The Battle Is Coming! When Things Get Tough, Think of the Reds, Liverpool!
Historically, the Liverpool vs. Manchester United derby has always been the most anticipated match in the entire Premier League.
But the situation has subtly changed this season!
In the 24th round of the Premier League, Manchester City hosted Liverpool at the Etihad Stadium.
It became the most talked-about topic across the British Isles this week.
In the first leg between the two teams, in the sixth round of the Premier League, Manchester City, playing away, secured a 2-1 the Reds over Liverpool thanks to Tang Long's stunning dunk.
That night, after Bony scored with an assist from Tang Long, his frenzied African tribal dance was like a fierce slap in the face to every die-hard Anfield fan.
Manchester City took the photos and then left.
This red mark stayed there for half a year!
Six months later, in February 2016, the two teams finally faced off in the second leg of the Premier League match in the 24th round.
With the season progressing as of now, Liverpool are ranked fourth and have no hope of winning the title.
Even though winning the championship is out of the question, we still have to fight for our pride, right?
Liverpool legend Jamie Carragher, in this week's Weekly Premier League news, took it upon himself to make a prediction on behalf of the entire Liverpool team!
"I haven't been in Liverpool for many years, but the spirit of Liverpool will always be in my heart!"
"I believe that Sturridge, Firmino, Henderson, Miliore, and Coutinho will never forget that night six months ago. Bony's crazy, almost arrogant dance!"
"I also can't forget when the final whistle blew, Tang Long arrogantly put both hands to his ears in front of 60,000 Anfield fans in a provocative gesture!"
"This young man is absolutely outrageous!"
"We also cannot ignore Milner's role!"
"I believe that Milner will do his best to help the team win this match against his former club, both for qualification for this year's UEFA European Championship and to prove himself!"
Carragher pointed to the camera and said with absolute certainty:
"Milner, I don't know if you're watching my show, but I want to tell you, if you think you're a man and have the guts, then go ahead and give your old club a good beating at the Etihad Stadium, which you know so well!"
Whoosh--
Whoosh--
Whoosh whoosh whoosh--
Even after the final training session before the match against Manchester City, many Liverpool players were still doing extra training.
Some players are practicing shooting;
Some were practicing passing and dribbling;
With the help of the goalkeeping coach, goalkeeper Mignolet also made numerous saves against various tricky shots.
Milner, however, was running back and forth on the field, practicing his knee slides.
Wherever he went, a "whoosh-whoosh" sound rang out, and the grass was torn to shreds by him.
Liverpool's stadium manager stood on the sidelines with a grim face, looking heartbroken.
Damn Milner, if you want to celebrate, go celebrate at the Etihad! You've ruined our own turf, and in the end, I'm the one who has to clean it up for you!
However, Milner seemed completely unconcerned about the stadium manager's gaze;
He remained completely unconcerned when his teammates glanced at him.
Although the grass on the training field was very smooth and had very little friction, Milner's knees began to swell slightly after doing a dozen or twenty consecutive sliding knees.
Milner, the former Manchester City player who was once defeated by Tang Long, has been practicing a very standard sliding knee posture.
He repeatedly reviewed each of his sliding kneeling movements, constantly adjusting the angle of his straight upper body and calves;
Meanwhile, he was also practicing the arc of his outstretched arms, striving to present Milner with the most handsome and stylish sliding knee slide in front of tens of thousands of spectators at the Etihad Stadium.
"Henderson, do you think my knee slide was cool?"
Seeing Milner's snow-white socks stained a vibrant green by the grass, Henderson quickly nodded in agreement.
"You're so handsome, Milner! You could be working on a farm in the countryside near Edinburgh, plowing the fields!"
Milner burst into laughter upon hearing this, grabbed Henderson by the neck, and shook him.
"Hahaha! Well said! I'm going to plow the Etihad lawn to smithereens!"
Henderson, feeling dizzy from Milner's shaking, quickly pushed him away and said with a wry smile:
"You should think about how to stop Tang. He really messed us up in the last game."
Upon hearing Tang Long's name, Milner's head buzzed!
He involuntarily covered his forehead; his head began to ache.
Once the pain starts, it intensifies, making my head feel like it's about to explode.
Milner has been suffering from migraines since the sixth round of the league, when he played against Liverpool City for Manchester City.
Tang Long's powerful shot hit him squarely on the head and bounced into the net.
Milner was thrown to the ground on the spot!
Brief fainting and loss of consciousness!
Subsequently, in retaliation, he deliberately rammed into Tang Long but missed, resulting in a broken wrist and requiring him to be taken to a hospital in Liverpool.
At that time, Tang Long and Kompany kindly visited their former teammate Milner in the hospital.
Tang Long even bought a fruit basket, but Milner refused to see him. Kompany had to forcefully hand the fruit basket to Milner.
From then on, the name Tang Long haunted Milner like a demon, constantly hovering above him, never letting go.
Milner rubbed his temples, composed himself, and then calmly spoke to Henderson.
"Young man, you're a defensive midfielder, and Tang is an attacking midfielder. You two are matched up against each other, so the responsibility of defending against Tang rests on your shoulders!"
Henderson was taken aback, then quickly asked, "And what about you?"
Milner patted his chest and declared, "I'm an attacking player; I'm responsible for scoring goals and providing assists!"
"No matter how tough things are, think of Liverpool the Reds!"
