Chapter 290 Second Half

The two sides changed sides and fought again in the second half. As Ferguson expected, Liverpool did not shrink back to defend early because they were in the lead, but continued to attack, hoping to score more goals.

This gave Manchester United room to counterattack.

And there were several counterattacks that were quite threatening.

In fact, Martin O'Neill also guessed that Ferguson would definitely use defensive counterattacks in the second half. This could be seen from his desperate defense in the first half, not wanting to lose the ball. Because if he lost the ball, the pressure on his defensive counterattack in the second half would be greater.

As long as he didn't lose the ball in the first half, he would only need one goal in the second half to take down Liverpool. So defense was definitely still the main theme, supplemented by counterattacks.

But even if he knew it, what could he do?

Martin O'Neill's idea was the same as Ferguson's. Even if he knew that Manchester United would use defensive counterattacks to deal with his offense, he couldn't really shrink back to defend. Because it wasn't just a three-point game, it was a game that was related to the title race between the two sides throughout the season. This game was given so many important meanings, how could he choose such a cowardly response?

To put it bluntly, it didn't matter if Liverpool really lost this game in the end, but they definitely couldn't lose their momentum. Just like Chen Hero said, I can lose anything, but I can't lose my momentum!

Since they couldn't lose their momentum, how could they choose to shrink back to defend early just because they were afraid of losing to Manchester United? Not only could they not defend, but they also had to attack. Because this was their home game! On their own territory, they naturally had to completely conquer their opponents with a powerful, overwhelming offensive!

So, Liverpool continued to persist in attacking!

Just like when he faced Suarez, Martin O'Neill didn't have to hesitate at all, he knew which answer he should choose.

Because there was only one answer.

Liverpool continued to attack, while Manchester United responded with defensive counterattacks.

Finally, in the sixty-seventh minute, Manchester United finally used a successful defensive counterattack to tie the score.

This was something Martin O'Neill had expected. He even had a vague feeling about it. Because before that, Liverpool's offensive was very fierce, just like a storm. In the end, even the defenders were pressed near the center circle, and there were large areas of space behind them. What was the difference between this and opening the door to let thieves in?

Carrick found Rooney with an accurate long pass. Rooney used his speed to get rid of Skrtel and Agger, successfully beating the offside trap and forming a one-on-one situation. In the end, he easily scored the goal.

But perhaps because they had been affected by Liverpool's offensive before, even if Manchester United scored a goal, the Liverpool fans in the stands did not panic or feel disappointed. They were just slightly disappointed. Then they quickly started cheering for Liverpool again.

It was as if they didn't care about the goal they had conceded at all.

Did they really not care?

Of course not. They just had enough confidence in their team, knowing that this team would definitely not let them down.

Just like when they called for Chen Hero before, Chen Hero really responded! Even God wasn't as effective as him!

"Liverpool! Liverpool! Come on, Liverpool!"

After the shouts, all the Liverpool fans in the stadium simply sang "You'll Never Walk Alone." The song had a slow rhythm and was very抒情shūqíng (lyrical), but it was sung by the Liverpool fans with an overwhelming momentum, completely suppressing the cheers of the Manchester United fans.

Old commentator Steve Hartson had not seen such a situation for a long time—the fans' performance was even better after they conceded a goal. How long was this "long time"? The last time he often saw this scene seemed to be...ten years? Twenty years? It was more than twenty years ago, when Liverpool was still a behemoth dominating Europe.

Liverpool was the overlord, and Liverpool's fans naturally had super invincible confidence, believing that there were no opponents in the entire Europe. Even if the team was behind in the game, it was no big deal. The team that would win in the end must be Liverpool!

It was just that later, with the start of the Premier League, Liverpool deteriorated. Not only did the former king's army disintegrate, but they also lost the temperament in their bones. Even the fans gradually lost confidence in this team...

When Liverpool performed well last season, Hartson would always have some faint worries, fearing that he would be too optimistic and would eventually be slapped in the face by the cruel reality—he had experienced this once in 2005. He was worried that he would be slapped again. He was old and couldn't stand such torture...

But now that he saw this scene, he suddenly became very certain—the Liverpool he was familiar with was really on the way back. They were coming back. After being lost for more than twenty years, they were finally going to pass through the heavy fog of time and reappear before his eyes!

※※※

Gerrard and Chen Hero almost simultaneously shouted to their teammates after conceding the goal: "It's okay! Let's score another one!"

