Chapter 277 Manchester City VS Atletico Madrid, the Champions League final begins!

"CCTV, CCTV!"

"Viewers, welcome to watch the live broadcast of the 2013-2014 Champions League final between Manchester City and Atletico Madrid. I am the commentator He Wei!"

"I am Xu Yang!"

"Before the game starts, let's take a look at the starting lineups of both sides!"

"Both teams seem to have put a lot of effort into this game, and there are some unexpected adjustments to the starting lineup!"

"Yes, Diego Costa, who was injured at Camp Nou in the last game, was unexpectedly put into the starting lineup by Simeone this time."

"This makes one have to wonder whether the news of Diego Costa's injury is just a smoke bomb to confuse Manchester City?"

There are many people who have similar thoughts to the two CCTV commentators. After seeing Diego Costa's name appear in the starting list, people can't help but wonder if this is a conspiracy on the part of Atletico Madrid?

However, Manchester City on the opposite side is also playing something very new.

Fernandinho, who had been suspended for several months, not only played, but also entered the starting lineup. He was replaced by the team's main midfielder Kroos.

This makes people curious about Pellegrini's employment. What is his plan for this arrangement?

He gave up the organizational midfielder and replaced him with a defensive midfielder. Is this going to start a hand-to-hand battle with Atletico Madrid in the midfield?

With the referee's whistle, the game officially started.

Manchester City, wearing a blue jersey, attacks from the left to the right of the pitch, while Atletico Madrid, wearing a red and white striped jersey and blue shorts, attacks from the right to the left.

After the game started, both sides played relatively cautiously at first.

Atletico Madrid did not launch an attack immediately after kick-off, but passed the ball successively, attracting Manchester City's forward players to press them after halftime, and then handed it over to the wing, allowing the players to organize the attack from the wing.

However, Manchester City's defense was very solid and did not give Atletico Madrid too many chances.

Contrary to everyone's expectations before the game, the first place where the two sides started a fierce battle was not in the midfield, but on the wing.

Both teams were very decisive in defense. They made the necessary moves and committed the fouls without any sloppiness.

This resulted in an intermittent game, which was not very enjoyable to watch.

However, after the coaches of both sides saw the game situation on the field, they were shocked and felt that things were not simple.

"It's strange. Manchester City has never been a defensive-oriented team. Why did they focus on defense in this game?"

In Atletico Madrid's coaching bench, Simeone couldn't help but be a little confused after seeing Manchester City's defensive choices after the opening game.

Manchester City's offensive group in the midfield and frontcourt is very luxurious, but in this game, their four frontcourt players, including Lin Quan, did not invest much in the offense. On the contrary, they invested heavily in defense. A lot of energy.

What are you doing?

Exploit weaknesses and avoid strengths?

It’s so weird that I can’t understand it!

Simeone couldn't help but look at Atletico Madrid's coaching bench, wondering what this guy Pellegrini was doing.

Pellegrini was actually very worried. His intention in replacing Fernandinho was to stabilize the defense in the midfield, and then launch an attack based on defense.

The active pressing of the frontcourt players is to consume the physical energy of the opponent's defender.

They have used this trick in previous games against Barcelona and achieved good results.

However, Atletico Madrid has always been known for its ability to run. Whether this trick will work against Atletico Madrid, Pellegrini himself is not very clear.

However, after taking a look at his bench, he felt relieved.

Manchester City's staffing in the midfield and frontcourt is very sufficient, with two wingers and a forward sitting on the bench. If it doesn't work, they can just make substitutions in the second half.

From the perspective of the audience, this game seemed not to be about football, but about running. Players from both sides were running very actively on the field.

Any player holding the ball who does not pass the ball within three seconds after receiving the ball will be forced.

And the closer you are to the midfield, the harder you will be pressed and the faster you will be.

This made the game very fast-paced, but neither side could hold the ball, making it difficult for the offense to threaten.

The game lasted for 5 minutes, but neither side could complete the first shot, let alone a shot. They couldn't even penetrate the opponent's 30-meter danger zone.

In the 7th minute, Manchester City finally took its first shot.

David Silva was pressed by the opponent's full-back Juan and passed the ball back to De Bruyne.

