CHAPTER XLII
"Brescia completely dominated the field, and the Portuguese giants could only parry in embarrassment in front of the third place in Serie A. Pen, fun, pavilion www. biqugeγ infoβ
"Jose Mourinho declared before the game that his side had come for a win. But it was clear that Brescia was more than he expected. As it stands, Porto have not shown their hunger for victory on the pitch. β
"Brescia's form is outstanding! They have already reached 65% possession, twice as much as their opponents! It is only a matter of time before they continue to play like this and if Mourinho can't make adjustments to turn things around, they will be unlucky in this game. β
Commentators from various countries, various television stations are commenting on the intense matches that take place on the Riga Monti stadium with their own understanding.
As everyone can see, Brescia, who are playing at home, are now holding Porto under siege in the half.
"Zhang Shu was very active today, Brescia continued the previous tactical play with Zhang Shu as the core, and the Porto players seemed to have little to do with him. Pretty! β
Huang * Jian * Xiang is also partnering with Zhang Lu to explain this Champions League today. As he spoke, Zhang Shu dodged Deco's up-and-go with a turn-pull ball, and then handed the ball to Matuzallen next to him before Maniche could come up and entangle him.
After passing the ball, Zhang Shu glanced at Maniche, and the Porto left wing-back moved closer to the middle today. Mazzoni had already told the players about this in the pre-match analysis, so Zhang Shu was not surprised.
The midfielder, who was shown to have an excellent long-range shot, had had no chance to show his attacking talent in previous games. Under Brescia's pressure, Maniche stayed behind to help defend Zhang Shu most of the time, looking more like a midfielder.
On the other side of the pitch, Porto right midfielder Alenichev, who was previously seen as a threat by Mazzoni, did not play at all today, replaced by another player, Mendes.
Judging from the previous games, Mendes is just a typical defensive midfielder, he has been standing in the midfield position since the start of the game, even when Porto counterattacked, he did not mean to rush forward.
In this way, without the attack on the two wings, Porto's counterattack was naturally thunderous and rainy, and the limited few counterattacks were nipped in the bud before they could enter the 30-meter area of Brescia.
"Now it looks like Porto's formation is actually somewhat similar to Brescia's, they were very compressed today, the two full-backs are like three midfielders after recycling, the only difference is that in Brescia's tactics, the back three often step forward to participate in the attack, while Porto's back three are unenterprising and shrinking defense." Fabio said in a somewhat sarcastic tone, "Didn't Mourinho say he wouldn't focus on defence? Looking at the current scene, Porto put on a bucket formation. It seems that the Portuguese put off a smoke bomb before the game, and they came to Italy for a draw in this game. β
"They don't even want the ball now, the defenders don't go through the midfield after the ball is broken, no matter whether there is someone in the front court to answer the ball and kick the ball forward with a big kick, Brescia can easily take the ball again and launch a second attack. This style of defence has only been seen in the final moments of the game, but Jose Mourinho's side have been doing so since the first minute of the game, and it seems that he intends to put his players through a full 90 minutes of torture. But players are not robots, no one can play an entire game without making mistakes, and it is unrealistic for Porto to hold on for 90 minutes. β
Although everyone expected Brescia to break down Porto's defence soon, the score remained 0-0 until the end of the first half.
When the referee blew the half-time whistle, the Brescia players were a little disappointed, and they actually had a few good chances in the first half, Di Biagio and Zhang Shu each had a very dangerous long-range shot, but it was unfortunately saved by Porto goalkeeper Baia. Baggio and Toney also had a couple of close-range shots, but they were either blocked by the opposition defenders or deflected wide.
However, despite not scoring, the Brescia players were full of confidence, it was just bad luck in the first half, as long as we continued to play our football, we must have won in the end.
"We see Zhang Shu and Pep Guardiola talking, Brescia's advantage in the first half is very obvious, they are now just one goal away from turning the advantage into a win, I believe as long as this is also what Zhang Shu and Guardiola are discussing now."
