The first game in December is the fourteenth round of the Premier League.
In this round of the league, in addition to the two focus battles between Arsenal and Southampton and the London derby between Chelsea and Tottenham, there is also an anticipated "red and blue battle"
That is the newly promoted "Blue Fox" Leicester City, which has shown amazing offensive power this season, facing the "Red Army" Liverpool at home!
On the match day, the King Power Stadium was already packed.
The stands were clearly divided into blue and red.
The commentator of this game is Peter Drury, known as the "Commentary Poet"!
"Welcome to the Premier League this weekend. What we are about to bring you is the fourteenth round of the red-blue battle, Leicester City vs. Liverpool!"
"Leicester City are in hot form recently. In the past four games in November, they have achieved an excellent record of three wins and one draw."
"And their opponents Liverpool's record in November was really bad."
"It wasn't until the home game against Stoke City at the end of the month that right back Glen Johnson's desperate header in front of the goal ended the previous three consecutive defeats!"
Before the game, the starting lineups of both sides were announced.
Both sides adopted the most popular 4231 tactical formation in football.
Liverpool’s starting lineup includes almost all the main players:
Goalkeeper: Mignolet
The defense, from left to right, is Manquillo, Skrtel, Kolo Toure, and Glen Johnson.
The double midfielder is Lucas Leiva partnering with Red Army vice-captain Henderson, with Lallana and Sterling on the left and right.
It was Lambert who came forward, and captain Gerrard was ambushing behind him!
Except for Manquillo, a young player on loan from Atletico Madrid who replaced Moreno as the starter, the other positions are basically regular main players.
Obviously, Rogers also attaches great importance to Leicester City as an opponent.
At the pre-game press conference, Rogers also expressed his views on the game in front of the media:
"With Leicester City's outstanding performance, they should be treated as a strong team."
"However, we are Liverpool, no matter whether the opponent is strong or weak, we are determined to win!"
Pearson, on the other hand, was more humble, saying that Liverpool is a giant, they are just a newly promoted team and will seize every opportunity to learn from their opponents.
Although in the league table, Leicester City is ranked much higher than Liverpool
However, this wave of smoke bombs showing weakness did not make Rogers take it lightly when he returned to the locker room.
On the contrary, it made him emphasize to his disciples that this game must be concentrated without any contempt.
Because, whether it is ranking or status, Leicester City is better than Liverpool.
In this game, Liverpool's pressure is definitely greater than that of Leicester City!
As a newly promoted team, even if they lose, they will not be blamed or criticized by the fans.
Everyone will only think that their strength is what it is, and it is normal to lose to a BIG6 giant like Liverpool.
If you win by "lucky", it will be a big surprise.
Without high expectations, Leicester City players play on the court with too much pressure, so they can relax and perform to their due level.
On the contrary, Liverpool, the runner-up in the Premier League last season, performed poorly this season and dropped to the middle of the league.
Moreover, in the Champions League journey, they basically have no hope of qualifying.
If they don't catch up, they won't even be able to qualify for the Champions League this season!
Therefore, both the head coach and the players are facing a lot of pressure.
The last game just ended a three-game losing streak. If they lose again, the team's newly restored morale and momentum will be hit again.
Maybe before the winter window, Rogers' position as manager may be on the verge of collapse.
On Leicester City's side, Pearson, who returned to the locker room, asked his men to relax and perform to their due level on the court as always.
As for the result, it will naturally be revealed in ninety minutes.
Listening to the words of the head coach, the Blue Fox generals were full of motivation on the surface, but in their hearts.
Didn't they come to the Premier League just to stand on a higher stage and compete with those powerful teams? !
Previously, they have faced Chelsea, Arsenal, Manchester United and other giants, and now it is Liverpool's turn!
Mahrez, who was sitting next to Ling Feng while adjusting his shin guards, asked:
"Ling, do you think we can win this match?"
Ling Feng's answer made Mahrez even more confident:
"Have the opportunity!"
In Ling Feng's opinion, this Liverpool lineup is definitely the best in recent years!
Among the starting eleven, only one can be called a world-class star.
