Lin Hai Ting Tao

Chapter 1052 Adjustments During Halftime

"The first half is over... This first half was truly breathtaking. A full-throttle Borussia Dortmund took just fifteen minutes to take a three-goal lead over Atletico Madrid, completely overwhelming them..." Marcel Reif sighed. "This is completely different from everyone's pre-match analysis and predictions. Borussia Dortmund's quick passing and movement perfectly countered Atletico Madrid's high pressing..."

"Actually, there was a lot of pre-match analysis of both sides' tactics, and everyone thought that Atletico Madrid's high pressing was very suitable for dealing with Borussia Dortmund, especially Zhou Yi. But I didn't expect that after the game started, it would be a completely different situation. Atletico Madrid's high pressing not only didn't become a trump card to suppress Borussia Dortmund, but became a graveyard to bury themselves..." He Ping spoke eloquently. "Borussia Dortmund took advantage of the gaps left by Atletico Madrid's high pressing, using quick passing and movement to catch Atletico Madrid off guard! They scored three goals in fifteen minutes... The key is these three goals. Without those goals, Borussia Dortmund would have probably retreated after playing like that for twenty minutes, and then Atletico Madrid would have gained the upper hand again... Borussia Dortmund took a big risk, but they also reaped great rewards... Although it was only half a game, it was a very exciting match..."

Commentators began to analyze the first half, which was indeed exciting, especially for Borussia Dortmund fans...

Of course, Atletico Madrid fans probably had a different opinion.

For them, this first half was simply a journey to hell, a forty-five-minute ordeal...

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"I admit that I underestimated Borussia Dortmund's ability at their home ground, and I also admit that I was once stunned by the three goals conceded. But please remember, the Champions League semi-final is a two-legged affair, even if we lose this game, it doesn't mean we're eliminated. We have to fight for a goal in the second half, even just one goal! An away goal can increase our chances of advancing, so that when we return to our home ground, we will have more room to maneuver..." Simeone told his players in the locker room.

He first frankly admitted his mistake. Coaches always want to desperately show their authority in front of the players, but some coaches show their authority by refusing to admit their mistakes, shaping themselves into perfect beings.

But in reality, in this era, that's no longer viable. Today's players are all very individualistic, they hate authority and they hate false perfection.

So Simeone's approach of admitting his mistakes is more likely to win people's hearts.

Simeone is a very strict coach, but not a perfect person. He also has shortcomings, and it is this imperfection that makes him more loved and supported by his players.

This is Simeone's personal charm.

As he spoke, the atmosphere in the locker room changed.

The crowd, who had been looking dejected, all raised their heads, their eyes gradually becoming firmer.

"...Borussia Dortmund's tactics were unexpected for us, and they were very successful. But their tactics are not invincible. Playing like this requires a lot of physical energy, and I don't believe their physical energy can last until the end of the game. So they will inevitably run out of energy, but before that, I think their offensive will still be very threatening. We need to be more patient and resilient, we have to withstand their attacks, and then wait for them to run out of energy..."

He slammed his fist on the tactical board.

Everyone knew what that meant.

Although they were 0:3 behind, Atletico Madrid could be resurrected with just one goal.

1:3 would give Atletico Madrid an away goal, so when they returned to their home ground, they only needed to win 2:0 to eliminate their opponents.

And every Atletico Madrid player didn't think it was difficult to win 2:0 against Borussia Dortmund at home.

Thinking of such things, Atletico Madrid players were full of confidence in scoring a goal in the second half.

At the same time, in Borussia Dortmund's locker room, Klopp also praised the team's performance in the first half, but he also warned his players not to be happy too early: "... Although we are leading by three goals, this is not a safe score, yes, it is not safe. Don't say that the semi-final is a two-legged affair. Even if it is a game to determine the winner, a three-goal lead cannot guarantee that we can win the game. Think about the 2005 Champions League final, how AC Milan lost the championship after leading by three goals at halftime?"

"Our task in the second half is defense, we must not let them get a goal away from home, not even one goal, it won't work for us!"

Although he said to strengthen the defense, Klopp's solution was not to shrink the defense, but to ask the team to continue using the quick passing and movement tactics at the beginning of the first half at the beginning of the second half.

Use this tactic to push Atletico Madrid back again.

If Atletico Madrid wants to launch an attack at the beginning of the second half, that's great, score another goal and the game can be over.

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The two sides changed sides and fought again in the second half, and no one made any substitutions.

At the beginning of the second half, Borussia Dortmund launched a fierce offensive of quick passing and movement again.

And Atletico Madrid seemed to be prepared. They didn't press forward after the start of the second half, wanting to use high-pressing tactics to break the goal.

Klopp told the players to use quick passing and movement tactics after the start of the second half, but he didn't tell the team how long to use it.

He left the control of the specific details to Zhou Yi, the "coach" on the field.

Zhou Yi knew what Atletico Madrid wanted to do when he saw Atletico Madrid like this.

Everyone knows that quick passing and movement tactics consume a lot of physical energy. If Atletico Madrid doesn't press high, doesn't press forward, then quick passing and movement is actually meaningless. The effect of breaking the defense is too unworthy compared to the physical energy consumed.

Atletico Madrid is doing this to make Borussia Dortmund consume physical energy for no reason.

So Zhou Yi immediately changed his strategy. When he got the ball in the frontcourt, he actually made a long pass and passed the ball back to goalkeeper Weidenfeller in the penalty area. This was a pass from forty-five meters away...

If this was at Atletico Madrid's home ground, Zhou Yi would definitely be booed if he did this.

But at Borussia Dortmund's home ground, there was no booing.

After Zhou Yi passed the ball back, he ran back himself, while gesturing to Weidenfeller to "stabilize."

Weidenfeller understood at a glance. He didn't rush to kick the ball out. Anyway, Atletico Madrid's players were all shrinking in their own half, and no one came up to grab his ball.

The rules stipulate that the goalkeeper cannot hold the ball in his hand in the penalty area for more than six seconds, but there is no regulation on the length of time the goalkeeper can hold the ball with his feet in the penalty area.

So as long as he is thick-skinned enough, and no one comes up to press, Weidenfeller can theoretically keep the ball like this until the end of the game.

Of course, this situation is generally impossible. Even if no one comes up to press, the referee will probably intervene. He will not allow such shameless behavior to exist on the field.

Weidenfeller couldn't really do this. He held the ball and waited for Zhou Yi to run back, then passed the ball to him.

Zhou Yi was the most backward player in the entire Borussia Dortmund except for Weidenfeller when he got the ball. He was not in a hurry to pass the ball, but beckoned his teammates to withdraw, which was completely different from the previous request to press forward.

The defense line began to retreat, and so did the midfield, and Risk also leaned back slightly.

Zhou Yi passed the ball to Hummels, who had withdrawn, and Hummels passed it to Sven Bender, and Sven Bender passed it to Zhou Yi, who ran up.

As soon as Zhou Yi got the ball, Diego Costa rushed up.

So Zhou Yi turned around again and used force to pass the ball directly back to Weidenfeller's feet...

After going around in a circle, it returned to the starting point.

Seeing this, Diego Costa didn't know whether he should continue to press Weidenfeller, but even if he pressed up, he was alone, besides wasting his physical energy and being played around by his opponents, there was no other meaning...

So he retreated and maintained the integrity of the formation.

"Borussia Dortmund was still quickly passing and moving forward just now... Suddenly, they slowed down and started passing the ball slowly in the backcourt... But isn't this delaying behavior too obvious? Isn't it a bit early to delay time from now on?" The Spanish commentator satirized Borussia Dortmund's behavior.