After conceding a goal first, Monaco did not retreat and insisted on pressing Manchester City high.
After the game restarted, Manchester City soon launched a three-on-three rapid counterattack relying on Chu Zheng's midfield interception.
But it's a pity that Sterling is a bit too selfless.
After he entered the penalty area from the right rib of the top of the Monaco arc, he did not hit the goal with his left foot. Instead, he wanted to cross the ball to Aguero in the middle, which eventually led to the ball being intercepted and cleared by Raggi.
On the sidelines, Monaco head coach Jardim stood in the coaching area with his arms folded, his brows furrowed, and he was silently observing the situation on the court.
He didn't take it too seriously when he fell behind by one goal. It wasn't a big problem.
For them, the second round at home is the highlight.
But today, Jardim actually wanted to try his best to score away goals.
In the knockout stages of the Champions League, the advantage of away goals is worth a fortune, and sometimes one away goal may play a key role in promotion.
That's why he shifted his formation to press Manchester City from a high position today.
But the question now is whether this tactic should be maintained?
Is it necessary to move the formation deeper to establish a more solid defense?
At this moment, Jardim felt a little confused.
There is no way, Manchester City's five-person attacking team in the frontcourt is too strong. Once they invest too much in the offensive end, the defensive end will inevitably become weak.
If the high pressure in the frontcourt is not effective, then Jardim will directly change the tactical strategy and switch to defensive counterattack.
But the problem is that the players on the field now are doing a very good job.
Up to this point in the game, Jardim's strategic intention has been very obvious, which is to lock down Manchester City's single midfielder Yaya Toure and limit Manchester City's offense from the source.
Although Jardim has not played against Guardiola, he did a lot of homework before the game.
Manchester City's offense is often a complete system.
Starting from the goalkeeper, the two full-backs are positioned in advance, and the distance between the center backs is widened, creating an opportunity for the midfielder to receive the ball.
But 'Bring the ball out' is only the first step in Guardiola's offensive system, and successfully moving the ball through half the court is the second step.
So today, while setting up a high-pressing tactic in the frontcourt, he asked two forwards to take turns marking Toure, and then cooperated with one of the two midfielders, Fabinho and Bakayoko, to attack Yaya Toure front and back.
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In addition, there are 3-4 players in the frontcourt keeping an eye on various ball release points in Manchester City's backcourt, thus forcing Manchester City to try to move to the full-backs on the wing in a wide range.
One characteristic of large-scale transfer is that the ball speed is not fast enough, so they have the opportunity to compete for the top and intercept, thereby creating an opportunity for a quick counterattack in the frontcourt.
Judging from the more than 20 minutes of the game, Mbappe, Falcao, Fabinho and Bakayoko did a pretty good job.
In the face of the strong physical fitness of young Fabinho and Bakayoko, Yaya Toure, the all-round fighter of that year, did not have outstanding advantages in physical confrontation.
Mbappe and Falcao's harassment in turn caused Yaya Toure's ball to become slower and slower, which interfered with Manchester City's offensive advancement to a certain extent.
So now there are only two choices before Jardim.
One is to maintain the current tactical strategy, betting that Mbappe and Falcao, the young and old, can score goals for Monaco and establish an away goal advantage.
Once two or more away goals can be scored, it will be a huge advantage for Monaco and lay a solid foundation for advancing to the quarter-finals.
The other is to quickly shrink the formation and play defensive counterattack. Even if they lose 1-0, it will be fine. They will return to home in the second round to deal with Manchester City.
After hesitating for a short while, Yadir tilted the balance in his mind towards maintaining the status quo. The temptation of an away goal was too great for him to bear.
Next to him, Guardiola was also brainstorming at this time.
As far as the previous period was concerned, Guardiola could see that their tactical strategy of dribbling the ball from the back into the opponent's half was not working smoothly.
Even if Fernandinho and Walker follow his arrangement and take turns coming to the midfield to form a double back midfielder with Toure during the team's offensive phase, the effect of their forward ball play will be ineffective.
As expected.
The reason for this situation is Monaco's 442 formation.
In Guardiola's view, Jardim is really smart and deserves to be known as the little Mourinho. He has a lot of tricks up his sleeve.
In the midfield, the four Monaco players formed a circular defensive position, directly encircling Yaya Toure and Fernandinho in the middle, causing their two ball release points to be repeatedly restricted, resulting in
The fight between trapped beasts.
Watching the field silently, Guardiola soon stopped making adjustments.
Because it was a bit difficult to play the ball on the spot in the midfield and backcourt, but Chu Zheng and his five attacking groups in the midfield and frontcourt performed very well, with full mobility and threat.
Monaco's pressing of more than five high positions in the frontcourt has both disadvantages and advantages in Guardiola's view.
The disadvantage is that it is slightly difficult for them to play the ball from the backcourt.
But the advantage is that once Monaco's five high-post presses are penetrated, the Monaco defensive players behind will face Manchester City's luxurious five-man attack group.
Therefore, considering that the advantages outweighed the disadvantages, Guardiola also thought of making adjustments on the spot.
