Phi-Fic Chapter 211 Shuffle
Chapter 211 Shuffle
Chapter 211 Shuffle
Before the group match between Dortmund and Arsenal, when the two teams announced the lineup of players, everyone was taken aback because both sides had rotated some of the main players.
For Dortmund, people can still understand that they are now being bitten tightly by Bayern Munich in the league. The ranking between the two teams can only be determined by the outcome of a game, so now it is almost certain that the top of the group will be qualified.
But Arsenal is basically hopeless in the league now, and they are guaranteed four. He has no reason not to fight again in the Champions League. Although the possibility is very small, as long as they win two games in a row and Dortmund loses in the next game, they will be able to qualify at the top of the group.
In this regard, many people's understanding is that Wenger has already thought that it is hopeless to compete for the top spot in the group, so he also rotated players to save enough energy to welcome the Premier League after Christmas, when other leagues are in the winter break.
Both Shen Peng and Mbappe started this game. Originally, Klopp wanted to rotate Shen Peng, but Shen Peng is now taking the time to practice cooperation with Mbappe, and his physical fitness is not a problem at all, so he still played in this game.
In the first half, both sides played well and did not score. However, the cooperation between Shen Peng and Mbappe caused Arsenal's defense to be in chaos, so that Arsenal's defense received a total of two yellow cards in the first half. A yellow card will result in a suspension.
Regarding the yellow card suspension rules of the UEFA Champions League, if you get two yellow cards in one game, you will be suspended for one game thereafter; if you accumulate three yellow cards in different games, you will also be suspended for one game, and after that, it will become a suspension for every two yellow cards, that is, the fifth, seventh, and ninth yellow cards will be suspended.
Now, Mertesacker is facing this situation. If he receives a card in the following games and suffers a suspension, he will miss the knockout round, which Wenger does not want to see.
So Wenger said: "In this game, you should defend with all your strength. Don't worry. Even if you get a yellow card, you are not afraid of missing the next game against Galatasaray. We can guarantee the group qualifying, and we need you in the knockout round."
Although Wenger didn't say it clearly, the meaning is already obvious, that is to let Mertesacker shuffle his yellow card!
It is not uncommon to shuffle the cards. Many teams will use it. For example, after the fifth match of the Champions League to confirm the group qualifying, the players with yellow cards are shuffled, absent a group match, and guaranteed to play in the knockout rounds.
But generally don't make it too obvious, otherwise you will be punished by UEFA for additional suspension.
In this game, Dortmund's offense was too strong. To defend Shen Peng, Mertesacker thought the number of yellow cards was not enough, so there was no intentional yellow card at all.
After the start of the second half, Mertesacker was very active in defense and his moves were a bit big, so Shen Peng had no chances.
In 8 minutes, Mbappe dribbled the ball forward from the side. Before the opponent's player pressed him, he made a diagonal pass and passed the ball to Shen Peng.
Now they pass the ball between the two without looking at each other, which is even more difficult for the opponent's defenders to make judgments.
Because most players will be optimistic about the position of their teammates before passing the ball; if they want to pass the ball, they will focus on their feet, so the defensive player can generally predict the opponent's next move when defending.
And now when defending Mbappe and Shen Peng, they don't know whether they are going to break through or pass the ball next. Just like Ronaldinho a few years ago, he likes to look to the other side when passing the ball. Such a pass is very confusing.
Shen Peng was about to break into the penalty area after receiving a pass from Mbappe. At this moment, Mertesacker rushed over from the side and knocked Shen Peng to the ground with a tackle.
Under the protection of Shen Peng, the ball was not shoveled by Mertesacker at the first time, and he also paid attention to protecting himself and did not let himself be shoveled, but he was knocked to the ground by Mertesacker who slid over by inertia.
The referee blew his whistle and ran over. He had already shown a yellow card in the first half, and if he gave Mertesacker another yellow card, Arsenal would have one less man to fight. Coupled with the boos from the fans, he hesitated for a while, and only gave Mertesacker a verbal warning without drawing a card.
This made some Dortmund players very dissatisfied, and they went to the referee to argue. Fortunately, some experienced players in the team persuaded them to ask the referee to argue that it is easy to get a card by themselves, which is not good.
Klopp also put pressure on the fourth official from the sidelines, but to no avail.
After dawdling for nearly 2 minutes, Dortmund kicked off again.
In the No.70 minute of the game, the two sides were still zero to zero.
Now for the teams on both sides, a tie is an acceptable result. In this way, the two sides will join hands to enter the knockout round, and Dortmund can also guarantee the first place in the group.
However, due to the previous incident, the players on both sides showed some anger and vowed to win the game. Even, during the period when the game was about to end, the offense of both sides played more fiercely, giving people an illusion that a goal was about to be scored.
At this time, Shinji Kagawa got the ball in the middle, saw Shen Peng running forward on the side, and passed another diagonal pass to Shen Peng. After Shen Peng got the ball, he immediately broke through the side.
There are few people on the side road, which is suitable for breakthrough, which is why Shen Peng came to the side road.
I saw that after he got the ball, he ran almost close to the sideline all the way to the bottom line, as if he had no intention of cutting inside or crossing.
"What is this kid doing?" Buvac on the sidelines couldn't help asking after seeing it.
Klopp smiled when he saw this, "Maybe he thinks it's easier to break through from the wing."
As soon as the words fell, Shen Peng had already overwhelmed Arsenal's full-backs by relying on his speed, all the way to the bottom line.
However, although he broke through the full-back, he was stuck tightly by the added central defender Monreal, preventing him from taking him in.
Seeing this, Shen Peng kicked up and was about to cross. Monreal instinctively raised his foot to resist, but he regretted it the next moment.
Because Shen Peng used Cruyff to turn around and bypass Monreal, although this position is still not easy to cut inside, he can already pass the ball calmly.
Razor pass!
The ball drew an arc in front of the goal, bypassed Arsenal's substitute goalkeeper Martinez, and also bypassed Dortmund's substitute center Ramos, and flew to the other side. Mbappe suddenly broke out and scored with a light push.
(End of this chapter)