Following the referee Dodd's whistle, Sudong in the center circle quickly kicked the ball to Sanchez, who directly passed the ball back to the feet of Kompany on the back line.
This is Manchester City's strategy after the start, they want to be stable.
Liverpool's front three immediately pushed towards Manchester City's defense, but the midfield and defense were still concentrated in the center line and their own half, which also showed Liverpool's caution.
Only three players were invested in the frontcourt press. Needless to say, the effect was that it was basically impossible to grab the ball. Especially Gerrard did not follow Busquets' retreat and press forward. As a result, Suarez had to play between Manchester City's two central defenders and Busquets.
Back and forth between.
After turning back twice, Suarez also gave up.
Damn, the game has just begun. Are you sorry for tormenting me like this?
The two wingers Bellamy and Downing also slowed down their pressing intensity and chose to retreat closer to the midfield.
In the unknown game of the final, both teams started cautiously, testing their opponents.
Manchester City controlled the ball patiently, controlled the rhythm, and was not in a hurry to attack. Liverpool, on the other hand, interfered in the frontcourt and focused on defense in the midfield and backcourt. They were unwilling to invest in pressing for fear of affecting the level of defense.
It is not difficult to see from this that Dalglish is still quite afraid of Manchester City.
The first shot of the game took place in the first minute of the opening. From a pass from Toni Kroos, Sudong passed by Skrtel when he stopped the ball, and then shot straight away, kicking twenty.
A long shot of about five meters.
This shot did not hold down the ball and was a little too high.
Su Dong's kick was more to boost the team's morale and at the same time to suppress the morale of the Liverpool players.
It was obvious that Liverpool's mentality became more cautious after being attacked by a long-range shot, which directly led to the game falling into a stalemate for a period of time, with neither side getting another chance to shoot.
Both teams are testing each other, penetrating each other, and patiently waiting for opportunities to arise.
…
"The competition is very fierce, but both sides are more cautious."
"The final is an unknown game. I believe all fans watching this game should be mentally prepared for this."
"Manchester City now has a very high ball possession rate, more than 70%. They are still patiently playing in the midfield and backcourt, and when they find opportunities, they pass the ball forward to penetrate. However, the players in the frontcourt are mostly focused on protecting the ball.
Try to keep the ball and not lose it.”
"Liverpool is reducing the intensity of forward pressure. Even Bellamy, Suarez and Downing are actively retreating to defend the midfield. Once the ball is lost, they immediately retreat across the board and are very resolute. Dalglish is obviously also in
We are afraid of Manchester City's immediate counterattack after stealing the ball, but Liverpool's defense is indeed very strong."
"This is Manchester City's manager, Guardiola."
…
Guardiola did not notice that he was being captured in a close-up by the live broadcast camera. He went straight to the sidelines and kept making various gestures towards the players on the field. Occasionally, he shouted twice to remind the players to pay close attention.
Pay attention to changes in the situation.
Manchester City players basically understand what Guardiola means, which is to be steady.
In the five major European leagues, when any team wants to defend tightly, it is very difficult to break through. This is why the iron barrel formation has become a worldwide problem.
By passing the ball and controlling the ball, Manchester City controlled the ball and the rhythm of the game, which is equivalent to taking the initiative. Naturally, they do not want Liverpool to be too conservative. It is best to press out and attack Manchester City, but this is unrealistic.
Dalglish's attitude is to pay attention to defense, and Manchester City's strategy is to patiently control the ball near the midline, patiently look for opportunities, and pull the opponent's defense through passing and receiving, as well as players' off-the-ball movement, to see if they can
You cannot create a defensive gap to attack.
The reason why we chose the midline area is because we don't want Liverpool's formation to be compressed too tightly. If the pressure is too tight, it will become an iron barrel formation. If we really want to attack, it will be very troublesome.
Therefore, Manchester City always passes forward when they find an opportunity. After the frontcourt players get the ball, they pass back to reorganize without a chance. The overall formation does not press forward, the focus is basically near the midline, and the overall position is obviously lower than usual.
Some.
Guardiola's gestures and shouts on the sidelines are actually reminding the players of their positions.
Does Liverpool know?
I know, Dalglish knew it very clearly.
To use an inappropriate metaphor, the ball is the carrot Manchester City hangs in front of the Liverpool donkey.
Does Liverpool want it?
Who doesn't want to?
As long as it's a team that wants to win, who doesn't want the ball?
Once you seize the ball, you can counterattack and have a chance to score.
Then keep guarding, okay?
It's not impossible, but the question is, who can guarantee that their defense will not make mistakes under the repeated pull and penetration of Manchester City?
Especially when Manchester City also has a top scorer like Su Dong.
If you just defend blindly and don't dare to fight back if you have the chance, isn't this a slow suicide?
To a certain extent, the game between Manchester City and Liverpool is whether this carrot will be eaten by Liverpool.
