In the final round of the Champions League group stage, Inter Milan hosted Real Sociedad. The two sides fought hard for 90 minutes and drew 0-0. Inter Milan failed to overtake and finished second.
In this game, Inzaghi Jr. tried to replicate the backhand harvesting tactics again, but was limited by the opponent's targeted tactical arrangement and failed to achieve the goal.
[Starting lineup].
Although it was a crucial battle for top spot in the group, Inzaghi rotated, with Sanchez, Cuadrado, Frattesi and Augusto starting.
When I first saw the starting list, everyone was not surprised, because Real Sociedad was a mad dog in the first 60 minutes and a dead dog in the last 30 minutes, which is almost a clear card, so it is natural to keep a few main players to harvest the back.
Starters & Ratings).
Real Sociedad have been in good form this season, losing just three games in total, against Real Madrid, Barcelona and Atletico Madrid, and all of them have been small defeats by one goal, and have been unbeaten for more than a month recently.
Real Sociedad made three changes in the starting line compared to last weekend's league game, and like Inter, they also sealed the win with a three-goal lead in the first half, which was not a big consumption.
In the Copa del Rey in midweek, Real Sociedad made a big rotation and the main players were well rested, so this game should be particularly physical.
[Mad Dog Opening].
The style of Real Sociedad is already familiar to everyone, and it is a mad dog pressing.
Real Sociedad started with a frantic press).
When I say mad dog, it is by no means a derogatory term, not even an adjective, but just a description of the facts.
Just look at this looting)
It's like having six Lautaro pressing together in the front, and the pressure on the defenders can be imagined.
In the first leg of the confrontation between the two sides, Inter Milan was a little confused by this kind of pressing, and was suppressed at once. In the second meeting, Inter Milan was obviously mentally prepared, there was no panic in their hearts, the formation was not scattered, and everything was carried out in an orderly manner.
If you have preparation, why was the possession rate only 25% in the first 35 minutes?Don't panic, it's all part of the plan.
If you want to compete with your opponent for the ball, you must use the same high rhythm as your opponent, and it is not easy to take the initiative in the rhythm that your opponent is familiar with, and it will be very expensive. Therefore, he is strong, he is strong, the breeze blows the hill, the ball is given to him, I just need to stand up and defend the formation is not chaotic, and the opponent will not have a chance.
Sure enough, although the Royal Society grabbed the game and had a high possession rate, there were only 2 shots on goal, both of which were long-range shots from outside the penalty area, and they didn't even let Sommer make a save.
On the contrary, Inter's counterattacks were quite threatening.
A quick counter-attack by Frattesi into the box).
The key to this counterattack is Calhan's ball, and he has been turning his head to observe the position of his teammates in the front court on the way to the side, and he has been directly stopping the ball at the moment of receiving the ball, so that the marking players behind him are helpless.
Thuram's return was also crucial, completely shaking off the defenders, and then it was Sanchez who stood in place and came with a diagonal kick that he does best. Such a pass is just the right advantage of Frattesi's forward insertion.
Frattesi doesn't pass people, and finally forced a one-on-one breakthrough and failed, but what can a person do?None of his teammates followed. In fact, there is another option, stop for a while, and wait for teammates. In the penalty area, you stand where you are, the opposing defenders don't dare to kick easily, wait a second, Mkhitaryan's response is in place, it's better than you don't pass and force a breakthrough. There is still a lot to improve for Frattesi.
The midfielder broke the ball and counterattacked, and Thuram broke through to make a yellow card).
In fact, Inter was able to defend so well in the first 35 minutes, so that the opponent could not get a decent chance with 75% possession, and another point was the forward pressure of the formation.
If you are constantly suppressed by the opponent, the huge pressure has been on several defenders, and it is inevitable that you will make mistakes. Inter organized five waves of frontcourt presses in the first 35 minutes, with an interval of 5-10 minutes each time.
Inter didn't press forward to break the ball, they just wanted to push the formation a little bit out).
