The news of Hamburg's four consecutive wins in the Champions League group stage has returned to Germany, and the most upset is Bayer Leverkusen's coach Hyypia.

He is the person who has been compared to Pan Yi most often recently!

And people, what they are most afraid of is comparison.

People are more angry than people, and they are angry with individuals.

Compared to Hamburg's group of death, Bayer Leverkusen's Champions League Group A is actually not so easy to play.

Premier League giants Manchester United, Shakhtar Donetsk in Ukraine, and Real Underworld in La Liga.

Hyypia's side have been fine in the first four rounds, with the exception of a 4-2 defeat to Manchester United at Old Trafford in the first round, a 2-1 win over Real Sociedad in the following fixtures, a 4-0 home win over Shakhtar Donetsk, and then a 0-0 draw away to Iceland.

The record of 2 wins, 1 draw and 1 loss also allows Bayer Leverkusen to bite the group leader Manchester United, and there is also a good chance to qualify.

Originally, such a result was enough, but the problem is that the hamburger performance in the same period was too good!

They actually qualified two rounds early in the Group of Death!

Therefore, when the German media reported the news of Hamburg's qualification in the group of death, they often carried a few words of diss Leverkusen, which made Hyypia feel a wave of irritation.

"Bayer Leverkusen's team base is much better than Hamburg's, but this season Hamburg has played football beyond its era under the leadership of Pan Yi."

"Hyypia won the Champions League as a player, but it's clear that he's not as talented as the amateur player from the Dragon Kingdom.

"It seems that in the Champions League, Bayer Leverkusen is not as good as Hamburg. And Hyypia, who is being overwhelmed by locker room problems, can he give Pan Yi enough counterattack in the Bundesliga? ”

That's right, in the 12th round of the Bundesliga, Bayer Leverkusen is about to face Hamburg head-to-head!

They are now six points behind Hamburg and could still be back in contention if they can win at home.

"I've watched Hamburg in the last few games and they're really a tough opponent. Aggressive up front, creative in midfield, solid defence at the back and good assists......"

In Bayer Leverkusen's director's office, sporting director Rudy Worrall is in talks with head coach Hyypia.

Worrall was a well-known international striker for Germany as a player, representing Germany in three World Cups and three European Championships, and helping the Federal Republic of Germany win the World Cup in 1990.

In this World Cup, Worrall has not impressed the most with his sharp front line with Jurgen Klinsmann.

Instead, in a strong clash with the Dutch team, Worrall clashed with the opposing team's Rijkaard, and both were sent off after exchanging spat on each other.

Some people say that this "offset" is actually beneficial to the West German team, and Worrall sacrificed himself to compete for the offensive and defensive pivot of the opposing midfield, and also destroyed the complete Dutch trio.

Therefore, the West German team won the championship, and Worrall has to take the first credit!

After retiring as a player, he became a head coach and led Germany to a runner-up finish at the 2002 World Cup.

Yes, it was the German team that was defeated by Ronaldo.

Although he is now an executive at Bayer Leverkusen, he will still talk to coach Hyypia, who has just turned regular this season, about the team's tactics.

"It's no surprise that their players are playing well after a year of running-in." Hyypia shook his head, "But in the case of playing on the third line, their players can always ensure that they are in a very good state, which is really not easy. ”

Worrall nodded, agreeing with Hyypia's words.

Anyone who has played or coached professional football knows that it is very difficult to keep players in high form all the time.

Just like Bayer Leverkusen now, Kiessling, the Bundesliga Golden Boot who performed well last season, has fallen into a slump and has been goal-deprived in several games.

Therefore, in the last round, Hyypia decided to put Kiessling on the bench, but the ball still did not win, and the players had problems.

This is also because apart from Kiessling, the current Bayer Leverkusen really doesn't have any strikers who can do it.

In the summer window, Hyypia fell in love with Hamburg's Son Xingmin, but Worrall, as the director, asked Pan Yi several times to buy it, but was ruthlessly rejected.

Although there is indeed a relationship between direct competitors, after all, the deal was not completed, which objectively also caused the current situation of Leverkusen's current powerlessness, so whether it is Hyypia or Worrall, there is still a little resentment towards Pan Yi.

"Last season Hamburg held us down and took second place, I really thought it was just a coincidence." "This season they were going to be distracted from the Champions League, and they were still in the Group of Death, so I thought that after they were kneaded in the Champions League, it would affect the performance of the Bundesliga, but I didn't expect ......"

Everyone has seen the reality of the situation, Hamburg is now making great progress on the three fronts, and all of them have achieved jaw-dropping results.

So for this, Worrall can only serve in addition to serving.