They were caught. After Liverpool seized the ball, they seized the opportunity to score. Then Manchester City lost.
If Liverpool wants to eat carrots and causes a mistake in their defense and is caught by Manchester City, then Liverpool will lose.
Guardiola and Dalglish are very aware of this, so they do not rush forward, but are cautious and seek stability.
This kind of competition was very intense, and both sides were very competitive, but they were also very restrained and cautious, and there were no inappropriate moves.
The game continued in this intense yet dull rhythm for ten minutes.
Except for Su Dong's long-range shot in the opening game, neither side even had a shot.
But whether it is the 90,000 fans at Wembley Stadium or all the fans around the world squatting in front of the TV to watch the game, they can easily feel the tension and intensity conveyed by this game.
This chapter is not over yet, please click on the next page to continue reading the exciting content! This is like two top martial arts masters competing in a sword fight. Either they don't make a move, or they are fatal when they make a move.
…
In the twelfth minute, the second shot of the game came, and it was still a long shot.
Sanchez from Manchester City, after dribbling the ball on the right side of the penalty area and cutting in laterally, suddenly turned towards the penalty area and took a long shot. As a result, it missed the bottom line of the court and was still a long way from the goal.
This attack also allowed Manchester City to gradually increase their offensive intensity.
After ten minutes of testing, Manchester City tried to put more pressure on Liverpool, hoping to create more opportunities.
Liverpool retreated into their own half, but Gerrard also stepped up his suppression and interference of Busquets.
In the 16th minute, Liverpool suddenly completed a steal in front of their own 30-meter area. After successfully intercepting Toni Kroos' pass, they quickly launched a counterattack and directly passed the long ball to Bellamy.
Liverpool's winger moved forward at the fastest speed from the wing. After stopping the ball, he happened to meet Zabaleta who returned to defense in time in the penalty area.
Although this Manchester City right back is not as offensive as Marcelo, he has always been diligent. When it is time for him to come back, he is always in position as soon as possible. This is much more reliable than Marcelo on the left.
After stopping the ball, Bellamy went straight towards Zabaleta. The two faced each other, and Bellamy made a gap, passed the ball across the penalty area, and found Suarez.
I saw the Uruguayan striker stopping the ball before Kompany, making continuous fake moves and spiking the ball in the penalty area. He just relied on his personal ability to create a gap in Kompany's body and hit the goal directly.
Kompany is not a vegetarian either, he limited Suarez's shooting angle, and Courtois blocked this angle, so Suarez's shot looked like it hit Courtois' arms directly.
Although he was an opponent and he was at the front, Su Dong still secretly applauded Suarez's shot.
If nothing else, in terms of this personal ability, there is absolutely no second player in the Liverpool team.
Even in the Premier League, there are really not many players with Suarez's ability.
Sudong called out Toni Kroos, Busquets and other teammates to signal the team to stabilize the defense in the midfield and backcourt and move the defense back toward the goal.
This looks like Manchester City has lingering fears after being attacked by Liverpool and wants to make some space for Liverpool, but it also contains another meaning, that is, to let Liverpool taste the sweetness, it is best to move forward.
Press out some.
After Liverpool counterattacked after stealing the ball and scored the first shot, they also began to press and intercept more actively near the midline. In the 21st minute, they once again completed the interception and kicked out again.
Fight back.
After Tangning received the pass from Henderson, he directly hit the gap behind Marcelo exposed by his forward penetration.
After Pepe threw Suarez to Kompany, he ran to the outside of the penalty area to assist Marcelo. At the same time, he also spotted the opportunity and directly entangled Tangning.
The Liverpool winger tried to break through Pepe but failed and could only barely pass the ball. However, on the right side of the penalty spot, Downing's pass was intercepted by Busquets who retreated in time and passed to the unguarded Toni.
·Cross.
Suddenly, the situation took a turn for the worse. Liverpool, who was originally fighting back, was suddenly intercepted by Manchester City and launched a counterattack.
Toni Kroos stopped the ball, looked ahead, and sent a long pass.
The football accurately crossed more than half of the field, crossed the center line, and fell directly behind the Liverpool defense.
Su Dong rushed forward at the fastest speed, competing with Daniel Agger for speed. He just came from behind and got ahead of Daniel Agger. He stopped Toni Kroos's long pass in front of him.
After blocking Daniel Agger's body again, he forcibly shook off the Liverpool central defender and continued to sprint forward.
Seeing that he could not stop Su Dong, Daniel Agger tried to stop him, but Su Dong dodged him. He lost his center of gravity, staggered and almost fell, and completely lost the chance to stop Su Dong.
Skrtel was always at the back of the queue. Seeing that Daniel Agger could not stop Su Dong, he immediately rushed over to help defend, and both he and Su Dong entered the right side of Liverpool's penalty area.
