【10-11 ZM专贴】280L：替补伊布戴帽助瑞典5-0横扫芬兰

午时靡深蓝

曼联这场的边路被限制住了，中路也处于下风，阿森纳也是知耻而后勇，连沙皇都回防到底线。

弗爵爷

也就少打一个吉格斯，曼联连流畅的攻防转换都做不到

希望斯内德或者莫德里奇或者哈姆西克能够再次被提上议事日程

小豆丁梅西

毕其功于一役， 车仔是时候发力了！！

弗爵爷

车仔这个队，太无聊了，中间1/3赛季逗你们玩，最后一发力，谈笑间完成卫冕

如果穆里尼奥还在车仔，那车仔完全可以和巴萨一道脱离英超和西甲，单独玩宇超

红酥手

今年估计也就是这批球员全勤的最后的一年了，兰帕德往斯科尔斯身上靠，靠点谱，德罗巴估计是转不了型了。

Penelope

Barcelona v Real Madrid: tactical preview
May 3, 2011


Potential starting line-ups

Amongst the squabbling, appealing and conspiracy theories, there’s a football match to play tonight at the Camp Nou.

Now into the fourth part of a four-part Clasico series, there’s relatively little left to say about the potential tactics of both managers. We’ve had one win for Pep Guardiola, one win for Jose Mourinho (in extra time) and one draw. We’ve had different formations, different players and wildly different patterns to matches, and it’s difficult to predict what more can reasonably be expected tonight.

There are two caveats to all this, two reasons why things will be slightly different in this match. The first reason is injury and suspension news, the second is the fact that Barcelona start with a two-goal advantage, meaning both sides’ mentality will change accordingly. These are the two factors to consider.

Team news

For the fourth Clasico in four this season, Real Madrid had a player dismissed in the first leg, Pepe. Both sides would agree that there is no coincidence here, regardless of whether they are blaming (a) a wide-ranging UEFA conspiracy that favours Barcelona, or (b) a natural consequence of Barcelona dominating possession and a physical approach from Real Madrid. Either way, it’s something Mourinho has dealt with well before.

The problem is that Real are without two key defensive players (if not necessarily two key defenders). Sergio Ramos will miss out because of his yellow card, in addition to Pepe’s red card ban. Ricardo Carvalho (suspended for the first leg) will come in alongside Raul Albiol (suspended for the cup final) in a return to the centre-back partnership that started the recent 1-1 draw in the league.

Pepe will probably have no direct replacement. Mourinho used three deep-lying midfielders in the first leg, but with Pepe and Sami Khedira unavailable, he’ll probably move back to the 4-2-3-1 system he’s favoured for most of the season. Lassana Diarra will sit deep with Xabi Alonso, with Mesut Ozil higher up the pitch in the centre, and Angel di Maria on the left. This also means that Cristiano Ronaldo will move to the right, and a striker will come in up top. Emmanuel Adebayor is likely to be favoured over Karim Benzema and Gonzalo Higuian.

Guardiola has fewer problems. In fact, with the pleasing news that Eric Abidal is back in the squad again after successful treatment for a tumour on his liver, and Maxwell rumoured to be nearing fitness, things are looking up – despite Guardiola’s complaints about his injury problems.

Those two are unlikely to be used here, however, with Carles Puyol set to play at left-back again. If Ronaldo is used on the right, this will work reasonably well in theory for Barcelona – Guardiola would rather have Puyol up against the Portuguese forward than Maxwell or Adriano. Barca’s full-backs stayed very deep in the first leg to prevent diagonal balls over the top catching them out, so Puyol will again not be out of place at full-back. There’s a chance Ronaldo could be switched to the left to give him a go at Dani Alves, but that may be a problem defensively.

The return of Andres Iniesta is a more important factor. In theory he should replace Seydou Keita without any problems, but Keita’s physicality was actually very useful in the first leg. With no Pepe, Barcelona don’t have to worry so much about being overpowered in the midfield zone, but it’s not unthinkable that Guardiola could use Keita in the midfield and push Iniesta into the front three, and dropping either Pedro or David Villa.

The situation

The use of a ball-playing midfielder in the front three makes more sense when you consider Barcelona’s two-goal lead. Perhaps that is the most interesting aspect of this game – Guardiola has never come back to the Camp Nou in the Champions League having won the first leg away from home. In Guardiola’s eight ties in this competition, three (Bayern, Chelsea, Shakhtar) have seen the first leg played at home, three have seen a first leg score draw away from home (Lyon, Stuttgart, Arsenal (the first time)) and two have seen a first leg defeat away from home (Inter, Arsenal (the second time)).

So what do you get when probably the best side in history at keeping the ball doesn’t actually need to win the game? Well, we don’t know. But it could be a remarkably dominant display of possession. Granted, the games against Lyon, Stuttgart and Arsenal were similar in that a 0-0 would have done Barcelona in the second leg, but there was still some desire for a goal. A two-goal cushion is something entirely different, and Guardiola would be content if his centre-backs just played one-twos for the whole game.

Xavi has denied the suggestion that Barcelona will try and ‘kill’ the game, with the inevitable soundbite – “We can’t just control our 0-2 lead. This team can only attack. Our fans also wouldn’t allow us to play different” – but it’s hard to believe Barcelona will leave any spaces at the back, or risk conceding possession too cheaply.

The situation of the tie has bigger consequences for Real Madrid, however. They spent the first leg sitting back in their own half with only Ronaldo closing down – see the first clip in the video below.

<video>

In short, this will have to change – Real will have to play higher up the pitch, they’ll have to try and force Barcelona into mistakes, or conceding possession. They did this very well in the Copa del Rey final, but they used Pepe as their main destructive force in midfield, they also had Khedira in the side, they also had the pace of Ramos at the back, they also weren’t playing at the Camp Nou. It will be very difficult for Mourinho to press Barcelona for 90 minutes.

The biggest issue is how to deal with Xavi in Pepe’s absence. Pepe near-enough man-marked the Spanish midfielder in the last two meetings, and Real were exposed after his red card. Ozil could be given that job, but in the 5-0 earlier in the season, Xavi simply moved higher up the pitch and dictated play from there.

Therefore, it is likely that he’ll start reasonably cautiously. Each of the three recent Clasicos have finished 0-0 at half time, and Mourinho may want his side to sit back and make sure they don’t lose the tie within the first half, before pushing forward late on, pressing intensely, and hoping Barcelona get tired and/or complacent.

A year ago Mourinho’s semi-final victory was sealed at the Nou Camp in remarkable circumstances, but progression from this tie would be even more amazing.

