Chapter 257 Su Dong, you are still young!

"This is a completely different Bayern Munich!"

This was the evaluation of Bayern Munich's 15 minutes into the game by former star Oliver Bierhoff, who was responsible for commentating the first leg of the Champions League round of 16 knockout match for Germany.

Hitzfeld took off Salihamidzic and let Demichelis start as the team's defensive midfielder.

This sudden move not only completely disrupted Valencia's pre-match deployment, but also made the Bats play very passively at the start of the away game, especially in the frontcourt attack.

In the first fifteen minutes, Valencia found it difficult to organize an effective attack. The ball was difficult to pass through the midfield and reach Su Dong's feet. Even if it was passed to Su Dong's feet, every time he got the ball, Demichelis and Kuffour would immediately attack from the front and back.

Close pressing and creating local numerical advantage, this is Bayern Munich's strategy to restrict Su Dong.

The midfield was suppressed and it was difficult to pass the ball. When Su Dong got the ball, he was trapped in a double-team. Valencia's attack seemed to be stuck in a quagmire.

On the defensive end, Valencia arranged Ayala to mark Makaay, but encountered serious problems.

Bayern Munich's offense does not entirely rely on Makaay.

The first shot of the game was a header from Kuffour, followed by a shot from Ballack.

Obviously, after taking down Salihamidzic, Hitzfeld pinned the team's offense on several players in the team who are good at attacking from the back, but Valencia's defense can still cope with it.

What was really fatal was the 45-degree diagonal pass into the penalty area from the two French full-backs.

Ayala and Marchena had no height advantage when facing Roy Mackay, and they could not gain any advantage in a strength confrontation. Mackay has played for Deportivo La Coruña for a long time and is very familiar with La Liga and Valencia. He could deal with Ayala and Marchena with ease.

The full-back made a 45-degree pass into the penalty area, and Ma Kai got many chances.

The attack in the frontcourt could not find a way out and Su Dong could not get an effective pass; the defense in the backcourt exposed problems, which put Valencia in a very passive situation and the situation was also very positive, as if they might lose the ball at any time.

…

In the 20th minute, Sagnol made a diagonal pass to the penalty area from the right. Marchena failed to get the most advantageous position. Mackay jumped high and headed the ball while being sandwiched between two Valencia central defenders.

Cañizares flew to save the ball, but it was still too late and the ball hit the Valencia goal.

One to zero!

Instantly, the entire Olympic Stadium erupted in cheers! This was Makaay's first header for Bayern Munich! Facing the high center backs in the Bundesliga, Makaay did not seem to have an advantage, but in front of Ayala and Marchena, the Dutch killer once again demonstrated his height advantage. After missing several good opportunities in a row, he finally seized the opportunity to score a goal.

The excited Dutchman flew out of the stadium, across the snow-covered track, and rushed to the front of the Bayern Munich fans.

He made Bayern Munich fans forget about Elber!

The whole stadium was filled with the shouts of Makaay, that was the cheers from Bayern Munich fans!

…

Watching Ma Kai score the goal, Su Dong felt very uncomfortable.

Unconsciously, he was comparing himself to Ma Kai.

Last season, Makaay scored 29 goals in La Liga and was the top scorer in La Liga. At the same time, he transferred to Bayern Munich at a high price. In the past few years, Makaay has played a total of 202 La Liga games, scored 100 goals, and scored a goal every two games.

Su Dong's goal efficiency is higher than that of Ma Kai.

In his La Liga debut season, Su Dong scored 27 goals in the first 25 rounds. This goal efficiency is so amazing that many people believe that Su Dong's efficiency is far better than that of Makaay.

But tonight, on the court, Ma Kai took the lead and hit Su Dong with a sneak attack.

This seemed like a demonstration, telling Su Dong: Young man, you are still young!

…

"From the current perspective, in the competition for top scorer, Ma Kai is indeed more mature than Su Dong and he seizes opportunities better."

Bierhoff, who was in charge of the TV commentary, commented on Makaay's goal.

"Of course, we also need to see that the passivity of the entire Valencia team is the reason for Su Dong's poor performance. Benítez was suppressed by Hitzfeld in the starting tactics. If the situation continues to develop at the same pace just now, Valencia is likely to concede another goal, and the scorer is likely to be Makaay again."

"Now is the time to test Su Dong's quality!"

“No matter how much you are praised by the media and fans on weekdays, it is not as valuable as saving the team at a critical moment.”

"Valencia needs someone to step up and give confidence to the team and the players."

"Can Su Dong do it?"

"I believe that at this moment, many scouts and even senior executives of European top teams are waiting for the answer."

…

The two teams fought fiercely.

Valencia players tried to find a way to break through Bayern Munich's pressure on the field, but it was difficult to do so.