Moreover, the presence of Ederson, a goalkeeper with precise guiding feet, can alleviate the ball-playing dilemma to a certain extent.
As soon as the thought came to an end, Ederson showed off his skills on the court.
In Manchester City's midfield, Yaya Toure was robbed by Bakayoko and was unable to pass the ball forward, so he had to bring it back and pass it back to the top of the arc.
Ederson quickly came out and stopped the ball with his right foot.
At the same time, Falcao on the left side of the Manchester City arc started to attack Ederson.
But Ederson is really brave.
Facing Falcao's pressure, he calmly adjusted, and then without even taking a run-up, he turned sideways, put his right foot on the right front side of the ball, and then swung his left foot directly on the ball.
Suddenly the pleasing precision guidance came.
The ball spans both halves of the court.
At the moment of passing the ball, Sane suddenly started in the right rib area of the Monaco half-court circle. He used his speed advantage to leave Sidibe behind and drove in at high speed along the rib area.
Two or three seconds later, Sane received Ederson's precise guidance from outside the penalty area on the right side of the Monaco arc.
"Wow!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"
Seeing this precise long pass with great visual impact, the whole Etihad Stadium was in an uproar, everyone was on display.
However, the next second, Etihad fans once again collectively let out a cry of regret!
Because Ederson's kick caught up with Sane's right foot, which is not his dominant foot.
Therefore, when Sane stopped the ball with his right foot, the ball jumped to the right, and Sidibe, who chased back from his right back, had the opportunity to grab it.
Sidibe made a strong header, stretched out his left foot and kicked the ball towards the left side of the small penalty area.
But still in front of Sane.
By the time Sane got the ball under his feet again, he was already near the baseline and had no shooting angle at all.
Facing Subasic who was close at hand, Sane shot with his left foot.
However, although the ball flew under Subasic's arm, it hit the side netting.
"fool!!!!!!!!!!!!"
Immediately, the whole stadium was filled with rapid exclamations, followed by fierce applause, both for Sane and for Ederson who almost got an assist.
On the sidelines, Guardiola was also shown a smile on his face by Ederson. This is the goalkeeper he is looking for.
Next to them, the frightened expressions of the Jardim League players have not completely dissipated.
It's so scary, this long pass is a bit too accurate.
At the same time, Jardim is also envious of Manchester City and Guardiola.
What does it mean to have a lot of talents? This is it.
A little-known goalkeeper actually has this kind of footwork.
"Oh!!!!!!!!!" Zhan Jun and Zhang Lu kept screaming in the live broadcast room.
"If the ball had caught up with Sane's left foot, Sane's ability to escape would probably have happened!" Zhang Lu said with a look of regret.
"Ederson! A ball-playing goalkeeper! His passing is very unique, very fast, just like shooting, but the accuracy is also surprisingly high." Zhan Jun laughed.
"It is no exaggeration to say that Ederson's ball play and vision are even better than many midfielders!"
Zhang Lu nodded, "So the players Guardiola likes basically have their own characteristics."
"Guardian likes this kind of goalkeeper with live feet. This kind of ball is an effective way to launch offense when Manchester City's backcourt ball is restricted."
"Yes, because of Monaco's aggressive pressing style, they gave Manchester City enough offensive depth behind them..."
In the stands, Manchester City fans were very excited.
They feel that if the current situation develops, they should have no problem winning the game. They may also be able to keep Monaco from afar and lay a solid foundation for advancing to the Champions League quarter-finals.
Previously, the outside world said that their newly formed defense line has not passed the test of time and strong teams, but now after the Monaco Group's impact during the first half, it has been able to prove that this defense line is solid, reliable, and
One that can withstand the test.
However, the slap in the face came too quickly, just like leaving Jingdong.
In the 36th minute of the game, in the left rib area of the Monaco half-time circle, Jiang Lai took the ball and made a fake pass to the center past Yaya Toure.
Then Jiang Lai quickly dribbled the ball along the ribs and moved towards the middle.
But when he reached the edge of the 30-meter area, he was surrounded by Manchester City players.
Turning back to the right out of the corner of his eye, he realized that Chu Zheng had chased him back, and his heart suddenly tightened.
Jiang Lai, like the Manchester City players, also knows his big brother very well.
Chu Zheng's physical fitness is simply abnormal to Jiang Lai.
He knew that once Chu Zheng got close to him, he might not be able to keep the ball.
Therefore, Jiang Lai quickly slowed down, then moved the ball forward to the left, diagonally passing between Kompany and Walker in the ribs to the wing.
But it is a pity that he and Mbappe did not form a tacit understanding in passing and running.
At the moment of passing the ball, Mbappe on the wing was in an offside position.
Soon, Walker kicked the ball out and passed it directly back to Kompany in front of the baseline on the wing.
Mbappe quickly stepped forward to press.
Kompany, who has experienced many battles, did not panic at all and calmly passed the ball to Ederson in the penalty area.
Mbappe did not stop, turned into the penalty area and went straight to Ederson.
