Chapter 1346 The Most Sluggish Battle

On the afternoon of February 27th, at the Bernabéu Stadium in Madrid.

In the twenty-sixth round of La Liga, Real Madrid played against Atletico Madrid at home.

Between the two rounds of the knockout round of the UEFA Champions League, there is a city derby, which is a big challenge for any team, even Real Madrid, which is strong and strong, also feels the pressure.

Real Madrid made a rotation and faced Atletico Madrid in a four-three-one-two formation.

Courtois in goal, Azpilicueta, Vermaelen, Varane and Danilo in defense, Toni Kroos, Mascherano and Modric in midfield, Is Ke is at the front, and the double striker is a combination of Yang Yang and Suarez.

Atletico Madrid is also in a 442 formation.

Goalkeeper Oblak, Felipe Luis, Godin, Gimenez and Juanfran in defense, Koke, Gabi, Augusto and Saul in midfield, Torres and Gerard in front Lizmann's combination.

There are similarities in the formations of the two teams, that is, they both attach importance to the balance of offense and defense, and neither is willing to take risks easily, but there is also a difference, that is, Real Madrid gave up the side attack that they have always been good at. Reuse Isco again.

This is also impossible.

In the UEFA Champions League in the middle of the week, Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid are playing away games, but one is the Serie A powerhouse Roma, and the other is the Eredivisie team PSV Eindhoven. The pressure faced by the Madrid duo in the Champions League is inconsistent, and Atletico Madrid did not try their best in the Netherlands, and finally returned to Madrid with a score of zero to zero.

Obviously, Simeone pressed the winner of the game in the home game.

Of course Real Madrid can do the same, but this is not in line with Real Madrid's strategy, because the team has a big enough advantage in the league, even if they lose this Madrid derby, it will not have too much impact on the overall situation of the league, but With Roma's ability, if they accidentally lose in the away game, it will be very difficult to return to the home game.

Even if one is not careful, the ship may capsize in the gutter, which is unacceptable to Real Madrid.

Therefore, in the Champions League, try your best to win the opponent, and play Atletico Madrid with a rotation lineup in the league. This is a strategy jointly formulated by Yang Yang and Zidane, and at the same time, Isco is once again entrusted with a heavy responsibility.

The Spanish midfielder played Atletico Madrid in the King's Cup and has been one of Real Madrid's best players in the following month. He has always been highly valued, and now he has once again provoked a heavy burden.

But obviously, the twenty-sixth round of La Liga is not the second round of the knockout round of the Copa del Rey, and the Bernabéu is not Calderon.

...

Many people have said that the head coach is the most dangerous profession in European football.

The reason is simple, the competitive pressure he faces is simply too great.

A month ago, in the second round of the Copa del Rey quarter-finals, at the Calderon Stadium, Isco shined in the audience and led a wonderful slaughter against Atletico Madrid, helping Real Madrid beat Atletico Madrid 4-0 away and advanced smoothly semifinals.

That battle made Isco completely famous, and he won the team's main position in the following month. He performed very well. Many people began to expect that the Spanish midfielder would become Real Madrid's central midfielder. field core.

But a month later, at the Bernabeu, Simeone had learned the lesson of failure a month ago.

In terms of the team's overall tactics, he adopted a targeted arrangement. He did not compete with Real Madrid for the ball, but handed over the ball. Hovering around thirty.

In other words, Real Madrid's possession rate is close to 70%.

With more ball possession time, Real Madrid had to devote more energy to organizing and planning offenses, and lost a lot of opportunities for quick counterattacks. Isco was too sticky to the ball in the midfield, so he had to grasp the timing of the ball. The old problems of inaccuracy will be exposed more and more clearly.

In order to go to Isco, Real Madrid gave up the two wings of the frontcourt, which led to the insufficient offensive width of the team's frontcourt, and it was easier for Atletico Madrid to defend, and the defense against Real Madrid was also effective.

Not only that, in midfield, apart from the captain Gabi, Simeone reused the Argentine midfielder Augusto who just joined during the winter break this year. This player is fast, aggressive and tenacious. At the same time, a gate was erected in front of Atletico Madrid's defense.

Under the restraint of these two players, together with Koke and Saul, it is difficult for Isco to perform well. Compared with the Calderon Stadium a month ago, his performance at the Bernabéu Stadium has no bright spots. Even making frequent mistakes.

Throughout the first half, Real Madrid possessed 70% of the ball possession rate and took the initiative on the field, but they still failed to create a threatening attack. Instead, Atletico Madrid counterattacked and frequently created threats.

Both Griezmann and Torres are good counterattackers. Atletico Madrid only picks on Real Madrid's midfield pass errors, especially Isco's point of view. Once they seize the opportunity, they resolutely fight back. This makes Real Madrid's defense very difficult. Worrying.

