Football: After listening to the advice, I became the strongest free man! - Chapter 387

c387 I will be anxious if I can’t score in the Bernabeu!

No matter how good a team is, it will be eliminated one day. Elimination is not necessarily a failure, but sometimes an opportunity for a quick reshuffle.

It is hard to say whether Zidane will stay, especially when Fatty Bei was in office. He wanted to change but was defeated by a coup. If it is launched again, will there be a metaphysical master like Zidane to turn the tide? It is really unknown.

Real Madrid has not won 3 home games, but won both away games in the league. The offensive efficiency of home and away games is nearly 5 times different. Why is there such a huge difference?

In addition to the injury affecting the BBC’s status, Real Madrid let go of J. Rodriguez and Morata this summer, and lost the two most stable scoring points outside the trident. At the same time, the midfield lacks X factors such as Paulinho, which has led to repeated setbacks in the home offensive battle.

The strongest lineup? Real Madrid’s home and away firepower differ by 5 times. In the first 5 rounds of La Liga, Real Madrid’s image has changed dramatically. They won both away games. In the last round, they defeated Real Sociedad, which had won all the previous 3 rounds and was on par with Barcelona, ​​at the Anoeta Devil away game. In the first round, they defeated Deportivo La Coruna, which defeated Barcelona at home last season.

What about home games?

Valencia, Levante and Betis have been robbing points one after another. The latter two teams are the long-term cash machines of the Royal Guards of La Liga.

The stubborn problem of weak strikers is not just emerging in this game. The 3 home goals were 2 goals, 1 goal and 0 goals respectively, and there are signs of regression.

The White Army has scored 9 goals in 5 rounds, which is equivalent to Messi’s output alone, and only 1 goal more than Juventus’s top brother Dybala (8 goals in 5 rounds).

Compared with Barcelona’s rotation of half of the main players in this round, Zidane, who was 7 points behind the leader before the game, did not dare to be careless and put up the strongest lineup against the 15th place in La Liga last season. However, the problem of few goals was not solved. The difference in mentality between home and away games directly caused the contrast in the situation. After failing to win in the first two home games, Real Madrid hoped to swallow up the opponent in one bite. In this game, there were 14 shots in the first half and 13 in the second half. The strategy was to attack.

But Betis was a tough nut to crack. Real Madrid became more and more anxious as they played. When good opportunities came, they were also missed one by one due to anxious and hasty handling. Zidane reflected, “We were too anxious”, and Isco also said, “Once you can’t score a goal in the Bernabeu, you will become anxious.”

Similar situations also occurred many times at Real Madrid’s home last season, such as 1-1 draws with Villarreal and Eibar, and a draw with Las Palmas in the second half. They were in an advantageous offensive situation but could not attack for a long time and were bitten back by the opponent.

It is easier to have a correct attitude and a clear mind when playing away. Everyone who plays at home will have ideas. At the beginning of the game, the opponent will definitely use three tricks when they are full of energy. Zidane’s team uses the advantage of ball possession to wear down the opponent’s energy and fighting spirit. In the second half, Asensio and Lucas were added to improve the rhythm and fight in depth to solve the battle.

Counterattacks are mostly a situation of fewer against fewer, which can better play the personal abilities of the players of the top clubs (Barcelona’s last 4 goals yesterday were also counterattacks). The efficiency is far better than positional warfare. It is not difficult to understand why Real Madrid scored 47 points in away games last season, 1 point more than the home points, and why Real Madrid scored 6 goals with 25 shots in the past two away games, an average of 1 goal with 4.2 shots, and only scored 3 goals with 57 shots in 3 home games, an average of 1 goal with 19 shots, and the efficiency is almost 5 times different.

Ronaldo can’t solve Real Madrid’s weak striker, how can we not miss James Rodriguez and Morata? Although Ronaldo has returned, he has been suspended for 4 games since the second round of the Spanish Super Cup, and only played 1 game in the Champions League group match with limited difficulty (against the bottom team of the group, APOEL). He still needs time to find his rhythm and form, otherwise he will not be able to get a single opportunity and his shots near the penalty area line will always be a cannon.

In fact, after the age of 30, the Portuguese’s sprint speed and explosiveness will inevitably decline, and the total number of goals has decreased year by year in the past three seasons.

61 goals, 51 goals to 42 goals last season. Whether Real Madrid’s season is successful or not, it is actually important for the second, third and fourth firepower points, whether they can share the worries of the main player. It just so happens that the BBC combination is not in good shape recently, Ronaldo has been out of the game for a long time, Benzema has been in the factory for overhaul, Bale has been questioned for a long time, and James Rodriguez, the midfielder who has created the most goals in La Liga in the past three years, and Morata, the second scorer in the team last season, were sent away this summer, lacking a decisive role.

