radicalducati Chapter 53 Deploying the Attacking Midfielder
Chapter 53 Deploying the Attacking Midfielder
Time passed day by day with the training.
Before we knew it, it was time for the next match.
9 PM local time in France on January 1, 2016.
This corresponds to 3:00 AM on January 10th, China time.
The 20th round of Ligue 1 matches officially kicked off at the Stade Louis II.
Monaco will host Ajaccio at home.
"Welcome everyone, tune in to Lay's Sports to watch this Ligue 1 Round 20 match. I'm Sun Chen."
"It has been twenty days since our last league match."
"Monaco's squad has also undergone some minor changes during this winter break."
"Striker Stephan El Shaarawy, who was on loan from AC Milan, has had his loan contract expire, and Monaco has not chosen to buy him outright, allowing him to return to the team."
"Monaco is playing at home today. I wonder how well the team has recovered after the winter break and whether they can win this game."
With Sun Chen's introduction, the starting lineups for both sides were revealed.
"Jiang Ming will start as the attacking midfielder again, Lemar will move to the left winger position, Toulalan and Moutinho will partner in the double pivot, and Fabinho will play at right-back..."
"Monaco is still using the 4-2-3-1 formation that we are most familiar with. Now let's take a look at Ajaccio."
"My God! They actually set up a 4-4-2 diamond midfield?"
"Two towering center forwards, both over 1.9 meters tall? Are they going to go toe-to-toe with Monaco?"
……
"Beep—"
The referee blew his whistle, and the match officially began.
However, after the kickoff, Ajaccio did not press forward and launch an attacking offensive as the commentators had predicted.
Instead, they conceded the midfield and adopted a diamond midfield formation to play a low-block defense.
This completely baffled Jardim on the sidelines.
"If you're going to play like this, why bother with a diamond midfield? Just use a parallel formation, won't that work?" Jardine scratched his head.
"Besides, both of them are tall center forwards. Without a speedster in the attacking third, we can't even launch counter-attacks..."
He pondered for a long time but still couldn't figure out what Ajaccio was doing.
……
The match is in its 7rd minute.
Ajaccio finally managed to gain possession on a counter-attack while Monaco was in control of the ball.
They launched a long pass directly from their own half, finding center forward Boutaib in the attacking third.
Boutaib, with his back to Toulalan, secured possession of the ball in the attacking third.
Just as he was about to return the favor to his catching-up teammates, he was pulled to the ground by Turalyon.
"Beep~"
The referee awarded Ajaccio a free kick in the attacking third for a foul by Toulalan.
Monaco's players quickly ran back and formed a human wall in front of the penalty area.
Ajaccio's full-back Sylla raised his right hand in a gesture of goodwill.
They then took a free kick, sending the ball towards the far post of the penalty area.
Boutaib leaped high, overpowering the Monaco defenders, and smashed the ball into the goal!
"1-0!!"
"In the 8th minute of the match! Ajaccio won a free kick in the attacking third, Sylla took the kick and lofted it into the penalty area, where Boutaib outjumped the crowd and headed the ball into the net!"
"This newly promoted team has surprisingly taken the initiative and scored the first goal away from home!"
……
The chat in the live stream:
"I overslept, just got here, guys. What's the situation?"
"1-0, Monaco has conceded the first goal."
"Jiang Ming started but still conceded the first goal? I remember he rarely came in behind in matches."
"He went on vacation during the winter break, he doesn't seem to be in good shape in Monaco."
……
Jardim watched for a while from the sidelines.
I've roughly figured out Ajaccio's tactics for this match.
Their center forward, Traore, is suspended for this match due to accumulated yellow cards.
The team's aerial defense has been significantly weakened.
That's why Ajaccio placed two tall strikers up front, aiming for aerial bombardment.
Although it's called a diamond midfield formation, the player in the attacking midfield position is actually used to receive passes from the center forward.
The team mostly stayed back and defended, waiting for set pieces, corner kicks, or opportunities to launch counter-attacks.
"That's cunning enough," Yaldin muttered. "The other side has an aerial advantage and is playing defensively across the board. This is going to be tough."
His mind raced as he began to devise a solution.
There are only three ways to break through a dense defense.
High ball, penalty kick, long-range shot.
Monaco no longer has a tall striker, so their long ball bombardment tactic is now useless.
All that's left is to draw a foul and try to get a penalty kick, or take a lucky long-range shot.
Thinking of this, Jardim shouted to the field, "Push the formation forward! Press them back into the penalty area!"
Upon receiving the instruction, the Monaco players immediately began to press forward aggressively.
……
In the 14th minute of the match, Jiang Ming made a through pass from the midfield to the left wing.
Lemar received the ball and went down the wing, then delivered a cutback pass.
Carrillo, positioned in the middle, was flanked by two defenders on either side. He could only manage a weak lunge, failing to touch the ball and wasting the opportunity.
"What a pity!" Sun Chen said regretfully.
"Nowadays, all the teams have figured out Monaco's tactics, so they just park the bus against you."
"Without a dominant center forward, Monaco is indeed finding it difficult to handle this situation..."
"Although Jiang Ming made several good passes in the middle, he just couldn't help his teammates score."
……
Sidelines.
Ajaccio's manager, Lore, was practically grinning from ear to ear.
Our own tactics are working so well!
Not only did they score first, Monaco also couldn't break through the defense.
It seems that his pre-match tactical planning was superior to Yardin's.
……
Time ticked by, and the match reached the 26th minute.
Moutinho and Jiang Ming executed a one-two pass.
He managed to get the ball to the edge of the penalty area.
Moutinho glanced up at the goal and unleashed a powerful shot.
There were just too many people in the penalty area, so Ajaccio's goalkeeper didn't have to worry about the other positions.
With his attention focused entirely on the open space at the top of the arc, he dived and saved the shot.
The goalkeeper had barely landed when he immediately launched a long ball towards the near post, attempting to replicate his previous goal by finding the tall striker to create a set piece.
But this time Toulalan was prepared and pulled Fabinho, who came up to fill in, along with him.
The two went straight for the ball, without engaging in any physical contact with each other.
Under double-team defense, even if the opposing center has a strong upper body, he cannot withstand the two players' tackles and lose possession of the ball.
Fabinho was about to pass the ball forward when he was surprised to find that Jiang Ming had already retreated to his own half.
He quickly passed the ball to Jiang Ming, thinking that Jiang Ming would slowly dribble forward and organize the attack.
But to everyone's surprise, Jiang Ming simply swung his leg slightly in place.
The ball came out like a thunderclap from a clear sky.
A river of stars streaked across the night sky!
This was a long, over-the-top pass originating from the backfield, precisely tearing apart Ajaccio's entire defensive line as they launched a counter-attack!
Lemar understood immediately and quickly moved forward.
He controlled the ball steadily with a touch that resembled the Bundesliga logo.
Taking advantage of the gap before the opposing defenders could get back.
He unleashed a powerful shot with his weaker foot, and the ball swished into the net!
In an instant, the Stade Louis II erupted in a deafening roar.
"1-1!!"
"Ajaccio's counter-attack was intercepted! Jiang Ming dropped back to his own half and unleashed a long, lobbed pass that tore through the entire defense!"
"Lemar controlled the ball and fired! Goal!"
"Everyone says a tight defense is hard to break, but this young Chinese player has found the easiest solution!"
"He dropped back from the attacking midfield position, stretched the opponent's defense, and then launched a long, over-the-top pass from the backfield!"
"A deep-lying attacking midfielder! That's Pirlo's style of play!"