Chapter 114 Continuous shooting, strong rise

There is a limit to people's patience. Stoke City's players couldn't bear it anymore. Although Stoke City's coach Pulis still wanted to endure it, he knew that suppressing the players' fighting spirit and emotions would be detrimental to striving for goals.

No good.

Although Pulis really didn't want to bet with Sheffield United on who would score first, when the sixty minutes passed and Stoke City's players became more and more active, he knew that he had to make a decision.

changed.

However, instead of moving people from the defense to the midfield to fill the holes, and then letting Li Mo push in front of their defense line to face a weaker defensive force, it is better to continue to target Li Mo on the defense line and take control of the two wings.

Give it to Sheffield United.

So, under Pulis' instructions, Stoke City's players began to change their positions.

The four players on the back line are still shrinking in front and behind the penalty area. Only Glenn Whelan is left as the deep-lying midfielder. The remaining four midfielders and one forward press forward and try to stay as close to the Sheffield United hinterland as possible.

Create set pieces.

This is completely a desperate style of play. With five players in the frontcourt looking for opportunities, Stoke City's offense will definitely be much better than before, but on the defensive end, it is basically just one midfielder and four defenders.

Once Sheffield United steals the ball again and launches a quick counterattack, the two sides of Stoke City, the midfield ribs, and the large space in front of the penalty area are all blank areas that Sheffield United players can take advantage of.

After Li Mo returns to the front position, he does still have to face the markings of two big central defenders, but Vardy, Matt Ritchie, and Medel can easily get more opportunities. It depends on whether they can seize them.

It's time to score a goal.

"coming!"

After Li Mo saw the Stoke City players pressing forward, he knew that they were going to fight for their lives. Without hesitation, he trotted forward and changed positions with Vardy again.

Drinkwater urged his teammates around him to cheer up.

For them, they will indeed get more counterattack opportunities in the following games, but they must also be careful about the position of Stoke City players with the ball. Their midfielders cannot slack off, and Stoke City must try to control the ball.

Players are restricted to outside the defensive third.

Speed ​​stood up and walked to the sidelines.

He first pressed his hands down and pointed at his temples to tell his players to continue to stay calm, and then he made tactical gestures.

As for the style of play that Stoke City may adopt at different times in the second half, the coaching staff told the players at halftime, and this is actually expected.

As long as they don't rush and follow the tactics laid out by the midfielder, and they score another goal in the counterattack, the game will almost be a sure win.

As for retreating from all fronts at this time, that is not Sheffield United's style, let alone Speed's style.

They can also hold on to the 1-0 lead, but that will have to be at least after the 80th minute of the game. It is still early. There are too many cases of being overturned by opponents after leading 1-0 on the football field.

Too much.

Speed ​​has played in the Premier League for so many years, so he will naturally not make such conservative mistakes.

Moreover, if the two teams compete at the speed of the midfield advance, Sheffield United's midfield strength must be dominant.

During the counterattack, Sheffield United's players advanced more quickly and decisively. Sheffield United had the advantage in all aspects at the moment. How could Stoke City fight for their lives against Sheffield United?

You can’t win, you don’t have the ability, you know?

The melee on the field is finally about to begin. This is also the most exciting moment for fans in a football match.

After all, not many fans like to watch the midfield and tactical battles between the two teams all the time.

Offense is always the most popular among fans.

When Pennant quickly dribbled the ball down the wing under the cover of Stoke City players, the Sheffield United fans at the scene let out bursts of exclamations and boos.

But when Bertrand cooperated with Montgomery to successfully strangle, and before the referee called Sheffield United a foul, Bertrand made a long pass to Matt Ritchie, the Sheffield United home fans cheered again.

In almost a few seconds, the ball changed hands. After Pennant advanced from the wing, it was Matt Ritchie who dribbled the ball at high speed.

Stoke City's offensive players were chasing wildly. Matt Ritchie faced Glenn Whelan's interception and decisively pushed the ball into the rib space. Vardy retreated to respond.

At the same time, Li Mo and Medel also moved forward in the center and right wing.

In an instant, Sheffield United formed a three-on-four situation in the frontcourt. This was a very good offensive opportunity!

After Li Mo moved to the edge of the penalty area, looking at the Stoke City defense that was still retreating, he suddenly slowed down and retreated, and at the same time raised his hand to ask for the ball.

Vardy knocked the ball across to Li Mo, and then continued to advance forward. Li Mo made a gesture to pass the ball to Medel on the right who was diagonally crossing into the penalty area.

But after several Stoke City defenders moved a step, Li Mo's left foot did not pass the ball out. Instead, he flicked the ball horizontally, and then quickly swung his right leg directly outside the penalty area.

volley!

Begovic's eyes have been observing Li Mo's movements. Although Stoke City's defenders were deceived by Li Mo's fake pass, he believed that Li Mo would definitely play it himself!

"boom!"

This long-range shot was powerful and heavy, but Begovic moved quickly. He stretched his long arms, moved quickly, and finally struggled to save the football from the bottom line.

