Modern football is all about tactical coordination.
Especially strong teams put more emphasis on "ground ball" and need to control the ball at their feet and try to tear apart the opponent's defense through short passes, because this way the success rate will be higher.
The technical content of long passes and lobs is relatively low. This tactic is simple and crude. After the defender steals the ball, he directly passes a long pass to the forward, and the success rate is very low.
After all, when the ball is flying in the air, the player's control over the ball will be greatly reduced, and the fight after the high ball also has a feeling of "resigning to fate", which is extremely unstable.
Therefore, the long pass and lob tactic is now generally considered a relatively backward football tactic, although this tactic was still the mainstream of English football about twenty or thirty years ago.
The "British style of play" is almost equivalent to the long pass and lob tactics.
However, as English football becomes more and more international, more and more stars with delicate footwork have joined the Premier League, and fewer and fewer teams mainly use this style of play.
However, less does not mean none.
After all, for many weak teams, they may not be able to gather a set of players who can skillfully control the ball with their feet and gradually advance;
Maybe they can make it together, but when facing players from strong teams with stronger and more comprehensive abilities, their skills are not worth mentioning and they cannot compete with them;
As a result, some teams will give up kicking the ball with their opponents, and instead use simple and crude long passes to attack the opponent's defense.
"Sky City" Stoke City is an outstanding representative, and their high-profile shooter Crouch is also a representative figure of this tactic.
Of course, they also have a famous throw-in tactic that once shocked the Premier League. This will not be mentioned for the time being.
So, do strong teams not use long passes at all?
That's not it either.
They just don't use this style of play as their main tactic, but they still integrate it into their entire tactical system.
Since the high-pressing style of play is becoming more and more common, sometimes it is actually more difficult to play the ball from the ground in the backcourt.
The use of long passes to lob can eliminate the need for midfield transition, and the defender can directly lob the ball to his forward teammates for a quick attack.
In the specific process of implementing the long pass and lob tactics, the backcourt players need to immediately look at the position of their forwards in the front court after getting the ball. If there is an opportunity, they should immediately start a long pass and pass the ball to the forward.
There are usually two to three forwards in the frontcourt. After one of the forwards gets the ball, the other forwards should immediately move closer to the player with the ball to form a support.
At this time, the player holding the ball can choose to pass the ball from the bottom according to the specific conditions on the field, or dribble the ball himself.
It is advisable to keep the distance between each forward at 10-20 meters, because this can improve the success rate of cooperation and provide more methods for offense.
However, this tactic has relatively high requirements on the forward players, has strong impact, and can get the ball when fighting with the opponent's defender;
The other is that the long-passing ability of the full-backs or full-midfielders is required to be accurate, otherwise they will often just give the ball away in strong duels.
In history, the most successful player in this tactic was Manchester United in the late 1990s.
At that time, the scene where Beckham directly kicked the ball from the right to look for the black and wind on the front line was simply a classic.
In modern times, the role of full-back appears less and less in strong teams, so the function of long-passing to find forwards is basically replaced by full-backs. The more representative one is Liverpool's Alexander-Arnold.
Even sometimes it is the goalkeeper who initiates the long pass. Whether it is Alisson or Neuer, they are both good players.
And now Pan Yi's Chelsea meets this standard.
In fact, they also have a similar style of play in their usual tactics, but today after the substitution, the usual ratio of 10% was suddenly increased to 70%.
Moreover, compared with Manchester United in the 1990s, which used long balls and only looked for two forwards, Chelsea is even more difficult to guard against.
Because there are so many people who can grab some!
When the two wingers began to cross, those standing in Manchester City's penalty area may include at least Chelsea's two forwards, two midfielders, and the wing-back on the other side.
It is most excessive that the wing backs can participate in header attacks!
Whether it is Marcos Alonso or Ivanovic, their height, strength and ability to grab headers are simply the standard center template, but they are full-backs!
It's completely different from the normal full-backs like Marcelo and Carvajal.
Therefore, Chelsea often appears in the game. In the first minute, Marcos Alonso crosses from the left, Ivanovic headers the ball in the penalty area, and in the next minute, Ivanovic passes the ball. , Marcos Alonso’s shot.
In this case, it was very difficult for Manchester City to defend.
Because although Chelsea's forwards are strong, they still have Manchester City's corresponding center backs Kompany and Demichelis to defend;
However, Chelsea's wing-backs are all matched up by the thin Nasri and Navas...
It’s such a disadvantage to grab a starting point!
Then in the defense of set pieces, Manchester City suffered even more.
Because Chelsea's three central defenders will also enter the Manchester City penalty area at this time, their already stretched air defense force will become even weaker.