De Bruyne kept passing the ball to Lin Quan. Lin Quan seemed to have a God's perspective. Without looking at the defensive players behind him, he retreated early, caught the ball before the opponent's center back, and tapped it with his heel. ball.

The football slipped out of Atletico Madrid defender Miranda's wicket. Lin Quan turned around and planned to catch the ball.

Unfortunately, the opponent pulled him down and the referee awarded a free kick.

Lin Quan took the free kick himself, but the ball was not held down and was given directly to the fans in the stands!

Although the free kick was high, everyone at Atletico Madrid was still in a cold sweat.

The real danger was not Lin Quan's free kick, but the previous one who knocked the ball with his heel.

If he really gets past Miranda completely, then he can face the goalkeeper directly, and then he will have too many shooting options!

"Pay attention to assisting defense, and the midfielder retreats to compress the opponent's space to receive and handle the ball."

Simeone was quite dissatisfied with the defense this time. The responsibility for this goal lay with the second pass. Escudero failed to put enough pressure on De Bruyne to allow him to send the through ball.

Without this pass, Lin Quan would have no chance to perform such a performance!

The audience at the scene didn't care about this. After Lin Quan's handling of the ball was played back in slow motion on the big screen, they all gave Lin Quan applause.

Since the game was held in a neutral stadium, in addition to the fans of both sides, there were also a large number of neutral fans at the scene.

These fans come with an attitude of appreciating football. They do not deliberately favor which team they support. They will applaud whoever performs well on the field.

Lin Quan's reputation is the biggest among the two teams, and Portuguese fans have long heard of his name.

However, many people have doubts about his strength, thinking that he is too young and may not be as powerful as rumored.

This is not surprising, after all, Lin Quan has not been in the football world for a long time, and he has not received too high honors and achievements.

If he can win several Ballon d'Or awards like Messi and Ronaldo, I believe the outside world will lessen half of the doubts about him.

However, after seeing the details he handled this time, these football-savvy fans couldn't help but feel their eyes light up.

Although he was a little younger, the technical details and spiritual handling made them feel that the other party was indeed a talent.

Almost no worse than 18-year-old Ronaldo!

Because Ronaldo is Portuguese, Portuguese fans have a strong filter for him.

It is not easy for them to give such an evaluation.

If the two sides continue to play at this pace, the number of goals in this game will probably be very few, and they will come very late.

However, in the ninth minute, a big change occurred on the field.

While fighting for the ball with Manchester City defender Kompany, Diego Costa was running when he suddenly fell to the ground in pain, clutching his leg.

On the sidelines, Simeone felt his head explode when he saw this scene.

It's over, Costa's old injury has recurred!

He couldn't help but look up and glance at the game time. It was only 9 minutes since the game started!

Are you going to make passive substitutions so early?

But it won't work without substitutions. Atletico Madrid's forwards have a heavy defensive task.

If Diego Costa fights with an injury, it will not only further aggravate his injury, but also affect Atletico Madrid's overall defensive strength.

Thinking of this, he decisively called up Adrian Lopez and asked him to come on and replace Diego Costa.

This was a very hasty substitution, and Lopez didn't even have time to warm up.

After all, who would have thought that substitutions would have to be made after only 9 minutes of play?

Diego Costa's injury has dealt a certain blow to Atletico Madrid's morale.

Manchester City took advantage of this opportunity and decisively increased their offensive intensity.

In the 11th minute, Fernandinho intercepted the ball and wanted to hand it to De Bruyne so that De Bruyne could organize the attack. However, before De Bruyne had time to receive the ball, the football was blocked on the passing line. Cork intercepted early.

Atletico Madrid’s counterattack!

Cork handed the ball to Gabi and immediately chose to move forward.

However, Gabi was pressed by Yaya Toure and De Bruyne immediately and failed to pass the ball. He could only reluctantly hand the ball to center back Godin.

As soon as Godin got the ball, Lin Quan and Aguero immediately rushed towards him to steal the ball from his feet.

Godin did not dare to take the ball too much and quickly handed the ball to Miranda, another defender.

Aguero rushed towards Miranda again.

Miranda handed it to Juan, who reluctantly passed the ball to Thiago under pressure from David Silva.

However, this ball was predicted in advance by Yaya Toure and successfully intercepted it on the passing line.

Seeing that the ball was lost, the three nearby Atletico Madrid players all rushed towards Yaya Toure.

