Ground football: Ronaldo thought I was going to assist him

"Goal! Kyrie! This is our Kyrie!"

"England's top striker! This is a true genius striker!"

"Compared to Owen, Quaresma, Ronaldo, Drogba, and Yinbu are all utterly insignificant!"

"Heskey! He's like a black tank, crushing Sporting Lisbon's penalty area. That frail Portuguese center-back simply can't handle Heskey!"

"It's clear that Sporting Lisbon is experiencing a fitness crisis. Their players aren't showing enough energy, and their declining running ability is obvious."

"For a period of time, Liverpool have almost controlled both flanks of the pitch."

"If this continues, 1-0 will definitely not be the final score!"

However, Sporting Lisbon did not let the story unfold as most fans had hoped.

Sporting Lisbon, featuring three of the best players in the Portuguese league, launched a counterattack immediately after conceding a goal.

In the 26th minute, Ronaldo received a pass from Viana and fired a long-range shot that went wide.

In the 29th minute, Deng Kai made a flying tackle to intercept the ball in the attacking third. Quaresma received the ball and attempted to dribble past his opponent before shooting, but the experienced Hyypia anticipated Quaresma's dribbling move and blocked the ball with both feet.

Possession of the ball changed hands repeatedly in a short period of time.

boom!

Hyypia kicked the ball forward with a long kick.

Heskey outmaneuvered Fonte, easily winning the first ball, and then passed it back to Smicer who had made a run forward.

Smicer was known as the "Prince of Counter-Attack" in his youth.

Although his running ability has declined significantly with age and frequent injuries, his counter-attacking mindset remains a treasure that many players cannot learn.

Smicer dribbled forward, choosing a very cunning route that forced Matthäus and Fonte to move.

As a result, once the two moved, other flaws were exposed in other positions.

boom!

Smicer played a through ball.

The ball pierced through Sporting Lisbon's defense.

England's star striker Michael Owen is riding the wave of speed, moving with incredible speed.

"One-on-one! Kyrie Irving is on the one-on-one! This is a golden opportunity!"

"Schmeichel strikes!"

"Owen's decisive low shot! A shot of extremely high quality!"

"Goal! Second goal!"

"Two-nil! That's Kyrie Irving for you!"

"Incredible! Liverpool are outrageously strong! Is this the true strength of the newly crowned treble winners?"

"The Premier League is about to produce another cup treble winner, following the first treble winner among the top five leagues: the UEFA Cup, the FA Cup, and the English League Cup!"

"Excellent players should go to the Premier League to take on the challenge! The Premier League is the birthplace of the next generation of football's future!"

The camera quickly located the players in Sporting Lisbon's defense.

They looked extremely dejected, clearly having lost their will to fight Liverpool.

Liverpool has the perfect timing and ample time to prepare.

With their home advantage, Liverpool fans practically turned Westfalen Stadium into Anfield Stadium.

With its strong human resources, Sporting Lisbon has just stood up to UEFA, and Liverpool's global brand recognition and fan base are dozens of times greater than Sporting Lisbon's.

Sporting Lisbon, how are you going to win?!

But when the camera panned across Deng Kai, sharp-eyed fans could still see a glint of light in his eyes.

In the 32nd minute, while Liverpool's players were still basking in the joy of scoring, Duncan received a pass from Viana in the middle, executed a Marseille turn to get past Smicer, and dribbled the ball to the edge of the penalty area.

boom!

Deng Kai's lobbed pass revealed his deadly intent.

Unfortunately, Drogba's shot from inside the penalty area went high and wide under pressure from Hyypia.

Otherwise, Sporting Lisbon could have quietly pulled one back.

However, this attack was not entirely meaningless; at least Sporting Lisbon's morale has returned considerably.

Quaresma frequently attacked Liverpool's flanks and clashed with Carragher.

Carragher was once considered a talented player for England, and he made the most appearances for England's U21 and under age groups, with a total of 27 appearances.

He can play in almost all positions in the midfield and defense except for goalkeeper.

But this all-around talent hindered his development, preventing him from reaching his full potential.

Under Houllier's coaching, he mainly plays as a full-back. His performance last season was only average, but he has started to shine this season.

His defensive skills and decisiveness are commendable, and coupled with his background in Liverpool's youth academy, he and Gerrard have seen their popularity soar this season, showing a strong trend towards becoming stars within the team.

However, Quaresma not only held his own against these rising young Premier League stars, but even gained a significant advantage.

Unfortunately, Drogba, Ronaldo, Viana, and others failed to capitalize on Quaresma's passes during this phase, resulting in much ado about nothing.

In the 40th minute, Duncan, who was about to pass the ball to Quaresma on the right wing, suddenly changed his direction and passed the ball to the left wing.

Cristiano Ronaldo sprints at full speed, receives the ball, and then passes it back in a triangular pattern.

Viana, facing the replacement Henjos, continued to pass across to find the onrushing Duncan.

boom!

Deng Kai fired a shot from five meters away from the edge of the penalty area.

His attacking choices always surprise Liverpool players.

This sudden, unexpected shot might have resulted in a goal had it not been for Smicer's intervention.

however……

"Smicer made a very good defensive move, he moved in time to block Duncan's pass."

"Don't let Deng Kai's short stature and the fact that his thighs aren't as thick as Carlos's (whose waist is wider than his waist) fool you; his long-range shooting ability is quite good. He has scored several spectacular long-range goals!"

"Hey, why hasn't Smicer gotten up yet?"

"Smicer turned to avoid the ball as he blocked the shot, and it hit his side... Oh, did the force travel to his kidney? That hurts a lot..."

"The team doctors have entered the field, and their expressions are not optimistic... Oh, the team doctor indicated that Smicer cannot continue the game!"

"This is terrible! This is absolutely bad news for Liverpool. Smicer plays a crucial role in Liverpool's attack, and if he goes off... Gerrard is warming up, and Liverpool are forced to make a substitution!"

"As we have already mentioned, the 21-year-old Gerrard is also an important rotation player in Liverpool's midfield, and he has participated in almost all of Liverpool's matches this season."

"It remains to be seen how Gerrard will perform under pressure. If he can withstand the pressure and deliver a standout performance, he has a good chance of becoming Liverpool's next young leader after Owen!"

"As we all know, the FA appointed Liverpool legend Kevin Keegan as England's national team manager this March. Just a month prior, Keegan had already called up Gerrard to the England squad, helping him achieve a remarkable three-level promotion to the national team!"

"Who says only Sporting Lisbon can have a youth storm? Beckham, Owen, Gerrard, Carragher—England has produced a wealth of talent, creating its own youth storm!"

I like playing football on the ground: Ronaldo thought I was going to assist him.