Ibrahimović came on as a substitute in this match and played only fifteen minutes.
His expression was extremely ugly.
October 17th, the sixth round of the Portuguese Super League.
Once again, João Pinto started.
Quaresma drove down the wing and won a corner kick.
In the 14th minute, Viana played a short corner routine. Kai delivered the cross, Barzagli's header was blocked, and the clearance fell straight to Matthäus. Matthäus unleashed a long-range shot that struck Cristiano Ronaldo and deflected into the net.
Matthäus picked up a passive assist for Ronaldo.
In the 41st minute, Kai sliced through the opponent's defense with a through ball. Pinto was brought down inside the penalty area and won a penalty kick. Quaresma converted from the spot.
The second half began.
In the 63rd minute, Quaresma whipped in a cross from the byline. After Cristiano Ronaldo and Pinto exchanged positions, Ronaldo successfully attacked the middle and headed home for his second goal.
In the 67th minute, after a series of intricate passes in midfield, Kai burst into the penalty area.
Deschamps had followed Zidane since he was young and had learned quite a few tricks from him.
A lofted through ball found Kai inside the box. Kai controlled it smoothly and curled the ball into the corner to complete the goal.
But...
A win was still a win, yet the final score was 4-3.
Sporting Lisbon narrowly defeated rivals Farense.
Compared to the dominant victories at the beginning of the season, these recent narrow wins had clearly revealed some problems.
"Winning cannot hide the decline. Sporting Lisbon's youthful storm may not be sustainable!"
"As the season progresses, Portuguese Super League clubs are learning more and more about Sporting Lisbon. The Youth Storm may no longer be effective!"
"They keep conceding goals. The defense is unstable! Sporting Lisbon has serious defensive problems!"
"Fonte isn't good enough! Barzagli and Terry are too inexperienced. The back line is too young and ultimately unreliable!"
"Deschamps is aging and declining. Matthäus can't cover four positions by himself. Sporting Lisbon's defense has major issues!"
"Schmeichel is no longer magical. His form has dropped significantly, and keeping clean sheets is becoming increasingly difficult!"
The media seized the opportunity, causing Sporting Lisbon supporters to start criticizing their own defense.
However, inside Sporting Lisbon's tactical meetings, adjustment after adjustment focused on the attack.
"Pinto is more suited to playing as a shadow striker. Putting him at center forward may seem reasonable because of his link-up play and organizational ability, but the environment there is too harsh. He simply can't hold the position."
"And once he enters the penalty area, the visual pressure and actual damage he causes to the opposing defense are nowhere near Drogba's level."
"It's not that Pinto must learn Drogba's style. That's impossible. The main point is that our attack already has speed and technique on both wings, while midfield organization can suddenly increase the tempo."
"What we're missing is a powerful bridgehead deep inside the opponent's defensive structure, and a dominant aerial threat as an additional weapon."
"Although Cristiano Ronaldo, Quaresma, Kai, and Viana can all provide those things after arriving in the box, there is a huge difference between attacking a position from outside and already occupying it."
"More importantly, when players from deeper lines make runs into the box, if there isn't an exit route out of the area, then the opponent's penalty area becomes a single solid block."
"It may look as though the four attackers inside the box are creating deadly threats, but all of that depends on the center forward first pulling defenders out of position."
Triguera's entire discussion had nothing to do with defense.
It was as though he had never even read the media's criticism.
Both Matthäus and Deschamps participated in the coaching staff meeting, which had been one of the conditions of their arrival at the club.
Deschamps raised his hand.
"But our current problem is mainly defensive. We've scored plenty of goals. I admit I have my own issues. When facing players who are extremely quick or physically powerful, I often struggle to find particularly effective solutions."
Maxa immediately laughed.
He had heard this question before.
And he already knew the correct answer.
"What advice does Mr. Maxa have?" Matthäus also felt that today's discussion had drifted away from the main issue.
Maxa took a sip of tea and glanced toward Director Kai.
After confirming that Young Master Kai didn't seem bothered by the fact that he was plagiarizing—no, borrowing—a speech, he finally spoke:
"In China, there is a saying: treat a headache by treating the head, and treat foot pain by treating the foot. Even after treatment, you'll still have plenty of problems left."
"We've discussed offense and defense many times before. I'll explain it one last time. Students, take notes carefully and don't come to my office after class asking such simple conceptual questions."
"We appear to be scoring a lot of goals, but does that mean our attack is functioning the same way as before?"
Maxa brought up a data report on the screen.
"No."
"The number of attacking sequences we start, the number of passes received inside the penalty area, and the number of shots we've taken have all declined in stages since Drogba's injury."
"In other words, the number of chances we create has dropped significantly."
Deschamps raised his hand again.
"But doesn't that also mean our forwards have become more efficient? Besides improvements in individual ability and chemistry, couldn't the reduced number of attacks also be a factor?"
"What I mean is that there may be fewer chances overall, but each chance is more precise, increasing the probability of scoring."
"It's similar to Arsenal. Through constant passing and circulation, they eventually move the ball into the opponent's net."
"They pursue attacks that reach at least the ninth gear. Along the way, many seventh- and eighth-gear opportunities are discarded."
"But that doesn't mean it's wrong."
"Because without attempting those seventh- and eighth-gear opportunities, you can't create so many ninth-gear opportunities in the first place."
Maxa nodded.
"That's a reasonable point. Which is why context and opponent data become extremely valuable at times like this. This is one of the key differences between people who truly watch football and those who don't when judging the strength of teams and players."
"Now let's look at this report again."
"Before Drogba was injured, our opponents averaged fewer than ten attacks per match."
"The number of times they carried the ball into the final third and created genuine danger was fewer than five."
"Excluding corner kicks, they averaged fewer than four shots."
"But after Pinto entered the lineup, all of those numbers increased significantly for our opponents."
"So now we can see where our forwards' improved efficiency comes from."
"We've gained more opportunities that resemble counterattacks—or opportunities to counterattack the opponent's counterattacks."
"We've had more chances to catch opponents out of position. And compared to attacking a settled defensive block, this style of attack naturally has much higher efficiency."
Deschamps trusted Maxa's data.
But he still couldn't understand what any of this had to do with today's main topic—defense.
Seeing the troubled look on Deschamps' face, Maxa suddenly realized why he had won Kai's favor.
It turned out that having someone this straightforward beside you created an incredible sense of accomplishment.
Deschamps, Deschamps...
My dear disciple...
I am absolutely going to fool you!
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