But this one is not one person, but two people.
Half is Sterling who is on the rise, and half is Gerrard in his twilight years.
These two are also the only players that Liverpool can rely on.
The former is the only bright spot in the frontcourt, while the latter is the leader and backbone on the court.
As for the others, most of them are at the mid-table level of the Premier League.
Many retired celebrities and football experts have pointed out that Liverpool's biggest problem this season is their weak front!
Due to the failure of the championship last season, coupled with Suarez's departure and Sturridge's injury, Liverpool's entire offensive system was forced to rebuild.
The midfield and frontcourt players who can be introduced have been unable to integrate into the team.
The starting center is Lambert, who has only scored one goal in almost half a season.
One can imagine how desperate this Liverpool's attacking power is.
The frontcourt offense relies too much on Sterling's wing breakthroughs and Gerrard and Coutinho's long-range shots. The routine is too simple.
If the offense is weak, the defense will be under pressure.
This season, Liverpool has lost a lot of games. In addition to the two strong teams of Manchester City and Chelsea, they also lost to mid-range teams such as Villa, West Ham, Newcastle, and Crystal Palace.
Even Queens Park Rangers, who are at the bottom of the league, were able to score two goals for Liverpool!
There is a huge difference between Liverpool this season and Liverpool last season!
There is no Reds fan who doesn’t understand how important Suarez is to the team.
However, they never imagined that Liverpool would become so good after leaving Suarez.
It is worth mentioning that Everton, another Premier League team in Merseyside with Liverpool, has also seen a sharp decline in form this season.
I have to say, they are really good neighbors!
Although I am very confident in this game, I think Liverpool's defense cannot stop the Blue Fox's attack.
However, Ling Feng would not underestimate the enemy.
Football is round and anything is possible.
What's more, Liverpool with Gerrard is a team that can never be underestimated!
. . .
As the Blue Fox's team song "When You Smile" resounded throughout the King Power Stadium, the players from both sides were also ready to go and came to the player tunnel.
Liverpool has many national team teammates of Ling Feng, including Gerrard, Lallana, Sterling and Johnson.
He also greeted each player in the tunnel.
This is also the first time Ling Feng has seen the former Three Lions talkmaker since Gerrard retired from the national team.
Moreover, it was also the first time that Ling Feng and Gerald met as opponents!
"Steven, long time no see. How are you lately?"
"Very good, you have performed very well recently. I hope we can give the fans a wonderful game today."
"I will do my best"
After a few simple greetings with Gerrard, Ling Feng returned to the end of the team queue.
Finally, amid the cheers of the home and away team fans,
"Okay, players from both sides enter the court."
"It is worth mentioning that the last league game against Stoke City was the anniversary of Gerrard's Liverpool debut sixteen years ago. But perhaps because he had just played ninety minutes in the Champions League, coach Rogers will Gerrard was put on the bench."
"And in this game, the spirit of the Red Army returns to the starting lineup and is bound to lead Liverpool to a victory at the King Power Stadium!"
Leicester City also made some changes in the starting lineup.
Since Moore was suspended from the team, the team's 34-year-old Polish international Wasilevskiy got the chance to start.
This guy is older, and his movement and pursuit speed are about the same as a wheelchair.
However, he is physically strong, defensively aware and capable of frontal defense.
Although Moore, who has explosive physical fitness, has replaced the regular starting position this season.
However, he is still an important rotation in the team, playing a lot of time in the league and Europa League.
The key is to maintain good condition and have strong mental attributes. He will not make trouble even if he is a substitute. He is a trustworthy veteran.
Liverpool's offensive routine this season, in addition to relying on Sterling's wing breakthrough, largely relies on Lambert's fulcrum role in the frontcourt.
The strong center will fight for the first point as much as possible when making long passes from the backcourt.
Then give the ball to Gerrard and the midfielders who inserted in behind, thereby creating shooting opportunities.
Therefore, Pearson deployed a twin-tower central defender combination to restrict Liverpool's big center Lambert.
Other than that, other locations are basically unchanged.