Morata’s biggest advantage is his first-class awareness of scoring in the penalty area. Otherwise, how could he score so many headers and assists in the Premier League with his thin body?

Benzema wasted many opportunities, including 4 in the match against Valencia, but he is tall and strong, and his ability to score in the penalty area is obviously better than his teammates who are wingers, but he is recovering from injury.

Mayoral performed well in the away game against Real Sociedad, but he lacks experience after all, and the home team’s opponents will not give him so many one-on-one opportunities.

Long-range shots are an effective means to break through the iron bucket formation, but Real Madrid fired many long-range shots in this game, not to mention breaking through the old player Adam’s ten fingers, and even the number of shots on target was very few, with only 7 shots on target in 27 shots in the whole game.

I wonder if Zidane thought of James Rodriguez, the midfielder with the most profound long-range shooting skills in the team in the past?

Kroos, Modric and Casemiro are just cold shots, Isco has not made much contribution from long shots, Asensio has the most potential to succeed James Rodriguez as the long-range shooter, but he only played for more than 20 minutes and made frequent dribbling errors.

The three-forward formation is even harder to break, Mourinho used it to win the Champions League. Betis coach Setien led Las Palmas to draw with Real Madrid twice last season. Zidane knows how difficult this grassroots coach who insists on passing and controlling the game is, so he started with a 442 formation (or 4312, with Isco occupying the 10th position), using the four strongest midfielders to ensure the ball possession advantage and defend the home court control.

However, despite Real Madrid’s 60% possession rate throughout the game, the central penetration frequently hit a wall. Zidane’s ball control strategy did not work. Instead, Setien asked Betis’ frontcourt players to resolutely counter-grab and frequently harassed Marcelo and Carvajal (the latter’s sideline ball was intercepted and lost the ball), which made it difficult for the two to press forward to assist. The side defenders’ crosses are exactly the most needed assistance when the diamond midfield is deployed.

Zidane could only change to the side, and in the second half, he replaced Asensio and Lucas Vazquez, and added Mayoral, the only genuine center forward in the team, hoping to open up the width of the side to provide high-quality crosses and give full play to the advantages of the three forwards in the penalty area.

However, Betis’ three midfielders were able to withdraw to the penalty area in time for protection, and at the same time, the double forwards Francis and Tello also returned to assist the side defenders to maintain the equal number of people on the side. Zidane’s change of formation only increased the number of crosses. The home team made as many as 46 crosses throughout the game, but it failed to become the key to turning the situation around.

In the past, Guardiola often arranged Pique to play as a center forward at the end of the game, but Ramos could not copy his style of play because the number of players in the backcourt was limited and the opponent could always maintain the spare capacity for a quick counterattack, which made Real Madrid’s defense feel uncomfortable.

Real Madrid felt uncomfortable when playing against the team led by Setien. There was a necessity. Setien always required players to control the ball at their feet and insist on short passes after stealing the ball in the backcourt to avoid easily handing over the ball with long passes. Therefore, although Real Madrid had many attacks, it was difficult to complete more than two consecutive shots in one offensive, and continuous pressure often destroyed the opponent’s defense structure.

433 is also Setien’s registered trademark formation. He always arranged three full-time attackers to rush forward, but at the same time required them to have a spirit of sacrifice. Whether it was counter-grabbing in the frontcourt or retreating to assist in defense, they were active in place. Once the ball was intercepted and counterattacked, there would be enough personnel and troops to invest, which could subvert the overall situation at any time. Maintaining offensive firepower and counterattack flexibility when being passively beaten is an ideal defensive means.

Mourinho is also a master at using three forwards to set up a bus. In 2010, he led Inter Milan to eliminate Barcelona’s Dream Team III in the semi-finals and won the Champions League by defeating Bayern in the final. In the first match of the semi-finals and the final, the Magic Birds used Eto’o and Pandev to support Diego Milito on the two wings, using three forwards to maintain the balance of offense and defense. Eto’o’s cheetah-turned-mad-dog style of play became a classic in the memories of Inter Milan’s triple crown.

Setien is more pursuing short passes to penetrate rather than direct passes to the frontcourt, but the idea of ​​placing three forwards is similar, and Inter Milan and Betis’s wingers can actively defend, which is something that Real Madrid’s BBC and Barcelona’s MSN combination cannot do.

Zidane changes the formation to three defenders to attack?