Manchester City's previous corner kick was the best proof.
And after Chelsea took the lead, they still resolutely followed Pan Yi's instructions to use such high-altitude tactics and continued to bombard Manchester City's penalty area.
Faced with this situation, Pellegrini was a little hesitant.
He only has one substitution spot left, who should he substitute?
Bring on another tall guard to help defend?
For example, the 187cm French defender Mangala?
But the problem is that Manchester City is lagging behind now!
It makes no sense to replace a defender in the matchup, and it is even more impossible to remove a winger and replace it with a defender.
Seeing the game time passing by minute by second, Manchester City is still one goal behind;
And Manchester City's penalty area groaned in pain under the repeated impact of Chelsea's various thick men, and it seemed that it was about to lose its last restraint at any time;
Pellegrini finally made his decision.
He brought on Dzeko and replaced Aguero.
This is also a relatively helpless choice.
Because Dzeko is indeed a typical high center forward, with a height of 193cm and a weight of 84kg. He has outstanding jumping and heading abilities;
After he comes on the field, he can definitely increase his air defense capabilities without weakening the offensive power of the forward.
It's just that he hasn't been in particularly good form recently, so he doesn't start often.
But now Pellegrini has no choice but to use the only substitute forward he has.
He couldn't help but regret a little bit why he loaned his team's Spanish forward Negredo to Valencia on the Premier League transfer deadline!
That's a real big center!
And he also has a strong ability to seize opportunities.
If he is still there, he and Dzeko will form a double center, and they can assist the high-altitude defense to prevent Chelsea from expanding the score, while strengthening their own offense to regain the score.
But that's all it can do now.
When Pellegrini completed the substitution, the game had entered the final 15 minutes.
After 5 minutes, although Manchester City did improve somewhat when defending Chelsea's set pieces, the situation on the field still did not change much.
After 80 minutes, Manchester City's players started to get a little impatient.
After all, they are playing at home today! But they are one goal behind their main title rivals Chelsea.
And now they also have two centers on the field, so Manchester City's players seem to have begun to imitate Chelsea, taking the ball in the midfield and backcourt, and then passing the ball long to find the forward.
This is also a method that many teams will adopt when the score is behind and time is tight, whether it is a strong team or a weak team.
Although the success rate of long passes is low, you can attack many times if you can't wait!
When the defender gets the ball, he goes up in one click, which is much faster than passing the ball from the backcourt to the midfield and then cooperating to the frontcourt.
then……
The current scene of the match between the two teams is completely different from the first half.
"Are we watching an English football match from the 1980s? Or is it a League One match?"
In the Sky Sports studio, host Lineker joked.
In English football, it is indeed rare for two teams to use long passes together, but it can still be seen from time to time in the Championship, League One or lower levels.
But the problem is that there are two Premier League teams competing now, and they are two championship teams known for their possession of the ball and delicate coordination!
Between these two teams, there are countless stars who can tear apart the opponent's defense through breakthroughs and cooperation.
But now, they are playing long passes like two English Championship and League One teams full of rough guys!
"Uh... is it because I had a wave of poisonous milk during halftime?" Sun Jihai said a little embarrassed, "I said I wanted to see a wonderful game, but it turned out like this..."
"It's a bit true." Zola laughed, "But having said that, I said I believed Pan Yi would change in the second half, and he did make effective adjustments and scored the go-ahead goal. But I didn't either Thinking of such an adjustment, no one would have thought that Chelsea would suddenly focus on long passes, right?"
At this time, Carragher, who had recovered from the frustration of Liverpool's defeat, pondered for a moment and said: "I think although both teams are playing long passes, Manchester City is a bit forced, while Chelsea is They are obviously prepared. They even have a tendency to go further now..."
This is the advantage of a strong team like Chelsea.
They are not like those teams that can only play long passes. After all, those teams can't transfer control!
But Chelsea is different.
Although all of their players on the field are tall and strong now, if you want to say that their feet are weak, then they will not agree.
For example, Matic, in addition to his large defensive coverage, strong aggression, and outstanding stealing ability, he is also very skilled and has good assists and long-range shooting abilities.
Another example is David Luiz, who is an outstanding representative of a central defender who can push forward. He often dribbles out of the defense and leads the team's offense. This is impossible without certain technical abilities.
This is true for players who focus on defense, let alone those forwards and wide players who often need to use dribbling to break through the opponent's defense.
This is actually a development trend of world football.
That is, the players' abilities are becoming more and more comprehensive, especially in the midfield. I wish they were all hexagonal warriors.
There are fewer and fewer players, whether purely defensive or purely offensive.
There are so many comprehensive players in Chelsea's squad.