"They were able to break through in the Group of Death largely because their opponents were not conservative in their play, which led to a loss in the attack against Hamburg." Hyypia analysed: "The toughest game they played was away to Ajax. At that time, De Boer was resolute in defending and counter-attacking, so that Hamburg could not find a gap in the attack. ”

Worrall raised an eyebrow: "What do you mean, you've found a way to deal with them?" ”

Hyypia nodded: "Yes, that is to deploy a targeted and dense defense, use the switch between the back four and the back five, to suppress the rush of Hamburg's midfield, and then patiently look for opportunities." ”

"But we're ......at home," Worrall hesitated.

Bayer Leverkusen's fans are also known for their enthusiasm in Germany, and they often want their teams to tear apart opposition defences with sharp attacks.

If the bus is placed in front of the home fans, it will surely cause some dissatisfaction.

"Winning is the last word." Hyypia said, "We're a little bit weak right now, and this style of play is just the right way to play to our strengths and avoid our weaknesses. As long as they can win Hamburg and continue to be competitive for the title, the fans will definitely not say anything. ”

Worrall nodded slightly: "You're right, as long as you can win a tough bone like Hamburg, it's too late for the fans to be happy." It's just that you're really sure ......."

Hyypia gritted his teeth again and said fiercely: "Don't worry, wait, we will make Pan Yi and his burgers look good at Bayer Arena!" ”

……

November 9, Bayer Arena.

In the 12th round of the Bundesliga, Hamburg challenged Bayer Leverkusen away.

When the players of both teams were brought into the field by the referee, the entire Bayer Arena was in a frenzied boil.

If it had been two years ago, such a matchup would never have attracted such attention from Leverkusen fans.

They only have Bayern in their eyes, only Dortmund!

But that all changed last season.

In front of Bayer Leverkusen, in addition to Bayern and Dort, there is one more hamburger!

And it was the emergence of this Hamburg that squeezed Leverkusen to the fourth place in the league and forced them to play in the Champions League play-offs.

This play-off was also played dangerously.

Against Greek side Theokssaloniki, Bayer Leverkusen were held to a 1-1 draw at home before narrowly beating their opponents 3-2 away and barely squeezing into the Champions League.

So Bayer Leverkusen fans have an inexplicable hostility towards Hamburg.

It's like a student who has been taking the third place in his class, but suddenly a transfer student who has studied well comes and squeezes himself into the fourth position, and has never been on the podium ever since.

Coupled with the fact that Hamburg has been stronger this season than last season, and came to Bayer Arena today as the first in the Bundesliga, Bayer Leverkusen fans are of course more eager for their home team to beat Hamburg!

And Bayer Leverkusen coach Hyypia also put down cruel words at the pre-game press conference, to beat Hamburg at home, proving that Bayer Leverkusen still has the strength to win the championship!

Compared with Hyypia's high-profile before the game, Pan Yi looks much more low-key.

He just said some of the official polite things that would have been said at the press conference, such as "will take the opponent seriously", "Bayer Leverkusen is an opponent worthy of respect", "we will give it our all" and so on.

The only valuable statement is that Pan Yi said that even if Hamburg is away, they will stick to their own style of play, that is, to suppress the opponent with attack as much as possible, and then score a goal.

A reporter asked Pan Yi what kind of play he thought his opponent Leverkusen would adopt, and he smiled:

"You have to ask Hyypia about this. But no matter how he plays, our tactics will not change. ”

……

After the game began, everyone found that what Pan Yi said was true.

He lined up the main formation of 433, and the starters were all in the best form at the moment.

Forwards: Son Heung-min, Vardy, Salah.

Midfielders: N'Golo Kante, Casemiro, De Bruyne.

Defenders: Robertson, Rudiger, Van Dijk, Carvajal.

Goalkeeper: Keylor Navas.

Compared with the ecstasy formation that he often engaged in last season, Pan Yi has obviously become much more "honest" this season.

And this is a testament to the growth of Hamburg this season.

Pan Yi already disdains to engage in those off-the-board moves!

It's a bright card, it's a hard anus, what can you do to me?

Leverkusen, on the other hand, was a bit surprising in a 451 formation.

There is no suspense for goalkeeper Leno.

On the back line, Donati, Toprak, Spašić, and Bonisch lined up.

The biggest variable is in the midfield.

These five midfielders do not have attacking midfielders, but use three forwards and two midfielders.

Rolfs formed a back pair with Emre Can, ahead of them were Castro, Hegler and Sam.

At the top of the list is Australian striker Crusey.

Suffice it to say, this is a more defensive formation than 4141!

It's almost the feeling of 10 men defending and 1 man attacking.

And when he saw this starting lineup, Pan Yi also understood Hyypia's intentions.

