Football: I can see player entries.

Chapter 214 Tactical Trap

In a football match, neither coach wants to see the game devolve into a midfield battle.

It serves no purpose other than expending the players' energy.

Crystal Palace's manager was the first to get anxious.

At this stage of the match, it is a clear fact that Burton's overall strength is superior to theirs.

Even using tactics they weren't good at, they still managed to put up a draw against them.

If the opponent adjusts their formation in the second half, the outcome of the game will be hard to predict.

If you want to win, now is the best opportunity.

"Let both sides press up!"

"The same goes for full-backs."

"Let's see if we can take the lead now."

After careful consideration, the head coach decided to give it his all.

After a while, the anger subsided.

Anyway, I was planning to give up the competition anyway, so it's no big deal if I lose in the end.

"This...isn't this a bit inappropriate?"

"Then we won't be able to maintain our defenses."

His assistant coach also expressed doubts about the decision.

The 4-2-4 formation was popular in the past because its offense was strong and its defense was decent.

After all, they fielded four forwards.

The reason it is gradually being phased out is that modern football places increasing emphasis on midfield control.

This does not mean that its offensive capabilities are entirely without merit.

If you send the full-backs up as well, it will be easy for the opponent to find an opening.

"Never mind that, just go."

"We don't have enough players up front, and if they focus on defense, we can't break through."

"Look, once they get used to our attacking rhythm, they rarely have a chance to get close to the goal."

This is what worries him the most.

No matter how beautiful the game is, it's useless if you can't score.

Possession, interceptions, tackles...

All the data serves the purpose of winning the game.

"Okay." The assistant coach couldn't find a reason to object, so he nodded and then took the opportunity to talk to the players on the sidelines.

At least Crystal Palace has a strong ability to execute.

Once the number of attackers increased, the effect became more apparent.

However, this is exactly what Li Yanqing has been waiting for.

He shouted into the field as soon as the opposing team increased their attacking numbers.

"David! Brinder!"

"Change seats!"

He certainly can't play a purely 4-4-2 formation; that's not tactical training, it's playing with fire.

After more than a week of training, there's still something hidden inside.

David Luiz and Blind, who originally played as full-backs, immediately moved to the defensive midfield position after hearing Li Yanqing's call.

Strictly speaking, their current formation should be 2-4-4.

The forwards remained the same, with Quinn behind them.

Then there are three defensive midfielders and two defenders.

This is Li Yanqing's goal: to drag the opponent into a midfield battle, and then, when the opponent gives up the midfield fight, suddenly seize control of the midfield to disrupt the opponent's rhythm.

Ultimately, while it may seem like they've given up on the midfield, they're still trying to win it back.

He was able to play like this because both David Luiz and Blind could play as defensive midfielders.

As for the defenders, there are only two left...

It's okay, but the opponent still has to be able to break through our midfield.

At this moment, one of Crystal Palace's full-backs is dribbling the ball on the attack.

If nothing unexpected happens, he will be heading towards the byline to cross the ball. He just needs to coordinate with his teammates to get past Blind.

But then he suddenly realized that the person in front of him had somehow become Lars Bender.

Blind had already run up to the center-back.

He wasn't confident against this player, so he immediately switched the ball to the other wing.

But David Luiz, who was supposed to be in the backfield, suddenly appeared in the midfield. He easily won the header and then passed it to Blind in the middle.

The latter sent the ball directly to the opponent's far post!

Anderson received the ball!

Since the full-back couldn't return for the time being, a center-back had to fill in.

If left unattended, they might not be able to bear the consequences.

After all, no one is confident they can defend against Ibrahimovic one-on-one when he's in the penalty area.

Instead of crossing from the byline, Anderson delivered a through ball this time.

We currently have three players in the attacking third, while the opposing team only has two defenders, so there's no need to pass the ball high.

His passing target was Murphy, who was wandering alone on the edge of the penalty area.

Nobody was watching him!

[Single-handed expert] activated!

[Pass the goalkeeper] Initiation!

The distance left for him wasn't much, but he used a very smooth maneuver to first bring the ball to the front of the goal, and then easily get past the goalkeeper.

"goooooal!"

"Goal!"

"Young Murphy from Burton!"

"One to zero!"

Murphy waved excitedly; he's been scoring quite a few goals lately.

Thanks to the increased goal-scoring rate from the [One-on-One Expert] skill.

"Pretty!"

"You've got to treat me to dinner, kid!"

"A whole month!"

Li Yanqing patted Nawei happily, saying that he was confident enough to do it, but the kid didn't believe him.

"Oh! This is a trap!"

"That opposing coach was so careless!"

Nawei understood Li Yanqing's tactical intentions; the opponent had just played a little too aggressively and immediately lost the ball.

"Would you dare play like this on another team?"

"I wouldn't dare." Li Yanqing shook his head decisively.

Some things shouldn't be used too often, otherwise they won't work.

“This isn’t exactly a brilliant tactic,” Lyman chimed in.

"At least it's not unbreakable."

"Li grasped the mindset of the opposing coach."

"Next time you need someone else, they'll be prepared, and you'll only be the one who suffers."

“That’s right, exactly.” Li Yanqing nodded; what he said was correct.

But soon, he became suspicious.

"Wait, it's not like it can't be used anymore."

"Want to make another bet with me?"

"I will continue to use this tactic when we play Watford."

"If only we could score another goal..."

He's already talking about what's to come, because there's not much suspense after this match.

Losing possession suddenly isn't a big deal, but suddenly losing control of the midfield completely threw the opponent into disarray.

In the second half, Burton changed their formation back to 4-2-3-1 through substitutions, and the opponent had no chance at all.

They actually performed quite poorly when facing strong teams.

But the fact that they've managed to stay in seventh place this season is due to their own merits.

Secure the points you're entitled to, don't overdo it, and ultimately, improve steadily.

The most remarkable thing is that they rarely make mistakes when beating weaker opponents.

"Forget it, Li. He's already lost a month's worth of your food expenses." Lyman was quite aware of Li Yanqing's spending habits.

Including the cost of alcohol, it was enough to take away half a month's salary for Neville.

"I think we should just forget about it..."

However, what he didn't expect was that Neville was still unconvinced.

"Just bet!"

"I don't believe you can score a goal with this tactic even when the opponent is on guard!"