Wei Zhimin's breakthrough not only won the Longteng team a well-positioned frontcourt free kick, but also earned Zhou Ting a yellow card.
"The game has only been ten minutes, and Beijing Guoan has already received two yellow cards. This is too passive." Liu Jiayuan sighed, "I don't know how Manzano will adjust."
Instead of explaining, Zhang Sheng is more concerned about Wei Zhimin's situation, because Zhou Ting's actions just now were not small.
However, Zhang Sheng soon felt relieved. Although Wei Zhimin was sitting on the ground, covering his calf and rubbing it with a grin, it was obviously just a bruise. Being able to rub it by himself meant that there should be no problem.
Sure enough, even though Wei Zhimin was limping a little after standing up, he did not call the team doctor.
Seeing Wei Zhimin stand up, the fans also gave him warm applause.
Because the free kick this time was on the wing, the Longteng team chose to let Ben Alpha stand alone and let him choose to cross or hit the goal directly.
After observing the situation in the penalty area, Ben Alpha sent the ball to the back point. Nie Jiang, who circled around the penalty area, grabbed the point and then his volley made the ball slightly higher than the crossbar.
"Nie Jiang's shot. What a pity. It seems that he was unlucky today. He almost scored twice." Liu Jiayuan said regretfully, "But this movement in the penalty area is indeed OK."
Zhang Sheng shook his head with regret, and then applauded Nie Jiang.
The continuous suppression forced Beijing Guoan to temporarily give up the idea of attacking. Manzano also made gestures to the court, asking the players to eliminate the Longteng team's offensive momentum in the midfield.
In the next game, Beijing Guoan used its magic weapon - fouling, and began to frequently intercept and foul the Longteng team's ball-carrying players in the midfield.
This is also one of the areas where Beijing Guoan is criticized by domestic fans. They like to interrupt the opponent's rhythm by fouling too much.
So far, Beijing Guoan has committed more than 200 fouls this season, ranking third in the Chinese Super League. Among the top six teams in the standings, they rank first.
In the previous two years, Beijing Guoan ranked second with 532 fouls in 2013, and ranked first with 584 fouls in 2014. And looking at this year's momentum, it is just around the corner to retain the top three spots.
When Beijing Guoan started to use foul tactics preoccupied, the game became ugly.
What makes the players of the Longteng team even more unhappy is that it suddenly started to rain, and the rain is getting heavier and heavier.
A slightly slippery surface is a good thing for the Longteng team, which plays fast passing games. For example, before every home game, the club will arrange for stadium staff to sprinkle water on the turf, which can make the ball roll faster on the ground.
The Longteng team, which emphasizes foot skills and ground passing, is very advantageous.
But once it rains heavily, the Longteng team will suffer a lot, and the current rain is not what the Longteng players want at all. On the contrary, Deyang insists on looking for the frontcourt, and Beijing Guoan, who plays long passes and high balls, is happy.
.
In the 20th minute of the first half, Beijing Guoan finally got its first shot of the game.
This time it was Beijing Guoan who passed the ball in the backcourt to Deyang in the frontcourt. Deyang used his head to head the ball to Liu Xing on the left. After Liu Xing got the ball, he passed it directly with a big kick.
In the penalty area of the Longteng team.
Zhou Wei saw that the ball was a little close to the goal and started to attack. However, when he struck out, he found that the ball was soaked by the rain and did not fly as fast as usual. It was a little far away from the landing point he judged. He had to use both fists to hold it.
The ball hit the ball out of the penalty area.
The players of the Longteng team did not expect that Zhou Wei would choose to use this method. Roque Gil, who was guarding the top of the penalty area, was not prepared, allowing Batala to grab the second point. He hit a long shot without stopping the ball.
shot, but God is fair. The soaked ball affected Zhou Wei's judgment and also affected Batala's shot. Not to mention that he shot directly without stopping the ball. His foot missed the kick at all.
At this point, the ball flew high into the air and directly into the stands.
Liu Jiayuan also complained: "Batala's shot was too wide. This should be Beijing Guoan's first shot in this game, right?"
Hearing Liu Jiayuan's inquiry, Hong Gang nodded and said: "Yes. The rain is a bit heavy now, so Guoan's high-altitude plan has its place, but this shot is too disappointing."
The game under heavy rain gradually became boring. Although the Longteng team still had the advantage on the court, it was no longer so obvious.
Regarding the heavy rain, Nie Jiang is the most unhappy player on the court of the Longteng team.
