How did they do it?
How do you think? They played pressing defense the way that basketball teams play: They got up "high"von City's men, in the center of the pitch, pressuring them into passes before they were ready, into lost balls, into scoring opportunities. They did not play, again reverting to basketball, "zone defense": letting City's slick passers get set and pick out men streaking goalward:
"One of the key elements of Wolves’ game plan was to press City’s centre-backs high up the pitch. Instead of dropping off and allowing them to build attacks from deep, [they] were instructed to work hard without the ball and close them down at every opportunity."
This was received as Revelation:
“There are things happening in this first 20 minutes that I haven’t seen too many times against Manchester City,” said Gary Neville in the Sky Sports commentary box.
“That chance comes from Kompany making a mistake, but Jota engages, he doesn’t just drop off and sit back,” added Jamie Carragher. “He sees the mistake, goes forward and wins it, then they are countering. They are trying to engage a lot higher up the pitch than we saw last season.”
How do you think? They played pressing defense the way that basketball teams play: They got up "high"von City's men, in the center of the pitch, pressuring them into passes before they were ready, into lost balls, into scoring opportunities. They did not play, again reverting to basketball, "zone defense": letting City's slick passers get set and pick out men streaking goalward:
"One of the key elements of Wolves’ game plan was to press City’s centre-backs high up the pitch. Instead of dropping off and allowing them to build attacks from deep, [they] were instructed to work hard without the ball and close them down at every opportunity."
This was received as Revelation:
“There are things happening in this first 20 minutes that I haven’t seen too many times against Manchester City,” said Gary Neville in the Sky Sports commentary box.
“That chance comes from Kompany making a mistake, but Jota engages, he doesn’t just drop off and sit back,” added Jamie Carragher. “He sees the mistake, goes forward and wins it, then they are countering. They are trying to engage a lot higher up the pitch than we saw last season.”
Soccer seems to moi to be something of an island in the sports world, self-contained and unaware of developments in other near sports, unadjusting. Like Canadian hockey was before it encountered the Soviets. For over two years now the undersigned Idiot Blogger has seen this and preached it from this here commentary box to an audience of tens that has not included soccer experts.
