Melwood training base in Liverpool, UK.

In the dim light of the head coach's office, Benitez and his assistants watched the video of the two-round match between Inter Milan and Manchester United. Each of them had two words written on their faces, solemn.

"Inter Milan's home and away tactics are very targeted, and Gao Han is still high." Benitez praised.

When he was coaching in La Liga, he had a lot of dealing with Gao Han, and the two of them had some friendship, so he still knew Gao Han well and knew how strong this Chinese man had.

"Inter Milan has a strong attack at home and a defensive away game. The tactical elasticity of Inter Milan is very high," said assistant coach Paco Yesterdam.

He is Benitez's assistant coach and an old partner. He has worked together since Benitez coached Trinefe. Later, he arrived in Valencia and then came to Liverpool. The two can be regarded as the best friends who have fought side by side for many years.

"This is also the most difficult thing for Serie A teams. Look at Juventus, AC Milan and Inter Milan now, they are all such teams that are both offensive and defensive, which is very troublesome." Benitez also felt something.

Many fans are happy to say that he defeated AC Milan in the Champions League final, but only he himself knows how thrilling that game was, and to some extent, luck made his victory.

After coaching La Liga teams for a long time, he knows the difficulties of Serie A teams better than anyone else.

Just in the past Champions League quarterfinals knockout match, Liverpool lost to Roma 1-2 away in the away round. After returning to home, he went through a lot of hardships. Finally, Crouch secured the victory and finally eliminated the Red Wolves 1-0.

The total score was 2-2, but Liverpool successfully advanced to the semi-finals with the advantage of away goals.

In the two consecutive rounds of knockout rounds, Benitez really felt unlucky, especially Gao Han.

Of course, he is different from everyone.

Many people think Gao Han is invincible, but as an old opponent, Benitez knows better than anyone else that Gao Han will almost lose in many games, but in the end he survived with on-the-spot command.

It is not that he is invincible, but that he is not easy to defeat.

As a professional football coach, Benitez is happy to challenge such difficulty.

"Gao Han is the person I have ever seen who likes to be careful of details. If you want to defeat him, you cannot tolerate any fancy things. You must have real strength as a foundation, and you must also make enough effort in details."

Benitez's words were unanimously agreed by the assistants around him.

This is also the outside world's evaluation of Gao Han.

"Although it's a home game, we can be ugly on the scene. It doesn't matter. Everyone knows that Inter Milan has a bigger chance of winning than us, and we can even play a little more chaotic, destroying the opponent's rhythm and ball control."

Facing Inter Milan, Liverpool is at an absolute disadvantage in rhythm control and pass control, so Benitez simply did not do it and directly disrupted the rhythm and pass control.

Although he is a little more brutal, this is his best tactic.

"We have to play seven inches when we play snakes. We have to strive for the first goal against Inter Milan at home, but our offensive ability..."

Benitez didn't finish his words, but his meaning was very clear.

Liverpool's offense this season is indeed a problem, or it should be said that since Irving left Liverpool and transferred to Real Madrid, there has been no trusted scorer on Liverpool's forward line.

Currently, Benitez relies on high center Crouch, but this English tall man is obviously not a scoring player.

Whether in the Champions League or the British League, Liverpool's weak offense has long been criticized.

"So, the only thing we can rely on is set pieces."

Benitez said this and looked around the assistant group. "There are two weeks left before the semi-final round. Next, we will focus on practicing defense and set pieces in these two weeks."

"I understand." The assistants agreed in unison.

Everyone can see that Benitez's mind is putting the set ball in the key position of determining the outcome.

The ability to defeat Inter Milan depends on whether their set piece tactics can work.

"If you defend, Inter Milan's trident will be a difficult point."

Benitez pointed to the TV set that had just finished the game video, "You have also seen that Ferdinand alone could not stop Inter Milan's trident, and Manchester United's defense fell apart in front of them."

"And among these three players, Ibrahimovic is the hardest to defend."

The difficulty of the Swedish center forward is already well known in European football. He has the physical and strength confrontation of traditional high center forwards, but he also has very delicate foot skills. What's more serious is that this guy is from Taekwondo and has a very flexible body.

It can be said that Ibrahimovic is the most difficult and weird thing in the past few years in the Champions League.

Of course, his strength and his dominance in the penalty area are beyond doubt.

I believe that every team facing Inter Milan will have a headache about how to defend Ibrahimovic.

"We need one person to freeze Ibrahimovic," said Paco Yesterdam.

Several other assistants around were all embarrassed.

If Ibrahimovic was so easy to defend, he would not have become a headache for all European giant teams.

