I'm 198cm tall. Are you giving me a Maradona template?

Chapter 209 Pogba: We are all the best in the world

"Yang, what does that gesture of yours mean?"

"Does it mean to get three points?"

"You don't mean to score three goals, do you?"

In the locker room.

While everyone was busy changing into training clothes and warming up, they were chatting in the locker room.

"There are at least three!"

Sunshine said, holding up three fingers.

"What?!"

The players were shocked.

They looked at each other, and then observed a moment of silence for Manchester United.

"I mourn for Manchester United for a second"

"Why pick on Yang when there are so many people to pick on."

“I’m so looking forward to it.”

The players were buzzing.

Klopp was originally unsure about this game.

After all, Manchester United has been in such good form since the start of this season.

Even at home, it is not easy for Liverpool to beat Manchester United from all aspects of analysis.

But now the players look relaxed.

All this is due to their faith in the sun.
Klopp nodded slightly.

At least, he doesn't need to worry about the players being nervous in this game.

"Damn the weather forecast"

Assistant coach Kravitz looked up at the sky.

The weather forecast says there will be light rain today.

But look at the raindrops falling on my head.

Is this light rain?

Kravitz stamped on the turf.

If it rains like this for a while longer, the grass will become very soft.

He clapped his hands and shouted, "Move your body! Warm up!"

At this moment.

Television stations across the country also began broadcasting the game live.

"Today's game will be played in heavy rain, which will increase the uncertainty of the game!"

Inside the Penguin Sports live broadcast room.

Zhang Jun frowned slightly.

"The English media has been hyping up Sunshine's goal drought recently. Although he scored twice in the Champions League in the middle of the week, he has not scored in two rounds of the Premier League. Not scoring in two rounds may not be a big deal for other players, but it is a bit rare for Sunshine."

"But to be honest, Yang's performance in these two games was still good. He had two assists in the sixth round against Leicester City. In the seventh round, it was his long-range shot that caused the goalkeeper to lose the ball, so Mane had the chance to make a follow-up shot to equalize the score. To be fair, there is no point in hyping this topic."

Zhang Lu on the side said.

"Not scoring in two league games means a goal drought?"

"The English media is becoming more and more shameless now."

"Obviously, they rotated in the last round of the league."

"Why did Liverpool rotate? Isn't it just to save energy to play against Manchester United?"

Barrages of comments flew across the screen.

Fans complained about the media making a fuss.

"Let's take a look at the starting lineups of both teams."

"For the home team Liverpool, the starting lineup is goalkeeper Karius, central defender Van Dijk and Matip, left back Clyne, right back Arnold, midfielders Emre Can, Henderson, Wijnaldum, forwards Mane, Sunshine, Salah. This is the 433 formation most commonly used by Liverpool this season."

"The visiting team Manchester United played a 4231 formation, with De Gea as goalkeeper, Bailly and Smalling as center backs, Valencia as right back, Rojo as left back, Matic and Herrera as double defensive midfielders, Pogba as attacking midfielder, Ashley Young as left midfielder, Jesse Lingard as right midfielder, and Lukaku as center forward. It is worth mentioning that Ibrahimovic is injured and will probably be out for two months."

Just when Zhang Jun was busy announcing the starting lineups of both sides.

Players from both sides have already stepped onto the court in the heavy rain.

The camera mounted on the roof of the stands can clearly capture the dripping rain falling from the sky.

"The first Manchester United derby of the 2017-2018 season will be held in heavy rain!"

Zhang Jun took a deep breath.

As players from both sides stepped onto the court.

After the game whistle blew.

Almost all Manchester United players retreated to the penalty area and the front of the penalty area.

This is not surprising.

"It is indeed Mourinho's team."

"On the road, we just need to defend."

"Maybe Mourinho is aiming for a draw"

"If Mourinho is determined to keep the tie, then it will be difficult for Liverpool to play against him."

In the media box.

Many reporters were talking about it.

Anyway, by now, everyone knows what Mourinho's team's tactics are.

When playing at home, Mourinho's team often defends in a low position.