Then the two of them realized that they had said the same thing, and they turned to look at each other and smiled.

Their smiles were full of confidence.

That was the confidence brought by strong strength.

※※※

"We're behind, should we let Hero and Suarez switch back?" Assistant coach Sammy Lee said to Martin O'Neill.

O'Neill originally wanted to shake his head directly, but after thinking about it, he nodded: "Call Suarez back to me."

Sammy Lee thought that O'Neill was going to tell Suarez this news in person, so he got up and shouted Suarez's name on the sidelines, while waving to him, signaling him to come down.

※※※

Seeing the team concede a goal, Suarez became a little nervous. What he was most afraid of was the head coach calling someone to the sidelines to give instructions, because he felt that the head coach was probably doing this to sacrifice his own interests, and then let himself and Hero switch positions, putting himself at the front, and letting Chen Hero get a better chance to score.

What he was afraid of really came... Just as he was worrying about this, he heard assistant coach Sammy Lee calling his name and beckoning him, signaling him to come down.

Suarez lowered his head and walked reluctantly to the sidelines.

He was very disappointed because the head coach went back on his word.

※※※

O'Neill knew what the Uruguayan was thinking when he saw Suarez walking slowly.

He smiled.

When Suarez walked to him with his head down, he patted him on the shoulder.

"I won't let you and Hero switch positions, Luis. But I want you to provide him with ammunition. Use your best way! Now go on the field!"

Looking at the stunned Suarez, O'Neill pushed him.

Suarez quickly reacted, and he gave the head coach a thumbs up: "I promise I won't let you down, boss!"

After speaking, he turned around and ran onto the field at the speed of a hundred-meter sprint.

※※※

Suarez ran away, but Sammy Lee couldn't figure it out.

"Martin. What is this..."

"Everything remains the same, Sammy."

"But you also saw that if Hero and Suarez switch positions, our offense will be more threatening..."

"That's a tactic we can practice in training later, but it's not something that should be used at this time, Sammy."

"I can't understand, Martin... We've now been tied by Manchester United. Their morale is up. They may take the opportunity to score another goal at any time. What we need is to score as soon as possible, stabilize the morale of the army again, and widen the gap with Manchester United..."

"Of course, we want to score goals and widen the gap with Manchester United, but not in that way." O'Neill shook his head, he explained. "I can't go back on my word. I didn't let the two of them switch positions during the halftime break, and now I can't switch positions even more. Otherwise, Suarez will think that only sacrificing him can guarantee the interests of the team. He will worry that the team will sacrifice his interests at any time in every game in the future... Can't switch."

"But the current situation..."

O'Neill turned to look at his assistant, he asked with a smile: "Are you so unconfident, Sammy? Look, the players are much more confident than you, the assistant coach!"

Sammy Lee was a little ashamed, because O'Neill was right, he was really not very confident... After the team was tied by Manchester United, many bad thoughts flashed through his mind in an instant. If they were tied by teams like Tottenham and Fulham, he wouldn't have such thoughts at all. The reason was still because Manchester United was too strong. Since the establishment of the Premier League, for twenty-one years, Manchester United had always been like a huge mountain, standing in front of Liverpool. They couldn't get around it or climb over it. Liverpool could only live in the shadow of Manchester United.

This made many people in Liverpool feel this way.

But Martin O'Neill didn't have such a historical burden.

"Believe in your players, Sammy. Because... they are really a group of people worth believing in..." Martin O'Neill muttered.

※※※

Suarez, who returned to the field, felt that his whole body was full of power. He now wanted the game to start immediately. Because he wanted to show Manchester United some color, he wanted to tell the boss, "Yes, you are right to trust me!"

Looking at the Manchester United players who were still celebrating their goal, he frowned.

Hurry up! Come and kick off for me!

Even if you celebrate again, you are destined to lose the game, because you have annoyed me, Grandpa Suarez!

The consequence of making me angry is... Damn it, stop celebrating, hurry up and kick off!

Suarez jumped up and down on the spot, and kept twisting his butt and moving his waist. His fighting spirit could no longer be suppressed. If he didn't move again, he was afraid that he would explode at this moment!

After the game restarted, Suarez did perform very actively. He was now more actively demanding the ball, and both his passing and dribbling were very threatening. He was in very good shape.

Liverpool is not just Chen Hero, now is my Suarez's time to perform!