Chapter 114:-for-tat (Happy Christmas Eve)
"Whoa—"
The Atletico Madrid fans at the Stadium of Light in Lisbon were as excited as children, erupting in deafening shouts at the instigation of Simeone's body movements.
Real Madrid fans looked particularly depressed, Godin's header was not powerful, the flight speed was not fast, and the angle was tricky, but if Casillas could be more cautious and stand on the goal line, then Godin's goal would no longer exist.
Captain Casillas, who made a mistake, crossed his hands on his hips and looked very depressed.
I wanted to attack and get the ball, but halfway through the attack, I realized that I might not touch the football, so I paused at the critical moment, and it was just like this that I lost the best time to attack.
Tang Zheng was an eyewitness to the team's conceded goal, Khedira was understandable that he couldn't grab the landing spot due to positional problems, and he also tried his best to influence Godin's top ball, but Casillas's attack was too reckless.
It stands to reason that a goalkeeper of Casillas' level would not be able to make such a low-level mistake, Ou Xu ...... Is it true that there are too few games played?
From the time he had a conflict with Jose Mourinho during his tenure, he only played in the cup, in which Diego López came on, and in the 2013-2014 season Carlo Ancelotti managed Real Madrid, Diego López was in charge of the domestic league, and Casillas was in charge of the Copa del Rey and the Champions League.
Tang Zheng was helpless about the team conceding a goal near the end of the first half, but he was helpless, and Casillas is not the kind of player who incites his teammates with words, he is better at using performance.
This season's Champions League and Copa del Rey Casillas has saved Real Madrid many times with his amazing performances, so neither the players on the field nor the Real Madrid fans in the stands blame Casillas, and the vice-captain Ramos even took the initiative to appease Casillas who made a mistake.
At the same time, the commentators in the commentary box put the blame for Real Madrid's goal loss on Casillas, saying that the Chinese New Year's Eve is no longer in peak form and may not be in Ancelotti's plans next season.
Missed goals often hit the morale of the team, and Real Madrid manager Carlo Ancelotti stood on the edge of the visiting coach's command area and clapped his hands hard to cheer on the players, and there was plenty of time left in the game, sometimes to equalise.
After all, Real Madrid players have experienced hundreds of battles, big and small, and know that it is normal to concede goals in games.
It is worth mentioning that through the slow-motion replay technology, it was concluded that Casillas had crossed the goal line as a whole before blocking the ball, and the baseline referee also signaled the ball to cross the goal line as a whole for the first time, so the goal was counted in Godin and not Adrian who blocked the ball into the goal with his body for the second time.
When the game resumed, Cristiano Ronaldo had a strong desire to attack, and although the goal conceded had nothing to do with him, it was his responsibility as the team's number one striker to help the team equalize quickly.
However, in many cases, it is not enough to be fast, and Atletico, who are good at defense, opened the scoring and completed Simeone's pre-match tactics flawlessly, leaving not much room for Real Madrid to attack.
Cristiano Ronaldo opted to fall back after two unsuccessful attempts to break through in succession, using the width of the field to draw Atletico defence.
Against a team like Atletico Madrid, who are defensively unified and tactically disciplined, they will certainly not be able to make a decisive decision, and they must use the width of the pitch to create attacking space, otherwise the goal will be just talk.
Tang Zheng firmly carried out the on-field tasks assigned by head coach Carlo Ancelotti and looked for defensive openings in Atletico Madrid.
However, it was not found until the referee Kupels blew the whistle at the end of the first half, which means that Atletico Madrid, who was drawn at home, ended the first half with a 1-0 lead over Real Madrid.
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The live broadcast gave the Real Madrid stars for the first time, Cristiano Ronaldo, Tang Zheng, Benzema, Casillas and other Real Madrid players, their facial expressions were a little ugly.
Aside from conceding goals, Real Madrid players think that their performance is no worse than Atletico Madrid, but they have a 'better performance' but have to accept the bitter consequences of temporarily falling behind, so the players are somewhat sad.
On the other hand, the Atletico Madrid players were full of confidence when they walked back to the players' tunnel.
Therefore, the British Sky commentator Marcel Leif laughed: "Atletico Madrid's overall performance is better than Real Madrid, the lead is normal, but Real Madrid can't play better in the second half, I think the new La Liga champion will have a good chance of winning the 2013-2014 Champions League......"