Penelope

231楼参考译文：占位

Penelope

Barcelona 1-1 Real Madrid: Barca progress
May 4, 2011


The starting line-ups

Barcelona rarely looked under real pressure and completed a 3-1 aggregate victory.

Pep Guardiola named the expected XI – Andres Iniesta returned from injury to replace Seydou Keita. Javier Mascherano continued at centre-back, with Carles Puyol at left-back.

Jose Mourinho switched to his 4-2-3-1 system but made two surprise selections. Kaka was in ahead of Mesut Ozil, whilst Gonzalo Higuain started upfront. Mourinho was not in attendance at the stadium (as far as is known at time of publishing) so assistant Aitor Karanka was in charge for the night.

Pleasingly, the game was less scrappy than the first leg – there were fewer squabbles and more goalscoring chances.

Real press upfront

Fearful of Barca dominating possession and killing the game, Real pushed up and pressed Barcelona. They did this reasonably effectively – they forced Barcelona into rare mistakes at the back, and combined with a pitch that looked particularly rain-sodden towards the end Barcelona were defending in the opening period, it seemed a Real chance might come from the pressing.

The other major tactical news was the use of Cristiano Ronaldo on the left, up against Dani Alves. This is where he has been used for much of the season, but Mourinho had been reluctant to use him on that flank because of Alves’ attacking threat. With Ronaldo ineffective when on the right in this series, he was given a go on the left – and whilst Ronaldo will be disappointed he didn’t influence the game more, he was a constant threat when he picked the ball up on the flank. He was assisted by Marcelo, who was positionally brave and created overlaps, allowing Ronaldo to come inside. Alves was beaten a couple of times, and Mascherano had to come over from centre-back to help out.

Midfield

The battle was 3 v 3 in the centre of midfield, where Real’s pressing continued. Pepe had been the key man in the previous two games, playing high up the pitch and aggressively patrolling the midfield zone, and Real missed his presence. Kaka stuck tightly to Sergio Busquets – maybe too tightly at times, as he was himself marked by Busquets when Real won possession.

Xavi was closed down by Xabi Alonso, the left-sided holding player (in itself a more positive strategy from Real – it had been Mesut Ozil (in the Kaka role) who had been given that job back in the 5-0). In that game, Xavi took advantage of Ozil’s natural tendencies by moving higher up the pitch – here, he took advantage of Alonso’s by dropping deeper and linking with Busquets. Alonso didn’t always track him, so Xavi’s passing dominance was even more obvious than usual – he completed 126 passes. The next highest was Busquets on 80.

Closing down deeper

Diarra was broadly tracking Iniesta but also had to provide the energy and physicality of Pepe. He had a good game overall but was lucky that he was only shown a single yellow card, as he broke up play with eight fouls.


Diarra and Carvalho both closed down quickly, but conceded fouls in doing so

The same was true of Ricardo Carvalho, a result of Lionel Messi dropping deep in his false nine role in order to make the battle 4 v 3 in midfield. Real couldn’t pass Messi onto a midfielder, and so Carvalho had to come out of defence and try and nick the ball from in front of Messi, with nearly disastrous consequences.

When Carvalho wasn’t diving in, Messi enjoyed time on the ball, space between the lines, and also held off challenges to create chances. Barcelona had a spell of concerted pressure just before the break, which largely came from pressing of their own.

Second half

Barcelona went ahead early on in the second period, when Iniesta’s great through ball found Pedro Rodriguez to finish smartly. This put the home side well and truly in command of the game.

Guardiola’s strategy worked well – he could have instructed his side simply to try and keep possession of the ball, but with Real pressing high up, it was right to try and exploit spaces at the back. The goal was a direct result of this – Real had five players around the opposition penalty area when Victor Valdes had the ball, and he sidefooted a pass out to Alves on the right flank – Barca had 5 v 5, and made the most of the situation.

Subs

Real immediately changed things with the introduction of Adebayor for Higuain, presumably to try and take advantage of Adebayor’s strength and aerial dominance. Ozil replaced Kaka soon after – the fact Real replaced the two players who were surprise inclusions suggests Mourinho made a mistake with his starting XI.

Ozil went to the left, allowing di Maria into the centre of the pitch – and Real’s pressing looked reinvigorated. Their goal came because of that pressing – Marcelo tracked Pedro deep into the Barca half, put pressure on the ball and forced a risky pass, then Alonso pressed Xavi and nipped in ahead – winning the ball and launching the attack that ended with Marcelo’s finish.


Both sides pressed high up, and intercepted passes in the opposition half

This prompted a nervous spell for the home side, but they eventually regained their passing ability and saw the game out well. Real had threatened to come back in the game, but Marcelo’s goal was actually their final attempt of the match. They were unable to close down for the entire game, the pressing dropped towards the end and passes became long, tired straight balls forward.

Barcelona weren’t too fussed about scoring a second, brought on Seydou Keita and Eric Abidal to see the game out, and 1-1 looked likely from 80 minutes onwards.

Conclusion

Real’s European Cup bid may have come to an end in Barcelona, but they really lost this tie back in Madrid. With the obvious caveat that Barcelona didn’t need to win the game, a 1-1 draw away at the Nou Camp is a fine result – it was the 0-2 home defeat that cost Real. Mourinho’s tactics from the start in the first leg seemed surprising at the time and misguided in hindsight, and his failure to adjust after Pepe’s sending-off was the deciding factor in the tie.

On the other hand, Guardiola will consider this a job well done. It’s difficult to remember a period in the 180 minutes when Barcelona looked second best – they played their natural game to an extent, but were also more reserved in certain ways – particularly with the use of the full-backs, who remained in position for most of the tie and largely prevented quick Real breaks down the flanks – the strategy that was so effective in the cup final.

It wasn’t a contest dominated by tactics, but it was a good advert for pressing and playing high up – both because Barcelona won, and because Real looked far better when they played a proactive game themselves.

