opening a balotelli

On the afternoon of March 3, at Wembley Stadium, in the half red, white and half blue stands of fans, the flying flags kept churning with the sound of cheers.

In the stadium, the players of Sheffield United and Manchester City walked out of the player channel and began to make final warm-up preparations.

Li Mo's "arrogant" speech before the game made Manchester City's players quite dissatisfied.

We've reached the finals, who doesn't want to win?
They admit that there is a gap in hard power with Sheffield United, but at the critical moment, even if it is difficult to fight, they have to fight hard.

Pellegrini thanked Li Mo for accepting the interview with the media before the game and made the championship declaration, otherwise he would have no better way to arouse the fighting spirit of the Manchester City players.

After all, Manchester City has not won against Sheffield United in the past few years, and the players' "phobia" cannot be overcome in a while.

Whether it is anger or hard work, the soaring combat power brought about by emotions will not last long, but it is better than just going to face the opponent.

Seeing that the military spirit is available, Pellegrini's confidence in his heart has also improved somewhat.

At least he made all his efforts before the finals, and he will look at the overall performance of the team!
Compared with Manchester City, Sheffield United, both the coach and the players, seem very calm.

This is already the third time they have played in the League Cup final since they were promoted to the Premier League.

Having won the League Cup twice in two years, they have both experience and mentality.

After all, I have been excited, nervous, and apprehensive. The repeated championship journey has come to the third time, and all preparations have come naturally.

Li Mo's speech before the game may bring some twists and turns to the final, but the players of Sheffield United did not think there was any problem with what Li Mo said.

Speed ​​also felt indifferent.

Everyone knows that Sheffield United will strive to win the Club Honors Grand Slam this year, and this League Cup is the best start.

Naturally, Manchester City will not back down, so will Sheffield United back down?
In the final, everyone will fight to the end according to their ability. Li Mo just expressed Sheffield United's unified thoughts and will. If you are angry with Manchester City, they will be able to explode overnight and transform into a cosmic team, right?
So it doesn't matter what you say, anyway, Li Mo is confident that the other Sheffield United players will feel more at ease if they have to fight with real swords and guns in the end.

After all, the boss has always pretended to be aggressive and will do his best. Li Mo attracts the most firepower at the front, and the Sheffield United players are afraid of being a dick!

Before the start of the game, Speed ​​did not emphasize too much on the tactical arrangement, but just asked the players to relax their muscles and mood.

Maguire played the music, Bell stared at the fruit in front of him in a daze, Drinkwater asked Xiao Ma to help him press his shoulders
The atmosphere in the Sheffield United locker room is calm and relaxed, and Neymar and Felipe Luiz, who only came this season, may be a little nervous.

Louis was praying, while Neymar kept talking to Li Mo to soothe his mood.

Li Mo saw that the time was almost up, he slapped Neymar on the shoulder heavily, then got up with a big smile and asked his teammates to check their jersey equipment.

At this moment, all the calmness in the dressing room disappeared, and almost all Sheffield United players roared for the last pep talk.

"I'll warm up later. I don't need to say more about how to fight against Manchester City, right? I already let go before the game anyway. If you don't win the championship today, you will have to accept the ridicule with me after the game."

Li Mo teased irresponsibly first, and after accepting the middle fingers protested by the brothers, Li Mo finished the last mobilization with a smile.

"It's all here. If you don't come on stage with a trophy today, you will be sorry for the tens of thousands of fans present. As usual, let's set a small goal first. During the intermission, let the boss and the fans praise each other. How about it?" !"

"it is good!!!"

Amidst the loud applause, Li Mo swung his fist in satisfaction and kicked open the door of the locker room.

"Let's go!"

※※※

The sunshine this afternoon was not too glare. Looking at the golden turf and the players from the two teams starting to play, Wembley erupted into strong cheers in an instant!

In recent days, Xu Yang, who has become famous among the domestic fan groups, was also invited by Sina to be a guest commentator today.

"It's a good day for Sheffield United to lift the trophy."

Director Xu was the first to speak up. His praise for Sheffield United has always had a positive effect, and the domestic fans were delighted to hear it.

