ps, the European Cup is about to open tonight, are you all excited?

I'm ready anyway.

The opening match at midnight is between the host Poland and Greece. The highlight is… a tongue-twisting hell for the commentators!

Also, taking advantage of the European Cup, which comes once every four years, please give me monthly tickets~~~~!

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Although Chen Hero helped the team pull back a goal, which could be regarded as keeping the team's hopes alive, Martin O'Neill did not praise the team's performance because of this when he returned to the locker room. He severely criticized the players' performance after falling behind, and then told them that they could still sit here and breathe because of luck!

Yes, it was luck. If it weren't for luck, they would have been dead already.

After scolding the players, Martin O'Neill began to tell everyone how to… win the game in the second half.

That's right, Martin O'Neill was thinking about winning, not drawing or anything like that.

Manchester United were chasing closely behind. If Liverpool drew again, the gap between the two sides would only get smaller and smaller.

So even in the face of such an extremely unfavorable situation, they had to win this game.

"We have to strengthen our defense against Van Persie. Obviously, he is the core of Arsenal's attack in this game. He can take the ball, break through, pass, and shoot himself. He is a very difficult player to deal with. I want you to be tougher when defending, and even foul outside the penalty area. But pay attention to the location of the fouls… In addition, the defense line should pay attention to quickly contracting and not give them too much space. Our two center backs are very slow to turn around, so don't press too far forward. Miyachi Ryo and Walcott are both fast players. If you give them too much space, they will take advantage of it. So when defending, the whole team must quickly return to defense and contract tightly!"

Martin O'Neill spread his right hand out, and then suddenly clenched it into a fist.

"Just like this! Let them not find any gaps to drill into the palms of our hands!"

※※※

In the locker room next door, Wenger was also explaining the arrangements for the second half to his players.

He praised the team's two goals in the first half, but he also criticized the team's somewhat lax performance after taking a two-goal lead. If everyone could concentrate as before, maybe Miyachi Ryo would not have missed the shot, and maybe Arsenal would have been leading their opponents 3-0 or 4-0 long ago. In that case, there would have been no goal from Chen Hero later.

But now that things had already happened, it was useless to just criticize. It was better to think carefully about how to deal with a Liverpool team whose morale had already risen in the second half.

"Liverpool will definitely shrink their defense, because they know that we have found the weaknesses in their defense line. We have to find a way to break through their dense defense, with passing! Use constant passing to tear apart their defense!"

Many people think that Barcelona plays artistic football, and their passing is amazing. But before Guardiola coached Barcelona, Arsenal had been playing this kind of football under Wenger for many years. Their passing was as smooth as flowing water, very fluent. Unlike Barcelona, who constantly passed the ball back and forth in the backcourt to increase their possession rate, Arsenal's passing was forward, and more watchable. The small-scale cooperation of two or three players in densely defended areas often made people feel that this was simply a flash of inspiration from the players themselves, making it difficult to defend against.

Wenger has coached Arsenal for seventeen years, and he has changed a lot now, but this point has never changed. Arsenal still plays the most watchable, the most beautiful, and the most artistic football in England. Their small-scale cooperation in the frontcourt attack is amazing, and it also makes their opponents very headache… No one has ever denied Arsenal's attacking power, it's just that their defense is more of a headache for their own people…

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In the second half, the two sides changed sides and fought again. When Chen Hero and Van Persie walked out of the tunnel separately, the live broadcast cameras gave them a close-up of up to ten seconds, from a long shot to a close-up to a partial close-up.

The director was reminding the fans watching the game that these two people were the key figures in this game! Whoever wins and whoever loses depends on them!

But this time the director guessed wrong.

In fact, the people who played a decisive role in the second half were the defenders on both sides…

Liverpool's center back Agger had already shaken hands and made peace with Reina during the halftime break. Reina, as the third captain, came out first and took the initiative to admit that he was a little too excited at the time and cursed at Agger. And Agger was certainly embarrassed to continue to pester him. He also said that he was indeed distracted in defense…

The two shook hands and made peace, which eliminated the hidden dangers on Liverpool's defense line.

In the second half, everyone could clearly see that Liverpool's defense line retreated very deeply. And when Arsenal attacked, Liverpool's players retreated quite quickly.

Just like the tide receding, they all retreated to their defensive positions with a whoosh.

On Arsenal's defender side, they also strengthened their defense against Chen Hero.

