Chapter 1 The National Derby

The match between Manchester United and Liverpool is the England's National Derby, a showdown between the two most glorious teams in English football history. Such a match is like Real Madrid against Barcelona in Spain, Glasgow Rangers against Celtic in Scotland, River Plate against Boca Juniors in Argentina…

Logically speaking, the popularity of such a match should be very high, but the opposite is true. For a long time since the establishment of the Premier League, foreign fans did not understand what the duel between Liverpool and Manchester United meant. They were more interested in the feud between Ferguson and Wenger, the fiery matches between Manchester United and Arsenal, or the competition between Mourinho's Chelsea and Manchester United.

But only true Manchester United fans know that their opponents have never been Arsenal or Chelsea. Manchester United's only arch-rival is Liverpool.

Only by completely crushing Liverpool under their feet can they feel truly happy from the bottom of their hearts.

So the first twenty years of the Premier League were the happiest twenty years for Manchester United fans. In these twenty years, they used one championship trophy after another to firmly trample Liverpool in the mud, preventing them from ever turning over.

But who would have thought that in the twenty-first year, Liverpool, who had been unable to fight back, suddenly exerted their strength, stood up from the mud, and overturned Manchester United, who had been trampling on them. Manchester United, whose clothes were originally bright, were immediately covered in mud. All their pride was lost, and they were ridiculed by the people on the shore.

How could Manchester United fans tolerate this?

However, in the first encounter between the two sides this season, Manchester United was completely defeated by Liverpool 3:1 away.

This made many Manchester United fans feel aggrieved.

Now, at home, will be their last chance.

Manchester United fans are actually very clear about what this home game means.

Losing to Liverpool away from home can still be excused. Losing to Liverpool once at home can still be said to be an accident. But what does it mean to lose to Liverpool twice in a row at home?

There is really no room for retreat!

※※※

Unlike the previous Liverpool vs. Manchester United matches, both sides were strangely silent before this game. Ferguson did not jump out to play psychological warfare, and Chen Hero also remained silent.

Although everyone felt that this calm was a bit boring, their energy was also transferred to the game itself, to football itself.

So there was no trash talk, no conspiracies or tricks in this game.

It was purely a football battle. Two giants of English football, in the simplest way, decided their future fate.

Winner takes all, loser is nothing!

At this point, what the two juggernauts say is probably all false. Only speaking with their feet can match their status. Since they are the two overlords of English football, then only football can be used to determine the outcome.

※※※

The day of the match came quickly.

In the roaring Old Trafford stadium, the players from both sides stepped onto the field.

The Manchester United fans in the stands frantically attacked the Liverpool players. They rushed to the front of the stands, raised their middle fingers at the Liverpool players, and cursed all kinds of obscenities.

The Liverpool fans turned a deaf ear. They were used to it. In fact, both sides were used to it. When Manchester United went to Liverpool's home stadium, Anfield, they would receive the same treatment.

So there was nothing to be surprised about or complain about the low quality of the fans, or the uncivilized behavior on the field.

Moreover, even if Liverpool defeated Manchester United here, it would not alleviate this situation, but would only intensify it.

Everyone knows that because they are mortal enemies, mortal enemies from the very beginning, and now, as time passes, the hatred has accumulated more and more, as thick as history. This hatred cannot be completely eliminated, just like history is there, and you can't really pretend it doesn't exist just by ignoring it.

So no one will think about how to eliminate this hatred, they will only think about how to further deepen it!

Amidst the deafening boos and cheers of the Manchester United fans, the game began.

※※※

Both sides are old opponents, and they must have studied each other many times, so they are very familiar with each other. There is no need for any "mutual probing". They can directly get to the point.

Relying on their home advantage, Manchester United launched a fierce attack on Liverpool's goal. Liverpool, on the other hand, followed their tradition and played a defensive counter-attack.

From the looks of it, Manchester United had the upper hand—after all, it was their home field.

But the Liverpool fans were not worried this time, and did not have that feeling of fear.

Because they were full of confidence in their team, full of confidence in Chen Hero.

※※※

Martin O'Neill's deployment for this game was very steady, not seeking merit, but seeking no fault. The focus was on defense, and it didn't matter even if the game ended in a draw.

As long as they don't lose the ball, Liverpool will be invincible.

Of course, this is the tactical requirement. The actual situation is generally different.

The actual situation is that even if they lose this game, as long as it is not a big defeat, Liverpool can afford to lose. Because there is no damage to their strength, nor any blow to their morale.

Morale, that is the most important thing.