The three midfielders composed of Demichelis, Ballack and Hargreaves were very able to run and defend very hard, which completely suppressed Valencia's midfield. Canobbio, who replaced Aimar, did not even perform well and was intercepted several times when he got the ball.

Su Dong was waiting in front for his teammates to pass the ball, but seeing that it was difficult to pass the ball through the midfield, he became anxious.

When he saw that the midfielder couldn't pass the ball, he simply ran back and raised his hands to ask for the ball.

Baraha quickly made a straight pass and the ball came to Su Dong's feet.

Ballack returned to Su Dong and tried to block him.

But after Su Dong got the ball, he shook his body and directly passed Ballack. He quickly accelerated, left the German midfield behind him, and headed straight for the penalty area with the ball.

Demichelis immediately rushed behind Barak to assist and try to stop Su Dong.

But Su Dong increased his speed, and after dribbling the ball close to Demichelis, he flexibly pulled the ball with his foot and turned to get rid of Demichelis. In one smooth move, he left Demichelis behind.

"Marseille turn!!"

"Su Dong performed a beautiful Marseille turn!"

The fans in the stadium also made sounds mixed with fear and amazement.

But after getting rid of Ballack and Demichelis in succession, Sudon was blocked by Robert Kovac outside the penalty area.

As soon as the person stopped, people immediately surrounded him.

The latest novel is published first on Liu9shuba!

Four Bayern Munich defenders surrounded Su Dong outside the penalty area, but Su Dong still dodged and protected the ball and quickly passed it back to Canobio.

The ball was not lost, but the offensive opportunity was gone! The two wonderful escape attempts before were in vain.

"Su Dong's performance was very beautiful, but unfortunately, Bayern Munich deployed a large number of troops in the midfield and backcourt, especially to defend him."

"This 19-year-old player is really amazing. Not only does he have a giant-like body and strength, but he also has flexibility and speed that are totally incompatible with his body, as well as dazzling footwork."

“It’s really subversive!”

After seeing Su Dong's performance, Bierhoff also praised it.

But unfortunately, the performance ultimately failed to translate into goals.

Valencia struggled in the second half of the first half and finally kept the score of 0-1 until the end of the first half.

…

The players returned to the visiting team's locker room one after another.

It can be clearly seen that the Valencia players all look helpless and depressed.

It’s not that they didn’t work hard, but that they were suppressed tactically.

This is extremely rare. Benítez was suppressed by his opponent on the tactical level. It can be seen that Hitzfeld is also a tactical master and made subversive changes in his home game.

Or, to put it simply, Hitzfeld lowered his profile, disregarded the face of the top team, and faced Valencia in his home court with a conservative attitude.

This is indeed surprising.

Before the game, Benítez and Valencia's players felt that Bayern Munich should actively strive for victory at home.

Unexpectedly, Hitzfeld did want to win, but not in the way they imagined.

Shortly after the team returned to the locker room, Benítez and Jestedan also came in.

Behind them followed another player, Mista.

Seeing Mista come in, everyone in the locker room clearly guessed that the team was going to make a substitution during the halftime break.

Many people turned their eyes to Canobbio.

The Uruguayan midfielder has had many opportunities this season, but unfortunately, he has not been able to show his due strength.

Benítez once let him play on the left and also in the middle, but his performance was not ideal.

Tonight, he replaced Aimar as the attacking midfielder. As a result, under the suppression of Bayern Munich's three midfielders, the Uruguayan midfielder was sleepwalking throughout almost the entire first half, failing to put up any eye-catching performance, and even forced Su Dong to run back to ask for the ball.

Sure enough, Benítez announced a substitution, Mista replaced Canobbio.

"Su, you've seen that Bayern Munich's defense is targeting you. I hope you can avoid their entanglement for the time being. Let Mista go up and be at the front, and you connect the front line and midfield behind him. At the same time, make sure to get in behind."

Benítez's strategy is very simple. Since Bayern Munich is focusing on Su Dong, he will withdraw Su Dong away from Bayern Munich's key defense area, and then use his speed and sense of smell to create threats from behind.

Judging from the previous few games this season, Su Dong is also effective as a number nine and a half.

There are even many passes that have the feeling of an attacking midfielder, which is really admirable.

At the same time, Benítez also asked the team to strengthen the control of the midfield, not to be in a hurry, and try to control the ball and the rhythm, because Bayern Munich used three midfielders, the defense was enough, but the control declined.

On the contrary, Valencia fought too hard and too fast with the opponent in the first half, lost control, and thus lost the advantage in the midfield.

On the defensive end, Benítez hopes that the two wingers can actively return to defense and suppress the two French full-backs of the opponent.

"At least, don't let them make random passes into the penalty area to find Makaay and Pizarro!"

This was the response that Benítez made to Hitzfeld based on the situation in the first half.

(End of this chapter)