Chapter 43 Ugly defense and utilitarian tactics?
"Good evening, audience friends!"
"Now we are broadcasting the sixth round of the 2017-18 Premier League."
"Southampton vs Manchester United."
"Here are the starting lineups for both teams."
"Southampton wore red and white jerseys and fielded a 4-2-3-1 formation with Foster in goal."
"The back line from right to left is Cedric, Maya Yoshida, Van Dijk, Bertrand."
"The double defensive midfielders are Romeu and Lemina, in front of them are Tadic, Davis and Raymond, and finally the single striker Sean."
"Manchester United wore a black away kit and the starting lineup was largely unchanged from before, with the exception of Rashford playing as left winger."
"But fans don't need to worry, Xiao Chu should have a chance to come on as a substitute in the second half."
After seeing the starting lineup, Zhan Jun couldn't help but look a little disappointed.
However, the fans in the live broadcast room did not seem to be too anxious. - [It's a pity that Xiao Chu was unable to continue to start. ] - [Don't worry, Southampton players basically have good mobility, and Rashford must be put on first to hone his skills. ] - [Yes, and Romeu and Cedric are very fast. If Xiao Chu starts, it will be difficult for him to have a good space to play! ] - [It feels that Southampton's midfield and backcourt are very strong, and Manchester United may lose. ] - [After all, they were ninth last season, and not only strengthened in the summer window, but also kept Van Dijk. ] - [I heard that Van Dijk has Chinese ancestry? ] - [There was an interview before, and people said that there might be a little bit. ] - [Does Van Persie have it? ] - [.]
Perhaps because of seeing Chu Feng's recent progress, Chinese fans are no longer as anxious as before, but have become more objective and calm.
Perhaps this is the power of hope.
St Mary's Stadium at this time.
Southampton fans erupted in terrifying noise, cheering for their own players and putting pressure on the opposing players.
In this intense atmosphere, the formations of both sides immediately overlapped and they fought frantically for the ball.
Although Southampton's nickname is Saints, they play more like a devil and are not conservative at all.
All the players pressed forward quickly and tacitly, blocking the connection between Mkhitaryan and other players through orderly high-pressure defense.
He then used physical confrontation to overwhelm Mata, thus completing the suppression of Manchester United.
Seeing the opponent approaching, Matic quickly passed the ball diagonally to the left.
After receiving the ball, Rashford observed it for a while and then dribbled directly.
He was known for his speed when he debuted, and he was often able to force a breakthrough through instantaneous explosive power.
But this trick didn't work today.
Cedric turned and gave chase, not falling too far behind, and approached the opponent skillfully.
in this case.
Rashford could only slow down continuously to avoid losing the ball.
Manchester United's attack on the left side was blocked and they returned to a positional battle.
Rashford seized the opportunity and passed the ball across the middle.
But at this time, Southampton's midfielder Romeu had already filled the position. After a tangle with Mkhitaryan, he completed the steal and quickly transferred the ball to Lemina on the side.
“Nice interception!”
"Let's take a look at Southampton's advancement. Lemina is a player who is both offensive and defensive, and has a high advancement efficiency!"
The offensive and defensive momentum on the green field was transformed.
The Saints fans in the stands sang the team song in unison.
“Oh when the Saints go marching in!”
“I want to be in that number!”
“.”
The passionate melody sounded, making the atmosphere in the venue even more intense.
Facing Southampton's rapid advancement, Fellaini gestured to his teammates and stepped forward to try to steal the ball.
But Lemina had a very broad vision and made a straight pass to Raymond on the left.
The latter was also good at dribbling, using continuous changes in rhythm to get rid of Valencia.
Boom! Then a high cross from near the baseline.
Sean Lang judged the landing point, moved his position in advance, and jumped high.
Fortunately, Manchester United's two central defenders cooperated well, Phil Jones used his body to interfere, and Bailly headed the ball away from the side.
“Nice defense!”
"Look at the second point. Davis volleyed the ball directly, but unfortunately he couldn't control it and it went over the crossbar."
The Southampton fans in the stands immediately let out waves of regret.
On the other hand, Manchester United fans were scared to death even though it was a hot summer day.
The opponent's advance on the left side was so fast and fierce that people felt as if they were suffocating.
At this time, Mourinho frowned tightly on the sidelines. The current situation was still within his expectations.
Because Southampton's center forward is not good at seizing opportunities, it is difficult for him to create much threat. The only focus is to prevent the opponent from making moves outside the penalty area.
However, the opponent's strength on the left side forced Valencia and Mata to focus on defense and were unable to suppress the right side.
As a result, Manchester United's forward channel was semi-paralyzed, making it difficult to launch an efficient counterattack.
Pellegrino on the other side also looked unhappy, and was obviously dissatisfied with his team's poor ability to seize opportunities.
There is no mistake in the poem, post, content, and read the book on 6, 9, and bar!
But he had no better solution. The available funds were limited each year. After strengthening the midfield and backcourt players and improving Van Dijk's salary, he had no spare money to buy a forward.
Thinking of this, he suddenly cursed inwardly, if Liverpool had not taken Mane away last season, he would not have had such a hard time.
The view returns to the court.
Faced with Southampton's high pressure, Manchester United could only compress the formation to increase the intensity of the defense.
To the fans, the situation seemed to be one-sided.
Manchester United fans couldn't help but complain. They were already dissatisfied with Mourinho's conservative tactics last season, and it all came out at this time.
"We should attack. Even if we can't overpower Southampton, we should still be able to attack and defeat them."
"Yeah, what's the matter with being suppressed by others?"
"Alas, I began to miss Sir Alex Ferguson, when Manchester United had the drive, the blood and the passion."
“.”
Of course, some Manchester United fans hold different ideas.
They believe that with the development of football, the once popular offensive football has long been out of date, and the right way is to maintain a stable defense and seize opportunities to improve offensive efficiency.
Besides, if we associate defense with ugliness, it is more or less one-sided.
While there was a heated discussion in the stands, the field was once again in a stalemate.
Although Southampton controlled the tempo of the game.
But with Rashford and Mkhitaryan retreating, and Fellaini forming a numerical advantage, the problem of poor defensive coverage was covered up.
So Southampton could only try to attack from both wings.
But Professor Yang's defense on the left side was very smart. He let the ball go outside and then used his speed to chase back and interfere, making it impossible for Cedric to make a pass of high quality.
On the other side, Valencia gradually stabilized its defense with the assistance of Mata.
As for center forward Sean Long, his strength is too average and he cannot put too much pressure on Phil Jones and Bailly.
Therefore, the situation that emerged was that Southampton had the advantage but could not score.
During this period, Manchester United also seized the opportunity and used Rashford's speed to launch a quick counterattack.
But due to Cedric's equally excellent mobility and Romeu's head-on interception, it did not achieve any results.
As the ball passed, time continued to pass.
final.
The referee blew the whistle to end the first half.
For today's PK recommendation, I would like to ask readers to read and vote.
Thank you!
(End of this chapter)