Chapter Eighty-Four: Halftime Adjustment
Not long after the restart, referee Gonzalez blew the whistle for the end of the first half, and Lille were 1-0 down at home to AC Milan.
The Lille players quickly walked to the tunnel after the whistle, and the broadcast camera captured the facial expressions of the Lille players as they walked by, trying to decipher the psychological state of the crowd.
The camera stayed on Reeves' face for about two seconds, but apart from sweat, Reeves's face could not find anything related to the game situation, and there were no negative emotions such as frustration.
For those who know Reeves well, they will understand his inner state at the moment, the score is behind, there is no time to be depressed and lamented, and negative emotions do not help to change the situation on the court. All Reeves can do is rush to the tunnel and get back to the dressing room to prepare for the second half, replenish his energy and adjust his mentality, and he has a lot more to do.
'Lille were down at half-time and had one man missing, Puel needed to make adjustments at half-time, and the first half of the Lille attack was fruitless, not just because of bad luck, but also for tactical reasons.
"Milan's defense is not invulnerable, one of the biggest flaws is the lack of front-court pressing, it is difficult for the attacking players represented by Seedorf and Gilardino to ensure the arrival rate and continuity of high pressing, if Lille can play a fast and penetrating attack at the moment of offensive and defensive transition, it is difficult to complete the coverage of the entire space in front of the penalty area with Gattuso and Ambrosini alone. What Lille needs to do is to capture the gap at the moment of the transition between attack and defence, rather than waiting for the opposition to be in position before attacking. ”
Kaka's deadlock-breaking goal was a testament to AC Milan's attacking routine, with the team looking for Andrea Pirlo's long pass in depth to get a counter-attacking opportunity. However, it should be noted that this is only one of the routines, and a long pass from Pirlo over the top to the head of the striker is only an option, and it is more for Pirlo to distribute the ball to Seedorf on both sides, and then Seedorf will control the organization of the counterattack. ”
"Judging from the scene in the first half, Kaka was more like a libero up front, with Seedorf and occasionally Pirlo, and he was responsible for the acceleration of the counterattack, so we often saw Kaka running long distances after receiving the ball from Seedorf in the backfield."
"If Puel is going to continue attacking in the second half, he will need to focus on the counter-attacking chain of AC Milan's Andrea Pirlo-Seedorf-Kaka so that he does not get caught up in another attack."
'Of course, one goal behind and one man less, Puel will be a difficult choice in the second half to attack or defend, so let's wait and see.'
On the commentary bench, Florent was giving advice to the Lille team, as were the Lille fans in the stands.
"Defend and counterattack in the second half, Reeves is in good shape today and maybe he can go through it alone."
"Yes, when it comes to fighting back, Reeves is definitely not inferior to the Brazilian."
"Actually, the Brazilian is pretty handsome."
"You nymphomaniac, that's the enemy, you have to take a clear stand, Reeves is the most handsome."
These are the conversations between several of Anne's classmates.
Anne's mood was cheerful, with AC Milan leading and Reaves failing to score, which Anne wanted to see, so much so that the conversation of her classmates about wanting Lille to win was not harsh, and occasionally echoed a few words.
Anne expects the good mood to last until the end of the game, and when she arrives in Lille, she doesn't have a good mood, damn Reeves, damn Lelle.
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The home team dressing room, in the original away team dressing room.
Reeves was upset to see the Milanese in the tunnel hooking shoulders and smiling, and it was only half time before the opponent's expression was like a victory.
Reeves slammed his fist into the table in the locker room, and the loud sound drew the attention of his teammates.
Reeves was just about to explain when manager Puel came in, and his teammates' attention was diverted.
Puel was in a bad mood, but it didn't show it on his face.
It's not about showing your emotions at the moment, it's about adjusting the mentality of the players and planning the tactics for the second half.
"Everyone's performance in the first half was very good, pressing the Serie A giants, except for the goal, all the statistics occupy an absolute advantage."
Hearing this, everyone's faces eased a lot, and they were even a little complacent, and they couldn't imagine that they could press the opponent to kick before the game.
"But these don't work, the winner on the pitch is king, although the defeat is still a lie to comfort the loser, after the game people will only remember the glory of the winner, who will remember the performance of the loser."
Puel's voice grew louder and louder.
"Some people may say that the opponent is too strong, and we have one less person, so it is reasonable to lose. But these are no excuses for you to throw in the towel. ”
Speaking of this, Puel slammed his fist with his right hand on the corner of the table, and with a bang, the table fell apart, and Puel also lost his balance, stumbling a few times to stabilize his body, but everyone's eyes were focused on Reeves, because he also smashed the table before the head coach came in.
Reeves stuck out his tongue, it wasn't his fault, he could only blame the visiting dressing room for the sucks, and pray the manager wouldn't hold him accountable.
Puel was only surprised by the unstable table, and did not notice the innocent look of Reeves in everyone's eyes. When Puel continued to speak, everyone's attention returned.
"Is the opponent strong? Ask yourself, were you not as good as your opponents in the first half? ”
"We are stronger!" "We're doing better!" The players shouted that it was a fact, based on the facts of the first half.
"Very well, so that out of the way, let's talk about one less person on the field."
"10 against 11, that's an objective fact, but it can be made up for by tactical adjustments. 11 people are distributed all over the stadium, it is impossible to concentrate in one place, as long as you run more, you can achieve a balance or even an advantage in the local number through running. ”
The players nodded when they heard this, and it was true, it was not a precedent, it had happened in previous games, and it was made up for the numerical disadvantage by running.
"Since this point is also ruled out, then we have no excuse to easily admit defeat,"
"Don't admit defeat!" "Never throw in the towel!"
Satisfied with the performance of the players, Puel slowed down and continued: "In the second half we have to attack! ”
Attacking or defending, the Lille players, who are mostly young, undoubtedly prefer to attack, and even if they lose because of this, there is nothing to be sorry for. So when they heard the arrangement of continuing to attack in the second half, everyone raised their heads and looked at the head coach with an eager face, waiting for the next tactical arrangement.
"But it's no longer all pressed on the offense, after all, we have one less person to fight, and we must first defend solidly before we can attack with confidence."
Puel turned his head to Reeves, "Reeves doesn't have to interfere with the ball of Nesta and Kaladze, I'm sure you can also see that the two of them don't have the ability to launch a counterattack, the initiator of the counterattack is Pirlo." Your mission is to help your teammates freeze him and interfere with his balls. ”
Reeves nodded, and the first-half goal was scored by Andrea Pirlo's counter-attack.
"In addition, in terms of attack, we also need to make changes, the offensive and defensive stops must be fast, you can't wait until the opponent is in a defensive position before attacking, Reeves you have to make adjustments, you have to handle the ball quickly, whether it is a passing pass or a shot, it must be based on the premise of not sacrificing the team's advancing speed."
"If you can't do that, I'll not hesitate to replace you!"
Reeves didn't speak, but nodded firmly.
He can make all the adjustments in order to win, not to mention that he can only hope to score if he stays on the pitch.
It would take at least two goals in the second half to complete the comeback, which will be the worst battle.
Reeves tidied up his jersey and he was ready for battle.