Chapter 573 These are Manchester City’s invincible twin stars!

In Manchester City's locker room, during the half-time break, Guardiola took the time to explain to the players Juventus' tactical play in the first half, especially the defensive positioning, defensive strategies and players' personal habits.

"Did you see that?"

Guardiola tapped the tactical board and raised his voice slightly: "Juventus' formation is 3421, but when defending their formation will become 523.

Juventus' three lines always maintain a reasonable distance, there is no space between the two lines to receive the ball, Pjanic and Marchisio form the fulcrum on the field, so that our players who appear around them are always in a state of being double-teamed at any time. "

Combined with Guardiola's explanation, the players recalled the situation in the first half and couldn't help but feel a little more enlightened. No wonder they played so awkwardly in the first half.

The opponent's defensive strategy was obviously developed specifically against Manchester City.

As we all know, Manchester City is good at passing and controlling the ball, but in order to create killing opportunities, the passing tactic must pass forward, use the pass to tear open the opponent, and send the ball to the key players in the dangerous area to be successful.

If you cannot break through the opponent's formation and are forced to pass the ball horizontally or backwards from the outside, then such passing and control is meaningless.

This was the situation Manchester City encountered in the first half. Although they still led in ball possession, the success rate of forward passes was not high, so they failed to create enough threats.

Although scoring goals depends on luck, if you create more threatening attacks, the expected value of scoring goals will also increase.

On the contrary, if you don't make enough threatening attacks, it will be difficult to score goals unless you are extremely lucky.

"Normally, against an opponent with a very tight defensive formation, retreating to receive the ball would be a good way to deal with it, but unfortunately, Juventus was prepared for this!"

Guardiola found the example of De Bruyne and Gundogan trying to drop back to receive the ball in the first half but failing, and analyzed it: "The opponent's forwards, especially Higuain and Mandzukic, would immediately leave their original positions and quickly follow us when they saw our players dropping back to receive the ball, preventing our players from getting the ball easily and forcing the ball holders to pass the ball quickly, leaving us no chance to patiently organize."

"In this situation, the ball will usually be distributed to the wing, and the opponent's wingback will come forward at this time, stand in a line with the two defensive midfielders, and cooperate with the forwards to double-team our ball carrier on the wing. In the first half, we suffered several losses in this area and lost several goals."

Under Guardiola's manipulation, on the tactical board, Juventus' three lines have always been kept very tight and not static. The 523 formation structure may become 433 or 343. The opposing players' positions are not fixed and will change with the situation on the field and the positions of their teammates, but what remains unchanged is Juventus' iron-clad defense.

To be honest, Guardiola admires Juventus coach Allegri a little bit.

This guy's tactical ability is absolutely top-notch, even better than mine.

To be fair, Juventus' players are not as strong as Manchester City's, but under Allegri's coaching, Juventus plays better than Manchester City on the field.

However, no matter how good a tactic is, it will have loopholes and weaknesses.

The secret of Juventus's defense is to concentrate a large number of players in a local area, block and control the space in this area, and form a safe fortress area.

To disrupt this, you need to actively mobilize the opponent and reduce the number of opposing players in the area where your ball holder is located, thereby weakening the opponent's defense and interception capabilities.

Moreover, Juventus' tactics require a high level of tactical execution from the players. Coincidentally, there was a Juventus player on the field who appeared in a position he was not familiar with.

This may be Manchester City's breaking point in the second half.

Thinking of this, Guardiola found Lin Quan, De Bruyne and Gundogan and said to them: "Try to avoid passing the ball forward in the second half, unless the opportunity is very good, otherwise it is easy to lose the ball and give the opponent a chance to counterattack!"

Everyone nodded. This was how Juventus scored in the first half! They learned from their experience and naturally would not make the same mistake again.

According to the coach’s explanation, all three knew that in this match Juventus deliberately set a trap for Manchester City’s midfield, turning the space where our organizer was located into a trap.

"In the second half, we need to play more on the wing and make full use of the space on the field. Don't kick high balls, move on the ground, be fast, receive the ball and run quickly. Once Juventus' formation is pulled apart by us, their defensive efficiency will drop!"

