Football’s First Defender

In the second round of the Europa League qualifying play-offs, Zenit lost Yang Feng, and finally retreated from Belgium with a score of 1 to 1! But the injury of defender Yang Feng still dilutes the team's joy of qualifying for the UEFA Cup!

At the press conference after the game, Advocaat was a little absent-minded! What he is most concerned about now is how Yang Feng's injury is, and how much time does he need to recuperate? Fortunately, the match in the Russian Super League was originally planned to train rookies and substitute players, but the Europa League group stage and the Russian Cup knockout round will still be inseparable from Yang Feng!

Yang Feng is so important to the current Zenit team that advocates offense! Without his defensive line, if Zenit continues to play the current offensive tactics, I am afraid it will be competing with the opponent for the number of goals!

Everything has to wait for the results of the hospital's examination. At least the team doctor reported on the spot that the preliminary examination on the field should have shown that the ankle ligament was damaged when he was shoveled, and there was no major problem such as a fracture!

Advocaat only hoped that Yang Feng would not be seriously injured. Although the most fundamental tactic for him to attack the European war is of course offense, Yang Feng is definitely the most important part of the defense! Only with Yang Feng on the field can Zenit give full play to its offensive strength without worrying that its defense will always lose the chain!

Just when the whole team was preparing to board the plane back to Russia at the airport, Yang Feng finally appeared in the team wearing protective gear to protect his right foot!

Grade 2 injury to the ankle ligaments?

Advocaat got the exact news from Yang Feng from the team doctor who followed Yang Feng to the hospital for an examination!

As a senior coach, Advocaat certainly knows that it takes 2 to 3 months of recovery time for this level of ankle ligament injury before training!

Should I be glad I didn't have at least a third-degree ligament injury?

Damn it, I hope the group stage can draw a good lottery. I don't want to stumble in the group stage without Yang Feng!

On the other hand, it was the first time for Yang Feng, who had been a man for two lifetimes, to experience such a serious injury!

This is the difference between amateur football and professional football. Various injuries that seem to be commonplace in professional football rarely appear when playing football at the level of ordinary people!

Firstly, there is a huge difference in the intensity of the competition, and secondly, many defensive moves are not allowed in the non-professional arena!

Just like the ball that Yang Feng was injured by a shovel, maybe it was Yang Feng's own inertial thinking. He was really unprepared, and the opponent's striker would directly shovel it so recklessly! This is the rhythm of group fights on the field. But in the professional arena, it's just a yellow card and an apology!

At that time, Yang Feng, who was all focused on finding the position of his teammates and preparing to pass the ball, didn't pay attention to protecting himself at all. This time, it can only be regarded as a lesson. In terms of protecting himself on the field in the future, Yang Feng believes that he will definitely learn a lot from it!

Simply Belgium has a direct flight to Moscow, and Zenit's opponent in this round happens to be Lokomotiv Moscow, a team from the Moscow region! During the tiring journey, at least there is no need to change planes...

In this round of the Russian Super League match, although both teams have just finished the play-offs of the Europa League, after all, in the second round, Lokomotiv Moscow is at home, and this league is also played at its home court. In particular, the home team can still be said to be waiting for work at ease!

However, Zenit, who has already won the championship in the Russian Super League, did not choose to go all out in this game, and decisively chose to rotate most of the main players.

The game one day apart, or the last few rounds after winning the championship, is it still the main force? Do you think Advocaat is Thibodeau on the other side of the ocean?

Yang Feng has already been injured and needs to be out for more than 2 months. Edvocaat doesn't want his other main players to be injured again!

What kind of win-win record is not so important to Advocaat! This is not the exciting feeling of breaking records in football games!

champion! This is the goal pursued by professional football! For Advocaat, instead of breaking the winning streak of the European non-five major leagues such as the Russian Super League, he can only be happy in Russia! It is more meaningful to lead the team to make a breakthrough in the European war!

Although it is not the Champions League, the Europa League is a traditional competition in Europe after all. For Zenit, if it can really stand out among the powerful teams in the five major leagues, and even kill the downcast giants that fell into the Europa League, it is also its own strength. The embodiment of value!

Zenit actually rotated most of the main players in this game, and the sequelae of frequent battles with one lineup are beginning to show up!

Fatigue is on the other hand, and injury prevention is the most important thing. After all, the general Yang Feng who has already damaged the defense line, what Zenit needs to do now is to ensure health and face the European competitions during the offseason!

