Chapter 420 Is Leicester City just a flash in the pan?
Chapter 420 Is Leicester City a flash in the pan?
Author: Ant who loves watching football
Chapter 420 Is Leicester City a flash in the pan?
From the perspective of Pan Yi as a time traveler, in his previous life, a large part of the reason why Leicester City was able to win the championship in the 2015-2016 season was actually due to the weakness of the traditional powers of the Premier League.
Leicester City's winning score is only 81 points, only higher than Manchester United's 80 points in the 2010-2011 season, which is the lowest winning score in the Premier League in the past ten years.
What's even more frightening is that the scores starting from second place are only about 70 points.
This shows how chaotic the Premier League is this season and how unstable the performance of the strong teams is.
Let’s talk about Chelsea in the previous life. The aging defense made it difficult to guard against. Last season’s key players such as Fabio Francesco, Costa and Eden Hazard suddenly lost their form. The team was also in internal strife due to the team doctor’s incident. They only won four games in the first fifteen rounds.
The magic bird Mourinho is no longer magical. He resigned sadly after his second year in the palace. Chelsea fell out of the championship team early.
Then came Manchester United, who purged all their forward players before the season and only bought Martial at the last minute.
In the end, the offense failed, and the number of goals scored ranked in the middle and lower reaches of the Premier League. In the middle of the season, they were winless in six games, giving up the initiative to compete for the championship.
Manchester City introduced European favorite De Bruyne, but suffered from injuries caused by an expensive lineup but the oldest in the Premier League, as well as rumors of coaching changes that have been spreading wildly, resulting in great fluctuations in form and too many losses. Finally, in February
After losing three consecutive games, they lost the initiative to compete for the championship.
As usual, Arsenal began to suffer from more injuries after the Christmas schedule and habitually collapsed. By March 15th, they had only five wins and began to compete for fourth place.
Tottenham have set off a youthful storm this season, ranking first in the Premier League on goal difference.
They clung to Leicester City after the middle and late stages, but suffered from the unstable state of young players at the beginning of the season and too many draws, which unfortunately led to them losing the championship.
Liverpool has been in turmoil this season. Benteke's instructions have been lost and he has been unable to integrate into the team. His tactics have been changing and his results have been declining.
After the coaching change, new coach Klopp lacked time for training, his state fluctuated greatly, and he quit the championship team early.
In other words, BIG6 each has its own difficulties and problems, which results in a "seventh person" taking advantage of the situation and taking away his position.
Even if one of these six strong teams performs normally, it doesn't have to be as disappointing as Manchester City's 100-point score. As long as it can score 80 points, Leicester City will not be able to successfully counterattack.
But it is precisely because of such a "coincidence" that the myth of a dark horse winning at a loss of 5,000 really emerged.
Of course, you need to be strong to strike the iron. BIG6 collapsed together, so why didn't Southampton or West Ham United win the championship, but Leicester City?
This is undoubtedly inseparable from Ranieri's command and the explosive growth of his players.
The reason why a dark horse is called a dark horse is simply because its pre-season performance was not optimistic, but its performance was amazing and unexpected.
But the biggest weakness of the dark horse is that the lineup is weak and lacks a deep bench like the traditional strong players. Once the main players are injured and absent, the team's strength will simply plummet.
However, Ranieri's team performed very steadily, with no major injuries to the players. Vardy, Mahrez, Schmeichel Jr., Kante and others under his command also performed phenomenally. In the end,
Win the championship.
Although the situation in this life is slightly different from the previous life, for example, Kanter was replaced by Mikel, and Vardy has become more mature after being tempered by Hamburger and Pan Yi, the overall situation is not bad.
It can even be roughly said that Mikel is weaker than Kante in the previous life, but Vardy in this life is stronger than the previous life, so it is even.
It is precisely because of this that Leicester City quietly climbed up after 15 rounds.
Of course, this time they have an unlucky point: that is, there is a team in BIG6 that is not so arrogant!
