I started with Torres, to revive German football

Chapter 321 Guardiola’s happiness and troubles

Three days after returning to Manchester, Manchester City ushered in the 16th round of the Premier League, playing at home against Arsenal, which has been in poor form recently.

Under the shining winter sun, Zhao Jinge led his team to the field. Amid the cheers of Manchester City fans in the audience, commentators from various countries also took the starting lineups of both teams and began to introduce them to the audience.

At this time, Sky Sports' Andy Gray had already started talking, and asked Lineker, today's guest commentator, to introduce the starting lineups of both sides today.

"Arsenal did not dare to push forward in today's game and seemed a little cautious. Facing Manchester City, they put up a [-] formation. Wenger may still want to control the midfield as much as possible, even if he cannot beat Manchester City. There must be enough midfielders to keep the pace from getting out of hand.

I think Arsenal might actually have a chance with Manchester City's midfield arrangement today. After all, De Bruyne and Kante are on the bench, Yaya Toure is resting, Gundogan and Fernandinho are There is no problem with the combination in theory, but after all, the two have rarely played as a formal partner before, so whether they are suitable or not will have to be tested by the game. "

Lineker was chatting away from the side, while Andy Gray took the time to look at Manchester City's starting lineup again, feeling uneasy.

Looking at the personnel configuration, Manchester City does not have any problems, but after all, they have brought on multiple substitutes at once. Clichy, Kompany, and Otamendi on the defense are okay.

But the almost-unseen midfielder combination of Fernandinho and Gundogan also joined the team, and Andy Gray had to admire Guardiola's boldness.

Fortunately, De Bruyne, Kante, Stones, Laporte, and Yaya Toure are all sitting on the bench. If it doesn't work, Guardiola has room for adjustment. It's better than having no one. Change to be stronger.

At three o'clock in the afternoon, with the noise and cheers on the scene, the referee on duty blew the whistle to start the game. Manchester City, sitting at home, took the lead in rolling out its defensive posture to welcome Arsenal's probing attack.

Today, Manchester City is still in a four-three-three formation, with Mane and Sterling serving as the team's wingers. However, under Guardiola's tactical arrangement, they still need to make certain contributions on the defensive end.

However, Guardiola does not expect them to devote a certain amount of energy to defense like the wingers do. He just requires them to try to interfere with the opponent's ball-handlers on the wing.

Behind the two wingers are Fernandinho, who is always ready to cover up defense, and Kyle Walker and Clichy, who have strong defensive capabilities. Therefore, Manchester City's two wingers are not considered weak defensive sides.

According to Guardiola's arrangement, Manchester City's main attack point on the wing today will be on Mane's side.

Judging from the team's overall position, Mane's position has not changed much from when he played as a right winger before, but Sterling on the left is positioned much deeper than him.

Just like the variant [-] lineup that Mahrez played when he was on the court before, Mahrez needs to return to defense, but his position will be higher. Generally speaking, he will mainly attack from the left, and the players on the right will be deeper. , it’s just that the two wings have now switched their tactical weight.

Of course, Zhao Jinge played as a starting partner, and it was still the same as before. His position was directly forward. While assuming a certain fulcrum role, he expanded his range of activities, which also made it more difficult for Arsenal's defense to figure him out. running position and receiving position.

On the offensive end, there is definitely no problem with Manchester City's lineup. The main difficulty is whether their midfielder can provide enough defensive strength!

Many Manchester City fans are worried whether Fernandinho, who has not played against a strong team for a while, is still in good shape?Is all this still unknown?

However, the worries of Blue Moon fans did not become reality.

The first half lasted for almost 15 minutes, and the score between the two teams was still zero to zero. Manchester City, who used most of their rotation players in the midfield and backfield, steadily shut out Arsenal's offense!
Arsenal wanted to catch Manchester City's midfield defense off guard, but they were shocked by the performance of Kompany and Fernandinho.

Yes, Manchester City, which has used many rotation players, has much less control in the midfield than before.

But in terms of defense, Manchester City's system is still operating normally. The midfielder combination of Fernandinho and Gundogan has been well integrated into the defensive system, without hindering the original Manchester City players at all. Assen Na wants to penetrate Manchester City's defense from the center, but it seems that there is no chance at the moment.

"It's really just one sweep and one blocking interception. Guardiola loves this kind of midfielder combination so much, and the key players Fernandinho and Gundogan are also good at playing the ball!"

