Chapter 497: If you don’t do something, you’re not Guardiola

Simeone had obviously designed the tactics for the second half in the locker room. As soon as the second half began, Atletico Madrid went against its usual practice and launched a heavy attack.

The opponent's offensive intensity made Manchester City's players a little uncomfortable for a while: Is this still the Atletico Madrid team in the first half? However, Manchester City was not unprepared for this. Guardiola had predicted in advance that the opponent might rush to open the game, and took advantage of the opportunity at the beginning of the game when the players had not yet fully entered the state to catch Manchester City off guard.

So Manchester City was not panicked at all. The players performed their duties and resisted layer by layer, keeping the three lines intact and not giving Atletico Madrid any chance at all.

Five minutes later, Atletico saw that they could not gain any advantage and their players were exhausted from such attack, so they had to stop.

Seeing that the team had resolved the opponent's attack, Manchester City fans in the stands also applauded the players.

Now that our team has a 2-goal advantage, the fans are not anxious at all. It is the visiting team that should be anxious.

If Manchester City maintains this lead until the end of the game, Atletico Madrid will have a difficult time in the next game.

When Atletico Madrid stopped attacking, Manchester City started to attack.

In the second half, Simeone on the sidelines gradually figured out Lin Quan's position in Manchester City's offensive system: a free man! This guy ran around in several positions in the frontcourt, sometimes acting as a winger on the wing, sometimes taking the ball and organizing, acting as a front midfielder, and sometimes running behind the striker to act as a shadow striker.

After a while, he ran to the other side of the wing, crossed positions with another winger, and made a wall pass.

Even when Atletico's counterattack threatened Manchester City, he would retreat to participate in the defense.

All in all, this guy seems to be everywhere.

So it is difficult to accurately identify the role he plays! The people assigned by Simeone to defend Lin Quan seemed a little overwhelmed when facing him wandering around.

Lin Quan is adept at handling every position in the frontcourt and even midfield, and is extremely adaptable.

But he can't! He has never played as a libero, how can he adapt to so many positions? Moreover, Lin Quan can shoot with both hands and has no weak foot, and the defensive player has a clear advantage side, which leads to his own performance being greatly weakened when he follows Lin Quan to the other side.

If someone can overcome all these problems, there is still one last problem waiting for him.

That is physical fitness! Lin Quan doesn't seem to run a lot on the court, but his sudden start from static to dynamic is very fast, and the change of rhythm is hard to guard against.

And once he starts, he will continue to accelerate, and the defensive players have to sprint after him.

No one can stand sprinting back and forth like this.

As a result, the others who were marking him soon couldn't keep up with his pace.

"Why is this kid so physically fit?"

In the stands, Zidane was the first to notice this. When he saw that Koke, who was guarding Lin Quan on the Atletico Madrid side, seemed unable to run not long after the start of the second half, he was immediately shocked.

Koke is well-known for his ability to run in La Liga. In every league match between Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid this season, Koke played the entire game and ran all over the field.

He can be seen on the offensive end, and his contribution can also be seen on the defensive end. His through balls and long passes are even the magic weapon that helps Atletico Madrid win! However, such a player who is known for his running ability, when defending Lin Quan, he was tired like a dog before even 60 minutes, and he almost foamed at the mouth and collapsed to the ground.

What is going on?

Is it that Lin Quan is too good at running, or is it that Cork's running ability has deteriorated?

Not only Zidane was aware of this problem, Simeone also discovered Koke's abnormality.

"Coach, Cork's stamina seems to be failing, do you want to make a substitution?"

Atletico Madrid's assistant coach saw that Koke was exhausted, so he started to remind him.

Simeone nodded and asked Thomas on the bench to warm up.

Seeing that Atletico Madrid was preparing to make substitutions, Guardiola also called out the names of several players and asked them to warm up in preparation for the next substitutions.

"De Bruyne, Son Heung-min, go warm up!"

Unlike Atletico Madrid's positional substitutions, Manchester City plans to replace two players at once, and these two players are not defensive players but offensive players.

The commentators from major TV stations were surprised to see the players from both sides warming up on the sidelines.

"Manchester City looks like they are planning to continue to strengthen their attack!"

