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

Sun Yu executed a series of actions—dribbling, passing, and shooting—in one fluid motion.

Bang!

At the moment of the shot, Sun Yu deliberately used the instep of his right foot slightly to the left to generate power.

It seems a bit too far to the left.

But the path of football is very reliable!

Heading straight for the top left corner of the goal!

Got it!

At the sidelines, Pulis jumped up.

The Stoke City manager was using both feet to push hard, as if he were trying to control the ball and put it into the goal with his mind.

Boom!

The football hit the outside of the goalpost and went out of bounds.

Skrtel arrived too late, just as the ball hit the post, and flew sideways past Sun Yu.

What the hell!

Sun Yu held his head in regret.

It was just a little short...

But this was the limit of Sun Yu's shooting accuracy; he had done his best.

Under intense pressure and with all-out running, Sun Yu can reliably score in the penalty area.

However, pursuing stability is meaningless, because Premier League goalkeepers are all like real-life, extended versions of Spider-Man.

Therefore, he could only pursue the right angle, which was not easy for Sun Yu.

Sun Yu is very accurate in this position during training, but it always feels a bit awkward in a match.

Pity!

Sun Yu sighed, holding his head, and immediately gave Jones a thumbs up.

Jones pressed his hands down: "Relax, man, that was a very good shot."

"You must always remember that you are among the top three scorers in the Premier League!"

Sun Yu and Jones gave each other a high five: "Don't worry, buddy, I'm fine."

In the fiercely competitive Stoke City, Jones stands out as an oddity.

This 26-year-old Trinidad and Tobago striker is a rare example of sobriety among Premier League players.

He played very hard during the game, but his emotions remained unusually stable.

He is also very low-key and never gives interviews voluntarily.

Against the backdrop of professional players hoping to achieve instant success, Jones has a clear career plan.

Jones' first club was Southampton in the Championship, before he joined Sunderland for £600 million.

Tottenham wanted to sign him because of his outstanding performance at Sunderland.

He was not swayed by the reputation of big clubs and seized the opportunity to extend his contract with Sunderland with a raise.

Sunderland brought in two strikers this season, and Jones, feeling his starting position was threatened, decisively joined Stoke City.

His career plan is very clear: to achieve stable statistics and salary with a mid-to-lower-tier Premier League team.

Therefore, facing a forward partner like Sun Yu who disregards personal interests for the sake of victory, Jones not only did not have the idea of ​​competing for the top spot, but also often shared his experience with Sun Yu.

Although the shot didn't go in, Stoke City fans still gave Sun Yu a warm round of applause.

The game restarted, and Stoke City solidified their defense in the backfield, constantly battling Liverpool.

In the 14th minute, Torres dribbled the ball sideways in the penalty area, and Huth came forward to block him. He then flicked the ball between Torres' legs toward the goal.

The shot wasn't very powerful, but the angle was extremely tricky, and it also used Huth's large frame to block the goalkeeper's view.

Begovic spotted the ball suddenly appearing from ten meters away and made an incredible diving save to block it out of bounds.

Liverpool took a corner kick, Shawcross cleared the ball out of the penalty area, Sun Yu stopped the ball, and passed it to right-back Wilkinson with his back to goal.

Wilkinson played a through ball to Pennant on the wing.

Pennant forcefully dribbled past a defender, but Gerrard, who caught up from the side, shoved the ball out of bounds.

Stoke City took the ball out of bounds, and after a couple of touches, passed it to Pennant.

Pennant forced his way down the wing and then struck the ball off Konchesky, sending it out of bounds.

The Liverpool players were at their wits' end watching Delap run towards the sideline again.

The ball was taken out of bounds, and Sun Yu pushed Gerrard towards the landing point, the two of them leaping high into the air.

Sun Yu headed the ball from the middle to the far post, where Jones, on the right side of the six-yard box, outjumped Kieljak to head the ball, which grazed the crossbar and went out of play.

Gerrard's armor penetration value +30

After a sigh, Jones wiped his face with both hands and then applauded Sun Yu.

For the remainder of the first half, Liverpool had over 60% possession, but they couldn't find a way to break through.

On the contrary, Stoke City launched attacks from all sides and put up a very effective counterattack.

Whether it's a ball out of bounds or a 45-degree shot, it can create scoring opportunities.

In the final moments of the first half, Stoke City created three shooting opportunities within ten minutes.

Liverpool players were showing signs of breaking down, but time has brought them back to the dressing room.

It was like a bell saving a boxer who was on the verge of collapse.

As Sun Yu and Jones walked toward the players' tunnel, they reviewed the game: "When you headed the ball to me in the second half, you could have passed it through the gaps in the defense so I could chase after the ball."

Jones nodded: "No problem, I'll try to pass the ball behind the defenders, and you can accelerate from behind them when you sprint."

As the two men were talking, Gerrard quickly walked past them into the players' tunnel.

