In the eyes of the commentators and fans, what they saw was Altintop, Sander and Rafinha successively leaving the field to receive treatment.
But from Chang Sheng's perspective, it was a different story.
Under the heavy artillery fire from Lazio players, Schalke 04's originally impenetrable defense with no cracks to be found is crumbling.
At first there was a slight crack, then this crack gradually expanded, and other cracks appeared around it.
There are more and more cracks, getting bigger and deeper.
Then places began to collapse and debris fell.
This city wall can no longer hold up.
Not only the winning team saw it, Schalke 04 head coach Mikol Slomka also saw it. His carefully prepared tactics were failing little by little. Because he saw that many players were far away from Lazio players.
When shooting, I was a little afraid and didn't dare to step forward to block it. This was not a good sign...
He also knows why...
Lazio's merciless long-range kicking tactics made all Schalke 04 players fearful.
They are afraid of getting hurt.
Especially the scene where Rafini’s nose and mouth were covered in blood, and a lot of it was stained on the jersey, was really visually impactful.
After treatment, Rafinha has returned to the court, but he still has a tampon stuffed in his nose and feels very uncomfortable.
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When Modric got the football at the front of the penalty area, he swung his foot again and made a gesture of taking a long shot.
Altintop did not charge head-on this time. He learned the lesson. He jumped up and turned around, using his broad back to block the kick.
This is a very smart approach. There are muscles in the back to support it. If you hit it, the damage won't be that big.
But this also has a weakness, that is, you can't see where the football is and what situation it is in.
In a football match, whether you are a goalkeeper or a player in other positions, you must ensure that you can always see the football, otherwise it will be very dangerous if you let the football out of your sight.
He saw Altintop jump up and turn around to block his long shot.
Modric suddenly changed his mind, dropped his right foot and dunked the football!
Then he brushed past Altintop.
Modric, who had passed Altintop, could finally shoot without interference. He looked up and saw the goal. There was no player between him and the goal!
For Modric, who has a strong tactical understanding, he knows very well why the boss wants them to keep shooting. This is not because the boss likes violence, nor is it because the boss wants four players of the opponent to leave the field due to injuries.
This allowed Lazio to win without a fight.
It's because this is done so that the Schalke 04 players will consciously move out of the way when facing Lazio, so that there will be an opportunity to directly face the goal.
Just like this time!
Modric knew what to do. He didn't look for any Schalke 04 players around him who could shoot. As soon as he took the kick, the football flew towards the goal!
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"Luka Modric shot..." The commentator didn't take it seriously at first. They all thought it was another "shot" that ended with the football hitting a Schalke 04 player. But they soon discovered that something was wrong.
!
Then their voices became louder.
"Shoot-!!!"
This time it was a real shot!
The football rushed straight towards the goal guarded by Schalke 04 captain Rost!
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In previous games, Rost took Lazio's long shots seriously at first. Every time Lazio took a long shot, he would lower his center of gravity, stare at the football, and make moves to pounce on the ball at any time.
But later, when he discovered that all Lazio's long-range shots were aimed at his teammates, his vigilance weakened.
Anyway, it’s not a shot aimed at myself…
His teammates helped him block the football time and time again, which made him, the goalkeeper, somewhat idle.
This time, when Modric shot, he was in the same state.
Even if Modric pretended to shoot first and dunked Altintop, he did not change his mind.
So when he discovered that the football was really coming towards his goal, it was already too late!
He quickly kicked off the ground and pounced on the ball.
Because of the hasty movement, the kick on the ground did not really exert any force. The height in the air was not high enough for him, and even if he tried to stretch his arms in the air, it would not help.
The football flew from his arm and into the goal!
Rost in the air looked unbelievable.
He couldn't believe his goal was broken so easily!
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Even more unbelievable than him were the Schalke 04 players, fans and coaches.
Before Modric shot, no one took the ball seriously.
But in less than a second, the football plunged into the net, leaving those people with no time to regret it.
Schalke 04 head coach Slomka's eyes widened as he looked at what was happening in the stadium.
All Schalke 04 players turned their heads and looked at the football in the goal.
Not only did the cracks in the city wall spread, but entire sections began to collapse!
The basis for their tactics to survive - not conceding the ball - was ruined!
There is no reason for them to continue to persist!
They feel confused and miserable.
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Chang Sheng jumped up when he saw Luka Modric shoot the football into the goal.
