Football: Starting from the Ronaldo Template

Chapter 43 Ugly defense and utilitarian tactics?
  "Good evening, audience friends!"

"The broadcast for you now is the sixth round of the 2017-18 Premier League season."

"Southampton vs. Manchester United."

"The following is an introduction to the starting lineups of the two teams."

"Southampton wore red and white jerseys and fielded a 4-2-3-1 formation with Forster in goal."

"The defense is from right to left, Cedric, Maya Yoshida, Van Dijk, Bertrand."

"Double defensive midfielder Romeu partners with Lemina. In front of them are Tadic, Davis and Raymond, and finally Sean has a single arrow."

"Manchester United is wearing a black away jersey, and the starting lineup has not changed much from before, except that Rashford is the left winger."

"But fans don't need to worry, Xiao Chu should have a chance to come on as a substitute in the second half."

After Zhan Jun saw the starting list, he was inevitably a little disappointed.

However, the fans in the live broadcast room did not seem too anxious.
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  [It’s a pity that Xiao Chu could not continue to start. 】
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  [Don’t worry, Southampton players basically have good mobility, and they must be polished on Rashford first. 】
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  [Yes, and Romeu and Cedric are very fast. If Xiao Chu starts the game, it will be difficult for him to have a good space to play! 】
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  [I feel that Southampton’s midfield and backfield are very strong, and Manchester United may lose. 】
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  [After all, in ninth place last season, Xia Chuang not only strengthened the team, but also retained Van Dijk. 】
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  [I heard that Van Dyke has Chinese ancestry? 】
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  [There was an interview before, and people said there might be a little bit. 】
-
  [Does Van Persie have one? 】
-
  【.】

Probably because they have seen Chu Feng's recent progress, the Chinese fans are no longer as anxious as before, but have become more objective and calm.

Maybe this is the power of hope.

St. Mary's Stadium at this time.

Southampton fans broke out in a terrifying momentum, cheering for their own players and putting pressure on the opposing players.

In this fierce atmosphere, the formations of both sides immediately overlapped and frantically competed for the ball.

Although Southampton is nicknamed the Saints, they play more like a devil and are not conservative at all.

All players quickly pressed forward in a tacit understanding and blocked the connection between Mkhitaryan and other players through orderly high-position pressing.

Then he used physical confrontation to drown Mata, thereby completing the suppression of Manchester United.

Matic saw the opponent pressing forward and quickly passed the ball diagonally to the left.

After receiving the ball, Rashford observed it for a while and then took the ball directly.

He was known for his speed when he debuted, and could often forcefully complete breakthroughs through instantaneous explosive power.

But this trick has no effect today.

Cedric turned around and chased after him without falling too far behind, and he stayed close to confront him expertly.

under these circumstances.

Rashford can only keep slowing down to avoid losing the ball.

Manchester United's attack in the left area was blocked and they returned to a positional battle again.

Rashford saw the opportunity and crossed the center.

But at this time, Southampton's midfielder Romeu had already filled in. After struggling with Mkhitaryan, he completed the steal and quickly transferred the ball to Lemina on the side.

"Nice interception!"

"Let's take a look at Southampton's advancement. Lemina is a player with both offense and defense and has a very high advancement efficiency!"

The offensive and defensive momentum on the green field has been transformed.

Saints fans in the stands sang the team anthem in unison.

"Oh when the Saints go marching in!"

“I want to be in that number!”

"."

The exciting melody sounded, making the atmosphere in the stadium even more intense.

Facing Southampton's rapid advance, Fellaini gestured to his teammates and stepped forward to try to steal.

But Lemina's vision was extremely wide, and he started to find Raymond on the left.

The latter is also good at dribbling, using continuous changes of rhythm to get rid of Valencia.

boom!
  Then he made a high pass near the baseline.

Sean Long judged the landing point, moved his position in advance, and jumped high.

Fortunately, Manchester United's two central defenders cooperated tacitly. Phil Jones interfered with his body and Bailly headed the ball from the side to clear the ball.     “Nice defense!”

"Let's see at two o'clock, Davis directly took off his foot and volleyed, but unfortunately he didn't hold it down and it went over the crossbar."

The Southampton fans in the stands suddenly let out bursts of regret.

On the other hand, Manchester United fans broke out in a cold sweat even though it was a hot summer day.

The opponent's push from the left wing was so fast and hard that it seemed to be suffocating.

At this time, Mourinho frowned tightly on the side of the court, and the current situation was still within his expectations.

Because Southampton's center is not very good at seizing opportunities, it is difficult to create too much of a threat. It only needs to focus on preventing the opponent from making a fuss outside the penalty area.

However, the strength of the opponent's left side forced Valencia and Mata to concentrate on defense and were unable to suppress the right side.

As a result, Manchester United's advancement channel is in a semi-paralyzed state, making it difficult to launch an efficient counterattack.

Pellegrino on the other side also looked bad, obviously dissatisfied with his poor ability to seize opportunities.

But he has no better way. The funds available every year are limited. He has strengthened the midfielders and backfield players, and improved Van Dijk's treatment. He has no spare money to buy a forward.

Thinking of this, he suddenly cursed secretly. If Liverpool hadn't taken away Mane last season, he wouldn't be so miserable.

POV back to the pitch.

Facing Southampton's high pressure, Manchester United could only compress its formation to increase its defensive intensity.

From the perspective of the fans, the scene seemed to be tilted to one side.

Manchester United fans couldn't help but complain. They were already dissatisfied with Mourinho's conservative tactics last season, and they all broke out at this time.

"We should attack. Even if we can't beat Southampton, we still have to come and go."

"Yeah, what does it mean to be suppressed by others?"

"Well, I started to miss Sir Alex Ferguson. At that time, Manchester United had momentum, blood and passion."

"."

Of course, there are some Manchester United fans who have different ideas.

They believe that with the development of football, the once popular offensive football has long been outdated, and the best way is to stabilize the defense and seize opportunities to improve offensive efficiency.

Moreover, it would be somewhat one-sided to associate defense with ugliness.

While there was a heated discussion in the stands, the pitch fell into a stalemate again.

Although Southampton controlled the tempo of the game.

But with Rashford and Mkhitaryan retreating, and Fellaini forming a numerical advantage, they can cover up the problem of poor defensive coverage.

So Southampton can only try to attack from both wings.

But Professor Yang's defense on the left wing was very smart. He put it outside and then relied on his speed to catch up and interfere, which prevented Cedric from sending a high-quality pass.

As for the other side, Valencia, with the help of Mata, gradually stabilized its defense.

As for center Sean Long's strength, he is too average to put much pressure on Phil Jones and Bailly.

Therefore, the situation presented is that Southampton has the upper hand but cannot score.

During this period, Manchester United also seized the opportunity and used Rashford's speed to launch a quick counterattack.

However, due to Cedric's equally excellent mobility and Romeu's frontal interception, little results were achieved.

As the possession of the ball overlaps, time continues to pass.

finally.

The referee blew the whistle to end the first half.

　Today’s PK recommendation, I would also like to ask readers to follow up and vote.

　　Thank you!

(End of this chapter)