striker cool brother

Chapter 688: Get ready for the Champions League
After successfully winning the Club World Cup, Real Madrid has two key battles in February's devilish schedule.

The first leg of the Champions League 1/8 finals against Liverpool,

Madrid derby in the 23rd round of La Liga.

Before that, Real Madrid still had two league games to play, against underdogs Elche and Osasuna.

Ancelotti can make the most of two relatively easy games to rotate players and build confidence to win.

Facing Elche, which is struggling on the edge of relegation, Real Madrid can make substantial rotations to prepare for the Champions League knockout rounds.

Recently, Modric, Kroos and Rudiger, who have been playing continuously, have rested.

While Ancelotti is preparing for the knockout rounds of the Champions League, he is also examining the effects of the young midfielder team.

Ceballos played a key role as an important player in Real Madrid's rotation in the second half.

Not only that, Vinicius, Valverde, and Camavinga continued to score, which added a lot to Real Madrid's frontcourt offense.

And Benzema also ushered in an explosion after experiencing a period of sluggishness.

With a 4-0 victory over Elche, Real Madrid is steadily moving forward on a familiar track.

Three days later, Real Madrid challenged Ossuna, a tough team, away from home.

In order to prepare for the Champions League match against Liverpool, Real Madrid chose a more conservative strategy in the away game.

Give up high pressure and promote defensive counterattacks with a 4-4-2 formation.

Vinicius served as the main offensive direction, attacking Moncayola who temporarily played as a right back.

As Vinicius came to the left, Rossi was naturally moved to the right.

As a right-footed player, he is more suitable for passing from the right.

Vinicius, who came to the left, completely unleashed his impact on the penalty area, posing a threat to the opponent's right defense.

"Father, Vinicius is far more threatening on the left than on the right."

How could Ancelotti not know that right-footed players on the left are more suitable for attacking the penalty area.

But from the beginning, he planned to leave the left wing to Rossi.

Compared to individual combat capabilities, Ancelotti pays more attention to teamwork.

What Rossi can bring to the offensive end is rich tactics and penetration.

Moreover, Rossi's creativity and finishing ability on the left are far stronger than Vinicius.

At the pre-match press conference, the media questioned Vinicius' starting on the left wing because that has always been Rossi's activity area.

Faced with questions from the media, An Pang answered this way.

"I think it's easier to find opportunities when you play in the penalty area. You can score just one touch of the ball, but you can't do that outside the penalty area!"

"I once coached a player who scored over 300 goals, over 200 of them with one touch, and I thought Vinicius could play like him, so I put him on the right The most comfortable area of ​​the foot.”

The player who could score a goal with just one touch, everyone tacitly said "oh".

This is Ancelotti's promotion and encouragement to Vinicius.

But the media didn't know the deeper meaning of An Pang's words.

Rossi has become a player who can score as long as he touches the ball, whether in or outside the penalty area.

Osasuna, playing at home, mainly attacks from the left.

Not only is the core player Abboud active on the left, there is also another factor. Rossi, who does not often participate in defense, is also active in this area.

In order to suppress Real Madrid's advance on the right, Osasuna invested a large amount of troops in the attack, causing Real Madrid's formation to tilt severely to the right, which was not conducive to Vinicius's counterattack on the left.

Coupled with center Butimir's outstanding ability to compete for the ball, Real Madrid's midfielder cannot restrict or interfere with him.

The threat of a high center forward is far beyond the imagination of Real Madrid players.

Real Madrid, who originally planned to defend against counterattacks, tightened the defense on the left, and Rossi had to participate in the task of filling in the ribs. This resulted in the counterattack from the right unable to advance.

After the two wings were restricted, Ancelotti asked center Benzema to come back to participate in the defense.The first is to ensure the integrity of the defense line.

Secondly, once there is an opportunity to counterattack, Benzema can serve as a fulcrum to quickly connect the attacks on both wings.

In the 38th minute, while Real Madrid was defending a corner kick, Benzema headed the ball to clear the ball.

Ceballos, who was outside the penalty area, hung behind the opponent's defense. As soon as Vinicius started, the linesman raised his flag.

Offside!

Two minutes later, in the same position, Ceballos sent a through ball. Vinicius finally did not go offside and ran long distance into the penalty area.

Facing the goalkeeper alone, Vinicius's low shot was blocked by the goalkeeper with his legs and rolled out of the far post. Unfortunately, he missed the goal opportunity.

One offside, one missed goal. In the past, Real Madrid's left wing did not have such problems.

After consulting Rossi on single-handed shooting last season, Vinicius's progress was visible to the naked eye.

But after the World Cup, the Brazilian winger's condition was extremely unstable.

His speed and breakthrough are still sharp, but his running and shooting skills without the ball are back to their original form.

In the first half, Osasuna continued to consume Real Madrid by relying on their courage in attack and active running in defense.

This is very detrimental to Real Madrid, who are about to play in the Champions League.

In the second half, Real Madrid's offensive firepower began to tilt to the right.

Ancelotti must resolve the battle quickly to avoid excessive consumption.

Benzema retreated to the right, and after forming cooperation with Rossi, the attack became smoother and smoother.

In the 75th minute, Real Madrid launched a defensive counterattack.

After Benzema got the ball near the arc of the center circle, he cleverly turned around and sent a through ball.

Rossi successfully countered offside on the wing, strode to the ball, shook off the full-back's defense, and passed the ball to the left.

Vinicius, who frequently missed scoring opportunities in the first half, finally seized this opportunity, paused slightly with his right foot, and followed up with a volley into the near corner of the goal.

Although the goalkeeper attacked to intercept, Rossi's timing and position of the pass were very good, so that the attacking goalkeeper had no time to judge the way and angle of Vinicius's shot.

He could only stand there blankly, watching the ball hit the net.

1: 0!

Real Madrid scored in a familiar time period.

Vinicius, who scored the goal, came to Rossi, knelt down, put Rossi's right foot on his thigh, and then made a shoe-cleaning motion.

This classic celebration highlights the shooter's superb shooting skills.

And Vinicius used the action of cleaning his shoes to tell everyone that Rossi's exquisite passing skills are as good as those superb shooting skills.

Five minutes later, Real Madrid stole the ball in the frontcourt. After getting the ball, Rossi did not take it forward. Instead, he saw the goalkeeper in front and directly lifted his foot towards the goal.

The goalkeeper stretched out his arms during the sudden retreat and jumped to save the ball, but it was a pity that he missed the ball just a little bit.

In the end, they dribbled the ball together and hit the net together.

2: 0!

Real Madrid sealed the victory.

Although they took away three points from the away game, Real Madrid spent a lot of money in this campaign and did not score until the 75th minute.

But there are quite a few gains in tapping into tactics and player potential.

Three days later, they will go to Anfield to challenge their old rival Liverpool.

It is still unclear whether the player's body and condition can reach their optimal level.

(End of this chapter)