Penelope

233楼参考译文
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巴萨1-1皇马战术分析：压迫积极一点，比赛美好一些
由 Rivaldinho 发表在GoalHi足球·翻译团-足球


首发阵型图

巴萨看上去基本上没有受到威胁，以总比分3-1完赛。

瓜迪奥拉的首发11人在预料之中，伊涅斯塔从伤病中归来取代了凯塔。马斯切拉诺继续出任中卫，普约尔出任左后卫。

穆里尼奥切换到了4-2-3-1体系，有两个非常意外的选择，卡卡首发挤掉了厄齐尔，和伊瓜因一同突前。据悉穆里尼奥并未到场，这场比赛由他的助手卡兰卡指挥。

幸好比赛比第一回合要流畅些，争执少了，得分机会多了。

皇马的前场压迫

由于忌惮巴萨会用控球耗死比赛，皇马开始压上压迫巴萨，他们的行动卓有成效，巴萨防线出现了不多见的错误，再加上这个因下过雨而泥泞不堪的球场，巴萨开局阶段处于守势，貌似皇马会从这样的压迫中获得机会。

另外一则重要的“战术新闻”是C罗居左，顶着阿尔维斯，这是他本赛季大多数时候出现的地方，但是穆里尼奥先前因为忌惮阿尔维斯的攻击力没有把C罗放在那一侧。但是整个系列赛C罗在右路表现平平，这次他来到了左路，C罗会因为自己没能更多地影响比赛而感到失望，但实际上他只要在边路拿球就是个威胁。他有马塞洛支援，后者压上大胆，可以覆盖左路，让C罗内切，阿尔维斯经常面对此二人，马斯切拉诺不得不跑出来帮忙。

中场

中场是3v3的对决，皇马在那里依旧进行着压迫。佩佩是过去两场的关键球员，他在场上压得非常考试，有效扫荡了中场，皇马非常想念他。这场的卡卡紧紧贴住布斯克斯，有时候都嫌贴得太紧，皇马赢得球权的时候攻受关系又会反过来。

哈维被皇马偏左的后腰阿隆索紧逼，5-0那场比赛哈维利用了厄齐尔压得过上的倾向，这场比赛他又利用了阿隆索拖得太厚的特点，和布斯克斯有效衔接。阿隆索没有一直跟着他，所以哈维的传球统治力比以往更明显，他完成了126次传球，第二多的布斯克斯则是80次。

后场的防守紧逼

迪亚拉一直在追击伊涅斯塔，但是他也必须提供佩佩展现的能量和身体，总体而言他踢得很好，但是他只拿到一张黄牌已是走运，整场比赛他有8次犯规。

迪亚拉和卡瓦略压迫积极，犯规颇多

同样的情况发生在卡瓦略身上，梅西回撤变身伪中锋以增加中场人数优势，皇马没法因为梅西增加一个中场，于是卡瓦略跑出防线试图上抢梅西，但是他的防守是灾难性的。

但是卡瓦略不这么做，梅西就能享受控球，享受空间，他能够摆脱防守创造机会。在半场结束前受到了一些压力，但这主要是他们自己的压迫战术所造成的。

下半场

巴萨啊下半场早早取得领先，伊涅斯塔漂亮的直传助攻佩德罗机敏得分，这让主队完全掌控了比赛。

瓜迪奥拉的策略行之有效，他本可以让自己的球队简简单单控球就好，但是皇马既然压上了，那么开发他们背后的空间就是正确的选择。这粒进球就是直接结果，巴尔德斯拿球时皇马五人在巴萨禁区周围，他把球分给右路的阿尔维斯时巴萨形成了5打5，很好地利用了这一局面。

换人

皇马立马用阿德巴约换下伊瓜因，试图利用他的力量和空中优势。厄齐尔也很快换下卡卡，皇马之所以拿下这两位意外的先发，暗示着穆里尼奥在安排首发阵容时犯了错。

厄齐尔来到左路，让迪马里亚内收，皇马的压迫也再度兴起。他们的进球来自于压迫，马塞洛在巴萨半场跟防佩德罗，迫使对方做出冒险的传球，阿隆索又压迫哈维，断下皮球发起进攻，最后马塞洛完成一击。

两队都在对方半场疯狂抢断

这让主队有些紧张，但是很快他们就重新找回了传球的感觉，很好地搞定了比赛。皇马貌似要反扑，可实际上马塞洛的进球是他们这场最后的尝试。他们没法整场都压迫对手，随着压迫松懈下来，传球也变成了简单粗暴的长传。

巴萨也不急着进第二个球，凯塔和阿比达尔出战，从80分钟开始1-1的终场比分就已然注定。

结论

皇马的欧冠之旅在巴塞罗那走到了尽头，但真正导致他们失利的还是马德里一战。巴萨这场无需赢球，在诺坎普1-1的平局对皇马来说也算不错，让皇马输掉这个淘汰赛的还是主场的0-2。穆里尼奥第一回合的策略看起来有些奇怪，佩佩下场后他没能做出及时调整，这也成为了决定性的因素。

另外一方面瓜迪奥拉很好地考虑了这项任务。过去180分钟巴萨基本没有落于下风，他们很大程度发挥了自己的本能，但是在某些方面也有些保守，尤其是边后卫的使用，大部分时候他们站住位置防止皇马两翼的快速反击，这一战术在国王杯决赛曾让巴萨大吃苦头。

这场比赛不是真正的战术对决，却是提上压迫策略的好广告，一方面因为巴萨获得了胜利，另一方面也因为皇马踢得更积极，看上去确实踢得更好了。

Alex2011

Manchester United 4-1 Schalke: chalkboards
May 4, 2011


The starting line-ups

Even with an XI resembling a reserve side, Manchester United were extremely comfortable against Schalke, and will face Barcelona at Wembley later this month.

Sir Alex Ferguson made numerous changes to his side, rotating hugely ahead of the weekend visit of Chelsea. Dimitar Berbatov made a rare European start upfront, whilst Nani and Anderson were other notable starters.

Ralf Rangnick brought in Sergio Escudero and Benedikt Howedes, and started Julian Draxler in place of Edu, which meant that Raul moved further forward.

Schalke started brightly and showed much more attacking potential than in the first leg, but because they had to press high up and win the ball quickly, they left spaces at the back which United took more and more advantage of as the game went on. Antonio Valencia and Darren Gibson scored in the first half, whilst Anderson got two goals in the second.

There was never a moment when United really looked in trouble – even Jose Manuel Jurado’s goal came when United were already 2-0 up. The tie was over by half time, and the second half for United was about conserving energy for the weekend, and preventing suspensions for the final – all three central midfielders had been booked.

A full-scale analysis is unnecessary, but here are some chalkboards from the game, courtesy of TotalFootball.

Schalke full-backs forward

Schalke fielded five attacking players, but like in the tie against Inter, their main threat came from full-back. Atsuto Uchida played high up the pitch and tried to get crosses in, whilst Escudero tried to do the same on the opposite flank. Ironically, it was those two that were responsible for Valencia’s opener – Uchida’s pass was intercepted, and Escudero, trying to get high up the pitch, was out of position.



