The sweeping army of the greenery

Chapter 8 Tournament

After returning from Wales, Li Tiancheng sent his parents back to China first, and then he followed Liverpool to the United States to participate in the Champions Tour.

Although the name is bluffing, and all parties participating in this competition are also paid a lot of money, this is really just a friendly match for military training, and there is no limit to the number of substitutions. Otherwise, no one would want to go to the United States at this time point, just for money.

In the first game, Liverpool won a big victory.

Liverpool 6:1 Celtic.

This result made Li Tiancheng relax a lot.

Of course, it’s not just because of this result. Warm-up matches are a stage for adjusting tactics and examining players’ status. No one pays attention to the results of the game.

Li Tiancheng was happy that he was in full control of, uh, the second half of the game.

Liverpool took a two-goal lead in the first half thanks to goals from Riise and Owen.

At the beginning of the second half, Li Tiancheng got the chance to play.

Li Tiancheng replaced Kewell and stood on the left.

Not long after the opening, Li Tiancheng cut inside to the center for the first time he took the ball, walked along the outside of the penalty area to the center, and passed it to Cisse. After tricking the opponent's defender, he shot directly, and the football went straight to the bottom corner!
This goal won Li Tiancheng more playing time.

In the 62nd minute, Cisse hit the goal post with a straight pass from Pangele, and then took the ball into the penalty area before the top of the arc. Li Tiancheng cut to catch the ball from the left wing, and then knocked the ball back to the goal.

4: 0!

In the 69th minute, Li Tiancheng directly passed a long pass to the penalty area. The opponent's defender made a mistake and pushed the ball in front of Henkoz.

5: 0!

In the 72nd minute, Celtic won a penalty, which was scored by Craig Beatty.

5: 1!

In the 76th minute, Li Tiancheng cut inside again and attracted many defensive players to surround him. Li Tiancheng stuffed the ball through the gap to Cisse, who slid past the central defender and hit the target before the goalkeeper fell to the ground.

6: 1!

No. 80 minutes, Li Tiancheng made another successful through pass, but it was a pity that Cisse's shot hit the post.

Before the end of the game, Li Tiancheng took advantage of the Celtics' defense and made a long pass to the penalty area. It was still Cisse. His lob shot was blocked by the goalkeeper again!

After Li Tiancheng played, he dominated Liverpool's offense. More importantly, the football Li Tiancheng played conformed to Benitez's football aesthetics.

At the moment when the team switched from defense to offense, Li Tiancheng performed efficiently and professionally. The reward given by Benitez was to make him the player with the most playing time in Liverpool.

You must know that Irving only played 45 minutes in the first half.

Others went on and off the field, 30 minutes ago was considered too much.

Even if it was just a warm-up match, Li Tiancheng's performance impressed Benitez.

Li Tiancheng is of course happy to be one step closer to the primary goal of gaining a firm foothold in the team.

Before the second game started, Spanish defender Josemi rushed to the United States to join the team.

This is part of Benitez's technical transformation of Liverpool. He hopes to enhance Liverpool's technical content by introducing Spanish players with better skills.

The arrival of Josemi did not cause much disturbance, but the gossip circulating in the team made everyone feel a little distracted.

It is said that the club intends to offer Irving a contract extension with a weekly salary of [-]!

If the two sides reach an agreement, then it will directly be the highest salary in the Premier League. Even Abramovich, who is stupid and rich, did not offer such a high salary to his players!
It seems that Irving's transfer farce is coming to an end.

Everyone is tacit about this. Of course, many people are thinking about whether their salaries can be raised according to the trend.

After all, they are all contributing to the club. Even if Irving is the club's top card, it is too unreasonable to pay three times higher than other main players.

In a strange atmosphere, Liverpool ushered in the second warm-up match opponent, the new Champions League champion Porto.

Liverpool drew 1:1 with their opponents this time.

In this game, Liverpool Owen and Cisse partnered for the first time. Benitez tried to find out who is Owen's best partner through the game.

Two young players, Whitbread and Warnock, appeared on the defense line, which is a test of the reserve force.

Gerrard also made his first start since the European Cup.

Porto left the meritorious coach Mourinho and a large number of main players. The most playing card David should be Quaresma who returned from Barcelona.

In the first half, both sides played a lot of attacking football, bad luck, each side hit the goal frame once.

0:0, the two sides exchanged a goalless draw.

In the second half, Benitez replaced Baros, Kewell, Pangler and others, while Gerrard, Owen and Cisse were all replaced.

The two sides continued to maintain a confrontational posture, but there were not many opportunities in front of the goal.

However, Liverpool used their height advantage to pose a threat through free kicks.

With three free kicks, Liverpool successfully won the first goal, and the goals were all just a hair's breadth away.

Benitez watched from the sidelines and shook his head. It is a common occurrence for the two sides to attack and switch between offense and defense. Unfortunately, these guys on the field did very badly and couldn't play the usual training content at all.

Until the 80th minute, Li Tiancheng was substituted again, this time replacing Biscayne as a central midfielder.

A central midfielder is a central midfielder.

I thought I would sit on the bench for the entire game, but now that I have the opportunity to play, it doesn't matter what position I have.

Li Tiancheng soon felt strenuous!

The central midfielder has to bear more defensive tasks than the full-back.

Li Tiancheng's defense relies more on predicting the position, and playing a full-back is enough.

