Benzema, the Stanford sweeper

In the early morning of April 7, chelsea's champions league quarter-elimination match at home to Real Madrid was the first leg of the champions league knockout, and the "pot god" Benzema slaughtered another goalkeeper.

Now he has more titles.

Striker, deep retracement, seriously injured in the line of fire, Real Madrid captain's armband owner, goalkeeper active error triggerer, Stanford sweeper, Bernabeu watchman... etcetera.

Of course, Chelsea manager Tuchel was overconfident and made mistakes in this campaign, which created the game where the Galaxy captured Stamford Bridge.

His initial 3-4-3 to 3-6-1 lineup, aiming at all of Real Madrid's weaknesses, achieved significant results on the spot.

Chelsea start

Goalkeeper: Mendy no. 16

Defenders: No. 2 Rudiger, No. 6 Thiago Silva, No. 4 Christensen

Defenders: No. 24 Reese James, No. 7 Kante, No. 5 Jorginho, No. 28 Azpilicueta

Forwards: No. 10 Pulisic, No. 29 Havertz, No. 19 Mount

Substitutions: No. 8 Kovacic replaced No. 4 Christensen in 46 minutes; Ziyech replaced No. 7 Kante in 46 minutes; No. 12 Cheek replaced No. 5 Zoginho in 64 minutes; Lukaku replaced No. 10 Pulisic in 64 minutes 9.

In fact, this is more like a no-front, Tuchel will pile all the team resources on two ribs, plus the premise of Rees James's position, trying to use "young" and "courageous" to rush down the Real Madrid three backs. The goal was achieved – Tony Kroos was replaced in the 74th minute because the tank was empty. However, this substitution was made after the score became 1:3, which did not help the overall situation.

The biggest questioner is in the "Reece James position premise" link.

Tuchel is, after all, superior. Reece James, who was on the side of Tony Kroos, with the assistance of Kanter, Jorginho, Pulisic, and Mount, continued to invade the hinterland of his opponents and gained great gains. Tony Kroos' side was not broken, thanks to Real Madrid's early goal and the large number of team resources invested in the entire region.

The "Reece James position premise" allowed Chelsea to suppress Real Madrid on the left at the beginning, which was visible to the naked eye, but the flaw was immediately exposed:

1. Reece James's defense was not timely, resulting in the right side of Christensen's town guard being frequently emptied;

2. Kante's poor defense of the middle and right sides has led to a large area behind Reese James becoming a defensive disaster area;

3. Double back Kante and Jorginho are in a very general state in this battle, and the tactical routine of "Benzema retreating and then running back" is slow and defensively lacking, resulting in the away team counterattacking, the two ribs of the side have been effectively invaded, and Benzema's first two goals are derived from this.

4. As starting centre-backs, Christensen and Thiago Silva couldn't do anything about Real Madrid's quick play, and there was no way to limit Benzema either one-on-one or two-on-one defense.

And Carlo Ancelotti should change 4-3-3 to 5-4-1, or even in a short period of time into an exaggerated 6-3-1 or 5-5-0 (the day before Atletico Madrid away to Manchester City, Simeone had played a rare defensive game in the history of the Champions League), using the young Valverde to increase his own midfield and backline, resisting the home team's attack and laying the victory early before the whole team could pull the crotch.

Real Madrid started

Goalkeeper: No. 1 Courtois

Defenders: No. 2 Carvajal, No. 3 Militão, No. 4 Alaba, No. 23 Felan Mendy

Defenders: No. 10 Modric, No. 14 Casemiro, No. 8 Tony Kroos

Forwards: Valverde no. 15, Benzema no. 9, Vinicius no. 20

Substitutions: Nacho replaced No. 3 Militang in 64 minutes; Kamawinga replaced No. 8 Tony Kroos in 74 minutes; Ceballos replaced Valverde no. 15 in 86 minutes; Bell replaced No. 9 Benzema in 86 minutes.

There is a proper noun on the basketball court called "Front guard swing man". In this game, it is the energetic Valverde who "frequently swings" in the forward and defensive lines, so that Real Madrid has the capital to burn physical energy madly in the first half, and chelsea to fight hard, laying the victory in one fell swoop.

