Chapter 362 Enzo: I can’t defend it, I really can’t defend it…
Last season in Rome, the quick counterattack composed of Chen Xiaoliang, Kva, Cesco and Dybala was the winning trick that helped them advance into the Champions League and eventually win the championship.
The division of labor among the four players is also very clear. Kva cuts in from the left, Dybala passes and cuts on the right, Cesco holds the ball in the middle, and Chen Xiaoliang is mainly responsible for advancing.
Now that he has come to Manchester United, the combination has changed again. Dybala is no longer there, and Rashford, who has extraordinary speed, has joined him.
The 18-year-old Rashford made his debut for Manchester United's first team in 2016 and scored twice. Despite playing for so many seasons, the 25-year-old is entering the golden age of his career.
It's a pity that he lived in an era when Manchester United was struggling after its glory days. Having won the FA Cup, League Cup and Europa League, they were still lacking the most important Premier League and Champions League titles, and those titles seemed a little out of reach.
But now it's different. The team has new players, a new boss, the global scouting network is also being rebuilt, and the new season has started well. Everything seems to be moving towards a resurgence.
But Rashford knows that he still has to take one step at a time. After winning the league runner-up twice before, what followed was not further progress, but a fall again...
When Chen Xiaoliang came to the team, he also found that the club's foundation was still there, but the winning mentality in the players' hearts needed to be re-established. Manchester United is not Roma. The foundation accumulated by Roma's ancestors is not strong. The reason they can fight all the way in the Champions League is that they have no psychological burden and are willing to fight for every game.
Manchester United is the kind of club that will be mocked for days by rival fans online if they make a mistake and concede a goal. In every game, there are countless people who hope they win, and countless people who hope they lose.
Except for De Gea, the current group of players have not experienced the era under Sir Alex Ferguson, and have not experienced the feeling of standing on the league field and feeling that Manchester United will still win today, whether it is themselves or their opponents.
Even if we fall behind, we feel we can make a comeback. If the first half doesn't work, we can try the second half, and if the second half doesn't work, we can try the extra time.
Of course, this mentality is not something that can be built overnight, and sadly, our neighbors next door seem to have developed this mentality in the league.
Chelsea, who were facing Manchester United at the time, were also troubled by this problem.
However, unlike Ten Hag this season, Pochettino is not afraid of wearing shoes even if he is barefoot.
At the end of last season, the team achieved a brilliant record of 2 draws and 9 losses under the magical operation of the famous coach Lampard, and finally ranked 13th in the league. Realizing that he could no longer give orders blindly, Burley did not interfere too much in the daily management of the team this season, and set a season goal for Pochettino to reach the top four and enter the Champions League, which gave Pochettino considerable flexibility.
The idea he instilled in the team was that the team had hit rock bottom last season, and it couldn't get any worse than last season. Any improvement this season would be progress, and the outside world would not put too much expectations and pressure on the team.
After a large-scale cleanup of redundant players in the summer window, all those who did not meet the tactical requirements and did not meet the ability standards were eliminated, giving the remaining players and new players the opportunity to prove themselves.
In the absence of pressure and outside interference, these young men instead exerted extra motivation. Therefore, facing the current lag, except for Enzo who was a little disappointed, the other players did not fall into a negative state.
"Beep!" Referee Atwell blew the whistle and the game continued.
After 10 minutes, Thuram on the right still used his outstanding physical fitness to frequently receive the ball and face Timberl one-on-one, while Leo on the left also discovered Wan Bissaka's weakness.
This guy is very good at one-on-one defense, but when there are multiple people in the area and he needs to make up for the defense and switch positions, his weakness of not being very smart becomes apparent.
Most of the time, he will focus on the ball. Once there are 1-2 teammates nearby to cooperate with him, whether it is a two-on-one or a three-person short pass plus penetration, if Wan Bissaka's defensive target is slightly adjusted, he will lose sight of the big picture.
As Leo thought about it, his smile widened. He felt like a genius for being able to discover such a thing.
So after asking the midfield for the ball, he would actively call Mount, Cucurella and others to come and cooperate with him.
