Chapter 1 Liverpool Advances to the Semifinals

After the match, Liverpool's media outlets reported the quarterfinal with headlines like "Liverpool Kills the Suspense" and "Liverpool Advances to Semifinals." No one raised any objections or worried that this would provoke Twente, in case Twente staged a major comeback and reversal in the second leg.

Everyone was impressed by Liverpool's performance.

Liverpool's performance this season has been a complete transformation, truly remarkable. Not only are they ranked third in the league, with a chance to compete for the league title, but they are also advancing triumphantly in the Europa League, with a great opportunity to reach the final.

Now, everyone thinks that a final between Liverpool and Inter Milan is very likely to happen...

In the Premier League, Liverpool is currently four points behind league leaders Manchester United, so it's not like they have no chance at all. It's just that the initiative is now in Manchester United's hands.

If Manchester City were leading, it would be easier, because Manchester City and Liverpool have a direct match-up.

But in any case, Liverpool's performance this season is already much better than last season.

Now, even the most stubborn "Dalglish supporters" have to admit that Niang's decisive decision to replace Dalglish and let Martin O'Neill take over the team was indeed the right one. If Dalglish had continued to coach, Liverpool would probably still be struggling for a Champions League spot, and in the Europa League? They would probably be eliminated after entering the knockout stage.

Martin O'Neill's personality is not as strong and prominent as Dalglish's, so of course he is not the leader in the locker room. But, likewise, he won't do things his own way because his personality is too strong. Moreover, he only needs to maintain good relations with Gerrard and Chen Hero to gain the right to speak in the locker room, which is not difficult.

Dalglish was too strong and too legendary, so everyone had a blind obedience to him.

Such a situation does not currently exist with Martin O'Neill.

O'Neill has no foundation, so he is very low-key in the club. The benefit of being low-key is that he can focus on the team without being disturbed by the outside world.

Because no one will use him as a target, constantly thinking about dealing with him. Dalglish was targeted because he was too high-profile... and was used as a target by Niang.

In short, under the leadership of such a low-key head coach, Liverpool is steadily advancing on the road to recovery. This is much better than the false pretenses of any famous coach.

Some people used to fantasize about letting Mourinho lead Liverpool, but the reality is that if Mourinho, a head coach with a strong personality and too much control, came, he would probably fight Niang to the detriment of both.

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The Premier League has reached the thirty-third round, which is considered to be near the end, with five league rounds left before the end of the league.

In these five league rounds, Liverpool will also face Arsenal, Manchester City, and Tottenham. Fortunately, Liverpool defeated Twente 5-1 at home, so Martin O'Neill can allow some of the main players to rest.

Because after playing the game against Twente at home, Liverpool will face Arsenal at the weekend.

Liverpool is playing away in this game, and Martin O'Neill intends to play with all the main players. If they lose to Arsenal, they will be further behind Manchester United.

The match between Liverpool and Arsenal at Arsenal's home stadium has no other hype besides being a clash between two strong teams.

Last season, the media could still talk about the "battle for the top scorer," but this season everyone is not interested in discussing this topic. Because on the league scorer list, Chen Hero has already scored thirty-five goals, only two goals away from his record of thirty-seven goals created last season. He has long been destined to win the Golden Boot award this season.

And Van Persie, who is ranked second, has also worked very hard, but his state is still different compared to last season. So far, he has only scored twenty goals, fifteen goals behind. In the remaining five league rounds, unless he scores an average of three goals per game and prays that Chen Hero doesn't score a single goal, he has no hope of catching up with Chen Hero.

This difficulty is too great, so even Van Persie himself knows that he has no hope of becoming the top scorer. He encountered a Chen Hero when he was in the best state of his career, which is really... tragic!

Based on this reason, both sides were very calm before the game, and no one provoked a war of words with each other.

The match between Liverpool and Arsenal doesn't have as many endless topics as their match with Manchester United. This is just an ordinary clash between strong teams.

Neither Van Persie nor Chen Hero expressed any opinions or comments on this game.

They just focused on the game.

As a result, both of them had good performances in this game—

Van Persie scored the first goal for Arsenal in the game.

Chen Hero helped the team equalize the score in the second half.

Both of them scored goals, but the result could not satisfy them.

Especially Chen Hero, because Liverpool were held to a 1-1 draw by Arsenal at their home stadium.

Although Manchester City were defeated 2-0 by Chelsea at home, Manchester United defeated Southampton 2-0 at their home stadium. In this way, the gap between Liverpool and Manchester United changed from four points to six points, and they are further away from the league title...

Because they knew this result, Liverpool players seemed very disappointed after being finally tied by Arsenal.

