As the game approaches, more and more fans begin to gather at Anfield Stadium. On a crowded game day, some fans will choose to order fish and chips with curry or gravy to replenish their energy before the game.
Before the game, in addition to ordering a fish and chips, it is also a good choice to walk around the stadium and take a photo with the Shankly statue. You can buy a hat, a scarf and a badge from the souvenir vendors everywhere around the stadium, or stop in front of Hillsborough Memorial to reminisce, or watch the band perform in front of the big stage.
Bill Shankly, the legendary coach of the Liverpool team and the founder of England the Reds.
On the statue of Bill Shankly erected at Anfield, there is an inscription "He made us happy".
This short inscription tells us why so many people commemorate this Scotland man this weekend.
Shankly took Liverpool, who was struggling in the second division at the time, to become the top league champion and began to dominate Europe.
Shankly has a famous saying, "Football is not about life and death, but football is higher than life and death." However, this translation can easily make people question it.
But the original translation of this sentence should be "Some people equate football with life and death, and I am deeply disappointed. I can assure you that football is far more important than this."
His statue stands quietly in Anfield, and the sentence that best embodies the spirit of the Liverpool team is engraved on the gate of the stadium named after him, "You'll Never Walk Alone".
You'll Never Walk Alone!
This is also the team song of the Liverpool team.
Next to the Hillsborough tragedy monument in the stadium, Liverpool fans come here every day to pay their respects.
This was a football tragedy that shocked the entire UK and even the world of football.
In this tragedy, a total of 96 people lost their lives and more than 200 were injured, and the 96 people who died were all Liverpool fans.
A monument engraved with the names of 96 Liverpool fans stands beside the gate of the Liverpool stadium, side by side with "You'll Never Walk Alone" on Shankly Gates.
Anfield Stadium can be said to be one of the oldest stadiums in England. The rich history gives this stadium a solemn feeling.
Putting on sportswear, Li Mingyu and his teammates prepared to go to the court to warm up.
Among the stadiums that are now completely modernized, among the top clubs, only Liverpool and Anfield Stadium still maintain the original flavor of the player tunnel.
A sign above the tunnel reads "This is Anfield".
Everyone who passes through the tunnel can see this ordinary sign.
However, the psychological pressure this sign puts on the visiting team is self-evident.
Anfield Stadium, is the famous home stadium of hell.
On the huge Kop Stand, the die-hard Liverpool fans will use their loudest voices to warn the visiting team that this is Anfield.
The earliest Kop Stand did not have any seats. All fans stood and breathed together with their home team at all times.
However, due to the frequent outbreaks of stadium tragedies in that era, the Football Association forced the Liverpool team to install seats for Kop Stand.
But until now, during games, Kop Stand fans will still stand in full court to support the team.
When Li Mingyu walked by here, like everyone else, he reached out and patted the sign above, telling Liverpool that I am here.
Although this is Anfield, my name is Li Mingyu.
Li Mingyu has defeated fifteen opponents in the league and captured seven away games.
This EFL Cup will be the eighth away game that Li Mingyu hopes to conquer.
Walking into Anfield Stadium, the stands were already full of fans.
Even though it is still in the warm-up stage, Liverpool fans on Kop Stand have already started singing the familiar song "You'll Never Walk Alone".
"When you walk through a storm
Please hold your head high
don't be afraid of the dark
At the end of the storm, there is a golden sky
and Bai Ling's sweet singing voice
Through the wind, through the rain,
Your dreams may be shattered
But move forward with the hope in your heart
You'll Never Walk Alone
You'll Never Walk Alone..."
It was the first time for Li Mingyu to hear this popular song live, and he could feel the heartfelt enthusiasm of the fans for Liverpool.
This is the charm of football, this is the foundation of the Liverpool team.
Players from teams Manchester City and Liverpool are doing warm-up training in their respective halves.
Li Mingyu could feel that the mentality of his teammates was somewhat affected by the singing of Liverpool fans.
