Chapter 259: Hat-trick, Kingly Celebration—Who is the Real King of Anfield?
Liverpool fans sighed, and Manchester City fans also felt emotional.
Anfield is indeed impressive, as expected from a prestigious club.
There is probably no other team in the entire Premier League that can compete so closely with Manchester City in an attacking match like Liverpool!
At the end of the first half, with a one-goal lead, Manchester City returned to the locker room.
Before leaving, Lin Quan specially glanced at the Liverpool fans at Anfield.
After singing for half an hour, the Reds fans seemed tired.
Compared to the beginning of the game, Anfield had quieted down a lot! Yes! This is good! In the home team's locker room, Liverpool's coach Rodgers was passionately motivating his players.
In fact, there was no need for many words; just saying "This is Anfield" could instantly ignite the fighting spirit of Liverpool players.
Especially for Liverpool captain Gerrard, who valued Liverpool's honor and dignity above all else.
Meanwhile, in the away team's locker room, Pellegrini was also giving his final pep talk.
"Lin, how does it feel to play at Anfield?"
"Awesome!"
"Want to score another to complete a hat-trick?"
"Of course!"
Pellegrini was very satisfied with Lin Quan's answer, then turned to Aguero.
"Aguero, how does it feel to silence Liverpool fans with a goal?"
Aguero straightened his chest and proudly said, "Very good!"
"Haha, then score another one to shut them up forever!"
"Hehe, with pleasure!"
Pellegrini talked to each player individually, boosting their morale in different ways.
When they came out of the locker room, the fighting spirit of the Manchester City players was like the blazing sun, too dazzling to look at.
On the other side, the Liverpool players seemed to be burning with the flames of revenge, boiling hot.
Clearly, both teams would continue their offensive tactics in the second half; neither would retreat a step!
In the stands, Arsenal's coach Wenger was present to closely watch this top-of-the-table clash.
His team was about to face Manchester City in the FA Cup semi-final, the third encounter of the season between the two teams.
Arsenal had one draw and one loss in the previous two matches, and their draw was against Manchester City's reserve lineup, which was not very telling.
Therefore, Wenger planned to observe Manchester City's current form in person, to see if they had any signs of decline due to the intense schedule.
It wouldn't make sense if only Arsenal crumbled at the end of every season while other teams didn't!
This season, Manchester City had no fewer matches than Arsenal, and their schedule had been more packed recently, which gave Wenger some hope.
The league title was out of Arsenal's reach this season, but winning the FA Cup would still be nice.
The FA Cup was not as prestigious as the league, but it was much more important than the League Cup.
Arsenal hadn't won a trophy in ten years!
Unlike Liverpool's twenty-year league drought, Arsenal's ten-year drought was a complete trophy drought.
Liverpool hadn't won the league, but they had a Champions League trophy, four League Cups, and three FA Cups.
In contrast, Arsenal had no titles in the league, Champions League, FA Cup, or even the League Cup.
Arsenal couldn't remain titleless forever; if this continued, the team spirit would disintegrate.
So, no matter what, they had to win this season's FA Cup.
"Fight, fight Liverpool to the death!"
Arsenal couldn't compete for the title, so the outcome of this match didn't matter to them.
Wenger's only hope was that Manchester City would exhaust themselves against Liverpool, increasing Arsenal's chances in the FA Cup semi-final in a few days.
As if hearing Wenger's wish, Manchester City and Liverpool played a thrilling second half.
In the 55th minute, Liverpool took advantage of a Manchester City defensive error, with Coutinho scoring again to level the score.
The score was now 3-3!
Manchester City quickly responded!
In the 61st minute, De Bruyne scored directly from a free kick, changing the score to 4-3!
In the 67th minute, Lin Quan's long-range shot succeeded, completing his hat-trick and changing the score to 5-3, extending Manchester City's lead to two goals.
After the goal, Lin Quan repeated the gesture he made at Old Trafford—raising his collar and looking around the stadium, asking Anfield, "Who is the real king?"
This arrogant gesture made the Reds fans boo him loudly! This guy was too arrogant, trying to claim kingship at Anfield! But their boos were powerless in the face of Lin Quan's hat-trick.
Booing couldn't kill an opponent, but goals could!
Compared to the angry Liverpool fans, Manchester City fans were ecstatic.
"King Lin is so domineering!"
"Haha, I love King Lin's hat-trick celebration!"
"Let's name King Lin's celebration move!"
"How about 'King Celebration'?"
