"Cheer up, be vigilant, and don't let up!"

Jurgen Klopp frequently shouted at his players from the sidelines to remind them to keep their fighting spirits high and not to be complacent about the momentary lead.

This Manchester City team is very resilient and if they are given a chance, they can really equalise.

He has played against Lin Quan and Pep Guardiola in the Bundesliga, so he will never underestimate these two!

Moreover, it's too early now.

There are good and bad things about taking the lead early, and the good thing is that it can greatly improve the confidence of the players and give them the relaxation to deal with the next game.

The downside is that there is too much time left for the opponent to turn the game around, and a big lead too early can reduce the vigilance of the players and give them the illusion that they are winning.

And once they do feel that way, then their fighting spirit will suffer.

I may not be running and scrambling as hard as I used to.

Klopp's tactics are based on the wide range of players running.

If the players don't run, but instead lower their pace and walk around the pitch slowly, how can his high pressing tactics be realized?

If you really want to start a positional battle with Manchester City, you are looking for death, and there are no more than three teams in the whole of Europe who dare to do this, and Liverpool obviously does not belong to one of them.

Klopp's reminder didn't go unnoticed at first until City launched a counter-attack under Lin Quan.

In the 32nd minute, Kante broke the ball and passed back to Kroos, who moved to the side to find Lin Quan.

Lin Quan received the ball past Liverpool's full-back Moreno and made a gesture to cut inside to shoot.

Liverpool's centre-back Lorenv and midfielder Lucas were both attracted to Lin Quan and approached him.

But as soon as they moved, Manchester City striker Kevin De Bruyne, who followed up in the middle, was left empty.

Lin Quan decisively distributed the ball to De Bruyne and smashed into the penalty area from the ribs.

And just when he entered the penalty area, De Bruyne also tacitly sent a through kick.

The ball was very penetrating and leaked between Lorenv and Lucas.

As soon as one of the two had their eyes on Kevin De Bruyne, they had a chance to reach out and stop the ball.

It's a pity that they all thought that Lin Quan was going to shoot directly at the goal, and they didn't think too much, so they gave De Bruyne the opportunity to pass such a fatal straight stop.

After shaking off the defender and speeding into the penalty area, Lin Quan comfortably received a pass from De Bruyne, and then pushed the ball into the goal from the crotch of the attacking goalkeeper.

Liverpool's goalkeeper Mignolet sat down on the ground with a thud, glanced back at the ball that had hit his own net, and pounded the turf angrily.

It's a shame for any player to be crotched, especially for a goalkeeper, once they are crotched, it's not only humiliating, it's conceding the ball!

But Mignolet has nothing to do, he is just a goalkeeper, and the opponent has already penetrated his own back line to form a single knife, do you want him to go head-to-head with the best striker in the world?

He doesn't think he's capable of it!

Rumble!

The moment Lin Quan pushed the goal, the Etihad Stadium resounded with a huge cheer, if the first 30 minutes of the game made Manchester City fans look extremely desperate and even stunned, suspecting that they had gone to the wrong stadium.

So after seeing Lin Quan's goal, they confirmed that the team on the field is indeed the invincible Blue Moon that they have been supporting!

So, under the leadership of some die-hard fans, more than 40,000 Blue Moon fans began to sing the famous team song in unison - "Unrepentant Blue Moon in This Life"

Lin Quan wasted no time in celebrating, rushing into Liverpool's goalkeeper after scoring the goal, scooping up the football, running out of the penalty area, high-fived De Bruyne, who was also running back, halfway through, and put the ball in the centre circle to prepare for a restart.

Lin Quan's goal not only ignited the atmosphere of the scene, but also ignited the fighting spirit of Manchester City's players.

They won't sit idly by and watch Liverpool take away the win on their home turf so easily, let alone take away the three points with such a humiliating scoreline!

There is no unbeaten team in football, Manchester City's unbeaten golden body will be broken sooner or later, they can lose, but they can't lose so badly.

Seeing that the momentum of the players had fully risen, Guardiola, who was about to shout at the players on the sidelines and tell something, swallowed back the words when they came to his mouth.

There is no need to shout, Lin Quan's kid has successfully aroused the fighting spirit of his teammates.

