Football’s First Defender

"Manchester United's left-back Evra stepped in and dribbled the ball across the half. Before the Chelsea players completed their defense, they chose to pass directly into the penalty area at a 45-degree angle."

"Anderson, suddenly inserted from the back in the midfield, the man arrived and the ball arrived, and a header hit the goal."

During Manchester United's attack this time, because the transfer of the ball was completed quickly, the Chelsea players have not recovered from the previous offensive state. Although Yang Feng and Terry have protected the penalty area and the like in a wide range, But after all, two people cannot complete the task of marking all restricted areas.

Although Anderson, Yang Feng, and Terry, who quickly advanced from outside the penalty area, all caught sight of them, at that time, they were also powerless and could not come over to complete the defense.

Anderson's position should have been defended by midfielders, but after Gerrard stepped in to attract Essien's attention, the reason why Ballack also went to the right to help defend the wing was to defend in the middle area Deco, this time, did not keep up with Anderson's position, allowing Anderson to slip past.

"Cech, reacted very quickly. With a side attack, he stretched his body and opened his arms. But at the last moment, Cech chose to retract his outstretched hand instead of blocking the football. The ball flew directly out of the baseline .”

As a world-class goalkeeper, Cech still has a very good sense of the position of the goal behind him. When Cech took off and reached the position, Cech saw that he could not block the ball with both hands, so he knew it. It must not be within the scope of the goal frame. With this header, it is impossible to have too much rotation arc. Cech directly chose to let the ball out of the baseline instead of barely blocking the ball by himself, leaving the opponent with a follow-up shot. Chance.

Turning around, it was another wave of offense reorganized by Chelsea!

With the four midfielders in the middle holding the ball but being pressed by Manchester United, Chelsea did not rely on the middle to advance forward mode, but directly handed the ball to the two full-backs Ivanovic and Ashley Ko The two of you are advancing on the sidewalk.

The four midfielders, who were supposed to play the main role in promoting, are more responsible for supporting the task at this time. Ballack and Lampard can also play the position of the wide midfielder to complete the support for the wide teammates.

Due to Manchester United's pressing, the impact on the wing is not great. Chelsea's offense can finally pass through the midfield fairly smoothly, putting a certain amount of offensive pressure on Manchester United.

Ivanovic's attack on the right. After receiving a wide range of transfer ball from Ashley Cole on the left, Ivanovic directly swayed the ball two steps forward. When Manchester United's defense caught up, Ivanovic made a gesture and swayed his legs directly, wanting to play a high ball at 45 degrees The pass was made, and Giggs who came over directly raised his leg high, trying to complete the block.

Ivanovic is a sudden spike.

"Fake move, Ivanovic's pass just now was a fake move!"

"Smash the ball directly, and Ivanovic dribbles the ball laterally to the middle."

Manchester United's defense was disrupted by Ivanovic's sudden inward cut, and the solid defense was a little chaotic.

Fletcher, who was guarding the middle, came directly to defend, trying to block Ivan's dribbling route.

But Ivanovic himself was not greedy for credit at this time. Before Fletcher arrived, Ivan directly chose to pass the ball instead of directly hitting the goal with a long shot.

"A cross from Ivanovic!"

"Barack! Received the cross."

When Ballack received the ball, he also did not hesitate at all. For a team of Manchester United's level, its defensive system is also a series of links. It will not leave too much room for reaction and thinking to the opponent's offensive players. , especially in such core areas.

Before receiving the ball, Ballack has already decided what to do next through his own observation of the game scene, which is more helpful to the team.

"Pass the ball directly with one kick, and pass the ball diagonally forward!"

Ballack passed the ball without wasting any time.

"Lampard!"

"Directly, a sudden and fast forward, from outside the left side of the restricted area, quickly inserted into the restricted area!"

"The door is open!"

"Lampard!"

Without any excessive adjustments, or even stopping the ball, Lampard just rushed to the passing position and volleyed the goal!

