Chapter 79: Injury after the win over Liverpool

Li Chen understands Klopp.

He understood Klopp’s difficulties in making such a suicidal tactical choice.

With no hope of winning the championship, he led the team desperately to squeeze into the top four of the league standings.

The only thing Klopp wants to do now is to maintain the confidence of the entire Liverpool team as a strong team so that they can make a comeback next season.

But the cost is absolutely huge.

The temporary sacrifice of results is secondary. What is more important is that Klopp is constantly consuming his coaching authority and the players’ trust in him.

The more the team struggles, the more this internal friction will continue, and it will easily lead to a crisis of trust within Liverpool.

It’s a simple truth. The head coach is unable to lead the team to win consistently, and the players don’t know whether they should still believe in the head coach’s tactical arrangements and rhetoric.

The players can no longer trust each other as firmly as they did in the past, and they all feel that the other party may not have done something well enough.

Once this contradiction accumulates to a critical point, fierce quarrels and conflicts within the team will break out.

Li Chen doesn’t believe that Klopp can’t see the disadvantages of this.

He also didn’t believe that Klopp could not arrange an efficient defensive and counterattack tactics based on the existing lineup.

Fabinho and Henderson’s current personal abilities are not enough to support Liverpool’s midfield high pressure.

But if we pull the formation back as a whole, it should be more than enough to play a defensive counterattack, right?
With Liverpool’s two full-backs with strong advancing ability paired with two running forwards, Nunez and Gakpo, it is really easy for them to play defense and counterattack.

Ten Hag can quietly climb back to the top six in the league by relying on defensive counterattack tactics, so how bad can Klopp be?
All we can say is that this is the persistence of an idealist. Even if it fails, it is only a temporary failure of the idealist.

Li Chen could not agree with Klopp’s tactical decision, but he respected it.

The best way to respect an opponent is to attack with all your strength and defeat them without leaving any stone unturned!

“Keep attacking, we won’t counterattack today, we will attack as long as Liverpool wants!”

Li Chen issued tactical instructions, and the Newcastle players, who were eager to attack, were eager to do so.

Although going all out at this time would give Liverpool space to counterattack, Newcastle, who have the advantage in midfield, would still get more offensive rounds.

With Maddison’s calm threading, Newcastle soon blossomed in many places in the frontcourt and created shooting threats.

Anthony Gordon’s outstanding breakthrough performance gave Ronaldo on the other side many opportunities to score without the ball.

Li Chen also specially arranged Guimaraes to play as left central midfielder today, allowing him and Havertz to attack Liverpool’s defense together, creating more second-point finishing space for Ronaldo.

Newcastle attacked from two directions at the same time, and Liverpool’s defense suddenly felt tremendous pressure.

All I can say is that fortunately their defensive core is Van Dijk, who can continue to calmly command his teammates to stabilize the defense under heavy pressure.

With the lessons learned from the previous experience, Van Dijk simply instructed Joe Gomez to go out of the penalty area to defend more often.

In this way, even if Gomez committed a foul, Newcastle would not be given a penalty.

But no matter how well Van Dijk plays, Liverpool’s defense will always lack flexibility if the midfield cannot provide a comprehensive defensive barrier.

No line of defense can guarantee not to make mistakes under the opponent’s frequent frontal attacks.

Newcastle used better midfield defense and overall physical advantage to protect their own penalty area.

In contrast, the young Bajcetic and the no longer young Henderson have repeatedly become Newcastle’s offensive breakthrough points.

It’s not that they didn’t defend diligently, nor that they didn’t fight hard enough, it’s just that they just didn’t have the ability.

Klopp looked at Guimaraes, who was flying up and down and performing brilliantly on both offense and defense, and Longstaff, who was working hard, and a look of nostalgia flashed in his eyes.

Judging from the ideas of team building, Li Chen and he really think alike.

When it comes to building the midfield, both of them prefer all-around players who are physically fit, well-balanced in offense and defense, and have a strong fighting will.

When Liverpool was at its peak a few years ago, their main midfield players were Fabinho, Wijnaldum and Henderson in their prime.

The main rotation player is also the all-round Milner.

Such a midfield combination may lack organizational ability, but with the help of wingers with strong personal abilities, it cannot be considered a tactical flaw.

Now, Li Chen has basically replicated Liverpool’s midfield structure and transplanted Real Madrid’s finishing system.

The midfield can hold its own against any strong opponent, with attacking midfielder Madison and the wingbacks organizing the attack.

Ronaldo, who is freed up on the forward line to focus on finishing, provides stable scoring ability.

Even though Ronaldo’s finishing efficiency is no longer comparable to that of previous years, he is surrounded by a group of talented young players.

The insufficient offensive firepower can be easily made up, and in key battles, Ronaldo’s offensive deterrence can also make it easier for Newcastle’s young attackers to get room to play.

Not to mention that Li Chen has plenty of players at his disposal, sufficient bench depth, and ample tactical backup.

“Newcastle has really become a force to be reckoned with…”

Klopp sighed in his heart and felt that Li Chen was truly a “monster” in the coaching world.

