Chapter 468 Grab the stage

Liverpool's away victory over Manchester United not only won the second away victory of the season, but also expanded the winning streak to four games. Benitez was very happy after the game. He was very happy to see that Liverpool seemed to be back on the right track.

After the game, Benitez said that Liverpool played very well in the second half, with the final three points.

"The most important thing in the game is the result!" Benitez said with a smile, "We deserve to win. The players were very active in the first half. We worked hard throughout the game, and performed well in the second half. It's a tough game. Manchester United is a good team and has a good performance. Regarding the details of the game, Benitez pointed out: "My idea is to control the rhythm in the first half and then start pressing on to try to make a breakthrough. But the game is often unpredictable, but we still controlled the second half, played a good ball, and the pass and catch was also very good. In the first half, my idea was to use Crouch to control the ball and use Cice's speed. In the second half, I made an adjustment and sent Cowell to the field, which proved that this choice was correct.

Cowell replaced Cise in the 51st minute and played the second striker, that is, the shadow striker, and there was only tall center Crouch in front of him.

It seems that after a long-term injury, Cowell's condition is recovering. Before the game, Don Jack also asked whether he would play. Cowell was not sure, but he still played.

In the Champions League in the middle of the week, Cowell passed a good ball to Gerrard after coming on as a substitute, creating a single knife, and he continues to perform well today.

"We know that Cowell can bring us good results in the second half. We can use his ability. He can play well between the opponent's midfield and backfield." Benitez seems to be particularly satisfied with the team's offensive and defensive balance. We must first have a good defense, and then attack forward. Now we have a good balance. Whether at home or away, our defense is better now, and opportunities can be created in the attack.

Perhaps the only regret is Crouch. The high striker who transferred to the Reds in the summer did not score a goal, but Benitez didn't care. We are very satisfied with Crouch because he plays well and contributes to the whole team. We hope he can score as soon as possible, but as long as he performs well, I will be very happy.

"Before the game, I told Crouch that forget to score goals, as long as he continues to perform well. We signed Crouch not for him to score 50 goals a season, but because of his other abilities. Today, he completed that part of his task well."

It can be seen that Benitez is in a good mood.

However, it is obvious that Sir Alex Ferguson, who lost the game, was not in a good mood. In the post-match press release, he was dissatisfied with the result: "We should have scored a goal in the first half, but unfortunately it was blown away by the referee. This is a game dominated by the referee."

Manchester United's goal is controversial. Rooney's position is on the edge of offside and offside, but he was blown offside by the referee.

But Ferguson's statement is obviously difficult to get media support, because all England knows that if the referee prefers which team, it will undoubtedly be Manchester United. After all, Manchester United's influence in English football is too great. Ferguson said that English football can tremble three times. How about the referee association? It may help other teams.

The result is that Manchester United received a symbolic £10,000 fine for this sentence.

After the game, Don Jack, who was in Liverpool, also congratulated Liverpool, but he congratulated more on his friends: "Steven, Cowell, etc., my friends in Liverpool, congratulations on your victory over Manchester United. This is really a good game."

For Liverpool, Don Jack can't say what it feels like. There, he won the European Champions League, but he also left because he performed too well and had a conflict with his teammates. He didn't say he hated Liverpool. As a professional player, it was a normal thing to transfer. Liverpool Club The department itself did not criticize him. He wanted to leave, and Liverpool successfully listed him for sale. That's all. There was no loss for both sides. Don Jack restarted his football career at Newcastle United.

However, Don Jack is a little resentful about Benitez. After all, he performed perfectly when he played under him, but it was because of Benitez's indecision and stubborn personality that led to his departure.

Liverpool defeated Manchester United. He congratulated his friends on the victory. At the same time, Don Jacques talked about the Christmas game: "I'm looking forward to playing against Liverpool. I think they must be stronger than last season."

This is a declaration of war by the super old boss!

