"The most famous forward in Salzburg is Argentinian striker Zarate... This forward is the same as those small Argentine forwards. He has excellent skills, fast speed, can break through and shoot, but he is far behind Messi.
It's a goal, so as long as we use the energy to defend Messi against him, we will definitely make him unable to do anything."
Noriya said in the locker room, causing the players to laugh.
Although Zarate is also a player like Messi, he is too different. If he was really good, he would not have made it all the way from Serie A to the Austrian league...
Salzburg doesn't have many outstanding players right now. At least after watching a few of their games, Jiya didn't find any players that stood out to him.
To deal with such a team, both sides are not very familiar with it, so just use force to pressure people, break through and tear up, open up gaps, and pay attention to the opponent's counterattack when defending.
Salzburg is indeed not particularly good right now. Soon after the game started, they were controlled by Southampton with constant passes.
If the technology is superior to that of the opponent, if there is no problem with the delivery, the opponent will basically have to defend and wait for the opportunity to counterattack.
With Salzburg's personnel configuration, this tactic is actually pretty good. After all, with the ball at Zarate's feet, it is possible to create quite a threat.
"As long as we score first, we'll be safe." Noriya said to Benelli.
Southampton started to keep the ball under their feet, and then continued to launch attacks through passes. They did not launch many direct threatening attacks, but they made the opponent very uncomfortable every time.
Klein's forward assist created a corner kick but did not create any chance.
However, in the next five minutes, they continued to control the ball and created an almost perfect opportunity!
Mkhitaryan took the ball in the middle and then passed it to Schneiderlin who was advancing forward. Schneiderlin divided the sides accurately. After receiving the ball, Dixon raised his foot and passed the ball into the penalty area. Giroud ran to the forward point.
After receiving the ball, he had no chance to turn around while holding the ball with his back, but he passed the ball to the edge of the penalty area...
The Southampton player who advanced there was Oxlade-Chamberlain!
The young man received Giroud's return pass, then quickly kicked off and shot low into the far corner!
Salzburg's German goalkeeper Tremel flew to make the save, but was still a step too late!
The ball flew into the far corner of the goal, and hundreds of away fans from afar immediately gave out huge cheers!
"Okay, it's basically stable." Ji Ya and Benali high-fived in celebration.
Then he shouted to the court: "Concentrate, it's just a ball!"
After the Southampton players finished celebrating, they began to take the game more seriously.
They ran quite aggressively in the midfield, and at the same time constantly resisted the opponent's offense. Salzburg was sitting at their home court, and of course they would not give up the game just because they lost a goal. They immediately launched a crazy counterattack, trying to
Get the score back.
Southampton's defense intercepted in the midfield, which made their offense very difficult. It was not until ten minutes later that they gradually found the rhythm. After receiving the ball, Zarate forced a breakthrough and shot, but Wundt stretched his foot to block it in time.
Blocking.
Salzburg has a lot of German players. Although they are not outstanding players in the Bundesliga, they have the running ability and basic skills of German players. Bogosian grabbed a header in the penalty area and was saved by Navas.
.
They almost equalized the score in the 31st minute. Midfielder Shikaya received a corner kick from his teammate and shot directly in the air. The quality of the shot was quite high. Although Navas made a save, he failed to save the ball.
It hit the crossbar hard and the bottom line popped out...
Southampton then started to counterattack, but they also began to waste opportunities. Lambert, Giroud and Chamberlain all had good opportunities, but their shots were constantly saved by Tremel.
"Hell, this didn't even make it in!"
After Lambert received a direct pass from Mkhitaryan and took a shot close to the small penalty area, but Tremel saved it from the bottom line, Ji Ya couldn't help but jump up holding his head.
There is actually no problem with the state of Southampton's players. With their performance, in the English Championship, scoring three goals in the first half is more than enough, but now, they have scored one...
"I think I have made European games too simple before. Our opponents may break out at any time and surprise us... But although Tremel is a good goalkeeper, he is not a top goalkeeper. It is impossible for him to perform like this."
It will last. As long as we continue to attack, we will be able to win this game. Before that, we need to stay calm and not give them too many chances."
After returning to the locker room, Noriya regained his composure, and then he said to the players.
The players nodded one after another. They already understood this. The first half of the game really made them feel very depressed. No matter from any angle, their performance was good enough, but they failed to gain a big enough advantage.
But the boss is right. This is a European competition. You may encounter opponents who suddenly explode, so you just have to deal with them patiently.
No matter how good the condition is, it is impossible to exceed the limit.
Giroud was a little depressed. He failed to seize two good opportunities in the first half. Scoring has always been his weakness. He felt that if he continued like this, he might not be the main player in Southampton.
Such thoughts gave him a certain amount of pressure.
Six minutes into the second half...
Chamberlain retreated and made a direct pass. Lambert ran horizontally and took away his opponent. Giroud stepped forward in time and made a single shot!
However, for such an excellent opportunity, Giroud made a mistake. He went a little too far when passing the ball. Tremel, who struck out in time, destroyed the ball out of the penalty area!
Giroud held his head and felt that he was simply unforgivable...
"Hell, why are you so anxious... Just be patient and do what you usually do on the court, understand? I thought you were very mature, Olivier!"
Ji Ya pulled Jirou to the sidelines and said a few words to him.
Giroud nodded shamefully. Indeed, he was too concerned about missing the opportunity in the first half, which caused him to make mistakes that he shouldn't have made.
As a 24-year-old forward who has wasted several years in the lower leagues, he should indeed be more stable.
Seeing Giroud running onto the court, Benelli looked at Noriya, asking whether he should be replaced first.
"To replace him at this time is to distrust him. I will let him finish the game." Ji Ya shook his head.
Benelli nodded thoughtfully. This was indeed the truth. If he were replaced at this time, he would have no chance to make up for this regret. If he got into trouble, it might take a long time to come out.
It's easy to solve his problem - just give Giroud a chance to score a goal!
