Chapter 161, The Hardest Midfield Combination

League Cup semi-final, Manchester United against Sunderland, 10 to 11, 1 to 0.

This was the start of the second half for Manchester United, who was tragically sent off, but fortunately still had a one-goal lead.

During the intermission, Jin Taige asked the team to firmly hold on to the advantage of the ball, counterattack if there is a chance, and defend if the opportunity is not good. Therefore, Manchester United changed the offensive mode of indiscriminate bombing in the first half and played a defensive counterattack in the backcourt.

At the beginning of the second half, Sunderland changed its appearance. From the little sheep in the first half, they suddenly became mad dogs. Their players scrambled, attacked, and shot wildly on the field. In the first ten minutes of the second half, Manchester United was always suppressed in their own half and retreated across the board. Martial, who was at the top, didn't get the ball for half a day. Also retreated to the vicinity of the middle circle.

Sunderland kept on attacking. They vented all their depression in the first half. The home fans at the Stadium of Light were also very excited. They cheered loudly for their team and waited for their team to break through Manchester United's goal. time.

But the excitement of the Sunderland fans didn't last long, and they became depressed.

They found that their team could not break through Manchester United's defense at all!

Not to mention the back line, even the midfield line can't break through!

After more than ten minutes of offense in the opening, Sunderland was completely dumbfounded.

In the last round of the league, the Sunderland players did not play with Kante and Nainggolan. At that time, Kante was injured and did not play, and Nainggolan was still playing in Serie A. So today is the first time a Sunderland player has met the two of them.

In the first half, because Sunderland had been defending and Kanter was less involved in the offense, Sunderland's offensive players had little effect on Kanter's ability.

When they started to attack in the second half, they immediately felt Kanter's power.

Throughout the midfield line, as long as the Sunderland players get the ball, Kanter can be found anywhere!

Kante is everywhere!

Several players in the midfield of Sunderland really had no choice. They couldn't break through the center of Manchester United, they just had to find a way to the side.

But since entering Valencia on the right,

He rarely moved forward, and sometimes even retreated to Raphael's side, becoming Manchester United's second right-back. Sunderland's wide players galloped past ten thousand muddy horses.

You're a midfielder, not a right back

And Manchester United's defense on the left is also very solid. Mahrez withdrew to help Evra defend. Although Mahrez's defensive ability is not strong, his extremely fast speed also caused headaches for Sunderland's offensive players. And Evra's current state is still the same, he is still one of the most threatening left backs in the world.

Sunderland found that the flanks were also impenetrable, so they went back to the middle to find a way.

This time they learned the tricks, transferring through continuous long passes from the side, and then short passes to the center, avoiding Kanter in the midfield as much as possible.

No matter how wide your coverage of Kanter is, you can't run as fast as the ball, right?

But Sunderland's wishful thinking was wrong.

Kanter has been very brilliant just now, allowing Sunderland's offensive players to ignore another giant next to Kanter, Nainggolan.

As soon as he played in the second half, Nainggolan stood beside Kanter, because he was new to the team and didn't know much about the team's cooperation and teammates' habits, so he didn't dare to grab easily, but just protected Kanter. .

Therefore, it was Kanter who stood out during this period, and Nainggolan seemed not so important.

And now Sunderland is going to bypass Kanter's defense and look for opportunities to face the goal. Now they are facing Nainggolan head-on.

"Now Ji Chengyong is dribbling the ball. He came on loan from Swansea this season. He performed very well in the first half of the season. This long pass bypassed Kante's area! He dribbled the ball into the penalty area! Nainggolan went up! He knocked out Ki Sung-yong who was dribbling at high speed! Sunderland's attack stopped!"

"This time it's Nainggolan! He tackled Adam Johnson with the ball and flew into the air! The referee signaled Johnson to get up quickly. It was a good ball, and Nainggolan went for the ball."

The Sunderland players bypassed Kanter. They thought they could face Manchester United's central defender directly, but they didn't expect to bump into Nainggolan!

To some extent, Nainggolan is more of a headache for them than Kante.

The Sunderland players just couldn't get past him when they ran into Kanter. There was no passing route, and they were able to reorganize their offense. If they tried to find a way, when they ran into Nainggolan, they would most likely engage in violent physical collisions and confrontations. ! And the one who is at a disadvantage is absolutely impossible to be the Belgian who is not tall but extremely strong.

If Kanter is a huge rock, blocking Sunderland's attack route, then Nainggolan is like a huge ancient beast, biting all intruders to pieces!

Nainggolan gradually played out, and Kanter's pressure was immediately reduced. Their double midfielder combination was strong, fierce, and airtight. Sunderland's countless attacks were all in vain.

Seeing this scene, Jin Taige was very happy off the court: "With Kanter and Nainggolan on the court, even if I meet and combine, I will not be afraid!"

Ferran was stunned for a moment: "I know, it's about Bale, Benzema and Luo of Real Madrid, but who is this combination Tiger you're talking about?"

Kintag explained: "It refers to the attacking combination of Barcelona, ​​​​Messi, Neymar and Su"

Speaking of this, Kintag was taken aback for a moment, he remembered that now Suarez is still in Liverpool, and the combination has not yet formed.

But when he got to this point, he couldn't take it back. Kintag had no choice but to bite the bullet and said: "It refers to Messi, Neymar and Su Sanchez. The three of them are also very good this season."

Scholes nodded: "The performance of the three of them this season is indeed very good, not inferior to the combination. Captain, your name is also very interesting."

At this time, the game progressed to the 75th minute, and the left back Evra's physical strength declined very seriously. Kintiger immediately made a substitution adjustment. He asked Smalling to replace Evra, and then temporarily played the role of left back. Get through the last ten minutes.

In the final stage of the game, Sunderland also made substitution adjustments. They removed a defender Colback and a defensive midfielder Calmore, and replaced two forwards Borini and Vikhan in one go. Tom, wanting to try his best to break through Manchester United's goal. But with the combination of Kante and Nainggolan, there is nothing they can do.

Sunderland fans wailed in their hearts what happened to the two midfielders of Manchester United