That is, even at home, at Bayer Arena, he has to lower his body and play defensively.

This pragmatic attitude is a bit similar to when Hyypia used to play as a centre-back.

But Pan Yi is not afraid.

Since the beginning of this season, there have been fewer teams that have shrunk their heads when they see Hamburg?

And the buses he demolished and the turtles he trampled on were not one or two.

……

So, as soon as the game began, the field entered a situation that everyone is familiar with.

Hamburg attacked, Bayer Leverkusen defended.

And Hamburg was a threat as soon as they opened the game.

In the first minute, Salah tried to burst into the box on the right, but after being blocked by a Bayer Leverkusen defender, N'Golo Kante fired wide from the outside.

Then Hamburg also continued to keep the pressure on Bayer Leverkusen, pressing high up front, very strongly.

Anyone could tell that Hamburg wanted to seize the initiative from the start.

Bayer Leverkusen looked happy to do the same, not fighting Hamburg, but staying steady inside and outside the box.

Their players strictly adhered to the counter-attacking tactics laid out by head coach Hyypia, and from the very beginning of the game they showed the starting point of retreating to their own half-court defence.

Especially after entering the positional battle, Leverkusen's defensive line is compressed very obviously, and through the active retreat of the midfielders or the central running of the wingbacks, the dense position of the back four is changed to the back five, or even the back six, forming a chain defensive layout in front of the goal.

This kind of large number of defenders showed confidence when dealing with the pressure of many people in Hamburg's front court, after all, there are many points on the ball, and it is not easy to be crushed.

After a few minutes of this, the away stands, including some of the home stands, began to be booed sporadically at the Bayer Arena.

The fans know the ball, and they immediately saw that Bayer Leverkusen was going to put a bus!

But Hyypia remained unfazed and continued to let his players carry out the set tactics.

At least for now, it looks like this tactic is working!

He increased the strength of the defensive line by adjusting the positioning of his players, and Leverkusen's self-concession defense seemed to destroy the original formation of the team, but the team's defensive division and rotation appeared to be more flexible.

On the one hand, the midfielders who have taken the initiative to drop back are clearly targeting Hamburg's midfielders who are good at cutting forward, such as N'Golo Kante and Kevin De Bruyne.

This kind of early positioning to deal with the opponent's forward defense is quite a bit of "waiting for the rabbit".

On the other hand, Hamburg centre-forward Jamie Vardy's flexible movement and large range of motion are a distinguishing feature of the team in attack.

Therefore, after other players have filled in the central defender area, Leverkusen's two central defenders have been effectively protected, and naturally dare to leave their original positions and completely defend Vardy, even if they are far away from their own penalty area, they will never let the latter comfortably take the ball and participate in the organization.

It was for this reason that after more than 10 minutes of the game, Hamburg was unable to get the ball comfortably to Vardy's feet, including the wingers on both sides of the box who had difficulty moving into the box.

As a result, Hamburg's shots often flicked wide of the back of the net and were often deflected wide or easily picked up by Bayer Leverkusen goalkeeper Leno.

And it's not just on the defensive end, Bayer Leverkusen also have a clear tactical design on the counter-attack.

Among them, striker Cruzer's speed and breakthrough became the team's biggest reliance on counterattacks.

The Australian's sprinting style of rugby is lethal, creating a threat on both flanks and driving the entire Bayer Leverkusen attack.

In the opening 14th minute, it was he who tore through the Hamburg defense with an unreasonable breakthrough on the left side, but unfortunately Sam, who received the ball at the back point, was successfully blocked by Robertson who grabbed in time due to the large distance of stopping the ball.

"I didn't expect that Bayer Leverkusen's defensive counterattack was something." On the sidelines, Hamburg's assistant coach Nagelsmann muttered.

Inzaghi also nodded: "Indeed, the defensive awareness and positive attitude of their players on the field are really good, and this kind of dense defense of unity really poses a big problem for us......"

Pan Yi smiled and said, "Then it depends on how long they can hold out." ”

He knew it.

Bayer Leverkusen's style of play is really good, and they are indeed a bit dangerous on the counter-attack, but unfortunately their players lack shooting skills and scoring ability, which can only make the team useless.

Moreover, Pan Yi can also allow Kante to increase the running distance on both sides to assist the defense of the two wings, and can also reduce the strength of the opponent's side counterattack to a certain extent.

That's what Pan Yi asked of N'Golo Kante in midfield.

Unlike the more attacking 'pseudo-wingers', N'Golo Kante is now the quintessential B2B midfielder, or 'all-round midfielder'.

Most of the time this is a role of running without the ball, requiring the ability to travel between the two teams' penalty areas.

