We agreed to play football together, and you will be the head coach?

Chapter 351 Grealish spun in circles, Pogba made a soul-stirring long pass

With a whistle, the highly anticipated third round of the English League Cup officially kicked off.

Villa's opponent is Coventry.

It was the Coventry team that led Manchester United by three goals in the FA Cup semi-finals in the 2023-2024 season, then was equalized by Manchester United, and finally was defeated, cooperating with Manchester United in choosing the most popular style of play.

They were unfortunately relegated from the Championship to League One last season and will be sinking again for a long time.

It was not until 2018 that the team recovered and started to advance to the Super League.

In the sixth minute, Villa took the lead in creating a threat.

Eriksen made a wonderful through ball.

Albrighton made a forward run on the right and caught up with the ball before making a sharp cross.

As the team's cross master, Albrighton is definitely underestimated, and his crosses have reached perfection.

This cross made a huge arc. It seemed to be passed into the small penalty area, but it actually flew into the large penalty area.

Just found Kaka who was making a forward run.

Kaka swung his leg and shot the ball, which hit the goal frame accurately.

Unfortunately, the angle was too straight and the opponent's goalkeeper saved it.

This was a very tacit pass-run combination.

In the eighth minute, Grealish passed the ball to Kaka who was on the side, but Kaka's cross was blocked, resulting in a corner kick.

Albrighton took a corner kick and locked the ball with Maguire.

Unfortunately, Maguire was affected by the opponent's defender, and the ball went straight up and down without forming a direct attack.

Rudiger shot in the chaos and sent the ball to the fans in the stands.

In the 11th minute, Grealish held the ball on the left side, but the Coventry defender had seen through his little secret and stepped forward to put pressure on him.

Grealish was brought down but had some luck and got a foul.

Seeing that the "Shaker" seemed to be not quite used to playing against such a veteran, He Tianqi rushed to the sidelines and shouted to Grealish: "Turn, Jack, you need to turn."

"Dribbling the ball, turning around, circling... this is your advantage, your footwork is for this."

"Don't be afraid of confrontation. They are not physically strong, otherwise they wouldn't be playing in English Football League One."

"You may not be used to the Premier League yet, but if you put you in any team in League One, you will immediately become a core player."

He Tianqi inspires Grealish.

Coventry's defenders were offended by this.

But there is no way, this is a competition, everyone should mind their own business and not worry about other people's troubles.

In the seventeenth minute, He Tianqi's guidance had an immediate effect.

Grealish held the ball on the left side, turned around and shook off the defender, found his position and made a precise pass.

Kane rushed into the penalty area, shot the ball and secured victory.

But the ball hit the opponent's goalkeeper's ankle and bounced out, and no goal was scored.

Kane regretted it so much.

With this luck, why not buy the Lotto?

This is a sure goal.

"Oh! Kane missed a one-on-one opportunity. This is not right."

"In fact, this player did not show much talent at Tottenham. In front of a series of super strikers such as Bale and Lennon, he was like a noodle man, soft and slow."

"I really don't know why He Tianqi wanted to bring in this mediocre player."

"Also, Kane was very fat when he was a child, just like Harry Potter's cousin Daly, a typical image of a fat white kid."

Kane's first start for Villa left a bad impression on the fans.

No one likes a player who can't score.

Of course, every great player has had times when he failed to score.

Robben, Robben and Robben.

Robben: MMP!

In the 23rd minute, Eriksen pretended to pass the ball to Albrighton, but actually cut inside, and after passing the opponent, he made a threatening pass.

Kane received the ball with his back to the goal, turned around and shot in one go.

Unfortunately, he didn't kick the ball to the right position, didn't use enough force, and the ball was soft and weak, and was confiscated by the opponent's goalkeeper.

Well, now Kane’s reputation as a soft man has been confirmed.

A striker without speed can hardly be considered a striker in any era.

"Villa had the advantage but couldn't score, which is a very dangerous situation."

"He Tianqi is too arrogant, what a crap lineup!"

"This Kane shot is like a clearance. He is the best 12th player in Coventry. How many times did he waste Albrighton's locked crosses?"

"It's a pity for Eriksen's wonderful pass. To be honest, Eriksen does have the ability to play as a starter. I even think he is not much worse than De Bruyne."

"Kaka was still a little bit out of the team, he was marked and the ball couldn't be passed to him very well."

"The rest of the players are not performing well at the moment, and it is impossible for them to perform well."

With an average age of 18 or 19, what kind of performance do you expect from them?
This is not a U19 youth training league, their opponents are serious professional teams from the Championship and League One.

