Green Journey

At 20:45 local time, with the whistle of the Dutch referee Kupes, the final second-round match between Manchester City and Juventus officially started.

On the field, Manchester City, wearing a black away jersey and attacking from right to left, launched an offensive immediately after taking the ball, without delaying a second.

But Juventus, as Guardiola and countless media predicted before the game, started the game like an old dog, focusing on maximizing their defensive advantage.

At 1 minute and 48 seconds of the game, Manchester City relied on an almost absolute numerical advantage in the middle, and took the ball back in a blink of an eye.

In front of the arc in the middle of Manchester City's half, Yaya Toure pushed away Dybala, who was stalking him, and quickly pushed the ball to Chu Zheng, who retreated from the center line.

Chu Zheng took the ball and crossed it to the left rib area, and stuck Khedira, who was defending behind him, behind him.

Juventus circled the left rib in the middle of the half, and Sane, who was just in front of Barzagli, immediately pulled to the side.

When he was parallel to the retreating Barzagli, Chu Zheng, who had just brought the ball out of the center circle, suddenly made a long pass, and the timing of the pass was not bad.

So what Sane has to do is simple.

Sane continued to accelerate along the sidewalk, and in a blink of an eye, Barzagli, who was on the outside of the ribs, was thrown away by about a body.

Running at high speed, Sane saw that only Aguero was keeping up with the attack in the middle, and there was Chiellini guarding him in front of him, so he gave up the idea of ​​seeking cooperation.

In front of the penalty area, Sane rushed to the landing point and slowed down first.

After deceiving Barzagli to slow down, he suddenly made a burst towards the bottom line, and then Barzagli had a tragedy, and was directly wiped by Sane.

Cut diagonally into the penalty area from the sideline of the big penalty area. Seeing that Bonucci had already stood in the upper corner of the small penalty area and cut off his connection with Aguero in the middle, Sane didn't think too much, and raised his right foot and shot close.

As a result, his shot did not threaten Buffon.

Relying on his sophisticated position, Bonucci fell to the ground and stretched out his feet in time to block his sticking to the ground and get out of the bottom line.

"Huh!!!!!!!" Manchester City's simple and direct offensive scared the Juventus fans in the stands.

"It's very simple, it is to rely on the absolute speed advantage to eat you raw."

"Bonucci's return to defense was too timely, and the position was chosen very well. He cooperated with Buffon tacitly and isolated Sane who broke into the penalty area in an instant."

Zhang Lu nodded. The game had just started, and he couldn't see much yet.

But if Manchester City is trying to use this style of play today to tear through Juventus' defense, he thinks this is not a good way.

In a blink of an eye, Manchester City sent a left corner kick.

Sane and De Bruyne took a tactical corner kick.

After De Bruyne served the ball and ran back along the side, Sane passed back along the side before Sandro came close to grab the ball.

De Bruyne made a pass without stopping the ball, and passed the ball to the back of the Juventus penalty area.

After clicking on the inside of the sideline of the small restricted area, Chu Zheng quickly got in place.

But before he could take off, Buffon and Alves clamped him back and forth.

Buffon, in particular, jumped on him as soon as he rushed out, and Alves, who was experienced beside him, was not idle either.

But under Chu Zheng's fierce resistance, none of the three of them could touch the ball in the end, and the ball brushed Buffon's left fist and flew out of the baseline.

In a blink of an eye, Juventus kicked the goal kick, and Buffon kicked the ball directly to the middle circle.

Manchester City circled the right rib in the middle of the half, and Walker followed Mandzukic who retracted from the wing to the landing point near the center line and took off.

But in terms of header ability, he is no match for Mandzukic, a standing center.

The ball was rubbed by Mandzukic after jumping up, and fell to the feet of Higuain who ran from the center to the side.

However, Higuain didn't stop the ball, and Kompany came up from behind.

Coupled with Yaya Toure approaching from in front of him, the small smoking gun was caught and turned off.

"You see, Manchester City is not afraid of Juve's attack with long passes. Although he has fewer players in the backcourt, he can often control your second point of attack. This is Guardiola's brilliance. Even if you can fight for the first point, he can also kill your two-point offense."

Zhan Jun nodded and said with a smile: "But there is a risk after all. As long as Juventus beat Manchester City once, they will be pushed to the edge of the cliff."

