On January 21, the second leg of the League Cup semi-finals.

Liverpool, who played with a full bench and young players, although they lost 2-3 away to Burnley, the team still eliminated the opponent with a big win at home and successfully qualified for the League Cup final.

At Old Trafford in Manchester, Manchester United lost 1-0 to Derby County in the first leg, but in the second leg they scored three goals in quick succession from Nani, O'Shea and Carlos Tevez to take a 3-0 lead.

Cristiano Ronaldo, who has been in a slump of late, came off the bench in the 58th minute but his form did not improve in the slightest, and it was not until the 89th minute that the Portuguese received an assist from Carlos Tevez to score a goal for United.

It was also his first goal in more than a month, breaking the goal drought.

In the end, Manchester United beat Derby County 4-2 at home to eliminate their opponents 4-3 on aggregate.

Manchester United and Liverpool met in the Carabao Cup final, which immediately became a hot topic in the British media.

The last time there was a double red in the Carabao Cup final was in 02-03, when Liverpool, led by Houllier, eventually beat Alex Ferguson's Manchester United 2-0 in the final to win the Carabao Cup.

Historically, Liverpool have twice met Manchester United in League Cup finals, winning both times.

It also raises a lot of anticipation for the third League Cup final between the two Premier League giants.

Ferguson is confident that United are well prepared not only for the Carabao Cup final but also the Premier League title.

The godfather of the Red Devils said that Manchester United are currently 11 points behind Liverpool, but there is no precedent for such a reversal in the club's history, when the Red Devils reversed Arsenal and won full applause and created a miracle, and now, Ferguson believes Manchester United are still capable of reversing Liverpool to the top.

"The Carabao Cup final would be a great opportunity to prove yourself!"

Everyone can see that Ferguson has not given up on the pursuit of the league title.

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On the afternoon of January 25, in the fourth round of the FA Cup, Liverpool hosted Everton.

It was the 210th Merseyside derby between the two sides, but it took place in the knockout stages of the FA Cup, and the two sides had only met in the league before.

But unlike Liverpool, who then played in the Carabao Cup, Everton were well prepared.

Therefore, David Moyes's side were again on the back foot from the start, and in the 27th minute, Everton opened the scoring from a corner kick and Lescott headed it home from close range.

Liverpool then launched a fierce attack, but were unable to produce an effective attack.

The game was a stalemate, and by the 60th minute, Benitez had to make a substitution, with Yang Yang coming on as a substitute.

In the 74th minute, Yang Yang made a clever Cruyff turn at the edge of the penalty area, shook off the defender Hibbert, rushed into the penalty area, cleverly passed the ball with his heel, passed the ball back to Gerrard, and the Liverpool captain followed up and hit the direct push.

1-1, Liverpool equalized!

And just three minutes later, Kuyt crossed from the right, Crouch headed the ball in the middle, Yang Yang followed up and volleyed directly, hitting a rebound ball that hit the ground, Howard misjudged, and the ball crashed into the net.

2-1, Liverpool reversed Everton!

The two teams then battled each other, but neither team was able to score again.

In the end, Liverpool reversed Everton 2-1 with a pass and a shot after Yang Yang came on as a substitute and successfully advanced to the next round.

On the night when the team finished playing Everton, Yang Yang returned home and had dinner with Su Ye, but suddenly received a phone call.

Caller ID: Kaka.

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Kaka calls!

Yang Yang was very surprised.

Because he knows that Kaka has been in contact with Manchester City recently, and even before the media broke the news, Kaka's joining Manchester City is a sure thing, and his friend Robinho is also trying his best to persuade Kaka to join Manchester City.

Not only that, but there are also a number of Brazilian players such as Joao and Elano at Manchester City, which is also very attractive to Kaka.

What's more, the chips given by Manchester City are very high, with a transfer fee of more than 100 million euros and an annual salary of up to 500,000 pounds, which is three times that of Yang Yang.

Therefore, Yang Yang has always felt that Kaka should join Manchester City, after all, who will have trouble with money?

But at this time, Kaka called, which surprised Yang Yang.

After talking to Su Ye, Yang Yang returned to the living room and connected the phone.

"Hi, Kaka."

"Hello, Yang, won't bother you?" Kaka's voice came from the other side of the phone, and there was a faint feeling of tiredness.

"Of course not, I'm welcome to call me at any time." Yang Yang said with a smile.

'I've watched you play Everton, you've been great, you've been in such good form lately. Kaka said politely.

"You've won a prize." Yang Yang replied, "By the way, how are your recent injuries?" ”

"It's still recovering, you know, groin injuries aren't that easy to heal."

Yang Yang snorted and didn't say anything more.

