Chapter 114 Tit for Tat (Happy Christmas Eve)

"Ouch-ouch——"

The Atletico Madrid fans at the Stadium of Light in Lisbon were as excited as children, incited by Simeone's body movements and burst into deafening cheers.

Real Madrid fans seemed particularly depressed. Godin's header had no power and was not flying fast, but the angle was tricky. However, if Casillas could be more cautious and stand on the goal line, then Godin's goal would no longer exist.

Captain Casillas, who made a mistake, put his hands on his hips and looked very depressed.

I originally wanted to attack to get the ball, but halfway through the attack I realized that I might not touch the football, so I paused at the critical moment. It was because of this pause that I lost the best opportunity to attack.

Tang Zheng was a witness to the team losing the ball. It was understandable that Khedira was unable to grab the spot due to positional issues. He also tried his best to influence Godin to top the ball, but Casillas' attack was too reckless.

Logically speaking, it is impossible for a goalkeeper of Casillas's level to make such a low-level mistake. Ou Xu... really played too few games, right?

Since the conflict between him and Mourinho during the coaching period, he has only played in cup matches. Diego Lopez played in the league. The same was true for Real Madrid coached by Ancelotti in the 2013-2014 season. Diego Lopez was in charge of the domestic league. , Casillas is responsible for the Copa del Rey and Champions League.

Tang Zheng was helpless when his team lost the ball near the end of the first half, but there was nothing he could do about it, and Casillas was not the kind of player to incite his teammates with words. He was better at using performance.

Casillas has saved Real Madrid many times in the Champions League and Copa del Rey this season with his stunning performances. Therefore, neither the players on the field nor the Real Madrid fans in the stands blamed Casillas. Vice-captain Ramos even took the initiative to comfort him. Casillas made a mistake.

At the same time, the commentators in the on-site commentary box placed the responsibility for Real Madrid's goal loss on Casillas, saying that the 33-year-old veteran is no longer at his peak and may not be in Ancelotti's team next season. Within the plan.

Losing goals caused by mistakes often affects the team's morale. Real Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti stood on the edge of the visiting team's coaching area and clapped hard at the players on the court to cheer them on. There is plenty of time left in the game, and there is plenty of time. equalize the score.

After all, Real Madrid players are experienced in hundreds of battles, and they know that conceding goals is normal.

It is worth mentioning that through slow-motion replay technology, it was concluded that Casillas had already crossed the goal line before blocking the ball, and the bottom line referee immediately signaled that the ball had crossed the goal line, so the goal was counted. Ding instead used his body to block the ball into Adrian's goal for the second time.

The game starts again,

Cristiano Ronaldo has a strong desire to attack. Although the goal conceded has nothing to do with him, as the team's top forward, he has the responsibility to help the team quickly equalize the score.

However, haste often makes waste. Atletico Madrid, which is good at defense, opened the scoring and completed the tactics arranged by Simeone before the game flawlessly, without leaving much space for Real Madrid's offense.

After trying two consecutive breakthroughs without success, Cristiano Ronaldo chose to throw the ball back, using the width of the field to involve Atletico Madrid's defense.

Facing a team like Atletico Madrid with a unified defense and high tactical self-discipline, it is definitely impossible to make a final decision. The width of the field must be used to create offensive space, otherwise scoring is just empty talk.

Tang Zheng firmly carried out the on-field tasks assigned by head coach Carlo Ancelotti and looked for gaps in Atletico Madrid's defense.

However, they could not find it until the referee Kuppers blew the first-half whistle, which meant that Atletico Madrid, which had drawn the home draw, ended the first half with a 1:0 lead over Real Madrid.

※※※

The on-site director immediately showed the Real Madrid stars, Cristiano Ronaldo, Tang Zheng, Benzema, Casillas and other Real Madrid players. Their facial expressions were a bit ugly.

Aside from conceding goals, Real Madrid players believe that their performance is no worse than Atletico Madrid, but they have to accept the bitter consequences of being temporarily behind even though they have a "better performance", so the players feel a little sad.

On the other hand, the Atletico Madrid players were talking and laughing when they walked back to the tunnel, full of confidence.

Therefore, British Sky commentator Marcel Leif laughed and said: "Atletico Madrid's overall performance is better than Real Madrid's. It is normal to be ahead, but Real Madrid can't perform better in the second half. I think the new La Liga champion will be very good." It is possible to win the UEFA Champions League in the 2013-2014 season..."

