Chapter 850: Relegation Zone

On the second day after Southampton beat Liverpool 5-0 away, the headlines of almost all newspapers in the UK were reporting on the game, and they all used shock to describe their feelings.

Matt Ladson, the co-editor of Anfield, Liverpool's most famous fan website, published his commentary immediately after the game, and the title was also very direct.

The Saints used five goals to tell Liverpool what it means to be a European champion!

Once this article was published, it was immediately spread on Anfield, the Internet, and WeChat, triggering heated discussions among countless fans.

In the article, Matt Ladson said that from Southampton's first goal, Liverpool looked like they had no chance of winning the game because they couldn't get any cheap from Southampton. .

And the second goal completely sentenced Liverpool to death.

Matt Ladson said, "Being behind three to zero in the first half, it is easy to remind people of the night in Istanbul that year. We were also three goals behind in the first half, and we were also completely defeated. But in the second half, we But it took the whole world by surprise.”

"In fact, I believe that there are countless fans at Anfield who are dreaming of a miracle, but it turns out that it is a kind of self-deception. Our team conceded two more goals in the second half."

"This is the worst defeat ever at Anfield!"

"I can even foresee that early tomorrow morning, the headlines of the entire UK and Europe will be dominated by this game. Southampton will win unprecedented praise. They will be the most powerful team in the new season." Championship contenders, and us, whether we can keep the top four in the league, is still a question."

After a round of complaints, Matt Ladson also analyzed the problems of this game in depth.

He believes that Liverpool's defense line is all worth a lot of money, and it is even many times higher than the value of Southampton's defense line players.

However, in the game, the number of goals conceded was five more than that of the opponent.

But Matt Ladson also believes that the team's problems should not only be attributed to the defense and defenders, but the problems in the midfield are the real deadlock.

"In this game, we all saw with our own eyes the strength of Saints Southampton, the European champion team. They are always able to put pressure on their opponents on both ends of the offense and defense, especially their midfield."

"Suarez, Hazard, Sanchez, Di Maria and Fabregas,

The Saints' offensive lineup in the center and frontcourt is nothing short of extravagant, full of superstars and full of aggressiveness, but they can maintain their concentration for 90 minutes in the game, and they always know clearly when they should attack their opponents. Apply pressure and when to respond to teammates. "

"How about us?"

"Mario Balotelli and Raheem Sterling, he is really very smart on the offensive end. Liverpool's few threats and highlights in this game are almost all between the two of them and Coutini. It is reflected in O's body."

"However, on the defensive end, their contribution is nothing compared to Southampton's front three."

"On this point, anyone who has seen the running data of these players will not deny my point of view."

"There is also the midfielder. Di Maria and Cesc Fabregas have just joined the team, but they seem to have played in this team for a long time. How to connect the frontcourt and the backcourt, they are very experienced, Always keeping Southampton's three lines tight and organized, always keeping Toni Kroos from going it alone."

"But what about us? Players lose their positions too easily. The only reliable player in the midfield is Gerrard. But can an old Gerrard keep our midfield?"

"In games, what we see more often is that our midfield is pulled and pressed by the opponent, and it immediately falls apart. Often there is Gerrard alone on the pitch, while the opponent attacks the second echelon. Going forward, there is no one to defend, and it is easy to create a threat."

Finally, Matt Ladson also mentioned in the article that he was disappointed that almost none of the newly introduced players in Liverpool played at a level that matched their worth, and the team as a whole was also very disappointing.

He said that Rogers should reflect on it, think carefully about the team's tactical play in the new season, integrate it as soon as possible, and come up with a set of stable tactical ideas, so as to ensure the team's competitiveness in the new season.

"It's one of the worst starts Liverpool have ever had without a doubt, but I still want to say it's just one game against the Saints, one of the strongest teams in Europe, and it's a big loss. A disaster, but not the end of the world."

"The most important thing now is not to be immersed in the shadow of conceding goals, but to discuss why they lost and how not to lose. I believe that as long as we understand this, the team will be able to get out of the downturn soon."

But is it really so?

Matt Ladson, as a die-hard Liverpool fan, although the previous criticisms were very severe and even suspected of attacking, but the last words revealed his true thoughts.

But other media don't see it that way.

After losing 0-5 to Southampton in the first round, the outside world has a very low evaluation of Liverpool. It is believed that Rodgers' team played like this at the beginning, and the start of the new season will be difficult to please.

Because, in the second round of the league, Liverpool will challenge Manchester City away, and in the third round, they will also be away at White Hart Lane in North London to challenge Tottenham Hotspur led by Louis van Gaal.

After losing so badly against Southampton at home, and playing against Blue Moon and Tottenham away, who thinks that Liverpool can retreat unscathed?

If unfortunately, Liverpool loses three games in a row at the beginning of the new season, it will be very detrimental to the Red Army's entire season.

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Facts have proved that outside speculation is correct.