Manchester City can now put together several pairs of this kind of midfielder combination. Fernandinho's performance is very good. If I were Guardiola, I would have a headache now.

There are as many as four outstanding players in the team who can play as defensive midfielders, and their characteristics are all complementary. In the subsequent formation, Guardiola will also have to be evenly matched! "

Andy Gray said excitedly in the live broadcast room, and many Blue Moon fans also agreed.

Yaya Toure, Kante, Gundogan, Fernandinho, plus the occasional Stones.

Last season, Manchester City's four strong players rotated in domestic and European competitions, and finally won the Champions League and domestic treble in one fell swoop.

Fernandinho, who was in a bit of a decline last season, has maintained his form recently. How to arrange the order of the four players is really a happy and headache for the coach.

But Guardiola, who was smiling broadly as he sat on the coaching bench, was not troubled.

Manchester City will play less frequently in the [-]-[-]-[-] formation this season. In addition to De Bruyne and David Silva, Gundogan and Yaya Toure can also play in the [-]-[-]-[-] attacking midfielder position. .

When playing [-], Gundogan can also play as a full midfielder. Manchester City almost fights on the fourth line. With so many games in a season, Gundogan will have a lot of playing time.

The same applies to Yaya Toure, and Yaya can also play as a central defender. From the front to the back, he is the number one all-around fighter in the Manchester City team and has more opportunities to play.

As for Fernandinho, Guardiola defined him as Kante's primary substitute.

Kante has played too many times since last season and this season. Apart from goalkeeper and Zhao Jinge, he is almost the player who has played the most games in Manchester City, and he has played almost every game, ensuring that Manchester City is in the best position. The strength in the league and cup competitions also intensifies the consumption of one's body.

The team doctor specifically talked to Guardiola about this at the end of the season.

A player's good physical fitness comes down to his physical fitness. Many times the players themselves don't feel tired or physically fatigued, but the team doctor only believes in test results and scientific data.On the advice of the team doctor, Guardiola plans to only let Kanter play [-] games with the club in the new season, and let Fernandinho play in irrelevant games.

This can not only ensure the team's performance, but also greatly reduce Kanter's physical burden. After all, once a player like Kanter suffers a serious physical injury, it will be difficult to return to his peak.

Therefore, Manchester City's four major defensive midfielders will actually not lack playing opportunities. Guardiola has a good idea of ​​their positioning. They themselves also know it after talking to Guardiola, and they will naturally not make a fuss if they are satisfied.

Guardiola is extremely satisfied with Fernandinho's performance at the moment. As long as Fernandinho can perform this kind of performance during the time he can play this season, Kante will basically not have to follow him during the rotation. After finishing the team, just rest at home.

Fernandinho can do both defense and simple offense-defense transition organization, and Guardiola can also reduce the burden on Gundo Ando in terms of tactical design.

After all, the German midfielder is best at attacking from behind.

In the past, when Gundogan and Kanter played together, Guardiola needed him to be distracted in the backcourt organization. After all, Kanter's current backcourt organization ability is not up to Guardiola's requirements, but now with Fernand With Dinho playing as a partner, Gundogan can show more talents on the offensive end!

After defending for 15 minutes at the beginning, the situation has stabilized, and I almost know Arsenal's offensive routine today. It's time to fight back!

Guardiola stood up and walked to the sidelines and made his first tactical adjustment of the game.

Fans from both sides at the scene couldn't understand the meaning of Guardiola's tactical gestures, but they all knew very well what Manchester City was about to do at this moment!
After Gundogan once again took over the ball from Fernandinho, he no longer distributed the ball safely to both sides, but quickly rushed out with the ball!

He is tall, but his skills are quite delicate, and his dribbling is extremely good. Facing Ramsey, the first opponent to intercept him, he twisted in a small direction and flexibly changed direction and broke through!
Mane and Zhao Jinge moved quickly in front to help Gundogan's advance to open up the defenders. Sterling moved slightly closer to the center during his movement, ready to receive Gundogan's pass at any time.

If Arteta was defending in Arsenal's backcourt at this moment, Arteta would definitely stop Gundogan's dribbling with a foul first.

After all, Gundogan performed many times in the league last season in which he passed two or three players in a row and then shot from long range, or cleverly provided assists to forwards.

The experienced midfielders in the Premier League will not let Gundogan continue to speed up and play well at this time.

