Everton did their best, but they were only 2-2 at Camp Nou and eliminated from the Champions League with an aggregate score of 3-4. Espanyol Enrique, who has eliminated Pep Guardiola's Manchester City, has eliminated another Premier League team led by his fellow Spaniard.

Lu Ling found that her brain was very active after drinking, and she sketched out the idea of playing Manchester City in the next round in her notebook. She thought the TV was a little noisy, so she lowered her head and took the remote control and turned it off. She didn't see the frustrated Nicholas on TV, nor did she see Patrick getting up from the stands.

There are a lot of names and keywords densely recorded in the notebook. And beyond that, there's another name, Patrick.

Maybe he heard it. He sent a message.

"I can see the moon and the stars. Good night. 】

She stared at the lines on her phone's screen and glanced at the names on her notebook, the alcohol was emotional. She didn't reply right away, but went into her voicemail.

After a few moments, she wiped her eyes with the back of her left hand and tapped the keypad of her right hand with a quick tap.

[You should have shaved, good night. 】

****

Lu Ling glanced at his phone, and a news popped up on it, which was the draw for the semifinals of the Champions League: Barcelona vs Bayern Munich, Real Madrid vs Chelsea. Antonio Conte's Blues are the only Premier League side in the last four.

She continued what she was doing, and after a while, another piece of news popped up on her phone, which was the draw for the last four of the Europa League: Arsenal vs. Sac Milan, Bayer Leverkusen vs. Liverpool.

Arsenal are already in a race for top four in the Premier League and can only hope to win the Europa League to qualify for next season's Champions League.

Liverpool are also fighting on two fronts, and they are very close to QPR in the league, and they are currently only one point apart. Jurgen Klopp's Reds are the next round of QPR.

Lu Ling took his mobile phone and glanced at the Premier League standings after 34 rounds.

Everton 25-6-381 at 69:26

Manchester United 24-6-478 59:26

qpr22-10-276 78:23

Liverpool 23-6-575 59:33

Manchester City 21-7-470 77:27 [2 games less]

Chelsea 19-10-467 57:36 [1 game less]

Arsenal 18-8-762 points 53:31 [1 game less]

She sees the next consecutive away games against Liverpool and Manchester City as a system project. These will be the two games that will decide the season and will have to be planned carefully.

She already had a general idea in mind.

****

On Sunday afternoon, the sun was a rare sight on the pitch at Anfield.

This game was portrayed by the media as a life-and-death battle for the fourth place in the Premier League, and the truth is similar. The QPR must not lose, otherwise it will lose the initiative.

Players from both teams lined up on the verdant Anfield turf. In the stands, flags fluttered, and Liverpool's iconic big bird was everywhere, with the head of legendary manager Shankly and the slogan supporting Jurgen Klopp.

And, from all directions—

"You will never walk alone".

The deep and beautiful tune gradually turns into a high-pitched war song.

On the court, the captains of both teams, Jordan Henderson and Ian Parker, shook hands before standing on either side of the centre circle.

On the sidelines, Jurgen Klopp walked towards the QPR boss with a smile on his face to meet the enemy he had to defeat.

As the two managers shook hands, coach Jonathan Moss blew the opening whistle.

Liverpool charged from the first second. Dressed in red jerseys, they have countless energies in their bodies, ferociously pounce on the players who are taking the ball from the QPR, break the ball and begin to attack the QPR penalty area.

This is what Lu Ling and the coaching staff expected. There is a good chance that the Germans will take advantage of the home momentum to desperately grab a start. She asked her players to be prepared to be attacked from the start. From the moment the whistle blows, focus on holding your ground, and be patient.

On the field, the players of the QPR quickly retreated to their own penalty area like the ebb tide of the sea and began to defend.

Liverpool's players have one of the youngest average ages in the Premier League, about the same as the QPR. Their running ability is among the best in the Premier League, on par with Everton and Tottenham.

The team has stars such as Coutinho and Sadio Mane. But they don't have absolute superstars.

As long as there are no mistakes and great accidents in the defense, Lu Ling has a certain confidence that he will not be breached in the opening game.

