As Li Shiguang had predicted in the locker room before the match started, Liverpool's overall performance was not as bad as the media had said. Taking advantage of their home ground, they launched a fierce attack.
Liverpool had already taken three shots in less than 10 minutes.
On one occasion, Alonso's through ball from midfield pierced Leeds United's defense, but Cissé's subsequent shot from inside the penalty area went high and wide, infuriating Benitez, who was standing on the sidelines preparing to celebrate the goal, as he muttered curses under his breath.
Looking at the situation on the field, Li Shiguang was not in a hurry. Instead, he told the players to slow down the pace. Once they gained possession, they should slowly pass the ball around in the backfield to look for opportunities. They practiced this a lot. In fact, it was about constantly passing the ball around to stretch the opponent's defensive formation. Once they found an opening in the passing, Leeds United would immediately speed up and catch the opponent off guard.
In the 13th minute, Yaya Toure, who was playing as a central midfielder, had dropped back to the center circle to receive the ball. Liverpool's overall defense also pushed forward a few steps as Leeds United's formation moved back. However, Toure keenly spotted these few steps.
After receiving a pass from Modric on the left side of the backfield, Toure quickly played a through ball. The moment his foot touched the ball, Falcao and his two teammates, who had just been moving back with the Liverpool defense, immediately turned around and ran towards the Liverpool goal.
"Deisler!!! Great shot!! Beautiful offside trap!!" Eddie Gray shouted excitedly in the studio.
Carragher and Hyypia reacted quickly; when they saw Toure make the passing motion, they realized his intention and had already turned around. However, on the football field, a slow start leads to a slow finish, especially for Carragher, who was closer to Deisler and was always half a body length behind Deisler, who had accelerated earlier.
Seeing this, Reina had no choice but to rush out and try to work with Carragher to block Deisler's shooting angle.
After breaking into the penalty area, Deisler did not choose to pass the ball, but instead took a shot directly. He kept the shot very low, and the ball flew straight along the grass towards the lower left corner of the goal.
Despite Reina stretching out his body to maximize his defensive coverage when diving to make the save, the ball still flew past his hands.
But just when everyone thought the ball was sure to go in, "Bang!" A loud thud from the goalpost stopped Deisler, who was also ready to celebrate.
Unfortunately, his shot hit the left post and bounced out of bounds. Seeing the ball fly out of bounds, Deisler shook his arms in frustration and roared to vent his disappointment.
The emotions of Liverpool fans behind the goal fluctuated with Deisler's shot. When the ball hit the post and went out of bounds, the once quiet stands erupted into cheers.
In stark contrast to their cheers was Eddie Gray, who sat in his seat with his hands on his head, exclaiming in frustration, "Oh no! What a pity... Deisler's shot hit the post!!! But it's still good news, at least we've sounded the horn for a comeback. Liverpool will have to consider whether they still want to play so aggressively in the next game!"
Just as Eddie Gray predicted, the Liverpool players, who had been scarened by Deisler's shot, slowed down their attack after the restart. Suddenly, the situation on the field reversed, and Leeds United began to threaten the opponent's penalty area with quick passing combinations.
In the 17th minute, Berbatov received a pass from Falcao on the left edge of the penalty area and lobbed the ball to the right back of Liverpool's goal before Hyypia could block it. Deisler received the ball and made another brilliant shot, but unfortunately, Reina reacted quickly and tipped it out of bounds with one hand.
Deisler then took a corner kick, and Kompany won the first ball in the penalty area, unleashing a powerful header, but unfortunately Reina caught it again.
In the 20th minute, Falcao and Berbatov quietly switched positions, and then Falcao made a strong breakthrough on the left wing before passing back to the middle. Yaya Touré made a late run and unleashed a powerful shot, but unfortunately, he couldn't keep it down, and the ball went over the crossbar.
In just four minutes, Leeds United's continuous attacks put Liverpool's goal under constant threat, and finally, in the 26th minute, Leeds United's siege paid off.
This was an attack that started from the middle. After receiving a pass from Mascherano, Toure used his strong physique to push forward against Alonso's defense and passed the ball to Lahm, who was making a run down the right flank, before losing his balance.
After receiving the ball, Lahm immediately observed the distance between himself and Riise, who was rushing up to defend. Knowing that he was no match for Riise in physical confrontation, when Riise was about 2 meters away from him, he skillfully passed the ball forward, kicking it between Riise's legs. Before Riise could even react, Lahm had left him behind!
"Lahm crosses! It's beautiful! Deisler's imaginative backheel shot has finally breached Liverpool's goal!!! 1-0, Leeds United take the lead away from home!" With Deisler's goal, Eddie Gray finally jumped up in the studio, shouting excitedly.
Li Shiguang, standing on the sidelines, was also very excited and gave Deisler a big hug as he ran over to celebrate the goal!
This was indeed an extremely beautiful goal. In fact, when Lahm crossed the ball, Deisler was facing the direction of the ball, while Hyypia was closely marking him from behind.
Normally, in situations where it's difficult to turn and there's no shooting angle, players would typically receive the ball and pass it back to a teammate on the edge of the penalty area, or leave it for a teammate behind them to shoot. Hyypia, who was closely marking Deisler, thought the same way.
But Deisler did the opposite. The instant the ball reached his feet, he quietly raised his right foot and flicked it with his heel in the direction of the ball, causing it to change direction slightly and fly towards the goal.
Hyypia, behind him, hadn't seen Deisler's little trick at all, nor did he expect him to pull such a stunt, so he didn't react at all. Reina, in front of the goal, had no view whatsoever. He only realized Deisler had already taken a shot after the ball slipped between Hyypia's legs, but at such a short distance, even if he was in top form today, he wouldn't have had time to react and could only watch as the ball, at a relatively slow speed, nestled into the net!
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