"How is Hypia? He performed well last night," suggested tactical analyst Duff McDonoff.

Paco Yesterdam looked at Benitez, worried, "Can he take it?"

Benitez shook his head and said, "What you need to defend Ibrahimovic is a protracted battle of ninety minutes. Hypia is already thirty-three years old. I'm afraid he will find it difficult to support it to the end."

In a contest with an opponent like Ibrahimovic, it is decided by the winner in minutes. Haipia is still strong, but he is not young anymore, so it is difficult to maintain his concentration in the ninety-minute game.

"You mean..." Paco Yesterdam guessed Benitez's intention.

"Daniel Ag."

Yesterdam neighed and took a breath, "But he performed very poorly in the quarterfinals knockout round. In the away game against Roma, both goals were inseparable from him."

It was because Ag performed poorly in the round that he sent Shanghai Piya in the second round. As a result, Hypia performed well, but at this time he still had to win Hypia and continue to trust Agia?

If Ag was in the end, it would be fine, but if he performed poorly again, Benitez would definitely take the blame and might even be scolded by fans.

"I know Ag very well. He is not the kind of person who is easily knocked down. He has a strong will and knows how to reflect on himself. I believe he will not be easily defeated because of a game."

As he said this, a hint of sharpness flashed through Benitez's eyes.

He had no choice but to trust Ag.

"That's it. The next two weeks of defensive tactics and set-piece tactics will revolve around Ag. I believe he will not disappoint me."

Yesterdam and others looked at each other, thinking that Benitez was making a big bet.

Choosing Daniel Agh instead of Hepia in better shape is a game that cannot be afforded.

If you lose at Anfield Stadium, Benitez will definitely be responsible for this.

Even if the opponent is the famous Gao Han.

"By the way, this game is also arranged by Cen Deng."

"Zenden?" This time, Yesterdam lost his voice.

Dutchman Cenden joined Liverpool as a free transfer in the summer of 2005. However, after coming to the team, he never showed convincing strength. He was more of a substitute for the team and was a marginal role.

But for such a player, Benitez wants to arrange for him to be in such an important game?

Crazy?

Benitez obviously knew that his choice made his opponents confused, but he also chose some things based on his feelings.

The player Cenden is indeed no longer in his peak state, and he is even a marginal role in Liverpool, but he also has his own advantages. Benitez fell in love with him because he worked very hard and had strong willpower.

Moreover, he has played football in Barcelona and is more stable in major competitions, and he is more at ease in such key games.

But most importantly, Cenden's passes and running positions are the best in Liverpool's team.

"He... can he do it?" Yesterdam was a little suspicious.

He was not suspicious of Cen Deng's strength, but was worried about his condition.

This is a round match in the Champions League semi-finals. Is it okay to reuse such a marginal character?

But Benitez's attitude was very firm and he must arrange for Cenden and said Cenden has the ability to change the game.

“Sometimes, we need an unexpected force to defeat our opponents.”

Yesterdam and others obviously understand Benitez's temper, and they also know that once the Spanish make a decision, it will be difficult for others to change.

"Also, Jose." Benitez looked at the goalkeeper coach, Jose Ochuto Reiner, "Please pay attention to the penalty training for the next two weeks of goalkeeper training."

"Punishment training?"

"Just strengthening your practice, maybe it's useful," Benitez said.

But everyone knew it well that this should be one of his plans.

Even if he can't beat Inter Milan during the entire game, he will still drag the two rounds into a penalty kick.

Benitez's idea is very simple. Set up a game at Anfield Stadium. Not only does Inter Milan, which traps Gao Han, have to win a goal, which will be the key goal that determines the two-leg game.

Therefore, he not only has to carefully select his own lineup, but also carefully prepare his own tactics.

Didn’t Gao Han be the best at details?

Then I will use the most exquisite details to kill Gao Han at Anfield Stadium!

…………

…………

April 24, 2007.

Liverpool Anfield Stadium.

When the game reached the 62nd minute, Liverpool counterattacked. After Centen received the ball in an open space, he turned around and drove forward. Evra accidentally tripped him while defending, and the referee decisively fouled.

Liverpool's frontcourt free kick.

Gerald took the penalty himself, and highs such as Crouch, Carragher and Agre all hit Inter Milan's frontcourt.

When the referee's whistle sounded, Gerald rushed forward, and there was chaos in the penalty area. Crouch and Carragher rushed into the penalty area at the same time, creating the illusion of rushing in and fighting for the high point, which made Inter Milan's defensive players rushed forward.
Chapter completed!