Zhan Jun and Zhang Lu also laughed. Although the guests who came to the live broadcast room in the past were all "our own people", it is really rare for someone like Xu Yang to stand on the Xie Feilian without a brain and speak without any scruples.

"Director Xu seems to have full confidence in Sheffield United! However, Sheffield United has all the starting players today, and it does have a great chance of winning against Manchester City. Players from both sides have already started to play. Director Xu, then just invite Come and introduce to the audience friends the starting list of both sides today."

Xu Yang responded without even reading the manuscript, and very skillfully named the starting players of the two teams today.

Sheffield United has no changes in players and formations, four three three, all starters, a lot of tridents, it is completely the strongest mode.

On the other hand, Manchester City, compared to their usual four-two-three-one play in the league, played in the final today but got three midfielders in one breath and came out with a four-three-two-one.

Among them, the starting goalkeeper is Joe Hart, and the defense line is lined up from left to right, which are:

Kolarov, Kompany, Demichelis and Zabaleta.

The three midfielders are Fernandinho, William Carvalho and Xavi Garcia.

David Silva and Jesús Navas served as the left and right midfielders.

Starting center Aguero.

Few people have guessed this set of changes, but its intention is obvious, that is, to focus on control and stealing counterattacks.

William Carvalho is in the center, Fernandinho and Javi Garcia are on the left and right sides. Once these three midfielders are placed, the midfield defense and interception capabilities of Manchester City's current lineup are indeed added to the apex.

Before the game, there were still many fans discussing how Pellegrini would arrange Yaya Toure's position.

After all, the last time he played Sheffield United, Yaya Toure blew himself up and caused Manchester City to collapse, which made Pellegrini very dissatisfied.

If Yaya Toure and Fernandinho continue to be delayed, Manchester City will still suffer heavy losses in all likelihood.

As a result, Pellegrini chose the simplest and most unexpected approach.

He can't choose Yaya Toure!

This is a very courageous tactical arrangement and selection. Pellegrini would rather trust William Carvalho, who is only a month away from turning 22, than Yaya Toure. He can only praise it.

Yaya Toure would definitely be very angry, but for Speed, Peigong's action did make him feel a little uncomfortable.

Because Pellegrini's arrangement effectively avoided the hidden dangers of Manchester City's original starting lineup.

It turns out that no matter which midfielder Yaya Toure is partnering with, once he gets emotional, he advances too hard, and Sheffield United asks Li Mo to cut in the middle.

Whether it's Barry, De Jong, or the current Fernandinho, there's nothing they can do about Li Mo's advance.

But now Pellegrini let the honest man Carvalho stand in the middle, and Fernandinho and Garcia supported him from the side. There is no problem with the ball in the backcourt, and the defense is more stable.

After all, Carvalho was brought to Manchester City by Pellegrini alone, so there is no need to say more about being obedient. Even if he has a heart that wants to attack, he dare not refuse to listen to Pei Gong telling him to stick to the backcourt.

As for what you want to say that William Carvalho is too young to start in Manchester City?

That makes sense, but if you just look at one game, it is also reasonable for William Carvalho to play the defensive midfielder in the middle position.

First of all, he has a good sense of position and can stand, at least on the defensive end, he doesn't always lose his position like Yaya Toure.

Secondly, he has good stature, good frontal interception, and stable ball protection.

As for the slow speed and slow adjustment of the ball, that is not a problem.

Because Pei Gong didn't give him many organizational tasks at all. Fernandinho and Xavi Garcia are the distributors who hold a lot of balls in the backcourt. There is one reason for Carvalho, and he needs to stand firm In the middle, sacrifice yourself to exchange with Li Mo.

The speed is not enough, there are teammates on both sides to defend, as long as the frontal block is there, and Li Mo's rush is not smooth, that's enough!
Looking at it this way, Carvalho's starting lineup is reasonable, and even extremely cost-effective.

With such a meat shield in front of the defense line, Kompany's defensive pressure will be much easier, and Manchester City must first withstand the impact of Li Mo before they can have a chance to counterattack later.

In the final analysis, Manchester City still has Kompany. Although it does not have a pair of heavy central defenders like Chelsea, Kompany Gardmichelis is better than most Premier League teams.

