April 5, 2018, Anfield Stadium.

After two and a half months, Manchester City visited this famous Premier League stadium again.

Just like last time, the stands at Anfield were still packed with enthusiastic fans, almost full.

Liverpool has reached the quarterfinals of the Champions League again after many years, which is very exciting for many Liverpool fans.

With no hope of winning the league title, they have higher expectations for the team's performance in the Champions League.

But Liverpool had bad luck as they drew a strong rival, Manchester City.

How to overcome the huge challenge of Manchester City is a big challenge facing Liverpool.

After the last unforgettable battle at Anfield, Liverpool fans have a new understanding of the strength of their opponents, knowing that it will not be easy to defeat this tough opponent even at their home ground.

But if they can't even win at home, then they basically have no hope of advancing to the semi-finals.

So no matter what, they have to win this game, Liverpool simply can't afford to lose.

Such enormous pressure to achieve results made all the Liverpool players look solemn and nervous.

They fought this battle with the mentality of dying if they failed.

After shaking hands with Manchester City coach Guardiola, Liverpool coach Klopp returned to his own coaching seat and sat down.

He looked at the players from both teams preparing to kick off on the court, and couldn't help feeling a little nervous.

The failure to defeat the opponent last time left Liverpool with a considerable hidden danger.

During this period, Guardiola must have studied Liverpool's tactical play and learned lessons from the previous game.

Considering that the margin for error in the Champions League knockout stage is much smaller than in the league, Manchester City is likely to change its tactics and play more conservatively and more targeted, so as to limit Liverpool's offense, avoid losing away games, or reduce the number of goals conceded away games.

Once they return to their home ground, they can take advantage of the home field and defeat Liverpool in one fell swoop.

Everyone says Anfield is a devil's home ground, but isn't the Etihad Stadium also a devil? Over the years, how many teams have managed to escape unscathed here? Klopp dared not carry the suspense of the game into the next game, because that would be like handing over the power of life and death to the enemy.

Therefore, he hoped to win the game in this round and kill the suspense of the game.

To this end, Klopp arranged very aggressive tactics.

If this tactic works, then everything will be fine. But if it doesn't work, then it will be very bad.

On the other hand, Guardiola is also thinking about what tactics the opponent will adopt.

Just as Klopp thought, in order to be safe, he arranged two defensive midfielders, Kante and Fernandinho, to start in this game.

The purpose is to enhance the intercepting ability of the midfield and avoid what happened last time, where a large number of gaps were exposed on the flanks, giving the opponent opportunities to take advantage.

However, such an arrangement inevitably weakened Manchester City's offensive capabilities.

To this end, Guardiola had to change the team's formation and adopted an uncommon 4231 formation.

Jesus replaced Aguero as the lone striker, followed by Lin Quan, De Bruyne and David Silva, and behind these three were Kante and Fernandinho.

The four players in the back line are Laporte, Stones, Van Dijk and Walker.

It can be seen from Manchester City's starting lineup that they do not intend to play a defensive counterattack like last time.

They intend to focus on passing and controlling the ball, using a strong midfield to control the ball, reduce the opponent's chances of attacking, and then look for opportunities in passing and controlling the ball to defeat the enemy and win.

However, Manchester City rarely uses this tactic, and Guardiola himself is not sure whether it will work.

Just then, the referee blew the whistle to start the game.

The coaches of both teams put their thoughts aside and focused their eyes on the court.

After the opening, Liverpool players resolutely implemented the head coach's requirements and launched a fierce attack on Manchester City's goal from the first second of the game.

Is this an attempt to grab the opening?

Guardiola held his chin and thought.

Liverpool probably hopes to score early through attacking, then activate the players' state, and then rely on the enthusiastic atmosphere of the home court to let the team quickly gain momentum and then completely take over the game like last time! For a team like Liverpool that is full of energy, they really can't let them gain an advantage.

Once they gain the upper hand, they will only become stronger and more excited as the fight goes on.

