Ga...... Ga...... Ga......

In Liverpool's dressing room, the Reds' players let out heavy breaths.

Forty-five minutes of the first half, with two minutes of stoppage time, the Reds were also very attritional.

The main reason was the loss of possession, and the players had to use more and more aggressive runs to suppress Barcelona's passing and cutting combinations, especially in the last ten minutes of the first half, when Barcelona suddenly increased the tempo to attack.

The most threatening of these came in the 39th minute, when Liverpool made a mistake under pressure from Barcelona.

When Skrtel played the ball out at the back, he was too weak in a hurry, and after being cut off by Xavi, he quickly distributed to the right side, and Daniel Alves was like a sharp knife on the right side, quickly cutting through Liverpool's left side of the defense, going down to the bottom line and then inverting the triangle back to the edge of the penalty area.

Messi followed up and shot directly into the far corner.

Thankfully, Reyna did well this time, flying to save the ball and giving Barcelona a corner, but kept it in the back of the net.

Barcelona then took the opportunity to launch a series of attacks, which almost made Liverpool unable to parry.

……

In the first half, Barcelona had 68 per cent possession, while Liverpool had a pitiful 32.

In terms of shots on goal, both teams were about the same, with six shots on goal.

Among them, four of Liverpool's six shots came from Yang Yang.

And the most threatening attack of Liverpool in the entire first half was Yang Yang's direct free kick, and the anti-offside single knife that was blown away, which was a pity opportunity.

For Barcelona, the real threat was Messi's push, but Reina's performance tonight was really good.

Debuting at Barcelona, Reina once occupied a starting position at Camp Nou, but was soon beaten into the cold again, and it was not until Liverpool that he regained his worth, so Reina looked particularly excited in the face of Barcelona.

……

Rafael Benitez and the coaching staff were very happy with the team's performance in the first half.

Both the execution of the players and the implementation of tactics on the pitch are quite good.

But there are still some shortcomings, such as Messi's threat.

"I found that in the moment when we switched from defense to attack a few times, our ball was always a little blind, the players always wanted to press, this is not good, I repeatedly told everyone before the game, let go of the defensive position to fight with Barcelona, this is suicide!"

Against a skilful technical team like Barcelona, Liverpool really don't have many options to make.

Xavi, Andres Iniesta, Lionel Messi and even Samuel Eto'o, Thierry Henry and Daniel Alves are all players with great individual ability, each of whom can pass the ball, shoot and break through.

Why did Liverpool take a back three?

It's all about shrinking, protecting the edge of the box and avoiding giving the likes of Daniel Alves, Messi, Xavi and Andres Iniesta space to break through with the ball and play crosses.

Pep Guardiola's team can really be said to have reached a very high level at the technical and tactical level, such a team is really terrifying, as long as the slightest omission, the opponent will immediately seize the opportunity to attack.

It's like in the 39th minute, Liverpool was a little too anxious to counterattack, but Skrtel's pass was not enough, Gareth Barry wanted to step forward, but was cut off by Xavi, and then Daniel Alves drove straight into the ball alone, and no one could stop him.

Barcelona's attack is like a rain of mercury, pervasive, and if they are given the slightest bit of space, they can form an effective penetration and create a deadly threat.

"You have to be careful, we have to be patient, we have to be calm and rational at all times, we have to fight patience with the other side, fight the whole, whoever becomes impatient first will lose this game."

Benitez's remark reminded the players that everyone in the dressing room is well aware of their responsibilities.

To put it simply, Liverpool would rather stick to this game and drag the 0-0 score into the penalty shootout, never showing a little flaw to Barcelona and giving the opponent a chance.

Many people may think that this is conservative, but I have to admit that this is the only way Liverpool has a chance to compete with Barcelona, and if they don't maintain a careful defensive position, Barcelona will penetrate every minute.

Since it's in the final, everyone wants to win.

And if you want to win, you have to choose the way that has the best chance of winning.

……

Yesterdam and Steven Gerrard then both stood up to speak and encouraged the players to keep up the good work.

Yang Yang also stood up on his heels, first apologizing for his two chances in the first half, and his teammates were all appeased.

Everyone knows that these two opportunities are not too good, one was earned by Yang Yang himself, and the other was blown away by the linesman's misjudgment, and Yang Yang cannot be blamed for this.

"You believe me, pass me the ball again in the second half and I'll send it into the Barcelona goal!"

Yang Yang's assurances are definitely trustworthy for the players in the Liverpool dressing room.

…………

…………

At the beginning of the second half, Barcelona still dominated the ball.