"Doesn't sound good, Ronaldo's is called 'SIU', King Lin's should just be 'King'!"
"Why is it called 'King Celebration'? What's the story behind it?"
"Because Cantona used this celebration, and Cantona's nickname was 'The King'!"
"Haha, Cantona probably never imagined that King Lin would not only use his celebration but also do it against Manchester United!"
"Cantona mentioned this in an interview; he said he wanted to have a good talk with King Lin!"
"Haha, talk about what? Royalties?"
"By the way, did you notice? King Lin seems to use this celebration only after a hat-trick against top teams!"
"It seems so. King Lin has several hat-tricks in the Premier League this season, but apart from the one against Manchester United and this one, he hasn't used such a flamboyant celebration!"
"So, this celebration is reserved for top teams?"
"Counting this Liverpool match, King Lin has now completed hat-tricks at the home grounds of two top teams!"
"Manchester United (get√), Liverpool (get√), next is Chelsea or Arsenal?"
"Gunners fans trembling!"
"Chelsea fans shaking!"
"King Lin, don't come near us!"
As a top-of-the-table clash at the end of the season, many people watched this match.
Besides the 50,000 fans at the stadium, hundreds of millions watched the game on TV and online.
Although this number wasn't as high as the 1 billion viewers for the Manchester United vs. Arsenal match in the 07-08 season, it was still a very good rating in recent Premier League seasons.
Especially for a club like Manchester City, with little history and a small global fan base, it was a rare achievement.
Of course, many of these fans were there for Lin Quan.
This included some German fans, some Spanish fans, and a large number of Chinese fans.
If Manchester City didn't have Lin Quan, this viewership would likely be cut in half.
After all, all the major leagues were nearing their end, and in terms of title race excitement, La Liga was more intense and exciting.
In the final rounds, the top three teams in La Liga were closely matched, all with a chance to win the title.
So, for fans, this season's La Liga title race was very exciting! In comparison, the Premier League lacked some excitement, as Manchester City's lead was too big.
However, for those who chose to watch this match, it was worth every penny!
In just over sixty minutes, the two teams had already scored eight goals, averaging one goal every eight minutes.
This goal-fest thrilled neutral fans!
But Liverpool and Manchester City fans watched in suspense, their emotions like a roller coaster ride.
It wasn't until Manchester City extended their lead that the Blue Moon fans felt relieved.
Can Liverpool Make a Comeback with This Score?
The 5:3 score has nearly shattered the hopes of the Liverpool fans at Anfield.
They finally managed to score a goal, only for Manchester City to respond with two goals in quick succession.
Every glimpse of hope Liverpool got was quickly extinguished by City.
Why is Manchester City so tough?
Even though their players wear blue jerseys, all the Liverpool fans can see is the shadow of the Red Devils.
The teams from Manchester just won't give up. After dealing with Manchester United, now Manchester City has risen!
It's so hard being a Liverpool fan!
Liverpool, the team known for creating miracles in Istanbul, truly has strong resilience.
Most teams, when faced with such a back-and-forth game, would probably lose their spirit and fighting will after repeatedly falling behind.
But not Liverpool!
Under Gerrard's leadership, even when they were two goals behind, they kept attacking Manchester City fiercely.
Suárez, who hadn't scored yet, was very active at this moment.
In the 72nd minute, during a clash with Manchester City defender Zabaleta, tensions exploded.
Suárez had long been annoyed with Manchester City's defenders, and in his anger, he bit Zabaleta's shoulder.
Zabaleta, who was about to return to his defensive position, suddenly felt sharp pain in his right shoulder and screamed.
The referee quickly stopped the game, showed Suárez a red card, and sent him off.
Suárez had a history of biting. Last season, he bit Chelsea's defender Ivanović and was banned for 10 matches by the FA.
The referee hadn't noticed his foul in that game, causing much controversy afterward.
Since then, referees officiating Liverpool games had an extra task: keeping an eye on Suárez to prevent him from biting anyone!
Suárez had behaved fairly well after his suspension was lifted this season, without any more serious incidents.
The referees thought he had reformed.
But now, he did it again!
This time, the referee wouldn't miss the foul or go easy on him.
Suárez was unhappy with the decision, arguing and refusing to leave the field.
Gerrard didn't know what had triggered the clash between Suárez and Zabaleta, but seeing Suárez getting a red card, he quickly ran over to calm him down.
"Luis, let it go. Forget today's unpleasantness and go rest!"