If it is a disastrous defeat, it will be a real disaster.

However, the probability of this happening is very small. The current Liverpool is not a pushover either. Even at their home ground, it would not be easy for Manchester United to achieve a big victory over Liverpool and carry out a massacre.

So the Liverpool players were very relaxed. What O'Neill said before the game was to let them relax a little, not to give them any pressure, and to play as they wanted.

Logically speaking, if such a situation occurs before the game, then the team will definitely be too relaxed, and then lose to the opponent in the game because of this.

But such a dog-blood plot cannot happen to Liverpool.

Because Chen Hero refuses dog-blood!

Liverpool naturally refuses dog-blood too.

Liverpool's defense was very steady, no matter how Manchester United bombarded them, their defense did not slacken.

Because of Chen Hero, many people believe that Liverpool's strength is attack, and their weakness is defense. Especially before Pepe came, Skrtel and Agger, two tall central defenders, were more than capable of defending aerial balls, but their turning speed was slow, and they were easily caught behind, so Liverpool should concede a lot of goals, and their defense was also a place that many teams seized and studied hard.

But the reality is not like this. Only in Chen Hero's first season with the team, because of Dalglish's reasons, did the team concede more goals, with forty-three. The number of goals conceded in the following seasons did not exceed forty.

In the 2012-2013 season, Liverpool only conceded twenty-eight goals, the third-fewest in the league that season.

Liverpool's number of goals conceded increased slightly last season, but they only conceded thirty-six goals.

This season, after thirty-one rounds, Liverpool has only conceded twenty-three goals, the fewest in the entire league so far.

In fact, Liverpool's tradition is not attack, but defense. Liverpool is a team that attaches great importance to and emphasizes defense. Whether it is Liverpool under Martin O'Neill, or that Liverpool that swept across Europe in the past, defense is very important.

This season, they have taken it to the extreme. They score a goal at the beginning, then shrink their defense, and then use tenacious defense to resist the opponent's counterattack, and then take advantage of the opponent's all-out counterattack to launch a beautiful counterattack and score a goal. After expanding their lead, Liverpool's defensive counterattack becomes even smoother. In the end, Liverpool relies on defensive counterattacks to win the game.

This situation has happened many times this season.

After introducing Pepe, Liverpool's defense has been further strengthened. Pepe and Skrtel have a clear division of labor. Because Pepe has strong explosive power and speed, he is responsible for pressing forward, while Skrtel's position is relatively behind, and he does not easily go forward, but is responsible for covering Pepe's position at any time.

Because of Skrtel's cover, Pepe's pressing is even more unscrupulous, and naturally the success rate is higher, because he will no longer hesitate, causing him to miss the most suitable opportunity.

With such a defense, plus a ball-winning machine like Inler in front, Gerrard, who is a defensive player who can attack and defend well, and Lucas, a defensive master, on the bench, it is naturally impregnable.

It is precisely because of these dedicated defensive players that players like Chen Hero and Gotze can fully display their offensive talents in the frontcourt, sending the ball into the opponent's goal time and time again, killing them.

Today is also the same. Facing Manchester United's wave after wave of attacks, the entire Liverpool team retreated, and even Chen Hero retreated to near the center circle.

Faced with such a dense defense, Manchester United was a little at a loss.

Unable to break the deadlock, they slowed down the pace of the game, took the initiative to retreat, and induced Liverpool's players to press forward, disrupting their formation, so that Manchester United could find opportunities.

This is a very conventional and widely used response method. When facing a team that defends stubbornly, many teams will pass the ball back and forth on the periphery, inducing the opponent's players to come out and grab the ball, and then pass it back step by step, and finally simply pass the ball directly to the goalkeeper's feet, and let the goalkeeper reorganize the attack.

The purpose of doing this is to disrupt the opponent's formation and expose more gaps.

This is not even the coach's arrangement, but something that an experienced professional player, an experienced team knows, they will automatically make some adjustments according to the situation on the field, and this adjustment is within the scope authorized by the coach.

According to common sense, after Manchester United retreats, Liverpool will definitely press forward, unless they are determined to defend to the death today, otherwise they still have to score goals.

To score goals, you have to attack.

To attack, you have to press forward.

There will be gaps behind when you press forward.

Manchester United will seize the gaps when they appear.

This is the purpose of Manchester United's retreat.

But they got one thing wrong. Generally speaking, it is generally speaking, but their opponent today, Liverpool, is not an ordinary team.

Because there is an extraordinary Chen Hero in this Liverpool team.