Football: Starting from the Ronaldinho template

Chapter 321 The significance of the Champions League semi-final, Juventus's furious counterattack

The enthusiastic cheers at the Emirates Stadium pierced through the rain, seemingly reaching upwards to the sky.

Arsenal fans were truly surprised that they could score in such a short time against Juventus, who have the strongest defense in Europe.

After confirming the goal was valid, Qin Ming jumped directly onto the advertising board.

Raise both hands horizontally!

"Qin! Qin! Qin!"

A short, powerful shout erupted from the north stands.

The gunmen were bowing down to their king.

"Be careful!"

Morata carefully helped Qin Ming down. It would have been a shame if Qin Ming hadn't been injured during the match, but instead got injured during the celebration.

He would cry himself to death.

After all, they had finally made it to the Champions League semi-finals and had such a dream start.

We certainly can't be eliminated because of this ridiculous approach.

"Qin, your speed just now was incredible! Even Barzagli isn't as fast as you!"

Morata spent one season at Juventus.

He also won the Serie A and Coppa Italia titles with the team, as well as the Champions League runner-up title.

If Real Madrid hadn't triggered the buy-back agreement and Arsenal hadn't offered such a high price, his dream would probably still be playing for Juventus.

He doesn't want to finish as runner-up again this season.

champion!

He believed that with Qin Ming as a powerful figure, there would definitely be no problem.

Morata gets excited at the thought of defeating his two former clubs, Juventus and Real Madrid.

not far away.

Barzagli helplessly wiped the rain off his face, his mind filled with that red and white figure that flashed like lightning.

too fast.

The acceleration in the second half of the race was particularly frustrating.

He was the fastest player in the 30-meter dash at Juventus, outrunning even some young players.

"What luck!"

Buffon wiped his gloves on his body.

If Morata shoots to the right, he will most likely be able to save it, and no one at Arsenal can follow up with a shot.

But it was kicked to the left.

And Qin Ming just happened to score on the rebound. It was thought that Arsenal's passing and possession advantage would be completely lost because of the rain today.

"It's okay, we'll just fight back. No matter how much they reduce their possession, their midfield passing frequency is still high, which makes it easy for them to make mistakes!"

Mandzukic has a strong competitive spirit.

In the world of football, Croatian players are all pretty much the same, perhaps because they have experienced war.

"come on!"

Dybala also clenched his fist.

He was Messi's substitute in Argentina, so it's impossible for him not to have any thoughts about it.

Next year is the World Cup.

If he can beat Qin Ming, whom even Messi couldn't beat, will he get more playing time?
The home team's coaching bench on the sidelines of the stadium.

Wenger and Pat Rice waved their arms in celebration of what looked like an easy goal.

This season, Arsenal have a remarkable 87% success rate in scoring matches, both at home and away.

What's the reason?
Wenger's meticulous pre-match arrangements, his tactical plans for the first thirty minutes, and the Arsenal players' exceptional execution all contributed to this record-breaking performance in Europe.

"See? I told you long ago that the flanks are often a disadvantage for teams using a three-defender formation. If the opponent has both a compact midfield and high-quality wingers, they can effectively break through the defense!"

Even a professor with his personality couldn't help but feel proud.

"Indeed, and Qin Neng frequently moves to midfield through cross-position switching, making it even more difficult for Juventus' defense to target him."

Pat Rice said, completely convinced.

next door.

Allegri's expression was strange, resembling the Chinese character "囧" (jiǒng).

That's why he was nicknamed "Uncle Jiong" by others.

“What we need is the rapid transition between attack and defense that a three-center-back system can generate, but right now we can’t win possession in the forward positions, so the team doesn’t have enough options for counter-attacks.”

"Moreover, Qin was able to break through continuously in a small area, rendering our large-area defenses meaningless."

"What to do?"

"Follow Arsenal's positional interchanges to make the defensive formation fluid."

Allegri is no ordinary man.

With a few hand gestures, the Juventus players understood instantly.

The game starts again.

"Juventus players are very composed; they truly deserve to be called the champions of Serie A!"

"The team also has Buffon as its anchor!"

"Alves and Barzagli are positioned close together; is this a way to have two people specifically mark Qin Ming?"

"Head towards the middle!"

"Both players follow up, Bonucci covers for Barzagli, and Sandro on the other side drops back!"

"Juventus's chain defense is very fluid!"

Zhan Jun exclaimed in admiration as he watched Juventus's artistic defense.

Finding it extremely difficult to move forward, Qin Ming immediately turned around and passed the ball back.

If you're leading by one goal, you don't need to take too many risks.

As I said before, the Champions League is different from the league; it's about who makes fewer mistakes.