"De Bruyne's passing ability is very strong, and Son Heung-min's speed is very threatening when counterattacking!"

"But the problem is that it is Manchester City that is leading the score. Shouldn't they play more conservatively and win the game steadily?"

In the view of the commentators, as long as Manchester City continues with their tactics, there is a great possibility that they will win the game.

But if they really made a substitution, replacing two offensive players and weakening their own defensive capabilities, it might backfire.

Others are forced to make substitutions to enhance their offensive capabilities when they are behind in the score, but Guardiola is different. He wants to enhance his offensive capabilities even when he is ahead in the score. This is really unique.

"Haha, is Guardiola planning to achieve his goal in one fell swoop?"

In another stand, after seeing the two Manchester City players warming up, Bayern coach Heynckes smiled and looked up to Guardiola.

Regardless of whether Guardiola's ultimate goal can be achieved, his courage to continue to strengthen the attack under such circumstances is enough to be praised.

"Atletico fought hard in the first half, but they may have problems with their stamina in the second half. If Guardiola chooses the right time to make substitutions, it is possible to defeat them when they are facing a stamina crisis!"

The speaker was Bayern's defensive coach Grande, a veteran who had assisted three head coaches and had worked with Guardiola when he coached Bayern.

"Well, there is such a possibility, but if the timing of the substitution is wrong and Atletico still has some strength left, then it may backfire!"

The second half of this game could have ended uneventfully, with Manchester City securing a victory and two goal difference.

However, because of the decision Guardiola may make, the balance of the game will be broken and the situation in the second half is likely to change dramatically.

This made him even more excited about the next game! In the 67th minute of the second half, Atletico Madrid made the first substitution.

Koke, who was exhausted, was replaced by Thomas Partey, a young player born in 1993.

Although this person is young, he has great potential. At a young age, he has been spotted by the Ghana national team and has been selected for the national team.

As a black player from Africa, Thomas, like many other black players, possesses excellent physical fitness and strong physical fitness.

Simeone's intention of substituting him was very clear, which was to use his abundant physical strength and excellent fighting ability to continue to restrict Lin Quan's performance and prevent Lin Quan from acting as an organizer in Manchester City's offensive system.

After all, Manchester City has no attacking midfielder in the frontcourt. As long as Lin Quan is frozen, Manchester City's offensive threat will be greatly reduced.

With the pressure on the defensive end reduced, Atletico can devote more energy to offense.

For the Bed Sheets Army, there is little hope of winning this game.

But we can still hope to score a goal away from home.

As long as they can score a goal, they will still have hope of defeating Manchester City when they return to their home court, but if they are really shut out, then their hope for the next game will be slim.

The newly-come-on Thomas is also an important part of Atletico's attack.

He is very fast, has great impact, and has a good long shot.

As long as there is a suitable opportunity, this kid may be able to give everyone a surprise! Before going on the court, Thomas was eager to try, and he had been looking forward to seeing Lin Quan's tricks.

He had heard of Lin Quan's great name a long time ago. Now he had the opportunity to compete with such a top player on a stage like the Champions League semi-final. It was a very valuable experience for him and would greatly help his growth.

Of course, the prerequisite is that one can defend against him instead of being completely defeated by him and affecting one's Taoism.

However, Thomas was not very worried about whether he could restrict Lin Quan.

Firstly, he relied on his height, strong physique and good physical fitness, so he felt that he would definitely have an advantage in physical confrontation.

Secondly, the game had been going on for nearly 70 minutes, and the starting players on the field had consumed a lot of physical energy and were already at the end of their strength.

He had just appeared on the scene and was in a full-blooded state.

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With full health defeating low health, is there still suspense about the outcome?

With such a relaxed attitude, Thomas came on the court.

It can be said that he is a newborn calf that is not afraid of a tiger, or he is too young and has not paid enough tuition.

As soon as Thomas came on the court, he was eager to try. When he saw Lin Quan made a mistake when dribbling the ball, Thomas stepped forward decisively to grab the ball.

When he kicked the ball, he had already thought about how to launch a counterattack on the spot, how to overcome all obstacles, help the team equalize or even reverse the score, and become the hero of the team.