That is Pan Yi's Chelsea.
Not only did he not pull his shoulder, but he also broke Arsenal's unbeaten record and is still extending and expanding this record...
In other words, it is almost impossible for Leicester City to "replicate" the success of its previous life.
As for Ranieri and his Leicester City in this life, there is actually nothing to regret.
They don't have past life memories like Pan Yi, and they don't have the emotion of "gaining something and then losing it again".
After all, as a relegation team last season, they actually have a chance to compete for a Champions League spot this season. This is already a great success!
——
"Ranieri used suitable tactics for this team, coupled with the strong execution ability of the players, this Leicester City was completely transformed. We cannot take it lightly."
At Chelsea's Cobham training base, Pan Yi was also discussing the opponent's tactics with members of the coaching staff.
On the tactical board beside him, various circles and lines have been densely drawn, which represent Leicester City's players and running routes.
On the big screen in front of the conference table, videos of Leicester City's recent games were shown.
Before each game, Pan Yi will explain the opponent's tactical ideas to the coaches in detail, and then discuss the solution together.
The last step is to assign corresponding training tasks and let the players practice according to the latest tactical instructions.
This is what Pan Yi does before every game.
Today, since we are preparing to face what I consider to be the “most threatening opponent of the season,” I will be more prepared.
"Ranieri's tactics have always been characterized by a strong Italian style - tough and steady, defense first."
"After coming to Leicester City, Ranieri infused Italian defensive ideas and modern high-pressing into England's traditional long-pass counterattack."
"Defensively, take the initiative to give up the ball. Except for Vardy, every player in the frontcourt retreats to their own half-court area to reduce the distance between each other."
"The players formed a group of two and quickly carried out a flanking attack, pressing the football to the side, forcing the opponent to attack from both wings, and passing the ball into the penalty area from both sides."
"At this time, the defensive players accumulated in the penalty area have long been prepared for this. The two traditional central defenders have strong and steady headers. It is difficult for the opponent to rely on high balls to enter the penalty area to gain scoring opportunities."
In fact, Ranieri's tactical thinking is simply defensive counterattack.
After all, there is definitely a gap between the team's strength and traditional powerhouses, and the team now has a counterattack weapon like Vardy, so there is no need to use it in vain.
Even when Leicester City faced teams outside of the BIG6, such as relatively weak teams like Southampton or Bournemouth, they still defended counterattacks steadily and did not rush forward at all.
So far, Leicester City's possession rate ranks... 18th in the Premier League.
A team ranked 2nd ranked 18th in ball possession rate, which seems outrageous at first glance, but it also shows how resolute Ranieri is in his defensive tactics.
Of course, Ranieri also has his own set of ideas. In order to achieve the tactical goals Pan Yi just mentioned, especially the defensive ideas, he also actively made a lot of preparations before the season and introduced a number of players who can adapt to him.
Tactical player.
For example, the traditional tall central defender Huth;
Shinji Okazaki, a tactical forward whose defense is more important than scoring goals;
Full-back Fuchs, who has a great cross but never easily assists;
And, an important midfield troublemaker - Kante in the previous life, and Mikel in this life.
Of course, if Leicester City could only defend but had no counterattack efficiency, it would definitely not reach its current heights.
Pan Yi immediately began to explain the key points of Ranieri's anti-counterattack tactics.
"Once the Leicester City backcourt players intercept the ball, within just a few seconds the Leicester City players will enter a counterattack state, switching from defense to attack as fast as the Premier League."
"The player who steals the ball will not hesitate to make a long pass to find Vardy who has already started or Mahrez who is running in at high speed on the other side, and quickly form a counterattack with more hits and fewer hits."
"Shinji Okazaki, who starts from the midfield and follows up quickly, will press the opponent's defender on the other side, attract their attention, and create space for the second group of attacking players behind him."
Vardy, Mahrez, and Shinji Okazaki, these three are Leicester City's most important offensive points.
