novelraw Chapter 547 - 373 The Great Battle is Coming! Is it tough? Think about the Red Army Liverpool!
Chapter 547 - 373 The Great Battle is Coming! Is it tough? Think about the Red Army Liverpool!
In the past, the Liverpool vs. Manchester United derby has always been the most significant event in the entire Premier League.
But this season the situation has undergone a subtle change!
In the 24th round of the Premier League, Manchester City hosted Liverpool at the Etihad Stadium.
This became the most watched event on the entire British Isles for the week.
In the first leg between the two teams, in the 6th round of the Premier League, Manchester City, as the away team, relied on Tang Long’s incredible goal to decisively secure a 2:1 victory against the Red Army and take away three points.
That night, after Bony scored with an assist from Tang Long, the African tribal dance he performed was like a fierce slap in the face of every die-hard Anfield fan.
Manchester City left after the slap~
The red mark stayed for half a year!
Half a year later, in February 2016, the two teams finally met again in the 24th round of the Premier League for their second encounter.
As the season progressed, Liverpool ranked fourth, already without hopes of contending for the championship.
But even if the championship is out of reach, don’t they have to fight for pride?
Liverpool legend Carra, in this week’s Weekly Premier League news, presumptuously set a flag representing the entire Liverpool team!
"I haven’t been at Liverpool for many years, but the spirit of Liverpool will always be remembered in my heart!"
"I believe whether it’s Sturridge, Firmino, Henderson, Miliore, or Philippe Coutinho, they won’t forget that night six months ago. The arrogant dance of Bony!"
"They also won’t forget the moment the match ended and the whistle blew, with Tang Long arrogantly taunting by placing his hands on his ears in front of 60,000 Anfield fans!"
"Absolutely brazen, this young man!"
"We cannot ignore Milner’s role either!"
"I believe this time facing his old club, Milner will certainly do his utmost to help the team win this match, not only for the European Cup qualification this year but also to fight for his pride!"
Carra pointed at the camera, speaking firmly:
"Milner, I don’t know if you’re watching my show, but I want to tell you, if you think you’re a man, if you have the courage, then mercilessly strike against your old club at the familiar Etihad Stadium!"
...
Whoosh——
Whoosh——
Whoosh whoosh whoosh——
After the last training session before facing Manchester City ended, many Liverpool players were still practicing.
Some players were practicing shooting;
Some were practicing passing and dribbling;
Goalkeeper Mignolet was also making various saves with the help of the goalkeeper coach.
Only Milner was running back and forth on the field, practicing his sliding knee celebration.
Wherever he went, the "whoosh whoosh——" sound resonated, the turf he left behind was in shreds.
Liverpool’s field manager stood on the sidelines with a grim expression, feeling heartbroken~
Damn Milner, if you want to celebrate, do it at the Etihad, you’re tearing up our own turf, and in the end, it’s me who has to clean it up!
But Milner did not care about the field manager’s gaze at all;
Nor did he care about the looks from his teammates.
Even though the practice field’s turf was very smooth with little friction, after doing the sliding knee celebration ten to twenty times, Milner’s knees started to swell slightly.
Milner, a former Manchester City player beaten by Tang Long, constantly practiced a very standard sliding knee celebration.
He reviewed each of his sliding knee moves, continually adjusting the angles of his upright posture and calves;
He also rehearsed the arc of his open arms, striving to present the most handsome, dazzling sliding knee celebration in front of tens of thousands of spectators at the Etihad Stadium.
"Henderson, do you think my sliding knee celebration looks cool?"
Seeing Milner’s snow-white socks stained with turf green, Henderson quickly nodded.
"It’s so cool, Milner, you could go plow fields in the countryside farms of Edinburgh!"
Hearing this, Milner burst into loud laughter, threw an arm around Henderson’s neck, and shook him.
"Hahaha! Well said, I’m going to rip up the Etihad turf!"
Henderson was shaken to the point of dizziness by Milner, hurriedly pushed him away with a wry smile, saying:
"You should think about how to stop Tang; in the last match, he really gave us a hard time."
As soon as he heard Tang Long’s name, Milner’s head buzzed!
He instinctively covered his forehead, his head starting to ache.
This pain once started, only got worse, his head felt like it was going to explode.
Since the sixth round of the league where Milner, representing Liverpool, faced Manchester City, he’s been suffering from migraines.
Tang Long’s shot precisely hit his head and ricocheted into the net.
Milner was knocked to the ground on the spot!
He briefly fainted and lost consciousness!
Subsequently, in an act of revenge, he intentionally collided with Tang Long but missed, causing his wrist to fracture, and he was also sent to Liverpool’s hospital.
At the time, Tang Long and Kompany kindly went to the hospital to visit their former teammate Milner~
Tang Long even bought a fruit basket, but unexpectedly, Milner refused to see them, and it was Kompany who forcibly handed the fruit basket to Milner.
From then on, the name Tang Long hovered above Milner like a demon, haunting him relentlessly.
Milner rubbed his temples, composed himself, and then said calmly to Henderson.
"Young man, you’re the defensive midfielder, Tang is the attacking midfielder, the task of defending Tang falls on your shoulders!"
Henderson was taken aback and quickly asked: "What about you?"
