super storm

Chapter 696 Start with Arsenal!
Yang Yang went to Paris, France to receive the [-] European Ballon d'Or, which once again aroused the attention and heated discussion of the media and fans all over the world. When he returned to Liverpool the next day, he was greeted by Liverpool fans all over the city.

For the Red Army, this is another great event worthy of celebration.

But the game is still going on in full swing.

Two days after Yang Yang won the Ballon d'Or, Liverpool challenged PSV Eindhoven in the final match of the Champions League group stage.

Since the Red Army has already qualified for the group stage ahead of schedule, the outcome of this game is irrelevant.

Liverpool played with a full bench and beat PSV Eindhoven [-]-[-] away.

Lucas Leiva performed very well in this game, with two assists, helping Liverpool reverse PSV Eindhoven.

However, after the team returned to the Premier League, it ushered in the No.17 round immediately.

Liverpool's defense made mistakes in the first half, and Hull City scored twice in a row.

The first time was that Arbeloa made a defensive mistake on the right, and the second time was that Reina failed to attack and Carragher scored an own goal.

This situation is very similar to the previous game against Manchester City, and everyone is waiting for Liverpool to reverse the situation.

It took only 2 minutes for Yang Yang to break through the opponent's two defensive players after receiving a pass from the right from the left, and assisted Gerrard, who was unguarded, to score with a low shot and get back a goal.

Eight minutes later, another pass from the right was made by Kurt, Crouch headed the ball away, Yang Yang made a wonderful volley pass with his back, and Gerrard rushed into the penalty area again, unguarded and scored the goal, tying the score.

Two to two!
Afterwards, Liverpool launched a fierce offensive, and Yang Yang also acted very proactively. However, it rained and the field was very slippery. Liverpool really lacked some luck. In the end, they drew Hull City [-]-[-] away.

……

Liverpool's away draw against Hull City is not a special case in this round of the Premier League. The other top three also performed poorly.

Arsenal drew [-]-[-] away at Middlesbrough.

Chelsea drew with West Ham United [-]-[-] at home.

Manchester United drew [-]-[-] with Tottenham Hotspur in the away game. Cristiano Ronaldo played the whole game, but did not show any performance.

The top four drew at the same time. Although they did not lose, it can be regarded as a strange phenomenon in the Premier League.

Sky Sports made an analysis after the game and believed that there were subjective and objective factors in the simultaneous draw of the semi-finals.

The so-called objectivity means that the competition in the Premier League this season is unprecedentedly fierce.

After the [-]th round, West Bromwich Albion ranked bottom in bloomers, and the second-to-last was Blackburn, who ranked seventh last season. This was something no one expected before the season. Blackburn would be in the relegation zone?
And what's even more frightening is that there is a five-point gap between Violent Ben and Sunderland, which is third from the bottom.

The newly promoted Hull City is currently ranked sixth, and Stoke City is ranked No.13.

Which team has the same [-] points as Sunderland?
It turned out to be Manchester City who invested the most in the European transfer market this summer!

Everton, currently ranked seventh in the standings, only has 25 points. That is to say, the twelve teams from seventh to No.18 are only seven points away. What kind of fierce competition is this?
And even a team like Sunderland has performed very well this season, and there is no shortage of draws with Arsenal.

If the fierce competition in the league is the external cause, then the problems among the various clubs are the internal cause.

Manchester United relied heavily on Cristiano Ronaldo's goals last season, but the Portuguese is obviously no longer as brave as last season, and his current performance is sluggish.

Not to mention Arsenal, the overall strength has declined sharply, and the control is no longer as good as before.

As for Chelsea, Drogba has been injured for too long, and the offensive power of the Blues has been affected. The lack of effective means to break through dense defenses has caused the team to keep losing points in strong dialogues and encounters with excellent defensive teams.

"Judging from the performance of the previous seventeen rounds, Liverpool is the most champion!"

"Although Benitez's team drew this round, they have achieved an impressive record of 46 wins, one draw and one loss in 2 games so far. They have scored 3 points, leading No.[-] Chelsea by nine points, and leading No.[-] Manchester United by as many as eleven points.

Sky Sports believes that Liverpool's strength mainly comes from the outbreak of Yang Yang.

"Benitez's team has always been known for its offensive and defensive balance, but after being joined by Yang Yang, the team's offense has been greatly improved. So far this season, in the 32 rounds of the league, Yang Yang scored [-] goals and provided [-] assists. He alone contributed [-] goals for the team."

"Too much reliance on Yang Yang will also become a problem for Liverpool, especially considering that Yang Yang's performance has been sluggish every December in the past two years, and he has fallen into the quagmire of the winter break. At that time, Liverpool will also be greatly affected. This is Benitez must be more vigilant, and it will also become an opportunity for other teams."