Ancelotti is very aware of the weaknesses of the current "three backs", especially after experiencing a 0:4 defeat in the second leg of the national derby - this game he "took for granted" the use of soldiers, was hit by Xavi, but also let him further understand the physical problems of the three backs. So Valverde's ability to run became the winner of this game.

Change one: When Valverde becomes a right-winger, stuck on the right rib and the right side, Carvajal's defensive burden will be significantly reduced;

Change two: Based on change one, Modric will lean towards the middle road, that is, the right side and the right rib, linked by Valverde, Modric, and Carvajal;

Change three, based on change two, Casemiro will freely reinforce the middle of Modric's side, or the left side of Toni Kroos, according to the situation, to become the most powerful reinforcement in the entire defensive system, and he and Modric will flexibly switch positions to ensure that the middle and left sides have enough defensive flexibility;

Change four: Based on change three, Tony Kroos, who was supported by Casemiro, together with Mendy and Vinicius, built a defensive system on the left side, and if necessary, Benzema retreated to increase the head of the defender, or Arabba went forward to compress the width of the defense, so that the weakness of the German uncle's lack of running ability and insufficient scrambling was well covered.

The above four tactical changes have caused Chelsea to form a mutual explosion on the right side of the side, that is, the left side of Real Madrid. The Blues have the advantage of age and physical fitness, and it seems that it is only a matter of time before they overwhelm Real Madrid. However, Rees James and Kante contributed too little to the right side of the defence in the first half and were spotted by Real Madrid's "old fritters".

"Did I read that right?" This side is so weak? Come and take a gamble and see if our physical energy is squeezed out first, or if your defense is blown up first."

The first half of the battle london big mistake, ah no, is heavy rain (big mistake), magnifying the Blues' right side in the offensive and defensive conversion of the disadvantage, but also let the old fritters with too sensitive sense of smell decide to rebel.

The following is a screenshot of the first 24 minutes of the first half to illustrate the success of Real Madrid's tactics.

It was only one minute into the opening minute, and Real Madrid built up to four defenders in the local area, including Kante and Mount. Cassemillo was responsible for the care of Tony Cross.

When Kante and Jorginho moved closer to their own attacking left flank, at 2:53, the visiting team was paired with Modric and Tony Kroos, Valverde returned to full-back, and Casemiro protected the center-back to play an atypical 6-3-1 formation.

In other words, Chelsea's two attacking attempts on the sidelines were met with real madrid's tight defense. This offensive and defensive posture sets a big tone for the game. Real Madrid are used to attacking after the attack, which is well known, but no one expected that in the heavy rain in London, Real Madrid's local defense and counterattack came so terrible.

At 3:23, Benzema retreated deeply for the first time during the visiting attack, breaking away from Chelsea's two-line defence and holding the ball to help his teammates advance. This is a very common tactical routine, of course, it is also a tactical routine that Real Madrid particularly relies on, but the Whole Chelsea team has not paid enough attention to it.

In order to alleviate the physical fitness of his older teammates, 5 minutes and 24 seconds Felan Mendy even took the lead in the high pressing to match Rudiger. This is not a fixed arrangement, but a temporary adjustment in the real madrid game, because when he inserted an assist, and Kroos's pass was cut off, Real Madrid entered the attack and defense on the spot, pressing into the forward position, he had to assume the responsibility of the first defender. The move of Ferran Mendy and Carvajal in this game has caused many problems in the defensive duties of Chelsea's three-back to four-back.

After 8 minutes of tentative testing, Real Madrid relied on the tough defense in the middle and right, as well as the advantage of consecutive passes, to quickly find a vacuum where Rees James and Kante did not defend well, but unfortunately the ball Kroos did not control. But as can be seen from the screenshots, the disconnect between the forward line and the back line is very serious at the moment when Chelsea attacks and defends.

Chelsea attacked outside the Real Madrid penalty area at 8:50 and four seconds later the trio sandwiched Golo Kante, who was carrying the ball on the flank. As can be seen, Real Madrid has piled up as many as eight defenders in the penalty area. The home team's problem is also obvious:

First, why the Canterra side as a back?

Second, why was Reece James prepared to ask for a pick-up in the middle of Kante's position?

Doubts about the use of Kante in this game show that Tuchel, as the defending champions manager, lacks awareness of Real Madrid. The old man of the Galactico is a little more, but not bad at all, and the successful experience of last season cannot be used as a reference for this season.

