Chapter 869 We have to score more goals!
After returning to the locker room with a score of 0-1 behind, everyone in Manchester City was furious.
Throughout the first half, Manchester City firmly controlled the ball and the situation, and did not give Stoke City many chances.
But who could have thought that it was that out-of-bounds defense that gave Stoke City one of the few opportunities to shoot, and Norwegian center forward Kalou seized the opportunity and scored a goal.
This made Manchester City feel like a thorn in the throat and very uncomfortable.
In the subsequent games in the first half, the team played more and more anxiously, but the more anxious they were, the less effective they became.
Guardiola returned to the locker room and did not blame the players for their performance in the first half, nor did he criticize Joe Hart for his mistakes. After all, it was only halftime and the players needed to continue working hard in the second half, so there was no need to do this.
Stoke City is not the weak team as imagined by the outside world. The team is currently ranked eighth in the Premier League. Any fan familiar with the Premier League knows how difficult this ranking is.
The team also has Premier League stars such as John Carew, Shawcross and Pennant. These players are not very famous, but their strength is unquestionable. Head coach Tony Pulis has also formulated corresponding practical tactics based on the characteristics of the players, with good results.
Stoke City adopted a double defensive midfielder tactic, and on the defensive end, they mainly focused on defending Manchester City's center.
"In the first half, 73 percent of our attacks were through the middle, while Stoke City's attacks through the middle reached 67 percent. What does this mean?" Guardiola asked the players while holding the data given by Torrent.
It goes without saying that this means that the two teams are entangled too much in the middle.
This is what Stoke City wants to see, but it is very disadvantageous for Manchester City.
Everyone knows that the middle is too crowded.
More importantly, Manchester City has strong flanks. Whether it is Marcelo and Di Maria on the left or Zabaleta and Sanchez on the right, they are all famous offensive channels in the Premier League and even in European football.
But now, Manchester City's attack rarely goes through the flanks, but more through the middle to the frontcourt.
Instead, Su Dong has become a player who frequently passes the ball to the side, which is unhealthy.
Of course, you can also look at it the other way around, Manchester City's offensive formation was too aggressive and they pressed forward too quickly on the flanks.
The combination of wing and center is Manchester City's biggest advantage in offense.
But in the first half, Manchester City seemed to be a little hot-headed and rushed to the middle. After getting the ball, they always wanted to find Su Dong directly and create threats in the frontcourt, but their intentions were too obvious.
Su Dong was alone, while the opponent had two central defenders and two defensive midfielders, and they adopted this kind of contracted defensive tactic. Even if Su Dong had wings, he could not withstand the opponent's encirclement.
The countermeasure given by Guardiola is to activate the two flanks and not let Stoke City put too much defensive focus on Sudon. Di Maria and Sanchez must create enough threats on the flanks to share Sudon's pressure.
"Stretch their defense and create space for the players in the middle. I believe we can create more threats without one-on-one or one-on-two," Guardiola said in a loud voice.
Everyone in Manchester City is full of confidence in Su Dong's abilities.
One-on-one, Su Dong crushed all opponents, and even in a one-on-two situation, Su Dong had enough strength to create threats and even score goals. At the time, Su Dong's most famous saying was, "As long as you let me play one-on-one, I can kill all opponents!"
In the first half, Manchester City did a poor job in this regard and Guardiola hopes the team can adjust.
…
After the head coach finished assigning the tasks, the locker room fell silent again.
Guardiola has never been a coach who is good at creating an atmosphere, so he needs the help of assistants such as Estiart.
But at this moment, Manchester City's players do not need external motivation.
What they need is confidence! The lag in the first half made them impatient and start making mistakes, which is the biggest problem Manchester City encountered.
This is also a problem that cannot be solved by the team's tactical adjustments.
After Guardiola arranged the tactics, he saw that the players were still not interested and couldn't help but look at Su Dong.
Su Dong noticed Guardiola's gaze, thought about it, and stood up.
Everyone in the locker room focused their attention on Su Dong. When they saw him stand up, they all raised their heads and focused their eyes on him.
"The Manchester City team in the first half were not really Manchester City."
Su Dong spoke calmly, as if he was stating an indisputable fact.
"I can understand everyone's eagerness. Both those of us here and the fans in the stands are eager to win tonight and are eager to win the coveted championship, but we made mistakes in the game and were punished."
After hearing what Su Dong said, everyone calmed down.
This is a fact.
"We are not like this usually. We should control the ball patiently and steadily control the rhythm. We should firmly grasp the initiative and let the opponent follow us instead of being led by the opponent."
"I hope everyone can think carefully about how to play in the second half. We don't need to perform exceptionally well. We just need to play in an orderly manner as usual, be on the wing when we should, break through when we should, pass the ball when we should, and everyone should do their job."
