Chapter 603 Another battle at Anfield, Manchester City’s ultimate passing control

April 5, 2018, Anfield Stadium.

After two and a half months, Manchester City once again visited this famous Premier League stadium.

Just like last time, the Anfield stands were still packed with enthusiastic fans and almost all seats were occupied.

Liverpool has reached the quarterfinals of the Champions League again after many years, which is very exciting for many Liverpool fans.

With no hope of winning the league, they have higher expectations for the team's record in the Champions League.

But Liverpool was very unlucky and drew a strong rival, Manchester City.

How to cross the mountain of Manchester City is a big problem facing Liverpool.

After the last unforgettable battle at Anfield, Liverpool fans have a new understanding of the strength of their opponents and know that even at their own home court, it is not easy to crack this hard nut.

But if they can't even win at home, then they basically have no hope of advancing to the semi-finals.

So no matter what, they must win this game, and Liverpool simply cannot afford to lose.

Such huge performance pressure made every Liverpool player look solemn and nervous.

In this battle, they fought with a do-or-die mentality.

After Liverpool coach Klopp shook hands with Manchester City coach Guardiola, he returned to his side of the coaching bench and sat down.

He looked at the players from both sides on the court preparing to kick off, and couldn't help but feel a little uneasy.

The failure to win over the opponent last time left Liverpool with a lot of hidden dangers.

Guardiola must have studied Liverpool's tactics during this period and learned lessons from the last game.

Considering that the error tolerance rate in the knockout rounds of the Champions League is much smaller than that of the league, Manchester City is likely to change their tactics and play more conservatively and more targeted, thereby limiting Liverpool's offense and avoiding losing away games, or reducing the number of away goals conceded. .

When they return to their home court, they can take advantage of their home court to win over Liverpool in one fell swoop.

The world says Anfield is the devil’s home stadium, isn’t the Etihad Stadium devilish?

After so many years, how many teams can survive here?

Klopp did not dare to carry the suspense of the game into the next game, because this would be tantamount to actively handing over the power of life and death to the enemy.

Therefore, he hopes to win the game in this round and kill the suspense of the game.

To this end, Klopp arranged very radical tactics.

If this tactic can work, then everything is easy to say, but if it doesn't work, it may be very bad.

On the other side, Guardiola is also thinking about what tactics his opponent will use.

Just as Klopp thought, for the sake of stability, he arranged for two defensive midfielders, Kanter and Fernandinho, to start in this game.

The purpose is to enhance the interception ability of the midfielder and avoid the situation like last time, because the ribs exposed a lot of space, giving the opponent an opportunity to take advantage of.

However, such an arrangement inevitably weakens Manchester City's offensive capabilities.

For this reason, Guardiola had to change the team's formation and adopt a 4231 formation that is not commonly used.

Jesus replaced Aguero as the single arrow, followed by Lin Quan, De Bruyne and David Silva. Behind these three were Kanter and Fernandinho.

The four players on the back line are Laporte, Stones, Van Dijk and Walker.

It can be seen from Manchester City's starting lineup that they do not plan to play defensive counterattack like last time.

They plan to focus on passing and controlling, use a strong midfielder to control the ball, reduce the opponent's opportunities to attack, and then look for opportunities in passing and controlling to defeat the enemy and win.

However, after all, Manchester City rarely uses this set of tactics, and Guardiola himself is not sure whether this will work.

At this moment, the referee blew the whistle to start the game.

The coaches of both teams put their thoughts aside and focused their gazes on the court.

After the start, Liverpool's players resolutely implemented the coach's request and launched a fierce attack on Manchester City's goal from the first second of the game.

Is this to steal the show?

Guardiola held his chin and thought.

Liverpool probably hopes to score an early goal through the attack, and then activate the players' condition, and then rely on the fanatical atmosphere at home to get the team up to speed quickly, and then completely take over the game like last time!

For a team like Liverpool that plays chicken, we really can't let them gain an advantage.

Once they gain the upper hand, they will only get stronger and more excited as they fight.

