Chapter 459: Mighty Juventus
However, the upper hand in the first 45 minutes did not cheer the Torino coaching staff, led by Li Mudi, as the score did not change in any way, and in essence, the first half of the two sides was equal, and the victory was not to be awarded to the Red Bulls because they played better.
The tactical choice of the side is more reasonable, but the fifteen-minute half-time break is enough for Juventus to find out the crux of the problem and make a solution, once the opponent has found their form through adjustment, then they can use the advantage of the player's ability to launch a counterattack against the Torino team, which is the last thing Li Mudi wants to see.
On the football field, aside from luck, morale and other components, the competition is the ability of the players and the team's tactics. It's just that when the opponent finds a way not to fall behind at the tactical level, the script of the game will continue according to the situation of the previous Torino derby, after all, the strength of world-class stars such as Dybala is difficult to completely limit for the current Torino team, and Allegri will become the one who controls the direction of the script.
In Italy, a traditional football powerhouse, there have been countless good coaches with excellent coaching ability and even the world's top ones, even in today's seemingly green and yellow period, there are Spalletti, Maurizio Sarri, Gasperini and other powerful players who tenaciously defend the last dignity of Italian football. Behind them, there have been many new generation of potential managers such as Gattuso, the Inzaghi brothers, and Robert Daversa (43-year-old Parma coach), and it can be said that the future development prospects are still relatively optimistic.
But among these coaches, Allegri is naturally one of the top managers in Italian football today, and perhaps only Carlo Ancelotti and Conte can compete with him. In terms of tactical literacy, Uncle Yi is at the same level as Spalletti, which can be regarded as a world-class level, so Li Muddy has no doubt that Juventus will find a way to deal with their team in the second half and let the game return to the rhythm that the opponent is used to.
Of course, the Torino team will not watch the opponent change his moves, and he is still there as a target, Li Mudi also arranged several new arrangements in advance, depending on the changes of the old woman and then choose which set to implement. However, due to the large variables that exist between them, effective responses can only be made after seeing the results.
And it wasn't just the incident that bothered the Torino boss as the team doctor gave him very bad news shortly after the break began, and Benassi had to be substituted early if he continued to play and could worsen the injury. While there was a brilliant substitute for Matchli on the bench, everyone who watched the first half could not deny that Benassi was the best of the 22 players on the pitch, and the homegrown midfielder was a key factor in Torino's ability to dominate the pitch. The inability of such a core player to continue playing is too negative for the Red Bulls.
The reason for his injury was equally infuriating, in first-half stoppage time, Benassi was tackled from behind by Benatia while possessing the ball on the right side of the opposition box, but referee Antonio D'Amato did not say anything and blew the whistle to end the half-time, which provoked strong displeasure from the Torino players. Belotti and others also wanted to go forward to surround the referee in an attempt to ask for an explanation, but were pulled away in time by Vukocevic and assistant coach Samfield, who rushed in from the sidelines, otherwise the consequences would be unimaginable.
And it was because of the dirty foul by the Moroccan central defender that Benassi showed signs of muscle damage in his right calf and had to leave the field early, disrupting many of Li Mudi's plans and laying a key foreshadowing for the final result of the game.
The fifteen-minute break was fleeting, and both sides were back on the pitch and immediately immersed in the tense atmosphere of the game. Baseli, who came on as a substitute, came up and tested the concentration of the opposing goalkeeper with a powerful long-range shot from 278 meters away, and at the same time proved to everyone that he was no worse than his team-mate who started. The shot was powerful, and there was a bounce in front of the goal, but because the angle was not very tricky, Buffon still held the ball in his arms relatively easily, leaving no chance for Belotti to come up and want to make up for it.
And when Juventus attacked for the first time in the second half, onlookers saw very clearly the changes they had made compared to what they had made before the break. Although the overall formation remained in a 4-3-3 position, during the attack, Khedira, who had been playing as a right central midfielder, appeared more on the right flank, initially acting as a right midfielder, and when Cuadrado stepped forward, the German would protect his team-mates again. The change allows Dybala to no longer be confined to a wide position, but to return to the middle of the pitch where he is better suited, and to play as a shadow striker alongside Mandzukic in the Torino penalty area.
At this point, Juve's formation will change to a back three, Asamoah will be admitted to the left central defence, Matuidi will stand in front of them to act as an interception barrier, and the remaining six players will be able to press through the half to participate in the attack, and the pressure on the Red Bulls' defensive line will be very huge.
And the change of several players in the front field has suddenly become more frequent, Douglas Costa is two wings in turn, Mandzukic will not just be at the front, with Dybala's response, he will occasionally come to the familiar left side to open up space for his teammates in the middle, Juve's overall attack suddenly became extremely active.
In the 51st minute, after a short period of passing the ball, Costa, who switched to the right side, faced Barreca, who was slightly inferior in defense to Silvestri on the other side, and changed the angle with a dazzling set of bicycle rapid change of direction feints, and passed the ball to the edge of the penalty area. Khedira, who appeared in that key position, sent a diagonal through ball without stopping, helping Dybala, who had already unknowingly entered the penalty area, to get a good opportunity to get up and hit the goal directly.
As a number of Torino defenders raised their hands for offside, the Argentine star's left foot pulled the ball out of a beautiful arc and headed straight for the far bottom corner of the net. Fortunately, Casillas's concentration remained high, and he quickly fell to the ground to block the dangerous shot, and the second drop was controlled by Kanneman, who drove the ball off the line with a big kick before the rushing Mandzukic.