Generally speaking, Shinji Okazaki is responsible for feinting (if you don't guard him, he will attack), Mahrez is responsible for breakthroughs, and Vardy is responsible for quick sprints and shots.
To defend against Leicester City's attack, we must defend against these three people.
Compared to ranking 18th in ball possession rate, there is another even more outrageous statistic: Leicester’s passing success rate is the lowest in the Premier League, ranking 20th!
what does that mean?
This means that Leicester City's offense this season mostly relies on long passes and counterattacks.
Because of the short passes at close range, there are relatively few reverse kicks in the backcourt. Many of them are simple and crude passes to the back, threatening the ball, and the success rate of the pass is naturally low.
In a positional attack, Leicester City's back line is extremely deep and never presses forward easily.
The two full-backs Simpson and Fuchs did not attack at all without Ranieri's instructions.
In this case, Leicester City's offense relies on the interspersed movement between the frontcourt players and the dribbling and flash of personal ability.
Relying on the explosive performance of Mahrez this season, Leicester City ranks at the forefront of the Premier League in terms of individual dribbling opportunities created, and Mahrez's passing data also ranks second in the Premier League.
Once the ball is lost in the frontcourt, a group of runners led by Vardy will immediately press and defend. Drinking water god Linkwater and Mikel will organize a second pressing line behind him to support and prevent the opponent from forming.
Attack and force the opponent to make passing errors.
Because of the rapid counterattack in the frontcourt and the resolute execution of the players, it was difficult for Fox City's opponents to adapt to such a determined and highly oppressive frontcourt counterattack.
Once the frontcourt counter-attack fails to seize the ball, Leicester City players will immediately retreat under Ranieri's tactical arrangements to defend and return to the routine of forcing the opponent to attack from the wing.
Likewise, Schmeichel gets the ball in the backcourt and counterattacks quickly, which is sometimes quite effective.
Leicester City's tactical system is not complicated. The offense relies on strong counterattacks, and the defense relies on on-the-spot counterattacks in the frontcourt and traditional head-on mass accumulation in the backcourt.
But relying on Ranieri's strong ability to combine and the surprisingly strong tactical execution of Leicester City players, they have achieved their current results.
"So, how to break such a team that is determined to play counterattack?" Arteta asked at the right time. "It feels like they are a bit like Atletico Madrid. They defend rigorously, give up ball possession, and emphasize simple and efficient defensive counterattack strategies.
"
"That's right, you can think of them as Atletico Madrid in the Premier League. They are really just driving the bus a lot of the time." Pan Yi nodded, agreeing with his apprentice's view.
"When we face such a team, one scenario we can imagine is that we control the ball throughout the game and then play around their penalty area."
"But in this case, it is very likely that they will fall into their favorite routine. In other words, they have been playing like this this season, and they are very adaptable to such pressure."
"Once they get the ball and launch a quick counterattack, Mahrez's ball control and breakthrough, Vardy's speed and shooting, may cause a fatal blow to us."
"But like any tactic, setting up a bus has its advantages and disadvantages. When a team sets up a bus, they will naturally concentrate on defending in the middle. This means that the space on the left and right wings can be utilized...
…”
Pan Yi rearranged the tactical board and placed the chess pieces representing Chelsea players in corresponding positions on both sides.
Then, he pressed the remote control, and another game video played on the screen.
"When it comes to controlling the ball and playing against the bus, which two teams come to mind? Yes, it's Barcelona versus Atletico Madrid."
"Barcelona always has to face teams with big numbers in the league, and Atletico Madrid is the most powerful opponent among them. But Barcelona can always break the opponent's defense, and one of their ways to break the opponent's defense is in the penalty area.
Move the ball around quickly."
"Iniesta, Messi, Neymar and Suarez are all capable of playing at such a pace, making it difficult for the opposing players to get back in time and find the correct defensive position."
"Look at this shot. After Neymar got the ball in the dangerous area, Albala quickly put it on him. Then, Alba got the ball in the dangerous area."
