[Football] Bad Boy Batty

【—— Guardiola is worthy of being called a tactical master in the history of football. After reforming the false No. 9 position, he also unprecedentedly let the full-backs take on the responsibility of the defensive midfielder. Judging from the current situation on the field, his use of Batistuta is also unprecedented. I believe that many fans are as curious as I am, what kind of eye-catching tactics he can create and to what extent Manchester City can achieve it. 】

Yes, in the middle and late stages of this season, Guardiola came up with new tricks.

Those who know this head coach know that he is not the type of person who will not change the lineup and playing style that suits the team for the entire season. This was the case at Barcelona, ​​at Bayern, and at Manchester City.

Generally speaking, he will have 2-3 sets of commonly used lineups for use on all fronts in a season. Occasionally, there will be unexpected things in the process, such as letting B Silva play as left back and Batistuta as midfielder (slightly in the defensive midfielder position). These are all his gradual experiments.

In this game, he adjusted the starting lineup and used a formation that he had tried many times in the past month. By having the full-backs move inward to share the pressure on the defensive midfielder, he freed up Gundogan and increased the flexibility of the midfield to bring the maximum pressure that the opponent team could achieve.

This requires the full-back to have a wider vision, quicker thinking, and more accurate penetration (passing the ball).

So Guardiola replaced Lucas with Cancelo.

At the same time, he moved B席 to the right winger position, partnering with Foden on the left and De Bruyne in the middle to form the frontcourt, while Batistuta was placed in the center position again.

This is not the first time Guardiola has done this. In fact, from winger to midfielder, from midfielder to front midfielder and false 9, including training, he has tried to let Batistuta play any position except goalkeeper. Although the effect is not ideal most of the time, he enjoys it. (Bati has also played as a goalkeeper. At that time in the 17-18 season, he is still the only goalkeeper with a 100% winning rate in the Premier League.)
Regarding this game, Batistuta also raised questions at the tactical deployment meeting a few days ago.

Guardiola's answer surprised him. "I hope you can take on more responsibilities as a fulcrum in addition to playing as a false 9."

"Did I hear you right?" Batty put down his legs that were on the front row and looked at the head coach in disbelief. "Wait - is this why you asked me to strengthen my confrontation training two weeks ago?"

"Yes and no," Guardiola said. "We talked about the problem of Dortmund's defensive positioning. When quickly switching from defense to offense, Akanji and Hummels' range of movement is not large. In addition, Dahoud and Emre Can in front of them will be very disadvantageous to us if we cannot pierce this line of defense."

In addition to the back line, midfield pressing must also be considered.

Dortmund is one of the teams with the highest offensive efficiency among teams that mainly rely on counterattacks, and their offense is highly dependent on Haaland. Most of the balls picked up from the midfield will be passed to the frontcourt to find him.

If you want to curb the opponent's attack, the only way is to lock down Haaland and cut off his connection with the midfield. If you cut off the route for transporting artillery shells, the attack will naturally not be launched.

Guardiola chose the latter for Manchester City.

Therefore, Batistuta needs to withdraw to the midfield frequently to put pressure on the team. If he is still placed in the right winger position, his responsibilities will increase, the pressure on the right side will be reduced, Walker will go up more, and there may be gaps. If B Silva withdraws to the midfield again, the team will appear bloated.

Of course, Batistuta and B. Silva often switch positions, and the probability of overlapping positions is small, but this seems a bit redundant. Of course, it is better to let them switch positions. In this way, their skills can ensure enough pressure on the middle and increase the possibilities and connection points on the left, perfectly realizing the equal distribution of firepower in the frontcourt.

"I will be exhausted to death on the court, but I am willing to serve the team." Battie used a sentence he learned from a TV drama, which was quite inconsistent with his somewhat arrogant expression.

Soon, a good-natured laugh broke out in the conference room.

The king punished those who laughed the loudest with empty water bottles and gave them free eye rolls. De Bruyne next to him resisted the urge to laugh and held Batistuta's hand.

"Look on the bright side, Barty, at least you'll have an extra pudding after the game," he said.

The laughter in the conference room got louder.