The English media present was excited. The match between Liverpool and Newcastle United was on December 26, that is, the Christmas war. I don't know whether it was a coincidence or the intentional arrangement of the FA. The most focused battle on this day was the battle between Liverpool and Newcastle United, as the beginning of Christmas. Many fans are already looking forward to the game.

More importantly, Jack Don faced his old club Liverpool for the first time.

People don't know what Liverpool players will think, but Don Jack's mentality is positive. He is looking forward to the game. "I hope to play against them as soon as possible. I can't wait!" He said so.

※※※

December is a rush for Newcastle United. After the battle with Chelsea, Everton is the first game. After that, there is no strong opponent in several consecutive games. In this stage, there are still three rounds of matches until Christmas and Liverpool. It is very important for Newcastle United who are interested in competing for the league championship. Important.

"What we need to do is to play steadily, which is very important. As long as we can get through this stage, we will play much better in future events and the pressure will be much less."

Sones kept cheering up the players in the team. He did not forget to remind everyone to pay attention to their health: "It's better not to do too much on the court. Pay more attention to cooperate to reduce personal dribble. Remember, it's winter now!"

Winter!

For ordinary people, they may still enjoy the snow scenery. Of course, it rarely snows in England. The temperate oceanic climate here makes all year round like spring, which is a little exaggerated, but the winter here is indeed much warmer than that inland Europe. Even if it snows occasionally, it is only about zero degrees, which is almost It is the lowest temperature in England, but due to the humid air, zero is not too cold. It is enough to wear a long-sleeved sports lining on the court.

But for professional players, winter is not a good season. It is a season that is easy to get hurt.

Injuries have a great impact on professional players. No one wants to be injured. Owen is the most vulnerable player in the team. England's Golden Boy is actually in good health, but he can always become the target of the opponent's key defense. In addition, his style makes it easy for him to get injured on the court, and even during training. If you don't pay attention, he will also have some minor injuries.

Fortunately, Owen hasn't become a 'Glass Man', and he hasn't been injured for more than half of Newcastle United...

But not to mention Don Jack, Owen's injuries are too frequent compared with those English tough guys, such as Lampard, Gerard and Terry.

It is winter now, which is the most vulnerable season.

Owen had surgery on his right leg, and the team doctor checked him every week to prevent the recurrence of injuries to his right leg due to excessive exercise.

Not only Owen, but also the players of the whole team have received Soness's advice on this. It's not that Soness is too nagging. The main reason is that he is not available at all. Newcastle United's bench deeply wants to support the league enough, but to support the League after Christmas, the league, including the League Cup, the FA Cup and so on. Sai, I'm a little overstretched.

However, Don Jack heard that the club is planning to give up the League Cup.

Last year, Newcastle United was the champion of this event, so they had the opportunity to participate in the League Cup this season and directly advance to the last round of the qualifying round. However, Newcastle United's goal this season has become the league championship. In addition, the team is also a strong contender for the League Cup championship. The two-line battle is Newcastle United's board. The depth of the stool is still very difficult, plus the FA Cup... After Christmas, the FA Cup will also go to the finals, and the Premier League and Championship teams will also join the event. This event is not easy to give up. The most important thing is that the event has a wide influence among fans, so even if the club does not want to participate, it must participate, not to mention Newcastle United in the FA Cup in history. The results are good. Newcastle United still needs to fight for the oldest cup competition.

That is to say, after Christmas, Newcastle United will fight on the third line. With the team's current bench depth, it is really difficult to support. Although the transfer window is open now, due to the purchase of Don Jack, Owen and other players, the club's finances are unsustainable, and there will not be much action in winter. The club's task in the second half of the season seems to be very heavy.

In the training life, the team ushered in the 15th round of the Premier League, and Newcastle United's opponent was Aston Villa.