Even the strongest youth training team can hardly compare with professional teams. The little tricks at work are not something that students in ivory towers can figure out.

boom!
Before we had finished reading the pessimistic comments from the commentators, Villa suddenly launched a long pass from the backcourt.

It's Pogba!

The kick was extremely fast, imaginative and precise.

Maybe many people don't understand what "imagination" means in passing the ball.

Before you pass the ball, that position was not an opportunity, but after you pass the ball, that place suddenly becomes a good opportunity.

It could be that the opponent's defender is out of position, it could be that the teammates' running coordination is tacit, it could be various reasons.

This is completely different from the effect of seeing a clear opportunity and then passing it on.

Everyone can do the latter, at least in theory, it just depends on whether your passing skills can meet the requirements.

The former requires talent and super sandbox reasoning ability, or rich experience.

Pogba clearly has talent and deductive ability.

Thirty-year-old Kaka has all three.

He made a forward run from the left flank and perfectly unloaded the ball one step inside the penalty area.

The opponent wanted to steal the ball when Kaka stopped the ball, but they didn't know that Kaka's stopping level was so high.

How dangerous is it to let a player like Kaka hold the ball in the penalty area?
Coventry's defenders subconsciously rushed forward to prevent Kaka from shooting.

But Kaka faked a shot and actually made a breakthrough, pushing the ball to the right.

The next moment, the opponent's foot kicked Kaka's right shin guard.

Kaka fell to the ground.

beep!

The referee blew the whistle and pointed to the penalty spot without a doubt.

This is a very clear penalty!

"Oh! Kaka successfully created a penalty!"

"His ball-stopping skills are so strong that they are beyond the opponent's expectations."

"This fake shot was done calmly, showing his composure and confidence. What Kane lacks is the ability to really slow down. As a center forward with no speed, he wants to pursue speed in every aspect, which is a mistake in itself."

"Being extremely slow is not necessarily a bad thing. For example, Berbatov of Manchester United is extremely brilliant in his slowness."

While chatting, Kaka had already arrived at the penalty spot.

This was designated by He Tianqi himself.

Although the team's regular penalty takers are mainly De Bruyne and Bale, not to mention that they are not here, even when they are here, Kaka can take a penalty if he wants.

After all, this is Kaka!

Eriksson looked at Kaka's back with envy and hatred, and he couldn't express how much hatred he had.

If it weren't for Kaka, this penalty kick should obviously be taken by him as the core of the midfield. Ten seconds later, without any suspense, Kaka scored from the penalty spot.

Helped the team change the score to one to zero.

Everyone in Vera breathed a sigh of relief.

Just be ahead.

The pressure on the young players was instantly released and they began to get into the performance state.

This is also the biggest characteristic of young players.

Take advantage of the wind and waves and grab kills when in an advantageous situation.

Being afraid of the wind and being in a disadvantageous situation, you will panic like a dog!

Next, all the Vera Emperor stars started to show off their skills.

First, Luke Shaw intercepted the ball from the opponent on the left side, then he separated the ball from the opponent and advanced to the offensive third zone before making an incomprehensible cross.

The football flew out of the baseline in mid-air.

Then, after Maguire successfully intercepted the ball at the top of the arc, he also dribbled the ball through the midfield.

The blood pressure shown to Zidane gradually increased.

Southgate is so nervous. Isn't he going to expel these two brats from the team?
However, He Tianqi smiled and said, "Young people, it is a good thing to have the courage to try. Whether you mess up or not, it is a valuable experience."

"In fact, these two players are actually doing what they are good at, not just trying to attract attention."

"Luke Shaw has excellent speed, and his defense and crossing are also good. In two years, if he can improve his physical strength and confrontation, he will be a technically optimized version of Walker on the left wing."

"Maguire used to play in midfield. His dribbling and passing skills are very good. This is very similar to Lukaku who likes to play as a winger. There is a lot of room for improvement."

"The EFL Cup is for them to grow."

"As long as we are not behind in the score, such an attempt is harmless."

Both Zidane and Southgate heard the implicit meaning.

If this attempt results in us losing the ball or even falling behind, don't blame me, the blame will fall on you emperor stars.

We really give opportunities.

But you young people must also take responsibility.

In the 45th minute, Maguire successfully cleared the ball with his header, completing his job brilliantly.

Trippier received the ball on the right and then rolled the ball to Eriksen in the midfield.

After Eriksen received the ball, he stopped it and saw an opportunity, then made a through pass.