Taking into account the attention of this game, the Football Association also sent Michael Oliver, a new generation of referees who are focused on training among English referees, and is known as one of the "Fantastic Four" by fans, to serve as the referee of this game. .
With Oliver's long whistle, this red-blue war is about to break out!
Liverpool took the lead.
The Red Army finally understood why the media and football commentators would call Leicester City the "Crazy Fox"
No matter what, the Leicester City players in the frontcourt rushed towards Liverpool's half.
They have only one purpose, and that is to press the player holding the ball!
The Liverpool players were a little caught off guard.
They could only tighten their nerves and rush to pass the ball out, not daring to stay at their feet at all.
With the Blue Fox pressing high in the frontcourt, it became very difficult for Liverpool to get the ball out of the backcourt.
After five or six passes, the ball reluctantly returned to goalkeeper Mignolet's feet.
Standing in the area on the left side of the penalty area, he first stepped on the ball, looked up and noticed that the defender was standing far away from the right back Johnson.
So, he made a short pass to the right.
However, what everyone didn't expect was that his mediocre pass seemed to be a little too weak!
In an instant, Ling Feng, who had already reached his opponent's lower back, raised his eyebrows.
I accept this gift with a smile!
The next second, he started and accelerated without hesitation!
Along with the grass clippings splashed by the shoe spikes, Lin Feng suddenly turned into a blue afterimage and rushed forward quickly!
"Mignolet passes the ball. Oh no, the power is too low!"
"Ling Feng has a chance to grab this ball!"
"The door is empty!"
In just a few big steps, Blue Fox No. 7 rushed to the passing line, and then pushed with the arch of his right foot.
Immediately afterwards, the ball flew towards the empty goal at an extremely fast speed, and amidst Mignolet's desperate eyes and the cheers of the home team fans, it entered the net without any hindrance.
Looking at the ball in the goal, Mignolet, who was chasing after him, stood dejectedly in front of the goal with a look of guilt on his face.
Ling Feng, who scored the goal, ran past him not far away and came to the stand where the die-hard fans were, where he paused for a moment.
Then he opened his arms, raised his head slightly, and accepted the cheers from the fans with a defiant expression!
In the stands, many were members of the "Fox Club".
As Ling Feng's performance became more and more outstanding, many fans joined the "Fox Club" one after another.
At this moment, under the leadership of William and Bob, they roared and shouted the name of the hero of the goal with red faces:
"Ling Feng!"
"Ling Feng!!"
"Ling Feng!!!"
At this moment, deep blue has become the main color of the King Power Stadium!
Compared with the crazy celebrations of the Blue Fox players and fans, seeing Mignolet giving such a gift to his opponent with his own eyes, the Red Army fans in the stands suddenly burst into mourning.
They know the team has been in poor form recently.
However, I never imagined that the goalkeeper would make such a huge mistake!
Rogers, with his hands folded on the sidelines, had a livid complexion, a frown on his face, and something sweet in his heart:
"Damn idiot!"
"I told him a long time ago, pass the ball directly!"
Belgium national goalkeeper Mignolet's goal-line skills are good, but his attack and ball delivery are really poor.
Especially when the opponent adopts high-position pressing tactics, passing errors are more likely to occur.
Therefore, in the pre-match tactical arrangement, Rogers particularly emphasized that if the ball cannot be played in the backcourt, both the defender and the goalkeeper will directly make a long pass to Lambert in front.
However, Mignolet may feel that Ling Feng is far away and will never be able to grab the ball, or he may feel that his footwork can pass the ball to his teammates.
Regardless, he paid the price for his carelessness and lack of concentration!
"Unbelievable! Leicester City are off to a fantastic start at home!"
"Only five minutes into the game, Ling Feng caught Liverpool goalkeeper Mignolet's pass error and sent the ball into the empty goal!"
"The score is one to zero!"
"According to statistics, Leicester City has scored the most goals in the first ten minutes of the game this season among all Premier League teams!"
"Ling Feng used this goal to send a warning to Liverpool. This is not Anfield, but the Royal Power!"
"And he is the king of this stadium!"
(End of chapter)
