Chapter 334 The Victim

The choice of Manchester United head coach Mourinho was also made out of helplessness. Manchester United did have great success under Ferguson's coaching in the past. The problem is that as Ferguson ended his coaching career, Manchester United seemed to have begun to pay off the debts it had won in the past.

Not to mention that the lineup is not good, Ed Woodward, who is in charge of signings, always buys players he doesn't like to use, and the players born in the 1990s in the team are difficult to manage, especially taking Pogba as an example. , he can’t even listen to criticism, he will get angry with you even if you say something to him.

In the middle of next week, the second leg of the Champions League 1/8 finals will be played at home against Sevilla. On the weekend, there will be a double red match, which immediately gives me a headache.

In terms of gold content, the Champions League is naturally more important, but for Manchester United's tradition, the double red is the most important.

Manchester United's lineup is not good, and the depth of the bench is not good. Obviously, it is impossible to play at full strength in a two-line battle, which is why Mourinho has the idea of ​​​​discarding one of them.

The league leaders have been in very good form recently, especially the leading striker Li Qing. Even if they play against Liverpool at home with all their strength, they are unlikely to win the game. There may even be a situation where they lose to both Reds and Sevilla.

Although Sevilla can only be considered a strong team in La Liga, La Liga teams have always been the victims of Premier League teams and are very difficult to deal with. Otherwise, Manchester United would not have drawn with Sevilla 0:0 at the Pizjuan Stadium.

After a day of thinking, Mourinho decided to focus on the second leg of the Champions League 1/8 finals.

Of course, this does not mean that he has given up on the home league game against Liverpool. It can only be said that the focus is on the Champions League, and the home league game against Liverpool is all about personnel.

The first game of the 30th round of the Premier League in the 2017-2018 season is the second round of the season. This game is also the 200th meeting between the two teams in history. In the past, Manchester United had the upper hand with 79 wins, 55 draws and 65 wins. However, Manchester United has the upper hand in recent years. The result was not good against Liverpool...

Old Trafford, which can accommodate 76,000 fans, was packed. As the team that has won the most European championships in England in the past is competing against the team that has won the most English top league championships, the level of attention will naturally not be low.

Manchester United has fielded its strongest lineup at present, with goalkeeper De Gea, defenders Ashley Young, Smalling, Bailly and Valencia, double midfielder Matic partnering McTominay, and forwards Mata, Sanchez and La Shford, Lukaku is at the front.

Liverpool, who took a break in midweek, have all their main players, including goalkeeper Karius, defenders Robertson, Van Dijk, Matip and Alexander-Arnold, midfielders Henderson, Wijnaldum and Li Qing, and forwards Mane and Firmi. Nou and Salah.

The commentators and football experts who received the starting lineups of both sides before the game were not optimistic about Manchester United playing at home. After all, the league leader Liverpool has been in very good form recently. Manchester United will not only have to be distracted from the second leg of the Champions League 1/8 finals next week, Pogba, the core of the field, was exempted from the game due to injury.

Which one is strong and which one is weak is already clear.

It's just that Manchester United and Liverpool have been feuding for a long time, and Manchester United fans will not give up to Liverpool fans easily!

Li Qing is Liverpool's most threatening player, so as long as Li Qing gets the ball, a tsunami of violent boos will erupt above Old Trafford.

The team coached by Mourinho is known for its defensive counterattacks, which can give the team the best game experience with limited resources. Li Qing, who is in excellent condition, is gradually disappearing in Mourinho's defense.

"Manchester United's defense is still very good..."

As soon as Xinying Sports commentator Jin Xiangkai finished speaking, the football came to Li Qing's feet again. His sudden acceleration threw away the elderly Matic, and McTominay lacked game experience and was not decisive enough in fouling at critical moments. Li Qing Directly facing Manchester United's entire defense.

Smalling had no choice but to step forward and put pressure on Li Qing. Firmino made a decisive move behind him. Li Qing tiptoed with his left foot and the football flew into the air and flew into the space behind Smalling.

Bailly was not experienced enough in the game and pushed Firmino from behind when his position was stuck. For a moment, Firmino, who was about to shoot with his right foot, lost his center of gravity and fell to the ground. .

The referee on duty, Anthony Taylor, was very clear in the stands and blew the whistle decisively. He pointed to the penalty spot with his left hand and took out a yellow card from his trouser pocket with his right hand.

Li Qing does not know how to take a penalty kick, which is a non-technical matter. Salah, who took the penalty kick, made it in one fell swoop, helping Liverpool open the scoring away from home.

Mourinho, who was standing in the command area of ​​the home team coach, had no choice. The strength of the two lineups was very different, coupled with the availability of top players, it was not surprising that the home team fell behind first.

In the 38th minute, Li Qing and his teammates played wonderful one-twos one after another. Matic and McTominay's slow turning characteristics were fully exposed. Li Qing, who broke into the penalty area, faked a shot and dunked past the reckless Smalling. He chose a very calm low shot against goalkeeper De Gea, and the ball went out of the net from under De Gea's crotch...

The score on the scoreboard changed from 0:1 to 0:2. Mourinho knew that the team was completely powerless at home.

However, 0:2 was not the final score at Manchester United's home court. In the second half, Rashford and Li Qing helped the two teams score goals respectively. The score of 1:3 was the result of the 200th battle between the two teams in history.

As Manchester City defeated Stoke City 2:0 in the away game, the points gap between Liverpool and Manchester City is still nine points. However, with the last eight rounds of the league left, if Manchester City wants to reverse Liverpool and win the 2017-2018 Premier League championship, it will be A miracle is needed.

Among Liverpool's last eight league opponents, Chelsea is the strongest. However, if there is no accident at that time, the result of the two teams' match will not affect the final league championship, because the second round of the two teams will be in the 37th round.

In addition, the only threats to Liverpool are Crystal Palace and Everton. Of course, they are only threats. As long as Liverpool tries its best, there will be no surprises in defeating the two teams.

The 30th round of the 2017-2018 Premier League has ended one after another, and the focus of sports media around the world is on the second round of the Champions League quarter-finals, which will be rekindled in the middle of the week.

The two games on the first match day of the Champions League are Manchester United vs. Sevilla and Chelsea vs. Roma. Except for Tottenham being eliminated by Juventus, Manchester City and Liverpool have already advanced to the top 16 of the Champions League this season. The third Premier League team that the English media expected to advance to the quarterfinals of the Champions League did not wait. Manchester United lost 1:2 to Sevilla at home. Since the two sides drew 0:0 in the first round, it was equivalent to Sevilla eliminating Manchester United as a guest, which was a big upset.

Chelsea beat Roma 1-0 at home, and the total score was 2-2. The home team Chelsea was able to advance to the quarterfinals with the advantage of more away goals.

There were no accidents in the other two quarterfinals, Barcelona easily defeated Shakhtar Donetsk, and Bayern eliminated Besiktas.