Dortmund players retreated like a tide and tried their best to defend. The Hornets fans in the stands also booed loudly, trying to interfere with Liverpool's counterattack.
But it's too late.
With fast passing and cutting, Liverpool's offense quickly reached the front of Dortmund's penalty area. When Willard received Milner's cross pass for the last time on the left side of the penalty spot in the penalty area, there was only the last center back Sven Bender left in front of him.
Because Humes penetrated too far forward, his speed could not match that of Velarde, and he was already left behind by Velarde. Although the distance is not very far, only two or three steps, these two or three steps put Hummels out of reach.
Because Willard is also moving forward, and faster than him.
Although Willard wasted a little time when he fake shot and dunked away Sven Bender the last time when he received the ball, when Willard switched to the other foot and shot, Hummels could barely reach out and touch Wendell. Ladd, in the end, did not cause any interference to Willard's shot.
It wasn't until Velarde had finished his shot and kicked the ball out that Hummels' hand actually pushed onto Velarde, causing him to lose his center of gravity and fall to the ground.
But Willard's shooting action has been completed. The shot in the penalty area is less than 10 meters away from the goal. With Willard's shooting power and shooting skills, the ball is relatively accurately kicked to the lower left corner.
Goalkeeper Weidenfeller reacted well and made a save immediately. However, the angle of Willard's ball was too tricky. In the end, Weidenfeller still failed to get the ball and could only watch the ball roll into the dead center of the goal. .
England's commentator roared:
"Goooooooooooooooooooooooal..."
"The ball went in!!!"
"Kill!"
"It is now the 84th minute of the game. If no one from both sides scores another goal in the end, then this goal will be Willard's final goal!"
"Liverpool led Dortmund 2-1 away from home. Not only did they regain the overall lead, they also scored two away goals."
"This advantage is too great. Liverpool's probability of advancing to the semi-finals in the second round will be more than 80%."
"If Dortmund wants to retain the hope of advancing, they must at least score one more goal and equalize the score. But now there is not much time left, and the probability that the Hornets can break through Liverpool's goal is not high."
Indeed, Willard's counterattack goal pushed Dortmund to the edge.
After Willard and his teammates finished celebrating, Dortmund had replaced two players in a row, replacing Shaheen and Pulisic to strengthen the offensive, trying to perform a miracle.
But Liverpool also made two substitutions in a row, replacing two defensive players and starting to defend. The overwhelming number of players, coupled with Willard's checking and filling of vacancies, prevented the Hornets from scoring even a single goal until the end of the game.
After 4 minutes of stoppage time, the referee blew the whistle for the end of the game. Liverpool defeated Dortmund 2-1 in the away game and won the first leg of the Europa League quarter-finals. They have already entered the semi-finals with half a foot. threshold.
After the game, Willard and others had an interactive celebration with more than a thousand Liverpool fans who traveled with the team to Germany.
Returning to England, three days later, on April 10, in the 33rd round of the Premier League, Liverpool faced the challenge of Stoke City at home.
Stoke City is not well-known, but its performance this season is not bad. It is currently ranked 9th in the standings and still has the possibility of competing for European qualification.
Therefore, Stoke City used all their main players in this game and prepared to fight Liverpool at Anfield. They wanted to take advantage of Liverpool's many injuries and tight schedule. In the next game, they will play the second leg of the Europa League against Dortmund. I don’t dare to try my best in this game.
Liverpool did rotate a lot of people in this game. The two main central defenders Sakho and Lovren were rotated. The main defensive midfielder Emre Can was also suspended for one game due to accumulation of yellow cards in the league. Henderson , Coutinho, etc. have also been rotated by Klopp.
The main reason is to ensure that they can defeat Dortmund at home in the second leg of the Europa League quarter-finals and enter the semi-finals.
In recent games, Liverpool has conceded goals every time and even lost a game against Southampton. In addition to goalkeeper Mignolet not being very good, the team's poor state is also a major reason.
After a large number of rotations in this game, I thought Liverpool would have some difficulties. Unexpectedly, center back Skrtel, midfielder Ocho, midfielder Stewart and others, who rarely started, helped Liverpool play a smooth game. A dripping match.
Perhaps it is precisely because he rarely plays games that he has accumulated better physical fitness. Moreover, they also cherish this rare opportunity to play, so they work very hard in the game and are not afraid of wasting physical energy. This makes it difficult for Stoke City, which is not as strong as Liverpool and is playing away from home, to cope with it.
Only 8 minutes into the game, Liverpool played an exquisite combination in a positional attack. Midfielder Stewart and right winger Milner played two wonderful short passes, helping Milner dribble the ball into the right rib of the penalty area and shoot. This caused a panic among the Stoke City goalkeepers and defenders, who rushed to block Milner's shot.
