Chapter 393: Man-on-Man Defense, Messi Gets Frustrated!
Seeing Messi dribble past De Bruyne, Lin Quan wasted no time and used his body to bump into Messi, causing him to stumble. As Messi momentarily lost balance from the impact, Kante, who had been waiting for an opportunity, swiftly extended his foot and stole the ball from Messi.
It was Manchester City's turn to attack!
Kante decisively passed the ball to De Bruyne, who dribbled towards Barcelona's half along the flank, while Lin Quan ran even faster down the wing. Barcelona's left-back Alba couldn't defend against both, so he rushed towards De Bruyne, specifically blocking his passing route to Lin Quan. Alba knew that as long as the ball wasn't passed to Lin Quan, there was no threat from the wing.
Mourinho once said that the best way to defend against Messi is to prevent his teammates from passing him the ball. The same logic applied to Lin Quan; players like him and Messi were vastly different threats with and without the ball.
However, De Bruyne was no ordinary player. If Alba blocked his passing route to the wing, De Bruyne could simply make a forward through ball instead. Seeing De Bruyne's choice of pass, Alba felt relieved. As long as it wasn't passed to the wing, the threat to Barcelona's goal was reduced compared to a pass to Lin Quan.
Alba believed his teammates, Busquets and center-back Mascherano, would block the central route and prevent any threats from Manchester City's forwards. However, Busquets sensed something was wrong with De Bruyne's pass. This ball wasn't meant for Aguero; with Mascherano marking him closely, Aguero couldn't reach it.
If it wasn't for Aguero, then who was it for? Was it a mistake? No, it couldn't be. De Bruyne wouldn't be a starter for Manchester City and favored by Guardiola if he was prone to such errors. Realizing this, Busquets was shocked. The pass was for Lin Quan!
Busquets quickly abandoned his plan to double-team De Bruyne with Alba and sprinted towards Lin Quan. Lin Quan, having played with De Bruyne for nearly three years, anticipated De Bruyne's move. They executed a perfect pass-and-run combination without needing to communicate. Lin Quan cut inside from the wing to receive De Bruyne's pass. But just as he received the ball, he noticed Busquets approaching out of the corner of his eye.
Busquets' game sense was impressive, but he was a step too late. Lin Quan surged into the box before Mascherano could close in on him and took a shot. Ter Stegen tried his best to save it, but Lin Quan's shot was too precise. The ball grazed Ter Stegen's fingers and went into the net near the post.
1-1! Manchester City equalized in less than ten minutes! The Berlin Olympic Stadium erupted with joy. Over 20,000 Manchester City fans were ecstatic, jumping with excitement. Their worries vanished; with Lin on the team, nothing was impossible!
On the other hand, Barcelona's fans felt a pang of disappointment. Their hard-earned lead, which relied on luck and a referee's mistake, was quickly nullified. Moreover, Manchester City's counterattack from the wing was alarming. Their speed was terrifying, and most of Barcelona's players barely had time to retreat before conceding. If Manchester City continued to execute such high-quality counterattacks, Barcelona was in trouble.
On the sidelines, Guardiola clenched his fist in excitement as Lin Quan scored. Enrique's decision to pit Messi against Lin Quan was foolish. Guardiola glanced towards Barcelona's bench, wondering if Enrique realized his mistake and would adjust quickly.
Enrique also noticed that his decision wasn't as wise as he thought. Moving Messi to the right wing was supposed to amplify his synergy with Neymar and Alba, but it wasn't working as expected. The opponent ignored Neymar and Alba, focusing instead on Messi with two to three players. On the wing, three defenders were almost like six, overwhelming even Messi.
Should he move Messi back to the right wing? Enrique hesitated and didn't make an immediate decision. After Manchester City's goal, the game returned to a balanced state, but Barcelona still held the initiative.
In the 16th minute, Messi and Alves passed back and forth. When Messi received the ball, Manchester City employed the same tactic, swarming him with defenders. This time, Messi was smarter. Faced with two defenders, he found Alba on the left. Alba passed to Neymar, who used dazzling footwork to bypass his defender and passed to the advancing Iniesta.
