Chapter 254 Manchester City's secret tactics shocked everyone's jaws!
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Xian Xue Niao
Chapter 254 Manchester City's secret tactics shocked everyone's jaws!
After the 33rd round of the Premier League ended, it was time for the Champions League.
Like Manchester City's choice, after the game against Real Betis, the Barcelona team came to Manchester 2 days in advance to prepare for the game.
They borrowed the training base of Manchester City's neighbor Manchester United. The training bases of the two teams are next to each other, only a few hundred meters away.
In order to avoid leaking tactics, Pellegrini chose to close the training ground and invited all the fans and outside reporters out.
This move immediately aroused speculation from the outside world:
"Is Manchester City holding back their big move?"
"It should be. It seems that I have never seen them in closed training before. This seems to be the first time?"
"I don't know what big move Pellegrini has prepared to deal with Barcelona!"
Blue Moon fans are very supportive of Manchester City's decision to close training.
After all, the promotion of the Champions League is the priority. It doesn't matter if they can't go to the training ground to watch the team's training.
Of course, if Pellegrini keeps training closed like this, then the fans will definitely stop doing it!
For fans of the Premier League, seeing that Manchester United is in danger, Manchester City may become the only seedling in the entire Premier League.
At this time, they naturally hope that Manchester City can beat Barcelona at home and keep a fire for the Premier League.
Last season, none of the Premier League teams reached the quarter-finals, which made the Premier League a little bit embarrassed in front of La Liga and Bundesliga.
This season, Manchester City and Manchester United broke into the quarter-finals, which can be regarded as a little bit of dignity for them.
But this is not enough. If they can go one step further and break into the semi-finals or even reach the final, it will mark the re-emergence of the Premier League!
During the peak period of the Premier League, almost every year, Premier League teams entered the finals, and there was even a Premier League civil war between Manchester United and Chelsea.
But last year, with the general decline of giants such as Manchester United, the Premier League's Champions League record entered a low period.
This season, Manchester United has been plagued by persistent illnesses, Chelsea's frontal weakness is serious, and Arsenal's traditional love has lost the chain. Seeing that they can't count on it, they pin all their hopes on Manchester City.
But for the Spanish media and Barcelona fans, they are very dissatisfied with Manchester City doing this.
Originally, Barcelona's scouts were going to sneak outside the training ground to spy on the military situation, but after they came, they were dumbfounded, and the opponent closed the training base.
This defeats their intention of spying on intelligence!
The Spanish media, who accompanied the team on the expedition, seized this point and began to attack Manchester City, thinking that the prospective champions of the Premier League were afraid of Barcelona, otherwise why would they go to such trouble?
For a while, news such as Manchester City's fear of Barcelona appeared one after another.
However, most of them were reported by the Spanish media, and the British media chose to turn a blind eye to this.
Manchester City will also ignore the cynicism of the Spanish media. If they are afraid of Barcelona, they will know it on the field!
At the press conference before the game, Martino confidently stated that he has found a way to restrain Manchester City. In this game, Barcelona will leave Manchester with a victory and a place to advance to the semi-finals.
Faced with the bragging of the Barcelona coach, Pellegrini suppressed a smile while answering the reporter's question:
"Well, we have prepared something new. As for what it is, hehe, please go to the arena to see it!"
The Manchester City coach kept a secret and did not directly reveal the issues that the reporters were most concerned about.
The whole world knows that Manchester City has conducted closed training, so they all want to know what they have prepared, but the other party just doesn't say anything, which makes them even more curious!
After learning what Pellegrini said in the pre-match press conference, Barcelona coach Martino was surprised.
What 'surprise' did the opponent prepare for Barcelona?
The more I think about it, the more uneasy I feel!
……
On April 2014, 4, at the Etihad Stadium, Manchester City's home game against Barcelona in the second round of the Champions League quarter-finals was in progress.
It has been 10 minutes since the start of the game, and the score on the field is still 0:0, but Manchester City's tactics have shocked many people's jaws!
