Starting from playing as a defensive midfielder for Real Madrid

"I'm actually very happy to see superstars like Li Ang return to the La Liga stage. They will make our league more exciting and attract more attention from fans around the world.

Of course, I have never denied my admiration for Li Ang. I really want to work with him, but my luck may be just a little bit worse. The team missed him.

But if we can’t work together, I think it’s very interesting to play against Li Ang. I hope we can bring a wonderful showdown to the fans in this Madrid derby..."

At the press conference before the Madrid derby, Simeone did not choose to remain silent when faced with dig interviews from various reporters. Instead, he expressed his appreciation for Li Ang very straightforwardly.

Perhaps Simeone did have a headache when facing the two Atletico Madrid nemesis Li Ang and Cristiano Ronaldo, but his relatively positive speech also gave many Atletico Madrid fans confidence.

In comparison, Real Madrid fans do have a more optimistic attitude towards this Madrid derby.

Even though Real Madrid's winning rate against Atletico Madrid has not been high in the past two seasons, Li Ang's recent outstanding performance has made the Meilingers choose to give more trust to the team.

On the afternoon of November 6th, Madrid time, the highly anticipated first Madrid derby of the new season officially kicked off!

Real Madrid's wonderful performance in the Spanish El Clasico made more neutral fans more optimistic about Real Madrid's victory over Atletico Madrid.

But the Atletico Madrid players playing at home today also have a strong will to fight and a strong confidence in winning.

Li Ang came to the Wanda Metropolitan Stadium with the team in advance to warm up on the field.

The Calderon Stadium, which witnessed Atletico Madrid's re-emergence in the past, has become history.

The newly built Wanda Metropolitan Stadium is full of modern technology, and its capacity of nearly 70,000 fans allows this stadium to easily create a fiery home atmosphere.

In terms of area and scale, Wanda Metropolitan Stadium may not be ranked among the top five stadiums that Li Ang has seen.

But in terms of pressure, the devilish atmosphere created by this stadium is enough to rank in the top three.

Westfalen and Anfield are the stadiums that can bring the strongest psychological pressure to visiting team players in Li Ang's mind. These two stadiums are tied for first place in Li Ang's heart.

Atletico Madrid's new home stadium, Wanda Metropolitano, now brings the sense of pressure to Li Ang second only to the two stadiums mentioned above.

Both Old Trafford and Camp Nou are a little less interesting. The fan organizations of these two teams are not bad at all, but their fanaticism is still a bit lower than that of Atletico Madrid supporters.

As one of the least favorite players among Atletico Madrid fans, Li Ang was naturally "warmly welcomed" by Atletico Madrid fans as soon as he made his appearance at the Wanda Metropolitano Stadium today.

For Li Ang, the confrontation with Atletico Madrid has officially begun from this moment.

The boos from Atletico Madrid fans were already a "enjoyment" to him.

Just like every game against Atletico Madrid.

Li Ang likes Atletico Madrid's tactical style very much and likes to fight with these tough opponents on the field with all his strength.

No matter how Atletico Madrid fans feel about him, whether they think he has been provoking Atletico Madrid.

But in essence, he has always maintained respect for Atletico Madrid and Atletico Madrid fans after their rise.

It is precisely because of this respect that he will go all out every time he faces Atletico Madrid!

This has nothing to do with personal grudges, only appreciation and the desire to compete against strong teams.

To challenge such a team, Li Ang never needs to mobilize himself. His war has quietly begun when Atletico Madrid's home court is booed!

At three o'clock in the afternoon, with the referee's whistle, Real Madrid took the lead and launched the first offensive test of the game against Atletico Madrid. This high-profile Madrid derby also officially started!

Real Madrid, which has no physical problems or injuries, fielded the strongest starting lineup.

The BBC group appeared together.

Leon, Modric and Casemiro form the most solid midfield in Real Madrid.

Pepe returned from injury, and Ramos once again formed Real Madrid's stable and extremely lethal central defender combination, with Marcelo and Carvajal on the left and right sides of the backcourt.

The starting goalkeeper is still Navas, who plays solidly.

Atletico Madrid also fielded their strongest starting lineup at this stage.

Diego Costa is absent due to injury, so Atletico Madrid's forward duo today consists of Torres and Griezmann.

In the midfield, Gabi and Koke guard the center, while Carrasco and Saul are on the left and right sides of the midfield.

In the defense, Godin and Savic partnered as double central defenders, while Felipe Luis and Juanfran guarded the left and right wings.

The starting goalkeeper is Courtois, who is still on loan from Chelsea.

It is still the familiar 442 starting lineup, and it still has a balanced offensive and defensive midfield quartet.

Simeone's strong personal style of tactical arrangements was expected by Li Ang.