Huang *Jian*Xiang looked at the TV broadcast screen, and his tone was relaxed.
Porto are seeded in this group as they won the UEFA Cup last season and won a lot of European points. Although Brescia is the third place in Serie A, it is placed in the fourth pot because of the 0 points in Europe, along with teams such as Vigo Celta and Athens AEK.
But now, Pot 1 side Porto are beaten against Brescia, a Pot 4 side who are playing in the Champions League for the first time.
In Huang Jian's view, in addition to not scoring goals, Brescia and Zhang Shu's performances in the first half were perfect.
The scene quickly cuts to Porto's players.
The faces of the Porto players who managed to keep the score of 0:0 were also calm, without the joy of not dying and the depression of being besieged for 45 minutes, they walked into the players' tunnel with expressionless faces like robots.
Their performance looked more like pretending to be calm in the eyes of Huang *Jian*Xiang.
'The Porto players had grim faces and it seemed that they didn't expect the game to be so tough before the game. Okay, let's take a few minutes off and get into the exciting second half of the game together! β
'Their backline was pressed too hard by us, there were too few gaps. We've got to find a way to pull them out. β
"Zhang, in the first half your position is too far back, not enough threat to them, in the second half you are a little bit forward, don't worry about the connection between the middle and back, Gigi, Pep, Franci, your position is a little more predicated, after losing the ball, the midfielders press high, grab the ball and start a second attack on the spot, don't give them a chance to breathe, and force their defenders to make mistakes with continuous attacks. We need to score a goal as soon as possible. β
'But you have to be careful with their counter-attacks when attacking and you have to keep the back line intact at all times. As an Italian team, I believe you all have the awareness to defend against the counter-attack, stay calm and don't get carried away by blood. β
In the dressing room, Mazzoni was explaining the tactics of the second half to the players. In such a situation, the players may not notice that there is anything wrong, but the veteran coach who has been in Serie A for decades smells a hint of danger.
Mazzoni can be sure that everyone has been deceived by that Mourinho.
What came for the sake of three points, what was unknown to Brescia, everything was an illusion. In terms of Porto's performance in the first half, they were clear on target and well aware of Brescia's new tactics this season.
Perhaps the only truth he said was that he would defend Zhang Shu specifically, but even with this truth, Mourinho managed to make everyone think he was just a bluff through his excellent performance.
But regardless of Mourinho's plot in the second half, Mazzoni had to keep his team attacking like that. A score of 0:0 may have been acceptable for Brescia before the game, but after such a first half, the Brescia players will not be satisfied with a draw.
Even if the coach told them to slow down and play steadily, it wouldn't help, and the players would think, "Why don't we do it more and win in one fell swoop?" The other side is obviously powerless, so why should we reduce our offensive intensity because we are worried about a counterattack that may not come?
Therefore, Mazzoni can only improve the team's attacking style tactically, but he cannot let the players slow down the attack. One drum, then decline, three and exhaustion, forcibly let the team switch from offense to defense when the momentum is at its peak, the consequence will only be to retreat in the face of the opponent's ferocious counterattack. Now Mazzoni just wants to get on the scoresheet as soon as possible and prove that his ominous premonitions are nothing more than the worries of old age.
At the start of the second half, Brescia kept Porto under pressure, but their attack still failed to achieve much effect.
The opposition cowered in their own 35-metre zone, giving up almost the entire midfield, and when Pep Guardiola led the Brescia players back and forth in midfield, the Porto players stood behind and watched the football fly in front of them, without any intention of coming up to tackle. But as soon as Brescia intrudes into the 35-meter area, they will encounter strong pressing from many opponents, and even Zhang Shu can only retreat to the midfield several times to get enough space to hold the ball.
Porto's defence was like a hedgehog sensing danger, curling up with spikes all over its body, leaving Brescia at a loss for words.