Immediately, the broadcast screen returned to Tang Zheng, and Marcel Leif changed his voice: "Tang has been creating miracles since his debut. From joining Dortmund to Real Madrid, he has not lost in the finals he has participated in on behalf of the team. After passing the ball, many media gave him the nickname "King of the Final". The 2013-2014 Champions League final was only half-way through, and Atletico Madrid only led 1:0. Real Madrid still had enough time to tie the score. "

During the conversation, the players from both sides of the match had returned to their respective locker rooms. Some fans at the Stadium of Light left their seats to buy food and replenish their energy, some went to the bathroom to satisfy their physiological needs, and some wandered around to relieve their excitement. Feeling.

Of course, more fans took advantage of the halftime break to post updates on their social networking platforms. The game just now was so exciting that they didn’t even have time to look at their mobile phones, let alone post updates on social networking platforms, so players on both sides Show off your talents when you return to the locker room.

In the home team's locker room, Atletico Madrid coach Simeone and the players were in a good mood.

It was expected that Diego Costa would not be able to continue the game due to injury, and it was also the same for his fierce playing style to take advantage, and the goal can be said to be an unexpected surprise.

However, the game was only half over, and it was not worthy of premature joy, so Simeone took a deep breath and coughed lightly.

Many Atletico Madrid players were not well-known before joining Atletico Madrid. However, as their outstanding performance in the 2013-2014 season was recognized by many top teams, Atletico Madrid players knew who brought these, so after hearing Simeone's After coughing slightly, he looked over instinctively.

Simeone was satisfied with the players' reaction, but he did not dwell on it. Instead, he loudly praised the players who performed well in the first half.

However, Atletico Madrid players performed very well in the first half, so Simeone wasted a lot of time praising the players.

About five minutes later, Simeone changed the topic to the tactics of the second half.

At the same time, Real Madrid head coach Carlo Ancelotti in the visiting team's locker room first summarized the shortcomings of the first half, but did not criticize the players by name. Instead, he directly explained the tactical adjustments to the players in the second half.

In Ancelotti's mind, conceding the goal was not only Casillas' mistake, but also the epitome of the team's overall performance being inferior to Atletico Madrid. It was just that Casillas was unlucky enough to be the one taking the blame.

※※※

The fifteen-minute intermission passed quickly. Players from both sides of the game entered the stadium through the tunnel one after another, and the scattered seats in the stands were slowly filled by fans.

"Beep~"

With the whistle of referee Kuppers, the second half of the 2013-2014 Champions League final officially began.

Atletico Madrid, which had a kick-off advantage, did not launch an attack immediately. Instead, they controlled the football through reasonable passes and maintained control of the game.

Of course, the overall technical ability of Atletico Madrid players is not high, and their control over football is limited.

But Atletico Madrid's advantage is equally obvious. They cover a wide range of runs, do not hesitate to use physical strength, have a tacit understanding of attacking and have strong space pressure. Even if Real Madrid gets the football to organize the offense, it will be difficult for them to break through.

First of all, the main lineup of Atletico Madrid coached by Simeone is 442. When defending, it retreats to half-court defense. The four backs and four midfielders maintain good positions and maximize the protection of space. Even if Real Madrid attacks, it is difficult to use the width of the field. It involves enough offensive space.

The two forwards took turns cruising around their own center arc, putting pressure on players such as Tang Zheng or Ramos who were in possession of the ball.

Tang Zheng also tried to play from behind, but Courtois kept a good distance from the back line. Even if he cleverly avoided Courtois and Atletico Madrid defenders, it would be difficult for his teammates who received the ball to handle the ball.

So Tang Zheng shook his head after passing the ball. Through the first half and the first five minutes of the second half, he could easily see that his mentor Simeone's arrangements before the game were in place. It could be said that there was not a single bit of space left.

If you want to create an absolute chance, except for Atletico Madrid's own mistakes, you have to wait until there is a problem with their physical fitness.

Because only if there is a problem with physical fitness, Atletico Madrid players' defensive attention will be distracted.

But then again, when Atletico Madrid players have physical problems, their own physical fitness may also have problems. After all, both of them have experienced a full season of games, and their physical energy consumption is serious.

"Hey~Tang!"

At this moment, Carvajal suddenly shouted after passing the football.

Tang Zheng, who was a little distracted, noticed two figures of Atletico Madrid players approaching. He reacted quickly enough. He did not catch the ball immediately. Instead, he stepped forward with his right foot and blocked Adrian's stretched out ball with his right foot. Left foot.

