Starting from playing as a defensive midfielder for Real Madrid

"Real Madrid's players took the initiative to press Bayern at the Allianz Arena in Munich! They chose to take the initiative! Essien and Liang also went up!"

The unfolding of the game situation greatly exceeded the expectations of coaches Duan Xuan and Zhang.

Real Madrid did not consolidate their defense at the start as expected.

On the contrary, Bayern's attempts on the offensive end were seriously hindered by Real Madrid!

Cristiano Ronaldo and Di Maria were also very active on the defensive end today, and Coach Zhang even praised them.

“We can see that the players on both sides, especially the players in the midfield and frontcourt, have devoted themselves to defense from the beginning of the game today.

On Real Madrid's side, Cristiano Ronaldo and Di Maria were very fierce, and on Bayern's side, Franck Ribery, eh! Seeing that he could not catch up with Di Maria who stole the ball, Ribery directly chose to commit a tactical foul.

It seems that Heynckes also made good arrangements before the game to deal with Real Madrid's counterattack, and both sides are well prepared."

The two of them started a tempo game at the beginning, and the speed of the commentary gradually increased.

Of course, I have praised the offensive players on both sides, so Li Ang must not be missing.

Even though Li Ang doesn't have much camera to take care of now, Director Zhang has spoken in advance.

"Today, the midfielders on both sides, especially the players in the defensive midfield position, have a big stage to perform. Xiao Li will become the key to Real Madrid's midfield!

I'm not bragging. I feel that today the coaches on both sides have to pay close attention to the fight for the ball, and maybe Xiao Li can still perform on the offensive end today."

As soon as Director Zhang's voice fell, in the live broadcast footage, Li Ang and Essien launched a decisive attack on Cross!

The immature TK is now playing as a central midfielder, and he is not yet the midfield rhythm master that he later became at Real Madrid.

Due to his positional requirements, he needs to move forward in the offense and look for opportunities to deliver cannonballs to several sharp teammates.

His teammate Bastian Schweinsteiger is doing more of the work of organizing the backcourt, so now he and Li Ang have to face each other directly.

How to get rid of Li Ang's defensive interference in today's game is an important tactical issue that Heynckes assigned to him half a month ago.

Cross himself was also mentally prepared.

But at this moment, he really didn't expect that Li Ang and Essien would decisively double-team him right from the start!

Kroos, who was a little surprised but not panicked, planned to pass the ball to Gomez, who was retreating to receive the ball from the gap between the two teams.

This is not because he is arrogant, he has this ability, and he has a balanced left and right foot. He has used his skills to find this kind of passing opportunity more than once in the Bundesliga.

But he still underestimated Li Ang's "understanding" of him.

When he accelerated slightly to get away from Essien and directed the ball towards his left foot, which had more space to pass, Li Ang had already decisively chosen to tackle!

No room for Crostin's feet, not at all!

Cross fell to the ground, but the look on his face was not painful, because Li Ang did not come for others in the first place. His tackle was very clean, and he stopped after scooping the ball out of the sideline.

However, for the benefit of the team, Cross rolled around on the ground twice and lay down.

The referee on duty blew the whistle without giving Li Ang a verbal warning. He had seen it relatively clearly just now and just blew a foul.

Li Ang did not make any complaint. He knew very well that this was a normal home whistle.

"Hey, can you stand up?"

Li Ang walked straight towards Cross, stretched out his hand and asked in English.

"No problem. Thank you."

Cross took Li Ang's hand, stood up from the ground, and replied in English.

"They all underestimate you, but I don't."

During the brief close encounter, Li Ang left such words to Cross, and then trotted back to his own defensive third zone to set up defense with his teammates.

Cross was even more surprised. He couldn't understand what Li Ang meant by saying this to him.

It doesn't sound like sarcasm, does it mean praising him?

"Tony, how do you hit this set piece?"

Ribery, who came over to discuss arrangements for set pieces in the frontcourt, brought Kroos back to his senses.

Ten seconds later, Kroos, who was about to take a free kick, looked at Ribery's figure continuing to gallop on the left. While running to support him, he couldn't help but subconsciously glanced at his right front.

Well, Li Ang came here again.

Seeing this, Kroos subconsciously asked Ribery, who had been locked by Arbeloa, to pass the ball back to him.

The moment he caught the ball, Kroos quickly passed the ball back again, allowing Schweinsteiger to reorganize the offensive line, and he also trotted back.

Seeing that Cross had chosen not to move forward this time, Li Ang slowly retreated and focused his attention on Robben, who was likely to get the ball next.

Heynckes, who had seen the development of these two attacks, also nodded secretly.

Cross's choice was a little smoother, but this was the tactical effect he wanted.

He does not want to give Real Madrid too many opportunities to steal the ball and counterattack in the middle of the midfield, especially in Real Madrid's half.

As the connection point between the midfield and the frontcourt, Kroos has completed his tactical task by being able to steadily deliver the ball to the wingers on both wings and the full-backs who are inserted.

