"Liverpool are coming forward now… Xabi Alonso picks it up in midfield… plays it into Kuyt…"
"Kuyt drops off, takes the ball, turns, and slips it through to Yang Yang!"
"Yang Yang accelerates immediately, driving straight at the Wigan back line. They step out to stop him—"
"Oh, that's lovely!"
"Just outside the box, a feint, a quick step-over, and he shifts the ball across the defender—"
"Left foot—"
"GOAL!"
"Goooooaaaal!!!"
"Yang Yang! Yang Yang scores!"
"What a start for Liverpool. Only nine minutes played, and Yang Yang breaks the deadlock against Wigan Athletic!"
Yang Yang was visibly overwhelmed by excitement. He burst away from the pitch, sprinting toward the corner flag before dropping into a knee slide in front of the crowd. The reaction from the home supporters washed over him, loud and unrestrained, and he was completely absorbed in the moment. Leaning back, he caught sight of the Wigan Athletic fans in the stands, their expressions angry yet powerless. There was nothing they could do to stop him.
Liverpool's players quickly surrounded him, rushing over one after another, their faces reflecting the same release of emotion. The team had been under pressure in recent weeks. Sissoko's injury had disrupted Liverpool's midfield balance, forcing changes that were difficult to manage. Yang Yang had been moved to the left side of a 4-4-2, a role that did not suit him. Operating as a wide left midfielder limited his strengths, as he was far more effective closer to the forward line.
For this match, Benítez adjusted the setup. Kuyt was given greater freedom, allowing Yang Yang and Kuyt to rotate and combine more naturally. The impact was immediate. Just nine minutes after kickoff, Yang Yang delivered a goal.
After celebrating with his teammates near the corner, Yang Yang ran toward the technical area to celebrate with head coach Benítez and assistant coach Yesterdam. Benítez spoke to him briefly, telling him to keep playing the same way and encouraging him to continue.
Yang Yang was clearly sending a message through his performance that there was no conflict between him and Benítez.
In previous league matches, his deployment on the left in a 4-4-2 system had fueled media speculation. Reports claimed that Yang Yang was unhappy with the arrangement and was even considering leaving Liverpool. Now, however, it appeared those stories had been nothing more than rumors.
Yang Yang was highly involved throughout the match. After several subdued performances in recent rounds, he was showing sharpness, confidence, and strong form once again.
…
Facts once again underlined just how suffocating Yang Yang's form had become. By the twenty-sixth minute, Liverpool were circulating the ball with confidence through midfield. As the defensive line stepped higher, Steven Gerrard read the movement early and attempted a direct pass over the top, trying to release Yang Yang into the space behind the Wigan Athletic back line.
Wigan's central defender anticipated the danger and shifted across, positioning his body between Yang Yang and the ball. However, with his focus entirely on blocking the run, he misjudged the control. The ball bounced awkwardly off the turf and skipped over his head.
A sharp intake of breath swept through the stands. Yang Yang reacted immediately, adjusting his stride and accelerating toward the loose ball. In an instant, he had broken through, reaching it before any defender could recover.
The goalkeeper charged off his line to close the angle and smother the chance, but Yang Yang was faster. With a controlled touch of his left foot, he nudged the ball past the onrushing keeper and continued his run without breaking stride.
With the goal now unguarded, Yang Yang remained composed and guided the ball calmly into the net.
"Oh, God, Wigan Athletic have made a huge mistake they will regret!"
"Yang Yang took advantage immediately and burst into the penalty area for a one-on-one with the goalkeeper!"
"It's a terrible error, but Yang Yang's reaction speed is unbelievable. It's as if he sensed it before it happened!"
"Beautiful brace from Yang Yang!"
"That's his twelfth Premier League goal of the season!"
"And his fourth brace in the Premier League this campaign!"
...
After Yang Yang completed his brace, Liverpool were firmly in control, holding a two-goal advantage, while Wigan Athletic looked visibly unsettled and short of confidence.
In the fortieth minute, Liverpool struck again in almost the same manner. Steven Gerrard received the ball in midfield, took a steadying touch, and immediately threaded a direct pass between the two centre-backs. Yang Yang had already begun drifting toward the left side of the penalty area, carefully timing his movement to remain onside.
He collected the ball in stride just inside the box, facing the goalkeeper head-on. With open space in front of him, Yang Yang drove forward, forcing the goalkeeper to rush off his line and narrow the angle.
At the final moment, Yang Yang slowed his steps slightly and executed a quick step-over with his right foot, shaping his body as if preparing to shoot. The goalkeeper committed, shifting his weight and dropping toward the anticipated finish.
Yang Yang exploited the reaction immediately. With a controlled touch, he pushed the ball past the goalkeeper on the opposite side, moved around him, and regained possession a step later.