Having said that, Su Dong paused and looked deeply at his teammates in front of him.
"I still say the same thing, pull the opponent's defense line apart, pass the ball to me, and I can score a goal!"
"If one isn't enough, I'll score two. If two aren't enough, I'll score three."
"Tonight, we will definitely keep this championship trophy in Manchester!"
…………
…………
The second half of the game resumed.
Manchester City obviously played more methodically.
After fifteen minutes of rest, the players had basically calmed down.
Guardiola's arrangements and the confidence given by Su Dong made Manchester City players work hard to stabilize their emotions.
Of course, everyone knows that this is only temporary.
If Manchester City cannot score a goal as soon as possible, the players will become anxious again sooner or later.
Time waits for no one.
…
After the adjustment period at the beginning of the game, Manchester City gradually exerted its strength on both sides.
On the left was the combination of Marcelo and Di Maria, and on the right was the combination of Zabaleta and Sanchez, and both showed threats.
When an attack from the left was contained, Marcelo passed the ball to Busquets and then to Toni Kroos, completing the transition from the left to the right.
When Toni Kroos just stopped the ball, he saw that Stoke City's defense was still on the left, and was nervously following the ball's path. Su Dong in the frontcourt had just run to the left to support and was also moving towards the middle at this time.
After their eyes met, Toni Kroos noticed that Su Dong suddenly stopped.
The German midfielder understood the situation clearly and quickly sent a long pass with his right foot directly to the top of the arc.
At the moment Toni Kroos made a long pass, Su Dong also started quickly, quickly inserted himself between the two central defenders Collins and Shawcross, and headed straight for the top of the penalty area.
Collins was ten centimeters shorter than Su Dong and was blocked by Su Dong behind him. Shawcross turned slowly and fell behind by a step.
Two central defenders sandwiched Su Dong, and the three of them rushed forward. At the top of the penalty area, Su Dong jumped with his back and stopped the ball with his chest.
When landing, people were already in the restricted area.
Collins was still blocked by Su Dong behind him, and he stuck to him immediately, not wanting Su Dong to turn around, while Shawcross rushed over and stabilized his position near the penalty spot, forming a defensive depth with Collins.
Obviously, he was wary of Su Dong getting past Corinth.
After Su Dong landed, he kicked the ball and it stuck steadily under his feet.
Collins behind him felt like he was facing a formidable enemy. He concentrated all his strength in front of him and held Su Dong tightly, not wanting him to turn around.
At the same time, he was also wondering in his mind, which side would Su Dong turn from? He was so proficient with both feet, who knows what he was going to do? But almost in an instant, he guessed that Su Dong should turn to his right side, that is, the left side of the goal, and then shoot directly with his left foot.
On one hand, there is the positioning of goalkeeper Sorensen, and on the other hand, there is Shawcross on the right side.
If Su Dong turned to the right and shot with his right foot, there was a high possibility that he would be blocked by Shawcross.
So, Collins put almost all his focus on his right side.
Just as he expected, Su Dong moved his body to the right and looked like he was about to turn around.
But just as Collins tensed up and took a step to the right, Su Dong suddenly turned to the left.
Su Dong, who is tall and has long legs, turned around and kicked the ball with his right foot.
Su Dong's leg swing was very small and his turn was quick, giving people the illusion that he had kicked the ball before he turned around. The football flew in a straight line from Collins's previous position, passed Shawcross's right side, and went straight to the lower left corner of the goal.
Such a shot was completely unexpected by Collins, Shawcross and others. Goalkeeper Sorensen's vision was also blocked by Collins. After reacting, he jumped sideways, but it was too late. The ball almost hit the inside of the left goal post and went into the Stoke City goal.
One to one!
"GOALLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL!!!!!"
"Just seven minutes into the second half, Su Dong equalized the score for Manchester City!"
“One to one!”
As soon as Su Dong kicked the ball, he knew it was his chance and he quickly rushed out of the court and ran away.
Manchester City fans throughout the Etihad Stadium gave a deafening cheer.
All the fans rushed out of their seats in an instant, shouting Su Dong's name frantically.
Su Dong rushed to the sidelines and kept waving his hands at the fans in the stands, signaling them to be more enthusiastic.
The fans were encouraged by Su Dong and made even louder noises to support the Manchester City players in the stadium.
The players rushed up one after another and surrounded Su Dong.
One to one, the score is tied.
They also felt relieved.
Su Dong was right. As long as Manchester City follows the rules and keeps their usual pace, they will have no need to fear any opponent.
Not to mention Stoke City, even Manchester United and Arsenal were defeated by Manchester City, right?
"Keep playing like this and we will score more goals!" Su Dong said loudly.
The teammates also responded one after another.
At this moment, everyone in Manchester City began to regain confidence.
(End of this chapter)
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