Mount and others as well as Pochettino on the sidelines just shook their heads... They had emphasized this repeatedly before the game, but this guy had to play for more than 20 minutes before he reacted.
Leo is really lazy, but when he concentrates on his favorite attack, he is really fierce.
In the 26th minute, Leao got the ball on the left side of the rib, Cucurella came in from the left, Leao passed the ball to him, and also "given" Wan Bissaka to him.
After receiving the ball, Cucurella chose to dribble the ball back a little distance facing Wan Bissaka, and then suddenly passed it with his left foot to Osimhen who retreated slightly in the penalty area.
Osimhen jumped at the junction of Lindelof and Casemiro, and headed the ball. Instead of shooting directly at the goal, he passed the ball to Leo who had cut in from the left!
When Lindelof saw the trajectory of the ball, he realized that someone had slipped past him and it was too late for him to turn around.
Leo took the ball lightly with his left foot and took two steps to the left corner of the small penalty area. De Gea had already moved over, and Osimhen and Thuram also moved forward to the goal, ready to receive Leo's cross pass at any time.
But Leo didn't think about passing the ball. He had only one thing on his mind tonight, which was to throw the title of "One Head and Two Arms" back to Chen Xiaoliang.
He raised his left foot, kicked the bottom of the ball and hit it towards the upper corner of the goal!
De Gea subconsciously reached out his hand, and his left fingertips touched the bottom of the ball, lifting the ball slightly upwards.
“Bang!”
The ball hit the bottom of the crossbar and bounced back!
Zhan Jun: "In front of the goal...shoot again!"
"There's still a chance! De Gea!"
"Osmeen!"
"The Blues' new monster on the front line! This ball goes in!"
Zhang Lu: "Hehe, De Gea is really helpless with this ball. He saved two in a row, but couldn't save the third one."
Zhan Jun: “Let’s watch the replay together!”
"Just as Zhang Zhi said, for the first ball, De Gea stretched out his hand and Leo's shot from a close angle changed direction and hit the crossbar, bouncing to the right side of the small penalty area!"
"Thuram followed up with a header, but was rubbed by Lima's legs and slowed down. De Gea made a second save by moving sideways, and Osimhen, who followed in the middle, did not miss the chance to pick up the ball in front of the goal. He poked the ball and finally penetrated De Gea's defense!"
"Chelsea tied the score to 1-1 in the 27th minute!"
Zhang Lu: "Manchester United still plays too conservatively. I feel that Lindelof is more suitable for sweeping and filling in positions. It is really difficult for him to play one-on-one with a center forward like Osimhen, or to help defend a winger like Leao who has a large range of activities."
Zhan Jun: "Ten Hag said he had no other options. Just three days later, there is a Champions League group match against Bayern Munich in the middle of the week! The team must rotate, otherwise it will not be able to continue to cope with such a high-intensity schedule pressure in a healthy manner."
On the field, facing the Chelsea players who surrounded Osimhen who ran to the sidelines and slid on his knees to celebrate, Casemiro took the initiative to take responsibility, covered his mouth and talked to Lindelof, saying that he should retreat a little bit, and then he would help him defend in the penalty area more frequently.
Since coming to Manchester United, Chen Xiaoliang has always admired Casemiro, not only because of the honors he has won in the past, but also because he will discuss mistakes or obvious flaws on the court very seriously with the players involved, no matter if that person came later than him or has been in the team for many years.
But this kind of discussion is not an argument, nor is it about determining who is right or wrong. Every time he expresses his opinion, he puts away his serious expression, gives the other person a hug and puts on his signature smile.
Chen Xiaoliang walked over and took a photo of both of them at the same time, then looked at Lindelof and Casemiro and said:
"When you are besieged, retreat further."
"Just go back and help him defend. I'll fill your position . Don't worry."
After saying that, Chen Xiaoliang spread out his hands with his palms facing up. The two nodded and each stretched out a hand to pat his palms.
Cesco kicks off and the game continues.
Chen Xiaoliang continued to press forward, and through passing the ball, he gradually moved Casemiro and Fred forward to ensure that there were enough people in the midfield and frontcourt to carry out passing and coordination.
