Chapter 850 Relegation Zone

On the second day after Southampton beat Liverpool 5-0 away from home, the front pages of almost all newspapers in the UK were reporting on this game, and they all used the word "shock" to describe their feelings.

Matt Ladson, co-editor of Anfield, Liverpool's most famous fan website, published his commentary immediately after the game, with a very direct title.

The Saints used five goals to tell Liverpool what it means to be a European champion!

Once this article was published, it immediately went viral at Anfield, on the Internet, and on WeChat, sparking heated discussions among countless fans.

In the article, Matt Ladson stated that from Southampton's first goal, Liverpool seemed to have no chance of winning the game because they could not get any advantage from Southampton.

The second goal was Liverpool's final death sentence.

Matt Ladson said, "Being 3-0 down in the first half reminded me of the night in Istanbul. We were also 3 goals behind in the first half and were completely defeated. But in the second half, we surprised the whole world."

"In fact, I believe that countless fans at Anfield were fantasizing that a miracle could happen again, but it turned out to be a self-deception, as our team conceded two more goals in the second half."

"This is the worst defeat ever at Anfield!"

"I can even foresee that tomorrow morning, the headlines of the whole of Britain and Europe will be dominated by this game. Southampton will win unprecedented praise. They will be the strongest and most powerful contender for the championship in the new season. As for us, whether we can maintain the top four of the league is still a question."

After complaining, Matt Ladson also analyzed the problems of this game in depth.

He believes that the total value of Liverpool's defense is very high, even many times higher than the value of the players introduced by Southampton's defense line.

However, during the game, they conceded five more goals than their opponents.

But Matt Ladson also believes that the team's problems should not be solely attributed to the defense and defenders, but the midfield problems are the real crux.

"In this game, we all saw with our own eyes the strength of Southampton, the European champions. They were able to create pressure on their opponents on both offense and defense, especially in the midfield and frontcourt."

"Suarez, Hazard, Sanchez, Di Maria and Fabregas, the Saints' attacking lineup in the frontcourt is luxurious, full of superstars and full of aggression, but they can maintain their concentration for 90 minutes in the game, and always know clearly when they should put pressure on the opponent and when they should support their teammates."

"But what about us?"

"Mario Balotelli and Raheem Sterling are really talented on the offensive end. Liverpool's few threats and highlights in this game were almost all reflected in these two and Coutinho."

"But defensively, their contribution is far different from Southampton's front three."

"Anyone who has looked at the running data of these players will not deny my point of view."

"As for the midfield, Di Maria and Fabregas have only just joined the team, but they seem to have played for this team for a long time. They are very experienced in connecting the front and back fields. They always keep Southampton's three lines compact and orderly, and always prevent Toni Kroos from fighting alone."

"But what about us? The players lose their positions too easily. The only reliable player in the midfield is Gerrard. But can an old Gerrard protect our midfield?"

"In the game, we often see that our midfield falls apart as soon as the opponent pulls and presses us. Often, only Gerrard is left alone on the field, while the opponent's second-tier attacking team advances with no one to defend and can easily create threats."

Finally, Matt Ladson also mentioned in the article with disappointment that almost none of the new players Liverpool brought in played at a level commensurate with their worth, and the team as a whole was also disappointing.

He said that Rogers should reflect on himself, think carefully about the team's tactics and play in the new season, integrate them as soon as possible, and come up with a stable tactical idea, so as to ensure the team's competitiveness in the new season.

"It's undoubtedly one of Liverpool's worst starts ever, but I still want to say that it's just a game against one of the strongest teams in Europe, the Saints. Losing is a disaster, but it's not the end of the world."

"The most important thing now is not to dwell on the loss, but to discuss why we lost and how to avoid it. I believe that as long as we understand this, the team will be able to get out of the slump soon."

But is it really so?

Matt Ladson is a die-hard Liverpool fan. Although his previous criticisms were very harsh and even seemed to be attacks, his final words revealed his true thoughts.

But other media don’t see it that way.

After the disastrous 0-5 defeat to Southampton in the first round, the outside world had a very low opinion of Liverpool, believing that Rodgers' team played like this at the beginning and it would be difficult to please them at the start of the new season.

Because, in the second round of the league, Liverpool will challenge Manchester City away, and in the third round, they will also be away, visiting White Hart Lane Stadium in North London to challenge Tottenham Hotspur led by Van Gaal.

After losing so badly to Southampton at home, who still thinks Liverpool can escape unscathed from away games against Chelsea and Tottenham?

If unfortunately, Liverpool starts the new season with three consecutive defeats, it will be very detrimental to the Red Army's entire season.

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Facts have proved that the outside world's speculation was correct.

After Liverpool lost 0-5 to Southampton in the first round of the league, they lost 1-3 to Manchester City away in the second round, suffering two consecutive defeats in the new season.

