After the game, Leicester City and Vardy received a lot of praise again. After all, they equalized the score twice after falling behind twice and were the ones chasing points.
Although they rank first in the standings, traditionally, everyone still subconsciously feels that Liverpool is more famous and stronger, not to mention that there is a South American footballer like Velard as a free agent, which is equivalent to having one more person fighting.
Under such circumstances, Leicester City was still able to tenaciously draw with Liverpool, which naturally won the unanimous support of neutral media and fans. Many fans of mid-to-lower teams also feel that Leicester City has set a correct example for them, proving that even if they don't have the money of the Big 6, they can still participate in the championship and may even succeed in the end.
Therefore, in addition to the Big6, other mid-to-lower teams also have a large number of fans supporting Leicester City. It can be said that Leicester City is now making great progress and has high morale. In addition to its own good performance, the overwhelming support from the English media and fans also plays a big role.
Outside of England, there are of course more neutral media and fans supporting Leicester City. Everyone is watching the excitement without taking it too seriously, and they also hope that Leicester City will come out to stir up the situation and prevent the Premier League championship from becoming the possession of wealthy teams such as Manchester United, Manchester City, Chelsea, and Arsenal.
Of course, for Liverpool themselves, it was a bit uncomfortable to take two leads but fail to win the game. But considering that the opponent is the top team and playing away from home, a draw is still acceptable.
As long as you calm down and chase one game after another, you may not be unable to enter the top four Champions League qualifying areas in the end, or even participate in the competition for the Premier League championship.
Four days later, at 16:00 on February 6, with the whistle of referee Bobby Medley, the 25th round of the 2015/2016 Premier League match between Liverpool and Sunderland officially started at Anfield Stadium.
Sunderland currently ranks second from bottom in the standings and is deep in the relegation zone, so they need points to avoid relegation. But facing a powerful opponent like Liverpool, and playing away from home, Sunderland did not dare to attack the Red Army. They could only defend with a big iron barrel formation, hoping to defend 0-0, and scoring one point would be success.
But Liverpool gave them no such chance.
They were tied by Leicester City in the last round, which led to the points being increased by Tottenham. It is impossible for Liverpool to lose any more points in this home game.
Facing a relegation underdog like Sunderland, Liverpool will naturally attack with all their strength, striving to win a big victory and take all three points.
In the 3rd minute, Milner cut in from the wing and completed a long shot outside the penalty area. Unfortunately, it was blocked by the opponent's intensive defense and could not even get close to the goal.
But it doesn't matter. Faced with this intensive defense, Liverpool has a way. One was a long shot and the other was a direct free kick from Velarde.
Although Willard's current free kick scoring rate is not high, he is a great threat and can sometimes create chaos in the penalty area, allowing Firmino, Milner and others to take advantage of the chaos in the penalty area.
In the 17th minute, Velarde got a chance to take a free kick. Although the angle of the free kick was not good, it was saved by goalkeeper Manone, but Firmino who followed closely behind almost made it up. The shot was successful.
If Sunderland defender Van Aanholt hadn't risked a foul and made a decisive tackle in the penalty area, grabbing the ball before Firmino and destroying it, Firmino might have made a follow-up shot. A goal was scored.
Firmino was also very upset about missing this opportunity to score. He thought that if he had tackled decisively and shot like the opponent, he might have been the first to shovel the ball into the goal.
But there is no way to return to the opportunity that has been missed. We can only wait for the next opportunity.
Needless to say, Firmino really waited for the next opportunity.
In the 25th minute, Willard dribbled the ball on the right side of the penalty area and broke through the opponent's midfielder Mwila, attracting four Sunderland players to attack.
Naturally, Willard would not go it alone in this situation. He made a decisive cross pass and passed the ball into the gap on the left.
Because Willard attracted too much defensive power from the opponent, Emre Can, who inserted in the back row, got a long shot opportunity without being defended.
I saw him rushing up and volleying violently without stopping the ball, showing great power and speed. Although the angle was not awkward, goalkeeper Mannone did not dare to hold the ball directly and just barely saved the ball.
But he was unlucky and failed to control the direction of the ball. The ball he saved fell right in front of Firmino who rushed into the small penalty area.
How could Firmino miss this opportunity? With one direct shot, he kicked the ball back into the goal.
"The ball is in!"
"Firmino scored again."
"This was a cross pass by Willard after his dribbling in front of the penalty area attracted the attention of many Sunderland players."
"Emre Can, who came in from the back row, kept volleying the ball and hit a high-quality long shot. The goalkeeper Mannone did not dare to hold him in his arms, so he had to save, but the ball was gone. He was able to dive far and landed in the small penalty area. Firmino happened to catch up with him and kicked the ball into the goal with a supplementary shot."
"Liverpool opened the scoring and took the lead. The rest of the game should be easy to play."
Indeed, after taking the lead, Liverpool shrunk their formation slightly, attracting Sunderland to press out and attack.
Although they knew Liverpool's purpose, Sunderland, who was lagging behind, had no choice. Losing one goal is a loss, losing two goals is also a loss. Therefore, they could only start attacking and try to equalize the score. Although he fought hard to defend after losing the ball, Naihe still couldn't withstand Liverpool's high press and multi-player attack.
In the 38th minute, Sunderland midfielder Catmull was pressed by Joe Allen when he advanced with the ball in the midfield. He made a mistake when passing the ball. Willard saw his intention and intercepted the ball halfway ahead of time. Liverpool launched a quick counterattack.
In the end, Willard sent the ball into the penalty area with a pass. With his back to the goal, Firmino made a volley pass and passed the ball across to Milner in the space on the right.
Milner rushed into the penalty area and volleyed the ball into the upper right corner of the goal.
Goalkeeper Mannone was beyond reach and could only watch the ball go into the net.
Liverpool leads 2-0 at home and basically seals the victory. Of course, leading by two goals is still not safe. In the last game, Liverpool took two leads and was equalized by Leicester City.
If we can score another goal, it will basically kill the suspense of the game.
However, Liverpool failed to score again for the remainder of the first half. Among them was a long-range shot played by Velarde, which was of high quality. However, the opponent's goalkeeper Mannone made a world-class save and saved the ball beyond the baseline, preventing Velarde from scoring.
At the end of the first half, the score between the two sides was still 2-0. Although Liverpool failed to expand their lead, Sunderland also failed to score Liverpool's goal. Willard, his teammates and the fans entered the halftime break with a more relaxed attitude.