Playing on rainy days makes it more difficult for players to control the ball, especially for those players who focus on foot skills, and Nie Jiang, who is still underage, is obviously a victim.
Because apart from Nie Jiang, who is a typical player who relies on his skills with his feet, football after being soaked in water requires players to have more strength. At the age of 17, his weakness in this area is too obvious.
Beijing Guoan's players are all older, but being older has the advantage of being older, that is, they have very rich experience. Facing players like Nie Jiang who have limited skills and poor confrontation, they have
There are too many ways for him to perform at his best.
Seeing this, Zhang Sheng could only make adjustments to the formation, letting Nie Jiang, who was originally in the center position, go to the wing, and Pato moved into the middle.
This adjustment made Nie Jiang's situation a little better, but the power of the Longteng team's three men in the frontcourt who were very threatening and frequently changed positions was greatly reduced.
As the Long Teng team's offensive momentum weakened, Beijing Guoan's offensive opportunities increased accordingly.
In the final stage of the first half, they continuously used Deyang's frontcourt fulcrum ability to play several beautiful attacks. However, Deyang left the penalty area as the fulcrum, and Beijing Guoan's shooter who ended the attack was gone.
Tala and Zhang Chengdong used long-range shots from the outside to threaten the Longteng team's goal many times, but the quality of the shots was not high.
When the referee blew the whistle to end the first half, the Longteng team entered the locker room with a slim 1:0 lead.
During halftime, Zhang Sheng asked about Nie Jiang: "Are you still used to the game?"
Nie Jiang said a little embarrassed: "My foot style when holding the ball is not very smooth, so I couldn't start the ball immediately."
Zhang Sheng nodded and said: "You don't have enough physical confrontation now, so you should accumulate more experience. If the rain is still so heavy in the second half, you should take a rest first and see more how Pato and Ben Arfa play."
Nie Jiang, who knew himself very well, did not argue. He knew that the team's goal was to win, especially when facing an opponent like Beijing Guoan, scoring points was particularly important, so he nodded and said:
"OK."
Seeing that Nie Jiang had no grudges, Zhang Sheng nodded, then called everyone over and said, "Let's change our sneakers for the second half. Everyone will change to spiked shoes."
"Zou Weijia, you are ready to replace Nie Jiang in the second half. Go warm up first." Zhang Sheng ordered again.
Zou Weijia, who was already eager to give it a try, stood up and said, "I understand."
Zhang Sheng then warned: "After you come on the field, you must be steady when holding the ball in front. The two central defenders on the opposite side are very experienced. Don't be careless and pass the ball to the teammates behind you if you don't have a good shooting opportunity."
Zou Weijia quickly nodded in agreement.
Zhang Sheng turned his head to the right and said: "Pato, Hart (Ben Alpha's nickname), Tao Wentao and Lin Feng, you should change positions more. Especially Lin Feng, Tao Wentao, take turns running up and down, get
Zou Weijia's ball play is to shoot from long range when there is an opportunity, you have this ability."
Several players whose names were called also responded with a bang.
When the intermission ended, the rain did not subside. Although the staff opened the drainage system of the stadium, water accumulation still occurred on the stadium.
After discussing with the coaching staff, Zhang Sheng did not let Nie Jiang adapt and directly let Zou Weijia play.
When Liu Jiayuan saw the players on both sides in the second half, he also noticed this: "The Longteng team made substitutions in the midfield. Nie Jiang, who missed several opportunities in the first half, was replaced by Zou Weijia."
Hong Gang guessed Zhang Sheng's idea of substituting: "It shouldn't be because of the missed goal. The main reason is that Nie Jiang is not very adaptable to the more confrontational game environment on rainy days. The newly replaced young player Zou Weijia is different.
, nearly 1.9 meters tall, and strong. Relatively speaking, his physical confrontation ability is much stronger. He can also hold the ball in the frontcourt. Nie Jiang still needs to grow more."
Liu Jiayuan offered some words of support for Nie Jiang: "Nie Jiang is only 17 years old after all, and his body and experience need to grow." Then he changed the subject and said, "The competition has begun."
Compared with the adjustment of the Longteng team, the lagging Beijing Guoan did not make any substitutions, but they soon knew that there was a problem.
Because Zou Weijia's performance was very outstanding.
He is tall and has strong confrontation ability. Although he does not have many shooting opportunities, his role as a fulcrum in the frontcourt is still very obvious.
