Football: After listening to the persuasion, I became the strongest free man!

Chapter 400 Sheets VS Gunners, the current situation of major leagues

Since Diego Costa returned in the winter window, Atletico Madrid's starting lineup has become very stable.

The Spanish center who was suffering from a leg injury was included in the squad for this game, but for the purpose of protecting the players, Simeone did not send the Gunners nemesis. This directly led to Atletico Madrid's lack of a large group that can lead and drive. The frontline fulcrum of the counterattack.

Unable to rely on sharp counterattacks to relieve the pressure on their own defense, Atletico Madrid seemed relatively passive under the impact of Arsenal's fast pace.

[The Gunners’ advantage: three midfielders, the cornerstone of field control]

After the opening, both teams, which are good at pressing and counter-attacking, worked hard to cause their opponents to make mistakes.

Arsenal, who have always been known for their exquisite coordination of passing and cutting, have shown a stronger desire to win. They use their advantages in rhythm, speed and confrontation to compete for the midfield, boost morale by fighting for half a goal, and rely on mobility The extremely strong combination of wing and center is used to combat the shortcomings of Atletico Madrid's 442 system, which is weak in the middle of the midfield and has insufficient defense width.

The reason why Atletico Madrid fell to the Europa League as a two-time Champions League runner-up was mainly due to their poor performance in the two rounds of the group stage against Chelsea.

In both games, Conte chose the tactic of three defensive midfielders (3511 formation) to defend the counterattack. The Shenzhen Army was unable to make full use of the ball rights given up by the opponent. The inefficient positional attack not only failed to destroy the opponent, but also blocked its own back. A huge gap was exposed to the opponent.

Arsenal is not a team that is accustomed to giving up the ball on its own initiative and has the patience and perseverance to compete with its opponents. The schedule of first home and then away makes it difficult for them to be conservative in the first round. Atletico Madrid will play in different periods of time. It's no secret that you can selectively switch between high and low defenses. Being able to adjust your strategy in time according to your opponent's defense mode is the key to the Gunners' victory.

Atletico Madrid's level and density in the central defense zone remains very reasonable, and the linkage between the three or four people in the wing area with the ball still maintains extremely high efficiency.

Arsenal completed four times the number of shots than their opponents (28-6) in this campaign, but they did not get many absolute chances.

The deep impact and suppression ability that Welbeck can provide are indispensable strategic resources in the strong dialogue. The Englishman's cooperation with Lacazette's attack on Vrsaljko directly led to the Croatian's early retirement.

He is often passed by or fouled by opponents due to improper timing of kicks and steals. This flaw is still too obvious in La Liga, where the overall rhythm and speed are slower, and it will be more fatal when facing Premier League teams.

The Croatian has the ability to play both sides during his time in Sassuolo. He has a strong ability to find space and complete precise crosses. This kind of full-back with a good sense of rhythm and prioritizing crosses rather than breakthroughs is in line with Simon. Nepal’s military standards.

When the numbers are even, Atletico Madrid can use its two forwards to press the Gunners' deep midfielder Xhaka.

[Atletico Madrid’s contingency: switching from four defenders to five defenders, counterattack and betting on Griezmann]

While completing his defensive tasks, Thomas Partey also relied on offensive advances from behind to support the frontcourt many times.

Atletico Madrid's best sports scoring opportunity in the first half was Correa's powerful shot in the penalty area. This offensive opportunity came from the Ghana winger's forced advance and the ball. Relying on the excessive output of Griezmann, Partey and others, Atletico Madrid made up for the numerical disadvantage through forced running. The team's long-standing advantage in physical fitness was fully utilized in this situation.

Since losing to Tottenham in the North London Derby, Wenger has gradually given up the radical idea of ​​stacking four attackers forward. He usually adds the diligent Welbeck to the starting lineup when facing mid-to-upper teams, and uses three Midfield structure to balance the attack.

Wenger's ideal frontcourt quartet operation mode is a dual-core drive to pull the two shooters, Ozil controls the ball as the absolute core, Mkhitaryan takes part of the promotion and distribution tasks as the deputy, Aubameyang and Lacaze They are each other's horns, taking turns pulling in or thrusting forward.