The opponent used four attackers to counterattack. After Marcelo was injured, Zidane replaced him with Lucas Vazquez instead of full-time defender Nacho. This was a signal for Zidane to launch a general attack. Carvajal and Lucas, two pure wingers, were deployed in the frontcourt, and Casemiro retreated to form a three-back formation with two central defenders. The overwhelming force did create a killing opportunity. First, Carvajal’s shot from the back point unfortunately hit the post, and then Lucas’ cross made Bale’s heel shot almost scored.

But Real Madrid’s change of formation also gave Setien the opportunity to snatch 3 points at the Bernabeu, because Real Madrid no longer had a full-time left back after Marcelo left the field, and it was difficult to effectively cover the huge area of ​​the backcourt by relying on Kroos alone.

When the team was in a panic in front of the goal, they broke up the three defensive midfielders and replaced them with wingers to play 4231, while hoarding 4 attackers. The coaches of mid- and lower-level teams rarely have this courage, but Setien is willing to take risks.

Betis did not use long kicks, because they have the ability to break through the Real Madrid midfield blockade through short passes. The higher the home team’s line is, the greater the chance of winning for both sides.

Setien sent Joaquin to replace the defensive midfielder Fabian, and kept Joaquin, Budbus and Tello as the three wingers in the frontcourt to support the center forward Sanabria, which just hit the weak spot of Real Madrid’s three-back system.

In the stoppage time, the visiting team launched a fatal attack on both sides of the left and right flanks. As a result, Sanabria sent the ball into the goal twice, the first time was offside and the second time was converted into a lore goal. Isco lamented: “At the last moment, we were too desperate to win, and the defense was completely exposed.”

What Real Madrid lacks most is violent birds?

Zidane has too many first-class civil servants, such as Kroos, Modric, Isco and other generals. There are also Asensio and Ceballos, the European Youth Championship Golden Ball Award winner, on the bench. They are all the capital to fight against various powerful teams. Ronaldo, Bale and Asensio have speed when counterattacking, and there are many technical masters to control the ball when they need to control the rhythm. Therefore, the second round of the Spanish Super Cup can end the vicious circle of Barcelona’s possession rate being lower than that of the opponent in 31 games for 9 consecutive years.

But the disadvantage of too many civil servants is the lack of penalty area blasters. When the striker lacks lethality, it is necessary to support the midfield and backcourt. Running without the ball to respond and inserting to grab points from behind are often more difficult for opponents to defend than the killers ambushing in the penalty area.

Real Madrid also has offensive weapons, such as Casemiro, who scored 7 goals in 2017. He opened the game against Manchester United and Juventus. In the past two games, Ramos either scored directly with a back-hook (Champions League) or failed to hook but created a must-goal opportunity for Mayoral (against Real Sociedad).

But in this game, Betis used a 3-forward formation, and the slow Casemiro was basically restrained in the backcourt. Ramos did not dare to cross the line easily unless it was a set-piece.

The loose enforcement style of the referee Laos also made it convenient for Betis players to frequently use tough physical contact to strangle the technical advantages of Real Madrid’s midfielders. Once the pass and cut in the middle failed to penetrate, it would be difficult to share the worries of the two forwards.

The trouble for the defending champions is that there are too many talented midfielders. What they lack is Paulinho, who has completely different characteristics. Barcelona can lead Real Madrid by 7 points, and the violent Torii played a great role. In the away game against Getafe, he was unreasonable and dribbled the ball hard, and he fought his way out of the back. In the adversity of Barcelona’s away game against the newly promoted team (the grass was too dry, which caused the performance of Barcelona’s civil servants to be out of shape), he turned the draw into victory at the last moment.

The Brazilian has become an X factor that makes it difficult for opponents to measure with common sense. Opponents can’t imagine that Barcelona players will also use such a pure impact style of play like Drogba and Lukaku.

In the home victory over Eibar, Barcelona was also slow to warm up in the first half. Except for the controversial penalty, only Messi’s free kick was slightly threatening. As a result, before the end of the first half, Paulinho was like a mountain pressing down on the top, and the corner kick was hit into the net with a strong header to change the score to 2-0, and the stalemate situation turned into a slaughter (Eibar must press forward, and the back defense hole is open).

Casemiro and Ramos need to focus on defense and attack as a sideline, but Violent Bird is not like that. Valverde did not arrange him to play as a defensive midfielder (Rakitic was also dragged back in the midfield when Busquets left the field). He can rush into the penalty area to grab points at any time, use his jumping and header advantages to kill opponents, and become a new conventional weapon for Barcelona in positional warfare. Similar characteristics of “explosive front midfielders” include Nainggolan of Roma now, Boateng of Milan in the past, and even Matic of Chelsea last season. What Real Madrid lacks is a second-line breakthrough to break the balance in this kind of deadlock.

