The first leg of the Champions League semi-final between Liverpool and Manchester United at Anfield was not as earth-shattering as expected.

Instead, it was a dull tug-of-war in which Liverpool had the upper hand but struggled to create great chances.

In the 8th minute of the game, Meireles and Alonso sent the ball to Qin Xiong, who was pulling the side in the front, after coordinating with the pass in the midfield.

As soon as Qin Xiong stopped the ball, he observed the surrounding situation.

Fabio was close to the direction of the penalty area, clearly intent on blocking his inside line.

Carrick didn't come over in the middle, but Park Ji-sung and Rooney rushed towards him, Park Ji-sung took the lead, and Rooney was on the other side of the middle to act on the other side.

After Park Ji-sung rushed over, Qin Xiong suddenly started to cut cross-cutting to the middle, and he broke through with the ball through the narrow gap between Park Ji-sung and Fabio, which surprised the two Red Devils players a little, Qin Xiong's explosive ability on the spot is rarely used, perhaps related to the different situation of the past battles.

In the past, Manchester United played Liverpool, both teams were open and closed style, fierce scramble, every inch of land must be contested, in such a game scene, Qin Xiong most of the time is in the dynamic direct breakthrough, and rarely wait for the ball to start the outbreak in place.

In today's game, Manchester United clearly showed weakness and defense-oriented, which led to Liverpool's extremely difficult battle, and Qin Xiong had no choice but to control the ball on the spot and then seek the possibility of a breakthrough.

Just after he broke through Fabio and Park Ji-sung, and before Carrick moved in his direction, Rooney took the lead.

Qin Xiong and Rooney were unstable in possession of the ball in the physical confrontation, and Rooney poked the ball away and was in chaos. Raul was unable to take advantage of Ferdinand.

Manchester United defended successfully.

Rio Ferdinand quickly crossed the ball diagonally to the left wing. The ball rolled to Evra's feet. Patrice Evra immediately crossed the ball straight ahead.

Ryan Giggs dribbled forward from the wing near the middle line.

Liverpool's midfield defence is on the lookout.

It has to be said that Liverpool also paid extra attention to defense today, at least more than in all past games this season.

Ryan Giggs is like a lone hero on the flanks.

He knew that even if he had the slightest chance, he would race against time to get the offense to the forefront.

Because Manchester United won't press big today.

Since Rooney was involved in the defense just now, it was impossible for him to rush directly to the front line.

United's attacking line was dominated by Hernandez in the middle.

Ryan Giggs crossed decisively before meeting Johnson on the wing.

His cross was kicked behind the Liverpool defenders, bypassing the back line in an attempt to get Hernandez a shot forward to attack.

Hernandez flew himself out of the way of Agger in a flying tackle motion.

The sole of his shoe kicked the football, but he couldn't control his feet well. The ball flew out of the baseline about two meters away from the goal!

Reyna made a false alarm in front of the goal line.

Manchester United are still attacking from the flanks today, and Liverpool's focus on containing the opponent's counter-attacks is the top priority.

The Red Devils are not Shakhtar Donetsk, and once Manchester United score first, Ferguson's on-the-spot deployment and reaction may make it even more difficult for Liverpool to face the game.

Five minutes later, Liverpool were trying to tear apart United's defence by constantly moving the ball laterally.

But there are always two-stirring sticks in the midfield!

Rooney and Park Ji-sung!

On the one hand, they are afraid of conceding the ball, and on the other hand, they are worried that once they are plugged in, Park Ji-sung and Rooney may trigger the sublimation of the Red Devils' counter-attacking power!

Therefore, in the end, Liverpool can only rely on the three axes of attacking and breaking the dense defense.

Long shots, set-pieces, individual breakaways!

The 16th minute of the game. Meireles' long-range shot from 38 yards out from the left side of the pitch flew into the stands.

Reds fans at Anfield stadium were baffled by the team's performance.

It seems that Manchester United is much more difficult to deal with than you think!

Ferguson was right about that, United lost at the starting line in the league. This has kept United passive throughout the season.

But the Champions League is different.

Manchester United will not be led by Liverpool, and the tactical style of play will not be so easily figured out by Liverpool.

Koeman looked serious on the sidelines.

Manchester United's defense today is dynamic and still, and the combination of movement and stillness is quite effective.

The most important thing is that the two Red Devils who can't run have given Liverpool an attacking hindrance.

In addition to the other Park Ji-sung and Rooney, the other players in the midfield and backfield are very stable defensively!

In this way, Liverpool's individual raids will also be limited.

In the 24th minute of the game, Qin Xiong knew that there would be great resistance to breaking through to the middle or cutting inside, so he pulled the side to dribble the football to the bottom line, and then faked a cross in front of Fabio, and then crossed the ball back at 45 degrees.

Raul scrambled for a header in front of goal and lost to Vidic, and United's two centre-backs, Nemanja Vidic and Rio Ferdinand, almost made Liverpool's cross attack inefficient!

Manchester United, for their part, also counter-attacked whenever they had the chance.

However, their offensive advance was not ideal, and in the 30th minute of the game, Valencia stepped forward on the right flank, and after being caught between Mereles and Baynes, he directly sent a cross from the side and then turned and ran towards the backfield.

It's as if he doesn't care about the quality of his crosses.

It can be seen that Manchester United is more defensive-minded and puts defense first.

The situation became even more stale.

Both teams made a lot of mistakes in the midfield, because the scramble was fierce, and the defense did not move out of line, but tactical fouls were an indispensable means for the two teams to limit each other.

In the 36th minute of the game, Qin Xiong controlled the ball in the front waistline, and after attracting Valencia, Fabio, Park Ji-sung, and Rooney, he made a short pass to Gerrard who was approaching him.

Steven Gerrard was facing Carrick's defence head-on, Patrice Evra on the right was also moving towards him, and Wayne Rooney had turned and raced towards him.

Steven Gerrard flicked the ball sideways and then passed it diagonally to Raul in front of the box.

Raul observed the running position of his teammates before touching the ball, Gerrard was blocked by Carrick in the passing lane, Qin Xiong was also in front, but he was surrounded by too many people, Park Ji-sung always cleverly blocked the line between Raul and Qin Xiong.

In the flash of light, Raul decided to try it himself, he flicked the ball sideways and planned to shake off Vidic behind him, and then he turned the ball diagonally behind Vidic, and he bypassed Vidic and rushed into the penalty area, which was a very clever breakthrough idea, and the breakthrough line was a reverse cut line on Raul's activity trajectory!

But after Raul rushed into the penalty area, Evra took the lead in controlling the ball and stuck his position to block Raul with his back! (To be continued.) )