Fortunately, the midfield controlled by Azpilicueta, Vermaelen, Varane and Mascherano also performed steadily and did not make major mistakes. With his steady performance, Atletico Madrid also failed to break through Real Madrid's goal, so it was safe and sound.

It can be said that after the first half, Yang Yang has fully experienced the cruel competition in the top European leagues.

Just one month!

A month ago, Simeone was helpless and helpless in the face of Real Madrid's tactical play, but a month later, he completely froze Isco, blocked Real Madrid's attack, and even played against Real Madrid in targeted tactics. Real Madrid was contained.

Yang Yang also had to admit that Isco was really contained tonight.

This is his most sluggish performance in the past month or so.

No wonder people say that the coaches in Europe's top leagues are the most brain-killing. Simeone must have racked his brains in order to restrain Real Madrid. He didn't even know how many nights he had to stay up all night to come up with such a style of play. .

He even speculated that Atletico Madrid's introduction of Augusto was likely to avoid the same tragedy from happening again.

You know, when Simeone led Atletico Madrid to the Champions League final in 2014, in addition to Gabi, there were midfielders such as Mario Suarez and Raul Garcia in the sheet army team.

During the winter break this year, Atletico Madrid introduced two Argentine midfielders in one go, one is Augusto, and the other is Kranevet, who represented River Plate in the Club World Cup against Real Madrid. Celano II.

Thinking of this level, Yang Yang admired Simeone from the bottom of his heart, or in other words, he really felt the coaching ability of the top European coaches.

He had a vague feeling that perhaps this season's Atletico Madrid would once again make a breakthrough in the Champions League like it did in 2014.

Of course, Yang Yang would not underestimate himself.

Simeone's Atletico Madrid is indeed very strong, and it has indeed contained Real Madrid tactically, but Real Madrid is not without opportunities.

…………

…………

After the start of the second half, neither team made substitution adjustments, but Real Madrid made appropriate tactical adjustments.

Isco was moved from the original midfielder position in the center to the position on the left. Real Madrid's overall formation changed from the original 4312 to 442, and Modric was pulled to the right.

Just three minutes into the game, Modric crossed the penalty area diagonally from the right. Suarez grabbed the spot near the penalty spot and volleyed directly, but the ball slightly brushed the post and slipped past the goal. .

Soon, Atletico Madrid changed colors. Griezmann counterattacked with a diagonal pass to the left, and Felipe passed back to the center from the left side of the penalty area. Griezmann ran out of space near the penalty spot, but Ma Scherano returned to the defense in time, and both goalkeeper Courtois restrained Griezmann at the same time. The French kicked the goal and was hugged by Courtois in front of the goal.

In the 60th minute, Real Madrid made the first substitution adjustment, and the teenager Jesse replaced Isco.

It was an expected substitution.

Two minutes later, Real Madrid instigated a counterattack. Jesse dribbled the ball in from the left and passed it low to the left side of the penalty area.

Afterwards, Jesse's header was ferried again. Yang Yang volleyed in the penalty area and was saved by Oblak.

In the 74th minute, under Real Madrid's continuous attack, Atletico Madrid's defense finally showed its flaws.

After Carvajal put in an assist on the right, a seemingly harmless cross from the right sent the ball to the front of the small penalty area, and the teenager Jimenez and Yang Yang took off at the same time.

Although the Uruguayan central defender is two centimeters taller than Yang Yang, this young player is still not rich enough in defensive experience. He was dominated by Yang Yang when he grabbed the position, and was suppressed by Yang Yang after the jump, and finally failed to stop Yang Yang.

Carvajal's seemingly non-threatening cross turned out to be at the front of the small penalty area, but Yang Yang directly shook his head with a lion and headed into the lower right corner of the goal. Oblak was powerless this time.

It's too close!

"GOALLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL!!!!"

At the moment when Yang Yang broke the goal of Atletico Madrid, the Real Madrid fans were completely released from the mood that had been suppressed for more than an hour.

Everyone in the audience cheered wildly, shouting Yang Yang's name.

Zidane was also dancing with excitement on the sidelines, smiling from ear to ear.

What a thrill!

Without this goal, God knows what would have happened next?

...

In the end, Real Madrid beat Atletico Madrid with Yang Yang's header in the 74th minute.

After the game, Zidane rarely praised Yang Yang by name.

"Today's game was very difficult for us, and we even doubted that we would lose the game, but fortunately, we have Yang Yang, the best top star in the world, and he caught a goal that didn't look very good. chance, scored a goal for Real Madrid, and it made us come back."

Zidane said that this game brought Real Madrid not only thrills, but more importantly, a valuable experience.

"Europe's top leagues, whether it's La Liga or the Champions League, the competition is much more brutal than we imagined!"

This sentence makes Zidane look more like a rookie coach.