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

Chapter 330 The Substitutes' Confidence
anyway.

Chelsea are now almost out of resources.

Despite their struggles during the game.

But they ultimately couldn't salvage the situation.

Liverpool defeated Chelsea 3-0.

The game ended and the vomiting stopped.

It's the FA Cup, the quarter-finals.

Liverpool travels to Manchester United for an away game.

This is the third Manchester derby of the season.

but
Before the match.

People are speculating.

Will Liverpool repeat their past mistakes?

Use a reserve lineup to play.

The result is obvious.

After the starting lineup was announced.

Many people gasped in shock.

I was shocked by Klopp's boldness.

This is a Reds vs. Reds match.

Liverpool, at Old Trafford, fielded the same lineup as they had used in the League Cup and FA Cup, featuring a sunny and largely reserve squad.

This is infuriating to Manchester United fans.

This is a silent disregard for Manchester United.

In the locker room.

Manchester United legend Ole Gunnar Solskjaer appeared extremely angry.

"This is an insult to us! Men! This is an insult to us!"

The baby face contorted with anger.

The game begins.

Manchester United then launched an aggressive attack.

Lukaku received the ball in the middle and passed it back to Mata.

Mata passed the ball across to Pogba, who had moved up from the back row to set up the shot.

Pogba takes a run-up and unleashes a powerful shot at the ball!

Bang!
The football hit the post and bounced out of bounds.

Pogba put his hands behind his head.

He stared regretfully at the football that had flown out of bounds.

At that moment, the theater of dreams also gasped in surprise, followed by cheers that swept in like a tsunami.

"That's it! That's it!"

"This is our home ground!"

"This is Old Trafford!"

Manchester United fans chanted.

Do you think you can eliminate Manchester United with this lineup?
dream!

dream!

Solskjaer clapped his hands vigorously.

He is an absolute Manchester United man.

He could not tolerate Manchester United being humiliated like this.

He roared from the sidelines: "Attack! Attack! Overwhelm them with offense!"

This game.

Manchester United fielded their strongest lineup available at this stage.

Goalkeeper De Gea.

Center-backs Bailly partner Smalling, left-back Luke Shaw, right-back Dalot, midfielders Herrera and Matic, attacking midfielder Pogba, left winger Rashford, right attacking midfielder Mata, and center forward Lukaku.

This lineup appears slightly weaker at center-back.

It's actually quite a formidable lineup.

It's understandable that Liverpool, with their reserve squad, felt the pressure.

Amidst the frenzied atmosphere at the scene.

Manchester United continued their relentless attack.

Wave after wave of attacks came crashing down on Liverpool.

Liverpool fans are constantly worried that their team's goal will be breached by their arch-rivals at any moment.

But here's the surprise.

They are not from Earth.

Klopp stood on the sidelines.

He was quite worried at first,

But after watching for a while...

He returned to the coaching bench.

He said to his assistant, "Letting Yang lead them in the domestic cup competitions might be the best decision we could make."

Many players are actually capable.

Rather, they lack experience and opportunities to build confidence.

And this is Liverpool's current reserve squad.

They won the League Cup.

The FA Cup is also progressing steadily.

Their confidence rose.

They gradually ceased to be a disorganized group.

Facing Manchester United's furious attack.

They did not panic, but instead remained steadfast in their defense.

waiting.

The opportunity has arrived.

The opportunity came quickly.

Eighteenth minute of the match.

Center-back Gomez successfully intercepted the ball and dribbled forward, drawing defenders before passing it diagonally to the advancing full-back Moreno.

However, Gomez's pass was clearly flawed.

Gomez passed the ball to his feet, and Moreno was ready to start moving forward to receive the ball with a certain amount of lead time.

By the time he reacts, he must stop abruptly to regain control of the ball.

So, knowing that he couldn't control the ball calmly.

Moreno stopped abruptly, turned, and shoved the ball down.

He slid the ball sideways to Origi.

After receiving the ball, Origi saw the sun and made a run from the back row to receive it.

So he swept the ball towards the sunlight.

Matic, who was responsible for defending against the sun, was originally keeping an eye on the sun.

When he saw the sun moving forward, he judged that the opponent was going to use the gap in the flanks to receive the ball.

As a result, the sunlight suddenly stopped and changed direction halfway through its journey.