He relied on Xu Yunlong or Lang Zheng many times to knock the ball back to his teammates. Pato, Ben Arfa, and Tao Wentao frequently changed positions behind him, and Beijing Guoan's defensive pressure suddenly changed.
It's very big.
Hong Gang also seemed very proud of his previous judgment: "It seems that coach Zhang Sheng's substitution was very successful. Zou Weijia really played a fulcrum role in the frontcourt. Although this young player has been on the bench many times, his ability is still there."
Not bad at all.”
Seeing this situation, Manzano also gestured to the players on the back line, asking them to push Zou Weijia out of the penalty area, otherwise the Dragons would press the team too hard.
This time, Guoan's two central defenders, Xu Yunlong and Lang Zheng, took turns to start a physical confrontation with Zou Weijia, hoping to use their bodies to push him out of the penalty area.
Although this approach did not fully meet expectations, it still diverted a lot of Zou Weijia's energy, and his transfer of the ball was no longer as easy as before.
After Zhang Sheng discovered this situation, he made a gesture to Zou Weijia, asking him to retreat to an appropriate point. While improving the quality of ball transfer, he also moved one of Guoan's central defenders to free up long-range shots for Lin Feng or Tao Wentao.
line.
Zhang Sheng's move quickly achieved results.
In the ninth minute of the second half, Pato, who adjusted to the center, got rid of the defense of Mazic, who was carrying a yellow card, and handed the ball to Zou Weijia.
Seeing Zou Weijia take the ball, Lang Zheng decisively pushed behind Zou Weijia, preventing him from turning around, and at the same time, he was not allowed to comfortably pass the ball laterally or diagonally forward.
Zou Weijia remembered Zhang Sheng's instructions and did not forcefully turn around or pass the ball. Instead, he knocked the ball back to Tao Wentao, who switched positions with Pato from the right.
It is difficult to pass the ball forward or in lateral transition on the court, but it is relatively easy to pass the ball back. The quality of the ball Zou Weijia passed to Tao Wentao was very good. Tao Wentao did not need to make adjustments, it was just a straight pass.
Foot long shot.
Because it was a rainy day, the ball was very slippery. Beijing Guoan's goalkeeper Yang Zhi did not dare to hold the ball and could only hit the ball. However, the direction of the ball hit was right at the front edge of the penalty area.
Pato showed a shooter's sense of smell at this time. When Yang Zhi started shooting, he started running from the right towards the penalty area. Facing Yang Zhi, he hit the ball in the penalty area and took another long shot.
Yang Zhi, who had just hit the ball out of the penalty area, was still lying on the ground. He had no chance of saving the ball. He could only watch the ball fly towards the goal. But just when Yang Zhi gave up, the ball hit the goal post.
The bottom line popped up.
Beijing Guoan escaped another disaster.
Manzano was also scared into a cold sweat. He quickly gestured to Mazic and He Dacheng, asking them to pay more attention to the fight for the second point in front of the penalty area and prevent the Longteng team from randomly kicking here.
Manzano's command was very timely. After that, although Longteng players tried to shoot in front of the penalty area many times, they were only stared at by Mazic and He Dacheng. The ball was either shot too high due to interference, or the ball was shot too high due to interference.
The shot was too on target and did not pose much of a threat to Beijing Guoan's goal.
Seeing this situation, Zhang Sheng made a gesture to Lin Feng and asked him and Tao Wentao to switch places and deal with it.
This trick really paid off.
In the 23rd minute of the second half, Zou Weijia once again passed the ball to Ben Alpha in front of the penalty area. Under the defense of Madzic, Ben Alpha could not turn around smoothly to shoot, so he knocked the ball to Tao Wentao, who took the ball.
Later, he was marked by another defensive midfielder Ha Daesheng, and he didn't have a good chance.
Tao Wentao took the ball and took a few steps back, attracting He Dacheng out. Then he saw Lin Feng coming in at high speed and knocked the ball across.
Guoan players who were accustomed to seeing Lin Feng pass the ball did not expect that after Lin Feng got the ball, he started to take a long shot nearly 30 meters away from the goal.
Because Lin Feng got the ball while running, his body was already rushing up, and Tao Wentao's pass was also very comfortable, so the power of the shot was very strong.
By the time Yang Zhi started to pounce on the ball, the ball had already flown past his hands and into the goal.
The Longteng team took advantage of this extremely beautiful world wave to expand the score to 2:0.
