I started with Torres, to revive German football

Chapter 189 Simeone's Ancient and Modern God Array
As the game time passed, after the opening 3 and [-] minutes, Manchester City really understood Atletico Madrid's tactical intentions.

After an opening counter-attack or two, Simeone's side settled into an unprecedented bus formation on the pitch.

This is definitely an attempt that has never been seen before in the semi-finals of the Champions League, and it may be unprecedented, with a five-fifty formation!
Guardiola racked his brains before the game, trying to contain Atletico Madrid's sharp counterattack in various situations,

Explain clearly to every player how to contain Torres and Griezmann.

How to prevent Atletico Madrid from advancing from the side, how to restrain their long pass from the backcourt.

But what Guardiola never expected was that Simeone chose to show his weakness under the huge pressure!
Under the eyes of the whole world, Atlético de Madrid put on an unprecedented defensive formation!

It can be said that unless there is an excellent opportunity, the Sheet Army even completely gave up the desire to counterattack at this time, only defending but not attacking. This is no longer a defensive counterattack. This is simply relying on defense to drag Manchester City to death!

People always say that football is a war in a peaceful age, if we really sublimate a ball game into a small-scale battle of 22 people.

Then every game, every battle is a kind of situation, and it is a detail of war that can be considered in many aspects of the environment.

War, the most intense game in human history, has infinite details that need to be paid attention to. How do you weigh which detail has higher weight?

Whether it is deduction or review, the first thing to do is to grasp the situation.

In this way, when judging the other party's intentions, it is not to think blindly, but to trace the source and be targeted.

Only then can you see whether a certain combat round is a logical pre-design, or an accidental response that jumped out of the logical line.

To put it simply, at the Etihad Stadium at this moment, Simeone's sheet army is undoubtedly a relatively weak side.

The physical advantage, the psychological advantage brought by the home game, and also has a top-level attack method to break the dense defense,

Although they are both the top two teams in Europe, the Blue Moon Legion, who are recharging their batteries and waiting for the battle, put unparalleled pressure on Atletico Madrid after the opening.

This forced Simeone to decisively change his tactical play in accordance with Atletico Madrid's established routine after one or two attempts at the beginning.

Atletico Madrid is now playing [-], taking both Torres and Griezmann back to the midfield to participate in the defense, and they are not stingy with their physical fitness.
This means that Atletico Madrid has completely given up the offensive part of the football game, and Simeone's team has completely let go.

I just don't pursue shooting, and the occasional counterattack only depends on the cooperation between the two forwards.

The others are firmly in the backcourt to defend in accordance with the tactical needs in advance, and will never cause Atletico Madrid's overall defensive formation to be scattered in large numbers due to offense.

Thus giving Manchester City the chance to break their bus, it is completely relying on active and tough defense on the field to delay the game time.

It would be the biggest surprise if they could get one or two chances to steal from Manchester City, which will be more and more anxious after a long time of attacking.

From the perspective of football's tactical intentions, the victory of a relatively weak team does not only include the lead in the score.

For a team in a weak position, being able to drag the game to a penalty shoot-out is quite a success. The team is of course very lucky.

For Manchester City, which currently has the advantage on the scene, they definitely want to play in style and threat at home, at least to get a substantial lead in the score.

Because they definitely don't want to miss the opportunity in vain while sitting on the advantage, and then gamble their lives in the second round of the game.

This is the basic motivation for Manchester City to continue to launch strong pressure and launch outside operations after the opening.

Otherwise, the second round of the game will go to the Calderon Stadium. Facing Atletico Madrid, who sits at home and has gained a respite in physical fitness, in a decisive game, what terrifying energy Simeone's team can explode, That's hard to say.

At that time, who is in an advantage and who is in a disadvantage, and the status is reversed, which needs to be re-analyzed.

You must know that for the current Atletico Madrid, which can compete with Real Madrid in the Champions League final, their weakness after the opening,
It's not that they're incapable of a serious game against Manchester City at the Etihad Stadium,
It is more of a tactical intention. Guardiola is a rare top handsome in today's football, and Simeone on the opposite side is also an old fox who has been thinking about it since he was a player.

He guessed that Guardiola will definitely attack aggressively when the team has the advantage, because this is an upright kingly way to crush the opponent with a general momentum.

If it were Simeone himself, he would also choose to take the initiative to look for fighters at this time,
This is also when he saw that Manchester City was indeed in good condition, and after he showed the suffocating offensive rhythm when facing Barcelona at the beginning of the game,
The reason for immediately adjusting the team's tactical stance, avoiding the enemy's edge, and absolutely not giving Manchester City any chance to score easily. If Manchester City can score under Atletico Madrid's strict defense without a striker, then Simeone will recognize it.

You, Manchester City, are superior and can even pierce such an iron barrel formation. Of course, Atletico Madrid has nothing to say, but if you can't pierce, or if you make a fatal mistake when you pierce.