Valencia

Manchester United’s main attacking strategy was to hit quick balls out to Valencia on the right flank. The chalkboard of his passes received shows how many balls he picked up from the central midfield zone.



Van der Sar

Even Edwin der Sar’s distribution showed that United wanted to hit the ball quickly to Valencia – his passes to the left flank tended to go to the left-back, John O’Shea, but when hitting the ball to the right, van der Sar looked much longer.



Schalke threat

United might be concerned that Schalke managed to create lots of half-chances – and their goal – by players running off the ball of United’s midfield, into space on the edge of the box. The majority of shots were attempted from this zone.



United attacks

United’s passes in the attacking third were focused in wide positions, and they rarely looked to play through the centre of the pitch.

Alex2011

235楼参考译文
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曼联4-1沙克尔：简要分析
由 stellatwo 发表在GoalHi足球·翻译团-足球


双方首发阵型


尽管曼联看起来像是上了一只二队在踢球，但他们赢得还是相当的轻松，本月晚些时候，他们将同巴塞罗那会师温布利决赛。

弗格森在他的首发阵容上做出了极大调整，这一切都是为了周末硬碰切尔西做准备。贝尔巴托夫难得地在欧冠赛场上赢得了首发位置。值得一提的是，纳尼和安德森也出现在了首发名单中。

反观朗尼克这边，埃斯库德罗和赫韦德斯解禁出场，而德拉克斯勒代替埃杜出现在首发阵容中，这也意味着劳尔的位置比以往要更加深入禁区。

沙尔克04开局踢得十分积极，相比于第一回合，他们显现出更强的进攻欲望。但这也让他们压得过于靠上，而且这种打法要求他们尽快获得进球。随着比赛的进行，沙尔克身后的巨大空间为曼联的进攻留下了越来越大的余地，瓦伦西亚和吉布森合作在上半场打入了第一粒进球，随后安德森在下半场梅开二度。

这场比赛中曼联似乎没遭遇到任何阻碍，就算是胡拉多的进球将比分扳成2-1，其实比赛在上半时就被杀死了，下半场的较量考验的是曼联如何为周末的联赛留力，并保证自己的球员在决赛中不会受到停赛影响，要知道他们的三名中场球员都身背黄牌。
全面分析这场比赛显得没太大必要了，但我们还是来简单地看看这场比赛的闪光点吧。

沙尔克04：边后卫压上

虽说沙尔克在场上摆了5名进攻型球员，但跟对阵国米那场一样，他们进攻的真正威胁来自于边后卫的压上。内田笃人整场比赛都压得很靠上，并不断尝试内切，而另一边的埃斯库德罗也在尝试相同的事。但讽刺的是，正是这两名压得太靠上的边后卫导致了沙尔克04的第一粒失球：内田笃人的传球被断，而压得太过靠上的埃斯库德罗防守失位。

瓦伦西亚

曼联的进攻主打右路的瓦伦西亚，下图的数据分析很明显地告诉我们他的传球中有多少是从中路过来的。

范德萨

就连范德萨的表现也能很清楚地表现出曼联今晚的战术：当他需要向左路传球时，他一般会直接交给左后卫奥谢，但当他需要把球交给右路时，他一般以长传为主。

沙尔克的威胁

曼联似乎有些忌惮沙尔克球员在中场的灵活跑位，他们的进球也是由此而来。从边路下底、传中，沙尔克的大多数射门机会都是在这块区域获得的。

曼联的进攻

曼联的进攻线路更加多元化，而且他们几乎都压在对方半场，很少有让球通过中场的必要。

弗爵爷

曼联这场比赛的首发阵容乍一看让人心惊肉跳，这就是个B队阵容，不过却取得相当不错的结果

Alex2011

曼联这场比赛的首发阵容乍一看让人心惊肉跳，这就是个B队阵容，不过却取得相当不错的结果
弗爵爷 发表于 2011-5-5 09:45

这场cctv5解说员和嘉宾，比上一场巴萨vs皇马的那两位靠谱多了。至少没有明显倾向性。看抢手1-0曼联时，上海五星体育，那两位，太放肆了，比新浪视频直播的那两位rp还要差

不过，偶是迷迷糊糊地看完了，一会儿1-0，再过一会儿2-0，然后再一醒，2-1，。。。3-1，4-1！

法比奥这个进攻菜鸟，打阿森纳时，技术上短板很明显，但是这场球优势明显。瓦伦西亚在上一场酋长球场时就该首发的

白与蓝之舞

曼联这场比赛的首发阵容乍一看让人心惊肉跳，这就是个B队阵容，不过却取得相当不错的结果
弗爵爷 发表于 2011-5-5 09:45

爵爷真是运筹帷幄，换别人至少4球领先才敢这么干。

弗爵爷

爵爷真是运筹帷幄，换别人至少4球领先才敢这么干。
白与蓝之舞 发表于 2011-5-5 09:59

不得不说老头子胆子大，这可是欧冠半决赛，出来的却是一套打联赛杯的阵容
前中后三条线的中轴一个没上

海阔

老头子有一颗永远年轻的心

苏沪烟雨

一支德甲二流球队，还敢在曼联主场全线压上进攻，真是找死。
没单场输成1：6就不错了。

Penelope

法比奥这个进攻菜鸟，打阿森纳时，技术上短板很明显，但是这场球优势明显。瓦伦西亚在上一场酋长球场时就该首发的Alex2011 发表于 2011-5-5 09:53

双胞胎不好认，这一场是拉斐尔

Alex2011

Tottenham 1-1 Blackpool: Defoe strike cancels out Adam penalty
May 8, 2011


The starting line-ups

Late drama saw both sides pick up a point at White Hart Lane.

Harry Redknapp left out Aaron Lennon, using Rafael van der Vaart on the right, and two strikers. Danny Rose made a rare start at left-back.

Ian Holloway played his usual 4-3-3 formation. Sergei Kornilenko started as part of a front three, probably as he’d done well against Spurs earlier in the season.

This was an open game with plenty of goalscoring chances. A draw was probably an accurate reflection of the balance of play, though neither goal seemed to owe much to tactics.

Spurs shape

Redknapp’s decision to play with two strikers meant that both Jermain Defoe and Roman Pavlyuchenko took it in turns to become involved in build-up play, and both dropped deep and wide. Spurs were actually quite fluid when they had the ball, despite a boxey 4-4-2 theoretical starting shape, as move forwards showed good movement. However, the knock-on effect was that Spurs didn’t have someone in the box playing on the shoulder of the last defender, and some decent crosses went to waste.

