Chapter 654: A Good Start (3)
"Oh, he's a surprise, at least he's surprised us in the Community Shield and in this game so far!" I have to say that maybe the brightest person in Liverpool this season may not be Zhang Yuan, it will be N'Golo Kante!' Carragher also praised.
At the moment of their exchange, Kante returned to the defense in place, and poked Afelai's ball out of the sideline, Afelai looked a little sullen!
Liverpool just snuffed out a counter-attack from Stoke City!
Zhang Yuan said that he couldn't defend well, it was a demonstration to Klopp, but how could he really not defend at all in the game, and he still had to defend when he should go back!
As the captain, he has to recognize this responsibility, and he doesn't forget to remind his teammates when he returns to defense!
"Zhang Yuan is becoming more and more a leader in this Liverpool team now, and I believe he will be a good captain!" Henry praised Zhang Yuan's move, who was also the captain of Arsenal and a forward-turned-captain.
Carragher didn't answer this, he is a local player in England, and he is not very interested in foreign players as captains, but in his heart he has to admit that Zhang Yuan is qualified to be the captain, Henderson?!
Henderson is indeed mediocre, this game Klopp used him instead of Lallana, Joe Allen or Ali because it is safe, after all, Henderson is better than the others in terms of defensive ability and tactical discipline, and Klopp needs to get off to a good start in the first game of the new season!
But Henderson himself is a bit mediocre, passing the ball in midfield and so on, with the help of Emre Can and N'Golo Kante, and his defensive qualities are not well reflected!
With 76 minutes played, the modest Henderson was replaced by Alli and James Milner replaced Coutinho as a winger.
Milner is actually not very old now, but Manchester City's strategy is to buy, buy, buy, and gradually he can't play in Manchester City, when Liverpool showed interest in him, he didn't hesitate to follow, he is also a local player in England, Liverpool in his mind will not be worse than Manchester City, but this is a club with a glorious history, and Liverpool also showed that we are a team with lofty goals when approaching him.
Milner is not Klopp's name, but a recommendation from Liverpool's transfer department to Klopp, Klopp has a tacit attitude towards the introduction of him, from the heart Klopp is very much in agreement with this deal, Milner's versatile characteristics moved him, this guy can play in almost all positions except for central defender, this is really a very good reinforcement for Klopp.
Milner is playing for Liverpool for the first time, and his attitude is very positive after coming on the pitch, and he knows that it will be difficult for him to compete for the position in front of him, but big man, don't be afraid of competition, he wants to at least make an impression on manager Jurgen Klopp: "You still have me!"
Milner's style is different from Coutinho's, he has a lot of experience, he passes the ball well, and his breakthrough seems to be less than he used to be as he gets older, but that's enough!
In the 83rd minute, Milner and Ali played a beautiful combination, crossed, Firmino won the ball and turned to shoot, was blocked by Butlan, Ali followed up, ejected, and sent the ball into the door of Stoke City again, Liverpool won 3:0 away from home.
This score already means that Stoke City is destined to be desperate!
Later, Firmino was replaced by Sturridge, but Liverpool's tactics have changed and there is no strong attack, so Sturridge played very depressed, and for more than ten minutes, he did not have a chance to shoot on goal!
At the end of the game, he looked a little unhappy!
Zhang Yuan saw his expression, so when everyone celebrated after the game, Zhang Yuan hugged him and said to Sturridge: "Daniel, we have an old saying in China, gold always shines, and I believe you are still an important member of Mr. Klopp's hands!"
Sturridge smiled reluctantly and said nothing!
The first game of the new season got off to a good start, Liverpool was very happy, scored 3 goals without conceding a goal, what a wonderful start, Zhang Yuan took the Liverpool players to the away team stands to thank the Liverpool fans who came to the away stadium.
Many fans were clamoring for fans, Zhang Yuan happened not to exchange jerseys with the other party today, so he gave his jersey to a little fan who was watching the game in the first row, and kissed the little guy!
The little fan was overjoyed, and his parents next to him were also smiling, and it was a very lucky thing to get Zhang Yuan's game jersey.
After the game, in the interview area, reporters also invited Zhang Yuan to conduct a simple interview, and Zhang Yuan readily agreed.
'We played really well in this game and at the beginning they caused us a bit of a problem but soon we got the initiative on the pitch and I think we deserved it!'
"Zhang, what do you think of your own performance, what do you think is the difference in your new position?"
"I did well today! I gave my best on the pitch! As for my position, yes it's not the same as last season, I got more of the ball, and it requires me to think calmly about every ball! I played a lot more casually last season and I need to think more this season!"
"Now in this position, you are far away from the goal, and you only gave 3 shots in this game!
"I don't think staying away from the goal has any effect on me, I have a lot of chances to get into the box!
Regarding the number of shots on goal, Zhang Yuan does not think that this is a problem, in fact, Klopp did not say that he should limit his right to fire, the problem is that the responsibility is different now, and he himself cannot rely on himself to solve the problem every time.
It's a simple thing, he gets too many shots on goal and thinks the players up front have to revolve around him!
That's the way it was in Real Madrid back then, the striker was simply a ball for Ronaldo, Zhang Yuan sometimes had to do this, and now in Liverpool, Zhang Yuan doesn't want to be so selfish, according to Klopp, he needs to bring Liverpool's attack up, Zhang Yuan thinks the same way now, he hopes that Liverpool's players can improve, all can have gains, and bloom more!
Barcelona and Bayern, which have done a better job in this regard, are not a matter of one or two people scoring goals, many people can score, so that the opponent has no way to defend against it.
In the live broadcast room of Sky Sports, Henry was also discussing this issue with Carragher, which was also after the game, and after getting the data, Henry remembered that Zhang Yuan's shots in this game were reduced compared with last season, and Zhang Yuan had an average of 6.7 shots per game in the games he participated in last season, and in a few games he had more than 10 individual shots, and this game was only 3 times, which was problematic.
"Maybe Zhang Yuan's role is different this season, and the number of goals may be reduced compared to last season!" Henry analyzed, the number of shots on goal is not the determining factor in how many goals can be scored, but there are no shots on goal to score.
Only three times in exchange for a goal, Zhang Yuan's ability to grasp the opportunity in this game is already relatively good, but will he be so good in the next game, I'm afraid it may not be!
"I don't think it's a problem! Zhang Yuan has an excellent ability to take chances, and the lack of shots in this game is just an exception, or if it is not an exception, I think Klopp will also ask for more shots! And even if he doesn't score as many goals as last season, if he can exchange Liverpool's offensive fluidity and win, I think it's acceptable!" Carragher didn't agree with Henry's statement, he was more for the team.
In an interview after the game, a reporter also asked Klopp if he restricted Zhang Yuan's shots, and Klopp generously replied: "No, no! I won't limit the players' choices on the field, I think Zhang Yuan has his reasons for choosing to shoot or not to shoot! If he feels that he has a chance, he can shoot at all, it's nothing!"