9 minutes and 20 seconds is Real Madrid's first extremely threatening show. Benzema stumbled on the flank, Valverde quickly advanced to the middle of the road, crossed Vinicius, and the Brazilian boy fought back to shake off his compatriot Thiago Silva, but unfortunately shot over the crossbar.

The purpose of this screenshot is that, first of all, Real Madrid's counterattack can easily hit the Chelsea penalty area, and secondly, Chelsea's entire backline is seriously unprepared for the real Madrid trio's counter-attack pass. When Vinicius and his Brazilian compatriots were one-on-one, Benzema and Valverde both entered the box, but no one was in place.

In 10 minutes and 17 seconds, Chelsea formed a large-scale positional battle with their opponents for the first time, and it can be seen that Casemiro is always ready to assist behind Tony Kroos, and in such an offensive posture, Kante and Jorginho are in the middle, and the right Ribis James and Mount are in a two-on-four situation. Real Madrid's defensive thickness is very good, because there are enough heads in the local area, the implementation of tactics such as fixed points and rushes is very in place, and the process of defending and attacking is also very smooth.

At 12 minutes and 46 seconds, Real Madrid's three-man bag on the left side of the box forced Mount to steal, and Tony Kroos successfully stole it.

In the 15th minute, Real Madrid once again triaded on the left side, forcing Rees James, with Benzema deeply withdrawing to participate in the package. From the defensive staffing of Real Madrid throughout the left side, it can be clearly seen that Modric is next to Kante, and Mount is Tony Kroos, who is replaced by Mendy, that is to say, who in the "three backs" add troops to the left side, there is a very reasonable routine.

Through these two successful defenses, the visiting team confirmed two valid messages, Reese James's defense was a huge flaw; Kante's support to the entire home team on the right side of the two fixed points was very weak.

The intensity and rhythm of the attack and defense in the opening 15 minutes showed a stable linear upward trend, and the "old balls" of the away team were very keen in the perception of the intensity of pressing and running, and once they found that the home team did not have the meaning of the pressure of the soldiers, they began to think about the success rate through counterattack.

It's really an old treacherous monster.

The counterattack was a dangerous attempt by Real Madrid to quickly amplify the tactical gains of the defensive turn within 3 seconds after the fixed point of the above picture. Vinicius had a narrow field of vision, did not see Benzema on the left side of the high-speed sleeve behind him, chose to break through with the ball, encountered a tough defense and caused a counterattack to abort, but the follow-up Benzema and Ferran Mendy were very sober, because they had only one midfielder chasing back around them, Kante and Rees James had no idea where, and the deterrent power of the Italian's defense could almost be ignored.

This is the most important basis for the anti-passenger domination of the Galactic Battleship.

The first step in the away team's layout was to strangle Reece James's offensive decisions. In the 19th minute, as many as five defenders were piled up for the man, and the intention was self-evident.

After dismantling Rees James, the Real Madrid defence shifted to the centre, at which point the defensive benefit area immediately emerged. Kante pressed against the top of the away penalty area so that Jorginho didn't have enough pick-up points on the right.

The second step in the away team's layout tested the defensive intensity of Kanter and Reese James. Benzema pulled back for the ball, attracting the two men to the bag, and easily deflected the ball with the help of his teammates.

Note that this is less than 30 seconds away from the timing of the first goal. Then the problems of Chelsea's midfield defence were immediately amplified.

With 20 minutes and 25 seconds, the first two seconds of Tony Kroos' first goal, Chelsea's two defences were completely chaotic.

Because Benzema wandered the area between the home front and back lines, once Kante and Jorginho did not keep an eye on people, Thiago Silva had to take the premise and defend against the pot god. At this time, the chain reaction is that There is a huge irrationality in Reese James's defensive position.

At 20 minutes and 27 seconds, the receding Vinicius got a pass from Tony Kroos and played a delicate return pass with Benzema to run back two over two, which was the beginning of the whole process of the goal. The white arrow above is the running position route, and the red arrow is the passing route. When the attack was launched, Kante, Jorginho and Rees James were outside the team's defensive system and "idle until they came out".

The panoramic view of the flying cat overhead is displayed more clearly. The moment Tony Kroos passed the ball, Vinicius had no one to watch, not only did Kante and Rees James make mistakes in succession, but Chelsea's two defensive lines were chaotic.

