Sure enough, after the 25th minute of the game, Barcelona's offense began to gradually improve.
Messi retreated to get the ball, and then sent a beautiful through ball. Iniesta went straight into the penalty area, got rid of Luke Shaw's defense through his running, and then decisively shot from a small angle.
However, Wundt flew back to defend and blocked it. Then Wundt quickly got up and made a big save.
Neymar broke through from the wing and was brought down by Klein. Xavi took a free kick. Batral, who advanced to assist, grabbed the first shot, but was deflected by Casemiro's interference.
Alba, who advanced forward to assist, received a pass from Iniesta and then took a long shot. The ball missed the near post.
Alves passed the ball from the right, Messi received the ball at the back point and then swung his head towards the goal, but Navas flew to save it.
Seeing that their own offense is becoming more and more fierce, Barcelona fans began to cheer. This is the game they want to see, using constant offense to suppress the opponent's defense, and then score goals and win!
However, what they didn't see was that in order to maintain such an attack, their two full-backs had already stepped up, and Mascherano and Batral were also positioned very forward, so that they could continue to increase the pressure.
Although under such pressure, Ronaldo and Suarez have already retreated, but Lukaku, who is most powerful when there is enough space, has been quietly cruising, waiting for the opportunity to counterattack.
In the 41st minute of the game, such an opportunity came.
Busquets passed the ball from the middle, intending to pass it to Messi in the penalty area, but Otamendi started the ball first and intercepted the ball midway.
The broken ball rolled to the top of the penalty area. De Bruyne, who retreated, took the ball and then suddenly made a long pass while turning around!
This is a long pass to the front of the opponent's penalty area and the top of the center circle. De Bruyne doesn't know where Lukaku is running at this time. He only knows where he wants to pass the ball.
.
At the same time, Lukaku took two steps in advance as if he had a tacit understanding. When the ball flew out, he had just approached the center circle line.
When the ball flew into the air, he had already passed the center circle.
Never offside!
The closest to Lukaku were Mascherano and Batral. Barcelona's two central defenders retreated at the same time, one on the left and one on the right to attack Lukaku who had already run to the center. However, before they passed
At this time, Lukaku's speed increased by another gear, and then he rushed past between the two central defenders!
Mascherano, who was only 1.73 meters tall, stumbled helplessly, and then he saw Batral, who was more than ten centimeters taller than him, falling further than him...
"Damn, what's the use of this guy?"
Mascherano cursed in his mind, and then helplessly watched Lukaku's figure go away.
At the top of the penalty area, Lukaku unloaded the pass. Facing the attacking Pinto, he raised his right foot and then shot hard!
While Pinto was still wondering if the opponent was trying to fake a shot, the ball had already flown to the lower right corner of the goal. The next moment, the entire net was shaking violently!
"The ball went in! Lukaku scored a goal alone! Southampton led 1-0 in the away game! Ah, this was even Southampton's first shot in the game and scored within the goal frame!
This efficiency is really high... Southampton's defensive counterattack was quite good. They changed from the offensive football style in the previous games and started a defensive counterattack. This was absolutely sudden in tactics!
"
The commentator shouted loudly, and Lukaku rushed directly to the stands of the away team fans and listened to the cheers from the stands.
Southampton's players rushed over from behind and started celebrating wildly.
Ji Ya waved his fist vigorously. He knew that with such a goal before the end of the first half, the rest of the game would be easy to win!
There is no doubt that this goal severely damaged Barcelona's morale.
It’s not that Barcelona is so fragile that it can be affected by one ball. The key is that before conceding the ball, they had no way to attack and had no chance to organize and control the ball. They could only rely on the personal breakthroughs of Messi and Neymar.
to create some opportunities.
Barcelona rarely plays games like this anymore.
So they were a little bit at a loss.
If Guardiola was still there, they would not be so easily overwhelmed. Even when they were coached by Lanova last season, they would have been more confident. However, under such circumstances, it was difficult for Martino to
Keep your emotions stable.
Therefore, in the remaining time of the first half, Barcelona was not able to create any good opportunities. The referee quickly blew the whistle to end the first half. Southampton took the lead in the away game at 1-0.
.
"Very good, we have basically stabilized this game... We continued to defend and counterattack in the second half. Their defense was unable to withstand our counterattack. The defense should be tighter. Their current offense is not as good as in previous years.
Excellent, disrupting their offense from the midfield, compressing their offensive space, forcing them to invest more troops, do you understand?"
Noriya said in the locker room.
The players nodded one after another. They didn't have any opinions on this point. The first half of the game had proved that this was the most effective way to deal with Barcelona.
It is the simplest defensive counterattack, with at most a midfielder's interference and pressing.
The most powerful Barcelona didn't have much to do against the iron-barrel formation of Inter Milan at the time, not to mention that Barcelona has already declined a lot compared to that time.
Being able to win the away game in a relatively easy way will undoubtedly have a positive effect on the two rounds of competition!
At this moment in the home team's locker room, Martino has no other good ideas - he really can't think of what to do. After all, the conditions are there. If Barcelona wants to not concede the ball, it must control the field more and reduce the number of goals.
The number of people pressing forward protects one's back line of defense.
But if you do this, it will be difficult for the frontcourt to break Southampton's solid defense.
Although Southampton seems to be conceding a lot of goals now, in fact, they have conceded very few goals in previous games this season, which is enough to prove their defensive strength.
Faced with such a situation, what should you do?
Moreover, there are not many players in Barcelona who can change the situation now. Villa was sold by them before. The only one who can play an role on the bench is Sanchez. His speed breakthrough and technology can play a certain role.
function.
But he is still not the kind of center who can serve as a battering ram.
