Chapter 96 Pass the ball with four feet and penetrate the goal! 【Please subscribe! 】
This FA Cup final also attracted many celebrities to watch the game.
Oscar winner Colin Firth, famous host Piers Morgan, Rolling Stones frontman Mick Jagger, Leicester City legend and famous football commentator Lineker, etc.
In addition to the celebrity fans who simply come to watch the game and join in the fun, there are also some people who come specifically to inspect the players.
Soon, the live broadcast camera captured the England team coach Hodgson and his assistants in the stands.
Hodgson's arrival was naturally to examine the English players in the two teams.
Arsenal's Wilshere and Leicester City's Ling Feng.
In addition to Hodgson, German national team coach Loew and French coach Deschamps also came to the scene to watch the game.
Arsenal has three German internationals, Ergo, Per Mertesacker and Podolski.
There are also two French internationals, Koscielny and Giroud.
Except for the marginalized Podolski, the other four are main players of their respective national teams.
How far the German tanks and Gallic Roosters can go in the World Cup in Brazil depends to a large extent on the performance of the main players.
This final is a good time to examine the status of the main players in your team.
Beep~~~
With the referee Lee Probert’s long voice Whistle, the 133rd England FA Cup final has officially begun!
Leicester City took the lead.
Vardy knocked back and the ball came to Ling Feng's feet.
The latter's kick went back to center back Morgan, and then ran forward at a constant speed.
When he reached the top area of the center circle, Ramsey followed him and stood beside him.
This made Ling Feng raise his eyebrows, and then asked:
"Wenger arranged for you to guard me?"
But Ramsey just smiled slightly and replied provocatively: "You can't even think of getting the ball easily!"
"Then give it a try. "
Obviously, Wenger must have told his players before the game that Ling Feng, as the core of Leicester City's tactics, must not let him take the ball and organize it so easily.
So, whenever the latter moves at the top of the center circle, Ramsey in the midfield will immediately come close to him and put a certain amount of pressure on him.
Arsenal's two central midfielders have complementary characteristics.
Arteta is older and his running ability has declined, but his passing and vision are outstanding.
Mainly responsible for retreating to get the ball, sorting out the team's rhythm, and connecting the backcourt and frontcourt with passes.
Ramsey, who has a huge coverage area, uses abundant physical fitness to defend and intercept, and then jumps in to attack when necessary.
Wenger gave Ramsey a task in this game - to follow Ling Feng!
"Once Ling Feng gets the ball in the frontcourt, you have to appear next to him!"
These were Wenger's original words in the locker room.
And Ramsey firmly remembered these words in his heart.
“At the beginning of the game, both sides were relatively cautious and in the testing stage. This is very suitable for the start of a decisive battle.”
The person responsible for commentating this FA Cup final was The famous commentator Peter Drury is known as the poet of football commentary.
This old man is deeply loved by fans and audiences in the English commentary world for his rich vocabulary and cadence of sentences, as well as his gentle yet passionate commentary style.
“Leicester City dropped the ball in the backcourt, and Arsenal didn’t seem to be in a hurry to attack.”
Although Arsenal allowed Leicester City to pass the ball in the backcourt, the forwards did not To press.
However, once the ball is passed directly to Ling Feng in the frontcourt, or to the feet of the two wingers, Arsenal's players will seem to turn on a certain switch, immediately press up the formation at the same time, and attack the defender. Players press the ball.
In this regard, the receiving player can only knock back immediately and keep the ball first.
After a few rounds, Leicester City players clearly felt that Arsenal's pressing speed was much stronger than that of the English Championship team. This is not because Arsenal's tactics are high-pressing in the frontcourt, but this is the rhythm of the Premier League game.
Of all the teams Ling Feng has faced so far, the strongest is Chelsea who are rotating their lineup.
At that time, Chelsea, even if they replaced part of the substitute lineup, the pressure was still stronger than that of the British Championship team.
Often before he gets the ball, someone will come behind him and put pressure on him.
And Arsenal, who are currently playing with all their main players, seems to be even stronger than that Chelsea team!
Since Wenger took over Arsenal, gorgeous offense has been integrated into the blood of the Gunners.
Considering that Leicester City’s offensive firepower ranks first in the British Championship and has defeated Premier League teams, in this game, Wenger formulated the tactical idea of “attacking instead of defending” .
When the opponent has the ball, there is no need to press. After blocking Lingfeng, the most threatening ball point, then force them to pass the ball to both sides.
Especially pass the ball to Nugent on the left!
In Wenger's view, Leicester City's Nugent on the left will be their breakthrough point to create offensive opportunities.
Nugent's speed, impact and physical confrontation are both good, and his foot skills are also good.
However, compared to Mahrez and Ling Feng, their ability to hold the ball is still somewhat inferior.
So, as long as you let him get the ball and press him, you will have a chance to seize the ball.
Once you get the ball, you can firmly control the ball at your feet, and then penetrate the opponent's defense through exquisite passing and receiving coordination!
This is exactly what Arsenal does best!
As long as Leicester City is suppressed with offense, Leicester City is forced to reduce its defense and spend energy on defense.
Then by isolating the "Three Blue Fox Musketeers" that Leicester City relies on most, Leicester City will not be able to directly threaten Arsenal's defense through simple and fast cooperation.
Three minutes into the game, although Leicester City controlled 100% of the ball, they were unable to pass the ball past the center circle!
Seeing that both Ling Feng and Mahrez were followed by an Arsenal player, midfielder Marty James, they had no choice but to pass the ball to Nugent, who had a little space on the left.
And this is exactly the bait Arsenal deliberately released!
When Nugent took the ball and was about to turn around, several nearby Arsenal players pounced from all directions like tigers descending from a mountain.
Seeing the short stature of Cazorla who came to defend, Nugent did not pass the ball out immediately, but planned to bully Cazorla.
However, just when he squeezed Cazorla away with his body and prepared to cut inside, Ramsey was already in place.
Stretched out his foot from his side, and the toe just poked the ball away!
The ball came right to the feet of Arsenal right back Sagna. He glanced forward and passed the ball directly to Cazorla in front.
Taking the ball and turning around, just as the left back was about to step forward, Cazorla raised his head and glanced to the left, then without hesitation, he took off his right foot and passed a 45-degree arc ball.
His target is the center forward who comes to the front of the penalty area-Oliver Giroud!
Under Morgan's close defense, Giroud, who was holding his back, tried to stay in position while using his forehead to tip the ball back to Ergou who was connecting in the middle.
The latter stopped and pushed with his left foot, sending a very comfortable diagonal pass directly into the rib space of the center back and right back!
Podolski, who came in from the left, successfully countered offside and received the ball in the penalty area!
“Don’t let him shoot!”
However, just the next second after Morgan reminded him loudly, Podolski, who was unguarded, swung his right leg without hesitation and fired a shot. Remember the curveball!
With a "bang" sound, the ball drew a parabola in the air, bypassed Schmeichel's fingertips, and pocketed into the far corner of the goal!
The entire goal, counting from the beginning of Sagna's pass, only used four passes in total!
Thanks to "book friend 20230420110810445" for the reward, wow!
(End of this chapter)