Chapter 100: Win in the Euroleague, lose in the Euroleague [4,000-word chapter]
“David (Nugent), you did a good job, continue to press the central defender, and you can back up to the forward appropriately. Ling is inserted to play the ball."
"Riyad, you have to lean closer to the center to receive the ball, especially when Ling is being targeted."
"Jamie, he Already alert, you retreat and run back. Don't be in front of him, but insert from behind him."
"Ling, you need to run more in the midfield to press their two midfielders. .Also look out for the space behind the two full-backs.”
While sitting on the locker and receiving a calf massage from the team's physical therapist, Ling Feng listened to Pearson standing next to the tactical board and emphasizing the targeted layout of tactics.
This first half may be his most tiring game since his career debut!
Arsenal's passing and controlling style of play is very fast. Each player's ball is not delayed, and it is basically passed within two feet.
With the opponent frequently changing their formation through passing the ball, Leicester City players must concentrate and move their bodies laterally to keep the formation and space compact.
In football matches, defense always consumes more energy than offense!
Pearson's tactical ability is actually average.
The reason why Leicester City was able to win the English Championship and reach the FA Cup final after many years was not because of how powerful or advanced his tactics were.
Mainly because of the relatively outstanding abilities of Leicester City's main players.
He knows the technical characteristics of each player thoroughly.
More importantly, he doesn't know how to organize himself, and he doesn't have the pride of a big-name coach. He just honestly builds the tactics that best suit them around the team's core players such as Vardy and Ling Feng.
It is such a pragmatic head coach who can inspire the team's combat effectiveness to the greatest extent and become invincible in the English Championship!
After experiencing an alternating offensive and defensive first half, in Pearson's view, if his team wants to equalize the score or even take the lead, it must still depend on the offensive performance of the frontcourt trident. .
Especially Ling Feng!
It can be said that Ling Feng is the barometer of the Leicester City team.
He performed well and the team's offense will be full of threats;
Once he's contained, the team's offense falters.
So, most of his tactical arrangements during the halftime break were how to allow Ling Feng to gain more passing space, so that he could cooperate with Vardy and Mahrez in more passes. .
Fifteen minutes flies by.
After stuffing the last bite of banana into his mouth, Ling Feng put on a new jersey and followed his teammates out of the locker room.
Seeing Vardy in front of him, he quickened his pace, hooked the opponent's shoulders very skillfully, and then whispered:
"Jamie, I will move more to the left in the second half. Pay attention to the tall man and get behind him more."
Arsenal's two full-backs, Sagna and Gibbs, both It belongs to the type that is fast, confrontational, and can go up and down.
Although Sagna is over thirty, he firmly occupies the main position of Arsenal and the French national team relying on his explosive physical fitness and excellent competitive form.
He can definitely be regarded as one of the top right backs in the Premier League.
Gibbs, known as the "successor of Ashley Cole", is also capable of both offense and defense, and is one of the outstanding young players among England's full-backs.
Therefore, neither Vardy nor Mahrez has much advantage when breaking through from the wing.
Maybe in two years, after experiencing the baptism of the Premier League, they will be able to deal with it more calmly.
But now they have not fully unleashed their potential, and they are also struggling against the top-level defenders in the Premier League.
However, according to Ling Feng’s observations in the first half, Arsenal’s defense was not impeccable.
Right center back Per Mertesacker is tall and powerful. Compared with Koscielny, his turns and pace are relatively slow, which can be regarded as a breakthrough in Arsenal's defense.
Especially against a speed forward like Vardy who has quick feet and strong impact, he will definitely be able to take advantage.
The goal that brought the victory back in the first half was because Mertesacker had no time to defend, allowing Vardy to insert a shot from the rib space between the right back and the right center back.
Direct passes from the ribs are originally a very important offensive method in modern football tactics.
So, Ling Feng decided to focus on Mertesacker and make more fuss
Listening to Ling Feng's instructions, Vardy nodded frequently to express his understanding.
Ling Feng's skills have already conquered all the players in Leicester City's first team.
