At 21:00 on the evening of October 15, with the whistle of referee Taylor, the 8th round of the 2016/2017 Premier League match between Liverpool and Manchester United officially started in the light rain at Anfield Stadium.
This game has attracted a lot of attention around the world, with TV stations in nearly 200 countries and regions broadcasting it live, and tens of millions of viewers around the world watching this game.
Everyone thought that Mourinho, who is good at defensive counterattacks, would stick to counterattacks in this game, using his familiar tactics to first curb Velarde's performance, and then wait for opportunities to counterattack and score.
Unexpectedly, when the game officially started, it was not the case. Manchester United actually deployed a 433 formation, with a three-forward lineup composed of Rashford, Ibrahimovic and Rooney, plus an offensive The top midfielder Pogba, the Red Devils and Manchester United are going to have a battle with Liverpool at Anfield.
On the other side, Liverpool's goalkeeper position has changed again. Karius was deprived of his starting position due to a low-level mistake in the last game and was replaced by No. 22 Mignolet. As for Mignolet, who has not started or played in several games, whether he can perform well in this game is a question mark.
Although Willard on Liverpool's side is unbeatable, Manchester United also has a chance of winning in other positions. It depends on who is in good shape and has good luck in the end.
After the game officially started, the two sides launched a rapid attack without any testing. Both wanted to take advantage of the opportunity when some players were not very focused in the opening stage to see if they could score first.
Of course, Liverpool are not afraid of this kind of confrontation, because they play a 433 high-pressing tactic, and the transition speed between offense and defense is extremely fast. Manchester United gave up the 4231 defensive counterattack formation that Mourinho is familiar with and played 433 with Liverpool at Anfield. In attack, Liverpool is still coveted and the most popular.
In fact, Mourinho can't help it. Gambling genes are instilled in his personality. Facing Liverpool away from home and with Villard as a big killer, he didn't think his Manchester United could hold on and not concede a single goal.
Anyway, we are losing, so it is better to change the formation, catch Liverpool by surprise, then attack, give Liverpool a bloody fight, and take a chance on the chance of performing a miracle.
Facts have proved that Mourinho's sudden offensive tactics achieved certain results at Anfield.
In just the third minute of the game, Manchester United took the lead with Rashford cutting in from the left and passing the ball in an inverted triangle. Pogba hit a powerful long-range shot from outside the top of the penalty area, creating a murderous opportunity.
Fortunately, goalkeeper Mignolet was more focused, and Pogba's long-range shot was not very tricky. In the end, Mignolet saved it from the bottom line.
Subsequently, the fight between the two sides became fierce.
The wet and slippery field caused by light rain increased the number of mistakes made by both sides, and naturally the competition for the ball became more intense. Coupled with Mourinho's style problems, Manchester United also committed more fouls. However, they may be afraid of Willard's retaliation, so they often injure people and send them off the field. Therefore, Manchester United's fouls are all directed at the ball, and there is no malicious injury. The referee Taylor usually just blows the whistle and does not take out cards many times. .
Manchester United goalkeeper De Gea performed well today and saved many shots from Velarde and his teammates. But Velarde's shot was too accurate. After constant confrontation, Velarde finally lived up to expectations. In the 19th minute, he hit the wall with Firmino and broke through the interception of Manchester United midfielder Herrera. A heavy shot from the front of the penalty area hit the ball into Manchester United's goal, giving Liverpool a 1-0 lead.
Manchester United's offensive lineup is also quite luxurious. Ibrahimovic's foot skills are not much worse than Messi's. In the 26th minute, he took the ball and continuously smashed and pulled away two Liverpool defenders. player, then passes the ball to Rooney.
Rooney rushed into the penalty area and fired a non-stop shot from less than ten meters away from the goal. He successfully broke through the goal guarded by Mignolet and Manchester United equalized the score 1-1.
If De Gea were to guard this ball, it might be saved, but Mignolet's goalkeeping ability is still far behind Liverpool's world-class giants. It's just that good goalkeepers are hard to find, so now they can only make do with it.
On Liverpool's side, there is Willard on the defensive line, and his strength is similar to that of Manchester United. There is also Willard on offense, which is a level stronger than Manchester United's offensive power. But at the goalkeeper position, De Gea is better than Mignolet. Therefore, the two sides were evenly matched during the game, and the scores against each other kept rising, but no one could lead by more than two goals.
In the 33rd minute, Willard took a long shot to create a corner kick. Central defender Lovren grabbed the first point in the corner kick and headed the ball into the goal. Liverpool regained the lead 2-1.
Within a few minutes, Ibrahimovic dribbled continuously in the penalty area to attract the defense of Velarde, Matip and other three people. Suddenly he kicked the ball with his heel and passed the ball to the back row. Pogba.
Before Willard could remind his teammates to make up for the interception, Pogba volleyed the ball without stopping and successfully kicked the ball into Liverpool's goal.
The two sides fought to a 2-2 tie again.
Then, when the time came to the 41st minute, the most reassuring Velarde made a mistake. When he was intercepting Pogba, he suddenly slipped and fell.
Pogba, who originally wanted to pass the ball out, was overjoyed and immediately rushed past the fallen Velarde with the ball. After attracting interceptions from Henderson and Lovren, he passed the ball to Rashford in the gap.
Master La volleyed from the left rib of the penalty area and sent the ball into the Liverpool goal.
Manchester United took the lead for the first time at Anfield and reversed the score 3-2. The cause turned out to be the most reassuring Willard's accidental fall.
Willard was also depressed because he was cheated by his own stadium. But it's raining now, so there's nothing we can do about it. This is totally a crime without war.
Because he lost the goal due to his own reasons and was overtaken by his opponent, Willard naturally had to work hard to make up for it and constantly looked for opportunities to shoot.
Just when the first half had entered stoppage time, and everyone thought Manchester United was going to take the lead into the halftime break, Willard received a pass from Mane from the wing in the 46th minute. The ball was not stopped on the penalty area line and he volleyed the ball hard towards the goal.
The volley was powerful and heavy, like a cannonball. Manchester United defender Bailly flew to block the hole of the gun but failed to touch the ball. Goalkeeper De Gea's quick response failed to save the ball. Although his fingers touched the ball, he failed to change the final result.
The ball only changed its line slightly, but in the end it flew firmly into the goal.
Willard scored twice to help Liverpool draw the score to 3-3.
