At night in Marseille, the façade of the Velodrome Stadium resembles ocean waves, and the entire stadium resembles the blue waters of Tahiti, swaying on the Mediterranean coast.

Inside, it was brightly lit and bustling, with a pale blue similar to Manchester City covering the entire stands, and a special Champions League group stage was taking place on the lawn under the gaze.

Alonso still couldn't make up his mind that day, but he didn't want to offend Liverpool's three captains, not to mention the brains of those who play in midfield, especially those who play the core of the organization.

The guy picked up a glass of wine and took a sip, then clutched his stomach as if in pain, frowned and said: "I drank milk in the morning and seemed to have a bad stomach, and I have been tired for the past two days, I guess I have to ask Rafa for leave to rest for two games, I won't talk to you, I'll go back and rest first."

Gerald and Macqin glanced at each other and breathed a sigh of relief, the result was not very good, but it was not too bad, Macqin shook his head, and the football was like a palace fight, and there was no one left.

Alonsola has to take a week off, which makes Benitez even more depressed, and the two major descendants in his hands, Torres and Alonso, have retired from injuries one after another, and he doesn't know if he can still command the team.

Today, Lucas and Mackin partnered in central midfield, with Llera on the left, Gerrard on the right, and Kuyt up front, which is the only squad Liverpool can put out, and if anyone gets injured, they can only be on top of the reserves.

When they visited last year, they beat Marseille 4-1, when Mackin had just come out of England's defeat to the new Wembley, and Benitez arranged for him to come off the bench for two games.

Ma Qin can't remember, people and people, people and organizations, organizations and organizations, it's all like this, the initial sweetness is like glue, and then slowly the relationship wants to maintain well, it takes both parties to pay attention to maintain, after all, not everyone can naturally take care of others.

Sky Sports' Peterson watched the lukewarm scene, there was really nothing to talk about, and Mack Qin seemed to have lost the spirit of last season in the new season, except for a face-saving goal against Manchester United, the performance in other games was not too good.

He had to chat with McManaman about homely things, "McCa, Liverpool's situation this season is really not good, and it is even difficult to find a win, they still seem to be listless in this game, their chairman David and Dubai are now very stiff, how do you think Liverpool can get out of this quagmire"

Maika shook his head, "It's difficult, now their board of directors, fans, head coach and even the captain are involved, the board of directors is split again, the major shareholders and the minority shareholders are divided, unless there is a strong force to make David succumb now, or Dubai International takes the initiative to withdraw, otherwise there is no good way"

'I think Benitez has a lot of responsibility,' said Peterson, 'and he should never be involved in the club's takeover as a manager, but should have stabilised the dressing room, and as a result, he became a partner with Dubai International, which made his words lose credibility in the dressing room'

"There's a reason for that," McCa replied, "and that's not as lucky or as good as Ferguson, when Manchester United bought him, Ferguson also supported the Glazer family, but he stabilized the dressing room and stabilized Manchester United's results, but now Liverpool, the players have lost trust in him"

"So do you think Benitez will be out of class this season?"

McManaman shook his head, "With the level of chaos in the board right now, no one can say what's going to happen, but the question is who is going to take over this mess when Benitez is gone?" ”

Peterson also sighed, "I really didn't expect that Liverpool, who won the championship last season, would fall so quickly this season, and Reds fans all over the world were waiting for the Reds to recover, but it turned out to be just a firework", he shook his head, "Let's watch the game first"

……

On the field, Marseille's Ben Arfa had just cut inside in Liverpool's shrinkage bag and blasted the ball into the stands.

Reina's goal kick was not kicked wide, but passed to Makqin, who retreated deeply, and the game passed more than 60 minutes, and the score was still 0:0.

Marseille are at home and last season's defeat is still fresh in their minds, and while Liverpool are in an eventful time right now, who knows if they will suddenly rise in the Champions League? , so their head coach Ejere still told the team to be more steady.

The result was right in the hands of Mackin and Steven Gerrard, who combined to keep the tempo slow in the first half, and throughout the first half you will see Liverpool play ineffective kicks at the back, with the ball only hitting Marseille's 40-metre area when there is a clear gap.

Benitez felt that the team's attack seemed to be weak today, but after losing so many games before, and Alonso was not here today, the team's morale was already low, and he didn't notice anything unusual in the first half.

At half-time, he routinely arranged the second half of the game, Marseille will definitely attack, seize the opportunity to play speed, play against Balabala.

The atmosphere in the whole dressing room was deadly, most of the players kept their heads down, they were thinking more about their future, how could they put their minds on the pitch.

Benitez looked at this for a while, and really wanted to yell a few words, do you still want to fucking want to play, but he is also worried that once he intensifies his emotions, he will become the target of public criticism.

Marseille in the second half really strengthened the attack and pressing, Ejere watched the first half, and saw that it was really a toothless tiger, when would it be if he didn't play at this time?

Benitez frowned, the team was on the counter-attack in the second half, but cautiously like an eighty-year-old lady crossing the road.

Gerald, did I let him recycle so deeply? Unless absolute safety is confirmed, Makqin and Steven Gerrard rarely send the ball forward, mostly crosses or returns.

