Chapter 1139
Words:1679Update:22/10/13 04:07:54
Although Ibrahimovic was not as agile and fast as Eto 'o, his acuity as a center forward was still among the best in the world.
During this attack, he also realized that his range of activity had increased.
Carragher and Skrtel flanked him from behind, ready to close the door and defend at any time.
After Xavi received Messi's pass, he passed the ball directly to Ibrahimovic's feet.
Ibrahimovic received it with his back. Without any hesitation, he kicked the ball and gently tapped it to Iniesta, who was very close behind him.
Carragher and Skrtel were preparing to close the door and defend, but they did not expect Ibrahimovic to pass the ball. He then turned and cut diagonally. He relied on his physical advantage to slightly squeeze Skrtel away. As a result, the gap between Carragher and Skrtel became bigger.
Iniesta made a prompt decision and sent a straight pass. Ibrahimovic blocked Skrtel and let the ball roll over from his left side. Then he squeezed Skrtel away to complete the reverse offside run.
In this way, Ibrahimovic could get a chance to shoot from inside the penalty area!
After Iniesta passed the ball, he saw Carragher immediately turn to block Ibrahimovic. The space in front of Iniesta had become extremely wide. Iniesta decisively cut forward.
Iniesta now hoped that Ibrahimovic could pass the ball across again!
As long as he passed the ball across, Iniesta would get a chance to hit the half-empty goal because Reina's defensive attention was focused on Ibrahimovic.
But when Iniesta saw Ibrahimovic raise his leg to shoot, he was full of disappointment.
After all, he was not a team player cultivated by La Masia. He also did not have the more meticulous coordination and awareness that had been shaped by Barcelona for a long time.
The worst thing was that Ibrahimovic's relationship with Guardiola was not good. As one could imagine, he was naturally somewhat out of touch with Barcelona's team system.
Iniesta could only pray that Ibrahimovic could send the ball into Liverpool's goal. After all, it was a golden opportunity.
Ibrahimovic raised his leg. He had not enjoyed the joy of shooting for a long time. So far in this game, there were almost no opportunities for him to raise his leg comfortably. Although he had shot before, it was very awkward.
He could not wait to shoot the ball at his feet towards Liverpool's goal, as if he had just received rain after a long drought.
Reina stared at Ibrahimovic with full concentration, ready to make a save at any time.
When Ibrahimovic shot the ball at his feet towards the far corner of the goal, Reina immediately reacted. He pounced horizontally and reached out to block the football.
Ibrahimovic's shot was extremely powerful, but the angle wasn't too tricky.
But the speed of the ball was extremely fast. Reina's palm pounced on the back of the football. It was more like he was helping to unload the football, allowing the football to slowly bounce out.
Guardiola was on the verge of cursing!
Is this ball not going in?
Just as the Red Army fans breathed a sigh of relief and thought that the team had once again escaped death, a Barcelona player rushed to the front of the small penalty area and volleyed the ball that had rebounded and slowly rolled out!
The ball went into the net!
"Iniesta! Iniesta equalized the score for Barcelona. He had originally sent a good straight ball to Ibrahimovic, but Ibrahimovic's shot was blocked by Reina's palm. Unfortunately, the football was still in the penalty area and happened to be in front of Iniesta's running position. Iniesta would not miss such an opportunity. His rebound shot crisply sent the ball into Liverpool's goal!
Barcelona equalized the score before the end of the first half, and this was a goal for the away team. It was a valuable goal!
1:1
What will Liverpool do next? "
Iniesta himself did not expect this attack to end up like this.
In fact, what allowed him to seize the rebound shot opportunity was the excellent team coordination. If he had not expected Ibrahimovic to pass the ball to him, if he had not decisively plugged in when he saw a gap appear, he would not have been able to get the opportunity to break the goal.
Iniesta shouted and rushed to the side of the field to celebrate the goal. Ibrahimovic, who was behind him, was extremely disappointed when he saw Reina pounce on his shot. But since Iniesta's rebound shot had broken the goal, he could also be happy. It was just that he was not as happy and excited as when he scored.
Guardiola experienced a change of mood from hell to heaven. He went from almost cursing to a smile on his face. The huge pressure in the young manager's heart finally eased a little.
And this goal gave Guardiola a greater sense of accomplishment. This was what he emphasized before the game. Barcelona relied more on the team as a whole to overcome the enemy and win.
Liverpool's players looked a little dignified. Barcelona's ability to break through tight defenses was indeed outstanding. Their set of defenses had hardly been tested at the Bernabéu. Real Madrid could not play much offense at their home ground that could destroy Liverpool's defensive line. But Barcelona could repeatedly cause trouble for Liverpool's defensive line in Anfield. In terms of the ability to break through tight defenses, Barcelona was still above many strong teams.
Comain was also thinking about the team's defense on the sidelines. He walked to the sidelines after careful consideration. The person closest to him was Qin Xiong.
He called Qin Xiong to his side and began to give instructions to Qin Xiong to convey his defensive tactical adjustments.
"You go and tell the teammates that we can slightly reduce the importance of the defense on the right side and put the main defensive energy in the middle and the left side, where Messi is."
Qin Xiong immediately nodded and agreed after he heard it.
He could understand Comain's train of thought when he made such adjustments.
Barcelona's offense on the left side was also Liverpool's defense on the right side. The main target that needed to be marked was Pedro.
Pedro's ability to cut inside and grab a shot was his specialty. But when he broke through on the flank, his passes did not appear to be so threatening.
As a result, Liverpool could appropriately reduce the defense on the flank on Pedro's side, which was to avoid being torn apart by Barcelona's passing and control of the team's horizontal defense.
In the end, Pedro still had to cut inside and shoot to be a threat. If he stayed on the flank, what could he do even if he played tricks?
Liverpool's defense on the left side was also Barcelona's attack on the right side. Messi's threat on this side was needless to say. Liverpool must always focus on marking him.
And after the opponent tore apart the defensive line, the middle could expose defensive flaws. This was the problem that had arisen when they lost the ball just now.
Qin Xiong walked in front of Gerrard and Alonso before the ball restarted. He conveyed Koeman's tactical adjustment instructions to the two of them, and then the two of them passed the instructions to the other teammates respectively.
In the Anfield stands, the Barcelona fans who came from afar had relaxed. The team had already scored a guest goal, which meant that the team had gained an advantage. They firmly believed that as long as the team did not lose at Anfield, then when they returned to the Camp Nou, Barcelona's promotion would be a foregone conclusion!
You've already exceeded your reading limit for today. If you want to read more, please log in.
Login
Select text and click 'Report' to let us know about any bad translation.