Since Griezmann needs to guard the wings during the 10-on-11 off-ball phase, Gameiro alone cannot complete the marking of Xhaka in the center. The Swiss can obtain a relatively loose space to handle the ball in the midfield, and the Gunners can With efficient rotation on the field, it is natural to play a continuous offense.

After Vrsaljko left the field with a red card, Simeone quickly directed the team to complete adjustments.

The versatile backcourt Thomas Partey retreated to the right, Saul and Koke joined forces in the middle, and Griezmann came to the left midfielder position to protect Lucas Hernandez during the off-ball phase.

Saul and Partey's positions on the right side of the ribs are relatively flexible. Both players' physique and confrontation ability can cope with Welbeck's impact.

On the surface, Atletico Madrid's defensive formation is 4-4-1, but after Arsenal leads the ball 40 meters into the frontcourt, Atletico Madrid's defense will form a five-back station as it shrinks into the penalty area. position, this move can block the opponent's midfielder's insertion while sealing the penalty area.

Their primary goal in defense was to limit the Gunners' ground penetration, and the blockade of outside crosses was not tight, which paved the way for Lacazette's goal and Ramsey's thrilling header before the end.

However, Vrsaljko also has an obvious weakness, that is, his current defensive ability cannot meet Simeone's requirements. The Argentine's system requires full-backs to actively attack and delay the opponent after settling in the half. The wide players advance, but Vrsaljko has a low success rate in one-on-one defense in open space.

Atletico Madrid in the Simeone era was a team that relied heavily on rear-wheel drive. Vrsalico, who is regarded as Juanfran's successor, is such a player who can create offensive width and depth on the wing and can pass through. A player whose impact from behind enriches the offensive level.

The structural principle of the three-midfielder is to complement each other's skills and support each other. Xhaka, Ramsey and Wilshere are all players with distinct advantages and disadvantages. They are easy to be targeted by opponents in a double midfielder system, but they can Learn from each other's strengths within a three-midfield system.

In the absence of full-time defender Elneny, the three players relied on active collaboration to complete the defense. During the transition from defense to offense, the two offensive midfielders took turns popping up to promote the rotation of the offensive module. Wilshe Er can send through balls and breakthroughs in the middle of the frontcourt to relieve Ozil's pressure. Ramsey can even serve as the second forward to cooperate with Welbeck and Lacazette to attack the penalty area, forming a three-forward offensive situation.

After a series of unsuccessful attacks in the first half, which affected their confidence to a certain extent, Atletico Madrid's tight defensive deployment caused the Gunners to lose their direction at the beginning of the second half.

Wenger's strategy in this situation was to continue to push the formation forward, with Ramsey and Wilshere positioned closer to the penalty area, and Lacazette, who did not have an advantage in size, looked for opportunities at far points.

In the 61st minute, Arsenal finally broke the deadlock. Wilshere sent a cross from near the left baseline, and Lacazette beat Lucas Hernandez to score with a header.

Before this attack, Ramsey also completed a shot, and the changes brought about by the active participation of the two No. 8 players were obvious.

Atletico Madrid actively sought to counterattack when the score was behind, but it was not easy to score away goals in a 10-on-11 situation.

After Felipe's season injury and Carrasco's departure in the winter window, Atletico Madrid's wing attack has become less varied and layered due to the loss of the participation of attacking full-backs. The team relies more than ever on two forwards in the center. cooperation.

Diego Costa's advantage is that he can not only find space to complete individual advances, but also suppress the central defender and control the ball to drive the back row players to follow up. His fulcrum effect allows Griezmann to get the ball in front of him. Opportunity to hit the penalty area.

Gameiro, who replaced Diego Costa in this campaign, did not have this ability. The French forward was replaced by Gabi in the 65th minute. Simeone put all his hope of scoring on Griezmann.

Griezmann's goal came from a mistake by the Gunners defender. The 33-year-old Koscielny's core strength has declined significantly in recent years, which has seriously affected his stability in handling the ball in confrontations.

