Lu Ling was dressed very formally tonight, as was the tall Bayern coach opposite. To her ears, the QPR fans created an extremely turbulent home atmosphere. First there was applause and shouting, and then it turned into a loud chant. Among the flying flags and scarves, there were also many fans who brought homemade cardboard and banners – and of course the fans will not forget the birthday of the king of the stadium.

Nagelsmann stared into the eyes of the manager opposite for a second, she was very young and very confident, just like herself. But her gaze was still quite arrogant, which was not so obvious to him. However, in the football industry, whether it's a coach or a player, almost everybody has that kind of conceit, but to a different degree. The German was not surprised, not to mention that it was neither the first time he had met the Queen of Spades, nor was he unaware of her style of words and deeds.

When the Champions League theme song sounded, the managers of both teams had already walked to the coaching box.

Nagelsmann was thinking about one thing. QPR has changed three centre-backs in the last two games. Not this one. Of course, he knew that it was mostly for himself, and even the media knew about it. He himself uses three centre-backs, and sometimes three centre-backs are a good choice for three-centre-backs. He's thinking, what's going to be a surprise in here? No, not a surprise. He doesn't like the unexpected.

As countless cameras focus on Kristen Lu's face, she has a restrained smile on her face.

The smile was then frozen on the TV screen in the exclusive box at the new Queen's Park. Nathan Neal held the ** in his hand, he frowned and looked at the face, and after two seconds, he pressed it again. He heard the CEO's voice.

Simon said: "People will say she has a pretty face. She does, doesn't she? But she also has a delicate mask, and I guess if she's like that in her life, Patrick wouldn't be crazy for her. ”

Nathan Neal's brow slackened a little, he still vividly remembered the first time he saw the famous Kristen Lu, she was truly impressive, whether she wore that delicate mask or not. The American picked up his coat and said to Simon, "Let's go outside and see, I sometimes like to listen to our fans sing weird songs." ”

Simon finished his glass of champagne, stood up, and picked up his coat as well. He hesitated for a moment and asked his boss, "What do you think about her and Patrick?"

Nathan Neal put on a black trench coat, and his handsome face rose a little solemnly. "I'm still thinking. Let's start with the first half. He walked out.

Tonight's temperature is still very low, and a bitter cold wind is coming in from every angle. Nathan Nill glanced at the figure on the sidelines and then swept back into the field. He heard Simon whisper in his ear, "Bet it? Our King of Spades is birthday today, but the most important thing is that our Queen of Spades is birthday tomorrow. ”

Nathan Neal pouted, "So what's the bet, I think so too." He didn't bother to say that he had heard that neither of the Bo/Cai companies wanted to offer odds on Trick's goal.

Of course, everything that seems inevitable is just a chance before it happens.

****

Lu Ling stood on the sidelines, her hands in the pockets of her suit pants.

On the field, Bayern Munich, wearing a red team uniform, methodically made a pass and spread the formation.

Bayern goalkeeper Manuel Neuer, 34, has been gradually replaced by the rise of Hans and his own injuries in recent years, but he is still an excellent goalkeeper. In front of Manuel Neuer, the three centre-backs quickly dispersed to the left, centre and right to receive the goalkeeper's ball.

David Alaba is Bayern's left-sided centre-back, having been given centre-back duties back in Pep Guardiola's days, and Nagelsmann is now clearly inclined to keep the 28-year-old Austrian in that position. In the centre of the centre is the 25-year-old German international Niklas Züller, who is 195 tall, and is an old part of Nagelsmann's time at Hoffenheim. At centre-back on the right is 23-year-old Felix Gotze.

Felix Gotze is the younger brother of 2014 World Cup hero Mario Gotze, but the two men are very different in height and have no similarities in their style of play. The tall Felix made his debut as a central midfielder but was quickly remodeled into a centre-back position.

Lu Ling has long noticed that Nagelsmann has the same penchant for switching players as Pep Guardiola – and she herself is often considered to be such a coach, especially after John O'Connor switched to central defence.