The stone fell to the ground.
This goal completely destroyed the wall that Schalke 04 had worked so hard to build!
The next game will be much easier to play.
Unable to defend, Schalke 04 must press forward and attack to try to equalize the score.
In this way, there will be space behind them, which Lazio can take advantage of.
In this way, it can be regarded as a normal game. Instead of the opponent shrinking and holding on, Lazio has no choice but to use the football to shoot people to force them out...
Lazio's players spent too much time celebrating the goal, and Schalke's players did not appeal to the referee.
At this time, they have not yet recovered from the blow. And most importantly, now that they are behind and their goal of not conceding has failed, how will they play in the next game?
They wait for the head coach to make a decision.
But head coach Slomka didn't react for a long time.
So Schalke 04 is very confused now.
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The game restarted, and this confusion continued to affect Schalke 04. Without the latest instructions from the head coach, they were divided internally.
The defensive players continued to defend according to inertia, while the offensive players couldn't wait to attack and equalize the score as soon as possible.
This division was particularly evident after they kicked off the ball.
After Schalke 04 kicked off, the offensive lineup pressed forward. However, when they encountered Lazio's defensive block and tried to control the rhythm, they found that their teammates did not support them. All the frontcourt players were offensive players, and the defense
The players are all still in their own half.
The two sides must be thirty meters apart.
Everyone always talks about "disconnection from front to back", but now we can clearly see what "disconnection from front to back" means.
Schalke 04's offensive players waved to their defensive teammates to come up to support them, forming a three-dimensional and multi-level offense.
However, the defensive players seemed hesitant. They wanted to come up, but were afraid of being counterattacked by Lazio. If they couldn't come up, the teammates in front kept urging them.
This kind of hesitation and disconnection made Schalke 04's attack come to nothing. Asamoah took the ball and shot a long shot in a hurry.
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Compared with the slow-responsive Schalke 04, Lazio responded quickly. When Chang Sheng discovered that Schalke 04 had such a disconnect and inconsistent thinking within the team, he immediately made adjustments.
In the midfield and backcourt, he used a fierce close-quarter press against the Schalke 04 players, and immediately launched a counterattack as long as he could intercept their ball.
Why in the midfield and backcourt, rather than in the midfield and frontcourt?
Because Schalke 04 is out of touch, they are basically in Lazio’s midfield and backfield.
When Schalke 04's offense came up, due to the lack of rear support, Schalke 04's offensive players were easily trapped and fought alone.
In this way, it is easy to intercept their ball.
In order to avoid putting pressure on themselves and compressing Schalke 04 into a whole, Chang Sheng gave up pressing in the frontcourt and allowed Schalke 04 players to quickly play the football.
Then he waits for the opponent in his own backcourt.
This was very effective. Several of Schalke 04's attacks were destroyed by Lazio before the 30-meter zone. On three occasions, they even directly stole the ball and fought back... and almost scored again.
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Seeing this thrilling scene in the audience, Slomka sighed.
He has to make a decision. Hesitation will not work. Otherwise, before he can make adjustments, Lazio will score again. By then it will lead 2:0, how can the game be played?
Lazio can definitely control the ball until the end of the game!
So is it defense or offense?
At least Slomka wasn't crazy yet and knew what he should do.
His mind was calm and he did not attack desperately just because he was lagging behind, hoping to equalize the score as soon as possible.
He knew why Lazio always scored goals even if they shot players with the ball. It was simple. They wanted Schalke to be behind 04, and then press out to attack them, so that Lazio would have plenty of scoring opportunities.
I can't let them get what they want.
Even though his team has already conceded the goal.
But at any rate, they only conceded one goal. There were more than fifty minutes left in the game, and it seemed too anxious to go out and attack at this time.
He can definitely continue to defend, but not to defend like before, but to defend and counterattack.
On the basis of a solid defense, take the opportunity to make a sneak attack.
If they only concede one goal, they only need to sneak in and score one.
If you concede two goals, you're totally out of luck.
So you have to defend the next two.
The short-term goal is that at least the team cannot concede any more goals before the end of the first half.
After Lazio scored a goal, their morale must be high. If they continue to defend, they can also deplete Lazio's morale.
So Slomka walked to the sidelines and told the team his latest instructions.
Schalke 04 finally stabilized.
Keep on defending!
Until the end of the first half! (To be continued. Please search Piaotian Literature, the novel will be better and updated faster!)