opening a balotelli

Chapter 409 After the season's first championship, the record soars
"Director Xu, amazing! You really deserve to be the commentator who knows Sheffield United best! Not long after you said this, Neymar really stepped forward and tore through Manchester City's side defense! It's too powerful, too powerful up"

Zhan Jun boasted so much that the corners of Xu Yang's lips could hardly be closed. He waved his hands again and again, "Good luck, good luck, Sheffield United actually likes to play this kind of sudden attack a lot of the time, and I am also half-hearted." It was a half-guess, it just happened to be right."

Xu Yang said it modestly, but Zhan Jun and Zhang Lu had to believe that there was some metaphysical relationship between Xu Yang and Xie Feilian.

Because it happened more than once, Xu Yang had this situation many times before when he commented on the Sheffield United game on CCTV.

Many times He Wei and Duan Xuan were worried, and Xu Yang directly praised Xie Feilian and then Li Mo, hey, Xie Feilian really broke the deadlock in a few minutes!
You have to accept this!
It doesn't matter once or twice, Xu Yang can be "right" almost every time, so it can only be said that he should eat this bowl of traffic bonus.

Li Mo even interacted with Xu Yang by posting a scarf some time ago, joking that every championship that Sheffield United won this season has Xu Yang's "metaphysical credit".

Well, it's hard to tell now. If Li Mo knew what happened in the Sina live broadcast room after the game, maybe he would really invite Xu Yang to Sheffield and ask him to enhance the metaphysics BUFF for Sheffield United.

However, the rectification will be done after the game. Li Mo and his teammates are now thinking about how to use this ball advantage to let Manchester City walk into Sheffield United's tactical trap.

But when the game resumed, Li Mo and the players of Sheffield United found that they didn't need to worry about it, because Manchester City launched an active forward attack!
Of course Pellegrini knew how risky it would be to overwhelm the offense, but he couldn't help it, because this game was a final, and he didn't have extra time to hesitate and waste.

At the moment when Li Mo scored, Pellegrini's mind went blank. To be honest, the Chilean old man was really stunned at that moment. This kind of star's shining moment made the game completely out of control, at least beyond his expectations.

The worst plan he had prepared before the game was that in the first half, Manchester City focused on control and counterattacked with a small number of troops. They could not start the situation, and then Sheffield United might seize the opportunity to play a threatening attack after 35 minutes.

Even if Sheffield United breaks the balance of the game, it may be around 10 minutes. At that time, Manchester City can let go for 6 minutes, and then he will give it a go in the second half.

But now the game is only played in the early 10 minutes, and Sheffield United took the lead early, which completely disrupted his tactical deployment!
With almost half an hour left in the first half plus stoppage time, even if he wants the team to stabilize their mentality and situation, Manchester City's players can't calm down and accept the result of 0-1 behind and then defend him for three 10 minute.

The final is a matter of one game to determine the outcome, there is no second round, and there is not such a high fault tolerance rate.

Looking at the finals of various football competitions in recent years, almost all the lagging side chose to catch up immediately. Even if the coach wants to be stable, the players cannot be stable.

Whether Pellegrini is willing or unwilling, this meeting can only make adjustments to allow Manchester City players to launch a forward offensive in advance.

This is good news for offensive players such as Aguero and David Silva.

But for William Carvalho, who lost the protection of two teammates, it was very unfriendly.

Offense is almost none of his business, because he still has to nail Li Mo in the backcourt.

Even if it is difficult for Sheffield United to get a good chance to counterattack later, Li Mo doesn't catch the ball very much, so he has to keep an eye on Li Mo's movements.

This is the most important reason why Pellegrini sent him to play.

Otherwise, it's better to go to Yaya Toure to strengthen the offense.

William Carvalho knows what his tactical responsibility is, but to be honest, he is really uncertain about this, and he is really disturbed.

Fortunately, Kompany is very responsible, and he would comfort him from time to time so that he would not be tense all the time.

Otherwise, before Li Mo really beat him up one-on-one, he might be so nervous that his emotions exploded.

Manchester City's offensive system still has something to say.

The two full-backs pushed forward and directly formed a three-forward with Aguero.

Zabaleta and Kolarov have strong forward attributes, and together with Fernandinho and Harvey Garcia who are sorting out the ball behind them, the entire offensive system works very smoothly.

Lian Speed ​​didn't dare to be careless in this meeting. Naturally, he asked his disciples to shrink the formation first, maintain a close connection between the various defense lines, and not give Manchester City the opportunity to send a threatening pass.

