Chapter 38 Mourinho's counterattack reappears in the Premier League [Please read! ]
Chapter 38 Mourinho's counterattack reappears in the Premier League [Please read! ]
Luck, especially the luck of the draw in the knockout stage of a cup competition, is crucial for a team aspiring to win the championship.
On the evening of March 3, Li Chen, sitting in the coaching booth at Old Trafford, felt very lucky.
Since he took over Manchester United, he has not encountered any strong opponents when leading the team in the FA Cup.
In this round of FA Cup knockouts, Manchester United faced Peterborough United, a team from the Championship.
Moreover, this Championship team is now deep in the relegation zone and is the "second-to-last" in the Championship League.
Being able to reach the final 16 of this season's FA Cup was somewhat beyond their own expectations.
The poor results in the league have made them have no intention of continuing to invest their energy and physical strength in the FA Cup.
So just like Manchester United, who once again rotated a large number of main players, Peterborough United also sent out a large number of substitute players to play in this FA Cup match.
The meaning of giving up early is self-evident.
Manchester United quickly ended the suspense of the FA Cup with a score of 2-0 at halftime.
During the half-time break, Li Chen substituted three youth training players onto the field to allow them to adapt to the intensity and feeling of professional games.
In the end, Manchester United, playing at home, easily defeated their opponents with a score of 3-1 and advanced to the final eight of this season's FA Cup.
The next night, the last two remaining games of the FA Cup round of 16 came to an end.
The top four teams in the Premier League standings have all made it to the FA Cup quarter-finals.
Manchester United also drew a pretty good opponent, Southampton, in the quarter-finals.
Southampton, who are currently fighting for relegation in the Premier League, are definitely stronger than the Championship teams Manchester United have encountered before, but their strength is limited.
The entire Manchester United team believes that this is a good draw, and many Red Devils fans have already celebrated the team's advancement to the semi-finals of this season's FA Cup.
Li Chen did not stop the players from discussing which opponent they would face after the semi-finals.
Many times, simply suppressing and keeping a low profile does not help players reflect on themselves.
Especially in the critical period of the mid-to-late season when the team is aiming for a trophy, the players need more encouragement and affirmation from the fans and coaching staff to inspire their fighting spirit.
Li Chen has also recently reduced the intensity of his supervision of several young players, and has mostly verbally praised their recent performances in games.
However, the management of the players can be relaxed temporarily, but Li Chen's requirements for himself and the entire coaching team have become more stringent!
This is thanks to Li Chen who always generously pays for meals out of his own pocket and sets an example by taking the lead in working overtime.
Manchester United's assistant coaches are able to understand the frequent overtime work in recent times.
And in this intensive preparation environment, Manchester United completed in-depth practice of the latest tactics proposed by Li Chen.
On March 3, Li Chen took Maguire to attend the pre-match press conference of the Manchester derby.
This choice saved him a lot of trouble, because the reporters at the scene were very interested in Maguire, who had performed well recently.
However, there are still many reporters who want to pry a clear answer from Li Chen, wanting to know what tactical routines he will eventually use against the current Premier League overlord Manchester City?
"Yes, I did prepare some 'new things', but in the final analysis, it is also a summary of the tactics used by some coaching predecessors... You will know when the game comes, so please forgive me for not being able to tell you now."
Li Chen's answer made the reporters at the scene feel itchy.
However, when Guardiola learned what Li Chen said from his assistant, he just smiled meaningfully.
"He's trying to get my attention and distract us from our preparations. Hey, it's the same old trick."
After saying this, Guardiola signaled to his assistant that there was no need to collect pre-match interview information about Li Chen and Manchester United players.
He firmly believed that Li Chen was imitating Mourinho's tactical smoke bombs before the game.
But imitation is just imitation after all.
Guardiola saw the fundamental difference between Li Chen's tactical selection ideas and Mourinho's.
So he didn't think Li Chen would make extremely conservative tactical plans when facing him like Mourinho did.
The most conservative plan is the one used by Manchester United against Atletico Madrid.
It is not difficult for Guardiola to break through that level of defensive contraction.
Compared to a few years ago, his tactics have made great progress in the use of offensive space.
Li Chen has done a good job in coaching Manchester United, and his adjustments and changes to Manchester United's entire defensive system have been very successful.
But now Manchester United, whether in positional warfare or counterattack, takes longer to complete an offensive round than two years ago.
Perhaps Li Chen made such adjustments in order to allow several veteran players in the team to perform more comfortably and to further enhance the stability of the offense.
But in Guardiola's view, Manchester United, which pursues a balance between offense and defense, is far less threatening than Manchester United, which takes an extreme counterattack route!
So unless Li Chen can put aside past grudges and use Pogba now, and let Pogba, B Fee and Rashford's performance levels return to their peak.
Otherwise, Guardiola really doesn't think this Manchester United team can make Manchester City's defense feel intimidated by quick counterattacks.
Apart from squatting and stealing, what tactics can Manchester United use to compete with Manchester City now?