Gerrard already had a gloomy look on his face, and now he looked even more anxious, making him appear five years older.

Gerrard's feelings were a microcosm of Liverpool's situation, as the Premier League giants finished as runners-up in the 2008-2009 season, losing to Manchester United by four points.

But looking at last season's seventh-place finish, it's not unfair at all.

They only managed 4 wins, 4 draws and 4 losses in the first twelve rounds of this season, ranking ninth in the standings, even worse than at the same time last season.

Losing to arch-rivals Manchester United and Everton is certainly painful, but what's even more painful is their inability to get points against mid-to-lower table teams.

Liverpool have drawn with Fulham, Sunderland, Birmingham, and Wigan Athletic this season, and even lost 1-2 to relegation favorites Blackpool.

Even when we win, it feels like we're suffering from constipation.

The English media unceremoniously summarized a pattern: Liverpool cannot win unless their opponents are aiming to win.

That's the moderate version of the story; the truly harsh and sarcastic remarks could fill a truck every week.

The English media are mocking Liverpool, saying that even if they became monks, they wouldn't be free from worldly desires.

In the locker room, Pulis quickly wrote down the key statistics of the first half on the tactics board, then laughed and rudely roared at the players: "Guys, I said we could win, and we proved it!"

"Look at the stats, we had a total of 10 shots in the first half, and the opposing goalkeeper made 3 saves."

Liverpool only had five shots on goal, and Begovic made only one save.

"They had 65% possession, but kept making ineffective passes."

"The opponent desperately needs three points, so they'll definitely take risks in the second half!"

"I can tell you with absolute certainty that Gerrard will definitely make forward runs in the second half, and he will leave a lot of space."

"Sun Yu is positioned right there. As long as Lucas marks you, their midfield will be completely open!"

"We advance through the middle, wait for their wingers to cover, and then pass the ball to the wing!"

"Their defense will be riddled with holes then!"

"If we execute our tactics decisively, we'll definitely score the first goal."

"Slow down the pace of the game after you score, and don't bother me with the rest!"

"He said our defense is terrible? Today we'll wear them down with our defense!"

The manager presented the manual for defeating Liverpool, and the Stoke City players simply walked onto the pitch tapping away.

After the start of the second half, Liverpool players continued to maintain firm control of the ball.

Sun Yu felt that Dalglish seemed to have given the same instructions in midfield, and the two head coaches were at odds with each other.

Dalglish thought Pulis wanted to prove himself with a victory at home, but he probably miscalculated this time.

He thought his team was outmaneuvering the eagles, but little did he know that the real hunters were flying kites.

In the first ten minutes of the second half, Liverpool players passed the ball from right to left and then from left to right.

Stoke City players launch counter-attacks when they have the ball, and stay in the box when they don't.

Both sides had one shot each in those ten minutes, and the game was so boring that the commentators started talking about the weather.

Torres also received a yellow card after losing possession and for making an ill-advised pass.

In the 58th minute, the Liverpool players finally couldn't hold back any longer.

Gerrard received the ball in midfield and suddenly started his run, executing two consecutive one-two passes with his teammates before unleashing a powerful shot from outside the penalty area.

Bang!

The movements were very graceful.

The ball hit Shawcross's leg and bounced out of the penalty area. Whiteside headed the ball towards midfield from outside the penalty area.

Sun Yu pinned Lucas behind him and used his chest to deflect the ball.

Seeing two Stoke City players rushing towards the front, Lucas simply tackled Sun Yu from behind.

In the instant he fell, Sun Yu braced himself with both hands, lay on the grass, and passed the ball to Delap.

He turned around and shoved Lucas, who was trying to get up, over his head and charged forward.

[Lucas's defense penetration value +70]

Gerrard sprinted desperately towards his own half, while several Liverpool players spread their hands toward the referee, some saying Lucas had fouled and the ball should have been stopped, others saying Sun Yu had fouled.

Sun Yu charged desperately toward the opponent's penalty area!

Behind him, Delap passed the ball to right-back Wilkinson, and Gerrard chased after him from the side.

Wilkinson passed the ball to Pennant, who dribbled past Rodriguez with a change of direction and brought the ball into the open central area.

Seeing him charging toward the penalty area, Konchesky had no choice but to move forward to cover.

Pennant immediately passed the ball to the left wing, where Etherington received it. Carragher, playing as a makeshift right-back, dared not press forward, leaving a two-meter buffer zone.

Etherington kicked the ball toward Liverpool's penalty area, and Skrtel was hanging on Jones.

Jones didn't stop the ball; instead, he headed it behind another center-back, Kierjax.

Kierjax turned around and ran towards the ball in a panic, but halfway through the turn, he froze, unable to take another step.

In his line of sight, Sun Yu, sprinting at full speed, pushed off the ground with both legs and flew towards the football like a missile.

Kiel'jax's armor penetration +90

This moment!

All the Stoke City fans stood up from their seats.