"Xavi passed the ball to Messi and then to Iniesta."
"Messi turned around to receive the ball and was double-teamed by two Manchester City defenders."
"Messi dribbled the ball forward, and neither David Silva nor Rakitic could stop him."
"Still taking me, Messi!!!!"
"Sent a direct pass..."
"Sanchez penetrated..."
“No whistle!!!!”
"GOALLLLLLLLLLLLLL!!!!!"
"In the fifty-seventh minute, twelve minutes into the second half, Barcelona equalized the score!"
"Messi's breakthrough with the ball in the middle of the midfield opened up the situation and created opportunities for the attack in front!"
"Oh my god, Barcelona finally equalized!"
"One to one!"
"Now both sides are back on the same starting line."
"After the change of formation in the second half, Barcelona's entire tactical play was very different from the first half."
"Messi returned to the center of the frontcourt and gained more freedom. Aguero played on the left and Sanchez returned to the right. The two players looked like wingers, but in fact, when Messi dropped back,
, they are more like the two ribs at the front.”
"I have to say that Guardiola's adjustments are still very targeted."
"Before the game, he said at the press conference that he faced off against a master and apprentice. In the first game, he lost 0-4, which was a dismal result. But now, two years later, he wants to win
Perform better and prove your efforts and progress.”
"Now, we finally break through Manchester City's goal!"
"Look at this attack, Messi's long-distance pass was very sudden and the angle was very tricky. It happened to be behind David Luiz and Kompany, and Sanchez passed from David
·Luis made a quick diagonal pass from behind and hit the ball directly after receiving it!"
“It’s really wonderful!”
"This is Barcelona!"
"Just when you think Guardiola's team is helpless, they can suddenly create murderous opportunities under unexpected circumstances."
"Messi's continuous breakthrough with the ball before passing the ball is also very crucial. It can be said that it completely disrupted Manchester City's midfield deployment. This is also the strength level of the first player in world football."
"One versus one, now let's see how Gao Shen responds!"
…
Barcelona fans throughout Wembley Stadium were screaming wildly.
One to one!
In the second half, Barcelona not only had the advantage in possession rate, but also showed a clear rebound in the scene, and there were faint signs of suppressing Manchester City. This is because Guardiola adjusted the team's tactics.
It's still 433, but the position has changed.
Messi returned to the center and began to switch between center, attacking midfielder, and even central midfielder positions.
His range of activities is within this area. He is not only responsible for offense, but also connects the ball and advancement in the middle.
From this we can see the importance of Messi in the current Barcelona team.
Aguero and Sanchez are active in the two ribs.
When Messi goes up front, they are wingers, but when Messi drops back, they go up and become a double forward.
At the same time, the two full-backs will press forward.
This style of play is not the first time that Barcelona has appeared, but it is not common.
It can be said that with the addition of Messi, Barcelona's ball distribution and advancement in the middle and frontcourt have been significantly improved. The most typical example is the goal just now. Messi took the ball out of the encirclement by himself.
In this case, Manchester City's defensive pressure began to increase.
Standing on the sidelines, Gao Shen naturally saw everything.
Guardiola's adjustment is to use Messi as a false nine, which is more flexible and maximizes Messi's advantages. It can avoid Manchester City confining Messi to the right through staffing like in the first half.
side.
But there are risks.
That means the gaps in the midfield and backfield will be larger.
Just imagine, Messi retreats, Aguero and Sanchez press forward, will the full back follow?
"I guess this is what Guardiola struggled with before the game!" Gao Shen murmured to himself.
Based on his understanding of Guardiola, this guy should be struggling with which of the two tactics to use.
In fact, if the first half started with Messi as the false nine, Gao Shen would be really surprised and might even concede the ball first.
Of course, Gao Shen was also prepared for this, because Barcelona has only used this style of play twice this season, and Gao Shen has watched the videos of these two games.
The offensive firepower is very fierce, but the defense is also very weak.
Thinking of this, Gao Shen walked to the sidelines and called out Javi Martinez, Kompany and Rakitic, signaling the team to return to the four-three-three formation.
Regarding Barcelona's frontcourt positioning, Manchester City's two full-backs positioned themselves further inside, freeing up the outside wings.
…
The purpose of Gao Shen's adjustment is to concentrate his forces in the middle and once again curb Barcelona's midfield and frontcourt play.
Especially Messi, Xavi and Iniesta, as well as Busquets who was behind.
As long as the ball cannot be released from the center, Messi's role will be contained.
As for the wing, when Messi retreats, Aguero and Sanchez both cut inside to hit the penalty area. In fact, they are also in Manchester City's defense zone. The only relatively big risk is caused by the full-back pushing forward and behind.
Cross.
Gao Shen once again told Kompany, David Luiz, and Javi Martinez to keep an eye on the center and control the penalty area.