"Although Atletico Madrid has the upper hand in the number of people in the penalty area, Messi and Rakitic have gained a lot of space at this time. One thing is very important here. You can see that Atletico Madrid players are paying attention at this time.
Where."
"Atletico Madrid players are all staring at Alba, but no one pays attention to Messi's running. In this way, as long as the Argentine moves to the right position, he can shoot."
"Then in the next shot, Alba passed the ball to the dangerous area, and Messi rushed to score the goal."
"Please note that, including the goalkeeper, Atletico Madrid had nine defensive players in the penalty area, but Messi still managed to find a kicking opportunity. This is a typical way to crack the bus."
"Although we don't have Messi, we do have Hazard, Bernardo Silva, and Harry Kane. They can still tear apart their defense through this kind of cooperation."
"Of course, in order to achieve this tactical goal, I will also make certain adjustments to the initial formation and starting lineup..."
——
While the Chelsea coaching staff was studying tactics, a Premier League preview program on Sky Sports was also going on at the same time.
Several guests were arguing fiercely about an issue, that is:
Are Leicester City a flash in the pan?
Lineker believes that Leicester City is the Southampton of last season and will not last long.
This is of course well-founded.
In the last season, that is, the 2014-15 season, the big dark horse Southampton was hollowed out in the pre-season main center axis. Before the Premier League game at the end of November, it had been at the forefront of the standings and performed better than the same period this season.
Leicester City is better.
But in December, Southampton began a serious wave of injuries and ultimately only finished eighth.
Leicester City so far this season also match every weakness Southampton had before the start of last season.
First, the players are unknown and their abilities are questionable.
Second, the new coach took office and was not favored.
Third, the lineup is weak, there are too many new players, and the integration is questionable.
This is also a common problem with dark horses.
And why can Leicester City now reach second place, second only to the super strong team Chelsea?
Lineker also laid out Leicester City's first 15 rounds of fixtures this season.
It can be seen that most of the top six teams last season, Leicester City met in the Christmas schedule, and the teams they met every week in the early part of the season were mid-to-lower teams.
Different from the intensive schedule of upper-tier teams due to their European war missions, mid-tier and lower-tier teams almost always play one game a week in the early stages of the season.
Adequate rest and an advantageous physical condition, coupled with appropriate tactics, make the beginning of each season a time when dark horses emerge.
Similarly, upstream teams have more national team members and need to travel considerable distances to participate in international competitions on international match days, resulting in reduced physical fitness and potential injuries.
The lower-tier teams have fewer national team members, but international match days have become the best time for tactical improvement and training.
Let’s take Southampton last season as an example. Their schedule also started to encounter strong teams in December, and then their performance began to decline.
Therefore, based on experience, Lineker is not optimistic that Leicester City can still grab points when facing strong teams before and after the Christmas schedule.
"If Leicester City can still be ranked in the top four after the Christmas schedule, I will host the show in my underwear!" Lineker finally said.
This caused everyone in the studio to laugh.
Carragher then said: "Gary Neville bet that Pan Yi's Chelsea could not remain unbeaten, so he took off his clothes and sat here. You are lucky, now you want to take off your pants!"
Zola also said: "I'm afraid you are going to lose. Don't forget, Pan Yi has always been very optimistic about Leicester City, and even said so before the start of the season. Therefore, I also believe that Leicester City can
Black to the end.”
Lineker shook his head firmly: "Instead of believing that Leicester City can make the top four, I would rather believe that Gary Neville will become an awesome coach."
Just a few days ago, Valencia Club officially announced that it had signed a contract with Manchester United legend Gary Neville, who officially became the head coach of Valencia!
Regarding Gary Neville, Valencia wrote on its official website: "Throughout his career, he has shown outstanding leadership. In English football, Gary Neville has proven himself, and we are convinced that
This is the right choice and he will lead the team until the end of the 2015-16 season."