Pushing the formation outward, allowing the midfielders to take on most of the running and duels can ease the pressure on the backline.
【Thuram's show time】
30-35 minutes is critical because it's the first time you're in a staple. In the league last weekend, Inter Milan crushed the opponent at this point in time by continuing to press high, scoring three goals in a short period of time.
Coincidentally, Real Sociedad also scored three goals in the last 10 minutes of the first half to defeat the Yellow Submarine in the last 10 minutes of the league last weekend, although I didn't watch the game, but in the style of Real Sociedad, high pressing in the first 30 minutes is certain.
This game is also a high-intensity start, so what will happen after entering the first physical bottleneck?
Obviously, Real Sociedad, who continue to sprint and press, are more tired and unable to continue to press. The Inter players who set up a formation to defend and wait for work at ease have conserved more physical strength and began to exert their power at this juncture.
36 min, Thuram counter-attacked with the ball).
It was a counter-attack with a break on the wing, Thuram was quick with the ball, and the team-mate who cut in to receive it was faster, and six teammates rushed up in one wave, indicating that the Inter players were recuperating and waiting for this kind of opportunity.
But why are so many people rushing forward without much threat?There are two reasons.
First, the Royal Society players returned to defend very quickly, the first wave of four defenders single-back five, the second wave followed back three, two midfielders plus left wingers, eight against seven, the defender already has a numerical advantage, crowded in a narrow penalty area, not easy to take chances. Such a speed of recovery shows that the players of the Royal Society can grit their teeth and hold on in the face of the first physical bottleneck.
The second is the level of outflanking of Inter players. In the first few games, we have been talking about Inter's recent offensive layering and following up with wave after wave. But this time, all six follow-up players squeezed into the box, with Mkhitaryan, who was at the bottom of the pitch, also crossing the penalty spot, leaving neither side at the top of the arc. If Mkhitaryan can be a little slower, appear at the top of the arc to respond, the side inverted triangle pass, what a beautiful attacking layer.
38 minutes, quick counterattack 5 to 3).
It was Inter's best chance of the game, and it was entirely Thuram's individual ability to create it.
It was not a good opportunity, the opponent pressed forward, Cuadrado kicked back to the midfield, and the normal situation was that the opponent won the ball and began to besiege. But this time there is Thuram, carrying the defender to win a little high ball, and turn smoothly, this is not over, under the close entanglement of the opponent's back, but also changed direction past the opponent's left back, the key is to maintain high speed throughout the whole process, this time it can really make people wet.
How did the 5 play 3 come about, Thuram fought for a little to carry the left central defender, dribble to change direction past the left back, and then accelerated to get rid of the back that had been entangled, and killed three by himself.
Why didn't it work out in the end?Still the same problem, the offensive level. Five people are running in a line, where is Thuram passing?The two on the left are unguarded, but the opponent's back just blocks the passing line, Sanchez on the right has no speed, and the opponent has already looked at this side in advance.
The midfielder who intercepted the key pass had already been thrown away by Thuram, and it was when he was in that position when he was defending Frattesi who was inserted forward in the middle, blocking the passing line, but it was Frattesi's forward midfielder who led the opponent's right-back to the middle, and the two at the back point were released. Of course, you can't blame Thuram for not passing a second early, because if the pass is too early, the full-back is not led to the middle, and Dimarco has to receive the ball one-on-one.
The key is Mkhitaryan, who ran to the same line with Dimarco and was an invalid run. If he can be slower, two steps back, and have a layered attack, Thuram can have a better passing point.
40 mins, halfway ball break, Thuram shoots).
This is a fast attack launched by Inter Milan in the front court with eight men pressing, forcing the opposing defender to kick wide and get the ball in the midfield. It shows that by the 40th minute, Inter Milan can not only press out the formation, but even counter-pressure the opponent, and the situation has been reversed.
Thuram's shot was a little hasty, but it was still that problem, no one around answered, teammates rushed to the penalty area, and if they didn't shoot, they could only split the side, and the opponent had seven people in place, and there was a high probability that it would become a return pass.
