opening a balotelli

Sheffield United have to play three league rounds and one FA Cup round before the first leg of the Champions League knockout round.

That is to say, from February 2st to February 1th, there will be four matches in almost two weeks. The schedule is not too tight, but the rotation arrangement must be made in advance.

Therefore, after playing Stoke City on the night of January 1, some of Sheffield United's main players got extra rest time.

Bell and Trippier had to go to the training base on time every day to receive physical therapy massage because of slight muscle discomfort.

Neymar, who has been in good physical and game condition recently, is once again embarking on an away journey with Li Mo.

In the No.20 four-round league round, Sheffield United will challenge the Magpies Newcastle in an away game.

The start time of the last two rounds of the league is too close together, and there is only a two-day rest period. Not only Sheffield United has to endure this unreasonable schedule, but other Premier League teams are also the same.

Moreover, many mid- and lower-level teams may have even injured their rotation players during this period of time because their bench depth is not enough.

Newcastle is not as miserable as this, but it is not far behind.

Sheffield United arranged the rotation because they wanted to protect the health of the main lineup. Unexpectedly, the core generals were injured at the critical moment of the championship in the middle and late stages of the league.

And Newcastle's rotation has to be like this.

Since entering January, Newcastle has successively injured four starting generals, and today's central defenders are all made up of rotation players.

If it weren't for Steven Tyler's timely return from injury, maybe they would have to pull in full-backs or pick young players from the youth training to make it tough.

When shaking hands before the game, Newcastle coach Alan Pardew also complained to Speed ​​about the recent schedule.

Both the front and back schedules are loose, so it is necessary to do this in early February.

It's okay to come here once in a while, but they have to play Sheffield United in Newcastle, so I can't bear it!

Meeting the league leader at the most uncomfortable schedule point, the two main central defenders happened to be injured, so it was really impossible to fight!

The only thing that may make Alan Pardew feel more at ease is that several of Newcastle's midfielders are still relatively healthy.

Tiot, Moussa Sissoko, Ben Arfa.

With these three, Newcastle still has some ability to counterattack, but it can only be said to be nonsense if they want to actively control the rhythm of the game.

Speed ​​can be regarded as having thoroughly studied Newcastle's recent lineup changes.

Miserable is really miserable.

One of the two starting central defenders was injured, the main winger Gufran was injured in the last round, and the main center Remy suffered a muscle strain last round.

The successive injuries of four generals forced Alan Pardew to urgently modify his style of play and formation.

From the commonly used [-], [-] to [-].

Newcastle basically gave up on the offensive on the wing, and had to strengthen the protection of the center.

This can't be done without protection. The strength of the two rotating central defenders is mediocre. If they don't protect the front of the penalty area and the middle of the midfield, they will only die worse against Sheffield United.

Sissoko, who used to play on the wing, was black and tough, and he played as a central midfielder in this game.

With the addition of Ben Arfa and Sami who are adducted, it is not difficult to guess Alan Pardew's tactical thinking.

"He is very smart. He doesn't put the focus of defense in the penalty area, but forcibly fights with us in the midfield. The construction of the three-strangling defense is indeed enough. The vacancy is still a bit bigger, should we make targeted adjustments in this regard?"

The assistant's analysis was timely, but Speed ​​thought about Newcastle's starting list, and finally shook his head.

"It looks like this on the surface, but you have forgotten one thing. Their backup center Ameobi can also withdraw to interfere with our organization and attack when defending. At that time, Ben Arfa and Sami will withdraw from the center circle. The 30-meter area , Newcastle's half area is no longer the defensive weak side."

Speed ​​thought about it while talking, and felt that his idea should be right.

Alan Pardew seems to want to compete with himself in the midfield, but once Newcastle's formation shrinks, it can basically block Sheffield United's easy penetration from the center and rib area.

Coupled with the double defensive midfielders sweeping the defense at the front of the penalty area, it is a proper defensive posture.

And when Ben Alpha kicks the side midfielder, it doesn't necessarily mean that he wants to attack with the ball. If he presses up, he will be the side midfielder, and if he retracts, he will be the right midfielder.

