Chapter 71 Counterattack
The national derby did not fall into a very exciting offensive battle from the beginning as everyone imagined. Because Mourinho chose conservative tactics, the game was actually not exciting and good-looking.
For neutral fans, the first twenty minutes of this game can even be considered boring.
Both sides did not have many high-quality shots, and they did not have many effective attacks. Most of the time they were tug-of-war in the midfield. Especially after Chu Zhongtian shocked the Barcelona players who were planning to be ill-intentioned, the game returned to the previous balance of power.
Barcelona has the best midfield combinations in the world - Xavi, Iniesta, Buzquez and Messi.
And Real Madrid also has experts like Xavi Alonso, Chu Zhongtian, C. Ronaldo and Di Maria.
Evenly matched in the midfield is also the reason why the game has been unable to break the deadlock.
Last year, Real Madrid lost 0:5 at Camp Nou because the midfield lost control. Although there were many stars, they were just a mess.
Nowadays, Real Madrid's midfielder has one more Chu Zhongtian, but it increases cohesion. Chu Zhongtian and Alonso only unite offense and defense, making Real Madrid a whole.
This was something Alonso could not have done before.
But the deadlock will surely be broken.
This is a national derby. How could a draw between the two sides without a single goal in such a game?
※※※Barcelona is looking for a chance to score, and Real Madrid is also doing so.
Real Madrid is now defending Barcelona's offense. After all, Barcelona's attack power is too strong, so they must be more cautious and sacrifice some offensive power for this. But this does not mean that Real Madrid is willing to draw 0:0 at home.
However, Barcelona may not be unable to accept this result. Anyway, it is good that they didn't lose the away point.
Overall, Barcelona is still dominated in the game. They keep attacking, hoping to break through Real Madrid's goal. Real Madrid can only play defensive counterattacks. Except for the previous few decent opportunities, most of the time they dare not invest too much force in their counterattacks because they are afraid of Barcelona's attack.
You should know that once more troops are invested to attack, it means that there are fewer people in defense and more space. The Barcelona midfielder led by Xavi is very good at grabbing space.
Harvey is now under Chu Zhongtian's strict defense. Chu Zhongtian did not show any mercy because he got a yellow card, so he should still be kicked. Moreover, Harvey felt that Chu Zhongtian after taking the yellow card seemed to be harder to deal with than before taking the yellow card... Chu Zhongtian had to use some fouls to stop Harvey, but now he almost didn't even need to foul, but he still couldn't easily get rid of his defense.
Iniesta passed the football to him from the side, but he did not catch the ball immediately. Although he made a move to catch the ball, it was just a fake move. He let the football pass by him and planned to break through from the other side. Unexpectedly, Chu Zhongtian's feet were also passing by with the football. Real Madrid's No. 10 tackled and shoveled the football out!
Then Harvey turned around, tripped Chu Zhongtian's leg, and fell head-on.
Barcelona fans in the stands shouted: "Foof! This is a fucking foul!"
Busques, who was right next to Harvey, also raised his arm to signal Chu Zhongtian to commit a foul.
They all think this is a foul, and each foul will increase the risk of Chu Zhongtian's card.
But they did not hear the referee's whistle.
"Chu Zhongtian did not commit a foul! This was a very clean and neat tackle!" He Ping shouted and explained to Chu Zhongtian.
Seeing that the referee did not judge Chu Zhongtian for a foul, Guardiola on Barcelona's coaching table held his head with his hands, looking puzzled and puzzled. Obviously, he also thought Chu Zhongtian's kick should be a foul... The commentator of Catalonia couldn't wait to announce that this was another powerful evidence of Real Madrid's conspiracy theory: "If such an obvious foul is not criticized! Mourinho still has the face to say that Barcelona is taken care of by the referee more?!"
Soon the TV broadcast gave the slow motion of the whole process. The slow motion clearly shows that Chu Zhongtian did tackle the ball first, and then Xavi couldn't hold his legs down due to inertia, and tripped Chu Zhongtian's leg and fell to the ground... The Catalan commentator was silent in an instant.
Chu Zhongtian's defense seemed like a foul, but in fact it was so clean and neat every time. Fortunately, the referee Munis Hernandez, who was in this game, was very careful and had a sharp look. Otherwise, if he met the referee with poor eyesight and unclear mind, Chu Zhongtian would have been sent off with a red card... The commentator on Madrid also realized that Chu Zhongtian's current foul was less than before he received a yellow card. "...I discovered a problem. Chu has fewer fouls now, and his defensive movements are getting cleaner and neat. At the same time, his restrictions on Xavi's defense have not been reduced. Xavi is still very painful... This Chinese is really amazing! He wants to tell all of us that he can defend Xavi without fouling!"
Everyone thinks that not being able to foul is a very troublesome thing for Chu Zhongtian to defend Harvey, but Chu Zhongtian is telling everyone with practical actions that he will freeze Harvey even if he doesn't foul!
※※※ Guardiola frowned on the court, Xavi was frozen. This is obvious and must be admitted. Barcelona's offense all comes from Xavi. What should I do if Xavi is frozen?
