Chapter Forty-Seven: The Dull Game
"There's something wrong with our play, right?"
On the bench, Winks frowned, in addition to conceding the opening goal, Tottenham's attacking development also encountered obstacles, and their problems came in midfield.
Tian nodded a little: "Brother, you are light, don't let the coach hear it." ”
Winks: "We're too obsessed with possession right now, too few passes forward!" ”
Tianyi: "You're saying that this ball-possession tactic is not aggressive? I don't think so, maybe a few of them are waiting for an opportunity. ”
Winks: "Possession isn't just about passing the ball around, it's about getting the ball where there's a threat. We have three strikers, so what's the point if we don't move forward? ”
Winks's worries are not unreasonable. The performance of several players in the Tottenham midfield was indeed doubtful, and although they dominated possession for most of the game, the ball was still largely transmitted back and forth in their own half, mostly through crosses or backballs.
Manchester United, on the other hand, are very smart and ready to work, and since you don't attack, I'm not in a hurry to press high.
If Tottenham's possession slips and United steal it up front, it will be devastating.
After a long period of possession of the ball, even the fans in the stands couldn't sit still.
"What kind of ball is this? Always in the back of the story. ”
"Don't we have good passers now?"
"I said that Eriksen should not be sold, a few years ago I sold Modric, how well they played at Real Madrid, and now I sent Eriksen to Inter Milan."
"What kind of shit is this kicking? The home team can still play like this! ”
The UK's long-standing football culture has given fans a certain insight into what the game is about. But after all, the layman looks at the excitement, and the insider looks at the doorway. The team conceded a goal first, but the manager Magic Bird did not make any adjustments because he was confident.
The game was tepid and the tempo became slower. The ferocious pressing and counter-attacking tactics that both teams excelled at failing to play out.
The soft pitch caused the players on both sides to fall from time to time, and the game became extremely ugly. They began to express their dissatisfaction in false voices.
Winks: "The ball was too embarrassing, the strikers couldn't get the ball in front, and the quality of the attack was too poor. ”
Tianyi thought to himself, it stands to reason that the two teams, whether it is the ability of the players or the lineup arrangement, although they are not the world's top level, but they will not appear in the current situation, where is this Premier League top giants showdown? It's just the rookies of the Chinese Super League pecking each other.
Manchester United has a one-goal lead in away games, and they can't play too much. But Tottenham are one goal behind at home, so why not attack?
As the clock ticked by, the score was still an awkward 0-1, with the difference being that Lamela and Lucas Jr. began to adjust their positions and return more to midfield to receive the ball.
"Dude, pass it on, it's a big deal to get it back," Sissoko said to Hojbjerg.
"Almost, let's get started." Lamela agreed.
Hojbjerg, who was in possession of the ball, looked up at the front court, and Son Heung-min was running out of space on the left flank, and he immediately made a decision to send the ball to the front court.
The ball was accurate and fast, and flew straight to the left side where Sun Xingmin was, but at the moment when Sun Xingmin was about to receive the ball, a black shadow swept in front of him, and with a header, the ball was sent out of the sideline.
The man was none other than Aaron Wan-Bissaka, the Reds Manchester United's right-back defender, and the clearance showed the speed with which Aaron Wan-Bissaka was recovering. Obviously, Sun Xingmin had already pulled out a vacancy, but he chased him back in a few steps.
"Good shot!" Son Heung-min gave a thumbs up to Hojbjerg, who was delivering the shells. It's a bit of a pity, but if you can get it, maybe it's a good opportunity. But after all, this is the first time that Tottenham have tore apart the opposition defence with a long ball since the opening kick-off, and timely encouragement will be a huge boost to the confidence of their team-mates when passing the ball.
The new foreign player Reggillon ran to the front court, he picked up the ball and prepared to serve the sideline. At this time, Manchester United has hoarded 8 players on the right side of the backfield, and the fence is very tight.
Tottenham, on the other hand, only has three players receiving two players, which is still far away.
Reggillon began to look left and right.
Lucas Jr.'s fork pinned down Manchester United defender Bailly.
And Wan-Bissaka is staring at Son Heung-min.
Lamela moved from the right to the middle of the box, with Maguire and Luke Shaw in front of him.
Hojbjerg, who was plugged in from behind, shouted "Hi, here!" ”
Reguilon heard the wind and threw the ball directly into the corner of the penalty area.
Hojbjerg ran to meet the ball and made a gesture to catch the ball, but before the ball touched his body, he saw a tall red-clad player fly up and kick the ball away.
It's Pogba!
"Damn, these legs are too long, right?" Reggillon scolded.
I thought that Tottenham would lose another opportunity to organize an attack, but unexpectedly, a dramatic scene happened.
Pogba's kick clearance, due to the unsteady footing of the leg, did not exert strength on the foot. The ball touched, but the trajectory of the ball was not in the opponent's half, but in the penalty area of the own side.
The ball landed right on Lamela's running path, and centre-back Maguire was willing to let Lamela touch the ball easily, and he leaned on Lamela's body to face the ball and the two men were close to the ball to show a 55-open situation.
In order to get the ball first, Maguire held Lamela and reached for the ball. But he didn't get the ball on the first spot, and the ball bounced off Markle's foot and turned into a straight up and down high ball.
The closest to the ball was still the Manchester United player, with another centre-back, Bailly, already on the way, and the accident had to be dealt with in a timely manner.
But Bayi just wanted to clear the ball with a header, but found that several Tottenham players had gathered near Manchester United's big penalty line.
The ball went straight up and down, and the players' judgment of where to land was extremely tested, and if the ball was headed forward against the Tottenham players, it could turn into another chance for them to hit the goal.
"Bayi, here!" Luke Shaw in the middle of the box yells at Bailly.
That's him!
Rather than getting the ball to the opponent, Bai thought it would be safer to push the ball towards his teammate and let him clear it with his big feet.
Jumps, headers...
The ball drew another high throw line and flew in front of Luke Shaw.
Luke Shaw adjusted his pace, ready to clear the ball as soon as it landed.
Tottenham winger Lamela continued to press on several defenders, running wherever the ball went.
Maguire saw that the football was still in the danger zone of his own penalty area, and it would be too difficult to grab it if Lamela had the ball.
He didn't care so much, and passed back to the goalkeeper.