As a result, Milner faked a shot and passed the ball. He passed the ball in an inverted triangle with his foot and returned it to the top of the penalty area.
With Willard, Firmino and Sturridge restraining Stoke City's defense in the penalty area, as well as Milner and Stewart's continuous hitting the wall and fake shots, almost all of Stoke City's defense was attracted. After retreating into the penalty area, there was no one at the top of the penalty area.
Left back Alberto Moreno, who rarely participated in a central attack, ran diagonally to the top of the penalty area and volleyed without stopping the ball. He hit a heavy cannon and went straight to the goal.
Fortunately, the ball was very powerful and too fast. The Stoke City players in the penalty area subconsciously extended their feet to destroy the ball and were a step too slow to touch the ball. The ball flew into the goal through the gap in the crowd.
And Stoke City goalkeeper Hoggard was shaken by Milner's fake shot and real pass. There were too many people in the penalty area and his line of sight was blocked. His save was a step too slow and failed to prevent the goal.
Liverpool scored in the first 8 minutes and led Stoke City 1-0.
After taking the lead, Liverpool became even easier to play, because if Stoke City wanted to score goals and gain points, they had to attack. However, Liverpool's high-pressing tactics coupled with the fact that Willard and several rotation players rushed all over the field without hesitation, Stoke City's offense could not be launched at all. They were often pressed, interfered with, made passing errors, or lost the ball. causing the attack to be blocked.
At the same time, once Liverpool's offense started, Stoke City could not withstand it.
In the 22nd minute, Stoke City finally made a threatening attack. In the end, forward Crouch got the ball with his back in the penalty area. Left midfielder Bo Yang caught the ball in front of the penalty area and shot with a kick. A beautiful curve ball, heading straight for the far corner of the goal.
Goalkeeper Mignolet had surrendered and could not touch the ball. As a result, Bojan was unlucky. The ball hit the far post and bounced back, and was controlled by Liverpool defender Kolo Toure.
Just when the Stoke City players and fans were still feeling pity that Bojan's goal failed to reach the goal, Kolo Toure looked at the field and suddenly kicked the ball directly to the midfield with a big foot.
It turned out that Milner took advantage of Stoke City's focus on offense and ran into a huge gap on the right wing. He was discovered by Kolo Toure, so he directly passed the ball with a big kick. .
Although the ball flew in the air for a long time, Milner unloaded the ball and was blocked by Stoke City full-back Peters. Sturridge, Firmino and Villa in the middle De, Ocho, Stewart and others have already rushed forward collectively.
Liverpool formed a quick counterattack and once again penetrated Stoke City's defense in three passes and two passes. Finally, Willard received a backheel pass from Sturridge in the penalty area and violently volleyed the ball without stopping. , hit a heavy artillery world wave with a speed of more than 100 kilometers per hour, and sent the ball into Stoke City's goal.
Willard scored again to help the Red Army expand the score to 2-0.
The next game was even easier. Stoke City attacked with all their strength, but could not really score. Instead, they left a huge gap in the backcourt and were often counterattacked by Liverpool.
Before the end of the first half, Liverpool used another counterattack and Firmino shot, causing goalkeeper Hoggard to save the ball from the bottom line, resulting in a corner kick.
In this corner kick attack, Sturridge jumped high at the front point, overwhelmed the opponent's defender to grab the first point, and succeeded in swinging his head to expand the score to 3-0.
At the end of the first half, the two sides entered the halftime break with a 3-0 score. Liverpool, playing at home, led by three goals and basically sealed the victory.
Therefore, at the beginning of the second half, the two long-term starting full-backs Alberto Moreno and Klein were replaced by the head coach to rest and replaced with two young players as substitutes.
But Stoke City still failed to seize the two wing loopholes to score in the second half. Instead, Liverpool scored two goals in the 60th and 73rd minutes, expanding the score to 5-0.
The two goals were scored by Milner and Willard respectively, with Willard scoring twice.
In the end, the score of this game was 5-0. In a league that had undergone extensive rotation, Liverpool achieved a brilliant victory, taking all three points and continuing to catch up with Leicester City.
Unfortunately, it is regrettable that in another league game, Leicester City defeated Sunderland 2-0 away with Vardy's brace and continued to lead the standings.
Liverpool is still 5 points behind Leicester City, and there are only 5 league rounds left before the end of the season.
Maybe, Leicester City, which was still in the English Championship two seasons ago, will really win the Premier League championship for the first time in history and perform a civilian miracle.
There are countless neutral fans around the world looking forward to a miracle from Leicester City, but Liverpool are definitely not willing.
Because they haven't won the Premier League title yet, wouldn't it be a huge slap in the face if Leicester City wins it first?
Therefore, even though they know that the rounds are getting fewer and fewer and the hope is getting smaller and smaller, Liverpool still have to go all out, continue to catch up, and wait for Leicester City to make mistakes.