Even if Qin Ming is confident in himself, he cannot treat the ball as a joke.

Allegri paced back and forth in the command area.

His tactics today drew on the philosophy of Chilean national team coach Jorge Sampaoli.
Dybala was positioned as the attacking midfielder, while the two central midfielders were like tireless perpetual motion machines, constantly running up and down with the two wing-backs.

Just one chance.
The ball had just been thrown out by Bellerin, and Sansce chested it down, preparing to turn.

Chiellini then pressed close to him, baring his teeth and claws.

Pjanic, coming from a blind spot, poked the ball towards the sideline with a loud thud, and it looked like the ball was about to go out of bounds.

Sandro sprinted over and flicked the ball back with his heel.

"Pjanic!"

"Long pass!"

"Big men can also roam the flanks, Juventus's trailing striker Mandzukic!"

Traditionally, tall forwards are expected to act as pivots and battering rams in the middle of the attacking third, creating opportunities for the team's backline attackers.

However, Mandzukic was different. He did have world-class performances in the center, but in the later stages of his career, under Allegri's tutelage, he became a giant wide-lying center forward.

Because of his lack of lower body strength, he can only make simple moves when facing strong center-backs.

The flanks can be different.

Mandzukic gently bumped Bellerin's small arms and legs backward.

Bellerin felt a tremendous force strike him.

Staggering steps.

Not only that.

Mandzukic spotted Dybala in the open space while controlling the ball.

Snapped!
The football was passed over in the next second.

"Mandzukic drew Bellerin and Coquelin on the wing, then set up his teammates with a pass to help them break through the relatively open center, allowing Higuain and others to launch an attack on the goal in a relatively wide space!"

"Pretty!"

"Dybala!"

The Italian commentator spoke like a machine gun.

Because Kirkland covered the flanks, gaps appeared in the flanks.

Kante was also overwhelmed with other commitments.

They went to cover Dybala but were powerless against Alves.

Dybala passes to the wing, Alves then passes again.

The ball came to Higuain's feet.

Facing Van Dijk blocking his shooting route on the left, the now-overweight Higuain, like Ronaldo, feigned a shot and then flicked it on!

He also used his body to block Van Dijk, preventing him from having a chance to kick.

The moment the space is opened.

boom!
The football rolled along the grass toward the far post. Cech made a desperate save.

But Higuain's shot was too fast; he wasn't as fast as he used to be, so he couldn't reach the ball.

The Juventus fans in the away stands erupted in a sharp cheer.

"Higuain! Higuain! Beautiful!"

"He helped Juventus equalize in the 36th minute! This was also his eighth Champions League goal!"

"Let's take a look at the whole process of the goal. Dybala, Alves and Marchisio linked up the attack on the wing. These three players, who are all very good at passing and dribbling, opened up a breakthrough on the right and the attack shifted to the right."

"And when Mandzukic moves to the left winger position, there is a counter-clockwise rotation based on that. Mandzukic is like the fulcrum in a three-dimensional pinball, and Alves is the paddle underneath!"

"The secret to Juventus' tactical mystique lies in the fact that they don't operate like Bayern Munich with their wings flying, but rather they wield a sword in one hand and a shield in the other!"

The Italian commentator cheered wildly.

Higuain was even more excited than him, patting his chest repeatedly.

The Juventus players excitedly rushed over.

The camera pans to the sidelines, where Allegri's expression is calm, but if you look closely, you can see a slight twitch at the corner of his mouth.

He seemed to be suppressing the urge to burst into laughter.

In fact, he had already taken notice of Mandzukic back in 2012 when Bayern beat Juventus 4-0.

As the world's best center forward at the time, he brought more than just aerial duels success rate and goals to Juventus; he brought a championship spirit and dominance.

The other side.

"It seems Juventus is stronger than we thought."

Wenger's expression was grave.

Over the past twenty years, he has long realized that the Champions League has become increasingly prestigious and its difficulty has increased dramatically.

It's impossible to advance to the Champions League final easily.

But Arsenal are not lacking in the courage to move forward, and conceding a goal was expected before the match.

Hearing Wenger call his name, Qin Ming quickly walked over.

"Qin, the two asymmetrical wingers are the foundation of Juventus. We need to make sure Kante and Van Dijk communicate well, and we also need to shorten the time for them to cover."

"Okay, I'll put pressure on Alves, and I can also track back deep to defend."

Qin Ming nodded and returned to the court, where he whispered to Kanté.

Finally, he pointed at Alves.

Alves shuddered, recalling the embarrassing moments he had at Barcelona.

"Move closer to me later!"

Alves nervously spoke to Marchisio and Barzagli.

Neither of them objected.

