i want to be king

Chapter 1023 This is the Champions League final!
"It's been 10 minutes and he hasn't even had a shot. What the hell is he trying to do?"

In front of the Manchester City coaching bench, Estiyat said a little anxiously.

The Manchester City assistant refers to him, of course, referring to the opponent Chelsea's head coach Di Matteo.

The game has been played for half an hour, and as a result, Chelsea didn't even take a shot, which can be said to be outrageous.

Why is this happening?

Because Chelsea is unwilling to invest in the attack, Juan Mata is difficult to launch an attack under the imprisonment of Zabaleta. Lampard is more suppressing Busquets and cannot invest in the attack. As a result, no one in Chelsea's frontcourt can hold the ball and launch an offensive.

As a result, Drogba was isolated and helpless in the frontcourt. In the contest between Pepe and Kompany, he was even more difficult to beat with two fists and four hands.

In fact, even in the peak state, it is difficult for Drogba to take advantage of Pepe and Kompany in one-on-one situations, not to mention that Drogba is no longer at the peak, and it is still a one-on-two.

Since his teammates couldn't pass the ball, and it was difficult for him to take advantage of Pepe and Kompany, Drogba was not stupid. He immediately chose to pull the side and ran to the right side, which is Manchester City's left side, specifically picking Marcelo to bully.

Nima, I can't beat you Pepe and Kompany, can't I bully Marcelo?

More importantly, Marcelo often goes forward, saying that he is a left back, but in fact he is more like a left midfielder, or even a left winger, so Manchester City's left side, which is Chelsea's right side, is basically empty.

Ramirez followed Marcelo forward, so the entire right side was free, and Drogba ran to catch a long pass from his teammate.

But I have to say that the accuracy of Chelsea's long pass is really poor. Even if Drogba can barely catch it, it will be difficult for Chelsea's offense to play a threat because it is too far away from the center.

To put it bluntly, Drogba is not a star with super personal ability like Su Dong, Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo. His advantage has never been in dribbling, so after he is asked to pull out, there is no one around him to respond, and no one to keep up in the middle. How can the attack be effective?
This has created the current situation. Chelsea had zero shots in the first half an hour of the game!

Chelsea's situation is indeed embarrassing, but the situation of Manchester City is not particularly optimistic.

Seven shots, four from long range, and three from inside the penalty area, but none of them posed a threat.

Including Su Dong's two shots, they were all blocked by Chelsea's defenders with their legs or body.

To put it bluntly, Chelsea's current defensive strategy is desperate.

First, iron barrel tactics are used to strictly prevent the defense. If a crack is dug by Manchester City, the defensive player will use his body to block it.

It may be a bit exaggerated to say it, but Gary Cahill had the most eye-blocking times three times, and two of them were blocked by Sudong, which shows how desperate Chelsea's defenders are.

Strictly defending, the soldiers work hard, Chelsea's iron barrel formation also allows Manchester City to pass and control the ball empty, and they have not been able to play a real threat for a long time.

This also made Estiyat look a little annoyed and anxious from the sidelines.

Especially on the court, from time to time there are foul scenes where Chelsea players infringe on Manchester City players, which is even more anxious.

This is actually a very normal tactic, but in this range, no one will be dissatisfied.

……

"Chelsea's defense tonight is more conservative than when they played Bayern in the previous two rounds. The formation is also more meticulous, leaving us with less space and almost no space for us." Guardiola analyzed lightly, without the slightest emotion.

Only those who are familiar with and understand him know that, in fact, what Guardiola said already means that he has some regrets.

Su Dong said before the game that he should not force his opponent to death.

Rabbits bite people when they are in a hurry, not to mention Chelsea is a fierce tiger.

Although old and sick, a tiger is a tiger.

Manchester City pressing Chelsea in this way will only push the Blues even tighter, and finally push them into a monolith.

According to what Su Dong said before the game, a kind of strategic thinking of the Chinese people, what is this called... A division must be lacking.

"Di Matteo is truly an Italian!" Torrent said sarcastically.

Italy also tends to be conservative.

Di Matteo's tactics tonight are indeed very conservative, but very practical.

At least Manchester City has not been able to come up with an effective solution until now, resulting in more than [-]% of the ball possession rate, but has never been able to create a real threat.

"Do you want to adjust now?" Estiyat asked with concern.

Guardiola stared blankly at the game on the field, frowning, and did not answer.

…………

…………

Just like the dignified side of Manchester City's coaching bench, the atmosphere of Chelsea's coaching bench is also not relaxed.

Almost every attack of Manchester City will worry Di Matteo and everyone, because Manchester City has a super scorer like Su Dong in the Manchester City team, who dares to be careless?
Even a slight slack, no matter how inconspicuous a mistake, may be caught by Su Dong and score a goal.