"Lin, receive the ball more often in the second half and compete with Alves. He is older and his physical strength should not be able to outlast you. As long as you wear him down, Juventus' offensive firepower will be extinguished by half!"

Guardiola keenly noticed the two most critical positions on Juventus' field - the left and right wingbacks!

Although from the last game to this game, it seems that Juventus's forward line performed the best.

But these three goals of Mandzukic and Higuain almost all came from assists from the wingbacks on both sides.

Especially Alves on the right!

If this problem can be eliminated, Manchester City's defense will be under much less pressure.

Fifteen minutes passed in a flash. The players understood their responsibilities and left the locker room with high morale.

When the Manchester City players entered the stadium, they happened to meet the Juventus players who were also coming out of the locker room.

The morale of the other side was also very high. Everyone was talking and laughing, and they looked quite relaxed.

It's no surprise that they feel relaxed, after all, Juventus is in the advantage now.

Moreover, as they are leading at home, they really believe that they can beat Manchester City.

The second half of the game started quickly and neither side made any personnel adjustments.

Although the team was in the lead, Allegri did not dare to relax at all. He kept his eyes on the field, always on guard against possible changes.

There is no way. Guardiola is too famous and the past record of confrontation is too unfavorable for the old lady, so he really dare not take it lightly at all.

Under Allegri's observation, he actually discovered some changes in Manchester City.

After the start of the second half, Lin Quan received the ball in a deeper position. Even though the Juventus players had caught up, he still chose to force the ball. After receiving the ball, he was not in a hurry to pass the ball. Instead, he led the Juventus players who were guarding him to run to the sidelines, as if he was going to walk into a trap.

Seeing this scene, Allegri frowned.

In his impression, Lin Quan is not a person who plays football without thinking. On the contrary, this player has always been known for his high basketball IQ.

So, why did he do this?

The answer was soon revealed.

Before Lin Quan dribbled the ball to the wing, De Bruyne on Manchester City's side was quietly retreating.

He was walking back at first, but when he saw Pjanic catching up, he suddenly accelerated, giving the impression that he was ready to receive the ball.

Pjanic did not dare to delay and immediately sped up, sticking closely to De Bruyne, not giving De Bruyne time to handle the ball.

However, Lin Quan did not pass the ball to De Bruyne, but continued to dribble to the wing and made a wall-to-wall cooperation with David Silva on the wing, as if he wanted to force an opening from the left side.

"A feint to the east and attack in the west?"

Allegri frowned, feeling that Manchester City players in more than one position on the field were moving, and for a moment he was confused about Manchester City's true intentions.

But considering that the person with the ball is Lin Quan, and the threat he poses to Juventus is obviously greater, Juventus continued with the previous tactics. The wing-back moved forward from the full-back position, and the forward Dybala in front also began to pressure Lin Quan who had the ball, about to form a double-team situation from front and back.

At the same time, Juventus's central defender moved to the wing, filling the gap left by the wingback.

Juventus' defense was like a tightly-knit machine, operating in an orderly manner.

Seeing Alves rushing up, Lin Quan moved to the inside, as if looking for the space left by Pjanic following De Bruyne.

Seeing this, Marchisio had to move over quickly to avoid giving Lin Quan the space to cut inside and shoot.

As soon as Marchisio moved, Juventus' entire defense line began to move to the right as a whole.

Pjanic was originally following De Bruyne, but at this time Lin Quan had already taken the ball to his original position, and he was stuck between Lin Quan and De Bruyne, making it basically impossible for the latter to receive Lin Quan's pass.

So he did not continue to follow De Bruyne, but moved back a little and joined the double-team on Lin Quan.

The camera above the court captured the positions of the players on both sides very well. At this time, Lin Quan was like a panicked tiger, and he ran into the trap prepared for him by the hunter.

The opponent's players are all around him, in front, behind, and on both sides. His forward route has been cut off by the opponent. The ball is going to be lost!

Seeing Lin surrounded, many people thought of the famous scene in the 2012 European Cup when Iniesta was surrounded by five Italian players.

That time, Iniesta lost the ball.

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Even if Lin Quan's personal strength is stronger than Iniesta, it is impossible for him to dribble the ball out among so many people.

