Football’s First Defender

During the intermission, Klopp made a series of offensive arrangements against Atletico Madrid's defense, but maybe even Klopp himself was full of doubts about whether such arrangements would be effective.

It is really Atletico Madrid's defensive ability, which is too "desperate".

In Klopp's coaching career, the Bundesliga teams were not good at defending. When facing the mighty Bayern, although it is possible to finish a game, they only hit the goal with 2 or 3 kicks.

But that is almost a generational difference in player strength, not Bayern's overall defense, which is so good.

Coming to the Premier League, Chelsea, once a strong defensive team, has declined.

And Leicester City, which has been called the strongest iron barrel team in the Premier League this season, actually has weaknesses that can be exploited.

However, facing Atletico Madrid now, for Klopp, he really encountered the strongest level of defensive ability.

In terms of defensive ability alone, Atletico Madrid's iron-blooded defense, in the first half, especially in the last ten minutes, resisted Liverpool's full-scale attack, leaving no chance for Liverpool, which moved Klopp.

Although they are playing at home, can they really find a chance in the face of such a defense?

Klopp believes in his team's offensive ability. If he dares to invest more power in the offense, he may have more opportunities in the second half.

But for Atletico Madrid's defensive counterattack, Klopp has some fears from the first half.

Indeed, Yang Feng is an excellent defender, but the combination of Griezmann and Vietto is not weak.

Especially Griezmann, in any position in the frontcourt, can complete the counterattack task excellently.

Whether it's his own pass, or his own finishing offense.

It can be said that Yang Feng can indeed deal with an offensive player with Atletico Madrid's quick counterattack in the frontcourt, but if he faces two people at the same time, there is still enough tacit understanding, and the two who can complete a small-scale pass, then there is no chance of winning .

As for Skrtel, Skrtel's defensive style is not suitable for defending such an offensive player with excellent technical ability. Klopp knows the small problems in his own defense, so he has to make some choices in the second half.

Keeping the input of the offensive number unchanged, try a new offensive strategy to see if you can get a surprise in the game.

If not, then after 60 minutes, when Atletico Madrid's physical fitness declines, try to launch a final onslaught.

However, at the beginning of the second half of the game, Atletico Madrid continued to make a sudden change and began to take the initiative to attack, which caught Liverpool by surprise again.

Simeone may not have enough superstars, but he has the unique temperament that can inspire the strength of all the players in the team, and can make the players under his command willing to give everything for one goal.

In a game, the tactical style is constantly changed, and the players can use all their physical energy to run and perform to the greatest extent in the game.

Atletico Madrid may play the most team football among many European giants. It is the kind of football that every player is on the field and contributes selflessly.

Simeone used his personality charm to bring Atletico Madrid to where it is today, the top three in La Liga and a frequent visitor to the Champions League.

The La Liga title has already been won. For Simeone, he was dragged into an overtime defeat in the Champions League final two years ago, so this season, after reaching the Champions League knockout round and the team's new lineup has also been run-in , Simeone hopes to launch another impact on the "Big Ears Cup" this year.

Liverpool planned to take the lead in launching the offensive in the game, but they did not expect that at the beginning of the second half, Atletico Madrid changed their previous defensive style, and took the initiative to defend and attack.

Klopp on the sidelines also had a headache and envy.

Headache Atletico Madrid's tactical variability, can actually change the game style continuously in a game.

What I envy is that Simeone has completed the construction of the team. Although the overall strength of the players may be insufficient, under the kneading of tactics, they can explode the strength of the top team.

Klopp's training for the current team has not yet been fully in place. He is indeed a little envious of a team with strong overall capabilities like Atletico Madrid.

At the beginning of the second half of the game, Atletico Madrid once again turned away from the goal. Relying on the pressure in the midfield, it caused great trouble for Liverpool directly after the counterattack was completed.

After a high-ball dispute, Liverpool relied on aerial work and was always able to snatch the ball to the first spot. However, under the comprehensive oppressive defense of Atletico Madrid players, there was no way to unload the ball and open an effective attack.

