If Tang En knew that the commentator's evaluation of him was "cowardly," he was afraid he would fly into a rage on the spot. He never thought that his insistence on "winning football" was a sign of cowardice. But now, in order to redeem his evaluation in the hearts of others, he had to do something, such as "offensive adjustments" that met the aesthetic standards of most people.
On the other side, as the substitutes excitedly celebrated the goal, Mancini simply high-fived his assistant and walked back to the technical area. It was not that he was trying to be cool. He had been standing since the first minute of the game, and he could finally sit down and take a breather.
They were leading by 2: 1. Even though that away goal was like a nail hammered into their hearts and made them unhappy, it was better to win than to lose or draw. Moreover, from these two goals, Mancini had already seen that Nottingham Forest was just bluffing. Once Inter Milan got serious with them, they would reveal their true colors. Teams that lacked a foundation were all like that. They could gain the upper hand with their momentum for a moment, but they could not last long.
For many Forest fans, being able to achieve a 1: 2 result in an away game was also very satisfying. After all, they had an away goal in hand, and it was only one goal behind. They could still do something when they returned to their home ground.
But as the team's manager, Tang En did not think that way. From the beginning, he had never felt that losing an away goal was a victory. He wanted to counterattack, a true "defensive counterattack."
Arteta ran back from the warm-up area. Tang En personally pulled him back and explained to him the task of going on.
When he heard that the player he was going to replace was the full back, Leighton Baines, Arteta was a little surprised.
"I'm not asking you to go up and defend, Mikel."
"Yes, I know, Boss. It's just … "
"You're worried about defense? Oh, that's not something you need to consider. Your task is to go up and organize the attack and share the pressure with Demetrio. "Tang En held the tactical board and spoke as he drew on it. "After you go up, discuss with Demetrio what to do. Anyway, don't let him get surrounded again."
Mikel and Arteta nodded, but he was still worried about defense. "Boss, then defense …"
"Go up and tell George to run more."
"Alright, I understand."
"Go, we don't have much time!"
When Arteta stood on the sidelines waiting to go up, Kerslake walked up. "Tony, you're really bold. Inter Milan's offense is so strong, yet you choose three defenders?"
"There's no other way. The four-man midfield combination is now very fixed, and Arteta plays in the middle. I can't touch either Albertini or George Wood. Replacing George would mean that the midfield defense would be gone, and Inter Milan's counterattack would be more comfortable. If Albertini was substituted, Arteta would be watched to death very quickly. This substitution was tantamount to not making a substitution. The presence of two players up front also helps to attract the opponent's defensive attention and share the pressure on our midfield. So … the only thing that can be changed is the defensive line. "
"Aren't you worried about conceding another goal?"
"I'm worried. But … if we hold on to the idea of 'not conceding any more goals' and don't make any unconventional substitutions, we will definitely lose. "
Nottingham Forest got an out of bounds ball in the front field, and Arteta finally had a chance to play. The fourth official raised the substitution sign. Number 22, Leighton Baines, Number 14, Mikel Arteta.
"Nottingham Forest is substituting an attacking midfielder for a full back. Manager Tony Twain has finally thought of attacking. But, how are we going to deal with Inter Milan's attack by substituting a defender?"
"That's not something we need to worry about."
※ ※ ※
Arteta ran onto the field and told Albertini about Twain's tactical intentions.
Albertini's first reaction when he heard that Arteta would help share the pressure was to turn his head to look at George Wood, who was standing at the back.
If Arteta came up, then there was no need for him to hold on to Wood, who was a life-saving straw. That way, Wood could concentrate on defense, and he and Arteta could concentrate on offense. The Forest team's situation was bound to improve.
From a global perspective, this was a great adjustment.
But … the boss always used Wood as a sapper. When would Wood become a true all-rounded midfielder? Of course, we all need Wood to defend, but we can't deal with it by reducing a defender and adding an attacking midfielder every time we encounter such a situation.
No matter what, the manager had made a decision. As a player on the field, he had to abide by it.
Albertini nodded to Arteta. "I got it."
Arteta completed his task and ran to his position, while Albertini ran to Wood. "George, you're in charge of defense. We only have three defenders, and the opponent's attack is fierce. You need one person to do the work of two people."
"No problem." Wood nodded.
"Well …" Albertini wanted to say something but stopped. In the end, he still smiled at him. "All the best!"
From the angle of the television broadcast, it was obvious that Forest Team had adjusted their formation. Because Leighton Baines had left the field, Chimbonda, Piqué, and Pepe had formed a defensive line of three center-backs. In front of them was George Wood as a lone defensive midfielder. Albertini, Arteta, Franck Berry, and Ashley Young formed a four-man midfield that stood parallel to each other. Mark Viduka was in front, and Anelka was slightly behind.
It was the 3142 formation.
This configuration directly liberated Albertini. He no longer had to take care of both sides. At the same time, it also freed George Wood. He could concentrate on doing what he was best at. He would not fall into a predicament because he had to help Albertini attack. Defense had completely seeped into George Wood's blood. It had become his body's instinct. He did not need to say anything superfluous to defend. He knew what to do. Offense was different. To George Wood, defense was as simple as eating, while offense was too complicated.
Because there were only three center-backs, Tang En did not allow Chimbonda to assist. The offense on the flanks was completely handed over to Franck Ribéry and Ashley Young. At the same time, with Arteta, the Forest Team had more ways to attack in the middle. In addition to Albertini's precise long passes, Arteta's individual dribbling breakthroughs and short-distance distribution of the ball gave the Forest Team more ways to attack in the middle. It also made it more strenuous for Inter Milan to defend.
Of course, when defending, the two midfielders still needed to retreat to help. Otherwise, the Forest Team's flanks would not be able to let go. Fortunately, the Forest Team's two flanks were younger than Inter Milan's flanks. They also had better stamina and could run.
George Wood obediently defended at the back. He no longer thought about how to help Albertini share the pressure he faced in organizing the offense. This kind of work made it easy for him, even though Inter Milan's offense did not weaken much because of it. But he could now concentrate on dealing with the enemy. His performance naturally began to pick up.
Verón still wanted to challenge Wood one-on-one. This time, Wood unceremoniously used his body to force his way in and intercepted the football. Next, Wood used his body to resist Verón and ignored his harassment from behind. He passed the football to the nearest teammate. After that, there was nothing else for him to do. He continued to wait for the opponent's next attack. As for how his team's offense was, he was not worried. If his teammate passed the ball and the ball was quickly intercepted, then he would repeat the above series of actions.
(To be continued, if you want to know what happened next, please log on to WWW. CMFU. com. More chapters. Support the author. Support original reading!)
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