However, his beautiful vision was soon shattered as his outstretched foot did not touch the ball as expected.

The ball disappeared!

"Oh, Thomas is too young. How can he stretch out his feet to grab the ball?"

"Yes, Lin Quan's fake moves are well-known. Experienced defensive players will not be fooled by his fake moves when facing Lin Quan. They must not kick easily, because once they kick, they will be passed!"

Lin Quan was also a little surprised. He didn't expect it to be so easy to succeed.

He thought the other person was a newcomer, so he tried to deceive him, but he didn't expect that he actually succeeded.

There was no time to think too much. While the nearby Atletico players had not arrived yet, Lin Quan immediately sped up and rushed towards Atletico's penalty area with the ball.

"Fool!"

Simeone was so angry that he swore on the sidelines. Thomas was really too reckless.

There are so many top defenders and midfielders in the football world, but none of them could snatch the ball from Lin Quan. How could a young boy like him think he could succeed?

This made Simeone feel a little regretful. Was it really wise for him to substitute him on such an important occasion? Savic, Jimenez, Gabi, Saul and others sprinted towards Lin Quan at full speed, secretly cursing Thomas for being a fool in their hearts.

The two goals in the first half have already proved the terrible consequences of increasing Lin Quan's speed.

They thought that the coach's substitution of a new player would reduce their burden, but unexpectedly it actually increased their burden, which made their already limited physical fitness even worse.

Atletico Madrid's defense was very fast. Lin Quan did not choose to cut inside directly, but dribbled the ball along the sidelines, seemingly preparing to cross the ball.

Seeing his choice, Atletico Madrid's full-back relaxed his vigilance a little and did not choose to get close to him. Instead, he kept a distance of two to three meters from Lin Quan, so as to block his passing route.

However, he was still so arrogant when facing Lin Quan, and he would definitely be punished.

Seeing that the opponent did not press forward, Lin Quan immediately changed his strategy and took the initiative to dribble the ball along the baseline towards the penalty area.

The opponent was caught off guard and fell for Lin Quan's fake move when retreating. After losing his balance, he was quickly passed.

Lin Quan dribbled the ball into the penalty area!

Atletico Madrid's central defender Savic had to abandon Aguero and block Lin Quan, although Lin Quan's shooting angle was still small at this time.

But he couldn't let Lin Quan continue to move into the penalty area. If he continued to move inside, the threat would be too great if he shot.

As soon as Savage moved, Lin Quan immediately passed the ball, which just passed under his crotch and came in front of Aguero.

Good chance! Aguero's eyes lit up and he shot directly without stopping the ball.

The ball was hit quickly and accurately, leaving the goalkeeper very little time to react.

However, Atletico Madrid goalkeeper Oblak quickly jumped to the ground in a very short time and completed the save, blocking Aguero's shot that was sure to go in.

When Aguero completed the shot, he had already raised his hands and was about to celebrate.

But when he saw that something of his was confiscated by Oblak, the smile on his face froze, and his raised hands involuntarily hugged his head, with a look of disbelief and regret.

The ball didn’t go in?

Is the goalkeeper on the opposite side still human?

Not to mention Aguero, even Lin Quan, who watched Aguero's shot at close range, was very surprised by Oblak's god-level save.

This reaction speed is amazing! You should know that Oblak is not at his strongest at this time. In the two years from 2017 to 2019, Oblak's strength will be even stronger, and by that time, his value will be as high as 100 million euros!

The fact that a goalkeeper is worth 100 million euros is enough to prove his strength.

Aguero had just finished expressing his frustration when he was replaced by Guardiola.

On the sidelines, the fourth official raised a card and Manchester City made substitutions. De Bruyne came on to replace Aguero, and Son Heung-min came on to replace David Silva.

Aguero was still very surprised when he saw himself being substituted.

He was even more surprised when he saw that it was De Bruyne who replaced him.

The fans at the scene and in front of the TV, including the commentators who were explaining the game, were no less surprised than Aguero.

What is Guardiola going to do? If Son Heung-min and David Silva are positional substitutions, then what about De Bruyne and Aguero? Is Guardiola planning to let De Bruyne play as a center forward?

It's impossible?

(End of this chapter)