Chapter 243: The unbeaten home game is finally over
In modern football matches, the midfield has always been a battleground for military strategists.
Whoever can control the midfield will control the rhythm of the game to a large extent.
Which side controls the rhythm is equivalent to seeing the fat times of the goddess of victory, and victory is within easy reach!
The left winger Mertens cut in to the center from time to time, and Higuain's retreat gave Naples a partial numerical advantage in the center.
Under the alternating impact, Andy King and Cambiasso were exhausted, and an obvious gap appeared.
If Maguire hadn't left the defensive zone several times to intercept Hamsik's through ball, Higuain would have had a one-on-one opportunity with the defender!
Seeing that the defense in the middle was blown away, Ling Feng also realized the ferocity of the opponent's attack, and was ready to retreat to the midfield to help defend.
However, before he could retreat, Naples broke the balance on the field:
When the game reached the 32nd minute, Naples suddenly changed the direction of attack. Attack in the middle!
After receiving the pass from the midfielder, Hamsik used a very cool fried ball to get rid of Andy King.
Then the outside instep sent the ball forward, and then hit the wall with Mertens who was inserted into the middle.
When he picked up the ball again, there was no Blue Fox player within three meters of him.
Looking up to the left and right sides, the double captain of Naples and Slovakia directly used his left foot to send a diagonal kick into the space on the right side.
Even if Schlupp turned around and chased back immediately, he was unable to clear the ball before Callejon.
Callejon, wearing white, seemed to have returned to his Real Madrid days. After overtaking Schlupp from the outside, he passed the ball directly to the back post without stopping.
Higuain was tightly double-teamed by Maguire and Huth and missed the opportunity to grab points.
But the ball passed through the narrow space between the defender and the goalkeeper at high speed and reached the space at the back post.
Blue Fox right back Simpson was about to step forward, but unexpectedly, a white figure suddenly jumped out from behind him.
It is Mertens who is less than 1.7 meters tall!
Before Simpson stretched out his foot to clear the ball, he swung his leg and pushed.
The next second, the ball stuck to the inside of the goal post and penetrated into the goal!
The entire offense was played too fast. Schmeichel on the goal line even just moved. Before he could even stretch his foot to block the ball, the ball was already entangled with the net.
“GOAL!!!”
“Napoli scored first!”
"The scorer was No. 14, Dries Mertens!!!"
In an instant, all the home team fans at the King Power Stadium fell into silence.
Many people put their heads in their hands, looking like skinny blue mushrooms.
Although I know that my team's defense is not very reliable and has conceded a lot of goals this season.
However, they did not expect that their opponent's attack would be so sharp and smooth.
Looking at the Naples players celebrating at the King Power Stadium, the home team fans finally understood why the media and betting companies believed that Naples was the favorite to win the Europa League with the highest odds!
Seeing the team score a goal, Benitez on the sidelines just clapped on the ground, not too excited or excited at all.
In his opinion, it was just a dominant situation that turned into a goal.
On the other side, Pearson frowned.
Compared to Wolfsburg, Naples' offensive firepower is even stronger!
Moreover, compared to Wolfsburg's heavy reliance on De Bruyne's tactical play, Naples' frontcourt quartet has been working together for longer and has a better understanding.
Everyone performs their own duties and can maximize their technical characteristics.
Leicester City was completely overwhelmed by the opponent's offense.
Pearson knew it very well in his heart.
Even if "Water Drinking Brother" Drinkwater is on the court today, partnering with Cambiasso in the midfield, he may not be able to withstand Naples' wave-like offensive.
The team's offense, with Ling Feng here, has never been an issue that the team needs to consider.
On the contrary, defense is an item that the Blue Fox coaching staff headed by Pearson has been working hard to improve.
Originally, after signing Huth on loan in the winter window, the central defender partnership between Huth and Morgan allowed him to see progress in the defense.
However, the injuries to Morgan and Drinkwater directly caused a huge flaw in the team's defensive system in the midfield and backcourt.
The tactic of using offense instead of defense is always just a temporary measure.
Especially when encountering opponents with equally strong offenses, the two sides fall into an offensive battle.
At that time, defense will be the real factor that determines victory or defeat.