Pjanic immediately sent in a quick tactical corner, and tall players such as Mandzukic and Benatia did not dare to slack off for the Torino team, so they defended heavily inside the box, and as a result, Dybala on the perimeter seized the opportunity to find a space to take a long-range shot, and he received a cross from Costa and fired a left-footed shot directly into the near bottom corner of the net. The angle of power of the volley was almost impeccable, but it still failed to pass Casey's ten fingers, and the legendary Spanish goalkeeper once again saved the team with his heroic save, which made the ESPN commentator who broadcast the game exclaim: "Can you imagine that such a good goalkeeper could miss the World Cup?" If he were English, I think the Three Lions might have been able to pick up at least one major trophy in the last two decades. ”
Not to mention everyone's praise for the wonderful performances of Dybala and Cassie in the two offenses and defenses just now, Li Mudi on the sidelines couldn't be silent anymore. Having been watching from the sidelines since the game restarted, he immediately roared twice in front of his own goal, reminding his players to concentrate and execute according to the pre-match plan and not to be disrupted by the opponent's strategy.
It's just that in the next six or seven minutes, suppressed by Juve's strong attack, the offensive efficiency of the Torino team can no longer return to the level of the first half, because of the concern of their own defense, the wingbacks on both sides greatly reduced the number of assists, resulting in the opponent can use more troops to encircle and suppress Immobile and others. The team's difficulties up front also made it difficult for the ball to stay in Juve's half for too long, and the opposition would quickly launch a counter-attack once the ball was successful.
In order to avoid the situation from continuing to deteriorate, Li Mudi had to give a new order to control the ball more in his own midfield, but it seems that it will not have a substantial impact on the Bianconeri, who have found their rhythm well.
In the 55th minute, Cuadrado sent a through ball to the right in the face of Barreka's marking, and Khedi, who was inserted in the back row, pulled up his foot and crossed, but failed to master his footwork, and the ball flew directly to the far corner of the goal. Cassie jumped up and dragged the ball off the crossbar to give away the third corner of the second half. Pjanic's corner was very precise and found Benatia who had suddenly retreated from the front of the goal to the edge of the six-yard box, but Diego Llorente reacted in time to follow the Moroccan centre-back and interfere with the opponent's header strike. The ball almost grazed the crossbar and the post and flew off the bottom line, causing Juventus supporters to sigh about their bad luck.
After Casey took a short goal, the Torino players made a long transition at the back, hoping to wear down the morale of the opposition and attract Juventus players to see if there was a chance to create a hole in the opposition defence.
However, the old Italian football giants did not make any mistakes, and they also took advantage of the more lenient punishment scale of the referee today, constantly using high-intensity physical confrontations to put pressure on attacking players such as Basseri, making it difficult for the Red Bulls to transmit the ball to the dangerous area of the frontcourt. Juve apparently didn't pay much attention to those unthreatening passes from the back, and they were always at a 10-point deficit in possession today, and Allegri didn't care about the stats of the game, he just wanted the final victory and trophies.
As a result, there was a period of relative calm on the pitch, and as long as the ball did not enter Juve's half, the Bianconeri's midfield would not increase their pressing efforts except for a few front-court players making a difference. However, once Torino try to burn the flames over the halfway line, the two central midfielders of Khedira and Matuidi will take turns to play with Pjanic in the center and limit the Red Bulls' attacking organization at the first time.
Unable to put too much effort into the attacking end, even though the two strikers opted for more drop-backs to pick up the lead from their teammates, these attempts did not make any waves in front of Juventus, who had a solid defensive system. On the contrary, in the 62nd minute, Allegri made a new adjustment, Juventus suddenly launched a period of high pressing, forcing Torino to make mistakes in the possession tactics at the back, and the defending champions once again dominated the field in the next five minutes, playing a wave that almost ended the suspense of the game.
In the 64th minute, Juventus pressed all the way and formed a siege on the penalty area of the city's sworn enemy. Cuadrado cut inside on the right and then made a powerful feint and then suddenly crossed low to the top of the box, where Dybala's diagonal pull created a small defensive vacuum for Douglas Costa, who stopped the ball three metres in front of him and then volleyed directly with his left foot.
The ball hit the right leg guard of Ranocchia, who was desperately trying to block, and there was a slight change of line, which caught Casillas off guard. Although his left hand touched the ball, it was powerless to change its trajectory significantly, and the sound of the ball hitting the net and the cheers of tens of thousands of Juventus fans in front of the scene announced that the score on the field had finally changed, and Juventus finally fulfilled the judgment of most people before the game and became the first to score.
After scoring the goal, Costa rushed to the sidelines to strip to celebrate because he was too excited, and was shown the first yellow card of the game by the referee. However, this did not dampen the joy of the Bianconeri, who knew in their hearts that a fourth consecutive Coppa Italia trophy was within reach. According to relevant statistics, in the last 84 games in which they have scored first, Juventus have not lost in 90 minutes, and only four of those games have ended in draws, with a winning rate of more than 95%, which is so consistent that the opponent is desperate.
After the restart, the Torino team, which had to step up their attacking investment, made a major passing error in less than a minute and was quickly counter-attacked by the opponent. Dybala suddenly showed a godly state on the right side of the field, and he used his wonderful dribbling skills to get rid of three defenders in a row, and hit the middle of the box about five meters from the top of the arc, and it was directly a powerful volley. The ball curled straight into the top right corner of the goal, and Casillas made an equally brilliant flying save to keep the ball out of the line.
Although they failed to score again in a short period of time, almost everyone thought that Juventus would not be too far away from winning the game, and the Serie A overlords had taken the absolute initiative, and the possibility of Torino wanting to complete the counterattack was not very great.