Manchester City had already experienced how abnormal the crazy Liverpool was last time at Anfield.

So Guardiola immediately stepped forward and ordered all Manchester City players on the field to retreat.

You can attack as you like, but I will retreat my defense line to compress the space for your passing and coordination so that your attack will not pose a threat.

Although Manchester City cannot boast that its defense is at the top level, it is definitely not made of paper.

When they all retreated and the players were well prepared in advance, it was obviously not that easy for the opponent's offense to tear through their defense.

Liverpool's attack was aggressive, but in fact it did not pose much threat.

Salah, Manny, Firmino and others tried various methods in the frontcourt, but they were still unable to pry open the opponent's defense.

Fortunately, the absence of two extremely fast wingers, Sane and Mbappe, on the field reduced their defensive pressure a little. At least they didn't have to worry too much about the opponent launching a threatening quick counterattack.

But this does not mean that Liverpool can really sit back and relax. Manchester City is very aggressive in pressing in their own half, and once they steal the ball, they will immediately transfer the ball to the feet of the three attacking midfielders in front with super strong offensive power.

Although Sane and Mbappe are not there, the opponent's team core Lin Quanke is still on the court.

Moreover, the players around him all have good passing skills, which makes Manchester City still a great threat when counterattacking.

After 15 minutes of the first half, the number of shots between the two sides was very different. Liverpool completed 5 shots and Manchester City only 1.

But Manchester City's only shot almost made Liverpool fans sweat! On the other hand, Liverpool's 5 shots were 4 long shots, which were almost not threatening.

Although Liverpool seemed to have the advantage on the field, from the perspective of threatening attacks, it was Manchester City that had the advantage.

The main reason for this phenomenon is that Liverpool cannot break through the opponent's defense, making it difficult to get the ball into the penalty area, allowing the forwards to get close-range shooting opportunities in the penalty area.

We can't go on like this. We have the upper hand but can't score. The formation is pushed so far forward that the back is too empty.

The most important thing is that Liverpool's crazy offensive momentum cannot last too long, after all, the enthusiasm will eventually run out.

On the other hand, Manchester City's offense, which relied on passing and coordination, was not affected. In fact, when Liverpool's offensive power declined and the pressure on Manchester City's defense was reduced, and they could devote more troops to the offense, their offensive threat was increasing! If Liverpool had the advantage in the first fifteen minutes, then the situation of the game was reversed after fifteen minutes.

After Liverpool launched a fierce attack and found that it had little effect, the players gradually became discouraged and did not want to continue such a meaningless attack.

But after they reduced the offensive pressure, Manchester City gradually began to take over the ball with their strong midfield strength.

It is no secret that Manchester City likes to play passing and controlling the ball, and their possession rate in the game often exceeds 60% or even 70%.

In the words of many football legends, Guardiola's team uses passing and control to defend.

After all, as long as Manchester City has the ball, the opponent cannot launch an attack.

When facing a team that likes to pass and control the ball, there are two ways to deal with them.

One is to retreat with big steps, let the opponent come in, and then take advantage of the opponent's empty backcourt to sneak attack them by defensive counterattack.

The other type is like Liverpool, which relies on crazy high-pressure defense to disrupt and restrict the opponent's passing and control, making it impossible for them to pass the ball and control the ball.

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Liverpool is a team that likes to press high up the pitch, and their players are known for their ability to run.

In the past, this tactic has often caused setbacks for teams that like to control the ball.

But this tactic failed to work when facing Manchester City's passing and control today.

Manchester City obviously learned the lesson from the previous game. This time they no longer pursued the extreme speed of attack and defense conversion, but instead pursued safe and stable control.

After getting the ball, players usually don't pass it forward immediately, even if doing so may create a chance to score.

They will steadily pass the ball to teammates in a safer position so that their teammates can control the ball.

Klopp frowned as he watched. He felt that Guardiola was being too conservative.