With such a point of possession, when the time comes to control the situation more in the midfield and slow down the offensive and defensive rhythm of the two teams, it is much better than Newcastle being beaten unilaterally.

With this in mind, Speed ​​did not rush to make adjustments.

Because today Sheffield United's main tactics happened to perfectly avoid Newcastle's defensive center of gravity.

In the last round, he arranged for Li Mo to storm the middle of Stoke City, which may just have given Alan Pardew a wrong perception.

Who said that Sheffield United must open the situation from the middle when Li Mo is present?
And who stipulated that Li Mo must be active in the middle?
Don't forget, Li Mo can also pull sideways!
After the start of the game, Sheffield United first made an offensive test, which was expected by Alan Pardew.

But kicking and kicking, Alan Pardew felt wrong.

"Didn't you like to attack the middle lane in the last round of the league? Attack! Why don't you attack in this game?!"

The question marks and depression in his heart could not change the trend of the game. Alan Pardew inevitably became anxious when he looked at Neymar and De Bruyne who were trying their best to make a fuss on the wing.

In desperation, Alan Pardew had to adjust his defensive tactics after only playing 10 minutes at the beginning of the game.

Ben Arfa and Samira side, to assist the midfielder and full-backs to contain Sheffield United's wing attack.

At the same time, Newcastle's central defense zone was wide open.

Moussa Sissoko looked at Li Mo, who was active beside him, even though the two hadn't had a close confrontation, a lot of sweat was dripping from his forehead.

Li Mo is still serving the team's offensive tactics. He doesn't attack with the ball very much, but Moussa Sissoko does not dare to let go of Li Mo's stare.

But he is not a purely defensive player after all. Moussa Sissoko often plays in the position of central midfielder and full-back. waist.

Li Mo's approach to dealing with Moussa Sissoko is very simple, that is, "running" to play football.

Running, running around Sissoko, then Sissoko's defensive awareness and positioning problems will become his biggest shortcoming.

Give Sissoko enough time to react, and wait for him to stand still before you go to catch the ball and attack. That is undoubtedly helping Sissoko to do his own defensive task.

So you have to run up and complete the advance or support in the sudden change. This can not only take away the defense of Sissoko, create opportunities for other teammates, but also look at the time to do it alone.

Moussa Sissoko didn't expect that he had already been tricked by Li Mo, and he was still actively following Li Mo's movement to interfere.

Little did he know that when he lost his position, the defensive pressure faced by the two defensive midfielders behind him was exponentially multiplied!

But this is also impossible, not close to Li Mo, when Li Mo finds an opportunity to kill Newcastle's hinterland from the ribs, Alan Pardew and Newcastle fans will also blame Sissoko.

This is also the problem that other Premier League teams have to face when they play against Sheffield United.

And under Li Mo's unique deterrence and restraint, Neymar really played well on the sidewalk today!

Thornton really had nothing to do with him, and Tiot looked at Li Mo who was close at hand, and he didn't dare to double-team the wing easily.

After a clip, Neymar passed the ball directly to Li Mo. After suffering two losses, Tiot could only helplessly signal to Thornton:
"Brother, you have to figure out a way yourself, I really dare not lose my position here!"

The disadvantages of the absence of the two starting central defenders are infinitely magnified at this moment.

In the past, when Kolonic was able to start the game, Tiot dared to let go of his steals and interceptions.

After all, it is as strong as Li Mo, and there is no guarantee that every time you face Kolonic directly, you will have a successful harvest.

Ren Laoyoutiao has not played for nothing for so many years. If he can't fight against you, he can make you an offensive foul!
But Mbiwa, who started the game as a left center back, doesn't have this ability.

If Li Mo really wanted to get into the penalty area to catch the ball, Tiot felt that Mbiwa, who often played as a full-back, would be blasted to nothing by Li Mo.

To be on the safe side, he really didn't dare to lose his position easily. He would rather see Thornton being crushed by Neymar and have to press his heart to stand firm.

Li Mo is also happy, the feeling is good, it seems that these Premier League players are really not scared by Neymar.

Li Mo felt that it was enough to help Neymar achieve this step, and Neymar did not let him down.

In the No.203 minute of the first half, Neymar finally aroused Thornton's anger after continuous breakthroughs.

