"The defense is more stable than in the last game... Pellegrini really has two skills." He glanced at Pelle, who was standing in the home team's technical area and constantly giving instructions to Villarreal players. Greene, George said with admiration. Lan
After the game started, Tottenham firmly held the initiative on the field, but they were unable to convert the advantage on the field into a victory in the score. The reason was Pellegrini's change to 4-5-1—— Arranging Solin and Guayre to serve as left and right midfielders in front of Aruabarina and Venta has indeed had a good effect in containing Tottenham's wing attack, and can even use Stephen Karl and Ever Use the space left after the assist to hit Tottenham's counterattack!
Of course, Villarreal's change of formation is not without cost. Under the defense of Vidic and Ledley King, it was difficult for Diego Forlan, who served as a single arrow, to get the ball comfortably in the penalty area, and had to frequently retreat outside the penalty area to look for opportunities to catch the ball. Neither Solin nor Guayre are the kind of players who can decisively cut inside and hit the goal. The midfielder led by Riquelme was unable to form a second echelon in the counterattack, which made Villarreal's quick counterattack Although he looks very active, his range of activities is mostly limited to the wing, making it difficult to pose a sufficient threat to the goal guarded by Cech. Instead, Tottenham will seize the opportunity to counterattack.
This situation is not what Pellegrini wants to see. Because Villarreal is now two goals behind in the total score, even if this game is tied with Tottenham through solid defense, the yellow submarine will be eliminated in the end. Therefore, Pellegrini needs to solve the team's problems on the offensive end as soon as possible!
Chilean engineers quickly made adjustments. Solin, Wenta and others on the wing no longer sprinted from the wing or blindly sent crosses to Tottenham's penalty area during the counterattack. Instead, they resumed their regular play style and chose to control the ball first. Under the command of Kerme, he tore apart Tottenham's defense through passing and cutting. Only when his teammates were in the right position would he move the ball in a wide range to directly impact Tottenham's defensive system.
If Forlan and Solin are replaced by Henry and Pires, Pellegrini will definitely be able to develop more threatening offensive tactics, but it is difficult for a clever woman to make a meal without rice. Real conditions do not allow it, and the Chilean coach can only rely on his ability. Adjust within the range. As a result, although Villarreal has improved on the offensive end, it can still only complete most of its attacks through long shots outside the penalty area and set-pieces in the frontcourt. It rarely has the opportunity to penetrate Tottenham's penalty area. .
In the 58th minute of the game, the situation on the field finally changed due to an accident: Wenta sent a very beautiful diagonal pass from the right side of the backcourt during the counterattack, and found the ball from the left side of the field with great accuracy. Arrua Arena came in at high speed. The latter made a slight adjustment and shot an unreasonable shot from a position more than 20 meters away from the goal before Gerrard could cover up. The world wave broke through Cech's ten fingers and got a victory for Villarreal!
This kind of shot that is not only super fast but also changes its line strangely in the air can be said to be a nightmare for all goalkeepers. Even someone as powerful as Cech can only sigh in despair at this shot! Lan
"...I can guarantee that he was definitely blinded by this kick." Looking at the Villarreal players who were not celebrating the goal, but were rushing towards the center circle with the ball in their arms, George was silent for a while, and then Speechlessly, he expressed his inner thoughts to the old Charlie beside him, "If I let him play another hundred times, I don't believe he can score such a goal again!"
It’s not surprising that Diego Forlan scored such a long-range shot, because the Uruguayan is very good at such unreasonable and difficult shots, but you, a full-back in Aruabarina, can also score such a high-level shot. The difficulty of scoring a goal, or in such a key game related to the team's promotion, can only be explained by the blessing of the goddess of luck.
Any player may stand up and contribute to the team at a critical moment. This is the most destructive to the opponent's morale, and it is also one of the reasons why Villarreal has become the biggest dark horse in the Champions League this season. But unfortunately, Tottenham is obviously not among them. So although Arua Ballina regained a victory for the home team with a stunning kick, it did not affect the mentality of Tottenham players. After the restart, Tottenham still maintained the previous game rhythm and played steadily on the court, and even took the initiative to shrink the formation to their own half. Evra and Stephen Karl also began to reduce the number of assists and put more assists. Focus on defense.
Obviously, Tottenham players also know very well that what should really be anxious now is Villarreal, which is lagging behind in the total score. Under such circumstances, a proper contraction of the formation can not only stabilize the defense, but also force the opponent to press the formation, allowing one's side to get more counterattack opportunities - with Riquelme's playing style, this is almost Villa's Real is the only option!
Riquelme did organize the team's offense in an orderly manner, and his ability to get rid of the defense even when double-teamed by multiple people minimized the chances of the Yellow Submarine being counterattacked by Tottenham, and Villarreal also benefited from this. Got more ball rights, but the score on the field never changed. Seeing that there was not much time left, Pellegrini had to make substitution adjustments to prepare for the last ditch effort: Figueroa and Cazorla came off the bench, replacing Tacchinati and Guayre, and by using a center forward Replace a defensive midfielder to strengthen your own attack!
Like many of Argentina's new generation centers, Figueroa was dubbed the "new Batty" after his debut, and he also performed extremely diligently after coming off the bench. But it is a pity that some things are not destined to be achieved simply by hard work. For example, helping Villarreal break the goal guarded by Cech is one of them.
Just when everyone thought that Tottenham would maintain the score of zero to one until the end of the game, Vidic gave Villarreal a big gift in the 84th minute: This Tottenham's most reliable defense was a little slow when marking Diego Forlan, but it did not touch the ball but rubbed the Uruguayan's ankle, and the latter fell in the penalty area! Penalty kick! Lan
Penalty kick! If Villarreal seizes this opportunity and scores a goal, the total score of the two rounds will become a two-two tie, and it is very likely that Villarreal will drag it into overtime or even a point. Ball battle!
The referee ignored Vidic's complaint and signaled Riquelme, who was responsible for taking the penalty kick, to get in position as soon as possible. In his opinion, Diego Forlan may have been exaggerating, but Vidic did foul the Uruguayan in the penalty area. This penalty kick was completely in line with the rules of the game!
Looking at Riquelme, who was retreating to prepare for a run-up, Cech, who was standing on the goal line, first let out a sigh of relief, and then began his performance: his right shoulder was slightly sunken, his right leg was slightly bent, and his left leg was slightly bent. He was slightly stiff, as if... he was planning to bet that Riquelme's penalty kick would hit the left side of the goal?
Riquelme, who had been paying attention to Cech's movements, did not hesitate at all. After a short but rhythmic run-up, the midfield master decisively picked the ball towards the center of the goal...a spoon penalty!
Spoon penalty! No one thought that at this most critical moment, Riquelme would make such a bold choice!
If Riquelme were to equalize the total score with a penalty kick, the blow to Tottenham's morale would undoubtedly be devastating!
"Spoon penalty! Riquelme actually kicked the spoon at such a critical moment..." The commentator was only halfway through his words of praise for Riquelme when he was stunned by what happened next! Lan
I saw Cech, who had previously made a gesture to rush towards the left side of the goal, returned to his original position, then jumped up slightly to pluck the ball kicked by Riquelme out of mid-air, and then firmly pressed it on the turf in front of him. !
One man can guard the gate, but ten thousand men cannot open it. At this moment, Petr Cech single-handedly crushed Villarreal's last hope of promotion!