Kane received the ball at the top of the arc and had another one-on-one opportunity.

The opponent's goalkeeper left the goal.

Kane made a decisive lob shot!

The football flew over the opponent's head and fell into the goal.

"GOAL! Two to zero!"

"Kane didn't miss the one-on-one opportunity again!"

"Although his previous performance was clumsy, this time it was quite smart. It was a lob shot from outside the penalty area, which was enough to prove his shooting skills."

“This is a player who has a big heart when it comes to shooting.”

"It is commendable to use a little effort to achieve a lot, but how much can a thousand gold move? With this kind of delicacy, Kane may become an atypical English center forward."

On the sidelines, He Tianqi also began to applaud and said, "Very fine!"

Southgate looked at Kane, who was stretched into an arc during the celebration, in a strange way: "Is this considered thin?"

He Tianqi nodded: "Very thin! There are very few centers with such thinness nowadays!"

Southgate lowered his head in shame. If Kane is so calculating, then what is he?
Needle?

Zidane shook his head helplessly and explained: "What He meant is that Kane's technique is very delicate. He can pass, stop, dribble and shoot gently when necessary and sharply when necessary. This sense of the ball is overlooked by many people. This is his unique competitiveness."

Southgate suddenly realized what was going on and quickly took out his notebook.

Then let’s include Kane in the national team in the next few rounds.

Then the first half of the game ended.

Both sides returned to their respective locker rooms.

He Tianqi began to arrange the tactics for the second half with the players: "After half-time of the game, I believe you have also understood each other."

"I don't know if you have this feeling, sometimes the opponent is very strong, and sometimes it is very weak."

Many players nodded.

He Tianqi explained: "This is because the opponent's tactics have flaws. When you hit their weaknesses, they will collapse at the first touch."

"In the second half, we will focus on these shortcomings."

"The first and most important thing is that the opponent is very weak in defending through balls."

"Their players' running is not active, their positions are too rigid, and the area they can cover is too small."

"At the same time, their defensive formation also had flaws. They didn't pay enough attention to protecting the half-space, especially after sending someone to mark Kaka, which left the half-space on the other side even more empty."

That is, Eriksen was on the right flank. If De Bruyne had replaced him, the score in the first half might have been 5-0.

"In addition, the second thing to pay attention to is the pressing in the midfield and frontcourt." He Tianqi added, "The opponents are basically older players. They have more advantages than us physically, but their skills are not as good."

"My feet are very rough and there are many areas where I am not good at passing and receiving the ball."

"Creating a pressing atmosphere can greatly increase the chances of them making mistakes, and sometimes it is easier to score goals by taking advantage of the opponent's mistakes."

"do you understand?"

The morale of the whole team was high: "Got it!"

This is the importance of methodology.

Regardless of whether it works or not, at least it sounds like it makes sense.

When a player thinks he has found the opponent's weakness, even if it is not the opponent's weakness, it is very likely that it will actually become the opponent's weakness.

Battlefield games, after all, are still morale games.

As long as your morale wins, you are not far from winning.

……

In the second half, the two sides changed sides and fought again.

In the 51st minute, Eriksen led Villa to control the ball across half the court.

Luke Shaw passed the ball to Pogba who asked for it, and then he started to move forward, attracting the attention of the defensive players.

Pogba made a straight pass without stopping the ball and actually broke through the opponent's seemingly impenetrable defensive formation!

Pogba felt awe-inspiring.

The opponent couldn't defend against the through pass.

Although his pass was sudden, its quality was not high.

With the opponent's tight positioning, it should be possible to cut off the attack and then launch a sharp counterattack.

but now……

Is this the insight of the world's best coach?
It's really strong!

What's the difference between playing under this kind of head coach and using a predictive cheat?
Kaka advanced on the left flank, pretended to cut inside, and then suddenly went down the bottom and shook off the defender.

It is impossible to completely mark and freeze a superstar.

Restriction is the only means.

Due to the opponent's restrictions, Kaka did not have an outstanding performance in the first half, but starting from the second half, this defensive confrontation began to fall into Kaka's rhythm.

Kaka rushed into the penalty area and caught up with the ball. He made an emergency stop on the left side of the small penalty area and the Coventry center back who came over to defend was shaken off.

Kaka shot with his right foot.

The football flew into the sky, passed over the fingers of the goalkeeper who was about to step down, and directly overturned the top of the net from the inside.

The only difference between this goal and the shot that Rudiger had previously given to the fans was that this goal happened inside the net!

"GOAL! Three to zero! Secure!"

(End of this chapter)