Chapter 154: There is not much time left for the Spaniards
Atletico Madrid's offensive power is not as good as Barcelona, Real Madrid, or even Espanyol, but their defensive ability is the best in La Liga. They have conceded a total of 6 goals in 12 league rounds, averaging 0.5 goals per game.
Of course, this game against Espanyol had already conceded two goals before it was over, far exceeding the average. Even if Espanyol lost, it would be an honor to lose.
If it were the Spaniard last season, or even the Spaniard before playing Real Madrid, he would definitely be discouraged at this time, feeling that it would be an honor to lose to Atletico Madrid to this level.
But now Espanyol ranks third in the standings. From the fans to the players to the top management, the mood is different. Even if they face Barcelona and Real Madrid, they don't want to lose.
After Torres scored, there was not much time left. The Espanyol team was too hard pressed by Atletico Madrid in this game. There were not many offensive opportunities in the front. They scored two goals, one was Zhao Yang's powerful free kick, and the other was
Asensio was lucky and seized the opportunity.
Now that the team has reached a critical moment of life and death, everyone worked together and launched a fierce counterattack against Atletico Madrid after the kick-off from the center circle.
The time has reached 80 minutes, and Atletico Madrid has been attacking for 80 minutes. As the offensive side, especially the high-position press and the full-court pressure, Atletico Madrid's physical energy has been exhausted.
After scoring the leading goal, I felt relieved as I lost the ball and was beaten by the Spanish team.
Atletico Madrid started out as a defensive team and are not afraid of being beaten.
In the match between Atletico Madrid and Barcelona, almost everyone was beaten, but they always won in the end.
So even if the Espanyol team is playing hard now, Atletico Madrid neither feels humiliated nor worried.
Since the Spaniards want to attack, let them attack. Atletico Madrid's players are also very tired and want to spend the last few minutes waiting for the game to end.
In the 82nd minute of the game, the Spaniard successfully stole the ball in the frontcourt. Asensio, Zhao Yang and Caicedo cooperated continuously at the front of the penalty area. Asensio split the ball and hit Caicedo on the wing.
Without hesitation, Caicedo made a cross pass into the penalty area to find Zhao Yang, who was in the center position.
Zhao Yang has the header skills that the system has awarded him, but Atletico Madrid's central defender is not bad, and there are many defenders. Zhao Yang can't beat four hands with two fists. He is blocked by one defender, and another one grabs the header.
The ball was headed out of the penalty area by Godin. Outside the penalty area, Atletico midfielder Koke didn't wait for the ball to land and added another kick. The ball flew directly to the Spaniard's half.
Atletico Madrid has Griezmann and Torres in the frontcourt, but the Espanyol team did not dare to make a big move when attacking aggressively, and still kept three players behind.
Although Griezmann and Torres have good skills, they still can't compete with the defenders in their fight for headers. The ball was grabbed by Alvaro, who headed it to his teammate and continued to attack.
The Spaniard does not have a good header or a player who is good at crosses from the wing. With Atletico Madrid's almost impregnable defense, they can only try long shots.
In the 83rd minute of the game, Zhao Yang took the lead in firing.
He picked up the ball in the middle, made a fake move to get past the opponent's tackle, and then moved the ball laterally to open up the space needed for the shot. He adjusted his steps and followed up with a "Tiger-style" shot.
.
The ball roared straight towards the goal.
This is a skill signed by the system. When Zhao Yang shoots it, there is basically no deviation, and it will not be like shooting an anti-aircraft gun.
But Atletico Madrid goalkeeper Oblak reacted really quickly.
The tiger shot was so fast and powerful, but Oblak jumped up and hit the ball over the baseline with one palm.
Asensio takes the corner kick.
The Spanish players who are good at heading the ball came to the penalty area to fight for the top.
Asensio passed a low and curved ball into the penalty area, preparing for his teammates to gain the upper hand.
This is a commonly practiced corner kick tactic.
