Chapter 574 Leading the Premier League

The draw rules for the quarter-finals say that teams from the same league will not meet, teams ranked first in each group will not meet, and teams from the same group will not meet, so Liverpool's next opponent can only be the second place in the other seven groups.

But happiness turns to sorrow, Liverpool received bad news. Captain Henderson was found to have a calf muscle strain during the routine post-match check-up by the team doctor, and he will have to rest for at least two weeks. Mane's ankle was also injured.

What made Klopp even more worried was that striker Salah had discomfort in his shoulder. Now three players in the midfield will not be able to play in the next round.

Fortunately, Liverpool's opponent in the next round is Fulham, the current bottom team in the Premier League, and Liverpool will still play at home.

Liverpool has won all four games in recent years. The two sides have faced each other 26 times in the history of the Premier League. Liverpool has the upper hand with 16 wins, 4 draws and 6 losses, including 8 wins, 4 draws and 1 loss at home, so Liverpool has an absolute advantage psychologically.

Therefore, after careful consideration, Klopp determined the lineup for the game. The backcourt personnel are the same as the Champions League group stage lineup, with Alisson still in the goal, and Arnold, Gomez, Van Dijk and Robertson all playing as the main defenders.

In front of them are the double defensive midfielders Fabinho and Wijnaldum, Milner, Shaqiri and Li Qing in the frontcourt, and Firmino as the single striker.

Because the game between Liverpool and Fulham is at 12 noon, and the games of Chelsea, Arsenal and other teams will be played later, so this game of Liverpool has become the focus of countless people.

Liverpool has already made the best start in the Premier League, winning 11 games in a row, successfully breaking the records of Bayern and Roma, but because Paris Saint-Germain defeated Marseille and Lille in succession, its winning streak has been raised to 12 games.

And Paris Saint-Germain will visit Monaco later. With Monaco's recent decline, everyone believes that Paris Saint-Germain's 13th consecutive victory will not be a problem.

Therefore, Klopp thought that he had to win the game against Fulham in this round, so as to create enough pressure on the opponents chasing behind, and at the same time continue to break records.

However, Fulham showed a tenacious fighting spirit in the game, and even played against Liverpool in the game.

However, Liverpool was superior in skills. Li Qing broke the deadlock in the 40th minute of the first half. The opponent scored an offside goal. Liverpool goalkeeper Allison took the opportunity to kick the ball quickly. Arnold sent a precise pass, and Li Qing received the ball and broke into the penalty area with a low shot.

The whole process, from the opponent's offside to Li Qing's goal, Liverpool's blitzkrieg this time took less than ten seconds.

During the halftime break, the coaches of the home and away teams did not make any personnel adjustments. Liverpool continued to expand the score in the 60th minute. Robertson received Li Qing's tactical corner kick and passed it. Shaqiri, who was unguarded, volleyed and expanded the score to 2-0.

Then Klopp saw that the situation was settled, replaced Li Qing with Lallana, replaced Wijnaldum with Keita, and replaced Firmino with Sturridge, and began to slow down the pace of the game.

In the end, Fulham had no intention of fighting again, and Liverpool easily defeated their opponents at home, extending their winning streak at the start of this season to 12 games.

Throughout the game, although Liverpool captain Henderson, Mane and Salah in the forward trident were absent from the game, under the leadership of Li Qing, the whole team still maintained suppression of the opponent.

For most of the game, Liverpool controlled the ball at their feet, and the number of shots was far more than that of the opponent. If it were not for Fulham goalkeeper Rico's heroic performance and five saves, Liverpool would definitely be able to sweep the opponent by a large score.

However, Liverpool and Li Qing's nearly invincible performance in this game continued to lead the Premier League standings, giving the opponents chasing behind them considerable pressure.

In a subsequent game, Chelsea drew with Everton at home. Morata and Hazard both missed good opportunities in the game, but Chelsea still maintained a certain advantage in the standings.

That afternoon, at 4 p.m. local time in England, Manchester City competed with its city rival Manchester United at the Etihad Stadium.

The two teams have played against each other 42 times in the history of the Premier League. Manchester United has a certain advantage in terms of data, whether at home or away.

But today's Manchester United is no longer the omnipotent team in the Ferguson era. Manchester United cannot compare with its city rivals in almost all positions.

But after all, it is a battle in the same city. Both sides want to win the game. From the beginning of the game, the confrontation between the home and away players was very fierce. After many attempts, Manchester City's Bernardo passed the ball back from a long point, and Silva suddenly shot a cold arrow in the small penalty area to score.

Manchester United, who lost a goal first, became more fierce in the confrontation with the opponent, while Manchester City tried to control the game by passing the ball.

Although Manchester United tried to equalize the score, they made too many mistakes. In the 48th minute of the second half, Lingard was intercepted in the midfield. After Aguero and Mahrez hit the wall, they shot and scored in the small penalty area, expanding the score.

At this time, Mourinho sent Lukaku on the field. Although Lukaku made a penalty as soon as he came on the field, Manchester United scored a goal with Martial's penalty.

But in the final moments of the game, Bernardo posed a fatal threat to Manchester United on the field. His pass allowed Gundogan, who had just come on the field, to successfully counter-attack and calmly push the ball into the goal after stopping the ball at the edge of the small penalty area, killing the final suspense of the game.

In the end, Guardiola was more skilled and defeated Mourinho's Manchester United 3-1, without falling behind in the pursuit of Liverpool.

At the same time, in another game, Arsenal played at home with all the main players to face Wolves.

But no one expected that the powerful Arsenal would be taken advantage of by the visiting Wolves and scored a goal first. If it weren't for Mkhitaryan's equalizer at the last moment of the second half, Arsenal would have almost capsized in their home court.

Arsenal's unstable performance at home disappointed the fans.

In this way, only Guardiola's Manchester City can still put some pressure on Klopp's team, and the other teams have begun to show signs of fatigue.

In this situation, the international match day has come again, and the star players of all teams have been called up to the national team and are ready to participate in their respective national team games.

Because Henderson was injured, the Three Lions coach Southgate recruited Liverpool's Li Qing, Lallana, Gomez and Milner to join the team.

Prepare for the upcoming friendly match against Costa Rica, as well as the European Nations League home game against Croatia.