When attacking, he sinks in like a shadow striker to score a goal, or gets a two-penalty kick from the edge of the box to shoot from distance;

When defending, you should be able to immediately return to the midfield like a defensive midfielder to stop the advance of the opponent's attacking midfielder and complete the defensive coverage.

Therefore, for a player who can perform this role, he must have excellent stamina, be able to run back and forth on the pitch, and at the same time have the same sense of goal as a striker, and when defending, he needs to have a strong ability to fight and select positions to ensure that he can delay the attack of the opponent's midfield.

Obviously, whether it is Pan Yi's past life or the present, Kante is the most suitable candidate for this role.

After all, he is a man who can cover 29% of the earth!

Therefore, with him on the move, Leverkusen's counterattack is bound to be greatly disrupted.

In addition, a defensive strategy like Bayer Leverkusen's puts a lot of demands on the level of chemistry and complementary movement between the players, and the individual ability of their players and the team's defensive code will inevitably expose various problems.

Hamburg, who have the ball in possession of the ball, will quickly crumble a seemingly solid defense like Bayer Leverkusen as long as they are always looking for the home team's defensive gaps and dispositions while maintaining their tempo, and thus take the opportunity to give the opponent a fatal blow through to sudden acceleration and key through balls.

This doesn't even require Pan Yi to make on-the-spot adjustments.

The players at Hamburg have been in this area and have seen a lot of it, so they will naturally know what to do.

Sure enough, in the 33rd minute of the game, Son Heung-min dropped back and suddenly sent a through ball, and the Leverkusen defence players clearly overlapped, which gave Vardy, who was quickly inserted, a one-on-one chance, but the final shot was high over the crossbar.

After that, it was Salah who suddenly cut into the penalty area, and after receiving De Bruyne's through ball, he actually used a "Bergkamp-style turn pass" to get rid of the defense, but the final stab was defused by the home goalkeeper Leno.

Although they have yet to score, it is clear that the Hamburg players are getting better after the discomfort of facing Bayer Leverkusen's chain defense in the opening stages.

But time also flies.

The screen above the pitch had reached the 45th minute, and the fourth official on the sidelines also played a sign with one minute of stoppage time.

The whole first half of the game went on very smoothly, there were not too many fouls or delays on either side, and this 1 minute was already quite a gift.

At this point, Hamburg launched another attack.

Salah dribbled the ball down the right and deceived Bonisch with a succession of changes of direction and tempo before trying to cross the ball to Jamie Vardy.

But today, Vardy has been heavily guarded by his side, and before he could stop the ball, he was cleared by Spašić with a big foot.

The ball flew over the halfway line and landed on the periphery of the 30-metre zone of Hamburg.

Virgil van Dijk rushed forward and headed the ball back into midfield.

De Bruyne grabbed the spot, stopped Van Dijk's header with his chest and quickly sent a ball to the feet of N'Golo Kante in front.

Kante stopped with his right foot, glanced ahead, and quickly sent a long pass over the top.

The ball flew over the heads of several players, past the Bayer Leverkusen defence and towards the edge of the Leverkusen penalty area.

And Salah, who had been cruising near the opposing defender after cutting inside just now, suddenly changed direction at this time and went straight into the penalty area as fast as possible.

The Egyptian winger's speed advantage was on full display in this moment.

Bayer Leverkusen's wing-back Bonisch saw that the situation was not right, and a flying tackle left the ball behind - and the man remained.

Salah fell to the ground in pain and the referee's whistle blew.

Kick.

By this time, the clock had reached 46 minutes and the stoppage time had run out.

But as is customary, this free-kick is still to be delivered.

It was Hamburg's last chance of the first half.

I saw De Bruyne walk to the ball, but first glanced at the referee, and then seemed to say something out of his mouth.

Seeing the referee nodding at him, De Bruyne stepped forward to hold the ball down, and then directly picked up the ball!

It's a quick free-kick!

The ball flew directly over the heads of several Bayer Leverkusen players who were a little overwhelmed and landed in the direction of the goal behind them.

Sun Xingmin on the other side is already plugged in at high speed at this time!

The moment he pressed the ball, he had already grasped the intention of this super midfield brain, and it was activated almost at the same time!

He sprinted into the Bayer Leverkusen penalty area, caught up with De Bruyne's deft pass, and bounced off the ground before slotting a shot straight from the edge of the six-yard box.

Leno was obviously helpless about this close shot, and he didn't even react to the development of the ball!

“Goallllllllllllllllllllllllllll！！！！！！！”

"Hamburg scored a goal!!!!!

"Taking advantage of a quick free-kick, Hamburg took the lead away to Bayer Leverkusen in the last second before half-time!"

(End of chapter)