For Hazard, maybe he would rather the team win than himself being elected the best of the match. But the game was over and he couldn't change anything. Such a good state failed to help the Blues defeat Liverpool and did not even score a goal, which made Hazard feel quite regretful.
This state is something that can be encountered but cannot be sought. It is unknown when and what team it will meet next.
The victorious Liverpool can go to Old Trafford with a more relaxed mentality to challenge the Red Devils Manchester United.
On March 17, the second leg of the 1/8 finals of the 2015/2016 Europa League between Manchester United and Liverpool officially started at Old Trafford, Manchester United’s home stadium.
After losing 0-3 in the first round, the chance of promotion was slim. Manchester United naturally used all its main players and had to go all out to win.
As for Liverpool, with a three-goal lead, they can certainly make certain rotations to give some players a break.
Full-back Alberto Moreno had been a starter for a long time and felt very tired. He offered to rotate and did not even make the roster. He went directly to the stands. The left-back was replaced by young No. 44 Brad Smith.
Sakho and Henderson both returned from injury, Kolo Toure and Firmino were on the bench, and Milner served as the right winger. In addition, Coutinho also sat on the bench, with Lallana as the left winger and No. 27 Origi as the center.
This starting lineup has a very large rotation range. If Liverpool loses to Manchester United on aggregate and fails to advance to the quarterfinals, Klopp will definitely be spit out by the media and Red Army fans.
But Klopp has no choice. Not only does Liverpool have a tight schedule, but there are also constant injuries. If they don't dare to rotate when they have such a big lead, how can they maintain the competitiveness in the league and continue to give Leicester City a chance to win? put pressure on?
The most beneficial thing for Liverpool is that they did not allow Manchester United to score an away goal in the first round. If Liverpool scores even one goal in this game, it will kill the suspense of the game. At that time, Manchester United will have to score 5 goals to defeat Liverpool with a total score of 5-4, and scoring 4 goals to equalize the total score will not work.
Although Liverpool has rotated many people, the core Verard is still on the court. Regardless of both offense and defense, the presence of Verard can make Klopp and Liverpool fans feel at ease. Regardless of sports battles or set pieces, whether ground attacks or aerial bombing, Willard is likely to score and kill the suspense of the game.
However, football has this charm, which makes people's adrenaline surge.
After a few minutes of testing, Manchester United, which was lagging behind by a big margin in the home game, began a fierce attack. Liverpool's formation retreated slightly, preparing to counter-attack and get the ball to counterattack the opponent. The emptiness in the backcourt caused by Manchester United's massive attack was just the opportunity for Liverpool to take advantage of.
As a result, in the 13th minute of the game, Manchester United's left midfielder Martial made a breakthrough on the left wing and crossed from the line of the penalty area. He tried to pass the ball to the middle and back point of the penalty area, allowing Rush to rush into the penalty area. Ford, Mata, Lingard and others went to grab points and attack the goal.
But the Red Army full-back Klein, who was standing in the penalty area and blocking Martial's ground passing route, didn't know whether it was a short-circuit in his head or something, but when Martial picked up the ball, it flew past him. When he reached out, he subconsciously reached out and slapped the ball down.
"beep……"
The referee's whistle sounded and Klein committed a handball foul in the penalty area. The referee showed a yellow card and awarded Manchester United a penalty kick.
The Manchester United fans in the stands and in front of the TV applauded and cheered, while the Liverpool players and fans stared at Klein in shock, feeling quite incredible.
Klein is not a rookie. He is Liverpool's main right back. He did not expect to make such a low-level mistake. But at this point, both the annoyed Klein and the speechless Liverpool generals could only accept the fact that the team awarded a penalty kick just ten minutes into the game.
The penalty kick was personally taken by Martial. Martial made no mistakes and easily pushed the ball into the lower left corner. Goalkeeper Mignolet misjudged the direction and pounced on the right side of the goal. Naturally, he could only turn his head and watch the ball go into the net.
Manchester United opened the scoring and led Liverpool 1-0, but still trailed 1-3 on aggregate. However, going from a difference of three goals to a difference of two goals has undoubtedly greatly increased the confidence of Manchester United. The gap between two goals doesn't seem as disappointing as three goals after all.
After the game restarted, Liverpool used the kick-off right to try to counterattack. Willard also stepped up and broke through the interceptions of Mata and Carrick through skillful dribbling.
Then he encountered closed interceptions by Fellaini and Smalling. If Willard wants to break through these two men again, he will probably waste a lot of time and give Mata and Carrick time to defend.
Therefore, Willard decisively passed the ball to Milner who was connecting from the side, and then he bypassed Fellaini and Smalling and rushed to the penalty area, hoping to hit the wall with Milner and break through their interception. Rushed into the penalty area and scored a goal.
As a result, Milner's pass was deflected, causing Willard to adjust his route to grab a shot. Although he successfully kicked the ball out in the end, he was hit by the last defender Blind at the moment of shooting. Due to collision interference, the ball failed to hit the goal frame, but missed the far post.
Liverpool missed an opportunity to equalize and score an away goal. Although Willard shocked the Manchester United players and fans, he did not score after all.
Willard could only drop back and help defend.
The young left back Brad Smith and Klein, who had made mistakes before and was greatly affected psychologically, were attacked by Manchester United.
Velarde had to frequently switch back and forth between the two wings to help defend, or enter the penalty area to participate in aerial battles to prevent the opponent's crosses from the wing.
This gave Willard few opportunities to participate in the attack, and Liverpool was unable to score a goal.
But on the other hand, the presence of Willard also makes Manchester United's offense seem more thunderous and less rainy amidst the cheers of the Red Devils fans. Although there are many goals within 30 meters of the Liverpool goal, it really poses a threat. There are not many shots.
In terms of aerial balls, Rashford, Mata and others do not have strong ability to compete for the top. With the presence of Willard, Sakho and Lovren, Manchester United's aerial attack basically poses no threat.
As for the ground attack, the interceptions and sweeps of the two defensive midfielders Emre Can and Henderson, coupled with Willard's continuous supplementary defense, it is difficult for Manchester United to get a chance to shoot in the penalty area. As for long-range shots outside the penalty area, it really depends on luck. Even Willard didn't score many.
Until the end of the first half, although Liverpool failed to score an away goal, Manchester United also failed to score a second goal. The total score of the two sides was still 1-3, and Manchester United was still two goals behind.
When the first goal was recovered through a penalty kick in the 13th minute, everyone at Manchester United was in high spirits. But now, when the first half is over and the second goal has not been scored, everyone's hearts gradually sink again.
This score and this situation are indeed a bit disturbing.