It is worth mentioning that the reason why Simeone did not place Griezmann directly at the center position immediately after the substitution was because his physique (height 1 meters) was not enough to suppress the defender. Correa's The confrontation ability is relatively stronger, and the subsequent change of positions between the two players also had the effect of confusing the opponent to a certain extent.

Continuous defeats against strong teams this season did not make Atletico Madrid lose their aggressiveness. Simeone's disciples relied on their rich European experience and strong psychological quality to resolve emergencies in the game as soon as possible.

Just like their performance against Real Madrid, Barcelona and Bayern in the Champions League in those years, the Shelters once again proved that a team can also gain the right to have an equal dialogue with teams with smooth offense through its efforts on the defensive end. From the Champions League to the Europa League, the transition between the old and the new was not smooth. The personnel changes in the middle of the season brought turbulence to the system. The stars in the team were trapped in career bottlenecks and found it difficult to make breakthroughs. The meritorious coaches all insisted on the established ideas and Confused and hesitant while trying to self-criticize, the 2017/18 season was an eventful year for both Arsenal and Atletico Madrid. How to maintain the lower limit when encountering changes is related to the development of the two clubs in the next few years.

Compared with the Shenlian Army, which has already locked up the Champions League qualification, Arsenal needs to win the Europa League to end this unsuccessful season, and use the Champions League qualification to attract famous coaches to join.

In a visit to the Wanda Metropolitano a week later, Wenger and his disciples must make a last-ditch effort for honor and dignity.

The Premier League, La Liga, Bundesliga, Serie A and Ligue 1 are known as the five major leagues in Europe. Most of Europe's important competitions, including the Champions League, Europa League, etc., as well as the top 20 football clubs in the world, are mostly represented by these. What are the characteristics of each of the five major leagues?

Premier League:

The rhythm, physical confrontation and impact of the Premier League are at the forefront among the five major leagues. It places great emphasis on physical confrontation and does not have too many side-goal skills. Of course, this is also one of the reasons why Premier League games are so good to watch.

In such a strong physical confrontation situation, the referee's standards are relatively loose. If they are local players, they will also have a lot of preferential treatment. There are many young players, many of whom have been the main players in the team early, but what comes with it is It is also because of the difficult living environment for older players that a small number of older players can only leave the Premier League to seek opportunities elsewhere.

The coach has a relatively high say and has been in charge for a relatively long time. For example, Arsene Wenger of Arsenal, Ferguson of Manchester United, Moyes of Everton, and Redknapp of West Ham United all coached the team 7 years and above.

The high patience of the Premier League team has resulted in many meritorious coaches, and many coaches have also shaped the team's glory.

Another attractive aspect of the Premier League is that it is not obvious that one team is dominant. In the past ten years, Leicester City, Manchester City, Manchester United, Liverpool, and Chelsea have all won the Premier League championship, and the championship every year is full of suspense.

La Liga:

La Liga's game pace is in the middle of the five major leagues, but it pays more attention to tactical discipline and has higher requirements for passing and receiving. The team may not have a high center forward who can "run rampage", but it cannot be missing one who can move and has good footwork. A flexible goal-scoring genius, the player's personal technical requirements are relatively high, and his foot skills must not be too bad, otherwise it will be difficult to gain a foothold.

The average coaching time of a coach will be lower than that of the Premier League. The team can accept you as a "rookie" coach who has no major honors yet. As long as you can clearly understand the offense and defense, have your own style of play, and can produce results, then You can keep coaching;
On the contrary, if your coaching performance is not satisfactory and you do not have clear offensive tactics, the only option waiting for you is dismissal. Moreover, La Liga has also trained many young and famous stars. As long as they perform well, they will have the opportunity to play.

Serie A:

Serie A teams have the deepest obsession with defense among the five major leagues. The pace is relatively slow and the tactical requirements are high. The players may not be big names, but they must fit the team's system and provide good coordination to win the final victory. .

