Chapter 284: Chapter 283 Tactical Shift
Portugal’s rising star striker Gomes scored a long-distance goal, helping his team pull one back!
With this goal, Benfica’s confidence was fully on display.
The fans began to sing loudly, cheering on their team.
Benfica’s players, too, launched an aggressive press, starting to gain momentum.
In such situations, the best strategy is to increase the pace of passing.
Otherwise, whether you’re relying on technical skills or physicality, you’re likely to be infringed upon by the opponent’s strong play.
The thirty-third minute.
Ibrahimovic was taken down by Maniche’s forceful challenge.
He tried to withstand Maniche, but once Maniche got heated, the size of his moves was clearly beyond normal match play.
The strength and manner with which Maniche took down Ibrahimovic was at the level of karate.
After hitting the ground, Ibrahimovic instantly clutched the football.
Yet Maniche wanted to kick the ball away and attempted to do so.
Despite visibly holding back, he still effectively smothered the ball on top of Ibrahimovic.
Ibrahimovic, who had intended to perform a roll on the pitch, instantly got angry, to hell with the act, and went straight for it!
Upon getting up, Ibrahimovic sent Maniche flying.
Maniche also charged towards Ibrahimovic after getting up.
The two chest-bumped, with Maniche retreating step by step and Ibrahimovic exuding dominance.
Had his teammates not arrived quickly, Maniche, who was at a disadvantage in this chest-to-chest clash, might have thrown a punch.
The main referee followed up, issuing yellow cards to both Ibrahimovic and Maniche.
Ibrahimovic was booked for initiating trouble, a disciplinary yellow card.
Maniche’s was for excessive force in his defense and unsportsmanlike conduct, a regular yellow card.
If Maniche hadn’t held back his kick or if he had taken a swing during the subsequent scuffle with Ibrahimovic, he would likely have been shown a red card.
One can only say that his teammates were wise in controlling this ticking time bomb.
The thirty-ninth minute.
Being emotionally affected, Ibrahimovic didn’t drop back as actively, intentionally avoiding another conflict and keeping a low profile.
This was the right move; everyone needs to adjust like this after a conflict, or the situation could get even worse.
But for Sporting Lisbon, the team was temporarily without a forward pivot.
Deng Kai was left isolated and easily dispossessed.
Benfica launched a counterattack.
In the end, Nuno Gomes took another long shot... which hit Deschamps.
The youngster didn’t mind, but the old man really didn’t want to be smothered by a football.
Deschamps lay on the ground for a long while, and after the team medic came onto the field, they compared fingers.
Deschamps failed to touch the medic’s finger.
The medic couldn’t tell if it was a concussion or just a case of old eyes failing, but either way, he signaled to Trigella for a substitution.
Even though Deschamps repeatedly explained he was farsighted and missed not because of a physical issue, the medic couldn’t take the risk; they had to follow the rules.
So, Trigella substituted Pepe for Deschamps.
Pepe was thrilled to get plenty of time on the field today.
It even made people think he had a personal grudge against Deschamps.
But really, as a kid, it was just pure joy.
The forty-fifth minute.
Ibrahimovic, having calmed down, once again started to receive from his teammates on the flank, becoming the pivot point.
But his style of play had been noted by Benfica.
Surrounded, Ibrahimovic’s pass was misdirected and successfully intercepted by Benfica.
Benfica countered again.
Gomes, in an off-the-ball situation, knocked down the young Pepe, then received the ball, held off Feng Te, and did it all in one fluid motion.
You can’t say that Pepe and Feng Te didn’t do well, but at least the result wasn’t good.
Gomes fired a cannon just outside the box!
Schmeichel flew to make the save.
But today, Gomes was on fire, and he also had luck on his side.
The football ricocheted off the junction of the left post and the crossbar and into the net.
It was an absolute dead angle!
"Gomes! Gomes! Gomes!"
Luz Stadium was simply exploding!
Gomes equalized the score with his impressive individual ability!
From then on, every second could have been the moment they took the lead.
But the arrival of halftime slightly delayed that scene.
...
The visiting team’s locker room.
Deng Kai found Ibrahimovic and was communicating with him, "In the second half, speed up your play on the wing and try to keep it simple. They’re leaving some space in the middle to limit you."
"But if the pace drops on your side, we won’t be able to seize the opportunity in the middle."
Simply put, there’s the pivot that passes and the pivot that controls the ball to stabilize the rhythm.
Ibrahimovic had been playing the latter style, which made his presence felt much more.
Now Deng Kai wanted him to switch to the former style, moving the team’s focus to the midfielders.
If Benfica failed to quickly respond to this change, they would face major problems as the stronger team exploited their weakness.
Most in-game adjustments and commands by head coaches are actually aimed at responding to the changing focus of the opposition’s attack.
Back and forth, constantly changing.
But coaches have different levels of insight, and it takes time to give commands after observing.
This is where the team’s vulnerabilities lie.
The more perceptive and intelligent the player, the more likely they are to spot opportunities before the coach has to tell them.
Such changes were also present in Benfica as the second half began.
However, Deng Kai had anticipated Benfica’s intention in advance.
Benfica was clearly using Gomes’ long shots to create diversions.
Within five minutes, Gomes went wide twice, vacating space for Maniche who liked to join midfield tussles.
When you think Maniche is a midfielder, Maniche will show you he’s actually a winger.
His killing power surging into the center from the sidelines surpassed that of an ordinary midfielder.
The 58th minute.
Gomes went wide.
Maniche used Gomes’ cover to carry the ball from the flank to the top of the box, preparing to shoot.
Bang!
Deng Kai suddenly made a daring tackle from the side ahead of him.
If he hadn’t understood Maniche’s intention, he wouldn’t have dared do this because Maniche could have made a sudden vertical push after dribbling horizontally.
But Deng Kai knew that Benfica’s coach had instructed Maniche to dribble horizontally to the middle before shooting or passing to Sabri on the left, who would make a no-ball cut inside the box relying on speed.
And he wouldn’t pass back to Gomes, who had already drawn away two defenders.
So Deng Kai dared to tackle.
Because he was sure Maniche would still dribble.
With Sabri on the left not yet starting, Maniche couldn’t make the pass.
"Beautiful! Deng Kai bravely tackles and accurately pokes the football away from Maniche’s feet!"
"Maniche gestures to the referee for a foul, but the referee shakes his head!"
"Maniche is visibly agitated... Oh, Deng Kai passes the ball to Pepe, Pepe makes a long pass! Ibrahimovic moves left to receive the ball, Ronaldo enters the box via the middle!"
"Sporting Lisbon’s counterattack comes swiftly, Maniche has no time for complaints; he’s frantically tracking back, but it seems a bit late."
