Full-level pass, please call me the speaker of the Three Lions

Chapter 472: One-on-one challenge ceremony with three midfielders!
Mourinho's tactical strategy was unexpected.

But it is also reasonable.

After all, when it comes to defensive counterattacks, the first person that comes to everyone’s mind is this Portuguese player who has made his way into the football world with the concept of “defensive counterattack”!

Moreover, in the "Battle for the Earth" that went down in the history of football, Inter Milan, led by Mourinho, relied on defensive counterattack tactics to defeat the powerful Barcelona in two rounds of the game!
Therefore, coming to the stage of the Champions League final again, facing Real Madrid, which is stronger than his own in overall strength and lineup depth, Mourinho's choice is obviously very wise!

According to Mourinho's plan, they must decide the winner within ninety minutes!
Never let the game go into overtime!
Because, once entering the overtime, Real Madrid's terrifying bench depth and ever-changing backhands are enough to destroy all their efforts in the previous 90 minutes!
Therefore, unlike the previous formation where all players retreated to form a bus, Manchester United's formation did not completely retreat to the backcourt.

Moreover, they adopted a strategy of pressing rather than robbing, concentrating manpower in the middle, compressing the space as much as possible, and not giving the opponent the opportunity to make through passes in the middle or take long shots.

In addition to zone defense, Mourinho also used man-to-man marking in this game!

As for Kroos, the hub of the midfield and backcourt, Ling Feng was asked to suppress his passing.

Kroos' physical qualities, including speed and burst, are very average.

As long as Kroos is not comfortable passing the ball, the other midfielder Modric will have to frequently retreat to receive the ball and establish a connection with the backcourt.

As the only midfielder with the ability to hold the ball and advance, Modric is the offensive propulsion unit of Real Madrid.

The further away he is from the front trident, the more difficult it will be to advance the ball to the front and make passes and cuts.

In this way, the less support the front trident gets, the more useless it will be!

This set of restraint measures was inspired by Mourinho from Juventus' shutout of Barcelona's MSN combination!
In fact, if we really come to a competition of midfield strength and control, Manchester United's midfield trio is not inferior to Real Madrid's ceremonial three midfielders.

Maybe Herrera's ability is slightly insufficient, but Ling Feng and Kante are definitely one of the best midfield combinations in football with both offensive and defensive capabilities!
Kante's main strength is his defensive ability. His physical fitness and defensive positioning are impeccable.

And Ling Feng is even more perverted!
Casemiro's defensive interception, Modric's dribbling forward, and Kroos's passing connection.
What the three players in the ceremony could do, he could do alone!
Not only can he tie down the defense on offense, but he can also fight two opponents at once on defense.

He and Ibrahimovic's presence in the frontcourt can also cut off Real Madrid's ceremonial three midfielders to a certain extent.

As for Real Madrid's most threatening player, Cristiano Ronaldo, Mourinho handed it over to Herrera, who has first-class tactical execution ability.

As early as in the Premier League match against Chelsea, Herrera successfully defended and froze Chelsea's core player Hazard, contributing a successful case of the exchange tactic to the football world.

This time, he is facing Real Madrid's core Cristiano Ronaldo. Whether he can complete this difficult task again is also the key to whether Manchester United can withstand Real Madrid's fierce attack!
As for Kante, he is responsible for running in the midfield, sweeping and intercepting.

With his physical fitness and running ability, he can form a defensive barrier in front of the back line.

With Ling Feng retreating from time to time, there is no need to worry about the midfield being easily penetrated!
In the first fifteen minutes of the game, the situation on the field was just as Mourinho expected.

Both sides played very cautiously and did not dare to push their formation too far.

In addition, Manchester United took the initiative to give up the ball, and Real Madrid's possession rate reached 60% after the start of the game.

It’s a pity that such ball possession advantage is just an illusion that "Real Madrid controls the game."

The so-called ball control means that Real Madrid keeps passing the ball back and forth, and then finds that it cannot pass through the midfield, so it can only pass the ball back, and then the central defender passes the ball to the sides, and Ronaldo and Isco break through with the ball from the wing.

If you cannot find a gap in the opponent's defense, continue to pass the ball back and repeat the process.

This kind of playing style made Real Madrid players very uncomfortable.

Especially Ronaldo who was closely followed by Herrera!
Wherever he went, Herrera followed him and never let him get the ball easily.