Manchester United should have learned enough lessons from playing under pressure in the 9th and 11th rounds of the Premier League.
The 0-5 loss to Liverpool and the 0-2 loss to Manchester City happened just a few months ago.
As long as Li Chen keeps a cool head, he will not make the fatal mistake made by his predecessor Solskjaer.
Therefore, Guardiola is very confident in his tactical predictions. Li Chen absolutely cannot escape the tactical framework of defensive counterattack, and he has no choice!
With such confidence and composure, Guardiola and his disciples sat at the Etihad Stadium and faced the challenge of their city rivals Manchester United on the afternoon of March 3!
Li Chen felt very novel and filled with emotion when he stepped into the Etihad Stadium as the head coach for the first time.
He is no stranger to Manchester City and this Blue Moon home stadium.
But in the past, he always followed Mourinho and watched him battle wits with reporters before and after the big game against Manchester City.
I also watched Mourinho and the current top coach in football "love and hate each other".
Whether it is Mourinho versus Guardiola or Guardiola versus Mourinho, the fierce competition and personal feelings between them are quite complicated.
But no matter how the outside media speculates about the two's current personal relationship, or how they exaggerate or belittle their current status in football, they will not deny one fact.
That is, Mourinho is the coach who knows best how to deal with Guardiola and his tactical philosophy.
The opposite is also true. Guardiola is also the head coach who knows best how to defeat Mourinho.
As an assistant coach who followed Mourinho through both his time at Real Madrid and Manchester United, Li Chen also witnessed the entire confrontation between Guardiola and Mourinho during their peak periods.
He was well aware that the two were "like fire and water" in their choice of football tactical routes.
I also understand their obsession with completely defeating each other.
Until now, with Mourinho leaving for Serie A, the dispute between Guardiola and Mourinho seems to have come to an end, and Guardiola has won without any suspense.
But in fact, neither of them was able to convince the other.
“They are all stubborn people…”
After sighing in his heart, Li Chen smiled and walked towards Guardiola on the sidelines.
"Long time no see, Pep, I hope to play a great game with you today."
"Long time no see, Li, your recent team performance is outstanding, congratulations."
The two complimented each other as usual, but after the "friendly" handshake and greeting, they turned around and walked towards the coaching seats without hesitation.
As the players of both teams completed the pre-match lining up ceremony, commentators from various countries also took the time to introduce the starting lineups of the two teams today to the fans.
"The home team Manchester City still used their best 433 starting formation today. The starting goalkeeper was Ederson.
On the defensive line, Laporta and Stones formed Manchester City's double central defenders today, with Cancelo and Kyle Walker on the left and right wings of the defense line respectively.
In midfield, Rodri, De Bruyne and Bernardo Silva formed Manchester City's midfield trio.
On the forward line, Grealish, Foden and Mahrez lined up from left to right. ”
"The visiting team Manchester United also used a 433 starting formation today.
Starting goalkeeper De Gea.
On the defensive line, Maguire and Varane form a double central defender, with Luke Shaw as left back and Wan Bissaka as right back.
The three midfielders are still composed of Matic, Fred and Fernandes.
C Ronaldo, Cavani and Sancho formed Manchester United's front trident today..."
Along with the commentators' voices, the players of both teams also stood in their respective positions.
A few seconds later, the referee, looking at the watch, decisively blew the whistle to start the game!
Manchester City, who kicked off first, quickly deployed their formation and tried to advance as a whole by holding the ball from back to front.
Manchester United did not cautiously give up the fight for the midfield and shrink its formation at the start of the game.
Manchester United's first interception interference line formed by Cavani and Ronaldo took the initiative to put pressure on the Manchester City midfielder who had the ball!
Behind them, with the addition of Sancho, Manchester United formed a midfield defense line consisting of four players.
With two lines of defense sniping at each other, Manchester City was unable to quickly penetrate Manchester United's defensive hinterland.
However, Guardiola and the Manchester City players on the field were very calm and composed.
Because they have encountered this kind of opponent "parking the bus" situation too many times in the Premier League and even in the Champions League.
Breaking the bus may be a problem for other teams, but for Manchester City now, it is not enough to be an obstacle to stop their progress.
Grealish and Foden were the first to start making frequent position changes.
Sometimes they took the ball to attract the attention of Manchester United's midfield defenders, but more often they tried to pass and cut to Manchester United's half-space area.
Manchester United's four-midfield defensive position seems to be comprehensive, protecting both the center and the flanks, but in fact it is easy for opponents to open up space and cause the flank area to lose control.
Guardiola also believes that Li Chen made a fatal tactical mistake on the defensive end today.
Until he saw Sancho and B Fee, who were supposed to be on the wings against the wingers, suddenly moved inwards to assist Matic and Fred in locking up the space on the ribs!
Grealish and Foden's penetrating movements were immediately in vain.
Seeing that there was always a double-team in front of them, they could only pass the ball back more often.
De Bruyne observed and did not want to take the risk of passing the ball to his teammates who were locked in the frontcourt, so he handed the organizational rights to Rodri who was further behind.
