"The 2004-2005 UEFA Champions League Group Stage has officially begun! The UEFA Champions League that fans in Europe and even around the world have been looking forward to has finally returned to everyone's sight. After last season's season where the European powerhouses were all defeated, according to statistics, the matches after the semi-finals of last season were the least attended by fans and media in recent years. The media was unwilling to hunt for novelty, and the fans also wanted to applaud the powerhouses. The flames of war in the new season have been ignited. Will this powerhouse feast return to the mainstream order? Haha, let's wait and see!
Today at Highbury, the English Premier League champions will face the Eredivisie runner-up, PSV Eindhoven. The match between Wenger and Hiddink has attracted a lot of attention. This should be the highlight of this group.
Let's take a look at the starting lineup of both sides.
Arsenal starting lineup: 4231.
Goalkeeper: Lehmann.
Defenders: Lauren, Campbell, Touré, Ashley Cole.
Midfielders: Ljungberg, Qin Xiong, Silva, Vieira, Pires.
Striker: Henry.
PSV Eindhoven starting lineup: 442.
Goalkeeper: Gomez.
Defenders: Oyer, Alex, Bouma, Li Rongpyo.
Midfielders: Vogel, van Bommel, Cocu, Park Ji-sung.
Forwards: Parker, Hesselink.
We see that PSV Eindhoven has put up a muscular midfield. Hiddink may be hoping to curb Arsenal's powerful offensive creativity with this. How is the effect? Let the game show the answer. "
Qin Xiong stood behind the center circle and stretched his neck. PSV Eindhoven in front of him was no stranger. Other than Robben and Kežman moving to the English Premier League for Stamford Bridge, PSV Eindhoven's new faces were nothing more than the return of striker Parker and the Dutch veteran Cocu.
He examined PSV Eindhoven. The other side had obviously strengthened the midfield.
The defensive strength was stronger than the previous midfield combination!
It was not only the growth and improvement of Park Ji-sung, van Bommel and the other players after a season, but also the new addition of the experienced Cocu.
The game began amidst the cheers of the fans in the stands at Highbury.
The Champions League was generally more stable.
Arsenal was no exception.
At the start of the game, PSV Eindhoven put a lot of defensive pressure on Arsenal's midfield.
On the sidelines, Hiddink's face was as calm as water.
In fact, he had never looked down on Qin Xiong, from the moment Qin Xiong appeared on the field and entered his field of vision.
But in reality, no matter how much importance they attached to it and how little they invested in their troops to restrict Qin Xiong, they were overcome by Qin Xiong time and time again.
Today, regardless of whether Arsenal brought out Dennis Bergkamp or Qin Xiong in the starting lineup, he gave the team a firm order: contain the opponent's midfield!
PSV Eindhoven was actually more like a third defensive midfielder and a center midfielder. Park Ji-sung went up and closed in on Qin Xiong, and then the striker, Parker, came back to pincer, leaving only Hesselink in front to wait for an opportunity.
Qin Xiong rarely stepped into the 40-yard danger zone in the first ten minutes of the match.
From his position, it was like looking at two city walls!
Furthermore, the first wall at the rear waist was much taller and sturdier than the wall at the rear, making it difficult to overcome!
He did not recklessly go head-to-head.
PSV Eindhoven were not fools. Park Ji-sung, van Bommel, and Vogel had all suffered losses at the hands of Qin Xiong and learned from their mistakes. They targeted Qin Xiong's characteristics to restrict Qin Xiong and would not easily give Qin Xiong a chance to break them down one by one. They would also strengthen the protection of the rear defensive line. Even if their positions were further back and looked like they had to defend to the death, they did not care. It was better than letting Qin Xiong create another opportunity and embarrass them.
If one wanted to be a king in the English Premier League, in addition to excellent skills and tactics, one also needed a tenacious and courageous style of play. In the Champions League, the simple confrontation of the English Premier League was of little use because one would be frequently punished by the referees if one's bravery was too much. It was not targeted. The rules were as such, but the English game was a little different from Europe.
In the Champions League, there were two main characteristics that the English Premier League teams could play. One was rhythm. The English Premier League brand was pioneering in the global market and was widely accepted. The biggest selling point was the fast pace of the game, which made people feel the thrill of the football game more deeply. The second was fitness. The fitness of the English Premier League teams at this stage had begun to become an advantage. In an environment where there was no winter break, the players' fitness to cope with the European competition would not be a problem.