What Manchester City wants most now is to tear open the offensive space through technical advantages, so that Aguero or David Silva can successfully get the ball in the hinterland of Sheffield United.

Naturally, Sheffield United will not make Manchester City happy. Manchester City wants to increase passing options and offensive opportunities, but Sheffield United wants to compress Manchester City's offensive space!

De Bruyne returned to the left midfield from the central midfielder position and fell deep.

Matic turned directly from the left back waist to the middle back back waist.

Drinkwater went to the right midfielder, and the position was also relatively deep.

Bell and Neymar retreated to occupy the two-rib defensive area behind the top of the arc in the middle circle of their own half.

Li Mo is also back, but he has a wide range of activities. He can chase the ball holder to the wing, and he can also sweep in the middle circle. The whole big "beggar version" Medel.

But even if it is the beggars version, Li Mo's defensive ability is the only one among the centers.

It may be thrown away by a top offensive midfielder like David Silva, but it is still no problem to bully Harvey Garcia and Fernandinho who want to get the ball forward.

The two teams played one offense and one defense, and the rhythm of the competition was very fast. The neutral fans enjoyed watching it very much.

At least this time, Sheffield United is not just huddling in the half-court and setting up the bus. The defense is proactive, the fighting is fierce, and the confrontation is also very strong.

As for the fact that Sheffield United did not choose to confront Manchester City boldly, some fans may be dissatisfied, but more fans can understand while complaining.

The finals are basically played like this.

Faced with the counterattack of the lagging side, some teams may choose to take the risk and take advantage of the situation to counterattack and try to score a few more goals.

But more leaders will, like Sheffield United, first stabilize their own advantages and not give their opponents too many opportunities.

The defense is stable, and it is not too late to think about counterattacks.

After all, as long as you have a leading advantage, the opponent will give priority to pressing forward at any time, and want to equalize as soon as possible.

Once the opponent is in a hurry, there will be many chances for one's own counterattack. It depends on when you can seize the opportunity and turn your advantage into a victory.

This is already a very familiar set of game procedures for Sheffield United.

So every Sheffield United player will be quite patient.

Even Neymar, who was still nervous before the game, will play calmly in the familiar rhythm of the game.

His defensive ability is actually very average, but with this patience and dedication, he can also bring difficulties and troubles to Manchester City players on the defensive end.

Unified tactical thinking, unified mentality and game input.

The eleven players on the field of Sheffield United have fully demonstrated the characteristics and demeanor of an excellent team at this moment.

Manchester City's offense is very strong, but they just can't penetrate Sheffield United's defense!
Even if there are a few difficult times to hit the front of Sheffield United's back line, the brave Maguire and Vertonghen will ruthlessly kill the hopes of Manchester City players with the ball into the penalty area.

To put it bluntly, Sheffield United wants to slowly wear away Manchester City's offensive patience.

In this cruel and torturous offensive and defensive rhythm, Aguero was the first to kick his eyes.

He played No. 305 minutes in the first half, but only got three shots.

A long-range shot from outside the penalty area whipped the ball away, and the other two forced shots were blocked by Sheffield United's defenders decisively with their bodies.

There is no threat to the goal guarded by Sommer at all!
There were only two chances for set kicks in the frontcourt, and three chances for corner kicks. Manchester City felt that the more they played, the more opportunities they had. It is no wonder that Aguero was impatient.

In another strong attack with the ball, Aguero lost the ball with a clean and decisive shovel by Matic.

After he fell to the ground, he yelled and reached out to the referee for a whistle, but the referee ignored it, and it turned out that this blow made him directly angry.

Aguero, who lost his composure, got up and ran directly to the referee. Fortunately, David Silva at the side saw that the situation was not good, so he quickly reached out and hugged him.

The referee, who turned his back on such an episode, didn't notice it, but the live broadcast and the Sheffield United players standing nearby saw it.

Drinkwater and Matic looked at each other tacitly, then nodded secretly.

In the next few attacks and defenses, the two midfielders of Sheffield United deliberately strengthened their defense against Aguero.

It is said that he is anxious and attacking the heart, but Aguero's anger is more than just attacking the heart, and his dribbling movements are much more stumbling than usual.

In the No.401 minute of the first half, Matic missed a defensive flaw and seemed to be half a beat too slow to keep up with Aguero's advance.