Many older players can thrive in Serie A, such as Roma's De Rossi, Genoa's Pandev, Sampdoria's Quagliarella, Bologna's Palacio, etc. in recent years. Despite his advanced age, he has performed well in the league.

Many coaches in Serie A are dismissed due to poor performance after taking office. However, there is a good chance that a coach will return to Serie A to coach after being fired. For example, Capello has coached AC Milan, Roma and Juventus respectively; Naples, Sarri, who went to the Premier League and then returned to Serie A to coach Juventus and Lazio, etc.

After Juventus won nine consecutive Serie A championships from 2011 to 2019, it was snatched away from the Serie A championship by Inter Milan last year. The form of this year's standings is also unclear. The Milan duo, Napoli, etc. all have the opportunity to win.

The former "Seven Sisters" of Serie A were also a spectacle in European football, and so far no other league can surpass them.

Bundesliga:

Bundesliga games are more focused on offense. They like to hit the ball, pass high, and play through balls. The intensity of the offense is higher than that of the Premier League. However, this also results in the defensive intensity not being able to keep up. There are often big-scoring games.

For individual players, the requirements for shooting ability, dribbling speed and physical confrontation are relatively high, and not many stars who have become famous at a young age can continue to play well.

Young coaches have a better chance of making a name for themselves in the Bundesliga. The coach's reputation does not have to be very high, as long as he can produce results, and coaches who have produced results are more likely to leave the Bundesliga.

The dominance of one team in the Bundesliga is more serious than other leagues. As long as Bayern is here, it is difficult to lose the championship. In the 57 Bundesliga competition, Bayern won 29 championships, far more than tied for second place. Borussia Monchengladbach and Dortmund.

The Bundesliga's "50+1" policy has also won the support of local fans, although it is difficult for small teams to turn around.

Ligue 1:

Ligue 1 games are relatively boring, and it is difficult to have big-scoring games. Ligue 1 is also the first choice for many African players to log in to Europe. After becoming famous in Ligue 1, they can then go to other higher leagues to work hard.

The competitiveness of French Ligue 1 teams in the European war is still slightly weaker than that of the other four major league teams. Only Marseille has won the Champions League once. In the French Ligue 1 competition in the past ten years, there are also Lille, Paris Saint-Germain and Monaco. , Montpellier won the championship one after another.

La Liga is in decline. Since Cristiano Ronaldo left in 2018, no team in La Liga has aspired to win the Champions League. The 2019 Champions League champion belonged to Liverpool of the Premier League. The 2020 Champions League champion was won by Bayern of Germany, and the 2021 Champions League champion also It belongs to the Premier League, but it will be born between Chelsea or Manchester City.

Therefore, since Ronaldo left La Liga, La Liga has really become nothing, and it can no longer even maintain its status as the world's number one league.

It has to be said that if Barcelona or Real Madrid appear in the Champions League final, global attention will be much higher than it is now.

If Paris or even Juventus appears in the final, the attention may be even higher. However, La Liga's failure to live up to expectations and PSG's inability to compete in the competition turned the Champions League final into a Premier League civil war.

Is Ronaldo's departure from La Liga the reason for La Liga's economic decline?
Of course you can't say that. After all, a player may be more important to a team, but his impact on a league is not that great.

However, without Ronaldo, Real Madrid can no longer compete with the Bundesliga and Premier League teams. This is Real Madrid's failure and La Liga's regret.

It can be said that for La Liga, in the four years from 2018 to 2021, if Ronaldo had not been lost, La Liga's dominance might not have declined so seriously.

Real Madrid still has a chance to reach the final again after four consecutive championships, and may even win a championship in the last three years.

Real Madrid just lost a Ronaldo, while La Liga lost the Champions League.

Many people say that Ronaldo has not proven himself at Juventus. After all, Juventus has not been able to win the Champions League and have not entered the finals even with Ronaldo.

This does not require too much explanation. Ronaldo's competitive level is inevitable. As he grows older, Ronaldo may choose to retire after the next World Cup.

And by that time, the only football superstar we can still see is Messi.

(End of this chapter)