Chapter 12: Change of Formation, Try 433!
As the on-duty referee Velacos blew the final whistle of two short and one long whistles, the Madrid derby in the first round of the 2014-2015 La Liga season came to an end. In the end, Real Madrid scored two goals with Cristiano Ronaldo's only goal. Win the competition.
Despite this, Real Madrid players have no extra time to celebrate the victory, because there will be a more important Champions League group stage in the next week.
Although Basel's overall strength is not good, Real Madrid players know that any opponent cannot be underestimated.
Football matches are often not measured by strength. Otherwise, the World Cup that ends in Brazil this summer would not have two dark horses, Costa Rica and China.
Real Madrid faced Basel in the first round of the Champions League group stage of the new season, and Spanish media reports were lukewarm.
In their view, Real Madrid is sitting at home and has just won their fierce rival Atletico Madrid, with great momentum. Facing Basel, which is far different in strength, will be as easy as eating and drinking.
But it is a very important game for the Chinese media because Real Madrid's opponent Basel has Chinese international Wu Sanshi.
Wu Sanshi is Basel's main winger. If he is not injured, he will definitely play in the first round away game against Real Madrid. This news has also been confirmed by Basel's current head coach Paulo Sosa. If Wu Sanshi stays healthy, he will definitely play. Will become the starter in the first Champions League group match of the new season.
Not to mention Tang Zheng. It was Tang Zheng's two assists that helped Real Madrid reverse Atletico Madrid in the just-concluded Madrid derby. There is absolutely no reason not to use Tang Zheng as the starter in the first round of the Champions League group stage.
Moreover, the team will not allow a healthy Tang Zheng to serve as a substitute.
The transfer fee is as high as 125 million euros, and the annual salary after tax exceeds 12 million euros. It is impossible to pay such a high price to play as a substitute.
The Chinese media is full of expectations for the China Derby in the Champions League group stage, but to the mainstream European media, this is just a formality.
And the final result proved this. Real Madrid finally relied on Basel player Suqi's own goal and goals from Tang Zheng, Cristiano Ronaldo, James Rodriguez, and Benzema to win 5:1 at home. A big win over Basel.
The player who helped Basel equalize the score made the Chinese media excited, because it was the persevering Chinese international Wu Sanshi who scored the goal.
After the game, Tang Zheng also encouraged Wu Sanshi, the younger brother of the national team, and congratulated him for showing his face in front of the people of the country.
Real Madrid's home victory over Basel was something I thought about before the game.
After all, the strength of the two sides is far apart, and Real Madrid is in great momentum. They play at home and can't see anyone unless they win a big victory. Therefore, not many media paid attention to this game after the game. More attention was paid to the strength of Dortmund and Arsenal. In conversation.
Ending the first round of the Champions League group stage is just a small test for Real Madrid, and it is the kind without pressure.
Affected by the World Cup, the 2014-2015 La Liga season started half a month later than usual, so the schedule was squeezed to a certain extent and entered a double-match format per week.
Real Madrid has three domestic league games before their away challenge to Ludogordes in the second round of the Champions League group stage, namely an away challenge to Deportivo La Coruña, a home game against Elche, and a visit to the Estadio da Estadio to challenge Yellow Submarine Villarreal.
Perhaps inspired by the Madrid derby, Real Madrid won a wave of three consecutive victories, closely following Barcelona's six-game winning streak at the beginning of the season.
Therefore, after six rounds of La Liga in the 2014-2015 season, Barcelona, Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid ranked among the top three.
Barcelona has 18 points with all six games won, Real Madrid has 16 points with five wins and a draw from six games, Atletico Madrid has 15 points with five wins and one loss from six games. The fourth-ranked team is Valencia, with four wins and a draw in the first six rounds. One loss equals thirteen points.
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The tournament came to an end in September. Except for the draw with Real Sociedad at the Arnotta Stadium at the beginning of the season, Real Madrid won all five other games. Chinese fans were very proud during this period. Tang Zheng, as the core of Real Madrid's midfield, won five games. Contributed four goals and seven assists in the game.
You must know that Real Madrid only scored 16 goals in five games. Tang Zheng's personal contribution was one goal. Coupled with the planned goals, it can be said that without Tang Zheng, Real Madrid would not have the current results.
Of course, without Tang Zheng, the earth will still turn, and Real Madrid will still score goals, but the enjoyment and smoothness of the game will be greatly reduced, and the number of goals will not be so many.