"Uh, am I right? Manchester City is using our traditional Premier League long pass tactics against Barcelona?"
In the commentary seat, Andy Gray, the commentator of Sky Sports, widened his eyes and was very surprised to see Manchester City kicking their feet to find the forwards after the opening.
"It does look like a long pass. Few people use this tactic in the Premier League now. Why did Manchester City suddenly use this tactic?"
Martin Taylor also couldn't figure it out. In the Premier League, the long pass is only used by those teams in the middle and lower ranks. The giants disdain this kind of tactic without technical content.
And with the proliferation of technical football, even in the middle and lower reaches of the Premier League, they have begun to take the path of ground advancement, with more and more technical and tactical content, and fewer and fewer long-pass tactics.
However, Manchester City, uncharacteristically, picked up this retro, unskilled tactic.
What is this doing?
Barcelona coach Martino is also thinking about this question. Is this the secret tactic that Pellegrini said?
This is what Manchester City has been preparing for several days of closed training?
Are you kidding me?
In the last game, Manchester City's quick counterattacks made Barcelona terrified. In this game, in order to limit Manchester City's counterattacks, Martino specially arranged for players to specifically limit Manchester City's two kick-out points—Kroos and De Bruyne.
In the last game, Barcelona didn't have a deep understanding of these two, so they didn't restrict them in a targeted manner, giving them a chance to instigate a counterattack in the backcourt.
And this time, after realizing the great role of the two, Barcelona will no longer ignore them.
However, what Martino did not expect was that Manchester City actually changed their tactics.
They no longer rely on specific players to instigate a counterattack. After they steal the ball in the backcourt, all players who get the ball can instigate a counterattack. The method is also very simple. Aim at the direction where the players in the frontcourt are, and send the ball towards Barcelona half-court with big feet Just kick it.
In this game, Manchester City did not let Aguero start on the front line, but chose to let Negredo, a tall center with the ability to stand up, start.
Negredo is tall and can stand in position to play the ball for his teammates. He can perfectly act as a fulcrum to ferry the ball to teammates who follow behind, allowing teammates to complete the final offensive task.
In the first 10 minutes of the game, Manchester City had launched three such counterattacks.
Although he couldn't figure out what Manchester City was going to do, the opponent's tactics didn't work, which made Martino decide to stay put and observe first.
Once again blocked Manchester City's counterattack, Barcelona defender Bartra gave a disdainful look at Negredo who wanted to grab the ball with him.
Want to deal with Barcelona with this simple tactic?
It's just a big dream!
Negredo also saw the other party's disdainful eyes. He resisted the urge to give the other party a middle finger, and cursed secretly in his heart:
We'll wait and see, when we succeed in the fight, I see if you're still smiling!
Although the Manchester City fans who came to the Etihad Stadium didn't know why the team chose this tactic, they cheered loudly every time the team moved forward.
This is pure English football, and that's how the hell it's supposed to be played!
They felt that Barcelona played in a flashy way, without a single shot after dozens of kicks, and the people watching were drowsy.
However, when Manchester City played a wonderful pass and cut match like Barcelona, they applauded even louder!
Look, our Manchester City can also play this kind of fancy work that can only be played by the top giants. My big Manchester City is really the best!
Well, it's such a double standard!
……
In the 17th minute, Manchester City had another chance to counterattack.
Unlike the previous three attacks, this time it was Kroos who completed the pass.
The German made a precise long pass and found Lin Quan who was running fast.
Kroos' passing ability is indeed much higher than that of other players in Manchester City's backcourt. His passing is not only accurate, but also with just the right intensity.
Lin Quan easily got the ball from the side. He quickly dribbled the ball towards Barcelona's penalty area while observing his teammates' running positions.
In order to ensure the stability of the defense line, Manchester City will not invest too much force in the counterattack, and only the four-man team in the frontcourt will complete the attack.
At this time, among the four players in the frontcourt, only Negredo ran in front of Lin Quan.
But he was followed by Baltra, and behind him were Busquets and others chasing back. Passing the ball directly to him was easy to be intercepted.