This made Aguero overjoyed, and directly chose to pass the ball to accelerate. As a result, Drinkwater, who had been waiting on the flank for a long time, made an early move and blocked Aguero's forward route.

With a simple quick pass back, Drinkwater made a tactical gesture, and Maguire, who understood it, didn't hesitate to see it, and made a slight adjustment and went straight to Manchester City's half-court!
This long legend is not very accurate, but the margin of error is not too much. Li Mo took two steps forward, judged the landing point, and turned his back directly to get stuck in Fernandinho who was also rushing over. behind.

The huge gap in height made it impossible for Fernandinho to interfere with Li Mo's header ferry.

De Bruyne, who came in from the middle, received Li Mo's ball very comfortably. He and Li Mo moved forward together so that Fernandinho could only retreat slowly.

At the moment, Bell and Neymar on the wing have enough time to speed up and follow up. It can only be said that Li Mo's pass choice is very reasonable.

If he didn't give the ball to De Bruyne in the middle just now, but split the side and let Bell and Neymar chase, then the possession of the ball might be destroyed by Manchester City's defenders.

De Bruyne was very aggressive, and almost sent an over-the-top through ball at the moment Bell completed overtaking Zabaleta.

It doesn't walk on the ground, there is no risk of being damaged by the shovel, and the amount of advance given is enough, enough for Bell to chase after him cursing.

Li Mo almost didn't laugh when he saw it, but his speed didn't slow down either. Instead, he sped up again and ran towards the Manchester City penalty area.

Thanks to Bell's sprint speed without the ball, he caught the ball back before the football crossed the baseline.

Li Mo has just entered the penalty area of ​​Manchester City, and he can't wait for Bell to adjust his direction and enter the penalty area. He will move closer to the penalty area and ask for the ball directly!
Demichelis stuck close to Li Mo, preventing him from turning around easily.

Li Mo didn't care at all, and after receiving Bell's pass, he leaned sideways and pushed back hard to prevent Demichelis from interfering.

Then he used himself as the axis, and when Bell cut into the Manchester City penalty area without the ball, he also passed the ball smoothly with his heel!
"Li Mo made the ball beautifully! Bell has room to shoot!"

Zhan Jun roared loudly, and Zhang Lu and Xu Yang on the side also applauded repeatedly. The three of them, like countless fans, were staring at the live broadcast camera at this moment, wanting to see what Bell would do next.

At this time, Bell completely had space to shoot, but to everyone's surprise, Bell was not in a hurry to kick right away.

Although in this position, it would be uncomfortable for him to shoot with his right foot, but at this time, it is completely unreasonable not to try.

In the next second, the doubts of countless spectators were resolved, because they saw the figure of Li Mo who made another move after passing the ball!

Carvalho, who was forced by Bell to enter the penalty area to intercept, had already yelled badly in his heart when he caught a glimpse of Li Mo running from the corner of his eye!
At this time, Bell made a comfortable push with his left foot just right, almost making a perfect inverted triangle back pass!
Li Mo was one step inside the left side of Manchester City's penalty area. After throwing off Demichelis, he adjusted his steps without stopping the ball and kicked his feet to shoot!

Neymar, who stopped running on the other side, only felt that a rainbow appeared in front of his eyes!
A "rainbow" with a wonderful arc!
After fully stretching his body and shooting the ball, Li Mo almost didn't look at the running track of the football, and ran straight to the stands where his own fans were.

Because the familiar feeling of feet has told him that he can start celebrating ahead of time!

When the football passed through the last fatal arc, bypassed Joe Hart's palm, and finally got into the net in the upper right corner of Manchester City's goal, the entire Wembley Stadium erupted again because of Li Mo. Cheers come!

More than 3 Manchester City fans were silent, and many of them stared blankly at their penalty area, watching Sheffield United players and their fans start another crazy celebration!
They experienced similar pain 10 minutes ago, and this time, they stepped off the edge of the cliff and fell into the abyss!
Two goals behind at halftime, facing Sheffield United!
No one understands what this situation means better than Manchester City fans.

Pellegrini sighed deeply, and ended the discussion with the assistant coach on tactical adjustments in the second half ahead of time.

At this time, it is not enough to say that the game has ended early, but Manchester City's hope of winning is basically only 10% left.

Maybe less likely?

Pellegrini didn't want to delve into the question of how much the probability of a comeback is.

He only knew that if the Manchester City players could not be aroused in the intermission, the final will to resist, then the final will only be a cruel torment for Manchester City.

Sheffield United fans have already started the carnival ahead of schedule.