Therefore, both Vardy, Nugent and Mahrez, who are much older than him, are very willing to listen to his command on the field.
Facts also proved that under Ling Feng’s command, they were invincible and won almost all the games!
Thanks to the victories in the English Championship and FA Cup, the atmosphere within the Leicester City team is very good, and everyone is full of energy.
Even as a substitute player who doesn't have much playing time, he is very dedicated off the court and keeps cheering for his teammates.
Especially Dean Hammond, who once complained to the head coach about his lack of playing time. No matter how unhappy he was, he would not show it in the locker room or in front of his teammates.
Because he knows very well that the better the team performs, the better he will benefit as a member of the team.
Even if he has made up his mind and is ready to transfer and leave after the end of the season, he can still negotiate a good deal with the new club by virtue of his status as a "English Championship Champion Player" or even an "FA Cup Champion Player". Salary package.
Many times, in the world of sports competition, victory can cover up all problems!
. . .
"Okay, welcome to watch the 133rd English FA Cup final again, let's return to Wembley Stadium."
"In the first half, Arsenal relied on Podolski and Caso La's goal took the lead by two goals. Then Leicester City pulled one back with Vardy's volley, and the score was two to one, with only one goal difference."
"The second half of the game. , is about to begin!”
After the kick-off, Arsenal immediately entered the state.
They continued to calmly mobilize Leicester City's formation through faster-paced short passes.
While Leicester City's players were exhausted, they also tried to open up space.
Perhaps due to Wenger's instructions, Arsenal players do not easily pass direct passes into deep areas.
Even if the ball comes to the feet of the two wingers, they will not pass it easily. Instead, they will return the ball to the supporting players in the middle and continue to look for opportunities to pass through the ribs.
Arsenal kept kicking back outside the 40-yard area of Leicester City's half, gradually flattening Leicester City's formation.
Leicester City's eleven players, except for Nugent who was at the front and put a certain amount of pressure on the central defender, all returned to their own half.
Coupled with the eight Arsenal players who overwhelmed the half, Leicester City's half was as crowded as the subway during rush hour!
In the past, Ling Feng, as an attacking midfielder, did not need to press too much in the frontcourt. Because in the English Championship, only Leicester City controls the ball to suppress its opponents, and no opponent can suppress Leicester City!
However, when facing the stronger Premier League giant Arsenal, they became the side that was forced to rub in the half.
Therefore, from the beginning of the game, Ling Feng increased the number of frontcourt pressures, making it difficult for the two Arsenal midfielders Arteta and Ramsey to dispatch in the middle. The ball is distributed to both wings.
Although his defensive ability is not very good.
But he is very motivated and can make certain predictions through [God's Vision], so that he can stand on the opponent's best passing line and intercept.
In the second half, he continued to do so.
Because, with a clear gap in strength, they can only adopt defensive counterattack tactics.
First base yourself on defense, maintain a one-goal score difference, and then seize the fleeting opportunity to launch a quick counterattack to threaten Arsenal's goal!
Regarding the scene of the team being frantically rubbing against each other at halftime, Pearson on the coaching bench was not worried at all.
In his opinion, in this final, it is best to win, and it is okay to lose.
Winning the game, they won the FA Cup for the first time in many years and qualifying for the Europa League;
Losing the game, they were able to pass the FA Cup rules. Qualified for the Europa League as runner-up in the FA Cup.
That’s right!
Because Arsenal, who won the FA Cup, has already qualified for the Champions League through league rankings.
Therefore, the qualification for the Europa League will be postponed to Leicester City, the runner-up of the FA Cup!
Of course, as an ambitious and motivated head coach, Pearson also wants to win the FA Cup, a championship that has huge influence in England.
This will make his name firmly engraved in Leicester City's club history!
However, as the team's head coach, he needs to consider more issues and take a longer-term view.
His and the club's goal is to remain in the Premier League.
Not like last year's Wigan Athletic, which was relegated from the Premier League after winning the FA Cup!
If Pearson were asked to choose between the two options of "FA Cup championship" and "Premier League relegation", he would choose the latter without hesitation!