Bayern's three centre-backs are flanked by two midfielders, 26-year-old France international Tolisso and 23-year-old Bayern academy graduate Niklas Dosch, full of energy and wide running.

They are as important a safeguard in defence as they are in attack – she knows Nagelsmann has tried to use the big insertion and switching of central midfielders to support the attack during his time at Hoffenheim, and now he is also very effective at Bayern.

Two wing-backs, Guerreiro on the left, who has recently been brought in from Borussia Dortmund, and Kimisi on the right.

Lu Ling is familiar with the two, but she doesn't think Kimisi is a good choice to play as wing-back in a traditional back three.

The tactics she designed, and this game also includes the preparation for this.

In the frontcourt, it is the trident that Bayern is proud of. Moussa Dembele, who has scored 24 goals this season, and winger Kingsley Koeman are both active France internationals, and Lu Ling especially believes that this central striker Dembele is very dangerous, he is a strong, fast and flexible guy, and he has also entered the ranks of first-class players in the past two years.

But the most dangerous is Robin Schauffer.

Apparently, Ben had studied him before the game. He called that day and mentioned the name, although in the end Ben said to fuck Robin Schafre. And Lu Ling could naturally imagine that he might have come to the same conclusion as himself.

The Turkish, Albanian and German-German attacking midfielder, who is just under five feet seven inches (170) tall, is already considered one of the most technically gifted players in German history. Although the traditional competitiveness of German football is not in the delicate control, the Schaffle is fast and delicate at his feet.

Short and chunky, Schaffle has the same low center of gravity and excellent ball protection ability as his predecessor Mario Gotze, and his excellent explosiveness and versatile skills give him the breakthrough ability of German historical superstar Karl Heinze Rummenigge. But if it's just pure talent in terms of physical or technical talent, Lu Ling believes that in this era of talent blowout, Robin Schauffer may struggle to break into the top five.

The only thing that can take Robin Schaffle one step further is the ability of a player his age to think.

Lu Ling does not believe in the trendy rhetoric of the last decade, such as "consciousness is higher than body". Football is a competitive sport and the body is the foundation of a player's performance, although she has never been a professional footballer, but her observation and experience tell her this. It can also be called her football philosophy.

There are very few players who have the awareness to bridge the gap, and Robin Schaffle, perhaps, is such a player.

His technical and physical abilities are already top-notch, but with his brain, he becomes a player who can compete for the Ballon d'Or.

Pierre Junkai and Bruno Ergas, whom Lu Ling has played against this season, are still playing football as they want at about the same age, and she can remember the mental state of Ousmane Dembele, Gabriel Jesus or Pate at this age.

At the age of twenty, he will judge the situation and play a player full of wisdom, Lu Ling has only seen Benjamin Hamilton before. However, Ben is a relatively low midfielder, and Robin Schaffle is much more up front – which is even more impressive.

It is well known that in areas close to the opponent's penalty area, space is limited, which puts a higher demand on it.

Robin Schauffer has shown absolute composure and perfect decisiveness in his past matches that Lu Ling has seen.

Less than five minutes into the game, the QPR defense was almost defeated by Robin Saffle.

He controlled the ball in the middle, faking left and right, seemingly on Ian's side, but was actually meant to hit Benjamin's side. At one of his gestures, Niklas Dosch cut in, Coman suddenly retracted, Dembele dropped back, and Schaffle quickly flicked the ball to Benjamin's side.

Dosch, Koeman, and Dembele attacked Benjamin at the same time, and John behind him hesitated, and he was a little slow to step up, only to be immediately passed by Koeman.

Robin Schauffer's eyes are sharp. He didn't stop running after the ball was out, and he traveled in a large arc straight to the left side of the front. By the time Coman had completed his pass, he was already in front of him on the flank, and it seemed that he was going to play to Portuguese wing-back Guerreiro near the touchline.

John turned back and pounced, and Jacob desperately chased back.

But Shafre didn't split the side, he chose to dribble the ball himself, and the QPR defense was chaotic for a second. But this dribble only lasted for a second – when David Luiz pounced, Saffle dodged and tapped the ball diagonally to the right.