"No way, Juventus has two away goals in hand, Manchester City doesn't go all out to attack and score goals, the result is also dead."

More than a minute later, Juventus, who was firmly defending the counterattack, tried to attack from the left with continuous short passes.

However, when the ball came near the center line in the side area of ​​the center circle, Mandzukic and Pjanic were directly surrounded by De Bruyne, Walker, Sterling and Toure.

Under continuous pressure, Mandzukic panicked and passed the ball out of the sideline.

On the sidelines, Allegri, with his hands in his pockets, looked normal.

Although he has been unable to counterattack, he is not in a hurry like the Juventus players on the field.

He doesn't believe that Manchester City will have no omissions, as long as they can play once, it is enough.

In the 5th minute of the game, Manchester City's offensive resumed.

At the front of the Juventus penalty area, there are 7 people lined up in a line of defense, which hardly gives Manchester City any room for long-range shots.

To the left of the top of the arc, he got the ball knocked by De Bruyne from his left rib. Chu Zheng, who had no one around him, adjusted calmly, and then quickly assumed a shooting posture.

On the end line of the penalty area, Chiellini immediately stepped up, leaned back, and stretched out his right foot to block Chu Zheng's shot.

But the next second, Chiellini was dumbfounded, Chu Zheng didn't shoot at all.

"Oh!!!!!!!!!!" Zhang Lu and Zhan Jun exclaimed at the same time in the LeTV live broadcast room.

"Sane!" In the BBC studio, Lineker also raised his voice instantly, staring at the broadcast screen with wide eyes.

On the field, after the ball leaves the foot, it falls in a high parabola to the middle area of ​​the left side of the penalty area.

In the upper corner of the penalty area on the left, Sane and Alves stand one behind the other.

Seeing that Sane suddenly started to rush towards the bottom line at the moment Chu Zheng passed the ball, Alves' first reaction was not to chase back, but to raise his hand to signal Sane to be offside.

However, the linesman didn't give any signal, at this moment Alves realized that he was overconfident.

In front of the goal line, Buffon didn't care whether Sane was offside or not. He reacted and immediately ran across to the right and went straight to the landing point, but he was not as fast as Sane.

Before he ran out of the small penalty area, Sane rushed to the landing point outside the sideline of the small penalty area.

At the same time, at the end of the small penalty area in the middle, Aguero is already in place, and the Juventus players around him are half a body behind him, and his position is further back than Sane.

As long as Sane can send the ball to him smoothly, it will be effortless for him to push the empty goal.

However, if Juve's defense is only this level, he can't be called the best defense in Europe this season.

Almost in the blink of an eye, Barzagli cut off the line.

As long as Sane dares to pass, it will definitely be intercepted by him.

When Sane saw that Barzagli was in place, he immediately changed his plan, took off slightly on the landing point, and shot directly into the far corner with his left foot.

Before the bottom line in the small penalty area, Buffon quickly fell to the ground and reached out, but missed the ball.

Under the watchful eyes of everyone, the ball went straight to the bottom corner of the penalty kick.

"Bang!"

"Oh!!!!" Seeing that the ball bounced off the outside of the goal post after hitting it, Bonucci robbed Aguero and went to the left side to make a clearance.

"Oh! Sane, there is... oh ho ho!!!

"The ball hit the post and bounced back!!!"

"Gift Crab! Manchester City's bad luck!!"

"It's just a little short of a goal!!"

At the same time, in the LeTV Sports Live Studio and BCC Studio, Zhan Jun, Lineker and others stared wide-eyed, unable to believe that the goal was missed.

"It is indeed not offside!"

"Yes, Chu Zheng passed the ball just right!" Zhang Lu and Zhan Jun looked regretful looking at the slow-motion replay of the sideline shot on the left.

On the field, Sane walked back with his hands on the back of his head, his lips were squirming, and he didn't know if he was scolding his mother.

Before the top of the arc, Chu Zheng covered his face with his hands, his face full of regret.

On the sidelines, Guardiola was applauding, indicating that the team's attack was very beautiful.

He thinks Sane played well enough.

In that case, Sane can immediately turn a pass into a shot, which has fully demonstrated his shooting ability, but he is a little bit lucky.

And that's what Guardiola wants to attack today.

Be fast, be steady, and be accurate at the same time.

