Green Field Eunuch

Chapter 608 Pellegrini's Persistence
The situation for the top three in La Liga this season has become very delicate.

Barcelona leads second-placed Granada by one point, while Granada leads third-placed Atletico Madrid by one point.

The 33rd round of matches became crucial.

The key match is Granada hosting Barcelona at their home stadium, Camenes Stadium.

This match could very well be the one to decide the champion, and the Spanish media are all focused on it.

Among the top three teams in La Liga, Atletico Madrid is under the most pressure.

They eliminated Barcelona in the Champions League quarter-finals and will face Chelsea in the semi-finals, a very tough schedule.

If they focus all their efforts on competing in the league, then they are likely to face difficulties in the Champions League.

If they focus all their efforts on competing for the Champions League, then they are likely to continue to lag behind in the league.

In the worst-case scenario, Atletico Madrid could very well end up empty-handed in both the league and the Champions League.

After all, Atlético Madrid's starting lineup is very strong, and is even generally considered to be among the top tier in Europe.

However, their roster is relatively thin.
Therefore, for Atletico Madrid, the best outcome in this top-of-the-table clash between Granada and Barcelona would be a draw.

If Granada draws at home against Barcelona, ​​and Atletico Madrid beats Getafe, they will be able to take the top spot in the standings.

This is the most favorable outcome for them.

Neither Granada nor Barcelona wanted to face a draw.

They all need to defeat their opponents to solidify their positions.

Especially Barcelona.

They were eliminated from the Champions League by Atletico Madrid, and in the Copa del Rey final, they lost 1-2 to their arch-rivals Real Madrid, missing out on the Copa del Rey title.

If they are again outshone by Granada or Atletico Madrid in the league, they will face a season without any trophies.

This is a difficult outcome for Barcelona, ​​who spent a fortune in the summer to acquire Neymar and were determined to make a mark this season.

Therefore, Barcelona came out united in this match against Granada, determined to defeat their opponent.

There's not much to say about Granada either.

Every player knew the importance of this game, and everyone was determined to win.

After all, defeating Barcelona would give them the upper hand in the title race this season, while a loss would likely mean losing the title race altogether.

This is Granada's first-ever top-flight league title, a tremendous honor worthy of being recorded in the team's history, which has energized everyone.

In their last encounter, Barcelona lost to Granada at home, but Messi missed that match due to injury.

This time, Barcelona has its full squad.

Martino fielded a 4-3-3 formation.

In defense, he fielded Montoya and Adriano on the flanks, whom he trusted most, and Busquets and Mascherano as the two center-backs.

Pique's injury has cast a shadow over Barcelona's defense.

After much deliberation, Martino decided to have Busquets, Barcelona's versatile midfielder and defender, play as a makeshift center-back alongside Mascherano.

The two players had the heaviest task: defending against Shan Yongzhuo. The three midfielders were Iniesta on the left, Fabregas on the right, and Alexandre Song in the center.

In the last 4-3-3 formation, Barcelona's central midfielder was Fabregas, and that's where the problem arose.

Fabregas's playing style was too soft, and he was completely suppressed by Nainggolan's strong attacks, and in the end, he was almost executed by Nainggolan.

This time, he sent out defensive stalwart Alexandre Song to solidify the defense in the central midfield.

Alex Song, who came from Ligue 1, reached the pinnacle of his career at Arsenal. He was the most crucial element in Arsenal's squad balance at the time, and also the most important bodyguard behind Arsenal's Fabregas.

After Fabregas and Nasri left, Alex Song took on a lot of Arsenal's attacking responsibilities, showing his talent in organizing and assisting. Henry's first goal after returning to Arsenal came from Alex Song's perfect pass.

However, this attempt to acquire Arsenal ultimately failed to escape the clutches of Barcelona.

In 2012, following Cesc Fàbregas, he became another victim of Barcelona's exploitation of Arsenal. This deal infuriated Arsenal fans, who were powerless to do anything about it.

Alexandre Song is physically strong, runs actively, is very good at intercepting and tackling, and has good footwork and passing ability. He is an excellent beast-type defensive midfielder.

Although he couldn't compete for a starting position with Busquets, a La Masia native, after arriving in Barcelona, ​​he still performed very well in the matches he played.

In this match, Martino had Busquets play as a makeshift center-back and then put Alexandre Song in the starting defensive midfield position.

With him providing support in the middle, Martino felt that Barcelona's advantage on the flanks could be fully utilized.

The three forwards are positioned with Messi in the center, Neymar on the left, and Pedro on the right.

This is Barcelona's strongest attacking lineup right now.

Compared to Barcelona's squad, Granada's squad looks rather meager, with only Shan Yongzhuo being a notable star player.

Even Nainggolan, whose fame has skyrocketed this season, still seems somewhat out of place in Barcelona's star-studded squad.

Other players like Van Dijk, Ziyech, Blind, and Harry Kane are even less comparable to the fame of Barcelona's star players.

Pellegrini still fielded his most confident 4-4-2 formation.

This is Pellegrini's most trusted formation, and also the one he plays best. He often manages to make this most traditional formation look amazing.

From Villarreal to Malaga and then to Granada, Pellegrini's tactical philosophy has never changed; what has changed is the core of the team's lineup.

He and Simeone are among the few strong team coaches in La Liga, or even in the entire European football scene today, who still adhere to the traditional universal 4-4-2 formation without wavering.

However, Pellegrini's 442 is very different from the traditional English 442.

Pellegrini's 4-4-2 formation was not the high-ball, high-pressing style of the English, but rather fully utilized Shan Yongzhuo's strengths and was built entirely around him.

Rather than a 4-4-2, Pellegrini's system is more like a 4-2-2-2 or a variant of the 4-4-1-1 that Mancini used at Manchester City.

The core concept of this lineup is for Shan Yongzhuo to retreat or move to the sidelines.

The team's attack does not rely on the flanks; rather, it relies more on the link-up play in the middle and the two full-backs pulling the ball towards the center. This is the core of Pellegrini's 4-4-2 formation.

Pellegrini persisted with this style of play against Barcelona.

Therefore, Shan Yongzhuo is still under a lot of pressure, and he still needs to keep retreating in this game.

(End of this chapter)