Chapter 787 You all just wait for me!

Simeone is crazy!

Atletico Madrid is crazy!

Damn it, they're all crazy!

With the team trailing by one goal, Simeone made a crazy substitution decision, replacing left-back Felipe, who should have been responsible for the goal conceded, with Dutch midfielder Crassi.

This time, Atletico Madrid changed to a three-defender tactic, but stockpiled a large number of players in the midfield.

More importantly, the Colchoneros changed their passive situation since the start of the game, pressed forward aggressively, and launched a crazy counterattack against Southampton, aiming to break Southampton's goal in the shortest time possible.

If we talk about pulling Atletico Madrid out to play, this is indeed one of Southampton's tactical intentions in this game.

The reason is simple, the most powerful thing about the Bed Sheet Army is their unbreakable defense.

As long as Atletico Madrid is brought out to play, their defense will no longer be solid. That will definitely be a good opportunity for Southampton, who are good at attacking, isn't it?

In fact, Atletico Madrid pressed forward, and pressed forward madly, pressing all over the field.

But does Southampton have a chance?

The answer is, no!

No one expected that Atletico Madrid, who were attacking frantically, could create such a big threat. Even Southampton was forced to retreat.

Who could have thought that after fighting for seventy or eighty minutes, this bed sheet army could still burst out with such amazing combat power?

Southampton quickly made the third and final substitution of the game.

Bielsa replaced Ibrahimovic with Matic to strengthen the team's midfield defense.

"The fans of the entire Luz Stadium were applauding Ibrahimovic, including many Atletico Madrid fans. The Swedish center forward's performance in this game was really good!"

"The goal just now was entirely the result of his personal efforts. If Southampton eventually beat Atletico Madrid with one goal, Ibrahimovic will definitely be the biggest contributor to the Saints tonight!"

"It's no surprise that Bielsa brought on Matic. After losing the ball, Atletico Madrid counterattacked very fiercely, and specifically took advantage of the gaps between Southampton's midfield and defense. It was obviously not enough to rely on just Toni Kroos!"

"Now that Matic is on the field, we should strengthen the midfield defense, especially the front line of defense!"

Atletico Madrid's Koke, Isco and Tevez almost always roamed between Southampton's defense and midfield.

As long as the Colchoneros pass the ball to this area and to their feet, they can create a certain threat.

Just now, two counterattacks were launched from here. One was Varane's calm tackle in the penalty area at a critical moment, and the other was Neuer's positioning at a critical moment and saved the ball. Both were very dangerous.

Therefore, Bielsa arranged for Matic to come up at this time, also intending to fill the gap between the two lines.

"Well done, Zlatan!"

After seeing Ibrahimovic and Matic hugging each other and walking off the field, Bielsa immediately came over and hugged him.

"Go and rest first, leave the rest to us!"

Ibrahimovic took the sports drink handed to him by the staff and breathed heavily.

The reason why he was replaced was because he really couldn't run anymore.

The team is now in a passive position, Atletico Madrid is launching a crazy counterattack, and Southampton is retreating on all fronts. A center forward who can't run can't do much on the court, so it's not surprising that he was substituted.

Besides, he scored a goal!

"I'll just watch from the sidelines!" Ibrahimovic stood there motionless, staring at the court intently, muttering to himself.

"I want to see the team win the championship with my own eyes!"

Not only him, many players on the bench had also left their seats and walked to the sidelines.

The game has entered the final eighty minutes. If Atletico Madrid fails to score, the game will end with a score of one to zero.

Therefore, the last ten minutes are crucial!

"I didn't expect that even a player like Isco would be trained by Simeone to be so good at running and defending in Atletico Madrid!"

Luis Borini really admires Simeone.

The key is not just being able to run, more importantly, Simeone has maintained the spirituality of Isco when he played football.

Bielsa kept nodding his head. "The player himself is also very smart. Since he was in Southampton, he has been adjusting. He has realized his shortcomings and worked hard to make up for them and improve his competitiveness in the team. He is a very smart player!"

Some players are aware of their shortcomings and will work hard to correct and make up for them.

But what about the players?

He has no motivation to discover his own shortcomings. Even when the coach points them out to him, he has no intention to improve or make up for them. The team's overall tactics must accommodate his characteristics.

There is no doubt that Isco belongs to the former.

This is also what Simeone values ​​most about him!

"In fact, Simeone has made a lot of adjustments and even compromises at the overall tactical level of the team in order to inspire Isco. His tactical position in Atletico Madrid is a bit like the core of the midfield. Once the offense is deadlocked, Isco is a weapon to break the dense defense!"

Because Atletico Madrid's overall defense is excellent from front to back, especially the front is filled with fighter-type players like Diego Costa, Tevez and Griezmann, so Isco can get more tactical freedom behind them.

What Isco is best at is undoubtedly when the team's trident suppresses the opponent's defense in the penalty area, he lurks in front of the penalty area and uses his superb footwork and spiritual final pass to maximize the threat.

Atletico Madrid's two threatening attacks just now were both launched by Isco.