In the 44th minute, Thuram received the ball on the side to create a threat).
This is another individual performance of Thuram, the side receives the ball with his back, dribbles around in a circle, gets rid of the defender who is marked and comes to the middle, at this time the three teammates in the middle are going hand in hand, Thuram's best choice is to plug through, but Sanchez at the near end has no speed, and Frattesi and Mkhitaryan in the middle are separated by several players, and it is more difficult to make direct contact. Of course, you can also find Dimarco at the far end of the ball with the overhead ball, but the overhead ball is slower and will give the defender time to adjust.
But Thuram took a step sideways and adjusted for a second, and it was at this second that the opportunity came out, and although the route to Dimarco was still blocked, the defender who defended Mkhitaryan retreated into the box and left two steps away.
After Mkhitaryan received the ball, he only used a push to cut into the penalty area on the wing. Although the vertical level is not typed, the horizontal level can also be moved forward layer by layer, and Thuram walks sideways, and the space comes out.
It's a pity that Mkhitaryan mixed garlic at his feet and couldn't be divided out at the first time, and he will give it back when he is adjusted, and the defenders have already chased it back.
Although Mkhitaryan does not play for the national team, he is almost 35 years old after all, and he has played third in the non-goalkeeper position this season, only a few dozen minutes less than Lautaro and Calhan. At such an age, with such consumption, it is normal to make occasional mistakes.
In the last ten minutes of the first half, Inter had more than 70% possession and shot 4-0, completely dominating the initiative.
[Second Half Selection].
The reversal of the situation in the last ten minutes of the first half presented Inzaghi with the question of whether to continue to attack or come back to defendIf you retreat, it would be a pity to give up on the initiative in such a good situation at the end of the first half;In terms of attack, the opponent will recover after halftime, and the second half will definitely continue to attack, and the situation will become a high-intensity and high-tempo offensive battle, which is not in the interests of Inter.
Inzaghi's choice was to attack first and then defend.
At the beginning of the second half, Inter pressed the attack and combined it with pressing in front.
Inter forces the ball in front of him, Thuram shoots).
In particular, the move of using Mkhitaryan to mark the opponent's back is very effective.
Mkhitaryan is close to the back).
And the Imperial Society, which had recovered its physical strength, unsurprisingly began to press in the front court again.
Real Sociedad pressed up front).
This kind of mutual disagreement did not last for a few minutes, or Inter chose to give in, after all, I can fight against the defense, why should I enter your rhythm and compete with you?
So, the next situation turned out to be like this:
Inter is down-to-back at the back).
Inter took the initiative to attract the opponent to come up and grab it in the backfield, but the Real Society, which was aggressive in front of it, suddenly did not dare to rob. There must be a demon when things go wrong, and there is a chance not to move forward, this is deliberately leading me, no, observe first.
Inter is very patient, you don't grab, I don't rush, just keep back. Let's see who's in a hurry first, and it's not like I have to win anyway. Well, it seems that I have to win, so I'm not afraid, anyway, I have a backhand, if you don't take advantage of the mad dog state to score, you will become a dead dog in a while, just ask if you are afraid?
Finally, the young Imperial Society couldn't help but be impulsive and took the initiative to press it up and force it. Then, let Inter's plan succeed.
Quick counterattack 4 to 3, Thuram error).
This time, three players from the Real Society were led into the Inter penalty area, and the periphery would naturally be empty, and Acerbi went to the back midfield position to receive the ball and successfully counterattacked.
After two points hit one, the opponent's right-back did not save Thuram at the first time, so Thuram had a direct shot opportunity, but he did not shoot, but wanted to cut inside to dodge the angle. At this time, Dimarco was not decisive enough, allowing the opposing right-back to complete the position of one defense and two defenses, buying time for his teammates to return to the defense. Dimarco should pull away from Thuram a little bit and press the offside line, and if the opponent's midfielder wants to play with Dimarco, he can't defend Thuram. Dimarco chose a position that was further back, with Thuram in the same line, and the opposing defender only had to stand in place, whether it was Thuram dribbling the ball or distributing it to Dimarco, he could follow the defense again.