Joshua Kimisi caught up and went straight into the box and there was no one to defend him.

****

Hans Bachmeier watched his national team-mate Kimmich cut in from the open left flank, and he had already shouted, but at the moment he gave the order, Schafre's sudden dribbling choice diverted the attention of all QPR defenders.

So, Hans made a judgment in a very short time, moved his feet in advance, and pounced directly on Kimmich on the other side. Saffle's ball came in, and Hans moved quickly into place, opening his body the moment Kimmich received the ball, and then covering the ball with his body to defuse the danger.

Hans got up. The QPR goalkeeper grabs the ball with his strong hand.

The opposite team, Bayern Munich, has been interested in him almost since he was twelve or thirteen years old. But Hans came out of the academy of Bayern's arch-rivals Munich 1860. His coach, Mr. Berz, always believed that he should consider going to Bayern at a certain age, after all, it is the dream of most German players.

Perhaps, maybe if Christine hadn't gone to Seoul in person at that time, Hans Bachmeier would have joined Bayern that summer. I just don't know if it's the right choice, because it's obviously unlikely that he will get the first goalkeeper position at Bayern Munich anytime soon.

Hans himself doesn't really have much special feeling for Bayern Munich. It wasn't until last season, when Bayern Munich took out QPR 4-1 at the Allianz Arena and his goal was pierced for the first time four times, that his feelings changed. He still doesn't hate this team, but he wants to win against this team.

Perhaps, Bayern, this word, in the hearts of all German footballers, does have an important meaning.

Hans threw the ball straight forward.

Thirty metres away, Patrick Amber stopped the ball with his chest and turned to the opposite goal. Patrick got the ball and Felix Gotze kept some distance from him, but he didn't break through.

Tina has long told him that there are a lot of talented players out there, but their team is going to have a bad time with their results, and the reason is that they lack the ability to think big. She also told him that an attacking core needs to learn to control the tempo in tough battles, and not just think about playing to the fullest. A lot of people just don't understand this layer and play casually, making the whole team lose their rhythm and eventually lead to the defense being broken.

Patrick took a step to the side, waiting for his teammates to come up. He already understands why the team is currently using a back three. For better stability. So, he has to act from the perspective of the balance of the whole team. The team's two wingbacks followed from both sides at this point. Benjamin and Ian have also recovered their positions, and now it's time to move on. He shifted the ball to Gonzalo's feet on the left.

In the knockout rounds of the Champions League in the home-and-away system, playing at home, you must not easily lose the rigor of the formation. In particular, the team has adopted a new system of play.

Patrick's priority is not to show off his skills, but to control the tempo and make his teammates play more freely, thereby reducing the pressure on the defence. This is a two-legged contest of at least 180 minutes.

Bayern are no ordinary opponents. Their runs are uniform, their thinking is clear, and they are stereotypical but imposing. After a couple of passes, Patrick had already spotted Robin Saffle choking Benjamin's catch-up route. Just like Ben did against Everton, against William Carvalho.

Saffle was smart, he didn't stick to Benjamin, he used the position. Not only did he take care of the blockade of Benjamin, but he also tried to put himself in a position where he could easily catch the ball on the counter-attack.

Patrick got the ball from his teammate again. He couldn't get a pass to Benjamin and he continued to organise as he opted for a lateral dribble before smashing the ball into the box to Phil Beasley.

Phil played the ball to León again, and the Uruguayan fired a powerful shot from the penalty line!

Neuer stretched out his palm, no less than Hans's, and lifted the ball off the post.

****

The game lasted 15 minutes. Lu Ling is satisfied with the team's current performance.

Despite being under Schauffle's restrictions, Ben was much less involved in the game. But Pat and Ian went back and forth to keep the game running — at least temporarily. Her requirement for the team is that in the opening stage, even if the attack fails, there must be no scattered disorder and Bayern can easily counterattack.

The players have improved their understanding of the 3412 formation a lot compared to when they played against Tottenham.

After a flurry in the opening period, Bayern did not play any more dangerous attacks during this period. It's just that she's watched enough Bayern games and she knows the youngster will step up when the time is right.

