Chapter 173: Father and Son Battle with Guardiola (Part II)
The schedule for the Audi Cup was tight to not affect the teams' preparation.
Four teams, four matches, all scheduled over two days.
This saved time but increased the players' burden.
After playing on the first day, the final would be played the next day, with not much rest for the key players of both teams.
However, in comparison, Manchester City seemed to have a slight advantage.
Since their first-day match ended a few hours earlier than Bayern's, they had more rest time.
AC Milan won the third place in the Audi Cup by defeating San Paulo 1-0 with a goal from Boateng.
Following this match, the showdown between Bayern and Manchester City continued.
Guardiola made significant changes to Bayern's lineup for this match.
Götze and Thiago, his summer signings, started together, while Schweinsteiger was left on the bench.
Wingers Robben and Ribéry also started, and Martínez, a usual defensive midfielder last season, was used as a center-back by Guardiola.
This change was bold, and everyone was eager to see how it would work.
Result...
At the 25th minute of the first half, the score was 0-1 in favor of Manchester City.
Martínez was playing well in the center of defense; his excellent ability to distribute the ball raised Bayern's attacking level.
Neuer didn't need to launch long balls; he simply passed the ball to Martínez, who carried it forward and delivered it to the midfield.
This freed the defensive midfielders, who didn't need to drop back to receive the ball.
They could advance and increase the number of attackers in the opponent's midfield, exerting more pressure.
But Manchester City's strategy was defensive counterattack.
Their three players upfront were fast and skilled, not only in speed but also in dribbling and passing.
If your defensive midfielder is upfront, it's easy; if not, when I counterattack, your defensive midfielder may not be able to get back in time.
At the 25th minute of the first half, taking advantage of Bayern's high pressure, Manchester City launched a quick counterattack, and Lin Quan scored the goal.
This goal didn't surprise anyone; Lin Quan had already scored goals against Bayern when he played for Werder Bremen.
And now, he was in an even more prestigious team like Manchester City.
But no one expected Bayern to be the first to concede a goal.
This was completely different from what everyone had predicted before the match!
"What is Guardiola doing? Scientific research? Why is Martínez playing as a center-back? It's madness!"
"Yes, Martínez has played well as a center-back, but with his excellent physical condition and coverage, he can make the most of playing as a defensive midfielder."
"Is Guardiola flying high after winning against San Paulo? If he continues like this, Manchester City will win this match."
On social media, criticisms of Guardiola's new tactics began to emerge.
People had no issues with new ideas; they had issues with failure.
If Guardiola's new ideas proved successful on the field, those who criticized him would change their opinions and praise him.
...
After Lin Quan scored, Guardiola involuntarily applauded.
Then he realized that Bayern fans were staring at him dumbfounded; he realized he was now Bayern's coach.
Applauding the rival's goal was a bit out of the ordinary.
"Cough, cough, let's adjust the formation. Martínez goes back to defensive midfield, Götze organizes the attack, and Müller pushes forward whenever possible."
After his first failed tactical modification, Guardiola didn't remain stubborn.
He realized that his idea hadn't worked as expected.
"It seems like this idea isn't entirely mature; pulling it out suddenly was a bit risky."
Guardiola quickly thought in his mind; he didn't believe his approach was wrong.
The reason it didn't work was because other areas weren't functioning properly.
Once this match was over, he would study and then experiment more with the weaker teams in the Bundesliga.
Once he had enough accumulated match data, he could confidently face the stronger teams.
But stop experimenting and just stick with existing tactics?
That wasn't possible!
If he didn't bother, he wouldn't be Guardiola!
After Guardiola's tactical adjustment, Bayern players breathed a sigh of relief.
Although they didn't fully understand Guardiola's tactics, they tried to follow his instructions as best they could.
But Bayern had rarely played possession football before, and Guardiola's pressing style was something new to them, so they were still learning.
Players seemed uncomfortable on the field, but when they reverted to a familiar tactic, Bayern's game immediately improved.