Unfortunately, after suffering an injury at the end of last season, Tazi chose to retire and become a coach, so Arsenal's starting two defensive midfielders are Xhaka and Kirkland.

One of the two has just joined Arsenal this season, and the other has only faced Gundogan for the first time this season. They have never played against Gundogan, so in an unexpected situation, the two chose the routine. processing method.

Cochran stepped forward to interfere with the interception, while Xhaka retreated safely while keeping an eye on Zhao Jinge's movement.

Under normal circumstances, such a choice is no problem.

After all, the opponent is also pushing forward with the ball. If he is a midfielder, he is lucky enough to pass another person. Could it be possible that he can withstand the pressure exerted by another defender and continue to advance?
Sorry, Gundogan is really good!

When you look at Gundogan's tall figure and think he is a defensive midfielder, he can turn into an elegant technical player, but when necessary, he can naturally become a Beast waist!
Gundogan's strong body allowed him to successfully break through Kirkland's defense. After seeing that the 1.7-meter-[-] Kirkland couldn't even pull and pull Gundogan, Xhaka also knew that he was in trouble. .

In desperation, Xhaka lost his defensive zone and rushed out to kill Gundogan first, but he made another fatal mistake at this time.

Wenger shouted angrily and asked Xhaka to defend. Arsenal fans also screamed and covered their cheeks.

Since the end of last season, not many defensive midfielders in the Premier League have dared to give Zhao Jinge enough space to sprint.

Xhaka has stayed in the Bundesliga for too long. Seeing Gundogan's menacing approach, he instinctively wants to deal with the threat in front of him first. It's not that he doesn't pay enough attention to Zhao Jinge. After all, Wenger has repeatedly told him to keep an eye on Zhao Jinge before the game. Zhao Jinge, and he also played against Zhao Jinge in Monchengladbach.

But repeated warnings are always less impressive than direct defense. Xhaka still has not personally experienced how abnormal Zhao Jinge is now!
Xhaka thought that there was Mustafi and the entire Arsenal defense behind him, so he was relieved, but at this moment Mustafi was already cursing in his heart!
After Koscielny left, Mustafi could only start with Gabriel.

In past games against Manchester City, when Koscielny was around, Mustafi felt more at ease, but today without the Frenchman to fight Zhao Jinge, Mustafi could only bite the bullet now.

Xhaka hadn't realized the seriousness of the matter yet, but he saw clearly the look of surprise on Gundogan's face in front of him.

Before he could react, Gundogan flicked his left foot, and the football quickly flew towards Arsenal's penalty area. Xhaka turned his head and saw Zhao Jinge speeding up his sprint again, with the explosion driving his strong body. Galloping forward gave him a great visual impact!
Mustafi had already moved and prepared in advance, but when he collided with Zhao Jinge who rushed into the penalty area, the terrifying power still staggered him!
Zhao Jinge groaned, but his body was firmly stuck in a favorable position.

While pushing away Mustafi, he tapped the ball with his chest.

Gabriel's face turned pale, he gritted his teeth and stretched out his feet to try to interfere with Zhao Jinge's shot, but his movements were still a step too slow!
Zhao Jinge didn't wait for the football to completely hit the ground. When it was halfway in the air, he turned sideways and whipped his leg and directly chose to shoot!
There was almost no adjustment for this ball. Zhao Jinge exerted enough force at close range. He almost pulled the ball out of his head and roared straight to the top of the near corner of the goal!

This kind of shooting decision was so decisive and straightforward that Zhao Jinge himself couldn't guarantee that the ball would definitely hit the goal frame!

But taking this risk, the rewards are equally huge.

As long as this kind of ball is within the range of the goal frame, the goalkeeper can hardly save it!

Cech's face changed drastically after Zhao Jinge entered the penalty area. His reaction was quite quick. When Zhao Jinge stopped the ball with his chest, he was ready to save.

But when Zhao Jinge stretched his body to shoot, his first choice was the far corner!
So when the shot was blasted, his body was already moving to the other side, and it was too late to pounce towards the near corner at this moment!
"Shh!"

An extremely clear sound of friction between the football and the net rang in old Cech's ears. His half-raised hands looked like a gesture of surrender. In front of him, Zhao Jinge, who had confirmed that the football had entered the goal, had already Clench your fists and start roaring and running!
(End of this chapter)