The opportunity was only half a second, the opponent's defense was in place, Thuram was one-on-two, and the dribble was broken.
[Hind hand invalid].
Seeing that the time is 60 minutes, the scheduled backhand tactics are about to begin, but the physical strength of the players of the Royal Society has not decreased significantly, because as mentioned earlier, the Royal Society also rotated three people in this game, and the league ended at half time last weekend, and the Chinese King Cup also made a big rotation last week, so the physical strength of this game is particularly abundant.
Inzaghi hesitated a little, but couldn't wait any longer, and after 65 minutes, three people were changed in a row, and the backhand harvesting tactics began.
And then there's the slap in the head!In the three minutes after the substitution, Inter had only 22% possession, and they couldn't pass at half-time, and the three new players didn't touch the ball.
This is the response given by the Imperial Society, not afraid of your backhand.
Of course, due to the strength and physical advantage of the new force, Inter slowly took over the game, but the backhand tactics did not have the desired effect, and after nearly half an hour after the substitution, Inter only completed two shots in total, one of which was in the final stage of injury time.
On 71 minutes, Lautaro nodded the ball back to goal).
In the 95th minute, Lautaro volleyed from a small angle at the back post).
Both times were shots from 45 degrees into the box, while none of the other attacking routines were hit. The interval between the two shots was 24 minutes, which means that in the more than 20 minutes that should have pressed the opponent's onslaught, Inter did not even shoot on goal.
Why?Why is the backhand harvesting tactic that has worked many times useless in this game?
The main reason is that the same tactic has been used too many times, and the opponent has already taken precautions and prepared countermeasures in advance. Inzaghi predicted that the opponent's physical strength would decline in 60 minutes, so he kept the main force to prepare for the backhand harvest, and the manager of Real Society also predicted that Inzaghi was ready to harvest with the backhand, so he prepared in advance.
To put it simply, I predicted your prediction.
As for the specific response measures?
1. Physical fitness.
As mentioned earlier, the previous games of the Royal Society did not consume much, and the game was particularly full of energy, and there was no significant drop in 60 minutes.
2. Substitutions.
The first substitution of the Royal Society was earlier than Inter, and the second substitution was synchronized with Inter, ensuring that there were enough fresh forces on the field.
3. Fouls.
Real committed a total of 21 fouls in the game, nine in the final 20 minutes, and all nine of them came in the Inter half.
That is to say, in the last 20 minutes, as soon as Inter had an opportunity to attack, the Real Society players came up to take people down, and it was in the Inter half, far from their own goal, which was not a threat to attack, and they would not eat cards.
The last 20 minutes were fouled by both sides).
Through foul play, the game was constantly suspended, cutting the game into pieces, making it impossible for Inter to effectively organize the attack.
Fourth, lying grass.
It's not enough to foul me, the grass tactics must also be matched.
Like this, I didn't touch myself and lay down on the grass).
This time it was more than two minutes to lie down).
Just these two times wasted 4 minutes, and the fake fall to watch the VAR was also more than 2 minutes, that is, at least 6 minutes just counting the stoppage time, not counting the substitutions of the two sides and other sporadic lying time, so I think only 6 minutes of injury time is too little, at least 8 minutes.
5. Iron buckets.
All the tricks are exhausted, and in the end, you can only set up an iron bucket formation.
Imperial Shrine Iron Bucket Array).
There are eight in the penalty area and two on the periphery, and it is not easy for you to think of playing high balls.
In the end, the Royal Society relied on various tricks to prevent Inzaghi's backhand, got a point as he wished, and sat first in the group.
[Conclusion].
Stats) failed to win the opponent at home and lost the top spot in the group, the fans were naturally disappointed, and some people said that Inzaghi did not want to win at all.