At the beginning, Ronaldo also felt that Herrera was like a follower and very annoying.

However, he was not surprised.

After all, he has long been accustomed to the treatment of being specially guarded by opponents as a star player.

The opponent's attention will actually inspire his fighting spirit.

You sent someone to keep an eye on me, right?

I won’t let you succeed!
Moreover, Ronaldo's ability to read the game is also excellent.

In the situation where Herrera is always around, he will think about how to get rid of Herrera.
The most important thing is that compared to Hazard, whose off-ball running ability is average, Ronaldo's off-ball running ability and running speed are much stronger!
Soon, as the game progressed, Ronaldo not only moved around on the left, but also frequently moved to the middle to get the ball.

This makes it more difficult for Herrera to defend.

Many times, Ronaldo retreated to get the ball, bounced the ball back, and then immediately ran to an open space to receive the ball, thus getting rid of Herrera, this sticky piece of candy.

After several times, Herrera couldn't keep up with the speed, allowing Ronaldo to leave his effective defensive range.

It is the smart movement that allows Ronaldo to get more opportunities to hold the ball in the frontcourt.

Fortunately, Mourinho does not think that Herrera alone can freeze Ronaldo.

Ander Herrera wasn't the only player marking Ronaldo either!

In the 18th minute of the game, Ronaldo retreated from the wing, passed the ball to Kroos, then turned around and swung his arms forward.

Immediately afterwards, Kroos passed the ball back immediately. After a simple wall pass, Ronaldo got the ball on the wing and faced the direction of attack.

However, just as he was about to move forward with the ball, he felt someone attacking him from behind.

When I looked back, I saw a face that was both familiar and unfamiliar!

Rooney!

Captain Lu returned to defend the side of his own backcourt, stuck to Ronaldo from behind, and then physically confronted Ronaldo from the side.

At the same time, Herrera, who had just been passed, also moved sideways to Ronaldo's inward route.

Coupled with the right-back Valencia who was pressing forward, Ronaldo was suddenly double-teamed by three people!
Although it looks almost surrounded.

But despite being surrounded by three people, Ronaldo still used a fancy heel pass near the sideline to pass the ball back to left-back Marcelo who was following behind.

However, this potential one-on-one opportunity on the wing was missed.

If Rooney had not returned to defense, Ronaldo would most likely have accelerated and dribbled the ball towards right-back Valencia, thus creating a threat in the attacking third zone.

Therefore, after this successful wave of defense, Manchester United fans in the stands immediately gave warm applause.

Seeing Rooney's active return to defense, Mourinho, who had his hands in his pockets on the sidelines, nodded slightly.

When selecting the starting lineup the day before the game, Mourinho also considered letting the more energetic Lingard replace Rooney as the starting right winger.

However, after careful consideration, he still chose to let Rooney start. First of all, as the captain and leader of the team, if Rooney did not start in such an important game as the Champions League final, it would inevitably cause an uproar in public opinion.

Even though Ling Feng is now recognized as the strongest player in Manchester United and England.

However, in terms of seniority and status in football, Rooney will always be the top player of Manchester United and England as long as he remains in office!
If Rooney is not allowed to start in the Champions League final, no matter what the reason, not only will the team scold him, but the media will also scold him!

Of course, in addition to locker room stability, Mourinho also considers tactical issues.

Since he chose to counterattack, all players must participate in the defense, especially the two wingers, who must retreat to the center line to assist in defense.

Rooney's fighting spirit and defensive enthusiasm are much stronger than Lingard's.

Anyway, after Rooney and his opponent are almost exhausted, he can replace him with the energetic Lingard, which will have a miraculous effect.

This is also the best use of the "substitute surprise" Lingard throughout the season!

. . .

"The game is about to enter the 20th minute. Both sides are very cautious and there has not been a single shot on target yet."

"Real Madrid still had the initiative on the field. But although they controlled the ball, they were unable to create many good shooting opportunities in the frontcourt."

"The most active player in Real Madrid is Ronaldo, the No.7."

If we talk about the most aggrieved and helpless player in Real Madrid, it must be the number eight Kroos.

Under Ling Feng's pressure, it was basically difficult for Kroos to receive the ball.

In nearly twenty minutes, he only had five touches and three passes.

Without the commander Kroos to connect and organize the midfield and backcourt, Real Madrid's passing and penetration through the middle was out of the question in the face of Manchester United's very tight overall defensive formation!