During this period, Guardiola racked his brains to find flaws in Juventus' tactics and formation.

The most obvious feature of Juventus' defense is the quick defense and filling and the emphasis on a good overall formation, which always gives other teams a sense of airtightness.

In terms of strength, Juventus' defense is actually not as good as Atletico Madrid's at its peak.

But Juventus' defensive awareness is stronger than Atletico Madrid's, and they have the ability to fill positions. Wherever the ball goes, they will go there ahead of time.

Coupled with the large number of defenders in the middle of Juventus, the defense is only forced and not easy to grab, which makes it difficult for them to find a gap in the first place to play an effective offense.

And once the efficiency of playing in the middle position is too low, it can only develop the ball to the two sides, find a gap or pass, or rely on the player's personal ability to break through.

But this greatly reduces the success rate of the attack.

So Guardiola had a whim, since he couldn't break it in a frontal confrontation, could he use his brain from the side.

That is whether their attack speed can be faster than the speed of the Juventus defense.

As soon as this question popped out of his mind, Guardiola suddenly became enlightened.

This problem may be difficult for other teams, but for Manchester City with Chu Zheng and De Bruyne, it is not impossible.

From the process of the attack just now, Guardiola confirmed that his idea was correct and it was completely feasible.

As for Juventus, although today's main tactical strategy is to defend and counterattack, Allegri is not without any preparations.

Soon Allegri's little trick took effect.

In the 8th minute of the game, Dybala retreated to the right side of his own half to take the ball with his back. After attracting Yaya Toure to grab the ball, he suddenly passed the ball to the right.

Stones, who was slightly behind in the middle circle, also immediately suppressed Pjanic who was about to take the ball in front of him.

But I didn't expect that Pjanic was still the bait. When Stones got close, he didn't stop the ball, and continued to transfer the ball to the left with his right foot.

At this moment, Manchester City's midfield defense was finally penetrated, and Juventus' Bingfeng faced Manchester City's defense trio.

Khedira strode forward immediately after getting the ball in the left back position of the middle circle.

At the same time, Mandzukic and Higuain in front of the center line are also like two sharp daggers straight into the defensive trio of Walker, Kompany and Otamendi.

In a blink of an eye, Khedira came to the front of the 30-meter area along the left rib, and then stuffed the ball impartially into the penalty area from the middle of Walker and Kompany in front of him.

In the next second, Walker and Mandzukic on the inside and outside of the ribs started chasing the ball at the same time.

But it is difficult for Mandzukic and Walker to fight for speed.

As soon as the two rushed into the penalty area, Walker, who was more than one position behind Mandzukic, overtook the position, stuck Mandzukic behind him, and protected the ball out of the baseline.

"That's why Walker was reused by Guardiola after being integrated into Manchester City's tactical system."

"The size of a central defender, the speed of a winger, the combination of the two is simply the perfect template for a defender."

"Yes, Khedira passed the ball very beautifully, but Walker's ability to chase back is too strong, and his body is not weak." Zhan Jun laughed.

On the sidelines, Guardiola, who witnessed the whole process of Juventus' attack this time, frowned, and he saw something coming.

Today, Allegri used the pass control group of midfielder Pjanic, Dybala and Khedira as bait to lure the two midfielders Toure and Stones, and then used the space behind them. Fight back.

After seeing through Juventus' trap, Guardiola immediately shouted to Stones and Toure on the field, reminding them to be cautious and pay attention to the trap.

Next to him, Allegri was also applauding the players on the field. This attack was exactly what he wanted to see.

But after laughing for less than 1 minute, Allegri was almost scared into cardiac arrest.

On the field, Edson placed the ball in front of the left side of the small penalty area and quickly passed it straight to the right rib at the top of the arc.

As soon as Walker stopped the ball with his right foot, he saw Dybala rushing from the middle, so he stepped down and immediately started to drive the ball forward.

The next second, Dybala bumped into Walker, but Walker was fine, but Dybala staggered a few steps instead.

After getting rid of Dybala's entanglement, Walker suddenly sent a strong forward pass from the ribs in the 40-meter area.

Aguero, who was originally standing in front of Chiellini, suddenly retreated to the ribs in the middle circle.

Chiellini also followed, but did not dare to approach Aguero from behind, but kept a certain distance.

