Chapter 144: Preemptive strike
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Jose Mourinho sent Xavi. Alonso, for Higuain. Pen "Fun" www.biquge.info Higuain did not score in this game, but he still made his own contribution in Real Madrid's attacking system. After leaving the field, Mourinho hugged him and patted him on the back as a sign of encouragement.
Higuain didn't score, but now the team's interests are higher than his personal interests, and he has nothing to complain about.
Alonso ran onto the pitch and then found Chu Zhongtian and conveyed to him the manager's instructions: "You go up and play in the midfield, and then let Ozil go to the right and Kaka to the left." Ronaldo plays as a central striker. ”
Chu Zhongtian nodded, indicating that he understood.
The answer was the same as he had guessed.
This resulted in neither the loss of defensive hardness in the midfield nor the attacking power in front. Alonso and Khedira form a double back, which is enough to take care of defense and offense, and when he mentions the position of the forward midfield, he gives full play to his offensive organization expertise, and C. Ronaldo goes to play the center to play his strong scoring ability, anyway, he is not a cameo or twice in this position.
If Alonso is replaced by Hedira, then Real Madrid may not be able to compete with Barcelona in midfield, after all, Khedira's dedicated defense has solved many of Real Madrid's problems. As a result, Real Madrid still have five men in midfield, enough to pose a threat to Barcelona's three.
Real Madrid's adjustments were soon seen by the commentators.
"The premise of Chu's position, he has become the ...... of the front waist"
"We are no strangers to Chu as a striker, he has made his first cameo appearance at Real Madrid. His ability to organise attacks is outstanding, so a cameo in the midfielder is not a big deal. ”
"Jose Mourinho has advanced the position of Chu, and I think this is the signal for Barcelona to launch a decisive match, Chu can not only organize the attack, but also score from a distance. Advance him into a midfielder, get him closer to Barcelona's goal, and he will naturally be more dangerous......"
Mourinho did think so, and the game was already in the final 20 minutes, and this is the time if the winner is to be decided in 90 minutes. Chu Zhongtian's talent in attack must be fully exploited, and he has to be full of firepower to ensure that Real Madrid can beat Barcelona in the final.
Guardiola watched Alonso pull Chu Zhongtian to communicate after he came on the field, and knew what Mourinho's idea was again.
It must be to let Chu Zhongtian hit the front waist.
Later, the game restarted, and Chu Zhongtian's position also proved his judgment.
Real Madrid has taken the lead in making adjustments, so how can they deal with it?
He is considering whether Chu Zhongtian's commission as a forward midfielder is a pro or a bad for Barcelona.
Chu Zhongtian is called a forward midfielder, obviously strengthening Real Madrid's attack, Barcelona's goal has suffered a huge threat early, in addition to his through ball, his long-range shot is also very sharp.
This is, of course, a bad thing.
But everything always has its other side, Chu Zhongtian has become the front midfielder, and his position is even higher, so his containment of Xavi, Messi and others will naturally be reduced, Messi and Xavi and others have been liberated, especially Messi, without Chu Zhongtian by his side, he will break through if he wants to, shoot when he wants to shoot, pass the ball if he wants to, and really no one can control him.
Has anyone ever seen a front midfielder who has to keep defending? If that's the case, it's not called a front waist. The midfielder has to be in charge of attacking in front, and it is not his job to defend.
In this way, Chu Zhongtian's premise has certainly increased the pressure on Barcelona's backline, but Guardiola feels that his backline can still withstand it.
Instead, we have to find a way to take advantage of Chu Zhongtian's opportunity to score as soon as possible.
Therefore, Chu Zhongtian became a forward midfielder, which may be a danger for Barcelona, but also an opportunity. Which result can be obtained depends on the ability of your own team.
Pep Guardiola is still very confident in Barcelona's ability.
He decided to take advantage of Chu Zhongtian's premise to attack Real Madrid's goal.
※※※In fact, when Mourinho made this decision, he also took into account the impact that Chu Zhongtian's premise would have on his defense.
Of course, he admitted that Chu Zhongtian went to be a forward midfielder, which would make Messi and Xavi more active. So it's actually a gamble, betting on whether Real Madrid will score first or Barcelona will score first. If Real Madrid scores first, he will immediately withdraw Chu Zhongtian and build a three-back system in the midfield, like an iron wall to resist Barcelona's fierce attack.
What if Barcelona score first?
Then Real Madrid, of course, is in danger.
So you can't let Barcelona score first, Real Madrid have to score first, you have to take the lead.
Although there are still 20 minutes before the end of the game, it may only be these five or six minutes that can really decide the outcome of the game.
Both sides have reached their limits physically, and after a season of intense competition and chase, both teams have run out of energy. This season, the La Liga giants have been very close in the league, and both teams are in very good form, with Barcelona losing just two games all season and Real Madrid losing just one. Such a good state needs to be supported by physical fitness, and many players feel more tired than playing for two seasons in the past, because their mental state is always in a state of jealousy and excitement, which will aggravate physical fatigue in the long run.
This Champions League final is really the last game, everyone is gritting their teeth, and when their physical strength is already on the verge of overdraft, whoever can grit their teeth and persevere, maybe they will get the final victory.
