Liverpool was kicked off again just after reaching the top, which made Liverpool very angry. In fact, it was more embarrassing. They are the defending champions and the biggest favorite to win the Premier League. They were actually kicked off from the top twice by a group of young boys in a row. How could they have the face to show off in front of fans and reporters?

After the game, Benitez was not satisfied with the team's recent record and believed that the team's performance was not stable enough. Some games that should be won were not defeated, and there were no surprise performances. This year's opponents who competed for the championship were in good shape except for Chelsea. If Liverpool did not show their best form, the task of defending the title this season might become particularly difficult.

The head coach was not satisfied, and the core figures of the team such as Gerald, Carragher, Alonso, Chen Badminton expressed their views to win all the remaining games on the Christmas schedule and strive to regain the top spot again.

In fact, not only Benitez is not satisfied with the team's performance, but fans are not very satisfied with Liverpool's performance. Although Liverpool is only two points less than Arsenal, and has three more points more than Manchester United, which is stronger, the fans are really spoiled by their performance in the second half of last season and the early part of this season. At that time, it was definitely a storm, but now it is stumbled. It is normal for fans to be dissatisfied. However, the statements of Chen Yu, Gerrard and others still satisfy the fans. They have always been very confident in the team, especially after Chen Yu came, they believe that as long as Liverpool can adjust its condition and kill the four sides again is easy.

In the 21st round, Liverpool's opponent is Wigan Athletics, which is a middle-ranked team, but its playing style is very tough. Although its strength is not very strong, any giant team will have a headache when they encounter them.

Liverpool must win this game because Arsenal, Manchester United and Chelsea are not strong in this round, and the possibility of being upset is very low. If Liverpool cannot defeat Wigan Athletics, it will be too passive. On the road to winning the championship, the leaders have many advantages. They have the power to make mistakes, can put psychological pressure on their opponents, and can force the pursuers to change their tactics. Liverpool does not want to be a chaser, especially not wanting to be too much of a gap.

The Christmas schedule is called the Devil schedule because the time between the matches is too close, and it is basically a high-intensity game every three days, which is a harsh test for any team.

Although the opponents of the four giants are not strong in this round, no team can easily defeat their opponents and get three points.

Arsenal only won West Ham United 2:0 at home with Adebayo's 69-second goal and Da Silva's last-minute world wave.

Manchester United beat Birmingham and played very anxiously. Although Tevez helped Manchester United take the lead in the 25th minute of the game, Manchester United failed to score the second goal until the end of the game.

Chelsea's situation was even worse. They conceded a goal away from home and were always passive. They did not equalize the score until the second half, and then were still passive. However, the superstar played a decisive role in the end. In the 82nd minute, Barack's goal scored a valuable three-pointer for Chelsea.

The game between Liverpool and Wigan Athletics was particularly difficult, and the start was not smooth. Facing Wigan Athletics' active pressing and tenacious defense, Liverpool did not have many solutions. In the 50th minute, after Chen Yu scored, since Wigan Athletics did not attack, Liverpool was unable to expand the score. The game was calm and played until 80 minutes. Everyone thought that the game was over 1:0, but they did not expect Wigan Athletics to use a corner kick to equalize the score.

There was not much time left behind, and Liverpool played very impatiently, but he played slowly for so long before the score was tied. After the score was equalized, Liverpool players could not get fast and made frequent mistakes. If it weren't for the counterattack of Wigan Athletics that was too bad, the one who won the game in the end would definitely be Wigan Athletics.

However, due to Wigan Athletic's mentality of being at ease and conservative tactics, Liverpool gave Liverpool the last chance to redeemed. In the 89th minute of the game, Liverpool won consecutive corner kicks. Under Liverpool's repeated impact, Wigan Athletic finally made a fatal mistake. Brambo, who scored an equalizer goal for Wigan Athletic, scored an own goal, allowing Liverpool to unexpectedly overtake the score. It was with this goal that Liverpool escaped from death, defeated Wigan Athletic and continued to chase Arsenal by two points.

Liverpool's performance naturally cannot satisfy the fans. After the game, the media also criticized Liverpool's performance, believing that although it is difficult to win in the semi-finals, whether it is Manchester United, Chelsea, or Arsenal, they all win games with their own goals. If Liverpool was not lucky and their opponent scored an own goal, they might become the only side that failed to win.