Actually, no one knows that what Pearson is worried about now is not how to win the FA Cup final, but how to successfully avoid relegation next season!
With Leicester City’s thin lineup, staying relegated in the Premier League is already a big challenge.
Another Europa League, fighting on two fronts, the team will take a break!
So, he was very confused about how to convince the club's top management to give up the Europa League and devote all his attention to the Premier League.
Of course, participating in the Europa League can allow the club to earn more income.
As long as you reach the group stage, you can earn millions of euros.
For every win, there are hundreds of thousands of euros in prize money.
However, even if they reach the Europa League final, they will still earn at most 20 million euros in income.
However, once relegated from the Premier League, the loss will be nearly 100 million euros!
Unless the club recruits heavily in the summer window, you can only choose between the Premier League and the Europa League!
And, you must choose the Premier League!
Of course, those are things that need to be discussed in the long term after this final.
Thinking of this, Pearson's thoughts returned to the court again.
From another perspective, this final is a good opportunity.
An opportunity to test the team’s anti-counterattack tactics!
It is foreseeable that after being promoted to the Premier League next season, facing all the powerful players in the Premier League, Leicester City, as a newly promoted team, will definitely not attack their opponents like they did in the English Championship.
Then defensive counterattack is definitely their best choice when facing strong teams!
If they can withstand the passing and controlling offensive of the Premier League giants Arsenal, or even succeed in stealing the chicken, this will prove that their anti-counterattack tactics are feasible.
As long as they play according to this set of tactics, they will have great potential Chance to successfully avoid relegation!
Even shocked some little blue foxes in the Premier League!
However, the scene of anti-counterattack tactics is definitely not good-looking.
In the 50th minute of the game, Cazorla dribbled from the right side of the frontcourt and caused a foul by left back Schlupp. Get a free kick in the frontcourt about forty meters away from the goal.
Cazorla took a free kick and the ball flew into the penalty area and was grabbed by center defender Mertesacker.
Unfortunately, due to interference from Morgan, the ball he swung his head slightly missed the goal.
In the fifty-seventh minute of the game, Arsenal attacked from the left.
Left winger Podolski played a one-on-one with national team teammate Ergo on the left side of the frontcourt. After passing right back De Wright, he cut inside to the penalty area line and used his left He fired a trademark powerful shot from his foot.
Fortunately, the shooting angle was relatively positive, and with Schmeichel's concentration, he directly confiscated the ball steadily.
However, Leicester City was not suppressed all the way.
In the 65th minute of the game, Ling Feng seized Vardy's opportunity to press Arteta, and when he turned around to get away, he stretched out his foot to steal the ball.
Immediately sent a through ball to the wing, allowing Vardy and Sagna to have a race.
Starting early gave Vardy a half-length lead.
But Sania did not let him escape from his grasp and knocked him down directly from the side and behind.
Taking the initiative to pay the price of a yellow card also eliminated the threat that this wave of quick counterattacks might bring.
Ling Feng's arcing pass went straight to the goal.
Unfortunately, Vardy's legs were not long enough when he entered the penalty area, so he threw his whole body out and failed to hit the ball.
After this wave of counterattacks ended, Wenger immediately made substitutions, replacing the energetic "small threat" Wilshere with Arteta, who was over 30 years old.
After the energetic Wilshere came up, Arsenal's control in the midfield became more stable.
As time passed bit by bit, Arsenal, who were in the lead, still controlled the situation on the field and methodically consumed their opponents.
As for Leicester City's players, their physical fitness dropped sharply, and their mentality also changed quietly.
Until the 80th minute of the game, the score was still two to one.
During a scramble, left back Schlupp was pressing against the midfielder Drinkwater, but Ergou turned around and got rid of him.
Seeing that he was about to dribble the ball into the penalty area, Schlupp immediately got down and shoveled Ergou to the ground.
The next second, the screams of a dead man resounded throughout the stadium!
In order to write about key matches smoothly and completely, I might write a chapter of four thousand words.
Hope everyone knows.
(End of this chapter)