Midfielder Ruler

"Beep~"

With the whistle of the referee Kuppers, the first half of the overtime of the 203-204 Champions League final officially kicked off.

Since both sides of the game had already used up three substitutions in the regular 90 minutes, neither side had any substitutions in the first and second half of overtime. Perhaps due to excessive physical exertion, Atletico Madrid captain Gabi won the right to pick the side. Directly indicate to the team not to change sides, but to use the half where the second half will be played.

After the fans at the Stadium of Light watched the game passionately for 90 minutes, the momentum they created significantly weakened when the game reached overtime. After all, humans are not machines and cannot continue to operate normally. They also need to take a good rest and recharge their batteries.

When the game reached overtime, both sides of the game were very physically exhausted. They did not participate in the offense to a large extent in the initial stage. Instead, they appeared cautious, fearing that the offense would not score a goal but would be scored instead.

This possibility has been seen too many times in overtime.

The ninety-minute regular game has already exhausted many players' physical energy. Naturally, they have to be careful when playing overtime. What is more needed to finish the overtime is willpower.

The players played cautiously, and the head coaches of both sides stood in their respective command areas and stared at the situation on the field, without any criticism for being cautious.

In fact, in their minds, they already had the idea of ​​a penalty shootout.

Of course, if the battle can be resolved in overtime, why wait for the penalty shootout decided by God?

However, all three substitutions on both sides of the game have been used up. They can only rely on the players on the field to carry out the tactical arrangements before the start of overtime to continue the game. They should try their best to catch the opponent's mistakes while keeping themselves from making mistakes, and then give fatal blows. one strike!

Since they all think so, no one will take the initiative to make mistakes easily.

Ancelotti is an Italian and has conservative blood in his bones. Simeone's tactics are influenced by his career and he prefers conservative defense.

Defensive counterattack is the core tactic of both sides in the 203-204 season Champions League final.

Tang Zheng has excellent physical fitness, but at the end of the 90 minutes of regular time, he had run more than 13,000 meters.

You must know that this data appears when Real Madrid fully takes the initiative, which means that Real Madrid conducted offensive and defensive drills in Atletico Madrid's defensive half for most of the second half. Therefore, Tang Zheng was able to run more than 10,000 runs in 90 minutes. More than three thousand meters is so difficult.

Therefore, in overtime, Tang Zheng had to consciously reduce his running coverage in order to alleviate the possible disadvantages caused by excessive physical exertion.

In addition, Atletico Madrid originally decided to defend, and the Real Madrid midfielder led by Tang Zheng always controlled the game and controlled the ball.

The offensive end relies only on Cristiano Ronaldo, Morata, Isco and Di Maria.

Tang Zheng needs to slow down a bit. He does not participate in the attack much, so Real Madrid's offensive players can never find a decent opportunity against Atletico Madrid's stable and complete defense system.

Cristiano Ronaldo's performance in the 90 minutes of regular time was disappointing. He has scored 14 goals in the Champions League this season. He is very hopeful to set a new Champions League single-season scoring record. He also has the strongest desire to attack in the entire frontcourt. It belongs to him.

But there is a saying that is right, a tree cannot stand alone.

Morata is very active, but lacks experience in major competitions.

Isco has a long-standing problem and is afraid of physical confrontation.

Di Maria was in hot form in this game, but he was too far away from Cristiano Ronaldo to create a threat.

Atletico Madrid had two quick counterattack opportunities, but veteran David Villa was physically exhausted and his physical confrontation was not as good as before. He was helpless in the face of the defense of national team teammate Ramos. In addition, there was a rebound in form in front of the goal. Casillas, Real Madrid's goal is invulnerable.

In the blink of an eye, fifteen minutes of the first half of overtime passed.

Neither side created an offensive to break the opponent's goal, and the score is still:.

※※※

There is no intermission in overtime. The two sides directly switch venues and change sides to fight again.

After getting a chance to breathe, Tang Zheng consciously increased his running coverage. Because Atletico Madrid is now defensive but not offensive, Tang Zheng also dares to participate in the offense to a large extent, and can even come to the front of the penalty area to look for opportunities.

Although the physical exertion of Atletico Madrid players is more severe than that of Real Madrid players, their desire to fight and fighting spirit are even worse.

Atletico Madrid is passionate, Atletico Madrid is passionate.

However, in the second half of overtime, most of the Real Madrid players were thinking of not seeking merit but seeking no faults, especially the defenders.

Of course, Cristiano Ronaldo, Di Maria, Isco and Morata very much hope to help the team make contributions in the second half of overtime.