If you really don't want to win, there is no need to let most of the main forces start, and there is no need to change the back hand to a few main forces, and run 120 kilometers of data in the whole field.
The main argument for those who hold this argument is that Lautaro came on and replaced the most threatening Thuram, and the main striker was not present at the same time.
Inzaghi explained after the game that it was a technical choice. My understanding is that even if you don't take into account the physical factor, it is a reasonable choice to replace a counter-attacking striker with a traditional center forward who can fight for the header. It's just that the result is not so good, and of course it would be wrong to go back and choose.
What if Arnau and Sanchez were used in the starters, and Thuram and Lautaro were added in the backNote that Inter's threatening attack in the first 60 minutes was all made by Thuram, really starting with two old men, with the intensity of the first half of the Real Society, the striker couldn't touch the ball, the counterattack couldn't be played, the force couldn't run, the formation was crushed to death, and it was difficult to hold out until 60 minutes.
What about letting Thuram play more than ten more minutes?Is it just so much fitness?Inzaghi said that it is not a matter of fitness, but of technical choice. You can say Inzaghi made the wrong choice, but you can't say he doesn't want to win.
The starter did not use the whole main force, because the opponent's tactical characteristics need to be left behind;Coming off the bench for Thuram, a high striker is needed because of the technical choice;You didn't win the game because the opponent predicted your prediction and the tactical set-up was right.
But in any case, everyone can see that Inter did not work hard, did not give their best, did not have the belief of winning, and could accept the result of a draw and second place in the group.
Of course, I want to win, but I don't want to be desperate.
Why?Perhaps from the first game of the Champions League, when half of the team was rotated, it should have been clear that the first goal of this season is to win the league and everything else has to make way for it. In six Champions League games, four were on the bench, one was on the bench, and only one was on the line, and then they came back and dropped points on Bologna.
Although the defeat to Sassuolo was not a European game, it was a double game in the league a week, and it was also a back-to-back start for the main team, with only two people in rotation. In other words, if the whole main team starts in a row, you have to lose points.
With such a profound lesson in mind, it is necessary to ensure that most of the main players only start once a week, and this time it has to be used in the first target - the league. As for the Champions League, the minimum target group qualification has been completed, and it doesn't matter who I meet, anyway, I will use half a set of main forces at most, and it can't affect the league.
The Champions League was able to go so far last season in exchange for a wave of consecutive winless runs in the league. Although the strength of the substitutes has improved this season, they all have their own problems, the state of the veterans has declined, and the youngsters still need to be honed, only a few people such as Frattesi and Augusto can be used, but they all need to be led by the main force, and they cannot lead the team as the core. Last season's substitute team was led by two cores, Lukaku and Ronaldo.
Juventus bite so tightly in the league, its advantage is that it has been fighting on a single line, and for Inter, every midweek Champions League game is a serious test, and even for the main goal, it can be said to be a drag.
But this drag is also too tempting, every extra game can bring money, fame, who is willing to give up?
For the top, the Champions League is unrealistic, and taking more prize money can only be done with the best effort, and only the league title is the most realistic. Since one person cheers for the postgraduate entrance examination The top management has decided the first goal, and they do not have the strength to take into account the second goal, then the Champions League is a demagogic and charming jianhuo for Inter.
As I said last time, it is a sign of maturity to stand up to the ** in front of you and not care about the evaluation of others. Although this decision was made by the management, Inzaghi, as the executor, was able to control the players and withstand the Champions League.
Recognizing one's own strengths, striving only for the most important goals, and not wasting energy on the illusion of slim opportunities, this is a sign of maturity, and I am very gratified.
With this awareness, the chances of a second star in the league have increased greatly. After watching Inter's performance in this game, Juventus should be the most angry. Since the Italian Football Association is making a ghost on the schedule when the team is out of the game, then directly, I won't fight outside, come back and fight with you.
At the end of the season, the league championship + Champions League round of 16, do you accept it?