Real Madrid's first game in early October was the second round of the UEFA Champions League group stage in the 2014-2015 season. They visited Bulgaria to challenge Ludogedes, who had recently emerged as a new player in the Bulgarian League A.
It is worth mentioning that this game is the first Champions League home game in the history of the Ludogordes team, so the home atmosphere is particularly fanatical, so much so that even experienced Real Madrid players are not used to it.
In the fanatical home atmosphere, Ludogedes' performance was not at all like that of a weak team. They were even able to organize an effective attack to directly threaten goalkeeper Casillas.
As a guest, Real Madrid adapted after enduring three blows from the home team Ludogedes, and gradually gained the advantage they deserved under Tang Zheng's offensive organization.
However, home defense is Ludogedes' core tactic, so there is no discomfort when defending. On the contrary, Real Madrid's offense slowly feels Ludogedes' defensive intensity as time goes by.
If it weren't for Tang Zheng's stunning kick in the 68th minute of the game, it would have been really difficult for Real Madrid to defeat Ludogordes in the away game.
In the end, Real Madrid relied on Tang Zheng's long-range shot to score a 1-0 victory over Ludo Guedes, winning two consecutive victories in the Champions League group stage.
Liverpool unexpectedly lost to Basel and ranked first in the group. This means that if Real Madrid wins two consecutive games against Liverpool in the back-to-back group matches, it is very likely that they will qualify for the group stage two rounds in advance and lock in the first place in the group. That kind of thing.
Prior to this, Real Madrid had two domestic league games, playing against Athletic Bilbao at home and challenging Levante as a guest.
After Real Madrid defeated Atletico Madrid at home, it has won six consecutive victories in all competitions. The two league games against Athletic Bilbao and Levante at home and away continued its good form in the past, with two 5:0 respectively. Win the competition.
However, among the eight opponents Real Madrid faced, there were really only two teams that could be considered strong teams, so they were not convincing enough. However, the next game they will face can be said to be very strong.
First a visit to Merseyside to challenge Liverpool, and then a home game against Barcelona.
No matter which opponent, they are difficult to deal with.
At noon the day before the game, the entire Real Madrid team arrived in Liverpool, Merseyside, England to prepare for the next third round of the Champions League group stage.
In the blink of an eye, the match day came, and there was still half a day before the game. The square around Anfield, Liverpool's home stadium, was already filled with a large number of die-hard Liverpool fans. They sang that classic song on their own without any leader. "You'll Never Walk Alone".
The sound was so loud that Real Madrid players staying in the hotel three kilometers away could hear it.
Everyone knows that Anfield is not that easy to conquer!
At 8:40 pm local time in the UK, a uniform and loud voice rang out from Anfield Stadium. The classic song "You'll Never Walk Alone" was delivered to every corner of the world watching the Champions League through satellite live broadcast.
Not long after, the exciting Champions League theme song "-League" suddenly played. Fans watching the game on live TV could see the players walking into the stadium from the tunnel entrance with the referee Rizzoli.
Both sides of the game presented their strongest lineups. The visiting Real Madrid still used their usual lineup of 4, 2, 3. The goalkeeper was still Casillas, and the four defenders were Marcelo, Pepe, Varane and Arbeloa. , the double midfielder Modric partners with Toni Kroos, the three forwards are Cristiano Ronaldo, Tang Zheng and James Rodriguez, with Benzema at the front.
7, 8, 9, 10, and 11 Flush start at the same time again, so it’s full of excitement!
Liverpool, who are playing at home, still use the team that almost won the Premier League championship last season. The official formation is still the usual four-three-three, with goalkeeper Mignolet and four defenders Moreno, Lovren, Skrtel and Gerard. Len Johnson, the three midfielders are captain Gerrard, Henderson and Joe Allen, and the three forwards are Sterling, Balotelli and Coutinho.
With the whistle of the referee on duty, the focus of the third round of Group B of the 2014-2015 UEFA Champions League kicked off at Anfield Stadium. Liverpool, who took the first kick off, did not rush to attack, but advanced through the layers. way to penetrate forward.
At the beginning of the game, the dominant Real Madrid did not act recklessly at Anfield Stadium. Instead, they safely retreated to the half-time, adapting to Liverpool's offensive rhythm first and then finding ways on the offensive end.
During the defensive process, Tang Zheng's position was obviously different from the position in the starting list submitted before the game. He moved from the attacking midfielder position to the central midfielder, narrowing the distance between Modric and Toni Kroos and ensuring the distance between the midfield triangle. suitable.
