Football’s First Defender

Liverpool's first goal can be said to fully demonstrate Liverpool's offensive power in the frontcourt, and it also fully exposed Mangala's huge deficiencies on the defensive end.

From the beginning of the game, Liverpool had the initiative to attack.

And launched several targeted attacks on Mangala's side. Before that, Mangala relied on good defensive vigilance and the supplementary defense of his teammates to barely complete the defense.

It's just that this time Coutinho's forward attack, Liverpool did enough foreplay.

Lallana's advance and Flanagan's early assists have attracted a lot of Manchester City's defensive attention.

In particular, Sturridge's personal offensive threat, under the sudden change of direction and acceleration, made Kompany feel as if he was facing a formidable enemy, and he did not dare to neglect in the slightest, and was attracted by Sturridge.

So when Liverpool's real ultimate move, Coutinho strikes later and penetrates the Mangala defense zone, Manchester City immediately does not have enough defensive personnel to make up the defense.

This is also a tactic specially arranged by Liverpool, which is to forcibly create a 1v1 offensive opportunity against the "big colander" of Mangala.

Before Coutinho's men arrived, Henderson's pass had arrived first.

Going straight behind Mangala, Coutinho accelerated forward to the destination.

Slow reaction and slow turning have become Mangala's huge weaknesses at this time, and have obliterated many of his excellent central defender qualities.

After Coutinho received the ball first, he unloaded the ball easily and quickly, then volleyed and hit the goal directly before Mangala returned to his defensive position.

When Joe Hart faced Coutinho's volley in the penalty area and made a save, it was too late.

And Liverpool, which scored the first goal and took the lead, explained to all fans who followed the game that Liverpool is not afraid of Manchester City today. Manchester City's occasional victory at the beginning of the season cannot become Liverpool's nemesis.

After falling behind, Manchester City also began to try to put more power into the offensive end.

Yaya Toure's offensive position began to move forward, effectively fulfilling the responsibility of delivering the ball to Manchester City's offensive players in the frontcourt.

And the point that Manchester City really creates the biggest threat is still David Silva.

Its excellent vision and observation of the situation on the field can always find Liverpool's defensive weaknesses on the field immediately.

When he ran out of opportunities, Manchester City players would always pass the ball to him without hesitation, and use Silva as a turning point to continue to find Dzeko or Aguero.

It's just that Silva flickered in front of the penalty area, creating a threatening pass opportunity to Liverpool's penalty area, but it could not be transformed into a sufficiently threatening goal.

Liverpool's defense has done quite well.

Yang Feng has always devoted himself to Aguero's marking.

Aguero's running position does not form a direct advantage in front of Yang Feng. On the contrary, Yang Feng can always "catch" Aguero and use a more dominant physical confrontation to force Aguero to leave a threatening offensive position. .

Manchester City's offense has a feeling of light thunder but no rain.

The attack was huge, but after the last pass was completed, there was no good chance to convert it into a threatening goal.

Yang Feng has become a key point to integrate Liverpool's defense. It not only limits Aguero's personal offense, but also directs the overall Liverpool defense system, limiting Manchester City's offensive space in Liverpool's hinterland.

The number one central defender in the Premier League, Yang Feng is now less and less controversial.

And Kompany, who came back from the opposite line of fire this time, has always been Manchester City's defensive iron gate, and he is the most reassuring player in Manchester City's defense.

Before he was often troubled by injuries, he was also one of Yang Feng's competitors for the title of the best central defender in the Premier League.

But now, Yang Feng has gradually surpassed other central defenders with his steady performance all the year round, as well as his excellent offensive and defensive performances, and has become the best defender in the Premier League and even European football, not even one of them.

The title of the Premier League's number one central defender sometimes requires direct confrontation between players to determine victory or defeat.

Today, the coaches of the two sides gave them a chance to "fairly compete" in terms of defensive positions and man-to-man selection for set-pieces.

No matter which team's corner kicks or set kicks, Yang Feng and Kompany are "like glue" and inseparable. Their physical confrontation, pushing and blocking, all add an eye-catching point to this kind of game.

After 34 minutes of the game, the confrontation between the defenders of the two sides was completely detonated.

Liverpool's corner kick opportunity, this time, Liverpool invested many players and came to Manchester City's penalty area to compete.

And Coutinho, who took the corner kick, was giving a secret sign to his teammates.

This time, he continued to look for Yang Feng, but this time he chose the rear area, which Yang Feng was "least good at".

Yang Feng's ability to compete for set-pieces at the front point is an efficient scoring area that Yang Feng has maintained since his debut.

Now it has become a point where every team will never give up space when defending Yang Feng's set-piece attack.

Although the middle lane is the most threatening, it is also the most densely populated situation. Under the defense of a top central defender like Kompany, coupled with the interference of other miscellaneous personnel, it will have a great impact on Yang Feng's fight for the top.

So, this time, Coutinho made a gesture to choose the position of the back point.

Yang Feng ran forward first, and after attracting the attention of Kompany and other defenders, he suddenly changed direction and turned to the rear area.

Although some Manchester City players were swayed by Yang Feng, for Kompany, it is still possible to keep following Yang Feng. Yang Feng’s simple fake action can deceive Kompany’s attention, but it cannot make Kompany directly lost his defensive position.

However, Kompany was still half a step behind Yang Feng.

Even if this half-step does not affect Kompany's defense pressure, Yang Feng still takes the first step.

Then in the air, Yang Feng took the lead in making physical contact with Kompany, limiting Kompany's take-off height.

In the live TV broadcast, it seemed that Yang Feng "overwhelmed" Kompany, occupying an absolutely dominant take-off height. Then, Yang Feng forced his waist and abdomen in the air, stabilized his figure, and completed a powerful head-shaking attack.

Joe Hart's strenuous side attack this time only served as a backdrop for Yang Feng's wonderful header to the upper left corner of the goal.

2 to 0!

In the direct dialogue with Kompany, Yang Feng won directly and completed a header over Kompany's head to help Liverpool expand the score.

One victory was not enough. Two minutes later, Manchester City had another chance to set the ball. Yang Feng overpowered Kompany and took the lead in finding a pass to Kompany with a header.

Before attacking and defending, Kompany was at an absolute disadvantage when facing Yang Feng.

Yang Feng, in the constant direct dialogue, has proved that he is the best central defender in the Premier League...