But Batistuta didn't do anything to De Bruyne, he had his own plan. If he could be nicer to Kevin, he would get an extra reward, and with the extra, Batistuta could get a total of 3 puddings.

3!
The last time Batistuta received more than two puddings after a game was when Neymar had just transferred to the club and was secretly competing with De Bruyne.

etc--
Later that day, Batistuta followed De Bruyne home, and as he was pinned down on the dining table he suddenly realised that he had been too cheap.

In other words, they should maintain a sense of crisis so that he can have more puddings after each game.

It's just wonderful.

Batistuta flicked the fox ears on his head and reached out to kiss De Bruyne to hide the smirk on his lips.

After being completely enveloped by the Belgian's aura, he thought, I'm such a fucking genius.

……

Before the game, both sides announced their starting lineups.

Dortmund's team was normal and basically used the same lineup as in the Bundesliga, but on Manchester City's side, questions were soon raised.

If you want to put more pressure on Dortmund's central defense, then let Jesus play as a center forward and Batistuta return to the right. Wouldn't such a regular lineup be better and more certain?

Guardiola did not reveal more and no one knows what he is thinking.

Batistuta was also asked this question when passing through the mixed interview area, but he thought it was very simple. For him, executing the head coach's requirements was more important than anything else. In the first few years after he came to Manchester City, he would ask Guardiola about tactics and ask him why he made such arrangements. Guardiola always patiently answered him.

But after a while, Batty found that every time he would understand it at the moment, once he left the coach's office, he would forget all of it in just a few minutes.

In the end, I simply stopped asking. I would forget it anyway, so what’s the point of trying so hard to remember or understand it?

"It's easy to watch Pep fiddling with his tactics on the tactical board, and I think I can do it, but when I face a blank tactical board and try to do it myself, I don't know anything. I can't remember a word of what Pep told me. So yes, not everyone can become Pep Guardiola." - Batistuta

……

After the opening, the two teams played very fiercely, with very fast transitions between offense and defense. They pressed the ball in the midfield many times. Manchester City still had the advantage in passing the ball, while Dortmund also took the opportunity to improve their efficiency and strive to deal a fatal blow to Manchester City.

30 minutes into the first half, Guardiola's tactics were basically effective, with Manchester City leading with 3 shots and 1 on target. Dortmund also completed two shots, one by Haaland and the other by Reus, but neither hit the target.

【Under Guardiola's new tactics, Batistuta only experienced a short period of discomfort before fully committing himself to the game. He was able to cooperate well with Foden, B Silva, and De Bruyne. Although he lost his position several times, he reacted quickly and returned without De Bruyne's reminder. In the 13th minute, he almost found a way through Hummels. It was only a matter of time before Manchester City scored. 】

As expected by the commentators, Manchester City scored the first goal 5 minutes later. Batistuta retreated and successfully intercepted Dahoud near the center circle, and cooperated with Gundogan to launch a counterattack. After pulling the defense line, Gundogan passed the ball to Foden on the left. Foden observed and passed the ball to the back post. B Silva received the ball without much adjustment and knocked it back. Batistuta quickly moved forward to attract the attention of two defensive players, and De Bruyne shot into the goal.

A complete and tactical victory.

"You know what, Kevin, I contributed at least 70% to the goal!" Batistuta jumped on De Bruyne and kissed his forehead, which had not yet completely turned red. "If I hadn't dodged in time, your shot would have hit me!"

Yes, at the moment De Bruyne shot, Batistuta noticed that he was on his goal path and quickly dodged in the direction of Hummels. However, due to the obstruction of his vision, the Hornets goalkeeper Hitz failed to make an effective save.

De Bruyne doesn't care who scores the goal, he prefers assists to goals.

"I like this, this position is great!" Batistuta opened his arms and cheered, "Come on! Let's give Pep a shot in the arm with a goal!"

……

Manchester City then did the same thing and expanded the score at the end of the first half, starting with Hummels. Perhaps he was the best central defender in the world in his peak period, but now his turning was as slow as a cart. Batistuta easily overtook him, received the ball and completed the shot. He could only watch his own goal being lost again.

