The tactics Scaloni developed for York City today are very simple, which is defensive counterattack.
It is even more defensive and is not prepared to invest too many troops in the attack for the time being - commonly known as "setting up the bus".
This is a wise choice based on the comparison of strengths between the two sides.
You have to win the game, but no matter how high your morale is, you can’t be reckless.
Therefore, from the beginning of the game, York City's three lines of players fought and retreated. In the end, most of them retreated to their own half and set up a barrel formation.
And York City's defense is also very tough.
In the 2nd minute, Lamela got the ball on the right, and Kulusevski and Alphonso Davis surrounded him one after another, preventing him from easily releasing the ball.
Lamela was forced to pass back to Moussa Dembele in the middle, and as soon as Moussa Dembele got the ball... York City's midfielder Rice leaned in with his whole body, and when the opponent wanted to When I turned around to dribble, I tripped him.
Moussa Dembélé got up from the ground and glared at Rice with a pair of angry eyes. Rice, who kept retreating towards the defense line, looked at him with no expression on his face and deliberately showed a hint of a smile. Not smiling, which annoyed Moussa Dembélé.
This is also York City's main strategy today.
That is to give Tottenham the strength in the midfield and the confrontation.
When the overall technical ability is indeed not as good as theirs, it is obviously not possible without active defense and physical confrontation.
After all, whether it is Moussa Dembele or Eriksen, they both have very good dribbling and passing skills. It is likely that giving them a little space will tear apart York City's defense.
"From the first few minutes of the game, we can see that Tottenham have taken the absolute initiative on the court. From the first minute after the opening, York City was suppressed by Tottenham in their own half and could not get out. Forward Baker returned to defend near the penalty area. It seems that York City is planning to defend to the end in this game!"
Tottenham used Vicent Jensen as the arrow, and players such as Son Heung-min, Alli, and Lamela took turns attacking York City's defense.
Especially Son Heung-min on the left wing. He was extremely fast and very active. He got rid of Fuyasu Kenyang's defense several times and created threats. Fortunately, York City's old Swedish goalkeeper Isaksson continued his recent good form. That's why he didn't concede a goal.
As a young player who has not yet been selected for the Japanese national team, Tomiyasu Kenyo still seems a bit struggling when facing Son Heung-min, an "old player" who has been racing in the European arena for several years. He also temporarily fell behind in such an "East Asian confrontation" Downwind.
"Son Heung-min broke through with the ball, reached the edge of the penalty area... and hit the goal!! Isakson reacted quickly and saved the ball. Tottenham's 20-year-old Alli judged the landing point of Isakson's hit and made a follow-up shot!"
"It's Isaacson again. This experienced veteran blocked the ball out of the goal with his feet. De Ligt, who was returning to defense, kicked the ball out of the baseline and formed a corner kick!"
"Eriksen took a corner kick, but it landed too close to the goalkeeper. Isakson picked the ball up before Alderweireld!"
"Obviously, York City relied on defense today and did a pretty good job, but Tottenham players have very strong personal abilities. They still bombarded York City's goal and got good goals several times. Opportunities, but unfortunately York City’s former Swedish national goalkeeper Isaksson performed bravely and repeatedly helped the team resolve crises.”
Scaloni saw this thrilling scene on the coaching bench, and he couldn't sit still for a moment.
He came to the sidelines and kept waving to Rice and Alonso, including Westerman and De Ligt behind him, to establish a tight defense in the middle and not let Tottenham players easily face the goal.
You know, these offensive players in the frontcourt of Tottenham are very good in terms of breakthrough and shooting ability. A small opportunity may be directly converted into a goal.
York City's two wide midfielders Lin Liangming and Kulusevski were also asked to return to defense.
Judging from the game scene, they don't seem to be a full-back, but more like a full-back. Now York City seems to have eight defenders defending.
Of course, this type of iron barrel formation also has advantages and disadvantages.
The advantage is that there are many defensive players and the defensive line is compressed relatively flat, leaving less space for Tottenham players.
The disadvantage is that due to the retreat of York City's two full-backs, Tottenham's two full-backs have a wider space to move forward.
Players like Danny Rose and Kyle Walker like to assist, and now they are frequently attacking.
In the 5th minute, Walker passed a sharp pass to center Vicente Jensen in the penalty area. Fortunately, De Ligt pushed it out of the penalty area. Otherwise, it is very likely that Will cause York City to concede a goal.
Amid Tottenham's crazy attack, York City's defense was crumbling, as if it would be swallowed up by the wind and waves at any time!
A big man named Gao from the Dragon Kingdom once said: The bigger the wind and waves, the bigger the fish.
But this rule doesn't seem to be fully followed on the football field.
Although Tottenham made a lot of waves, they just couldn't catch the little fish of York City.