The goal conceded in the first half made many people suddenly realize—perhaps because the previous two goals were scored too easily, they had forgotten how terrifying Liverpool's number nine was…

Chen Hero is not the kind of guy they can underestimate!

Now, as long as Chen Hero gets the ball, two players will come up to double-team him, not allowing him to get the ball easily.

In controlling high balls, Mertesacker also tried his best. He is three centimeters taller than Chen Hero and is good at heading the ball, so he can compete with Chen Hero in the air.

So after the start of the second half, the two center forwards didn't have much to show, but the defensive players often appeared in close-up shots and became the protagonists.

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Van Persie wanted to compete with Chen Hero, so he was particularly enthusiastic about shooting in the second half. He shot repeatedly. But Skrtel and Agger strengthened their defense against him, always guarding him closely. And his situation was similar to that of Chen Hero. He is a thorough left-footed player, his right foot is not good. If he wants to shoot, he has to turn to his left foot before he will shoot, otherwise he won't shoot. In this way, whether it is Skrtel or Agger, it is much easier to defend his shot, just pay attention to his left foot, and his right foot can be completely ignored…

Van Persie was deeply besieged. His body did not have an advantage. He could only use his foot skills to find space. But as Liverpool's three lines retreated and contracted as a whole, the space left for him in the penalty area became very narrow. Sometimes, it was already very good for him to protect the ball from being intercepted, let alone shooting…

But this did not make him impatient.

The thirty-year-old Van Persie has matured a lot. He is no longer the unruly bad boy he used to be.

He knew that no one could maintain a high level of mental concentration throughout the ninety minutes of the game. It was very tiring. Unless it was a robot, no one could do it.

He only needed to keep attacking Liverpool's defense line, put pressure on them, and then wait for the moment when they broke under too much pressure… That would be his chance!

Anyway, Arsenal was creating more attacking opportunities than Liverpool now. After all, this was Arsenal's home game. With the cheers of the home fans, Arsenal's morale was high. In addition, because of the style of football, Arsenal could also find their way to deal with this kind of positional warfare.

Liverpool was purely defending and counterattacking, guarding the backcourt to the death, and then making long passes to find Chen Hero and others in front—most of the time it was Chen Hero alone. Either they would form a shot, or they would wait for the support of their teammates.

He believed that he would get a fatal opportunity before Chen Hero!

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He did get it first. In the sixtieth minute, a tiny movement appeared in Liverpool's defense line, revealing a negligible gap, which was found by Van Persie.

He received a pass in the open space, and then turned around and shot!

The hearts of all Liverpool fans were in their throats, and Arsenal fans couldn't help but start cheering in advance.

Shooting from such a close distance, Reina seemed to have given up, and it was impossible for him to make any effective save.

"Chance! Oh no…"

When everyone thought that Liverpool was doomed this time, Skrtel played the role of savior. At the most critical moment, he stretched out a foot, and Van Persie's shot hit his foot and bounced directly out of the baseline!

"Van Persie missed a great opportunity! His shot was blocked by Skrtel!"

"It's so dangerous! Liverpool almost fell behind by two goals again!"

"Skrtel has become Liverpool's hero! He is the most trustworthy on the defensive end!"

Watching the football go wide of the goal, Van Persie covered his mouth with both hands, widened his eyes, and couldn't believe this scene.

He was so close to staging a hat-trick and helping the team regain a two-goal lead…

Damn it!

A sentence suddenly appeared in his mind—wasting opportunities will be punished…

He couldn't help but shudder.

※※※

When Van Persie shot towards the goal, Chen Hero was also taken aback. But fortunately, Skrtel blocked the football.

Then he suddenly thought of this sentence—after surviving a great disaster, there will be good fortune!

※※※

Arsenal's corner kick did not pose any threat to Liverpool, although Arsenal had a tall man like Mertesacker to fight for the header. But Liverpool's two center backs were both over 1.9 meters tall, plus Chen Hero, Mertesacker couldn't get any advantage in front of Liverpool at all…

Van Persie had quickly recovered from the blow of missing the opportunity just now. He calmed down again and began to wait for his next opportunity. He was the captain of the team and had to set an example everywhere. He couldn't waver just because he missed such an opportunity. How could he lead the team then?

But deep down in his heart, he was a little unsure—when would the next opportunity come? Would he get it earlier than Hero?

He shook his head and threw away this ominous thought. At the same time, he vowed in his heart.

No matter when the next opportunity comes, he must seize it!