Carroll came on for No. 9, with Spearing coming off.
When the fourth official on the sidelines put up the substitution notice, Su Dong was slightly surprised.
In the sixtieth minute, Dalglish finally couldn't sit still any longer.
Bringing on Carroll, a center forward, and taking off Spearing, a holding midfielder, clearly meant they wanted to strengthen their attack.
Dalglish probably didn't want to stake all his chips on the final moments, so he had decided to make the substitution early.
Su Dong glanced at Carroll on the sidelines, then turned to look at Guardiola.
Guardiola had obviously noticed Carroll's movements long ago. He was discussing things with Torrent and Estiarte, probably assessing the team's current situation, especially the players' fitness levels.
If Man City's players had enough stamina to hold up, Guardiola probably didn't want to make any substitutions.
After noticing Su Dong's gaze, Guardiola gestured to him, indicating that he should slow down for now and not rush to attack.
Su Dong understood what Guardiola meant. He immediately called out to Pepe and Kompany, signaling that they needed to pay closer attention.
Once Carroll came on, he would definitely stay furthest forward as the team's center forward. Suárez would likely roam around Carroll's flanks and sides, while Bellamy and Downing would become two wide midfielders. In other words, Liverpool would revert to a 4-4-2 formation, and the team's style of play would change accordingly.
Based on Man City's coaching staff's recent study of Liverpool's tactics, after Carroll came on, Liverpool would use more forty-five-degree diagonal crosses and crosses from the byline. Their counterattacks would also rely more on long balls sent directly toward Carroll. This was a classic English style of play, and it was also the tactic Dalglish was best at.
After taking charge of Liverpool, everyone