Chapter 606 - 308: The Match Begins

May 2nd.

The Champions League semi-finals reignited.

I say "reignited" because two days ago, Ajax had already completed their first leg match away against Tottenham.

And the result was unexpected. Tottenham, at their home ground, White Hart Lane, lost 0:1 to Ajax.

An absolute upset.

Probably apart from the Dutch, for this match, few fans in the entire world would have thought that Tottenham, who had defeated Manchester City, would lose at their own home ground.

In an instant, rumors of match-fixing and dark horses were everywhere.

At the same time, it cast a layer of mystery over the blockbuster match between Liverpool and Barcelona.

The fans were even more unable to predict the outcome of this match.

At Anfield, the stands on all four sides were a sea of red.

The singing of "You'll Never Walk Alone" rumbled, shaking the seats under people's backsides.

There was still half an hour until the match began, and the Liverpool home fans were already in high spirits.

Soon, the Champions League anthem began to play, and the players from both sides came out.

The home team, Liverpool, was still in a 4-3-3 formation.

However, the center forward, Firmino, was absent from this match due to a strain. Wijnaldum's position was moved forward.

Goalkeeper: Alisson.

Defenders: Robertson, Van Dijk, Matip, Alexander-Arnold.

Midfielders: Keïta, Tendou, Milner.

Forwards: Mané, Wijnaldum, Salah.

Under the pressure of Barça's midfield press, Klopp had made adjustments to his lineup.

He had Henderson on the bench and started Milner, who had better continuous covering ability.

Although Barça was no longer the "Cosmic Team" it once was, passing and control were still their sharpest weapons.

On the Barça side, Valverde had deployed a 4-4-2 formation.

After he took over Barça, the team had also faced the problem of insufficient midfield creativity.

There was nothing he could do. The Barça fans had been spoiled in the past.

Who was in the "Dream Team Three" Barça?

Xavi and Iniesta...

Both were historic-level midfielders. Iniesta was even often compared to Modrić by the fans.

Now that the two great gods had left, Valverde could only change the traditional 4-3-3 formation, hoping to improve the team's ball control and midfield defense by increasing the number of midfielders.

Barça's 4-4-2 usually had a double holding midfielder configuration.

Goalkeeper: ter Stegen.

Defenders: Roberto, Piqué, Lenglet, Alba.

Midfielders: Vidal, Rakitić, Busquets, Coutinho.

Two Forwards: Lionel Messi, Suárez.

With a whistle, the match began.

Liverpool kicked off.

In the opening stages, both sides played relatively conservatively, not engaging in the fierce attacking showdown that the fans had expected.

This was because Klopp's tactical system, in the end, still focused on defensive counter-attacks.

If the opponent attacked strongly, Liverpool would actually play more comfortably.

Counter-attacking speed was Liverpool's sharpest weapon.

And Barça, Valverde did not give Liverpool such an opportunity today.

In fact, from the moment he set up with a double holding midfielder, you could tell Barça's attitude for today's match.

Full respect for Liverpool's home ground.

Valverde had almost written the words "at least a draw back to the Camp Nou" on his face.

Of course, this could not be said openly.

They were Barça.

For Barça, winning is basic. Winning beautifully is the key.

Seventeen minutes passed in the blink of an eye.

After a series of probes, Liverpool began to attack in force.

Salah and Mané both had two quality shots, both of which were saved by ter Stegen.

The Liverpool fans let out a sigh, then applauded the team to speed up.

And Barça, they were strictly executing their pre-match plan.

They had formed a three-layered defensive line in front of the penalty area.

Suárez was actively involved in counter-pressing. Messi...

Well, Messi had already started to stroll on the field at this point, a completely different state from when he was young.

But Suárez often dropped back to the midfield to help Rakitić with the defense.

Barça therefore often had a numerical advantage.

And with that came an increase in counter-attacking opportunities.

Messi was always roaming at the forefront of the team, which gave him more space to sprint.

In the 24th minute, after a press, Barça won the ball from Keïta. Rakitić played a wall pass with a teammate to break Liverpool's press and then gave the ball to Messi.

The latter immediately received the ball in the center and advanced quickly.

Early in his career, Messi was mainly active on the left wing. After being promoted to the first team, he was active on the right wing for a long time.

At this stage, Messi's main job was to break through on the wing and cut inside to help the team score.

And after 2009, he was transformed by Guardiola into a false 9, which is the attacking midfield position. He began to be active in the center and became the absolute core of the team.

The Liverpool fans, after many years, once again felt the huge threat of the Argentine.

A human-limit step frequency, just like Tendou's, and even faster. A quick touch of the ball in a short period of time made it extremely difficult to predict his next move.

When they played Chelsea before, Hazard had caused a lot of trouble for the Liverpool defense, but the thirty-something Messi was even more of a threat than Hazard.

He advanced with the ball through the center to a position about 25 meters from the Liverpool goal and then distributed the ball to Suárez, who, having beaten the offside trap, shot high.

He had wasted a one-on-one opportunity.

Although they didn't score, this attack from Barça had given the Liverpool fans a cold sweat.

In turn, Tendou received a long pass from Arnold. He received the ball with his back to goal, controlled it, and then turned, getting past Suárez's press.

Rakitić immediately came to cover, but was left behind by Tendou's backheel change of direction.

The strolling Messi saw this, his gaze a little dazed.

No wonder some fans would say that Tendou was a bigger version of "Messi."

To be able to dribble past people in this way with such a physique, this talent is among the top in all of history.

After getting past Rakitić, Tendou sent a rainbow long pass to the right wing just as Busquets was coming over to cover.

Coutinho and Alba immediately went up to press.

The Egyptian Pharaoh's performance was no less swift than Messi's. After shaking off the double-team, he passed the ball to Wijnaldum in the center.

The latter feinted past a defender and took a powerful shot from the edge of the box, but he couldn't get past ter Stegen's grasp.

Wijnaldum held his head in his hands.

The team's tactics had worked.

But Wijnaldum had forgotten to bring his shooting boots.

Opportunities are hard to come by.

If this continued, they would be punished.

With Firmino absent, Liverpool was actually playing without a striker today.

Tendou could fill in, but Klopp had given him a lot of defensive duties today.

Barça's passing and control system was a huge threat. One careless mistake and the entire defensive line could be penetrated on the ground.

Klopp's requirement for this match was not only to win, but also to prevent Barça from scoring an away goal.

After all, the Camp Nou was notoriously a demonic home ground.

...

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