Chapter Twenty-Eight: Supporting the Collapse of the Building
No one knows what happened in the Arsenal dressing room at half-time, but when the Arsenal players returned to the pitch, everyone seemed to see the unbeaten team they had been three years ago again.
The same smooth cooperation, the same sharp breakthrough, and the same iron-blooded ruthlessness.
As soon as Gerrard used his body to cut off the ball from Fabregas, he was knocked out three or four meters away by Flamini behind him, and the man of about 100 pounds actually rolled on the ground and slid for a long time before stopping; Alonso just raised his foot and made a long pass, and Adebayo behind him had unceremoniously stabbed the ball at his feet, although this sliding tackle was very suspicious of a foul behind him, but Adebayo did touch the ball first, and the referee did not give a harsher punishment; Van Persie, Mascherano's dead pesterer, was not ready to give him a chance to get up on his feet, but in a blink of an eye, he touched an angular pillar, and as soon as the little pony brother who was hit on his forehead looked up, he saw Bendtner, who was also rubbing his chest with snow and snow in pain, but his eyes were bloodshot......
Arsenal fans haven't seen their players on the pitch like mad dogs for a long time, as the most "gorgeous" team in the Premier League, it has always been someone else chasing the ball behind the Arsenal players like mad dogs, when will the Arsenal players have such a low profile?
However, this kind of performance did not make the fans feel "**", on the contrary, they began to feel an impulse and blood boiling, they cheered for every sliding tackle of the Arsenal players on the field, and applauded every time they collided, in their opinion, it doesn't matter whether the technique is good or not, and it doesn't matter if the speed is fast or not, only in this way can they really show a desperate posture on the field, which is worthy of their unsparing cheers and wholeheartedly support.
This Arsenal soul seems to be back.
The only thing that was unhappy was Descartes, who thought he would get a chance to play in the second half, but when his teammates walked out of the tunnel with red eyes one by one, he found that the professor had no intention of making a substitution.
Could it be that his words in the locker room have caused public anger, and the professor is ready to punish himself?
Descartes' heart was half angry, half apprehension, and he knew that although those words were said freely, but with his seniority and status in the team, these words were not actually his turn to speak, and since he said them, he had to be prepared to be punished.
It's just that if this punishment is not playing, he will feel itchy all over his body, especially a pair of feet, and he can't wait to run desperately on the court immediately.
But Wenger didn't even look at him, the professor's eyes were all focused on the Arsenal players on the field, and he seemed to have a thoughtful understanding of the momentum shown by the team in the second half, and his eyes kept wandering between the players on the field and the stands farther away, as if he had been looking at something, and as if he had not seen anything.
Under the ferocious counterattack of the Arsenal players, the score was finally rewritten in the 68th minute, Flamini passed directly, Bendtner was ready to wipe off Carragher after taking the ball, but unfortunately the opponent was experienced, his people passed, but the ball failed to pass, just when Bendtner thought that the ball was hopeless, Van Persie's ghost appeared in front of Carragher, taking advantage of Carragher's stunned opportunity, he poked the ball to Adebayo, the Togolese striker did not waste this opportunity, and shot angrily before Hyypia rushed up to block, The ball passed through Reina's ten fingers and sent a snow-white spray through Liverpool's net.
After the goal, the Arsenal players looked excited, and they rushed over to surround Adebayor and congratulate him in unison.
If you just look at the first half of the game, people must think that this game Arsenal has been more than lucky, because they were beaten by the Liverpudlians at their home stadium, and they had no way to fight back, but when the second half started, they magically staged a redemptive play, and before this goal, they had firmly controlled the situation on the field.
All because of the changes that happened in the dressing room.
Descartes' words are like a dagger, stabbing many people's hearts with blood, but in retrospect, it seems that what he said makes sense, we are not who we are, we are Arsenal, we are the undefeated army in the past!
Although there are not a few players left in this team who were undefeated and won the championship that year, there will always be many things left behind in a team, such as self-confidence, such as tenacity, such as ...... Victory.
That strong team left Arsenal with an indomitable pride, as well as a never-say-die spirit, this spirit is engraved in the bones, flowing in the blood, you usually can't see it, you can't smell it, but when it is awakened, it will glow with surging power, so that everyone can deeply feel, experience, and finally wander freely in the ocean of power it brings.
The Arsenal players have reawakened their fighting spirit and confidence through this goal, and although Liverpool's squad looks neat and strong, these are no longer an obstacle to their victory, they just need to keep running and working hard to cross this threshold and beat the enemy who has been watching them.
Arsenal's players are fighting more actively on the field, and their backline has been pressed near the midfield line for a time, Liverpudlian people have been completely stunned by Arsenal for a long time, they don't understand why Arsenal, who was still dead in the first half, suddenly became fierce in the second half, such a physically demanding pressing, not to mention the end of the league, even if the league has just begun, few teams will use, so after a game, they will not play in the next game?