At the 42nd minute of the first half, Müller scored a header with an excellent pass from Ribéry, leveling the score 1-1.
Bayern fans at the Allianz Arena breathed a sigh of relief seeing their team return to normalcy.
But upon seeing Guardiola continue to use Heynckes' tactics, some Bayern fans wondered:
"If Guardiola also follows the same predictable tactics, why did they bring him?"
Fans are always like that; if the team changes its tactics, they complain; if they don't, they still complain.
In summary, pleasing them is not an easy task.
...
Bayern, as the current European champion, exerted great pressure.
Against Bayern, Manchester City showed problems both in attack and defense.
Firstly, they had issues in attack.
Lin Quan had been at Manchester City for a short time, so he hadn't developed enough chemistry with his teammates yet, leading to errors in their collaboration on the field.
These problems might not be evident against weaker teams, where his individual skill could compensate.
But against teams like Bayern, individual skill wasn't enough.
Bayern hadn't undergone significant changes in their squad this season, basically maintaining the same team that won the Champions League.
This meant their strength hadn't diminished.
Bayern's defense had been tested at the Champions League level, so if it were so easy to penetrate, other teams wouldn't have struggled against them so much.
Manchester City's players weren't coordinating well, getting caught in a war of individualities, unable to break through Bayern's defense.
On the other hand, Bayern, once they stopped pressing, showcased their powerful wing attack.
The combination of Robben and Ribéry tested Manchester City's defense.
Especially Robben, although Manchester City's defenders knew he would cut inside, they couldn't stop him.
Fortunately for Manchester City, Robben wasn't in his best form, as he failed to convert some opportunities after cutting inside.
Otherwise, Manchester City would have fallen behind already.
Although Robben wasn't in his best form, Ribéry was on fire on the other side.
His dribbles and runs not only destabilized Manchester City's right side but also disorganized their defense.
In the 67th minute of the second half, after a run by Ribéry, he sent a high-quality cross into the box, and Mandzukic headed it in, making the score 2-1 in favor of Bayern.
Bayern fans at the Allianz Arena, seeing their team recover, breathed a sigh of relief.
However, upon seeing Guardiola continue to use Heynckes' tactics, some Bayern fans wondered:
"If Guardiola also follows the same predictable tactics, why did they bring him?"
Fans are always like that; if the team changes its tactics, they complain; if they don't, they still complain.
In summary, pleasing them is not an easy task.
Seeing how the danger in the opponent's wing attack increased, Pellegrini adjusted his team's defensive line, reinforcing interception on the wings to deny the opponent chances to cross from the flanks.
However, after strengthening the defense on the wings, problems arose in the central defense.
Götze, who had been invisible for almost half the match due to Manchester City players' man-marking, finally began to show activity in the 75th minute of the second half.
In the 82nd minute, Götze sent a through pass, Mandzukic returned it to the advancing Müller.
The latter attempted a powerful shot which was deflected by Joe Hart; the ball went out of the box and landed at Robben's feet.
Robben, who had wasted many goal-scoring opportunities before, this time took a long-distance shot that, although not of high quality, resulted in a goal.
Facing this shot, Joe Hart seemed unprepared; although he attempted a sideways dive, he was late.
The ball passed by him and entered the net.
The score became 3-1, widening Bayern's lead.
Robben was surprised to see his shot go in.
After the goal, he realized this shot seemed to have nothing special, and yet it was a goal!
Did the opposing goalkeeper make a mistake?
Robben didn't have time to think about that; excited, he started to run and jumped high, making a fist-pumping gesture in the air to celebrate his goal.
...
Manchester City players stood with their hands on their hips, looking at each other with expressions of frustration.
This goal...
This goal was hard to explain; there were definitely issues in defense.
When Müller advanced, someone should have come out to block him, but they left him alone.
The opponent's shot was deflected by Joe Hart, and Manchester City's defenders couldn't help but feel impressed by their teammate.
They had no way to stop Robben's shot, but Joe Hart, inexplicably, failed to deflect this unthreatening shot.