Moreover, Manchester United's defensive strategy is very smart.

Whenever Benzema, Ronaldo, or even Isco moved to the middle to receive the ball, Kante would immediately press forward and prevent them from turning around.

Hold your position, slow down the opponent's attack speed, and wait for Ling Feng to take position.

As the team gradually adapted to Real Madrid's offensive rhythm and tactics, the uneasiness and nervousness of Manchester United players participating in the final gradually faded away.

The defending champion, known as the Galaxy Battleship, doesn't seem to be that great.

At least we didn't break through their defense all at once!

So, they slowly made some bold counterattack attempts!

In the 22nd minute of the game, Isco received the ball in the middle and was about to step on the ball to complete the turn, but Kante cleverly squeezed aside and kicked the ball away with his foot!

The ball rolled right to Ling Feng's feet as he returned to defense.

"Manchester United stole the ball!"

"Number seven Ling Feng takes the ball!"

Ling Feng stepped on the ball and turned around, then he saw Modric rushing towards him.

Obviously, in Real Madrid's targeted deployment, Modric is the first barrier to prevent Ling Feng from launching a counterattack!
This is also normal.

After all, among the three midfielders at the ceremony, the one with the most mobility is the light and flexible Modric.

The others, Kroos and Casemiro, are both slower players.

However, in front of Ling Feng, even Modric was just a slightly more flexible wooden stake.

With just a dribble, a change of direction and acceleration, Ling Feng easily passed Modric and got rid of his hand movements.

After passing Modric and continuing to dribble the ball forward, Ling Feng, like a red knight, charged forward into the pure white Real Madrid position.

As the last line of defense, Casemiro did not choose to rush forward.

He knew very well that if he went up, there would be only two results:
Either he gets passed! Or he fouls and knocks Ling Feng down!
Neither the former nor the latter is acceptable.

Therefore, he could only retreat and call for help from his teammates:
"Tony, you go!"

While directing Kroos on the left to move forward, he was also staring at Ling Feng's feet, turning his head to observe the running positions of other Manchester United players, preparing for Ling Feng to pass the ball.

However, Kroos's interference did not work at all.

Ling Feng directly confronted Kroos, then accelerated again and rushed towards Casemiro with the ball.

Seeing that Ling Feng's pace was so fast that his legs were almost leaving afterimages, Casemiro was faced with a choice:
Should he knock Ling Feng down directly, or interfere with him, let him enter the penalty area, and let Ramos deal with him?
Just when Casemiro was hesitating, Ling Feng, who took the initiative, helped him make a choice!

The Red Devils' No. 7 suddenly took a step with his right foot, made a pendulum fake move, then swayed left and right, like a flash of red lightning, and passed Casemiro cleanly and quickly!
During a dribbling attack, he passed Modric, Kroos and Casemiro in one go!
At this point, Ling Feng had gained an absolute advantage in the duel between the three midfielders in the duel ceremony.

However, Real Madrid still has a very good understanding of him.

And the moment Ling Feng passed Casemiro, Ramos pounced on him immediately with murderous intent in his eyes!
Boy, don't even think about me!

Because the distance was too close and Ramos filled in the position very timely, the time and space left for Ling Feng to make a move were very short.

Dribble past the defense and create a penalty?
Or pass the ball?

In a flash, Ling Feng made a decision - just shoot!
Before Ramos could stretch his legs to block, he shot directly with the arch of his foot!
The next second, the ball turned into an afterimage, flew past Ramos' legs, and then went straight to the lower left corner of the goal!
This shot was very sudden, and Ramos blocked the view to a certain extent, making it very difficult to save.

But Navas is Navas.

The goal line prediction and reaction are simply amazing!
The moment Ling Feng shot, he made a prediction in advance and took a step to his right.

It was this step that allowed him to quickly get to the ground and touch the ball with his fingertips before the ball went into the blind corner of the goal.

The ball changed its trajectory and hit the outside of the goal post with a "Duang" sound, then rolled out of the bottom line.

Seeing this scene, tens of thousands of Red Devils fans in the stands suddenly burst into a uniform sigh!

Ling Feng also frowned, feeling a little regretful.

Grass!
Can this be prevented?

He was just a little bit away from scoring his first goal in the Champions League final of his career.
(End of this chapter)