Seeing this, Lin Quan gave up the idea of passing it on to Negredo.
He took the ball towards Barcelona's penalty area and killed it!
Alba was going to rush to grab the ball when he saw where the football was falling, but Lin Quan moved faster than him and got the ball one step ahead of time.
Alba suddenly felt as if he was facing a big enemy. He knew that Lin Quan was very powerful, so he didn't dare to go up and get too close. Force him to go wide, away from Barcelona's goal.
This trick may work against ordinary wingers, but it is not so effective against players like Lin Quan who like to cut inside and shoot.
Lin Quan continuously dialed the ball to the left while moving quickly, moving laterally towards the middle.
Alba tried hard to keep up with Lin Quan, but soon, he felt that he could not keep up with the opponent's speed, and if he continued like this, he would be opened up by the opponent to break through.
In desperation, Alba had no choice but to fight to the death and stretched out his feet to intercept!
This was what Lin Quan had been waiting for. Seeing him make a move, he quickly passed him with a deep-fried ball that was extremely fast.
Seeing that Alba was passed, Mascherano had to move laterally to intercept. At the same time, Baltra also moved towards Lin Quan, handing Negredo to Alvi who was chasing back. Defense.
As soon as the two moved their front feet, Lin Quan completed the pass with his back foot.
Negredo stopped decisively, stopped moving forward, retreated after receiving a pass from Lin Quan, went straight forward, and then passed back to Lin Quan.
This is a tactic that has been practiced many times in the training of the Manchester City team. As long as Lin Quan can take advantage of the trend, it will be a one-shot.
Seeing that Lin Quan was about to kill, Barcelona had to make a tactical foul, and Bartra put Lin Quan outside the penalty area.
The referee gave the Barcelona defender a yellow card and awarded Manchester City a free kick.
"If you can't prevent it, foul early, don't wait until the opponent reaches the front of the penalty area to foul!"
Alves criticized Alba very seriously, and the latter's choice almost caused Barcelona to fall into the abyss.
If Manchester City scored another goal at this time, they would have to score three goals in a row to advance.
Seeing the players stop Manchester City's counterattack, Martino breathed a sigh of relief and couldn't help wiping the sweat from his forehead.
Damn, if he is defeated by Manchester City using such a retro tactic, then he really has to find a piece of tofu and kill him!
The majestic space team Barcelona was defeated by a long pass!
If you say this, you will be laughed out of your teeth, and the name of the universe team may fall into the Mariana Trench!
Manchester City's free kick failed to pose a threat, and it was Barcelona's turn to attack!
Compared with the previous game, Barcelona played more steadily today.
In order to avoid giving Manchester City a chance to counterattack, they patiently turned their feet, and they would never make an easy move without an excellent opportunity.
Barcelona has been playing pass control for several years, and they have long been familiar with pass control.
The magic weapon of pass control is to involve and mobilize the opponent's defense line through continuous passing, running, and cross-positioning, consuming the opponent's physical strength and constantly exerting psychological pressure on the opponent.
Most teams can't help feeling anxious when facing Barcelona.
It is not difficult to concentrate occasionally during the game, but it is difficult to maintain a very high degree of concentration throughout the game.
When facing Barcelona, you need to keep your concentration throughout the game, otherwise it will be easy to give your opponent a chance.
Therefore, when facing Barcelona, many players can keep up with the opponent's rhythm at the beginning, but the more they kick back, the greater the physical and mental consumption, and then they tend to become frizzy and suffer at a certain moment. Can't help but rush up.
The defense of modern football relies on the whole, and maintaining the integrity of the defense is something that many coaches emphasize.
When a certain player breaks away from the whole and rushes up to grab the ball, but fails to grab the ball successfully, it will easily lead to loopholes in the entire defense line.
The reason is very simple. When you go up to grab, your teammates may not have time to cooperate with you. If you run and your teammates don’t run or take a step slower, there will be a gap between the two. This is a top team like Barcelona that is good at seizing opportunities. For a player, such a mistake may mean losing the ball.