It's just that this time Van der Sar's performance was extremely good. Relying on his experienced experience, he had already made some predictable saves based on Lampard's goal position and the way he shot.

"Blocked! Van der Sar's save, after jumping sideways, lifted the ball out of the baseline with one palm!"

"Chelsea's corner!"

Due to the injury problems of Manchester United's defense, the Manchester United defense at this time is at an absolute disadvantage for defending set kicks.

I think in the Champions League final last season, Vidic and Ferdinand formed the central defender line. They needed height and height, physical confrontation and physical confrontation, and they all played steadily and had excellent defensive awareness.

In this game, for Manchester United, the two central defenders, Wes Brown and Jonathan Evans, did not have the top European defensive ability of the central defender combination last season.

Although Wes Brown, after experiencing many serious injuries, is still a good central defender relying on his vigor and excellent ability to attack, but the difference in height is also flawed. As far as air defense is concerned, it does not occupy any advantage.

And Evans, the young central defender of Manchester United, although he performed very well in the youth training echelon and the reserve team, but as a young central defender, his lack of professional experience is his biggest weakness. disadvantages.

In the rare first few games due to Manchester United's injury wave this season, Evans did not have an amazing game performance, but made many mistakes.

Although Wes Brown helped him resolve some mistakes, many of Manchester United's previous conceded goals in the league were still caused by Evans' mistakes.

You know, after all, not every young player is Yang Feng, who can rely on talent to make up for his lack of experience at such a young age.

In fact, in the position of central defender, there have always been players who need to get older and more demonic. Although the increase in age may make the player's body not at its best, the corresponding increase in game experience can also make the player, In terms of overall performance, it is even better.

Manchester United's current pair of central defenders may be able to rely on Evans' talent in sports battles, and Wes Brown's front tackle can complete most of the defensive tasks.

But when it comes to setting the ball, Evans' inexperience and Wes Brown's height disadvantage are extremely fatal.

"Deco takes the corner."

Chelsea's corner kick tactics have always been rehearsed on the training ground. As a "legacy" left by Mourinho's era, set kicks are indeed a great weapon for Chelsea on the offensive end, especially on the back line. "Reverse" There are countless players, all of whom can act as offensive supplements for the team.

"Yang Feng!"

"Grab the landing point in the middle and head the goal!"

In fact, Yang Feng has always been Chelsea's first choice for the front position. After all, Yang Feng's reaction ability, anticipation ability, and his perfect control over the body, in the front position with a very short reaction time, You can maximize your strengths.

However, with Yang Feng fixed at the front point, many defensive players of the team also knew that they couldn't catch Yang Feng and couldn't find the landing point first.

Therefore, when the defenders faced Yang Feng, they began to pay less attention to where they landed, but to "defend" Yang Feng.

Stuck in the position, constantly pushing and shoving, preventing Yang Feng from running, and defending Yang Feng with physical confrontation. Most of the players in the front are strong players in the opponent's lineup. They may not be tall, but relying on their bodies, they can also stop Yang Feng from making moves.

In response to this defensive method that restricts Yang Feng, Chelsea no longer blindly put Yang Feng at the front, but use more complex set-piece tactics to try to give each player, in different positions, set Specialized tactical options.

This time, Yang Feng came to the middle all of a sudden, just to use his height to get a better jumping space under the defense of Wes Brown when he had more time to react and make moves.

The disadvantage of Wes Brown's height was not enough to make up for the slight advantage he brought in physical confrontation. Yang Feng still grabbed this spot, overwhelmed Wes Brown, and completed the header.

"Yang Feng's header was thrown to the left of the goal! Van der Sar missed the save!"

"Get out of the way!"

"That's a little bit worse! Yang Feng's header slid out of the goal and almost used the header to break Manchester United's goal for Chelsea."

…………

Although Manchester United pressed on a wide range in the midfield from the opening stage, it caused enough trouble for Chelsea's four midfielders to control the ball.

But this game, after all, is Chelsea's home game, and Manchester United is fighting at Stamford Bridge.