Many of these promising opportunities in wide positions were down the left, where Gareth Bale stayed wide (unlike Rafael van der Vaart on the other flank, who came inside) and Danny Rose supported him keenly. They have to take some responsibility for the crossing situations not being turned into goals, however. A couple of Bale crosses were flashed across the area between goalkeeper and defence – and looked excellent individually – but Bale is sometimes guilty of doing everything too quickly – he storms past a full-back and thumps a cross into the box.

That’s great in itself, but often gives the strikers no time to catch up with play (considering that they can’t always sprint straight into the box, they often have to change direction to escape their marker), and this possibly explains why Bale has, amazingly, just one assist all season in the Premier League.

by Guardian Chalkboards

Rose was also disappointing with his crosses, but overall he had a very good game. He and Younes Kaboul took it in turns to go forward, and Blackpool tracked the runs of the Spurs full-backs poorly. They were slow to get back into position, and with Holloway giving them license to switch around at will, there was sometimes a delayed reaction to a full-back run – as if the players weren’t permanently programmed to get back. There’s also an argument that the Blackpool midfielders are not mobile enough to cope with no support from the wide players, so it is a two-pronged problem.

Modric and Adam

The best player in the first half was Luka Modric, who played his classic short, neat passes to create chances through the centre of the pitch. He also spread play to the full-backs with some longer passes, but generally kept things short.

His attitude was in stark contrast to Charlie Adam’s, who still looks to hit ambitious passes first and foremost. Despite Holloway’s warning this week – “What he has got to do is concentrate on playing simply, quickly, nicely and neatly and forget all his World Cup Willie shots from the halfway line because that is not really going to help anybody when you’re not on form. That’s not the way to get back in the game” – Adam was still guilty of conceding possession too cheaply.

by Guardian Chalkboards

In fairness, we didn’t see quite so many of his long diagonal balls, but when looking at his passing chalkboard, it’s notable that all his red arrows are when he’s playing forward passes. Sometimes, it’s better to play a short pass and allow your side to move up the pitch, before playing the killer pass in a more dangerous position.

Second half

Redknapp changed things at half time, bringing on Lennon for Pavlyuchenko, putting van der Vaart behind Defoe, and going 4-4-1-1. Spurs looked good in the twenty minutes after half time, but Bale’s injury meant Crouch came on, van der Vaart went to the left, and Spurs were back to 4-4-2 – not a disaster, but not what Redknapp wanted.

In the period where Defoe and van der Vaart were the main threat, Blackpool did well to keep a high line (though not suicidally high, as against Arsenal). The danger when you play against a forward duo of ‘a quick player upfront’ and ‘a creative player in behind’ – Javier Hernandez and Wayne Rooney, for example, is that the striker forces the defence to play deep, and increases the space for the No 10 to work in. Blackpool didn’t fall into this trap, however, and van der Vaart wasn’t a big threat.

Defoe had a decent game and his goal was well-deserved. His sharpness in the box seems to have vanished in the past year, but his game has improved tactically. His movement outside the box is better, his link-up play is promising, and he’s also reliable without the ball, in terms of his defensive job. A few of his shots were blocked in this game when he should have offloaded the ball, but his goal was excellent.

Jason Puncheon’s introduction at half time was a good move from Holloway – he was more mobile and direct than Kornilenko, and made Blackpool a greater goal threat.

Conclusion

A game more about small individual notes of interest, rather than an overriding tactical narrative that decided the game. Both were more concerned with playing their own game than nullifying the opposition, and both sides could have had the three points.

Alex2011

244楼参考译文：占位

Alex2011

Manchester United 2-1 Chelsea: United take huge step towards 19th league title
曼联2-1蓝军：主队大踏步迈向第19座英超王冠
May 8, 2011


The starting line-ups

Goals from Javier Hernandez and Nemanja Vidic put United six points clear with two games to play. 小豌豆和维迪奇早早进球，帮助红魔在英超还有2场比赛的情况下，取得了领先第二名6分的巨大优势！

Sir Alex Ferguson went with what now appears to be his first choice ‘big game’ line-up, with one exception – Patrice Evra was out, so John O’Shea played at left-back. 弗爵爷此役祭出他一贯对付大场面比赛的第一选择的主力阵容，只有1个例外，那就是（打枪手时，丢球后屡屡插上却屡屡浪费机会的主力左后卫）埃弗拉，而是由奥谢出人意料的出现在这个位置上。

Carlo Ancelotti dropped Fernando Torres and went with Didier Drogba upfront, with Saloman Kalou coming in on the right. The rest of the side was as expected. 安切洛蒂把托雷斯放在板凳上，用德罗巴出任突前的单箭头，卡劳在其后打右边锋。那么，其余的人员阵容安排，则不出意外。

Hernandez got United off to a brilliant start with the second quickest goal of the Premier League season, and United were ahead for pretty much the entire match. 小豌豆为主队打出英超联赛本季第二个最快的进球，堪称梦幻开局，以至于整场比赛中，曼联都处在领先球的较佳优势位置上。

Early pressing

The theme of Manchester United and Chelsea’s recent battles was a focus upon the tempo of the game, especially in the two-legged Champions League tie. United wanted a patient contest, Chelsea wanted it to be frantic. In the opening ten minutes here, however, both teams pressed high up and the game was action-packed. United’s traditionally strong start at Old Trafford – plus the goal, of course – put them in an excellent position, and Chelsea never really recovered.

To go on a slight tangent, it’s worth pointing out how important United’s excellent performance away at Schalke 11 days ago was. That put them in a commanding position in that tie, which enabled them to rest players for the return leg, which then enabled them to press early on here. The likes of Ryan Giggs and Michael Carrick may not have been able to play so energetically had they not enjoyed that extended rest. Giggs hadn’t played a minute since that game in Germany.

Positioning

The match panned out as you would expect with a 4-4-1-1 v 4-3-3 battle, with each player having a clear opponent (with the exception of a spare man at the back for both) – which made the pressing very obvious.

There was one slight exception to this, although not a surprise if you’ve seen United v Chelsea battles over the past two seasons. Ferguson is more than happy to let Branislav Ivanovic have time on the ball, and instead plays his left-winger very narrow. Park, famed for his ability to nullify an opposition full-back, did nothing of the sort here. Instead, he tucked in and helped out in the midfield zone. His challenges took place in a much narrower position than Antonio Valencia’s on the opposite flank, and his space in the channel was vital for the first goal.

by Guardian Chalkboards – thanks to Pedro Serôdio for the chalkboard

In turn, this meant that Rooney could venture towards the left flank to escape his marker, and also to give Ivanovic problems – he was lucky not to be sent off after two rash tackles on Rooney.