Barcelona is actually not an invincible team in the universe. They have lost the ball before and have also lost the championship. The reason for their loss is very simple, that is, Xavi, Iniesta and others have not played their due level. Sometimes Xavi and others cannot play at their normal level because they are not in shape, and sometimes because of the opponent's strict restrictions and defense.
While Guardiola was thinking about countermeasures, Mourinho also stood on the sidelines to think. The two people were thinking about basically the same problem, that is, how to break through the opponent's door as soon as possible.
In such a game, whoever scores first will have the lead.
At his home court, he was ahead of his arch rival Barcelona, the morale of the players was greatly boosted, and the fans in the stands were excited. With the concerted efforts, it was not impossible to win this game.
And the most important thing is that it is obvious that Xavi is restricted now, so Barcelona's offense is not smooth enough. Messi can only fight alone, and he has not seen him much for a short time. Without the support of Xavi and Iniesta, Messi is just an ordinary excellent player and cannot play his best side.
Guardiola must be thinking about countermeasures, and must score a goal before he comes up with any countermeasures to completely disrupt the opponent's arrangements.
Therefore, the best time for Real Madrid to score is just now. The time is very short and the goal must be scored. The task of Real Madrid players is not bad. How to score?
Mourinho stood on the sidelines to watch. Many times, what he could do was very limited. Once the game started, most of the time it was up to the players themselves.
He turned his eyes to Chu Zhongtian.
So far, Chu Zhongtian's performance in offense is quite limited, with only that long shot that was quite amazing, and at other times it was very dull.
All his energy was on defending Harvey. At the beginning, when he told other members of the coaching staff that he wanted Chu Zhongtian to defend Harvey at the tactical meeting, Kalanka still objected. He was worried that defending Harvey would sacrifice Chu Zhongtian's offensive ability. At that time, Harvey would defend it, but our offense also lost its motivation and it would not be worth the effort. Harvey could rely on regional defense or let others defend, but Chu Zhongtian could not talk too much about his energy to guard Harvey.
In the end, Mourinho stood firmly against the opposition and used the current tactics. The Portuguese head coach believed that Chu Zhongtian would have some strength. No one knew how much energy this kid had. In the Champions League final, everyone thought that it was Chu Zhongtian's limit. He frozen Messi one-on-one and could also help the team equalize the score. In the end, he simply turned into a goalkeeper and blocked the opponent, dragging the game into the penalty shootout. If there was a god's help in the penalty shootout, Barcelona did not score a single ball, and finally successfully led the team to win the cup... Is that his limit?
Mourinho thinks it shouldn't be. This person seems to be born specifically for big scenes. The stronger the opponent, the more difficult the scene, and the more problems he has, the more exciting he is.
So if you have any problems, even if you let him go, he will always satisfy you.
※※Murinho was staring at Chu Zhongtian, wanting to see how he would let the team score. Chu Zhongtian was also thinking about this issue. Now Xavi is frozen by him, and the offense is basically unable to be organized. He can only simply pass the ball, but this situation cannot continue. Sooner or later, the opponent will find a countermeasure, because they are Barcelona, and their head coach is Guardiola, not just any cat or dog.
So if you want to score a goal, you don’t have much time to give Real Madrid. Xavi can’t organize the attack, and there are Iniesta, Iniesta is caught and Buzquez. If you really can’t, Pique can still get in, just like his idols, Jero or Beckenbauer.
You must score early and be in the advantage of both score and psychologically before you can disrupt Barcelona's deployment.
But how to score?
This problem is not only something Mourinho thought hard, but Chu Zhongtian is also having a headache.
Although Barcelona has focused their main energy on the offense, their defense is very well organized, and their general offense cannot threaten their goal. Pique and Puyol have a very high defense level and are already the world's top defenders.
But that doesn't mean that this line of defense is impeccable.
There is no such line of defense in the world.
When it comes to the issue of this line of defense, Chu Zhongtian can come with his mouth.
Although Pique is powerful, his performance is often not satisfactory once Puyol is gone. He and Puyol can complement each other. Once Puyol is gone, his weaknesses will be exposed. Because he likes to assist, just like his idol, Yero, he dribbles the ball to the frontcourt and passes the football to his teammates, so that there will be huge gaps behind him.
What about Puyol? His defensive ability is undoubtedly his only problem. His only problem is his age. At the age of 34, he is not as physically as before. He was missing for three months due to injury last season. Now he is showing a sharp decline in both explosive power, bounce and physical confrontation. The only thing he can rely on is experience.
As for the two full-backs... Whether it is Adriano or Alves, both Brazilians adhere to the characteristics of Brazilian full-backs - offense is stronger than defense. Why did Alves not compete with Macon in the Brazilian national team before and could only play Macon as a substitute? It is because Alves is not as good as Macon in defense, and Macon at his peak was balanced offense and defense.
Alves and Adriano, the two full-backs, are known for assists, and it is almost impossible to stay in the backcourt. In fact, since the game has been held, the two have been pressing up many times to participate in the offense.
