After the victory over Bayern, everyone's expectations for Manchester City were pulled to the top. Haaland's unstoppability, the terrifying control of a group of No.10s, and Stones' new gameplay as a kidney and shield all make it feel that Manchester City will definitely not be just a leader in odds this year.
Coupled with the slight gap in the strength of the Milan duo, Real Madrid has become the last vitality bomb that protects the earth. In this case, only Manchester City fans in the world seem to be a little weak in their hearts: low-key, don't tease, wooden fish waiting, last year's PTSD is not good...
Yes, in the Champions League, don't try to reason with Real Madrid, because they are the reason. So the coach decided to go at his own pace and give his opponent a radical start.
In the first 15 minutes of the game, Manchester City launched a high-intensity press. With the exception of Haaland, almost all the midfielders were involved in the attack, with only Rodri and Stones taking turns staying, and even Akanji, who played as a left-centre-back, slipped his counterfoot forward. It also became City's most pressing period in the first half, forcing Courtois to make two saves in succession.
However, we all know that Real Madrid love this kind of open game, and the transformation behind Walker and Akanji and Manchester City's three or four central defenders will instantly become a corridor for Real Madrid to counterattack.
Like this.
Or something like this.
So, Manchester City's opening style of play is like a life-for-life exchange with Real Madrid, which is probably similar to the conversation between people and their own immune systems.
People: Why do I have a fever?
Immune system: Because the virus does not live long at 40° heat.
Man: But I won't live long in 40°C.
Immune system: I admit I have the gambling component, but today you and the virus must die one.
Obviously, this kind of gambling game cannot last long. After 20 minutes, City lowered the front pressure on the defence and back and started sawing with Real Mara. Then they found that the ribbed double-resounding tactics of "Grealish + Gundogan on the left, B seat + Tintin on the right" in the last round did not work at all on Real Madrid. Because, Carlo Ancelotti made this tactical structure for Manchester City's attack:
Step1.If Manchester City take the wing, arrange a two-man defense for both the Shakers and the B seat, and seal them on the touchline.
Step2.If Manchester City take the centre, Rudiger defends in front and Tony backs back and forth to take possession.
Step3. If Gundogan/Shaker/B can still pass the ball under the double bag, then put the receiver down.
In short, Real Madrid adopted group defense tactics against several key attack points of Manchester City, using local numerical superiority to intercept most of the opponent's attacks, and was very decisive in holding the occasional fish that slipped through the net, nipping all dangers in the bud.
Manchester City, on the other hand, has encountered difficulties defending Real Madrid.
First, Real Madrid's counterattack is extremely logical, passing the ball is like doing a math problem, and there is not a single kick of nonsense.
Second, Real Madrid stepped up after 25 minutes and opened a wave of high pressing, making it difficult for Manchester City to play at the back.
Third, Ederson has significantly reduced the number of backcourt passes, which is after all a "Zhan Road + Horse" game.
The goalkeeper was forced to provoke, the backfield was surrounded, and the opponent counter-attacked sharply, resulting in Manchester City's breakthrough and passing were more cautious than usual, and they took the initiative to put away the tip of the knife.
As a result, Camavinga and Tony began to free their hands to participate in the attack, and it was a dribble advance of the former that attracted the defense and gave Vinicius the opportunity to empty the top of the arc. Xiong Huang shot from a distance, and the stone broke the sky. 1-0。
In fact, throughout the game, Manchester City's defense is not a big problem, but Real Madrid is too thief in every pass on the counterattack, and the knife does not leave the back of the head, so that Manchester City players have been passively chasing the ball, and there is no time to land in the frontal defense. One of the most adept at this is Modric.
In this game, Mo Ma appeared in every position in the house, front back, back back, center back, wing, cut Manchester City's passing route like a computer reading action instructions, and then a simple smooth ball action, let the teammates shine in front of the willow. In this world, we have seen examples of too many beauties losing to the years, such as "Leonardo Water Gun .jpg", but Modric... Fans who like him have gone all the way from slanted bangs to the Mediterranean, but he still has long flowing hair, as if he has never been ravaged by time.
