Football’s First Defender

Not long after Manchester City's two-goal lead, Liverpool took advantage of Gerrard's playing time and completed a series of attacks to bring back a goal.

There is still a full half an hour before the end of the game. Liverpool, who just scored a goal, is full of momentum, and Manchester City will not allow them to make any more mistakes now.

This time Manchester City's defense failed. The main problem was Richards' defense, which made a fatal mistake.

In positional warfare, when the team's defensive system is established, if a player is passed by the opponent one-on-one, it will indeed cause huge damage to the team.

Richards was overwhelmed by Tang Ning using his personal abilities, and directly released the area behind him to Tang Ning. The Toure brothers' defense speed was fast enough. One went up to block Tang Ning, and the other took advantage of the situation to defend Carol. , did without any problems.

It's just that Barry, who was supposed to mark Gerrard, still didn't completely stop Gerrard from rushing forward. When Gerrard took the initiative and entered the penalty area, Barry no longer dared to do too much from the side and rear. Defensive actions interfered.

Gerrard volleyed without stopping the ball, showing his shooting skills, hitting the target directly and recovering a goal for Liverpool!

This goal was completely made by Gerrard himself. Logically speaking, with two forwards in the penalty area, it would be easier for Tangning to find Carroll in the front or Suarez in the back.

The midfielders just need to wait outside the penalty area for a possible second chance, or do a good job of defending the ball after the opponent gets the ball, but Gerrard runs forward regardless of his physical strength. It happens that Tang Ning this time Seeing the space in the middle, he also passed the ball out, which resulted in the chance to score this time.

Although there were mistakes in the defensive problem in the center, the first problem must be Richards on the wing.

Mancini saw it, and knew that the current Richards, under the condition of physical exhaustion, was doomed to be unable to complete the defensive task on the wing, and it was time to replace him on the bench.

Richards' defense itself is not bad, but throughout the game, his side is Liverpool's main attack point, so in the case of excessive physical consumption, as the game progresses, naturally he cannot guarantee his defensive success rate up.

However, thanks to the continuous investment of oil capital for many seasons, there are many strong players sitting on Manchester City's bench.

Now that Richards has shown his fatigue, Mancini also took advantage of a dead ball and directly replaced another right back of the team, Sabaletta!

Having money means being inhumane. Mancini used the physically fit Zabaleta as a substitute to ensure Manchester City's defensive strength on the right. Even in the counterattack, Zabaleta can create more Great offensive opportunity.

Zabaleta's offensive and defensive performance this season is also not bad. Like the full-back Kororav on the other side, although the two sit on the team's bench most of the time, as long as there are no accidents on the scene, this The two full-backs, one on the left and one on the right, can get a stable substitute playing time.

Manchester City's ability to maintain a stable offensive firepower throughout the season is inseparable from the rotation of the four full-backs. This allows Manchester City to ensure the vitality of their sideways at any point in the game, allowing both sides of the team to be active. In a state of excellent offense and defense.

Richards' side was purely accidental before, and Mancini did not expect that Richards, who has always been known for his physical strength, would consume such a large amount of energy in this game. As a result, Zabaleta was still warming up just now, maybe 5 minutes With a short time difference, Liverpool seized the opportunity and opened up the situation on Richards' side.

After all, the team still has the leading advantage. Mancini comforted Richards, who blamed himself for losing the ball, and then re-emphasized the forward pressure of the team's defensive players on the sidelines, and must resume the threat on the counterattack.

Mancini found that since Gerrard came on the field, Manchester City's retracted defense line was somewhat under pressure, and there were very few counterattacks.

This will only allow Liverpool to find the rhythm of the game. For Manchester City, defensive defense will only limit their hands and feet.

Manchester City's offensive line is not afraid to fight against opponents, and it is not necessary to rely on defense to win the game at home!

As the coach's intentions were understood by the players, Yaya Toure, a core midfielder, was directly liberated from the defensive shackles in the penalty area.

Although Yaya Toure's departure in the penalty area will put him under certain defensive pressure, but at the same time, Liverpool's offense in the center will also become stagnant, and if Manchester City completes the defense, the midfielder Yaya Toure will be able to counterattack. Can participate more effectively in the team's counterattack.