Even if Manchester City can't copy Chelsea's previous draw with Sheffield United, they can still learn a lot. For Pellegrini, such reference is not a problem at all.

By the end of the pre-match ceremony, players from both sides, who were either a little nervous or sure to win, stood in their positions.

When the time came, the referee on duty blew the whistle to start the game. The Manchester City players who kicked off the ball quickly passed the ball to their own half and began to conduct control.

Sheffield United started to press the frontcourt.

It has to be said that the three midfielders that Manchester City put up today have indeed strengthened their ability to control and transfer the ball in their own half.

William Carvalho is close to the center back line and assists Kompany to pass the ball, while Fernandinho and Javi Garcia stand on the ribs, adducting to meet Carvalho, and pulling out to receive a pass back from the sideline.

Three defensive midfielders, three support points, and the skills of the three are not bad. This kind of control force investment makes Sheffield United's opening pressing effect much weaker than usual.

Manchester City was not in a hurry to give up the ball. Although it was not convenient for them to calmly organize and pass the ball forward, if they could keep the ball at their feet, it would already weaken Sheffield United's offensive ability in disguise.

Speed ​​stood on the sidelines and watched for a while. Seeing his pondering expression, the Sky Sports commentator thought he had made tactical adjustments.

As a result, Speed ​​watched for a while, but just told Matic to pay more attention to Aguero's running position, and then disappeared.

Not only did Speed ​​not make any adjustments, but he also sat back on the coach seat with confidence.

This scene aroused the interest of many viewers.

Some people think that Speed ​​deliberately made this reassuring appearance, the purpose is to make Pellegrini question his tactics, and he is playing psychological warfare.

Some people think that Speed ​​is too careless. He neither reminds the players to pay attention to Manchester City's changes, nor discusses with the assistant coach how to deal with Manchester City's changes. Such arrogance will make Sheffield United pay the price in the following game time .

Even Pellegrini was very surprised, wondering why Speed ​​could still sit firmly on the Diaoyutai.

But in Speed's view, it doesn't matter if Manchester City changes their tactics or have any backup, as long as they don't focus on defending and expecting to kick a penalty kick to decide the outcome, then Sheffield United doesn't need to worry about adjusting first.

Because as long as Manchester City has the intention to attack, no matter whether it is to take the initiative to press the attack or play a steady defense, there will always be a situation where the three midfielders are mobilized.

It's a very simple truth, what can you play with a striker Aguero, plus David Silva and Keylor Navas in the frontcourt?
Even if it is a fast counterattack that requires the least number of offensive players, one player takes the ball and two people run, there must be a player who is ready to catch the ball at any time to support him, right?
The combination of Manchester City's three defensive midfielders is very good. Frontal interception, flanking double-teaming, high ball defense, and ground interception are everything.

But as long as there is a defensive midfielder following the forward attack and being intercepted by Sheffield United and counterattacked, there will always be a chance for Sheffield United to rush out all the way!

If Speed ​​wants to maintain the balance of offense and defense today and play [-], then he might really consider making substitutions at halftime.

But all the offensive tridents are starting, and Sheffield United, which plays four-three-three, can completely respond to all changes without change.

Because of the player's personal ability, it's hard to play three midfielders, and Sheffield United's attack line can still create threatening opportunities.

This is Speed's greatest source of confidence.

His team has the best center forward in today's football, second only to Ronaldo's left winger, and a right winger who can rank among the top five in Europe!

Pellegrini's tactical changes are very thoughtful, but not enough!
As long as there are not ten people squatting in the half-court, then don't think about limiting Sheffield United's offensive line to what can be called "good effect" in regular matches.

Speed ​​may sometimes feel that it is not worthwhile to attack hard, and he does not want to take the risk of making a decision that hurts both sides, so he chooses to guarantee a draw.

But this final will not be included in the options that make Speed ​​feel "risky".

"Manuel, you still don't understand what this striker of Sheffield United means. You may have achieved complete tactics, but what I have is a nearly perfect combination."

With his chin propped up, Speed ​​focused his eyes on his three strikers, his eyes full of confidence.