It was because of this that Mourinho decided to strike first. Once you take the lead, you have the initiative. At that time, the rhythm of the game will be firmly controlled by himself, and as long as he can stabilize the rest of the time, it will not be easy for the opponent to score his Real Madrid goal.
※※※ Chu Zhongtian certainly understood the intention of the head coach, and he decided not to invest too much energy in defense during this time, but to concentrate on finding Barcelona's flaws in the attack.
He didn't have the same single-minded desire to score goals in the game as C. Ronaldo, and for him, Real Madrid was satisfied that they could beat Barcelona to win the title, and he didn't care much about whether he scored in the final.
He has no hope of pursuing the top scorer in the Champions League anyway, so why bother with the number of goals?
Chu Zhongtian was trying to find a way to create opportunities for his teammates at the beginning.
He only wears C. Ronaldo, or picks Kaka, or he does a one-two combination with Ozil in a row, and the two players from the Bundesliga cooperate quite tacitly.
Chu Zhongtian mentioned the forward midfield, which made the pressure on Mascherano increase sharply, because Chu Zhongtian basically relied on passing and breaking through to organize the attack when he was a back midfielder, and rarely had time to shoot. Mascherano and Butzques teamed up to intercept Chu Zhongtian outside the effective range, and Chu Zhongtian's long-range shots were not many in the middle of the game.
Now that he's a striker, he has another ability.
Mascherano certainly knows how powerful Chu Zhongtian's long-range shot is, which Guardiola has repeatedly stressed before the game. In last season's Champions League final, Barcelona was equalized by Chu Zhongtian's shot at the last moment.
Now Mascherano has one more option when defending against Chu Zhongtian, and in addition to defending the possibility of his passing and dribbling, there is also a shot on goal.
Chu Zhongtian thought of solving the problem by himself after assisting his teammates a few times and finding that the results were not obvious enough.
He could already feel that the opponent was a little weak in the battle with Mascherano, his wheezing was getting heavier and his reaction speed was weakening.
The pressure on the defense was too much, causing his pace to be a bit heavy.
Chu Zhongtian decided to completely defeat the Argentine defender who had been entangled with him for more than 70 minutes. As a tribute to the only defender who was able to knock himself unconscious, he decided to give 100 per cent of his strength to fight Barcelona to the death.
He started to speed up his pace, whether it was passing or shooting. He even often does what he wants, and even his teammates are almost unable to keep up with him.
For example, when he receives the ball on the edge of the penalty area, it stands to reason that he should hold the ball, observe his teammates and the enemy, and then decide what to do next.
But Chu Zhongtian seemed to have thought about what to do a long time ago, and without stopping the ball, it was directly a pick-up pass, and the football crossed the heads of the Barcelona defenders, crossed most of the penalty area, flew from the right to the left, and fell to Kaka's feet.
Or it was after he and Ozil made a one-two combination, instead of continuing to pass the ball to Ozil who was in front, but suddenly shot directly from a distance, and Mascherano and Valdés were caught off guard.
Now Mascherano found that Chu Zhongtian was even more difficult to defend - it was good to have traces to follow before, but now there is no pattern at all. Sometimes he thought that Chu Zhongtian would pass the ball, but Chu Zhongtian shot directly from the spot; Sometimes he thought that Chu Zhongtian would definitely shoot, so he blocked Chu Zhongtian's shooting angle, but he didn't expect Chu Zhongtian to pick up his foot but it was a diagonal pass...... This scene made Ralph, who was watching the game in the VIP box. Rangnick laughed, "Ha, he's here again!" ”
Mourinho, who was standing on the sidelines, also felt déjà vu - when he was at Inter Milan, he first met Chu Zhongtian in the Champions League quarter-finals, and Hoffenheim did the same against Inter Milan on his home turf in the second leg.
That game left Inter Milan and Mourinho themselves embarrassed, completely unable to guess Chu Zhongtian's style of play, and completely unable to understand what Hoffenheim's tactics were. In the end, they lost 1:3 away from home, and were dragged into extra time and penalty shoot-out by Hoffenheim, and if it wasn't for the luck in the end, maybe they wouldn't have won the treble that year.
He really didn't expect that after three years, he and Chu Zhongtian would change from opponents to comrades-in-arms, but he could still see Chu Zhongtian showing such amazing talent as him.
"Oh, Chu is here again!" A German TV commentator laughed after seeing Chu Zhongtian play Mascherano in different ways three times in a row. This scene is no stranger to them.
※※※ Mourinho exerted his strength, Chu Zhongtian also exerted his strength, and Barcelona's defense suddenly felt the pressure increase sharply. They even have the feeling that Real Madrid, who have played each other for more than 70 minutes, and this Real Madrid are not the same team at all...... After Chu Zhongtian received Alonso's pass, he seemed to stop wide, which made Mascherano think that there was an opportunity, but just as he was about to step forward to defend, he saw a gust of wind passing by, and Kaka rushed up and stabbed the football away with his speed advantage!
Chu Zhongtian didn't look back at all, and Kaka came up from behind, as if Chu Zhongtian knew about Kaka's existence. Whether this is deliberate or will be wrong, the commentators have different opinions.