Well, Manchester City defenders decided to retract the "like" they had just given.
Joe Hart was also frustrated with himself; just as he made a save, the opponent kept shooting, and when he prepared for a second intervention, he slipped on the grass, slowing his reaction.
Otherwise, with his skill, he would have prevented that goal.
Near the center of the field, Lin Quan stood with his hands on his hips, frowning as he watched a visibly annoyed Joe Hart.
He recalled a joke about Joe Hart in national football: "Time is inexorable, even for Joe Hart."
It seemed that Joe Hart was unlucky when it came to stopping long-distance shots.
It wasn't a matter of skill, as he was technically very capable of making saves.
However, he seemed unlucky when facing long-distance shots.
There wasn't much time left in the match; after the goal kick, Manchester City intensified their attack.
Lin Quan realized that the coordination between him and his teammates wasn't smooth enough, so he decided to stop collaborating with the other players and only connect with his national team teammate, David Silva.
They had played together on numerous occasions, even recently for half a month in the Confederations Cup, so they had a great mutual understanding.
Moreover, both were technically gifted players with a deep knowledge of the game.
They didn't need to communicate verbally; a simple gesture was enough for them to understand each other.
After increasing their collaboration, defensive pressure on Bayern's field intensified.
Martínez and his teammates believed Lin Quan was the biggest threat, so they marked him closely.
That was Guardiola's tactic!
As a father, no one knew his son's skills better.
However, the opposing team's defensive strategy was just what Lin Quan expected.
He knew he would be closely marked, so he didn't plan to act as a finisher, but rather as an organizer, delivering the final pass to help his teammates score.
In the 89th minute of the match, in the last minute of regulation time.
After a series of combinations between Lin Quan and David Silva on the wing, Lin Quan took the ball to the edge of the opponent's area.
This position was within Lin Quan's shooting range.
Whether shooting from outside the box or after another dribble to enter the box, Lin Quan posed a great threat to Bayern's goal.
Bayern players, who had already experienced Lin Quan's skill the previous season, didn't dare to let their guard down.
Including Martínez, up to four players rushed towards Lin Quan.
On the bench, Guardiola watched as Lin Quan advanced towards the opponent's area and felt a bit tense.
This kid, even when he can't coordinate well with his teammates, manages to do this, he really underestimated him!
But it doesn't matter, the previous stages are easy; the last one is the hardest.
Although Lin Quan might escape from a blockade of several players, as he had done before in the match, a miracle like that was unlikely to repeat.
Once caught in a blockade of several players, the probability of losing the ball was much higher than that of a successful escape.
As for whether he would pass the ball to a teammate, Guardiola was also prepared for that.
In addition to organizing strict marking on Lin Quan, he also sent a player to mark David Silva, preventing him from receiving and shooting.
David Silva's physical fighting ability was weak, and his dribbling skill didn't compare to Lin Quan's, so there was no need to send too many players; one strong player would be enough to mark him.
After making all these arrangements, Guardiola felt calm.
Kid, show me everything you've got and surprise me!
Faced with Bayern's blockade of several players, Lin Quan seemed about to confront them directly, which made Bayern players stop to avoid being overtaken.
Taking advantage of this reaction from the opponent, Lin Quan quickly passed the ball between them.
Unsurprisingly, the ball reached David Silva's feet.
Hehe, this was exactly what the coach expected!
After seeing Lin Quan's pass, Bayern's left-back, Alaba, sneered coldly and prepared to press David Silva.
Alaba was 1.80 meters tall and weighed 80 kilograms.
David Silva was 1.70 meters tall and weighed 68 kilograms.
There was a big difference in both height and weight between the two.
Alaba was confident he could knock David Silva down with just one shove.
However, what left Alaba dumbfounded was that David Silva didn't receive the ball.
He intentionally let the ball go past him and delivered it to another teammate: Agüero!
Agüero shot without hesitation and beat Bayern's goal again.
The score became 3-2.
The match still had suspense!
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