Other coaches, let alone the young coaches, even the coaches in their forties or fifties who are leading the team to play old-time games can only manage a team of twenty players.

Li Chen’s talent in this area is too outstanding.

Ever since he first coached Burnley to avoid relegation, he has been praised by the media for his preference for large-scale rotation of players.

Later, when he took over Manchester United midway, he accepted all players who came to him. He used all the players that Solskjaer didn’t like to use very much, and they all worked effectively.

Frequent rotation and promotion of new players, as well as more than half a season of successful coaching at a top club, made him famous throughout the football world.

After taking over Newcastle this season, he made drastic changes to completely rebuild the team.

Newcastle, which could almost form two starting lineups, was also played out of turns by Li Chen, who pushed forward on three fronts with an intact lineup, aiming directly for the championship!
If Newcastle continues to develop at its current pace, Klopp feels deep down that Manchester City will also lose their dominance in the Premier League.

This is not because he overvalues ​​Li Chen’s personal ability or underestimates Guardiola.

But it is because Manchester City is about to reach the point where it needs a small-scale reconstruction.

No matter how strong Guardiola is, he cannot rebuild the lineup through trial and error while suppressing Newcastle who are striving for results.

So far this season, Newcastle has one game less but is still able to surpass Manchester City and top the standings, which already says a lot.

When Klopp thought of this, he suddenly felt relieved.

Last season, he fought with his old rivals to the end and won another championship with the advantage of goal difference. For him, there is no regret in his entire Liverpool coaching career.

He certainly feels helpless and regretful that Liverpool is now in an awkward period of reconstruction, but he feels a lot more comfortable seeing that it is not Manchester City that is benefiting…

Just as Klopp came to his senses and was about to look at the game time and discuss the next tactical arrangements with his assistant.

Thunderous cheers broke out again from the stands of St. James’ Park!

Klopp looked towards the field in surprise, but only saw Grimaldo running towards the corner flag area to celebrate.

And the football has now once again landed in Liverpool’s goal!

The live broadcast screen at the scene quickly and faithfully replayed the entire process of the goal.

Grimaldo, who received the pass from Guimarães, quickly moved forward along the left side.

And the tacit short pass and one-on-one cooperation with Ronaldo on the left edge of the penalty area allowed Grimaldo to successfully enter Liverpool’s penalty area!

Arnold was passed too easily, and Joe Gomez had to keep a close eye on Ronaldo’s running position, so Grimaldo got an easy chance to shoot.

The left-back, who already had good scoring ability, cut inside and shot the ball past Alisson!
After watching the entire process of Newcastle’s goal, Klopp was not as angry as he was when he conceded the goal for the first time.

He pursed his lips tightly, looking somewhat helpless.

Joe Gomez didn’t make a mistake this time, but who could have thought that Grimaldo’s shot could be so decisive and brilliant?
This is another full display of personal ability. This Barcelona player who Li Chen brought from the Portuguese Super League is now almost firmly established as the top offensive full-back in the Premier League…

Klopp put down the tactical board and decided not to shrink the formation. Fortunately, Newcastle’s offensive on the field gradually slowed down with the birth of the second goal.

Overall, Newcastle was still playing a back-and-forth game with Liverpool, but they obviously had more time to control the ball during the offense.

After Madison retreated to play as a central midfielder, Newcastle’s midfield control was visibly improved.

Guimarães can also retreat more and participate in backcourt passes and defense.

When necessary, Newcastle can quickly switch to 4231 on the defensive end.

Havertz returned to the left midfielder position and Ronaldo moved to the front of the formation.

At this time, Newcastle’s backcourt control and defensive strangulation capabilities are stronger.

In terms of offense, we do not pursue speed excessively, but rather pursue stable advancement and rotation and penetration in the wing and flank areas.

During normal training, Li Chen consciously delegated power to Guimarães and Madison in this regard.

They both have a strong ability to read the game situation, and at critical moments they can rely on their own judgment to command their teammates to change formations on both offense and defense before Li Chen.

If Li Chen thinks it is appropriate, he will naturally not interfere too much. If he feels that more detailed adjustments are needed, he will directly let Carrick go to the sidelines to convey his tactical intentions.

At this moment, he felt that there was nothing wrong with Madison’s change of formation, and that steady penetration was safer, so he did not intervene to make other tactical adjustments.

The game then smoothly transitioned to the halftime stage.

Li Chen did not spend too much time guessing what tactical adjustments Klopp would make in the second half of the game.

The opponent is not an ordinary coach with a weak will, and he will definitely show his offensive will throughout the second half.

The point to note is whether Liverpool will choose to attack first or stabilize the line and then make substitutions for the general attack.

Li Chen is more inclined to believe that Klopp will make the former tactical arrangement.

Because Klopp always likes to control the fate of the team in his own hands as much as possible.

The longer the game drags on, the more unfavorable the situation becomes for Liverpool.

If Liverpool could have scored a goal earlier in the second half, they could at least have kept the suspense of the game until the very end, and there would have been some hope of a comeback.

The Newcastle starting players, all alerted by Li Chen, were mentally prepared to defend first and then attack at the beginning of the second half.

And just as Li Chen expected, Liverpool decisively chose to attack at the beginning of the second half!

