Chapter 562 Offense and Defense Transition
Chapter 562: Attack and Defense Transition
"Just six minutes into the second half, Manchester United fell behind again, which is definitely not good news for them."
"It seems that after the halftime break, Manchester United lost the rhythm in the second half of the first half. Now their offense can't pose a threat to Manchester City, and the loopholes in the back line are exposed one by one under Manchester City's attack..."
"Guardiola is worthy of being the best coach in football at the time, on par with Mourinho. His adjustments during the halftime break were very effective. Now it depends on how Mourinho responds!"
"Bruno's performance was not as dazzling as in the second half of the first half. He was powerless against Manchester City's tight defense. However, there are not many players in the world who can break such a defense. Bruno was able to score a goal in the game against Manchester City, which was already very outstanding..."
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If quick passing and maneuvering the opponent's defense don't work, what else can we do?
Manchester City players were cheering, his teammates were frustrated and upset, and Bruno was frowning and thinking.
If we can't find a way to break this defense, then we'll probably lose today's game.
In the following games, Bruno kept trying various methods to break Manchester City's defense. But the results were minimal. It was difficult to break Manchester City's defense by relying on him alone, or relying on the attacking players in the frontcourt, because the team lacked some changes that could change the balance.
He was studied thoroughly by Manchester City. His running position, his passing habits, and his shooting were all known by Manchester City's defenders. As soon as he got the ball, Bernardo Silva would harass him constantly beside him.
Bruno's teammate in the Portugal national team does not look like an attacking midfielder who helps the team capture the city, but rather like an engineer who specializes in doing dirty and tiring work.
If someone else were to play as a striker, he might not carry out the coach's tactical instructions at all. They would think that the coach must have lost his mind to let a striker who is responsible for offense do something destructive.
But Bernardo Silva doesn't think so. He will follow whatever the head coach says.
This is exactly what Guardiola values most about him. He can resolutely implement his own tactics without complaint and will not cause any unexpected trouble during the game.
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In the next game, Bruno not only had to be careful about the ball being intercepted by Bernardo Silva, but also had to find a route to the dangerous area from the complicated situation, while also having to face the attacks of several other Manchester City defenders at any time.
If he does not pass the ball and chooses to break through on his own, he will soon face the joint defense of Fernandinho, Mkhitaryan and David Silva.
But Bruno still did it because he hoped to use his breakthrough to attract more Manchester City defenders and create space for his teammates.
"Bruno dribbled the ball forward again... He has obviously dribbled more often during this period..."
Although his personal defensive ability is not outstanding, Bernardo Silva is relatively good at actively implementing pressure, defending and grasping the timing of chasing back.
Bernardo Silva also remembered clearly what Guardiola said during the halftime break. As long as Bruno got the ball, he would rush up to tangle with him and delay Bruno's breakthrough.
But once Bruno breaks inside, Bernardo Silva will not follow him, but hand Bruno to Fernandinho and others. His role is to move forward. Once his teammates intercept the ball, they can find him directly, and then he will organize a quick counterattack.
If he follows back to join the defense, it will slow down Manchester City's counterattack. If they intercept the ball and look for him again, he will still be behind...
For example, this time, when Bruno was dribbling forward, Bernardo Silva immediately entangled him to prevent Bruno from breaking through. But when Bruno really used his personal ability to break through him, Bernardo Silva did not chase him tightly, but let Bruno go.
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Bruno broke through Bernardo Silva's defense, Fernandinho came forward, and Mkhitaryan protected on the side.
Bruno did not pass the ball, even though he saw Mbappe asking for the ball on the wing, but not far from him there was a Delph watching him eagerly. Although it seemed that he was not next to Mbappe now, as long as he passed the ball to him, he would definitely rush forward.
Bruno turned his body towards Mbappe, pretended to pass the ball to him, then suddenly kicked the ball back with his right foot and turned to rush to the other side.
Fernandinho was fooled by his feint and failed to stop him immediately, but Mkhitaryan was behind him.
Seeing that Fernandinho had lost his position, Mkhitaryan came up to replace him. If Bruno continued to dribble the ball, there would be only one outcome, which was a head-on collision with the opponent.
So he didn't plan to continue dribbling the ball. After attracting two opposing defensive players, that was enough. He took the lead and, under very unfavorable circumstances, poked the ball out with the toe of his left foot.
