Mister Legend

Chapter 502 The Turin Derby Irrelevant

On the last weekend at the end of April, the No.30 Serie A rounds were divided into two days. Due to the cup task in the middle of the next week, the Turin team took the lead on Saturday afternoon.

As expected by the outside world, in order to ensure that he can face Inter Milan in the strongest state, Li Moody has indeed made some adjustments in the starting lineup in the league.But even if stars such as Baselli and Bruno Fernandez are sitting on the bench, for Sassuolo, who is playing at home, the strength of the top team in the league is still difficult to compete.

Ninety and ten minutes later, with the first goal of French central defender Issa Diop in Serie A and the icing on the cake of Immobile who came off the bench in the second half, the Red Bulls won a 10-2 away game. Juventus also took all three points, and continued to lead the standings with a four-point advantage, passing the most likely hurdle in the eyes of the outside world.

Four days later, the Turin team, whose full main lineup played against San Siro, adjusted their tactics. In response to Spalletti's usual 4-3-3 formation, Li Moody actually arranged a set of 4-5-1 positions. Vukocevic and Askacivar are two defensive midfielders plus Baselli, whose offensive and defensive tasks are basically equal. These three people have become a powerful barrier for the visiting team in front of the defense line in this game.

The full-backs on both sides are played by Dickman and Boyer respectively, and the desire to advance is not strong. More often, they still stay in their respective positions to help the team control the ball in the midfield area.And when Immobile, who was protruding forward, occasionally retreated to the center circle to participate in the reverse, the formation of the Torino team became a classic 4-6-0, which can be regarded as the ultimate iron barrel formation.

However, this is also a tactic that Li Mudi used under no choice, because the opponent's state is really good, and if he doesn't send out a strong defensive formation, he really doesn't have the confidence to guarantee a clean sheet.

After losing to today's opponents in the No.20 league in five rounds, the Nerazzurri broke out with amazing momentum. Not only did they complete an unbeaten record of 6 wins and 3 draws in Serie A, they basically secured the third place in advance. He also played triumphant songs all the way in the European League.After last week's 4-1 home victory over Chelsea, as long as they can avoid making unforgivable mistakes in the second leg, they can return to the final stage of the Europa League (UEFA Cup) after a lapse of 21 years up.

During the period of two and a half months, the only game they lost was the 0-1 game at the Stadio Olimpico in Turin in the first leg of the Coppa Italia semi-final, and that was also the second time Inter Milan lost this season. The opponent's feet are gone.

Therefore, whether it is from the perspective of striving for more honors, or in order to maintain the team's excellent state in the recent period, Spalletti and his disciples have no reason not to do their best in this game.

So when Li Mudi found out through the FM system that the morale and competitive state of the Inter Milan players were close to full on the second day after the league last week, he quickly made a decision to arrange a defense-oriented team. lineup.And after the game really started, he saw his old player Benassi's performance as if he was suspected of being possessed by the ball king. The Turin coach immediately praised his foresight.

If two defensive midfielders were not placed in the starting lineup at the same time, and Baselli was used to assist from the side, the visiting team's previous 3-4-1-2 formation would not be able to resist the opponent's organizational penetration in the middle, and it would inevitably be There are a lot of gaps in the area at the front of the penalty area, which makes the defense completely exposed to Inter Milan's artillery.

The advantage of the 4-5-1 position is that it can accumulate heavy troops in the midfield, which can not only maintain the advantage in possession of the ball, but also effectively intercept the opponent's pass, so this formation is still very common in the knockout round.And it is not entirely exclusive to weak teams. Some strong teams that mainly play 4-3-3 will often let the two sides recover when they score the first goal or have a clear lead.

贝尼特斯在执教利物浦期间，就是使用从4-5-1阵型演化而来的4-1-4-1取得了优秀的成绩。2005年的伊斯坦布尔之夜，红军在上半场就三球落后的绝境之下，正是在将首发的4-4-2站位改为单前锋战术之后才迎来爆发的。

In that classic battle, the Red Army's midfield defense was handed over to the German veteran Hamann who came off the bench, liberating Xavi Alonso and captain Gerrard, allowing these two world-class stars to devote all their energy Go to the offensive end.In addition, Garcia on the right and Smicer, who switched back and forth between the front midfielder and the left back, also played their respective roles, snatching the fruits of victory from AC Milan, which was at its peak.