In the end, the Atletico Madrid player's attack was directly through continuous pressing. After Liverpool "worked in the air" back and forth five times, they snatched the ball.

In the sixth high-altitude ball scramble, Cork's direct forward jumping scrambled for the ball, and finally grabbed the landing point, and directly relied on inertia in the middle to push the ball to the right.

Oliver Torres on the right, directly because he was in the state of grabbing before, directly continued to accelerate forward this time. After grabbing the landing point of the ball returned by Cork, he directly dribbled the ball and accelerated forward.

In an instant, Liverpool's previous consecutive headers, on the contrary, fulfilled Atletico Madrid's counterattack on the spot after a frontcourt counterattack.

However, for the Liverpool players, if they do it all over again, they will still do it.

After all, in a strong duel, every time the ball is controlled, an offensive opportunity can be completed, which may cause more trouble for the opponent.

But this time, it was just an accident that Atletico Madrid completed the steal and counterattack.

As the old Chinese saying goes, you can’t give up eating because of choking, and it’s the same for Liverpool. If you want to create better opportunities in the game, you must dare to attack, seize every opportunity in the game, and ensure every opportunity. offensive opportunity.

Even if you are really caught by your opponent, if you catch a certain opportunity, you will complete a counterattack on the spot.

Speaking of back to the game.

Oliver Torres dribbled the ball quickly on the right and pushed the ball into Liverpool's 30-meter defensive area in an instant.

Moreno was ready to counterattack and move forward, but suddenly his opponent got the ball, and when he chased it back, he actually didn't have a better defensive position.

It is not so easy to limit Oliver Torres' wing attack.

When Moreno's defense was not timely, Oliver Torres was on the right side and had a larger space. He could complete a pass and pass it directly into the penalty area to create an offensive threat.

Oliver Torres did not pass the ball directly, and passed it into the penalty area.

Perhaps it was because Yang Feng's super high success rate of intercepting high balls in the penalty area made it easier for Oliver Torres to choose a pass when he had an excellent opportunity to counterattack on the spot. Passing the ball with the foot on the ground, it is convenient for his two teammates in the penalty area to complete the shot in the game.

In the penalty area, there are not only Griezmann and Vietto's grabbing points, but also Cork's fast forward.

And Liverpool's defenders were in a state of disarray at the moment of being hit back.

Liverpool's defensive players did not all return to their defensive positions at all, and could not form a systematic defense.

However, at the critical moment, Yang Feng still stood up.

When Oliver Torres completed the pass, fortunately, it was Yang Feng who took the lead in judging the passing route and rushed directly to the penalty spot.

Oliver Torres chose a coincidence and did not pass the ball directly to the goal, giving Griezmann or Vietto a chance to grab a spot in the small penalty area.

Instead, it accurately finds the passing route to the vicinity of the penalty spot, which happens to be the gap formed after Liverpool players are compressed into the small penalty area.

But such gaps do exist, but Yang Feng's reaction speed is really too fast.

After all, although Yang Feng himself retreated into the small penalty area, that was the point that threatened the defense the most.

Yang Feng's observation ability is clear about the situation of the entire stadium.

Also know the team's big gaps in the penalty area.

Therefore, Yang Feng not only took the initiative to find a physical confrontation with Griezmann, but also focused on two things, always paying attention to Oliver Torres who was advancing from the side.

The moment he saw that he was passing the ball, Yang Feng had already started to save it.

"Absolutely rush! Don't give the opponent room to kick easily."

Yang Feng still knows about this Atletico Madrid team.

After all, as one of the "protagonist" teams in this year's UEFA Champions League in history, Atletico Madrid and Real Madrid joined forces for the second time in the UEFA Champions League final after a year, completing the same city derby, allowing European football to witness the Madrid double Excellent competitiveness.

Such a defensive-oriented team can overcome many obstacles in front of them and reach the Champions League final because of its strong ability to seize opportunities.