Robin Schauffer is on the move. He retreated to near the halfway line, close to wing-back Guerreiro on the left. Then, Bayern's little man took the ball and turned to face Benjamin.

This seemingly random choice of place actually hides a lot of information and a lot of thinking. Lu Ling pinched his chin on the sidelines. If he did it on purpose, then he was in a position far from the goal but couldn't be ignored: Ben would either have to leave the middle to defend by a large margin, or Pyter would have to come back to defend him by a large margin, or the whole team would have to be forced to retreat together.

This is a little bit of a problem that arises when a back three becomes a back five -

The midfield was not wide enough and was caught just right by Schaffle. None of these three options are deadly. But Lu Ling felt uncomfortable in his heart. Very uncomfortable.

Benjamin came out, leaning slightly in an attempt to steer Robin Saffle to the outside. But Schaffle didn't choose to dribble the ball this time. He gave the ball to Guerrero near the touchline.

Jacob, the right wing-back of the QPR, immediately stepped up to put pressure on the Bayern left wing-back.

Lu Ling saw that behind Jake, right central defender John immediately entered a state of high alert. After the lesson of the opening scene, the Northern Love Kid immediately shortened the distance between Jake and Ben to prevent a large space.

Lu Ling was very satisfied, which showed that John's understanding of the location had deepened.

At this point, Guerreiro gave the ball forward and the young French centre-forward Moussa Dembele dropped back to carry John, but he struggled to turn around and John jammed Dembele's inward lane with a tattooed arm.

Robin Saffle began to run diagonally to the middle while pointing behind him.

Dembele followed Shavre's instructions and fed the ball back to Bayern left centre-back Alaba who then knocked the ball into Shafre.

Saffle had moved quickly to the middle behind Benjamin, with Ian leaning in to defend.

Lu Ling, who was on the sidelines, felt that something was wrong for a moment.

But before she could think about it, Schaffle had already played the ball to Koeman on the right. The French winger took the ball and switched positions with Kimmich, the German cut into the ribs, and Coman pulled to the touchline and then stuffed the ball to Kimmich. Kimmich's cross crossed to the back of the box, by which time Moussa Dembele had already run back into the box......

Fortunately, this shot was blocked by David Ruiz from close range!

The new Queen's Park let out another heart-wrenching exclamation.

Lu Ling felt shocked in a matter of seconds. She clasped her hands to her chest and stared at the field. She knew this player could do that. Robin Schauffer is no ordinary character. And the feeling of seeing it on the spot is especially real.

In the more than ten seconds before the corner kick was taken, the QPR coach quickly replayed the whole process in his mind. If I'm not mistaken, Robin Schaffle should have planned it this way.

Feint on the left side (on the right side of the QPR) to attract Benjamin, and then draw out all three of the QPR defenders with the help of his teammates. Previously, the QPR was penetrated here at the beginning of the opening game, so it is natural to be vigilant.

After that, Saffle immediately used his own runs to cue his teammates to move to the other side of the relatively empty side, and in the process of transferring, he used exquisite and concise techniques to defuse Ian's defense, inducing Kimmisi and Koeman to attack at the other end.

Throughout, Saffle had no dribbles, no fancy moves, only about three or four touches of the ball. He wasn't even involved in the final threat and shots.

But from left to right, under Robin Schauffer's step-by-step guidance, the seemingly well-organized defensive line of QPR quickly collapsed.

Lu Ling thought of another point at the moment when Saffle took the corner kick!

Bayern's two attacks under the Schafles were both launched on the left side and finished on the right side - that is, on the left side of the QPR themselves, the end on the side of JT Town, which seems to be intentional.

Obviously, Nagelsmann was instructed to do so, but Robin Schaffle undoubtedly incorporated his own ideas and chose the right time and method to launch the attack, almost manipulating the occurrence of both attacks with his own hands.

After this corner kick was defused by Hans, Lu Ling shouted loudly to the field.

****

Nathaniel Lawrence is well aware that he is not an expert in football tactics, but even so, he can see that the QPR players on the field are a little constrained at every turn. From his point of view, the situation below is unobstructed. The sound around him enveloped him, and the anxiety came to his face.