Especially on the road.
"Manchester United retreated to defend, and they were determined to play a counterattack away from home. The two wingers, Jesse Lingard and Ashley Young, retreated a lot, and their defense was also very active, but in this way, Manchester United's counterattack almost relied on Lukaku and Pogba. Isn't this a bit too weak?"

In the commentary box.

Sky Sports commentator Kolo said.

"Counterattacks don't require too much offensive power. In fact, as long as Ashley Young or Lingard can come up and form a three-person counterattack team, relying on the personal abilities of Pogba and Lukaku, it is enough to break Liverpool's goal!"

Gary Neville said.

"Moreover, judging from Mourinho's arrangement, there are two forwards, Martial and Rashford, on Manchester United's bench. They can both come on as substitutes in the second half to increase the speed of Manchester United's counterattack."

"Second half?" Carragher shook his head when he heard this: "The premise is that Manchester United can defend in the first half!"

"This is Mourinho's team, Jamie."

“This is sunny Liverpool, Gary!”

The two competed against each other.

Fans in front of the TV love this kind of drama.

In the Red Devils derby, two famous players from their respective teams exchanged sharp words.

Who doesn’t like to watch it?

Liverpool, playing at home, will definitely not retreat to the backcourt.

From the beginning of the game.

They pressed forward.

The attack was launched amid the cheers of the fans.

Sunshine got the ball.

There was a huge cheer at Anfield.

The cheers seemed to make the raindrops falling from the sky vibrate.

The flying raindrops were like white lines connecting the sky and the grass.

Flying randomly in the air.

Braving the heavy rain.

The sunlight hooked the ball back from the air.

Matic took this opportunity to come up and bump into Yangguang.

The grass is slippery.

Yangguang staggered slightly, but he quickly regained his balance.

at the same time.

Keep your center of gravity low.

He also hit Matic with the side of his body.

Push the opponent away.

Since Matic was not called for a foul on the first hit.

Then Yangguang’s action this time will definitely not be called a penalty.

How to test the standards of a referee.

This is a profound subject.

The Sunshine has played more than a hundred games in the past two seasons.

His game experience has also increased.

The grasp of the refereeing standards is very accurate.

Matic was directly pushed away by the sunlight.

Yangguang dribbled the ball forward.

Simultaneously.

While running, he swung his arms like a windmill, "cutting off" the arms of Matic who was trying to grab him.

Sunshine temporarily got rid of Matic and shot directly!
It was about 35 meters away from the goal. The kick was very sudden.

But it is powerful enough.

In this rainy day.

The surface of the football was soaked with rain water, making it heavier overall.

The speed of the ball also becomes faster.

The football, with almost no rotation in the air, broke through the rain threads connecting the grass of the field and the sky, and fell towards Manchester United's goal with a whoosh.

In front of the TV, many Manchester United fans were frightened to the point of cardiac arrest.

Anfield became quiet at this moment.

Until De Gea almost instinctively jumped and blocked the ball out of the baseline
"Oh"

There was a cry of surprise from the entire Anfield stadium.

Then the fans applauded.

Although the ball did not go in, Liverpool's attack had created enough danger.

amid applause.

Mourinho, sitting in the coaching seat, was becoming a little restless.

He came to the sidelines and kept gesturing to Manchester United players.

"Don't let him kick! Block his space!"

Mourinho roared.

"De Gea! Oh what a world-class save! Yang almost scored!"

"Before the game, some media in England said Sunshine was not in good condition. Look at his shot... is this not good?"

in front of the TV.

After seeing De Gea save the ball.

Manchester United fans couldn't help but shout "Saint De Gea"!
no doubt.

De Gea made a key save at this critical moment.

Just like he has done in the past few seasons.

Since Ferguson retired.

De Gea has almost become Manchester United's "backup" player.

In many cases, if it weren't for De Gea's high defense, Manchester United's bottom line would have been maintained.

Manchester United's situation in recent seasons could be even worse.

When Van Persie and Rooney were still in the team.

Many fans are teasing Manchester United: "The front court is beautiful, and De Gea is in the back court."

De Gea's save made Manchester United fans feel that their team had escaped death again
"In such a rainy game, the threat of long-range shots becomes even greater. Can Manchester United really defend if they park the bus away from home?"

