Chapter 385: Guardiola: Maximizing Lin Quan's Offensive Power!
"Damn it, Mourinho! Tell him if he doesn't win this match, he should pack his bags and leave!"
In the Stamford Bridge box, Chelsea owner Abramovich was furious. He couldn't accept that Chelsea, even against a weakened Liverpool, couldn't secure a victory. Drawing this match meant that Chelsea would be overtaken by Manchester City and trail by two points, with only two matches left in the league. For Abramovich and the majority of Chelsea fans, this outcome was unacceptable.
On the field, Mourinho was also desperate. In the second half, he replaced defensive players with offensive ones, showing a do-or-die attitude. However, Liverpool's resilience far exceeded the expectations of the Chelsea players. Despite besieging the opponent's goal for the entire half and trying every possible tactic, Chelsea couldn't break through Liverpool's defense.
In the end, Chelsea had to accept the draw at home. As the match concluded, a loud cheer erupted from Manchester City's locker room. Thanks to Liverpool, City reclaimed the top spot and regained the upper hand in the title race.
Meanwhile, the mood at Chelsea was grim. With the draw, they lost control of their destiny. Even if they won their remaining two matches, they still had to rely on Manchester City slipping up to have a chance at the title. Otherwise, they would have to watch City successfully defend their championship.
The match received significant attention across the UK, with extensive media coverage criticizing Chelsea and Mourinho. Headlines like "Mourinho Should Take Responsibility for Today's Failure," "Chelsea's Unexpected Draw May Cost Them the Title," and "Abramovich's Patience with Mourinho is Running Out" dominated the news.
After years of multi-million-pound investments yielding no league titles for five years, the fans and Abramovich were at their breaking point. Reports suggested that Abramovich had stormed into the locker room, engaging in a heated argument with Mourinho, raising concerns about Mourinho's future at Chelsea.
But the outside criticism didn't bother Manchester City. Buoyed by the draw, they traveled to Munich three days early to prepare for the second leg of the Champions League semi-final.
Compared to City's string of victories, Bayern Munich's recent form seemed much worse, at least on paper. They had suffered two consecutive league defeats, losing 0-2 away to Leverkusen and then being beaten 0-1 at home by Augsburg. Their substitute goalkeeper Reina received a red card for a foul just 13 minutes into the match against Augsburg, compounding their woes.
Judging solely by recent results, City, with a two-goal lead and riding high, should theoretically have no problem defeating a seemingly out-of-form Bayern. However, betting companies universally favored Bayern, with most expecting City to lose or even be routed.
"Do they really look down on us that much?" City players were outraged upon hearing about the betting odds, feeling as though their fate had been unfairly predetermined.
One player, maintaining his composure, analyzed, "Objectively, our chances in this match aren't great. Bayern's been resting their key players for a week. Look at their lineup against Augsburg—mostly substitutes. Their main players only came on in the second half. They've been resting and preparing to face us."
Bayern had clinched the league title early, allowing them to rest key players for several weeks, unlike City, who had to maintain a high intensity to secure wins. This rest period gave Bayern a significant physical advantage. Their main players were well-rested and ready to face City with full energy.
Knowing this, Guardiola had no illusions. "Bayern's attack is too strong. We can't just defend. We have to attack and take control at the Allianz Arena."
Many initially thought Guardiola's talk of attacking Bayern was a bluff, a psychological tactic to throw Bayern off. Even some City players were skeptical. But as Guardiola reiterated his plan with a serious demeanor, the players realized he was not joking.
"We can't rely on our two-goal cushion and sit back," Guardiola stated, looking at the hesitant faces of some players. "If we just defend, we'll be doomed."
Understanding the need for an offensive strategy, the players prepared mentally to face Bayern head-on in what promised to be a high-stakes clash.
"If you truly believe that, this match will be the end of our Champions League journey this season, and we can start preparing for next season's Champions League!"
Seeing Guardiola speak so seriously, everyone fell silent.
"Good, since no one is speaking, it means you all support my decision!"