Yaya Toure was startled. He moved the ball to the right wing with his big foot and handed it to Lin Quan.

Atletico Madrid's attack just now was concentrated on the left. At this time, the right side of the stadium is somewhat empty. If Lin Quan can receive his pass, he might have the opportunity to launch a threatening attack.

However, when Yaya Toure passed the ball, Atletico Madrid's overall defensive formation quickly pressed towards the right side of the court.

Overlooking the stadium from an aerial camera position, we can see that during this movement, Atletico Madrid's overall defense line remained very intact. The three lines of defense were closely connected without any disconnection.

This means that their players almost all made the same choice at the same time!

In the stands near the stadium, Guardiola frowned.

Suffocating feeling!

When Bayern played against Atletico Madrid before, they encountered this kind of defense on the court.

How did Simeone train the 11 players on the field into a strictly disciplined army?

On the field, Lin Quan, as a participant, felt more profoundly than the audience at the scene.

At the moment, Atletico Madrid's left wing was very empty, but when the football flew toward him, nearby players rushed over immediately.

After he raised his foot to stop the ball, Atletico Madrid's full-back Philippe, center back Godin and midfielder Gabi all appeared within five meters of him.

Lin Quan only had time to turn around, but before he could handle the ball, he was tackled by Gabi.

Gabby was the farthest away. He disrupted Lin Quan's rhythm with his tackle, forcing him to make changes. Such changes would create opportunities for the other two teammates to cause damage.

Obviously, Atletico Madrid has very clear tactical arrangements for the defense of local areas.

Lin Quan dunked the ball and avoided Gabi's tackle.

But he was also hit by Godin and staggered a little. Philip took the opportunity to stretch his foot and try to steal the ball.

Lin Quan reluctantly protected the ball, but at this time he had neither room to move nor speed. It was obviously impossible to rush out under the double-team of the three opponents.

As a result, he was forced to pass the ball back to full-back Zabaleta.

As soon as the ball was passed, two of the three defensive players around him immediately abandoned him and either returned to their positions or continued to press towards the defensive player holding the ball.

Facing Atletico Madrid's cutting of space, Manchester City's offense could not find a good way.

Wherever the ball is passed, the opponent's defensive players are always in position immediately, often forming a situation where more players beat fewer players.

As a result, it often happens that Manchester City players just get the ball and look around, surrounded by enemies.

In this case, their breakthrough routes, passing routes and even the space for dribbling the ball are cut off and greatly compressed.

As a result, the ball was immediately lost.

Not to mention other players, even Lin Quan, who is extremely capable of dribbling, was robbed and unable to hold the ball in this situation.

He is not afraid of one-on-one defense, but Atletico Madrid does not follow martial ethics and does not give you one-on-one opportunities. They are accustomed to two-on-one or even three-on-one.

Moreover, Atletico players' defensive actions were very rough and their fouls were extremely decisive.

If you can't grab it, you'll foul. In short, you won't be given any chance to break through their defense.

He had just received the ball, and before he could pick up the speed or even turn around, the opponent had blocked all his options, as if they had designed a script for him, forcing him to do what Atletico Madrid envisioned. .

Lin Quanke knows why top teams such as Real Madrid, Bayern and Barcelona have such a difficult time playing against Atletico Madrid!

The opponent's high-post press is very targeted. It not only restricts your midfield, preventing the midfielders from passing good balls, but also restricts your frontcourt, making it difficult for your frontcourt to make effective breakthroughs and attacks.

It seemed that Atletico Madrid's defensive strategy was very aggressive, and their defense was almost overwhelming for half the game.

There is a large space in the backcourt, but it is very difficult to penetrate this defensive line.

No wonder so many experts say that Atletico Madrid's defense is the best in the five major leagues. Judging from their overall performance in the final, this is really well-deserved.

However, Lin Quan was not in a hurry and just kicked slowly.

At this time, you are running so aggressively and your defense is so intense. I don’t believe you can run so fast and press so fiercely in the second half?

When your physical energy is almost exhausted, it will be Manchester City's turn to exert force.

But before that, Manchester City needs to make sure they don't concede the ball first.

Once the request is lost, the situation will become very dangerous!

Real Madrid's header in the third minute of stoppage time was absolutely equal, you can't encounter it at any time!