Chapter 343: 50 League Games Unbeaten and Premier League Points Record
The draw for the 2017-2018 Champions League semi-finals has been completed. As Li Qing is definitely absent from the first round, head coach Klopp is somewhat troubled. Li Qing's absence from the first thirty minutes of the League Cup final is still vivid in his mind.
If there is no Li Qing against Barcelona led by Messi, it will be very difficult to win.
The only good news is that Liverpool will be at home at Anfield in the first round, which can best ensure that the team can stabilize the situation in the first round and avoid an early collapse.
The result of Liverpool's draw with Barcelona came out, and the reports of the English media, Spanish media, Brazilian media and Argentine media became lively.
Last summer, Barcelona and Liverpool had a story.
Coutinho renewed his contract with Liverpool last summer, and his weekly salary became the highest in the team, but Barcelona, which lost Neymar, began to contact Coutinho privately, which made Coutinho, who promised to spend the rest of his life at Anfield, change his mind and become determined to join Barcelona.
If Coutinho had expressed his wish to leave the team before the season preparations, the club's top management and head coach Klopp would not have had much objection. It is human nature for people to go to higher places. The problem is that he wanted to join Barcelona only at the end of the season preparations.
This... is undoubtedly a huge blow to the team's preparations. Neither the club's top management nor the head coach Klopp compromised, thinking of keeping Coutinho in the snow until the winter transfer window.
At the critical moment, Li Qing's role in the front midfielder position was more prominent than Coutinho's, so Klopp agreed to Coutinho's departure, and exchanged 140 million euros in cash for Van Dijk and Chamberlain, which increased Liverpool's overall strength...
Why did Coutinho want to join Barcelona last year even if it meant breaking his promise?
Isn't it for the Champions League title?
This time the two teams directly confronted in the Champions League semi-finals, and the media reporters naturally had endless stories to tell.
Liverpool and Barcelona are in almost the same situation in the league. Liverpool leads the second-placed Manchester City by nine points with one game less, while Barcelona leads the second-placed Atletico Madrid by 11 points. This means that the two teams will not have any pressure in the league and can focus almost all their attention on the Champions League semi-finals!
The two-round match at that time will definitely be exciting and thrilling.
However, since Li Qing's two yellow cards turned into one red card in the second round of the quarter-finals, the Champions League semi-finals in the first round at Anfield may lack all the highlights.
The Li Qing vs. Messi duel that the English and Argentine media want to see can only wait until the second round.
Li Qing's role in the Liverpool team has been verified in countless games in the past, and it was even more vividly demonstrated in the League Cup final. Liverpool without Li Qing was beaten three times in the first half an hour, and Liverpool with Li Qing quickly scored two goals and completed the lore before the full game.
This is also what the English and Chinese media are worried about, while the Spanish media are excited. They believe that Barcelona is likely to kill the game in advance while Li Qing is out of the first round of the Champions League semi-finals!
Coutinho also secretly clenched his fists, thinking about proving himself in the first round at Anfield.
…
There are still two weeks before the first round of the Champions League semi-finals, leaving Liverpool and Barcelona with a relatively long period of preparation. Klopp is going to practice how to play without Li Qing during this time.
In the minds of Klopp's coaching staff, the first round of the home game can be scored without goals, but it is necessary to try not to lose the ball. The best result of the game is 0:0 in the first round. According to Li Qing's average efficiency of two goals per game, Li Qing, who has been released from the ban, is likely to lead the team back to the Champions League final after eleven years!
At the weekend, Liverpool ushered in the challenge of Bournemouth at home. Before the game, the English media talked about this game. If Liverpool can remain unbeaten at home, then they will tie Arsenal's record of 49 rounds of unbeaten Premier League cross-seasons.
Only when Liverpool players noticed the media reports did they realize that the team had unknowingly completed 49 rounds of league unbeaten across the season.
And the next round of the league is to challenge West Brom away. According to Liverpool's state, the possibility of losing is very low, which means... Liverpool is likely to create a new Premier League cross-season continuous unbeaten record.
Bournemouth has performed well this season, currently ranking 10th in the league, 9 points ahead of the relegation zone and 14 points behind the European competition zone, which basically means that there is no hope of relegation in the European competition this season, and the league away challenge to the leader Liverpool is destined not to be too desperate.
West Bromwich Albion is in a bad situation. After 33 rounds of the league, it ranks last in the league, 10 points behind the fourth-to-last Crystal Palace. There are only five rounds left in the league, which basically means that it has been relegated in advance.
On Sunday, the 34th round of the 2017-2018 Premier League ushered in many focus battles.
As the league rounds become fewer and fewer, the Champions League seats, the Europa League seats and relegation have become particularly important.
The most watched game is nothing more than Manchester City's away challenge to Tottenham. If Manchester City fails to win away, once Liverpool beats Bournemouth in the league that kicks off later at Anfield, it will mean that Liverpool, who has played one round less, only needs to draw in the 35th round of the league to win the league championship three rounds in advance.
After 90 minutes of fierce battle, Manchester City defeated Tottenham 3:1 with its overall strength advantage, and is only six points behind Liverpool with two more games to play.
Manchester City fans still have a fluke mentality, but Liverpool, who are at home, performed extremely well and scored in many places. With goals from Li Qing, Salah, Wijnaldum and Joe Gomez, they beat Bournemouth 4-0 at Anfield, thus tying Arsenal's 49 league rounds unbeaten from May 2003 to October 2004, and tying Jose Mourinho's 95-point record in the Premier League when he coached Chelsea in the 2004-2005 season.
Compared with Arsenal's 36 wins, 13 draws and unbeaten record, Liverpool's 47 wins and 2 draws are more convincing, and the number of goals is even more overwhelming.
The 34th round of the 2017-2018 Premier League ended completely. Liverpool, who played one game less, ranked first in the league with 31 wins, 2 draws and 95 points.
Manchester City ranked second in the league with 27 wins, 5 draws and 2 losses in 34 games and 86 points. With the last four rounds of the league left, it is possible to create the highest score runner-up in the history of the Premier League.
Manchester City still has four rounds left, while Liverpool still has five rounds left, with a 9-point difference between them. This means that as long as Manchester City cannot win at home in the next round, Liverpool can win the league championship in advance.
Of course, as the league rounds become fewer and fewer, it is only a matter of time before Liverpool wins the league championship.
Manchester City did not give Liverpool a chance to win the championship in advance in the first game at the Etihad Stadium. They beat Swansea 5-0 at home.
Two hours later, Liverpool beat West Brom 3-0 away, and the season points reached 98 points, setting a record for the highest points in the Premier League, and also created their own Premier League cross-season 50 rounds unbeaten.