Fortunately, Chelsea's defensive players are very experienced, so so far, they have zero turnovers.

Yes, Chelsea's defensive players, including the midfielders, have not made major defensive mistakes so far, which makes almost every attack of Manchester City seem to be kicking the iron board, making it difficult to form a threat.

But Di Matteo did not dare to be careless.

The initiative is in the hands of Manchester City and in the hands of Guardiola.

Blue Moon has the advantage of passing the ball, has a stronger bench lineup, and has more options. Chelsea can only respond passively, so next, Manchester City may make adjustments at any time.

Di Matteo can't guess what adjustments Guardiola will make next.

For Hazard?
Well, there is such a possibility.

The Belgian winger is completely different from Di Maria. He is shorter and has better dribbling ability. He is more able to create threats and fouls in dense defense, especially fouls.

Su Dong's free kick skills are obvious to all. If Hazard dribbles the ball up to break through the crowd and lure Chelsea's defenders to foul, it will be dangerous. This must be guarded against.

Or put on Aguero to share Su Dong's pressure?

Or, directly become a three-back to further strengthen the offensive?
Di Matteo is quite worried about this.

…………

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Although the two sides had their own thoughts, Manchester City did not make major adjustments to their tactics on the field until the end of the first half.

Guardiola only fine-tuned the local position, but the effect is not particularly obvious.

Shots were nine to zero and Chelsea didn't have a shot on goal in the entire first half.

This surprised everyone, and at the same time took it for granted.

Manchester City's possession rate exceeded [-]%, which can be said to be outrageous, but the score was still zero to zero.

The game was fierce, but also very dull. Both sides attacked and defended. Most of the football time was spent back and forth in Manchester City's midfield. It was difficult to open the situation in the frontcourt, which was very depressing.

But this is the Champions League final!

As long as it can win, no matter what tactic it is, it is a good tactic.

……

When the Manchester City players returned to the locker room, Guardiola and other members of the coaching staff also followed.

The halftime time is precious, and the coaching staff and players are racing against time to prepare.

Guardiola began to summarize some of the team's gains and losses in the first half. He believed that the team's [-]% ball possession rate in the first half seemed to be a lot, but in fact, there was not much time for threatening ball possession, and more of them were in the midfield.

"In the second half, we should withdraw the entire formation and concentrate on the center line."

"Busquets has been disturbed to a certain extent. David Silva and Toni Kroos' position should be back, closer to our fourth position. At the same time, the running position can be more flexible. You don't need to stick to the position. Try to pull out Mikel and Meireles as much as possible."

"In the second half we have to be ready to deal with the threat from the opposition midfield."

Guardiola's words surprised everyone in the locker room, and then they all turned to look at Su Dong.

Su Dong didn't give much reaction, but suggested lightly: "Our wing put a lot of pressure on the opponent in the first half, but I think the opponent's defense should be opened up in the second half, and try to form a one-on-one on the wing, or break through or cut inside, I can handle it."

This proposal was immediately recognized by Guardiola.

In fact, everyone knows that Guardiola is adjusting the team's starting tactics and letting the formation retreat. In fact, he wants to reduce the pressure on Chelsea. This is listening to Su Dong's suggestion before the game, but he refuses to say it clearly.

No one knows whether the Blues will press out and play if they transfer some possessions to Chelsea.

However, after the overall retreat, Manchester City will have more space, especially David Silva and Toni Kroos are further back, which will make Chelsea's defense follow suit, and the space in the frontcourt will be relatively larger.

This is what Su Dong proposed, let the wide players spread out and form a one-on-one as much as possible. Whether it is a bottom pass or an inside cut to cooperate, Su Dong can do it.

There is another very important reason why Manchester City dared to withdraw the midfielder, and that was the long pass from Toni Kroos.

You must know that throughout the first half, under the pressure of Manchester City, Chelsea's long pass success rate was very low. One of the most important points is that Chelsea lacked long pass masters.

But Manchester City is different. Everyone knows how sharp Toni Kroos's long pass is.

Even if they retreat, Manchester City is sure. When necessary, Toni Kroos can pass the ball to the most threatening area at any time, and it is also the weakest area of ​​​​Chelsea's defense.

More importantly, after David Silva and Toni Kroos retreated, with Busquets as the anchor, the two players can move more flexibly, which is bound to embarrass Chelsea's double midfielders.

Follow, the whole formation will definitely become loose; if you don't follow, with the abilities of David Silva and Toni Kroos, once they get the ball, they may pass a good ball to Su Dong and others in front at any time.

This is the adjustment Guardiola made based on Su Dong's suggestion. As for the risk, judging from Chelsea's attitude in the first half, this team never thought about attacking.

In other words, DiMatteo's counterattack is more like a stroke of luck.

(End of this chapter)