Chapter 514 Obstacles to Overcome

? Notts County's luck in the League Cup is still good. The opponent in the draw is Cardiff City from the British Championship. It is also a poor person who Notts County once sunk in the lower leagues.

Taking into account the next schedule, Loew did not completely send a rotation lineup, but a half-main and half-substitute configuration, so that the coach of Cardiff City has a feeling of being taken seriously.

Yes, Notts County played a few young players even against Leeds United last season in the last League Cup match, but this time they played against themselves, and they actually played the main team. What's more!

The coach of Cardiff City is very satisfied. He was very proud when he was interviewed before the game, as if he had found a way to fight against Notts County, which made everyone follow him with confidence. As for the cup, even if half of the main force plays, I am afraid it will be a cutscene!

However, in the game, Notts County did not go through the motions as everyone expected, but kicked with real swords, so that Cardiff City couldn't resist at all, and the first half was not even halfway. You have already surrendered!

In the end, Notts County eliminated Cardiff City with minimal consumption and advanced to the fifth round of the League Cup.

However, after this game, Notts County came to a wave of extremely intensive schedules, which made Loew extremely irritable.

On November 6, an away game against Aston Villa;

On November 10th, in the fourth round of the Champions League group stage, they challenged Super Delacco away;

On November 13, the third consecutive away game, the opponent was Southampton;

On November 17, against Bolton at home;

On November 21, against Manchester City at home;

In two weeks, Notts County needs to play 5 games, including a strong dialogue with the Champions League opponent Deportivo. Although the opponents in the league are generally not strong, they are also difficult opponents. If Notts County. If you can't get enough points from these opponents, then I'm afraid it will be overtaken by Chelsea.

The away game against Villa was the easiest. The League Cup game did not consume too much energy for the players. In addition to proper rotation, the team's combat effectiveness remained intact, so even in the away game, it did not leave much for Villa. more opportunities.

The only fly in the ointment is the injury problem. The team's main center defender Carvalho injured his knee in the fight with his opponent and is expected to be out for 2-3 months.

The Portuguese central defender has always been the pinnacle of the Notts County defense, and the partners around him have changed and changed,

But he has been firmly in the main position and is the most reliable and trustworthy teammate.

With his injury, the strength of Notts County’s defense has dropped a bit. Fortunately, Cannavaro came back and was in good shape, otherwise the team would not even have a backup central defender.

After playing Villa, Notts County rushed to Spain non-stop to prepare for the match with Super Laco.

The importance of this game is self-evident. Although the first three rounds of the group stage were all victorious, it only allowed Notts County to qualify in a good situation, but it was not yet secure. You must know that in David's memory, there was a ball. The team scored 12 points in the group stage, and unfortunately they were all out in the end. Notts County did not want to repeat such a tragedy, so before it appeared, Notts County must not be careless.

At Riasso Stadium, Notts County and Deportivo Deportivo once again staged a confrontation. The game was very intense. Super Delacco, who played at home, finally showed his nerve-knife characteristics, even if Notts County’s defense basically did a good job. In place, there are not many omissions, but they still can't resist their goals.

Fortunately, Notts County's offense cannot be easily stopped by the opponent, otherwise Notts County will really suffer a defeat at the Riasso Stadium.

The final result was that the two teams were tied, and the score was also a big score of 3:3, further implementing the title of the bloodiest group in history.

After the four rounds of the group stage, Notts County still leads with 10 points, followed by Monaco with 7 points and Deportivo with 5 points. As for Olympiacos, they have not been able to get a draw, with a net win. The ball is almost over a minus 15...

The qualifying situation is good. As long as Notts County can beat Monaco at home in the next game, they will appear as the first in the group one round ahead of schedule. This is definitely a very perfect for Notts County, who are going to the Champions League for the first time. result.

However, at present, Notts County's eyes cannot stay on the Champions League. Three consecutive league games within a week is what Notts County needs to worry about.

The Premier League has now gone through 11 rounds, and Notts County is still leading in the standings, which has far exceeded the club's expectations for results.

Although the team's strategy is to focus on the Champions League, it is enough to get a good ranking in the league, but now that it has been ranked first, the players' competitiveness has flared up again, why can't they go hand in hand in the league and the Champions League?

The success of the two-line battle last season gave the players tremendous confidence, and they hoped that this season would be so successful, even if the club didn't say it, they privately decided to defend their title in the league...

Although Loew didn't say it clearly, he has been a player, and he has a very accurate grasp of the players' psychology. Although the team ranks first in the Premier League, because there are too many young players in the rotation, the critical moment may appear. The problem is that the chances of defending the league title are not high, so he still puts his hope more in the Champions League.

Because they had just played a game against Delacco, Loew adopted a big rotation in the game against Southampton, and all the players in the rotation were able to play.

At present, Southampton's situation in the league is not good. Although they did not stay in the relegation zone, they did not score too much higher. From the beginning of the season, there has been pressure to avoid relegation, so they need to work hard in every game. of!

Sitting at home, even if the opponent is the defending champion Notts County, the Saints did not capture it, but launched a desperate counterattack.

The Southampton coach saw through the fact that there were too many young players in Notts County, and asked the players to step up their pressing in the midfield, and even did not hesitate to execute strangulation tactics, in order to make Notts County's young players tie their hands.

His strategy was successful, several tough fouls, including Messi, several players did not dare to make moves, and the team's offense couldn't open the situation, even if Drogba recklessly repeated in the midfield Playing against the opposing defenders also didn't help, and Notts County ended up with a draw away from home.

Loew was very angry, but he was not disappointed. He understood the concerns and psychological fluctuations in the hearts of young players. Even if it were himself, it would be difficult to truly overcome the psychological obstacles. Let’s take that step!

This is also a hidden danger for Notts County in the future. The players in the midfield and frontcourt are not strong in physical confrontation. Whether Messi or Ozil, these two players are absolutely technical players, but if they meet on the field, they are unreasonable. The savage man, their power will be greatly reduced, and this is where they will strive to improve in the future! (To be continued.)