striker cool brother

Chapter 203 Relegation team, it's time to wake up
Klopp, who advocates high-pressure pressing, requires players to put in a lot of effort and running on the field.

In order to achieve this goal, players have to put in more energy and physical strength in their usual training.

If things go on like this, it will not only increase the risk of injury to players, but also make players mentally bored and slack.

After seven years of coaching Dortmund, the players have experienced increasing physical and mental exhaustion, and their performance has plummeted.

In the later period of Klopp's coaching, the main players left one after another. He urgently needs a batch of fresh blood to supplement the vitality of the team.

At that time, Rossi, who was still playing at Bournemouth, naturally entered the eyes of Dortmund's scouts.

When they sent Rossi's technical report back to Dortmund, Klopp was not interested in this lazy player.

Active running is his most basic requirement for players.

But Rossi's average running distance per game simply cannot reach his passing line.

There were even a few games where Rossi's running distance was only more than the goalkeepers of both sides.

But this time, after seeing Rossi's performance on the field with his own eyes, Klopp understood.

Rossi is not lazy, but very smart in conserving energy.

His grab is not a fierce grab, but a grab with the purpose of intercepting the opponent's pass.

In Ranieri's tactical system, the team gave up control of the midfield and quickly transitioned to the counterattack tactics of the midfield, so that Rossi does not need to participate in more defensive tasks in the frontcourt.

Therefore, his running data per game is even more pitiful.

This is a tactic tailored by Ranieri according to the individual characteristics of the players.

A high-pressure press can put a lot of pressure on the opponent's defense.

However, Leicester City, which has shrunk its defense, keeps the two lines of defense very tight, and they can form a counterattack if they have the opportunity.

Klopp is very troubled by such tactics.

In the Bundesliga in the 14-15 season, Dortmund was targeted by many Bundesliga teams with such defensive tactics.

And he himself didn't come up with a suitable tactic to deal with it, which caused his performance to plummet.

Now that he is coaching Liverpool, the coaches of other teams in the Premier League will definitely target him. Therefore, in the early days of his coaching, he began to think about how to deal with it.

Center Benteke pressed to the center, Coutinho moved on the left, used dribbling to attract the defense, and then made a large-scale transfer to hit the weak side of the defense.

Firmino seized the opportunity and broke into the penalty area to create a murderous intention.

In Dortmund, Klopp tried to use this style of play.

But after Lewandowski moved to Bayern, the team has not had a center in the traditional sense, unable to pose a threat to the opponent's goal.

Coupled with the departure of Gotze and Shinji Kagawa, the team's midfield operation was also paralyzed.

Now Liverpool, with Benteke, Coutinho and Firmino, can complete the tactics he arranged excellently.

During stoppage time in the first half, Benteke retreated from the penalty area to attract the defense of defender Morgan.

Firmino on the left quickly inserted into the space behind the central defender.

People arrive at the ball!

Coutinho saw the timing and sent a through ball forward, which was accurately delivered to Firmino's feet.

Huth stretched out a foot to block the shot angle.

But Firmino first used his body to hold Huth up and grab his position, and when he fell to the ground, he swept the ball towards the goal with his right foot.

Schmeichel struck out to block but Firmino's shot was so close that he didn't have time to go down before the ball went under the armpit.

[The ball has scored! 】

[Firmino equalizes the score! 】

[Anfield is boiling! 】

[GOAL! ! ! ! 】

The fans raised their hands and sang the team anthem, and the loud and passionate singing echoed over the stadium.

you'll never Walk Alone!
With Firmino's goal, the two teams entered the intermission with a tie.

The Leicester City players looked relaxed, talking and laughing.

Ranieri looked serious, folded his hands on his chest, and said nothing.

Realizing that something was wrong, everyone shut their mouths, not daring to meet the old man's eyes.

"Manchester City!"

"Tottenham Hotspur!"

"Liverpool!"

"Arsenal!"

Ranieri said coldly: "This is the league opponent you will face next. Do you want to fight in this state?"

In the first half, Leicester City's state could not be said to be bad, but compared to Christmas's mental state, it was obviously lower.

Ranieri knows what the players think. Now he has 38 points, and if he takes the remaining two points casually, he can complete the relegation.

So facing Liverpool, losing is inevitable.

"In the first half, I couldn't see your fighting spirit, your enthusiasm, or your running. I felt like a farm worker with a meager salary and a satisfied smile on his face."

"You can do better, get more points, why not do it, but be satisfied with the status quo?"

Ranieri's words, like a loud slap, slapped everyone's cheeks hard.

"The league has reached this point, which can be described as chaos. The previous strong teams, due to various reasons, did not perform well. They gave us a chance, and we took advantage of it."

"But, are you going to pray that they will stay in the doldrums and give us a chance?"

"If we don't seize the time to grab points now, in future games, when every team is rushing to grab points, our results may drop directly, or even be relegated."

"Christmas is over, the brutal relegation battle has begun, it's time to wake up!"

Ranieri's speech exploded in the players' ears, and the sense of urgency and crisis when they were relegated last year came spontaneously.

In the next two months, they will play two games each against Manchester City and Tottenham, as well as Arsenal and Liverpool.

There are also teams that are fighting for relegation, and teams that are striving for the European war, they will do their best.

The intensity and difficulty of the competition are no less than the devil's schedule in December.

At this stage, if the team cannot withstand the pressure of these strong teams, it will face a major defeat or even collapse.

They will go from a Christmas champion, a cliff-like decline, to a relegation team, which is by no means alarmist.

This kind of mental blow is far higher than the physical one.

Encouragement is almost enough, Ranieri said: "In the second half, the opponent will definitely attack fiercely, I want to see your fighting spirit. Ding Ling~"

"Ding dong!"

The second half of the game begins.

After Liverpool made adjustments in the midfield, the players were in a brave state and made a high-pressure press against Leicester City.

After a few passes, Leicester City was forced to surrender the ball.

Liverpool center Benteke has strong physical fitness and can fight 1v1 with central defenders, constantly harassing the penalty area.

With this strong high point in place, Liverpool can pass the ball and hang the ball into the penalty area.

In the 62nd minute, Benteke retreated to respond, and Andy King stepped forward to interfere, and the two competed for the ball at the front of the penalty area.

Benteke, who is tall and burly, can not only firmly control the ball, but also make Andy King, who is up for grabs, helpless.

The two are not of the same magnitude at all.

At this moment, Huth stepped up and joined forces with his teammates to steal the ball.

Benteke first used his body to push away Andy King's defense, and then moved quickly, blocking Huth's line of grabbing with his back.

As soon as the two touched, Benteke fell to the ground and made a foul outside the penalty area.

drop!
Sure enough, the referee gave Huth a foul for grabbing. Not only did he receive a yellow card, but he also gave his opponent a chance to set the ball.

Firmino took the set kick on the left side of the front of the penalty area. While Benteke plugged in, he used his physical fitness to squeeze Huth behind him, grabbed the landing point, and shook his head to attack the goal!
[GOAL! ! ! 】

[Benteke scored a goal, Liverpool overtook! 】

[This is completely using physical advantages, crushing Huth, and hitting the goal with a header. 】

2: 1!

Anfield once again erupted into deafening cheers.

Benteke rushed to the corner flag, holding the flagpole with his left hand, with a haughty look on his face, as if he was calling himself a king or emperor.

Ranieri had no time to vent his emotions and hurriedly called Craig to arrange tactics.

Ulloa replaces Vardy.

Kramaric replaces Mahrez.

(End of this chapter)