Chapter 1 Although Martin O'Neill Was Very Worried About the Reserves Playing in the League Cup and FA Cup

Although Martin O'Neill was very worried about the reserves playing in the League Cup and FA Cup, he had to admit that Chen Hero's method provided many conveniences for the team.

The biggest contribution was naturally avoiding the team fighting on two fronts, exhausted. Not to mention the physical exhaustion, it also greatly increased the chance of injury.

Look at the first game against Reading. If the first team players had gone up, they could have easily won the game, but perhaps they would have angered Reading and caused the players to get injured. For Liverpool's first team, which was destined to fight on multiple fronts, every player was a treasure.

No one could be injured.

So no matter what, the reserves were a great help to the first team, reducing the pressure on the first team. Even if the reserve players got injured, that was better than the first team players getting injured.

For example, right now, the league game against Arsenal was coming up soon. If the first team had one or two injuries in the previous League Cup, Martin O'Neill would have a headache.

Now, thanks to the help of the reserves, Liverpool's first team could challenge Arsenal away with the most complete lineup. And they didn't play in the midweek League Cup, so their physical condition was perfect.

Unlike Arsenal, although Arsenal also sent some youth team and reserve team players, half of their first team players participated in the League Cup as well.

When Liverpool just started promoting this model, other teams also wanted to imitate it. Because everyone thought this was a good thing that could both train the reserves and allow the first team to get more rest.

But many teams found that this model was not feasible at all. What was a broad road for Liverpool was a dead end for other teams.

Because they didn't have Chen Hero. Chen Hero's contribution was indispensable for the reserves to win the championship. And only the people in Liverpool's reserves knew that Chen Hero's role in the reserves was not just reflected on the field.

Without the most crucial figure, their reserves might be able to enter the third round, fourth round, or even fifth round, but they would be very far from the championship.

Unless they didn't want the championship, and just wanted to use it to train the reserves and youth team.

But which team that needed rotation, needed the first team to rest, and needed the reserves to gain experience wasn't a wealthy team that craved the championship? And those underdog teams might not be able to win the championship.

This became a paradox.

In the end, there were very few teams that could truly persist in using reserves.

Liverpool was the only one that could succeed.

※※※

In the last League Cup game, Arsenal, like Liverpool, was also playing away, but their opponent was much stronger than Birmingham.

Their opponent was Everton.

Don't think that Everton has never gained the upper hand when playing against Liverpool, but in the entire Premier League, they are still a tough nut to crack.

It would be a big mistake to judge Everton's strength solely from the Merseyside derby. This team just can't always win the Merseyside derby because Liverpool is too strong. They can't beat Liverpool, but they can still beat other teams.

Everton also knows very well that it is difficult for them to get a spot in the European war next season in the Premier League, which is full of strong teams, so they invest a lot in the League Cup and FA Cup, hoping to use a cup championship to send them to the Europa League.

In this way, the pressure Arsenal faces in the League Cup is much greater than Liverpool's.

So they spend more energy.

In fact, that's how it was.

Arsenal and Everton fought hard for ninety minutes, and the two teams only scored one goal. In the end, Arsenal narrowly eliminated Everton with a score of 1:0.

The so-called narrow victory was because Everton fought very tenaciously at their home stadium.

Arsenal finally relied on Wilshere's goal to eliminate Everton, but he also paid a heavy price.

First of all, Wilshere, the hero who scored the goal, was injured in the game and will be out until after Christmas.

Secondly, Ryo Miyaichi received two yellow cards in the game and was sent off with a red card. Arsenal is appealing to the English Football Association Disciplinary Committee for him. In fact, there is no reason for their appeal. Ryo Miyaichi's two yellow cards are conclusive and there is no problem at all. Arsenal's appeal is obviously to delay time so that Ryo Miyaichi can make it in time for the game against Liverpool.

Once their appeal fails, Ryo Miyaichi will face more suspensions, which cannot be resolved in just one or two games.

But Arsenal can't care about that at all, because Liverpool is obviously a bigger opponent. In order to deal with this strong enemy, they spare no expense.

※※※

Arsenal's appeal allowed Ryo Miyaichi to successfully appear in the game against Liverpool. With Van Persie getting old, Ryo Miyaichi is Arsenal's main attacking weapon now.

He has also been successfully transformed by Wenger from a winger into a versatile scorer who can play on both wings and in the center. Ryo Miyaichi is relatively thin, but he is fast and agile, which allows him to gain the upper hand when facing those bulky and tall defenders.

Liverpool's center backs are Pepe and Skrtel. Pepe likes to push forward aggressively, and Skrtel is bulky and slow to turn around, all of which can be countered by agility.

So Ryo Miyaichi will be the key figure in this game.

The key figure for Arsenal is Ryo Miyaichi, and the key figure for Liverpool is Chen Hero.

Therefore, this game is also called the "Asian Derby" or "China-Japan Derby" by the Asian media.