Compared with Bei Shuai's set of last-ditch tactics that pay more attention to attack power, Li Moody's 4-5-1 is obviously more defensive than offensive.Two wide midfielders who seldom go forward and three central midfielders who lag behind make the forward Immobile almost completely isolated by the opponent's defense line, and it is difficult to connect with his teammates.

And when the Turin team grabbed the ball, due to the huge gap between the striker and the midfield line, it was impossible for them to counterattack. It can be said that they indirectly gave up all their advantages on the offensive end.

However, there is no way around this. Inter Milan players such as Icardi, Perisic and Benassi are in very good condition. With conventional defensive strength, the probability of conceding goals is still quite high. The Red Bulls won at home in the first round. A one-goal advantage may soon be wiped out.And once the total score is tied, the situation faced by Li Moody's team will be even more difficult under the conditions of disadvantaged weather, people and harmony, so it is understandable to play a little timid away.

Fortunately, with the joining of Glick, the rapid growth of Ascarcibar and the timely comeback of Ranocchia, the Turin team that appeared on the San Siro today has a top-level defense in Serie A. However, they finally withstood Inter Milan's several extremely threatening offensives and maintained the 0-0 score until 10 minutes into the second half.

With nowhere to retreat, Spalletti gave the order for a general attack with the last 10 minutes left in the game. He sent the talented Argentine striker Lautaro Martinez and turned the formation into a 3-3 -2-2, started the last fight.

Li Moody, taking advantage of the gradual decrease in the opponent's backcourt strength, replaced Immobile with Lucas Moura, and began to use the Brazilian's speed to seek the possibility of a counterattack. At the same time, Boyer and Dickman were also conscious. Greatly increased the range of activities and helped Mo La expand the space for activities.It’s just that under the joint marking of the three central defenders Miranda, Skriniar and De Vrij, they still failed to achieve much effect, but at least they still contained part of the energy of the home team and slightly weakened their offensive strength. put in.

Another advantage of the 4-5-1 formation is that no matter how the two full-backs move, it will not damage the team's defensive structure in the middle. With two full-backs supplementing defense, it can create a timely defense for the avant-garde time.

In the end, when the physical condition of the Turin players was on the verge of collapse, the midfield whistle finally sounded. Inter Milan failed to score the goal that dragged the game into overtime, and the total score of the two rounds was 0-1. [-], was blocked from the final of the Coppa Italia.

And Li Moody led the team to the final stage of the domestic cup for the second consecutive year. Last year, they lost to the rivals Juventus in the same city and missed the club's first championship since 1993.A year later, the Red Bull got another chance to prove himself, but the opponent changed.

24 hours later, the opponent they will face in the final was officially announced. Naples defeated Roma 3-1 at home and qualified for the Coppa Italia with a total score of 5-3.The time for the final was set for May 5 at the Stadio Olimpico in Rome.

Coincidentally, both teams have won the tournament five times before, and the result of this year's clash will determine who can raise the number of championship titles to the same fourth-most position as Fiorentina and Lazio.

Returning to the category of the league, the tragedy of the Turin team consuming a lot of energy in Milan gave Juventus supporters a glimmer of hope for a comeback, so in the days before the weekend, the forecast red The argument that the bulls are bound to make mistakes is on the rise again.

Regarding this, Li Mudi didn't bother to refute it. He once again resorted to the closed method to block all outside interference from the team.In the case that the rivals in the same city finished the game first and temporarily pulled the point difference back to one point, they used a lineup mixed with multiple rotation players to beat the relegation team with a clean 4-0 at their own doorstep Frosinone shut up the media and fans who bad-mouthed him and his team.

