Neville, Carra, and Gerrard chatted in the studio during halftime.
Carra was confident that Liverpool would definitely win the match.
"I predicted a 2-0 scoreline; it’s already half accomplished at 1-0."
Neville, on the other hand, mischievously thought Carra’s prediction was too conservative.
"I still insist on a 3-0 viewpoint. Milner’s beautiful free kick in the first half was just a small appetizer. Firmino, Philippe Coutinho, Lallana—those players who can score haven’t unleashed their power yet. Scoring two more goals isn’t an issue!"
"After all, standing in front of Manchester City’s goal is Caballero!"
Neville then turned to Gerrard and asked: "Stephen, you predicted a 2-1 scoreline! I’m actually curious, who do you think from Manchester City can score? Is it Iheanacho? He’s already missed two opportunities, it’s simply a repeat of Bony’s disastrous performance against Southampton last round. I can’t see any space for improvement for this kid in the second half!"
Gerrard pondered for a long time, then said: "Actually, through the first half, Manchester City created two great chances. We can see there’s no problem with their transition from defense to attack. Toure and Tang Long are in great form. The key issue is the weak forward line."
"Liverpool’s crucial point now in the second half is to contain Tang Long. In the first five rounds, he scored two goals; his ability to score cannot be underestimated."
But Gerrard’s statement didn’t convince Neville and Carra.
"Tang is essentially still a midfielder. Without a top forward like Agüero in front to create space with movement, facing Liverpool’s tall defenders, he can’t have any space for shooting!"
In the second half, the visiting team kicks off.
Iheanacho lightly rolls the ball forward, Tang Long passes back to Yaya Toure with one touch, and Manchester City’s formation begins to spread out.
With keen eyes, Gerrard immediately noticed a change at Manchester City.
First, after Tang Long made the back pass, he didn’t move backward but followed Iheanacho’s steps forward, unknowingly reaching the forward position.
Secondly, Manchester City made an adjustment in formation, changing from the initial 4231 to a 442!
Manchester City formation change: 4231——442
Nasri/Yaya Toure/Fernando/Navas
Klichy/Demichelis/Ranocchia/Sagna
Regarding Manchester City substituting Sterling for the French player Nasri during halftime, Gerrard provided his understanding.
"If Manchester City switches to a 442 formation, then Nasri fits the left position better than Sterling, after all, Nasri is purely a midfielder by origin."
"This is Nasri’s first appearance this season in the Premier League, let’s see how he performs in this match."
Pellegrini was forced to change at halftime, moving Tang Long from the attacking midfield to the forward line.
Manchester City is now driven to the brink.
Firstly losing at home to Southampton, slipping unexpectedly; this time at Anfield, if they lose again, Manchester City will face two consecutive league defeats.
If Manchester United wins, then the point gap between Manchester United and their city rivals will widen to 6 points!
That’s a whole two games’ difference; recovering that sounds not easy.
"We need to score now, Tang, you go to the forward line!"
But Pellegrini will not let Tang Long play as a lone striker.
In his view, Tang Long’s physical attributes are far from sufficient to play as a lone striker in the Premier League, especially since his occasional striker role at Inter Milan was not as a lone striker but with Icardi.
Moreover, Manchester City urgently needs a goal to tie the score and change the situation, so Pellegrini just changed the formation to twin strikers, switching from 4231 to the traditional 442.
Manchester City has played 442 before.
Last season, they often switched between 442 and 4231 formations.
When they played 442, Tang Long’s position was taken by Milner.
Seeing Tang Long pushed up front, Milner, the only player who scored, sneered coldly.
He walked next to Tang Long, deliberately provoking, "Have you played a striker in the Premier League? This position I used to play frequently at Manchester City, do you want grandpa here to teach you how to play the second striker?"
In a 442 formation, two forwards consist of one center forward, and the other acting as a second forward, roaming and pulling around the center forward.
With a height of 1.85 meters, the black forward Iheanacho indisputably dashed to the forefront bridgehead as the pivot, engaging in physical battles with Liverpool’s tall defenders Lovren and Skrtel.
Tang Long’s activity range was much broader, sometimes near Iheanacho, other times pulled to the wing, frequently exploring space through running.
Although he played forward in Serie A, after coming to the Premier League, he realized playing forward here is quite different from in Serie A.
In Serie A, which is primarily defensive, defenders’ sense of space control and the compactness of formations are stronger than in the Premier League.
Although the pace of matches is relatively slow, and the physical pressure after receiving the ball is light, often upon looking up, defensive players have already occupied their positions, leaving little room for passing, breaking through, or shooting.