At the same time, their forward pressure also allows teammates to fill the middle, so he can switch positions with B Fee more frequently in the attack.
After Chelsea's heavy pressure and siege in the first 30 minutes, they began to gradually retreat and consciously adjust their physical strength. The two sides gradually approached each other in terms of ball possession rate and the number of passes into the opponent's offensive third zone.
In the 33rd minute, Chen Xiaoliang went to the right side, while B Fee moved to the middle.
Fred passed the ball to Wan-Bissaka on the right, who passed it forward and wanted to pass it to Chen Xiaoliang, but the ball was cleared out of bounds by Kante who came back halfway. Fortunately, Wan-Bissaka reacted quickly, asked the ball caddy for the ball and threw it to Chen Xiaoliang in front of him.
After receiving the ball, Chen Xiaoliang pushed the ball to the front left as if he was going to go inside before Kanter came to double-team him.
Cucurella immediately stepped back and moved to block the line. Chen Xiaoliang immediately dribbled the ball to the right and once again used his best dribbling move to pass the ball.
Cucurella turned around and bumped into Chen Xiaoliang. Although he didn't knock him down, he at least made Chen Xiaoliang shake a little.
At this moment, Fofana rushed out of the penalty area and shoveled the ball out of bounds again before Chen Xiaoliang received the ball he had dribbled out.
Chen Xiaoliang looked up towards the penalty area. At this time, Koulibaly and Colville were in the penalty area, Thuram had retreated to the wing-back position on the other side, and Enzo and Mount formed a de facto double defensive midfielder. Even though he had just grabbed the ball, Enzo still had to fill in behind Fofana.
Pochettino put in a lot of effort today, linking one thing after another and setting up a chain formation for himself on the wing, even when Leo was sometimes on the defensive and sometimes indifferent.
This time it was not so easy to kick the ball out of bounds quickly. Kante and Cucurella, who came back, surrounded Chen Xiaoliang from the front and back. Even if Wan Bissaka wanted to throw the ball to him, he couldn't, so he had to throw it to B Fee who came over to receive it.
Bruno Fernandes made a lob pass to Cesco in the penalty area, but the ball was a little too powerful and was intercepted by Kepa.
Manchester United's attack came to an abrupt end.
Chen Xiaoliang was prepared before the start of the new season. After becoming extremely popular in Roma, he would definitely be targeted by various coaches when he came to the Premier League. However, he did not expect that the BIG7 would encounter Pochettino's chain defense in the first game.
If it was Dybala who took the ball, he would most likely coordinate from the front left and tie down the opponent's defense, so that even if Fofana rushed out, he would not dare to leave the side of the penalty area completely empty.
The left-footed Dybala can cross the ball with his left foot from the right, cut inside and look for opportunities to shoot directly, or penetrate into the penalty area to score. This is also the style of play of the inverted wingers who are the meteors in today's football world.
But B Fee is different from Dybala. B Fee originally played as a right winger. His speed and explosiveness are relatively average, and his offensive ability from the side is weaker than that from the front. Ten Hag sent him to play in this position today, on the one hand because of rotation, and on the other hand to solve the problem of his coexistence with Chen Xiaoliang.
But this guy had a knot in his heart. As a veteran team member, his tactical position and the core of the team seemed to be replaced by Chen Xiaoliang very soon. He was unwilling to accept this. As a result, even though Chen Xiaoliang had the passive skill of [Double the speed of establishing tacit understanding with teammates], he still had very little interaction with him in training and games, and the tacit understanding was established very slowly.
Failing to attack the right, Chen Xiaoliang had to move to the left. Fortunately, Rashford on this side had established the most basic orange tacit connection in level 4 with Chen Xiaoliang after participating in their extra training.
After all, opponents need to adapt to Chen Xiaoliang, and teammates also have to gradually adapt to his way of playing.
In the 38th minute, Enzo received the ball and passed it straight to the front right to Thuram, who was tackled by Chen Xiaoliang who was chasing back. The ball rolled to Fred who was defending. Fred passed it to Casemiro. Fat Tiger dribbled forward and was intercepted by Kante. He passed the ball to Chen Xiaoliang again.
