Returning to the locker room with a 0-1 deficit, everyone in Manchester City was furious.
Throughout the first half, Manchester City firmly controlled the ball and the situation and did not give Stoke City many chances.
But who would have thought that it was that throw-in defense that gave Stoke City one of the few opportunities to kick the ball, and Norwegian center Carew seized the loophole and scored a goal.
This left Manchester City with a lump in their throat and very uncomfortable.
In the subsequent games of the first half, the team also played more and more hastily, and the more hasty it was, the less effective it was.
Guardiola returned to the locker room and did not blame the players for their performance in the first half, nor did he criticize Joe Hart's mistakes. After all, it was only halftime and the players needed to continue working hard in the second half. There was no need to do so.
Stoke City is not the weakling that the outside world imagined. This team is currently ranked eighth in the Premier League. But any fan who is familiar with the Premier League knows how difficult this ranking is.
There are also famous Premier League players such as John Carew, Shawcross, Pennant, etc. in the team. These players are not very famous, but their strength is unquestionable. The head coach Tony Pulis has also formulated corresponding training plans based on the characteristics of the players.
A practical tactic with good results.
Stoke City adopted a double midfielder tactic. On the defensive end, it mainly focused on marking Manchester City's center.
"In the first half, 73% of our attacks were from the center, while Stoke City's attacks from the center reached 67%. What does this mean?" Guardiola said holding the Tokgo.
Lunt gave the data and asked the players.
You don't need to think about it to know that this means that the two teams are too entangled in the middle.
This is what Stoke City wants to see, but it is very detrimental to Manchester City.
Everyone knows that the middle lane is too dense.
More importantly, Manchester City has powerful wings. Whether it is Marcelo Gadi Maria on the left or Zabaleta and Sanchez on the right, they are all famous offensive channels in the Premier League and even European football.
.
But now, Manchester City's offense rarely goes wide, and more often goes through the center to the frontcourt.
Instead, Su Dong became a player who frequently split the ball and passed the ball, which is not healthy.
Of course, we can also look at it the other way around. Manchester City's offensive formation was too aggressive and they pressed up too quickly from the wing.
The combination of wing and center is the biggest advantage of Manchester City's offense.
But in the first half, Manchester City seemed a bit hot-headed, playing all the way to the center. After getting the ball, they always wanted to go directly to Su Dong to create a threat in the frontcourt, but their intentions were too obvious.
Su Dong only had one person, and the opponent had two central defenders and two defensive midfielders, and they adopted this shrinking defensive tactic. Even if Su Dong had wings, he would not be able to withstand the opponent's encirclement.
Guardiola's countermeasure is to activate the two wings and not allow Stoke City to focus too much on Sudong's defense. Di Maria and Sanchez must create enough threats on the wings to share
Su Dong's pressure.
"Spread their defense and create space for the players in the middle. I believe that we can create more threats without one-on-one or one-on-two." Guardiola said loudly.
Everyone in Manchester City is full of confidence in Su Dong's ability.
One-on-one, Su Dong crushed all opponents, and even in one-on-two, Su Dong was strong enough to create a threat and even score goals. Su Dong's most famous sentence at the time was, "As long as you let me have a pair
One, I can kill all my opponents!"
In the first half, Manchester City did very poorly in this regard, and Guardiola hopes the team can adjust.
…
After the head coach finished assigning tasks, the locker room fell into silence again.
Guardiola has never been a head coach who is good at mobilizing atmosphere, so he needs the assistance of assistants such as Estiarte.
But at this moment, Manchester City's players don't need external motivation.
What they need is confidence!
Falling behind in the first half made them become impatient and start making mistakes. This was the biggest problem that Manchester City encountered.
This is also a problem that cannot be solved by adjusting the team's tactics.
After Guardiola arranged the tactics, he saw that the players were still not interested and couldn't help but look at Su Dong.
Su Dong noticed Guardiola's gaze, thought about it, and stood up.
Everyone in the locker room also focused their attention on Su Dong. When they saw him standing up, they all immediately raised their heads and focused on him.
"The Manchester City in the first half was not the real Manchester City."
Su Dong spoke calmly, as if he was explaining an undoubted fact.
"I can understand everyone's eagerness. Both us here and the fans in the stands are all eagerly looking forward to tonight's victory and eager to win this coveted championship. But we made a mistake during the game.
I made a mistake and was punished."
After everyone heard what Su Dong said, they calmed down.
This is a fact.
"We are not usually like this. We should patiently control the ball and steadily control the rhythm. We should firmly grasp the initiative and let the opponent follow us instead of being led by the opponent."
"I hope that everyone can think carefully about how to play in the second half. We don't need to perform extraordinarily well. We just need to play in an orderly manner as we usually do. We should be on the wing when we should be on the wing, make breakthroughs when we should, and pass the ball when we should.
The ball, everyone does their job."
Having said this, Su Dong paused and looked deeply at the teammates in front of him.
