Although Ben Arfa's free kick failed to bear fruit, the gap between the two sides on the field has become more and more obvious.
After regretting the Longteng team's free kick attack, He Wei said to Xu Yang: "I don't know why. Now that we have played such an important game, I feel more and more at ease."
"In terms of tactics and strength, the Longteng team crushed the opponent." Xu Yang said bluntly, "How the Longteng team played in the Chinese Super League is how they play now. So we are used to seeing the Longteng team playing in the Chinese Super League.
It felt very relaxed, and now we also see it very relaxed.”
"That's true." He Wei nodded and agreed with Xu Yang's point of view, "I think maybe Guangzhou Evergrande is more qualified to be the Longteng team's opponent in the AFC Champions League. Ahli should think carefully about how to defend it first."
He Wei's comments can be said to coincide with Olaroyu's thoughts.
At this time, Olaroyu was thinking about how to defend first.
Facing the powerful Longteng team, he gestured to the court, instructing the whole team to retreat first and wait for this period before talking.
In the following game, the game also turned into an offensive and defensive drill, and the core players, including Ribeiro, had to retreat to the center circle and participate in the defense.
With the compression of Ahli's formation, the offensive threat of the Longteng team has also become much smaller.
Barcelona's ability to play continuous short passes in an extremely small space is based on the fact that they have a group of the world's top players, and the Dragons, as the monkey version, are still unable to do so for the time being.
Even so, Ahli's defense was extremely embarrassing. In the first thirty minutes, they could still rely on their good physical fitness and make up for their technical and tactical disadvantages by running a lot. Now, after using up a lot of physical fitness, fouls are no longer allowed.
It has become an indispensable element in defense.
In the 39th minute of the first half, Ribeiro knocked down Lin Feng, who came up with an assist, about 30 meters in front of the penalty area, and once again gave the Longteng team a free kick.
"Ribeiro, as an attacking midfielder, actually ran to the 30-meter area in his own half to defend." He Wei was worried about Ahly's current embarrassment, "Why doesn't Ahly adjust its tactics in time?
It’s difficult.”
"No way." Xu Yang shook his head and said, "Ahly's playing style is actually similar to that of many teams in the Chinese Super League. That is, they rely on several foreign aids and national team main players to attack in the frontcourt, and squat in the middle and backcourt.
It's a trap for defense. This style of play is okay when you encounter a team that is equal to or weaker than them, but when you encounter a strong team, you can only run exhausted."
Because the free kick this time was located far away, the task of serving the ball was given to Ben Alpha alone. When his ball hit the penalty area, the opponent's goalkeeper saved the ball and the ball just landed at the edge of the penalty area.
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Lin Feng, who had been guarding this place, rushed up and shot a long shot. After the ball passed through all the defenders, it hit the crossbar with a "bang".
The two commentators who were still chatting shouted in unison: "Oops!"
"Lin Feng's long shot," He Wei said immediately, "Ahly's defense was too overwhelmed. No one came out to defend at the top of the penalty area."
"Give Lin Feng such an opportunity. Tsk tsk." Xu Yang also looked regretful, "Whether it is in the club or the national team, Lin Feng's long-range shot is a killer move when the team breaks the deadlock. It's a pity that this time Long Teng
The team’s own crossbar denied Lin Feng’s goal.”
After finishing the shot, Lin Feng also squatted down and patted the turf with some annoyance.
In the conversation with Zhang Sheng before the game, Lin Feng made a promise to Zhang Sheng: "Although I am about to transfer, I still hope to contribute all my strength to the AFC Champions League.
"
Scoring a goal or providing an assist was the minimum goal Lin Feng set for himself in this game. He originally thought he could score a goal this time, but he missed the opportunity by some strange mistake.
When he turned to look at the sidelines, Zhang Sheng was applauding him. Faced with Lin Feng's gaze, Zhang Sheng even gave him a thumbs up.
Seeing Zhang Sheng's smile, Lin Feng calmed down. In the Longteng team, tactics are always more important than the players. This is what Zhang Sheng has emphasized countless times and implemented unswervingly.
Lin Feng didn't want to ruin Zhang Sheng's tactics just to express himself.
