Green Journey

Chapter 381 Pochettino's Worries!Manchester City is in chaos! (two in one)

As time passed, the competition became more intense, and the offensive and defensive rhythms of both sides never dropped.

On Tottenham's side, the madness looked really scary.

All the Tottenham players on the field are resolutely implementing the tactical requirements of the head coach Pochettino. Everyone is running wildly in the audience, pressing and pressing the Manchester City players at the first time. It is not an exaggeration to say that they are frenzied.

As for Manchester City, as the game progressed, Guardiola's formation was fully revealed.

As Guardiola said in an interview with the media before the game, he and Pochettino are the same kind of person. No matter what tactics the opponent plays, he will stick to his tactical philosophy.

Therefore, what Manchester City played today is not 433 at all, nor is it the safer 4231.

but 4141.

Fernandinho's position is more forward, Fernando is behind, playing a single midfielder.

But in the face of Tottenham's frantic style of play today, even with Fernandinho and Chu Zheng retreating to assist Fernando in defense, Manchester City's midfielder was still suppressed.

Fernando is tall enough, but weighs only 75kg, and his body is not strong enough.

And Fernandinho's interception ability on the defensive end is indeed very strong, and his offensive ability is also very good.

He has the footwork to pass a threatening ball, has a long shot, and even has the ability to outflank and grab points in front of the goal.He can play both central midfielder and wide midfielder, and he plays very well.

But he also has serious problems.

Even in the position of the defensive midfielder, when facing the opponent's frontal attack, his small body really can't bear it.

Especially today against Tottenham's midfielder's impact of those black, hard, tall and fast big men, Fernandinho's short stature and his weakness of not being strong enough were completely exposed.

Therefore, facing Tottenham's extremely destructive and tough defense and impact in the middle, the two fell to the ground and lost the ball time and time again, and lost time and time again when fighting for high balls.

Another point is that Guardiola likes to let Kolarovne receive the midfielder position when the team is attacking in previous games.

But today Kolarov has been firmly pressed in the left back position by Tottenham's powerful right offensive from the beginning to the present.

Not only that, but even Sterling was dragged in the defensive quagmire of the backcourt, unable to get up at all.

As a result, Manchester City's offense today is not as good as before, and they are completely unable to play the oppressive offense of the past.

Even trying to hit a quick counterattack from the left is extremely difficult.

On the sidelines, Guardiola saw the situation on the field in his eyes.

At this moment, Guardiola also has some regrets in his heart.

Before the game, Guardiola knew that playing Fernando would sacrifice some midfield creativity, but he still let the Brazilian start. He hoped to strengthen the hardness of the midfield.

But now it seems that the creativity of the midfielder is indeed sacrificed, but it has not been exchanged for the hardness of the midfielder he needs.

In front of Tottenham Wanyama, Sissoko and others, Fernandinho and Fernando were set off like mud.

The only thing that makes Guardiola feel lucky is that Chu Zheng still performed well today. His judgment and response to the situation were accurate and fast enough, so he withdrew directly and stabilized the precarious line of defense in time. Put pressure on Spurs.

Otherwise, Guardiola really can't believe what a terrible picture it is to let Tottenham press them all out.

On Pochettino's side, he is also a little worried.

Because the situation on the court was somewhat different from his pre-match expectations.

Now they have indeed suppressed Manchester City, but they are not completely suppressed.

Manchester City's frontcourt oppressive offense is indeed gone, but Chu Zheng is still very active, constantly using his excellent passing ability and breakthrough ability to instigate counterattacks in the backcourt, trying to contact Aguero and Nathan in the frontcourt. gas.

The outside media and fans said that Tottenham could run the full 90 minutes, which is indeed the case.

But Pochettino also has time to set up this high-intensity oppression and pressing tactics.

He clearly arranged when to go fast and when to slow down.

Otherwise, even if the players can run for 90 minutes, what will they do in the next game?
Stop kicking?
And what worries Pochettino most now is that if the team cannot score goals, then their frenzied full-court oppression on the field cannot slow down and needs to be maintained.

