In the other two knockout matches, Tottenham and Manchester United also advanced to the top 16 with a total score.
The next day, the Europa League 1/8 finals draw ceremony was held at UEFA headquarters. After entering the top 16, there is no longer a seeded team in the rules, and there is no longer a principle of avoiding teams from the same country.
Because there was no limit, the result of the draw was surprising. Liverpool and Manchester United were drawn together for the first time in the history of the European war, and they will stage a double-red match at the level of the English National Derby in the 1/8 finals of the Europa League.
After the draw ceremony, the news quickly spread throughout the world of football.
"The Europa League round of 16 knockout rounds are staged for the finals ahead of schedule. Liverpool VS Manchester United stage the first English national derby in the history of European competitions! 》
"Liverpool VS Manchester United in the Europa League 1/8 finals stage a championship-level battle!" 》
"Liverpool VS Manchester United, the Europa League 1/8 finals competition is more like a final arriving early!" 》
The fans were stunned when they saw the result of the draw. You know, Liverpool and Manchester United are both super giants at the Champions League championship level. Manchester United has won the Triple Crown, and Liverpool has won the most Champions League titles.
According to common sense, these two teams should have played in the Champions League. Now that they are both reduced to playing in the Europa League, it is already an accident. Unexpectedly, the two sides were drawn together in the 1/8 finals.
This guy's gold content is not even lower than that of the Champions League final. Therefore, not only fans of Liverpool or Manchester United, but even many neutral fans are full of expectations for this double red meeting.
"The first English El Clasico in the history of European competition, not to be missed, a must-see."
"The two rounds of the Europa League 1/8 finals are no less valuable than the Champions League finals. You must watch them."
"It's so cruel. The showdown between these two giants should have been in the finals. But now the winner is decided in the 1/8 finals. One team is going to be eliminated. It's so cruel, but why am I so excited?"
"The truth is revealed upstairs! Watching the excitement is not a big deal!"
"These two teams are fighting hard, and even if they win, they may have to exhaust their energy. Looking at it this way, is this year's Europa League already in Sevilla's bag?"
"Otherwise? Do you think the Sevilla Cup is a joke? Seeing that there are two super giants, UEFA will let them fight each other in advance in the 1/8 finals. Sevilla's luck is really invincible. .”
"Liverpool and Manchester United fight, the winner is Sevilla, hahaha..."
With some helplessness about the Europa League 1/8 finals draw results, the entire Liverpool team flew to London, the capital, to prepare for the English League Cup final.
At 17:30 pm on February 28, with the referee's whistle, the 2015/2016 English League Cup final match between Liverpool and Manchester City officially started at Wembley Stadium in London.
There is a lot to watch in this game.
The first is the strength of both sides. Liverpool is undoubtedly a traditional giant in the Premier League. Although Manchester City has not won the Champions League championship, it has already won the Premier League championship, and its strength has improved rapidly in the past few years after the Middle East oil tycoons took over. It is already considered a strong team at the Premier League level, even a wealthy team.
This season, both Manchester City and Liverpool are currently at the top of the Premier League standings. Therefore, when the two sides meet in the EFL Cup final, it can be said to be a collision at the Premier League championship level.
After all, this is a direct battle for the championship. Regardless of the gold content, both sides must go all out. No one will try their best to rush into the finals just to get a runner-up.
In addition, in this game, Velarde, Otamendi, and Aguero are all members of the Argentina national team. It is quite interesting to see the teammates of the national team competing for the championship in the English League Cup final.
What's even more special is that there are also a pair of brothers on both sides: Kolo Toure and Yaya Toure. Because of Lovren's renewed injury, Kolo Toure, despite his age, still has to step up and serve as the starting central defender. Yaya Toure is Manchester City's attacking midfielder, and the probability of the two sides facing off directly on the court is very high.
Therefore, even the English League Cup is not as important as the FA Cup, let alone compared with the Premier League and Champions League. But in addition to the domestic media in England, many foreign media also broadcast the game live.
Liverpool, with Willard as a free agent, has fixed a 433 formation. Anyway, regardless of offense or defense, Liverpool is almost equivalent to having one more person fighting.
Speaking of which, Willard has refreshed his world record for running distance in a single game several times. The latest record has reached 16,986 meters. The next time he breaks the record, he may break the 17,000-meter mark.
Today, when encountering a strong enemy like Manchester City, Willard's task is very heavy regardless of offense and defense. It is also related to the championship competition. If the victory cannot be secured early, then Willard will need to run until the last moment. Maybe he can really set a new world record for running distance in a single game.
Manchester City played a 4231 formation, with Aguero as the forward. The two sides hugged and greeted each other in the tunnel before the game. However, this does not prevent both sides from trying their best during the game.
Everyone wants a championship.
Both sides are not weak in strength, and it is a neutral venue, so everyone needs to adapt. Therefore, both sides did not attack aggressively at the beginning of the game, but conducted more than ten minutes of testing.
In the middle of the game, Willard suddenly passed a good ball. Unfortunately, Firmino started a step too slowly and failed to catch up with the ball in time. Manchester City defender Kompany got the ball and cleared it.
After more than ten minutes of testing, both sides began to strengthen their attacks, and the intensity began to increase.
In the 18th minute, after picking up the ball in the midfield, Willard suddenly made a long pass through Manchester City's defense. Sturridge overtook Kompany and caught up with the ball on the left side of the top of the penalty area, forming a semi-one-on-one goal. Opportunity.
Otamendi, who was returning to defense, made a flying tackle from the side before Sturridge entered the penalty area, trying to break the ball from Sturridge's feet.
But Sturridge moved faster. He didn't try to get into the penalty area before shooting. Instead, he caught the ball and adjusted it before shooting immediately, which just in time allowed the ball to avoid Otamendi's flying tackle.
The angle of Sturridge's shot was not tricky enough, and goalkeeper Caballero made a sideways save and saved the ball from the baseline. However, the referee did not award a corner kick, but instead awarded a foul to Otamendi, who did not tackle the ball and instead tackled Sturridge, and gave Liverpool a good free kick opportunity at the front of the penalty area.
Unfortunately, Willard failed to seize this free kick opportunity, and his arcing shot was a little too high and eventually flew over the crossbar.
92's shooting and arcing skills are not perfect enough to hit wherever you point.
