Coaching legend

"Two to zero, I really didn't expect it. Blackburn easily gained a two-goal advantage."

"We often say that Klose is the most comprehensive forward. Most of his goals are scored with his header and right foot, but it does not mean that his left foot cannot shoot. In the goal just now, Klose shot with his left foot. It’s so comfortable and I don’t feel any discomfort at all.”

Mortensen likes Klose very much. Although he is a player from Germany, England's old rival, Mortensen's love is naked.

"Two to zero, Blackburn are only one step away from winning their first League Cup."

Everyone believes that this season's League Cup championship is Blackburn's.

George praised the performance of Blackburn players in the locker room. Blackburn's performance in the first half was almost impeccable.

After the start of the second half, Liverpool made no personnel changes.

But they were much more positive than in the first half. In the first half, they were more of a defensive counterattack, but now that they are two goals behind, they have no use in defensive counterattacks. Therefore, they attacked much more violently at the beginning of the second half.

The biggest change is that Irving drops back instead of being at the front.

Moreover, Gerrard on the right no longer leans towards the center, but instead makes a fuss on the wing.

After Irving retreated, Makelele was the most uncomfortable. Makelele is most praised for his excellent positioning. Being able to judge the opponent's ball path every time, Makelele has become a world-class midfielder thanks to this.

But what Makelele dislikes the most is fast players.

Especially a player like Irving. Irving is explosive and fast. Even if Makelele can judge Irving's breakthrough route in advance, it will be of little use. Because Irving can change direction while running at high speed.

Therefore, even if he met Owen head-on, Makelele would be very uncomfortable. Because Irving can use his explosive power to get past him.

And because of Owen's disruption, all the players in Liverpool's midfield were alive. Smicer often assists to the front, and Borg will also help in the middle from time to time. Makelele couldn't handle it alone, so Deco had to come and help.

Once up and down, the initiative of the game fell into Liverpool's hands.

But George didn't adjust. After Irving came out, there was only Fowler in the penalty area. Fowler is no longer the Fowler he used to be, and his power has dropped a lot. Therefore, George is not in a hurry to adjust, but continues to take a look.

Liverpool currently lacks a long-range shooter outside the penalty area, so George is not afraid either. If Gerrard now has the kind of dominance he will have in the future, then George may still be afraid. now?

But George didn't sit still for long. Eleven minutes into the second half, it was Irving who received Smicer's pass again. This time Fowler did not stay in the penalty area, but also dropped back to respond.

"...Irving, passed to Fowler...Fowler passed the ball!"

It turned out that after receiving the ball, Fowler just moved to the right without any intention of controlling the ball. At this time, Irving was moving forward at high speed, and the ball was right in the path of Irving.

"...Irving, there is Deco in front, Irving passes Deco...Panucci, Irving passes Panucci...There is a shooting angle, Irving, shoot!"

Mortensen gasped as if he wasn't breathing at all.

It's just that Owen's speed is too fast. After Irving got the ball, it flew by like the wind. Facing Deco's defense, Irving did nothing else. It was just a turn while running at high speed, and he passed by Deco in an instant.

Unless Deco fouls this kind of ball, he can't win it at all.

After Irving passed Deco, he immediately entered the penalty area. Makelele had just defended Fowler, so he was unable to catch up with Irving. In front of Irving is Panucci, whose position is very stable. There was no room for Irving to break through.

But Irving used his speed to sway out of a small angle, and then fired a powerful shot.

The angle when Irving shot was already very small, but the ball still flew in from the small angle of the near post.

"Irving! Irving! This goal is entirely due to Irving's personal strength. Blackburn's defense is of no use in front of Irving. Irving breaks through from the midfield until he shoots. Irving, Irving has had this many times this season Scored a goal."

It is not easy for England to have a golden boy like Owen.

Therefore, everyone in the British football world highly praises Irving. Mortensen is no exception.

Seeing Irving scoring a goal, Liverpool fans who had been silent for a while began to get excited. They sang "You'll Never Walk Alone!" which was the team song of the Red Army Liverpool that became famous in European football.

After the goal, Irving did not celebrate. Instead, he immediately went to the goal, picked up the ball, and placed it in the center line. Blackburn players were asked to kick off quickly. Seeing Owen being so positive, all the Liverpool fans shouted "Michael Owen!"

"Michael!"

George stood up at this time. It's not okay for Liverpool to continue playing like this. Liverpool is no ordinary team, this is a very resilient team. There are now thirty minutes left before the end of the game, so it is impossible to remain so passive.

