Chapter 252 Kante's Manchester United debut Chu Feng eats Alderweireld alive

"To defend Chu, we can't just mark him. We have to cut off his connection with his teammates and prevent him from getting the ball."

Pochettino stands in front of the tactical board.

He knew that it was definitely unrealistic to let Alderweireld defend Chu Feng alone. After all, even Van Dijk was not sure he could do it.

So the key to the problem still lies in the midfield.

Tottenham's diamond midfield did not provide enough defensive width, making it difficult to limit Manchester United's ball output when they were counterattacked.

But Pochettino has reduced one offensive player. If he only leaves Harry Kane in the frontcourt, he will not be able to pose a threat to Manchester United's defense at all, and Manchester United's overall formation can press forward unscrupulously.

"After the second half, we need to adjust our tactics, Trippier." Pochettino looked to the left side of the locker room, "You don't need to move forward too often. Cooperate with Toby to defend Chu and make sure that after Chu receives the pass, there are at least two people around him to defend him."

"Okay, boss!"

Trippier nodded.

Even though he agreed so readily, he couldn't help but feel nervous. His defensive ability was not strong to begin with, and coupled with his partner who was physically weaker, there was a high possibility that he would be eaten alive by Chu Feng.

This kind of thing has happened before.

But Trippier certainly cannot give in, after all, he is the successor to Beckham.

Inside the visiting team's locker room.

"N'Golo, you replace Scott in the second half."

Mourinho looked at McTominay and said, "Don't think too much, Scott, you performed well in the first half, but we need more mobility to free up the players in the midfield and frontcourt to participate in the attack."

After saying that, he picked up the magnet and started to adjust it. The midfield changed from 1-3 back and forth to a diamond-shaped four-midfield.

That is, it changed from 4-3-1-2 to 4-4-2, which can control the ball or defend and counterattack through a compact midfield structure.

Many teams won the championship with this tactic.

For example, Porto in the 2003-04 season, Inter Milan in the 2009-10 season, and Real Madrid in the 2016-17 season.

That’s right, all three teams won the Champions League.

The head coach of the first two teams is still Mourinho, who can be said to be the person who knows this tactic best in the world.

"Kante, the pressure of being a single defensive midfielder will be very great, but I believe you have the ability."

Mourinho said with a smile.

"Thank you, I will try my best!" Kant scratched his head.

There was a burst of laughter in the locker room because the word "fuck you" was pronounced so clearly.

Mourinho forced a smile and said, "Chu, the forward runs will still radiate to the wings, but we need to start controlling the tempo and switch to a vertical pass-cut mode, with two-on-one passes on the flanks. You also need to find the right time to retreat and support the ball, or act as an organizer to carry the ball forward."

"I see!"

Chu Feng looked at the magnet on the tactical board and subconsciously deduced the tactics.

Although Manchester United was equipped with two center forwards, their long passes from the backcourt to the frontcourt were mindless and they were unable to bring out the advantages of this formation.

The real way to open it should be to suppress the opponent's players in the middle through short passes, advance forward through the open space on the wing, and then seek shooting opportunities in the offensive third zone.

And your own positioning also needs to be switched according to different offensive modes.

"It's really stressful!" Chu Feng sighed in his heart, then stood up and said with a smile: "We scored seven goals last time, so even if we almost score today, we should at least score five!"

"come on!!"

The Manchester United players were yelling at the top of their lungs. Kante looked at Chu Feng's departing back and suddenly grinned.

He found that the atmosphere in Manchester United's locker room was indeed different.

There is no intrigue between players and coaches, and no suffocating pressure. Everyone is moving towards the same goal.

To describe it in one word, pure!

Wembley Stadium became noisy again. After the two teams exchanged players at halftime, the referee blew the whistle!

The second half of the game officially began! A passionate melody rang out at Wembley, which was Manchester United's first version of the team song.

“You’ve got to hear the masses sing with pride!”

“United! Man United!”

“.”

Manchester United fans have a deep obsession with Wembley.

Because in the 1968 European Cup final, Manchester United went through hardships, from the Munich air crash to winning the championship at Wembley, and finally became a great team. Sir Busby also completed his self-redemption.

Because in the 2011 Champions League final, Manchester United, the Premier League champions that had reached the final three times in four years, competed against Barcelona, ​​the world's top team that had reached the final twice in three years.

But Manchester United lost 1-3 due to Barcelona's suppression throughout the game.

It is no exaggeration to call this defeat a "rout". In the game, Barcelona's ability to respond on the spot, smooth passing and attack, and Messi's superb performance made Manchester United, which lost Ronaldo, completely defeated.