The home fans let out bursts of exclamations, and then they all held their heads and shouted in regret.

Li Mo shook his hand. He felt very good about this shot, but Begovic's judgment was also very accurate. It can only be said to be a pity.

After Sheffield United pressed against Stoke City, they almost scored again on their first counterattack. This made Pulis' heart tighten, but he later felt lucky that their goalkeeper was Begovic.

The Bosnian goalkeeper, who is nearly two meters tall, is still in good shape this season. If he changes to a goalkeeper with a slightly shorter wingspan, he may not be able to stop Li Mo's powerful long-range shot from a tricky angle.

.

Then Sheffield United's corner kick was grabbed and destroyed by Shawcross, and the game entered the rhythm of Stoke City's next round of offensive advancement.

But at this moment, several Stoke City midfielders feel particularly uncomfortable.

In the past few seasons, they have never had such a hard time playing against teams in the middle and lower reaches of the Premier League.

Medel's crazy running interception made their advancement extremely difficult.

After another attack was blocked, Delap couldn't help but lamented: "Where did Sheffield United find such a player? He is so good! The coaching staff said before the game that his defensive ability was very good, but they did not say that he was that good.

ah!"

Pennant wiped the sweat from his forehead and said helplessly: "When Medel was playing in Chile, his nickname was Chilean Gattuso. Haven't you seen his national team games?"

Delap was speechless.

Okay, as expected, I got the right nickname, Chilean Gattuso. This name is so special. Isn’t this just a smaller version of Gattuso!

Coupled with Drinkwater and Montgomery's help and defensive coverage, Sheffield United's midfielder is too difficult to deal with. This is not a newly promoted team. In comparison, Stoke City is more like a newly promoted team!

The outstanding performance of Sheffield United's defensive trio made Pulis lose all thoughts of anger on the sidelines and could only sigh repeatedly.

In terms of field control and advancement, maybe Sheffield United's midfield combination still needs to be adjusted. It will be at a disadvantage when encountering the strong teams in the Premier League. But in terms of defense alone, Sheffield United's midfielder is already quite good.

Not bad.

At least Pulis doesn't think any team in the middle of the Premier League can take advantage of Sheffield United's midfielder on the ground.

If we have to talk about shortcomings, there are several midfielders at Sheffield United who are on the short side and lack height.

If we take advantage of this shortcoming, we can actually break the game, but the key point now is that Stoke City's offensive players do not have enough personal ability.

If you play a high ball in the half-court, Sheffield United's central defender Maguire will press forward to compete for the top. The high ball is meaningless. It is suitable to play the high ball in the backcourt, but Stoke City's lone striker may be able to grab it.

A little, but Medel will soon destroy the ball.

If the personal ability is not enough and the ball cannot be controlled at a single point, then the high ball is meaningless.

At this time, Pulis desperately hopes that Crouch can be in the team. If Crouch is in this game, they will face a midfield group like Sheffield United that is strong in ground strangulation but not tall enough.

Good fight.

But now they really have no way to deal with Sheffield United's midfielder. It's almost impossible to get through on the ground. If they bomb from high altitude, they will either be pushed out by Maguire or they won't be able to control the ball. It's too difficult.

As time continues to advance, Stoke City's overall formation is getting further and further forward.

Until now, they are only one goal behind, and the hope of equalizing is still there, and this hope has been urging them to press forward as a whole.

In the 72nd minute of the game, Stoke City finally got the best set-piece position in the game.

Soares worked hard and won a set kick 36.7 meters away from the goal from a position on the left side of Sheffield United's half.

Li Mo also ran back to his penalty area and participated in the defense of the set piece. Many Sheffield United fans watched with some anxiety as Stoke City players poured into the Sheffield United penalty area one after another.

Shawcross, Wilson, Huth, Jones.

These tall men looked too scary. Given loudly ordered his teammates' positions, and following the referee's whistle, Stoke City's penalty kicker vigorously picked up the ball and hoisted it high into Sheffield United.

restricted area!

Shawcross was blocked by Maguire, and the two struggled in front of the penalty area, but the rest of Stoke City's high-profile players pressed forward together and ran towards the landing point of the football, full of power!

At the critical moment, Li Mo supported Huter's shoulders from behind, jumped high, and was ahead of everyone else to push the ball out of the penalty area.

Medel rushed forward, first poked the ball quickly and then jumped up to avoid Glenn Whelan's tackle. Then he accelerated with all his strength. After the defense, it was Sheffield United's quick counterattack!

Vardy ran wildly to the other side, widening the width of the counterattack, and Matt Ritchie followed closely behind.

At this moment, there were only three defensive players left in Stoke City's backcourt. They could only quickly retreat and wait for other Stoke City players to return to defense.

But amidst the exclamations of the fans in the audience, Li Mo did not waste any time after successfully making the clearance. He also started to accelerate from the penalty area, sprinted with all his strength and reached the highest speed. Then he maintained this speed and followed his teammates to counterattack!

I studied with a sprint coach some time ago and watched Kaka's videos. Everything I learned is being used now.
To be continued...