After 35 minutes of play, they found Qin Ming's breakthroughs and playmaking very difficult.

It's like walking a tightrope.

One wrong move and you could fall off the cliff.

With little time remaining in the first half, Juventus did not give up their attack. Instead, they kept sending Mandzukic to the wing to bully the slender Bellerin.

Not long after, Dybala unleashed a very threatening long-range shot.

But Cech's long-range shooting skills are very high, and he steadily tipped the ball out of bounds.

"Look at Juventus' corner kicks, they have a very high corner kick conversion rate!"

"Dybala is looking for Mandzukic!"

"Mertesacker is brilliant! The reason Wenger started him today is to guard against Juventus' aerial balls!"

"The two-meter giant has managed to grab a point!"

He Wei breathed a sigh of relief.

He was really afraid that Juventus would gain momentum and score several goals against Arsenal.

Fortunately, Arsenal stabilized their rhythm.

Before he could finish speaking, Marchisio, who was near the two-point mark, assumed a shooting stance.

Snapped!
But Kanté, who suddenly appeared from the side, gave him no chance.

He poked the ball away in the air, twirled it a couple of times with his short legs, and then passed it forward.

"Qin!"

Hearing Kanté's voice from behind, Qin Ming turned around and glanced at it to determine the passing route.

"I'll take it!" Alves was right on the side, trying to outspeed Qin Ming and either interfere or steal the ball before he touched it.

Qin Ming suddenly moved the ball in front of him and feinted with his right foot.

As the water splashed, the realistic feint fooled Alves, who thought Qin Ming was about to cut inside.

The movement paused.

In reality, the football was never touched.

Swish!
Qin Ming swept past Alves with the sound of the wind and the football.

"Qin Ming! A simple feint left Alves completely defenseless!"

"Arsenal's counterattack is on!"

Tens of thousands of spectators at the Emirates Stadium stared wide-eyed.

Allegri poked his balding head out of the awning to get a better look.

But the dense rain still blurred his vision, and he could only see that Qin Ming seemed to have made Barzagli miss his target by making a sudden movement.

The pressure gauge in my heart suddenly emitted a sharp buzzing sound.

Qin Ming sped along the edge of the field, but his breakthrough route quietly turned inward.

Because Morata's follow-up speed was too slow.

I have to do it myself.

Bonucci reached the edge of the penalty area, gritted his teeth, took another half step out, and reached out to grab Qin Ming, who was cutting inside.

pat!

Qin Ming was pulled to the ground, his jersey a mess.

"I almost got in."

Qin Ming patted his leg regretfully, and without rolling around on the grass, immediately stood up.

Being soaked in mud and water is no pleasant experience.

"Foul play, yellow card warning!"

The referee ran over and pulled out a yellow card, which Bonucci accepted with a wry smile.

Juventus fans breathed a sigh of relief; they had been on tenterhooks, fearing Qin Ming would make consecutive breakthroughs on the wing.

Depending on the situation, if it weren't for Bonucci, he would have fouled decisively.

With that kind of inward cutting rhythm and speed, there's actually a chance to cut to the top of the arc.

"This ball is difficult to kick."

Qin Ming frowned. "The arc has to be very large to threaten the goal, and there are relatively few angles to choose from. Santi, you take it. Fifth tactic."

After saying that, he held up five fingers to his teammates.

Arsenal players understood the situation and took their places.

"Go further to the left!"

Buffon, being a seasoned veteran, saw that Qin Ming wasn't going to take the free throw and pointed at Marchisio, saying, "Mark him closely! Don't let him slip by for even a second, follow him everywhere!"

Who knows what new tricks Arsenal will come up with?

It's best to be cautious.

When the referee signaled that a penalty could be taken, Cazorla took a deep breath and struck the ball with his right foot.

boom!
When Juventus players saw Qin Ming not taking the free kick, they subconsciously assumed that Arsenal was going to attempt a tactical free kick, and focused most of their attention on the erratic Qin Ming.

But the football responded by drawing an arc.

Buffon, startled, quickly lunged to the side, stretching his body to its fullest extent.

bumped into!
With a flick of the finger, the football clattered against the goalpost and bounced back into the tense penalty area.

Morata scores on the rebound! Buffon makes two consecutive saves!

Chiellini clears the ball with a long kick!

"Unfortunately, Cazorla's shot was extremely dangerous, and Morata's follow-up shot was also timely, but Buffon made two world-class saves!"

"Beep-beep!"

"The referee has blown his whistle! The first half is over! Arsenal 1-1 Juventus!"

"Qin Ming and Higuain each scored a goal!"

He Wei was filled with regret.

Arsenal were just a hair's breadth away from regaining the lead against Juventus before the end of the first half.

(End of this chapter)