The Spanish giants forced a breakthrough with the ball just one minute after the opening minute, and after a one-two with Messi, he got rid of Xavi Alonso's defense and passed diagonally to the right on the left side of the arc at the top of the penalty area.

Samuel Eto'o cut in quickly and slid a shot from the edge of the six-yard box.

But the ball was blocked by Skrtel, who was cut in the back row, and it turned into a corner.

Thierry Henry's header then went just wide of the post.

But then, Xavi made a straight kick near the center circle, Henry took the ball on the left, sprinted away, dribbled into the penalty area, and after shaking the ball past Carragher twice in a row, he hit the goal from a small angle, which was saved by Reina, and it was another corner kick.

This time, it was Reyna who made a decisive abandonment and took the ball out of the air.

In the fiftieth minute, Gerrard was cut off in the midfield, Barcelona launched a quick counterattack, Eto'o won the ball on the right side and went straight into the penalty area, Messi inserted it, but Arbeloa, who returned to the position in time, took the first step to clear the ball.

Messi collapsed in the Liverpool penalty area due to physical contact between the two players, but referee Busaka did not interrupt the game and motioned for Messi to get up and get back into play as soon as possible.

Judging from the slow-motion replay, Arbeloa's hand did hit Messi, but it should not have been intentional.

While Barcelona launched a series of attacks, Liverpool also played a quick counter-attack.

Carragher won the ball and quickly made a long pass and cleared it directly to the front.

Kuyt scrambled for the ball, Yang Yang grabbed the second drop point, tried to pass the ball, past Puyol, but the Barcelona central defender decisively fouled, pulled down Yang Yang, and was shown a yellow card by the referee.

It was also the first yellow card of the whole game.

……

Yang Yang took Kuyt's hand and struggled to get up from the grass.

He was somewhat angry at Puyol's foul.

It's a pity that he wasn't the last defender, otherwise, it wouldn't have been as simple as a yellow card.

As he walked back, Yang Yang noticed Benitez on the sidelines making adjustments.

Clearly, the Liverpool boss felt that the team had started the second half a little too far back, which was extremely detrimental to the defence, as the lack of step-backs and flexibility allowed Barcelona to face the goal too easily.

This is very dangerous.

Therefore, Benitez wants his team to press forward appropriately, preferably pushing Barcelona's passing area 30 metres away to minimise their threat.

And after the game restarted, including the back three and Steven Gerrard, they were resolutely carrying out Benitez's arrangement.

When the midfield presses forward, the back line naturally follows forward, and Kuyt in the front field is actively retreating to participate in the defense of the midfield.

After seeing Kuyt retreat, Yang Yang pushed his area of activity forward, directly facing Puyol and Pique.

This is also what Yang Yang often does in this game.

Next, all he needs to do is wait patiently for the pass from the midfield.

And this kind of feeling is really uncomfortable when he sees his teammates fighting desperately, watching his teammates doing their best to force and press, but he can't help in the front court.

But he is also well aware of his responsibilities.

The best way for him to repay his teammates, the manager, and the team is to complete his duties.

Barcelona started the second half with a rush to attack, playing a couple of powerful attacks and creating a few threatening shots, and finally slowed down their offensive for the time being.

Meticulous defensive system and tenacious defensive tenacity are Liverpool's strengths and characteristics.

Barcelona are well aware that it is unrealistic to want to eat Liverpool in one go, and maybe they are even ready to fight to some extent.

Otherwise, Guardiola would not have used the agitation method before the game, threatening that Liverpool would not dare to play against Barcelona.

……

The time is ticking by.

Neither team even wanted to make a substitution.

Barcelona dominated the passing and possession of 70 per cent, which showed that the advantage after the start of the second half was more obvious than the first, but Liverpool always held on to their own half and did not give the opponent the slightest chance.

Liverpool's defense is very meticulous, very solid, but not brutal, even after 60 minutes of the game, there is not even a yellow card, and the number of fouls is less than Barcelona's, and it still relies more on the players' running and positioning, as well as each other's cooperation to complete the defense, to block Barcelona's attack.

This also shows the hard work Benitez has put into the Liverpool team in the past few years.

At the very least, this defensive formation is enough to make people understand why the Red Army can stand at the Olympic Stadium in Rome.

As Barcelona slowed down, the game seemed to be starting to settle into a stalemate.

But the more this happens, the more focused the players on the pitch become, and the more nervous the fans in the stands become.

Everyone knows that behind the calm often represents an undercurrent.

And everyone is waiting for the unexpected to appear.