However, regarding the concerns of Sky Sports and other media, Benitez said in an interview with the media that he was not worried at all.

"I believe Yang Yang is ready."

Yang Yang himself also said in an interview with the media that he is confident in fighting the battle between Christmas and winter break.

"Let's start with Arsenal!" Yang Yang said confidently.

In the No.18 round of the Premier League, Liverpool challenged Arsenal away.

Unexpectedly, before the game, Liverpool was suddenly affected by injuries.

…………

…………

Mascherano has a cold!

However, the Argentine midfielder still came to Melwood, but put on a mask and did not follow the team to participate in training.

But the team's head coach Benitez missed a whole day of training.

Paco Yesterdan explained to the players in the morning that Benitez had to take a temporary leave of absence and was unable to lead the team to train.

Everyone thinks this is normal, after all, who doesn't have something to do at home?

But in the afternoon, after the team's training ended, Yesterdan did not let the players disband, but announced to everyone solemnly that he would be fully responsible for the team's training for the next few days, and he would also be in charge of the game.

"I regret to tell everyone that Raphael will leave us for a while, conservatively estimated to be half a month."

When everyone heard the news, they were very surprised, and discussions arose.

"Paco, what's going on?" Captain Gerald asked with concern.

Yesterdan signaled everyone not to discuss, and not to worry.

"In the past period of time, Rafael's body has been feeling unwell, and he found that his kidneys are getting more and more painful."

Kidney pain?

Yang Yang smiled wryly.

"So, this morning, his wife Montset accompanied him to the hospital for an examination. He was diagnosed with kidney stones, so he underwent lithotripsy surgery. He thought it was a small problem, but he didn't expect it to be more serious after returning home. So he went back for a follow-up visit and found that a hole was left in the kidney when the stone was crushed."

Everyone looked at each other in blank dismay, isn't this too unlucky?

"The operation was successful, but it is estimated that he will have to rest for at least ten days, so for the next period of time, he will not be able to lead the team and direct the game. I hope everyone can help each other and overcome this difficulty together."

After appeasing the players, Yesterdan disbanded the team, but at the same time left Gerrard, Carragher, Yang Yang and Harvey Alonso behind. These four players are the mainstay of the team.

Yesterdan's meaning is also very clear. Benitez has been unable to direct the team's game, but the next is the most troublesome Christmas devil's schedule, especially the game against Arsenal, which is very difficult to deal with.

"Javier Mascherano is injured. I'm considering letting Gareth Barry play. What do you think?" Yesterdan asked everyone's opinions.

Everyone nodded, this is normal operation.

Mascherano has made great contributions to Liverpool's midfield, especially midfield defense and interception. Gareth Barry has also performed quite well after joining the team. Although the defensive end is not as good as Mascherano, it is still competent to fill the vacancy of the Argentine.

"To play Arsenal in an away game, the opponent must still play mainly in pass-and-control, but I plan to focus on pressing and pressing, and at the same time focus on defense. After all, we are away, and we must see the situation before we shoot." Yesterdam is cautious by nature, and he is still worried about playing Arsenal away.

The two teams know each other well, and there is no such thing as a surprise player. It depends on whose on-the-spot performance is better and the tactics are more targeted.

Benitez is a master tactician. He can always guess the opponent's tactical intentions and give targeted restraint tactics. Therefore, before every game in the past, everyone is used to listening to Benitez's opinions, but now, suddenly losing him, everyone is really a little bit blind.

Should it be based on grabbing?Still have to be steady?

It stands to reason that Arsenal's current overall strength is definitely not as good as Liverpool's. If the team really confronts the Gunners, both teams will come out to fight. Yang Yang is confident that he can blow up Arsenal's weak defense.

But the problem is that Liverpool's own defense is not strong, and Carragher's recent form is not particularly good. Before playing against Hull City, he conceded two goals and scored an own goal, so the defense is also unstable.

Therefore, after researching for a long time, both Yang Yang and Gerrard felt that although Yesterdan's words were more cautious, they were indeed more reasonable. At the very least, it is most important to put oneself in an invincible position.

Yesterdan is an assistant coach, and he is also a good guy on weekdays. During the period when Benitez is not around, managing the team naturally needs the help of big men in the locker room like Gerrard and Yang Yang to talk and do things.

After Yang Yang won the European Golden Globe Award, he gave every teammate in the locker room the latest and best-equipped Apple iPhone in advance. Although it was not worth much, everyone took advantage of him. Coupled with his prestige in the team on weekdays, people still listen to what he says.

However, without the head coach, can Arsenal play Wenger smoothly?
(End of this chapter)