Therefore, Barcelona only needs to wait patiently for the opponent to make a mistake, and then seize the opportunity of the opponent to make a mistake and punish them!
At its peak, Barcelona had a particularly strong ability to seize opportunities. Even the top teams had to be careful not to make mistakes when facing Barcelona.
Although Barcelona at this time is not as strong as it was at its peak, their ability to seize opportunities is still very strong with players such as Messi, Neymar and Iniesta still on the court!
However, Manchester City played very confidently today.
They are not afraid of Barcelona's pass and control at all. The players are very active in grabbing and intercepting. Even if they make a mistake, their teammates will make up the defense in time, making it difficult for Barcelona to seize the opportunity.
This made Barcelona feel very depressed. It felt that the opponent had evolved and upgraded after beating them, and became more difficult than the previous game.
Pellegrini tasted the sweetness in the last game, so as before, he arranged a special person to limit Harvey's performance, which made Barcelona's brain very uncomfortable.
When Harvey was young, his ability to get rid of was very strong. The iconic "magic circle of love" is Harvey's forte.
But with age, Harvey's physical fitness is declining.
The 34-year-old Harvey's explosive power and physical fitness are not as good as before. If this is the beginning of the season, he can still maintain a relatively good state.
But now it's the end of the season, and the fatigue accumulated throughout the season has caused Harvey's state to decline significantly.
In the face of Manchester City's target, Harvey was a little powerless.
It's up to you, Xiaobai, Messi!
Under the pressure of Yaya Toure, Xavi gave the ball to Iniesta with difficulty.
Iniesta and Messi made a two-for-one cooperation, dodged Kroos who was grabbing, and handed the ball back to Messi.
However, Messi had just received the ball when he was tackled to the ground by Demichelis.
The referee's whistle sounded immediately and Barcelona was awarded a free kick.
This is the third frontcourt free kick Barcelona got in the first half. The first two times they failed to hit a threat. This time the position is relatively good. After discussing with Messi, Xiaobai decided to let Messi directly hit the door.
Messi placed the ball in the middle of the goal, Joe Hart directed Manchester City's players to line up a wall on the right, and he himself stood a little to the left of the goal. Directions are hard to come by.
Messi glanced at the opponent's wall and the goalkeeper's position, and made a decision in his heart.
Facing this situation, most free kick players will choose to bypass the wall and hang the ball into the right side of the goal.
Doing so will increase the difficulty for the goalkeeper to save. If the angle is more tricky, it will be difficult for the goalkeeper to save without moving in advance.
But the difficulty is that such a ball requires high footwork from the players, not only to be able to cross the wall, but also to be tricky.
In many cases, this kind of free kick is either blocked by a high-jumping wall, or it is hit too high and flies into the stands.
But if you choose to play on the left side of the goal, it is difficult to get past the hurdle of the goalkeeper who is waiting for you.
Messi did not choose these two methods, but chose to hit the goal directly in the middle of the goal, as if he was taking a penalty kick!
This goal greatly exceeded the expectations of the Manchester City players. Goalkeeper Joe Hart rushed towards the center in a hurry, but the ball was too fast, and Joe Hart was not absolutely sure to throw the ball away!
Is it going to concede the ball at home so early?
Joe Hart was a little annoyed!
The Manchester City fans at the scene let out an exclamation. Obviously, they also realized the danger!
The Barcelona fans have already clenched their hands, and they are ready to celebrate wantonly when the ball flies into the goal!
However, at this moment, a figure appeared on the path of the football and blocked the ball with his body.
Joe Hart looked up in surprise and saw the jersey number on the opponent's back - No. 10!
It was Lin Quan who appeared in front of the goal at a critical moment and blocked Messi's almost inevitable goal!
After blocking Messi's free kick, Lin Quan couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief.
After seeing Messi's move, he guessed that he might hit the goal directly from the middle.
This trick is not commonly used by Messi now, but he often uses it in another plane.
Barcelona's corner kick was taken, Joe Hart attacked and got the ball.
With a yell, he rushed into the penalty area and threw the ball with his hand.