Once the score continues to be so stalemate, and the two sides finally shake hands and make peace, it will be a big loss for Tottenham.

A game that doesn't make ends meet is definitely not what Pochettino needs, what he wants is 3 points.

Pochettino knew exactly how Tottenham fell from the title race last season.

It is because of playing too crazy that the players' physical fitness has a big problem in the second half of the league.

So for this season, Pochettino has a detailed plan.

If it is not necessary, he absolutely does not want to engage in this kind of war of attrition with Manchester City. Even if he wins, it will have a profound impact on them, and he is likely to repeat the same mistakes.

In the LeTV live broadcast room, Zhan Jun and Zhang Lu were also analyzing the situation taking advantage of the stalemate.

"In the face of a high-pressure press, the most effective strategy is to quickly break the opponent's press with a short pass in a small area, and then quickly move to the other side to escape the opponent's encirclement."

"Either it is a breakthrough!"

Zhang Lu nodded and said with a smile: "That's what Chu Zheng is doing now. He has both backcourt scheduling and breakthroughs!"

"But because Manchester City was crushed on the left, Sterling couldn't go up, so Chu Zheng could only find Navas on the right."

"But the problem is that Navas can only make one move, breaking through the bottom pass in a straight line. He doesn't have the sharp inside cutting ability of Sterling."

"Yes, Keylor Navas is definitely a cross expert!"

"But because Manchester City has no high points, even if he successfully completes the cross, it will be difficult to form an effective threat to Tottenham!"

While the two were talking, the situation on the field changed suddenly.

In the 12th minute of the game, Tottenham slowed down the pace of the game for the first time, allowing Stones to take the ball from the left rib in the middle of Manchester City's half.

Tottenham are standing in a 4411 formation, and the defense is extremely tight.

Stones observed for a few seconds and found that there was no good chance.

Seeing that Chu Zheng retreated along his ribs, he pushed the ball directly.

As soon as Chu Zheng took the ball, Wanyama immediately rushed out from Tottenham's midfield defense and approached Chu Zheng.

Chu Zheng felt someone coming from behind him. He swung the outside of his right foot, and the ball was transferred to the right side of Manchester City's backcourt.

After Otamendi got the ball, he saw Ali running up slowly, and Lamela on the right front side also stared at him. He directly turned the ball back and passed it back to Bravo in the penalty area.

At this moment, Ali suddenly accelerated and went straight to Bravo, quickly cutting off the connection between Bravo, Otamendi and Sabalite, trying to force Bravo to pass the ball to the left, To Kolarov, also want to pinch soft persimmons.

This scene is not the first time.

Manchester City made targeted arrangements for Bravo, Kolarov and Sabaletta today.

Once Manchester City wants to pass from the backcourt, Ali will press up to block Bravo's passing route, forcing Bravo to only play the ball to the full-back on one side.

Other Tottenham frontcourt players pressed Kolarov and Sabalite's forward pass line, forcing them to pass back to the goalkeeper, and then forced Bravo to play a high ball from the backcourt.

Once this goal is achieved, the players on Tottenham's defense line will rely on their height advantage to grab the ball and quickly launch a counterattack after stealing the ball.

But this time Bravo was not fooled, and directly pushed forward and passed Fernando who retreated in the middle.

On Tottenham's side, seeing that Manchester City was not on the road, Eriksson quickly stepped up and pressed Fernando.

Although Fernando has now been reduced to a marginal player in Manchester City, that does not mean that he is not strong enough, but because he is not suitable for Guardiola's requirements for players.

His vast experience is still there.

Therefore, Fernando directly passed the ball back to Otamendi in the left rib area at the top of the arc, leaving Eric in the air.

In the left rib area at the top of the arc, Lamela rushed to him before Otamendi could stop the ball.

Suddenly Tottenham accelerated in an all-round way, and the madness was revealed again.

Facing the menacing Lamela, Otamendi did not panic, but turned around and shot the ball to the right front.