In the first half, Real Madrid took the lead with 32%-68% possession and 1-6 shots. Vinicius' Champions League tally came to 15, surpassing Ronaldo's 14.
After the break, Gua Shuai quickly made adjustments, one is to let the shaker and B seat strengthen the suddenness, don't be afraid of mistakes; The second is to make Haaland active.
We all know that the most important factor that limits a person's freedom is the ability of the router to penetrate the wall and the length of the mobile phone's charging cable. In the first half, Real Madrid used this to isolate Haaland to an island, so in the second half, Haaland himself began to take the initiative to withdraw to find the ball.
The good news is that after the start of the second half, we finally remembered that there was a Haaland on the pitch.
The bad news is that after he retreated, no one in the forward line switched to the center, so he competed for the top in midfield and made a wall, but looking back there were no teammates, and he didn't know who he was playing for.
During that time, I especially missed David Silva. Because the advantage of the D seat is that his frontcourt movement awareness and organizational awareness are first-class, he can quickly observe the position of his teammates and send a small range of fairy balls at the first time, and then after one operation, create some opportunities for Manchester City that do not seem to be chances. So in those years, De Bruyne could chop melons and cut vegetables on the counter-attack, but when it really reached a stalemate, it was often David Silva's few strokes that helped Manchester City open the bottle.
However, Manchester City do not have this number in the squad at the moment, and both the B seat and Grealish are players who rely on their own injuries to create space for their teammates, and they need to occupy the ball at their feet. With them and Haaland limited, City can only count on De Bruyne.
Usually, we always talk about the soft-footed shrimp in the Tintin competition, because he is a gentle person and does not have a strong desire to win or lose the competition.
There aren't many people who can make him less gentle, but Courtois is certainly one of them.
In this game, De Bruyne contributed the most shots and lost possessions of the game, with a bit of a personal grudge of "if you can shoot, don't pass", every time before the spell was shaken, he was full of power bars, and finally released a powerful long-range shot in the 67th minute to equalize for Manchester City... It turns out that in addition to the alarm clock, there is also the old king next door who can wake up Tintin.
After the game returned to parity, the weaknesses of the two teams began to be exposed.
On the Manchester City side, the wing was restricted, but Akanji and Walker did not dare to assist. On the Real Madrid side, the midfielder is older, and it is a bit difficult to fill in the second half. Thus, the game was reduced to a local war.
- B seat and shake, who can pick the ball out in the double defense, Real Madrid will have a hard time defending.
- But as soon as they hesitate to take the ball, they will be immediately broken, and they can only rely on Rodri's foul to make up for it.
Both sides pulled up their energy to fight back, but both encountered divine beasts.
Manchester City has Walker, who represents the aesthetics of violence, with powerful confrontation, unlimited physical energy bars and huge chest muscles, to prevent the troubled Venicius.
And Real Madrid has Camavinga here, please call him: Shiyi Zuo.
In the end, the two teams tested each other for 20 minutes, feeling that they did not end the game with their full strength. After the game, many fans questioned the zero substitution, probably... He didn't dare to change. Because Mahrez can't do rib defense, Foden's physical confrontation is not as good as the rocker, so he simply puts safety first on the road and takes the initiative to accept the end of handshake and peace.
Although this is criticized by fans, Ancelotti knows it. Take a look at the photo of the two at the end of the game, one with a thumbs up, the other with a humble face, and a photo can write a 3,000-word conspiracy essay.
Therefore, the decisive battle in Etihad is destined to be full of swords and shadows, smoke, conspiracies, shadows... Because the two managers have already made a trailer with the silhouette of the end of the game, the camera flashed, and the abacus beads were about to collapse on the audience's face.
Heck, I really can't wait to see the round.