When Neuer restarted the game, Li Shiguang noticed that Sporting Lisbon's players were acting strangely. Instead of all dropping back to midfield, after Neuer passed the ball to Hummels, Jalo and Liedson immediately moved up to challenge them, and the other midfielders also went to defend their respective Leeds United players.
He glanced at Bento sideways.
Li Shiguang sneered inwardly. What did he mean? Trying to play a high-pressing game with me using a 3-5-2 formation? Wasn't he afraid I'd just launch a long pass and tear through his midfield?
When a five-man midfielder plays a high-pressing game, if a player leaves a gap in his marking, the opponent is very likely to break through with a long pass or a precise through ball.
To be honest, Bento was a little scared, but he spent a lot of time studying Leeds United's style of play and Lee Shih-chung's tactical system before the match.
Bento felt he had discovered a problem.
That is, Li Shiguang has never used the long ball and cross style of play that English teams used to love since his debut.
With this concept in mind, before the start of today's match, Bento decided on a tactical strategy of pressing high up the pitch while the players were still in good physical condition.
I looked away.
Taking advantage of the lull in Moutinho's foul on Rodriguez, Li Shiguang called Kaka to the sidelines.
First, Li Shiguang handed a bottle of water to Kaka and said quickly, "Kaka, tell the brothers not to rush to pass the ball forward. If they press too hard, they can pass the ball around more in the backfield. It's also okay to drop the whole formation back a bit."
At first, Kaka didn't understand what Li Shiguang meant. In his opinion, since the opponent was pressing so aggressively, passing the ball to the frontcourt earlier would prevent it from being intercepted and posing an immediate threat to their goal.
Li Shiguang noticed Kaka's doubts and added, "But the forwards can't retreat; Zlatan and the other two must stay near the midfield line."
Now that you mention it...
Kaka, with his exceptional football intelligence, immediately understood what Li Shiguang wanted to do.
A handsome smile curved her lips, and Kaka joked with Li Shiguang, "Boss, are you trying to fish for me?!"
"Hahaha, not really." Li Shiguang chuckled a few times, tilting his head slightly towards where Bento was standing. "Even if I wanted to fish, there have to be fish in the water for me to fish, don't you think?"
····
"Beautiful! Neuer is in such great form today! Moutinho's long-range shot was of high quality, but Neuer still managed to keep it out." After saying this, Jon turned to look at Lineker, "Gary, it seems Leeds United are having some trouble adjusting. I never expected them to be pinned down in their own half by Sporting Lisbon for almost 15 minutes!"
Lineker stared intently at the screen, a slight tension on his face: "Yes, it seems that Li's lineup today has problems. Sporting Lisbon is using their numerical advantage in midfield to press high against Leeds United. With Modric and Alonso off the field, it's really difficult for Mascherano and the two attacking midfielders to maintain control of the midfield!"
"It's not a big problem. If you can see the problem, I believe Li must have seen it too. If we can get through the first half, he will definitely make adjustments during halftime."
Amidst the rising cheers of the crowd at the Alvalade Stadium, Sporting Lisbon's offensive surged ever higher.
In the 33rd minute, Djalo took another shot.
On a live broadcast channel in Portugal.
The Portuguese commentator was exceptionally excited: "Who said Sporting Lisbon's overall strength is inferior to Leeds United? Look, this is last season's Premier League champion. In England, they might be able to dominate, but here at Alvalade, they'll just be Sporting Lisbon's prey! Come on, lads, you're so close to scoring!"
····
At this moment, Li Shiguang and Rivaldo were standing on the sidelines, exchanging whispers.
Compared to Li Shiguang's confident demeanor, Rivaldo appeared worried: "Boss, this can't go on. We can't get past the midfield and we can't pose a threat to them."
"Don't worry, Ferreira." Li Shiguang subtly gestured towards Moutinho, who was panting heavily. "They're almost out of breath. Didn't you notice that number 9's shot just now wasn't as powerful as before? And with those three defenders who can turn like an aircraft carrier, they can't stop Didico, Zlatan, and Marco's attack."
While the two were talking.
Just as Neuer's goal kick reached Sun Jihai's feet, Jalo rushed up again.
However, in Li Shiguang's eyes, Jia Luo's speed in rushing up this time was obviously a bit slower than before, which allowed Sun Jihai to dribble the ball a few steps more calmly before passing it to Mascherano who came over to receive it in the middle.
The scene was exactly the same as before.
Leeds United then entered a phase of passing the ball around in their own half. To create more options for his teammates, Neuer even ran out of the penalty area and positioned himself at the edge of the box to assist.
Sporting Lisbon followed Leeds United's lead, pushing their formation further and further forward.
But apart from Li Shiguang.
At that moment, none of the people watching the game realized a problem.
For Leeds United, as their attacking midfielders Kaká and Rodriguez dropped further back, Sporting Lisbon's players also pushed further forward.
finally.
In the 36th minute of the match, the situation changed.
Mascherano shook off Liedson, whom he had dubbed "sticky," and passed the ball to Kaká near the center circle.
But to everyone's surprise.
Kaka seemed afraid of being fouled. When he received the ball, his back was to the direction of the attack, so his first choice was not to turn around, but to dribble the ball two steps toward his own penalty area.
Seeing this, Moutinho immediately rushed forward with his already slightly heavy steps, and as he pressed forward, Sporting Lisbon's entire midfield defense also pressed forward a few meters with him!
Those few meters were the key to Sporting Lisbon's demise!
Hearing the approaching footsteps behind him, Kaka dribbled the ball while shaking his head left and right. With a glance from the corner of his eye, he confirmed that Sporting Lisbon, wearing green and white stripes, was also pressing forward. At that moment, he kicked the ball.
Instead of passing the ball across or giving it to Mascherano, who was closest to him, Kaka pushed the ball forcefully towards Neuer, who had already run out of the penalty area.
The entire Leeds United team is like a precision instrument, and Kaká's pass is the switch that turns this machine on!
Neuer took a running start, swung his leg, and delivered a long pass in one fluid motion.
At the same time.
Ibrahimovic, Adriano, and Reus all turned around at the same time and ran across the halfway line towards Sporting Lisbon's half.
After they had run a few steps at full speed...
Just like what Li Shiguang just said to Rivaldo.
They barely managed to turn around after being marked by three Sporting Lisbon defenders...
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