And the team's number one star Patrick Amber now needs to be forced to defend again and again, and obviously, this is also the manager's instructions.

A year ago, Nathan Neal also went to the Allianz Arena to watch the 4-1 defeat and decided to sack Benitez immediately after the game. He knew that Bayern was a strong team, but he didn't expect that QPR, which now has Patrick and Christine, would still struggle so hard at home.

He hadn't had time to meet with her yet, but he had already spoken on the phone. In a short conversation, he once asked the reason for the change, and Christine only said: "We need to make up for our shortcomings first." Nathan Neal didn't know exactly what that meant.

The situation now is that the team has retreated too deeply. If it is the price to pay for this so-called "defect", then the price is not small.

QPR is unsettling with their opponents in their first Champions League knockout game of the season.

Nathan Neal stares at Patrick Amber. Pat looks okay at the moment. It's just that Nathan Neal doesn't remember if the King of Spades has made any breakthroughs so far.

Is this part of the plan?

The figure on the sideline is still with familiar hands on her chest, and her graceful figure still looks calm and calm when the storm is about to come.

Nathan Neill thought, perhaps, the two men had other ideas—and he hoped that the end of the idea would not be too bad.

****

The first half of the game was already in the late stages.

Benjamin Hamilton tries to keep his mind sharp at all times. However, he has been a bit sluggish lately.

However, in such a game, his teammates, as well as her, need his brain to be absolutely awake. He understands the implications of Christine's three-centre-back and readily converted back five.

There is a structural flaw in the QPR that cannot be repaired in the short term - due to the serious injury of Mensah, JT must play. JT's physical condition is good, but he lacks experience and absolute ability in the top competitions, so he can easily become a breakthrough.

He knew her. She was extremely disgusted with Murphy's Law.

Therefore, she does not want to leave any obvious holes for her opponents. Still, she needs luck to help, too.

Perhaps, she is more controlling than she thinks. Does she know that he understands her?

In short, this three-back and five-back switching formation can give priority to protecting the backfield as much as possible, allowing JT to make decisions less difficult, thus essentially improving the quality of the defense.

In addition, there is an important link, this 3412 formation, which really puts Patrick's position in the middle, that is, the No. 10 forward position.

Benjamin knew he was wearing the number 10 shirt, but Patrick was the real number 10.

In any case, Patrick is in the middle and can influence the team's offense and defense to the maximum. This is also the final step in unlocking the potential of QPR.

But in this game, for the team, 3412, is still a new formation, and many of the teammates' moves are still not skilled enough. Moreover, Robin Schaffle restrained himself.

Benjamin was isolated from the game, which led to a seemingly insignificant QPR running around the centre circle, but not being efficient enough.

The German team has always had a lot of movement and great discipline. Nagelsmann's Bayern have pushed this trait to the extreme.

Benjamin knows the key is still Robin Schauffle, a key player. He told her to fuck Robin Schauffer. Fuck Robin Saffle indeed. That night, he just thought about her, he just wanted to hear her voice, even if it was her cold voice.

But Robin Schauffer ......

Benjamin, having studied a lot of Shafre's footage, expected the Germans to impose specific restrictions on themselves – a way he always did with his core organizers. Still, this guy surprised him.

In addition to jamming his line of catching the ball, Saffle constantly challenged him on the offensive end, and those brown and black eyes seemed to be able to see the uncertainty in his heart. Although Schauffer has not tried him so far, Benjamin is well aware that the Germans are deliberately forcing him to make a dilemma on many occasions. And the way Schafler deconstructs the game and drives his teammates is also something Benjamin appreciates.

So far, the score is still 0-0. The lack of a major away goal was clearly due to Christine's current three-centre-back/five-back formation. But even in this situation, Schauffle was able to cut through the layers of QPR's defense from time to time. In front of Hans's gates, danger never stopped.

Saffle is a brilliant player and if you want to beat him, you have to do the opposite.