"Shh......h

"Hey, Steven, press up, don't recycle so far back", Benitez finally occupied the sidelines in a rare situation this season, relying on the Champions League to save the decline, he still has some thoughts.

Gerald turned his head and nodded at him, and just pressed up for a while, when he saw Kuyt being tackled, he immediately rushed back to defend.

Mack Qin just finished playing Manchester United, and it is understandable that Benitez did not have the physical strength to insert the defense in this game, why is Gerrard, who is known as unable to run, so little when he hits forward today?

"Mark, he tackled Sherou with one kick, Kuyt was running, Mark, huh? He didn't give it, he handed it to Steven Gerrard, who retreated, and Liverpool played this game with rare caution," said Peterson.

Lucas and they slowly fell a few more feet, fell back to the back line to re-attack, this game teammates are not used to the sudden change at all, so he and Gerrard can not play forward, try to ensure safety first.

Playing at the back without worrying about mismatch and allowing the back line to deal with it calmly, this first half was the only time they didn't concede a goal in the new season.

As for the goal, I'm sorry, Mackin and Gerrard said that we don't have that much ability, otherwise we would have ousted Benitez from the stage.

"Why were we so slow in the second half?" , 0:0 remained until the end, and Benitez finally couldn't hold back in the locker room after the game, "Steven, what about your speed?" ”

'Rafa, Marseille were very aggressive in the second half, I want to make sure I get back in place, I don't want to lose here', Gerrard looked up.

Uh......, he turned his head to look at Mark Qin again, "Mark, I remember that your long pass was very accurate."

"Boss, but I didn't have any particularly good points today, I'm afraid that the pass will be counterattacked", Benitez was sullen for a while, pursed his lips, slammed the door, and went to the press conference.

In the dressing room, you look at me, I look at you, the players don't know what's going on, Gerrard got up and slapped his face, "Pack up, get ready to go home, we didn't lose today, it's a good thing, we have to keep up the good work and try to get the first win as soon as possible, now we have all become a joke"

……

"One game in the fifth round of the Premier League is over, Liverpool drew 0-0 at home to Stoke City, and considering this is a post-Champions League league, the result is acceptable," Zhan Jun said from the commentary box.

"After all, Liverpool have stopped their losing streak at the beginning of the season, and although they have yet to win this season, it is an improvement to be unbeaten"

"In the 15 minutes of the second half, Mack came on as a substitute to help the team control the situation very well, played well, and we hope that Liverpool can return to the form of the second half of last season as soon as possible."

Benitez walked into the tunnel as soon as the game was over, he was more sensitive tactically than expected, and he found out that something was wrong in the game, he was just not good at communication, not stupid, not blind.

But this kind of thing is well known, they don't admit it, what can he do? , scold them? , a captain for life and a third captain, and at this stage he doesn't dare to guarantee that he can win.

So three days later, in the League Cup, against the second division team Crewe, Mack Qin and Gerrard were not included in the squad, on the grounds that they were rested, and Liverpool finally won their first win of the season, defeating Crewe 2-1 at home, which was a slight morale boost.

However, the schedule seemed to be deliberately against them, and before they could calm down, two days later it was the Merseyside derby, and Liverpool were still sitting away.

In this game, Mackin still rotated, Gerrard played, and Alonso, who finally returned, Macqin knew what was going on and didn't say anything.

Alonso was a little entangled, he also watched the live broadcast of those two games, and although he played sleepily, he really didn't lose.

He can't argue with Gerrard and Mack Qin either, but in this game, he still has to play according to Benitez's tactics, if he wins, it's good to say, if he loses......

It's not just him, but now some smart teammates have also understood, but it's not so clear in the clouds, and many people don't want to get involved.

“Goal… al… Al, 2:1, Everton's counterattack, this time it was cut off when Enrique cut in the front, Liverpool went on a double back today, and they didn't stop Everton"

"Gerrard, oh ......, ferocious tackle, red card, red card, oh my God, Benitez kicked the bottle off the sidelines, Liverpool are gone"

Steven Gerrard got up from the ground, took off his shirt and walked off the pitch without even glancing at the referee.

"Shit, f**k", "you butcher", Gerrard turned a deaf ear, rubbed shoulders with Benitez on the sidelines, without any communication, and he recognized Mackin's judgment even more today.

Now Liverpool's attacking power in the front field is a disaster, and no matter how fast it is to sprint back and forth, it can only make the opponent more comfortable to hit their counterattack again and again.

They had to put their profile down, get through it with low rounds and defense, and he decided to do something.

Benitez's heart was cold, and before the game he loudly laid out his tactics in the dressing room, asking his players to play with speed.

But the reality is cruel, just like Liverpool in the later generations, with and without Mane, you are still the same rush, can the result be the same?

Mackin doesn't know where Benitez's pragmatism has gone, he was the master of Schalke's counterattack at home.

It's just that how can the situation be compared at this time, he wants a victory too much, just like Rodgers in later generations, if the decisive battle of that runner-up season was not attacked by Mourinho, how could there be Gerrard's earth-shattering slide?