At the end of the first half, Manchester City led 2-0 away from home.

Fifteen minutes later, the battle resumed. Apparently, Dortmund's head coach realized the problem and replaced Hummels shortly after the start of the game. In such a high-level confrontation, positional substitutions are actually a loss, which is equivalent to wasting a quota. However, unlike the Premier League, the Champions League has adopted the five-man rotation system during the epidemic, which gives many teams great room for operation.

After changing their strategy, the Hornets presented more of a 451 formation. When Manchester City attacked, none of Dortmund's 11 players would withdraw from defense. They increased the number and intensity of pressing in the midfield, focusing on Gundogan, the passing point. Although this made Haaland more isolated from the team, the overall defense was indeed improved.

Manchester City's midfield mistakes increased and the game gradually entered Dortmund's rhythm.

In a fight on the right side of the midfield, Batistuta did not stay where he should be according to the tactics, but the problem was not particularly serious. De Bruyne went up to fill the position after observation.

But at this moment, Bellingham seized the opportunity and passed the ball straight.

"What the hell!"

Rodri tried to block the ball with his foot but failed, and B Silva obviously had not received the signal that De Bruyne had left his position, nor did he think about going over to occupy the gap in advance.

Just as the ball was about to be passed through De Bruyne's original space, Batistuta filled the gap in time and made an excellent interception, resisting Emre Can and turning to protect the ball, and then with the help of Cancelo, he returned the ball to Ruben Dias.

"Oh my God, watch out!" Batistuta waved at De Bruyne, "Next time you want to experience the feeling of being a striker, remember to tell me in advance. This time it's your fault. If I hadn't come back, we would be in danger!"

De Bruyne: …

Is there a possibility that if you don't leave the position vacant, he won't have to fill it and the gap won't be created.

……

Dortmund's suppression quickly turned into a goal. Haaland made a diagonal pass, Reus broke into the penalty area and shot. Ederson flew to save the ball and his gloves touched the ball, but ultimately failed to prevent the ball from entering the net.

Dortmund pulled one back.

At the end of the game, Manchester City tried to change the tactical focus to set pieces, and it turned out to be the right thing to do. In the 82nd minute, De Bruyne took a corner kick, Batistuta's header was saved, and B Silva made a supplementary shot into the net.

The game was soon over, Manchester City defeated Dortmund 3-1 away, establishing an absolute advantage in the first leg.

It is worth mentioning that in the 87th minute, Dahoud made a surgical through pass to find Haaland in the frontcourt. Ruben Dias immediately moved back and wanted to use his physical advantage to block the opponent, but Haaland just pushed him lightly (at least it looked like a light push), and he completely lost his balance, staggered to the side a few steps, fell to the ground in embarrassment, and even rolled around.

Fortunately, Ederson acted in time to prevent Haaland from scoring a goal.

[Oh my god, Haaland is like a tank, directly resisting the defense of Manchester City defenders! ]

You know, the man who was knocked over by Haaland is Manchester City’s famous "fitness fanatic".

As expected, this confrontation made the Portuguese defender the object of ridicule in the entire locker room. Not only during training, but also during meals, the clip would be played on TV.

"It seems that exercising 40 minutes more every day does not make people stronger." Batty joked slowly while rolling up the pasta on the plate.

"Maybe someone should give up the gym," Walker agreed.

"Yes, yes, and remember to ask that little Haaland for advice on how to knock down the defender with just a light touch. I really need this." B Silva also followed with a serious sarcasm.

Ruben Dias: …

Of course, he was not the only one who was nailed to the pillar of shame in this game. That time it was because of De Bruyne, oh no, it was Batistuta. The dangerous clip of Batistuta losing position and almost conceding a goal was also brought out by the coaching staff as a negative example for the players to watch repeatedly.

Guardiola pointed to the screen: "This is what we always say, why don't you leave your position without permission? The subsequent chain reaction is something we cannot predict. The most serious consequence is that the team is equalized by a goal."

De Bruyne touches Batistuta's arm.

"Whose fault is it now?" he asked in a low voice.

Batty: ...
Batty (whispering): Wrong.
(End of this chapter)