George waved his hand and asked Blackburn's bench players to come up and warm up.

But George was thinking about how to adjust it.

But before George could adjust, the situation on the field changed again.

Twenty minutes into the second half, Hamann got the ball and passed it to the right.

After Gerrard stopped the ball on the right, he did not pass it to Smicer and Owen in the middle immediately. Instead, he faced the equally young Riise, stepped forward, and then ran up. Gerrard rarely played on the wing in this game. Even if he got the ball, he would not pass it to the middle, and then cross it at a 45-degree angle.

But this time, he suddenly broke through the outside line, catching Riise off guard.

And what Riise did not expect was that Gerrard's speed was not slow at all. Especially the long legs, when he ran forward, he felt completely unstoppable.

After Gerrard passed Riise, he did not rush in. Instead, it was a standard cross. Gerrard's cross had a large arc and a fast speed. This kind of ball was difficult for Cudicini to defend. If he went up, the arc of the ball was too large, and if he did not go up, the speed was too fast, and anyone who touched it could score.

Cudicini hesitated and did not move forward.

At this time, a figure appeared like a ghost in the passing route. In the middle of the tall Blackburn defender, a diving header.

"Gerrard... cross... Owen, it's Owen! Owen got in front of Ferdinand, and Cudicini had no way to deal with this ball. Owen! This is Owen's second goal, Owen's state is compelling."

"Liverpool, within 20 minutes of the second half, tied the score."

"This game is exciting."

When Owen scored the goal, all the Liverpool fans jumped up. They shouted Owen's name.

This time Owen did not try to get the ball in the goal, but raised one arm and turned twice in front of the Liverpool fans.

George saw Owen score and kicked the mineral water bottle at his feet fiercely. The mineral water bottle jumped high and fell next to Drogba who was warming up. Drogba, who came back from warming up, was startled, and then looked up and saw George with a gloomy face.

George was very dissatisfied. Although Gerrard's cross was indeed very dangerous. But Cudicini either went forward to take it or prepared to block it near the goal line. But Cudicini neither went forward nor retreated, and stood there for a moment of hesitation. When Owen headed the ball, he had no chance to react at all.

And Ferdinand and Panucci, two tall guys standing in the penalty area, actually let Owen, who was a little over 1.7 meters tall, grab the ball. It was so embarrassing.

Listening to the Liverpool fans singing "You'll Never Walk Alone", George sighed deeply. Liverpool had a two-goal advantage, but they made it back. If they lost the League Cup in the end, they would become a big joke in the English football world.

George couldn't wait.

He immediately replaced Sagnol with Hargreaves, and then Blackburn's formation changed to 3-6-1. Of course, it can also be seen as 3-4-3, with only Panucci, Ferdinand and Riise left in the back line.

After Hargreaves went up, whenever Owen retreated to get the ball, he would stick to him.

George usually rarely uses man-to-man defense. Because it is easy to disrupt his own defense. But for Owen, the most dangerous player in Liverpool, George used man-to-man defense.

George's task for Hargreaves is very simple. Once Owen wants to get the ball in the midfield, he must not use any means to make him faster. Including fouls. And when Owen goes to the front to wait for a counterattack, he will also go down to be a defender.

Anyway, let Hargreaves go up to man-to-man and keep an eye on Owen.

As for Fowler, since he came back from injury, his explosiveness, speed and skills have declined a lot. The injury to the cruciate ligament has caused a generation of genius to fall. Anyway, it can be said that Fowler now has only the strength of the first half of his injury.

After Hargreaves went up and man-to-man, Blackburn's offensive also started. George has already used three defenders, so they certainly understand what George means.

Especially Bellamy, who played very awkwardly in the second half, could only come over to defend because of Liverpool's offense. This made Bellamy very dissatisfied. Therefore, as Blackburn's attack improved, Bellamy was completely ravaged by Carragher.

Bellamy, who is fast, has no skills at all against Carragher. He just dribbles past him, but it works repeatedly.

Although it is only a wing, once the wing is opened, there are all kinds of offensive routines. To defend a fast wing player like Bellamy, either the defensive player himself has rich experience. He can block the position, but Carragher can't become a veteran all of a sudden.

There is one person on the bench, the German player Zieg. Unfortunately, Zieg's condition is worse than Carragher, and Houllier has no way.

Of course, there is another way, which is to shrink the defense line. Once the defense line is shrunk, it is difficult for players like Bellamy who are fast but have average skills to play.

Houllier chose the latter method.