Football giants

Chapter 1078 The goal is scored! !

It is also a football game, the same scene, in the eyes of the head coach and ordinary fans, but two completely different understandings, because what they see is fundamentally different.

Just like the current game, Southampton has not even had a shot from the beginning to the present. After being the first to score at home by Atletico Madrid, Southampton was still pressed by the sheets.

It can be said that this has never happened in Southampton in the past few years.

Everyone knows that since Bielsa's time, Southampton has been best at grabbing the start.

Some people even joked that the Saints just made three big axes in the opening game, and if they held up, they won half of the game.

But in such a critical final, the Saints were so embarrassed by Atletico Madrid. How embarrassing is this for the Saints fans?

In the comments of the fans in the stands, even the audience in front of the TV, and even the TV commentators, the current problems of the Saints are all because they were suppressed by Atletico Madrid.

But in Ancelotti's eyes, is that so?
Obviously not!
In Ancelotti's eyes, being suppressed in the midfield is not a problem at all.

In other words, this is a problem, but it is not the most important and core problem.

What he valued was that the team's front trident did not put enough pressure on the opponent's defense.

As the saying goes, offense is the best defense.

But in tactics, offense does not mean that you press all the players to be called offense.

Southampton has three top scorers in the frontcourt who are among the best in the world in terms of passing, breakthrough and scoring. If one of the three is picked at random, the opponent must use at least two players to defend to be at ease.

That is, what if all three players put enough pressure on the opponent's defense at the same time?
The answer is simple, the midfielder retreats to help!

When the opponent's midfielder goes back to help the defense, the pressure on the own midfielder will be lightened, the operation will be smooth, and the offense will be alive. Is this the truth?
Therefore, after Atletico Madrid scored the first goal, instead of asking the frontcourt players to actively retreat, Ancelotti adjusted the responsibilities of the three players.

From the 30-meter area to the goal, to the front of the penalty area, it is cut into two halves, Messi and Hazard occupy one each.

Breakthrough from the side, penetration inside, penetration through the ribs, and active pulling and running, these are the specialties of Messi and Hazard.

More importantly, once they get the ball, it is basically difficult to lose it, unless the opponent fouls.

In many cases, fouls are often the last weapon of the defensive side, because if you don't foul, you won't be able to defend.

Therefore, after Atletico Madrid scored, although Southampton did not adjust its tactics and did not make a big counterattack, it is very strange that Atletico Madrid committed more fouls in the backcourt.

Of course, all fouls are relatively restrained, not against the ball.

Suarez's activity area is in the penalty area, but it is mainly concentrated in the two corners of the penalty area. Wherever the team focuses on attacking, he will appear on that side to support Messi and Hazard.

The way to respond is also very simple, that is to pull the line of defense.

When Messi or Hazard gets the ball from the side, he leans in. If his teammates cut in the middle, he pulls to the side, or presses forward, taking away Atletico Madrid's defensive players and creating space for his teammates.

If Messi and Hazard are restricted on the wing, then Suarez will withdraw from the penalty area to receive the ball from the midfielder, give up the penalty area, and give Messi and Hazard space to insert into the penalty area.

Not only Suarez, but in the midfield, as long as Pogba and Di Maria seize the opportunity, as soon as the ball goes up and reaches the feet of Messi and Hazard, they will immediately wait for the opportunity.

With the offensive ability of Pogba and Di Maria, it will definitely cause headaches for all opponents.

Not to mention, the two full-backs David Alaba and Danilo on the left and right are also ready to plug in anytime and anywhere to help the wing.

The most terrible thing about Southampton is that the three players in the frontcourt not only cooperate with each other tacitly, but also have very good tactical characteristics. More importantly, they all have extremely strong personal abilities.

They run, do you follow?

Follow up, your defensive position will definitely be affected, even chaotic.

But don't follow, well, if you don't follow, once they get the ball, they can still create a threat, and they can't defend at all.

In this case, whether to follow or not to follow is a difficult problem.

Because of this, Atletico Madrid's entire defense line seems to be defending well on the surface, but in fact it is under tremendous pressure, and every player copes with the opponent tremblingly.

Even if the Saints' frontcourt trident ran like this casually, they all had to be on high alert and prepare for it.

Therefore, on the surface, Southampton's offense is very unfavorable and has been contained.

But in fact, the problem is not that there is no chance to shoot, or that the ball is running smoothly, but that the pressure on the opponent in the frontcourt is not strong enough.

Ancelotti's adjustment is to further increase the threat of Messi and Hazard taking the ball in the frontcourt, and the pressure given to the opponent by the trident in the frontcourt, but the reaction on the scene is not obvious.

Everyone simply saw that Atletico Madrid committed more fouls, and Southampton still didn't have a threatening attack, let alone a shot, but Ancelotti remained as steady as ever, keeping his composure.

This also made Saints fans feel worried, worried that the team would be suppressed by Atletico Madrid in this way.

But only the players on the field and the head coach standing on the sidelines can really understand how dangerous the current situation is.