It's Manchester City's counterattack again!
Ask for a monthly pass!
(End of this chapter)
After the 33rd round of the Premier League ended, it was time for the Champions League.
Like Manchester City's choice, after the game against Real Betis, the Barcelona team came to Manchester 2 days in advance to prepare for the game.
They borrowed the training base of Manchester City's neighbor Manchester United. The training bases of the two teams are next to each other, only a few hundred meters away.
In order to avoid leaking tactics, Pellegrini chose to close the training ground and invited all the fans and outside reporters out.
This move immediately aroused speculation from the outside world:
"Is Manchester City holding back their big move?"
"It should be. It seems that I have never seen them in closed training before. This seems to be the first time?"
"I don't know what big move Pellegrini has prepared to deal with Barcelona!"
Blue Moon fans are very supportive of Manchester City's decision to close training.
After all, the promotion of the Champions League is the priority. It doesn't matter if they can't go to the training ground to watch the team's training.
Of course, if Pellegrini keeps training closed like this, then the fans will definitely stop doing it!
For fans of the Premier League, seeing that Manchester United is in danger, Manchester City may become the only seedling in the entire Premier League.
At this time, they naturally hope that Manchester City can beat Barcelona at home and keep a fire for the Premier League.
Last season, none of the Premier League teams reached the quarter-finals, which made the Premier League a little bit embarrassed in front of La Liga and Bundesliga.
This season, Manchester City and Manchester United broke into the quarter-finals, which can be regarded as a little bit of dignity for them.
But this is not enough. If they can go one step further and break into the semi-finals or even reach the final, it will mark the re-emergence of the Premier League!
During the peak period of the Premier League, almost every year, Premier League teams entered the finals, and there was even a Premier League civil war between Manchester United and Chelsea.
But last year, with the general decline of giants such as Manchester United, the Premier League's Champions League record entered a low period.
This season, Manchester United has been plagued by persistent illnesses, Chelsea's frontal weakness is serious, and Arsenal's traditional love has lost the chain. Seeing that they can't count on it, they pin all their hopes on Manchester City.
But for the Spanish media and Barcelona fans, they are very dissatisfied with Manchester City doing this.
Originally, Barcelona's scouts were going to sneak outside the training ground to spy on the military situation, but after they came, they were dumbfounded, and the opponent closed the training base.
This defeats their intention of spying on intelligence!
The Spanish media, who accompanied the team on the expedition, seized this point and began to attack Manchester City, thinking that the prospective champions of the Premier League were afraid of Barcelona, otherwise why would they go to such trouble?
For a while, news such as Manchester City's fear of Barcelona appeared one after another.
However, most of them were reported by the Spanish media, and the British media chose to turn a blind eye to this.
Manchester City will also ignore the cynicism of the Spanish media. If they are afraid of Barcelona, they will know it on the field!
At the press conference before the game, Martino confidently stated that he has found a way to restrain Manchester City. In this game, Barcelona will leave Manchester with a victory and a place to advance to the semi-finals.
Faced with the bragging of the Barcelona coach, Pellegrini suppressed a smile while answering the reporter's question:
"Well, we have prepared something new. As for what it is, hehe, please go to the arena to see it!"
The Manchester City coach kept a secret and did not directly reveal the issues that the reporters were most concerned about.
The whole world knows that Manchester City has conducted closed training, so they all want to know what they have prepared, but the other party just doesn't say anything, which makes them even more curious!
After learning what Pellegrini said in the pre-match press conference, Barcelona coach Martino was surprised.
What 'surprise' did the opponent prepare for Barcelona?
The more I think about it, the more uneasy I feel!
……
On April 2014, 4, at the Etihad Stadium, Manchester City's home game against Barcelona in the second round of the Champions League quarter-finals was in progress.
It has been 10 minutes since the start of the game, and the score on the field is still 0:0, but Manchester City's tactics have shocked many people's jaws!
"Uh, am I right? Manchester City is using our traditional Premier League long pass tactics against Barcelona?"