But that was not all. A week later, Rogers' team still showed no improvement and lost 3-0 to Tottenham Hotspur at White Hart Lane, suffering a humiliating three-game losing streak.

More importantly, in three games, they scored one goal but conceded eleven goals, and their ranking fell into the relegation zone of the league, temporarily ranking at the bottom. This is simply a disaster for Liverpool.

?Liverpool is not the only team to suffer the disaster.

The Blues Chelsea also had a poor start to the new season.

In the first round, they suffered an unexpected upset, losing 0-1 to newly promoted Burnley away from home.

This was a wake-up call for Mourinho, who was ambitious before the season.

But at this time, the Portuguese was still able to explain stubbornly that the team was still adapting to the rhythm of the league.

But who could have imagined that in the second round of the league, Chelsea, after taking the lead with a goal at home, was tying the game to two goals in a row by Leicester City, losing again with a score of 1-2.

This made the Blues anxious.

The first round was an away game, so losing was understandable, but the second round was at home, and the opponents in both rounds were not strong, so how could they suffer two consecutive defeats?

Isn’t this too outrageous?

But there is a saying that goes, good fortune never comes alone, and misfortune never comes singly.

In the third round of the league, Chelsea visited Goodson Park. Mourinho vowed before the game that he would get points away from home.

Unexpectedly, Roberto Martinez's team defeated the visiting Blues 3-1 at their home ground, giving Mourinho the humiliation of three consecutive defeats.

It is particularly worth mentioning that in this game, Everton's young player Stones was selected as the best player of the game. His performance was quite eye-catching and won unanimous praise and recognition.

According to media reports, after the game, Chelsea's management immediately made a new offer to Stones, hoping to bring the Everton youngster to Stamford Bridge, but Everton refused to negotiate.

But according to news found by the omnipresent Sun reporter, Stones himself once said in an interview with the media before joining Everton that he hoped to play for Southampton.

What’s interesting is that on the day of Southampton’s match against Liverpool, Yang Huan met with Everton’s top management and had a meal with them, which is very intriguing.

Putting aside the transfer disputes, no one expected that after Mourinho's team introduced stars such as Falcao, Icardi, Cuadrado, Ranocchia and Calhanoglu, their strength did not improve as the outside world imagined, but instead suffered three consecutive defeats.

Chelsea's current ranking has fallen into the relegation zone, and it has only temporarily surpassed Liverpool by virtue of conceding fewer goals.

This also makes many people feel strange, because the trend of the Premier League in the new season is too weird.

Liverpool and Chelsea both suffered three consecutive defeats, while Manchester United, led by Giggs, embarrassingly suffered three consecutive draws and were also in the middle of the standings. Both the points and the course of the game were very disappointing.

Southampton took advantage of the momentum of their defeat to Liverpool in the first round and won three consecutive victories.

First they beat Liverpool 5-0, and then in their first official match at their home ground, the Stadium of Glory, the Saints beat West Bromwich Albion 4-1 with a hat-trick from Suarez and a goal from Di Maria, winning two consecutive victories.

In the third round, they will travel to East London to challenge Allardyce's West Ham United away.

After conceding a goal, Southampton equalized the score with a crucial long-range shot from Toni Kroos at the last minute in the midfield.

In the 65th minute of the second half, Toni Kroos scored again with a direct free kick, completing the reversal for Southampton.

Then in the 83rd minute, Suarez assisted Sanchez to score the third goal.

In the end, Southampton reversed West Ham United 3-1 away from home and won three consecutive victories.

Having scored 12 goals and conceded two goals in three games, Southampton's offensive power is the best in the Premier League and they lead the standings.

But what is really surprising is that the team ranked below Southampton is not Manchester City, which was highly expected, but Van Gaal's Tottenham Hotspur.

The North London team also won three games in a row and conceded no goals in all three games, but they are not as aggressive as Southampton in offense, scoring only eight goals and temporarily ranking second in the standings.

Manchester City also won three games in a row, but they played steadily and scored points steadily, firmly occupying the third place in the league.

In fourth place is Swansea, who also won three consecutive games.

This also surprised many fans and reporters, because after four rounds of the league, none of the traditional top four teams in the Premier League made it into the top four of the league. Instead, they were all new giants that have emerged in the past few years.

Especially Southampton, Manchester City and Tottenham Hotspur, who are already the favorites for the top four in the league, have performed so impressively in the new season, which is really surprising.

But what is even more surprising is the decline of Liverpool and Chelsea, which have directly slipped into the relegation zone. Isn’t this too outrageous?

As a result, the outside world has speculated that this summer's European transfer market is about to close, and the two teams are likely to make another move at the last moment of the transfer market to introduce strong reinforcements.

Especially Abramovich!