Lamela, who rushed in front of Otamendi, turned and followed the ball to Zabaleta.

Zabaleta turned around while stopping the ball with his right foot, and quickly sent the ball to the ribs before Lamela came over.

In the right rib area of ​​the middle circle, the moment Fernandinho took the ball, Eriksson and Wanyama quickly approached from the left and right sides behind her.

Lamela also didn't stop, and rushed directly to Fernandinho, and the three quickly formed a siege.

But before Lamela could get there, Wanyama made a savage charge from the left back of Fernandinho, and Fernandinho lost the ball, unable to withstand Wanyama's body collision at all. .

In the LeTV live broadcast room, Zhan Jun and Zhang Lu had fun again.

Zhang Lu said with a smile: "This kind of grabbing from the side and rear is Fernandinho's special skill, but today someone did it the other way around!"

"If you come out to mess around, you always have to pay it back!"

"Hahaha!"

Zhan Jun said something jokingly, which immediately made Zhang Lu lean back and forth.

On the field, Lamela took advantage of the opportunity to get the ball rolling over,

In an instant, Tottenham's frontcourt counterattack appeared again, and Lamela made a U-shaped turn and quickly advanced along the ribs.

But Fernando moved quickly and blocked him in time.

Seeing that Danny Rose was already coming along the left road, he just made a straight pass to split the side.

Danny Rose took the ball and saw that Zabaleta was stuck on the inside line in front of him and did not come up. He glanced at the top of the arc in the middle again.

Seeing that Sun Xingmin had started to press forward, he directly swung his leg to pass.

At the front of the small penalty area in the middle, Sun Xingmin took the lead before being pinched to death by Otamendi and Stones.

But Danny Rose's pass was a bit high, and Sun Xingmin missed it at all.

At the top of the arc, Chu Zheng, who had just rushed back, was relieved when he saw Kolarov, who was not surrounded by Tottenham players, when the ball leaked back.

But the next second, Chu Zheng was dumbfounded!

Guardiola is dumbfounded!

Manchester City fans are stunned!

Tottenham fans sprayed!

Under the eyes of everyone, Kolarov, who was on the right side of the small penalty area, jumped up and raised his right foot again. It seemed that he was preparing to take the ball out of the big penalty area.

As a result, the ball hit Kolarov's left knee directly, bounced directly to the goal, and pierced directly from the inside of the upper end of the post on the right side of the goal, and the lower edge of the crossbar.

"Wow!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

"My own goal!"

"Own goal!!!" Witnessing the birth of this goal, Zhan Jun and Zhang Lu instantly raised their voices, dumbfounded.

"Kolarov! Another amateur defense!"

"Hey hey hey!" Zhang hey hey kept laughing.

On the court, Chu Zheng was crying blindly all over his face, he really wanted to give Kolarov a thumbs up and say, 'Good job! '

In the coaching area on the sidelines, Guardiola was also blinded, another low-level mistake.

On the Manchester City bench behind Guardiola, Gundogan, Sane, Ishinacho and others also became dumb geese.

The moment Guardiola was stunned, Pochettino, who was sitting on the Tottenham coach's bench, raised his arms and ran behind her like a gust of wind.

At this moment, the New White Hart Lane Stadium was immersed in boiling and carnival.

On the field, Kolarov put his hands on his knees, looked down at the lawn under his feet, and couldn't see what expression he had.

Bravo in front of the goal looked constipated.

Bravo stared at the sky speechlessly!

Who has he offended, why is he always being tricked by his own people.

In the stands, the Manchester City fans were also silent, all of them speechless. They did not expect the team to concede the ball in this way.

What happened to Kolarov?
Why do such super amateur and low-level mistakes appear again and again?

This is the doubt in the hearts of countless Manchester City fans at the moment.

After Guardiola took over Manchester City, many players have changed their brilliance under him.

For example, he moved to Manchester City last season but drove high and low, and his performance in the European Cup was also a disaster. It was even rumored by the media that he needed to see a psychiatrist to regain his form.

