Chapter 1026 The future belongs to Manchester City!
Chelsea encountered a problem from the beginning of the second half.
That is, the double defensive midfielders' protection of the defense line is no longer so tight.
One of the two defensive midfielders, Meireles and Mikel, will always press forward, making the protection in the front area of the penalty area weak. In this way, top scorers like Su Dong can often get more space.
This looks very similar to the situation against Bayern.
Before conceding the goal, Di Matteo was even wondering whether he should replace another midfielder so that there would always be two players protecting his defense line, so as to suppress the problems that Manchester City faced after the tactical adjustment in the second half?
But the defense line will not move, and there are only three people in the midfield, so if there is any substitution, it must be the frontcourt.
Ramires is going to suppress Marcelo, he did a good job throughout the game, he definitely cannot be substituted; Drogba is going to suppress Manchester City's double central defenders, he is the team's last hope in the frontcourt, if he is substituted, wouldn't it be telling the world that Chelsea will not attack?
Then the only option is Juan Mata.
Juan Mata was the initiator of the attack designated by Di Matteo, but the effect was not very good and he did not perform satisfactorily. It seemed reasonable to replace him.
However, this is where the problem lies.
Chelsea only had one shot in the entire game, which made it difficult to advance the offense. If Juan Mata was replaced, it would be even more difficult to advance the ball. Could they still expect Lampard to make a wonderful pass to Drogba in front?
It can be said that if Juan Mata was replaced, Chelsea’s attack would be almost cut off.
This is the situation. Di Matteo is hesitating whether to make substitutions or how to make substitutions.
But just as he was hesitating, Su Dong scored! For Di Matteo, this goal came a little unexpectedly, because he was not ready and was still hesitating, which completely disrupted his plans and deployments.
When Manchester City players rushed out of the stadium to celebrate Su Dong's goal, Di Matteo was secretly cursing Su Dong in his heart because this damn guy took advantage of Chelsea's loophole, but he felt more regretful.
He had already seen the crux of the problem, because it was not the first time that problems had been exposed in front of Chelsea's defense. Sudon, Di Maria and Sanchez had the ball in this area several times in the second half, and no one went over to mark them in time.
It’s just that he hadn’t posed a threat in the previous few times, so he didn’t take it too seriously.
But this time, Su Dong scored! What to do? Di Matteo touched his bald head behind him, feeling a little embarrassed, a little nervous, and a little panicked.
Next door, in front of Manchester City's coaching bench, Guardiola raised his hands and cheered. Even Di Matteo could hear the sound clearly. He was praising Su Dong, saying that he had scored a wonderful goal.
Immediately afterwards, Guardiola turned and walked towards the bench, and then Hazard took off his coat and ran out to warm up, which immediately made Di Matteo even more nervous.
Damn it, this is just trying to add insult to injury!
Italians have been wondering whether Guardiola will replace Hazard. The Belgian winger has a very strong ability to dribble and control the ball. If he is on the court, Chelsea's dense defense will face greater pressure.
Di Matteo even wondered if Guardiola had thought of this move long ago, and had just deliberately let Di Maria come up to consume Ivanovic and Chelsea's defensive players? But now, time no longer allowed him to slowly think about it.
As Manchester City players walked back to the field one after another, the game was about to start again and Di Matteo needed to make a decision as soon as possible.
Substitution!
Follow the substitution!
Who to change?
If you want to defend, replace Essien or Romeu; if you want to attack, replace Torres and Sturridge.
Attack or defense?
Di Matteo raised his head, closed his eyes and thought for a long time, and finally decided to attack!
Chelsea is one goal behind, and they cannot be conservative in making substitutions now, otherwise the game may be completely over.
Then who should we replace?
Torres is a bigger player, but his form has not been very good since joining Chelsea; Sturridge is capable, talented and young, so he should be more impactful, but this is the Champions League final, and Torres is obviously more experienced and stable.
Both players have their own advantages and disadvantages. Di Matteo naturally made a subconscious decision, perhaps even without noticing it himself, Torres!
Two minutes after Su Dong scored, both teams made substitutions at the same time.
Manchester City replaced Di Maria with Hazard.
Chelsea replaced Ramires with Torres.
After the substitution, Manchester City still used a 4-3-3 formation, but Chelsea quietly changed its formation to a 4-3-1-2, which meant dragging Lampard to the defensive midfielder position and letting Juan Mata serve as the attacking midfielder to suppress Busquets, while the two forwards Drogba and Torres suppressed Manchester City's defense.
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“It was not a very good decision.”
In the presidential stand, Beckenbauer looked at the time and it was just seventy-five minutes away.