"I still say the same thing, if you stretch the opponent's defense and pass the ball over, I can score!"
"If one is not enough, I will add two. If two is not enough, I will add three."
"Tonight, we will definitely be able to keep this championship trophy in Manchester!"
…………
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The game restarts in the second half.
Manchester City obviously played more methodically.
After a fifteen-minute break, the players have basically calmed down.
Guardiola's arrangements and the confidence given by Su Dong made Manchester City players work hard to stabilize their emotions.
Of course, everyone knows that this is only temporary.
If Manchester City cannot score a goal as soon as possible, sooner or later the players' emotions will become anxious again.
This chapter is not over yet, please click on the next page to continue reading! Time waits for no one.
…
After the running-in and adjustment after the opening, Manchester City gradually exerted its strength on the two wings.
The combination of Marcelo and Di Maria on the left, and the combination of Zabaleta and Sanchez on the right, both showed threats.
When an attack on the left was contained, Marcelo passed to Busquets and then to Toni Kroos, completing the transition from the left to the right.
When Toni Kroos just stopped the ball, he saw that Stoke City's defensive focus was still on the left and he was nervously following the ball path. Su Dong in the frontcourt had just ran over to the left to receive the ball. At this time, he was also
Move to the middle.
After the two people's eyes crossed for a moment, Toni Cross noticed that Su Dong suddenly stopped.
The tacit understanding allowed the German midfielder to understand and quickly sent a long pass with his right foot, directly to the top of the arc.
At the moment when Toni Kroos passed the long pass, Sudong also started quickly. From between the two central defenders Collins and Shawcross, he quickly moved forward and went straight to the top of the penalty area.
Collins was ten centimeters shorter than Su Dong and was blocked by Su Dong. Shawcross turned around slowly and fell one step behind.
Two central defenders sandwiched Su Dong, and the three of them rushed forward. At the top of the penalty area, Su Dong took off with his back and stopped the ball with his chest.
When he landed, he was already in the restricted area.
Collins was still blocked by Su Dong, and he rushed forward immediately, not wanting Su Dong to turn around. However, Shawcross overshot the ball and stabilized his position near the penalty spot, forming a defensive depth with Collins.
Obviously, he was wary of Su Dong passing by Collins.
After Su Dong landed, he hooked the ball with his foot, and the ball stuck firmly to his feet.
Behind him, Collins felt like he was facing a formidable enemy. He concentrated all his strength in front of him, resisting Su Dong and not wanting him to turn around.
At the same time, I was also wondering in my mind, which side will Su Dong turn around?
Both his left and right feet are so proficient, God knows what he is going to do?
But almost instantly, he guessed that Su Dong would turn to his right, that is, the left side of the goal, and then hit the goal directly with his left foot.
On the one hand, there is the position of goalkeeper Sorensen, and on the other hand, Shawcross is on the right.
If Su Dong turns to the right and hits the goal with his right foot, there is a high chance that he will be blocked by Shawcross.
Therefore, Collins placed almost all of his center of gravity on his right side.
As he expected, Su Dong moved his body hard to the right, as if he was about to turn around.
But just when Collins tensed up and took a step to the right, Su Dong suddenly turned to the left.
Su Donggang, who is tall and has long legs, turned around and swung his right foot directly to hit the door.
Su Dong's leg swing was very small and his turn was quick, giving people the illusion that he was hitting the goal before he even turned around. The football flew out from where Collins was just now along a straight line.
Shawcross' right side passed by and went straight to the lower left corner of the goal.
Such a shot was completely unexpected by Collins, Shawcross and others. Goalkeeper Sorensen's sight was also blocked a lot by Collins. After reacting, he swooped sideways, but how could he do it in time?
The ball almost hit the inside of the left post and went into the Stoke City goal.
One to one!
"GOALLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL!!!!!"
"Only seven minutes into the second half, Su Dong equalized the score for Manchester City!"
"One to one!"
Su Dong knew it was happening as soon as he kicked off his feet, and quickly rushed out of the court and ran away.
Manchester City fans throughout the Etihad Stadium let out deafening cheers.
All the fans rushed out of the seats in an instant, shouting Su Dong's name crazily.
Su Dong, on the other hand, rushed to the sidelines and kept waving his hands at the fans in the stands to signal them to be more enthusiastic.
The fans were inspired by Su Dong and made even louder noises in support of the Manchester City players in the stadium.
The players rushed forward one after another, surrounding Su Dong in the middle.
One to one, the score was even.
They were also relieved.
Su Dong is right, as long as Manchester City goes step by step, follows its usual rhythm, and firmly grasps the initiative, there is no need to fear any opponents at all.
Not to mention Stoke City, even Manchester United and Arsenal were still defeated by Manchester City?
"If we continue to play like this, we will score another goal!" Su Dong said loudly.
Teammates also responded one after another.
At this moment, everyone at Manchester City is beginning to regain confidence.