As a qualified midfield organizer, Tang Zheng's passing was more direct than in the first half of overtime.

The number of cross passes gradually decreased, and the number of diagonal and direct passes gradually increased.

Compared with horizontal passes, diagonal passes and direct passes can put more pressure on Atletico Madrid's defense. At the same time, because the position is in the core area, the defensive forces are relatively sufficient.

Unless the passing and running are just right, it will be difficult to pose a direct threat to Courtois' goal.

Close-ups of the live broadcast frequently showed Atletico Madrid coach Simeone again, but it was not him inciting the excitement of Atletico Madrid fans, but infecting the fighting spirit of the players on the field through his colorful body movements.

As the overtime period entered the second half, both Koke and Thiago, who are always known for their physical fitness, suffered from cramps. Therefore, at this critical juncture, what Atletico Madrid players need most is encouragement.

Simeone made frequent body movements, and the Atletico Madrid fans in the stands gradually became more active, and the deafening cheers resounded at the Stadium of Light.

Another wave of successful defense, Atletico Madrid fans once again made huge cheers: "Ouch-ouch-"

The on-site director happened to give a close-up shot of Atletico Madrid fans. Central 5 commentator He Wei praised: "At the last moment of injury time, Tang Zheng scored a goal. At that time, Atletico Madrid fans were definitely the saddest people in the world. People, but they are strong, accept the reality, and look forward to the future. In the past two minutes of the second half of overtime, Atletico Madrid was able to continue to complete the defense. I think these lovely fans played a crucial role..."

During the conversation, Courtois' goal kick was turned back by Varane, and Real Madrid once again organized a frontcourt attack.

After continuous passes, Cristiano Ronaldo found a long-range shot opportunity on the left rib, but Courtois was very focused and lifted the ball over the crossbar with one hand, saving the day.

"Ouch-ouch——"

There was another huge roar from Atletico Madrid fans.

But the next corner kick gave them a headache, including the players on the field and Simeone.

Fortunately, Modric's corner kick did not bypass Miranda at the forward point. The ball was pushed out of the penalty area by Miranda. David Villa, who was guarding the right side of his own penalty area, directly took it with his big kick. The ball drives downfield.

The football naturally fell into the control of Real Madrid players again, and then organized the attack.

Tang Zheng received a direct pass from Ramos at the back of the midfield line. He did not continue to pass forward, but passed it back to Ramos.

Ramos was a little confused, but he saw Tang Zheng motioning for him to pass the ball back, so he kicked it to Tang Zheng who returned the ball.

However, Tang Zheng had no intention of passing forward. Instead, he hooked his fingers in the direction of Isco and Cristiano Ronaldo, indicating for them to pick up the ball.

Isco and Cristiano Ronaldo are both players with high football intelligence. They realized that Tang Zheng should have new offensive ideas and then retreated.

Cristiano Ronaldo and Isco retreated, and Morata and Di Maria's positions seemed a bit awkward. Because the distance was too far, it was very difficult to catch the ball from their teammates.

Morata and Di Maria are not incompetent, otherwise they would not have been able to gain the attention of world-class coaches such as Mourinho and Ancelotti. They retreated wisely.

Atletico Madrid defenders were stunned and didn't know what to do.

Simone was not confused, but frowned because he could see why Tang Zheng did this.

Our defense is hoarded in the 30-meter core defensive area. Even though Real Madrid has a strong offensive ability, it can't find any offensive space. Tang Zheng did this entirely to force Atletico Madrid players to position themselves, thereby providing the space Real Madrid needs to attack.

Whether it is Di Maria or Cristiano Ronaldo, they all need to sprint into space.

Of course, the Real Madrid players' retracement was not blind, but targeted. The offensive position they chose was the space between Atletico Madrid's defensive players.

It doesn't matter if Atletico Madrid's back line can't keep up. It means that their defensive system composed of midfield line and forward line will face Real Madrid's offensive system of up to six people. Coupled with two full-backs who are good at assists, it means that they defend six against eight. .

Defense has always been about using more to defend against fewer, but now using less to defend against more has left loopholes popping up.

In the 18th minute of the second half of overtime, Marcelo passed a slightly stronger pass to Di Maria on the left rib. Gabi drove the ball out of the sideline with quick eyes and quick feet. Then he looked at coach Simeone in a tacit understanding like other players.

Simeone's brain was running at high speed, and he quickly realized that if this situation continued, there would be a big problem.

Real Madrid players have a certain advantage in physical fitness. If the back line does not closely follow the Real Madrid players at the front, the problem will be obvious. That is, it is difficult to prevent Real Madrid players who are facing the goal and insert between the midfield line and the back line. .