As a result, when Guardiola came, Sterling quickly integrated into the new tactical system. So far in the new season, he has scored 5 goals and [-] assists in various competitions, and his state exploded.

Although Sterling still shows his unique talent for happy football from time to time, it is definitely not an exaggeration to say that Sterling has been reborn.

And one of the most surprising is Kolarov.

Before the start of the season, Kolarov was very close to leaving the team.

But under Guardiola, Kolarov, who was criticized for being strong offensively and weakly defensively, showed the demeanor of an all-round defender in the position of central defender.

A month ago, Guardiola had told reporters that Kolarov had played one of the best central defenders he had ever seen.

Arsenal star Martin Keown also praised Kolarov, saying that Kolarov's style reminded him of the former World Cup-winning captain Bobby Moore.

But how did it become like this now?
What about the all-round defender that the media calls?

Why did it suddenly disappear?

On the court, the game is still going on.

With the help of Manchester City's own goal, the morale of Tottenham at home directly reached its peak amidst the huge cheers of the fans at the scene.

As for Manchester City, since they scored an own goal and fell behind, the players showed impatience, and chaos began to emerge.

In the 14th minute of the game, Manchester City was robbed again in the backcourt and was forced to play a high ball forward.

Navas on the right side of the frontcourt lost in the fight for the top, and the ball was returned to Wanyama by Danny Rose.

Fernandinho, Navas, Aguero, and Fernando failed to regain the ball after consecutive sieges, and it seemed that they were already a bit confused.

Tottenham took the ball out of the encirclement of Manchester City's frontcourt with three or two kicks through the series connection of Eriksson who retreated.

On the left side of the middle circle, the ball was stabbed towards Ali by Eriksson.

Behind Ali, Otamendi went straight to grab.

But when he rushed behind Ali, he was tricked by Ali's fake turn to the left and tilted his center of gravity to the left, and then Ali easily broke through from the right.

After Ali dribbled the ball across the center line, he saw that Sun Xingmin had run into the gap in the ribs exposed because of Otamendi's attack, so he directly kicked through.

Son Xingmin advances at full speed.

On the left rib at the top of the arc, Sun Xingmin, who was stuck on the outside line by Stones in time, decelerated and stepped on a bicycle directly. The instep of the left outer instep suddenly dialed the ball out to the bottom, and then started a strong attack.

On the left side of the penalty area, seeing that Stones could not be shaken off, Sun Xingmin was extremely decisive, raised his left foot and hit the close corner.

bang!
Before approaching the goal post, Bravo quickly knelt down on one knee, putting Sun Xingmin's foot on the ground and narrowly blocked the bottom line.

"Sun Xingmin!!!" Zhan Jun exclaimed!
"This corner kick was hit with great power and accuracy!" Zhang Lu was also taken aback. "Fortunately, Bravo reacted quickly enough, otherwise he would have scored again!"

"Sun Xingmin's ability to play as the main single forward in a team like Tottenham has been fully proved!"

On the sidelines, Pochettino couldn't sit still anymore, appeared in the coach's area, and gestured excitedly to the players on the field.

He could see that Manchester City was in a mess.

This is a great opportunity for Tottenham.

As long as they seize the opportunity and take advantage of Manchester City's chaos to score again, then Manchester City's collapse may not be far away.

On the field, after scoring a goal, the Tottenham players became more and more excited as they kicked.

In the 19th minute of the game, at the front of the top of the arc, Ali received a cross from Eriksson on the right rib, and there was a flower under his feet, and he passed Fernandinho, Fernando, and Stones.

Seeing that he was about to break into the penalty area from the gap on the right side of the top of the arc, which was created by Stones' scramble, Chu Zheng came up with a ferocious shovel, giving Ali, who was having a good time, a critical blow.

Chu Zheng's tackle was as clean as ever.

After getting up, Chu Zheng let out a venting roar, which startled Fernandinho and others around him.

They seldom saw Chu Zheng show such an appearance of not entering the stranger in the game.

(End of this chapter)