Only Benitez on the sidelines keenly felt that the Arsenal players were now in a very abnormal state of excitement, their running as if they were ready to retire after this game, their nostrils were swollen in the cold wind, and the white breath exhaled made the tips of their noses condense small droplets, but no one cared at all.
I don't know what Wenger said to them at half-time, was it doping them?
The cautious Bei Bald did not dare to speculate more, knowing that this game is also very important to him, losing this game, his position is equivalent to losing half of it, and he must find a way to beat this crazy momentum of Arsenal.
In the Red Army, if you want to say who you have to rely on at a critical moment, there can only be one name, Steven. Gerrard.
There are countless respected captains in the history of the Reds, they are the hegemons of English football in the 100-year history, Ferguson spent a full 23 years surpassing them, they have witnessed the rise and fall of the Busby dynasty, they have witnessed the glory and gloom of Nottingham Forest, they are the undisputed kings of England.
In such a group of kings, now only the last person remains, he struggles to support the glory of the Red Army for a hundred years, dragging this team that has gradually gone downhill to move forward, his comrades leave Liverpool one by one, and leave football one by one, but he has always been there, smiling and watching the clouds, loyally guarding his territory.
Every manager has come to Anfield with dreams of conquering the pitch, but each of them has been conquered first by this man, who defended the captain's honour with loyalty and perseverance, and made this team humiliating even in the most difficult times with his steely fighting spirit.
I don't know who ever said something like, "Liverpool are lucky because they have Gerrard, and Manchester United are lucky because Liverpool only have one Gerrard". Lord Ferguson once told the media: "Gerrard is not the top player", but even Zidane disagreed, telling reporters: "Even if he wanted to leave the team four or five years ago, no big club would miss the opportunity to sign him." ”
Benitez wants Liverpool to get back on the pitch, and he can't rely on anyone else, just Gerrard.
Gerrard, who had received his instructions, quickly nodded silently to him, and then returned his gaze to the court.
When Flamini repeated his old trick and was about to cut the ball off Gerrard's feet with a ferocious charge, Gerrard steadied his horse and then collided with him without hesitation, and the clash of muscles could be heard far away in the noisy pitch, Flamini took a few steps back in surprise by holding his shoulder, and then watched Gerrard fly away with the ball.
Bam Adebayor tried again to sneak up on Alonso, who had the ball, from behind, but Gerrard issued a huge warning not far away, Alonso turned his feet, and Adebayor's sliding tackle was useless.
Wilshere took the ball and was about to break through Aurelio's defense, but when he slipped the ball behind Aurelio, he hit a huge human wall head-on, and when he stood up, he saw Gerrard's back in the distance, and the big 8 on his back.
Unlike Cesc Fabregas, Gerrard will greet his team-mates on the pitch, and like Cesc Fabregas, Gerrard also likes to lead the team with actions rather than words.
His lead and desperate running soon brought Liverpool's players back to their blood, this team has no shortage of muscle and fighting spirit, their discipline is even more stringent than Uncle Bird's steel Blues under the leadership of Uncle Bird, the reason why they can't break the Red Devils' pressure every year is because they always have a shortage of personnel in certain positions, Bei Bald has the technical and tactical theory level that may surpass Lord Ferguson, but seriously lacks the vision of Lord and Professor.
When Liverpool also returned to their hard work, the game suddenly became miserable.
The two teams are like two armies that have been killed, they collide without fear, and everywhere there is a scene of people turning on their backs, biting their teeth, kicking with their feet, and using all the means they can use, just to be able to win the final victory.
As the time passed gradually with the fierce battle on the pitch, just when people thought that Arsenal would finally usher in the first victory after four consecutive draws, Gerrard told everyone with an earth-shattering long-range shot: As long as I am alive, no one can underestimate Liverpool!
In the face of such a shot with a speed of more than 160 kilometers, Almunia could not stop it, he beat the grass in front of him with resentment, and cursed loudly that the efforts of his teammates had failed, and he felt that he was the biggest intoxicating person of the team at this time.
A shadow covered Almunia's body, and when he raised his head, he saw the hands of Fabregas and the others, as well as the smiling faces around him: "Don't be discouraged, we have one more chance." ”
Four days later, in the second leg of the Champions League quarter-finals, Arsenal's opponent was Liverpool.
The whistle blew at the end of the game on the pitch, and the 60,000 Arsenal fans around all stood up and applauded their team, not because of the draw, but because they saw hope again, the never-give-up spirit left by Vieira, Thierry Henry and others, and they believed that whether it was in the last five games of the season, or in the next season, or next season, such an Arsenal would definitely make a comeback, and the honor that belonged to them was not far away. (To be continued.) )