novelraw Chapter 548 - 374: The Master Shines at Itihad! Signature Ground Strike Leaves Klopp Dumbfounded!
Chapter 548 - 374: The Master Shines at Itihad! Signature Ground Strike Leaves Klopp Dumbfounded!
Klopp, the German, had just taken over as Liverpool’s head coach last October.
Standing over 1.9 meters tall, with a full beard, he wore black-framed glasses and squinted as he fixed his gaze on the two Manchester City defensive midfielders on the pitch: Tang Long and Gundogan.
"What kind of play is this?"
Before this match, Klopp had prepared an elaborate tactical plan.
He had thoroughly reviewed all of Manchester City’s starting lineups since the start of this Premier League season.
Tang Long had played as a defensive midfielder before, although he mostly played as an attacking midfielder.
And his German compatriot, Gundogan, had performed well in the last game as a defensive midfielder; continuing in that role was understandable.
What Klopp couldn’t understand was that Yaya Toure, who had played as a defensive midfielder for years, had been pushed to the attacking midfielder position because of Tang Long and Gundogan’s presence.
"Whoa!"
Kolarov passed the ball to Toure on the flank, and Toure, outside the penalty area, was holding off Henderson.
He awkwardly turned and took a shot, sending a sky-high ball.
The only forward, Agüero, gestured in dissatisfaction, "Pass the ball!"
It was indeed somewhat awkward.
If this were five years ago, Henderson might have been pushed aside by Toure’s shoulder.
Klopp glanced at Pellegrini beside him.
Seeing him with his hands in his pockets, head down, looking thoughtful, Klopp couldn’t understand what kind of trick the white-haired Chilean old man had up his sleeve.
Actually, not just Klopp, even Gundogan himself didn’t understand why Tang Long was now a defensive midfielder.
Watching Tang Long actively move around, frequently using passes to maneuver opponents and widen the pitch, Gundogan was perplexed.
What, was my performance in the defensive midfield position in the last match not enough to win over Pellegrini?
Did he move the more offensively threatening Tang Long to defensive midfield because he didn’t trust me enough?
Of course, the person most speechless about this personnel change was Liverpool’s Milner!
In this match, Milner was playing as an attacking midfielder.
Although the formation was 4-3-3, he would slightly drop back from the front line to the defensive midfield position behind the two forwards, acting as a link and disruptor.
Milner was scared to death of Tang Long, having a psychological shadow regarding him, thinking his position would not overlap with Tang Long’s;
But when he saw Tang Long actually standing in the defensive midfield position, facing him, he couldn’t help but tense up, feeling inexplicably nervous.
"Bang!"
Henderson tried to connect with Milner at the back, his through pass a tad too heavy, forcing Milner to chase it down while Tang Long dashed from the side with a ground slide, first kicking the ball out, then mercilessly sliding into Milner.
Milner was evidently unprepared. Tang Long’s slide was like a spatula flipping him over, performing a 360-degree spin in the air, landing on his rear, bouncing off the ground, scattering grass clippings everywhere.
"Shit!"
Milner cursed in pain, scrambling awkwardly to his feet.
"Tang! What are you doing here? Go up front to score goals!" Milner said sarcastically to Tang Long.
"To give you special training for the whole match," Tang Long smiled.
Regarding Pellegrini’s tactical arrangement, Tang Long only shared half with Milner.
Bringing Tang Long to the defensive midfield was indeed targeting Milner.
Since Klopp’s arrival, Milner’s tactical importance at Liverpool had grown, becoming an irreplaceable piece of the team.
His relentless running, ferocious tackling, and tireless stamina made him the most threatening disruptor up front, creating significant space for Origi, Firmino, Philippe Coutinho, and others to shoot and dribble.
Pellegrini was quite shrewd in his use of players!
Seeing Tang Long directly putting Milner on a stretcher to go to the hospital in the first leg, Pellegrini reciprocated by moving Tang Long back to the defensive midfield to target Milner!
Completely locking him down.
As for pushing Toure from defensive midfield to attacking midfield, Pellegrini had his considerations too.
That was to make Toure a pillar center forward with Agüero running around him.
This risky move quickly paid off.
In the first 15 minutes of the game, Liverpool charged fiercely and aggressively.
Sturridge, Origi, Milner - these three players shared one characteristic: they could run, with extensive coverage.
Since Klopp took over, Liverpool’s playing style transformed, becoming one of the fastest in the Premier League.
Throughout the match, the three players interchanged positions frequently; teams playing against Liverpool couldn’t keep up with merely watching all their movement, forcing pre-game man-marking strategies to transform into zonal defense.
Thankfully, Tang Long was stationed in the backfield, managing the plays!
No matter how fiercely Liverpool’s players pressed, backfield ball distribution was orchestrated and methodical under Tang Long’s stewardship.
In the 16th minute of the first half.
Seeing that the opening 15-minute attack hadn’t yielded results, Klopp was unwilling, instructing the three forwards to press one last time across the field and pushing Henderson up for added pressure.
Facing the aggressive quartet, Gundogan briefly felt nervous.
Ranocchia’s pass to him was under pressing from Firmino and Origi, causing him not to dare turn around and quickly tapping the ball back to Ranocchia.