At this time, the division of labor in Monaco's frontcourt with no pressure was extremely clear, leaving Ederson with no choice after receiving the ball. He could only kick the ball to the left and right wings 20 meters away, or drive directly to the frontcourt to find Aguero.
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Ederson took his time and looked forward to the left before kicking the ball in front of Mbappe.
The ball landed on the edge of the 30-meter area on the left side of Manchester City.
It was at this moment that a fatal mistake occurred.
Ederson and Fernandinho, who was in a good position, made errors in passing and running coordination.
Fernandinho thought Ederson's ball was from a long distance and ran forward ahead of time.
As a result, the ball was behind him, allowing Fabinho, who advanced in time, to dump it directly with his chest to Bernardo Silva in front of him.
Bernardo Silva took the ball and quickly brought it back before turning into the rib area.
Turning around to face the penalty area, he saw Fernan pass the ball inside to near the upper corner of the penalty area, and Bernardo Silva quickly separated the side.
After Fabinho got the ball, he quickly passed the ball without waiting for Fernandinho to move laterally.
At the moment of passing the ball, Mbappe was between Kyle Walker and Kompany in the top area of the arc.
Monaco's attack launched by a cross from the wing once again evolved into a duel between Walker and Mbappe.
Two seconds later, Mbappe used his super starting speed to successfully seize the position, stuck Kyle Walker behind him and went straight to the back point. He aimed at the incoming ball and made a diving dive to the top.
A swish sound!
The ball grazed the inside of the back post and went into the goal, leaving Ederson helpless.
"The ball is in!!!!!!!!!"
"Mbappe!!!"
"In the 37th minute of the game, Monaco equalized the score and won a valuable away goal!" Zhan Jun suddenly shouted in the LeTV live broadcast room.
"The ball was passed well and pushed well. It leapt to the top, like a torpedo coming out of the warehouse, and hit the target directly!" Zhang Lu, who was cheerful, followed up.
Witnessing the birth of this goal, more than two thousand fans who came to the Etihad with the team jumped wildly in the stands and began to enjoy their own moment of celebration.
On the sidelines, Monaco coach Jardim played hard three times in a row to vent his excitement after equalizing the score.
Guardiola next to Jardim shook his head.
He doesn't blame Walker for this goal.
If it is a long-distance defense, Walker will definitely be able to keep up with Mbappe, but with this kind of sudden speed, Walker is indeed slightly inferior.
In Guardiola's view, only Chu Zheng in the Manchester City team can keep up with Mbappe's starting speed.
On the court, Chu Zheng put his hands on his hips and panted as he looked at the Monaco players gathered around to celebrate.
This goal must be held accountable, and both Fernandinho and Ederson are responsible.
It was precisely because the two of them did not have a tacit understanding of passing and running that led to a series of chain reactions, causing Walker on the other side to be caught off guard by Mbappe who suddenly started.
But in a football match, accountability means nothing.
Soon, Manchester City kicked the ball out, and Chu Zheng, the others, and the Manchester City fans in the stands chose to forget about the missed goal and focus on the next game.
Then surprises always come unexpectedly.
Just five minutes later, in the 42nd minute of the game, near the end of the half, Fabinho suddenly started a strong breakthrough from his own right rib.
Yaya Toure quickly moved over on the free throw arc in the middle, but couldn't get past Fabinho.
At this time, Fernandinho also moved sideways from the side. Seeing that Fabinho was about to rush over, he directly extended his foot for a tactical foul and tripped Fabinho.
The referee blew the whistle directly and gave Fernandio a yellow card.
At this moment, Fabinho saw that the referee Laos did not show any sign, quickly got up, straightened the ball, and took a quick free kick.
At the moment of passing the ball, Falcao and Mbappe started in the middle in front of Otamendi and Kompany and then directly switched positions.
Otamendi and Kompany were not fooled either. Their movements were surprisingly consistent and they quickly retreated along their original route.
However, in the blink of an eye, the two were surpassed by Mbappe in the middle, and the distance was still widening rapidly.
Against the background of Mbappe's speed, Otamendi and Kompany give people the illusion of being very slow.
But in fact, any central defender will turn into a slow turtle under the impact of Mbappe's speed.
Three seconds later, Mbappe came to the upper right corner of the small penalty area. Facing the ball falling in front of him, without any hesitation, he raised his right foot and volleyed directly.
In front of the goal post, facing Mbappe's close range and surprisingly high-quality volley, Ederson was helpless.
The ball flew past the left side of his head and went directly into the top corner of the goal again.
"Oh!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" For a time, the Etihad Stadium wailed one after another.
"Mbappe!!!!!!!!!"
"Two goals!!!"
"The amazing French youngster!!!!!!" Zhan Jun spoke very quickly.
In the stands, Manchester City fans held their heads again, with expressions of disbelief on everyone's faces.
What happened? Why did we lose the ball again?
When the coach went to the sidelines, Jardim was stunned for a moment, then jumped up with joy, and then kept stroking the bare Mediterranean Sea. This happiness came a little baldly.