That's why Bielsa chose to replace Ibrahimovic with Matic.

With the arrival of Matic, together with Toni Kroos and James Rodriguez who actively retreated, the front line of Southampton's defense was protected and the situation was temporarily stabilized.

This also made Bielsa and others on the sidelines feel a little relieved.

It was a timely substitution to bring on Matic. If there had been a little more hesitation and delay, Atletico Madrid might have scored a goal.

It's good like this now. As long as the defense can hold up, Atletico Madrid will have a headache.

…………

…………

Simeone really has a headache!

He found that his team had missed the best chance to equalize the score!

If the team had been able to seize both chances after conceding the goal just now, the situation would have been reversed long ago, let alone equalizing.

But Southampton is Southampton after all, and at the crucial moment, the players' personal abilities came into play.

First it was Varane's individual defense, and then Neuer's key save, Atletico Madrid was just a little bit away from scoring.

Well, the old guy Bielsa reacted quickly and now he has stabilized his position, and Atletico Madrid has no chance.

In today's European football, there are only three teams with the strongest midfield.

Real Madrid, Bayern Munich and Southampton.

As for the old powerhouse Barcelona, ​​with the aging of Xavi and Iniesta, it is no longer as strong as it used to be.

But all three teams have some problems.

Real Madrid's front trident has too much freedom, especially Cristiano Ronaldo and Gareth Bale. The Portuguese has unlimited firing rights, forcing the midfield to clean up their messes.

If the midfield could strengthen its control and control the overall situation at this time, the overall level of Real Madrid would be raised to a higher level, but Florentino introduced Vidal instead.

Even if Ancelotti brought in Di Maria, Real Madrid's overall control is still very weak.

If you have weak control, your ability to decide the game will be poor. If you meet a team with weak control, you will be abused in various ways. But if you meet a team with strong control, you will be easily led by the nose.

Of course, looking at European football, there are only a handful of teams that can follow Real Madrid's lead.

But Real Madrid's midfield is also quite outstanding in terms of attacking from behind, individual breakthroughs, organization and long passes.

This is why almost everyone is calling on Real Madrid to sign Modric and Toni Kroos.

The former strengthens the midfield control, while the latter takes over from Xabi Alonso.

This will take Real Madrid's midfield to the next level.

Bayern Munich's midfield is also very interesting. The combination of Schweinsteiger, Thiago and Lahm is organized and has reasonable ball distribution. They also have good control, breakthrough ability and back-up attack.

Although they seem very comprehensive, in fact, none of them are outstanding.

This is also related to the players' own strength and characteristics.

For example, Schweinsteiger's error rate is hard to satisfy as a midfield core, so he has been criticized this season. Many times, Guardiola would rather use Lahm than him.

Therefore, many times, Bayern Munich's midfield is very comprehensive and can keep the team running smoothly, but it does not pose much threat. It is more about supporting the attacks of Ribery and Robben on the two wings in the frontcourt.

This is also the reason why Bayern Munich intends to recall Toni Kroos.

The latter can provide Bayern Munich with the most stable organizational dispatch and excellent offensive routine design, and his precise long passes are also very much needed by Bayern Munich at present.

Just imagine, Ribery and Robben flying on both wings, Toni Kroos falling back, making precise diagonal passes to both flanks. Isn't the picture too beautiful to look at?

Southampton's midfield has the strongest control, especially after Vidal was released this season, James Rodriguez and Pogba rose to prominence, and the combination of double defensive midfielders Toni Kroos and Modric gave the midfield control full power.

Organizational ability, passing and dispatching, leading the offensive direction...

Southampton did almost everything a midfield could do, and did it quite well.

It is no exaggeration to say that Southampton is the team with the strongest midfield in today's football.

That’s why they were able to punch Real Madrid, kick Bayern Munich, and reach the Champions League final.

But it also has weaknesses!

That is, with Vidal transferring to Real Madrid, the team's attacking ability from behind is relatively weak and its ability to break through the midfield is relatively lacking.

The two young players, James Rodriguez and Pogba, are indeed growing very fast and are quite outstanding, but the characteristics of the players make it difficult for them to make up for the weaknesses and shortcomings in the midfield.

But Southampton's frontcourt is quite good, especially Ibrahimovic, who is too intimidating in the frontcourt. Coupled with players such as Hazard, Suarez, Sanchez, Ravel Morrison and Sturridge, Southampton's entire midfield and frontcourt are strong, which can cover up the weaknesses of the midfield to the greatest extent.

But if Ibrahimovic really leaves the team this season, then the problem that follows is that the ability to suppress in the frontcourt will weaken and the problems in the midfield are likely to be exposed. What should we do then?

In addition, Modric and Toni Kroos have been poached by many top clubs. How will Southampton operate?

Thinking about others and then looking at himself, Simeone suddenly felt that his team's midfield was very reasonable.

The midfield three of Isco, Illarramendi and Koke has great potential.

What’s more, they are still young!

Even if Atletico Madrid loses this game tonight, it will reap the future!

Thinking of this, Simeone felt much better.

Because he firmly believed that one day he would make a comeback!