Amidst the cheers of the Blues fans, Chelsea, who enjoyed the home buff, performed extremely well.

Even with only two full-backs on the offensive end to help the team move forward, Chelsea's offensive organization can still achieve good results.

The initiative of the game is still in the hands of the home team Chelsea. In addition to using the full-court press at the beginning, Manchester United beat Chelsea to a weak foothold. In the middle of the first half of the game, they still inevitably fell into the defensive.

Another attacking opportunity for Chelsea in the frontcourt.

Although Chelsea's current lineup does not have an orthodox winger, the four midfielders are not like the "four No. 10" when Ancelotti was in AC Milan, but today's An Pang four midfielders, But there is a development trend towards the "four midfielders".

Although the three other than Essien all have good offensive methods, the defense of the four in the midfield is equally good.

The strong defensive force in the center can naturally help the side to defend when there is ample defensive force, and indirectly relieve the defensive pressure of Chelsea's two full-backs.

If there is no outstanding full-back, if you open up space on the wing, then on the offensive end, let Chelsea's two full-backs plug in to open up the space on the court.

And Chelsea's Ivanovic, Ashley Cole, and even Bosingwa, who is currently recovering from injury, have already proved in previous games that they have excellent offensive capabilities while completing defensive tasks. It is completely possible to play the role of a full-back on the field.

Use the full-backs to make up for the offensive end, and then use the four midfielders to strengthen ball possession and defensive strength, organize some offenses, and make some long-range shots. This is how Chelsea play when they are actively attacking.

If Chelsea can take the lead, then in many cases, An Pang, who values ​​​​the results of the game, is still willing to change to the previous solid defensive lineup to play defensive counterattacks.

"Don't let Chelsea lead!" This is the consensus of all teams when facing Chelsea, and it has been an iron rule since the Mourinho era.

After all, under normal circumstances, it is not easy to penetrate Chelsea's defense, and it is even more wishful thinking to break through the iron barrel formation Chelsea put on when they are focusing on defense.

"Ashley Cole on the left is also very active today."

"Valencia on the right of Manchester United, it is not easy to defend Ashley Cole alone!"

"Ashley Cole, forcefully accelerate directly on the wing!"

"It's just that Valencia's speed is also a strong point. This time, Valencia took advantage of the opportunity when Ashley Cole dribbled the ball a little bit, and kicked the ball directly from the side with a 'sweeping leg'. boundary"

Since the ball was kicked first, although Valencia's additional action brought down Ashley Cole, it was indeed a good ball.

And Ashley Cole, instead of lying on the ground, whimpering, got up quickly, grabbed the ball on the boundary, and directly sent the ball out of bounds to find his teammates.

"Ashley Cole, tossed the ball straight to Ballack who came over."

"Barack stopped the ball with his chest and his back protected the ball at his feet."

"Fletcher's follow-up is very tight and he doesn't give Ballack much room to turn around."

"Balack directly chose to pass back to Deco, and Manchester United's defense line rushed up as a whole."

For Chelsea's pass in the middle, Manchester United pressed frantically.

It's just that this time Deco was already prepared to deal with it, and Anderson's grabbing action was also a bit slower.

Deco directly faced Ballack's pass, that is, a diagonal pass, aimed directly at the slightly empty penalty area where the Manchester United midfielder pounced forward and backward.

"Deco's pass!"

"Crossed to the right of the United box."

"Drogba stuck Wes Brown, jumped up and directly grabbed the landing point, and pushed it to Anelka beside him."

"Evans! At the critical moment of defending Anelka, the soles of his feet slipped and he almost fell."

"Anelka, unloading Drogba's pass with ease, only O'Shea on the right can interfere, but it's too late!"

"It's a goal! After stopping the ball, it's just a volley, and it's done in one go!"

"GOAL!!!"

"Goal! Anelka!"

"The ball went straight to the upper left corner of the goal! Van der Sar's save was too late to touch the ball. Anelka opened the scoring for Chelsea..."