The Times believes that Liverpool lacks the sharpness of the second half of last season, and the game is in a tumultuous state. Moreover, because the main players play too many times and their physical fitness is consumed too much. Although there are no injuries for the time being, they are not in the best state. The bigger problem is that Liverpool's substitute level is too poor. It is not yet the final stage of the league. However, the devil schedule of Christmas has exposed Liverpool's problems a lot. If Liverpool cannot strengthen the transfer in the winter, it is really hard to say in the second half.

The Guardian believes that Liverpool's performance is very unstable now. Fortunately, there is Chen Yu's fig leaf. If it weren't for Chen Yu, Liverpool would probably have no hope of winning the championship again.

The Guardian believes that Liverpool's physical fitness, morale, bench, and tactics are all problems. These problems have just surfaced, and the FA Cup will begin later. The Champions League knockout round will also begin in February. At that time, Liverpool will be a more severe test. If Benitez does not plan ahead now, it will be a problem whether it defends the Champions League or the league.

Of course, Benitez is also very clear about his problems. After the window of winter transfer opened, he asked Rick Barry to buy a central defender and a technical midfielder. The central defender is the weakest position in Liverpool now. Only one Hypia is a genuine central defender. However, Hypia has too big problems this year. After he came on the court, Liverpool's defense line did not feel at ease. Therefore, in the winter transfer, Benitez's first thing to strengthen is the central defender.

In this position, Benitez hopes to get Serbian central defender Ivanovic, but because of the competition between Chelsea, Benitez also has two substitutes, one is Czech international Scotter and the other is Manchester City's young defender Richards; the other is Argentina international Aimar. The current Liverpool midfielder is very hard, but lacks technical and creative midfielder. Aimar is Benitez's favorite target. In Benitez's view, if Aimar can come, then Chen Yu can be completely liberated and just score goals.

Benitez knew that the club's economy was a bit tight now, so he was not prepared to buy more people. In Benitez's opinion, there were not many two players. Whether compared with Mourinho or Ferguson now, he was a good coach who was thrifty.

But Benitez still underestimated the club's current economic difficulties. The debt problem made Hicks and Gillette almost rack their brains. Where can I still have money to buy people in the winter transfer market?

Gillette asked Rick Barry to tell Benitez that Liverpool's performance is stable and the lineup is stable. There is no need to buy people in winter transfers. Maybe it is because he is worried that Benitez will be angry. Gillette said that if Benitez really wants to buy people, then start with the existing lineup and use the money from selling players to buy players.

After receiving Rick Barry's reply, Benitez almost turned his nose awkward. He wanted to strengthen the lineup, but he didn't expect that the boss actually asked him to find a way. I remember three weeks ago that Gillette said that Liverpool had funds to buy in the transfer market. Now Benitez understands where the money comes from. It turned out that he was asking him to sell people.

It’s not bad if you sell someone and buy it. However, Benitez, who can sell it at a high price, is still useful, and the useless ones cannot be sold at a high price, and it can’t raise a lot of money at all. The idea that Ji Lie made is simply a bad idea for a cold meal.

Benitez knew that manager Rick Barry had no choice in the transfer market. He could not be said to be a puppet, but he had no money and no power. Moreover, he had many conflicts with Benitez, and both sides wanted to squeeze the other party away.

So Benitez called Hicks and Gillette directly, hoping to get financial support, otherwise he would not be sure to win several championships, and said bluntly that the method of selling people to buy again is not easy to use, because it is equivalent to slashing the east wall and repairing the west wall. It is like not buying it. If you want to defend your title, you must invest money. Now competitive football has entered the era of capital, and you can't get any championship without money.

But Gillette's answer to Benitez was like pouring a basin of cold water on Benitez's head. Gillette said that Liverpool's current economic situation is not good. If they cannot raise funds, they may even sell the club. Even if they finally get a loan, they may sell more players instead of buying more players.

In fact, Gillette is not just talking about it. In his list of sales, players like Alonso, Riser, Crouch, Covell and Volonin are among them. Of course, there is no way to do it. If you are lucky, maybe these people should not be sold. If you are very lucky, you may even sell the club. At the critical moment of life and death, Gillette doesn't care about the team's record. After all, the team's record is to make money for him. If you can't make money, then it doesn't matter what the team's record is.
Chapter completed!