Guardiola quickly took out the tactics board he had prepared and gathered the players around to carefully explain his strategy to each of them. Initially, the players felt uneasy about attacking Bayern at the Allianz Arena, but after hearing Guardiola's tactical breakdown, they no longer hesitated. If Guardiola's tactics worked, they might actually win using his plan!
To mislead the opponent and hide his true intentions, Guardiola even practiced defensive tactics in front of journalists and Bayern fans who came to spy, giving the impression that City planned to rely on defense to handle Bayern's powerful attack.
This discovery immediately led to ridicule from Bayern fans: "Haha, didn't Guardiola say he would attack Bayern at the Allianz Arena? Why is he backing down now?" "Haha, he must fear Bayern's strong attack and is now backtracking!" "Trying to rely on defense for survival is too naive!" "I bet Bayern will score at least 3 goals against City!" "Too conservative! I think they can score 4!" "Three goals in the first half, two in the second half—I think Bayern will win by five!" "You're all too conservative. Maybe this match will be like the last one against Porto: 8-1!" "If it's really 8-1, Guardiola's face will be thoroughly slapped!"
Because of the winter break departure incident and the club's smear campaign, Bayern fans were very hostile towards Guardiola. They eagerly anticipated seeing Bayern thrash Guardiola's team at home, proving that he was unworthy of them.
Guardiola, however, ignored the outside mockery and focused entirely on refining his offensive tactics. Rather than wasting time arguing, he spent his time thinking about how to counter Bayern's strong wing attacks. He meticulously studied video recordings of the few matches Bayern had lost under Heynckes, including games against Lin Quan's Werder Bremen.
Watching these games with curiosity, Guardiola had an epiphany. Coach Schaaf's tactic of placing Lin Quan on the right wing to counter Bayern seemed worth borrowing. Compared to Werder Bremen's lineup, Manchester City's lineup was undoubtedly more luxurious and not as heavily dependent on Lin Quan. Thus, positioning Lin Quan on one wing, although it would impact the team's midfield organization and attack, would not be too detrimental. With players like De Bruyne and Kroos handling organization, deployment, and passing, Lin Quan could be freed up to maximize his offensive power.
Guardiola decided to combine his use of Messi on the wing during his Barça Dream Team era with Schaaf's man-marking tactics, aiming to unleash Lin Quan's full potential on the wing. Before Lin Quan, if Guardiola were to choose the best wing player, he would have voted for Messi. But now, with Lin Quan's emergence, that vote became difficult. He had witnessed Messi at his peak and knew how strong he was, but he hadn't yet seen Lin Quan's full capability on the wing. This match was a perfect opportunity for everyone to witness Lin Quan's prowess.
News from the City camp quickly reached Bayern. Hearing that Guardiola was practicing defensive tactics, seemingly planning to use counter-attacks against Bayern, Heynckes convened his assistant coaches to discuss.
"Counter-attacks are a practical choice for City, especially since they have a two-goal advantage," Bayern's coaches said. They didn't doubt the intelligence because it made sense: City could exploit Bayern's need to push forward and counter-attack effectively. Counter-attacks in the hands of strong teams can be deadly, as Mourinho demonstrated by winning two Champions League titles with this tactic, even snatching the trophy from Barça at their peak.
However, City's wingers, such as Lin Quan and David Silva, were more technical players, strong in passing, organization, and dribbling, but not particularly fast. If City did rely on counter-attacks, the Bayern coaches believed the threat wouldn't be substantial.
Nonetheless, Bayern prepared for this possibility, practicing ways to limit City's transitions from defense to attack, and how to restrict their wingers, especially Lin Quan, from shooting. With their preparations complete, Bayern awaited the match confidently.
On May 13th, at the Allianz Arena, the second leg of the Champions League semi-final between Manchester City and Bayern Munich was about to begin. Both teams announced their starting lineups. When Heynckes saw City's starting list, which included Kroos and the offensively strong left-back Kolarov, he realized he had been deceived. This lineup was not set up for counter-attacks.
Chapter end.