With this crossbar, the first half of the game was coming to an end. In order to prevent the Longteng team from attacking at the end of the game, Ahli simply retreated all the players to the half court. The Longteng team also slowed down the rhythm and waited.
Come again in the second half.
When referee Irmatov blew the whistle at the end of the first half, the Longteng team easily returned to the locker room with a 1:0 score.
The fans who had tried their best to cheer for the Longteng team for half a game also took this time to take a rest and replenish their fluids.
Because He Lijun and Lao Xing were both sent off in the last game, neither of them appeared on the field. Now it is finally time for them to have a chance to serve the players.
All the fruits, chocolates, and energy drinks have been neatly placed in the home team's locker room, and the club's physical therapists also take the time to relax the players.
Zhang Sheng took this time to adjust the players' mentality: "We played very well in the first half. I think everyone saw that the opponent's tactics were exactly what I expected. In the second half, they made adjustments and they were fine-tuning.
It will exceed what I said before. So, keep your mind steady, the victory in this game definitely belongs to us."
"Xiao Yunfan, Wei Zhimin. You two are an important puzzle piece of our tactics. If you are not physically fit enough, tell me in time." Zhang Sheng warned the two of them emphatically.
The two people who were being massaged by the physiotherapist nodded quickly and agreed.
The two of them are indeed the players who consume the most physical energy in this game. They need to be deep in the base and return to defense in a timely manner. This requires very high shuttle ability of the players, so Zhang Sheng has to focus on these two.
In fact, the players of the Longteng team are all in admiration for Zhang Sheng. Everything in the first half was as Zhang Sheng expected. Is there anything more reassuring than playing with such a head coach?
Compared to the orderly atmosphere in the home team's locker room, in the visiting team's locker room, Olaroiu was nervously discussing with his coaching staff how to respond in the second half.
However, the team's inherent tactics cannot be changed overnight. The only thing Olaroyu can do now is to repair the existing framework.
The first thing the team needs to solve is the offensive problem.
The main reason why they played very passively in the first half was that they did not put enough pressure on the Longteng team in the frontcourt, allowing their two full-backs to constantly intervene, causing their own offense to fail.
Therefore, sending a player with stronger wing impact is a top priority.
After looking around his team, Olaroyu felt that it was even more difficult because he did not have a good substitute to replace the starting players on the field.
Although Al Ahli in Dubai is a wealthy team, they still must abide by the AFC's explicit regulations, which is that there can only be a maximum of three non-Asian and foreign players and one Asian foreign player on the field.
Similar to the Chinese Super League teams, there are only so many good players in the UAE. They are not the only tycoons in the UAE League. Other clubs will not let go of their good local players easily. So in terms of the depth of the bench, Dubai
Ahli has never found a solution.
In this AFC Champions League, Al-Ahli Dubai’s substitute list was exactly the same from the two rounds of the top 8 to the first round of the top 4. In the second round of the top 4, there was only one change. This was also because the original main left back Abbas was in the first round.
He injured his shoulder in the round, and his substitute Sankul started in the second round, but was replaced by Abbas as soon as the first half was over.
Due to Khalil's poor physical condition, he did not play more than 80 minutes in the previous four knockout games. However, without exception, the person who replaced Khalil four times was midfielder Humaid Abbas.
.
As for Morocco's foreign aid Assaidi, who is in poor condition, he will basically play at the end of the game, but he will basically replace Ribeiro.
In other words, not only the tactics of Al Ahli Dubai are fixed routines, but also the substitutions are fixed routines.
Now when the team wants to play something different, Olaroyu really has no good choice.
After a long discussion with the coaching staff, he could only continue the previous fixed substitution method. The only difference was to see if Assaidi could come on the field earlier and bet on his sudden burst of form.
Amid the hesitation of substitutions, the halftime break is about to pass.
Olaroiu had to make a fuss about his spirit and willpower, constantly emphasizing the club owner's importance to the players and his generosity in money.
Unfortunately, this statement is not very effective.
Seeing that halftime has arrived, Olaroyu can only pray that the good luck that accompanied the team all the way will come to the team again.
On the contrary, during the halftime break, the commentator on the Chinese side seemed extremely relaxed.
