Chapter 281: An Unquenchable Flame of Attack
Oblak collapsed in the box after Real Madrid's goal, so kick-off was suspended. Italian referee Rocchi signaled the team doctor to come in to check the situation.
Fortunately, Oblak was just pushed by the inertia of Ronaldo's body, and it hurt a lot at the time, Dr. Haas sprayed him with some pain-relieving white medicine spray, Oblak gasped a few breaths on the ground, slowly stood up, and raised his arms high after two steps of movement, signaling OK, no big problem.
Boggs called back the substitute goalkeeper Moya, who was already preparing to warm up, and Simeone's face softened slightly, and he breathed a sigh of relief.
If it weren't for the penalty shoot-out, or the special need for the starting goalkeeper to be red, no manager would want to replace the goalkeeper on an interim basis. Not to mention the limited number of substitutions, the most important thing is that the instability is too strong.
The substitute goalkeeper is originally a long-term role on the bench, and who can guarantee the state when he plays halfway?
Especially in a high-level confrontation like this, the battle for goal is especially crucial. A close-range save from the goalkeeper could have made a fatal reversal of the final result.
To say that the most depressed at this time is, of course, the substitute goalkeeper Moya, who thought it was a God-given opportunity to be able to accept the order in such a focus battle, but the result was empty joy.
Wen Zhihao walked over and picked up Obra and asked with a smile, "You didn't see my gesture just now?" ”
Oblak looked confused: "No, what do you want to say?" ”
Wen Zhihao touched his nose, thought about it, he had already lost the ball, it was useless to say this, waved his hand and replied: "Forget it, it's nothing." Don't think too much, it's not your responsibility to concede the goal, it's just a draw now. ”
Although Wen Zhihao said this, the defenders who were close to him heard it, but now everyone is not in a relaxed mood.
When you are leading by one goal, you can be relaxed without pressure, but in a draw, that away goal makes everyone feel like a fish in the throat, and there is still some baggage.
On Atletico Madrid's side, only Wen Zhihao's expression was normal, and the other people's faces were more or less worried and confused.
Only Wen Zhihao faced Real Madrid in his first season, including Costa's previous time at Atletico Madrid, he played Real Madrid at least twice a season, with fewer wins and more losses. The situation in front of them reminded them of some unbearable images of the past.
Wen Zhihao felt that the atmosphere was wrong, and when he walked to the middle circle, he clapped his hands and shouted: "Cheer up, okay?" It's only half an hour, 2:1, 3:1, what's impossible? ”
Gabi heard Wen Zhihao's shout, and did not hesitate to encourage everyone together, he is the captain on the field, and this kind of thing should be his job.
Boggs whispered to Simeone: "Diego, Wen seems to be encouraging everyone? ”
Simeone bowed slightly, turned his head and smiled knowingly at his assistant.
"Well, old man, looks like you've guessed what I'm going to say. He didn't seem to have any emotional fluctuations because of the change in the scene. More calm than Gabi, who has been through a hundred battles. This is not the first time Boggs has been amazed by Wen's on-the-spot mental quality.
And this time Simeone denied it: "At first, I thought the same thing as you, but in fact, it was just that he covered it up well and was not easy to detect...... He is constantly clapping his hands when encouraging his teammates, and he can't even hear his voice in such an environment, and this kind of action can only be noticed by teammates at close range, and it is more of his own psychological adjustment and self-motivation. ”
Boggs looked at Simeone in surprise and confusion to hear how he had come to this conclusion.
However, Simeone did not continue to ignore him, but refocused his eyes on the field.
Although it is an away game, after the momentum from falling behind to equalizing, Real Madrid players have regained the psychological advantage of facing Atletico Madrid in the Champions League, and the players on the offensive and defensive lines of Atletico Madrid are now not in the same mind. The attacking players want to overtake as soon as possible, and the defenders hope that the two backs can recycle and share the defensive pressure, and the pace is inconsistent.
The Real Madrid players seized the gap to take control of the game, and Zidane's requested pass-and-control play finally came into play at this time. Luka Modric fully demonstrated the characteristics of his midfield metronome, the combination of long and short passes, fully mobilized Atletico Madrid's defensive system, Kroos played a good complementary role as a partner, and the iron-blooded style of German football allowed him to dare to force his way to the periphery of the Atletico penalty area under defensive pressure from the back, and exert the power of his attacking insertion.
Real Madrid's strong pressure made Atletico Madrid's formation gradually flattened, Gabi and Thomas had to recycle to the defenders to assist in the defense, as for the counterattack, they could only rely on long passes to find CG combinations to solve the problem.
Everyone knows that the first initiator of Atletico's counterattack must be Wen Zhihao. Real Madrid captain Sergio Ramos, who plays as one of the central defenders, was worried that his teammates would not be able to help, so he personally pulled out to mark the defense. He knows very well that as long as Wen Zhihao's pass is blocked, Griezmann and Costa are like water without a source.
After two encounters in the league, Ramos also asked Wen Zhihao for his instantaneous speed change breakthrough ability, in this regard, he considered himself not Wen Zhihao's opponent, so he did not stick too tightly, leaving a certain distance, which is conducive to him judging Wen Zhihao's breakthrough direction and passing route.
Instead of using close pressing, Wen Zhihao's play happens to be more free, after the polishing of the Eredivisie period, in the absence of strong confrontation in the body, Wen Zhihao's habitual feet can change direction at the moment of touching the ball, and the final passing route and the defender's prediction will be different.
The other party soon discovered this problem, and the left-back Marcelo on the same side also joined Wen Zhihao's personal defense, the world's No. 1 left-back and the world's No. 1 central defender against Wen Zhihao's second defense and one, He Wei watched this scene, feeling honored for Wen Zhihao and worried about whether he could cope with such a predicament alone.
Wen Zhihao quickly gave the answer.
Fighting for foot skills, Wen Zhihao has a small chance of winning alone, but he uses a wide range of runs to get close to Griezmann or Costa, and uses the balanced strength of the two to take the ball and pass the ball to cooperate with each other to break the wall and easily break the opponent's encirclement.
From time to time, counter-attacks between the three can also pose a threat to Real Madrid's back four, and Wen Zhihao has played an all-round role that cannot be ignored.
Atletico were able to give the home fans a sense of the possibility of scoring a goal in an overall extremely passive situation, thanks in large part to Wen Zhihao's strong performance.
Zidane in the stands has serious opinions about the defender line led by Ramos, Zidane at the end of Real Madrid's career, Ramos has emerged and been promoted to the first team, which means that the two still have a relationship with former teammates, but at this time Zidane is also quite dissatisfied with him.
Ramos on the field was also in a very anxious mood, knowing that this was the opponent's core offensive point, the fire of counterattack, but he just couldn't hold it!
Bully people with strength!
Ramos, as a top centre-back, often lets opposition strikers go to nothing in front of him, and he feels a sense of accomplishment every time.
And when he faced Wen Zhihao head-on, his sense of superiority was instantly shattered, and he finally realized what it was like to be bullied by his strength.