Being violated by an external force, Tang Zheng fell to the ground.

Although the football was taken by David Villa, the referee Kuppers blew his whistle to signal that Adrian fouled and Real Madrid took a free kick in the backcourt.

David Villa was a little disappointed. If the referee Kuppers opened the door, then this quick counterattack from defense to offense would be extremely threatening.

Simeone was very angry under the broadcast screen. He believed that David Villa and Adrian cooperated tacitly and had no problem stealing the ball. However, the referee Kuppers on duty actually blew the whistle to signal that his player had committed a foul.

Of course, he knew in his heart that it was a foul, but as the head coach at this time, he should put pressure on the referee.

Tang Zheng took a deep breath when he heard the whistle. He just thought that Atletico Madrid's defensive problems were too deep and distracted. If he didn't react quickly enough, it would be very dangerous to lose the ball in his position.

Tang Zheng performed well on the court, and his status in the locker room was increasing day by day. Even if he ended up conceding the ball, no one criticized him, but he had high self-awareness and waved to his teammates as soon as he stood up.

The broadcast showed Tang Zheng, and Central 5 commentator He Wei changed the subject: "Through the slow-motion playback, we can easily see that Tang Zheng was distracted. Fortunately, he reacted quickly and got stuck in advance. The consequences would be unimaginable. From another perspective From one perspective, Tang Zheng's basic skills are very solid. If he were a domestic player, he would have lost the ball nine times out of ten..."

Tang Zheng's distraction during the game was like the flowering of an iron tree, which only happened once in a lifetime, so Ancelotti was very worried.

Facts have proved that Ancelotti's worries were unnecessary.

Tang Zheng was very focused in the next game and made great contributions to the team on both offense and defense.

It's a pity that Atletico Madrid's defense was so good that Real Madrid's attack group couldn't find even the slightest chance.

The fanatical atmosphere at the Stadium of Light is still at its peak, especially from Atletico Madrid fans, who are creating waves of chants.

Although Atletico Madrid continued to defend on the court, they protected each other very well and the space was very tight. Real Madrid, who had lost the offensive space, failed to create absolute opportunities.

Most of the fans who came to the scene knew about football, so they knew that the team was very stable.

As long as this state and focus is maintained, the final winning team will most likely be Atletico Madrid!

Not to be outdone, Real Madrid fans shouted loudly when Real Madrid attacked and cheered for the team.

In the 58th minute of the game, Real Madrid, which was lagging behind, made its first substitution adjustment, replacing Khedira with Isco.

Many on-site commentators did not understand Ancelotti's substitution adjustment, because from the perspective of the game, Khedira's performance was very good, especially compared to Modric's sluggish performance.

But Ancelotti has his own ideas. Modric does not perform well in the two positions of attacking midfielder and central midfielder. The position that really suits him is defensive midfielder.

In other words, organizational midfielder.

What the lagging Real Madrid needs is not defense, but offense. It is reasonable for Khedira, who is not very helpful to the offense, to be substituted at this time.

as expected!

Modric's return to the midfielder position and his partnership with Tang Zheng are of great help to Real Madrid's offensive and defensive transition, because Modric can relieve Tang Zheng's pressure. The pressure in this aspect is not defense, but the offense that lags behind Real Madrid's most needed offense.

Although Isco, who came on as a substitute, is physically weak, Kesheng is skilled at his feet and has the courage to break through.

Real Madrid has two free kick masters in Tang Zheng and Cristiano Ronaldo. Atletico Madrid defensive players do not dare to foul in key positions, which means that it indirectly leaves some offensive opportunities and space for Real Madrid's offense.

Simeone reacted quickly. When Isco was active, he replaced Jose Sosa, who had coached the La Plata University students, with Raul García, who was carrying a yellow card and did not dare to make too big a move. West Asia, improve the quality of defense in the middle.

Central 5 commentator He Wei shook his head and said: "Simone's adjustment was quick and targeted. He replaced Raul Garcia, who was carrying a yellow card, with Sousa, who had a balance of offense and defense. The effect was immediate. Sousa's defensive end had an obvious effect on Atletico Madrid's defense, and His role is also reflected in switching from defense to offense, and he can share the team's organizational responsibilities."

Immediately, the broadcast showed Ancelotti.

The meaning of this shot is very obvious. Simeone's tit-for-tat substitution adjustments are very effective. Should Ancelotti continue to make adjustments?

After all... Real Madrid was trailing and time was ticking by.