Even though Tottenham players got several pretty good chances, they just couldn't convert them into goals.
Either goalkeeper Isaksson played brilliantly, or the defenders performed well and blocked the hole.
Among them, Alphonso Davis and Alonso saved the team at critical moments twice, blocking the shots of Ali and Son Heung-min from the bottom line.
It is under such an absolute disadvantage that York City clings to the final fence. This makes every attack by Tottenham seem to be able to deal the final blow to York City at any time, but every time it changes in the end. Returned in vain.
"We can see that York City has obviously implemented the iron barrel tactics to the end. Now they don't even leave a single player in the frontcourt, and even forward Baker has returned to defend at the front of the penalty area. Is it true that York City really Are you going to give up the attack and defend to the end?" Lineker smiled bitterly.
The game has been going on for 20 minutes now, and during this period, York City's ball possession rate is only about 20%.
This means that Tottenham's ball possession rate has reached a terrifying 80%!
Moreover, the difference in the number of shots between the two sides is really very big. Tottenham shot a total of 15 times in such a short period of time, almost one shot every minute, while York City, let alone shooting, could not even enter Tottenham's penalty area. go.
I have to say that this was a one-sided game, at least from the opening 20 minutes.
So Lineker, as a "Pan Yi fan", is a bit disappointed.
"Although before the game I thought York City would be unable to beat Tottenham with all their main players, I didn't expect the scene to be so ugly."
"In my impression, Pan Yi's team sometimes uses defensive counterattack tactics when encountering strong opponents, but it doesn't seem to use this kind of iron barrel formation."
"However, the York City fans at the scene did not seem to care about our team's passivity on the scene. They enjoyed today's game even more. Even if there is a foul that is beneficial to their own team, they will give warm applause."
Alan Shearer, who partnered with Lineker to commentate on the game today, smiled and said: "Actually, in my opinion, both the York City fans and the team's performance are understandable."
"Don't forget, Tottenham are currently third in the Premier League, in the BIG6, and one of the strongest teams in English football."
"As for York City, no matter how good they perform, they are only in League One, and the gap is still very big."
"So I don't see any problem with Scaloni's defensive-based style of play, and York City fans obviously understand this."
"For them, winning or losing is not that important. What is important is that 20,000 people came to the scene today to have fun together, and they can see the stars of the Premier League teams live!"
Lineker coughed and said with a smile: "Thank you for the reminder. Maybe it was because of Pan Yi and York City's performance in the last round that made me ignore this."
"Although Arsenal did not have all the main players in the last round and was also affected by Xhaka's red card, York City did not perform like a League One team."
"After all, for teams like Arsenal or Tottenham, there is no need to do their best against a team from League One."
"But judging from the first 20 minutes of today's game, it is true that the Premier League is the Premier League, and English League One is still English League One! The gap between these three levels is still huge."
"Looking at it this way, Scaloni can only choose to play defensively, otherwise, it is very likely that Son Heung-min and others will break the net."
Alan Shearer nodded: "At present, if York City attacks rashly, the risk is too great. Rather than doing this, it is better to defend to the end."
But Lineker shook his head: "But the FA Cup is not a knockout system, and there will be no penalty shootout today. Even if they defended 0:0, the next round of replays will be held until the White House. Deer Lane Stadium, could it be that York City gave up the opportunity at home and instead felt that they were more likely to win away from home?”
Alan Shearer said: "This is not necessarily true. I have seen that so far, although Tottenham is playing very lively, York City's defense is not doing well, especially the defense of Tottenham's two wings."
At the same time that Alan Shearer said this, Son Heung-min took the ball on the left and was about to accelerate, but Alonso, who came out from the side and stabbed him diagonally, squeezed him to the ground and caused a foul. It also interrupted Tottenham's offensive rhythm.
"Lamela on Tottenham's right wing can run quite well, but his impact is not enough. Son Heung-min's partner on the left wing, Danny Rose, is obviously more threatening in attack, so when York City defends, they pay great attention to their right wing. Assistance and protection.”
"Alonso in the defensive midfield position often appears in this area, coupled with Lin Liangming and Fuyasu Jianyang who are returning to defense, this means that Tottenham's left side hardly poses much of a threat."
"The right wing cannot stand out, and the left wing is restricted. This makes Tottenham's left and right wings unable to fly, so it also causes Tottenham's attack to be loud and weak. It seems to have all the advantages, but in fact There aren't many who can really threaten York City's goal."
"You can see that Isakson made a lot of saves, but many times it was because Tottenham's shots were hasty, resulting in insufficient angle and insufficient power."
As if to once again confirm Alan Shearer's comments, Tottenham launched another attack on the court. Lamela on the right took the ball, but Lin Liangming quickly followed up.