Not only did they think so, Lin Quan also thought so.

If he carried the ball for one more second, he would definitely lose it, and there was really no room to carry it any further.

So, he chose to pass the ball, and he passed it to someone that Juventus players definitely didn't expect - De Bruyne! Pjanic thought that he was stuck between Lin Quan and De Bruyne, and the opponent would never pass the ball around him, so he relaxed his defense on De Bruyne and joined in the double-teaming of Lin Quan.

But what he didn't know was that when De Bruyne made this choice, he also reacted quickly. He rushed towards Juventus' half along a diagonal line at an accelerated speed.

Higuain was originally staring at Gundogan, but when he saw that the situation was not good, he quickly abandoned Gundogan and followed De Bruyne.

When De Bruyne started, Lin Quan couldn't find him in his field of vision, but the two of them seemed to have telepathy, and Lin Quan passed the ball to a place where there was no one.

De Bruyne also ran firmly towards where he thought the ball would come!

Seeing Lin Quan's actions, the Juventus players who were double-teaming him were all puzzled. After all, they did not have a bird's eye view and did not know what was happening in the places they could not see.

But in the stands, Juventus fans who had turned on the full-map view could not help but exclaim.

“Stop him!”

"Stop the opponent's No. 17!"

…

Juventus fans are anxious, but their anxiety cannot be felt by the players on the field.

The players had limited vision on the field, and not many people could see De Bruyne's position.

And Marchisio, who was most likely to intercept him, had just moved to the right and was no longer in front of De Bruyne, so it was difficult for him to get close to him in the first place.

So, under the gaze of Juventus fans, Lin Quan passed the ball to De Bruyne's feet.

Without any communication or even eye contact, the two of them relied entirely on their tacit understanding to perform a wonderful cooperation!

This is Manchester City’s invincible twin star duo, the strongest offensive combination in the world!

Higuain rushed over at the first moment, but was still a step too slow.

De Bruyne had already seen the position of his teammates before receiving the ball and had figured out how to handle the ball.

He passed the ball to the wing without stopping.

Manchester City's full-back Zabaleta has accelerated and, taking advantage of the opponent's formation pressing to the right and the empty left side, he dribbles the ball towards Juventus' half.

"It's done!"

Guardiola clapped his hands excitedly, looking somewhat excited.

To deal with this kind of defense from the opponent, you must use a large-scale, rapid transfer method to attack.

Aguero rushed into the penalty area and most of the opponent's defensive attention was attracted by him. Zabaleta did not take the ball to the bottom line, but boldly chose to cut inside, and it seemed that he was planning to shoot himself.

Sandro had already rushed over and was not far away from him, leaving Zabaleta with little time.

Seeing Chiellini defending Aguero, Buffon quickly assessed the situation and focused his main attention on Zabaleta.

This guy shouldn’t dare to dribble anymore, he’s going to shoot!

Zabaleta kicked and shot... He actually passed the ball! This was a familiar cross from Zabaleta, but the position was slightly wrong.

On his passing line, a sky blue figure rushed over from behind, stopped the ball beautifully with his chest, and before the ball even hit the ground, he swung his thigh and swept the ball into the goal.

The score became 1:1, the total score became 3:4, and Manchester City regained the initiative.

Buffon actually made a save when Lin Quan shot.

But this is just an instinctive reaction and naturally has no substantial effect.

Seeing Lin Quan running to celebrate, Buffon sighed and shook his head. Why did he always suffer at the hands of this guy?

Alves felt very guilty. Lin Quan was his target, but he did not keep a close eye on him, allowing him to rush out from the back and find this opportunity. He should take primary responsibility for this ball.

Alves' heart was filled with bitterness. He was getting old! He was already 34 years old. Facing a 21-year-old boy, his body's explosiveness and endurance could not keep up.

Seeing the opponent suddenly speeding up and rushing out, he could only defend with his eyes, as his body could not keep up at all.

Alas, it seems that I can no longer refuse to accept my old age.

At this moment, Alves began to seriously think about the advice his agent had given him before, which was to leave the top five leagues and return to Brazil to play football.

(End of this chapter)