Immediately, the broadcast picture was given back to Tang Zheng, and Marcel Leiff's voice changed: "Tang has been creating miracles since his debut, from joining Dortmund to Real Madrid, he has not lost in the final on behalf of the team so far, many media have given him the nickname of 'King of the Final', the 2013-2014 Champions League final has only passed half of the game, Atletico Madrid is only 1:0 ahead, Real Madrid still has plenty of time to tie the score." ”
Between the words, the players on both sides of the game have returned to their respective locker rooms, and some of the fans at the Stadium of Light left their seats to buy ingredients to replenish the energy consumed, some went to the bathroom to solve their physiological needs, and some walked around to relieve their excitement.
Of course, more fans took advantage of the half-time break to post news on their social media platforms, and the game was so exciting just now that they didn't have time to look at their phones, let alone post online social platform updates, so they showed their talents when the players from both sides returned to the dressing room.
In the home team's dressing room, Atletico Madrid manager Simeone and the players were in a good mood.
Diego Costa's inability to continue the game due to injury was to be expected, as was the dominance of a ferocious style of play, and the goal was a surprise.
However, it was only halfway through the game, and it was not worth rejoicing too soon, so Simeone took a deep breath and coughed lightly.
Many Atletico Madrid players were not well-known before joining Atletico Madrid, but with the excellent performance of the 2013-2014 season recognized by many top teams, Atletico Madrid players knew who brought these things, so they instinctively looked over after hearing Simeone's light cough.
Simeone was pleased with the reaction of his players, but instead of dwelling on it, he loudly praised the players who did well in the first half.
However, in the first half, the Atletico players were very good, so Simeone wasted a lot of time praising the players.
It took about five minutes for Simeone to turn the conversation to second-half tactics.
At the same time, Real Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti in the away team's dressing room first summarized the shortcomings of the first half, but did not criticize the players by name, but directly explained the tactical adjustments in the second half to the players.
In Ancelotti's mind, conceding a goal is not only Casillas's mistake, but also a microcosm of the team's overall performance in the game is not as good as Atletico Madrid, but Casillas is very unfortunate and becomes the one who bears the blame.
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The fifteen-minute half-time break passed quickly, and players from both sides entered the stadium through the players' tunnel one after another, and the scattered seats in the stands were slowly filled by fans.
"Beep~"
With the whistle of referee Kupels, the second half of the 2013-2014 Champions League final officially began.
Atletico Madrid, who had the advantage of the kick-off, did not attack at the first time, but controlled the football through reasonable passes and maintained control of the game situation.
Of course, the overall technical ability of the Atletico players is not high, and their control of football is limited.
However, Atletico Madrid's advantages are also obvious, they have a large running coverage, do not hesitate to do physical strength, have a positive tacit understanding on the top, and have strong space pressure, even if Real Madrid gets a football organization attack, it is difficult to break through.
First of all, Simeone's Atletico Madrid's main lineup is 442, which retreats to half-court defense when defending, and the four defenders and four midfielders maintain a good position, maximizing the protection of space, even if Real Madrid's attack uses the width of the field, it is difficult to involve enough attacking space.
The two strikers take turns cruising around the arc of their own centre, putting pressure on players such as Tang Zheng or Ramos who are in possession of the ball.
Tang Zheng also tried to play behind, but Courtois kept a good distance from the back line, even if he cleverly avoided Courtois and Atletico Madrid's defenders, and his teammates who received the football were not easy to handle the ball.
So Tang Zheng shook his head after passing the ball, and he easily saw through the first half and the first five minutes of the second half that his mentor Simeone's pre-game arrangements were very in place, and it could be said that there was no space left.
If you want to create absolute chances, apart from Atletico's own mistakes, you have to wait until they have fitness problems.
Because it is only when there is a physical problem that the defensive attention of the Atletico players will wander.
But then again, when the Atletico players have physical problems, there may also be physical problems on their own side, after all, both sides have experienced a full season of games, and the physical consumption is serious.
"Eh~Don!"
At this moment, Carvajal, who had finished passing the football, suddenly shouted.
Tang Zheng, who was a little distracted, noticed that two Atletico Madrid players were approaching, and he reacted quickly enough to not catch the ball at the first time, but lifted his right foot forward and used his right foot to block Adrian's stretched left foot.