It can also be regarded as the beginning of a new era, and Manchester United has been on a downward spiral since then.

Amid the loud singing of Manchester United fans, Manchester United launched a fierce offensive and actually suppressed Tottenham, who wanted to take the lead, in their own half.

"We can see that Kante plays a very important role. With him, Matic and Herrera can move forward without restraint, forming a five-on-four advantage in the midfield."

"Matic, you have a great vision! Just move the ball to the left!"

"Ashley Young!"

Professor Yang has played for Manchester United for 8 seasons and more than 210 games. He will perform at a higher level every time his contract year comes.

It can lock down Hazard, restrict Aguero, and even subdue any top striker in the Premier League.

But the problem is that Manchester United and Ashley Young have just signed a two-year contract extension, which means he will only be able to break out next year.

Besides, he is already 33 years old this year.

But there is an old saying: "Poultry manure makes people progress."

He has never relaxed his training and has always been in good shape.

In addition, having played as a winger for so many years, he still used continuous changes in rhythm to break through from the outside and occupy half a body position when facing the physically weak Trippier.

After a reverse triangle pass near the baseline, Chu Feng quickly followed up and kicked the ball.

Unfortunately, the ball hit Alderweireld's calf, turned and hit the left post and bounced out of the bottom line.

Lori was so frightened that he broke out in a cold sweat and almost let Chu Feng score again.

"The defense line must move toward the side where the ball is! Otherwise, the opponent can flank and shoot at will!"

Pochettino's face turned red with anger on the sidelines.

He didn't expect Mourinho to be so decisive. He replaced Kante at the beginning of the second half and continued to strengthen the attack in the frontcourt.

This resulted in Tottenham's defensive strategy not being targeted enough.

Fortunately, they were lucky and were saved by the home goalpost.

Manchester United sent a tactical corner kick to Matic, who then passed the ball to the left side of the penalty area. The ball spun violently and hit Maguire's head, but was knocked out by Lori's quick-reacting palms.

There was chaos in Tottenham's penalty area.

Countless legs stretched out, turning the football into a three-dimensional pinball, which eventually rolled out of the penalty area and was kicked forward by Winks.

Coincidentally, the end point of the football's falling trajectory happened to be near Ali.

The Tottenham genius observed in advance and found that Ashley Young had not returned to the frontcourt yet and Matic was at least fifteen meters away from him.

As long as he can reach Manchester United's right flank, he can create a three-on-two situation.

Amid the loud cheers of Tottenham fans, Ali decisively rushed to the right with the ball, but he suddenly heard a voice.

It was Son Heung-min who reminded him loudly.

"There is someone in the blind spot!"

I saw a little boiled egg rushing out quickly. The outside world's impression of Kante is mostly "indestructible", but if he only has this attribute, he will never be able to become the world's top midfielder.

There is no mistake in the poem, post, content, and read the book on 6, 9, and bar!

More importantly, Kanter has excellent defensive awareness.

He took advantage of the fact that Ali was attracted by the Manchester United defense and hid himself in Ali's blind spot, and quickly approached Ali like a ghost to steal the ball! Ali's reaction speed was also very fast, and he subconsciously pulled the ball back to prepare to pass.

But Kanter's other major defensive skill is accurate positioning.

You should know that most defensive midfielders will choose to use the slightly larger gap when the opponent stops the ball to make a tackle.

However, the best result of this defensive method is just to destroy the football. It may even cause the team to lose balance due to a clearance error, thus giving the opponent an excellent attacking opportunity.

Kante used his excellent instantaneous explosive ability to get between Ali and the football, successfully limiting Ali's second attempt to touch the ball.

"Wow, the more skilled you are, the more daring you are!"

"There are no insurmountable obstacles in the world, only insurmountable Kante!"

Before Zhan Jun could finish his two sentences, Kante had already taken the ball and passed it to Matic who was retreating to receive the ball.

"Back to defense! Back to defense!"

Sissoko pointed at the backcourt and yelled.

Tottenham's entire formation immediately moved backwards in an orderly manner. Alderweireld subconsciously glanced behind him, which frightened him so much that his hair stood on end! "When did Manchester United's No. 7 run?" With great doubts in his heart, he hurriedly followed Chu Feng.

When Matic saw the running figure in front of him, he made a long pass without any hesitation.

Bang! The football fell rapidly in a precise arc! As the most basic skill among the basic skills, stopping the ball is the most important ability for professional players.

Imagine if you can stop the ball ten meters away, and stop it while moving under confrontation, and can connect several actions, dividing the players into different levels!

