League Cup final, Leeds United vs Tottenham Hotspur.
This is a game without too many surprises and full of surprises.
Even before the game, everyone had basically concluded that Tottenham Hotspur would definitely adopt a defensive counterattack tactic when facing Leeds United, which has been in a very good state recently.
Facts have also proved that Mourinho did adopt defensive counterattack tactics.
The Portuguese madmen still formed a 4231 formation, trying to stabilize their defense and wait for the opportunity to counterattack.
What is surprising is that judging from the actual situation of the game, Tottenham did stabilize its defense, but failed to launch a threatening counterattack.
The whole world knows that Leeds United is very good at pressing high and blocking the midfield. This is Leeds United's specialty.
Pochettino's team continues to adopt this style of play at Wembley Stadium, but it is also very different from before.
Valverde was injured and absent, which caused Leeds United's midfield formation to encounter problems.
Many people are worried about whether Pochettino can find Valverde's replacement?
After all, there are not many players as comprehensive as Valverde in the Leeds United team.
What I didn't expect was that Pochettino did not follow the example of what the outside world said, but he decisively adjusted his tactics. It seems that he still adopts a 433 formation, with Enzo Fernandez and Joan Amé in the midfield.
The combination of Ni and Pedri, but in fact in the game, Enzo Fernandez was closer to Joan Armene.
Joan Armene's position is further back, standing in front of the two central defenders.
The two full-backs boldly pressed forward, participated in the front attack, and cooperated with Rashford and Sancho.
Therefore, in the game, Leeds United is actually playing more like a 2413 formation.
Pedri is in a more forward position and has a lot of freedom. It can even be said that he is ambushing behind the trident, specifically responsible for passing the ball and delivering artillery shells.
This formed another midfield combination, with Enzo Fernandez holding deep, Pedri responsible for passing the ball and attacking from behind, and Joan Armene, responsible for intercepting, defending and protecting the defense in the midfield, and also assisting the defense when necessary.
Retreat to the center back line.
More importantly, Leeds United's entire formation maintained a high position and the frontcourt press was very intense.
This made Tottenham feel very uncomfortable.
When it comes to technique and ability to hold the ball, they are not as good as Leeds United.
As a result, a very interesting situation emerged. Leeds United completely controlled the ball and rhythm, and Tottenham could only defend passively and could not launch a threatening counterattack.
Son Heung-min and Lucas Moura in front could only actively defend and support their full-backs, and Abraham even dropped back to support, which made it impossible for Tottenham's frontcourt to play a threatening attack.
But Mourinho is a defensive master after all. Although he failed to pose a threat on the offensive end, on the defensive end, Tottenham was quite well organized and did not give Leeds any chance at all.
In this way, a very interesting scene occurred in this world-famous League Cup final.
Tottenham only defended and did not attack; Leeds United pressed and pressed from a high position, taking advantage of the field and taking far more shots than their opponents, but there were very few truly threatening attacks.
Both sides' tactics were only half successful.
…
"Mourinho is still good at defense."
In the stands, Gao Shen couldn't help but smile knowingly when he saw the situation.
It was already the second half, and Tottenham actually only had one shot. Can you imagine how embarrassed the North London team was?
But the problem is, Tottenham didn't concede a single goal.
Leeds United took a lot of shots, but I have to admit that the double central defenders composed of Thiago Silva and Alderweireld really performed very well.
The defensive midfielders of Hojbjerg and Winks also played extremely bravely, and even Bruno Fernandez actively returned to the defense to assist the team's defense.
Mourinho has done a very good job in this regard.
"Are you really sure he can make good use of Messi?" Wenger suddenly asked in a wicked tone.
Everyone around laughed.
This is what the Qatari consortium means. They want to introduce Messi to build momentum for the World Cup.
Unexpectedly, Mourinho actually believed that Messi joining Tottenham would greatly improve Tottenham's frontcourt attack power.
"Frankly speaking, I really can't imagine the scene of Messi playing under Mourinho." Gao Shen also laughed.
As for Mourinho, it is really possible to train Messi into a monster waist.
What a hatred this must be!
Mourinho's use of such talented players has always been problematic.砠
In other words, he is not good at using this type of players.
In fact, there is no way to criticize this, because the head coach is also a human being, and there are always some things he is good at and some things he is not good at.
But if this guy wants to sign Messi, he definitely wants the Argentine superstar.
"I told him, don't think too beautifully!" Gao Shen scolded with a smile.
If Messi is really willing to join a team from the Qatari consortium, he can only go to Paris and partner with Neymar.
To be honest, the competitive pressure of Ligue 1 is also low. If Messi is in charge of Paris, I believe it will be more likely to win the Champions League, and then it will be able to achieve a breakthrough in results.