As for how perverted the crazy Liverpool are, Manchester City has already experienced it last time at Anfield.

So Guardiola immediately stood up and asked all Manchester City players on the field to retreat.

If you want to attack, it's up to you. Our defense will retreat, compressing the space for your passing and cooperation, and preventing your offense from threatening.

Although Manchester City's defensive level does not dare to boast that it is the top level, it is definitely not papery.

When they retreated across the board and the players were prepared in advance, it was obviously not that simple for the opponent's offense to tear apart their defense.

Liverpool's attack was aggressive, but it didn't actually pose much of a threat.

Salah, Manny, Firmino and others tried various methods in the frontcourt, but were still unable to pry open the opponent's defense.

Fortunately, there are no two extremely fast wingers, Sane and Mbappe, on the field, which slightly reduces their defensive pressure. At least they don't have to worry too much about the opponent's fast counterattacks with huge threats.

But this does not mean that Liverpool can really sit back and relax. Manchester City presses very actively in their own half, and once the ball is stolen, they will immediately transfer the ball to the feet of the three powerful attacking midfielders in front. .

Although Sane and Mbappe are not here, Lin Quanke, the core of the opponent's team, is still on the court.

Moreover, the people around him all have good passing abilities, which makes Manchester City still a great threat when counterattacking.

The first half lasted 15 minutes, and the number of shots between the two sides was very different. Liverpool completed 5 shots and Manchester City only had 1 shot.

But Manchester City's only shot almost scared the Liverpool fans into a cold sweat!

On the other hand, Liverpool's side, 4 of their 5 shots were long-range shots, and there was almost no threat.

Although from the scene, Liverpool seems to have the advantage, from the perspective of threatening offense, it is Manchester City that has the advantage.

The main reason for this phenomenon is that Liverpool cannot break through the opponent's defense and it is difficult to get the ball into the penalty area, allowing the forwards to get close-range shooting opportunities in the penalty area.

It's not okay to go on like this. You can't score if you gain the upper hand. With the formation pressed so far forward, the rear is really too empty.

The most important thing is that Liverpool's crazy offensive momentum cannot last for long, after all, there will always be times when chicken blood gets cold.

On the other hand, Manchester City's offense, which relies on passing control and cooperation, will not be affected. Even when Liverpool's offensive declines and Manchester City's defense pressure is reduced, they can devote more troops to participate in the offense. The offensive threat is still increasing!

If Liverpool had the advantage in the first fifteen minutes, then after fifteen minutes, the situation of the game was reversed.

After Liverpool attacked fiercely for a while and found little effect, the players gradually became discouraged and did not want to continue such a meaningless attack.

But after they reduced their offensive pressure, Manchester City gradually began to take over the ball with its strong midfield strength.

It's no secret that Manchester City likes to play pass control, and their ball possession rate in games often exceeds 60% or even 70%.

In the words of many football legends, Guardiola's team is using passing control to defend.

After all, as long as the ball is at Manchester City's feet, the opponent cannot launch an attack.

Facing this kind of team that likes to play pass and control, there are two ways to deal with them.

One is to retreat in large strides, let the opponent in, and then take advantage of the empty space in the opponent's backcourt to sneak attack them with defensive counterattacks.

The other type is like Liverpool's, which relies on crazy high press to destroy and limit the opponent's passing and control, making them unable to pass the ball and control the ball.

Liverpool is a team that likes to press high, and their players have always been known for their ability to run.

In the past, relying on this tactic has often frustrated teams that like to control the ball.

But this move failed when facing Manchester City's passing control today.

Manchester City has obviously learned the lesson from the last game. This time they no longer pursue the ultimate speed of offense and defense transition, but pursue safe and stable control.

Players usually do not pass forward immediately after receiving the ball, even if doing so may create a scoring opportunity.

They will steadily pass the ball to teammates who are in a safer position, allowing their teammates to take control.

Klopp frowned when he saw it. He felt that Guardiola was too steady?

Is this necessary?