With the goal completely unprotected, Yang Yang remained composed and rolled the ball calmly into the empty net.
3–0.
Two minutes later, Liverpool struck again, this time through sustained pressure down the left flank. Fábio Aurélio advanced into space and opened his body early, driving a low, fast cross across the face of goal before the defence could reorganize.
The ball zipped through the six-yard area. Reading the delivery precisely, Gerrard attacked the near-post channel, stepped across his marker, and met the cross with a controlled first-time finish from close range. The goalkeeper had no opportunity to react.
4–0.
The goal extinguished what little resistance remained. The lead was commanding, the first half ruthless, and the performance released weeks of accumulated pressure. From the bench, Rafael Benítez allowed himself a rare moment of calm. On the pitch, players who had carried the weight of criticism—Yang Yang, Gerrard, and the entire attacking unit—played with visible freedom.
In the stands and the press box, the atmosphere shifted just as decisively. Reporters who had arrived expecting another difficult afternoon found themselves reassessing their assumptions.
Four goals in one half.
Was this really a side supposed to be blunt going forward?
…
…
Liverpool eventually swept aside Wigan Athletic by a 5–0 margin, relying on Yang Yang's hat-trick and one assist to secure a comprehensive victory. The result significantly eased the pressure surrounding the team and helped restore confidence within the club, while also demonstrating that Liverpool were no longer the blunt attacking side many continued to associate with earlier seasons.
Across England, the response was overwhelmingly positive. Media outlets nationwide praised both the emphatic scoreline and the attacking performance, with several commentators suggesting that Liverpool had begun to move beyond the difficulties caused by Sissoko's injury.
Inside the club, however, the atmosphere was far more restrained. Speaking after the match, Rafael Benítez was quick to temper expectations.
"Sometimes, victory and goals can cover up a lot of things," Benítez said. "Both the players and I have to stay sufficiently clear-headed and vigilant. This result does not mean our problems are solved."
His remarks cut through the post-match enthusiasm. Benítez understood clearly that Sissoko's absence had not truly been addressed. The five-goal win was satisfying, but it did not alter the underlying reality. Against opponents with stronger tactical organization and higher overall quality, Liverpool's weaknesses could still be exposed.
With the Premier League and the UEFA Champions League running concurrently, Benítez made it clear that reinforcements would be pursued during the winter transfer window. Solving structural issues, rather than relying on emphatic scorelines, was essential if Liverpool were to compete effectively on both fronts.
Even so, the broader perception was unmistakable. All of the league's top four won their matches in this round, but only Liverpool did so by such a commanding margin. At the centre of it all was Yang Yang, whose three goals and one assist dominated the headlines and established him as the standout figure of the weekend in the British press.
...
...
In midweek came the final round of the UEFA Champions League group stage. With Liverpool having already secured first place in the group, Rafael Benítez travelled to Turkey with a fully rotated lineup. Yang Yang, Steven Gerrard, Xabi Alonso, Jamie Carragher, and Daniel Agger were all left in England. As a result, Liverpool suffered a 2–3 defeat away from home. Veteran players such as Robbie Fowler and Jermaine Pennant performed well despite the loss.
On a December afternoon in the seventeenth round of the Premier League, Liverpool hosted Fulham at Anfield. Benítez kept faith with the 4-4-2, once again pairing Yang Yang and Dirk Kuyt up front.
The first half became a contest of patience. Fulham sat deep, defended aggressively between the lines, and repeatedly crowded the central areas, forcing Liverpool wide and disrupting the rhythm of their attacks. Despite enjoying territorial control, Liverpool struggled to convert possession into clear chances, and the interval arrived with the score still level.
The match shifted soon after the restart. Benítez adjusted Liverpool's positioning to increase the tempo of circulation through midfield, and Fulham suffered a further setback when Papa Bouba Diop was injured while tracking back and had to be replaced. With Fulham's midfield screen weakened, space began to appear between the lines.
In the forty-ninth minute, Liverpool finally made the breakthrough with a move that began deep in their own half. The ball was worked out from the back and switched left to Yang Yang, who had drifted into space near the touchline. Rather than driving forward immediately, he played inside to Alonso, positioned just outside the penalty arc. Without breaking stride, Yang Yang accelerated past Fulham's right-back, attacking the channel behind him.
Alonso read the movement perfectly. After a single touch to set himself, he chipped a delicate return pass over the retreating full-back and the nearest centre-back. Yang Yang met the ball before it dropped, twisting his body forward and striking a first-time volley. Off balance and falling as he made contact, he still directed the shot low toward the far corner. The goalkeeper reacted too late, beaten by both the speed and the placement.
Liverpool led 1–0.