"I heard that your friend Winston Bogard is very good at this, and will have a chance to introduce me another day, how about it?" Kaka asked with a smile.

"Of course there is no problem." Yang Yang agreed.

There was a sudden silence on the other side of the phone, and Yang Yang himself didn't know what to say.

The Milan laboratory itself is very famous in European football, and Yang Yang himself is a layman, so it is not appropriate to talk too much.

"I'm calling you today to ask you something else."

"You say, I will tell you what I know." Yang Yang replied.

He and Kaka have known each other for many years, although they don't have a deep relationship with each other, at best, they occasionally call each other, or send congratulatory messages and text messages, but in fact, the friendship between the two is not thin, and even in this kind of plain interaction, they feel very comfortable with each other.

I have to admit that sometimes it's really hard to say about this kind of thing.

Yang Yang and Kaka belong to this category.

"What do you think of Manchester City?"

Yang Yang secretly screamed in his heart, sure enough, he could guess that this was the case.

Manchester City's performance this season is indeed very bad, after a lot of investment, after 22 rounds of games, Manchester City is currently ranked 12th in the Premier League, although it is not very bad and bad, but it is indeed not proportional to their investment.

Before the start of the season, everyone's expectation of Manchester City was the Chelsea of the year, but you must know that after Abramovich's investment, Chelsea's results improved by leaps and bounds, and Ranieri played a big game in the Premier League and the Champions League under the coaching, and the performance was very eye-catching.

But today's Manchester City really doesn't show the slightest sign of this.

Perhaps seeing that Yang Yang didn't answer for a long time, he seemed very hesitant, and Kaka also took the initiative to say it.

"The other party is very sincere, the club has agreed, and judging from the blueprint outlined by the other party, they are also ambitious and want to do a big job, but, you know, a lot of things are really hard to say, I'm worried."

Kaka's words, Yang Yang only heard the last paragraph.

Worry, it's inevitable.

AC Milan and Manchester City, it's a bit like jumping from the core executives of the world's top 500 companies to start-ups, who is not worried?

Besides, can the promises given by investors be believed?

If so, what about Liverpool's two American bosses?

"There are some things I can't say, the only thing I can tell you is my own personal feelings."

"Well, I know, you just say."

"Today's Premier League is different from before, and now the competition is more fierce and more fierce, because the Premier League is even a team in the middle and lower reaches, the overall strength is very strong, and it is also full of competitiveness."

Kaka snorted on the other side of the phone, obviously agreeing with Yang Yang's judgment.

"Manchester City is different from Chelsea, Chelsea were already a Premier League powerhouse before Abramovich's takeover, but Manchester City are at best at the level of a mid-table team that is worrying about relegation, so if Manchester City want to rise, it will take not only a long-term commitment, but also a few years."

How long it will take, Yang Yang doesn't know, and no one will know.

It could be as short as two or three years, as long as four or five years, or even ten years, who knows?

No matter how unbearable AC Milan is, it can also be a European giant, and it can play in the Champions League every year, Kaka is the star of AC Milan, who was linked with Chelsea last summer, and now goes to Manchester City, and is somewhat married.

It can be said that the only thing that Manchester City can attract Kaka is money, and that blueprint that is so far away that I don't know how long it will take to realize.

For the sake of money, he joined Manchester City, which was a blow in itself for Kaka.

Yang Yang didn't say anything, but he said everything that should be said, and it was up to Kaka to handle it.

After playing this season, Kaka will be 27 years old, which is not too old, but it is not too small, and even to some extent, it is really uncertain whether he can wait for the moment when Manchester City rises.

"Thank you for telling me this." Kaka sincerely thanks.

"You're welcome." Yang Yang replied.

After a few more seconds of silence, Kaka suddenly asked another question.

"I beg my pardon for taking the liberty of asking you one more question?"

"Of course, we're friends." Yang Yang said with a smile.

"If, I mean if, you don't think it's appropriate, then you don't have to answer."

Yang Yang pondered for a moment, "You want to ask me about the rumors with Real Madrid, right?" ”

Kaka didn't expect Yang Yang to be so direct, and he snorted, which was a certainty.

"Recently, they have been in contact with me as well, and they are very sincere."

"The only thing I can say is that I don't have any substantive terms of agreement with anybody, I'm a Liverpool player, but you know, Liverpool are in debt, they've always wanted to sell me and pay for it, I almost went to Barcelona but ......"

Yang Yang can stop in moderation, some words are clear, there is no need to say more.

Besides, although he has a tacit understanding and agreement with Florentino, it does not mean that he has to join Real Madrid.

"I see, thank you."

"You're welcome."

After hanging up the phone, Yang Yang shook his head with concern.

It turns out that there are not many people who have the same troubles as themselves.

Professional footballers sometimes can't help themselves.