Sure enough, as Manchester City adjusted, Barcelona tried to play in the middle several times, but could no longer advance.
Messi once retreated to receive the ball and when he dribbled the ball into the 30-meter area of Manchester City, he was tackled to the ground by Javi Martinez.
Manchester City's midfielder did not get a card, which made the Barcelona players very dissatisfied.
But in fact, Javi Martinez didn't do much.
The dissatisfaction of Barcelona players reflects their anger towards Manchester City's defense.
Three minutes later, Barcelona once again passed the ball into Manchester City's penalty area.
Alves moved forward to the right side of the frontcourt. After receiving the ball, he passed the ball diagonally into the penalty area and tried to find Aguero at the back. However, Neuer abandoned the goal and jumped high to take the ball away.
Two minutes later, another cross from Barcelona came from the wing, but this time it was a cross from Vargas from the left. Sanchez was able to grab the landing spot, but it was too reluctant and he directly pushed it over.
After being contained by Manchester City in the middle, Barcelona's full-backs began to actively press forward, trying to play wide and create width in the attack.
But Manchester City's strategy is very clear, stick to the center and let go of the wings.
…
"Ha, there is a saying in our Italian football world that no matter how strong the team is on the wing, they will eventually have to return to the center to score goals!"
In the chairman's stand, Sacchi saw that Barcelona's attempts to cross from the wing failed to produce any results. He couldn't help laughing, especially when he saw Barcelona's players returning without success, he felt very happy.
There's nothing I can do about it, the size difference is too big.
Messi, Aguero, Sanchez, Xavi, Iniesta...
Barcelona advocates playing small and quick players, so none of the five players in the midfield and frontcourt is over 1.75 meters tall.
The advantage of this is obvious, that is, all players move very quickly, are very flexible, and have excellent foot skills, which is in line with Barcelona's passing and controlling style of play.
But the problem is, when you want to play long passes or crosses, you will find that there is no other way.
This is the situation Barcelona is facing now.
As long as Manchester City defends the center, Barcelona can pass the ball however they want.
Some people may ask, is there really nothing we can do?
Not really.
There is no perfect strategy in the world.
Faced with Manchester City's style of play, Barcelona can cooperate from the wing, go down to the bottom line, and try to pass the ball in front of the goal.
But as a result, the full-backs need to participate more in the frontcourt attack.
In the 68th minute, just eleven minutes after conceding the ball, Barcelona first tried to attack from the left, but failed to open up the situation. They did not pass the ball this time and passed directly to the center.
Messi dribbled the ball twice in a row, but failed to open up the situation and was forced to pass it back to Xavi.
Xavi passed the ball to the right, and Alves moved forward and tried to cooperate with Sanchez on the left side of Manchester City's penalty area. This made Felipe feel like he was facing a formidable enemy. Even Gareth Bale and Suarez were actively involved.
Return to defense.
Barcelona's wing attack failed and when it was passed back to Xavi, David Silva appeared in front of Xavi and blocked the ball.
Xavi tried to pass the ball to Alves, but Gareth Bale took the lead and passed the ball to Suarez, who quickly sprinted forward.
Suarez understood this and, with Busquets at his back, he swept the ball directly in front of Gareth Bale without stopping.
The Welsh winger quickly grabbed the ball ahead of Alves and passed the ball over the center line. He looked up and saw that Robben was already racing in the middle of the frontcourt.
Gareth Bale immediately stopped hesitating and made a diagonal pass with his left foot, passing the ball behind the Barcelona defense and passing it to Robben who was sprinting three seconds later.
Robben sprinted as fast as he could to control the ball before Thiago Motta.
At this time, others were already in the restricted area.
Robben was extremely experienced. Instead of stopping the ball, he took control of the ball and made a fake move to get away from Thiago Motta and hit a ground ball with his left foot.
Barcelona goalkeeper Valdez's position was on the left side, but Robben's ground ball hit the right side, and the goalkeeper was unable to do anything.
"GOALLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL!!!!!!"
"Robben! Arjen Robben!!!"
“Man City scores another goal!!!!”
"Two to one!"
"Manchester City's quick counterattack was so sudden and so fast that Barcelona's defense had no time to react!"
"We saw that Manchester City cooperated very skillfully in the entire process from stealing the ball to counterattack, leaving no time for Barcelona's defensive players to react."
"Gareth Bale, Suarez and Robben, the front three, played wonderfully!"
"The situation of the game changes rapidly!"
"Guardiola's change of formation at halftime put Manchester City on the back foot in the second half, but Gao Shen quickly adjusted his tactics, stabilized his position, and used a sharp counterattack to take the lead again."
"Obviously, Manchester City has made adequate plans for all possible situations that may arise in this game, and the senior players are also fully prepared for Barcelona's tactics."
"Taking the lead again, now the time is quite unfavorable for Barcelona."
"The time left for them is really running out."
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