A Hard-Fought Victory

Chapter 129 A Hard-Fought Victory

Inside the Tottenham Hotspur locker room.

Pochettino tapped the area marked in red on the tactics board. After scanning the area and confirming that everyone was focused, he began to outline the tactics for the second half: "Looking at this half of the game, this is the area where Liverpool is focusing their attacks."

His finger pointed to two side roads marked in red.

"Especially on the right flank, the combination of Mane and Jiang Yan is particularly terrifying."

"In the second half, we need to strengthen our attacks down the flanks, trying to force one of our forwards to track back, and then use wide-ranging passes to attack their weak side!"

"Liverpool isn't scary, the only scary one is Jiang! Are you willing to be outdone by a Chinese person?"

Tottenham's players are naturally unwilling to accept this. Which player who can play in the top five leagues isn't the protagonist of their own story?

In particular, Tottenham's squad also boasts two of England's greatest stars of our time: Kane and Alli.

Pochettino's words were like a needle, piercing their pride.

"I'm not reconciled!"

Someone let out a low growl, which immediately drew a chorus of agreement.

Pochettino nodded in satisfaction: "Very good! Then let's show everyone with our actions that Tottenham is not a pushover."

Team!"

He slammed his hand on the tactics board: "In the second half, everyone push forward! If you dare to make a run down the flanks, do it; if you dare to pass, pass. Force Mane or Firmino to turn back and defend. As soon as one side is open, we'll immediately switch play and exploit their weak side!"

Pochettino's words of encouragement successfully energized the Tottenham team. Although Pochettino's coaching record is not outstanding, with only a win rate of 30%+ at Espanyol and Southampton, his seven years of coaching experience are enough for him to understand the players' thoughts and know what they need most right now. A few words were enough to ignite the second half of the battle.

In contrast, Liverpool's dressing room...

They were clearly very satisfied with the result of equalizing the score before the end of the first half.

After all, they managed to draw with Tottenham, who have Kane and Alli, and even pulled off a brilliant tactical play.

Klopp didn't start by speaking as usual, but instead went straight to the center and picked up the tactics board.

His finger didn't point to the sidelines, but instead emphasized the center line.

"We scored one goal in the first half, but that gave them a false sense of security." Klopp's voice wasn't loud, but it was enough for everyone in the locker room to hear. "They thought that as long as they kept Jiang in check, they could hold the game."

He looked up and scanned the area, his gaze landing precisely on Jiang Yan.

"In the second half, pass the ball to Jiang. Jiang knows exactly when to pass the ball."

Although Klopp didn't say it explicitly, his implication was that Jiang Yan should move back to a more central midfield position to organize the team's attack.

"Tottenham will likely use a harsher foul on you in the second half, so to protect you—go back to a deeper position."

He was unaware that Jiang Yan possessed Nedved's "Iron Body" skill pack; he was simply trying his best to help Jiang Yan avoid potential injuries.

There are too many football stars whose careers have been ruined by injuries, but for Liverpool fans, the most memorable one is probably that young prodigy – Michael Owen.

Owen made his Liverpool debut at the age of 17, won the Premier League Golden Boot twice, led Liverpool to a five-trophy haul in the 2000/01 season, and won the Ballon d'Or.

Although he transferred to Real Madrid in 04 and Newcastle in 05, it did not diminish the Liverpool fans' affection for him.

However, since returning to Newcastle United in the Premier League, he has been plagued by injuries, including toe fractures and cruciate ligament tears. Although he went to Manchester United, a strong Premier League team, he still had to retire early in 2013 due to injuries.

Klopp didn't want Jiang Yan to repeat the same mistake, so he naturally had to use him protectively.

Jiang Yan understood Klopp's good intentions and readily agreed, as returning to the midfield position would allow him to fully utilize his passing talent.

The halftime break ended quickly, lasting 15 minutes.

Players from both sides return to the field.

"Good evening, everyone. Welcome back to White Hart Lane."

"I'm sure all the fans thoroughly enjoyed the first half of the match. I wonder what surprises Klopp's Liverpool will bring us next, after all, this team has a culture of comebacks ingrained in their DNA!"

The second half begins, and Liverpool has possession of the ball.

Jiang Yan delivered a precise long pass, the ball arcing beautifully through the air and finding Mane making a run forward.

Mane controlled the ball, turned, and accelerated in one fluid motion.

Tottenham's wing defenders were instantly outmaneuvered and could only watch helplessly as he received the ball on the wing and cut inside.