This is the home field advantage.
After the warm-up was completed, Li Mingyu and his teammates returned to Liverpool's closed visiting team lounge.
Guardiola said with a relaxed look, "Everyone, this game is not that important to us. However, since we are playing, we must be worthy of the fans coming from afar and play this game seriously. Winning or losing is not important, but make sure that everyone does not get injured!"
Guardiola's eyes were on Li Mingyu who was adjusting his shin guards, showing a helpless expression.
I originally didn't want Li Mingyu to participate in this game. At the beginning of this season, Guardiola put EFL Cup and FA Cup out of consideration.
Because this season's schedule is so intensive, for players, the chance of injury is greatly increased.
For Guardiola, no one's injury will affect the team. Except for Li Mingyu, he absolutely cannot have any problems.
But Li Mingyu, who is obsessed with honor, is also very eager for EFL Cup.
Guardiola clapped his hands and said, "Okay, gentlemen, go and bring victory back!"
Manchester City's players stood up and roared one after another.
The current Manchester City has reached its peak morale and combat effectiveness.
Li Mingyu received the highest personal honor, which is also an honor for Manchester City.
Li Mingyu came to the players' tunnel again and looked at the "This is Anfield" sign above, feeling nothing in his heart anymore.
"Friends of Tencent Sports, good evening. What we are broadcasting here is a game of EFL Cup. This is also the first time that Tencent Sports broadcasts EFL Cup's game. game, because the two teams in this game are Manchester City, led by Li Mingyu, challenging the Liverpool team currently ranked third in the league in the famous Anfield Stadium."
"First of all, we would like to congratulate Li Mingyu for winning the unprecedented honor of World Cup champion, World Cup Golden Ball, World Cup Golden Boot, the Best FIFA Men's Player, and Ballon d'Or. This is an honor that no one has ever been able to win all within one year."
"Li Mingyu As a Spain Chinese, we are also proud of him!"
"Today's game is the third round of EFL Cup. Unfortunately, Liverpool and Manchester City actually met together. This is also the only confrontation between the Premier League teams in the third round of EFL Cup. It is also an interesting game in this round."
"After Li Mingyu came to England, he has defeated fifteen Premier League teams in the league. Among the teams he has not played against yet is Liverpool. This game is also Li Mingyu's first appearance after winning two awards, the Best FIFA Men's Player and Ballon d'Or."
"Fans all over the world want to see if this double gentleman can show a better state."
"Players from both sides have begun to enter the stadium. Let's take a look at the lineups of both sides."
"Liverpool, playing at home, made a 4-3-3 lineup today. The goalkeeper is No. 1 Brazilian goalkeeper Alisson. I believe this goalkeeper should have a very deep impression on Li Mingyu. In the semifinals, Li Mingyu completed the first assist hat trick in World Cup history, helping the Spanish team defeat Brazil. Alisson was the goalkeeper of the Brazilian team at the time. It must be a very desperate feeling to watch his goal being penetrated six times by the opponent."
"The two central defenders are their captain Van Dijk and Ben White, who just transferred from the Brighton team this year, the left defender Robertson, and the right defender Arnold. Due to last season Van Dijk was injured, and Liverpool's defense became extremely weak. This season, we specially introduced Ben White, who played well in Brighton. After these fifteen rounds of the league, Liverpool's defense has indeed become much stronger!"
"In the midfield, the combination of Thiago, Fabinho and Curtis Jones has worked very well together."
"The frontcourt trio, Salah, Firmino, and Mane, is also the trio with the strongest offensive power besides Manchester City."
"Liverpool is in very good shape this year. After fifteen league rounds, it only lost to the Manchester United team. It is currently ranked third in the league and is gaining momentum."
"I don't know if Liverpool can stop Manchester City in today's game, let's wait and see!"
"Looking at Manchester City's lineup, it is also a 4-3-3 lineup, and the goalkeeper is Ederson."
