Chapter 547 Qi Bing

Among the materials provided to Yang Yang by the Liverpool coaching staff, one is a detailed analysis of AC Milan's Christmas tree formation.

Both coach Benitez and tactical analyst Dave McDonov agreed that AC Milan's success this season stemmed from Ancelotti's tactical adjustment, going to Ambrosini and adopting a three-back play style. is the key.

The biggest role of the Christmas tree formation is in defense, especially in the middle of the front of the penalty area.

Four, three, and two, one can see from this series of numbers that there are four defenders, three midfielders, two front midfielders, and one striker.

At the time of shrinking defense, AC Milan's hinterland gathered seven defenders.

If you want to control the situation on the football field, you either need to control the ball or control the space. If you want to get these two things, you can’t do without people. Therefore, some people say that the advantage on the football field is overwhelming. How to create an advantage in the number of people locally and make use of this advantage.

At the front of the penalty area, there are two attackers and only one defender, so it's dead.

If it is the other way around, then the attackers are probably out of business.

AC Milan adopts the same principle, arranging seven players in the penalty area and the front of the penalty area, plus two attacking midfielders, which can ensure that AC Milan presses all opponents who enter the 30-meter area, forcing the opponent to only be at a distance From a distance, it is difficult to create a threat.

Because the most threatening and critical areas inside and outside the penalty area are occupied by them.

This is the biggest and most troublesome advantage of the Christmas tree formation!

But everyone also knows that on the football field, defense alone is not enough. No matter how good the defense is, if there is not enough offensive threat, sooner or later, the opponent will get down.

So there are two attacking midfielders and a striker in front.

The three have always been in a triangular position and have different characteristics.

Big Inzaghi is good at running and interspersing behind, Kaka is fast, explosive, good at attacking from the back and dribbling the ball in the middle, Seedorf is more comprehensive, very creative, and has outstanding passing awareness.

The three players have complementary characteristics and echo each other, forming a tactical level when attacking.

They can pull sides, they can play small coordination in the middle, and they can play fast counter-attacks.

In the face of such an attacking combination, no team dared to be careless, and the full-backs did not dare to rashly press, because both Seedorf and Kaka were able to create threats on the flanks.

But how can there be a perfect strategy in the world?

One of the weaknesses of the Christmas tree formation is the overall recovery. When switching from defense to attack, it is far away from the goal. Therefore, in essence, this is a very conservative defensive counterattack tactic.

So how to solve the problem of too far?

Pirlo's long pass and Kaka's speed!

Another problem is that it is easy to get disconnected.

In the first minute of the game, Liverpool's goal was the best proof.

After the kick-off, AC Milan's midfield and frontcourt pressed, trying to control the ball from the very beginning. As a result, Liverpool played a long pass directly behind, and the midfielder didn't have time to return to the front of the penalty area, which caused Gerrard to intervene to get the ball. , can easily find Yang Yang and assist him with a header.

At that time, Liverpool used their own speed to play AC Milan's defense when the middle and rear lines were out of touch.

In addition, the attacking width relies heavily on the two full-backs. Without the support of the full-backs, the attack is too concentrated in the middle, which makes it easier for the opponent to defend.

After Liverpool opened the scoring, the trend of the game basically matched the situation of the Christmas tree formation.

...

After the first goal, Liverpool took the initiative to press out to attack, but at the same time, whether it was Gerrard who was in front, or Mascherano and Xavi Alonso who were behind, they all firmly held the middle.

Finnan and Aurelio on both wings did not dare to press too hard, at most they were level with the double midfielder.

In the frontcourt, Yang Yang restrained Oddo and Gattuso, and Pennant attacked AC Milan's left with all his strength, not only suppressing Jankulovsky, but also frequently creating threats on the court.

This made the situation in AC Milan very embarrassing, even embarrassing.

The frontcourt trident that the Rossoneri relied on, Inzaghi did not have a shot, Kaka had a long-range shot, and Seedorf was invisible throughout the first half.

It can be said that Liverpool's tactics were very, very successful throughout the first half. AC Milan only had the strength to fight back, and there was no room to fight back. It was difficult for the attack to pass through the midfield. On the other hand, Liverpool frequently created threats.

In addition to the lightning goal in the opening, Yang Yang also dribbled the ball inward from the left, shifted his right foot, and made an oblique pass behind him. Pennant quickly inserted behind Yankulovsky and made a cross In the penalty area, Gerrard inserted a push shot and missed.

Afterwards, Yang Yang sent a wonderful pass from the left, picked it to the back point, and Pennant followed and hit the goal directly, but he still missed.

The most threatening attack of the game occurred in the 28th minute.

Pennant sent a precise cross from the right and fell to the back point.

