Chapter 46: The Saints Attack
After a week of national team breaks, the Premier League finally ushered in the sixth round of matches again, the day before the game, Nan Xiao and the three of them were in the office according to the usual practice before the last tactical discussion before the team game, but unlike in the past, this meeting has one more person, that is, You Lu, who has just established a relationship with Nan Xiao. Pen "Fun" Pavilion www.biquge.info
"The opponents we will face tomorrow should not be underestimated, and I intend to focus on defensive counter-attacking tactics." Nan Xiao sat on the sofa with his hands crossed, his expression was very serious.
'I don't agree that Southampton are a traditional powerhouse in the Premier League, but they haven't done very well this season and the next game is our home stadium, so we should be more attacking in every way. Shen Chao rarely raised objections to Nan Xiao.
"Hmm." Nan Xiao nodded after hearing Shen Chao's speech, and then looked at Chen Mingshuo, who was sitting next to Shen Chao, "Mingshuo, what do you think?" β
"First of all, I think Shen Chao has a certain point." Chen Mingshuo crossed his index fingers on his legs, "With Mane, Pelle and Wanyama leaving the team one after another, Southampton's overall strength has decreased slightly, although Norwich's fast horse Raymond and Bayern youngster Hojbjerg have been added, but their control of the midfield and their ability to break through on the side are not as good as before, and at the same time, as Shen Chao said, their record so far this season is also relatively poor, only two draws and three losses, we can take advantage of their low morale to get all three points at home, Rush into the Europa League quota zone. β
As soon as Chen Mingshuo's words were finished, Nan Xiao nodded again, and finally his head turned to You Lu beside him and said, "What do you think?"
"I basically agree with the two of them, but there's one more thing I'd like to add."
"Well, say."
"Okay." You Lu picked up Southampton's information, "Southampton's first five rounds of matches against Manchester United, Burnley, Leicester City, Everton and Arsenal are Manchester United, Burnley, Leicester City, Everton and Arsenal, except for Burnley's relatively weak strength, the other four teams are currently in the top few of the standings, so Southampton's poor results cannot fully show their strength." β
"So your suggestion is?" Nan Xiao asked You Lu.
"My advice is to be more aggressive, but be cautious of the opponent's counterattacks."
"You think basically the same way as I do." Nan Xiao said to You Lu, "Under normal circumstances, I will line up in the 4231 formation in tomorrow's game, but due to the absence of Dokal, there are not many players in the team who can control the rhythm. β
"Where's Elviti?" Shen Chao said suddenly.
'That's what I was about to say, I'm not going to start with Elviti, he's weak defensively and I'm afraid I'll be the focus of the attack.'
"So you're going to choose to start Rodwell?" Chen Mingshuo asked.
"Hmm." Nan Xiao confirmed.
"So who will take Dokar's place?" Shen Chao asked.
"My initial idea is Zhang Xiuwei."
"Zhang Xiuwei?" Shen Chao and Chen Mingshuo said in unison.
"Are you sure you want Zhang Xiuwei to play in such an important game?" Shen Chao said with a frown.
"What's not to do?"
Nan Xiao looked at Shen Chao and Chen Mingshuo's surprised eyes and smiled lightly, but when he turned his head to look at You Lu, he found something indescribable, and when he slept in his bed at night and recalled her gaze, he realized that maybe this was trust, there is no reason to trust!
"Good evening to all the spectators of Leap Sports, I'm You Lu, after a long national team break, we finally have the Premier League again after a long absence, and the next game I want to bring you is the sixth round of the Premier League 'Black Cats' Sunderland home match against the 'Saints' Southampton......
"Speaking of Southampton's nickname, I can briefly share with you here that in the 80s of the last century, Arthur Saul, associate chaplain of St Mary's Church in Southampton, built a team, yes, the predecessor of the current Southampton team. In the beginning, the name of this team was St Mary's Young League, or St Mary's for short, and then it was renamed Southampton St Mary's, and finally, it became Southampton. Although there is no trace of 'St. Mary' in the name of the team, the nickname 'Saint' has survived......"
"Next, I will introduce to you the starting list of the two teams, first of all, Sunderland, this game is a 4411 formation, the goalkeeper is still No. 1 Mannone, left back Van Aanholt, the central defender is Kolo Toure partner KonΓ©, right back Billy Jones; From left to right, the midfielders are Halilovic, Rodwell, Jedinak and China's teenager Zhang Xiuwei, who made his second appearance for Sunderland after the League Cup, and this game was also the first Premier League game of his career; Breaking up the front is still the team's goal guarantee Defoe, and behind him is the Brazilian teenager Carlos......"
Zhang Xiuwei was placed in the right midfield position by Nan Xiao in this game, and his task was to help the team connect the offensive and defensive transitions while taking into account the defensive task on the right side; Although Zhang Xiuwei is not a player with strong defensive ability, he works very the training ground, and at the same time he does not hesitate to run physically also makes Nan Xiao quite satisfied, so in this defense-oriented, but also actively offensive game, Nan Xiao chose him as the team's starting right forward, and he can provide effective help to the team at both offensive and defensive ends.
'After about 15 minutes of probing and probing, Sunderland gradually took control of the situation on the pitch, but the problems they had exposed were still not solved, and the lack of effective threat in possession made Southampton's defence look calm.
Nan Xiao stood on the edge of the court with his hands behind his back, he kept greeting the players on the court, with a calm look, as if he didn't want to win the game at all. After a wide range of personnel changes in the summer window, Sunderland's players have developed enough to keep the ball firmly at their feet, and although their one-on-one defensive ability is not very strong, the long period of possession has more than doubled the number of shots on goal compared to the previous season.
"Both teams didn't achieve anything in the first half, hopefully the second half will give the crowd a good game......"
"Dizi, you're a little too conservative in the first half, aren't you?" At halftime, Shen Chao and Nan Xiao said.
"Have you ever played Football Manager?" Nan Xiao asked.
"No, I've played live." Shen Chao replied.
"Then you can play if you have a chance, otherwise you won't believe me if I say I've planned the points I should get at the end of the season." Nan Xiao smiled.
"You're kidding, aren't you? Do you really think of the Premier League as your game? Shen Chao said with a hellish expression.
"Why not?" Nan Xiao smiled again.
"Dizi, the players are back in the locker room." Chen Mingshuo greeted Nan Xiao from afar.
"Okay, got it." Nan Xiao's arm was on Shen Chao's shoulder, "Okay, don't sum it up, let's go, go back to the locker room." β