In the commentary seat, Andy Gray, the commentator of Sky Sports, widened his eyes and was very surprised to see Manchester City kicking their feet to find the forwards after the opening.
"It does look like a long pass. Few people use this tactic in the Premier League now. Why did Manchester City suddenly use this tactic?"
Martin Taylor also couldn't figure it out. In the Premier League, the long pass is only used by those teams in the middle and lower ranks. The giants disdain this kind of tactic without technical content.
And with the proliferation of technical football, even in the middle and lower reaches of the Premier League, they have begun to take the path of ground advancement, with more and more technical and tactical content, and fewer and fewer long-pass tactics.
However, Manchester City, uncharacteristically, picked up this retro, unskilled tactic.
What is this doing?
Barcelona coach Martino is also thinking about this question. Is this the secret tactic that Pellegrini said?
This is what Manchester City has been preparing for several days of closed training?
Are you kidding me?
In the last game, Manchester City's quick counterattacks made Barcelona terrified. In this game, in order to limit Manchester City's counterattacks, Martino specially arranged for players to specifically limit Manchester City's two kick-out points—Kroos and De Bruyne.
In the last game, Barcelona didn't have a deep understanding of these two, so they didn't restrict them in a targeted manner, giving them a chance to instigate a counterattack in the backcourt.
And this time, after realizing the great role of the two, Barcelona will no longer ignore them.
However, what Martino did not expect was that Manchester City actually changed their tactics.
They no longer rely on specific players to instigate a counterattack. After they steal the ball in the backcourt, all players who get the ball can instigate a counterattack. The method is also very simple. Aim at the direction where the players in the frontcourt are, and send the ball towards Barcelona half-court with big feet Just kick it.
In this game, Manchester City did not let Aguero start on the front line, but chose to let Negredo, a tall center with the ability to stand up, start.
Negredo is tall and can stand in position to play the ball for his teammates. He can perfectly act as a fulcrum to ferry the ball to teammates who follow behind, allowing teammates to complete the final offensive task.
In the first 10 minutes of the game, Manchester City had launched three such counterattacks.
Although he couldn't figure out what Manchester City was going to do, the opponent's tactics didn't work, which made Martino decide to stay put and observe first.
Once again blocked Manchester City's counterattack, Barcelona defender Bartra gave a disdainful look at Negredo who wanted to grab the ball with him.
Want to deal with Barcelona with this simple tactic?
It's just a big dream!
Negredo also saw the other party's disdainful eyes. He resisted the urge to give the other party a middle finger, and cursed secretly in his heart:
We'll wait and see, when we succeed in the fight, I see if you're still smiling!
Although the Manchester City fans who came to the Etihad Stadium didn't know why the team chose this tactic, they cheered loudly every time the team moved forward.
This is pure English football, and that's how the hell it's supposed to be played!
They felt that Barcelona played in a flashy way, without a single shot after dozens of kicks, and the people watching were drowsy.
However, when Manchester City played a wonderful pass and cut match like Barcelona, they applauded even louder!
Look, our Manchester City can also play this kind of fancy work that can only be played by the top giants. My big Manchester City is really the best!
Well, it's such a double standard!
……
In the 17th minute, Manchester City had another chance to counterattack.
Unlike the previous three attacks, this time it was Kroos who completed the pass.
The German made a precise long pass and found Lin Quan who was running fast.
Kroos' passing ability is indeed much higher than that of other players in Manchester City's backcourt. His passing is not only accurate, but also with just the right intensity.
Lin Quan easily got the ball from the side. He quickly dribbled the ball towards Barcelona's penalty area while observing his teammates' running positions.
In order to ensure the stability of the defense line, Manchester City will not invest too much force in the counterattack, and only the four-man team in the frontcourt will complete the attack.
At this time, among the four players in the frontcourt, only Negredo ran in front of Lin Quan.
But he was followed by Baltra, and behind him were Busquets and others chasing back. Passing the ball directly to him was easy to be intercepted.
Seeing this, Lin Quan gave up the idea of passing it on to Negredo.