That was all he could say.
Suárez was banned for 10 games last time he bit someone; this time, the punishment would likely be heavier.
Suárez already had thoughts of leaving, and another ban would only make him more likely to go.
Gerrard had worked with many players and knew Suárez's talent. He was one of the best forwards in the world!
For Liverpool, Suárez's attacking power was irreplaceable.
If Suárez left, Liverpool's attacking power would inevitably decrease.
This meant that if they couldn't make targeted signings to strengthen the team in the summer, Liverpool's performance could decline next season.
Thinking of this, Gerrard sighed.
Liverpool's performance had finally improved this season, with hopes of winning the championship.
But then, they faced the sudden rise of Manchester City!
Even if they didn't win this season, keeping the current lineup could give them another chance next season.
However, Suárez was about to leave, making it difficult for Liverpool to win the championship again.
As Liverpool's captain for many years, Gerrard felt deep guilt and frustration for not being able to bring even one league trophy to the team.
At 34 years old, Gerrard knew he couldn't continue playing for Liverpool much longer.
Before he retired, his biggest wish was to see Liverpool lift the league trophy again.
But looking at the young faces of Manchester City's players, Gerrard shook his head.
This wish seemed impossible to fulfill.
Without Suárez, Liverpool's attacks weakened significantly, unable to change the score.
Manchester City was satisfied with the result, having scored 5 goals at Anfield, breaking Liverpool's record for the most goals conceded at home in nearly 20 years.
Since Liverpool had previously lost 0-8 to Huddersfield and 1-9 to Birmingham City at home, Manchester City couldn't set a new record for them.
Otherwise, they might have been tempted to try.
In the end, thanks to Lin Quan's hat-trick, Manchester City won the top-of-the-table clash, beating Liverpool 5-3 away.
After this game, Manchester City's lead over Liverpool extended to 10 points. But since Chelsea won their away game this round, they overtook Liverpool to reach second place.
Now, Manchester City leads second place by 9 points. With only four rounds left in the league, they just need one more home victory to basically secure the championship early.
Manchester City is getting closer to their second league title!
While Manchester City was defeating Liverpool and extending their league lead, an interesting event happened in La Liga.
After Manchester City used long-ball tactics to eliminate Barcelona in the Champions League, the BBC praised this tactic and believed it could counter Barcelona.
A La Liga team, believing the BBC's hype, decided to try Manchester City's long-ball tactic in their next match against Barcelona.
Surprisingly, they succeeded. Barcelona's players, having just been beaten by this tactic, panicked when their league opponent used the same strategy.
Their defenders and midfielders, remembering the fear of being dominated by Manchester City, played very hesitantly, neither daring to push forward nor retreat.
As a result, they were defeated 1-0 by the much weaker Granada!
In this final sprint for the title, Barcelona unexpectedly stumbled.
If everyone had lost, it wouldn't be so bad. But Real Madrid won 4-0 at home against Almería, and Atlético Madrid won 2-0 away against Getafe, both gaining crucial points.
Thus, after this round, Barcelona, originally just one point behind Atlético, found themselves 4 points behind.
Even Real Madrid, whom they had beaten in direct encounters before, surpassed them in points to reach second place.
If this point difference remains until the last game, Barcelona will face a very awkward situation:
If they draw or lose at home to Atlético, they will watch their opponent win the championship at their stadium.
But if they beat Atlético, they will hand the league title to Real Madrid, who have a significant goal difference advantage!
Either outcome is unacceptable for Barcelona.
But they had no control over the situation, as they brought it upon themselves by stumbling!
After the match, Barcelona fans, already unhappy with Martino for losing in the Champions League, completely lost patience with him.
In one year, Martino broke several of Barcelona's records:
First time in six years to drop out of the top two in the league, first time in six years to miss the Champions League semi-finals!
The foundation of the Dream Team era was almost squandered by this guy!
Thus, calls for the club to replace the coach grew louder.
After losing the fans' support, Martino's days at Barcelona were numbered.
At the end of this season, even if Martino clings to his position, Barcelona will likely fire him.
But after firing Martino, who will coach Barcelona?
Youth team coach Enrique left, should they bring him back?
Rather than bringing back Enrique, it would be better to bring back the legendary coach Guardiola.
Guardiola had been gone for only two years, and Barcelona fans already missed the glorious four seasons under him.
But Guardiola was doing well at Bayern, leading them to the Champions League semi-finals and soon the final.
Would he come back if asked at this moment?
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