The first game of the new season is something that any team must pay attention to. If the first game is not played well, it will have a great impact on the team's morale and confidence.

Liverpool will face Chelsea in the third game. Chelsea, who just lost in the Community Shield, must be eager to take revenge. If they don't play well in the previous two games against Chelsea, the subsequent game against Chelsea will be very passive.

On the way to Birmingham, the players on the bus in Liverpool were in different moods. Some players were relaxed and felt that there would be no problem this time when facing opponents who had not lost to six years; while some players were in a little nervous, especially those who had newly joined the summer transfer.

Although players like Worenin, Babel, and Bernardon cannot make it as a starting lineup, most of them can get a few minutes to more than ten minutes of playing time. In such a short time, whether they can perform well is very important to whether they can get the main position in the future, so they are both nervous and excited.

Gerald, Chen Yu, Carragher sat with the head coach. They looked calm and chatted with head coach Benitez in a calm manner.

"Today's game is definitely not easy to play." Benitez still had a face like playing cards, without any expression.

Gerald said: "That's certain. Villa has lost 12 games against us. They have also been brilliant and won the Champions League championship. They will definitely not be able to stand this tone. Now at their home court, there is a high possibility of a comeback."

Carragher said: "Although Villa has not made a lot of signings like Manchester City, Portsmouth and other teams this season, Villa has become more and more stable since O'Neal coached last season, and I think they are not that easy to play."

Chen Yu said: "Petrov, Barry, and Abanglaho are all threats, but maybe O'Neal is our biggest enemy."

Benitez was a little unhappy when Chen Yu said this. He waved his hand and said, "These are not problems. With our strength, we don't need to consider the opponent. As long as we perform normally, the victory will belong to us. If we cannot perform at our level normally, then even if the opponent is a promoted team like Derbyshire and Sunderland, we dare not say that we can definitely win, and the winner is in our own hands."

Tactical Analyst Duff McDonoff said: "Don't look at Aston Villa playing at home in this game, they will definitely not attack easily. O'Neal is very flexible in commanding and fighting. It plays completely differently against teams outside the semi-finals and teams against the semi-finals. I guess they should still fight back against defensively. We must be careful of Abonraho's speed and Karu's high-altitude bombing."

Assistant coach Yesterdam has been Benitez's assistant coach since he was in the Spanish second-tier team Teneferri. The two are direct descendants and friends who have fought side by side for many years. He is more cautious about this game than Benitez. "The league has just begun, and the players have performed well in the warm-up match, but the intensity and atmosphere of the official game are not comparable to that of the warm-up match. The team's condition is actually an unknown, and we must prepare for a hard battle."

"Oh, I've made detailed arrangements."

Benitez landed in the British Isles for three seasons, Champions League, League and Cup championships, but he has never won the opening match in the Premier League in the past three seasons, which made him very confused and unhappy. He almost all his goals were achieved last season. Now he is full of confidence in breaking the curse of this opening, and is determined to win. He did not hear the advice of his assistants and generals, but just responded to it lightly.

When Yesterdam, McDonoff, Chen Yu, Gerald and others saw that Benitez was not interested in this, they stopped talking about this topic. Gerald and his friends began to talk about the upcoming French female singer Alice and Birmingham's "Thetwang" band, while assistant coaches began to talk about Liverpool's houses and the New York stock market.

Liverpool and Birmingham are not far away. At around 10 a.m., Liverpool's luxury bus arrived in Birmingham.

Birmingham is the second largest city in England with a population of more than one million, second only to London. There are two Premier League teams here, one is Birmingham and the other is Aston Villa. In the first game of the season, Aston Villa plays against Liverpool. Birmingham wants to play Chelsea. Even for big cities like Birmingham, this situation is rare. Fans' emotions have been mobilized very early. Birmingham fans wearing blue jerseys and Aston Villa fans in blue and red balls can be seen everywhere in the city. Of course, there are also many Liverpool fans who come to the front.

Birmingham is considered the most rude city in England. Liverpool's new players immediately experienced the rudeness of Birmingham when they came to Birmingham.

"Welcome to die!"

"You bastards, we can't spare you this time!"

"Don't think about taking three points away from here!"

"Pennant! Stupid pig."

...

In addition to the cheers of a small number of Liverpool fans, Liverpool's buses are filled with rude provocations and scoldings from Aston Villa fans.