Rodri, with his broad vision, called out to Mahrez and Bernardo Silva to move closer to him.
As usual, the Spanish midfielder wanted to find an opportunity to break through the opponent's blockade through more tacit and skillful short passes in the middle.
But Rodri miscalculated today.
No matter which teammate he passes the ball to.
Sancho and B Fee, who should have moved back to the wing at this time, would immediately return to the middle and move forward to cooperate with a striker to pressure and interfere with Manchester City's ball-holding players.
In this situation, forcing the middle route will definitely not work.
In order to avoid losing the ball, Bernardo Silva and the retreating Mahrez could only pass the ball to the sides.
The Manchester City players who tried to go to the wing quickly opened up the attack.
Because they found that both of Manchester United's full-backs were standing very close to the inside line.
With the addition of two wingers who also focus more on central defense, Manchester United's defensive strength in the wing areas is obviously insufficient.
This gave Manchester City's two full-backs the opportunity to cross the ball.
Cancelo and Kyle Walker are both good at crossing the ball from the bottom, and they certainly won't miss such an opportunity to perform.
Soon, Manchester City took turns to attack from both wings and frequently sent threatening passes to the middle.
The scene looked very lively, and the Manchester City fans at the scene cheered continuously, feeling that their team had once again suppressed their city rivals without any suspense.
But Guardiola was watching from the sidelines with a frown on his face!
It is true that the offensive situation is now open, but it is completely meaningless for Manchester City to put the main battlefield of the attack on the combination of the wing and the middle and the header and point competition in the middle!
Manchester United, who have retreated to the middle of the field and have a defensive behemoth like Maguire, how do you expect Grealish and Foden to fight with him in close combat for points?
In the narrow penalty area, Varane's fast burst speed is enough to make up for Maguire's slow turning speed.
On the contrary, Manchester City's frontcourt players found it difficult to display their skills in the small space.
Guardiola would rather not have such an attacking opportunity!
Guardiola saw the problem and quickly walked to the sidelines, signaling Cancelo and Kyle Walker to stop pressing forward and passing the ball frequently.
But for the time being, it is impossible for Manchester City to change its offensive strategy immediately.
Just when Manchester City's two wings were attacking with great pleasure, Wan Bissaka, who was lurking on the right, suddenly stole the ball from Cancelo with a decisive move!
Grealish and Foden immediately wanted to counter-attack, but Wan Bissaka's forward pass was completed before them!
After getting the ball, Matic withstood De Bruyne's counter-attack and passed the ball to Fred who was making a forward run.
The Brazilian midfielder, who had completed the observation in advance, passed the ball to Ronaldo who retreated to receive the ball.
The next moment, Ronaldo chose to take the ball inside, adjusted his position, and sent a long-distance diagonal transfer to the other side!
Sancho's forward run in the right half-space completely drew Rodri's defensive attention.
So when B Fera rushed to receive the ball at full speed, there was no Manchester City midfielder in front of him to intercept him!
Rodri remained calm when he saw B Fee cutting inside with the ball, and directly signaled Laporta not to rush to grab the ball.
After all, the current B Fee has changed a lot compared to the past. Under Li Chen's suppression requirements, his offensive pass choices are much more reasonable.
Rodri took a gamble, thinking that B Fee would pass the ball to Wan Bissaka who made a run on the wing or to Matic who made a run from behind.
But in the next second, B Fee chose to send a through pass into Manchester City's penalty area in front of him and Laporta!
"Keep an eye on Ronaldo!"
Rodri subconsciously thought that Ronaldo had already cut diagonally into the middle of his own penalty area!
But when he looked back, he found that Ronaldo had become a tactical cover for Manchester United's quick counterattack!
At this moment, the one who met B Fee's pass and made a threatening header was Cavani who suddenly appeared!
Cavani, who has first-class heading skills, headed the ball directly into the upper right corner of Manchester City's goal!
Ederson's insufficient arm span became his Achilles' heel at this moment!
Ederson tried desperately to save Cavani's header when he was halfway through the attack, but in the end he didn't even touch the ball!
When the football hit the net without any suspense, Li Chen rushed out of the coaching seat, waving his fist and roaring amid the crazy cheers of thousands of Manchester United fans at the scene!
This is the super gift he prepared for Guardiola!
Who says that without Pogba and Rashford, there can be no sharp counterattack? !
He dared to use Ronaldo as tactical bait, and Ronaldo was willing to make such tactical sacrifices. This was the key point that Guardiola could not have imagined!
Strangling the middle lane, blocking the flanks, so what if I let you go to the side?
Manchester City, without an orthodox center forward, will never be able to break into the penalty area guarded by Maguire and Varane today!
The reporters at the scene looked at Li Chen who was celebrating passionately, and their eyes became dazed for a moment, as if they saw the football fanatic who brought them huge traffic several years ago.
Mourinho has left the Premier League, but Li Chen, who inherited his legacy, has returned to the stage with the same confidence and pride as he did back then.
And today, almost a year later.
Mourinho's counter-attack reappears in the Premier League!
(End of this chapter)