"Hey! Good shot! Neymar passed, cut inside. Wow! Thornton pushed Neymar into the penalty area! It's so irrational! Doesn't he know that Neymar has already entered the penalty area?"

Amid Zhan Jun's surprised exclamation, Thornton seemed to wake up from his anger, watching Neymar who was rolling in the penalty area subconsciously trying to pull him up.

"what--!!!"

It's okay if you don't pull it, as soon as you pull it, Brazil's No. [-] screams affectionately and pitifully.

Li Mo coughed twice, and De Bruyne and Medel, who came to understand, rushed forward to protect Neymar behind them.

The referee blew his whistle and hurried over. Li Mo was the first to step forward to put pressure, while Thornton clasped his hands together, defending himself innocently.

"Penalty kick! The referee didn't hesitate, and gave the penalty kick decisively. This means that he has to draw a card, yellow card! Thornton escaped unharmed and was not directly sent off. His performance is really a bit too bad gone."

Zhang Lu kept shaking his head. Thornton was completely overwhelmed by Neymar in the past [-] minutes, sent points and received a yellow card. Newcastle was in an extremely passive situation in an instant.

Seeing that the referee had made a decision, Neymar curled his lips and got up from the ground in a hurry. Li Mo smiled and asked him if he was okay, but he got a sly wink.

Turning the ball, Li Mo watched his teammates push away the Newcastle players who wanted to say something, and then calmly stood on the penalty spot.

After the players on both sides stopped and exited the penalty area, and the referee signaled that they could kick some points, Li Mo simply took two steps to run up, and then shot angrily!

The football went straight to the upper right corner of the goal. Krul judged the right direction, but his saving action was still half a beat slow, and he could only watch the football with flying grass cluttered headlong into the net behind him!
Li Mo stood on the spot and raised his hands high, while the players of Sheffield United rushed forward, laughing and celebrating.

There is not much suspense and surprise, Neymar burst Newcastle's side defense is so, Li Mo successfully scored a penalty kick as well.

With the emergence of this penalty kick, the game situation has also smoothly moved towards Sheffield United's favorite direction.

Alan Pardew could only scratch his cheek helplessly.

That player was crushed one-on-one, what can he do!

At most, he could scold Thornton for not being calm enough, but even if he held back this time, faced with the fact that he was constantly crushed by breakthroughs, could Thornton really endure the whole game for nine and 10 minutes?

It can only be said that in the case of being blown up all the way, the loss of the ball will come sooner or later, but the method may be different.

After the flushing of the game began, Newcastle also somewhat let go of their hands and feet, and no longer passively flinched on the defensive end.

After all, the ball has been lost, and the worst start has come, so why bother to be passively beaten all the time?

With attack and counterattack, Newcastle also played decently.

After all, it is at his own home court, playing the game with his hands and feet free, and he has enough confidence in his heart.

Sheffield United did not do what Alan Pardew had hoped, and pressed out to play against Newcastle, allowing Newcastle to find a chance to counterattack.

With a wave of Speed's hand, Sheffield United shrank their formation and defended. In the remaining 10 minutes of the first half, Newcastle failed to find a good attacking opportunity.

In the second half, Newcastle wanted to start the attack, but De Bruyne found a chance to send a deadly long pass.

Li Mo's header ferry helped Neymar get a one-handed chance, and Neymar was not soft at all, he dribbled the ball past Newcastle goalkeeper Krul confidently, and scored an empty goal!
With a two-goal advantage in hand, Sheffield United sat firmly on the Diaoyutai and played a defensive counterattack, while Newcastle was demoralized and could no longer turn up the waves.

In a simple game of 2-0, Sheffield United passed another hurdle to increase their advantage in the standings.

In the next round, Sheffield United will sit at home and face the challenge of Hull City.

Nobody thinks that Tiger City will cause problems for Sheffield United.

Even if Sheffield United adopts a full rotation lineup in the next round, playing Hull City will be a sure thing.

What the media and fans are most concerned about is the next round of the Premier League.

Sheffield United challenge Manchester City away!
It was not only the absolute focus of the Premier League No.20 six rounds, but also a preview of this year's League Cup final!