Is it necessary to do this? When Manchester City stole the ball several times just now, he was scared and sweating, because from that position, as long as Manchester City's players passed the ball forward, Liverpool's defense line would probably be penetrated because they couldn't get back to defense in time.

But the opponent took the initiative to give up such an opportunity. It seems that Manchester City's tactics today are very conservative.

But you know what, this kind of conservatism has a very good effect.

At least Liverpool's number of steals has dropped significantly. Many times, the opponents' mistakes are because they pass the ball in a hurry after seeing the opportunity, ignoring the defensive players around them, or because their intentions are too obvious and are predicted by the opponents, resulting in steals.

When the players are attacking forward, the formation naturally cannot be maintained so tight, especially the full-backs on both sides, who may have already rushed up.

If the opponent suddenly counterattacks at this time, the defense line can easily be penetrated due to incomplete formation and personnel.

This is why, in this era, top clubs attach great importance to the transition between offense and defense.

Because this is the time when both sides are most likely to make mistakes and have the most chances to score goals.

But Manchester City doesn't want such opportunities, so Liverpool naturally has fewer chances to steal the ball.

The opponent's lineup has 5 midfielders, while Liverpool only has 3.

They were at a disadvantage in terms of numbers in the midfield, and even with the addition of the three forwards, they only had a slight advantage.

But when the opponent has the ball, Stones, the defender, will move forward, making Manchester City's formation become 3331, a very strange formation, but the number of midfielders has increased, reaching an astonishing 6 midfielders.

The advantage in numbers enables Manchester City to always find safe receiving points in open space and pass the ball smoothly when facing Liverpool's pressure.

This won't work. Klopp waved his hand and signaled the defenders to move forward, leaving only one person to guard Jesus while the others all went to press.

This trick has a certain effect, but the effect is not obvious.

Because Manchester City still has one more person than them!

When Manchester City is passing the ball back in the backcourt, goalkeeper Ederson can get involved and act as a passing point.

As a result, 10 of Manchester City's 11 players are passing points.

Liverpool could only send out 9 players to press the ball, and the goalkeeper and the defender responsible for defending behind could not come up.

Although Liverpool players were running at full speed, trying to make up for their numerical disadvantage.

But they can run, and so can the Manchester City players.

During the process of passing the ball, Manchester City players do not stand still like wooden stakes, but make full use of the width of the field, actively move their positions, and try to find a safe space to receive the ball.

This made Liverpool's players a little overwhelmed. After all, the stadium was so big that they couldn't completely block the opponent's passing space with just a few people.

The most important thing is that Manchester City is a team that focuses on passing and controlling the ball, and the players have very delicate skills. Even if Liverpool relies on active running to make up for the difference in numbers in some areas, the opponent can rely on superb skills and excellent ball protection ability to pass the ball under the pressure of Liverpool players.

Judging from the situation on the field, it seems that Manchester City has used reasonable tactics to resolve Liverpool's high-pressure tactics.

If they continue to play at this pace, Liverpool, which has exhausted too much energy, will be defeated by Manchester City in the second half due to lack of energy.

Feeling that the situation was unfavorable to their team, Liverpool fans in the stands began to become anxious.

They are in urgent need of a goal now. Just one goal can change their passive situation.

The Reds are a legendary team. It seems that every time the team is at a disadvantage, someone always stands up to help the team out! This time, it was Milner, a former Manchester City player!

Milner, who is already 32 years old, relied on his understanding of David Silva when they were teammates in Manchester City. When Silva moved and prepared to receive the ball, he quietly approached him.

When Kante passed the ball over, Milner quickly rushed forward to steal the ball.

He bumped into Silva from behind, affecting Silva's center of gravity and making it impossible for him to complete his prepared catching action.

Milner is experienced and has just the right amount of strength when he steals the ball, which can disrupt the opponent's balance without causing him to fall and giving the referee a chance to blow the whistle.

And at the moment when David Silva's balance was affected, he stretched out his foot from behind and poked the ball to his teammate Salah.

Liverpool's chance has come! (End of this chapter)