super storm

Chapter 836 Benitez's Bottleneck

"Real Madrid intercepted the ball in midfield and quickly launched a counterattack."

"Yang Yang dribbled the ball very fast and immediately entered the 30-meter zone of Manchester United."

"Gary Neville stepped up to stop Yang Yang..."

"One person scored the ball..."

"Beautiful! Yang Yang easily got rid of Gary Neville and continued to drive the ball straight into the penalty area."

"Vidic followed all the way back to the defense and blocked Yang Yang."

"Yang Yang dribbled the ball into the penalty area, Manchester United is in danger!"

"Emergency stop, kickback, lateral incision..."

"Vidic and Fletcher were thrown by him at the same time..."

"Carrick came rushing, tackled..."

"Yang Yang took the first step and kicked the door..."

"ball……"

"Van der Sar!"

"At the critical moment, Van der Sar flew to save the ball as if with divine help!"

"Great Van der Sar, at the critical moment, the Dutch goalkeeper saved Manchester United!"

"We saw that Carrick tackled Yang Yang in the penalty area. Will the referee award a penalty?"

"Real Madrid's players are negotiating, but the referee seems to think that this should not be a penalty, because Carrick did not prevent Yang Yang from kicking the goal. As for the subsequent tripping of Yang Yang, it was because he failed to stop the momentum in time."

"Real Madrid's offensive in the half was very fierce, especially Yang Yang, who seemed to be stimulated by Cristiano Ronaldo, performed quite well."

"Just now this time he dribbled the ball directly from the center line, drove straight in, passed three Manchester United players, and got ahead of Carrick in the penalty area. The kick was very high quality and the angle was very tricky, but Van der Sar flew and saved the ball with one hand."

"It can be said that Yang Yang has done everything a player can do, but it is a pity that he met Van der Sar who was in full form. The Dutch goalkeeper seemed to perform at a super level tonight, with continuous high blocks and low catches, blocking Real Madrid's offensive."

"The first half was very exciting. Both teams played unreservedly, showing the highest level of skills and tactics of the top teams in European football. Thanks to Manchester United's goal in less than 2 minutes, it completely broke the deadlock."

"But Real Madrid will definitely not be satisfied with this result, especially Yang Yang."

"If you only look at performance, he was definitely one of the best players in the first half, especially this time when he single-handedly dribbled the ball for a long distance and went straight to Manchester United's penalty area, almost breaking through Manchester United's goal."

"Judging from the opening performance, Yang Yang did lack some luck tonight. He hit the crossbar once just now, but this time he was saved with one hand by Van der Sar, who played well. Yang Yang's luck tonight is indeed a little bit lacking, but the overall performance is still satisfactory."

"On the other hand, Manchester United was really lucky. They scored with a direct free kick at the beginning of the game. Cristiano Ronaldo was also very active. The Portuguese obviously wanted to compete with Yang Yang."

"Both teams are playing their best form, and the game is also very unrestrained. Neither side has too many reservations, but you come and go and fight against each other. It is indeed very exciting."

"However, relatively speaking, Manchester United still needs to pay more attention. After Real Madrid stabilized the rhythm, they basically controlled the possession of the ball. Several attacks were also quite threatening, especially Yang Yang. This will be quite a test for Manchester United's defense."

…………

…………

The first half ended [-]-[-].

Manchester United temporarily took the lead thanks to a goal from Cristiano Ronaldo less than 2 minutes into the game.

The Bernabéu fans stood up and applauded one after another, cheering for the team.

For Real Madrid, one goal behind is not a disaster, let alone here is the Bernabeu.

Everyone in Real Madrid went back to the dressing room slightly frustrated, everyone was obviously not satisfied with the first half.

Whether it is ball possession, shooting opportunities, pass success rate, or even excellent scoring opportunities, Real Madrid will overwhelm Manchester United, but they are behind zero to one in the score, and Manchester United takes the lead with the opening goal.

The central defender combination of Ferdinand and Vidic, plus Edwin van der Sar, Manchester United's defensive organization is quite good. These three players can be said to be the strongest defensive iron triangle in European football.

The only big weakness is the full-back.

Gary Neville is already old, Evra is strong offensively and weak defensively, coupled with the weak defensive position in the midfield, can only rely on Carrick and Fletcher to support, Manchester United's defense is actually very problematic.

But Real Madrid obviously does not have targeted tactics in this regard.

From the current point of view, Real Madrid is a typical two-sided striker, but Yang Yang and Robben are more likely to cut in. Marcelo on the left is also strong in offense and defense, but Arbeloa on the right is defensive. This also leads to Real Madrid's right.

