In the first ten minutes of the game, Arsenal played more conservatively. The attacking players did not have a strong impact on Villarreal's penalty area. They relied on some crosses and threatening passes to see the opponent's defensive awareness and strategy.
It was difficult for Henry to get a chance in the penalty area and did not pose any threat.
On the other hand, Qin Xiong was shown off by Riquelme.
In the eighth minute of the game, Riquelme tried to get rid of Qin Xiong in front of the field. After continuously knocking the ball with his left and right feet, he pulled the ball and changed directions to get rid of Qin Xiong.
If one were to say that Zidane's style was to simplify the complicated and return to the natural state, then Riquelme's agility and ability to escape on the spot was even stronger.
Qin Xiong had taken advantage of Riquelme's opportunity to pull the ball behind him and snatched it. He had used his advantage in physical confrontation to crush Riquelme.
But he really did not expect Riquelme to turn around and pull the ball premeditated, and not because his defense forced Riquelme to passively protect the ball.
This caused Qin Xiong, who originally had the advantage in defense, to lose his center of gravity first, giving Riquelme a chance to break through.
Qin Xiong had suffered a loss once and immediately engraved it in his heart.
Fortunately, Arsenal's defensive system had been honed to a tacit understanding. Even if Riquelme bypassed Qin Xiong, he lacked the speed to attack, so he still had to face Arsenal's tight defensive midfielder and defensive line. He then took the risk to send a cannonball to Fran, which was finally intercepted by Senderos.
In the 11th minute of the game, Qin Xiong also broke through Riquelme in front of the field.
His breakthrough was not as skillful and agile as Riquelme's. Instead, he used simple and crude explosive power!
I'm faster than you, and my explosive power is stronger than yours!
Not convinced?
Catch up with me first!
With a trip and a dash, Riquelme was left behind by Qin Xiong. Then Riquelme stopped and looked at Qin Xiong's back as if he did not care at all.
After Qin Xiong dribbled the football to the front field, he sent a straight pass close to the ground before entering the danger zone.
He knew that the closer he was to the opponent's danger zone, the tighter the opponent's defense would be. The further he was, the less vigilant the opponent would be.
This was a matter of thought.
Because when there was a lot of space, Villarreal's defenders would not put all their attention on Qin Xiong. They would look left and right to observe the positions of Qin Xiong's teammates around him and the possible positions that could pose a threat. Then, they would make defensive adjustments.
Qin Xiong took advantage of this opportunity to make a pass that was close to the ground.
The football rolled between Senna and Tacchinardi, and then rolled past Álvarez. Álvarez intended to intercept, but Henry was faster and poked the ball forward from his side. Then, he strode into the penalty area!
Single-handed ball!
The Arsenal fans in the Highbury stands cheered for Henry and also applauded Qin Xiong's delightful pass that was close to the ground!
Everyone was waiting for Henry to send the football into Villarreal's goal. But when Henry pushed the ball into the far corner of the goal in the penalty area, the football hit the goalpost and bounced out.
Henry held his head in disbelief in the penalty area.
He felt that the shot would definitely go in, but he did not expect it to be blocked by the goal!
Qin Xiong saw Henry's shot hit the goalpost and bounced back. Villarreal's left back, Aruba Reina, controlled the football and turned to run back with a normal expression.
On the sidelines, the Chilean engineer, Pellegrini, frowned. He had heard of Qin Xiong's reputation and had also studied and analyzed Qin Xiong's games. But it was the first time he had watched him from the sidelines and seen him create an offensive threat in a game!
He had almost killed the Yellow Submarine!
There did not seem to be any problems with the defense.
But it was easily penetrated. Qin Xiong's sense of rhythm in the game was too good.
Villarreal paid attention to defense because of the hidden dangers in the rear defensive line and the fact that it was an away game.
In accordance with the La Liga team's offensive-oriented style, Villarreal only focused on the trio of Fran, Mali, and Riquelme in the offense, which in itself was a sign of weakness and conservatism.
But in the absence of offensive support from the flanks, the most important part of Villarreal's offense was to create an offensive link in the middle, which was Riquelme's point!
Arsenal showed an unstoppable speed in the attack in the double victory over Real Madrid and the defeat of Juventus.
It was this kind of speed threat that made Pellegrini not dare to easily let the wingers go up to assist.
If they went up, they would not be able to come back!
Now they could only see what kind of offensive situation Riquelme could create for the team.
Qin Xiong learned his lesson.
When he faced Riquelme again in defense, his mind was very calm.
He was unmoved by Riquelme's skills.
He maintained a frontal defensive situation with his speed advantage. When Riquelme dribbled the ball horizontally, he moved horizontally to defend.
Riquelme retreated, but he did not follow. Instead, he relaxed.
Only when Riquelme really dribbled the ball forward to break through would he engage in an offensive and defensive confrontation with Riquelme.
This made Riquelme a little crazy.
Qin Xiong was too steady!
Unlike other excellent players that Qin Xiong had defended, other players might have the ability to move forward quickly. When Qin Xiong could not defend head-on, he had to turn around. Even though Qin Xiong was fast, the delay in turning around was taken into account. Of course, he could not be close to the opponent after turning around while defending head-on.
There were also opponents who used a lot of movement to confuse Qin Xiong's defensive prediction, thereby achieving the goal of getting rid of Qin Xiong.
But Riquelme was too static!
He was not fast, and there were few confusing movements. He was a classical attacking midfielder who walked and played. If he encountered a defensive player who had strong defensive ability but not steady enough awareness, he could lure the opponent to first give up his body's center of gravity with a few tempting dribbles or pauses in the rhythm. Then he could easily break through the opponent to achieve the goal of tearing apart part of the defensive line. Then it would form a chain reaction to start the whole body, creating a wonderful opportunity for the striker to shoot.
Riquelme had to pass the ball prematurely in front of Qin Xiong, but Villarreal's offense seemed to be stuck in a quagmire and could not move an inch.
Arsenal's rear defensive line was extremely tight. After reducing the opponent's offensive space, the Yellow Submarine seemed to have hit a reef. It was difficult to drive into Arsenal's penalty area.
It could be said that this game was a showdown between the free and romantic style of South American football and the strict and disciplined style of European football!
Arsenal relied on tactical execution to contain Villarreal to the maximum extent!
But containment was only the foundation. This was Highbury, the Champions League semi-final. Arsenal had to win!
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