This also caused Pan Yi to appear so smooth when changing formations and tactics.
As Carragher observed, after seeing that Manchester City also began to take advantage of their weaknesses and avoid their strengths and play long passes, Pan Yi began to instruct the players on the field to gradually regain control of the midfield, and then again Combining the long and short, it was a surprise to Manchester City.
If there is real-time data, it is probably that Pan Yi has reduced the proportion of long passes from 70% to about 30%.
Then, Chelsea's main attack direction also went to the left.
That's because Azar's main activity area is here!
And compared with Clichy on the other side, although Manchester City right back Zabaleta is stronger in stealing ability on the defensive side, his speed and explosive power are weaker than Clichy.
Under the impact of Hazard's speed and skills, which are now almost at their peak, Zabaleta is indeed a bit unsustainable defensively while he is busy making passes to find the center.
In the 85th minute, Chelsea launched an offensive on the left.
First, Terry passed the ball to midfielder Chick, who handed the ball to left wing back Marcos Alonso without stopping the ball.
After receiving the ball, Alonso did not choose to pass with his big foot, but immediately dribbled the ball forward.
Since Manchester City's two defensive midfielders Lampard and Fernandinho often rush into the penalty area to help fight for high balls, the defense in the midfield is a bit empty at this time.
But seeing Alonso moving forward, Lampard could only turn around and attack.
Alonso saw the opportunity and cleverly distributed the ball to the left corner of the penalty area.
Hazard moved forward quickly, caught up with Alonso's pass, turned around, and faced Manchester City's right back Zabaleta directly.
This is a one-on-one opportunity!
Hazard dribbled the ball and approached Zabaleta step by step.
This is the breakthrough method he most often uses, and it is also his own unique rhythm and pace.
That is to take the small steps that you are most familiar with, and then stare at the opponent with your eyes, watching every move of the opponent.
Once the opponent makes any movement on his feet, Hazard will use his best sudden change of direction to wipe out the opponent.
The 29-year-old Zabaleta is also very experienced. Under Hazard's pressing, he first took a step back, and then took another step back.
The defender always maintains a certain distance from the forward, so it is not easy for the opponent to break through with speed.
But Azar suddenly speeded up at this time!
His dribbling rhythm suddenly accelerated, and his whole body was about to rush towards the baseline.
This was beyond Zabaleta's expectation. The defensive plan he had envisioned in his mind was destroyed, so his body could only react instinctively, which was to stretch his feet to steal the ball.
But at this time, Hazard suddenly changed direction, his whole body also accelerated suddenly, and he moved the ball sideways with his left foot.
Zabaleta couldn't twist his body at all, and he fell heavily to the ground!
Then, Hazard easily shook off Clichy, chased after the ball again, flicked his left foot, adjusted slightly, and controlled the ball under his feet again.
At this time, Hazard had already dribbled the ball into the small penalty area, and only Manchester City goalkeeper Joe Hart was in front of him!
Joe Hart quickly abandoned the goal and attacked with his hands and feet stretched out at Hazard's feet.
Because at such a close distance, Hazard will most likely push a ground ball, which is the safest shooting plan.
But Hazard chose a light lob.
The ball flew lightly under the force of Hazard's toes.
Joe Hart, who had already thrown his whole body on the grass, stretched out his hand to reach it, but couldn't reach it.
He could only watch in despair as the ball flew over his head and slowly fell into the Manchester City goal guarded behind him.
"GOALLLLLLLLLLLLLL!!!!!!"
"In the 87th minute, in the 87th minute, Hazard, Hazard again!!! He has already scored twice in today's game!"
"He made a wonderful pass, knocked down Manchester City defender Zabaleta, and completed a beautiful lob!"
"Oh my gosh, let's look at this pass, it's really beautiful!"
"Hazard used the rhythm changes at his feet to completely deceive Zabaleta, and actually made him lose his center of gravity and fall to the ground!"
"This is really a criminal pass! Hazard's wonderful performance further expanded the score for Chelsea!"
"If Hazard continues his form and performance, I believe he will be the strongest contender for this year's Premier League Player of the Year award!"
"Now the score has reached 1:3. The Manchester City fans who came to the Etihad Stadium today may not be able to see their team score points at home."
——
Seeing Hazard's goal, Pan Yi happily turned around and high-fived his coaching staff one by one in celebration.
This goal also marked the success of his repeated horizontal jumping tactics from "ground" to "high altitude" to "ground" today!
There is nothing more fulfilling than having the situation on the court develop under your control all the time!
But correspondingly, Pellegrini's frustration on the opposite side was stronger than ever.
He felt like he was being led by Pan Yi all the time, as if every move he made was in Pan Yi's plan!