Then at the moment, or in the second round of the game, the Sheet Army, which performed the iron blood and the first show to the extreme, will definitely make Blue Moon burst into blood!

Simeone's calculations are aboveboard, and Guardiola also clearly understands the opponent's tactical intentions, which is not difficult to guess.

From the moment Atletico Madrid completely shrank, Guardiola had already guessed Simeone's small calculation.

"That old boy on the opposite side really created a problem for me!

Atletico Madrid who defend wholeheartedly!

Tsk tsk, Simeone, I am determined to see if my Manchester City teeth are hard! "

Guardiola sat on the coach's bench and talked with his assistant coach in a low voice. Of course, Manchester City has an absolute advantage in the current scene. The current court is Manchester City's unilateral half-court offensive and defensive drill.

Guardiola didn't put too much thought into the current situation on the field. He began to think about how to crack Atletico Madrid's tortoise shell in the second half or in the second round.

There are two full home and away games in the Champions League knockout round, with four half-times. For Manchester City, they have enough time to think and try, how to crack Atletico Madrid's defense.

But this time is definitely an extremely difficult 180 minutes for Atletico Madrid. Guardiola does not believe that Simeone will choose to stick to the two games.

Guardiola has a good understanding of this old fox who looks more like a gangster than a football coach. When the away game comes, Atletico Madrid will definitely have a big move waiting for him.

It can even be said that in the second half or the final stage of the game, the bad boy on the opposite side may not be able to help but change his shots.

Never be soft when it's time to make a shot. The temptation of an away goal is enough for Simeone to try when possible.

What I should think about now is how to crack Atletico Madrid's bus.

If you can't crack it, then don't.Stabilize the mentality and continue to put pressure on Atletico Madrid until Simeone can't help but want to attack.
At that time, Manchester City had a greater chance to give Atletico Madrid a fatal blow.

As for the penalty shootout, Guardiola has never had this word in his mind. Guardiola has his own pride for a head coach who advocates offense and seldom uses it for defense and counterattack unless he has to.

Although because of the failure at Bayern Munich, Guardiola became more pragmatic during the nearly one-year coaching process, which made him change for victory and let go of his persistence.

But it is absolutely impossible for Guardiola to let him completely wipe away his pride and his football mission. He can follow the trend and change, but he will never give the initiative of his own destiny to his opponents .

If you can't break through, then continue to attack. If you are really dragged to a penalty shootout, it is because your offensive skills are not as good as others.

"We have to find a balance between offense and defense, and we must prevent Simeone from trying to make a fool of himself at the end.

He is not a person who just sits and waits to die. Don't look at them being so tight on purpose now, when the critical moment comes, he will definitely come up and bite us!
When a tortoise bites, it doesn't let go!
If you don't bite off a piece of meat, Simeone will not give up! "

While rubbing his shiny bald head with his hands, Guardiola continued to talk to his assistant coach, and fell into the sorting out and analysis of the game situation.

Defensive counterattack, Atletico Madrid's counterattack must be completed by relying on two points on their forward line.

Because there are fewer people in their hands, their counterattacks can often be realized in the shortest delivery time.

Unlike Manchester City's active offense, it takes a lot of time to build a fixed and mature offensive routine, find a route, and find opportunities, which may be achieved in an instant.

It is enough to be fast, accurate and ruthless, but Atletico Madrid's counterattack fully meets the above three elements. Except for the old golden boy Torres, Atletico Madrid's midfielders can all be pulled out to start fast .

Even if Torres, who is relatively slow, really enters a state of desperate explosion, the shadow of that El Nino will not disappear completely!
If the front defense is not beaten, and Manchester City fails to break the tortoise shell of Atletico Madrid, then the home and away rounds will be dragged by Atletico Madrid to the real decisive moment.
Then it may only take half a court or even less time. For Simeone, it is best to delay three halves.

After recharging their energy, as long as the score is not stretched at that time, even if Manchester City can gain a certain advantage in away goals, as long as it is not a real lead by one goal,

At the last moment, the sheet army is desperately trying to gamble, and Atletico Madrid at home definitely has a chance to eliminate Manchester City, which is currently in a relatively better situation.

This is Simeone's assessment of the strength of Manchester City and several parties. If I attack now and face Manchester City, which has almost performed offensive football to the top, Atletico Madrid will most likely not be able to beat the Blue Moon.

Although in essence, the two teams are not much different, but relying on these advantages and more abundant physical fitness in single-line combat, Manchester City is entirely possible to defeat Atletico Madrid in a head-to-head duel.

Then it would be better to use the [-] formation to delay the game time and kill the best form of Manchester City, laying the groundwork for the possible stealing chicken and the desperate fight in the last half.

At the last moment, there is no need to talk about physical fitness or technical advantages. Atletico Madrid will definitely create a suitable decisive battle opportunity for themselves by dragging the word.

