Chapter 123: Come and Meet His Majesty!!
'Liverpool's comeback in the first half of the second half was admirable. Regrettably, in the end, they buried their own hopes of victory. The referee's decision may be controversial, but that doesn't justify Liverpool's loss of control. The situation on the field, because of a foul and a penalty, took another unexpected turn. With more than 10 minutes to go, Liverpool can only pray for a miracle to happen. Lineker's words summed up Liverpool's performance after that free-kick in front.
By the time the Liverpool players calmed down and tried to fight back again, they found that time had become their worst enemy. Impatient and anxious, Liverpool's front line began to look for easier attacking options, no longer pursuing small-scale combinations, and tried to equalize as much as possible. However, this kind of attacking style is inefficient in front of Chelsea's defence, and the only way to achieve results is to rely on the mistakes or luck of the Chelsea players themselves.
After the 81st minute of the second half, Liverpool's attack was almost 100 per cent back to the form they had been 30 years ago, which was long balls. But the three highs of Ray, Terry and Carvalho made this tactic really ineffective. Even if Liverpool were to be able to control the second landing point once in a while, the Chelsea defence, which had retreated across the board, would have immediately extinguished their attacking flames.
In the 83rd minute of the second half, Carragher made a long pass from the back and found Barosh who pulled out of the box. The Czech centre-forward and John Terry scrambled together, and the ball landed irregularly before coincidentally coming to Gerrard's feet. Gerrard didn't do anything else after the ball was on the ball. To raise your foot is to volley hard. But he hurriedly kicked out and didn't master his footwork. One kick sent the football to the second level of the fan stands.
Actually, he could have adjusted a little before shooting. Because when he has the ball. He didn't have any Chelsea defenders around him. Old Ray was pulled by Colwill who stepped forward, so he was some distance away from Gerrard. The distance was long enough for him to press on Gerrard in time to block it, and long enough for Gerrard to have plenty of time to adjust. But the mentality of Liverpool's captain Jiao allowed him to waste a great chance to shoot.
As the spiritual leader of Liverpool, when Gerrard is in a state of agitation, the psychological state of the whole Liverpool team can be imagined. In fact, Liverpool's onslaught was inefficient against Chelsea's defence. But it wasn't without chances, but the few chances were squandered by anxious Liverpool players.
In the 85th minute of the second half, Liverpool at this time had begun to attack with all their strength regardless of the defense, and the entire back line had crossed the halfway line. At this point, Traore's wide cross was blocked by Glen Johnson and Liverpool were awarded a valuable corner. Before the corner was taken, the entire Chelsea penalty area was filled with red figures, and they engaged in close hand-to-hand combat with Chelsea players in the tight box.
The hands of the players on both sides are not idle, you come and go. It's like making a kung fu movie. Among them, Terry and Carragher even played almost wrestling in the penalty area. This fierce Cheng dù made the referee have to stop the game first to give a verbal warning to the two. Let them lower their anger and control their movements. But it turned out that the utility of this means at this time was almost zero. After the game continues, the situation will not change in the slightest. At most, the action is more subtle.
And Lao Lei is such an example. When keeping an eye on Hyypia in the penalty area. Lao Lei just let it go, hug it, pull it, and push it, and the range of action is well controlled from beginning to end, but it can make Hyypia uncomfortable. In such a situation, Hyypia didn't think about fighting back, but he was dodged by Lao Lei with his rich experience in struggle. Looking at Lao Lei's smug expression, Hyypia had no choice but to keep telling Sù in his heart that he couldn't get angry and do anything.
After the referee's whistle, Alonso's corner was just found by Hyypia, who was ambushed at the back post. Alonso's ball was so good that not only did Cech keep out of the game, but he found Hyypia accurately. But it's a pity that Hyypia's play is "abnormal", and the height of the jump is not enough, so he can only watch the header fly over his head and pop off the bottom line after landing.
After landing on the ground, Hyypia was not only regretful, but also glared at Lao Lei, who was still triumphant, with a look of chagrin. In fact, if it weren't for Lao Ray pulling his jersey at the moment of Hyypia's jump, Hyypia would have at least no problem with football. Although Hyypia knows that he has been overshadowed by the old thunder, he has no way at all, and this kind of small action is almost a must for every team when defending high-altitude balls. As long as they don't get caught, the attacking player can only consider himself unlucky.
Liverpool's attacking spirit, like this corner, was worn away again and again in front of Chelsea's walled defence, until they later brainlessly chose to start shooting from distance. Just like around the 88th minute of the second half, Steven Gerrard, Smitchell and others fired five long-range shots in a row from the edge of the Chelsea box. Four of them flew up to the stands, and one foot was blocked by Lao Lei with a solid back, and the inefficiency was simply miserable.
By this time, except for a very small number of miraculous Liverpool fans, everyone had pronounced a death sentence for Liverpool in their hearts. At the same time, Chelsea's golden chance to end the suspense has arrived. In the 89th minute of the second half, after receiving a header from Barosche, Gerrard simply took two steps across and wanted to shoot with his feet. But how could such a simple deal pass through Lao Lei's defense, even if he was now out of the state of the devil's flesh man.
After stretching out his foot to block Gerrard's shot, Lao Lei kicked his left foot, which was already a little sore, and gritted his teeth to speed forward around Gerrard. After getting the football before Gerrard, Ray, who knew he was already inadequate, did not reluctantly continue to dribble the ball, but gave the ball to Gudjohnsson, who replaced Frank Lampard in the 79th minute.