…………

…………

beep!
A crisp whistle sounded in the choppy stadium.

Looking around, I saw Di Maria fell to the ground, and Ilia Lamendi next to him just got up from the ground.

The referee quickly ran to the scene of the incident, beckoned to Illia Lamendi, and motioned him to go over. His right hand had already been inserted into his chest pocket.

Anyone who has played a football game knows what this action represents.

He is finally going to give the card!
After nearly three and ten minutes, he was finally willing to give the card!

Atlético de Madrid crowded around excitedly, trying to persuade the referee to show mercy, but the referee's attitude was very firm, and he repeatedly emphasized that he had tolerated it enough.

How many times has Iliaramendi fouled?
Can not remember!

Atletico Madrid's fouls are indeed too many. Although they are clean and have no intention of hurting anyone, they are a headache.

Of course, this is part of the tactics of the Sheet Army.

The referee finally gave Illararamendi a yellow card, which was also the first yellow card of the game.

Boos and cheers immediately rang out throughout the Glory Stadium.

The two opposing teams are furious!
Toni Kroos stood at the free throw position without hesitation, raised his head, and looked at his teammates in front of him.

Neymar, Suarez and Messi lined up at the front of the penalty area, which also made Atletico Madrid feel like a formidable enemy.

Because the free kick was positioned to the left, Di Maria and left back David Alaba both came to respond.

This is also a signal to everyone that the Saints' free kick will attack the left.

Atlético Madrid also caught it, so they focused on the left wing.

Everyone knows that such a free kick in the frontcourt, if handled carelessly, may result in a loss of the ball.

Simeone called on the players to be careful on the sidelines, pay attention to the Saints' offense, especially on the right, and be cautious.

But Toni Kroos flicked a free-kick straight down the left flank to David Alaba.

Alaba stopped the ball and moved forward. After catching up, he rushed the ball forward before the defensive player got close, and turned around and cut diagonally to the middle.

Neymar retreated from the front, but did not catch the ball, because Atletico Madrid's right back Montoya was behind him. Therefore, Neymar did not let the ball stay under his feet, directly touched the ball with one foot, and knocked the ball back to David Alaba, who was diagonally inserted in the middle, forming a small-scale two-to-one.

As soon as Alaba received the ball, he dribbled towards Illararamendi.

Atlético de Madrid's entire defensive formation suddenly felt like a formidable enemy, and everyone tensed up, especially Illararamendi, who stared at Alaba without blinking.

But the moment Alaba was about to enter his defense zone, a figure flashed behind him.

I saw Di Maria passing quickly behind Alaba, and Alaba also passed the ball in the direction of Di Maria's sprint.

At this moment, Iliaramendi had a sense of foreboding. After dropping David Alaba, he turned and ran.

Di Maria received a pass from Alaba at the front of the penalty area, but at this time Otamendi also reacted and appeared in the penalty area, trying to intercept Di Maria.

Unexpectedly, Di Maria suddenly crossed the ball.

Otamendi was taken aback because he saw Suarez running from the middle to meet him, with only Jimenez next to him and falling behind, it was difficult to stop Suarez from receiving the ball.

At this moment, Otamendi had no choice at all.

Although he saw Di Maria start to rush towards the left post of the goal, he still chose to run towards Suarez.

Because he knows very well that if he doesn't go to the defense and Suarez kicks directly, it will be a shot.

But it turned out that even if he passed, there was nothing he could do.

As soon as Suarez stopped the ball, without waiting for Otamendi to approach, he directly passed the ball from Otamendi to Di Maria. It turned out to be another small-scale collision with the wall!

Otamendi felt like going crazy for a moment, turned around after a sudden stop, and rushed towards Di Maria quickly.

To say that Otamendi's reaction is not unpleasant, even the goalkeeper Courtois has long been prepared, standing very far to the left, resulting in Di Maria's shot angle is not large.

But Di Maria is left footed!

"Wow...Wow...Di Maria...Di Maria...Di Maria..."

"Messi! Messi!!! Messi!!!"

"GOALLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL!!!!!!!"

"Messi!"

"The ball has been scored!"

"Southampton had a very beautiful free kick. Di Maria made a cross from the front of the goal to the right. Messi followed up and made it overnight, one to one!"

"Nice job, Southampton!"

"Atletico Madrid is hard to defend. Their entire defense line was disrupted by Southampton's penetration!"

"From Alaba and Neymar hitting the wall for the first time on the left side, to Di Maria hitting the wall with Suarez for the second time at the front of the penalty area, Southampton's continuous cooperation in this narrow range has demonstrated the Saints players' delicate foot skills and outstanding personal abilities."

"Atletico Madrid's defense is not tight. Their airtight defensive formation does not leave much space for Southampton's players, but the Saints players have this ability. In this extremely small space, they will continue to cooperate and disintegrate the opponent's defense!"

"It's not that Atletico Madrid is not doing well enough, but that the opponent they are facing is too strong!"

The moment Messi scored a goal, the entire Glory Stadium completely turned into a sea of ​​celebration!

(End of this chapter)