Last season, Aston Villa ranked 10th in the Premier League, which almost shows the strength of Villa at present. This is a team that is worry-free but difficult to do more. In the summer transfer market, O'Reiley didn't have any eye-catching gains. The main transfer player is Kevin. Phillips and Borg, while Vasel and Hützelpeg left, the overall strength did not change much.

This is a 'old player'.

31-year-old former Premier League top scorer Kevin. The succession of Phillips and the 31-year-old former Liverpool player Borg has brought a lot of experience to Aston Villa's whole team. For Villa, who has many young people in the lineup, this may be what they need most now. However, without a large transfer, the media has little hope for Villa's new season.

In fact, after 14 rounds of competition, Villa has won and lost, and has been ranked in the middle since the beginning of the game, which is also a reflection of their real strength.

At present, Villa's lineup has not changed much. The return of central defender Lawerson is good news. With the central axis still, O'Reili can only count on two experienced new players, Borg and Phillips to improve the team's combat effectiveness. However, the repeated injuries of central defender Raulson and the lack of midfielders made head coach Oliley very nerve-wracking. Before playing against Newcastle United, the main force Hendry was injured again, which made Villa, who was already not confident, less favored.

When the game began, it seemed to confirm the gap between the two teams.

Newcastle United's main team play, it looks like. After a few days of rest, the players have recovered from the game. Owen, Don Jack, Jenas, Luke, Parker and other players all started. The defender Taylor also appeared in the starting lineup, regardless of defense. All the main players on the offensive line have diversified Newcastle United's offense, whether it is on the side or in the middle. The advance is very threatening. Under the leadership of Don Jack, Newcastle United launched a large-scale attack at the beginning.

In the 19th minute, Don Jack's cross-the-cross pass gave Owen a chance. He broke Aston Villa's door with a bad header.

This is the only goal in the first half.

In the second half, the two teams fought again. Aston Villa began to strengthen his attack and bombarded Newcastle United in the first half. As a result, Taylor's defensive mistake allowed the other side to find an opportunity to score a goal.

After that, the two teams had attack and defense. In the 83rd minute, Taylor made a diagonal pass. Don Jack broke through the two and scored the ball, completing a fatal blow to lock the victory.

One to two, Newcastle United won a difficult victory.

Although winning is a celebration, from the perspective of the whole game, Newcastle United has not had much advantage. Even Aston Villa had a lot of opportunities in the first half, it was only Newcastle United's goal that the team took the initiative. After this game, head coach Soness felt that he should be alert. That's it!

Not to mention the players of Newcastle United!

Before defeating Chelsea, although the team's results can be said to be very good, most Newcastle United players think that the team is just a strong team in the Premier League. Good results are just good luck. On the whole, there is still a gap with the rich, whether it is the lineup or club facilities, etc., and the gap with the rich. It is obvious. They never felt that the team had a chance to compete for the championship.

It can defeat Chelsea. In the case of one less game (there is no make-up match with Blackburn), the team's points are the same as Chelsea's, but due to the goal difference, it ranks second in the Premier League. Such a result makes everyone suddenly find that the team is the best in the Premier League.

The sudden change in mentality makes many players uncomfortable. Some people think that the Premier League champion must belong to Newcastle United.

This is confidence. Of course, it is a good thing, but it also brings some negative effects, that is, the team's agance. Even if the team is going to compete for the league championship, then Aston Villa, a mid-level team like the Premier League, is naturally not an opponent. Many people think so, which has caused negligence and underestimated the opponent.

Judging from the game, Aston Villa almost blocked Newcastle United!

"The result of the game doesn't mean anything," Soness said at the post-match press conference: "The victory belongs to us, but in the game scene, the opponent's performance is very good, and we are worse."

"This should remind us that the recent rounds are very important to Newcastle United. We should cherish every game and work hard."

"I understand that the player's state has ups and downs, but if anyone doesn't play hard, he will definitely stay on the bench!" Sones said so.

Returning to Newcastle, the team did not have a day off and continued to participate in training the next day, waiting for the next league and League Cup matches.