During this time, she strengthened the team's defensive discipline and defensive system during training sessions. This is the reason why QPR has lost points in some previous games. Patrick Amber is gone, and without the absolute nuclear weapons to contain the opponent's forces, he must rely on the efforts of the defense line itself to withstand the opponent's attack.

Her plan is to get the team to block the first line of the penalty area and draw some Italian tactical ideas to build a synergy and understanding between the players. The bottom line is that the opponent can't be allowed to get a good kick shot in the box.

As for outside the box, Liverpool will have some space to shoot from distance. But she trusted Hans.

Coutinho has already attempted three long-range shots, one blocked by a thick crowd in the box, one high over the net and one when Hans leaps straight into the air and plucks it out of the air.

Roberto Firmino also attempted a long-range effort with a tricky instep curling the ball, but Hans leapt to the left at breakneck speed and tipped the ball over the crossbar with his palm.

Of Liverpool's eight first-half shots, only two came from inside the box, and both of those were far behind.

The defense of the QPR was perfect.

At half-time, in the away dressing room at Anfield, the QPR manager's voice was very high-pitched.

She praised everyone loudly, then turned her head to Ian and Campbell.

'In the second half, there will be space on Henderson's side. He had already started to have problems with his defensive positioning towards the end of the first half, but it seemed that Klopp was encouraging him to get involved in the attack. All you have to do is ......"

The second half began.

Liverpool continue to dominate. Jurgen Klopp looked desperate to win the game and he continued to bring his backfield players into the attack.

Amid the singing and shouting in the sky, Liverpool's players seemed to charge with a huge sense of mission. Anfield will always be one of the scariest home stadiums in the Premier League.

Ian Parker cut off the ball. His face was tilted to the front of him, and he glanced slightly at his teammates near the rim.

Henderson threw away his defensive position and was charging at him, but Emre Can, the other midfielder behind him, couldn't cover up that much space.

Ian got the ball and feigned a cross, but suddenly changed direction and got away from Henderson. He then sent a through ball.

Lu Ling stood on the sidelines and watched Ian's movements, and he felt a lot of emotions in an instant.

This child has grown to the point where he is today, and has received so much praise, others don't know how much effort he has gone through.

As far as she knows, Ian is the most interested in sports science on the team. He even spends his spare time taking courses in sports science, because he doesn't think he's the most physically gifted, so he wants to improve through acquired training and wants to know this thoroughly. Usually in training, he also asks the physical trainer Carl for advice the most.

Now, he has made a lot of progress in the basic physical qualities such as strength and explosiveness, as well as the technical physical qualities that are difficult to improve, such as coordination, agility and flexibility. He doesn't look like a bulky player from a traditional English academy now, his movements are light and consistent.

His turn, the movement of the connecting pass was so smooth and swift – perhaps an inconspicuous detail that could have been easily made for a genius like Pat.

But for Ian, it's hard work and sweat.

This moment became the key to the game.

The rest of Liverpool's players had no chance of blocking Ian's passing lanes because the Scotsman was moving too fast.

The ball passed at Emre Can's feet and Campbell came over to catch it, and without much pause, he quickly knocked the ball to Leon who was following. Liverpool defender Lovren struggled to choose between them, and it seemed that any of his judgments could be wrong.

He chose to go with Dyuba on the other side, and he wanted to follow Leon who was in front.

The Uruguayan boy shook his long flowing hair, and at the moment when the opponent hesitated, he took the ball and stepped over the defense line and faced the goalkeeper directly!

Liverpool goalkeeper Karius pounced, but Leon easily brushed him past before slotting the ball into the empty net.

In the corner of Anfield, a song rang out, from the blue-and-white camp, which was a song dedicated to the "lion":

resgoals...

resgoals...

On the sidelines, Lu Ling ran a few steps with his fists in his hands, and then hurriedly turned around to hug and celebrate with the members of the coaching staff.

In recent games, their tactical set-up has often been unable to materialize for various reasons, but this time, thanks to Ian's composure and skill, Campbell's efficient link-up and Leon's determination in front of goal, the plan came to fruition perfectly.

After that, the QPR moved into rigid mode.