It is not impossible for Messi to come to the Premier League, but considering his age, and he also has to prepare for the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, has he really considered coming to compete in such a fierce Premier League?
Even Manchester City under Guardiola is under considerable pressure.
The pressure in the league is too great, and it is even more difficult for a 34-year-old player like Messi to perform well in the World Cup.
"You youngster is playing pretty well. It reminds me of David Silva. Are they from the same place?" Ferguson said, pointing at Pedri.
This season, Pedri's performance is very eye-catching.
"They are all from the Canary Islands, and so is Jose from Real Madrid," Gao Shen said.
how to say?
Pedri is the type of player who is very smart at first glance. He has very good skills, a strong sense of the ball, and very stable passing. But upon closer inspection, he is a bit special.
It's just that his playing style is a bit too precocious.
This precocity does not mean that he cannot improve, but that he plays very steadily.
Whether he is passing the ball, running, or defending, he is very stable. He seems to be playing in a stable and reasonable way.
A bit like the Spanish version of Toni Kroos.
Although he is very young, he plays very maturely, which easily attracts others' attention.
"I've been paying attention to him for a long time." Wenger also showed interest. He always favors young players like this.
"This kid doesn't seem to have any surprises when he plays, but often as long as opportunities are created for him, he can bring surprises. He is not the kind of midfielder who plays at the core. I think that Pochettino will arrange Enzo tonight.
It's more interesting to partner with Fernandez, he is a very magical boy."
Wenger has made no secret of his preference for the two Leeds United midfielders.
Tonight, Leeds United played very well, but lacked offensive threats from the front.
But this is not because Leeds United is too weak, but because Tottenham Hotspur defends too tightly.
This is Mourinho's team.
"Is Haaland going to be frozen by Thiago Silva again tonight?" Ferguson laughed.
The old man's greatest evil pleasure now is to see others embarrassed.
After Thiago Silva joined Tottenham, it can be said that he is getting stronger and stronger as he gets older.
"I think there is still a chance." Gao Shen was very confident in Harland.
With Harland's spirit, he would never let himself hang from the same tree twice.
Moreover, from the beginning of this game, it can be seen that Haaland has been very active.
Even now, he is still looking for opportunities.
…
Tottenham Hotspur's second shot of the game came in the 75th minute.
This time, the quick counterattack was blocked by Saliba, who returned to defense in time, and gave Tottenham a corner kick on the left side of the frontcourt.
That's the right side of Leeds United.
Son Heung-min ran over to take a corner kick and sent it directly into the Leeds United penalty area.
Ruben Dias grabbed the spot, but due to interference from Tottenham defender Alderweireld, he was unable to reach too far.
Joan Armene got stuck in his position first, pushed the ball out of the penalty area in time, and then accelerated to catch up.
At this moment, there was no one outside Leeds United's penalty area.
The reason is very simple. After Tottenham saw the corner kick attack frustrated, the players who were originally ambushing on the outside immediately returned to defense.
The whole world knows how fast Leeds United counterattacks, which makes Tottenham dare not be careless.
After Joan Armene caught up with the ball, he strode forward in rapid strides.
Harland and others also spread their legs and sprinted forward with long strides.
Joan Armene sensed the opportunity, distributed the ball to the right and handed it to Sancho.
Sancho made an emergency stop and did not continue to dribble to the right. Instead, he dribbled the ball sideways and passed it back to Haaland.
At this moment, Tottenham's defense has returned to the penalty area.
how to say?
Mourinho also knows the head coach of Leeds United very well, so he does not dare to be careless at all.
He would rather give up attacking and defend the goal, so he retreated so resolutely.
After Harland got the ball, he faced Winks directly, and Pedri next to him moved forward along the gap.
The Norwegian center immediately passed the ball, then turned in another direction and inserted it diagonally to the left side of the top of the arc.
On his way forward, Pedri saw Haaland's pass, and then saw Thiago Silva and Alderweireld blocking him, and he suddenly made an emergency stop.
It's not tall and not particularly fast, but one advantage is that the braking distance is short.
Pedri suddenly stopped and stepped on the ball.
It was as if he had a pair of eyes behind him and saw Harland making a diagonal pass. He stepped on the ball and pushed directly behind him.
Generally speaking, defensive players will predict the ball carrier's route, but for someone like Pedri, who passes the ball behind him, it is really difficult to predict.
Harland's forward speed was also very fast. He didn't even stop the ball. Instead, he directly raised his left foot to meet Pedri's pass and hit a ground ball.
The football stuck to the turf and penetrated into the lower left corner of Tottenham Hotspur's goal at extremely fast speeds.
Goalkeeper Lori was stunned and couldn't even make a save.