However, Atletico Madrid's corner kick tactics are the best in the entire La Liga. Atletico Madrid have practiced almost all corner kick tactics. When Asensio passed a low ball, Godin quickly moved forward and grabbed one ahead of Caicedo.
The Lion shook his head and threw the ball out of the penalty area.
Godin's clearance was not random. Atletico Madrid's counterattack tactics have been trained for many years.
With Godin's flick, the ball flew right towards Griezmann.
The Spaniard has been focusing on marking Griezmann, preventing him from taking the ball to organize or pass the ball.
Diop immediately went to guard Griezmann.
But Griezmann handles the ball very delicately and very imaginatively.
He did not stop the ball here, but knocked his heel, turned his back, and passed Diop.
This pass was so unexpected that Diop didn't even have time to commit a foul.
Alvaro hurried over to intercept Griezmann.
Griezmann had a lot of space in front of him, but instead of continuing to dribble forward, he passed a through ball behind the defender.
This is for Torres.
Although Torres returned to Atletico Madrid not long ago, his consciousness as a super striker is still there. When Griezmann got rid of Diop, he felt that the opportunity had come, and immediately started to go straight behind the defender.
This pass was very timely. When Torres ran past center back Rocco, Griezmann's ball came to him.
It wasn't offside at all, and it didn't even give the referee a chance to call it offside.
The passing and running coordination is very good now, but the person in front is wrong.
Torres is already 31 years old and has long passed the peak of his sports. Although he ran first, when he caught up with the ball, Rocco also arrived.
Rocco originally wanted to make a tackle from the side and behind, but considering his speed advantage, he did not make a tackle. Instead, he went around from behind to defend in front of Torres.
When Torres saw Rocco catching up, he couldn't help but sigh. Time is not forgiving. Two years ago, he had already shot in the penalty area.
But now Torres knew that he could no longer go to the meeting alone. He took advantage of Rocco's just coming over, moved horizontally, and shot directly from the front of the penalty area.
Rocco had no way to intercept it and could only watch the ball flying against the turf towards the goal.
Goalkeeper Lopez had already entered the small penalty area. When he saw Torres shooting, he swooped and took the ball into his arms.
The Atletico Madrid fans in the stands almost sighed in unison.
Their golden boy is still old, otherwise this one would be sure of going to the meeting alone.
As long as this goal is scored, Atletico Madrid will be sure to win.
Simeone on the sidelines also sighed, Torres is stable, but when it comes to defensive counterattacks, he is really not suitable to be an arrow.
The Spanish player's shot made the fans tremble in their hearts, and they secretly thanked God for not conceding the ball.
After Torres' shot, head coach Sergio felt confident that his defense could block the opponent's counterattack. He immediately gave it a try and sent in another forward Moreno, replacing midfielder Abraham.
The Espanyol fans in the stands cheered when they saw Moreno coming on, applauding the courage of Sergio and the Spaniard.
After Moreno came on the court, he partnered with Caicedo in the center as a double forward, with Zhao Yang and Asensio forming a double attacking midfielder.
The double attacking midfielder of Zhao Yang and Asensio is a pioneering work.
Of these two people, one is good at breakthroughs and the other is good at passing. In addition, there are two forwards in front to contain them, and their lethality is doubled.
In the 88th minute of the game, Zhao Yang then gave Asensio a wall-hitting match. The ball reached the upper left corner of the penalty area, and Asensio's full-moon scimitar hit the upper right corner of the goal.
Asensio's shot was not as fierce as Zhao Yang's, but the angle was tricky and the ball flew straight into the dead center of the goal.
Oblak is indeed the goalkeeper for the Spanish Super League team. His positioning is very good. This tricky shot, the Spanish players and fans thought it was going in, but it turned out that Oblak flew out and hit it with one palm.
.
A sure goal was saved, and the Spanish players and fans sighed in disappointment. After all, there was not much time left for them.