After getting past Arnold, Lin Hao quickly hooked the ball back. Wijnaldum was already in position, and, very experiencedly, he didn't try to steal the ball.
Without losing his balance, Lin Hao had to quickly get past him or pass the ball, otherwise he would be surrounded.
A phrase often used by football commentators is, "You've brought too much!"
Actually, the problem is that the player is being brought along for too long. No matter who it is, even Messi, who can dribble past several players in a short time, will eventually lose the opportunity if he is dragged out and brought along for too long.
If Messi is like this, then there's no need to talk about others.
Lin Hao also realized that Liverpool were extremely good at covering for Arnold's gaps.
Lin Hao continued to control the ball quickly, approaching Wijnaldum, and suddenly changed direction to a croquet-like shot. Lin Hao's croquet-like shot was very fast, and Wijnaldum was shaken off. Lin Hao entered the penalty area and directly curled a shot.
Alisson stretched his large body to the extreme, dragging the ball out of bounds with one hand.
Lin Hao clutched his head, unable to believe that it hadn't gone in; he'd been hitting it hard enough.
Alisson also wanted to control the pace, as Arsenal's attack had been a bit too aggressive lately.
After the ball was kicked out, Arsenal's next attack went to the other side. When Lin Hao was on the field, Arsenal showed a distinct style on the left and right flanks.
On the right flank, it's about passing and cutting between teammates, and making diagonal runs into the flanks, etc.
On Lin Hao's side, if Lin Hao goes it alone, at most he'll need Aubameyang and Xhaka, and it has to be one of them.
Arsenal's right-wing attack posed no threat whatsoever. Liverpool's defense, although they conceded a lot of goals, did so because of their ancient heavy metal football style. They can launch counter-attacks, but Liverpool can launch counter-attacks just as easily.
However, they held their ground, and that's a world-class defense. Who dares to say that any other defense is stronger than theirs?
The end result was that a powerful kick to the middle didn't create any real threat.
Liverpool launched another wave of attacks, and Arsenal's defense performed really well today, otherwise the score would have been even higher.
Arsenal's true colors were revealed in this match.
It's clear that they have no strategy whatsoever, and they have no idea what tactics Arsenal is trying to use. All they have is some kind of triangular attack that even the youth academy knows.
On the other side, Lin Hao's team didn't cooperate at all; he was completely working alone.
They can win against weaker teams because Arsenal players are a level above their opponents.
But against Liverpool, they were completely crushed.
Arsenal posed no real threat until the end of the first half. During halftime, the manager gave instructions: "We are clearly not as strong as them. We didn't concede more goals; it was purely luck!"
"Then let's try the left flank. Don't worry about what Lin Hao does. The full-backs should overlap and not do nothing like they did in the first half. The midfielders should support the ball and the center forward should make runs into the box!"
"Lin Hao, if you see an opportunity, try wearing it!"
In the second half, Arsenal's attack shifted more towards the left, but Liverpool made adjustments accordingly.
In the 47th minute of the match, Lin Hao dribbled forward down the left flank and easily beat Arnold with a change of pace, just like crossing the street. When crossing the street, Lin Hao has to watch out for cars, but this was even easier.
Wijnaldum immediately caught up with Lin Hao and lunged forward. Lin Hao also rushed forward and collided with him. After that, Lin Hao knew he couldn't continue moving forward after the collision, so he quickly shoved the ball back, stumbled a bit, and passed the ball to Xhaka who was coming up from the side.
Xhaka dribbled down the flank, and Lin Hao quickly moved towards the halfway line. Lin Hao ran forward all the way into the penalty area, with the defenders following him. Xhaka passed the ball back to the corner of the penalty area, where Kolasinho received the ball, adjusted, and curled a shot.
This was the first time Lin Hao had used off-the-ball movement to create threats for his teammates.
Of course, this was because his teammates accommodated him, especially Xhaka, who shouted for him to move forward.
Otherwise, he wouldn't know. If it's about running towards where there's a threat, Lin Hao knows that; he's born with that knowledge. But this kind of positioning to help teammates create threats is something Lin Hao truly doesn't understand, and he couldn't possibly learn it so quickly. He needs his teammates to remind him.
The shot was blocked by a defender inside the penalty area.
The ball reached Robertson's feet on the left flank. Robertson immediately accelerated and took off running. Arsenal players quickly retreated to defend and were about to catch up. Robertson delivered a left-footed, curving pass to Salah on the right flank. Salah received the ball, cut inside, and shot, the ball accurately falling into the net.
Goal! Liverpool are now 2-0!
This is what happens in a match against Liverpool: you dawdle for ages, while they score in twenty seconds.
This puts immense psychological pressure on the players.
In the 50th minute, Arnold curled a right-footed ball to Mane, who received it and went down the wing of the penalty area before crossing it across the face of goal. Cech quickly made a run down the wing and cleared the ball, which Holding then chipped away.
Lin Hao ran to the landing point, and Henderson bumped into him precisely as the ball fell.
Lin Hao stumbled; he definitely couldn't win against Henderson.
But as soon as Henderson stopped the ball, Lin Hao crashed into him. He never expected Lin Hao to come back and crash into him.
Henderson was also knocked off balance by the impact, and Lin Hao snatched the ball from his feet and quickly moved forward.
This caught the other Liverpool players off guard, causing them to slow down their defensive retreat. Arsenal players then launched a rapid counter-attack, picking up the pace.
Wijnaldum and Fabinho, with their experience, formed a trap for Lin Hao. Everyone was wondering what trick Lin Hao would pull this time, how he would get past them, and whether he could get past these two experts.
Lin Hao surprised everyone once again. Fabinho and Wijnaldum were so focused on defending against Lin Hao's left and right foot movements that they forgot the most basic thing.
Lin Hao changed direction, but his upper body didn't actually move, so neither of them were fooled. However, Lin Hao had already passed the ball to Kolasinho, who was coming up next to him, and then he slipped between the two of them. Kolasinho immediately passed the ball back to him.
That's a huge pass! It's been passed all the way to Van Dijk's feet.
Van Dijk's good fortune came too suddenly. Lin Hao was still speeding over when he hurriedly turned around to protect the ball and passed it to goalkeeper Alisson. However, the pass was a bit too strong and looked more like a shot. Alisson saved the ball.
Now, both players looked frustrated.
Lin Hao slapped his thigh in anger, but said nothing. He couldn't ask his teammates for anything, since he wasn't dressed that well either.
If it weren't for the mistakes made by Liverpool players, they probably wouldn't have even gotten a corner kick.
The corner kick was taken, a short corner. Lin Hao faced Arnold again. Lin Hao was tired, mainly mentally, so he thought of another way.
That's like killing someone by destroying their spirit.
Lin Hao first used the rhythm to get past Arnold, then stopped, waited for Arnold to come over, and then went through it again!
Arnold's eyes were practically bulging out of their sockets with anger!