This change in rhythm caught Matic off guard.

That's the time difference.

Matic was left behind by the sunlight.

"Positive!"

He's gone!

The commentators gasped in surprise, while the stands booed loudly.

He evaded Matic's sunlight and received the ball near the edge of the penalty area.

At this moment, Manchester United's center-back Smalling certainly couldn't ignore the sunlight receiving the ball in that position.

He rushed straight towards the sunlight.

See this scene.

Herrera exclaimed that things were in trouble.

Because the center-backs have come out, while the two full-backs are still behind them.

This is the most taboo situation in defense.

Manchester United's defensive line formed an inverted horseshoe shape at this moment.

This means that a huge gap has appeared in the middle lane!

Herrera, who was originally in charge of sweeping up, hurriedly accelerated towards the penalty area.

He can no longer defend against the sunlight.

Instead, we need to immediately fill the gaps exposed by the center-backs!

Because he had already seen Shaqiri making a diagonal run into that area!

As long as the sunlight passes the ball over.

That was a one-on-one opportunity!

Manchester United's other full-back, Luke Shaw, was also drawn to the sunlight.

Although he was running back, he wasn't going fast, and he kept turning his head to look at the sunlight.

He had no idea what Origi was doing behind him.

It all happened in the blink of an eye.

If the sun is shining, observe it from above before passing the ball.

That opportunity may very well be lost.

So he didn't stay at all.

He immediately responded with a diagonal pass!
The ball was passed through the gap between Matic and Luke Shaw.

The ball landed in front of Origi, who was completely unmarked.

Origi started accelerating the moment he passed the ball in the sunlight.

They quickly caught up with the football.

Herrera originally intended to defend against Shaqiri.

When he saw that Origi was open, he had no choice but to rush over, because if he ignored Origi, Origi would be directly facing goalkeeper De Gea.

However, this left Shaqiri completely unprepared.

Origi didn't shoot himself, but instead passed the ball across to the middle before Herrera could arrive.

Instead of making a direct run into the penalty area, Shaqiri moved laterally alongside Manchester United's defensive line to avoid being offside.

It also gave Origi an angle to pass the ball.

When Origi passed the ball to him.

Shaqiri took a two-step run-up and shot directly!
In the absence of supervision.

Shaqiri's powerful shot left De Gea with no chance to make a save!
The soccer ball suddenly crashed into the net.

Liverpool's players executed a superb fast attack. The series of passes culminated in a perfectly executed goal!
This is the value they have gained throughout this season.

This team is no longer a ragtag bunch, but a regular army!
They have basic tactics, their own core, and great resilience.

Seeing this goal.

Klopp stood up from the coaching bench and applauded.

Now.

He no longer had any doubt that the team could win the FA Cup with such a lineup.

He believed.

This team.

It's possible!

Solskjaer clutched his head in anguish.

His time playing for Manchester United.

This was Manchester United's best era.

They are the dominant force in the league.

They also won the Champions League title at one point.

Who would have thought.

Time has changed.

Back then, Liverpool, who had been struggling in the Premier League, made a comeback.

Manchester United, who once managed to dethrone Liverpool, has faltered on their own.

Now they're using a substitute lineup.

They put on such a brilliant combination at Old Trafford.

This is simply...
It's so painful.

Solskjaer's mindset is still stuck in the days when he played for Manchester United, when the club was the league champions.

But the reality is...
The current hegemon.

It's very likely that Liverpool has already taken over.

They've become Manchester United's arch-rivals!

"Shaqiri!! Shaqiri!!! Ahhhhh!! Goal! He's truly Liverpool's substitute killer! This season he's performed his substitute duties superbly; whenever he's on the pitch, he always helps the team!"

"Shaqiri! Beautiful!! Liverpool's quick passing combination completely tore apart Manchester United's defense, Liverpool are in the lead!" He Wei shouted, "Shaqiri orchestrated this goal! Even in a passing position, he can still deliver a world-class pass!"

Shaqiri was quite excited after scoring, and he rushed excitedly towards the corner flag.

Liverpool's players followed suit, and amidst the boos from the Emirates Stadium, they cheered in celebration.

The television broadcast then showed the entire process of Liverpool's goal in slow motion.

Sunshine's positioning!
Sunlight is the perfect setting!

Sunshine's passing choices.