Tang Zheng has a strong ability to read the game. If Real Madrid wants to improve their defensive quality in a low-key manner as a guest, they must rely on Tang Zheng's ability. Therefore, Ancelotti, who is standing in the visiting team coach's command area, can't help but think, since Toni Kroos is qualified to be the main player. Ability, James Rodriguez must play again, so can there be some changes in the formation?
The usual 4-2-3 formation was changed to a 4-3-3 formation, with Tang Zheng pushed back a bit, just like the 4-3-3 formation adopted by Liverpool.
Gerrard, Henderson and Joe Allen are all midfielders with both offense and defense, exactly the same as the midfield iron triangle composed of Tang Zheng, Modric and Toni Kroos that our team often uses in the new season. They are both offensive and defensive.
Liverpool No. 10 Coutinho is a winger with organizational skills, and he more often likes to cut in and shoot. His offensive characteristics are somewhat similar to Cristiano Ronaldo.
Sterling is very fast, has good passing ability, and is slightly less capable of cutting inside.
Balotelli is a bit neurotic. When he is in good condition, he can do anything. When he is in bad condition, he is prone to thinking about life.
In other words, Liverpool's current midfield and frontcourt player configuration is somewhat similar to Real Madrid's midfielder and frontcourt player configuration. So Liverpool's four-three-three formation is very popular, so can Real Madrid also try it?
Anyway, after two consecutive victories in the Champions League group stage, qualifying for the group is not a problem. After this round of Champions League, we have to return to Madrid to face the El Clasico opponent Barcelona. Now it is urgent to try new offensive routines!
Even if there is an away draw with Liverpool or even a loss, Ancelotti can accept it, but the premise is that the change of formation can produce a certain effect.
In the next round, we will face Barcelona, which has greatly improved its strength, at home. We can only win, not lose!
Closer to home, the game reached the 20th minute and Ancelotti decided to make a temporary change.
Taking advantage of a dead ball opportunity, Ancelotti hooked his finger towards Tang Zheng, who was not very far away.
About ten seconds later, Tang Zheng understood the game tactics temporarily explained by head coach Carlo Ancelotti and nodded lightly.
In fact, there is not much difference between Tang Zheng's 433 formation and the 423 formation. He is just positioned further back and interacts more with Modric and Toni Kroos in the midfield, and the division of labor is clearer. .
In addition, James Rodriguez and Cristiano Ronaldo need to change positions more. In addition to cutting inside, they must also cross to create more opportunities for Benzema.
Of course, during the game, it was impossible for Tang Zheng to inform his teammates of all the tactics deployed by head coach Ancelotti at once. He fully conveyed Ancelotti's tactical changes through several scattered opportunities.
No one expected that the Real Madrid players who were half-confident in playing football would suffer miraculous effects when they tried to attack for the first time!
James Rodriguez received Tang Zheng's direct pass in the 30-meter offensive area and turned around. Then he attracted Gerrard's attention and passed behind him. Skrtel appeared to be in danger at the critical moment and ran The ghostly Cristiano Ronaldo was stunned, but he reacted very quickly and kicked the ball directly towards the goal with his left foot. Goalkeeper Mignolet made a save but was unable to do anything.
Cristiano Ronaldo, who scored the goal, has reached 70 goals in the Champions League, only one goal shy of Raul's record of 71 goals.
Anfield also became the 22nd away game he scored in European competitions, tying Messi with him for first place.
The goal in this game is also Cristiano Ronaldo's ten consecutive away goals in the Champions League, becoming the first person in the history of the Champions League.
Real Madrid leads Liverpool 1:0 as a guest!
The Liverpool fans at Anfield Stadium did not neglect this. Instead, they made even louder noises, and the loud and harsh song "You'll Never Walk Alone" resounded throughout the stadium again.
It is a pity that the fanatical atmosphere did not bring any bonus to the home team. In the 34th minute of the game, Real Madrid expanded the score.
Tang Zheng passed the ball to the far end of the goal in the left corner of the penalty area. Goalkeeper Mignolet made a mistake in his judgment and failed to get the ball. Benzema, who ran to the far end, successfully headed the ball back to the goal. Len Johnson's overhead kick missed the ball, and the ball hit the snow-white net.
0:2
No one expected that Real Madrid, which had just made a change, could lead Liverpool by two goals, so those TV stations that supported Real Madrid began to look forward to the Spanish El Clasico at the Santiago Bernabeu Stadium in four days...