He is not an academic football coach, he has a good way of polishing the defensive system, but he is not a conservative.

He is a real winner.

He wants to learn the tactical ideas and essence of different approaches, but the meaning of learning is not only to experiment and learn from, but also to know what he should do to better crack when the opponent uses a certain formation and tactics.

Football is a scientific sport, but it is also a sport full of personal charisma.

Whether it is more relying on tactics to win, or relying on personal ability to win, as long as they can win, in Speed's view, there is no problem.

All tactical thinking is meaningful only if you win. If you can’t win, no matter how well-targeted and correct your tactics are, no one will listen to the explanation of a loser.

So Speed ​​does not understand the attitude of many coaches in today's football who are disdainful and questionable when they hear the tactics of playing stars.

Letting the strongest person in the team better use their personal abilities to solve the battle, why isn't it an excellent tactic?

He wants to let those stubborn coaches see clearly today how easy it is to win when you have an almost perfect striker combination like LBN!
※※※

"The game has been played to No. 18 minutes, and the score is still 0-0. Pellegrini is still old-fashioned. The tactical change has greatly weakened the power of Sheffield United's counterattack. Speed ​​may need to Think of a way to increase the variables of the game."

Zhan Jun spoke with some concern. As the game time passed, Manchester City seemed to have stabilized the front line, and the few side counterattacks they played were quite threatening.

On the other hand, Sheffield United's defense is as solid as ever, but it seems too "patient" on the offensive end.

The two wide players in the trident didn't get much room to play, and Li Mo was just sacrificing his offensive ability when he went out to play the ball.

Zhang Lu felt that it would be better for Sheffield United to play [-] instead, with Bell and De Bruyne lined up on both sides, and Neymar ambush behind Li Mo.

In this case, Li Mo does not need to frequently go to the middle to support the ball, Neymar retreats a step, and with the space to hold the ball, Bell and De Bruyne can better concentrate on passing Li Mo.

When Xu Yang heard this, he shook his head again and again.

"For a player like Neymar, if he is only responsible for the organization, he will use it wrongly. If he walks in the middle, he will not be able to break through, and will compete with Li Mo for offensive space. He will seem silent, but in fact he is distributing the ball reasonably. , after all, he is more aggressive, and the more the ball will naturally be lost. Today, Speed ​​​​may have a tactical arrangement, so Neymar played more reasonable than before in the opening stage. I still think Sheffield United's offense The Trident has the ability to break the balance on the field, so there is no need to rush to adjust, just give them time and enough possession of the ball."

When Zhan Jun saw that Zhang Lu seemed to have a different opinion, he quickly smoothed things over with a smile.

"Director Xu's confidence in Sheffield United is still as strong as ever. We also hope that Sheffield United can break the deadlock on the field as soon as possible. Let's see if Speed ​​will give some tactical instructions later."

As soon as the three people's commentary voices fell, De Bruyne, who retreated to the top of the arc of his own side, stopped the line that Navas passed Bell and then cut in. After a simple steal, De Bruyne passed the ball directly Li Mo raised his hand and blocked his position.

"Beautiful steal! Li Mo raised his hand to ask for the ball, let's see the counterattack opportunity this time!"

As soon as Xu Yang saw Li Mo taking the ball, he immediately got excited. He didn't care about continuing to analyze with Zhan Jun and Zhang Lu, and hurriedly explained the possible counterattack of Sheffield United this time.

Field Li Mo quickly turned around after taking the ball.

Because he retreated to catch the ball this time, William Carvalho did not keep up. Li Mo had to face Carvalho's interception and defense after turning around.

According to the previous playing style, Li Mo has too many ways to break through with this kind of defensive midfielder who is good at intercepting but slow in turning.

Just because Manchester City adopted a formation of three defensive midfielders today, you pass one, and there are two on the side that will quickly return to double-team, so Li Mo's playing style is more stable.

There may be many viewers who think that Li Mo was doing useless work for his teammates on the two wings. Bell and Neymar, who were also forced back, did not perform well.

But in Li Mo's view, their offensive is still in a smooth process.

Because I am not familiar with it, I have to try it out first.