At this time, it was Enzo who was standing in front of Chen Xiaoliang to defend. The two of them exchanged glances, and it seemed as if they were instantly back on the training ground lawn in the Trigoria base.
One is still Roma's No. 33, and the other is still Roma's No. 24. After almost every training day, they have to have several one-on-one duels in extra training.
Chen Xiaoliang said to himself, "You've never beaten me before, and you won't beat me today."
Enzo's eyes seemed to answer: "Even if I can't beat you one-on-one, I will help the team beat you today!"
Chen Xiaoliang advanced to the front right, and Enzo immediately moved sideways to block him, choosing to block the position instead of retreating.
Chen Xiaoliang pushed the ball from his right foot to his left foot, and then made a move as if he was going to change direction and break through.
Enzo knew in his heart that this was a fake move!
He immediately retreated and continued to block Chen Xiaoliang in front of him, but he did not step forward to steal the ball, so as to avoid stepping on empty air.
But there is a kind of sadness in the world, that is, you predicted me, but I predicted your prediction.
Chen Xiaoliang knew that he couldn't kick the ball, so he received the ball with his left foot and passed it forward with force. Enzo was immediately stunned and looked a little surprised.
What happened? Not playing anymore? Passing the ball?
Chen Xiaoliang flashed past him from his right side, leaving behind a slightly smiling but meaningful expression:
No, you forgot how we played.
Enzo immediately pushed forward and chased after him. He saw Cesco retreating out of the penalty area to receive the ball!
This is a wall-hitting coordination!
Kante next to him had just gone to save Casemiro and had not returned yet. Enzo knew that if Chen Xiaoliang received the ball at this moment and there was no obstruction, he would most likely take two steps to adjust and then make a long-range shot directly towards the goal.
Thinking of this, Enzo stuck to him even more desperately, just like when he was repeatedly eaten alive by Chen Xiaoliang's speed and physique during extra training, and repeatedly chased to death by Chen Xiaoliang who refused to admit defeat.
Cesco was also very familiar with this scene.
Their extra training is not a one-on-one duel like playing basketball. One-on-one offense and defense is just a part of the coordination.
The highlights of the extra training are the forward and backward wall cooperation, the two-pass wall cooperation, the ferry to the back point after the cross, the ferry back, and the small-range pass and cut cooperation with more than three people .
As if he didn't need to use his brain and just followed the memory of his muscles, Cesco gently pushed the ball back to the right front of Chen Xiaoliang, making it impossible for Enzo who was chasing behind him on the left to interfere, just like he had done countless times in extra training.
The three of them are too familiar with each other. Not to mention the three of them on the field, even Kva on the sidelines, Dybala and Perrone who were watching the game in front of TV knew that Cesco would definitely pass the ball back in this way.
Enzo knew that if Chen Xiaoliang wanted to shoot with great force, he would definitely swing his shooting leg far back after adjusting his pace. After all, in order to make a powerful shot, he needed to make sufficient preparatory movements with sufficient force. The greater the swing of the leg, the faster and longer the shot could be.
So even though he hasn't stuck to him yet, he just needs to wait for Chen Xiaoliang to stop swinging his legs and then stick to him to disturb him!
Kanter behind him saw that Enzo was having a hard time defending alone, so he ran over to double-team him.
Chen Xiaoliang ran forward towards the ball, and just when he was about to catch the ball, he suddenly took a step to the left with his left foot, and his body leaned to the left.
Enzo was not afraid of Chen Xiaoliang's shot, but was afraid that Chen Xiaoliang would continue to move forward at a fast speed. This sudden shake was beyond his expectations, and he involuntarily shifted his center of gravity to the left to avoid being instantly shaken off by Chen Xiaoliang.
However, this was just a feint without the ball. After Chen Xiaoliang deceived Enzo by leaning to the left, he exerted force with his left foot, pushed the ball with his right foot, and rushed forward to the right front with his whole body.
Now, the distance between Enzo and him was completely widened, and at this time there was no one defending in front of Chen Xiaoliang!
Seeing that the situation was not good, Fofana immediately rushed forward from the penalty area.
