I started with Torres, to revive German football

Chapter 368 A more perfect Zhao Jinge
  Manchester City's forward pressing continues. Gabriel is now closest to Cech. He is on the left side of the penalty area. Mustafi is on the right side of the top of the arc in the penalty area. Xhaka retreats to the left side of the top of the penalty area. , four people form an irregular quadrilateral, but it is difficult for defensive players to restrict it.

Therefore, Zhao Jinge and other Manchester City frontcourt players did not press Gabriel or Mustafi, but followed Xhaka.

If they really want to make great efforts to grab Gabriel and Mustafi, Manchester City needs to invest more troops, but at this time, Arsenal will often play directly in the midfield and behind, which is very dangerous.

After Cech took a look at the situation, he kicked the ball to Gabriel, who stopped the ball and moved forward. At this time, Mane pushed towards Gabriel, but he was also far outside the penalty area, which was just symbolic. Press.

Gabriel passed the ball to Mustafi, who was surrounded by nobody.

After Mustafi stopped the ball, he sped up and tried to move forward, but Manchester City's defense quickly adjusted.

Zhao Jinge retreated a little, still pinching Xhaka. Mahrez followed Bellerin on the right, Mane followed Monreal on the left, and De Bruyne pushed forward.

Seeing that Manchester City's defensive formation was switching quickly, Mustafi stopped suddenly, grabbed the ball, and passed it crosswise to Gabriel on the left side of the top of the arc in the penalty area, while Kirkland retreated very far back to receive the ball.

But at this time, Zhao Jinge and De Bruyne followed Xhaka back.

It's obvious that Manchester City doesn't care about Arsenal's control of the ball and back-footing at the back, and they don't intend to steal this area. Even if Cochrane retreats to support, Manchester City doesn't intend to follow. The point is to pinch Xhaka. .

Also, keep the overall formation compact and orderly.

Kirkland stopped the ball, turned around, and led forward. Arsenal's overall formation slowly moved forward, while Manchester City slowly retreated.

At this moment, Volcock suddenly retreated from the front and ran to the area between Zhao Jinge, Gundogan and Mane to catch the ball.

Mahrez immediately reminded Gundogan, and the German midfielder followed immediately.

Before Walcock could stop the ball passed by Kirkland, Gundogan was already behind him. Before he could stop the ball, he pushed it forward with his body and stabbed it with his foot.

The Arsenal forward desperately wanted to hold Gundogan, but the German midfielder was tall and had long legs. Although Walcock has excellent physical fitness and good back-up ability, the height gap is there, which is natural. disadvantages.

Gundogan is not an artistic young man. This guy is from Germany. Everyone knows that the Germans have never been ambiguous in physical confrontation. Therefore, when Gundogan withstood Volcock, he keenly seized the opportunity. The moment Cork failed to stop the ball, he suddenly poked the ball back from behind.

The ball seemed to have been passed back to Arsenal's defense, but Cochrane, who was originally at that position, had already moved forward. Bellerin immediately ran over to catch the ball, but Zhao Jinge was faster and suddenly took the ball. Before Bellerin, he moved the ball forward and sprinted forward with the ball in his stride.

In the blink of an eye, Zhao Jinge had already rushed forward with the ball, approaching the left corner of Arsenal's goal.

Gabriel came over immediately, stood up, and made a decisive tackle on the ground, but Zhao Jinge reacted faster and directly kicked the ball into the penalty area, hoping to pass the ball.

But Gabriel's body hit Zhao Jinge's leg, and the Manchester City center fell into Arsenal's penalty area.

The referee's crisp whistle came as promised.

Wow!

The entire Etihad Stadium erupted in an instant.

penalty!

More and more fans were shouting loudly, obviously seeing Zhao Jinge fall into Arsenal's penalty area.

At first glance, it looks like a penalty kick.

But Zhao Jinge and others saw clearly that Gabriel's position was at the edge of the penalty area and not in the penalty area at all. This was more of a free kick than a penalty kick.

Facts also proved that after the referee Gomez blew the whistle, he did not point to a penalty kick, but a free kick. However, he walked towards Gabriel again, waved to Gabriel to come over, and quickly raised his hand yellow card.