In between a deadball, Benjamin walks over to Patrick. He covered his mouth and said to Patrick, "Pat, the next time we have the ball, you can help me, no matter what, let me control the ball at the end." ”

Patrick looked at him, his gray-green eyes shining. He didn't speak, but nodded.

Benjamin glanced up at the clock on the court. At the same time, he also saw that in the stands, blue and white were surging, blending into the noise and anxiety. The first half was close to stoppage time. His mind had never been clearer about what he was about to do.

On 43 minutes, Patrick started from his own half.

Robin Saffle doesn't come over and controls the space between Patrick and Benjamin.

Suddenly, Patrick leaned towards Saffle.

This clearly took the Germans by surprise. Benjamin took the opportunity to get out of the defense, took a few steps to the side, and then received a pass from Patrick.

Patrick saw that Benjamin had the ball and immediately ran forward, back to a more forward position.

So, for the first time in this game, Benjamin breathed fresh air like a man who had been imprisoned for a long time.

Saffle lost control of Benjamin in that instant. However, he reacted immediately – pressing very aggressively and trying to push Benjamin to the touchline.

As his opponent approached him, Benjamin noticed that Schafle's hand was pointing back, as if to signal his teammates to hurry up and protect him.

Benjamin's brain spins extremely fast. He knew right away what the diminutive German wanted to do.

The other party wants to take the risk and make himself past him. After that, you must not be able to adjust quickly, so the other Bayern players can pounce and counterattack on the spot.

In less than half a second, Benjamin also caught a glimpse of Schaffle behind him, and Bayern midfielder Tolisso was indeed ready to protect.

Saffle shoveled straight over. Knowing that his height meant that he had limited area to control, he tackled aggressively – maximizing Benjamin's mispossession and allowing Bayern to break the ball in the back.

But Benjamin wasn't prepared to pass at all.

He hit the ball directly with the instep of his foot.

The ball was like a shot.

The ball at Benjamin's feet flew straight out of the halfway line. Grazing Saffle's cheek, gliding past Tolisso's side, and continuing straight towards QPR No. 18.

The moment Benjamin was bumped into by Saffle, he saw the consternation in the other party's eyes.

The bullet-like, seemingly unmanageable, straight, powerful pass was unloaded at Patrick's feet with an almost lover-like gentle touch.

He is probably the only one in this world who can do it.

Saffle's right foot shoveled into Benjamin's ankle, but Benjamin gritted his teeth and immediately got up and followed. Twenty yards ahead, Patrick had also begun to attack.

Throughout the first half, Benjamin saw a restrained Patrick. But now, Patrick has been released from his cage as well.

Saffle snatched up, and asked Tolisso to come up to protect him, so Patrick was given a lot of space. After a half-second turn, he connected an extremely quick lob to break through David Alaba. Immediately, in the face of Bayern's high-speed midfielder and Guerrero's pinch, he made the efforts of the two in vain with a button.

Benjamin plugged in as fast as he could, and dirt flew behind his spikes.

Leon and Phil had already pinned down the opponent's remaining three defenders in the box, and Patrick passed the ball sideways to Ben who came up.

Benjamin could feel the soreness in his calf muscles and the pain in his ankle that had just been shoveled. But that one doesn't feel real, what's more real is that-

He straightened his body position, trying to tense his muscles as much as possible without being overly stiff. It's a good space to shoot – and still, he needs an accurate shot to get the action done.

His eyes were fixed on the ball—

After scraping the ground, the ball spins slightly and shoots away if left unchecked.

Step your left foot into the turf. The right leg is raised. With the momentum of the previous run, it swings sharply and swings out of an arc.

The whole instep hits the center of the ball well.

In the breeze and in the flying blades of grass, the trajectory of the ball is undeflected.

At night, the floodlights of the new Queen's Park illuminated the white gateposts and Neuer's blond-brown hair. The blue-and-white fans, who had collectively stood up behind the goal, reflected a strange light and shadow in Benjamin's blue-green eyes.

His body flew into the air with the action of the shot.

The ball goes straight into the corner.

Benjamin stared in that direction and laughed, he could finally hold her. 166 Reading Network