With maxed-out heading ability from the start, I became the king of Arsenal.

Because the two managers had engaged in a heated verbal battle before the match, the Stoke City players appeared very excited during warm-up.

Although Stoke City has played many impressive games this season and achieved a remarkable league ranking, they still don't receive much attention from the English media.

From Sun Yu's perspective as a time traveler, the reason was actually quite simple.

First, Stoke City is only a second-year Premier League team. The club has long been playing in the second and third tiers of English football, lacking both historical depth and star players.

A team like this would be considered a typical ordinary team in the entire Premier League.

Secondly, in an era where possession-based football is deeply ingrained in people's minds, Stoke City's long-ball, cross-and-dash style of play clearly lacks entertainment value.

A three- to five-minute highlight reel of a team's tactics might be exciting, but watching the entire game can be a bit boring for fans.

Aside from a few British fans, few other countries choose to broadcast Stoke City's matches live.

No one is watching, so the traffic is naturally low.

Third, in the history of the Premier League, there have been mid-to-lower table teams that performed well in the first ten rounds, but none of them could maintain that position.

So even though Leicester City were tied with Arsenal at the halfway point of their "miracle" season, most English media outlets still didn't have high hopes for them.

There is a significant gap between the starting lineup and substitutes in mid-to-lower-tier Premier League teams. If one or two key players get injured, the team's performance will decline.

But it doesn't matter. In the world of football, reputation is earned through one's own efforts. For a powerhouse like Liverpool that is in a slump, we must fight them hard.

Sun Yu observed the Liverpool players and found that Torres, in terms of both his physique and ball control, perfectly met the standards of a top striker.

Torres stood there, and you could tell he was a player just by looking at him.

She has a perfect grasp of both appearance and temperament, and the freckles on her face do not affect her personal image at all.

In comparison, Kuyt, with his curly hair, didn't look as good, but his basic skills were very solid.

Gerrard, with his naturally gloomy face, looked even less appealing. Although the Liverpool captain turned thirty this year, Sun Yu could tell that his athleticism was explosive.

Sun Yu considered it in his mind and concluded that Gerrard was probably the most athletically gifted white midfielder he had ever seen.

Gerrard's strengths are very clear: accurate long passes and historically great vision.

He is physically strong, has explosive power, and is fierce when dribbling the ball.

His through balls and late runs into the box for long-range shots are unparalleled.

He has excellent physical fitness, is equally adept at using both feet, and is adaptable to multiple tactics and positions.

Every team wants a player like that; he's a world-class player.

However, his shortcomings are also very obvious.

Lacking the ability to break free in tight spaces, his back-to-the-basket moves rely entirely on long-distance lateral dribbling.

His short passing ability is average, he has a poor sense of rhythm when attacking with the ball, and he lacks patience.

They like to move forward, thus losing their position during offensive and defensive transitions.

When defending, they like to gamble by pressing high, rather than relying on positioning to control their opponents.

Gerrard's characteristics also show that he is best suited for a three-man midfield formation, where he must be paired with a defensive midfielder.

His individual creativity and passing ability are not strong. It is indeed a pity that Lampard and Gerrard, two world-class players who finished second in the Ballon d'Or, are not compatible.

Back in the locker room, Pulis slammed his hand on the tactics board, doing everything he could to motivate the players: "Don't be intimidated by Liverpool's reputation. Their starting lineup can't control us, and they don't have any good dribblers."

"As long as we slow down, they won't be able to do anything to us!"

"We have already proven our strength in the games against Manchester United, Chelsea and Tottenham, so don't try to outpace them with speed."

"We need to wear them down in positional play. To be honest, this Liverpool team isn't that strong!"

"Show your fighting spirit! Don't give them a chance! Kick them hard! Be decisive when you have an opportunity! Fight them hard!"

The Stoke City players were already fueled by the psychological warfare between the two managers, and some players, finding smashing lockers not exciting enough, almost overturned the tables in the locker room.

Sun Yu jumped onto the table and laughed, "You guys all calm down and focus your energy on your opponents."

Stoke City turned around, pushed open the door, and smashed through the wall into the players' tunnel right in front of the Liverpool players.

Liverpool's formation today is 4-4-2, with Carragher, Skrtel, Kierjax, and Konchesky as the four defenders.