"Twenty-nine seconds into the game, Manchester City got a very good free kick opportunity in the frontcourt."

"Arsenal centre-back Gabriel has received a yellow card."

"It is true that Gabriel's foul position was outside the penalty area, but this free kick position is still very threatening."

"Now it depends on what style of play Manchester City is going to adopt. They can shoot directly."

After Mane pulled Zhao Jinge up from the ground, several Manchester City players began to gather at the front of Arsenal's penalty area, and Arsenal began to gather around to study the free kick defense this time.

Zhao Jinge stood on the sidelines. Although the whole audience was booing and complaining that the referee did not give a penalty kick, Zhao Jinge was not surprised.

This penalty is very accurate.

"Zhao should be pretty sure about this position."

Guardiola said.

He knew that Zhao Jinge had practiced free kicks and knew his favorite player's shooting percentage at this position.

Arsenal obviously knew this, so they arranged all the high points such as Gabriel and Xhaka to build a wall, and even tried to push out as much as possible, but the referee blew the whistle to signal them to move back.

It is not popular for referees to carry a bottle of white foam with them. Otherwise, it would be simple and clear to just slide it around.

"This position is either good or bad. It is difficult to press the arc. It is also very difficult to press the arc and create an angle."

Manchester City's assistant coach analyzed.

Guardiola, who was once considered a master of free kicks, nodded in agreement. In fact, if it was farther away, the penalty would be better.

"Maybe with some coordination, it might be easier to score goals."

Guardiola stared at Zhao Jinge intently, his eyes full of expectation.

The assistant coach looked at the focused Guardiola and couldn't help but nodded.

This distance is basically played directly, because it is right at the front of the penalty area, but it is severely left.

But it is precisely because everyone feels that this position is more suitable for directly hitting the goal, so a sudden cooperation may have miraculous results, especially when Arsenal calls tall players over to line up the wall.

Gabriel was originally going to follow Mane and guard the back spot, but now he was called over by Ramsey and asked him to guard Gundogan.

"I didn't pay attention before, but now I feel that Ramsey has the potential to be a head coach." Guardiola laughed.

Because Arsenal has always had a tradition of coaching midfielders, Ramsey may be next.

But looking at it now, Arsenal's players seem to listen to Ramsey's instructions, and they feel a bit like the head coach on the field.

At this time, the Manchester City players also dispersed, leaving only Zhao Jinge on the scene.

This is a very clear signal that Manchester City intends to shoot directly.

Everyone knows that what Zhao Jinge is best at is the elevator ball with extremely fast speed and unpredictable trajectory.

The players made decisions on the court, and Zhao Jinge would not interfere and watched silently.

Following the referee's whistle, Zhao Jinge took a quick run and kicked a free kick with his right foot. I heard a bang and the football quickly crossed the wall.

But what is unexpected is that the kick was not aimed directly at the goal, but fell towards the back point of the small penalty area.

When everyone reacted, they saw that Mane had quickly rushed into the small penalty area, almost unguarded, without even taking off, and directly headed the ball.

After the ball was tipped by Mane, it changed direction and went into the goal close to Chi Chi.

"GOAL!!!!!!"

"Man City's free kick!"

"One to zero!"

"Less than two minutes into the game, Manchester City used a wonderful free kick to open Arsenal's goal!"

"Zhao Jinge's free kick was completely unexpected by everyone."

"I guess fans all over the world thought the same as us and thought he would hit the goal directly. This was in line with Zhao Jinge's confidence. But I didn't expect that at the critical moment, he chose to assist."

"This is Zhao Jinge! This is a superstar!"

"You'll never guess what he's thinking."

"Zhao Jinge's penalty kick was very beautiful. Mane's movement was also very accurate. Bellerin was blocked by him. Although he was at an absolute disadvantage due to his height, the main attention of Arsenal's defensive players was not on him. body, watching Mane header the goal."

"Manchester City's cooperation was very sudden and unexpected."

Guardiola was full of surprises on the sidelines, raising his arms in the air and cheering.

He also didn't expect that Zhao Jinge would choose to assist, and the quality of the free throws was very high.