At first, Pep Guardiola wanted to pull Porto apart with a pass step by step, but the Portuguese team on the opposite side was like a disciplined army, chasing the ball to within 35 meters of the pursuit, as if there was an invisible cordon on the ground.
"This Nima is a little disgusting!"
Zhang Shu felt that he was not physically tired in this game, but he was tired in the face of this kind of kraft candy-like defense.
Due to the opponent's abandonment of midfield and possession, he was able to receive the ball very calmly after retreating, and carefully thought about how to tear apart the opponent's defense in his mind. He's done this countless times, and he's familiar with it.
But no matter how he deduced it in his head, Porto's defence looked seamless. Their players are like robots, faithfully guarding their defensive areas. Brescia's pride in attacking direction this season has also been lost in front of them.
From the top of the pitch, Brescia's attack looks like a constant stream of water on the turf, while Porto's defence is a dam of seven people who can move iron plates. The flowing water was constantly changing direction, looking for the gaps between the iron plates, but the iron plates were like a whole, and even when they were constantly moving, they remained tightly fitted.
Zhang Shu felt that he was facing another Brescia, the only difference being that Brescia's fluid shift of centre of gravity was reflected in the attack, while Porto applied this tacit movement to the defence.
So when he couldn't find a gap, Zhang Shu could only use forced breakthroughs again and again to try to tear apart Porto's defense.
This approach played a role, and in a one-on-one or even two-on-one situation, it was difficult for Porto's players to stop Zhang Shu's breakthrough. And when Zhang Shu successfully breaks through, when other defenders come up to fill in the position, there will inevitably be a trace of holes in Porto's defense.
"Zhang Shu! Anyone! Beautiful, he shook off Costinha and got into the box! β
"Tony's header! Oops, just a little bit! β
"Zhang Shu is here again, and he has passed through Valente! Go inside! β
"It's a pity, Carvalho made a decisive tackle, and the football was kicked off the line."
"Look at this corner, Baggio takes a corner, back point!"
'The Porto defender pushed the ball out and Matuzallen fired straight from outside the box!'
"Baia! He saved the ball. The Portuguese veteran goalkeeper was in great form today! β
'Just 70 minutes into the game, Brescia still have the dominance on the pitch, but they haven't scored yet. Zhang Shu has now given up more of the playmaking work in the midfield, and instead used the way of assault to directly attack the opponent's defense. Porto has no way to break through Zhang Shu! β
Seeing that Brescia's offense had regained its vitality again, Huang *Jian*Xiang's voice became more and more excited.
Zhang Shu propped his knees and took two breaths, the breakthroughs in his skills just now consumed a lot of his physical strength, and now he needed to breathe a little easier.
It's been a long time since Brescia's new tactics have been implemented to break through the opposition's tight defence. His role in the team is changing from a fierce general who used to charge into battle to a commander who mobilizes the whole army with his position. With the cooperation of the whole team, Brescia has always been able to achieve a numerical advantage in a local area in the past, and Zhang Shu only needs to do a few simple cooperation with his teammates to make the opponent's defense take care of the other.
Passing and linking up to get shots is much more efficient than breaking, so this season he has focused more on organising and connecting the team. When he needed to solve the problem with a breakthrough, most of the time he was left with the opponent's last line of defense.
And now, facing Porto, he has to go back to his old business and become the sharpest blade.
"It's a little bit close... After resting for a while, Zhang Shu felt that his physical strength had almost recovered. He has benefited a lot from the pre-season training, and even with such a tight schedule recently, he still feels that he is at ease with the combination of skills.
"Come on! Press it up a little! They can't hold it anymore! Zhang Shu straightened up and shouted at his teammates.
Since his last game, he has become accustomed to inspiring his teammates on the pitch.
His teammates also recognized his status, and no longer regarded Zhang Shu's words as a child's self-encouragement, but as the command of the new core on the field.
As a result, Brescia's overall formation moved forward again, ready to give Porto the final blow.