The key battle, however, was Valencia v Ashley Cole. Rarely has the left-back been so conclusively outplayed in a big game – Valencia has generally coped well with him since his move to United, but that’s often been in a defensive sense. Here, he constantly took the ball past Cole, which had the double impact of creating opportunities, and making Cole less of an attacking threat as he was scared to leave his position.

by Guardian Chalkboards

It was notable how often Rooney looked to spread the play out to Valencia on the right – since dropping in to play as a number ten, Rooney’s excellent passing range has been more obvious.

by Guardian Chalkboards

Chelsea attacking threat

Chelsea returned to a system with three forwards in comfortable positions after last week’s experiment with Drogba on the right, but the trio didn’t gel early on. There was some strange positioning from the front three – Kalou and Malouda both took up positions as central players at some points, which narrowed Chelsea and meant their attacks often went through the middle, which became predictable.

That was a problem as the service towards the front three was poor. Frank Lampard was anonymous for most of the match – despite his goal – as Carrick did a good defensive job on him. With little support from full-backs – Ivanovic not a natural attacker, and Cole pegged back by Valencia – Chelsea were something of a broken team.

They were more of a danger when they got the ball wide before crossing – for Kalou’s header in the first half, which was saved by van der Sar, and for Lampard’s goal in the second half.

Changes

Ancelotti tried to change things for the second half. At 2-0 down, he sacrificed his holding player, Mikel, and brought Ramires on for more energy in midfield. Alex replaced David Luiz at the back.

These changes limited his options further forward. Torres for Kalou was the only change there, resulting in Chelsea changing shape to something more like a 4-4-2, or a 4-4-2 diamond. They didn’t look comfortable in this system, and it would have been more interesting to see Yossi Benayoun come off the bench – Torres contributed little, and Chelsea’s problem was a lack of creativity, not a lack of finishing prowess.

Their best chance before the goal came when Cole knocked a long ball forward for Drogba – which he handled. There was a similarity to the move which brought Drogba’s goal at Old Trafford in the Champions League – Essien played the ball that time, but there was the same intent, to bypass the ‘creative’ zone of the pitch and hit a long ball.

United in control

United looked a little nervous immediately after the Lampard goal, but in all they remained in control of the match. Really, they should have extended their lead – after Mikel’s departure, Rooney became much more of a threat and had some good chances – most obviously when Alex blocked on the line, but also after some good work from substitute left-back Jonny Evans, and also after a good Carrick pass.

Ferguson’s only substitutions were to replace his injured full-backs – he was happy with the shape of his side.

There was a strange late change when Essien and John Terry switched positions – for the final ten minutes, Essien played centre-back, and Terry played as a holding midfielder. The reason for this move are arguable – to have more pace at the back?  For more of a true defender against Rooney? (edit: apparently an injury to Terry late on was the reason)

Conclusion

A dominant performance from United that was all about control – Chelsea briefly rallied in the second half, but after a slight nervous period, United were professional and disciplined at the back.

The key was the difference in positioning of United’s two wingers – Valencia took the fight to Cole and conclusively won the battle, whilst Park tucked in, provided energy in the midfield and gave himself space to create the crucial first goal.

Alex2011

246楼参考译文
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红蓝大战战术分析：养兵十日，决胜一时

2011-05-09 / Rivaldinho



埃尔南德斯和维迪奇的进球让曼联得以在联赛还剩2轮的情况下领先6分。

弗格森拿出了他的“大赛首发”——只有一处变动就是埃弗拉没有进入名单，奥谢首发出任左后卫。

安切洛蒂把托雷斯放在了替补席上，德罗巴首发突前，卡卢居右。球队剩下的阵容都是在预料之中。

埃尔南德斯打入了英超联赛史上第二快进球，为红魔取得了梦幻开局，曼联得以在整场比赛都处于主动地位。

初期的压迫

曼联和切尔西最近的比赛关键在于比赛节奏，两回合欧冠体现尤其明显。曼联想慢慢来，切尔西则急吼吼，不过本场比赛开局阶段两队都采取了主动上抢压迫的策略，比赛非常有激情。曼联在老特拉福德一贯的强势让他们处于有利的位置，当然那粒进球的关键不言自明，切尔西未曾真正找到节奏。

我们稍微歪个楼，曼联11天前对阵沙尔克的出色表现有多么重要，这是值得一提的。这让他们在两回合较量中处于绝对有利位置，他们得以在第二回合比赛里大量轮休，这也为他们本场早起的强力压迫埋下伏笔。吉格斯和卡里克若不是有那么畅快的休战也不会有昨天这般能量。吉格斯自从德国那一战之后1分钟都没踢过。

位置

比赛进入轨道之后你会发现这是4-4-1-1与4-3-3的战斗，每名球员都能找到自己的对手（防线也都多出一人），因此压迫方式显而易见。

但是有一个小小的例外，如果你看过这两个赛季曼联与切尔西的比赛就不会觉得意外，弗格森很乐意让伊万诺维奇拿球，然后让他的左翼球员内收。朴智星拥有和对方边后卫兑子的能力，但是在这种状况下他不需要这么做。他内收帮助球队争夺中场，和右路的瓦伦西亚相比，他的对抗出现在更接近中路的地方，他的位置在第一球中至关重要。



另外一方面这意味着鲁尼可以跑到左路去甩脱自己的盯防者，然后给伊万制造点麻烦，后者两次故意侵犯鲁尼，没被罚下已是走运。
关键对位则是瓦伦西亚vs阿-科尔，这家伙很少有在大赛里被如此“欺凌”，瓦伦西亚自从来到曼联之后每每对上科尔从能让对手“出局”，这更多是说废掉了科尔的进攻。本场比赛瓦伦西亚多次强突科尔，既能够创造进攻机会，又能够震慑对方让其不敢擅离防守位置，一举两得。

很显著的一点是鲁尼对瓦伦西亚的传球输送，自从他行使10号之责后他出色的传球视野得到了很好的体现。



切尔西的进攻威胁

切尔西上周试验了德罗巴居右的战术，如今他们又回到了三前锋体系，但是前场三人组在初期没有捏合在一起。他们的位置也有点奇怪，卡卢和马卢达有些时候站的位置都很像前锋，这让切尔西的进攻只能通过中路打入，变得很好判断。

而他们受到的支援也少得可怜，兰帕德比赛大部分时候都隐身，卡里克对他的防守工作做得非常好，边后卫又无甚支援，伊万本身就不擅进攻，科尔被瓦伦西亚KO了，切尔西支离破碎。