No, in fact, this can't be considered a "calculation", but Pan Yi is helping him make every move.
All kinds of smoke bombs, all kinds of inducements!
Starting from the pre-match press conference, to the starting lineup on the field, to substitutions and formation changes, and multiple changes of play styles, they are all trying to let Pellegrini fall into the trap designed by Pan Yi!
"This kid..." Pellegrini slumped weakly into the coaching bench.
He really wanted to say to Pan Yi: "Give me the ball, I want to go home!"
——
The final score of the game was 1:3, Chelsea won away.
In the press conference hall of the Etihad Stadium, Pan Yizhi proudly accepted questions from reporters from all sides.
The focus of the problem is of course the long pass tactic that Pan Yi suddenly used in this game.
It was this tactic that caused Pellegrini's Manchester City to be in disarray for a while, and Pan Yi completely figured out the mentality and strategy behind it, which finally allowed Chelsea to win a key away victory.
"During the game, Pellegrini and his team caused us a lot of trouble, and Aguero's goal was enough to prove Manchester City's performance and threat in the game."
Pan Yi also spoke highly of Pellegrini and Manchester City, believing that the score did not fully reflect the process.
"That's why I had to make important adjustments after seventy minutes and completely change the way I played on the field."
"If we don't do this, I believe that if we keep fighting Manchester City for possession of the ball, we may not have the upper hand."
"It can be said that before the game I made an agreement with Mr. Pellegrini to play football that is 'pleasing to the eyes'. I failed in this regard."
"But in terms of score, I still won."
The so-called Tu Qiong dagger saw that he boasted for a long time that "Manchester City is very strong", but in the end Pan Yi praised himself.
Pan Yi also said that this away victory against Manchester City represents Chelsea's ability to compete with all Premier League teams, including the BIG6 giants.
Therefore, when facing Arsenal in the seventh round, everyone at Chelsea was equally confident that they could win the London derby.
"But before that, we still need to play a League Cup, a Premier League and a Champions League game."
"No football game is particularly easy, so we need to work hard one game at a time."
"What, will we give up the League Cup? No, as long as it is a championship, we will fight for it. Now our lineup is thick enough to support us in multi-line operations."
"Of course, the necessary rotations will definitely be done, but I also believe in the abilities of other players. It can be said that there is no absolute distinction between the main players and substitutes in our team. Whoever is in good condition will have it. A chance to play.”
"Did you not reach the minimum consumption today? Haha, of course I also hope to score four goals, but as I said just now, defeating Manchester City itself is not an easy task."
“Perhaps our minimum cost is four goals against some teams and three against others?…”
In the news report the next day, the "Daily Mail" pointedly pointed out that although Pan Yi seemed to talk about Manchester City's strength throughout the post-match press conference, there was nothing between the lines in his words. Saying something repeatedly:
"I am the strongest!"
——
Chelsea's away victory over Manchester City put them at the top of the Premier League table after five rounds, with 15 points from five games.
Ranked second is still the surprising Aston Villa.
Although they lost to Wenger's Arsenal in this round, with three wins and one draw in the first four rounds, they can still rank second with a record of 10 points.
This is also because BIG6, except Chelsea, have not had a good start to the season.
Arsenal has the best results, with 2 wins and 3 draws remaining unbeaten, but it only has 9 points.
Manchester City has 2 wins, 1 draw and 2 losses, with 7 points.
Tottenham also have 2 wins, 1 draw and 2 losses, with 7 points.
Liverpool has 2 wins and 3 losses, 6 points.
Finally, it is Manchester United, with 1 win, 2 draws and 2 losses, with 5 points.
As a result, Chelsea's home game against Aston Villa in the sixth round of the Premier League has once again become an out-and-out battle for the top spot.
Due to Pan Yi's speech on "minimum consumption" at the post-match press conference, everyone speculated that the "certain teams" he mentioned that could score three goals were referring to strong teams such as Dortmund and Manchester City, and other teams that could score three goals. "Some teams" that score four goals are relatively weak teams.
And what kind of team does Aston Villa belong to?
Can Chelsea really keep scoring at least three or four goals in every game?
This question also made this Premier League game in the sixth round full of topic.
Of course, before the start of this battle for the top spot in the Premier League, Chelsea still has a League Cup game to play.
According to the rules, Premier League teams directly enter the third round, and Chelsea's opponent is the British Championship team Bolton Wanderers.
Even though Bolton is just a British Championship team, there are still some old acquaintances in their team.
For example, former Chelsea player and Iceland forward Gudjohnsen.
Another example is a famous star who is "equally famous" with Messi and is often compared with Messi.
Tip: Not Ronaldo.
(End of chapter)