Speed ​​could still hold back his temper, but all the Sheffield United players on the bench had rushed out at this moment, celebrating with the main players outside the touchline!
Li Mo's hairstyle has been completely messed up, not only him, Bell and De Bruyne, who have been styled in this game, both put a chicken coop on their heads.

But at this moment, they no longer pay attention to personal image issues at all, they only care about grinning!
Because as Li Mo said when he was celebrating just now.

They already have the League Cup champion in their arms!

The remaining few minutes did not help City, at least in the first half, they were completely defeated.

Players of the two teams with different moods hurried back to the locker room after the referee blew the whistle.

It's just that the Manchester City players hurried back to make final tactical preparations.

Sheffield United players can't wait to go back to the dressing room to listen to the head coach's "rainbow fart".

Speed ​​did not hold back his praise.

Hugging and high-fiving one by one, complimenting one by one, all the Sheffield United starters were all smiling.

Medel hugged De Bruyne, squinted and praised him for his good over-the-top pass.

In the second half, he is likely to replace De Bruyne to strengthen the team's ability to intercept and strangle in the midfield, so he was called into the locker room in advance by the assistant coach to listen to the tactical arrangements.

De Bruyne has no dissatisfaction. In comparison, Joaquin, Medel, and Dembele are all midfielders who have sacrificed more playing time this season.

Now that he has gradually established himself as the main force, there will be more important games to play in the future, and there will be no shortage of opportunities to perform, so his mentality is very good now.

Besides, in the face of Speed, who single-handedly scooped him up from Chelsea, gave him a chance to become a star, and also trained him carefully as the head coach, he couldn't afford to question his tactics at all.

The championship trophies of last season were the result of their mutual sacrifice, mutual understanding, and unity.

With the perfect example of winning the championship in front of him, De Bruyne really felt that everything the head coach said was right, and it was over if he was obedient.

The tactics that Sheffield United will play in the second half are actually very simple, and it is basically clear, that is to mainly compete with Manchester City for control of the midfield, and then push the defense forward.

Steal chickens when there is a chance, and stabilize the defense when there is no chance. This is Sheffield United's specialty.

When the intermission was over, the players on both sides walked out of the player channel one after another and returned to the field.

Medel, who directly replaced De Bruyne, immediately received warm applause and whistles from the Sheffield United fans!
It's really "he's arsenic and my honey".

Manchester City fans saw Medel come on the field, their eyes were darkened, and they felt bored, while the fans of Sheffield United naturally only had joy.

This is the typical style of Sheffield United.

Rather than take risks and continue to attack, they prefer to watch their opponents suffer, and then win the victory and the championship steadily.

Don't work hard at critical moments, just be pragmatic. This is what Speed ​​makes all Sheffield United fans feel at ease.

And Sheffield United, which played pragmatic football, really drove Manchester City almost crazy from the beginning of the second half!

Because Sheffield United's defense is too oppressive, Medel's performance is as fierce and excellent as ever, which highlights a characteristic of fighting you hard and not giving you opportunities easily.

In the first half, Manchester City had already fought hard, and their physical energy consumption was already greater than usual.

This second half was drilled by Sheffield United from the very beginning, and they couldn't stop for a moment, which really tired David Silva, the core of the frontcourt attack.

And as the game time goes on, such consumption will intensify.

Pellegrini can make tactical changes, can make substitutions, and can put all his eggs in one basket to make the team attack across the board.

But when the overall running of the team is widened by the opponent and can't fight the physical consumption battle, no matter how good he is, it's useless.

Sheffield United forcibly brought up the rhythm of fighting and confrontation in the second half of the game. They ran an average distance of one and a half players more than Manchester City, which is outrageous!
Neymar off, Joaquin on top, Drinkwater off, Dembele on top.

Sheffield United just used running to kill Manchester City in the midfield. Such ruthlessness also made countless Premier League fans dumbfounded.

Many fans thought that the previous Sheffield United was able to run, but after watching today's game, they knew the approximate level of Sheffield United's limit.

It can only be said that Manchester City's defeat was completely unjust.

Because they ran nearly [-] kilometers less than their opponents!
When there is such an exaggerated data comparison, all the audience have nothing to say except sigh.

Replay?

What else is there to do!
Let's make up for the lost kilometers first, and then talk about tactical issues!

When the final whistle sounded, many Manchester City players slumped directly on the turf.

Aguero, who was most anxious in the first half, lost his temper at all.