He took the ball towards Barcelona's penalty area and killed it!
Alba was going to rush to grab the ball when he saw where the football was falling, but Lin Quan moved faster than him and got the ball one step ahead of time.
Alba suddenly felt as if he was facing a big enemy. He knew that Lin Quan was very powerful, so he didn't dare to go up and get too close. Force him to go wide, away from Barcelona's goal.
This trick may work against ordinary wingers, but it is not so effective against players like Lin Quan who like to cut inside and shoot.
Lin Quan continuously dialed the ball to the left while moving quickly, moving laterally towards the middle.
Alba tried hard to keep up with Lin Quan, but soon, he felt that he could not keep up with the opponent's speed, and if he continued like this, he would be opened up by the opponent to break through.
In desperation, Alba had no choice but to fight to the death and stretched out his feet to intercept!
This was what Lin Quan had been waiting for. Seeing him make a move, he quickly passed him with a deep-fried ball that was extremely fast.
Seeing that Alba was passed, Mascherano had to move laterally to intercept. At the same time, Baltra also moved towards Lin Quan, handing Negredo to Alvi who was chasing back. Defense.
As soon as the two moved their front feet, Lin Quan completed the pass with his back foot.
Negredo stopped decisively, stopped moving forward, retreated after receiving a pass from Lin Quan, went straight forward, and then passed back to Lin Quan.
This is a tactic that has been practiced many times in the training of the Manchester City team. As long as Lin Quan can take advantage of the trend, it will be a one-shot.
Seeing that Lin Quan was about to kill, Barcelona had to make a tactical foul, and Bartra put Lin Quan outside the penalty area.
The referee gave the Barcelona defender a yellow card and awarded Manchester City a free kick.
"If you can't prevent it, foul early, don't wait until the opponent reaches the front of the penalty area to foul!"
Alves criticized Alba very seriously, and the latter's choice almost caused Barcelona to fall into the abyss.
If Manchester City scored another goal at this time, they would have to score three goals in a row to advance.
Seeing the players stop Manchester City's counterattack, Martino breathed a sigh of relief and couldn't help wiping the sweat from his forehead.
Damn, if he is defeated by Manchester City using such a retro tactic, then he really has to find a piece of tofu and kill him!
The majestic space team Barcelona was defeated by a long pass!
If you say this, you will be laughed out of your teeth, and the name of the universe team may fall into the Mariana Trench!
Manchester City's free kick failed to pose a threat, and it was Barcelona's turn to attack!
Compared with the previous game, Barcelona played more steadily today.
In order to avoid giving Manchester City a chance to counterattack, they patiently turned their feet, and they would never make an easy move without an excellent opportunity.
Barcelona has been playing pass control for several years, and they have long been familiar with pass control.
The magic weapon of pass control is to involve and mobilize the opponent's defense line through continuous passing, running, and cross-positioning, consuming the opponent's physical strength and constantly exerting psychological pressure on the opponent.
Most teams can't help feeling anxious when facing Barcelona.
It is not difficult to concentrate occasionally during the game, but it is difficult to maintain a very high degree of concentration throughout the game.
When facing Barcelona, you need to keep your concentration throughout the game, otherwise it will be easy to give your opponent a chance.
Therefore, when facing Barcelona, many players can keep up with the opponent's rhythm at the beginning, but the more they kick back, the greater the physical and mental consumption, and then they tend to become frizzy and suffer at a certain moment. Can't help but rush up.
The defense of modern football relies on the whole, and maintaining the integrity of the defense is something that many coaches emphasize.
When a certain player breaks away from the whole and rushes up to grab the ball, but fails to grab the ball successfully, it will easily lead to loopholes in the entire defense line.
The reason is very simple. When you go up to grab, your teammates may not have time to cooperate with you. If you run and your teammates don’t run or take a step slower, there will be a gap between the two. This is a top team like Barcelona that is good at seizing opportunities. For a player, such a mistake may mean losing the ball.
Therefore, Barcelona only needs to wait patiently for the opponent to make a mistake, and then seize the opportunity of the opponent to make a mistake and punish them!