Keeping the same in response to all changes is not in line with the current game situation, because his players are too tired!

So Simeone made a quick decision and made a tactical gesture with his hands together.

Marcelo threw a side ball, and Atletico Madrid's backline players began to stick to the front players of Real Madrid's offensive end.

Seeing this, Tang Zheng grinned.

As long as Atletico Madrid players are willing to press out, everything will be easy to handle!

※※※

After adjusting the team's defensive tactics, Simeone became even more nervous. While paying attention to the team's defense, his attention was mostly focused on Tang Zheng.

Tang Zheng has contributed ten goals and fifteen assists in the Champions League this season, which means that basically all of Real Madrid's offenses are directly related to him. For such a player, special attention must be paid.

Especially since joining Real Madrid, Tang Zheng has become more mature.

There is no good news for Simeone. Two minutes have passed and Real Madrid's offense still hasn't improved much.

After all, each other consumes a lot of physical energy.

At the same time, Tang Zheng was also keenly aware that his frontcourt teammates, excluding Morata and Isco, were too physically exhausted and could hardly attack as threateningly as they imagined, so he decided to personally participate in the creation of opportunities. .

The frenetic game atmosphere at the Stadium of Light has grown significantly as the game time becomes shorter and shorter, and the players on the field continue to fight for the ultimate Champions League championship.

In the 20th minute of overtime, Tang Zheng, who had been waiting for an opportunity, suddenly opened his eyes. Isco, who almost made a mistake in stopping the ball, used his skillful foot skills to pull the ball back and then handed the ball to Marcelo.

"Give me!"

Tang Zheng suddenly stepped forward and shouted at Marcelo who was catching the ball.

Marcelo reacted quickly and pushed the ball with the arch of his left foot to the forward running path of Tang Zheng who was attacking the left rib.

Koke just thought he could grab the ball from Isco who made a mistake in stopping the ball, but Isco had enough energy to react quickly and pulled the ball back. Now it seems impossible for him to turn around and defend Tang Zheng.

Captain Gabi followed up immediately, but Tang Zheng did not give Gabi a chance to get closer. He suddenly stopped on the spot while speeding up, and dunked the ball on the spot with his left foot at the same time. Gabi subconsciously followed suit and stopped.

Tang Zheng made a quick connection. When Gabi was two meters in front of him, he used the outside instep of his right foot to pass the ball to Cristiano Ronaldo.

Also out of instinct, Gabi stretched out his foot to try to cut off the connection between Tang Zheng and Cristiano Ronaldo, but was half a beat too late.

How could Cristiano Ronaldo not know what Tang Zheng was going to do?

The two-on-one coordination that they have performed countless times at the training ground has been repeated again this time at the Stadium of Light!

Tang Zheng restarted, bypassing Gabi and advancing to attack the left rib, which is the rib space between Juanfran and Godin.

Juanfran followed Tang Zheng, and Godin chose to come out of the penalty area to attack Tang Zheng.

Tang Zheng, who was running, first raised his left elbow and lowered his center of gravity because he was worried that the raised elbow would hit Juanfran's face. At the same time, he stopped the ball to the right with the outside instep of his right foot.

Juanfran hit the ball hard, but Tang Zheng stopped the ball with too much force. Godin, who was about to flank Tang Zheng, his eyes lit up and he fell to the ground with a shovel.

According to normal development, Godin will be able to destroy the ball nine times out of ten.

But he forgot that Tang Zheng was tall and had long legs. Tang Zheng, who was running, took a big step forward with his right foot, stepped on the football with the sole of his foot, and then pulled hard to the left.

Juanfran saw the opportunity and stretched out his right foot, trying to poke the ball out before Tang Zheng could completely control it.

As a result, before his right foot even landed, Tang Zheng used the arch of his left foot to push the ball into the air behind Godin. His right foot landed on the ground and he exerted force. He was like a wild horse running wild, chasing the football.

“Fried meatballs!”

CCTV 5 commentator He Wei looked at Tang Zheng, who looked extremely dashing in the broadcast, and shouted.

For a moment, Juanfran felt extremely regretful.

He thought he could poke the ball out before Tang Zheng, but Tang Zheng took the lead to complete the adjustment.

Even with a yellow card on his back, Juanfran chose to foul without hesitation. After all, he had to make up for the mistakes he made while crying.

However, Tang Zheng was very explosive, and Juanfran's outstretched leg from behind was not fully kicked. He only slightly touched Tang Zheng's heel, so Tang Zheng staggered to steady his body and chased the football that was pushed into the penalty area in advance.