Most of the Liverpool players are famous stars. After more experience in this kind of scene, everyone is still talking and laughing. There is no expression, only Pennant's expression is a bit ugly.

Pennant turned out to be a Birmingham player. Although he transferred to Liverpool, Aston Villa's fans were still hostile to him. Seeing Pennant sitting in the Big Bus, many Villa's fans were scolding him with his name.

"Fake!"

Pennant was finally scolded and raised his middle finger to the Aston Villa fans outside the window.

Aston Villa fans saw that they were successful and became even more excited. More and more Aston Villa fans pointed their finger at Pennant.

Seeing that Pennant had a tendency to go wild, Gerald quickly came over and advised: "Don't bother with the fans, they just want to anger you."

Chen Yu also smiled and said, "If you are serious with them, you will lose. It is best to pretend that you didn't hear it."

The two big-name figures in the team spoke. Although Pennant was still angry, he could only bear it. He said hatefully: "I must score a goal in today's game and humiliate them well. See if they still shout at that time."

Chen Yu said: "Yes, use the goal to respond to them. At that time, you run more and more to the penalty area and I will pass the ball to you."

Gerald looked at the head coach Benitez and found Benitez frowned. He smiled bitterly and said to Chen Yu: "This should be played according to the coach's tactical arrangement."

Chen Yu then realized that he was talking too casually, and said, "Penant, you have to complete your mission before coming over, don't just think about scoring the goal."

Pennant was not stupid either, and said, "Of course, I must complete my mission, and the goal is mainly yours."

Benitez spoke at this time and said, "Everyone has the task of scoring goals and everyone has the task of defending. Modern football is a whole, but you need to understand when you need to score goals and when you need to defend. Our main task in this game may be offense, but everyone cannot relax their vigilance, and defense must be taken seriously at all times."

Pennant, Chen Yu, Gerald and others all expressed their understanding.

Benitez wanted to say a few more words, and saw that the hotel arrived, and said, "Get out, don't wander around. Aston Villa's fans are not friendly to us. They had a little conflict with Pennant just now. Let's take a break in the hotel. After lunch, we have a short meeting and then go to adapt to the venue."

Liverpool is not far from Birmingham, and many players can come by just driving, and no one plans to go shopping before the game. After getting off the bus, everyone goes back to their rooms in a regular manner and waits for dinner and meetings.

The players were all resting, but Benitez could not be idle. As usual, he wanted to hold a press conference to let the rememberers have something to write about and let the fans know about Liverpool's dynamics.

Originally, Benitez planned to bring Chen Yu with her. Chen Yu was the most popular and fans and reporters were anxious to see him, but Benitez considered it and decided to bring a more steady Gerald to the press conference.

Liverpool came to Birmingham on a bus and had a conflict with the home team fans in the middle. Liverpool fans and reporters who came to watch the game did not get the opportunity to contact Liverpool players and coaches. Benitez's press conference attracted a lot of fans and reporters.

Benitez attended many press conferences. He knew what fans and reporters wanted to hear the most, that is Liverpool's starting lineup and the tactical style Liverpool will adopt, but he will not say it all, nor will he not say anything at all. This is the skill of a head coach dealing with the media. If it is handled well, the team and the media and fans will interact well, and they will benefit each other. If they are not handled well, they may often suffer losses.

Benitez is not as clever as Ferguson in handling this aspect, but not as clumsy as Mourinho. He told reporters and fans that Liverpool's starting lineup and playing style have been formulated, but there are two or three positions that need to be discussed and may not be revealed at the last moment.

Benitez announced the fixed starter. Anyway, almost everyone can guess these things, such as the goalkeeper and the defense line, which has not changed much in a season, and even fools can guess it. Of course, Benitez has no need to hide it. For example, Gerald, Alonso, and forward Chen Yu in the midfield, this must start, and there is no need to hide it, but it is just two midfielders and another forward. This is Liverpool's biggest variable, and this is exactly what Benitez will not disclose.

Although the reporters will ask questions at the press conference, they will not ask the bottom line, nor will they make Benitez angry. Their purpose is not to find out Benitez's trump card, but to find some topics to publish in the newspaper. It doesn't matter who they send to those important positions.

Gerald's role in attending the press conference was to meet with fans and reporters and express his determination to win. Gerald was very clear about this and did it very well.
Chapter completed!