Football: Starting from being abandoned by Barcelona

While Ranieri was analyzing the team's current situation and formulating tactical arrangements in his office, his true thoughts also emerged in his heart.

"The quality of the team's players is like this now. The frontcourt is pretty good. With Vardy and Li Lei as the core, and Mahrez and others, the offense is still very powerful."

"The problem lies in the defense. When facing high-level opponents, the lack of organizational ability is clearly exposed, which needs to be solved from the tactical level."

"You can still use high-pressure defense against weak teams, but when facing strong teams, you need to shrink in time and adopt a steady and steady tactic to reduce mistakes."

"At the same time, we must strengthen the coordination and cover between each line of defense to enhance the overall pressure resistance."

"Of course, it is also necessary to strengthen the defense in terms of personnel. I will start to introduce one or two experienced central defenders in the winter window, but large-scale signings may disrupt the tacit understanding within the team, so we need to be cautious."

"It is difficult to make major changes to the current lineup in a short period of time. I can only try my best to exert the full strength of this phalanx at the tactical level."

"I hope the players can continue to improve, improve their defensive awareness, and become the real protagonist team."

Thinking of this, Ranieri came to the window and looked at the players on the training ground with a comforting expression on his face.

However, this defeat also attracted the attention of the club's top management.

The previous winning streak made them feel inexplicably illusory, and they were a little too proud of themselves. Now that they have been frustrated, they can't help but worry, and even recalled the thrilling relegation last season, and shuddered.

For this reason, the top management specially interviewed Ranieri.

"Coach Ranieri, we have seen the situation of the team." Club owner Vichai said straight to the point: "The failure in the last round makes us worried. Do you have any countermeasures?"

Ranieri responded calmly: "Please rest assured, the defeat is temporary. We will seriously reflect and make adjustments."

"The goal at this stage remains unchanged, which is to steadily ensure the league ranking."

"I will strengthen the team's defensive training, actively prepare for the winter window, and strive to add more brilliant combat power."

"Please give us time, we will definitely live up to the fans' expectations."

After hearing this, the top management expressed their understanding and support.

"We are not in a position to interfere too much in the daily affairs of the team. Please take full responsibility."

"As long as you work hard, the process is not important. We have full confidence in you and the team!"

On October 3, in the 8th round of the Premier League, Leicester City challenged Norwich at Carrow Road Stadium.

Facing a mid-ranking opponent, head coach Ranieri did not underestimate the enemy and sent out all the main players.

He can explain Arsenal's defeat in the last round by the difference in strength, but this game must be won, otherwise his coaching ability will be questioned.

At the beginning of the game, Leicester City showed a strong offensive will. The front line composed of the front trident still cooperated tacitly and threatened Norwich's goal many times.

Ranieri's deployment was also more cautious, and the central defender always paid attention to strengthening the defensive cooperation to avoid exposing the back defense loopholes again.

In the first 25 minutes of the game, the two sides were in a stalemate and there was not much threat.

In the 28th minute, Leicester City got a good free kick opportunity on the right side of the frontcourt. Vardy was fouled by the opponent and fell to the ground, and this position was very suitable for direct shooting.

Li Lei, standing behind the penalty spot, took a direct shot, and the penalty kicker Li Lei did not disappoint everyone's expectations.

The ball he took drew a beautiful arc in front of Norwich's goal and went straight to the far corner of the goal.

"Goooooooooal!"

In the Sky Sports live broadcast room, Keane couldn't hide his excitement after seeing this goal and praised: "Li Lei! Beautiful elevator ball! This is a wonderful free kick! We saw that the ball had a clear falling movement in front of the goal line."

Jones couldn't help but praise: "Great! Li Lei's free kick technique is first-class. This long-distance shot is very difficult, but he grasped it very well and sent the ball directly into the far corner."

Keane nodded and agreed: "Yes, Li Lei's free kick has always been a weapon for Leicester City. This time it also helped the team break the deadlock and take the lead."

Jones continued: "From the reaction of head coach Ranieri, he was also excited about the goal."

"This undoubtedly gave the team great encouragement, proving that they were not affected by the defeat in the last round."

Keane said: "Leicester City now has the upper hand, and the overall defense is more solid."

"If they can maintain their lead, they are likely to get all three points in this away game."

"Ranieri's tactical arrangement also worked, and everything shows that the team's state is warming up."

Leicester City fans in the stands are still cheering, and Li Lei is also celebrating with his teammates on the court.

Norwich had to stabilize its formation first. Taking the initiative to attack would obviously be risky because they did not have the strength to face Leicester City head-on.

Now they could only wait for the opponent to make a mistake and then look for a counterattack opportunity.

The Norwich coach knew Leicester City better.

He knew that Leicester City's defense was the biggest weakness, which was also where they could take advantage.

So there could be no more mistakes at this time, and the defense must be kept stable to limit the opponent's opportunities.

At the same time, he would also instruct the team to focus on attacking the opponent's defenders when counterattacking, because this was where Leicester City was easily exposed.

As long as there were loopholes in the defense, they could quickly counterattack and strive to equalize the score.

Now Leicester City had the upper hand, and Norwich could only settle for the second best, but with his understanding of the opponent, the Norwich coach believed that there was still a chance.

In this way, the first half came to the halftime break with Leicester City leading by one goal.

In order to equalize the score, at the beginning of the second half, the Norwich coach immediately replaced two players, Nathan Redmond and Diumerik Mabukani.

The two substitutions soon showed results.

Shortly after the start of the game, Jonathan Howson made a cross from the right, and Maboukani, who came on as a substitute, received the ball and shot, equalizing the score to 1:1.

Norwich's two substitutions fully demonstrated the head coach's responsiveness and tactical adjustments.

He keenly grasped the weakness of Leicester City's defense and used the firepower of the substitutes to quickly equalize the score.

The situation is now somewhat unfavorable for Leicester City. If they want to keep the victory, they must be vigilant to prevent losing the ball again.

However, Ranieri's on-the-spot command ability is not vegetarian. Seeing Norwich equalize the score, head coach Ranieri immediately made adjustments.

He replaced Leonardo Ulloa and Andy King to strengthen the team's offensive power.

The addition of Ulloa and King undoubtedly enhanced Leicester City's frontcourt power.

Both have good dribbling and passing skills, which can create more opportunities for forwards.

The game entered a fierce tug-of-war stage, with the coaches of both sides showing off their skills and trying to win the final victory for their teams.