Regardless of whether Diego Costa or Torres starts, Atletico Madrid's offensive system relies heavily on Griezmann's organizational performance.

So for Li Ang, his tactical task today is still not complicated.

First of all, we must curb the performance of Koke. He is the engine of Atletico Madrid's midfield and the irreplaceable core organization of Atletico Madrid's midfield.

Secondly, it is necessary to cut off the connection between Griezmann and other Atletico Madrid frontcourt players as much as possible.

Especially the passing and cutting cooperation between him and Carrasco.

Atletico Madrid's midfielder and frontcourt have extremely strong personal abilities, and they are the two players who are most likely to create opportunities alone.

If they separate their connection and let them fight independently, Atletico Madrid's offensive threat will be much reduced.

As for Torres...

It's not that Li Ang really looks down on his former Chelsea teammate.

After losing his signature speed and agility in front of goal due to frequent injuries, Torres can only gain weight now and act as a tactical fulcrum in Atletico Madrid's frontcourt.

His transitional play is actually very smart and very important for Atletico Madrid.

But the rapid decline in his personal ability is also an indisputable fact.

Li Ang launched a relatively aggressive pressing defense against Koke and Griezmann after the game started.

Torres was completely relieved and left to Pepe and Ramos behind him to deal with it.

Facts also proved that Li Ang's choice of oppression was very correct.

When Griezmann and Koke had to choose to safely pass the ball back or cross the ball to the side under Leon's specific defense, Atletico Madrid's counterattack attempts often ended in vain.

The vertical offensive penetration lacks the passing support of the core players, and Atletico Madrid's advancement is reduced to the breakthrough attempts of the wide players.

This slightly passive offensive situation has actually reflected Simeone's shortcomings in offensive training.

Mourinho, who has also been criticized by the outside media and has always given fans the impression that he is better at defensive counterattacks, is much better than Simeone in this regard.

The data doesn't lie. Mourinho led Real Madrid and Chelsea to have phenomenal offensive performances.

When he led Porto and Inter Milan, these two teams actually had very good offensive efficiency and overall goal data.

So instead of saying that Mourinho is better at setting up a counterattack, it is better to say that he chose the latter between a better-looking game scene and a more efficient and stable way of winning.

And Simeone really has no choice.

The upper limit of his ability to train the team's offense lies here. Many times, he has to rely on the shining performance of the team's stars to solve offensive problems.

Anyway, several years have passed. Since Atletico Madrid officially emerged, Li Ang has not felt that there have been any novel changes in their offensive routine.

Even the routine is still the same as it was a few years ago.

If there is not a shooter with extremely high scoring efficiency in front, a high forward will be used to contain the opponent's defense, and then a second forward or a wide attacker can come in to disrupt the opponent's defensive deployment.

When the second forward and attacker are not in good condition and cannot break the opponent's defense and score goals, Atletico Madrid will use set-piece tactics.

Is this kind of offensive routine simple?

It's actually quite simple.

But when this simple offensive routine is paired with Atletico Madrid's tough defense and sharp quick counterattacks, its wonderful chemical reaction can repeatedly make opponents make mistakes.

It is a pity that Atletico Madrid met Li Ang who is very familiar with their tactics and player style today, and there is also a Real Madrid whose field control ability has been greatly improved in the new season.

Li Ang knows how to effectively cut off the connection between several important offensive players of Atletico Madrid.

Real Madrid's stable control of the field can effectively resolve Atletico Madrid's high-position pressing tactics.

It is difficult for Atletico Madrid to steal the ball from the players in Real Madrid's midfield and backcourt, so it will be difficult for Atletico Madrid to counterattack quickly from the opportunity of transition between offense and defense, thereby easily threatening Real Madrid's defense.

A great deal of physical energy was invested in pressing and waterproofing, but with little effect. Once this situation occurred, it was difficult for Atletico Madrid's midfield and frontcourt players to maintain a balanced mentality.

Ancelotti watched the situation on the field tilt towards Real Madrid's side little by little, and couldn't help feeling that he had indeed had quite a few problems with his tactical choices in the past few seasons.

If Real Madrid still plays 4231 now, let Modric and Casemiro partner to hold back, and James steps forward to play at the tenth position.

James, who has too much possession of the ball and is not that strong in controlling the ball, will definitely once again become the key point for Atletico Madrid to break the game.

The new era midfield configuration of double central midfielders has become popular in football in the past two years and is so popular that it naturally has its own positive significance.

At least now, Ancelotti has deeply realized the great benefits of having two versatile midfielders at the eight position!

You can advance and attack, retreat and defend. Not only has strong control, you don't have to worry about a certain core being restricted by the opponent and causing big problems for the entire team's offensive operation.

Atletico Madrid suffered a big loss in this regard.

