Chapter 251 Falling behind and then coming back, the fierce battle at Camp Nou

Seeing Lin Quan's defensive strategy against Messi, Busquets' eyes lit up at the back.

Can Lin's method be used to defend him?

Busquets was still haunted by his previous failure to defend Lin Quan. If he had succeeded, Barcelona would not have conceded a goal at home.

Professor Bu is eager to try this method the next time Manchester City attacks.

This is called giving back to others in their own way!

Barcelona's attack did not stop. After Messi lost the chance to break through, he passed the ball to Iniesta.

Iniesta handed it over to Xavi to reorganize, and Xavi glanced at Manchester City's penalty area.

The penalty area is densely packed with players from both sides. It is too difficult to pass the ball directly.

So he passed the ball back to Busquets and used a backcourt kick to control the rhythm.

Barcelona's attack was fast and fierce. Manchester City's defense was compressed so much that the three defense lines were almost stuck together.

At this time, when they saw Barcelona making a move in the backcourt, they immediately pressed out of their formation and regained the flexibility of their defense.

However, this is exactly what Barcelona's brain-Xavi wants to see!

In the 43rd minute, after Barcelona made many consecutive turnovers in the midfield, they saw that Manchester City's defensive formation moved forward a lot, and there was a gap in the backcourt. Xavi suddenly moved the ball to the wing in a wide range.

There were no Barcelona players here, but after Harvey passed the ball, a figure rushed over and received Harvey's pass in the open space on the wing.

who?

Barcelona's No. 22, right back Alves!

Alves immediately dribbled the ball down after receiving the ball from the wing. Manchester City's left back Kolarov thought that the opponent was going to pass down the bottom, so he put his hands behind his back and was ready to block it.

Other Manchester City players also had the same idea, and they all blocked their positions in the penalty area and did not give the opponent a chance to header the ball.

However, surprisingly, Alves did not choose to cross, but knocked the ball back.

Neymar appeared on the path of the football and received the ball at the corner of the penalty area.

This is the connection between the two Brazilians. Alves' dribbling down the base is just a cover. The purpose is actually to open up space for Neymar and create opportunities for him to shoot.

Neymar didn't waste his big brother's assist. After receiving the ball, he adjusted and shot the ball into the blind corner of the goal.

Joe Hart was powerless to do anything about the ball and could only watch as the ball flew into the goal.

Barcelona reversed the game and rewritten the score to 2:1.

This is Neymar's fourth Champions League goal this season. This statistic equals Ronaldinho's number of European goals in his first season with Barcelona.

Although his statistics are not as dazzling as those of superstars such as Lin Quan, in the 9 Champions League games he played, Neymar scored 4 goals and contributed 3 assists, and scored 7 goals by himself.

If you exclude the monster Lin Quan, his statistics are definitely very impressive, and he can even be said to be the best rookie in the Champions League this season.

Neymar was extremely excited after scoring. He ran to the corner and danced a samba.

The fans at Camp Nou also gave warm applause and cheers to the rising superstar in their team.

Neymar's outstanding performance made Barcelona fans feel a lot better.

Hey, we have Messi, we have Neymar, we don’t need Lin!

They began to take turns singing Messi's song and Neymar's song to express their inner thoughts and support for the two Barcelona stars.

Seeing Neymar's goal, Lin Quan was a little helpless.

There is a leak in the defense line!

The teammates were probably a little relaxed because Barcelona didn't attack as fiercely as before.

And their laxity gave Barcelona the opportunity to create murderous opportunities.

Harvey passed the ball very well and took advantage of the change of pace to catch Manchester City off guard.

Of course, Neymar's movement is also very good. When Alves dribbled the ball down, he did not rush into the Manchester City penalty area immediately, so that the Manchester City players did not pay attention to him. Otherwise, he would I'm afraid there won't be a chance to shoot.

"Barcelona scored two goals in ten minutes, and Manchester City was in a huge crisis at Camp Nou. If the score continues to expand, then even if they have a precious away goal in their hands, they will not be able to think about it after returning home. It’s still very difficult to eliminate Barcelona!”