Chen Hero fought until the end of the game, but unfortunately, his hard work failed to bring a victory to the team.

Although he improved his goal to thirty-six this season, everything became meaningless in the face of this result.

He watched helplessly as Liverpool got further and further away from the league title, but he was powerless, which made him feel helpless.

This feeling is not good.

He clenched his fists, then released them, then clenched them again, then released them again.

Head coach Martin O'Neill came up to comfort his players. He walked to Chen Hero's side and put one hand on his shoulder.

"Don't worry too much about it, Hero. Sometimes, you have to accept this result. This is football. Life and football are the same. It's not just about victory and championships..."

Chen Hero turned his head to look at his boss: "I know, boss. But I just want to be a winner, and this is also the motivation for me to keep moving forward. If I default to this rule, maybe I won't go far."

Martin O'Neill patted him on the shoulder and didn't talk about him anymore. He knew that it was normal for a player who had won many honors at a young age to have such thoughts. After all, young people are full of vigor, and no one wants to be a loser. Wasn't he like this when he was young?

So, there is nothing to blame or educate. What Hero said is also true. He has already won so many honors at such a young age. If he didn't have this kind of unwillingness to admit defeat, maybe he would have really lost the motivation to move forward. He would lie on his laurels and sleep, eating his old capital until the day he ran out of money.

Therefore, Martin O'Neill didn't say anything, just smiled.

He thought that maybe when Chen Hero entered the end of his career, as his physical and technical abilities gradually declined, and as he encountered more and more similar helpless things, he would slowly get used to and accept this feeling.

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In any case, Liverpool were held to a draw by Arsenal at their home stadium, and they are further away from the league title. The happiest people this night were Manchester United fans, who even started celebrating the championship in advance.

Whether it is Manchester City or Liverpool, they don't think they are their opponents. Especially in the penultimate round of the league, Liverpool will face Manchester City at home. This is a direct match between the second and third in the league. No matter what the result is, Manchester United can reap the benefits.

And after being held to a draw by Arsenal, Martin O'Neill also reflected on his gains and losses during this period.

The Europa League prospects are very good, and they have always been ranked first in the league. It seems that both championships can be won this season. As a result, this made him complacent. He wanted to win both championships.

You must know that the goal he set at the beginning of the season was to enter the knockout stage of the Europa League and get a Champions League spot for next season in the Premier League. It was that simple.

But the actual performance this season has greatly exceeded his expectations.

So much so that he had unrealistic delusions and disrupted his plans and the team's preparations.

It is precisely because he has been eager for quick success during this period that he has led to the predicament in the league. In the last six games, except for winning a Merseyside derby against Everton and a game against Southampton, the other four games were two draws and two losses. This is the worst period of performance for the team this season.

The team also officially fell from the first position in the league to the current third position from this time.

If he continues to insist on winning championships on both fronts, I am afraid that he will soon collapse. It's okay if he can't win both championships in the end, but if he loses even the Champions League spot for next season, then he will lose his shirt.

In order to avoid such a situation, he must readjust his future strategic focus and not compete with Manchester United for the first place in the league. It would be good to maintain the current third position in the league.

At the same time, try to reach the final in the Europa League, defeat the opponent, and lift the championship trophy.

This is a perfect end to this season.

To put it bluntly, Liverpool's lineup strength is not strong enough, and they are not ready to win championships on both fronts. So, it is impossible to expect to win both titles now.

It is still down-to-earth. Being able to win the Europa League championship is also a capability.

Next, recruit troops and buy horses this summer, purchase strong aid, and start a new impact on the league championship.

As for the Champions League championship... Martin O'Neill thinks that Liverpool should not think about it in the short term, and Liverpool does not need to worry about the Champions League.

The league championship is the championship that Liverpool fans crave the most. After all, since the establishment of the Premier League, Liverpool has not won a league championship...

As a traditional English powerhouse, Liverpool, which claims to be the most successful team in England, can never accept this reality. Especially since their deadly rival Manchester United has won the most Premier League championships, this breath is even more to be fought for. In any case, the league championship must be won!

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ps, I have something to explain to you. From tomorrow, the 15th, to the 18th, I will go to Shanghai to participate in the Qidian Annual Meeting. During this period, I am afraid that I will not be able to code words, and the pressure on the manuscripts will increase. So, please allow me to update two chapters a day during these four days, which is actually a normal update...

For the past three months, I have basically been updating continuously, with a minimum of three updates a day, and nearly 10,000 words to update. I will also have a continuous four-update burst and a five-update burst from time to time...

Please forgive me. After I return to Chengdu on the 19th, I will continue to resume the three-chapter update every day, and occasionally have a continuous four-chapter burst~~