Iniesta crossed towards Suarez, but Van Dijk had already anticipated it, stretching his leg to block the pass for a Barcelona corner. Although this attack didn't result in a goal, Messi's presence on the wing still created opportunities. He successfully drew defenders away, creating space for Alba and Neymar. With Kante drawn out, Barcelona's midfielders like Iniesta and Rakitic faced less resistance, increasing their attacking threat.
Enrique believed that if they continued playing this way, Barcelona would eventually score again. Indeed, having top stars like Messi and Neymar operating on one flank made it difficult for any team to defend against them. Both players had excellent individual skills and were hard to defend one-on-one. The best way to contain them was through multiple defenders. However, to double-team both players, midfielders also had to get involved, which played right into Barcelona's trap.
Enrique aimed to create this effect, giving players like Iniesta and Rakitic more freedom to shoot whenever they had the chance, thus stretching Manchester City's defense thin.
"Hmph, let's see what you do now, Guardiola!" Enrique thought.
Guardiola remained calm. He knew the threat of Enrique's attacking system but, like Alba blocking De Bruyne's pass to Lin Quan, he understood the danger of players like Messi and Lin Quan with the ball. Enrique's tactic sacrificed Messi's attacking power for the team's strategy, while Guardiola's tactic aimed to maximize the entire system's effectiveness, ensuring the ball reached Lin Quan for the final strike.
The effectiveness of their strategies would only be evident after the match. For now, it depended on the players' performances on the field.
As the match progressed, 30 minutes passed, and the score remained 1-1. Both teams tried various ways to attack the goal and created some good opportunities, but none resulted in a goal. By the 40th minute, the game was at a stalemate.
De Bruyne, Lin Quan, and Kante formed a defensive trio that appeared insignificant but was highly effective. De Bruyne's job was the simplest: rush in to intercept and disrupt Messi's rhythm. Lin Quan followed, using his body to disturb Messi's dribbling, while Kante waited for the chance to make the final tackle.
Among the three, De Bruyne's task was the easiest, while Lin Quan and Kante faced greater challenges. Lin Quan's role seemed simple—using his body to bump Messi—but it was not easy. Messi's quick footwork and ability to change direction made him difficult to follow, but Lin Quan's quick feet allowed him to keep up with Messi.
Messi found Lin Quan difficult to shake off, like a sticky piece of gum. Frustratingly, Lin Quan was taller, stronger, and better at physical confrontations. Once Lin Quan engaged Messi, it was hard for Messi to escape. Then, facing Kante's exceptional tackling ability, Messi struggled to retain possession.
This defensive tactic wasn't foolproof but had a success rate of about 50-60%. Against Messi, achieving this level of success was remarkable.
Spectators at the Olympic Stadium were amazed by the little defensive midfielder from Manchester City, who repeatedly stole the ball from Messi.
"Who is this guy? How is he so good at tackling? He's taken the ball from Messi six times already!"
"It's incredible! I've never seen anyone tackle Messi so effectively in a match!"
"I think he's a player City bought from Ligue 1. His name is Kante."
"A French player, just over 1.7 meters, playing as a defensive midfielder, and he's black. He reminds me of Makelele."
"Now that you mention it, he does seem like Makelele, but he still has a long way to go to reach Makelele's peak."
Enrique looked at the match clock and frowned. Messi's effectiveness on the right wing was decreasing. Manchester City's defensive system was significantly limiting him. Even without Kante stealing the ball, the double and triple teaming was enough to slow Barcelona's attack, giving City's defenders more time to position themselves.
Messi struggled to create chances with his dribbling and breakthroughs. Enrique saw more than the average fan and acknowledged Kante's strength in interceptions and tackles. However, Kante's success was due to team coordination. If Messi changed positions, depriving City of the opportunity to double-team him, Kante would struggle one-on-one against Messi.
With this realization, Enrique made a decision. He stood up and signaled his players to change Messi's position and adjust their tactics.
As City focused at least four players on defending Messi and Neymar, their left flank was exposed. After adjusting, Messi found himself with more space on the right wing. Overwhelmed by the previous tight defense, Messi now had room to maneuver freely.
Relieved of the triple teaming, Messi, like an untamed horse, displayed his talent, leaving City's left-sided players helpless. To stop Messi, Kroos even received a yellow card for pulling him back. Kante then switched positions with Kroos to defend Messi on the left, but without the support of De Bruyne and Lin Quan, Kante's success rate in one-on-one situations dropped significantly.
(End of Chapter)