Bayern's winner lies on the wing, thanks to the individual performances of Robery, Lahm's pass from the side, and the combination of wing and center to advance forward to grab points.

Therefore, if we want to take tactical risks, we should also focus on the wing, allowing Ribery and Robben to take advantage of these risk opportunities.

Instead of letting Kroos and Schweinsteiger use the loss of the ball to allow Real Madrid to quickly launch a sharp counterattack.

This is Heynckes’ winning idea.

The center must be stable and must be stable. He wants to draw Real Madrid's attention to the wings.

If Mourinho wants to fight him, then he must force Real Madrid's Cristiano Ronaldo and Di Maria to return to the half court to defend!

In fact, Heynckes also succeeded, at least in the tenth minute of the first half, he was successful.

Real Madrid began to shrink its formation.

Faced with the constant attacks from Bayern's left and right wings, Mourinho "had to" choose to solidify his defense in line with his tactical predictions.

Commentators from various countries also think so.

Many commentators watched with regret as Real Madrid, which had previously launched an offensive formation, began to return to defense.

After all, an offensive and defensive battle is not as exciting and exciting as a strong team attacking each other. Unfortunately, Real Madrid only lasted the first ten minutes.

But, is this really the case?

While Duan Xuan continued to rationalize Real Madrid's tactics of shrinking the formation, Director Zhang saw Mourinho standing up from the Real Madrid coaching bench!

"Mourinho seemed to be giving tactical instructions. Essien in the midfield was the first to see Mourinho's tactical gestures! Is Real Madrid planning to put Bayern into half-time for tactical countermeasures?!"

Director Zhang's voice made countless Chinese fans turn their attention to Mourinho, who was shouting loudly from the sidelines to the court!

It's like a signal, a switch.

After Mourinho made mobilizing tactical adjustments, Real Madrid's shrinking frontcourt players accelerated their pressing and running.

And Li Ang, who faced Robben, also performed their own defensive performance in the backcourt!

Robben has met many top midfielders on the court over the years.

He has faced off against stable midfielders who are excellent at position selection, and he has also faced off against sweeping midfielders who are active in running and like to fight.

But for a defensive midfielder like Li Ang who never forgets to block the space for him to cut inside during active sweeps, Robben is really the first to see him.

He felt uncomfortable, and he also noticed that Li Ang knew his characteristics very well.

If he wants to cut inside, Li Ang will always press his space first.

When he wants to smash the ball down, Li Ang will keep at least half a meter away from him.

Just let him pass with his back foot. If he really doesn't care when he passes Li Ang, just let him pass.

But it just didn't give him any chance to spike the ball back and cut into the penalty area or make a smooth pass!

How to do this? !

Robben tried it several times before, but felt that the kick was awkward. Seeing that Li Ang did not give him any chance, he passed the ball back first.

But in the fourteenth minute of the first half, after seeing both Gomez and Kroos rushing into Real Madrid's penalty area, Robben couldn't help it.

He was determined to expose Li Ang!

Before Gomez entered the penalty area, Robben led the ball and advanced from the right.

As before, Coentrao and Liang completed the position change, moving in to help Liang fill the position, while Liang forced Robben and had a one-on-one contest with Bayern's sharp knife on the right.

Robben didn't give Li Ang another chance to get close to him, and chose a simple and crude pass to cut inside!

His explosive speed is still much faster than Li Ang. This kind of breakthrough choice is very effective. Li Ang was indeed left behind by Robben at the first time.

And as Robben expected, Li Ang very smartly chose to cut in a straight line and return to defend first to block his inward route.

So Robben smashed the ball with confidence. When he judged that Li Ang did not react in time, he was able to successfully complete the pass inside the pocket after smashing the ball!

But Li Ang's reaction speed exceeded Robben's expectations!

In other words, Li Ang predicted his offensive choice this time, stopped the momentum of returning to defense in advance, turned around and went straight to him to seek confrontation!

Thanks to the fact that he has been practicing boxing since Serie A, Li Ang has a very good sense of balance, and it is not difficult for him to stop and turn suddenly.

On the contrary, it was Robben who failed to react when Li Ang got close. He was instantly squeezed away by Li Ang and lost control of the ball!

"run!"

Li Ang, who immediately charged the ball in the opposite direction, roared, and after dribbling the ball more than six or seven meters, he decisively sent a short pass to his own center.

There, Alonso followed up and advanced without stopping the ball. His early observation allowed him to quickly simulate the optimal offensive route.

Facing the short pass from Li Ang, Alonso quickly swung his right calf and passed a long oblique pass to the right side of Bayern's half, where Ronaldo was!

However, the Real Madrid player who can catch the ball is not Cristiano Ronaldo, but Benzema who pulls away and runs ahead of time!

Long Ge's long pass is still fast and accurate. Benzema can stop the ball very comfortably and then return the ball.

Ronaldo, who had previously started to charge forward from his own half, had already increased his power in the middle.