But just as Mane was about to shoot, two Tottenham players rushed up from the side, one blocking Mane's position and the other fiercely stealing the ball.

From the stands, Liverpool legend Jamie Carragher remarked, "Tottenham's play became a bit rough in the second half. I wonder if Jiang Yan can handle it!"

Martin, a seasoned commentator, quickly noticed the changes in Liverpool's lineup: "Klopp is intentionally dropping Jiang Yan deeper. Although he's still playing as a false nine, he rarely pushes forward. Liverpool is now playing more like a 4-4-2!"

In the live broadcast room, there was much discussion about Klopp's strategy of having Jiang Yan move back to his original position:

[The Premier League's standards are really high! That kind of defensive play just now wasn't called a foul?]

Klopp is truly concerned for Jiang Shen! He was worried about Jiang Shen getting hurt, so he specifically asked Jiang Shen to retreat.

Tottenham's defense was indeed fierce; their defense in the first half was like they hadn't woken up yet!

To be honest, it's been a long time since I've seen Jiang Yan positioned so far back. But watching Jiang Yan pass the ball is a real treat!

Liverpool's pressing is still very aggressive; it's unclear how long they can maintain this intensity!

The game continues.

Tottenham are coming on strong.

Eriksen received the ball, looked up to observe, and delivered a precise diagonal pass to Alli, who was making a run into the attacking third.

Liverpool's full-back quickly tracked back, but Alli's footwork was incredibly fast; with a sudden stop and change of direction, he bypassed the defense and cut inside into the penalty area.

Kane has positioned himself in the middle, and a cross from him could create a very dangerous header.

Kane's shooting skills are among the best in the entire Premier League. Not only is he equally skilled with both feet, but his heading, vision, and passing are also top-notch. It's hard not to wonder what door God closed for him.

"Kane is still running! He's very slow!"

That's right, Kane's only flaw that people criticize is his slow speed!

Aside from his slow speed, he has almost no obvious weaknesses. As a target man center forward with top-notch shooting skills, he is destined to achieve great things.

The moment Alli cut inside, the entire Liverpool defense was affected.

Milner tried his best to catch up, but Ali made a clever change of direction and left him half a body length behind.

Just outside the penalty area, Tottenham's defense has been breached.

The next second, Ali launched the ball with his left foot, drawing a low arc that headed straight for the center of the penalty area.

Kane had anticipated this perfectly. He calmly positioned himself, leaning against Matip, and then jumped and flicked his head!

The entire set of movements was clean and crisp, a textbook example of what a top center should do.

"Danger!" Carragher exclaimed from the commentary booth.

However, Klopp on the sidelines remained calm and composed as he adjusted his tactics board.

Assistant coach Buvac, seeing Klopp's composure, was utterly bewildered: "Sir, aren't you worried at all? Alli could cross the ball any minute now!"

Klopp smiled and pointed to the tactics board in his hand, where the red pieces representing Liverpool were arranged in a 4-4-2 formation.

"The change in lineup means that the players need to utilize different abilities, and at this time, we happen to have a player in our squad with excellent positional awareness."

Kane's header.

The ball headed straight for the top corner of the goal. Mignolet made a diving save, his fingertips barely grazing the ball, but he couldn't change its direction.

White Hart Lane erupted in thunderous cheers.

At this critical moment, Liverpool's hero and China's rising star, Jiang Yan, stepped forward!

He chased back from midfield, relying on his excellent positional sense to anticipate the ball's trajectory. Just as the ball was about to cross the goal line, he dove to the ground and poked the ball out of bounds with his toe!

White Hart Lane fell silent instantly; the Tottenham fans who had been celebrating were now completely speechless.

silence.

It wasn't until Martin Tyler's voice came from the commentary booth that the world regained its voice: "My God! It's Jiang! It's Jiang!"

He saved the team once again!

Sitting next to him, Carragher couldn't help but exclaim, "He chased all the way back from midfield to the goal line and made an incredible goal-line clearance!"

The entire White Hart Lane was silent for only half a second before erupting into an even more frantic commotion.

Jiang Yan stood up, supporting himself on the lawn. His chest rose and fell slightly, but his face remained calm.

With his "iron man body," the fatigue from the high-intensity running back and forth was quickly suppressed.