"Yes, for Manchester City, a score of 1:1 or even 2:1 is acceptable, but 3:1 is not acceptable. Facing a strong team like Barcelona, ​​we cannot lose too much. If we lose too much, we will not be able to do it at home. It’s not difficult to make a comeback!”

"The first half is almost over. I don't know what adjustments Manchester City will make during the halftime break. Their situation in the first half was very passive. If they continue to play like this, I'm afraid they won't be far away from conceding the third goal."

On the sidelines, Pellegrini also frowned.

The first half conceded more goals than expected, but fortunately there was a goal and the result was acceptable.

"How many games has Xavi played this season?"

Suddenly, Pellegrini turned his head and asked his assistant coach.

"This season Xavi has played a total of 35 games, 23 in the league, 5 in the cup and 7 in the Champions League.

In the first half of the league season, he often played the entire game, but in the second half of the season, he was often substituted around the 75th minute. "

"Did he play the entire last La Liga game?"

"Yes, the last game between Barcelona and Espanyol was quite anxious. Barcelona didn't score until the 77th minute. After the goal, Martino started to make substitutions, but for some reason, he replaced Neymar, Cesc Fabregas and Pep Deloitte was replaced, but he did not choose to replace the veteran Xavi."

Pellegrini nodded. Martino probably knew Xavi's importance to the team, so he chose to keep him on the court!

But using a 34-year-old veteran in this way is a bit too much!

Thinking of this, Pellegrini has already thought of the tactics for the second half.

The first half whistle sounded and the two teams entered the locker room with a score of 2:1.

This score is more favorable to Barcelona, ​​and the expressions on the faces of Barcelona players are relatively relaxed.

Manchester City players can also accept this score. Although they are one goal behind, this is Barcelona's home court after all, and falling behind is normal.

Besides, don’t we still have 45 minutes left?

…

In the locker room, Pellegrini took out the tactical board and prepared to explain the tactical arrangements for the second half to the players.

Before starting to explain, the Chilean asked the players a question:

"After half a game with Barcelona, ​​what do you think of Barcelona's strength?"

Manchester City players heard this question and expressed their thoughts.

"It's very strong, it's very oppressive!"

"Their passing and control is really good. I'm afraid our ball possession rate is less than 30%, right?"

"There is no way, I can't hold the ball at all. Before I catch the ball, the opponent's players rush up like crazy dogs. They take the ball for a few seconds and then lose it. When passing the ball, there are often opponents in the passing route. The players were sweeping and the pass was accidentally missed!”

Seeing that the team members had reached the point, Pellegrini smiled, clapped his hands, and stopped everyone's discussion:

"It seems that everyone feels deeply!"

Pellegrini looked at Lin Quan and asked, "Lin, are you tired?"

He saw that Lin Quan was working very hard on both offense and defense, so he subconsciously thought that Lin Quan had consumed a lot of energy and would be very tired.

But what surprised Pellegrini was that after hearing his question, Lin Quan shook his head and said, "Fortunately, I'm not tired!"

Well……

Not tired?

In the first half, you ran the most distance. When attacking, you sprinted without any effort, and when defending, you actively retreated to the front of the penalty area to participate in defense.

Isn't this tiring?

Pellegrini was a little stunned for a moment: "Okay, okay, just don't get tired. The team's offense in the second half will have to rely on you. You should save some energy and save it for counterattack!"

Lin Quan's answer made Pellegrini a little unconfident. Fortunately, he then asked a few more people, and everyone's answers were that they felt tired.

On the one hand, I am physically tired, but mainly on the other hand, I am also mentally exhausted.

Faced with Barcelona's pass-and-control style of play, Manchester City's players must be at their best at all times and not dare to relax.

Maintaining such concentration for a long period of time will of course make you feel mentally exhausted.

"If I told you that you are tired and Barcelona on the opposite side is even more tired, would you believe it?"

The players shook their heads. They only saw Barcelona players kicking back. How much consumption can this have?

"Don't believe it? Let's try it in the second half and we'll find out!"

Pellegrini did not try to convince the players, but explained his tactics in the second half.

After the start of the second half, Barcelona quickly discovered the difference in Manchester City.

They found that Manchester City played more proactively, and the players were more active in counterattacking Barcelona in their own half.