Yang Yang has a feeling that although Manchester United's defensive weakness is obvious, Real Madrid's offense has not shown any effect. It is completely different from the team's big kills in La Liga. In the Champions League, the defensive pressure they face is even greater, and many problems have been exposed.

For example, Real Madrid's current offensive methods are not rich enough. It is obvious that the left and right sides lack echo.

In other words, both Yang Yang and Robben are fighting on their own.

This is not because Yang Yang and Robben played alone, but because Benitez's tactics restricted them to death.

Sometimes, Yang Yang was thinking, Real Madrid has Sneijder and Harvey Alonso who are outstanding mid-range and long-distance passers, why can't they adopt more long-distance transfers?
For example, when the team launches an offensive on the left, Yang Yang and Marcelo exert pressure at the same time, forcing the opponent to tilt their defensive focus to this side. If they can penetrate, they will penetrate.

Long-distance transfer of the ball is really not considered by many teams because the success rate is too low.

Modern football pays attention to precision, efficiency and stability, and low success rate represents high risk.

But Real Madrid is different. There are medium and long-distance passers like Sneijder and Harvey Alonso. This kind of long-distance transfer is not difficult for Real Madrid, and the success rate is also very high.

Benitez's character does not like risks, so he has not paid much attention to this.

Real Madrid also has transfers, but it is more done through short-distance passes and inversions in the midfield and then re-playing the ball. The efficiency is too low.

After coming to Real Madrid, as the season progressed, Yang Yang had a lot of different feelings.

There was no problem with Benitez's coaching and tactics when he was in Liverpool, but after coming to Real Madrid, Yang Yang gradually felt something that he couldn't feel before.

He even faintly felt that Benitez's stubborn tactics were beginning to limit Real Madrid's offensive ability and encountered a bottleneck.

But what was going on, Yang Yang couldn't tell for the time being.

Perhaps it is because the overall strength of Real Madrid players is stronger.

……

At half-time, Benitez pointed out several problems in the team's first half.

Basically, he is satisfied with the team's overall performance, and the reason for falling behind is indeed a bit of luck.

"Manchester United were overstretched in midfield for most of the first half and it was obvious they were wary of us attacking."

Benitez pointed out the problem very definitely.

There is Yang Yang on the left, Robben on the right, and a Nordic giant Ibrahimovic standing in the middle. I am afraid that any team would have to be afraid and have to step up their defense.

"Manchester United's midfield is not strong at all. Once it shrinks too much, it will be a problem to play the ball in the midfield. This is our opportunity, and their two full-backs will still be the focus of our attack in the game, especially Gary Neville's side. If Fletcher is not always actively returning to defense, we may have already opened the channel from this side."

Benitez analyzed the confrontation situation between the enemy and us in the first half, focusing on explaining how to break through Manchester United's offense.

In addition to the tactical level, when Manchester United's ability to pass and control the ball is not as good as Real Madrid, it still relies more on the players' running coverage to make up for the lack of ball control. So on the surface, the two teams are somewhat evenly matched.

Both teams are facing a bitter battle on the schedule. Manchester United will face Chelsea at home this weekend. This is the top battle of the Premier League this season. Both Manchester United and Chelsea are determined to win.

Real Madrid will usher in a derby against Atletico Madrid on the weekend, which is also a decisive battle that cannot be lost.

It can be said that whether it is Real Madrid or Manchester United, in addition to worrying about the two rounds of the Champions League, they must also consider the weekend league. It is bound to be unable to go all out, but the thickness of Real Madrid's bench is obviously better than Manchester United.

"Gary Neville needless to say, Evra has started all 32 rounds of the Premier League this season, and he has also played seven games in the Champions League. I dare say that the physical fitness of these two players is at the limit. Therefore, we still look for breakthroughs from the two sides in the second half, completely disintegrating Manchester United's defense!"

There is no winter break in the Premier League, so every March is the period when the players' physical fitness is at their limit, and they must grit their teeth to survive.

Yang Yang has played in the Premier League for three years, and Benitez has coached in the Premier League for five years. They know this better than anyone else.

"Everyone." Benitez walked in front of the Real Madrid players. "At the Bernabéu Stadium, it is enough to take away an away goal for the opponent. We must play [-] points in the second half and never give the opponent the slightest chance."

"Especially the closer to the final stage of the game, the greater the chance for us. Manchester United's players are not superior to us in terms of physical fitness or tactical consumption. As long as we make good use of this, we will definitely be able to disintegrate Manchester United's defense."

Benitez's confident words also rekindled the fighting spirit of the players in the locker room.

Including Yang Yang, everyone is full of confidence in Benitez's tactics.

Since he said so, there must be nothing wrong.

(End of this chapter)