Of course, the second point was still too early to say for Qin Xiong. It was only his first season in the English Premier League.
As for the technical and tactical aspects, if Ajax or PSV Eindhoven were put in the English Premier League, they might not be able to get the results of Arsenal. But in terms of style of play and technical tactics, they would definitely surpass the vast majority of English Premier League teams. The reason why they could not compete with the powerhouses was not restricted by the technical and tactical concepts. It was only because the individual ability of the players who made up the team was low.
So, when they came to the Champions League, it was impossible to say how gorgeous Arsenal's ground passing style was.
They stood out in the English Premier League where they played high and high. They became outstanding but not so dazzling in the European competition where the technical and tactical collision was more abundant.
How to restrict PSV Eindhoven?
Arsenal did not think about this problem.
Because they were strong, it was PSV Eindhoven who should think about how to restrict Arsenal.
When Arsenal was targeted, PSV Eindhoven's countermeasure of obviously weakening the offense and strengthening the defense in the middle and backfield came up.
Qin Xiong was the main source of offense in the midfield that was restricted, but he was not the only or the main point that was restricted.
The biggest threat in front of PSV Eindhoven was still Henry, the killing god who was identified by the media as a candidate for the European Golden Boot before the start of the season.
Arsenal's golden left flank was famous in Europe. PSV Eindhoven invested heavily in defense on this side, including the captain, van Bommel, who was the defensive midfielder. Vogel in the middle returned to the penalty area and was also wary of Pires' cutting inside, while Cocu approached the middle from the other side. Together with Park Ji-sung in front, and the forward, Parker, who returned to defend, they mainly restricted Arsenal's attacks in the middle.
Qin Xiong had been doing a regular organizational work in the middle.
He was observing his opponents and teammates.
Arsenal's offense was strong in the English Premier League, but in the Champions League, especially when faced with a strong opponent, it did not show how superior their skills and tactics were. The invincible offensive strength was significantly reduced. The reason was simple, the English Premier League was not rich in skills and tactics.
In the English Premier League, the smooth and fast positional push and cut coordination was very efficient, but in the Champions League, this efficiency would be reduced because the opponent was used to this style and was not as difficult to parry as most teams in the English Premier League.
Because of this, Arsenal's left flank attack did not have the effect of a hurricane passing through in the face of PSV Eindhoven's solid defense.
But while Qin Xiong was organizing and dispatching the ball, he was also frequently delivering shells to the left flank, allowing Ashley Cole and Pires to frequently play together on the left flank and then try to create opportunities for Henry.
PSV Eindhoven became more and more confident as they played. They tightly sealed off Henry and froze Pires' active passing route after he turned inside. Ashley Cole would not frequently cross from the outside, and Henry was not a striker who was good at headers. This was known to the world.
When PSV Eindhoven thought that they had fully adapted to Arsenal's offense, they beat the magic players in Arsenal's formation down to the mortal world, making the team of kings, who had a hard time winning a defeat in the English game, become ordinary.
They did not realize that Qin Xiong, who had become more skilled in his organizational ability, was quietly brewing Arsenal's real offensive storm from his astonishing talent to his heavy sword without a sharp edge!
Qin Xiong did not know how to control the ball for long periods of time. Most of the time, he would kick the ball out, which made Park Ji-sung and Parker unable to intercept the ball from under his feet. At the same time, he would move forward bit by bit. In the process, he strengthened the interaction between him and Vieira.
He was taking off the organizational task and handing it over to Vieira!
Obviously, even though PSV Eindhoven defended Arsenal's left flank attack time and time again, they themselves could not pose any threat in the offense.
Arsenal's resources were to be maximized, and Vieira must be able to release his ability forward.
When Qin Xiong moved forward step by step to restrain Park Ji-sung and Parker, the space for Vieira to move forward increased!
In the 31st minute of the game, Qin Xiong received a pass from Lauren and directly backheeled to pass the ball to Vieira. He suddenly accelerated and rushed forward.
Parker followed closely behind, and Park Ji-sung also turned to follow Qin Xiong. But he had just run two steps when he realized that something was wrong!
When Qin Xiong suddenly turned to the right flank with a confident smile and ran into position, from the back of the middle, Vieira was like a wild beast. He dribbled the ball and strode to the front field with a wild and domineering aura. Before Parker realized it and Park Ji-sung regretted, Vieira dribbled the ball and charged into the danger zone 40 yards in front of PSV Eindhoven's goal!
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.