After Liverpool lost 0-5 to Southampton in the first round of the league, they lost 1-3 away to Manchester City in the second round, and suffered a two-game losing streak in the new season.

But that's not all. A week later, Rodgers' team still didn't improve. They lost 0-3 to Tottenham Hotspur at White Hart Lane and suffered a humiliating three-game losing streak.

More importantly, in three games, scored one goal but conceded eleven goals, and the ranking has also been reduced to the relegation zone of the league, temporarily ranking bottom. This is a disaster for Liverpool.

It is not only Liverpool who have also encountered disasters.

The start of the new season for the Blues Chelsea is also not ideal.

The first round was unexpectedly upset, and they lost 0-1 away to the newly promoted Burnley.

This gave Mourinho, who was ambitious before the season, a blow.

But at this time, the Portuguese can still explain bluntly, thinking that the team is still adapting to the rhythm of the league.

But who would have thought that in the second round of the league, Chelsea was in their own home court and scored two goals in a row by Leicester City, losing 1-2 again.

This made the Blue Army feel anxious from top to bottom.

The first round was an away game, so it was understandable to lose, but the second round was at home, and the opponents in the two rounds were not strong, so they suffered two consecutive losses?

This is too outrageous, right?

But there is a saying that goes well, blessings come without pairs, and misfortunes never come singly.

In the third round of the league, Chelsea was a guest at Gooderson Park. Mourinho vowed before the game to score points in the away game.

Unexpectedly, Roberto Martinez's team defeated the visiting Blues 3-1 at their home court, giving Mourinho a humiliating three-game losing streak.

It is especially worth mentioning that in this game, Everton's teenager Stones was elected as the best player of the game. His performance was quite eye-catching and he won unanimous praise and affirmation.

According to media reports, after the game, Chelsea's management immediately launched a new offer for Stones, hoping to bring the Everton teenager to Stamford Bridge, but Everton refused to negotiate.

However, according to the news found by the all-pervasive Sun reporter, Stones himself expressed in an interview with the media before joining Everton that he hoped to play for Southampton.

What's interesting is that on the day of Southampton's game against Liverpool, Yang Huan also met with the top management of Everton and had a meal, which is very arousing imagination.

Transfer disputes aside, no one thought that Mourinho's team would not be as strong after introducing stars such as Falcao, Icardi, Cuadrado, Ranocchia and Calhanoglu. As the outside world imagined, it improved, but suffered a three-game losing streak.

Chelsea's current ranking has fallen into the relegation zone, only relying on the advantage of conceding fewer goals to temporarily overwhelm Liverpool.

This also makes many people feel strange, because the trend of the Premier League in the new season is too weird.

Both Liverpool and Chelsea have lost three games in a row, while Manchester United, led by Ryan Giggs, embarrassingly got a three-game tie, which is also in the middle of the standings. Whether it is points or the process of the game, it is very disappointing.

Southampton, on the other hand, took advantage of the momentum of their first defeat to Liverpool to win three consecutive victories in one go.

First they defeated Liverpool 5-0, and then at their home court, in the first official game at the Glory Stadium, Saints relied on Suarez's hat-trick and Di Maria's goal to beat the visiting West 4-1. Bromwich won two consecutive victories.

In the third round, he went to East London to challenge Allardyce's West Ham away.

In the case of conceding a goal first, Southampton evened the score with a long shot from Toni Kroos at a critical moment before the end of the midfield.

In the 65th minute of the second half, Toni Kroos scored another direct free kick, completing the reversal for Southampton.

Then in the 83rd minute, Suarez assisted Sanchez to add the icing on the cake and scored the third goal.

In the end, Southampton reversed West Ham United 3-1 away and won three consecutive victories.

Scoring twelve goals in three games and conceding two goals, Southampton's offensive power is the best in the Premier League and leads the standings.

But what is really surprising is that it is not Manchester City, which has high hopes, but Van Gaal's Tottenham Hotspur, which is ranked below Southampton.

The North London team also has three consecutive victories, and they have not conceded a goal in three games, but they are not as aggressive as Southampton in terms of offense. They only scored eight goals and temporarily ranked second in the standings.

Manchester City also won three consecutive victories, but they played steadily and scored very steadily, firmly occupying the third place in the league.

In fourth place is also Swansea, which has won three consecutive victories.

This also surprised many fans and reporters, because after four rounds of the league, none of the traditional semi-finals of the Premier League entered the top four of the league. Instead, they were all newly-emerged new powerhouses in the past few years .

In particular, Southampton, Manchester City and Tottenham Hotspur are themselves the top four favorites in the league, and their performances in the new season are impressive, which is really surprising.

But what is even more surprising is the decline of Liverpool and Chelsea, which slipped directly into the relegation zone. Isn't this too shameful?

Ever since, the outside world has speculated that the European transfer market this summer is about to close, and it is very likely that the two teams will make another move to introduce strong support at the last moment of the transfer market.

Especially Abramovich!

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