Bell wants to find out the characteristics of Xavi Garcia and Zabaleta's joint defense. Although Neymar and Fernandinho are teammates in the national team, facing Fernandinho and Kolarov's bag In the middle, he also had to find out the strength of the defense first.

This is actually quite normal. Before Sheffield United played against Manchester City, it seemed easy to play. It was because the Sheffield United team knew that Yaya Toure was Manchester City's "life gate". There is no shortage of opportunities to get in front of Manchester City's defense.

But Manchester City's defensive midfielder today is Carvalho, and their defensive strategy has also changed. Isn't there something wrong with using the old way to beat Manchester City.

It takes time to find the bottom, but it took 10 minutes, and it's time to speed up!

Li Mo pushed forward with the ball and began to accelerate, no longer splitting sides and moving as reasonably as before.

Bell and Neymar also started to step in to help Li Mo pull away the extra defenders in a tacit understanding.

Seeing Li Mo rushing over with the ball, William Cavalho's heart tightened, but he didn't hesitate, and bravely went forward.

He is a sensible person. Although he is young, his playing style is relatively mature and his mind is quick.

He is not sure about stopping Li Mo one-on-one, but if he can stop Li Mo's advancement and slow down his speed of holding the ball, then his mission will be accomplished.

At the same time, Navas's recovery speed is very fast, and the defenders on Bell's side are about to increase. Li Mo's advance has reached the point where he must make a quick decision.

Li Mo didn't waste time to dawdle and try, and strode the ball decisively directly past William Carvalho!
Fernandinho started, and when Kolarov stared Neymar to death, he quickly retracted from the flank to force Li Mo's position!

Li Mo can't pull the side, as long as Fernandinho gets close to him and fouls, then Sheffield United's counterattack will end without a problem, so if Li Mo wants to continue the attack, he can't pull the side and let Fernandinho Dinho has a chance to succeed.

Continue to advance from the middle?
It's not realistic.

Because Fernandinho had already made preparations in advance. Although Li Mo's speed was fast, Fernandinho's position was relatively deep, closer to the penalty area of ​​Manchester City than him, and he was completely in front of the penalty area close to Manchester City. Just go back and catch up.

At that time, there will be Kompany in front of him, William Carvalho behind him, and Fernandinho at his side. No matter how great Li Mo is, he has to account for the last step.

So Li Mo is at a dead end?
No, on the contrary, he achieved his purpose!

"If you can't make it through this time, you can wait to go back and practice more, Nene!"

He complained in his heart, but Li Mo's footsteps were not slow, and he slid the ball directly to his right front!
Neymar, who was out of the state of being jointly marked by Fernandinho and Kolarov, was very brisk, and ran straight in the direction of the football after picking up speed.

Kolarov didn't dare to be careless, and almost got stuck in the line of Neymar's inward cut and followed the running position to retreat.

He and Neymar are actually very close, but Neymar started faster than him and occupied a better position for chasing the ball, so he didn't dare to reach out and interfere at will.

After all, it is normal for defensive players to fight close to each other when they are in the lead, and it doesn't matter if they bump into each other. As long as it is not too much, the referee will not blow the whistle.

But if you dare to reach out and make moves when you are behind in position, the line referee will see that it is almost 100% worse.

Kolarov didn't want to take the risk of getting a yellow card to complete this defense, and he was also confident that he would block Neymar's cut-in route after he stopped the ball. As far as Neymar's body is attached to him, it is inevitable to lose the ball of.

The two chased the ball almost all the way to the area close to the bottom line. Kolarov saw the timing and accelerated again.

Neymar chose to knock the ball directly when he was about to touch the ball!
Kolarov's stride after acceleration happened to form a "tacit cooperation" with Neymar.

The football quickly passed between Kolarov's open legs, and Neymar also accelerated in a wrong body, passing Kolarov like a [-]-degree turn, and successfully dribbled the ball into Manchester City's penalty area!

The completion of this series of actions was almost instantaneous, Neymar's heart was beating wildly, his mind was extremely excited, and he was also grateful.

He actually took a gamble, and he was really not 100% sure that he would knock the ball past Kolarov.

