Chapter 18: A Strong Counterattack

The noisy stands fell silent for a moment.

Many Real Sociedad fans stood up, clasped their hands on their heads, as if they didn't want to believe what was happening on the field, they watched Oyer lying on the ground, his hands slapping the turf hard to vent the frustration in their hearts, they watched Elostordo with his hands on his waist, his eyes full of remorse, they watched Moyes turn around without saying a word, and the back that had not turned for a long time seemed to express his disappointment......

What made Qujing's blood boil was that the Real Sociedad anthem sung by a few fans suddenly lit a fuse, and from the North Stand to the West Stand, from the South Stand to the East Stand, the fans in striped shirts stood up, singing and waving banners and slogans in their hands.

Just as no player can ignore the boos from the stands, there is no player who will not be whetted by the home fans.

After the restart, the Real Sociedad players swept away the slump to the cheers of more than 20,000 home fans in the stadium and began to run as hard as they could, with Prieto, Granero, Canales and Vela constantly using cross-running to attract the attention of opposing defenders and make them lose their positions as much as possible to create space for passing. But they don't just pass the ball, Canales will suddenly pass through to the quicker Vela and Agureche who is trying to move deep down the flank, creating more chances by cutting inside with the ball.

I don't know if it's Moyes's tactical setting or the players' active adjustment, Qu Jing found that the Real Sociedad players are also very different from the previous ones when defending, such as Canales, Bella, Aguirreche, these players who are strong in attack and weak in defense also retreat frequently, and the other three midfielders set up a compact protective net to block the opponent's passing line, which should be more in line with Moyes's regional defensive arrangement, when the team loses possession in the midfield, the players will compress the opponent and form a cage by quickly accumulating numbers in the area, Continued pressure on the ball carrier to regain possession.

Granada's players have been running, pressing, attacking and defending throughout the game, always maintaining the numerical advantage in the zone defence, which makes up for their poor technique at their feet. However, with the full activation of several players led by Canales in the front court, the shape of the Granada players who continued to run began to become stagnant, and after repeatedly losing possession of the ball, Canales launched a counterattack with a straight stopper, and gave Real Sociedad several free kicks in front of the team in a row because of excessive action in defense.

On 72 minutes, Real Sociedad's attack paid off, as Agureche's break down the right caused a foul on López and he won a free-kick around 30 yards out. Canales, who had excellent footwork, landed the ball excellently, and after Martinez's header was saved by goalkeeper Andrew, the ball made Vela wait at the back post and easily hit the back post.

Bella, who scored twice, took off his jersey and ran frantically to the corner flag point on the right to pull out the flagpole, this Mexican guy who usually likes to smile kept roaring, and the picture of dancing the flagpole made Qu Jing instantly feel like a monkey possessed.

It's no wonder he's so excited, a talented player in his prime who doesn't see any presence in Moyes' tactical system, and after a few consecutive games of invisibility, he started to become disheartened, and the two goals of the game came at the right time, he and his teammates who ran over to celebrate hugged him and shook his fist vigorously, like an exuberant bull.

The goal sparked a tsunami of applause from the home fans, and it was not impossible for an opponent like Granada, who was not a strong opponent, to equalize or even overtake him after nearly 20 minutes of home time.

The Granada players, who had undergone a subtle psychological change, looked more nervous, and they seemed unsure whether to focus the game on attack or defence, as their stamina wore off and the Real Sociedad players became more and more excited, they frequently lost possession and watched helplessly as they pushed the ball to the edge of their own penalty area.

The incredible came in the 78th minute, when Canales made his way to the right corner and Moyes made a second substitution, with Pardo coming on for Canales. Canales, who wanted to take the corner, was visibly stunned when he heard the decision, and he turned to look at the substitution card in the hand of the fourth referee on the sidelines, and still showed an expression of disbelief when he was sure that he was being replaced.

The fans applauded Canales, and it was clear from the way many people clapped and shook their heads that they didn't understand Moyes's decision, and even Agusli frowned thoughtfully, seemingly confused by Moyes' substitution.

Needless to say, apart from a symbolic increase in the number of defenders, Canales' role in the defensive end was minimal, but in attack, Canales was crucial in terms of organization and play, and it was only after he moved to the middle that Real Sociedad's attack began to improve. Both goals have a lot to do with him, not to mention that the current situation of Real Sociedad on the pitch is very optimistic, and Qu Jing really can't understand why Moyes is changing personnel at this juncture.

After Pardo came on the field, the Real Sociedad players still spared no effort to run and press, but without the Canales-style threading needle, the players on the field did not seem to be rigorous, more like a "XJBT" tactic with a high degree of freedom, pressing high when blocking, and more terrifying when attacking, almost swarming together, trying to break through the side and then hoarding in the penalty area to break through the Granada's goal.

It's a familiar tactic that was used in last season's win over Barcelona.

This tactic is a kind of "punching and killing the master" for Barcelona, who is accustomed to passing and controlling, but for Granada, which continues to mix in the downstream in the league, this seemingly noisy "XJBG" style of play has not achieved obvious results, and they have a huge physical consumption but have contracted across the board under the "inspiration" of Real Sociedad, and they are obviously more familiar with the static defense after a long time of "being killed", and the ball has been "soaring" in the sky for 87 minutes.

When Real Sociedad took a corner, all the players except goalkeeper Oyer rushed to the Granada penalty area, and Prieto's corner also found Agureche accurately, but the attack under the interference of Baban did not pose much threat and was kicked out by Biraghi, who was standing on the right side of the goal.

Pardo, who had been waiting for an opportunity at the top of the penalty area, met the ball with a burst shot, but unfortunately, this shot with excellent angle and accuracy was impossible to pass through the wall of nearly 20 players, and the fast-flying ball touched Doria's ass and folded a beautiful arc, which bounced in front of Arabi who was watching from the periphery.