Will Real Catalon choose the Europa League or the league?
They gave the answer during the game against Leeds City:
At least in the Europa League quarter-finals, they are not planning to give up the Europa League so soon.
Perhaps it is because there are still eleven rounds before the end of the league, and these two Europa League games will not affect the final league result.
Even if they have to give up the Europa League, they have to wait until they reach the quarterfinals.
In a competition like the Europa League, every time you advance one round, you will get more money in the end.
Who can have trouble with money?
Anyway, Royal Cathorn are still very confident in successfully avoiding relegation.
Knock out Leeds City first, and then turn around and solve the problems in the domestic league. Maybe we can go further in the Europa League and go further...
That's what Real Caterhorn head coach Jean Osvaldo thinks.
So in the first leg of the Europa League quarter-finals, Real Catharon prepared very seriously, adopted targeted tactical measures, and played tenaciously.
Because there is no so-called away goal advantage rule in the current Europa League, Osvaldo did not arrange for his team to launch a fierce attack on Leeds City's goal at the beginning of the game.
Apparently he had studied the first leg match between Leeds City and Alvara.
There were many analytical articles on Alvara's tactics in that game. After the game, everyone thought that the head coach Ricardo Moya made improper tactical choices. He thought that he could use offensive tactics to overwhelm Leeds City at his home stadium.
.As a result, they encountered an opponent with stronger offensive strength than them...
After learning enough lessons from the loser Alvara, Jean Osvaldo chose a more pragmatic style of play in the away game, which was defensive counterattack.
First solidly defend, and then look for opportunities to counterattack. Put solid defense first, make sure you don't concede the ball, or if you must concede the ball... try to concede as few goals as possible to leave some opportunities for the second round.
Therefore, as the organizer of the team, Masao Yonezawa is stronger offensively than defensively. In this game...no!
When Hulay saw the lineup of Royal Cathorn, he almost laughed out loud. He wanted to know what the head coach of the Japanese national team, Hiroto Motegi, who was in the box at the Flanders Stadium, thought...
He originally wanted to observe the performance of two Japanese players at once.
As a result, Yonezawa Masao was not available due to tactical reasons. He was sitting on the bench not knowing when he would be able to play or whether he would have a chance to play.
Junpei Morikawa is, but because the tactic chosen by Royal Cathorn is defensive counterattack, he actually doesn't have much performance as a defensive midfielder.
Most of the time, he is just responsible for taking care of the defensive zone and helping Jay Adams and Pete Williams. There is no specific task.
The performance is very general, and there won't be any moments that stand out.
But as a professional football coach, even if Morikawa Junpei's performance is ordinary, I believe Motegi Hiroto can see some of the things he wants to observe.
On the other hand, Masao Yonezawa didn't play at all, so he had no chance to observe at all.
Hiroto Motegi was sitting in the box, holding a notebook and a pen in his hand, watching the game intently.
Occasionally, he would lower his head and write and draw in his notebook.
Junpei Morikawa seemed to have forgotten that national team coach Hiroto Motegi was sitting in the stands watching him play. He had no intention of being in the limelight during the game. What arrangements did head coach Tony Clark have for him before the game?
He followed the assignment and executed it meticulously.
It seems that... he lacks some creativity, but who needs his midfield engineer to show any creativity?
I even wish that Morikawa Junpei could be more rigid.
There are too many precedents in football where a player initially wins a position as a midfield engineer, but becomes dissatisfied as he plays and is unwilling to continue wiping others' butts like a blue-collar worker. After all, such a player is
They don't make much money, and it's difficult to negotiate a contract price increase with the club. So they are eager to take action, hoping to participate more in the offense and show off their talents in the offense.
During the game, he consciously rushes forward, even ahead of the attacking midfielder and forward.
The result is that the defense is not as good as before, and the offense is still stretched.
After kicking and kicking, he couldn't even hold on to his original position, so he could only be reduced from the main player to the substitute, and then from the substitute to the target of being sold off.
This kind of problem does not exist for a single-minded chuuni like Morikawa Junpei.
Whether in Flash Star or Leeds City, the head coach asked him to protect the area in front of the back line, and he protected it like a dedicated guard.
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Having learned a lesson from Alvara, Real Cathorn shrank its defense, making Leeds City's game really not as easy as playing against Alvara in the previous round.
But this does not mean that Leeds City was completely helpless, they still created some murderous opportunities.
In terms of overall strength, Leeds City is stronger than Royal Cathorn.
After all, Leeds City was the Premier League champion last season. If they can win the championship in the fiercely competitive Premier League, no matter how successful they are, they will be better than Real Cathay, which was only fifth in La Liga last season.
With a stronger overall strength and the firm belief that Clark instilled in the team.
Leeds City launched wave after wave of fierce attacks into Royal Caterhorn's penalty area.
In the 37th minute, Hulay almost found an opportunity for Leeds City to break the deadlock.
At that time, he received a pass from Pete Williams in the penalty area, stretched out his foot to shoot without stopping the ball, catching the Royal Cathorn defenders off guard.
But he kicked the football onto the goal post...