It's not like Barcelona has never encountered this kind of pressing, so they didn't care at first.

But as Manchester City players committed several fouls on the court, they began to realize that something was wrong.

"Barcelona had the ball, Xavi kept the ball, Yaya Toure stepped forward to intercept, De Bruyne also came over, Xavi was pressed by Manchester City!"

Not only did Barcelona realize that something was wrong, but the commentators in the commentary box also discovered Manchester City's intentions.

"Since the beginning of the second half, Manchester City seems to have increased its pressure on Harvey. As long as Harvey gets the ball, there will be Manchester City players attacking immediately. This makes it difficult for Harvey to get space to organize an attack."

Xavi is the core of Barcelona's midfield and the brains of the team. Without his command and dispatch, Barcelona's offense was not as smooth as the first half.

And due to Harvey's position, once he loses the ball here, Manchester City will immediately form a threatening attack.

Such attacks occurred rarely in the first half, but less than 10 minutes into the second half, Manchester City had already struck twice.

If not for the outstanding performance of the defender and goalkeeper, Manchester City might have evened the score at this point.

Harvey is experienced and after realizing the opponent's intention, he reduces the number of catches and does not give the opponent a chance to steal the ball and counterattack.

But in this way, it is equivalent to killing one thousand enemies and damaging oneself eight hundred.

Although Manchester City can't open a breakthrough from him, Barcelona's offensive threat has dropped a lot without Xavi's organizational planning.

Moreover, Manchester City's counter-attacking intensity in the second half was comprehensively improved. This does not mean that Xavi gave up the organizational work to Fabregas and Iniesta and they stopped grabbing.

When Fabregas and Xiaobai hold the ball, Manchester City players will also press them.

It is a pity that Manchester City lacks a sweeping midfielder. If Fernandinho is on the court, with his sweeping range, Manchester City's efficiency in counterattacking will be greatly improved.

In the 57th minute, Manchester City successfully counterattacked in the backcourt. Cross took the ball and handed it to David Silva on the wing as soon as possible.

David Silva knew how fast these Barcelona men were pressing, so he didn't dare to take the ball and immediately passed the ball to De Bruyne.

De Bruyne did not dare to take more and quickly passed the ball to Lin Quan.

The ball came to Lin Quan's feet and basically got rid of most of Barcelona's defensive players.

Taking advantage of the fact that Barcelona's full-back had not come back after assisting, Lin Quan quickly dribbled the ball along the wing.

Aguero, David Silva, De Bruyne and other players are also sprinting towards Barcelona's penalty area at the fastest speed.

Manchester City's counterattack was so powerful that the fans at Camp Nou couldn't sit still.

How come this scene is so similar to the time when we lost the ball in the first half!

Busquets hesitated, not knowing whether to restrict Lin Quan or continue to follow Aguero.

After taking a look at the positions of Fabio and Pique, Professor Bu calculated the time and decisively abandoned Aguero and chose to intercept Lin Quan.

Although Lin Quan is on the wing, Busquets still believes that he is the biggest threat.

Because if left alone, he can cut inside with the ball and shoot.

Busquets soon appeared in front of Lin Quan, and he had already calculated it in his mind.

As long as he can delay Lin Quan's advancement a little and drag full-back Alba back to his defensive position, he can resolve the danger this time.

Facing Lin Quan again, Busquets still chose to retreat and defend.

Lin, let me use your method to defeat you!

Busquets is full of confidence. He feels that he is at least 80% sure that he can stop Lin Quan this time.

Lin Quan didn't seem to know Busquets' plan. He seemed to be planning to use the same method as last time to get past Busquets.

It's now!

Busquets quickly turned around the moment Lin Quan completed the breakthrough, blocked Lin Quan's cutting position, and leaned closely against him to disrupt Lin Quan's dribbling rhythm and force him to stop.

This trick really worked, and Lin Quan was successfully forced to stop!

I finally guarded Lin!

Busquets was so excited that he wanted to cry. Since the opponent had stopped, the fast break would not be possible this time. After his teammates got into position one after another, they could start a counterattack to get the ball back.

Wait, where is the ball?

Busquets was shocked to find that the football had disappeared from Lin Quan's feet at some point.