After all, no matter how much you gain from the front, you cannot withstand the loss of more from behind!
People score a goal in one offensive round. You have to attack several times before you can recover a goal.
Under the ebb and flow of one thing and another, if the opponent concedes fewer goals, it is equivalent to scoring more goals.
In terms of score, the opponent still won.
However, even if Pearson knows very well what the team's weak points are, if he wants to strengthen the defense in the middle, he doesn't have many cards to play.
Neither Matty James in the midfield nor Nick Powell, who is on loan from Manchester United, can provide the tough defense and larger coverage area needed in the defensive midfielder position.
The compromise strategy is to withdraw the Lingfeng position.
However, this trick only works under special circumstances.
Such changes have been tried in previous games, but the effect was not good and would only weaken the team's offensive threat.
Therefore, in Pearson's view, instead of falling into a passive situation of being pinned down by the opponent in the half court and frantically rubbing against each other, it is better to have a vigorous offensive battle with the opponent!
It depends on who has a stronger offense and who scores more goals!
This is also the offensive football that Leicester City relies on for survival!
So, after discussing with the assistant coach, while his opponent was celebrating, Pearson waved and called Ling Feng to the sidelines:
"You don't have to retreat!"
"This is our home court, we have to use offense to suppress our opponents!"
"Just like we have been doing in training and games!"< br>
“We only need to score one more goal than them to win the game!”
Pearson’s expression and tone were full of determination.
And Ling Feng also nodded.
“I understand, coach!”
In the past half hour, he finally understood. Napoli's front four are in very good shape today, and all kinds of passing and cutting cooperation are very smooth.
With Leicester City's defense, if it continues to face such high pressure, it will definitely be impossible to defend.
Only by attacking can we find a chance of survival!
. . .
Soon, after the kick-off, both the Napoli players on the field and the fans from both sides in the stands noticed that the eyes of the Blue Fox players in blue suddenly changed.
Becoming sharper and fiercer!
They are also more active and aggressive in pressing and running!
They were not at all affected by conceding the ball first, but encouraged by the home fans, they blew the horn for counterattack!
In the ten minutes after conceding the ball, Leicester City launched wave after wave of attacks.
Naples also seized the limited offensive and defensive transition opportunities and launched a very threatening quick counterattack.
The offensive and defensive rounds of both sides switch so quickly that it is simply dizzying.
In the last second, after Naples' Mertens broke through from the left, his explosive shot was blocked and the ball bounced to the feet of defensive midfielder Andy King;
The next second, the latter made a direct pass and found Ling Feng in front. Ling Feng changed direction and accelerated, directly dribbling the ball forward for several meters. When Napoli midfielder Lopez rushed to grab it, he sent out a scalpel-like kick. of straight plug.
Vardy ran into the open space, used his left foot to smooth the ball, and after slightly opening the angle, he directly used his right foot to blast the ball!
With a "bang" sound, the ball shot out like a cannonball and hit the upper right corner of the goal.
Forcing Naples goalkeeper Andujar to make a wonderful save, he blocked the ball out of the bottom line with his fingertips
Both sides went back and forth, and the playing style was very simple and fast.
Without wasting any time in the backcourt, he quickly passed through the midfield and handed the ball to the frontcourt players for play.
Naples chose to attack from the wing, using the speed and breakthrough of Mertens and Callejon to open up gaps in the defense on the wing and create opportunities for crosses or inward cuts;< br>
Leicester City, on the other hand, chose to advance from the center, using Ling Feng's personal ability to launch quick counterattacks, repeatedly burning the flames of war into Naples' half.
After you sing, I will appear on the stage, and the pace of the game will be full!
Such a wonderful offense and defense also ignited the enthusiasm of the fans at the scene and they were hooked.
While the number of shots taken by both sides is steadily increasing, they are always within a hair's breadth of scoring.
It wasn’t until the first half entered stoppage time that Leicester City finally took advantage of a set-piece opportunity to regain a victory.
Lingard broke through on the right and was knocked down. Then Lingfeng took the set kick and accurately passed the ball over the crowd in the penalty area.
And Maguire, the "highest altitude" in the entire penalty area, under the cover of Huth, overwhelmed the opponent's Spanish international Albiol, who was also 1.9 meters tall, and hit the ball from under the crossbar of the goal. Got in!