Alderweireld used his hands and feet to pull Chu Feng. If he hadn't been in the penalty area, he would have wanted to just tackle and knock him down.

But Chu Feng's center of gravity remained stable, like a solid wall!

He even looked back at the trajectory of the ball, raised his left knee and relaxed it naturally at the moment of contact, perfectly dissolving the huge impact of the ball! Then he connected the left foot to touch the ball! Seeing that he was getting closer and closer to the goal, Alderweireld gritted his teeth and threw himself out fiercely! But Chu Feng did not only connect one action, but also flicked his right foot again in a short time! The ball avoided Alderweireld's feet and Lori who fell to the ground to save the ball, and slowly rolled towards Tottenham's goal.

Vertonghen also wanted to perform a goal-line save.

Unfortunately, Chu Feng didn't give him the chance to be a hero. He caught up with the ball and violently kicked it into the goal, making a pleasant sound of it hitting the net! Then, the cheers of Manchester United fans rang out, echoing in every corner of Wembley.

"A brace! Xiao Chu scored the second goal of the game!"

"Kante made a crucial steal in the backcourt, and then Matic made a long pass behind Tottenham, and Xiaochu made a smart move to get the first point!"

"Let's take a look at the replay of this goal. The softness of the ball's control is incredibly beautiful!"

"And it's still a fierce confrontation!"

"I can only say that Xiaochu's physical fitness is explosive. He has already crushed Alderweireld!"

Zhan Jun's hoarse voice was heard in the studio. He was so excited that the microphone on his headphones was shaking.

After all, Chu Feng's goal combined violence and aesthetics, which made people excited when they saw it.

Zhang Lu next to him also sighed: "What an unreasonable goal!"

The camera returns to the green field.

Chu Feng and his teammates had just finished the celebration and were walking back with happy steps.

Just after 60 minutes of the second half, Manchester United had already taken a two-goal lead. From now on, as long as they play steadily, the balance of victory will continue to tilt.

Then they will win their first tough match of 2019.

After conceding another goal, Lori was obviously exhausted and complained to Alderweireld: "It's ok that you couldn't get the ball, but why couldn't you even interfere? His touch was not deformed at all, otherwise I wouldn't have been unable to touch the ball!"

Alderweireld doesn't indulge Lori either. He once played for Atletico Madrid for two years. Although he usually has a very good temper, it doesn't mean he will be bullied.

Even Tottenham captain Lori! Seeing this, Vertonghen quickly grabbed Alderweireld and said, "What's there to argue about? The game is not over yet, we still have a chance to equalize!"

Harry Kane also came over to advise his teammates.

He now feels extremely exhausted. He has to organize, score and shoot in the frontcourt, as well as calm his teammates' temper.

Also, club chairman Levy always holds himself hostage with illusory loyalty.

Let me ask you, among the BIG6 in the Premier League, which team's top player only earns 200,000 pounds a week? Isn't that just pure resentment? The key is that the money is small, but they always fail to win the championship. Even the FA Cup, the English League Cup and other cup competitions with lower gold content have not been involved in Tottenham in recent years.

After finally calming down the teammates, the game was able to resume.

Pochettino couldn't sit still either. He replaced Winks with Lamela and Sissoko with Llorente. It was obvious that he was determined to go all out and strengthen the attack.

And he made very targeted arrangements.

That is to take advantage of Kante's 1.68cm height and frequently pass half-high balls in front of the penalty area.

But the effect is very limited. What is the reason?

Behind Kante stood the Manchester United air defense aircraft carrier, Harry Maguire, and the former Chelsea god of war, David Luiz! Moreover, the three had worked together for a long time before, so there was no need to consider the tacit understanding.

As soon as the ball passed Kante's head, it would be pushed out by Maguire and Luiz. Tottenham's attack did not even threaten Manchester United's goal.

Soon, Mourinho also made substitutions, replacing Ashley Young with Luke Shaw and Mahrez with Lingard.

When Pochettino next door saw this, he was completely stunned.

Because this defense is like an iron wall!

Mourinho's original intention was to strengthen the defense and use Tottenham to hone Manchester United's defensive system, but this actually reduced a lot of offensive resources.

Even Chu Feng participated in the defense, looking for opportunities to counterattack from time to time.

It’s true that Manchester United’s tactics are quite effective.

In the end, Tottenham failed to break Manchester United's goal, and their few long-range shots were blocked by De Gea.

Tottenham fans actually breathed a sigh of relief, probably due to the aftereffects of drinking 7-Up last time.

(End of this chapter)