"Whether it's good or bad, just think of Arsenal in London!"
"Manchester United, Manchester United, go play in the Europa League!"
"Chelsea, with their 'Sisi' (Cheerful) team, always falters when they face Manchester City!"
Inside the LeSports broadcast room.
The match is still 10 minutes away from starting.
With Tang Long's outstanding performance at Manchester City, more and more fans are starting to pay attention to the Premier League and Manchester City.
They naturally consider Manchester City their home team and cleverly mock Manchester City's many rivals in the Premier League.
Zhan Jun selectively read a few of them aloud, exclaiming how talented netizens are!
Mr. Li Yuankui, who was standing nearby, was also amused and burst into laughter.
Of course, the comment with the most likes was still the one that said, "Damn Benteke!"
This is the most hilarious moment left by commentator Zhan Jun, a Liverpool fan, during the first leg of the match between the two teams.
However, Zhan Jun was a little unhappy when he saw this comment.
This was a genuine expression of his true feelings in a relaxed state, completely unaware of what was happening, but he never expected it to be recorded by the microphone that wasn't turned off in the studio.
Zhan Jun has high standards for his professional conduct, and he also felt a pang of shame because of it.
Therefore, they couldn't help Benteke.
"You all say I'm criticizing Benteke, but my statement is somewhat biased. After the initial adjustment period at the beginning of the season, Benteke has scored 6 league goals for Liverpool so far. Don't be fooled by the number of goals; if we analyze it closely, many of them were created by his own powerful physique!"
"Benteke missed a good chance in the first leg between the two teams. I believe that this time at the Etihad, he will be motivated by his mistake and prove that he is not a flop!"
After Zhan Jun finished speaking, he looked excitedly at the guest, Mr. Li Yuankui, waiting for him to respond.
Li Yuankui, who is over 70 years old, has been working with Zhan Jun since the beginning of the century when he worked at ESPN.
The two were very familiar with each other, but he didn't give his old friend any face.
He pushed his reading glasses down a bit and glanced sideways at Zhan Jun.
"Zhan Jun, you're being so dishonest! Just an hour ago in the locker room, you were complaining to me that Benteke was the biggest flop in Liverpool's history, and that Wu Lei would be better than him. How come you've changed your tune so quickly? You can't do this..."
Zhan Jun immediately interrupted, "Okay, now let's quickly introduce the starting lineups for both sides!"
Starting lineup
Manchester City home team): 4231
Agüero
Sterling / Tang Long / Navas
Gündoğan / Yaya Toure
Kolarov / Ranocchia / Kompany / Sagna
Caballero
Away team Liverpool: 433
Firmino / Origi / Milner
Emre Can / Henderson / Joe Allen
Flanagan / Lovren / Kolo Toure / Clyne
Mignolet
Inside the players' tunnel, both teams were fully prepared and ready to go.
Sterling, being simple-minded, remembered that Milner was also an important member of the English-speaking Faction when he played for the team, so he went up to him and took the initiative to greet Milner of Liverpool.
But Milner just glanced at him sideways, didn't answer, and turned his head away, leaving Sterling with a cold shoulder.
Sterling's outstretched hand hung awkwardly in the air, unsure whether to extend it further or retract it.
Several Liverpool players also gave Sterling a slightly mocking look.
Sterling suddenly felt wronged.
I just wanted to say hello, that's nothing, it's normal.
With a snap, Tang Long stepped forward, grabbed Sterling's dangling hand, and pulled him back.
"It's alright, come back."
Perhaps it was Tang Long's furious provocations against the Anfield fans in the first leg that strained the relationship between the two teams, resulting in a cold and indifferent atmosphere in the players' tunnel.
There were only two people who got along fairly well!
Those were the Toure brothers, who started the match.
Yaya Toure of Manchester City, and Kolo Toure of Liverpool.
It's not easy for a family to produce two professional footballers, let alone two brothers who can play for top Premier League clubs.
The Toure brothers have been a beautiful sight on the Premier League pitch for many years.
What's more, these two players had both played for Manchester City and were teammates, which is truly a match made in heaven.
As he has aged, center-back Kolo Toure has gradually faded from Liverpool's starting lineup in recent years;
Yaya Toure's competitive form has also visibly declined.
Given the unsuccessful contract renewal process, many speculate that Yaya Toure may find it difficult to stay at Manchester City after this season and may have to play in a Middle Eastern league.
The two cherish this opportunity to meet as opponents on the court.
"Brother, is this the last time we'll face off as opponents?" Yaya Toure, somewhat saddened.
"No, no, no, little brother, I'll be waiting for you in the League Cup and FA Cup finals!" Kolo Toure affectionately pinched his brother's cheek and gave him a hug.
The referee blew the whistle to start the match!
Start from the first minute.
Liverpool's players sensed something was wrong.
Is this positioning accurate?
In the studio, Zhan Jun was still eloquently recounting interesting anecdotes from the past encounters between the two teams;
Li Yuankui, wearing reading glasses, suddenly shouted!
"A double defensive midfield pairing! Tang Long and Gündoğan are partnering in the double defensive midfield!"
"Haha, Pellegrini really dares to pull off some stunts!"
(I've been having more work on weekends than weekdays lately. I promised to write three chapters, but I've only written two. Ugh. I'll definitely write three tomorrow and finish the Liverpool match in one go.)