Chapter 65: Catch up
At England's Anfield Stadium, the towering stands were a sea of red, with waves of cheering crashing hard against the opponents attempting to challenge Liverpool.
The scoreboard displayed the current score clearly: 0-3, with the home team leading and the away team trailing.
Not only Wang Feng, but the entire Genk team was overwhelmed by Liverpool's absolute midfield control and fluid attacks.
In the 11th minute of the match, McAllister assisted Owen to open the scoring, and nine minutes later, Hyypia assisted McAllister for another goal.
Just three minutes later, Owen completed a steal in Genk's half and scored his second goal of the match.
Up to this point in the game, Wang Feng's touches were few and far between. Under tight defense, he hadn't had a single effective opportunity, with 0 key passes and 0 shots being his current performance.
Was this the level of the top five leagues? Did he really have the ability to compete on this platform? Wang Feng fell into deep doubt.
On the sidelines, head coach Aimee Antonis couldn't help but feel worried about Wang Feng's performance on the field.
After all, Wang Feng was still a young player, and his mental resilience had not yet reached the level of remaining calm in all situations. If things continued like this, Antonis feared Wang Feng would fall into a deep abyss of self-doubt.
Antonis had never overestimated Wang Feng's abilities. He believed that Wang Feng could definitely hold his own in a top club. The current plight of Genk was not only due to the significant gap in overall strength compared to Liverpool, but also because football was a team sport involving eleven players.
Just as Antonis hesitated whether to substitute Wang Feng and give up on the Europa League, Wang Feng on the field gradually emerged from his self-pity. "No matter what, I will never give up. I don't care who the opponent is, as long as I do my best."
"If I can't receive the ball from midfield, I'll go get it myself." In the 43rd minute, Wang Feng received the ball in midfield. With a beautiful feint, he shook off the pressing defender and dribbled into the frontcourt.
Jamie Carragher retreated while closely watching Wang Feng's movements. He had carefully studied the opponent's information before the match and knew that Wang Feng often used deceptive feints. However, he wouldn't be deceived.
As Wang Feng approached him with the ball, Carragher saw him take a big step forward with his right foot, intending to push the ball to the left with his left foot and shifting his weight to the left. "He's trying to break to his right using his speed!" Carragher decisively moved forward to intercept.
But Wang Feng unexpectedly took another big step to the left with his left foot, relying on the power of his left leg to instantly shift his weight to the other side, changing the direction of his center of gravity. He then used his right foot to flick the ball away, successfully breaking through Carragher's left side.
"Wow, that's a stepover! Wang Feng performs a classic stepover, shaking off the English defender and breaking through alone!"
"Faced with the goalkeeper, he shoots! It's a goal, gooooooal!"
"I never expected Ronaldo's signature move to be performed at Anfield. Let's take another look at this goal. Wang Feng's body movement was even more exaggerated. When he leaned left, no one thought it was a fake. But he used the power of his left leg to forcefully shift his weight back."
"The media often praise Wang Feng's dribbling skills, frequently likening him to South American players with his fancy footwork. Today's stepover further proves this point."
"But we must not overlook Wang Feng's excellent passing and receiving awareness. His curved crosses are quite threatening, indicating his mastery of European football's fluid coordination. I believe that given more room for growth, he will shock the world!"
After scoring the goal, Wang Feng rubbed his left knee, feeling a bit strained. In fact, he had used this move in training before, but he had avoided using it in official matches because it put significant strain on his body.
A sudden change of direction relying solely on one leg, even with Wang Feng's abnormal recovery ability, he dared not use it repeatedly. It's no wonder Ronaldo became injury-prone with frequent use of such moves.
The first half ended with Genk trailing 1-3 but scoring a valuable away goal.
In the locker room, although the Genk players weren't completely despairing, the atmosphere was still very serious. Everyone was full of confusion about how to play in the second half. Coach Antonis looked around and first spoke to Wang Feng: "Wang, is your leg okay? I saw you rubbing it after scoring just now. The damage from the stepover move is too great. Try not to use it frequently in the future."
Wang Feng shook his head, indicating that he was fine as long as he didn't exceed his limits, he wouldn't be seriously injured.
Antonis nodded and continued, "We didn't play well in the first half. This isn't just a gap in strength, but also a failure to fully implement the tactical instructions. Otherwise, we wouldn't have conceded three goals in a row."
"My demand for you all is simple: don't concede any more goals in the second half. Returning to our home ground in this situation, we still have a chance." After that, Antonis began to explain in detail what each player should do in terms of positioning and marking the opponents.
When it came to Wang Feng, he said, "Wang, you can play as a free man on the field. As long as you still have energy, you can appear in any position."
"Believe in yourself and don't put too much pressure on yourself. If you feel tired, signal me for a substitution."
Feeling Antonis's strong trust and care, Wang Feng's nose felt a bit sour. He nodded solemnly and said, "I understand, Mr. Antonis."
As the game resumed, Liverpool, dissatisfied with conceding in the first half, continued to launch fierce attacks against Genk. Even Wang Feng had to drop back to defend. In the 61st minute, Liverpool had a corner kick opportunity. Owen's shot had already passed the goalkeeper, but Wang Feng blocked it on the goal line.
In the 77th minute, Genk intercepted the ball in their own half, but Liverpool immediately pressed them. Christian Civu could only clear the ball with a long kick to the midfield. As Wang Feng retreated, he judged the ball's trajectory and sprinted forward. He successfully beat the offside trap and was the first to reach the ball.
However, Carragher's interference was also severe, and Wang Feng couldn't control the ball directly. So, he flicked the ball forward, intending to use his speed to escape. But at this moment, Carragher decisively fouled Wang Feng, grabbing his shirt tightly with his right hand, preventing him from getting away easily.
If Wang Feng had fallen at this moment, it would definitely be a yellow card plus a free kick. However, this set-piece was too far from the goal, so there was no way to shoot directly.
At this moment, a dramatic scene unfolded on the field. Liverpool goalkeeper Sander Westerveld rushed out of the penalty area and caught the incoming ball with his hand.
"Whistle!" The referee's whistle sounded decisively. Italian referee Leo Scholter ran up to Westerveld and showed him a red card! Westerveld looked incredulous and quickly explained that it was not intentional. Scholter shook his head, indicating that if he hadn't used his hand to catch the ball, the ball could have crossed him and entered the goal directly, essentially preventing a goal, which warranted a red card.
Scholter waved his hand, signaling the surrounding Liverpool players to disperse, then urged Westerveld to leave the field quickly. The camera now focused on the coaching bench, and Gerard Houllier's face was very unpleasant. He was not pleased with Westerveld's low-level mistake.
With no other choice, he could only use one substitution to replace a defender and bring on the substitute goalkeeper.
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