When Benzema sent a straight ball on the outside of his foot for the first time, there was a huge depth between Chelsea's two defences, and the 3-4-3 defense was useless. Until Vinicius rebounded and Benzema followed up in the middle, the home team did not react to both backs. The whole process is as shown in the GIF below.

Please, this is the Champions League knockout round. The second goal conceded three minutes later reflected the weakness of the home team's double back in the defensive deployment stage.

As shown above, at 23 minutes and 11 seconds, Valverde on the right side of the road with the ball fast, Azpilicueta and Jorginho approached at high speed, at this time Real Madrid played four and five, the left is Vinicius, the right is Valverde, the middle and right ribs are Benzema, Modric are almost parallel, the two did not crazy speed up, maintained enough close distance. Kante's defense was fast, there was no specific goal – here was the problem.

Four seconds later, the visiting team formed a local two-on-three on the right side of Real Madrid, Azpilicueta and Jorginho faced Valverde with the ball, as well as Carvajal on the edge, Modric stopped directly six or seven meters outside the big penalty area, forming an undefended area, at this time Kante's running position is very interesting.

Benzema and Modric's "snakeskin walk" can be recreated by slow-motion flying cat overhead.

This is the moment real Madrid enter the defensive turn, the position of the pot god is the left rib of the attacking side, Modric is on the right line of the central circle, and the distance between the two men is more than 40 meters. And at this time, on Valverde's side, Chelsea are local three-two.

When Valverde advanced along the right side of the road to the edge of the home team's big penalty area, Carvajal was still speeding up, at least 20 meters away from Uruguay's right forward. Modric's opponent was Jorginho, and Benzema, who was so close to Thiago Silva, immediately slowed down in search of a possible cross point, with the distance between the two "old fritters" less than 25 meters.

When Valverde passed Modric's pass, in chelsea's defensive focus area, Real Madrid formed a five-six, Benzema confirmed that no one was paying attention to him, began to accelerate forward, and Modric was already waiting in no man's land to receive the ball. Don't forget, the last game to play the big Paris, Modric also sent a second direct pass to the pot god in this position.

Kante is actually very difficult and very aggrieved, and his Left Rear Tony Kroos may also receive a cross from Modric and then shoot from a distance. But as a defensive back, the priority judgment of the offensive and defensive stages must be Modric; the reason is very simple, the local two defenses and three are taboo, after Jorginho falls, it is too late to change the defensive object, and it is the Croatian uncle who closely meets Valverde, so it is a major mistake to let him give and ask.

The GIF diagram of this attack is as follows.

As for Benzema's top-of-the-line parabola, and the active mistake buff that triggered the opposing goalkeeper Mendy in the opening 40 seconds of the second half, that is all a matter of later.

Tuchel's ability to correct errors was very strong, replacing the mediocre Kante in the second half, and from the 46th minute to the 65th minute, the whole team attacked and overwhelmed Real Madrid. Militang was injured, Nacho couldn't stand the big body outside of Lu, and Tony Kroos was even dragged down at one point, and was replaced in 74 minutes.

These twenty minutes of smooth sailing show that Tuchel's strategic judgment is correct, the Real Madrid half burned excessive physical energy, and the bottleneck period of these twenty minutes was extremely hard. Of course, the Blues' problems are also obvious, suppressing Real Madrid, and then what? Passing from the periphery, the more complicated the situation becomes, that is, no goals are scored; there is no personal breakthrough, and the fulcrum of the rib high ball to find Lukaku is almost invisible.

Now that the rules of away goal dominance have been established, even if the score is narrowed by one goal, the Bernabeu still has to play. When there is a serious conflict between strategy and tactical execution, there must be other plans to correct the tactics, but Tuchel has no more backhands, allowing the last 10 minutes of regular time and 5 minutes of injury time to pass.

Finally, a tribute to the two veterans, Benzema and Modric, especially the former. In the history of the Champions League, only three players have scored hat-tricks in two consecutive games, namely Luis Adriano (2014), Messi (2016) and Cristiano Ronaldo (2017). Karim Benzema is the first player in Champions League history to "force the opposing goalkeeper twice to make an active mistake and score a goal in two consecutive hat-tricks".