When Klopp replaced Bajcetic with Milner, he also swapped the positions of the two forwards.

Gakpo returned to the left and Nunez returned to the No. 9 position.

Klopp wants to use Nunez’s impact to create more space for Gakpo and Salah to shoot.

Li Chen couldn’t help but smile when he saw Klopp’s adjustment.

It is obvious that they can’t believe Nunez’s shooting level at critical moments.

However, even though he was joking in his heart, Li Chen still attached great importance to Klopp’s tactical adjustment.

If Gakpo and Salah really find comfortable shooting opportunities, these two forwards have the ability to make the decisive shot.

No matter how low the probability is, there is always a probability.

Li Chen thought about it and directly signaled Grimaldo and Tripierdo to move inside to block the space for Salah and Gakpo to cut inside and shoot.

As for Robertson and Arnold taking the opportunity to go down the flank?

Then let it go for a while. Li Chen believes that Guevadiol and Ramos can lock up the space in the middle of the penalty area.

No matter how powerful Nunez is, he cannot break through the combined blockade of the team’s central defenders.

If there were any signs that something was wrong, Pepe on the sidelines would have already started warming up.

With the “holy monk” in hand, Li Chen was not panicked at all.

Instead, countless Liverpool fans in front of the TV were very anxious watching Pepe warming up.

Liverpool’s offensive players, motivated by pressure, accelerated the tempo of the game.

Since Newcastle gave up space on both wings, Robertson and Arnold took the initiative to frequently move forward and participate in the attack.

But at the critical moment, Nunes’s ability to grab the ball was really lacking.

In the 52nd minute of the second half, Liverpool’s rare opportunity for a long-corner shot was wasted by Nunez.

Watching the football miss the far corner of the goal post, Li Chen couldn’t help but touch his chin out of habit and tried to keep a straight expression.

However, the Sky Sports commentators did not have such concerns and directly made jokes about Nunez’s shooting accuracy.

Nunez’s confidence was obviously hit after missing a good opportunity, and he was never able to get the ball into Newcastle’s penalty area again.

He could not put any pressure on Newcastle’s defense, so Salah had to do it himself, and his inefficiency made him barely take a long shot after trying to break through.

The Egyptian Pharaoh’s breakthroughs are not as sharp as before, but his shooting threat is still there.

Unfortunately, he ran into Sommer who was performing normally today. The Swiss goalkeeper was still in good shape and confiscated his long-range shots several times in a row.

After enduring Liverpool’s sustained offensive rhythm for several times, Newcastle seized the opportunity and launched a counterattack to push the front line into Liverpool’s half!

Milner’s coming on as a substitute did not fundamentally improve Liverpool’s midfield defense and organizational creation problems.

His defense is better than Bajcetic’s, but he also can’t lock down the performance of Madison and Anthony Gordon.

In the 66th minute of the second half, Anthony Gordon cut inside and took away Robertson before knocking the ball back to the side.

Trippier followed up and made a cross after observing the situation.

C Ronaldo and Guimaraes jumped in front of and in the middle of Liverpool’s penalty area, attracting the attention of most Liverpool defenders in the penalty area.

But the football finally passed the two people’s force area and fell straight to the back of Liverpool’s penalty area!

Havertz jumped high, overpowered Arnold and headed the ball into the near corner of Liverpool’s goal!
Seeing the ball go into the net, Havertz excitedly slapped his head and rushed to the baseline!
Amid the waves of excited cheers around them, thousands of Liverpool fans at the scene could only watch uncomfortably as Newcastle changed the score to 3-0.

With less than 25 minutes of regular game time left, Liverpool supporters knew very well that the team had no hope of a comeback.

They now only hope that the players on the field can score a goal to save face so that the team will not lose so miserably.

Unfortunately, no matter how Salah and Van Dijk, who tried hard to score in set-piece opportunities, performed, Sommer blocked their shooting attempts one by one.

In the end, Newcastle won a decisive 3-0 victory over Liverpool at home, leaving countless Manchester City and Arsenal fans who were watching the game with great interest disappointed.

As for Newcastle’s players and fans, they can temporarily put their focus on league results aside.

Because next they will face the challenge of the League Cup final!
With seven days of rest time, they can prepare for the battle very calmly.

But at this critical time, several Newcastle main players suffered fatal injuries after the match with Liverpool.

Trippier has knee discomfort, Sean Longstaff has a slight tear in his right thigh muscle, and Havertz sprained his ankle in recovery training the next day.

Three important main players missed the League Cup final, which caused considerable trouble for Li Chen’s preparations.

As multiple media outlets reported on the injuries within the Newcastle team.

For a while, there were quite a few neutral fans who were more optimistic that Manchester United, who had just defeated Barcelona 2-1 and advanced to the final of the Europa League this season, would have a better chance of winning the Carabao Cup final.

Manchester United has a complete lineup and the morale of having just advanced to the round of 16 of the Europa League. Against Newcastle’s depleted lineup, at least they have a chance to fight.

After entering closed training, Newcastle quickly adjusted the original starting lineup for the final…

　One more chapter

　
(End of this chapter)