In the warm-up match before the season, Rodriguez started as a working midfielder, while Kuyt came on as a substitute in the last ten minutes.

This time, Liverpool obviously attached great importance to this game, and Kuyt started directly.

Liverpool's two starting midfielders are Joe Cole and Gerrard, and the starting defensive midfielder is Lucas.

Such a midfield and frontcourt configuration is definitely world-class, and both the middle and wing lanes are very sharp.

Liverpool's starting defenders are Enrique, Carragher, Agger and Johnson.

The starting goalkeeper is Reina.

Such a starting lineup can be said to be Liverpool's strongest lineup.

In fact, there is another well-known star who did not start in this game. He is the super shooter Carroll who transferred from Newcastle United at the last minute in late January this year.

Carroll was actually not very willing to leave his hometown team, but after Liverpool sold Torres, they had too much money, and they couldn't buy Gu Ran this season, so they could only spend all the money on buying Carroll.

However, Carroll was injured not long after he was bought, so he had very few opportunities to play at the beginning.

This is also a headache for Liverpool.

Fortunately, Liverpool's purchase of Suarez was an unexpectedly good deal.

This can be regarded as a case of the East not being bright but the West being bright.

With the whistle of the referee, the FA Cup semi-final between Liverpool and Southampton officially began.

Less than two minutes into the game, Liverpool launched a fierce attack on Southampton.

Joe Cole made a straight pass to the right, and Kuyt broke through the double-team of Chamberlain and Hammond and passed the ball to Suarez who had already sprinted into the Southampton penalty area.

Suarez bared his teeth and headed the ball -

Fortunately, Davis was very focused and blocked the ball with both hands.

But the ball didn’t get far enough, Suarez turned around to pick up the ball, turned around and shot.

Bang! Gu Ran rushed over from the side and made a precise sliding tackle. Just as the football was about to fly up, he perfectly shoveled the ball out of the penalty area and out of the sideline!

The Red Army fans at the scene sighed, while the Saints fans breathed a sigh of relief.

Southampton's defensive formation was broken down right from the start by Liverpool's sharp front line.

Fortunately, Gu Ran returned to defense in time, otherwise the score would have become 1:0 within two minutes of the start.

After blocking the sure goal, all of Southampton's defenders ran over and high-fived Gu Ran.

Suarez gave Gu Ran a silly smile and gave him a thumbs up.

To be honest, Suarez's sense of smell was very sensitive and the timing of the follow-up shot was just right, but he never expected that Gu Ran, who was originally marking Gerrard outside the penalty area, would be able to rush back in such a short time, and Gu Ran's tackle in the penalty area was really clean and neat, with no faults at all.

Gu Ran also nodded towards Suarez as a gesture of friendship.

The game continues.

Liverpool's throw-in near the end line.

Southampton's defense was as if facing a formidable enemy and defended with an iron bucket formation.

It was Joe Cole again who got the ball in the middle and passed it directly to the left side of Southampton's penalty area.

Maxi Rodriguez fired a powerful shot - the ball hit the post and flew into the stands.

Just three minutes into the first half, Liverpool came on strong and had already taken two shots.

Regardless of whether a goal was scored or not, this kind of dominant pressure momentum alone is very much in line with Liverpool's traditional style.

The Red Army fans in the stands were also full of passion.

There were even Red Army fans who held up a banner that read "We Liverpool don't need Gu Ran".

The game continued in a fierce atmosphere.

Gu Ran’s defensive task today is to mark the opposing No. 8, Steven Gerrard.

However, King Kenny Dalglish had predicted this early on, so Gerrard did not play the role of an organizer today, but was somewhere between a shadow striker and an attacking midfielder, often running into Southampton's penalty area without the ball.

And it is obvious that Gerrard's movement is not so much to support, but to pull Gu Ran back and attract Gu Ran to the side without the ball, so that Joe Cole can more easily distribute the ball to the two wingers or directly pass it to the center forward.

After these two waves of attacks, Gu Ran immediately understood Liverpool's strategy.

Then, when Liverpool's third wave of attack came, Gu Ran directly switched positions with Mikel, with Mikel marking Gerrard who was running around, while Gu Ran himself dealt with Joe Cole.

This on-the-spot change did not require any adjustments or commands from Coach Adkins on the sidelines. Gu Ran was the commander on the court.

Such changes also made Liverpool unable to react.

When Joe Cole was about to pass the ball to Kuyt on the right, Gu Ran rushed up at high speed, pushed Joe Cole away with his shoulder, and snatched the ball from Joe Cole's feet.

Joe Cole was naturally unwilling to be outdone, and he immediately put all his strength into charging towards Gu Ran, trying to snatch the ball back on the spot.

Gu Ran's ball protection was as solid as a rock! Joe Cole was unable to knock Gu Ran away after a collision!

Joe Coles was shocked! He remembered that he had competed with Gu Ran in a friendly match last time. At that time, Gu Ran was very confrontational, but he was not unstoppable. But today... Gu Ran's confrontation was far greater than his!

Seeing that Gu Ran won the head-on confrontation between the two, the Saints fans at the scene roared excitedly.

Linda, the owner of Liverpool, who was watching the game in the luxurious box, was also screaming with a look of fascination on her face.

She had experienced this kind of confrontation herself...

Gu Ran took advantage of the moment when Joe Cole was surprised, flicked the ball with his toes, and got rid of it!

How could Joe Cole let Gu Ran easily counterattack in front of him? Joe Cole immediately stretched out his hand to hook Gu Ran's neck and pulled Gu Ran to the ground! Beep! The referee blew the whistle! This was a very obvious technical foul! However, the referee only warned Joe Cole and did not give him a card. He only gave Southampton a free kick in the backcourt.

Gu Ran did not argue. He stood up silently and quickly took a tactical short free kick.

At this time, Liverpool players have not yet returned to their defensive positions!

After Lallana received the ball in the center circle, he immediately made a wall-to-wall cooperation with Gu Ran and passed the ball to Gu Ran who was running at full speed!

Liverpool's forward formation suddenly panicked! Almost all Liverpool players had to chase and double-team Gu Ran frantically! Gu Ran's Son of the Wind, King of Highbury, was at full speed!

Liverpool's overall defensive speed is definitely not slow! Gu Ran sprinted the ball to the penalty area and directly fired a heavy long-range shot while running at high speed! ... (End of this chapter)