He was aiming at Harry Kane who was just in front.
After passing the ball, he did not stop, but staggered forward, pulling Mkhitaryan with him, so as to reduce the pressure on his teammates.
Some people just stand there after passing the ball, only to watch their teammates being besieged by the opponent and eventually lose the ball.
Bruno is not that stupid. He rushed forward, and although his steps were unstable, he was able to disrupt the opponent's defense.
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But Manchester City is not a pushover. Mkhitaryan followed up, and Fernandinho turned around to pounce on Harry Kane.
Bruno's movement did not shake Manchester City's defense at the root.
Harry Kane saw Bruno cutting inside and passed the ball to him, but their intention was seen through by Kompany in advance. He was behind Harry Kane and when he saw Bruno cutting inside, he went around to defend and just intercepted Harry Kane's pass!
"The ball is lost!" commentator Lineker exclaimed.
Bruno looked back and saw that the ball was snatched away by Kompany. He braked suddenly and turned around to chase him.
Kompany strode the ball out, and Gundogan rushed up to block Kompany.
The Manchester City captain passed the ball to David Silva, who quickly passed the ball to Bernardo Silva.
Gundogan failed to intercept Kompany's pass, and as he turned around, Bruno had already passed by him at high speed.
"Go guard David Silva!" he shouted to his partner as he ran past Gundogan.
Bernardo Silva is dribbling the ball, so he must be defended; David Silva is the core of Manchester City's attack, so he cannot be left alone, so the two of them divide the work.
Upon hearing this, Gundogan changed his running direction, slightly turned and pounced on David Silva, while Bruno caught up with Bernardo Silva.
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Bruno put one hand on the shoulder of his national teammate, forcing him to slow down. He accelerated at the same time, trying to overtake Bernardo Silva and occupy a favorable defensive position.
Bernardo Silva dribbled the ball, then stopped suddenly and changed direction, shaking off Bruno.
Bruno overtook him but was not completely left behind.
Bernardo Silva drove the ball towards the middle and attempted to dribble sideways, and Bruno moved his body forward.
In the Portuguese national team, they are the closest teammates, but in the club they are enemies against each other.
Bernardo Silva is thin but not lacking in confrontational ability. His advantage lies in his ability to use good body flexibility and balance to complete technical movements. He has a strong ability to control the center of gravity under pressure, and has a strong ability to accelerate continuously after starting and suddenly change direction and speed while moving.
Bernardo Silva is very familiar with Bruno, and Bruno is also familiar with him. He seized the opportunity and decisively tackled the ball away from Bernardo Silva's feet.
"Beautiful defence!" Lineker praised loudly.
Bruno was lying on the ground and was about to see who caught the ball he had tackled, when he saw Kante. The Frenchman stretched out his foot to control the ball he had tackled.
Bernardo Silva got up from the ground and rushed towards Kante, trying to snatch the ball from Kante, but the French midfielder did not give him such a chance. He passed the ball away as soon as he received it.
This time Kante passed the ball to the wing and gave it to Mbappe.
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The two sides started a fierce battle near the midfield, and the ball possession was continuously transferred during the rapid offense and defense, which caused chaos in the defensive formations of both sides. At this time, no matter which side controlled the ball, it could pose a huge threat to the opponent's goal.
Luck was on Manchester United's side again and they took control of the ball in the chaos.
Mbappe received the pass from Kante in a relatively loose situation and then quickly moved forward along the sideline.
Delph wanted to intercept, but Mbappe accelerated and passed him, as if he was crossing the road in the early morning.
After passing Delph, Mbappe has come to the outside of Manchester City's penalty area. He does not give any Manchester City player a chance to come up and force him, and directly kicks the ball!
"Mbappe passed the ball!"
The football drew a very obvious arc in the air, flew high over the heads of Manchester City defenders and flew directly to the back.
Neither Kompany nor Otamendi headed the ball because it was too high.
The ball went straight to the back post, where another Manchester United winger, Rashford, appeared.
"Rashford is coming!"
Danilo rushed over to stop Rashford from shooting, but Rashford had no intention of shooting. He shook his head in place and passed the ball to the middle.
"Header pass! To the middle! Harry Kane!!"
The England center forward leapt high in the middle, almost unmarked, and headed the ball!
The football flew into the goal from Ederson's hand!
2: 2!