The slow-motion replay revealed Sunny's maturity; at that moment, his pass selection and timing were just right.

,,,,,,
"We've gotten used to seeing goals scored with sunshine; we should also see this kind of attacking play."

"A feast for the eyes!"

"Brilliant!"

"It's so slippery!"

"Cool!"

"This is so awesome!!!"

All of a sudden.

On the Chinese internet, comments from fans floated across the screen.

Honestly.

This is somewhat unfair to Shaqiri, who scored the goal.

After all, the person who scores the goal is the one who gets the most attention.

But what can you do when this is China?

And the key to that goal was indeed sunshine.

He deserves at least 80-90% of the credit for that goal.

Without his orchestration to create space, how could Origi and Shaqiri have so easily gotten open passes and open shots?

On the football field.

There is a professional term called "the penultimate pass".

This pass refers to the pass that went directly to the player who made the assist.

sometimes.

The penultimate pass was the most crucial pass in the entire goal-scoring process.

Of course, before that.

Furthermore, Yang Guang manipulated the positions of opponents and teammates through passing and movement, never creating space.

A crucial pass!

A fatal blow!
Solskjaer frowned.

This goal put Manchester United in a very passive position.

If Manchester United's previous decision to take the initiative and attack was a tactical choice they made themselves, then...

So now Manchester United has no choice but to attack.

The assistant beside him asked, "What do we do now?"

"How to do?"

Solskjaer raised his head, his gaze revealing a hint of uncertainty.

His gaze fell upon the sunlight.

If this person is not restrained.

Manchester United may concede more goals.

But does Manchester United have any options now?

"It's just one goal conceded! That won't defeat us!"

Solskjaer gritted his teeth.

He's a coach who's seen it all.

They knew they had conceded a goal.

However, it would be unwise to rashly change the team's pre-match tactics.

This could very well be a fatal blow to the team's morale.

Because players may fall into self-doubt.

Therefore, the current Manchester United cannot be changed.

Solskjaer, on the contrary, continued to encourage the team's morale to push forward and attack.

At the same time, he pulled Matic aside and gave him instructions.

Tell him to strengthen his defense against the sunlight.

"Keep an eye on him, don't leave his side for a moment!"

Matic nodded.

The tactic of exchanging pieces is common against sunlight, of course.

Many times.
This tactic simply didn't work.

But Solskjaer has to come up with a solution.

Whether this method is good or bad.

Having a solution is better than doing nothing at all.

Matic faithfully carried out the head coach's instructions.

Whenever Sunny has a chance to get the ball, Matic immediately takes it.

However, Matic soon felt the pressure.

Because it's so simple to block sunlight.

He wouldn't have been able to score so many goals.

Twenty-seventh minute of the match.

After Matic fouled Suns again.

The referee showed him a yellow card.

Matic argued that he hadn't made any major moves.

But the referee knew exactly what had happened: you had committed multiple fouls in those ten minutes.

This is the referee's warning.

Solskjaer on the sidelines was having a real headache.

Matic received a yellow card.

His gaze fell on Herrera. Should he switch to someone else to defend? But could Herrera, with his small frame, withstand the pressure?

the answer is negative.

Is the plan to have the center-back step up to exchange for the ball?

That definitely won't work.
Solskjaer was deep in thought on the sidelines.

The Manchester United players on the field were nervously setting up their defensive wall.

The location where Matic committed the foul was not in a particularly dangerous area.

It was a full forty meters from the goal.

But considering that Suns scored a free kick from that distance at Old Trafford back then.

So everyone is still feeling lingering fear.

Manchester United fans back then should have applauded him.

De Gea held up four fingers.

"Four people! Four people! Go up there!"

They still need to set up a four-person wall so far from the goal.

This shows how nervous they were.

Regardless of what the other person was doing, Yang Guang set up the ball and stepped back with good footwork.

We're just waiting for the referee to blow the whistle.

This kind of foul that results in a yellow card cannot be immediately punished.

We must listen to the whistle.

soon.

The referee blows the whistle.

The sunlight is looking ahead.

Begin your running start.

One step, two steps, three steps.
The speed is getting faster and faster.

finally.

Take the final step!
boom!
The football soared into the air, leaving a trail of afterimages.

The loud noise made many people blink involuntarily.

When they opened their eyes again.

We could already see the ball hit the net.
(End of this chapter)