One to one!
After the goal, Maguire rushed to the corner flag very excitedly, and then directly kneeled down!
Seeing this, Ling Feng couldn't help laughing and showed a bright smile.
This move is called aircraft carrier landing!
After getting up, Maguire did not forget to give a big hug to Ling Feng who came over to celebrate.
Since seeing Maguire's header in training, Pearson directly used Maguire's head as the first place to pass the ball during set-piece training.
Ling Feng, who knows where to pass, and coupled with Maguire, who is 1.94 meters tall and has excellent header ability, Leicester City's set-piece offense has become more threatening!
Shortly after Maguire scored with a header to equalize the score, the referee blew the whistle to end the first half.
Back in the locker room, Pearson not only recognized the players' performance in the first half, but also specifically praised Maguire's performance by name.
In the first half of the game, if you want to vote for the best player among Leicester City's starting eleven, not only Ling Feng, but also the commentators and even most Blue Fox fans will choose Maguire!
Throughout the first half, his central defender combination with Huth was quite successful in restricting Higuain.
Several blocked shots and grabs effectively blocked the opponent's attack in the middle.
And most of the high-altitude passes from both sides were cleared by him immediately.
In addition to his defensive duties, he also helped the team equalize the score before the end of the first half.
The young central defender who replaced captain Morgan won the recognition of the coach and teammates with his outstanding offensive and defensive performance.
However, just because he performed well does not mean that he has no weaknesses.
On the contrary, after observing the first half of the game, Naples head coach Benitez has discovered his weakness!
"Well done in the first half! We created a lot of opportunities."
"We need to make some changes in our offense to beat them completely!"
< br>"Especially the tall guy No. 28, who turns slowly, you can hit him behind more!"
"There are fewer crosses from both sides, and there are less high-ball crosses, and the ball is swept directly in front of the goal. ! ”
The reason why Benitez is praised as the "King of Cups" is because since he coached Valencia in 2001, every team he joins has brought him at least one cup championship!
And he was able to win the championship in the more cruel and uncontrollable cup competitions, not just by luck!
In terms of on-the-spot command, Benitez can be said to be the best in the world!
. . .
In the second half, the team changed sides and fought again, and Leicester City continued to launch a fierce attack.
However, Vardy did not appear to be wearing shooting boots in this game.
Although Ling Feng's breakthroughs and advances have repeatedly attracted the opponent's defensive attention and created several opportunities for him to kick,
however, several shots were either too accurate. , was saved by the opponent's goalkeeper; or he used too much force and directly hit the ball high.
The two wingers, Albrighton and Lingard, have average foot skills and are not fast enough to tear apart the defense.
Leicester City's offense depends largely on Ling Feng.
In comparison, Naples' frontcourt offense is more dazzling and has a sense of design.
After Benitez's tactical changes, every attack by Naples made Leicester City's defense turbulent and closer to the goal.
In the 60th minute, Benitez decisively replaced midfielder Lopez, who was carrying a yellow card, and replaced Insigne, who had just returned from injury.
Then Hamsik's position was withdrawn, allowing Insigne to play as an attacking midfielder. Through his deft personal breakthrough, he continued to attack Leicester City's two defensive midfielders in the middle.
The effect of this substitution is immediate!
Just five minutes after Insigne came on the scene, he broke through in the middle and then went to the front of the penalty area and sent a through ball.
Higuain turned around to catch the ball and scored with a low shot, all in one move!
After taking the lead again, Leicester City's defense seemed to be in despair.
Just four minutes later, Naples launched an attack on the right. Callejon broke through and was tripped by Schlupp. The referee decisively sent a yellow dot package!
Higuain scored in one fell swoop, expanding the score advantage again!
In the few twenty minutes left, Leicester City made a desperate move and pressed forward with their entire formation, trying to keep the score close and retain suspense for the second round.
But all the attacks always missed the goal.
In the end, Ling Feng relied on his personal ability to hit several long-range shots outside the penalty area, but they also missed the goal slightly.
In the end, with the referee's long whistle, Leicester City's nineteen-game unbeaten streak at home was finally broken.
(End of this chapter)< br>