Milner patted his own chest, "I’m an attacking player, I’m responsible for scoring goals and assisting!"
...
"Is it tough, think of the Red Army Liverpool!"
"Is it lacking, think of London Arsenal!"
"Manchester United, Manchester United, go play in the UEFA Europa League!"
"Chelsea, slips when meeting Manchester City!"
Inside the LeSports live broadcast room.
The match will start in 10 minutes.
With Tang Long’s outstanding performance at Manchester City, more and more fans have begun to pay attention to the Premier League, focusing on Manchester City.
They naturally took Manchester City as their home team and cleverly mocked Manchester City’s many opponents in the Premier League.
Zhan Jun selectively read a few comments aloud, exclaiming at the wit of the netizens!
Beside him, the elderly Mr. Li Yuankui was also laughing heartily.
Of course, the top comment was still, "Damn Benteke!"
This is a hilarious meme left for all fans by the commentator Zhan Jun, a Liverpool fan, during the first leg clash between the two teams.
However, seeing this comment, Zhan Jun was a bit displeased.
It was a genuine expression that emerged when he was completely unaware and relaxed, yet it was unexpectedly recorded by a microphone that had not been turned off in the studio.
Zhan Jun holds himself to high professional standards and felt quite embarrassed about it.
So, he involuntarily started defending Benteke.
"You all say I was cursing Benteke, but actually my statement was a bit biased. After getting used to the beginning of the season, Benteke has scored 6 league goals for Liverpool by now. It may not seem like much, but if we analyze carefully, many of the goals were made by his own strong physique forcing them through!"
"In the first leg clash, Benteke missed a great chance. I believe this time, coming to the Etihad, he will feel shame and then have courage, proving that he is not a flop!"
After Zhan Jun finished speaking, he looked excitedly at Mr. Li Yuankui, expecting him to respond.
At over 70 years old, Li Yuankui has been partnering with Zhan Jun since the early days of their time at ESPN.
They are very familiar, and he gives his old friend no face.
He pushed down his reading glasses and glanced at Zhan Jun.
"Zhan Jun, you’re not being truthful with your words. An hour ago in the rest room, you were complaining to me, saying Benteke is Liverpool’s biggest flop ever, and even Wu Lei would perform better. How come you’re saying something different now?"
Zhan Jun quickly interrupted: "Alright, let’s quickly introduce the starting lineups of both teams!"
Starting lineup for this match
Home Team Manchester City: 4-2-3-1
Agüero
Sterling/Tang Long/Navas
Gundogan/Yaya Toure
Kolarov/Ranocchia/Kompany/Sagna
Caballero
Away Team Liverpool: 4-3-3
Firmino/Origi/Milner
Emre Can/Henderson/Joe Allen
Flanagan/Lovren/Kolo Toure/Klein
Mignolet
In the player tunnel, both teams are ready to go.
Sterling, simple-minded, remembered when Milner was an important member of the English Language Gang at the team, so he went up to greet Liverpool’s Milner.
To his surprise, Milner only glanced at him sideways, didn’t respond, and turned his head away, leaving Sterling hanging.
Sterling’s outstretched hand was awkwardly suspended in the air, unsure whether to extend or retract.
A few Liverpool players also looked at Sterling with slightly mocking sights.
Sterling felt a sudden grievance.
I just wanted to say hello, there’s nothing wrong, this is normal.
With a slap, Tang Long stepped forward, grasping Sterling’s suspended hand, and pulled him back.
"It’s okay, come back."
Perhaps because of Tang Long facing the passionate provocations of Anfield fans in the first leg, the relationship between the two teams was tense, so in the player tunnel, they were cold to each other.
There are only two people who still maintain a somewhat friendly relationship!
That would be the starting Toure brothers.
Manchester City’s Yaya Toure and Liverpool’s Kolo Toure.
It’s not easy for a family to produce two professional players; even harder for two brothers to serve in Premier League giants.
The Toure brothers have been a beautiful sight in the Premier League for many years.
Moreover, these two players have both served at Manchester City and have been teammates, which is destiny from past lives.
With age, center-back Kolo Toure has gradually faded out of Liverpool’s starting lineup in recent years;
Yaya Toure’s competitive state is visibly declining.
Additionally, the contract renewal progress is not going smoothly; many speculate that after this season, Yaya Toure might find it hard to stay at Manchester City and might go to play in the Middle East league.
Both of them cherish this once chance to meet as opponents on the pitch.
"Big brother, is this our last time facing each other as opponents?" Yaya Toure said a bit sadly.
"No, no, no, brother, I’ll wait for you in the League Cup and FA Cup finals!" Kolo Toure affectionately pinched his brother’s face and gave him a hug.
...
The main referee blew the whistle to start the match!
From the first minute.
Liverpool players felt something was wrong.
Is this positioning real?
In the studio, Zhan Jun was still eloquently reciting anecdotes from past matches between the two teams;
Wearing reading glasses, Li Yuankui shouted loudly!
"Double defensive midfielders! Tang Long and Gundogan partnered as double defensive midfielders!"
"Haha, Pellegrini really dares to try new things!"
(Recently, weekends have been busier than weekdays. Promised to write three Chapters, but only wrote two, crying. Tomorrow will definitely be three Chapters, finishing off the match against Liverpool at once.)