When Manchester City stole the ball several times just now, he broke out in a cold sweat, because as long as the Manchester City players passed the ball to the front in that position, Liverpool's defense would probably be penetrated because they could not recover in time. .

But the opponent took the initiative to give up such an opportunity. It seems that Manchester City's tactics today are very conservative.

But don’t tell me, this kind of conservatism has had very good results.

At least Liverpool's number of steals has dropped significantly. Many times, opponents' mistakes are caused by hurriedly passing the ball after seeing the opportunity, ignoring the defensive players around them, or because their intentions are too obvious and are predicted by the opponent, thus causing them to suffer. to steal.

When the players are attacking forward, the formation cannot be kept so tight, especially the full-backs on both sides, who may have already rushed forward.

At this time, there is a sudden counterattack from the opponent, and the defense line can easily be penetrated due to incomplete formation and personnel.

This is why, in this era, top giants attach great importance to the transition between offense and defense.

Because this is the time when both sides are most likely to make mistakes and are most likely to score goals.

But Manchester City doesn't want such an opportunity, and Liverpool will naturally lose a lot of opportunities to steal.

The opponent's lineup has 5 midfielders, and Liverpool only has 3.

They are at a numerical disadvantage in the midfield, and even with the front three, they only have a slight advantage.

But when the opponent is holding the ball, Stones, the defender, will move forward, causing Manchester City's formation to become 3331, a very strange formation, but the number of midfielders has increased, reaching an astonishing 6 midfielders.

The advantage in numbers allows Manchester City to always find an open safe contact point and pass the ball smoothly when faced with Liverpool's pressing.

This was not going to work. Klopp waved his hand and motioned for the defenders to step up too. Only one person was left to mark Jesus, and the others went to press.

This trick has a certain effect, but the effect is not obvious.

Because Manchester City still has one more person than them!

When Manchester City reverses in the backcourt, goalkeeper Ederson can step in and act as a ball point.

As a result, 10 of Manchester City's 11 players are on the ball.

Liverpool, on the other hand, could only send 9 people to press, and the goalkeeper and the defender responsible for the deep defense could not come up.

Although Liverpool's players spared no effort in running, trying to make up for the numerical disadvantage.

But they can run, and so can Manchester City's players.

In the process of kicking and passing, Manchester City players will not stand still like wooden stakes. Instead, they will make full use of the width of the field, actively move their positions, and strive to find a safe open space to receive the ball.

This makes Liverpool's players a little powerless. After all, the stadium is so big, and they can't completely lock the opponent's passing space.

The most important thing is that Manchester City is a team that focuses on passing and controlling, and the players' skills are very delicate. Even if Liverpool relies on active running to even out the numerical gap in some areas, the opponent can also rely on superb Technical and excellent ball-protecting ability, he passed the ball under the pressure of Liverpool players.

Judging from the situation on the field, it seems that Manchester City has used reasonable tactics to resolve Liverpool's high pressing tactics.

If they continue to play at this pace, Liverpool, which is too physically exhausted, will be defeated by Manchester City in the second half due to lack of physical strength.

Feeling that the situation was not good for their team, the Liverpool fans in the stands began to become anxious.

They urgently need to score goals now. As long as they have one goal, they can change their passive situation.

The Red Army is a very legendary team. It seems that every time when the team is at a disadvantage, someone always steps forward to save the team!

This time, the one who stood up was Milner, a former Manchester City player!

The 32-year-old Milner relied on his understanding of David Silva when he was a teammate at Manchester City. When Silva moved his position and prepared to receive the ball, he quietly approached him.

When Kanter transferred the ball, Milner quickly grabbed it.

He bumped into Silva from behind, affecting Silva's center of gravity and preventing him from completing his prepared catching action.

Milner has rich experience and can use just the right amount of force to grab the ball, which can disrupt the opponent's body balance without causing the opponent to fall and giving the referee a chance to blow the whistle.

The moment David Silva's balance was affected, he stretched out his foot from behind, poked the ball and gave it to his teammate Salah.

Here's Liverpool's chance! (End of chapter)