So after this analysis, there are actually many hidden dangers in Barcelona's defense line, it depends on whether you have the ability to seize these loopholes and exploit them.
Because Barcelona pays attention to ball control, their loopholes are rarely exposed to their opponents directly. When the opponent takes the ball, they will immediately face the siege of Barcelona players, whether in the frontcourt or in the backcourt. This is also a reflection of "all offense and all defense".
In fact, Chu Zhongtian is not unfamiliar with this style of play, because at Hoffenheim, they did this. Actively pressing in the frontcourt, and you can directly launch an attack by breaking the ball. This is an important reason why Hoffenheim scored more goals.
The experience of playing in different teams has made Chu Zhongtian very rich in football experience. He can adapt to different styles of football because of these experiences.
The problem now is how to avoid Barcelona's pressing when they go from defense to offense, and at the same time, before they return to defense in time, they can hit the football to the most threatening place, and finally one blow is fatal.
※※※Just as Chu Zhongtian was thinking about how to break the Barcelona goal, Barcelona players were already taking action.
"Daniel Alves is here! But he faces Marcelo's defense...he passes the football horizontally to Harvey!"
Chu Zhongtian rushed towards Xavi with football. Barcelona's midfielder did not stop the ball, but poked it directly with his toes and passed the football to Iniesta who came to pick him up before Chu Zhongtian.
Iniesta was unable to continue to control the ball either because Xavi Alonso was standing in front of him.
At the same time, Real Madrid's overall defense line is well arranged, making Barcelona unable to find a way to attack from the middle.
So Iniesta distributed the football to Messi.
Messi took the ball in the middle and used his dribble to disrupt the opponent's defense. This is the offensive method that Barcelona is good at using.
Messi moved sideways, then attracted the opponent's defensive attention to focus on him, and then suddenly divided the ball to the side... He suddenly made a straight pass!
The football rolled from the ribs into Real Madrid's penalty area.
"Beautiful delivery!" the Catalan narrator shouted.
Looking at it suddenly, no one seemed to be able to catch the ball because there was a blank space!
But suddenly a figure flashed into everyone's vision. It was Adriano!
"Adriano—"
Adriano did not stop the ball or continued to dribble the ball, so he shot directly!
The shot was slightly straight and Casillas threw it into his arms.
Just when Adriano appeared in the penalty area, Chu Zhongtian suddenly felt keenly that this would be an opportunity... Just when Barcelona fans were still regretting that Adriano did not score, and when Real Madrid fans were lucky to have survived the disaster, he had already quietly arrived at the wing road guarded by Adriano.
Then he raised his arms high.
Casillas got up from the ground and held the football in his arms. When he was trying to do what he wanted, he saw Chu Zhongtian's arms raised high.
So he threw the football directly.
Almost at the same time, Buzks also noticed Chu Zhongtian with his arms raised - this move was too conspicuous, and it was difficult to avoid being noticed. However, Chu Zhongtian had no choice. If he didn't raise his hand, how could he let Casillas give him the football?
"Where did Adriano rush up? This shot is so wonderful! This is Adriano! He almost broke through the goal guarded by Casillas..."
The commentator was still praising the shot just now, and did not notice that Real Madrid had quietly launched a counterattack.
The TV broadcast even cut directly to the shooting replay.
Adriano saw his shot being snatched by Casillas, and was holding his head with both hands, looking annoyed.
Just as this happened, the football was thrown out of the penalty area by Casillas.
Real Madrid's counterattack!
The audience in front of the TV knew nothing about this. They were still watching Adriano's replay of the kick just now. On the TV screen, Messi stuffed the football straight into the penalty area, and then Adriano rushed into everyone's vision at a flash. Then... the picture was cut, and the scene that caught everyone's eyes was that Chu Zhongtian raised his right foot and hooked the football that was about to fly out of the sideline.
The Bernabeu Stadium emitted a huge cheer, and the sound waves rushed to the sky at this moment.
Buzks had also arrived in front of Chu Zhongtian.
He planned to break the football while Chu Zhongtian stopped the ball, but he didn't expect that Chu Zhongtian's movements were connected very quickly! As soon as the football landed, he suddenly dribbled the football out! Then he suddenly accelerated and bypassed Busques from outside the football field!
This series of movements was too coherent and completely inconsistent with the rhythm of a normal person. Naturally, it also broke the rhythm of Buzks. When he saw the football landing, he was lifting his center of gravity to stretch his feet to intercept the ball. Unexpectedly, Chu Zhongtian directly passed the ball, and his whole body was stiff and he didn't have time to react.
“Beautiful breakthrough!!”
The Real Madrid fans in the stands were excited and shouted: "Come on! Chu! Crush!"
The commentators reacted at this time, "This is Real Madrid's counterattack! Chu passed Butsques!"
"Beautiful! The ball is superb and done in one go! Chu Zhongtian sounded the horn of Real Madrid's counterattack!"
When Buzquez turned his head, he only saw Real Madrid's No. 10 jersey floating in front of him. Chu Zhongtian had already adjusted his direction and led the football to the penalty area!
Chapter completed!