Violated by external forces, Tang Zheng fell to the ground.
Although the football was picked up by David Villa, referee Kuppers blew the whistle to signal Adrian for a foul, and Real Madrid took a free kick at the back.
David Villa was disappointed that if referee Copperpels had opened the net, it would have been a threat to switch from defence to attack with a quick counter-attack.
Simeone was furious on the screen, believing that David Villa and Adrian had worked together to break the ball without any problems, but the referee on duty, Kupels, blew the whistle for a foul on his player.
Of course, he knew in his heart that it was a foul, but at this time, as the head coach, he should put pressure on the referee.
Tang Zheng, who heard the whistle, let out a sigh, just now thought that Atletico Madrid's defensive problems were too deep, so that he was distracted, if he didn't react fast enough, it would be very dangerous to lose the ball in his position.
Tang Zheng performed well on the pitch, and his status in the locker room was increasing day by day, even if he finally conceded a goal, no one said about him, but he had a high self-awareness, and he waved to his teammates after getting up.
The broadcast picture was given to Tang Zheng, and He Wei, the commentator of Central 5, changed the topic: "Through the slow-motion playback, we can easily see that Tang Zheng is distracted, but fortunately, he reacted quickly and stuck his position in advance, and the consequences will be unimaginable, from another point of view, Tang Zheng's basic skills are very solid, if he is a domestic player, this ball will be lost nine times out of ten......"
Tang Zheng's distraction in the game is like an iron tree blooming, which is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, so Ancelotti is very worried.
And as it turned out, Ancelotti's worries were unwarranted.
Tang Zheng was very focused in the next game, and made great contributions to the team's offensive and defensive ends.
It's a pity that Atletico's defense is so good that Real Madrid's attacking group can't find even the slightest chance.
The frenetic atmosphere at the Stadium of Light is still at its peak, especially among Atletico Madrid fans, who have created a wave of chanting.
Although Atletico Madrid on the pitch continued to be on the defensive, they protected each other very well, and the space was very tight, and Real Madrid, which lost the attacking space, was unable to create absolute chances.
Most of the fans who came to the scene knew the ball, so they knew that the team was very stable.
As long as this form and concentration are maintained, the team that will win in the end will most likely be Atletico Madrid!
Real Madrid fans are not far behind, shouting loudly and cheering for the team when Real Madrid attack.
In the 58th minute of the game, Real Madrid, who were behind the score, made their first substitution, replacing Khedira with Isco.
Many commentators on the field did not understand Ancelotti's substitution, because Khedira's performance was very good from the course of the game, especially compared to the sluggish Modric.
But Carlo Ancelotti has his ideas, Modric has not played well in the two positions of midfield and central midfield, and the position that really suits him is the defensive midfielder.
In other words, a tissue-type lower back.
Real Madrid, who are behind, need not to defend, but to attack, and it is reasonable for Khedira, who is not very helpful to attack, to be substituted at this time.
Sure enough!
Modric's partner Tang Zheng, who returned to the midfield position, was of great help to Real Madrid's offensive and defensive transitions, because Modric was able to relieve Tang Zheng's pressure, and the pressure in this area was not defense, but the attack that Real Madrid needed most.
Isco, who came off the bench, was physically weak, but he was skilled at his feet and had the courage to break through.
Real Madrid has Tang Zheng and Cristiano Ronaldo, two big free-kick masters, and Atletico Madrid's defenders dare not foul in key positions, which is equivalent to indirectly leaving some offensive opportunities and space for Real Madrid's attack.
Simeone reacted quickly and strengthened the quality of the central defense with José Sosa, a former coach of Estudiantes, with José Sosa, who had a yellow card and did not dare to make too many moves.
Yang 5 commentator He Wei shook his head and said: "Simeone's adjustment is quick and targeted, he replaced Raul Garcia with a yellow card with Sosa, who has a balance of attack and defense, and the effect is immediate, Sosa's defensive end has an obvious role in Atletico Madrid's defense, and his role is also reflected in the shift from defense to attack, he can share the team's organizational responsibility." ”
Immediately, the broadcast screen was given to Ancelotti.
The meaning of this shot is very obvious, Simeone's-for-tat substitution adjustment is very effective, should Ancelotti continue to make adjustments?
After all...... Real Madrid were behind and the clock was ticking by.