He turned around suddenly, only to find that the football had been passed to the middle by Lin Quan at some point and was handed to Aguero's feet.

Pique gritted his teeth and rushed towards Aguero, but when he rushed over, Aguero passed the ball to the feet of David Silva.

David Silva made a tackle and sent the ball into the goal. Manchester City rewritten the score to 2:2 in the away game!

Silence, deathly silence.

After David Silva scored, Camp Nou fell into a dead silence for more than ten seconds.

Barcelona fans cannot accept that the team was reversed by their opponents at their home court. What they long for is a hearty victory.

But how did it come to this?

Silence was followed by even more violent anger.

A tsunami of boos once again flew into the stadium, flying towards the Manchester City players who were celebrating the goal.

Spectators close to the stadium even threw various debris, including lighters, coins and the like, at the celebrating Manchester City players.

At this time, disappointment and anger had gone to their heads. Even if Manchester City had no grudge against them, they vented their anger on the Manchester City players.

It's not just the Barcelona fans who are angry, but also the 11 players on the field!

We are Cosmos Team Barcelona, ​​the top club in Europe!

We hold 4 Champions League titles!

This is Camp Nou, our sacred home ground, no one is allowed to act wild here!

After the restart, they launched their most violent counterattack since the start of the game.

Barcelona's players ran wildly in the frontcourt and pressed wildly, even if they committed fouls.

In just ten minutes, Barcelona's fighting movements were too large, and Iniesta and Alba each received a topaz card!

In order to prevent the opponent's attack, Manchester City's players also received two yellow cards.

The ones who got the cards were Kolarov and Zabaleta.

These two yellow cards are very detrimental to Manchester City. Their defense now has three yellow cards.

This means that they must be careful when defending, otherwise if they accidentally receive a red card, not only will they have to play more with less in this game, but they will also face suspension penalties in the next game!

Seeing that Manchester City's defensive players were all receiving yellow cards, Messi increased the number of breakthroughs.

In the 63rd minute, Messi dribbled the ball into the penalty area, dunked the ball under Kompany's block, swayed out of the space, and aimed a lob at the dead corner of the goal.

The ball finally passed Joe Hart's fingers, but there was a bang and was rejected by the post.

The fans at the scene let out a sigh. Did even their own pillars betray the team?

However, the attack was not over yet. The ball bounced off the post and was caught by Iniesta. At this time, the goal was empty. Joe Hart had not yet gotten up from the ground. This ball was almost a 100% sure goal.

However, Iniesta's follow-up shot was blocked on the goal line by Demichelis, who fell to the ground and made a tackle.

The football rolled out of the baseline and hit the post hard.

Iniesta hugged his head, it was unbelievable!

Can this ball be blocked?

After he completed the follow-up shot, his hands were raised in preparation for celebration.

However, Demichelis's clearance turned his celebration into annoyance and regret.

Manchester City teammates ran over and hugged Demichelis who made the key clearance.

This goal was thanks to Demichelis' desperate clearance. Otherwise, Manchester City would have fallen behind again.

"Brother Martin, are you okay?"

Lin Quan asked with concern. He had just seen Demichelis hit the pillar and was probably injured.

Demichelis is 34 years old. What old players of this age fear most is injuries.

Young people are in good health and have strong recovery capabilities. An injury may only take a few months to recover.

But for these veterans whose condition is declining and on the decline, a major injury will most likely lead to their retirement.

"It's okay, don't worry, if I can't hold on any longer, I'll apply for a replacement myself!"

Demichelis patted Lin Quan on the shoulder and said to him with a smile.

Seeing that the other party was so sure, Lin Quan felt relieved and returned to his position to defend Barcelona's corner kick.

Iniesta stood in the corner kick area, took a look at the positions of the players on both sides, and then sent the ball to the back point.

There are not many high points in Barcelona. Apart from the goalkeeper, the tallest one is Pique.

Iniesta's goal was to find Pique.

Pique started running back when his teammates took a free throw. When he saw the football coming, he immediately jumped up and prepared to head the ball.

However, before him, Kompany had also taken off and wanted to clear the ball.

With a loud bang, the two of them collided and fell to the ground.