As soon as Koke was restrained by Liang, the smoothness of Atletico Madrid's midfield organization plummeted. Griezmann would find it more uncomfortable to play, and problems would directly arise in the operation of Atletico Madrid's offensive system.

If Atletico Madrid wants to imitate Real Madrid in restricting the core performance of its opponents, then the investment will not be worth the gain.

Let’s not talk about the price to pay for double-teaming Li Ang and Modric.

Even if Atletico Madrid invests the defensive energy of two or three players to kill one of Real Madrid's dual cores, how should the other core organizer of Real Madrid's midfield be restricted?

You know, Liang and Modric are not like Griezmann and Koke, who position and play in tandem.

Faced with the opponent's aggressive pressing defense, both Li Ang and Modric were able to flexibly choose their retreat positions.

Both of them can even retreat to the midfielder position and use their precise passing ability to organize and sort out the direction of the team's ball transfer!

Griezmann cannot. If he really dares to retreat to the midfielder position to receive the ball, Atletico Madrid's offensive system will be completely ruined.

Simeone knows this very well, so facing Real Madrid, or rather Li Ang's unscrupulous oppression.

He could only signal Carrasco and Sauldo on the wings to move closer to the center to help Koke and Griezmann relieve the pressure on the ball.

And what Real Madrid is waiting for is exactly the opportunity for Atletico Madrid to invest troops in the middle of the midfield!

Carrasco and Saul moved closer to the center and participated in the team organization. Felipe Luis and Juanfran also pressed forward due to high-position pressing tactics.

So Atletico Madrid's two wings suddenly seemed empty!

After Li Ang saw the opportunity, he quickly increased his efforts to intercept and steal. As soon as he got the ball, he quickly sent counterattack shells to both wings.

Bale and Cristiano Ronaldo took turns to make breakthrough attempts, while Carvajal and Marcelo also actively set up sides.

After a while, Atletico Madrid's backcourt defense was seriously threatened.

Although Godin performed well today, he did not give Ronaldo and Benzema many opportunities to break through and grab points in one-on-one marking.

But he couldn't do it in the counterattack defense. However, Savage's state was mediocre today, so Bell and Li Ang, who actively went forward to participate in the offense, got many kicking opportunities!

However, Atletico Madrid made very timely adjustments on the defensive end. Simeone gave tactical instructions, and Felipe Luis and Juanfran also quickly returned to defense.

Seeing that the loopholes in the wing defense were quickly plugged, the tens of thousands of Atletico Madrid fans at the scene finally let go of their previous worries and breathed a sigh of relief.

But before they could further comfort themselves, they saw the exciting scene of Li Ang changing his playing style, taking the ball in the middle, suddenly breaking through the double-teams of Gabi and Saul, and dribbling the ball into Atletico Madrid's defensive third zone!

Li Ang's wonderful performance directly tore apart Atletico Madrid's defense in the midfield and backcourt, and he was able to face the frontal defense of Godin and Savic!

In this case, the defensive side is always passive.

Neither Godin nor Savage dared to let Li Ang get the ball further. After all, Li Ang's long-range shot threat is too great now!

In desperation, Godin stayed behind and Savage could only give up his defense zone and take risks!

Li Ang took advantage of the situation and stuffed the football to the left side of Atletico Madrid's penalty area. That was the direction Ronaldo was running to counter offside!

Godin pounced on Ronaldo almost as soon as Li Ang passed the ball.

Li Ang's passing choice is not difficult to predict, and Godin is also determined to completely block Ronaldo's kicking space in this defense!

But he didn't expect that Ronaldo, who had always been arrogant and rarely passed the ball when getting the ball in the penalty area, would decisively knock the football back after he lost his defense zone!

Godin's heart froze when he saw Savage, who was running back to double-team Ronaldo with him like a headless fly at the moment!

The next moment, Li Ang, who received the return pass from Ronaldo, calmly chose to push!

Courtois's face changed drastically and he quickly got down to the ground with his legs crossed!

As a result, he was still half a beat too slow, and his height and length advantage, which he had always been proud of, became his shortcoming in saving at this moment!

Wear the main door and the small door together!

Li Ang's push shot passed between Courtois' legs smoothly, and then crossed the goal line and hit the net leisurely, bringing up a rippling snow-white net!

The more than 60,000 Atletico Madrid fans at the scene seemed unable to accept the reality that the team fell behind first and was penetrated by Li Ang!

They were just silent for a moment, and then they booed angrily!

However, Li Ang didn't care. He turned his back to the Atletico Madrid fans who made obscene gestures at him, cursed and booed him, and celebrated with his teammates in the corner flag area!

He showed his No. 14 jersey number to the live broadcast camera, raised his head, and then patted and kissed the team logo on his chest!

In the city of Madrid today, there will only be one king standing proudly!

A white king!