Carragher laughed: "Compared to the two, I still believe that Leicester City can succeed. I even doubt whether Gary can stay in Valencia until the end of this season..."
Roy Keane also came over and said: "I still believe in Gary's ability. I don't think Ranieri is very good, and I don't think he is much better than Gary."
The 64-year-old Italian Ranieri has been known as the "tinker" during his career, a coach who is similar to firefighting and transitional.
In nearly thirty years of coaching, he has yet to win any top league title.
"Tinker" has also changed from representing his ability to quickly combine the characteristics of the team with strong combat power to a mocking and ironic title.
Before Ranieri came to Leicester City, Fox City had not yet enjoyed the joy of relegation. News came that three of the team's players had made a sex video and were racially profiled during the Thailand tour.
Leicester City's senior management quickly fired three young players, as well as the father of one of the players, head coach Pearson, who led the team to miraculously avoid relegation.
So when Ranieri took office, the media had a very consistent tone - he was here to "fill the pot" again.
At the beginning of taking office, Ranieri faced last season's relegation challenge. Veteran Cambiaso refused to renew his contract. As the absolute core of Leicester City last season, Cambiaso was famous for his superb health-care playing style. Premier League stadium.
Losing Cambiaso has cast another shadow on Leicester City's prospects for the new season.
Therefore, Roy Keane is not optimistic about Leicester City, but he analyzes it from the perspective of internal problems of the coach and the team.
"Perhaps we still have to wait for the direct showdown between Leicester City and Chelsea before we can make the most accurate judgment."
Alan Shearer, who had been silent all the time, finally said:
"Leicester City performed really well this year. We all know about Vardy. He is the Bundesliga Golden Boot and the Champions League champion. Needless to say, he is very capable."
"But other players should not be underestimated. Especially Mahrez, if he can perform against Chelsea, then they really have the possibility of making a splash in the Premier League this season."
On January 11, 2014, Leicester City announced the signing of Algerian winger Mahrez from Le Havre in the French second division for a transfer fee of 500,000 pounds to compete in the English Championship.
At this point in the season, Mahrez has relied on his outstanding performance to earn a transfer price of 50 million euros, a 100-fold increase from two years ago.
He was also dubbed by fans as the real "thigh" standing behind Vardy.
And his life trajectory is somewhat similar to Vardy's. He almost couldn't play football when he was young.
It wasn't until the age of 19 that he joined the youth team of France's fourth-level professional team and participated in the French seventh-level league. Before that, he was just a street football enthusiast - excellent dribbling and excellent ball feel, but thin and thin. There is no tactical awareness at all.
It wasn't until he was 22 years old that he finally played in the first team, and then he was brought to Leicester City. Finally, in the 2014-2015 season, this former street boy played in the top league.
Amazing sense of the ball, excellent dribbling, thin body, poor passing selection, poor defensive ability, poor shooting skills... This is the general impression of Leicester City fans before Miracle was relegated.
Then came the critical period of relegation, and Mahrez's performance improved. Against Southampton, the dark horse of the season, the Algerian scored two goals, ensuring that the team completed a victory escape and successfully avoided relegation.
In the 2015-16 season, he ushered in a complete explosion. His extremely excellent dribbling ability and passing made him established as the absolute core of Ranieri's staff.
With his excellent left-foot skills and superhuman flexibility, the Algerian, who was once almost blocked from the professional league due to his thinness, has become the most pleasing technical player this season. Many of his goals are enough to be included in the best goals of the season.
of ranks.
At this time, Carragher also agreed: "To be honest, what Mahrez does with his left foot, I have only seen Messi do. If he keeps doing this, I have no doubt that he will
Become a real star, and you may be poached by wealthy clubs in the future."
"Well, it seems that you are quite optimistic about this group of players from Leicester City." Lineker said helplessly, "But I also wonder if you were affected by Pan Yi's remarks..."
"Anyway, Pan Yi will soon personally lead the team to face this year's dark horse. Let's wait and see what a good show it will be!"