Chapter 175: The First Half

No one wants to play a tug-of-war with Simeone's team!

The same is true for Manchester United.

Under Simeone's tutelage, the physical fitness of this team is really good, although Manchester United also has a Li Qingshan who can barely run, but the overall competition with Atletico Madrid, Manchester United wants to compete with Atletico Madrid in the tug-of-war, and the opponent is obviously more dominant.

Ancelotti saw on the sidelines that Manchester United's players were about to move, and they wanted to press the attack, so they hurriedly stood on the sidelines and pressed down with both hands.

"Steady!! Steady!!!! There's no need to rush!!!! ”

For Manchester United, the first thing to do in away games is not to get the rhythm into the rhythm that Atletico Madrid likes.

The lights of Calderón Stadium were down, and outside the stadium, the drone camera showed that the entire stadium was shrouded in lights, making the stadium look extremely dazzling.

Just because the beauty off the pitch doesn't mean the game inside the pitch is just as beautiful.

Manchester United seems to be a little "negative" about the game, under the crazy pressing of the Atletico Madrid players, the Manchester United players are not in a hurry to turn the ball upside down in the midfield, until all the players of Atletico Madrid press up, so that Manchester United has no safe exit point, and then goalkeeper De Gea stepped forward with a big foot to find Li Qingshan's head.

As a Spaniard, De Gea's foot skills are not bad, at least he controls the direction of each big foot well, giving Li Qingshan a chance to stop the ball.

Although United are trying to slow down the tempo, that doesn't mean they are out of attack.

After Li Qingshan controlled the football, Juan Mata and Di Maria would intersperse the running positions to respond, and although the number of United players in the attacking end was only three, the effect was not bad.

In the 26th minute, Li Qingshan took the ball in front, Mata and Di Maria pressed forward to take away several defenders, so that Li Qingshan's pressure was reduced, and then Li Qingshan completed the turn, and then came to a long-range shot, forcing Oblak to make a save.

Even if he didn't run much, Li Qingshan's shooting power was still quite large, and the sound of the instep pumping in the middle of the football was heard by even the fans watching the live TV broadcast.

Oblak didn't dare to take it with his hands, but reached out to block the ball towards the touchline, giving United a throw-in.

Valencia then threw a throw-in, which Juan Foran picked up and was denied by Juanfrán.

It wasn't until Atletico Madrid completely controlled the ball that Simeone on the sidelines breathed a sigh of relief.

Manchester United's attacking threat pinned down Atletico's defence, forcing Atletico to not press too high.

After the ball returned to Atletico Madrid, there was not much to do in the face of Manchester United's three central midfielders plus four defenders, as well as Di Maria and Juan Mata.

Giving the ball to Atletico Madrid and letting Simeone's team attack positional battles, they don't have many options.

In the 29th minute, Koke sent in a 45-degree cross, Mandzukic and Torres pressed into the United penalty area to grab the spot, but De Gea was on the right side to leap high and pluck the ball over Torres' head, and Torres was then whistled for a foul on the goalkeeper.

In the small penalty area, the goalkeeper is absolutely protected.

However, Atletico Madrid fans did not take this and shouted shrill boos from the sidelines to protest the referee's decision.

Playing in such an away environment is quite a serious test for the mental endurance of the visiting team.

However, United's players are immune to such boos.

De Gea set the ball up slowly, and he even had time to find the ball's air nozzle and place it on the grass so that the air valve was right in the middle of his side.

United don't look like they're in a hurry at all and would even like that pace for the whole game if they could.

However, Atletico Madrid is quite anxious, this is their home stadium, and if they don't get a good result at home, it will be difficult to play away from home.

Mandzukic looked anxious, and as soon as De Gea had set the ball and was ready to run, he ran forward.

De Gea simply stopped, stood in place and pointed at Mandzukic who rushed over, signaling that the opponent's position was too far forward, and asked Mandzukic to step back.

Anyway, if the opponent doesn't retreat enough, De Gea won't drive the ball out, which is also a reasonable use of the rule.

The referee came over to warn Mandzukic, and Mandzukic of course knew that it was Atletico Madrid and not Manchester United who were in a hurry, so he didn't dwell on it anymore and turned around and left.

De Gea sent the ball out, he drove directly to the front court with a big foot, although Li Qingshan grabbed the first point, but the header was not well controlled, and the second point was snatched away by Atletico Madrid.

After Atletico Madrid won the ball, their players began to pour upwards like a tidal wave.

This time it's Saul in the pass!

However, his cross was still controlled by United and Hummels flicked the ball to goalkeeper David De Gea. De Gea held the ball in his arms and pressed it to the grass, waiting for all the players to move away from him before he was relieved to get up from the ground.

Simeone was a little anxious from the sidelines, such a hasty cross did not create any threat at all, the opponent had two centre-backs with strong frontal defensive ability, and the two centre-forwards on his side did not take advantage of the opponent in high balls.

If only Li Qingshan were still on his side.

Simeone looked at Li Qingshan on the field with burning eyes, this former player of his own.

Having a Li Qingshan on the field is beneficial to the team, Simeone is quite clear, at least as it is now, even if it is a bad quality cross, Atletico Madrid can try more, where is Li Qingshan's header ability, as long as he passes more, he can always seize the opportunity.

With such a battering ram, you will not be afraid of the opponent's dense defense.

But after losing Li Qingshan, Atletico Madrid's ability to attack dense defense has decreased a lot, and they are better at pressing the ball in the front court to counterattack, and if the opponent puts on a dense defensive formation and lets Atletico Madrid attack, in fact, Simeone's team has not many ways.

