[Starts / Matchups to Watch]
Real Madrid soccer team
In principle, there are not many surprises in the part of the game, playing on the road and the overall strength of the team is relatively weak (probably only experience is an advantage), so the main idea of defensive counterattack is reasonable and predictable. From the starting arrangement, it is also obvious that coach Ancelotti's strategy for the first round is based on the following key points: the front court is set up with Valverde, who is better at defense, to increase the thickness of the right side of the defense (which protects Modric and reduces the consumption of the defensive section, so that he can go forward to play an excellent transmission when necessary), and the front court is set up with Valverde, who is better at defense, to increase the thickness of the defense on the right side of the field.
Prioritize a solid defense, then use Benzema's curves + Vinicius' vertical sprints as the main axis of the counterattack route
Chelsea's side is more controversial, first of all, the choice of starting personnel. The first is to let the long-term activities on the right Azp to the left side of the intention of the guest against the foot wingback, I thought of a more reasonable explanation is probably just the defensive awareness of the considerations (but such considerations seem to be insufficiently persuasive); the second is the intention of the choice of Christensen, the Danish defender is not fast, and just to face the opposite side of the fastest Vinicius, the choice has become a match! After the race, the fans were generally puzzled by the choice, after all, there is a faster Chalobah on the bench, or put Rudiger in this position is also one of the reasonable options; third is to face the
Real Madrid soccer team
With a weak midfield, Kovacic + Kante should have been a theoretical priority, but Tuchel chose to start Jorginho as one of them, which is relatively understandable, depending on Tuchel's thinking in the first round.
Tuchel chose Jorginho as one of the team's strongest players to start, and I think the key reason is that Tuchel's Game Plan for the first round was intended to be
Emphasize ball control at the feet, through the continuous transmission and then consume the ball.
Real Madrid soccer team
A midfield line that survives but is also at a disadvantage in age.
(Modric is 36 years old and Kroos is 32, so it's important to realize that quick lateral shifts in the face of an opponent's huddle are actually quite exhausting), which in turn leads to the creation of offensive chances (but one of the more intriguing aspects of this battle is that the outline of Tuchel's offensive mindset or set-up is not obvious).
It's true that utilizing the Kovacic + Kante combination to anchor a fast-paced offensive and defensive transition can also have a depleting effect and seems to be more in line with this Chelsea side, but when spread out over this month's schedule (seven games in April), Tuchel's decision in the first round is still reasonable in my opinion.
Chelsea's fixtures this month:
Close to a week of double-headers, the rest are hardcore, except for Southampton in three days, which is relatively soft.
The emphasis on possession is a way of reducing your own consumption (and the strength of Guardiola's system), in addition to effectively depleting your opponents. And
Tuchel's thinking in the first leg was actually quite a bit of Guardiola's system, which involves the intensity and frequency of high pressing up front
The goal is to regain possession as early as possible and minimize the number of players who allow
Real Madrid soccer team
The amount of time the technical midfield duo holds the ball to control the pace of the game:
And go for the whole organizational conduction around Jorginho (#5) who excels in tempo control:
But what's more noteworthy here is what is Tuchel's main focus of attack against the opponent's low-post defense. Although the emphasis on possession seems to have been borrowed from Guardiola, this Chelsea team isn't the same.
Manchester City football club
and at the same time lacked in player allocation
Manchester City football club
The player has a high technical element, all-round attributes and changeover mobility. At the same time, Azp's role as a left wingback also means that the two wings that he is good at can hardly be realized. On the surface, it seems that he wants to make use of the versatility of the front three to achieve the effect of positional attack, but the connection between the three halves is very little (even close to zero interaction if we look at the abovementioned passing paths), and he is also a good player.
The lack of clarity of thought cannot be ruled out as a factor in Chelsea's lack of commitment in this battle.
Real Madrid soccer team
Here, the team will honestly do a good job of defending in the low position, and even if they have the ball, they will not rush to launch a counterattack immediately, but will patiently conduct passes in the midfield and backfield, and make use of the midfield line's excellent vision and organization ability to entice the opponents to start the front field to press for the ball. Once the opponent misses the rush, Benzema will make full use of his connection and transmission, together with Vinicius' high-speed sprinting to tear apart the opponent's defense, and then Benzema will try to finish the harvest:
In addition.
Real Madrid soccer team
The low-position defense is also not simply holding position or waiting for the opponent to make a mistake, but will frequently go to press and force (quite a few times, but the intensity is not high, mainly to interfere with the main, so the success rate is not high, only 16.1%), so that the opponent does not have the ability to comfortably carry out the organization:
Here is an additional piece of data for comparison, another set of
European crown
The Top 8 horsemen will have a close relationship with
Manchester City football club
In the matchup, UMass would only press 154 times, based on a nearly deadlocked defense throughout the game.
