After Leicester City scored, Ranieri was relieved and his mentality of making substitutions and adjusting tactics was no longer urgent.
On the one hand, substituting so early will cause a blow to the confidence of the players being replaced.
On the other hand, the team has taken the lead, and it is not him who should be anxious now, but Bilic next to him.
Ranieri observed from the sidelines for a long time. Although Drinkwater failed in offensive organization, he could still score high marks on the defensive end.
Therefore, there is no problem with the team's defense.
Taking advantage of a dead ball opportunity, Ranieri took the opportunity to walk out of the coaching area and have a brief exchange with Chu Zheng.
Soon, Chu Zheng's position on the field changed.
In the following games, Chu Zheng's position became more flexible, and he would even switch positions with Drinkwater from time to time, with him taking over the midfield again.
Therefore, Leicester City's midfield strength has significantly improved several levels.
Especially the ability to organize an offense and play the ball forward and the rhythm of offense and defense transitions, some old ballworms who know the ball are full of enjoyment when they see it.
These fans and countless scouts who came to the scene felt the huge gap between Chu Zheng and Drinkwater.
In the coaching area on the sidelines, as time passed, West Ham United head coach Bilic became increasingly anxious.
They are now only one point behind Manchester United in the fifth European division of the league.
As long as they can come from behind and make no mistakes in the next few rounds, they will get a ticket to next year's Champions League.
In this round of the league, Manchester United's opponent is Aston Villa, who is last in the Premier League. Moreover, Manchester United is playing at home, so winning is certain.
So if they fail to beat Leicester City, the point difference between the two will instantly expand to four points.
Thinking of this, Bilic, who was a little anxious, looked back at Lanzini who was sitting on the bench.
On the field, Obiang, Noble, and Kouyate did a great job intercepting the midfield today, but like Leicester City, their offensive organization was barely passable.
After hesitating for a while, Bilic made a decision in his mind.
He has no choice!
They must win this game. If they lose, it will be an abyss. The dream of European competition that they have worked hard for for nearly a season will be completely shattered.
On the field, they were leading by one goal and the morale of Leicester City players was high.
Due to the shift of the playmaker to the wing, the pressure on Drinkwater and Kante has been released, and as a result, the defense can be better.
But West Ham United is having a hard time.
Chu Zheng's position was too flexible, which interfered with their marking.
What impresses Obiang and other West Ham United players the most is Chu Zheng’s dribbling ability at his feet.
What makes West Ham United players feel the most frustrated is that sometimes when three people go up to rob Chu Zheng, he still escapes.
This is simply incredible!
In the last minute of stoppage time in the first half, Vardy was still pressing forward tirelessly.
Kouyate picked up the ball in the backcourt, and Vardy rushed to his side in the blink of an eye.
The two of them moved forward together along the ribs.
But in terms of speed, Vardy can turn Kouyate into pieces in seconds.
When he came to the rib area on the left side of the arc and saw Mahrez blocking the front, Kouyate knew that he would be out cold if he didn't go out.
So he immediately slowed down and took the risk of passing the ball to the left.
On Vardy's side, maybe breaking the goal drought made this guy a little excited. He fell to the ground and kicked Kouyate's kick directly.
The next second, referee Moss blew the whistle and gave Vardy a yellow card mercilessly.
Not long after, the half-time whistle sounded throughout the stadium, and the game entered the intermission.
As soon as the broadcast screen was cut to commercials, Zhang Lu and the other four people in the LeTV Sports studio immediately reviewed the first half.
"Now it's up to West Ham to see how Bilic adjusts in the second half!"
"Yes, it depends on whether Bilic has prepared other tactics!" After listening to Sun Jihai's words, Zhan Jun nodded, "Now that West Ham is lagging behind, Bilic needs to make a choice!"
“I just don’t know if Bilic’s entire set of tactical preparations include designing how the team will play when they are 0-1 behind!”
"Let's press out and continue the tactics and strategies of the first half!"
"But if you press out to play West Ham United, you will inevitably face a problem, that is, Leicester City's counterattack threat will become greater!"
Zhang Lu nodded and answered, "The reason why Leicester City's counterattack is great now is that it is so direct! Often three passes and two leads can directly threaten your goal!"
"Guardiola mentioned Leicester City in one of his lectures a few days ago!"
"He said that now we are no longer pursuing how well we do in the golden transition period from offense to defense or from defense to offense, but we should be like Leicester City, switching directly from these two transitions instantly.
!”
"He hopes that his team only has offense and defense when playing on the court, and that it can switch between these two states in an instant, instead of requiring a transition period between offense and defense!"
"Just like Leicester City's goal just now, fast! After the defense is over, you will immediately enter the offensive state! It will kill you!"
Fifteen minutes flew by.
During the halftime break, Leicester City's lineup remained unchanged, but West Ham United made direct substitutions.
Seeing the numbers 14 and 9 on the substitution sign held up by the fourth official on the sidelines, Zhang Lu and the other four people in the live broadcast room were stunned.
"Oh, what Carol replaced is not Emenike!"
"Biliq is having a great time!"
"Is this going to be a 4-4-2 attack?" Zhang Lu shook her head and nodded, "I'm afraid it is. In the first half, Emenik was guarded hard by Huth and Morgan. He was completely in the penalty area.
Can’t find many opportunities!”
"So Bilic plays another big center forward!"
"Carroll scored a hat-trick with his head and kick in the last round against Arsenal..."
On the sidelines, Ranieri felt a little nervous when he saw that West Ham United pressed forward significantly at the beginning of the game and gained possession of the ball for a long time.
But when the game entered the 50th minute, Ranieri discovered that West Ham United was only passing through Moses and Payet on the two wings, and there were no other more threatening offensive methods. He hung high.
My heart dropped slightly again.
This situation now is what he wants to see.
West Ham United's overall formation presses forward, which will inevitably leave a large gap behind them.
Ranieri has absolute confidence in the ability of the little bastards on the field to seize such counterattack opportunities.
Especially with the monster Chu Zheng on the court, Ranieri put his heart back in his stomach.
However, Ranieri never expected that God would play a malicious joke on him next.