After barely passing the ball, Vicente Jensen in the center failed to take advantage of De Ligt, and the ball was pushed out of the penalty area.
"Another thing I think we should pay attention to is that Vicente Jensen is the bridgehead of Tottenham's offense, but in this game, the Dutchman's height and header have no advantage at all."
"Vicent Jensen is only a little over 1.8 meters tall, and on York City's defense, De Ligt is 1.89 meters tall, Westerman is 1.90 meters tall, and even right back Kenyo Tomiyasu is It has also reached 1.88 meters, and the shortest left back Alphonso Davis is also 1.85 meters..."
"Each one is taller than Vicente Jensen, and coupled with the perfect cooperation of these four people, Tottenham's passing tactics cannot be used at all."
Lineker nodded slowly after hearing this.
Indeed, he immediately saw another pass from Tottenham's left wing Danny Rose, but it was pushed out of the penalty area by Westerman.
Although Eriksen, who had inserted in the back row, stopped the ball and launched a second wave of attacks, Rice quickly stepped forward, forcing Eriksen to take a long shot in a hurry, but he failed to hit the right spot.
"So, the iron barrel formation that York City has specially set up for Tottenham is still very effective. Tottenham can't fight on the two wings, and the bridgehead in the middle is controlled. In this way, York City's goal is safe for the time being. .” Alan Shearer gave his own conclusion.
The game time passed by minute by second, and it seemed that just as Alan Shearer said, due to York City's desperate defense, Tottenham's offense has been unable to play, and the score has remained unchanged at 0:0. .
"I think Pochettino should make decisive adjustments at this time! Otherwise, the ball will be too ugly." Lineker watched for a while, but still felt that the game was too boring, and couldn't help but give his own comments Opinion.
Alan Shearer smiled and said: "Everyone knows that when breaking the bus, the most effective are wing and long-range shots. But now that Lamela can't stand up on the right, York City has enough energy to defend Tottenham. The left wing, which also caused the left wing to be restricted."
"As for the long shot... haha, look, there are people everywhere in the York City penalty area and the outside of the penalty area. Where does the ball go in?"
"And what you said is ugly, there is nothing that can be done about it. As I said just now, the strength gap between the two sides is too great. As the weaker side, York City's first priority is definitely not to attack, but to try to avoid conceding goals. "
Lineker shrugged: "Let's see what strategy Pochettino has to deal with it."
——
At this time, Tottenham really had some changes on the field.
After Pochettino made some gesticulations on the sidelines, Tottenham's offense obviously weakened, and the pace of the game also slowed down.
Obviously, the young Argentinian coach also discovered his own problem, which was that he pushed York City too hard and the formation was too flat. As a result, Tottenham had no other choice but to cross and long-range shots.
And as Alan Shearer said, York City defended Tottenham very well against these two attacks, which meant that Tottenham really didn't have a good chance to score.
Therefore, Pochettino asked his players to relax their pressure on the opponent a little, giving York City a chance to breathe, and then pull them out to play.
Only with more room for players to move can the abilities of Tottenham's forward players be brought into play, especially running backs like Son Heung-min who need sprinting space.
However, York City remains unmoved by Pochettino's changes.
"Remember, if you want to be on guard, be on guard until death. Don't be fooled by their 'invite you to the urn'. You must keep calm!"
Scaloni remembered Pan Yi's instructions to him before the game.
So he also constantly reminded his players on the sidelines to be careful, to keep the three lines compact, and not to rush to attack.
In other words, I would rather give up the offense than give Tottenham even the slightest chance!
This is probably the "all-out defense" mentality used in FM games.
Of course, Pan Yi's advice makes sense. After all, against a strong team like Tottenham that is known for its speed, giving them space is very scary, and it is very likely that they will seize the opportunity to score.
And once the ball is lost, it will be a disaster for York City.
Because at that time, York City will press out and counterattack with all its strength, which will definitely give a very fast shooter like Son Heung-min more opportunities.
The reason why Pan Yi stated in a high-profile manner before the game that his team can "defeat any opponent" was indeed for the Tottenham team to listen to.
Just let them press out and attack!
As long as they keep attacking but cannot succeed, both the coach and the players will definitely be impatient, and then York City's opportunity will come.
However, it is obvious that Portino is still very calm.
Now that Tottenham are not in a hurry to attack, York City will certainly not be fooled by them, so the situation suddenly becomes more stalemate, and the number of shots begins to decrease sharply.
And just like this, the last time of the first half was also worn away.
"The referee blew the whistle at the end of the first half, and the two sides ended in a goalless draw. This game was very dull and ugly. If the second half continues as it did in the first half, the two sides may not be able to compete until the rematch next week. The winner is determined!”