But at that time, he didn't have many choices, either he succeeded in consecutive stoppages, or he stopped the ball and was forced to die in the corner flag area or passed back.

How to choose is not a problem for Neymar, he will definitely take this risk.

Fortunately, the goddess of fate did not disappoint his choice, perhaps this is also a compliment to his bravery.

After thanking the goddess of luck again in his heart, Neymar took a step to the ball, and then rushed to pass the ball before Kompany was shocked and intercepted!

Like a wonderful parabola, the football suddenly rises in the air and then falls quickly.

It was very similar to the mood of Demichelis and Joe Hart at this time.

A tall figure rapidly magnified in their pupils, it was Li Mo who was jumping with all his might!

Without the right to the ball, Li Mo would have no problem rushing past Fernandinho's pursuit.

In the midst of the entanglement, Li Mo sprinted violently and stepped into Manchester City's penalty area just before Neymar passed the ball.

A pass with just the right height and enough rubbing, enough space to sprint after Kompanilla went out, and the only defensive player left in front of him.

All this is perfect for Li Mo.

After rushing to the top, Li Mo almost didn't need to shake his head. Li Mo knocked away Demichelis with the inertia of sprinting and jumping, and then smashed his head on the football!
Joe Hart's eyes were wide open, he took off and stretched out his posture, and with his rich experience, he stretched his arms to intercept immediately!

But football moves too fast!
So fast he could barely see!

Almost at the moment when the football hit the net, his figure was still rising!
Li Mo rushed hard enough, and this time he was hit hard. Demichelis was very uncomfortable, and he was not much better.

After a muffled snort, he rolled on the turf for two more times, Li Mo's hairstyle was completely thrown away.

But when he looked up and saw the football falling into the Manchester City goal, the spiritual joy and enjoyment made him forget the physical pain!

Get up with hands and feet, run wildly, roar!

When the crazy cheers of tens of thousands of Sheffield United fans completely enveloped him, his teammates also stopped him arrogantly, and hugged him tightly in their arms amidst roaring and cheering!
Wembley, where the noise, madness and silence coexist, has become the most emotionally complex building in London at this moment!

The surprise carnival of tens of thousands of people, the astonishment and despair of tens of thousands of people are staged in this crowded space at the same time!
Pellegrini's eyes widened, as if he still couldn't believe the scene in front of him.

A sudden offensive attack, an unreasonable surmounting choice, an unreasonable rush to the top, all his tactical designs have just failed?

The huge blow made his mind go blank, and he couldn't just accept such changes in the game calmly.

But his opponents can.

Speed ​​rarely celebrates without passion.

He just stood on the sidelines and calmly applauded his proud disciples.

He smiled broadly and calmly.

That's what he expected, and what he believes his lads can do.

Zhan Jun and Zhang Lu were so excited that they explained enthusiastically in the studio to celebrate the birth of this ball.

Xu Yang, who was sitting by the side, smiled and lowered his head to sort out the manuscript, as if Speed ​​was possessed at this moment.

Countless fans in Huaguo also shouted "Fuck!".

Afterwards, they almost all did the same action, that is, picked up their mobile phones to log on to the post bar or major sports forums, and all posted messages together.

"Director Xu is amazing!"

"Director Xu has to see it thoroughly!"

"There is really no one who understands Sheffield United better than Director Xu. Director Qiuqiu Xu should go out to coach. He just came to Rongcheng Sheffield United. Amazing!"

"In the future, I won't watch any Sheffield United games without coach Xu's commentary!"

Excited Huaguo fans pushed Xu Yang to the hot search in the domestic sports circle once again.

At this moment, the Sheffield United generals, who had ended their crazy celebration at the scene, also took firm steps and quickly returned to their own half.

In fact, they still wanted to celebrate for a while, but Li Mo reminded his teammates to calm down with an unpleasant reminder at this time.

Speed ​​didn't need to say anything. Looking at the disciples who came back early, all he could do was applaud and encourage loudly.

Li Mo said before the game that he should praise all the Sheffield United players during the half-time break, but he smiled and said nothing at that time.

Now he decided to bring that moment forward.

Look at the scene in front of you, Speed ​​can no longer restrain his pride and pride!
They are the best players!