slow-motion replays show that the ball was in a state of flux.

It looks like they're offside, but from another angle, they don't seem to be offside.

Unfortunately, there's no VAR (Variety Control Point) line these days, so precise judgments can't be made. Therefore, whatever the referee decides is what it is, and it's very difficult to overturn.

If that goal hadn't been disallowed, Real Madrid would have had a huge advantage.

Including their lead from the first leg, this goal gives Real Madrid a two-goal advantage, including an away goal, which is equivalent to a two-and-a-half-goal lead.

Liverpool need to score three goals in the remaining time to advance.

This is twice as difficult as before!
Although the ball was disallowed by the referee, it still gave the entire Liverpool team a scare.

Real Madrid's counter-attacks are really sharp; we almost got caught out if we weren't careful.

If Raul had started even a little slower, Liverpool might be in their coffins by now.

Real Madrid's counter-attacking threat dampened Liverpool's attack considerably, and for a long period afterward, they were unable to replicate the intense pressure they had displayed at the start of the game.

"It seems Liverpool only has these three tricks up their sleeve, and once they're done, that's it."

Seeing this, Mourinho felt relieved and sat comfortably on the coach's bench, drinking water and even having the leisure to chat with his assistant coach.

Mourinho has never really thought much of Benitez.

The opposing team, comprised of a long-established and prestigious club with a rich history, has yet to overcome Manchester United, remaining completely dominated by them in the Premier League.

When he first arrived in the Premier League, he wasn't managing any top clubs, but rather a 'normal team' like Chelsea, yet he still managed to snatch two league titles from Manchester United.

As for Champions League honors, although he did not lead Chelsea to victory, he proved himself at Porto and Real Madrid.

Two Champions League titles are certainly more significant than Benitez's one, right?

Mourinho looks down on Benitez, but does Benitez look down on Mourinho in return?

Benitez believes he has managed teams with weak squads and lower transfer budgets, while Mourinho has managed teams with weak squads and lower transfer budgets.
Chelsea, who went on a spending spree and ushered in the era of big money, are the ones who threw money around like crazy.

Real Madrid is the world's top football club, and they're never short of money!
If he had the transfer budget of those two clubs, he was confident his team would be even better than Mourinho's! (End of Chapter)