It has to be said that although China has produced a Chen Hero, Japan is the boss of Asian football in terms of overall football level, and even Australia cannot compete with them.

This can be seen from the large number of players playing abroad. A large number of Japanese players play in leagues in Europe, Brazil, and other countries. They are the fruits and seeds of Japan's century-old football plan.

They represent the highest level of Japanese football. In many European teams, Japanese players are the main players. Even in some wealthy teams, such as Arsenal and Manchester United, Japanese players play a core role. Ryo Miyaichi at Arsenal and Shinji Kagawa at Manchester United are both examples.

So if you talk about the overall level, Chinese football has been completely defeated and left behind by Japanese football by a hundred streets, there is no controversy.

But the problem is that this game is not a collision of the overall level of football between China and Japan, but a duel between two players.

In terms of individual combat ability, there is no registered player in the entire Japanese domestic league who can be compared with Chen Hero.

Ryo Miyaichi is very clear about the strength of himself and Chen Hero. Before the game, when the Asian media—mainly the media from China and Japan—were frantically hyping up the China-Japan duel between himself and Chen Hero, Ryo Miyaichi was pouring cold water to cool down the hype.

"Hero is a very powerful player, and I admire him very much. There is no competition between us... I just want to help the team win the game. I know it's difficult, but that's not a reason to give up."

He didn't fall for the reporters' tricks. He knew what the consequences of angering Chen Hero would be. Arsenal had played against Liverpool a lot over the years, and as a player who is also from East Asia, he usually paid more attention to Chen Hero, so he naturally knew what kind of temper this person had.

If he made him unhappy, I'm afraid both Arsenal and himself would be destroyed.

It's better to be low-key before the game.

Chen Hero also disdained the media's "China-Japan Derby."

"My opponent is Arsenal, not Japan." With a simple sentence, he showed his arrogance to the fullest, and immediately made many Japanese reporters look bad.

But Chen Hero was too lazy to pay attention to their mood. They were not his compatriots, nor were they his fans, so why should he be so polite to them?

He never paid attention to reporters, let alone Japanese reporters.

※※※

Ryo Miyaichi is humble on the surface, but he is actually still very competitive in his heart. He doesn't want to directly confront Chen Hero, but he plans to defeat Chen Hero indirectly by helping Arsenal defeat Liverpool.

For example, as long as he performs well in the game and is the direct contributor and the biggest contributor to the team's victory, while Chen Hero performs mediocrely, he can suppress Chen Hero.

This is easier and more skillful than directly competing with Chen Hero.

But he was still too naive...

Liverpool is going all out, and Chen Hero is in hot form. How can Arsenal compete with that?

Even at home...

They can't stop the Red Army's iron hooves!

The game had only started for nine minutes when Liverpool used a corner kick to score a header by Chen Hero, opening the door to victory for the team.

Van Persie was powerless, and Ryo Miyaichi was suppressed to death by Liverpool's defense.

Wilshere was injured, and Arsenal lost their midfield core. Without a midfield core, their offense seemed to have no structure.

How can they defeat the in-form Liverpool like this?

After Chen Hero scored the first goal for Liverpool, the rhythm of the game entered the track that Liverpool is best at and likes the most.

Next, Liverpool tightened their defense.

Arsenal was forced to push forward and attack, and Liverpool comfortably played a defensive counterattack—which is what they like the most, but also what their opponents hate the most.

But who made them always score first? The team that scores first is qualified to play this tactic, unless you can score earlier than them.

※※※

After Liverpool tightened their defense, Chen Hero was alone in the front, looking a little lonely, looking very pitiful.

But whether it was the fans in the stands, the audience in front of the TV, or the commentators and reporters, no one at this time would think that Chen Hero was really "isolated and helpless."

Once Liverpool's fast counterattack tactic is launched, the players' speed of pressing forward is quite fast.

Chen Hero doesn't need to support in the front for too long, and he can immediately get the support of a large number of players.

Especially the two wings led by Sanchez and Gareth Bale are fast, have good footwork, and have a strong awareness of pressing forward. As long as the ball is sent to the frontcourt, they rush up without hesitation. They absolutely believe in Chen Hero's ability and believe that he can control the ball in the frontcourt without worrying about the situation where they rush up but find that the ball is lost. It is precisely because of Chen Hero, this excellent offensive bridgehead, that Liverpool's fast counterattack can be launched.

This tactic is not sophisticated, not complicated, and not innovative. It purely makes full use of Chen Hero's characteristics. Other teams may be able to do better than them, but they don't have Chen Hero, so everything can only stay in their imagination and fantasy.

Many teams' fast counterattacks will be countered by the opponent halfway through because they can't control the ball in the frontcourt, and they will lose the ball in the end. So these teams are slowly becoming less aggressive.

Only Liverpool dares to do it, because they have the invincible Chen Hero!