After a series of stops and quickly passing through Bayern's midfield, Ronaldo hurriedly knocked the ball to Di Maria who was following up on the right before Gustavo intercepted!

Cristiano Ronaldo is much faster than Gustavo without the ball. In desperation, Gustavo can only signal Badstuber, who is lagging behind, to come over and restrict Cristiano Ronaldo with him.

Di Maria chose to pass the ball in advance at this time!

A smooth outside-instep cross quickly ran to the back of Bayern's goal!

Benzema, who had previously pushed forward after playing the ball, jumped up in front of Boateng with all his strength and completed a mid-range header!

Neuer's reaction was quite quick and his choice was bold. After bursting out and moving laterally, he chose to block the ball with one palm!

Some goalkeepers with weak arm strength may deform their saving gestures, causing the football to continue flying into the goal.

But Neuer is not among these goalkeepers.

He successfully hit the ball past the baseline amidst the exclamations of more than 70,000 fans at the scene!

After the thrilling emotions faded, Bayern's home fans gave Neuer wild cheers and applause!

Benzema couldn't care less about his annoyance at this moment. He trotted to the baseline and quickly placed the ball in the corner.

And several Real Madrid header experts in the backcourt have joined Li Ang and Ronaldo and plunged into Bayern's penalty area!

Neuer began to yell and instruct his teammates on their defensive positions.

Real Madrid's set-piece threat is still great. Heynckes has done detailed research before and does not dare to take Real Madrid lightly in this area.

Ronaldo, Ramos and Pepe have become the focus of Bayern Munich's defense players.

Li Ang, who is less of a header threat, and Benzema, who is more of a threat, are running in the penalty area and attracting Bayern's defensive attention.

Essien and Brother Long were ready to connect two points outside the penalty area.

Di Maria stood at the kickoff point and raised his right arm.

There began to be chaos in Bayern's penalty area, and players from both sides began to push and push to get stuck.

Li Ang suddenly started at this time and retreated from the middle of the penalty area to the back point, retreating to almost the same area as Pepe.

This change made Boateng wary, and he quickly ordered Badstuber to go to the back point to assist Gustavo in marking the two men.

Di Maria's corner kick was also issued at almost the same time, looking for Ronaldo in the middle of the penalty area!

The ball was given a little high, but this is what Ronaldo likes best.

Because other defensive players can't stand up, he can complete the top challenge with his excellent jumping ability.

However, Boateng did not give Ronaldo any room to sprint. The two completed a head-on confrontation in the air. Boateng failed to jump up, but he successfully interfered with Ronaldo's power!

"Falling out!"

Duan Xuan yelled, with a lot of anxiety in his voice.

At this moment, Director Zhang saw Li Ang breaking free from Gustavo's defense at a glance!

The football dropped from the back of the penalty area and quickly ushered in a scramble between players from Real Madrid and Bayern.

But Li Ang reacted the fastest among them!

Even if he has no chance of finishing the shot directly at the goal!

Gustavo is behind Li Ang, and Lahm also rushes over quickly from outside the penalty area, and is about to destroy Real Madrid's offensive opportunity this time!

Li Ang didn't have time to think and make any more decisions.

All he can do is complete the return of the header as soon as possible!

And it was a header that hit the ground. He hoped to see a white figure on the line of Bayern's penalty area. Anyone could do it!

Fortunately, after Li Ang completed the return of the header, he saw Brother Long's face as calm as water at the moment.

And those persevering eyes!

Alonso raised his left foot slightly and stopped the ball in front of his right foot.

Under the attention of thousands of cameras and the wide-eyed gaze of hundreds of millions of fans, he completed a powerful volley inside the Bayern penalty area!

When the football penetrated Bayern's defense and suddenly appeared in Neuer's pupils and then expanded sharply, the German national goalkeeper's heart began to sink infinitely.

His superb reflexes allowed him to make the save immediately.

His strong body and abundant stamina allow him to quickly approach the football in an instant burst.

But the moment his fingertips rubbed against the football, pain appeared in Neuer's eyes.

He can't save the ball!

"Shua——!!!"

The crisp sound caused by the friction between the football and the net echoes in the ears of every Real Madrid fan at this moment, like the sound of nature!

And Li Ang, who had completed the key return before, had already excitedly rushed towards Alonso who had completed the shocking blow!

The Allianz Arena in Munich, which had previously cheered enthusiastically for Neuer's superb save, was like a library at this moment!

No, there was still a small group of people, people dressed in white who were shouting and screaming crazily among the red fans!

With Mourinho roaring and celebrating from the sidelines, this scene deeply hurt the hearts of all Bayern fans watching the game in front of the TV!

Duan Xuan roared angrily the moment he scored, while Director Zhang on the other side was equally excited.

"One interception and counterattack! One header and counterattack! I told you that Li Ang will be the key player in breaking the game today!"

There is definitely no way to finish writing about this game today. I have left some words to finish writing about the first leg of the Champions League semi-finals in one go tomorrow.