"The four defenders are Kyle Walker, Stones, Laporte and Zinchenko."
"The three midfielders are defensive midfielder Rodri, and the two attacking midfielders are Gundogan and Li Mingyu."
"The three forwards are all players who have performed well in this World Cup. The left winger Sterling was rated as the best left winger in this World Cup, and the right winger Ferran Torres was also rated as the best left winger in this World Cup. came on as a substitute, scored two goals, and performed very well. Center Gabriel Jesus did not let Neymar cover up his own shine, and World Cup also performed very well."
"The attacking groups of both sides are among the best in today's world football. However, the defense lines of both sides have some problems, and both have some shortcomings of strong offense and weak defense. The key to this game is to see which side can seize the loopholes in the other side's defense first, and which side can take the initiative!"
"The game is about to start. Let's go to Anfield Stadium and watch the third round of EFL Cup."
[Congratulations to the host for successfully signing in Anfield Stadium and obtaining the talent skill of Liverpool legendary forward Michael James Owen: I Bet Your Gun Has No Bullets.]
Michael James Owen can be said to be one of England's most talented forward killers. In the French Summer of 1998, the eighteen-year-old Owen was born. In the game against Argentina, the midfielder received a pass, passed two Argentina defenders and hit the ball into the goal.
Become famous with one goal.
From then on, the title of "Feng Chasing Boy" has accompanied Owen's career.
However, the young man chasing the wind has a bad hobby, gambling.
Gambling consumed a lot of his energy, made his body deteriorate, and was eventually destroyed by injuries.
But the early Owen was simply a cold-blooded killer on the front line.
When facing a defender one-on-one, Owen's breakthrough rate is very terrifying. His explosive power and ability to suddenly change lines have been undoubtedly demonstrated in the 1998 World Cup.
"I Bet Your Gun Has No Bullets" is actually Owen's intuitive judgment of defensive players in one-on-one situations.
Li Mingyu is not very interested in this skill, because his extraordinary ability is already at the top level. When one-on-one, it is basically impossible for anyone to guard him.
This ability seems a bit useless.
But during the competition, Li Mingyu deeply felt the horror of this skill.
Manchester City kicks off first.
Li Mingyu received the return pass from Gabriel Jesus and was about to pass the ball to Gundogan next to him when he saw the opponent's center Firmino rushing towards him.
Suddenly, a judgment appeared in Li Mingyu's mind. Firmino was preparing to intercept his own pass to Gundogan.
I don't know why this thought came to my mind.
Li Mingyu alertly pulled the ball back as he prepared to pass it out.
Sure enough, in the next step, Firmino stretched out his right foot and stood between himself and Gundogan.
Damn it, it turns out to be true!
Could this be the purpose of "I Bet Your Gun Has No Bullets"?
You can see through the opponent's next move.
This is so beautiful!
Li Mingyu Although excited, he still needs to make a judgment again.
Li Mingyu started dribbling the ball forward quickly after pulling the ball.
Liverpool's midfielder Fabinho rushed forward.
When Li Mingyu saw Fabinho, he had a feeling in his heart that Fabinho was about to foul him.
Sure enough, when Li Mingyu was about to use a fake move to pass Fabinho, he stuck to Li Mingyu's side and directly knocked Li Mingyu down.
A foul in this position makes it impossible for Li Mingyu to continue dribbling the ball forward, and he doesn't know how to get a card, so why not?
Li Mingyu, who was sitting on the ground, lowered his head with a smile on his face.
What an awesome skill.
No wonder Owen likes gambling, this skill really suits him!
After possessing this ability, Li Mingyu will be even more comfortable in organizing attacks.
What a powerful ability it is to be able to judge the intentions of defensive players!
However, this ability can only detect the intention of the player defending itself, and Li Mingyu discovered that this skill is not 100% accurate, and some misjudgments can occur two or three times out of ten.
After all, it's Owen's unique trick. Gambling, you can't bet right every time!