Now you just need to seriously implement the tactics you have laid out before!

However, Pep Guardiola did not sit idle, and he began to carefully study the tactics used by Jurgen Klopp in this game in order to find a way to restrain himself.

The game restarted, and the two sides fought fiercely on the field.

City's goal also stimulated Liverpool's players to know that they should not be taken lightly for a temporary lead.

City are unlike any of the other teams they have played before, they have an unrivalled amount of firepower, as evidenced by the goal.

It's not safe to be three goals ahead, let alone only two now!

So they returned to the state they had at the beginning of the game, running and scrambling very actively on the field, not letting go of any opportunities, even if they knew that some balls could not be grabbed, their players would not hesitate to rush up.

Even if they can't get it, they have to delay and interfere with the dribbling and passing of Manchester City players, and if the opponent is too sticky to the ball, then the players near them will rush up, use multiple people to grab the ball from the opponent's feet, and then launch a counterattack on the spot.

This tactic of pressing from a high position and counterattacking on the spot made the pace of the game very fast.

Both sides had plenty of attacking opportunities, frequently scoring into the 30-metre area and even forming shots on goal.

As a result, the game became very exciting, and the fans who came to watch the game were a feast for their eyes.

"This is probably the most intense and the most watched game in the Premier League so far this season!"

On the Sky Sports commentary bench, Martin Taylor and his own answer, Andy Gray, lamented.

In the first half, both sides fought very aggressively, but there were not many fouls.

There were only 2 fouls on Manchester City's side, Liverpool only 5, and as for the yellow card, there was only one, which was just eaten by Liverpool's midfielder Lucas who tackled Lin Quan with the ball.

"Hehe, the reason why this game is so good is probably because these two teams are playing a two-style duel between the Bundesliga and La Liga at the pace of the Premier League, right?"

Andy Gray's words have been recognized by many fans, and Klopp's tactics are very similar to those he used before at Dortmund.

And Pep Guardiola's Manchester City is also very similar to the passing tactics when he was at Barcelona.

Of course, in order to adapt to the pace of the Premier League and the development trend of football, both men have made some upgrades and changes to their past tactical systems.

This kind of game that has both the local style of the Premier League, but also the impact of the Bundesliga and the technical flow of La Liga, of course, is good-looking.

"Andy, who do you think the two teams will win?"

Taking advantage of the fact that the score has not changed for the time being, Martin Taylor asked his partner a question, which he believes is also a question that many fans and viewers in front of the TV are also concerned about.

"It's hard to say, Liverpool still holds a two-goal lead, but their opponent is Manchester City after all, this is a team with Lin, not to mention that they are also the champions of the Premier League and the Champions League in the past two years, their ceiling is obviously higher, and the overall strength is stronger, if it is not the deadly own goal at the beginning, in fact, I am more optimistic about Manchester City!"

Since he lost his eyes back then, Andy Gray has long since changed his ways, and now he has become Lin Quan's number one supporter.

Every time he commentates on Manchester City's game, he must incarnate as Lin Chui and brag about it.

Hearing his partner's words, Martin Taylor said with a smile:

"Yes, I think many fans were more optimistic about Manchester City before the game, just like you, but Jurgen Klopp and his disciples told us that football is round, no matter how strong it is on paper, no matter how many honors there are in the past, it is not easy to play on the field!"

"Yes, that's the beauty of football, isn't it?"

Andy Gray nodded in approval: "But I want to say, never underestimate the heart of a champion, Manchester City is no longer an ordinary team that was jokingly called a noisy neighbor by Ferguson, they are the top team in today's football, a real giant!" ”

Liverpool fans scoffed at Andy Gray's words, Manchester City has a heart for a champion, doesn't Liverpool have it?

In terms of heritage, who in the entire Premier League dares to talk about the heritage in front of Liverpool? (Aston Villa, you sit down first)

After 25 years without a title, Liverpudlians' desire for the league title is unimaginable to ordinary people.

So, in terms of fighting spirit and desire to win, Liverpool definitely can't lose to anyone.

Since you can't lose in terms of fighting spirit, then both sides will see the real chapter on the court!