In the live broadcast room, Zhan Jun and He Wei were also analyzing Jiang Yan's defensive retreat: "We can see that when Liverpool changed from a 4-3-3 formation to a 4-4-2, Jiang Yan returned to midfield. Although he couldn't push forward as freely as when he played as a false nine, his return to midfield not only completely unleashed his creativity, delivering several exquisite passes, but also allowed him to participate in the team's defense, maximizing his role on both ends of the pitch!"

"Jiang Yan! Which position should you go to?"

"Klopp must be quite troubled right now; Jiang Yan is just too versatile!"

[Jiang Shenniu! Zhan Jun is absolutely right. He can attack and defend; Klopp must be worried!]

[Jiang Shen, score a goal quickly, carry me to victory!]

[One goal away, Kane needs to score soon!]

The corner kick is taken.

Kane won the first ball again, but his header was tipped over the crossbar by Mignolet with one hand.

Another corner kick.

Tottenham's continued pressure ignited the atmosphere at White Hart Lane.

Pochettino yelled from the sidelines: "Push forward! Keep pushing! Don't give Liverpool a chance to breathe!"

He saw it clearly: as long as Jiang Yan's connection with the frontcourt was cut off, keeping him constantly busy defending corner kicks, Liverpool's attack would be crippled.

If Liverpool are caught on the counter-attack, they shouldn't pass the ball to Jiang Yan immediately. If they can score from their own corner kick, then everyone will be happy!

Therefore, Tottenham's most important tactic right now is to keep Jiang Yan occupied!

The second corner kick was taken.

This time, Kane didn't choose to head the ball directly, but instead flicked it on. Eriksen, who was at the far post, received the ball and was about to shoot when he saw Alli in a better position to receive it.

So he passed the ball across to Ali.

Just then, Jiang Yan suddenly appeared, intercepted the ball, and muttered something under his breath:

Everything is going according to my plan. As long as you deliberately leave Ali out, you will pass the ball to him at all costs. All you have to do is intercept the ball the moment you pass it.

Eriksson felt a chill run down his spine as he listened to Jiang Yan's words.

The ball's landing point, Ali's run, and the fact that he was certain to pass the ball—all of this was within his expectations!

"What exactly am I fighting?"

Pochettino on the sidelines frowned slightly after seeing the ball passed to Alli being intercepted, but his expression remained unchanged: "Even if we intercept it, we can't organize an effective attack. Our players are very quick to track back."

However, Jiang Yan had no intention of organizing the play, but instead unleashed a long pass that spanned half the field with all his might!

boom! ! !

It was only then that Pochettino noticed Mane and Firmino, who had been staying in the attacking third.

They had seen Jiang Yan's gesture as soon as they wanted to participate in the defense.

You all stay here, I'll handle the obstacles.

"Jiang Yan! A long pass that spans half the field!"

"Mane receives the ball! Perfectly! And he's not offside!!!"

Pochettino, on the sidelines, shouted anxiously, "Get back on defense! Stop that little black guy!!"

His tactics were too focused on Jiang Yan, but he overlooked the fact that Mane and Firmino were also two sharp weapons in the attack!

At that moment, Pochettino remembered what he had said in the locker room at halftime: Liverpool is not scary, what's scary is Jiang.

Jiang Yan is not the only player in Liverpool's squad.

However, head coach Pochettino was terrified by Jiang Yan!

Mane's first step is incredibly fast, and Tottenham players who are several body lengths behind simply can't catch up with him!

everything is over.

boom! ! !

Mane calmly slotted the ball into the far corner!

Swish! ! !

The ball went into the net with a thud!

Goal!

"GOALLLLLLLL!!!"

Liverpool have taken a 2-1 lead!!!

"And the hero of this goal is Sadio Mane, who has only been with Liverpool for less than a season!"

"Our Chinese superstar Jiang Yan contributed one goal and one assist in this match!"

Carragher slapped the commentary table and laughed, "This is Klopp's strategy! He had Jiang Yan drop back, not for defense, but to make him the core hub for transitions between offense and defense!"

White Hart Lane was deathly silent, with only the Liverpool fans who had traveled from afar singing throughout the stadium.

On the pitch, Kane stood with his hands on his hips, gazing at the red figure in midfield with a complex expression.

He has long been hailed as the future Premier League's top striker, but today, for the first time, he felt an unbridgeable gap.

Ali's face turned ashen; the interception he had just suffered seemed to have been entirely within the Asian man's expectations.

With 30 minutes remaining in the match, both head coaches began to bring on substitute players.

The battle between Tottenham and Liverpool continued until the end of the match, but neither side was able to change the score.

Liverpool secured a hard-fought 2-1 victory away from home!

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