Football No. 10: God's Perspective

This season has come to the end, and Benfica is facing an embarrassing situation of losing all four major titles.

The Champions League has become the only fig leaf.

Before the match against Arsenal, Mano made sufficient preparations and rotated personnel in advance.

The team arrived at the Emirates Stadium, a star stadium that has appeared on TV screens countless times, and now it can finally be seen in person.

Wang Pu was very excited.

In the sports news section before the game, a transfer news broke out.

It is reported that Jan-Jack, the agent of Silva, the core midfielder of Porto, has arrived in London, and the Gunners intend to spend 60 million pounds to bring his Silva to the Emirates Stadium.

This news set off the whole of Portugal.

When the photo of Jan-Jack appearing at the Arsenal Football Club was reposted on the Internet, the rumor was confirmed.

"As your former teammate, what does Silva think of the transfer rumors with Arsenal this time?"

In the player tunnel, reporters surrounded Wang Pu and asked their own questions.

Wang Po felt angry and amused, staring at the reporter, "Do you think it's necessary to interview me about this? Or do you want to deliberately make this matter bigger? Besides, didn't their agent say that there is no comparison between me and Silva in terms of market value."

Compared to Silva's aggressive performance in front of reporters, Wang Po was very humble.

Facing the reporter's questions, he chose to avoid the sharp edge.

When the star-studded Arsenal players stepped into the Emirates Stadium, they were greeted by the thunderous cheers of the home team fans.

What greeted the Benfica team was thunderous boos.

In this game, Benfica sent all its main players, Mano ruled out the 541 formation, Wang Po sat in the midfield, and Gomez rushed forward.

Playing away, one point or a small loss to Benfica is acceptable, and strive to bring the decisive battle to the Stadium of Light.

At the beginning of the game, with the advantage of home court, Arsenal launched a tide-like attack.

The all-star-level lineup has almost no shortcomings. Each position is an absolute strong point. The one-on-one explosion point is enough to break the defense of Benfica.

Throughout the first half, Benfica was pressed in the half court. The strong pressure made every player deeply understand what the strength of European giants is.

In terms of the rhythm of the game, the only players that Benfica can match are Wang Po and Gomez on the front line.

As long as Wang Po gets the ball in the midfield, Arsenal's defensive players will come from all directions to double-team him. After attracting the center of gravity of the defense, the ball will basically not come back after it is passed.

Benfica's midfield holding ability is too weak, and it will be confused as soon as the intensity increases.

Such a bad scene made Mano anxious on the sidelines, and the only thing he was thankful for was that he didn't lose the ball.

In terms of data, Benfica was terrible, with a possession rate of 24%, the lowest in team history, and an embarrassing 0 in terms of shots.

During the halftime break, the atmosphere in the locker room was extremely quiet, so quiet that you could hear your own heartbeat.

All the players looked at each other, waiting for Mano to speak.

Time passed by, and the second half of the game was about to begin.

After 10 minutes of silence, Mano finally made a move.

"In the second half, all players will defend. Gomez, you will be in the midfield, Wang Pei will go to the front line, and Jim will warm up now..."

The marker in Mano's hand was sketching tactics on the blackboard.

What tactics is this? Simply put, it is comparable to Torres' super bus tactics as a left-back.

In the face of absolute strength, conventional tactics have no effect. Instead of doing so, it is better to completely shrink and defend.

At least in this game, Benfica still has the capital to be wretched.

The second half of the game began.

Jim was substituted on the court, and this substitution caused dissatisfaction among Benfica fans.

"Does this old bastard Mano really understand football?"

"There are so many people defending, even a dog tied to the coaching bench is better than him."

"Push Gomez to the midfield to defend? He is a striker, old bastard, get out of here."

"Come on, this game is over, I said, brothers can go to sleep."

...

Mano's iron bucket formation was looked down upon by all parties.

In the situation of having all the advantages in the first half, they failed to break the deadlock. At the beginning of the second half, they launched a more fierce attack.

Long shots, headers, set pieces.

A variety of offensive methods greeted the goal of the Benfica team.

The atmosphere of the game was suffocating and depressing.

Under heavy defensive pressure, the nerves of the Benfica players were about to break.

The ball whistled towards their own goal again and again, and the whole person was numb.

Fortunately, the result was good. The game had reached the 85th minute and the score on the field was still 0-0.

Arsenal, who had an overwhelming advantage throughout the game, failed to break through Benfica's goal, and the players became impatient.

After the left wingback got the ball, he made a 45-degree cross without waiting for the forwards to get into position, but was cleared by Benfica's defenders.

The second point was taken by Gomez standing in the midfield, who protected the ball with his big body.

"Gomez."

Wang Po, who was responding on the wing, shouted loudly. The latter noticed this and made a long pass to the right.

After getting the ball, Wang Po accelerated forward.

At Arsenal's pre-match preparation meeting, Wang Po's importance to Benfica was emphasized. Its captain, the back midfielder, rushed over with a fierce wind.

Old football players all understood that this posture was aimed at people, and the ball could not pass through people.

Wang Po did not dare to neglect it. After a step, he passed the ball diagonally to the ribs of Arsenal's left defense line.

Jim, who was ready to go, showed his bloodthirsty cheetah scene, and his speed soared to the extreme.

Arsenal's full-backs and central defenders watched Xiao Hei rush into the penalty area and singled out the goalkeeper.

0-1, the Gunners fell behind.

Such a result instantly silenced the entire noisy Emirates Stadium.

Incredibly, 75% of the ball possession rate and as many as 30 shots did not result in a goal, but the opponent's counterattack, a sword to the throat, the game was won.

The Arsenal coach on the sidelines roared angrily.

This result is unacceptable.

One chance, only one chance.

Mano also gambled on this opportunity, and in the end, God still favored him and his team.

Football games are like this, data advantage cannot determine the outcome of the game.

Stars are brilliant but do not mean a sure win.

Even if the players are at a disadvantage in one-on-one situations, football is a holistic sport, and the superposition of team strength is infinite.

The game is not over, and the result will never be known.

The determination to win is far more important than strength.

Benfica did it, leaving the Emirates Stadium with their heads held high, waiting for the second round of the decisive battle.

Such a result was a huge upset, and it also relieved the generals and coaches of the Benfica team who were under the vortex of public opinion.