For a team like Atletico Madrid, it is quite scary for them to fight their lives. The weak are afraid of the strong, and the strong are afraid of their lives. The sheet army trained by Simeone is really arrogant. To the taste of life!

The game began to proceed slowly according to the script Simeone wanted.

In the No.18 minute of the first half, Zhao Jinge quickly advanced in the middle of the frontcourt, stopped and pulled the ball in front of Gabi to change direction, and Cork rushed to pinch, and he immediately hit the ball across the left.

When Yaya Toure rushed up to meet him, Zhao Jinge had already moved forward.

When Toure passed the ball diagonally again, Zhao Jinge was intercepted by Uruguayan defender Jimenez as soon as he stopped the ball.

Then Zhao Jinge put on a top-notch performance.

I saw him dunking and dialing during the emergency stop, as if escaping from inertia, he shifted the ball to the right, and then restarted in an instant, and wiped Jimenez's shoulder.

However, due to the timely rush of Atletico Madrid's central defender, Zhao Jinge's body, which twisted half a circle to the right, collided with Jimenez when he changed direction and broke through.

Jimenez flicked Zhao Jinge away slightly, but Zhao Jinge suddenly exerted force and continued to charge forward while maintaining his body's center of gravity, which made the Uruguayan central defender unable to keep up with the speed!
But then, Felipe, an experienced full-back on the other side, chose to directly face Zhao Jinge's already raised steps, and fell head-on to the ground with a shovel!

With a posture of not being afraid of getting hurt at all, he poked the football out with his toe under Zhao Jinge's shoe spikes.

At the last moment, Zhao Jinge withdrew his feet and didn't step on Felipe's ankle.

As the main full-back of Atletico Madrid, if Felipe is injured, it is definitely unacceptable news for Ma Zhen.

Although Zhao Jinge may also get a card, but this kind of move that will definitely not send him off is definitely beneficial to Manchester City.

"Thank you, but I will shovel you next time."

After getting up from the ground, Felipe said a word to Zhao Jinge, and then ran back to the side road he was guarding without looking back.

Regarding this situation, Zhao Jinge also shook his head with a smile. Although football is also a kind of war, it is still against sportsmanship to intentionally hurt people.

As Zhao Jinge, who has just entered the industry for less than two years and has already tasted all kinds of champions, he will definitely not have the mentality of doing whatever it takes to win the championship.

Gabi controlled the football that Felipe poked, and Zhao Jinge immediately turned around and had to go up, and the two sides started a new round of hand-to-hand combat.

In the No. 20 minute of the game, after Manchester City regained possession of the ball, they took the initiative to launch an offensive again.

De Bruyne took the initiative to run from the left to respond, stop and pass, and the football flew to the right of the front field.

Simeone couldn't sit still when David Silva firmly stopped the ball on the right side of Atletico Madrid's penalty area.

Although the speed of the opponent's players who play transition from the midfield and the two wings is not fast, De Bruyne and David Silva's precise pass,

Compared with advancing with the ball, it is undoubtedly more time-saving. In other words, the time for re-arming becomes less for Atletico Madrid in the transition of defensive focus.

David Silva was blocked by Juanfran and Fernando when he dribbled inside. He passed the ball diagonally between the two.

Zhao Jinge took the initiative to respond to the running position, and suddenly used a ball that Savage did not expect to change the direction. From the offensive posture of responding to the pass, it directly changed to a lightning strike that hit the right rib area of ​​​​Atletico Madrid's penalty area!
Savage quickly retreated, and Zhao Jinge grabbed the rhythm and turned the ball to a crosscut when Jimenez played again, and completed the shot hastily as soon as he swung out of the angle.

The football flew to the lower left of the center of the goal, and the goalkeeper Oblak confiscated the ball steadily.

Atlético de Madrid's press is really impenetrable. Zhao Jinge can break through the first to second blockade by relying on his strong personal strength.
But when it comes to Atletico Madrid's penalty area, the narrow space is always blocked by the defensive players of the Sheets Legion from the most threatening area.

Moreover, Atletico Madrid's new goalkeeper Oblak has performed extremely well this season, almost except for the astonishing fairy ball,

For other shots to break through Oblak's ten fingers, it really needs a bit of luck at the right time, place and people.

In the second minute of the game No.20, De Bruyne scored from the midfield all the way to the organization and then stepped forward to respond.

When he received a pass from Kyle Walker from the wing and was ready to push forward in the frontcourt,
The opposite striker Griezmann chose to accelerate from the side and rear, trying to block De Bruyne to form a steal.

De Bruyne's body tilted slightly to the front right, so that he would not be able to stabilize his center of gravity, but Gabi followed him up and stretched his legs to block him, causing him to roll over to the ground.

De Bruyne, who was rolling on the ground, involuntarily stretched his hands towards his sore calf from being kicked.

The referee has blown his whistle and Gabi blocks the foul.

The offense and defense of the two teams have become more and more intense.

(End of this chapter)