7 points behind, no home wins, and criticisms are coming in waves. Some people say that Morata and James Rodriguez should not be let go. Indeed, the depth of the bench has been greatly reduced after they left, but how much instability do their presence bring to Real Madrid’s locker room?

How many people would rather play for one minute in Real Madrid than play a full game in other teams like Guti?

If Zidane hadn’t been able to control it, the locker room would have been turned upside down last season. However, a forced melon is not sweet, and it is not a good idea to keep suppressing it. It is better to let it go and train new players at the same time. Some people say that Zidane’s on-the-spot command is wrong again and again, which is also true. Zidane has never been good at tactics and on-the-spot command.

Zidane’s advantage is that he can stabilize the locker room. In other words, he can afford to make mistakes. This is more important than right or wrong itself.

The situation on the field changes rapidly. There is no absolutely correct tactics and on-the-spot substitution. The key is not to let the players lose confidence in the coach’s tactics and become independent according to their own understanding.

Are the tactics of a team like Real Madrid important? The players’ super personal abilities can adapt to most tactics as long as they are not outrageous. The tacit cooperation between players is the best tactic.

As for on-the-spot substitutions, although there are some tactical considerations, it is more often a scratch card. When you are poor, you will think of change. Try it again by changing someone or changing the method. If you bet right, it’s right.

As for who to replace and who not to replace, in addition to tactical considerations, emotional and psychological factors must also be considered.

To put it bluntly, there are only a few substitution routines, and the pros and cons are only a matter of thought.

Real Madrid’s poor performance now is caused by various reasons, including injuries, luck, and a mentality of being complacent with last season’s results.

But it is good to see Real Madrid’s lineup and development situation.

A temporary defeat may serve as a warning.

The season has just begun, and it is better to make mistakes now than to fail at a critical moment.

If mistakes are inevitable, it is better to come earlier.

In the 5th round of La Liga, Real Madrid lost 0-1 to Betis at home. Sanabria scored a header in the 94th minute. This was Ronaldo’s first game after returning from a 5-game ban. Real Madrid lost unexpectedly.

Real Madrid is in poor condition recently. Benzema is injured, Ronaldo has just been lifted and returned, and the forwards are in general condition. Real Madrid’s starting lineup: Navas; Carvajal 9, Ramos, Varane, Marcelo; Kroos, Modric, Casemiro 1, Isco; Bale, Ronaldo.

This is a game intertwined with many incredible things, which is endless aftertaste. Before this game, Real Madrid had scored in 73 consecutive games, tying the world record. Looking back at this record, we have to go back to the Santos Club 56 years ago, where they scored in 73 consecutive games from 1961 to 1963. The main striker at that time was the King of Football, Pele.

56 years later, another King of Football led his club to attack this record. Ronaldo was previously suspended for 5 games for pushing the referee. It happened that Ronaldo returned at the time when he was about to make history. Everything seemed to be destined.

Real Madrid played at home against Real Betis. Betis ranked 15th in La Liga last season and lost 19 games in 38 league rounds. This season started well, with 2 wins and 2 losses in the upper reaches of the La Liga standings, but the gap in the strength of the players on both sides was there, and Real Madrid had a huge advantage.

Moreover, Real Betis rotated three absolute main players. Leon, Joaquin and Guardado can be said to be the absolute core of Betis’ lineup. The main attackers were absent. Such Betis seemed to be timid before the battle. It seemed that no one could stop Real Madrid from creating a world record.

As soon as the game started, Real Madrid launched a crazy offensive. Real Madrid had an advantage in momentum at home. They launched an offensive very excitedly, and blasted towards Betis’s goal wave after wave. Betis’ response was very simple. They completely gave up the midfield and the whole team shrank to the penalty area for defense. When Real Madrid attacked the penalty area, Betis had at least 7 people forming two lines of defense.

Facing such an iron bucket formation 9, the quick counterattack that Real Madrid relied on was useless. The opponent did not press forward at all. The midfield was completely handed over to Real Madrid. Real Madrid could only siege again and again and press forward greatly.

From the hot zone map of the game, we can see that Real Madrid formed a siege in front of Betis’ penalty area most of the time, just pressing Betis to play again.

In the whole game, Real Madrid had 27 shots, while the opponent had only 12. Real Madrid created 23 chances. Real Madrid only cleared 2 times, while Betis had 38 clearances. What kind of game was this? The tenacity of defense and the gorgeousness of offense were clearly presented.