This victory also basically announced that the Turin Derby a week later has become a tasteless existence, even if the Bianconeri can take all three points at home, and they are currently leading in terms of goal difference (a difference of five) , but as long as the Red Bull does not have an accident in the next two rounds, a seven-year Juventus dynasty will collapse.Even if they can win a wave of strong consecutive championships in the next few years, it will be a brand new history.

Fortunately, in the semi-finals of the UEFA Champions League this week, Allegri and his disciples completed the most important task of revenge. With a total score of 3 to 2 in two rounds, they eliminated the team that had defeated themselves for two consecutive years and won the Big Ear Cup. Real Madrid of dreams.After a lapse of 741 days, they broke into the Champions League final again, and their opponent was the La Liga giants who stepped on their own corpses to the top of Europe four years ago-Barcelona.

The victory against Real Madrid also allowed Ronaldo to prove how wrong Lafayette made the decision to sell him last summer. At the same time, the Portuguese also proved that he is still the best football player in the world , He has not given up his last hope of hitting the champion.

The victory of this round of duel has plunged half of Turin into a semi-crazy state. Although Juventus's league supremacy is very likely to be ended, relatively speaking, in the minds of most people, it is naturally the champion of the Champions League. The status is higher.

Especially since they have already regarded winning the Serie A championship as a habitual behavior like drinking water and eating. Even if they encounter a small setback occasionally, they have absolute confidence in being able to put it back under their control immediately.But the Champions League is completely different. It is a thorn deeply buried in the heart of the overlord of Serie A. Pulling it out as soon as possible is the most important goal of all Juventus people year after year. This year, they finally ushered in another absolute victory. good opportunity.

Juventus is the giant team with the worst performance in the Champions League. There is no doubt about it. The history of winning the championship twice before is only tied with Benfica and Porto, and even Real Madrid is not even a fraction. .

At the same time, their bad luck in this event is also well known.The experience of being runner-up seven times made them the biggest losers in the history of the Champions League, and they acted as the number one witnesses of major historical events almost every time.

For example, in 1973, it was given to Ajax for three consecutive championships, and was awarded the title of adult beauty; in 1983, the Hamburg team won the only big ear cup in team history. Going to the top of Europe, and that was the only time the Hornet reached the top. Juventus was properly promoted to the number one benevolent person; in 1997, he helped Real Madrid regain their former kingly spirit, and then started the five-year triple crown dominance; entered the 1998 Centuries later, he selflessly helped AC Milan return to the top... After such statistics, even the old lady's heart, which has been through many vicissitudes and has been hardened by experience, inevitably aches and unbearably.

It is precisely because they want to avenge their shame and overthrow the team's previous image of losers in European football that Juventus took out a rare big gamble last summer, with a total investment of more than 3 million euros. Funds signed Ronaldo, who is already 33 years old, in order to rely on the latter's king DNA in the Champions League to be able to rise once or more.

In the minds of the people inside the club, the Champions League is the first goal. As long as they can win the Big Ear Cup, even if they lose all other honors, it is acceptable.So when the news came that the team eliminated Real Madrid, the three-time champion in a row, and advanced to the Wanda Metropolitano Stadium in Madrid, Juventus supporters instantly forgot how bad it was that the Coppa Italia was blocked from the semi-finals and the hope of the league championship was slim. They performed well, and they all devoted themselves to the celebration and anticipation of the final.

It is under this mentality that the importance of the Turin Derby on May 5 has shown a downward trend under the premise that it is not too big.Although the head coaches and players of both sides have emphasized before the game that they will do their best to win, the home team wants to retain the hope of winning the championship, and the visiting team hopes to lock in the championship in advance, but in the comments from the outside world, most of them regard this game as a victory. It's irrelevant.I think that even if Juventus has a high chance of winning at home, the possibility of completing a counterattack in the standings is very weak.

Some people even claim that as long as the Bianconeri can avoid the situation where the rivals in the same city are crowned league champions in advance at their home court, that is, they are defeated by their opponents, it is acceptable, and their attention should start to prepare for the Champions League final after more than 20 days. .

Among these arguments, the 201st Turin Derby officially kicked off.

(End of this chapter)