He Wei first talked about the Long Teng team's tactical suppression of Al-Ahli in Dubai: "It's the same as the last game. Ribeiro was very restricted, and Al-Ahli didn't have many chances."
"It's true." Xu Yang also praised He Wei's point of view, "Judging from this half of the game, there is indeed a gap in the strength of the players on both sides. But it is definitely not serious enough that Ahli could not even pass the first half.
The whole situation was caused by the fact that coach Zhang Sheng’s tactical arrangements were much better than the opponent’s.”
"The Longteng team's tactics are indeed very advanced." Zhang Enhua also took up the topic, "When I was explaining their games before, I felt that their tactical arrangements were far more in line with the tactical trends of modern football than other domestic teams.
.Adhering to technical flow and insisting on playing at the bottom has always been their style."
Liu Jiayuan took the topic further: "Actually, the Longteng team's style of play is also very useful for our current national team. To be honest, it's hard to see what the current national team's style is. The replacement of players is very difficult.
Frequently, the tactical arrangements also change. The Chinese team has this result now, and the players' personal performance accounts for the main factor."
"I believe Coach Peilan will have his own ideas." He Wei heard Liu Jiayuan talking about such a sensitive topic and quickly rounded it up, "What do you think the situation will be like in the second half?"
"I think we should be ready to celebrate the Longteng team's victory." Xu Yang said jokingly, "Of course, maintaining a good attitude and playing your own style is what the Longteng team must insist on doing in the second half. They did it in the first half.
very good."
Fortunately, none of the four people present possessed mysterious oriental powers, otherwise Zhang Sheng would have been frightened to death when he heard that they were so arrogant.
After all, the halftime was only fifteen minutes, and soon the Longteng team and Ahly entered the second half of the confrontation.
Seeing that Ahli basically made no adjustments, Zhang Sheng couldn't help but shook his head and said, "Guizhou donkeys are at their wits end."
The fact that there were no adjustments in tactics does not mean that Ahli did not change the small details. At the beginning of the second half, Ahli completely suppressed his formation, hoping to take advantage of the fact that the Longteng team had just come on the field and had not yet entered the state.
Wave after wave of equalizers or even reversals of scores.
However, facing the stable defense of the Long Teng midfield, especially the sweep by Rock Gill and Lin Feng, the effect was not obvious.
It was not until the eighth minute of the second half that Ahli found a good opportunity. This time it was Lima who used his personal ability to cause trouble for the Dragons.
When he received the pass from the full-back in the frontcourt, facing Xiao Yunfan's defense, he made a beautiful pass to get rid of the opponent's defense, forming a breakthrough on the left wing.
After the breakthrough, Lima directly cut into the penalty area horizontally. When he saw that his teammates were not in a good position, he chose to do it himself.
At this time, Zhou Wei was concentrating on Lima's foot movements, anticipating the angle of his shot.
Because Lin Feng returned to the penalty area from the midfielder, Lima could not bypass him to hit the far corner, so he chose to volley hard into the near corner. It was from this angle that Zhou Wei defended. Facing Lima's extremely powerful shot, both hands
He pounced hard on the ball and threw it outside the penalty area.
Khalil then grabbed the second point outside the penalty area, resisted Roque Gill's interference, and shot directly from long range.
Zhou Wei, who had just gotten up from the ground, once again made a wonderful save, holding the football firmly with both hands, ending Al Ahli Dubai's attack.
Ahli's attack shocked He Wei: "Lima's breakthrough. Oops, shot. Zhou Wei! Beautiful save! Ahli got the ball again, long shot! Not bad."
, Zhou Wei performed well and caught the ball. Lima's personal ability is still strong. No wonder some Chinese Super League teams took a fancy to him before."
"After all, they are the bronze boots of the Portuguese Super League." Xu Yang also said in shock, "Xiao Yunfan was a little careless. The Longteng team's formation is very forward, and once his position is passed, it will be very dangerous. Fortunately, the Longteng team's help defense is good
That's good. Don't give the other party such a chance later."
Ahly's failure to gain any offense this time also officially announced that the small adjustments they made during the halftime break have lost their effect, and the following games will be even more difficult.
