Array football

Chapter 253 Studying Manchester City (15100)

On November 11th, the fifth match day of the Champions League group stage, Manchester City played against Marseille at home. The team had already qualified, and in order to save strength for the next game against Manchester United, Duncan sent a substitute lineup.

As a result, relying on Diego Milito's active fight at the last moment, Manchester City won a chance that was not a chance. Manchester City narrowly beat Marseille 2:1 at home and won four consecutive victories in the group stage.

Chelsea's group fell into a melee, and they lost 1:3 away to Roma in this game.After this round, Chelsea leads with 7 points, but second Bordeaux and third Roma both have 6 points. The next two rounds are life and death battles.

Arsenal is similar to Chelsea. In their group, apart from Fenerbahce being eliminated with 1 point, Porto has 9 points, Arsenal has 8 points, and Dynamo Kiev has 7 points. to elimination.

For Manchester United, they and Villarreal basically locked the top two teams in the group. The other two teams are small teams in Eastern Europe and they are not a threat to them.

For Manchester United and Ferguson, the more important game is to attack Manchester City.

Although the relationship is not bad in private, but in the game, Ferguson still regards Manchester City as the most threatening opponent.

"Yes, the most threatening opponent." In Manchester United's discussion room, Ferguson circled the word "most threatening" and put a bullet point for emphasis.

"Of course, any team has weaknesses, and Manchester City is no exception. And obviously, they are more at a loss when facing weaker teams." Ferguson said: "Actually, this is also normal. Among Manchester City's players, most None of them are English. And a lot of them haven't been playing in the Premier League for long."

"Yes, their Ljungberg and Richards have played in the Premier League for at least seven or eight seasons." First team coach Rene Meulenstin said.

"It doesn't differ from my judgment, Gene." Ferguson glanced at his first-team coach.

Different from the dominant style in the locker room, in the coaching staff, Ferguson is still very willing to discuss and formulate team tactics with his colleagues: "The two people you mentioned are not regular starters of Manchester City. So they can be ignored. m Ke, among Manchester City's main players this season, who is the most qualified for the Premier League?"

Ferguson looks to his assistant coach, Mick Phelan.

"It's Heinze. His Premier League career is only four seasons." Phelan smiled and said, "The funny thing is that we sold this player to Manchester City."

Everyone laughed.

After so many years of ups and downs, Ferguson and his coaching team have experienced countless reversals and counter-reversals. This time they are five points behind Manchester City, which is actually not the worst situation.

"Man City haven't lost this season, only three draws against Aston Villa, West Ham United and Hull City. They have played very well against Arsenal, Liverpool and Chelsea. The ability to control the situation. But when facing the underdogs, they will be tied by simple and rough play." Rene-Mulensteen said.

"It's not about controlling the situation." Ferguson shook his head. As the head coach, he obviously saw it more thoroughly than his assistants: "It's about disrupting the opponent's rhythm!"

Ferguson also analyzed Manchester City, but he came to a very strange conclusion.

A mature team often has its own rhythm.

But the rhythm of Manchester City is actually not obvious.

But Manchester City, with an unobvious rhythm, was able to achieve the largest number of wins in the Premier League and lead the standings.And in the victory, there is no shortage of strong teams such as Chelsea, Arsenal, and Liverpool.

The game against Arsenal can be ignored. Arsenal is facing the enemy with a remnant team, and they are at a disadvantage before they make a shot.

Against Chelsea and Liverpool, Manchester City's ability to disrupt the opponent's rhythm can be seen.Especially in the game against Liverpool, Manchester City successfully cut off the link between Liverpool's midfield and striker, allowing Torres to return without success again and again.

It stands to reason that if this is the case, then Manchester City's overall strength should be second to none.

But it didn't!

When playing against weak teams, Manchester City did not show the strength it should have.

Although Aston Villa ranks very high, ranking fifth.But Aston Villa is a pseudo-strong team. Their style of play is completely that of a small team, very British and traditional.

Not to mention West Ham United and Hull City, the weaker batch.

In addition to the League Cup, Manchester City and West Ham met twice, and the regular time was tied.In the League Cup, the winner was not decided until a penalty shootout.

When facing a strong team, Manchester City showed a strong side when encountering a strong team.

But against weaker teams, Manchester City's performance was not so convincing.

"Why does the state of this team fluctuate so much?" Ferguson asked a question.

The members of the coaching staff expressed their opinions.

They can become members of Ferguson's coaching staff. It is one aspect to be obedient and easy to use, but it is also very important to have unique insights into tactics.

Mick Phelan said: "I have carefully observed that the teams that Manchester City have won either courted their own death, like Bolton. Either they took the initiative to attack, like Tottenham and Liverpool, or they were not as strong as Manchester City on the surface. For example, the disabled Arsenal and Newcastle. The draw with Manchester City, whether it is Hull City or West Ham United, they are all typical English style of play. And this style of play, because it is simple and crude, instead more difficult to interrupt."

As he spoke, Mick Phelan showed a meaningful smile.

In the duel between masters, rhythm is very important.When a team puts the game into its own rhythm, it is often the time for the team to exert its power and defeat the opponent.

On the contrary, if you lose the rhythm, you will encounter failure.

"The technical and tactical level of the Premier League today is getting higher and higher, and various tactics emerge in endlessly. Arsenal play possession, Chelsea play counterattack, and Liverpool play midfield control. Mid-lower teams use long passes. High school is fast. But no matter what, they have their own rhythm!" Phelan added.

"However, Duncan's team does not have their own rhythm. In the game, they are more likely to see their moves. If they encounter a more complicated rhythm, they still have the possibility of dismantling, but if they encounter a simple Rough tactics, they are often helpless."

"Why is that?" asked Genet Meulensteen.

"The reason is simple. Chelsea, Arsenal and Liverpool all want to win, and they all want to beat Manchester City. So during the game, they choose to press the overall formation more, which is convenient for their own rhythm, but at the same time It gave City the opportunity to discover their weaknesses."

"Manchester City's ability to grasp the opponent's weaknesses is quite strong. It has to be said that the players selected by Duncan are very capable of tactical execution. In Barcelona, ​​Toure, who only had defensive ability, was actually developed by Duncan. .Coupled with Silva's organization and passing, the dual-core drive is enough for them to grasp the weaknesses of any team." Mick Phelan said.

Ferguson nodded.

"Manchester City's tactics are a bit like AC Milan's Inzaghi. They are usually quiet, but once they seize the opportunity, they will immediately attack the vitals like a cheetah!"

Everyone nodded, this metaphor is very vivid.

"So what kind of tactics should we develop?" Rene-Mulensteen asked.

Now that so much has been analyzed, it must be implemented in tactics.

"Maybe we can learn from the tactics of the teams that tied Manchester City?"

Mick Phelan turned his puzzled eyes to Ferguson.

(End of this chapter)