This is also the reason why Atletico Madrid is so much surpassed by Real Madrid and Barcelona in points this season, they are very strong against strong teams, Barcelona and Real Madrid have not been able to take advantage of Atletico Madrid, and Atletico Madrid even eliminated Barcelona in the Champions League.

Atletico Madrid's main points are lost when facing some middle and lower teams, the opponent poses a turtle shell, so that Atletico Madrid has no way to speak, and the points lost in several draws make Atletico Madrid in the competition for the La Liga title this season, in an absolute disadvantage.

Atletico Madrid's players are also becoming more and more anxious when faced with this situation, and in addition to crosses from the wings, Atletico Madrid have also begun to intensify their long-range shots from outside the box.

However, with so many people in the box, it was difficult for a long-range shot to penetrate United's defence.

After Manchester United got the ball, they were not in a hurry to attack, so Atletico Madrid finally grabbed the ball, and then returned the ball to Manchester United with a hasty cross or long shot.

As a result, Manchester United had even more possession so far than Atletico Madrid, who were playing at home.

According to the data provided by the broadcaster, Manchester United have 60 per cent possession in the 35 minutes since the game, while Atletico Madrid has only 40 per cent of the possession at home.

.........

The game was at such a pace.

Although Atletico Madrid's attack looked fierce and they had far more shots on goal than Manchester United, their shots were mostly done from outside the box, and there was no test for David De Gea.

By the fortieth minute of the game, Atletico Madrid had eleven shots on goal, but only two of these eleven shots were on target, and they were easily held in De Gea's arms.

"The first half of this game was not exciting, Manchester United put most of their energy on defense and didn't invest much in attack, but Atletico Madrid also struggled to break down the iron bucket formation put up by Manchester United, they played a little too simply, the attack looked like it was all luck, so if you want to break the goal of De Gea's handle, unless Atletico Madrid has a particularly good luck today." Duan Xuan shook his head and said.

In front of the TV, I don't know how many fans are yawning, and the game does look a little lethargic.

Even at the scene, the enthusiasm of the fans seemed to have subsided a little, shouting that for most of the half, the fans of Atletico Madrid also needed a break.

In a match of this level, it is normal for two teams to play like this, this is the semi-final of the Champions League, since ancient times, it is difficult to have a famous game, and the semi-final looks like the same.

So the score was so deadlocked, until the end of the first half, the score of 0-0 still did not change, the two sides were deadlocked in the first half, Manchester United did not have many opportunities to counterattack, and Atletico Madrid's attack was even more difficult to say that there was any threat.

When the referee blew the whistle for the end of the first half, players from both sides walked off the pitch.

The Spanish commentator was unhappy with Atletico Madrid's performance in the first half.

For the Spaniards, the Spanish team's attacking routine is rich, and the excellent foot skills of the Spanish players can support them to play a dazzling succession of attacks.

But Atletico Madrid didn't look like a Spanish team, they played a bit simple and rough in the first half, with crosses and long-range shots being their main attacking tools.

"I didn't know if I thought it was an English team." The Spanish commentator complained, "They should have more attacking routines, more patient passes at the edge of the penalty area to create chances, instead of blindly crossing - now Li Qingshan is not wearing an Atletico Madrid jersey." ”

The England commentator praised United's performance in the first half.

"It can be seen that the players of Manchester United have carried out Ancelotti's intention very well, it can be said that the pace of the game is on their side, Atletico Madrid wants to speed up the game, but Manchester United side does not do this, they slow down the tempo, let the rhythm of the game into the slow rhythm that Manchester United likes, so that Atletico Madrid has no good way. Now that the first half is over, Manchester United are halfway there, even if the game is 0-0, it doesn't matter, when we return to Old Trafford, it will be the real final. ”

This kind of game situation is what Manchester United wants to see, but for neutral fans, such a scene is a little unsightly, especially for those Chinese fans who stay up late to watch the game, such a high-level game in the Champions League semi-finals, playing such a sleepy scene, there will indeed be some faint eyes shot over, feeling that a basin of cold water has been poured on the face.

For the fans, of course, they want to see the two teams go on a rampage and then score a lot of goals.

It's just that the opinions of neutral fans are often not cared about, and Ancelotti will not change his established tactical arrangements because of the wishes of the fans, which is a matchup related to a ticket to the Champions League final, and it is impossible to be too cautious.

..........

At half-time, Carlo Ancelotti praised his team's performance in the first half.

In his opinion, the team played well in the first half, especially defensively, did not give Atletico Madrid any chance, the team should still play like this in the second half, it was a two-legged game, Ancelotti is ready to save the final for Old Trafford!

'If there's a set-piece chance in the second half, it's got to be organised!'

Ancelotti emphasized.

Defending on the counter-attack, catching set-pieces, and getting an away goal and a win away from home without conceding a goal is certainly the best.

The atmosphere in the dressing room on Manchester United's side is relatively quiet, while the atmosphere on Atletico Madrid's side is a little tense.

Simeone continued to inspire his players in the dressing room, urging them to give it their hands in the second half and beat Manchester United at home.

"This is our home turf! We can't just go back to a 0-0 draw with our opponent's boiled frogs!! I only accept one ending for this game!! That's victory!! We have to show fighting spirit and courage in the second half. Attacking their defence with more pressure, the pressure up front was so fierce that even their goalkeeper had to pounce on him and stop him from aiming for a long pass!! As long as we put enough pressure on them, sooner or later they will make mistakes!! ”

Simeone said with a sinister expression as he shook his fist.