Atletico Madrid's defense is already very good, and on the counterattack end, the excellent offensive completion rate is to allow Atletico Madrid to score first and further strengthen the team's defense guarantee.

Yang Feng also knew how hard Cork's feet were. Anyway, Cork must not be allowed to hit the goal near the penalty spot, otherwise, the game might really be bad.

Cork, who moved forward quickly, was the planner of this counterattack.

It is precisely because of his active fighting and pressing in the midfield area that he put great pressure on the Liverpool players when handling the ball, and successfully completed the counter-grab and grabbed the ball this time.

At this point, see the direction of Oliver Torres' wide pass.

Cork completed the adjustment directly in the process of going forward, and was ready to stop and shoot directly, and complete the goal as quickly as possible.

Koke has planned the shooting angle, aiming at the lower left corner of the goal.

Stop the ball!

hit the door!

All the shots are exactly in line with Cork's plan.

Cork thinks that he is in very good condition for the handling of the ball, the stretching of the leg swing and the degree of completion.

"It should have been an excellent kick!"

It's just that Cork's shot is excellent, but Yang Feng's defense is also excellent.

Yang Feng, who ran out of the penalty area to supplement the defense, rushed to Cork at his fastest speed, and chose to use the inertial sliding shovel and scissors to increase his defensive area.

This time, the sliding shovel action is just to rush the ball instead of rushing people.

Cork's shot was shot, even though the ball was very fast, but in the end it was successfully intercepted by Yang Feng when it flew no more than 2 or 3 meters.

Yang Feng, with his open legs and expanded defensive area, once again made a huge contribution to Liverpool's defense.

He blocked the ball with his right foot, and Henderson, who returned to the defense, quickly completed the clearance, which directly resolved the opponent's counterattack this time.

Klopp on the sidelines breathed a sigh of relief. Just now he saw the opponent's frontcourt counterattack, which made Klopp break out in a cold sweat nervously.

Klopp knows that if Atletico Madrid really takes the lead, especially an away goal, then his subsequent away games will really be difficult in hell.

"It's a good thing we didn't go in."

At this time, Klopp can only rejoice that at the critical moment, there is still Yang Feng who acts as the anchor of the defense line, who can make key defenses and withstand the opponent's offensive opportunities.

Klopp breathed a sigh of relief, while Simeone felt a little helpless. Atletico Madrid played the desired tactical effect with this excellent opportunity and the attack at the beginning of the first half, but in the end, they It was all destroyed by Yang Feng's excellent defense.

For Simeone, grasping Liverpool's lack of tactical preparation at the beginning is the best way for the team to break the deadlock.

After all, the physical fitness of Atletico Madrid players is impossible to form such a large degree of pressing in the frontcourt all the time in the away game.

It is Atletico Madrid's top priority to try to create a threatening counterattack before fully retreating to the half-court defense.

It is impossible for Atletico Madrid to really fight against Liverpool in the away game. If the offensive effect cannot be achieved in a short period of time, then for Atletico Madrid, it is still necessary to focus more on the defense in the game. middle.

"It's a pity! If we can score goals sooner, then this away game and this series will be completely stable."

Simeone can only regret that his team has had a lot of offensive threats, but facing a Yang Feng whose personal defensive ability is overwhelming today, he really has no chance to make a change in the score.

Atletico Madrid's threatening frontcourt counterattack made the offensive organization of Liverpool players more prudent, especially the promotion of the main wing.

After all, advancing from the wing, even under a lot of defensive pressure, can kick the ball out of bounds and form a dead ball, allowing teammates to have space to return to the defensive position and defend.

Rather than losing the ball directly in the middle, it is better for the opponent to have enough space to make a breakthrough or pass.

However, Liverpool's offensive advancement is still greatly restricted.

After passing Atletico Madrid's left-behind personnel in the midfield, but having entered Atletico Madrid's half, they will still be under tremendous defensive pressure.

Both sides tried their best on both offensive and defensive ends, and the game has also reached a stalemate...