他们把球打到边路才更有威胁，卡劳上半场的头球被范德萨扑出，兰帕德下半场的进球也来自传中。

换人

安切洛蒂想在下半场立马作出改变。2-0落后之后他牺牲了自己的后腰米克尔，让米克尔为中场注入更多能量。阿莱士则替换鲁伊斯出场。

这样的换人让他之后的变招变少了，然后他也只能用托雷斯换下卡劳了，切尔西不得不变阵4-4-2，他们在这个体系里看起来并不舒服，托雷斯贡献寥寥，切尔西的问题也是缺少创造力而非终结者，如果贝纳永能上场会更有趣。

他们在兰帕德进球前的最佳机会是科尔送给德罗巴的长传，但是后者手球。这和欧冠德罗巴在老特拉福德的进球又异曲同工，那次传球的是埃辛，这种传球的意图都是一样的，就是夸过需要“创造力”的区域，长传打到对方身后。

曼联继续掌控

在兰帕德进球后曼联看上去有些许紧张，但是他们总体上还是控制了比赛。事实上他们本可以扩大优势，米克尔下场后鲁尼更有威胁，有几次很好的机会，最明显的一次就是被阿莱士封堵的那次射门，当然左后卫埃文斯干得不错，卡里克的传球也很好。

弗格森唯一的换人就是拿下自己受伤的边后卫，他对于球队的队形很满意。比较奇怪的是最后时刻特里与埃辛位置互换，最后几分钟埃辛踢中卫，特里打后腰，这样做的原因值得商榷，让防线速度更快？让真正的防守球员对付鲁尼？还是特里后来受到了伤病影响不得不变换位置？

结论

曼联打出了统治级的表现，切尔西下半场短暂缓过气来，但是曼联在经历了短暂的紧张之后防线立马恢复了职业与纪律性。曼联两个边路的位置是关键，瓦伦西亚与科尔缠斗并最终获胜，朴智星内心为中场提供能量，并且为球队打入第一球立下奇功。

Alex2011

Lyon 3-2 Marseille: Cris nets winner
里昂3-2马赛之战术分析：克里斯最后时刻的进球锁定胜局
May 9, 2011


The starting line-ups 双方首发

3rd-placed Lyon beat 2nd-placed Marseille to remain in the title race – just about. 联赛第三的里昂击败了排名第二的马赛，使得法甲冠军之争仍留有悬念 —— 大概是这吧。

Claude Puel made various changes to his side because of injury and suspension, bringing in Thimothee Kolodzieczak, Miralem Pjanic and Bafetimbi Gomis, which pushed Lisandro Lopez to the left.

Didier Deschamps brought back Loic Remy after suspension, which meant Jordan Ayew dropped to the bench.

This was – perhaps surprisingly for Ligue 1 – an exciting, open game packed with decent goals and opportunities for both sides. Then again, these sides have a history of entertaining clashes.

Strategies 双方的策略

In a funny way, however, this was actually a good demonstration of the defensive-minded football that many have complained about in France in recent months. Yes, there were five goals, but it was notable that both sides only attacked when they needed to, when the scoreline dictated that they needed a goal. There was no attacking in the natural mentality of the sides, or even any attacking play as a form of defence – it was attack when you need a goal, defend when you don’t.

That’s a rather basic point to make, and perhaps its simply the definition of how to approach a game as the score changes. But take Marseille’s attitude – very negative until they went 1-0 down, rather exciting when they were trying to get it back to 2-2, and then back into their shells when it looked like they might grab a point.

Lyon, as the home side, started much more positively, but at 1-0 up they retreated and played solely on the counter. Cesar Delgado’s superb goal on the break indicates that there was plenty of reason for them to play that style of football – but Jimmy Briand’s stupid error (trying to keep the ball in, in order to save a corner, but actually just setting up Marseille for their first goal) indicated the danger with Lyon sitting back in their own third of the pitch.

The ‘tactical’ part of the game was relatively uninteresting, but the ’strategic’ part was fascinating. In other words, when and why Puel and Deschamps attacked and defended at certain times was fascinating – how they did it was nothing out of the ordinary.

Lyon tactics 里昂的战术

Lyon’s main strategy was to bring their wide forwards inside, narrow the opposition defence, and get their full-backs high up the pitch to stretch the play. This had an obvious attacking benefit, but it also worked well defensively – it forced Mathieu Valbuena and Marseille’s left-winger back (Remy and Andre Ayew both guarded that side of the pitch at different moments) and prevented the away side from getting attacking players forward. With Marseille’s wingers so deep, they were not much of a threat.

Lyon were particularly fond of the long diagonal ball from the centre of the pitch out to Anthony Reveillere – they attempted it three or four times in the opening stages, but in truth it wasn’t particularly effective.
Most of their build-up play came down the wings, though. Kim Kallstrom played the ball neatly from flank to flank, whilst Mirolem Pjanic focused on getting himself into the box to meet cut-backs, a la Frank Lampard.

Marseille tactics 马赛的战术

Marseille started off playing exclusively on the counter. Valbuena had a very quiet game on the right flank – Marseille instead used the the pace they had down their left, with the Remy-Ayew combination carrying the ball at speed. Marseille’s transitions were rapid and Lyon’s centre-backs were often caught very high up the pitch – their offside trap looked a little suspect on a couple of occasions.

In the defensive phase of play, Marseille’s wingers dropped back level with the two deeper central midfielders, with Lucho Gonzalez able to press higher up – making the away side look like 4-4-2 without the ball.

Tactical battle 战术对抗

With a 4-3-3 against a 4-2-3-1, the individual battles across the pitch were obvious, and the Lyon full-backs high up the pitch was the only notable point of interest positionally.

The pattern of pressing largely fitted with the earlier point about the mentality of the sides at different points. Lyon started off closing down high up the pitch with Marseille sitting back, then roles were reversed when Lyon took the lead.

Substitutions 双方的换人

Deschamps deserves praise for making two brave substitutions – removing his two wide players and bringing on Jordan Ayew and Andre-Pierre Gignac. Marseille did go behind immediately after bringing those two players on – but that was just being caught with an excellent break (see below). Ayew and Gignac added more variety upfront, and those two players grabbed an assist each.

Puel’s substitutions were less successful – Briand came on and made the mistake for Marseille’s first, whilst Jeremy Pied was less of a threat than Lisandro. Lyon’s attacking drive faded late on, but centre-back Cris went up for a set piece and decided the game with a thumping shot.