This defensive line is a mixed bag. Konchesky is a player you have to sell at the start of FM, and Sun Yu has never even heard of Kieljak.

Carragher playing right-back is prone to errors against fast players, and Skrtel's situation is complicated.

This defensive line is even weaker than Stoke City's.

In the defensive midfield position, Gerrard was paired with Lucas. Without listening to the coaching staff's tactical analysis in detail, Sun Yu knew very well why Lucas was always in the starting lineup.

The left winger is Rodriguez, a winger who doesn't have much of a spark. The right winger is Menelas, who is probably playing a position he's not used to.

The attacking duo consists of Torres and Kuyt.

Liverpool kicked off first, with Gerrard sending a long pass to Kuyt on the right flank.

Kuyt wanted to go one-on-one with Collins, but under Collins's relentless pressure, he pulled the ball back from the baseline and passed it back to Menelas.

Meneles passed the ball to Torres on the left side of the penalty area. Before the Liverpool striker could get the ball, Shawcross started to move from behind.

Torres turned twice with his back to goal, Shawcross only exerted force without extending his leg, and Torres passed the ball to the wing again.

Rodriguez forced a cross, Huth headed the ball away, and Delap, with his back to the attacking third, swung the ball forward without looking at his position.

The ball was kicked very high, landing a few meters in front of the halfway line. Sun Yu held off Lucas behind him and headed the ball back to Etherington on the left.

Etherington dribbled the ball straight upfield, and Gerrard chased after him and slid in to clear the ball out of bounds.

Amid cheers from the Stoke City fans, Delap ran towards the sideline, while Shawcross, Huth, and Collins simultaneously ran into the Liverpool penalty area.

Gerrard loudly directed his teammates and then went to Sun Yu's side.

Whoops!

The fact that Gerrard was personally guarding himself shows an incredibly high level of defensive skill.

Delap sprinted a few meters and threw the ball with a powerful throw-in towards the far post.

What the hell!

What did this guy eat for lunch? He's got so much energy!

Sun Yu immediately accelerated, but Gerald ignored everything and used his body to block Sun Yu tightly.

Man-to-man defense?

Sun Yu used his arm to push Gerrard forward two meters, but before the ball reached its landing point, it had already fallen towards the far post.

Without saying a word, Sun Yu jumped directly at Gerrard, but Gerrard didn't jump and immediately ran backward.

Sun Yu's jump completely blocked the view of both teams' players, causing chaos in Liverpool's penalty area.

Shawcross and Skrtel jumped at the same time, collided and lost their balance. The ball hit Skrtel's shoulder and flew towards the goal.

Reina made a diving save to push the ball out of the six-yard box, and Kuyt kicked the ball off Collins and out of bounds.

After this round of aerial bombardment, Sun Yu discovered that Liverpool players were relying entirely on brute force to defend set pieces.

The chances are pretty good.

Liverpool took the goal kick and quickly advanced into the attacking third with short passes.

Stoke City players dropped deep, and Sun Yu remained about forty meters from the goal to prevent Gerrard from suddenly accelerating.

Liverpool players circled the ball around Stoke City twice, but still couldn't find a chance.

Seeing that his teammates were struggling to break the deadlock, Gerrard received the ball and passed it to Kuyt on the edge of the penalty area before suddenly accelerating forward.

Kuyt controlled the ball and passed it back to Gerrard, who took a long-range shot from about 30 meters out.

Standing in front of him, Shawcross overcame the human instinct to avoid danger and used his leg to block the ball towards the midfield.

Sun Yu shielded the ball, passed it to Pennant on the right wing, and then turned and charged forward.

Pennant charged down the right flank into the attacking third, and just as Konchesky was about to challenge him, he suddenly cut inside, getting past him cleanly in an instant.

Facing Kieljak's covering defense, Pennant passed the ball into the penalty area.

Jones held off Skrtel and then passed the ball to the edge of the penalty area.

Carragher rushed toward the ball, but Sun Yu beat him to it and poked the ball into the penalty area.

Gerrard's armor penetration value +50

[Krag's armor penetration value +40]

Sun Yu glanced at him and saw that Gerrard had caught up to within five meters. This guy can run so fast!

Without making any adjustments, he caught up with the ball and unleashed a powerful shot!

Bang!

Mighty Vajra Kick!

Is it today?