Fulham were given no opportunity to regroup. Five minutes later, Yang Yang dropped slightly deeper to receive possession, turned, and threaded a sharp through pass between the centre-backs. Gerrard surged through the gap, carried the ball into the penalty area, and finished decisively to double the advantage.
In the sixtieth minute, Liverpool struck again from a set piece. Yang Yang delivered an inswinging corner from the left toward the crowded six-yard area. Agger rose first and glanced a header across goal. At the far post, Carragher reacted quickest, stretching to turn the ball over the line from close range to make it 3–0, his first goal for Liverpool in nearly eight years.
The pressure continued without pause. In the sixty-sixth minute, Fábio Aurélio took a quick throw-in on the left, catching Fulham out of shape. Agger again attacked the delivery, nodding the ball into the centre of the box. Unmarked at the near post, Yang Yang responded instantly and powered a close-range header past the goalkeeper to complete his brace and extend the lead to 4–0.
Liverpool continued to attack with confidence and freedom. In the eighty-fifth minute, Yang Yang once more drove at Fulham's defence from the left, using his strength to push beyond his marker before cutting inside just enough to draw defenders toward him. Spotting Gerrard arriving at the edge of the area, Yang Yang squared the ball into his path.
Gerrard struck first time, sending a powerful volley from the front of the penalty area into the net. It was his second goal of the match, and once again the assist came from Yang Yang.
That goal completed the scoring. Yang Yang finished the match with two goals and two assists, while Gerrard matched him with a brace of his own.
After the game, Gerrard joked during his media interview that he would waive Yang Yang's half-year rent in appreciation for the two assists. Yang Yang's reply was brief and characteristically simple.
"Thank you."
Two consecutive 5–0 victories, one away and one at home, finally lifted the weight that had been hanging over the team. At the post-match press conference, Benítez allowed himself a rare smile and said he was very satisfied with the performance.
"I can feel that our team is gradually forming an orderly whole," Benítez said.
Even so, he remained cautious. Benítez reiterated that Liverpool's underlying problems had not disappeared and that the winter transfer window would be crucial in strengthening squad depth and addressing weaknesses in the lineup.
While Liverpool were enjoying consecutive emphatic victories, Mohamed Sissoko's return continued to be delayed. For the time being, however, neither the media nor the supporters seemed concerned. After back-to-back 5–0 wins, Liverpool's resurgence had restored confidence and enthusiasm around the club.
...
A week later, in the eighteenth round of the Premier League, Liverpool travelled away to face Charlton Athletic.
The match began at a frantic tempo, and Liverpool struck almost immediately. Just three minutes in, Charlton defender Luke Young made a costly mistake while attempting to clear his lines. He misjudged the bounce of the ball, allowing it to spill loose near the edge of the penalty area.
Yang Yang reacted first, cutting across the front of the box and laying the ball back into space. Xabi Alonso, who had missed a similar opportunity in the previous round, showed no hesitation this time. He took one touch to set himself and drove a powerful shot from outside the area, sending the ball past the goalkeeper and into the net.
Yang Yang was credited with the assist, his tenth of the league season.
From that moment, Liverpool controlled the rhythm of the game. In the sixty-third minute, Yang Yang was involved again. Receiving the ball on the right side of the attacking third, he drove forward decisively, drawing a defender toward him before slipping a precisely weighted pass into the penalty area. Dirk Kuyt attacked the near-post space and finished low from close range to make it 2–0.
After providing two assists, Yang Yang added a goal of his own in the eighty-second minute. Steve Finnan delivered a diagonal pass from the right, and Yang Yang positioned himself just outside the penalty area. Allowing the ball to drop once, he struck a clean first-time volley. The shot skidded through traffic and found the corner of the goal.
Liverpool were not finished. In the eighty-eighth minute, substitute Peter Crouch rose to meet a cross and headed the ball back across the face of goal. Steven Gerrard followed in and applied the finish from close range to complete the scoring.
Another match brought another emphatic victory. With Liverpool scoring four goals again, the sense of momentum continued to build, not only in the Premier League but across European football as well. Few had expected Liverpool to recover so strongly after the setback caused by Mohamed Sissoko's absence and produce such sustained attacking performances. Three consecutive three plus goals victories, including two away from home, underlined the scale of the resurgence.
Yang Yang's performances in particular drew widespread acclaim. The Premier League's official commentary noted, "Over the last three league rounds, Yang Yang's form has been outstanding. Six goals and five assists have forced Benítez to admit that moving him into the forward line was an exceptionally wise decision." The assessment continued, "Yang Yang covers an enormous area of the pitch and is unstoppable whether operating down the flanks or through the middle."
Although the league season was only just past the halfway point, Yang Yang's numbers spoke for themselves. After eighteen league matches, he had recorded sixteen goals and eleven assists, an extraordinary first half-season return in his debut Premier League campaign.