Before the game, Pochettino repeatedly emphasized that Chen Xiaoliang must not be missed in this game. The penalty area line runs from left to right. As long as they enter the offensive third zone, there must be someone in front of Chen Xiaoliang!
Seeing Fofana rushing forward, Koulibaly, who wanted to rush forward, continued to retreat to mark Cesco, while Enzo and Kante approached Chen Xiaoliang from behind again.
But it was too late. Entering the offensive third zone and coming to the top of the arc, he was already in Chen Xiaoliang's attack range.
As an all-around midfielder, his attacking method is not limited to long-range shots.
It's just that this kind of goal-scoring method of violent long-range shots is so impressive that opponents can't help but think that he has a special skill of long-range shots.
Chen Xiaoliang raised his leg, and Fofana immediately turned sideways, put his hands on his chest, and used his body to block Chen Xiaoliang's "shot".
"It's a pass!"
Enzo wanted to shout in his heart, but it was too late for him to shout. Before he could say anything, the ball had already flown out from the inside of Chen Xiaoliang's right foot.
Enzo knew very well that with such a swing of the leg and such a distance, it was not a long-range shot for Chen Xiaoliang.
But his teammates' reactions couldn't keep up with his words, and his words couldn't keep up with his heart!
The ball passed through Fofana's left side and it was a light lob pass!
Wearing the No. 8 shirt, B Fee suddenly started from the right flank when Cucurella was about to move inwards, and cut diagonally into the penalty area. The man arrived and the ball sent by Chen Xiaoliang also arrived!
B Fee received the ball and faced the goal at 45 degrees on the right side of the penalty area. Kepa moved over immediately!
Zhan Jun: "Let's see how B Fee will handle it!"
"Kepa chooses to attack!"
"Get up!"
"It's a pass!"
"Left side of the penalty area!"
"Hit the door!"
“The ball goes in!”
"It's Fred!"
"I scored my first goal of the new season!"
Zhang Lu: "He ran very fast on this ball. Several of his teammates were marked by Chelsea players, but no one saw him run into the penalty area from behind."
Barrage:
[I never expected that Fred would actually draw a magic card today]
[Have you used cards in previous competitions? ]
[One scene with gods, one scene with ghosts, another scene with gods, ghosts and ghosts! 】
[B Fei was able to pass the ball even though he had a single shot. It seems that he was woken up by Xiao Liang’s scolding.]
[Did Xiaoliang just yell at him again? ]
At this point, the screen was filled with comments like "Share it!"
From equalizing to conceding another goal, Pochettino couldn't sit still.
While Manchester United players were celebrating, he walked down from the coaching seat in the stands at Old Trafford, called Kante, and gave him a close-up lecture.
After explaining, the honest Kante ran into the venue. Pochettino turned his head and glanced at Ten Hag who was celebrating with his fist pump, feeling a little unhappy:
"How come you, Guardiola, Chen Xiaoliang and Haaland were able to buy cheats from these two bald guys?"
His resentment was not just momentary. He said it at the pre-match press conference that Chen Xiaoliang and Haaland are the same, except that they create threats in different areas. One of them holds the ball at the edge of the offensive third zone, which will attract the defensive attention of multiple opponents, while the other will achieve the same effect by holding the ball in the penalty area.
Once they receive the ball in their areas of expertise and launch a one-on-one attack, the defending team will face a huge risk of losing the ball.
But he still had half a sentence in his heart.
Compared to Haaland's fatal strike in the penalty area, Chen Xiaoliang's huge attack range is more torturous. As the head coach, he has to arrange many defensive strategies for different situations to limit Chen Xiaoliang from getting the ball comfortably in the midfield.
Thinking of this, Pochettino waved his hands to encourage Chelsea players to continue attacking, while secretly thinking: "Fortunately, Mourinho has kept another cheater in Paris Saint-Germain and will not let him leave. Otherwise, if three cheaters gather in the Premier League, it will be really lively..."
“Make it to the Champions League this year and see if Burley can knock him down next year?”
Thinking of this, he turned around and glanced at Burley above the stands behind him.
He didn't know that Boley, who had failed to buy Chen Xiaoliang in the summer and was unhappy because he fell behind again, had already had this idea.