One commentator expressed doubt.

Sunshine also has some regrets.

He thought the ball would definitely go in.

But did not expect
It was actually saved by De Gea.

Even he couldn't help but shout "WTF" to express his surprise at De Gea's save.

No goals though.

But this powerful kick really scared the Manchester United players.

Pogba couldn't help but glance at the sun.

They are all tall men over 1.9 meters tall.

Pogba's talent is explosive.

The combination of his physical condition and his sense of the ball at his feet made him once considered to have the template of the best midfielder in history.

Pogba is also quite confident in himself.

The media say that Sunshine is one of the best players in the world now.

But Pogba doesn't think that he is worse than Sunshine.

Although he is not as good as Yangguang in terms of statistics.

But in Pogba's view.

This has to do with his position.

He is a midfielder after all.

Maybe Sunshine is the best center in the world.

But I Pogba is also the best midfielder in the world.

Pogba has this idea in mind and wants to compete with Sunshine in this game.

After seeing Yangguang's long shot.

Pogba realized that if he really defended, he would probably lose the ball in the first half.

So Pogba took the initiative to retreat to the backcourt.

Liverpool's players had no doubts.

After all, Manchester United is parking the bus now.

It wouldn’t be surprising to have one more defensive player back.

But Pogba's real purpose was to launch a counterattack.

soon.

He got the chance.

Liverpool's cross was punched out of the penalty area by De Gea.

The ball fell at Pogba's feet.

Pogba stopped the ball in the air, protected the ball with his back, pulled the ball skillfully, turned around leaning on Emre Can, and then suddenly made a long pass with his right foot!
Long passes in this kind of confrontation are usually difficult to make accurately.

But Pogba showed at this moment why Manchester United was willing to spend 100 million to buy back this former Manchester United youth player - Pogba was sold by Ferguson that year, but who would have thought that many years later, he would return to Manchester United in this way.

Good news: Manchester United finally has a youth player sold for over 100 million pounds!

Bad news: The club that spent 100 million is Manchester United!
The football accurately crossed half of the field.

Found Lingard who was cutting in from the right side.

Lingard chested the ball and cut in from the wing.

Mourinho on the sidelines had already taken his hands out of his trouser pockets and was looking at the field with anticipation.

To some extent he is right.

Liverpool's Achilles' heel was indeed when they were in attack mode, when their opponents made a long pass directly behind them.

Just like now.

Van Dijk and Matip are in the process of getting into position at high speed.

This left Lingard almost unguarded and he cut into the middle smoothly.

at the same time.

Lukaku in the middle made a diagonal run to the right flank.

The two players' running positions formed a standard cross-run in a counterattack. With just a straight pass, they could create a two-on-two situation.

But Lingard had his own ideas.

He saw Lukaku running and pulling away Van Dijk.

I was in the right side of the penalty area and shot with my left foot!
The football drew an arc.
The ball is not wrapped on the inside of the foot.

Instead, it hung on the outside of the foot, and the arc it drew turned towards the corner flag.

The football hit the corner flagpole and went out of bounds.
"Pogba's long pass! Beautiful! Lingard...cuts in! Oh my! This shot...this shot...this shot."

Even the commentator didn't know what to say about this ball.

Lukaku was very angry in the penalty area.

He spread his hands and pointed at his feet.

Just send it straight in and it'll be done!

Shooting outside the penalty area?
What kind of defense is in your head?
Kaku was angry.

Mourinho on the sidelines was also very angry.

The Portuguese returned to the coaching seat cursing.

However, the ball did not go in.

But it made Mourinho feel a lot more at ease.

Because it shows that there is nothing wrong with his tactics.

If it weren't for Lingard's abstract treatment this time.

Maybe Manchester United has already taken the lead.
Mourinho sat back in the coaching booth, and the tension from De Gea's thrilling save just now disappeared a lot.

"Hey!"

Lingard scratched his head.

He spat fiercely.

Then he patted his chest and said to Kaku: "Mine, mine, mine."

Then he gave a thumbs up to Pogba at the far end.

Your Lin Huang.

Attitude is king.

(End of this chapter)