But in the position of central midfielder, there are a lot more physical struggles. Although Porto players are not known for their physical strength, it still makes it difficult for Li Tiancheng to cope.

In the 85th minute, Li Tiancheng had to choose to bring down his opponent.

Porto took a free kick in the frontcourt, Liverpool missed the top, Jorge Costa scored the ball from the back and passed the ball low to the middle, Ricardo Costa missed the ball, and Alberto, who was outflanked by the back post, was 4 meters away from the goal with his right foot Push through the empty door.

0: 1.

Liverpool fell behind their opponents.

Li Tiancheng stared at his opponent who was cheering and celebrating the goal, and bit his lip.

"Relax, kid." Carragher patted Li Tiancheng's arm: "It's common to give the opponent a free kick. The responsibility for this ball is not yours. It's us who showed up later."

Li Tiancheng nodded perfunctorily, maybe, but I didn't see the loophole in the latter point in advance!
Since then, Porto has tried to focus on Li Tiancheng.

With Haman's help, Li Tiancheng managed to survive these few minutes.

Seeing that the game was about to end, Li Tiancheng rushed directly into the penalty area, pedaling his bicycle continuously in the penalty area, and flashed a shot space.

Li Tiancheng, who was about to shoot, was knocked down to the ground.

penalty!

Porto's goal hero Alberto knocked down Li Tiancheng and was awarded a penalty kick.

Harman made a penalty kick.

1: 1.

Liverpool equalized at the last moment.

Li Tiancheng felt that he began to calm down.

At the end of the game, Carragher put his arms around Li Tiancheng's shoulders: "Good boy, if you suffer a loss, you must get it back. I like this character!"

Li Tiancheng smiled and didn't say much.

……

After this game, several players left the United States - they were sold off.

Liverpool's first team has been downsized to 20 people, which is in line with Benitez's strategic thinking. He made it clear that he needs a main frame of about 15 people, and then add a few more people around the main frame to tinker.

However, the news that midfielder Smicer underwent surgery after the European Cup and will be out for as long as 6 months caught him off guard.

This is the main right midfielder in his mind, and the current situation is obviously hopeless.

There is no suitable candidate for the right midfielder position at all.

The left midfielder can also allow Kewell to play a cameo, or the premise of Riise's position is fine.

But the right midfielder is really unavailable now.

Murphy?
The technical characteristics really do not meet the requirements, and he has been notified that he can leave.

Li Tiancheng can play, but he is still too immature now. He must take advantage of opportunities such as the League Cup to train well. At most, he is just a substitute.

Warnock was born as a right midfielder, but he didn't look as good as Li Tiancheng.

It is necessary to introduce a main force in his prime.

Benitez thought about it for a long time, and applied to the club to buy Chelsea's Duff. Duff was not happy under Ranieri, and he should have a chance to get it.

Unfortunately, the club replied that they had no money.

To buy people, of course.

Sell ​​out players you don't like to raise transfer fees yourself.

So Benitez tried to bargain with Chelsea while selling people.

"Madman" Mourinho rejected Benitez's offer and hung up the phone directly.

Hehe, Duff's technical characteristics are just in line with Lao Tzu's requirements, and, looking at your picky looks, can you offer a price that Chelsea can see in our eyes?
Thus, Benitez's Spanish strategy has the possibility of realization.

Originally, Benitez's attempt to introduce several Spanish players was quite criticized.

Are you trying to form gangs or discriminate against us English people?
Well now, it's not that I discriminate against the technical level of the English, it's that they are too expensive to afford.

Benitez sent an application directly to Barcelona. Is it possible to introduce or loan your midfielder Luis Garcia?
Barcelona: ...

Yell, you fell into Lao Tzu's hands so quickly.

The account of kidnapping our star of tomorrow has not yet been settled, and now we will calculate it together.

If you want Garcia, you can. Anyway, he is just a substitute here. We can replace it with Milan Baros. Substitute for substitute, this is fair.

Benitez almost scolded his mother when he received the reply from Barcelona, ​​but at least he was a bit of a city man, so he held back hard and kept his calm and wise personality.

Are you entertaining me?

Yes, now it seems that Baros is just a third striker in my hands, but he is always the top scorer in the European Cup, and now is the hottest time.

Trade him for Garcia?

Is there a brain damage engraved on my forehead?
So, the matter was put on hold for the time being.

……

BJ time on August 8th, New York Giants Stadium.

Liverpool 3:1 Roma ended the US tour.

In this game, Li Tiancheng played in the second half again, played the entire second half at the right midfielder position, and assisted Owen to score twice.

Although Irving was named the best player of the game, Li Tiancheng's performance was noticed by Benitez.

Benitez, who has been repeatedly stimulated, finally has some comfort. It seems that it is worthwhile to fight against Barcelona. Li Tiancheng is a real genius, a special genius worthy of the name.

Just how to deal with the difficulties in front of us?
Until he returned to Liverpool from the United States, Benitez did not think of any good solution.

There’s no way, everything that catches your eye is expensive, and you can’t afford it.

Under normal circumstances, Garcia is the only one who can afford it and is not bad.

It was a simple matter, but now Barcelona is so disgusted, what should I do?

Still have to come up with the magic weapon that everyone is using.

Try reaching out to players in private.

(End of this chapter)