At the same time, Mandzukic, Khedira and Pjanic also quickly surrounded from three other directions.

De Bruyne ran out of the middle circle immediately after seeing it, squeezed past Pjanic, and then ran forward to establish a lateral connection with Aguero.

In the next second, Aguero, who received the ball with his back, passed the ball across, and De Bruyne didn't stop the ball and directly went straight.

The ball quickly passed between Bonucci and Sandro on the outside of the ribs, like a bent chopstick, and turned straight to Sterling on the wing.

Seeing De Bruyne pass the ball with a fairy arc, countless fans in the stands were amazed. The fluency of Manchester City's attack today is terrible, not only fast but also stable and accurate.

On the wing, Sterling and Sandro on the inside started Hurricane at the same time.

But Sandro's speed is not inferior to Sterling. He firmly stuck the inside line, which made Sterling uncomfortable when he got the ball from the outside of the penalty area.

At this time, between Sunderland and Bonucci in the middle, because Chiellini hooked Aguero just now, there is a gap that has not been filled in time.

Aguero is already running, but Chiellini's return to defense is not slow.

At this moment, Sterling saw Sane, who had almost left Barzagli behind, entered the penalty area from the back point, and he immediately crossed the back point.

But as soon as he passed the ball, Buffon attacked in front of the goal.

Buffon rushed to the front of the right side of the small penalty area and lifted his knees to take off. He barely reached the ball in front of Sane.

Chu Zheng quickly followed up diagonally, and used a sliding tackle to stop the ball on the baseline before the ball went out of the baseline.

But when Chu Zheng got up to get the ball, Barzagli, Alves, and Pjanic had already surrounded him, ready to trap him near the corner.

Barzali rushed to Chu Zheng at the moment when he was protecting the ball with his back, and stretched out his feet to grab it.

But when Chu Zheng tapped his heel, the ball rolled past his crotch, and then Chu Zheng turned around and wiped it past him.

Turning to face the restricted area, Chu Zheng saw Alves and Pjanic teaming up to force him. He did not choose to take it into the restricted area, but brought it back.

Pjanic quickly ran to the left from the sideline of the penalty area, following Chu Zheng.

As a result, he had just left Alves, but he didn't expect that Chu Zheng suddenly smashed the ball and killed the carbine. He immediately pushed forward and stretched out his feet to grab the ball.

However, he stretched out his feet, and Chu Zheng greeted him with a quick deep-fried meatball.

Seeing that Pjanic was passed, Alves quickly locked his position with his rich experience, blocking Chu Zheng's route into the penalty area.

Chu Zheng was quickly forced to the bottom line. Once Pjanic and Barzagli rushed back, he would be surrounded and robbed on the bottom line.

This scene made countless hearts hang in their throats.

"Passed two!!!"

"It's time to play the ball, or you will be trapped to death!" Zhang Lu and Zhan Jun were also highly concentrated in the LeTV live broadcast room, watching the broadcast screen closely.

On the field, Chu Zheng brought the ball to the bottom line. As expected, he started to slow down and prepare to stop.

Alves took advantage of Chu Zheng's unsteady footing, and the timing of his attack was precise and ruthless.

However, at this moment, Chu Zheng pushed with his right foot and sent with his left, and gave him another big gift.

This time it is a small-scale and faster-moving croquette.

Because the movement range is too small and the speed is a bit fast, many people didn't even see clearly how Zheng sent the ball into the Juventus penalty area along the baseline.

In the next moment, Chu Zheng suddenly jumped up, overtook from outside the baseline, and got rid of Alves.

After entering the penalty area, Chu Zheng immediately passed back to the left side of the penalty area in an inverted triangle, and Sane swung his legs on the spot and shot angrily at the ball.

"Boom"!Chiellini rushed in time and blocked the ball.

The ball hit the top area of ​​Chiellini's back rebound arc.

De Bruyne followed up and fired again, and the ball went straight to the right side of the goal.

However, in the next second, Buffon flew up on the goal line, stretched his body horizontally in midair, and once again denied De Bruyne's shot.

Seeing that the ball was blocked out of the baseline again, Guardiola looked straight from the sidelines.

Allegri next to him was short of breath and was obviously frightened.

Accompanied by Manchester City's consecutive shots, there was a wave of exclamation in the stands.