At its peak, Barcelona had a particularly strong ability to seize opportunities. Even the top teams had to be careful not to make mistakes when facing Barcelona.
Although Barcelona at this time is not as strong as it was at its peak, their ability to seize opportunities is still very strong with players such as Messi, Neymar and Iniesta still on the court!
However, Manchester City played very confidently today.
They are not afraid of Barcelona's pass and control at all. The players are very active in grabbing and intercepting. Even if they make a mistake, their teammates will make up the defense in time, making it difficult for Barcelona to seize the opportunity.
This made Barcelona feel very depressed. It felt that the opponent had evolved and upgraded after beating them, and became more difficult than the previous game.
Pellegrini tasted the sweetness in the last game, so as before, he arranged a special person to limit Harvey's performance, which made Barcelona's brain very uncomfortable.
When Harvey was young, his ability to get rid of was very strong. The iconic "magic circle of love" is Harvey's forte.
But with age, Harvey's physical fitness is declining.
The 34-year-old Harvey's explosive power and physical fitness are not as good as before. If this is the beginning of the season, he can still maintain a relatively good state.
But now it's the end of the season, and the fatigue accumulated throughout the season has caused Harvey's state to decline significantly.
In the face of Manchester City's target, Harvey was a little powerless.
It's up to you, Xiaobai, Messi!
Under the pressure of Yaya Toure, Xavi gave the ball to Iniesta with difficulty.
Iniesta and Messi made a two-for-one cooperation, dodged Kroos who was grabbing, and handed the ball back to Messi.
However, Messi had just received the ball when he was tackled to the ground by Demichelis.
The referee's whistle sounded immediately and Barcelona was awarded a free kick.
This is the third frontcourt free kick Barcelona got in the first half. The first two times they failed to hit a threat. This time the position is relatively good. After discussing with Messi, Xiaobai decided to let Messi directly hit the door.
Messi placed the ball in the middle of the goal, Joe Hart directed Manchester City's players to line up a wall on the right, and he himself stood a little to the left of the goal. Directions are hard to come by.
Messi glanced at the opponent's wall and the goalkeeper's position, and made a decision in his heart.
Facing this situation, most free kick players will choose to bypass the wall and hang the ball into the right side of the goal.
Doing so will increase the difficulty for the goalkeeper to save. If the angle is more tricky, it will be difficult for the goalkeeper to save without moving in advance.
But the difficulty is that such a ball requires high footwork from the players, not only to be able to cross the wall, but also to be tricky.
In many cases, this kind of free kick is either blocked by a high-jumping wall, or it is hit too high and flies into the stands.
But if you choose to play on the left side of the goal, it is difficult to get past the hurdle of the goalkeeper who is waiting for you.
Messi did not choose these two methods, but chose to hit the goal directly in the middle of the goal, as if he was taking a penalty kick!
This goal greatly exceeded the expectations of the Manchester City players. Goalkeeper Joe Hart rushed towards the center in a hurry, but the ball was too fast, and Joe Hart was not absolutely sure to throw the ball away!
Is it going to concede the ball at home so early?
Joe Hart was a little annoyed!
The Manchester City fans at the scene let out an exclamation. Obviously, they also realized the danger!
The Barcelona fans have already clenched their hands, and they are ready to celebrate wantonly when the ball flies into the goal!
However, at this moment, a figure appeared on the path of the football and blocked the ball with his body.
Joe Hart looked up in surprise and saw the jersey number on the opponent's back - No. 10!
It was Lin Quan who appeared in front of the goal at a critical moment and blocked Messi's almost inevitable goal!
After blocking Messi's free kick, Lin Quan couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief.
After seeing Messi's move, he guessed that he might hit the goal directly from the middle.
This trick is not commonly used by Messi now, but he often uses it in another plane.
Barcelona's corner kick was taken, Joe Hart attacked and got the ball.
With a yell, he rushed into the penalty area and threw the ball with his hand.
It's Manchester City's counterattack again!
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(End of this chapter)