"Seriously, Zhao is even more perfect now."

The assistant coach praised him repeatedly.

The sudden assist was really unexpected.

Let me ask, the Manchester City coaching staff was shocked, not to mention Arsenal, they should all be shocked.

But that's football!

"Yes, I have become more integrated. I no longer just think about fighting alone or only cooperating with a small number of players, but to perfectly integrate myself with the team. This is probably also related to him. The improvement of the team's status this season has a lot to do with it.

He is no longer just a goal machine, he is now the king of Manchester City!

His changes have also allowed him to score more goals and assists, which complement each other! "

Guardiola analyzed.

Guardiola still remembers that when he first coached Manchester City, he once thought whether a young and famous player like Zhao Jinge would become a thorn in his side. Now it seems that he was so stupid and naive at the time that he could do that. The idea was almost a joke!

Zhao Jinge plays with a more integrated feel, which makes him more threatening.

Just like just now, the reason why this free kick occurred was because Zhao Jinge retreated further back, so he stepped in and got the ball before Bellerin. If he had pressed very high, he probably wouldn't have been able to get the ball. This opportunity.

He earned a free kick, took it himself, and assisted his teammates to score.

The first two minutes are completely Zhao Jinge's performance time.

"He is indeed my most valued player!"

Guardiola smiled from ear to ear.

He was also happy to see Zhao Jinge's transformation.

Manchester City's opening goal completely ignited the enthusiasm at the Etihad Stadium.

But after the game restarted, Arsenal immediately launched a counterattack.

At this time, Manchester City as a whole was still very orderly in its formation near the midline.

After more than a season of adjustments and running-in, Manchester City's defensive system trained by Guardiola is still very layered and flexible. The players cooperate with the team through running back and forth, making it difficult for Arsenal's passing penetration. through midfield.

In this game, Guardiola adopted the tactic of having Mane and Mahrez withdraw and the full-backs press forward. Together with De Bruyne, Kante and Gundogan, he could also quickly fight with the wingers. Multiple pressing groups formed in the middle.

Zhao Jinge completely gave up pressing Gabriel and Mustafi and focused on containing Xhaka.

This puts Arsenal's organization and passing in big trouble.

Cochran and Ramsey frequently retreated, but it was okay to retreat to catch the ball, but when they wanted to push forward, sorry, they hit the wall!
  Guardiola has been standing on the sidelines, observing the team's defensive posture solemnly.

As the game time progressed, he found that Arsenal had a very high ball possession rate. Even when the score was behind, they also showed an active desire to attack forward. Ramsey, Sanchez and Walcock also all Actively retreated to respond, but the effect was not very good.

Tonight, at the Etihad, Arsenal's midfield seemed to be stuck.

There have always been no surprises on the football field.

When Arsenal's passing penetration was curbed and they had a lot of possession of the ball, but there was nothing they could do about Manchester City's defense, Arsenal's shortcomings were gradually exposed, especially what Guardiola had emphasized before the game. .

That was Arsenal's on-the-spot counterattack.

In fact, it's not that Arsenal didn't counterattack on the spot, but that their ability to counterattack on the spot has weakened.

This is closely related to Arsenal's physical reserves.

Originally, Arsenal had strengthened in this area, such as buying players like Xhaka, but during this period, Arsenal still had too few quality signings.

There are few players worth using and there are many injuries. In the middle and late stages of the season, physical problems and the above problems will come one after another. The entire team's concentration and excitement in the game are not up to standard. This is Arsenal's problem!
  But the problem now is that Arsenal's problem cannot be solved, and the players do not have too much energy to devote to active counterattacks and competitions.

Just like in the [-]th minute, Arsenal tried to pass the ball behind Manchester City's defense, but Otamendi headed the ball back to the midfield.

The substitute central defender of Manchester City performed very well tonight. He defended Welbeck from several tackles and made him lose his temper. This time he made the same clearance.

Gundogan overpowered Ramsey, grabbed the first spot, and headed the ball back to the center of the midfield.

Kante came up to get the ball, but at this moment, there was no Arsenal defensive player within nearly ten meters of the Manchester City midfielder, and Kante was allowed to dribble forward!

(End of this chapter)