Yang Yang quickly plugged in, headed the ball from the bottom line, headed back to the goal, and Kuyt pushed the goal from close range.

As a result, the veteran Maldini blocked the shot like a god, and then Gerrard's follow-up shot was also destroyed by Ambrosini.

In the 32nd minute, Yang Yang created a long-range shot for Xavi Alonso. The Spanish midfielder hit the crossbar with a heavy artillery shot, but he still failed to score again.

In the 36th minute, Pennant once again created a chance from the right and sent the ball to the right side of the penalty area. Gerrard got the ball and crossed it to the goal. Kuyt Nesta's Under the interference, the shot failed to be strong, and Odo was shoveled out in front of the goal line.

...

It can be said that throughout the first half, Liverpool had the advantage.

In addition to the possession rate, Liverpool are ahead of AC Milan in all offensive statistics, and the number of shots is far ahead.

But it was in this situation that everyone felt that Liverpool should be able to score again soon, but AC Milan equalized the score.

In the 44th minute, AC Milan launched a quick counterattack. Seedorf dribbled the ball from the left and was shoveled out of bounds by Mascherano. After AC Milan threw the ball out of bounds, it reorganized the attack and sent the ball into the penalty area. , Carragher headed the ball to make a clearance, but Kaka took the lead on the outside of the top of the penalty area, and Xavi Alonso fouled when defending.

When Pirlo took a free kick, Inzaghi, who was lining up with Liverpool players on the wall, gave way sideways. The ball hit his left upper arm, turned a broken line, and crashed into Liverpool's goal.

Reina judged the original trajectory of the ball, but did not expect the ball to change direction when it hit the big Inzaghi.

It was an unbelievable stroke of luck.

Liverpool's players signaled to the German referee Van Der for the first time, which should be regarded as a handball, but Van Der said that the big Inzaghi's arm was not open at that time, and there was no obvious active handball awareness, but it was passively touched. football.

In other words, AC Milan relied on God's reward to equalize the score!

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The home team's locker room was silent except for the footsteps of the players.

It is absolutely unacceptable to be equalized by the opponent in the case of the dominant advantage.

But it just happened!

In addition to saying angrily, what can AC Milan do, what else can I say?

Yang Yang was sitting in the locker room, taking off his shirt and shorts, sweating profusely.

The temperature in Athens is really too hot, even at night, it is still terribly hot, which makes the players' physical consumption significantly greater than usual, which is quite unfavorable for Liverpool.

Because the Red Army adopted the siege tactics, which required physical fitness.

The Liverpool coaching staff have also strategised specifically for this situation. They put ice cubes in their training vests and each player wears them for two or three minutes to ensure they can recover as quickly as possible.

Yang Yang was the first to put it on, so he is sitting now, while the other teammates who put it on are walking around in the locker room.

Only their voices were left in the locker room, and occasionally there were some movements from the staff.

Yang Yang believes that what the team needs most now is not mobilization, but affirmation.

The team played very well in the first half. As long as this pressure is maintained, there will definitely be a chance in the second half.

But the key is to be patient, don't be in a hurry, continue to play the way you played after taking the lead in the first half, and sooner or later you will be able to score again.

But if you're in a hurry, Kaka's dribbling speed is quite fast, and Harvey Alonso's foul just now was a little helpless, because if Kaka was activated, it couldn't be stopped at all.

Whether it is the suppression of the frontcourt or the interception and pressure of the midfield, Liverpool have done a good job, and it can even be said that there is no problem, but the luck is a little worse.

...

"Everyone sit down, we have more important things to deal with."

Benitez and Yesterdam walked into the dressing room and shouted for the players to sit down.

There was a dead silence in the locker room, and everyone looked up at Benitez.

"The play in the first half was very successful, we completely suppressed AC Milan, and we have to continue in the second half, making good use of the space behind the opponent's defenders and taking advantage of our quick counterattacks."

The players all nodded.

"We were unlucky in the first half, but that's over, a one-on-one match is nothing for us, we had a chance to score again, you guys did a great job, keep creating chances and we'll be able to score again. "

Obviously, the Liverpool coach also believes that the team's various targeted tactical arrangements in the first half have been realized and achieved, and there is no need to make changes and adjustments.

But at the same time, Benitez also said that he would make substitutions in about fifteen to twenty minutes in the second half.

Everyone knows that Crouch will be the first to be replaced by the team.

The tactical role of the English highball in the frontcourt is still very obvious, especially in the face of a team like AC Milan who is strictly guarding and defending, his highball advantage can often play a key role.

Benitez made him a substitute in this game, and he had the idea of ​​​​using him as a surprise soldier.

If the second half still can not open the situation, Crouch will come off the bench.