The absence of Arshavin, Tymoshchuk, Domingos and other absolute cores has dimmed Zenit's striker starlight a lot. I don't know if this Zenit team is still dominant on the field!

…………

GOAL! Pogrebnyak!

A shot from the penalty spot! Opening the scoring for Zenit!

Indeed, without Timoshchuk and Arshavin's Zenit, there are obvious shortcomings in the midfield organization, but Zenit still has the nuclear weapon of Boshen!

It's not a very good opportunity to kick the ball from the side! But Boshen has the ability to complete a fatal blow by himself in the penalty area!

Forcibly relying on the body to get stuck in position, after unloading the ball from the chest, directly half-turned and volleyed to hit the goal! All the movements were smooth and smooth, and the defender was stuck behind him. Although he stretched his legs to block the ball, in the end There is still no way!

1 to 0, Zenit took the lead in the away game!

Zenit, which lacks a few core players, still has the strength and confidence to win the game in the Russian Super League!

…………

GOAL!

Zilinsky!

A beautiful long pass from a teammate after stealing the ball!

Excellent placement!

The football is just in the middle of the defensive range of Zenit's two central defenders. Hagen and Skrtel obviously didn't react at first. After all, Yang Feng was responsible for handling this kind of ball before! But this time there was no one on the field. Yang Feng!

While they were in a daze, Zielinski had already taken the initiative to start, and relying on his speed, he successfully broke into the penalty area before the two defenders completed the siege, and a single-handed shot from the far corner was not difficult!

Lokomotiv Moscow, bring the game back to the same starting line at home!

This ball! Skrtel and Hagen were finally pierced while defending the opponent's counterattack!

The problem at the beginning of the season has not been resolved, and the problem seems to be even bigger! At least at the beginning of the season, Skrtel had the tactical requirement of supplementary defense, and he should be able to react faster than before, although he may not be able to catch up in the end. Opponent players! But start early, after all, if you can run two more steps, you will have a greater chance of getting the ball...

In fact, this pair of central defenders is not so reliable when the whole team presses out to attack!

In the previous few games, Hagen also replaced Skrtel and played with Yang Feng, and his performance in the game was pretty good!

But among the three main-level central defenders, if Yang Feng is missing, the other two will be in a lot of trouble!

Whether it's Eric Hagen or Skrtel, it seems that they are already used to Yang Feng's replacement and sweeping ability of almost contracting all high balls in normal games and training.

It's because I'm used to French meals, and I can't eat potatoes or bread anymore!

The halftime game ended with a score of 1 to 1!

With the score equalized, the home team gradually pulled the game into its own rhythm!

The energy of the Zenit players at the beginning was almost consumed as the game progressed!

After all, it’s only a day’s rest before the European game, and the flight time on the plane is also included. The fatigue of the game and the journey are intertwined, and the victory or defeat of this game is nothing to Zenit. It's too meaningful, so it's understandable that Zenit's players can't concentrate!

On the other hand, the home team will continue to fight for points to qualify for the Europa League next season. For many small teams, no matter how small a mosquito is, it is still meat. It is also a way to boost morale for players to send them down! Therefore, Lokomotiv Moscow, which has an advantage in terms of physical strength, morale, spiritual will, and even the strength of the team on the field, will not save face for the new league champion!

finally! Lokomotiv Moscow, which is playing at home, still took all three points from the leaders as they wished!

Relying on Zielinski's brace, the 2-1 score was maintained until the end, giving Zenit another defeat in the league!

Because of the schedule, Yang Feng's absence, and the rotation and many other reasons, Zenit finally reaped another defeat!

This is an atypical Zenit game. However, Zenit's defense can still be exposed. Without Yang Feng, there are too many loopholes in the opponent's defensive counterattack!

Perhaps during the absence of Yang Feng, Mr. Advocaat should try to choose some conservative tactics. Otherwise, if he continues to use the previous offensive tactics, it really depends on the number of goals scored by both sides in the game!

We believe in Zenit's offensive firepower, but if it really compares the number of goals, is it too risky for a team of Zenit's level?

It all depends on Mr. Advocaat's future decision!

But we really can't imagine that the injury of a young central defender under the age of 20 will make Mr. Advocaat unable to find someone to fill his vacancy. Yang Feng is definitely the most valuable treasure discovered by Zenit this season!

Relying on one person, he can support the defensive task of the entire defense line. In the full attack mode, one person can act as two people to prevent the opponent from counterattacking!

I hope Yang Feng can continue to maintain this state and upward momentum after he recovers from his injury. Sooner or later, this kind of defender will be able to prove himself in Europe...