Kaka himself had already started the forward insertion, and planned to cooperate with Chu Zhongtian, but at the moment when he saw Chu Zhongtian stop the ball, he thought that Chu Zhongtian had made a mistake, and was about to slow down and give up the forward insertion, so as not to waste his physical strength, but his rich experience and understanding of Chu Zhongtian made him suddenly react Even if this is a mistake, it can be used by him - because Chu Zhongtian's unintentional "mistake" is a wonderful pass for him...... Something like Kaka is just one example of Chu Zhongtian leading Real Madrid's attack up front, and he still has many ways to make Barcelona embarrassed, forced to temporarily rein in their attacking momentum and switch to defence.
Pep Guardiola believes that Chu Zhongtian can free up Messi and Xavi by going to be a forward midfielder, making Barcelona's attack more aggressive and having a higher chance of scoring goals. But he ignored a problem - Chu Zhongtian increased Real Madrid's offensive strength, and Real Madrid's offensive reinforcement will inevitably lead to an increase in Barcelona's defensive pressure, if ignored, maybe Real Madrid will score earlier than Barcelona...... When Guardiola needed the courage to hold on the most, he did not choose to continue to insist, but chose to do it safely. But isn't that another form of avoidance?
Because of Pep Guardiola's adjustment, Barcelona was unable to continue to form a continuous and effective pressure on Real Madrid in attack, Real Madrid's attack became more unscrupulous, and Chu Zhongtian can now completely ignore the situation behind him, and just blast Barcelona's goal.
Pep Guardiola stood on the sidelines, watching Real Madrid's new posture after the change of Alonso, and his heart ached - if Barcelona were so strong on the bench, how could Mourinho be allowed to take the lead? Looking at their own bench, the best guys are on the pitch and there's only one Pedro to expect a lot...... But Pedro is not a good center forward, and Barcelona still has one less strong center forward...... Look at Real Madrid, there are Benzema, Higuain and Adebayor in the forward line, the three have different characteristics and can complement each other.
Of course, he can also choose to replace Villa with a midfielder to strengthen the midfield, and then let Messi go to the center, but Messi is not the material to be a center forward, just his small body, to be a center forward is only afraid of being hit and flying. Although the center forward and the winger are both "forwards", the requirements for the players are completely different.
Messi's role will be weakened a lot if he is a striker, all his technical characteristics can hardly be used, first of all, his physical confrontation is not good, secondly, he is good at dribbling can not be used in densely populated boxes, and finally let him turn his back to the direction of attack, and his shooting is useless.
Pep Guardiola is only now waving the power of Real Madrid's silver dollar strategy. How terrible and hateful it is when a team can wave a cheque all over the world to buy the players they want to buy!
The talents that other teams have worked so hard to cultivate, let them buy them at a high price, and they don't need to spend time to cultivate them at all, and directly form a team with combat effectiveness.
This is nothing short of an insult to Barcelona's football philosophy.
This is also a big reason why the hatred between the two teams is so deep.
※※※ In the end, Guardiola made the decision to replace Villa, replace Keita, replace Villa, and add a back to curb Chu Zhongtian's increasingly crazy attack, which is a correct choice, and it is also a helpless choice forced by the situation, because if he does not do this, Real Madrid is likely to score, and Guardiola can see that Real Madrid is now like a doping agent.
Strengthen the midfield first to curb Real Madrid's attack, and then consider replacing Pedro to strengthen the attack after the situation has stabilized a little.
As time passed, it became clear to everyone that it only took one goal to end the war now.
Any team that scores a goal is a heavy blow to the morale of the enemy. In the few moments of time that remain, it is almost impossible to break the morale-boosting opponent's goal, unless the luck is really good.
Both sides are well aware of this, so their competition on the field is getting more and more fierce, and it has completely entered the white-hot stage.
Although everyone's physical strength is almost exhausted, everyone knows that if anyone can't hold on and falls first, they will become a stepping stone for the other team to win the championship and ascend the throne.
In order to fight for a ball, Marcelo and Alves, two teammates of the Brazilian national team, can get up from the ground and continue to push the bull after each other's flying tackles, accusing each other of moving too much.
And the same for a ball, Harvey. Alonso didn't hesitate to kick his national team-mate Andres Iniesta on his feet.
A commentator joked: "For the sake of a Champions League champion, how many national teams have to be divided internally......"
※※※ Chu Zhongtian looked at Mascherano who was panting in front of him, but still refused to give up.
The game is now in the 80th minute, and there are still 10 minutes left before the end of the game, and when the goal is scored, Barcelona is finished.
He knew that Mascherano had been dragged to the brink of collapse by him, and now as long as he worked harder, he could completely crush the stubborn man in front of him.
Mascherano's tenacity reminded Chu Zhongtian of his former self, initially at Wimbledon, he also defended like this when he didn't know anything but defense.
Seeing Mascherano was like seeing himself.
Chu Zhongtian admired this person very, very much, so in order to show his respect, he wanted to defeat Mascherano completely and without suspense, only in this way could he fully express his respect for Mascherano.
(To be continued)