Conclusion 结论

A fairly standard tactical battle of 4-3-3 against 4-2-3-1. The most interesting aspect was how high Lyon’s full-backs pushed up the pitch – when they did this, Lyon were in control, but when they sat deeper, Marseille’s wingers were allowed to play in dangerous zones, and this got them back in the game.
这是一场相当标准的433阵型与4231阵型的战术对抗之战。最令人关注的方面是，里昂的边后卫高位压上 —— 的确如此时，里昂就控制局势，但是当边后卫站位靠后时，马赛边翼就拿球出现在有威胁的地带，这种情况到后来又恢复了。

Alex2011

248楼参考译文

Penelope

Manchester City 1-0 Stoke: Man City clinch first trophy since 1976 after Toure strike
足总杯决赛曼城1-0斯托克城之战术分析：图雷绝杀进球助曼城收获自1976年以来的第一座冠军奖杯
May 14, 2011


The starting line-ups

Yaya Toure’s powerful shot 15 minutes from time gave Roberto Mancini’s men the victory.
丫丫图雷在第75分钟的强力射门进球为罗伯特曼奇尼球队带来巨大胜利果实。

Mancini was able to call upon Carlos Tevez upfront, meaning Edin Dzeko dropped to the bench. Mario Balotelli started on the wing, and Aleksander Kolarov played over Pablo Zabaleta at left-back.

Tony Pulis brought Matthew Etherington back into the side – though he didn’t look fit – and Robert Huth also recovered from injury to play at the back. Thomas Sorensen got the nod over Asmir Begovic in goal.

City were better throughout the game – never quite in complete control, but always the better side. They carried out their gameplan more effectively than Stoke.

Formations / Stoke threat

The battle of formations was pretty much as expected. City were 4-2-3-1, Stoke were more 4-4-1-1 than 4-4-2, as Jon Walters was asked to keep goalside of Nigel de Jong in the midfield zone.

That was part of Stoke’s problem, because Walters was therefore forced to play far too deep and this meant Kenwyne Jones lacked support throughout the contest. For his part, Jones played the centre-forward role very well – he won free-kicks from Vincent Kompany (who looked uncomfortable coming up the pitch) won headers against both centre-backs, had a penalty shout in the first half when he caused Kompany problems, and also had Stoke’s best chance of the game when getting on the end of an Etherington ball over the top in the second.

That was the extent of Stoke’s threat, however. With Walters deep, Etherington lacking his sharpness and Jermaine Pennant’s delivery from the right rather poor, Stoke were underwhelming. Stoke are notoriously a long ball side , but their passing performance in open play was poor even by their standards – Opta recorded, for example, that Stoke’s first half pass completion ratio was their worst of the season, and by the end of the game half of their outfield players finished with below a 50% pass completion ratio. They were outnumbered in the midfield zone and didn’t spread the play wide well enough.

City overlaps

In open play, the main point of note was how City brought their wide players inside and were fluid in and around the penalty box. Sometimes this produced chances in itself – Balotelli cut in and forced a superb save from Sorensen, whilst Silva found himself with a great chance but thumped the ball into the ground and over the bar. On other occasions, it opened up space for the City full-backs to get forward – Kolarov was a real threat down the left but his delivery was erratic. Micah Richards was a little too reserved on the other side and could have asked more questions of the half-fit Etherington, especially with the excellent Nigel de Jong providing protection deep in midfield.

Delap’s throws were dealt with reasonably well, and Pennant’s free-kicks from the right were disappointing. In fact, the most interesting set-pieces were goal-kicks – when Stoke had one, they brought their wide players inside to try and get on the end of Jones’ flick-ons (the only time he had support in the game) and when City had one, Stoke pressed them high up the pitch which forced Joe Hart to go long, often conceding possession. Hart also conceded possession when he tried quick goal-kicks after set-pieces, with Stoke’s centre-backs were up the pitch. He is a fine goalkeeper, but his distribution is not quite at the level it should be.

Aside from the wide players coming inside, City often looked dangerous when players moved forward from deep, central positions. Both Toure and Kompany had efforts from long distance – with Stoke’s two central midfielders moving towards their own centre-backs quickly and Walters staying on De Jong (rather than in a specific zone), City had space in that area of the pitch.

Second half


The line-ups when the goal went in

Pulis elected not to make a chance at half time, despite his two wide players struggling and Stoke being outplayed in midfield.

With the same XIs for the second half, the game continued in the same pattern. City were the better side, and despite Jones’ golden chance, looked more likely in front of goal.

Etherington’s injury eventually meant he had to depart, with Dean Whitehead coming on and Delap going left. This meant that they looked more readily to Pennant on the right, but Kolarov was more defensive in the second half and had few problems.

Mancini sub

Mancini gambled on 72 minutes with an attacking move – Gareth Barry off, Adam Johnson on. Barry may have been carrying a knock, but it was still positive for Mancini to go with an extra attacking player, rather than with Patrick Vieira, for example. Silva came inside and Johnson went to the left, with Toure dropping deeper.

This had a clear impact for the goal – Toure may have been starting off further out, of course, but he still got forward, and it was notable how many players City had in the box for the goal, as Toure arrived late to crash the ball in. That wouldn’t have happened if the more reserved Barry had been the ’second function’ midfielder rather than Toure, so Mancini’s substitution deserves credit.

Stoke caused few problems late on. John Carew replaced Delap with Walters coming to the left, but Stoke looked physically drained and were unable to win the ball back quickly enough. Their natural response without the ball – to drop deep and wait for attacks to come, was no longer good enough and Manchester City were calm in the final ten minutes.

Mancini brought on Zabaleta for Tevez and went 5-4-1ish, with a spare man at the back against the double aerial threat of Carew and Jones, and Vieira replaced Silva very late on for extra protection, but Manchester City were comfortable and deserved the win.

Conclusion

Stoke didn’t play well. They didn’t carry out either aspect of their gameplan well enough – the classic physical/long ball threat was not as dangerous as usual, partly because of a high line from Mancini, and partly because Jones didn’t get enough support. They didn’t play well enough on the floor, either, unlike in the 5-0 semi final win over Bolton – despite a fine pitch, the passing was wayward and they were hampered by Etherington and Pennant’s reduced mobility.

Mancini’s side were not spectacular, but very well organised and, with the exception of Jones single-handedly causing Kompany and Joleon Lescott physical problems, composed with and without the ball. Tactically, Mancini got things spot on here. His side were in control of the game early on, and then he injected another attacking player to add fresh impetus when Stoke were growing into the contest.