From time to time, Leon will form some cooperation with Yu Zixiang to play to the front court. Only a small number of troops are invested, but they can disrupt the rhythm of Liverpool's attack.

Lu Ling walked back to the coach's seat and called Vargas, who was warming up.

The Chilean has been on the bench lately, and his feud with the manager has not yet been fully made public – perhaps not a contradiction, but a silent confrontation.

She covered her mouth and whispered to Vargas, "Eduardo, I'll let you play in a while." And your performance in those last 20 minutes will make it up to me to decide whether or not to start against Manchester City. ”

Vargas didn't speak, but he looked at him with some surprise: Do you want me to start against Manchester City?

Lu Ling continued, "Yes, Eduardo. In the next game against Manchester City, our strategy will be different. Artem [Dzyuba] won't start, and you're the right starter for me. But I need you to tell me, are you ready? Not the answer you say, it's your performance for a while. ”

Vargas remained silent, but he nodded heavily.

"Okay, Eduardo. I trust you so much that it has never changed. Like I said before, I didn't let you start lately not because I thought you were bad, but because of the team's tactics. Everybody in the team has their own function, we're one team! And you're a very important part of that. ”

"Yes, boss. ”

"Then get ready to play. She lowered her hand and patted him on the shoulder.

Vargas replaced Artem Dzyuba in the 72nd minute.

Lu Ling's next strategy is still to defend, but this time the defense line is slightly raised and remains tight. With Ian in command and the tireless Jacob in midfield, and two excellent centre-backs in Mario and Mensah at the back, she is not worried about the formation falling apart. On top of that, she asked the players in the front court to attack the players who were harassing Liverpool's backfield with the ball.

The short, nimble Vargas is better suited for this task than the tall Dzyuba. Now Vargas is desperately pressing all the way, forcing the opposition right-back Klein all the way to the corner, and finally has to kick it out.

QPR is a one-a-week tournament in which the physicality prevails at the end of the game against opponents who play two games a week. The three short players, Leon, Campbell and Vargas, will use their agile top-ups and quick coverage to interfere with Liverpool's ball at the back.

The whistle sounded at the end of the game.

QPR 1:0 to Anfield.

After shaking hands with the grim-faced Germans, Lu Ling walked onto the turf with a smile on his face and high-fived the players one by one.

This win is about more than just three points, or beating a strong opponent.

It was at this stage that the team finally regained its rigor and team spirit, built an extremely solid defence, seized the opportunity to counter-attack, and relied on the efforts of the whole team to maintain the victory.

She hugged Ian for a long time, and the camera didn't leave for a long time.

They covered their mouths and said something for a long time.

Sky Sports commentator Martin Taylor lamented: "I don't know what the fans in front of the TV think, but I think I was touched by the hug. The first half of the season for QPR was unstoppable like a beast, but after Amber left, it went through many iterations. Winning this tough battle should be of great significance to them. What are they talking about......"

In fact, in addition to the content related to this game and the next game against Manchester City, Ian also said something else.

"Pat told me," he said...... I'm sorry, really, I'm sorry, Kristen. ”

Her voice was a little sad, and her jaw tapped twice on the Scotsman's shoulder, "Me too, Ian." Me too. If you call him tonight...... Tell him we won, tell him, I'm fine. ”

Lu Ling later let go of the Scots.

She raised her arms and clapped at the away fan zone, thanking them for their continued support and following. In fact, in the middle of the game, they briefly sang the "Pater's Song", and when she heard it, her eyes searched the pitch as if the number 7 was still on the field......

However, she knew, gone, gone.

She lowered her arms and turned around, a series of routines waiting for her.

****

To make all the players and coaches even happier at QPR, the results of the game played late on Sunday and Monday night: Manchester United and Everton both missed. Jose Mourinho failed to leapfrog the iron-blooded West Brom at home to a 0-0 finish, while Nick Flores' Everton were too much to be held to a 1-1 draw by a largely relegated Aston Villa.

As a result, QPR is level on points with Manchester United and back in second place, and the difference with Everton at the top of the table is back to three points.

Manchester City beat Tottenham 2-0 away and still hold on to the QPR.

But it doesn't matter.

Next week, they will go to the Etihad Stadium.

d. 166 Reading Network