The cheers in the stands of the Flanders Stadium began, but when they saw the football missed, they turned into exclamations.
"Ah! What a pity! What a pity..." Matthew Cox looked up to the sky and sighed.
Hu Lai himself was also very sorry. After completing the shot, he knelt on the turf, held his head in his hands, and looked at the goalpost in disbelief:
Brother, where are you from? You understand, you are our home goal! You must be worthy of the careful maintenance of our home workers!
But the doorpost stood there quietly, facing Hu Lai amidst the huge noise, but ignored him and remained silent.
Hu Lai shook his head and got up from the ground, glanced at the doorpost again, then turned around and ran back.
It was a pity that Hulay's shot that hit the post failed to score. The opportunities created by Leeds City in the first half were not converted into goals.
Until the end of the half, Leeds City could not break through the Royal Cathorn goal.
From this point of view, Jean Osvaldo is obviously better than Ricardo Moya, and the tactics he chose are very suitable.
Although the scene looks a bit passive and not very pretty, in this kind of European knockout competition, what is the use of a beautiful scene? The most important thing is to win or have other practical benefits.
With Leeds City attacking non-stop, the stands were lively, but Osvaldo could guarantee that it would be difficult for them to move forward.
After all, offense wins fans and defense wins games.
In his heart, Osvaldo has high respect for Alvara coach Ricardo Moya, who has been eliminated. It is because he sacrificed himself that he reminded Osvaldo, the latecomer, to choose a more pragmatic choice.
tactics, and at the same time make targeted defensive arrangements.
"You did a great job in the first half!" Osvaldo praised the team's performance in the locker room. "You maintained enough focus and didn't give Leeds City any chances..."
In fact, it's not that they didn't give a chance, it's just that Royal Cathorn had better luck. If Hu Lai's kick hadn't been helped by the goal post, they would have fallen behind.
However, Osvaldo will not care about this. He criticized the performance of the whole team just because Hulay hit the goal post... This is too unkind. After all, no one can guarantee that the whole game will be successful.
There was no flaw in defense.
"We will continue to play like this in the second half. We must be more patient than them. This is their home court, and they will definitely not be willing to be tied by us at home, so they will definitely press further in the second half, and may even adjust their tactics.
Substitutions and adjustments. No matter what, we must stay calm. If there is no particularly good opportunity, don’t think about counterattack. Try to be able to defend 0:0 in the away game and return to the home court!”
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After the start of the second half of the game, Royal Catharon indeed followed the same tactics as the first half without making any adjustments.
Facing Leeds City's attack, they quickly retreated to half-court. Even if they had a chance to attack, if they failed to succeed, they would quickly return to defense and would not struggle with Leeds City in the frontcourt. All the players turned around and ran away.
After returning to your own half, organize the defense.
And Leeds City has indeed stepped up its offensive.
This made Jean Osvaldo, who was standing in front of the coach's bench watching the game, feel more secure. Everything was as he expected.
Next, Royal Cathorn only needs to withstand Leeds City's offensive.
Leeds City, which cannot be attacked for a long time, will definitely become more impatient.
Maybe by then, we may even have a chance to win the game...
No!
Osvaldo reminded himself in his mind.
No, don't have such thoughts.
When I think this way, it is actually the most dangerous!
Osvaldo warned himself repeatedly in his mind not to get carried away, while maintaining an expressionless expression on the court.
In the eyes of outsiders, the head coach of Real Caterhorn still looks calm even when the team is in such a disadvantageous situation. He really has the demeanor of a general who does not change his expression despite the collapse of the mountain!
It is admirable and respectful.
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Less than ten minutes into the second half, Leeds City's offensive is still fierce.
Facing the shrinking defense of Royal Cathorn, Leeds City increased the number of long-range shots outside the penalty area. Even Hulay pulled out two long-range shots.
This time it was Jay Adams who fired from a long distance outside the penalty area, but he was interfered with when taking a long shot. The ball did not kick up and the speed was not fast.
It looked like a harmless attack on the Royal Caterhorn goal.
Real Catajon goalkeeper Salva Rodriguez shouted: "Let me do it!"
Use this to remind your teammates, lest someone among them wants to intercept with good intentions. If the football touches the line and changes the line, it will be embarrassing... No, it is not just an embarrassing problem!
That's fatal!
Then he lowered his center of gravity and prepared to catch the ball.
But at this moment, a leg from the crowd stretched out suddenly, just in time to stop this weak shot!
Then the owner of this leg pulled the football back, swung his foot and shot!
Goalkeeper Salva Rodriguez was almost lying on the ground at this time. He put his hands together in front of his chest and maintained such a standard catching posture, but he could only watch the football coming from the other side.
Flying into the goal!
"Hu!! He intercepted Adams' shot very smartly and then turned around and shot successfully! He opened the scoring for Leeds City and broke the deadlock! Leeds City 1:0 Royal Cathorn!"
Amidst the huge cheers at the Flanders Stadium, Jean Osvaldo, who had the air of a general, did not hold back. He first looked blankly at the front of his team's goal, and then turned his head left and right, his eyes equally dull.