Chapter 1275: Don't Listen to What a Man Says, Watch What He Does

Perhaps Lu Yang’s goal left the Mallorca players ashamed.

Perhaps Mebarak’s departure made Mallorca lose their target of hatred.

In any case, in the upcoming match, Mallorca couldn’t create much trouble for Barça.

They hardly touched the ball.

Currently, Barça’s ball control rate has soared to around seventy-three percent.

And it’s important to note, this is active ball control, not passive.

What’s the difference between the two?

Last night’s first leg of the Champions League knockout between Manchester United and Atletico Madrid actually illustrated this point well.

Manchester United’s ball control rate in the first half reached as high as sixty-three percent.

But any fan who watched the first half could feel that the initiative was actually in the hands of Atletico Madrid, who had less possession.

Because most of the time Atletico Madrid controlled the ball, they were seeking to attack.

Meanwhile, most of Manchester United’s ball control was mainly “using passing to avoid Atletico’s tackles,” being pressured to pass by Atletico.

It’s about discarding a hot potato; the ultimate goal is to prevent Atletico from intercepting the ball, rather than organizing an attack.

This kind of ball control, even if your possession rate exceeds ninety percent, on the field, you will still be extremely passive and on the weaker side.

And now with Lu Yang’s Barça, their active ball control mainly occurs in the opponent’s half, looking for attacking opportunities.

It’s passing aimed at attacking.

In the forty-fourth minute, Lu Yang quickly turned and moved forward after passing the ball, attracting the attention of Mallorca’s defense.

Mateo received the ball on the wing, dribbled through several defenders, and took a long shot.

Mallorca then realized that their defensive players had long been led astray by Lu Yang, leaving Mateo a perfect shooting path.

Tactical threat!

Barça’s double-play is stronger than anyone imagined.

To be precise, Lu Yang is no longer just a double-play.

Barça is now operating with dual cores.

The perfect fusion of Mateo’s system and Barça’s system is an incredibly rare occurrence.

But no one expected that Lu Yang could both integrate into Barça’s passing system and activate his own style.

In this way, Barça possesses three systems.

The team’s system creates opportunities.

Mateo’s system and Lu Yang’s system are responsible for seizing opportunities and covering for each other.

Three-to-one, Barça takes a strong lead in the first half.

Mallorca angered them.

Second half.

Playing relatively easy, Barça clearly developed more of the players’ potential, with Lu Yang frequently retreating to receive support, making the football circulate smoothly in the front field.

At the same time, he also reduced his own threat.

Any player who doesn’t have a stunning performance or dangerous moves for a long time will gradually be ignored by the opponent.

This isn’t a case of the opponent’s lack of focus, but simply because more threatening points will appear in a football game, and guarding one person solely would cause a serious waste of resources.

Even if an average player closely marks Mateo or Lu Yang all game, trying to achieve a one-for-one effect, the result would be a loss.

Because a tightly marked Lu Yang and Mateo can easily transform into industrious players involved in simple ball distribution.

In this case, the other side equals one more player than you.

Because the marker is passive, there are many opportunities he cannot seize; otherwise, he fails his marking task.

Thud!

Unknown to everyone, when Lu Yang retreated multiple times for support, this time he didn’t pass the ball back to the midfielders, sensing the slack of the defender behind him.

The opponent wasn’t completely sticking to him.

Whether sticking or not, Lu Yang would immediately pass back, and the opponent didn’t bother to take the last few steps, saving their energy.

But this time, Lu Yang followed the rolling ball and half-turned, shooting without halting the ball!

This belongs to Morici’s ultra-fast pass-shoot technique!

The ball instantly penetrated Mallorca’s defense.

On the left wing, Mancini cut inside without the ball, moving rapidly.

His receipt of the ball was a clear one-on-one with the goalkeeper.

Mancini wasted no opportunity, cleanly striking it into the goal.

Four-to-one!

Camp Nou was filled with resounding applause.

In the eighty-first minute, Canisell reenacted that scene from the Barça training match.

He moved from right-back to the right defensive midfield position, then stealthily advanced.

Hernandez passed the ball to Mateo, who immediately lifted the ball over in a lob.

Canisell charged into the penalty area without any defense, nudging the ball for a seamless shot.

The ball hit the net’s corner.

Five-to-one!

Barcelona celebrated their largest victory of the season.

They showcased professionalism, exuded strength.

Each of their goals was exceptionally clean.

The post-match news was destined to be explosive.

…

“Five-to-One! Barça returns to winning track, Lu Yang continues his streak as Man of the Match with two assists and one goal!”

“Immoral Goal! Mallorca player’s goal leaves fans cold, countless fans vow to boycott the player!”

“Professional players express disbelief, how could he choose to hit the ball into an open goal in such a situation?”

“Career potentially ending? Mallorca’s left-winger’s immoral goal sparks public outrage!”

“Mebarak substituted out within twenty minutes! Barça reserves strength for next week’s Champions League!”

“Young talent remains consistent, Pirola fully capable of playing as a starter for Barça!”

“Don’t listen to a man’s words, watch his actions! Discussing different approaches of Mebarak and Lu Yang when facing team difficulties!”