I was so tired that I lost my temper, and I didn't even want to make a frustrated expression, the kind that I just don't want to get up when I lie on the court.

When Pellegrini and Speed ​​shook hands, there was only a wry smile, unable to say anything, but Speed ​​still hugged the old Chilean thoughtfully.

The result of the game is really not an intuitive reflection of the tactical competition between the two.

Sheffield United used their strength to overwhelm people today. They first used star tactics to break the deadlock, and then ran across Manchester City abruptly.

With such a result, what else can Pellegrini say?

Come again next time?
Forget it, the old man from Chile is afraid that his coaching philosophy will be shaken if he comes again like this, so we should meet less.

After a big fight, the celebration of relaxed laughter and laughter ended, and Li Mo took his teammates to the award stand of Wembley Stadium for the fourth time in the past two years.

Two League Cups and one FA Cup, these are the dazzling honors Sheffield United has won at this stadium in the past two years.

Li Mo also believes that today will not be the last time he stands on this podium this season.

In mid-May, he will definitely come again with his teammates to taste the wonderful taste of winning the FA Cup!
Accompanied by the colorful ribbons falling from the top of the stadium, Li Mo raised the League Cup champion over his head, and celebrated with his teammates wantonly and passionately again!
Under the vigorous publicity of the British media, the news that Sheffield United won three consecutive League Cups quickly spread throughout the UK through the Internet, and flew to the European continent across the strait.

At a time when the Champions League has not yet reignited and other major leagues are also fighting fiercely, the news that Sheffield United won the first championship of the season is very eye-catching.

Some people discuss it, some people envy it, and some people disdain it.

But in any case, no one will deny that this championship has given Sheffield United a good start in the sprint stage of the season.

And when Sheffield United scored league points, leading No.2 by a large margin, almost entered the quarter-finals of the Champions League, and reached the quarter-finals of the FA Cup, countless fans became emotional.

Sheffield United, a team that was still ups and downs in the British Championship three years ago, comes from the traditional blades in northern England.

It is really going to miraculously launch a strong impact on the traditional giants in just three years!

Once Sheffield United really succeeds in winning the club's Grand Slam honor within a year, they will undoubtedly directly become a "real fairy tale".

Of course, before the fairy tale really comes to an end, it must first withstand the test of reality, so that the good expectations can continue.

For example, Sheffield United, who just enjoyed the joy of winning the championship, had to continue to fight hard for their next trophy in the FA Cup a week later.

In an away game against Hull City, Sheffield United completed a clean 2-0 victory and successfully advanced to the final four of the FA Cup.

Vardy, who played in rotation, also continued his recent excellent form, shining the audience with one pass and one shot, and Berbatov and Berbatov completely grasped Hull City's defense.

On March 3, Li Mo and Maguire led the second round of the UEFA Champions League quarter-final against Olympiacos.

Even though Sheffield United, which sits at home, already has a five-goal advantage, they did not give Olympiakos the slightest bit of face.

Although most of the Sheffield United players on the field are in rotation, but they are quite tenacious on the defensive end, and the Greeks did not take advantage of half a point.

In the end, thanks to Maguire's No.706 corner kick in the second half, Sheffield United completed a double play against Olympiacos and two rounds of clean sheets, and advanced to the quarterfinals of this season's Champions League with a total score of 6-0!

Back in the Premier League, Sheffield United's main force, who had rested and trained for almost two weeks, started their journey to grab points in the league again.

一连四场联赛，谢菲联2-0完胜伦敦劲旅水晶宫，4-1横扫诺维奇，1-1从安菲尔德全身而退，1-0顽强绝杀铁锤帮西汉姆联！
Throughout March, except for a league bye with West Bromwich Albion, which needs to be played again in May, Sheffield United achieved a record of six wins and one draw in seven games!

A championship trophy, two cups are approaching the next round, and the league has won ten points!

Sheffield United is going further and further on the road to soaring record!
The better their performance, the less the teams that have already entered the quarter-finals in the Champions League will not want to meet their favorites to win the championship in advance.

But the lottery ceremony is a fateful judgment that no one can escape.

March 3, Nyon, Switzerland, UEFA headquarters.

When Figo showed a warm smile and drew Barcelona first, and then Sheffield United, the audience was in an uproar!
Barcelona vs Sheffield United!
Messi VS Li Mo!

In the quarter-finals of this year's Champions League, the most popular matchup that shocked the fans' attention appeared!

(End of this chapter)