Di Matteo's substitution was a bit like a desperate gamble. He looked desperate and helpless. It was obvious that he was at his wit's end and could only adopt this one-go-it tactic.
"This substitution will probably cause Chelsea to lose more goals, and the offense may not improve much." Beckenbauer shook his head.
Platini also nodded solemnly. In such a crucial final, the tactics are always particularly rigorous.
"Torres has been in poor form. Now he is partnering with Drogba. How will the two divide the work? Mata also played poorly in this game. Can he be the assist man and initiate the attack? The offensive effect seems unclear, but the defensive problem is huge. Without Ramirez's suppression, who will defend Marcelo's side?"
Platini asked a soul-searching question because Marcelo's offensive ability was too strong.
It can even be said that it is correct to treat him as a winger.
Ramirez had been following the team before, but now that Ramirez has been replaced by Torres, who will guard Marcelo on the left? Torres? He might not be as good as Ramirez, so why replace him? Drogba? Torres has been in such a bad state since joining the team, so let Drogba guard Marcelo and leave all the offense to Torres? Isn't this suicide? "Di Matteo has completely lost to Guardiola in terms of tactics, substitutions, and on-the-spot adjustments." Beckenbauer looked at the Spaniard in front of the Manchester City coaching bench on the field with some envy. He is young, talented, and has a promising future.
"Guardiola renewed his contract, Su Dong renewed his contract, and Manchester City will continue to increase its recruitment efforts in the next few summers. Who in European football can stop them in the next few years?" Beckenbauer looked at Platini with a wry smile.
Platini once said that he liked Manchester City's football very much. Now after hearing Beckenbauer's question, he couldn't help but smile bitterly.
The best superstars, the best head coach, and the most money, who can play with Manchester City?
As he was speaking, he saw Manchester City launching a fierce attack on the field.
Marcelo, Hazard and David Silva formed an attack on the left.
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"A small combination between David Silva and Hazard on the left side of the penalty area."
"Pass it back to Marcelo."
"Marcelo kicked the ball with his left foot and crossed it into the penalty area."
"Su Dong turned his back to the direction of attack, blocked Cahill and Terry, and volleyed with his right foot to the right rib."
"Sanchez followed and shot directly!!!"
"Wow! Manchester City's attack was very threatening. Sanchez was already unguarded, but his shot was too hasty. He should have stopped before shooting."
"It's no wonder. After all, this is the first Champions League final in his career. It's understandable that he wants to score."
"Manchester City's attack was very beautiful, especially when Su Dong was restrained by Cahill and Terry, he volleyed the ball to the right, which was very imaginative. Although he failed to score a goal, it also allowed everyone to see Manchester City's current offensive vitality."
…
"fine!"
When walking back, Su Dong leaned towards Sanchez, grabbed Sanchez's head forcefully, and touched it hard.
The Chilean winger hung his head, looking very regretful.
If he had stopped a little longer, he would have probably scored the goal.
"The more critical the moment, the calmer you need to be. The more confused you are, the easier it is for problems to arise," said Su Dong.
Sanchez nodded in agreement.
He was very grateful for Su Dong's help, especially the opportunity just now, which gave him such a good shooting chance, but he did not seize it.
If that ball had gone in, Manchester City would have secured the victory.
When Su Dong was walking back, he happened to see Hazard, Marcelo and David Silva, who were also walking back. Su Dong gave them a thumbs up from a distance and nodded with a smile.
The attack from the left just now was effective and Manchester City also tasted the sweetness.
…
Soon, Manchester City's offensive returned again.
Still on the left, still the cooperation between Marcelo, Hazard and David Silva.
But this time was different from the previous one. Marcelo and David Silva cooperated to advance and passed the ball to Hazard.
Chelsea concentrated their forces on this side, creating a melee, with three Manchester City players cooperating in a small area.
When Su Dong saw Hazard dribbling inside in the penalty area, he leaned back hard to create more space for his teammates.
David Silva passed the ball between the players. After receiving the ball, Hazard dribbled past Meireles, and then forced the ball out of the crowd and cut inside sideways.
In an instant, the entire stadium was boiling again.
Cahill did not dare to hesitate at all and rushed directly towards Hazard who was cutting inside the front of the penalty area, but the Belgian winger also saw Cahill's movements and made a cross pass to Su Dong in the middle.
Behind Su Dong was Chelsea captain Terry. He tried his best to hold Terry with his body. When Hazard's pass came to his feet, he stopped it with his left foot to his left, which was the direction of the penalty spot.
The whole process was as if the ball hit his left foot, deviated slightly from its course, and the speed of the ball slowed down. After Su Dong stopped the ball, he turned around and chased after the ball.
This is another wonderful stop and turn to get rid of the ball!
(End of this chapter)
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