Hearing what Lineker said, Alan Shearer disagreed. He said:
"Tottenham definitely don't want to play a rematch, as it would affect their Premier League game too much. Pochettino must be thinking of ways to strengthen the attack and try to score York City's goal in the second half!"
Lineker said: "Then what if York City continues to defend so passively?"
Alan Shearer shook his head: "I think York City actually don't want to play a rematch, because there is no hope of playing away in the next round."
"But in this situation..." Lineker hesitated.
Alan Shearer said: "Maybe Scaloni has some backup plan. Just like when we used to watch Pan Yi lead the team in games, when we think the game will end dull, Pan Yi always surprises us."
Lineker agreed: "Well, if Scaloni gets Pan Yi's true pass, then I can really look forward to the second half of the game!"
——
At the beginning of the second half, Pochettino made substitutions immediately.
Lamela, who had no results in the first half, came off and was replaced by Frenchman Moussa Sissoko.
Compared to Lamela, Moussa Sissoko may be slightly inferior in technology and imagination, but he is physically stronger and has stronger impact.
This is to let the French attack on the right and avoid the dilemma like Tottenham in the first half.
And such substitutions are obviously effective. Moussa Sissoko immediately activated Tottenham's right attack as soon as he came on the field.
He is a very comprehensive player, he often plays in the center of the midfield or on the right, and he is equally sharp as a right winger.
After getting the ball, he either makes a pass or cuts in and shoots, these are his specialties.
With Moussa Sissoko on the right to relieve the defensive pressure, Son Heung-min on the left also felt relieved and became more active. In addition, behind him there is Dan who is also extremely fast and has a strong desire to attack. N. Ross.
At the beginning of the second half, Tottenham launched several threatening attacks from the right. Moussa Sissoko, who had just replaced Moussa Sissoko, was full of energy and performed very actively. As soon as he came on the field, he fiercely attacked York City's left defense. sudden.
Although Alphonso Davis is no worse than Moussa Sissoko in terms of speed, he loses a lot to his opponent in terms of experience and it is a bit difficult to deal with it.
Fortunately, Rice and Alonso often returned to the left to help defend, and they were able to barely block Tottenham's attack from the right.
But Moussa Dembele and Eriksen, who controlled the rhythm of Tottenham's attack, were very smart. When everyone thought that Tottenham was going to focus on the right wing, they passed back Moussa Sissoko's kick. The ball moved to the left wing and was handed to Danny Rose, who was driving forward.
After Danny Rose got the ball, he dribbled the ball into the York City half. Son Heung-min cut into the hinterland. After a clever one-two with Danny Rose, Danny Rose went to the baseline.
Vicente Jensen and Ali, who were connecting in the middle, rushed to the penalty area desperately. De Ligt and Westerman on York City's side stared at them, while Kenyo Fiyasu on the right was crossing the line. In front of Danny Rose, occupy the position and prevent him from entering the penalty area.
But just when everyone thought Danny Rose was going to pass, the latter unexpectedly passed to Son Heung-min outside the penalty area again.
Rice stepped forward, Son Heung-min cleverly created a gap, and then pushed the ball gently. A white figure roared next to him, and he shot a long shot!
It's Eriksson from behind!
This kind of long-range shot can be regarded as one of his famous stunts in the arena.
"Beautiful! Isaacson made another beautiful save, saving York City! He saved Eriksen's long shot from the bottom line! This is definitely a world-class save!" Lineker praised loudly.
The fans at the scene immediately exploded. Everyone shouted Isakson's name loudly and cheered loudly for his world-class save just now!
"Isakson got up from the ground on the court, and the captain Westerman hugged him tightly to express his gratitude. Yes, without his wonderful performance, York City would have lost its gate. . And once Tottenham scores a goal, York City’s defense will no longer be as resolute as it was in the first half. It was Isaacson who saved York City!”
Pan Yi in the stands breathed a sigh of relief and sat down, with a look of shock on his face.
"Damn, being a boss is more stressful than being a coach!" Pan Yi laughed at himself.
Indeed, although he communicated with Scaloni and others before the game to prepare for the game, once the game started, it had nothing to do with him.
So for Pan Yi, he has no sense of control over everything that happens on the field now, he can only watch.
He will not call now to interfere with Scaloni's judgment. After all, York City is not playing badly now.
As a result, he will really feel more nervous in the stands than when he was a coach - after all, he can no longer "have everything under control."
"Hey, it seems that I rarely see you so nervous. Are you afraid of losing to Tottenham?" Levy, the boss of Tottenham who was sitting next to him, said with a smile. His bald head was still as bright as ever.
"It's still too early to say who will lose and who will win." Pan Yi's face showed his signature confident smile again, "If you don't believe it, let's read on!" (End of Chapter)