Gerrard in the center had limited room to play this time under the attention of Manchester City's enough defensive personnel, while Jose Enrique and Downing, who had played smoothly on the left before, had The decline, under the defense of Zabaleta and Milner, has been somewhat unable to forcefully create an advantage on the wing.

On Liverpool's bench, there are no wide players to replace. This also makes Liverpool equalize and want to take advantage of the situation to pursue, but for a while, there is no strong point that can provide stable and efficient offensive organization.

Manchester City's defense, just the adjustment of Yaya Toure's position, and the appearance of substitute players on the right side, have somewhat reversed the situation.

Although Carroll and Suarez's defensive level in the penalty area has declined, but with a large number of passes, the two do not have enough offensive opportunities to convert the pass into a dangerous attack and score.

On the other hand, Yaya Toure in the middle can better send an exquisite long pass to the frontcourt players after the team completes the interception. Field, put huge defensive pressure on Liverpool.

"Yang Feng once again used his excellent prediction to complete a clearance on top of Dzeko's head, passing the ball from Manchester City's dangerous backcourt, directly pushing it out of the boundary"...

"Under Yang Feng's call, Henderson stepped forward to block Silva's dribbling route. Silva made an emergency stop and turned backwards into the penalty area diagonally. He still followed up with Yang Feng's defense and directly and accurately passed the ball off the bench. The football controlled by Erva's feet, a big foot cleared the siege"...

"Aguero hit the goal from a small angle. After Yang Feng blocked most of the shooting angles, Reina was able to defend the close corner with all his heart, and received Aguero's shot"...

Liverpool's offense fell into flatness again, while Manchester City's defensive counterattack became more and more threatening, and Liverpool's defense fell into jitters again.

However, the passage of game time and the gap behind by one goal also stimulated Liverpool to keep moving forward and keep attacking!

Moreover, when the offense was unable to open the situation for a long time, Henderson also had to join Liverpool's offensive frenzy. The game entered 80 minutes, and Liverpool could no longer take defense into account.

"Henderson also stepped forward to participate in Liverpool's attack. All Liverpool players pressed forward, only Yang Feng and Skrtel stayed near the midfield line!"

"Charlie Adam's diagonal dribble to the right drew the attention of Manchester City's defense!"

"Pass back! Johnson followed up and made a direct pass from the right into the penalty area!"

"Carol!"

"I was a little bit contested by Kolo Toure!"

"At the second point, Zabaleta took the lead to give the ball to Yaya Toure, Manchester City's chance to counterattack!"

With the failure of the attack, Liverpool players, except for Gerrard who grabbed Yaya Toure, everyone else was retreating quickly.

But Yaya Toure's physical confrontation ability is too strong. Under Gerrard's physical confrontation, he directly supported Gerrard and still completed the work of transferring the ball.

A long pass directly, looking for Silva at the front on the left, there is a large space in front of Silva.

Yang Feng came directly to defend Silva nearby, but Yaya Toure's pass was very precise, Yang Feng had no way to advance to the landing position to complete the defense.

And Silva didn't do anything greedy this time. When Yang Feng hadn't reached his position, Silva unloaded the ball brilliantly, and didn't have time to continue to move forward and give Yang Feng time to defend.

"Silva, on the left, passed the ball into Liverpool's penalty area with a through ball!"

"Aguero!"

"Slash out from the oblique stab!"

"When Skrtel and Dzeko were in a physical confrontation, Aguero accelerated from the right and diagonally inserted into the middle!"

"Liverpool's left-back Jose Enrique can't keep up with Aguero's pace!"

"Hit the goal! A low shot!"

"Goal! Aguero hit Reina for a wicket!"

"Manchester City lead 3-1 at home!"

"At 83 minutes into the game, Manchester City re-expanded their advantage!"

With Aguero's goal, the suspense of the game was completely killed, and the final score remained at 3 to 1. Liverpool ended their recent five-game winning streak in the away game!

In this game, facing such a big test as the strong opponent Manchester City, Liverpool did not have any advantages at all. A lot of problems were exposed on the offensive and defensive ends, and the performance of the whole team had certain flaws.

For Liverpool's recovery, there is still a long way to go!