GoodJohnson doesn't stick to the ball after receiving it. With a knock on the outside of his right foot, he shoved the ball straight behind Hyypia. At this time, there is a big gap in Liverpool's backfield. It became the best battlefield for Robben to gallop freely. When Robben forcibly overtook Hyypia, Hyypia also planned to knock Robben down. A tactical foul with a card was used to interrupt Chelsea's counter-attack.
But Robben, who has been playing in the Premier League for more than half a season, is no longer the Peter Pan who only knew how to bury his head at the beginning of the season. While the successive injuries this season have greatly affected Robben's form and performance, it has not been without benefits. At least these injuries allowed Robben to understand and adapt to the English style of football as quickly as possible. In the face of such a simple tactical foul as Hyypia, Robben will not be stupidly insulated now.
After an emergency stop, the ball is flicked inward, then picked up again, accelerating around him from the other side of Hyypia, and a simple but beautiful manball is done. When Hyypia, who couldn't keep up with Robben's frequency, adjusted his center of gravity. Robben had already pulled her two positions, and even if he wanted to, he couldn't foul it. After passing Hyypia, Robben was left with only Carragher and Traore, two Liverpool defenders. In an instant, Chelsea had formed an excellent counter-attack situation of 4 against 3 in front.
At this time, there were only sporadic and unwarranted boos in the stands of Liverpool, and in the face of such a situation, they only felt the despair that suffocated them. Behind the Chelsea counter-attacking quartet up front, there were blue and red figures running desperately. They were Ray and Gerald.
Listening to the sound of Gerald's approaching footsteps behind him, Lao Lei gritted his teeth, let his sore legs exert force again, and forcibly opened up a little distance between the two again. In fact. Judging from the situation in the front court, Lao Lei doesn't have to run like this at all. Because as long as there are no accidents, when he arrives in his position. Most likely, the counterattack is over. His current galloping seemed like a thankless task.
When gritting your teeth and exerting force. There has always been a voice in Lao Lei's heart supporting him. "I'm going to score! I'm going to beat Liverpool!! I will send them back to the West with my own hands!! "Lao Lei, who has scored a brace in this game, is not satisfied, he has been pursuing the opportunity to beat Liverpool. And now this is the final chance to beat Liverpool. Lao Lei said that he didn't want to miss anything. He wanted to see the desperate eyes of the Liverpudlians, and he wanted to see in their eyes the desperation brought by his own hands! This is not a desire to win, but a stubborn paranoia! Horrible paranoia!!
The wind was whistling in his ears, and Lao Lei could feel that his steps were a little vain, but he didn't have any thoughts of wanting to stop. He stared at what was ahead, ready to adjust his running route or speed. Even if there is only a 1 in 10 million chance, he must be fully prepared and wait for the opportunity to come. "I'm going to kill them with my own hands!! Yes!!! Old Ray's heart roared in the wind, and the pace under his feet turned out to be a few steps faster, completely shaking off Gerald.
Perhaps, God didn't want to see such an old Lei return disappointed, so he followed Lao Lei's opportunity. "Robben knocks back! Goodjohnsson, no one to defend, shot! GOOOOOO…… Oh! Too unlucky, the ball got around Dudek but hit the crossbar. Chelsea missed... No! Wait, Chelsea's counter-attack isn't over yet! Reima, rush up!! My God! When did he rush here, when, he hasn't given up yet! Will he be able to get there before the ball goes off the line?!! ”
After rushing into the forbidden area at full speed, Lao Lei could feel that his legs couldn't hold on. But looking at the football beating right in front of him, he made his last push and did not give up. After using the last bit of strength with his left foot, Lao Lei fell backwards on the grass during the high speed, and then slid towards the football at high speed.
"Faster! Hurry up!! In Lao Lei's inner cry, his toes finally reached the football. With a tackle, the ball sprinted again towards the near post of the goal.
With Lao Lei's fall, a red figure quickly slid over, but unfortunately, he was a step slower after all, and the football rolled over on his toes.
“GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOAL!!! Lore! Lore!! Lore!!! No more suspense! There is no suspense at all about Tama!! The League Cup winner in the 04/05 season was Chelsea! God, he can't change this ending!! It's crazy! It's crazy!! Hat-trick! Hat trick!! Reima, in the way of Reima, killed Liverpool!! ”
After the goal, Lao Lei's legs, which were already weak, seemed to have sudden strength, and the whole person jumped up from the turf as if his butt was loaded with a spring.
Then, he took off his jersey and revealed the T-shirt inside.
He threw his hands up and looked around at the stands that could be as fierce as a volcano or as silent as death.
Behind him, the referee gave him a second yellow card of the game, followed by a red card.
But Lao Lei didn't see it at all, or he didn't care about it at all.
On his slightly raised face, the smile that shone brightly, the eyes that looked in all directions, did not change in the slightest.
This is probably the most comfortable way to welcome a red card in football.
With a calm and smug smile.
And this smiling face, as well as the Red Army No. 8 that was falling at his feet, also made a line of blood-red characters on his T-shirt more conspicuous and dazzling.
"Scum!!"
"Come and meet His Majesty !! King" (To be continued......)