In the final stages of the first half, both sides had chances to change the scoreline, but both missed it.

In the 38th minute, the Reds successfully counter-attacked on the spot, Coutinho sent a clever pass, but Liverpool's winger Raheem Sterling did not score, allowing Manchester City to escape.

Two minutes later, Aguero's shot from a tight angle in the box hit the post and bounced off the bottom line, which also shocked Liverpool fans into a cold sweat.

If these two goals are scored, it will have a very big impact on the situation of the game.

If Sterling hadn't missed a single shot, the score would have become 1:4 now, and no matter how strong Manchester City is, it will be hellish to score three goals against Liverpool.

And if Aguero hadn't missed the opportunity, the current score would be 2:3, and the result of chasing two goals in a row and only one goal away would greatly boost the morale of Manchester City and severely demoralize the Liverpool players.

In that case, by the start of the second half, Manchester City would most likely have equalised or even overtaken the score.

Unfortunately, neither team was able to take advantage of such a great opportunity, and the score remained 1:3 to halftime.

At half-time, Pep Guardiola did not criticize the player who created the own goal.

He just quietly explained his tactics to the players: "Liverpool are very aggressive in their movements, which makes it very difficult for us to move in midfield and it is difficult for the football to get to the feet of the wide players. ”

On the tactical board, Pep Guardiola marked the positions of Liverpool's players in the first half, as well as their pressing tactics and defensive positioning.

Manchester City does not have a high striker, and Aguero is not the kind of traditional center forward with particularly strong standing ability and attacking ability, so Manchester City's attacking ability in the middle is actually not strong.

They are strong on the wings, sitting on the world's No. 1 winger like Lin Quan, and Guardiola naturally has to make full use of this.

The only goal for Manchester City in the first half was the combination between De Bruyne and Lin Quan on the wing.

But only once, after this goal, Liverpool's players stepped up their pressing on several points in the Manchester City midfield, making it difficult for them to get the ball to Lin Quan's feet.

As a result, there was a situation where Lin Quan frequently retreated to catch the ball.

But once Lin Quan retreats, if he wants to organize an attack, the opponent's defensive position has been completed, and the defense line is very solid, and it is not easy to shake or even tear it apart.

What's more, Liverpool also used active running to create a numerical advantage in local areas, so that Manchester City's attack would fall into the opponent's multi-person encirclement and siege if it was delayed for a second, so that not only could the attack fail, but it was even likely to lose the ball and be counterattacked by the opponent.

Most of the goals conceded in football are conceded during the transition between attack and defence.

If the two sides put on a posture with each other and fight hard head-on, even if the strong team fights the weak team, the weak team can compete with the strong team by relying on the complete formation to defend with all their might, so that the strong team can return home.

Guardiola took Barcelona to play Kazan Ruby several times, and the strength of this team was not strong, but their bus tactics were very disgusting, so that Barcelona had no way to do it, and in the end it was even successfully stolen by the opponent, losing the game 1:2, and causing a shocking upset.

The same was true of the warm-up match between the world champion Spain and the national football team a few years ago, the national football team was beaten passively throughout the whole process, and there was almost no decent attack, but relying on the excellent play of the bus and goalkeeper Zeng Cheng, Spain was helpless, and it was not until the 84th minute of the game that David Silva completed the goal.

Therefore, Liverpool's tactics make Manchester City very uncomfortable, and when it is their turn to attack, they have to go head-to-head with their opponents and shake up the opponent's entire defence.

But when it was their turn to attack, City's defence was mostly incomplete.

If it weren't for Van Dijk's courageous performance, Manchester City may have conceded more than three goals.

Jurgen Klopp really has something to bring Dortmund to that height, and it doesn't seem to be accidental.

Pep Guardiola couldn't think of any better way to crack Klopp's tactics for a while, so he had to make a fuss about what he was good at.

Since the opponent's active scramble limits your own midfield, it is better to abandon the midfield, bypass the midfield excess, and directly let the full-back hand the ball to the winger.

It's just that it's obviously difficult to do that in traditional positions and formations.

Therefore, Guardiola has specially arranged a set of three central defenders!

Guardiola didn't know that his adjustment had created an epoch-making new style of play!

(End of chapter)