There is a dream called football

December 26th and December 28th, this is the Christmas Day schedule, which is extremely cruel. At the time when the most rest is needed in the year, Premier League players play like cows and horses in order to make the fans happy.

The team on the 26th is playing West Bromwich Albion, and the team on the 28th is playing Southampton. These two games are not easy, especially the Southampton game.

The German once said that one of the important reasons why the England team performed poorly in major competitions was that there was no winter break and the players' physical fitness was exhausted.

This actually makes sense. Li Qiao's physical condition at this time is also average and he feels relatively tired. This may be caused by his biological clock. After all, he was on vacation in Portugal at this time last year and his body was in a completely relaxed state.

What's even worse is that it snowed heavily during the away game to West Bromwich Albion.

When the team arrived at West Bromwich Albion, which is under the jurisdiction of the West Midlands, it was snowing heavily. For those who were at home during the holidays, it was a beautiful thing.

It is so pleasant to watch the snow in a warm house and eat delicious food, but for the players, this is very troublesome.

In particular, the conditions at The Hawthorn Stadium, West Bromwich Albion's home ground, are so-so.

"Ah, I'm freezing to death." Rise touched his arm.

"Haha, then you still wear short sleeves?"

"I'm used to it."

Some players are like this, wearing short sleeves no matter what the weather, but Li Qiao has put on long sleeves to keep warm.

During training, Benitez specially practiced free kicks and long shots, because long shots are a good way to score in bad weather conditions, and free kicks are to prevent opponents from sneak attacks.

There is no underfloor heating at The Hawthorns, so the lawn is covered with a layer of hoarfrost during games, and Liverpool players put on spiked shoes.

Benitez specially reminded: "Don't get hurt, take your time, this is a Christmas match, 1-0 is the best Christmas gift."

"knew."

West Bromwich Albion is a very famous relegation master in the Premier League. They are occasionally relegated, but they will come back soon.

In fact, English football has such a mature professional system, and each team has its own way of survival, such as Chelsea, Arsenal, and Manchester United. Their goal is to win the championship.

For West Bromwich Albion, their goal is to get enough points as soon as possible to complete relegation.

The Christmas schedule is a very, very good opportunity for the weak teams, because the weak teams have nothing to lose, while the strong teams have more to consider.

In the heavy snowfall, West Bromwich Albion launched a fierce attack on Liverpool, and the foreseeable three goals were long passes.

At this time, Benitez has completely adapted to this English football style. In fact, it would be better to strengthen the control of the midfield.

That was left to Alonso, and soon the West Bromwich Albion man found it increasingly difficult to win the ball away from the Liverpool midfielder.

Every time West Bromwich Albion wants to attack, they have to put in a lot of physical effort to grab the ball, and they may not be able to grab it against Alonso, which is a very headache.

"That Spaniard is so strong."

Benitez kept making gestures of pressing down with his hands, asking everyone to stay steady.

"Hold on!!!"

What Benitez cares most about is the pace of the game, which must be slow. A fast attack in this kind of weather is likely to cause injuries.

Li Qiao also changed his style of play. He was usually like a sports car, but now he was like a bicycle. He leaned more towards the center and used his long shots to threaten the opponent's goal.

With a bang, the Hawthorn Stadium made a loud noise because Li Qiao's shot hit the goal post.

"Ha ha."

Benitez is very happy. Li Qiao has made more and more changes. In fact, if a player only knows one style of play, it is easy to be defended.

Even if you are the fastest in the world, can you get past the defense of three people?

Obviously it's impossible.

Therefore, the most important thing in football is the reading of the game and changes. This is what Benitez saw from Li Qiao.

In the 25th minute of the first half, Liverpool received a free kick in the frontcourt, and the ball was handed over to Riise.

The venue is very slippery, and coupled with Rise's explosive shooting, the scene may be very beautiful.

West Bromwich Albion goalkeeper Holt was on standby and directed the wall to block the angle, "Don't jump."

In this kind of weather, if the ball hits from under the wall, it will be quite difficult, and this is what the goalkeeper is most worried about.

The referee blew the whistle, and Rise started to run. It felt like he was about to hit the wall. This made the defensive players in the wall feel frightened. No one wanted to be slapped by Rise's kick.

With a bang, Riise hit the ball hard, and the ball flew towards the goalkeeper's defense. Riise didn't use any tricks, but just hit the goalkeeper.

Holt reached out to block the ball, but the ball was too fast, moved irregularly, and bounced to the feet of Baros.

The Czech faced an empty goal, so he pushed the ball lightly and the ball went in.

Liverpool were celebrating, but the home fans were crying. This goal actually had no technical content, it was just a blast, but it just went in. It was incredible.

"That's a bit ridiculous, isn't it?"

The West Bromwich Albion manager said to his assistant.

But he was even more surprised when the second goal he conceded came quickly. It was a long shot from Gerrard in front of the penalty area, and the ground ball went into the far corner of the goal.

2 to 0.

The characteristic of West Bromwich Albion is that when it is 0-0, they play particularly tenaciously, but then they are not necessarily so.

In other words, the biggest disadvantage of a weak team is that it has no resilience and can easily collapse.

West Bromwich Albion's head coach had already seen the collapse situation. Sure enough, Liverpool soon scored another goal. This time Baros beat the opponent's defender and hit the ball into the goal.

3 to 0.

Unbelievable.

For the home fans, this Christmas gift was a bit bitter, and Liverpool also gave up. Benitez immediately replaced the main players and replaced them with some substitutes to prepare for the next game against Southampton.

The next game is at home, which is a real Christmas gift. Although Liverpool has already interacted with fans once at the club on Christmas Eve, there is no doubt that the real gift of a professional team is victory on the pitch.

In the final away game at The Hawthorns, Liverpool won 3-0. When the players returned to the hotel, they could finally enjoy the wind and snow outside the window.

I have to say it was beautiful, but it was also really busy. There was a home game in two days, so Liverpool had to take the bus home quickly.

Benitez took a photo and sent it to his family in Madrid, "It's snowing here, it's beautiful."

"I can't come back during the New Year, so remember to say hello to your parents."