striker cool brother

Chapter 145 Football IQ
For the big victory at the weekend, the media put too much focus on Rossi.

With the bundle of Pixie, the media prefers such gimmicky news, which can increase clicks and readings.

As for Leicester City, as a relegation team, the long-term points are at the bottom, and it is reasonable to gain a victory.

Not only them, Queens Park Rangers also beat their opponents 4:1 in the last round.

Burnley even drew 0:0 with Tottenham. In this comparison, Leicester City's victory looks a lot bleak.

Leicester City's opponent in the next round is West Brom. After losing to the Rangers last week, the team's morale has fluctuated a lot.

They are ranked 14th in the standings, only 7 points away from the relegation zone, and it is not yet time to rest assured.

Every time the Premier League relegation battle, there will often be upsets. Only by completely getting out of the relegation zone can we rest easy.

Pulis became the head coach of West Brom in January today. In the 1 games after he took over the team, he achieved 6 wins, 4 draws and 1 loss. Not only did he get out of the relegation zone, he was also elected the best head coach of the month in the Premier League in February, which shows his strong coaching ability.

However, after entering March, the team suffered extensive fatigue and injuries due to two-line battles. They lost 3 games and won 3 in four games, and were also eliminated in the FA Cup.

In the last round, they even lost to the penultimate Queens Park Rangers 1:4. Pulis faced the difficulty of lack of personnel for the first time after coaching.

Although it was a home game, and the opponent was Leicester City, who was at the bottom, but the old coach Pulis did not neglect in the slightest.

After carefully watching the previous games of the Leicester City team, he found that the opponent was not a weak team, at least not like the current ranking.

Whether it is Arsenal, Manchester City or Tottenham, it is very difficult to face Leicester City. The number of effective counterattacks and success rate of Leicester City can be seen more clearly.

The success rate of their counter-threat goals is even higher than that of traditional giants.

This does not rule out the fact that the rich players have a lot of shooting opportunities, causing waves of shots.

But Leicester City can maintain an efficient counterattack rate against traditional giants, which is worth recalling.

After careful study, Pulis made a detailed plan for Leicester City's counterattack.

In the game on Saturday afternoon, Leicester City, who played away, conceded a goal in the 8th minute of the game.

Full-back Brent stepped forward and knocked the ball across the middle. Manchester United midfielder Fletcher fired angrily and penetrated the goal guarded by Schmeichel.

This goal also vented the shame of last week's disastrous defeat to the Rangers.

On West Brom's defense, let the experienced Fletcher mark Rossi, limiting Leicester City's counterattack speed in the frontcourt.

Rossi was pressed closely by Fletcher in the frontcourt, and it was difficult to receive and pass the ball comfortably. More often, he swapped positions with Ulloa in order to get rid of the defense.

But there will be a problem in this way. Ulloa, who is retreating, lacks the ability to attack in series. Rossi is at the forefront and must rely on the team's passing to play his best role.

Therefore, Rossi is at the forefront, invisible most of the time.

From this point of view, the biggest problem Leicester City currently has is the lack of organization in the midfield.

Leicester City, which has not been able to gain an advantage for a long time, tried to attack from the side after 15 minutes, using speed to create cross opportunities.

Albrighton returned from injury, giving Pearson more options on the wing.

In the 20th minute, Albrighton broke through from the left and faced two defenses. At the moment when there was no chance to pass the ball, he saw Rossi who was slanting into the space behind the full-back and quickly gave him the ball.

Prior to this, Rossi seldom took the ball on the wing, but more for attracting defense in the middle.

The reason why he appears here is because the center really can't get the ball.

Rossi's initiative to catch the ball suddenly opened up the team's offensive space. If it weren't for the quality of his cross, Ulloa in the middle would have a chance to threaten the goal.

The West Brom coach also thought ahead of time that Rossi would pull a cross.

He asked the central defender to cover the defense immediately, suppressing Rossi on the bottom line, and preventing him from easily passing the ball.

Fletcher, who followed the defense before, made up for the central defender position, forming a 5-3-2 formation.

Although doing so will result in a lack of adequate protection in the middle, as long as the central defenders and full-backs successfully double-team Rossi, the ball will naturally not pass.

Facing Pulis's targeted defense, the hot-tempered Pearson made a decisive decision. When attacking, he moved Albrighton to the midfielder position. Schlupp changed from a full-back to a full-back, and his formation became an extremely aggressive 3-2-3-2.

With the Albrighton organization, Rossi will be completely liberated, allowing him to devote more energy to offense.

In the 30th minute, Albrighton, who was getting familiar with the tactical changes, took the ball in midfield and sent a precise through ball to Ulloa in the middle.

The Argentine striker used his body to lean against the defensive player, and while turning halfway after receiving the ball, he observed that Rossi was already cruising to his side and was advancing quickly.

Although Ulloa did not have the ability to connect the two sides to attack, Rossi took the initiative to come up. At such a short distance, he only needs to pass the ball, it's that simple.

Rossi started up the speed instantly, and it was vividly displayed at this moment. The central defender Macaulay was obviously a step slower when he turned around and chased back. Rossi successfully entered the penalty area.

1:1! !
Rossi once again became the savior of the team.

But for this ball, I would like to thank my teammates for the assist.

The improvement of Albrighton's position can connect the team's offense very well. If West Brom marks him, then Rossi's retreat can also pose a huge threat in the middle.

Pulis never expected that Pearson's on-the-spot command would be so fast and extremely targeted.

What made him even more unexpected was that Albrighton's role as the attacking midfielder was indeed instructed by Pearson.

However, Rossi retreated and formed a double midfielder with him, which was Rossi's own feedback after reading the game.

At Bournemouth, not only did Rossi increase his goals, but his football IQ also skyrocketed.

Can quickly read the rhythm during the game, analyze the situation, and make appropriate adjustments to change the team's offensive and defensive strategic deployment.

Even Pearson failed to notice these changes in the first place, and was still complacent about his adjustments.

After stabilizing the midfield advantage, the Leicester City team played a wave of offensive climax, pressing the home team's defense back and forth, and the wind in front of the goal was jittery.

In the 40th minute, under the continuous attack of Leicester City, they got a corner kick.

Albrighton took a corner kick, and Leicester City's two central defenders completed an aerial header relay in the opponent's penalty area, and Huth scored the overtake goal.

1: 2!

In the second half, West Brom adjusted the lineup one after another.

However, due to the fatigue of the previous players and the instability of the players' mentality due to the lagging behind the score, in the 75th minute, Leicester City took the opportunity to counterattack and Rossi assisted Vardy to score.

1: 3!

Although West Brom got a goal back by Gardner in the 89th minute, they swallowed the bitter fruit of defeat at home and gave Leicester City three points.

After the 32nd round, Leicester City was at the bottom with 25 points, but only 1 point behind Queens Park Rangers and Burnley, and the situation of relegation gradually became clear.

The next opponent is the dark horse of the Premier League this season, Swansea.

(End of this chapter)