I changed football.

4 month 28 day.

Seville, Spain.

The first leg of the Europa League semi-final.

From the round of 16 to the semifinals.

Monaco always plays the first leg away and the second leg at home in knockout matches.

Honestly, this is definitely a good thing for Monaco right now.

Monaco has a strong attacking ability, and often after taking the lead away from home, they have an even greater advantage when they return home.

"We're going to play Sevilla, thankfully it's a two-legged tie. If we were to face them in the final, I reckon—"

"How so?"

"They've won the Europa League so many times, they're guaranteed to win if they reach the final!"

Actually, the term "Sevilla Cup" also exists abroad, given Seville's impressive performance in the Europa League.

But the real genius is Emery. Emery led his team to the Europa League final six times and won it five times. The only time he didn't win it was with Arsenal.

Emery is an interesting coach who is very good at managing mid-to-upper-tier teams, but he is not so good at managing big, elite teams.

Under Emery, Sevilla played a 4-2-3-1 formation, and their tactics were simple: a combination of crosses from the wings and set pieces in attack, coupled with an efficient pressing defensive system.

Generally speaking, teams that make it to the Europa League all have some defensive issues.

Otherwise, why don't you go play in the Champions League?

Therefore, teams like Sevilla struggle in the Champions League due to their weak defense, but in the Europa League, this level of defense is sufficient. Coupled with their aggressive pressing, they can overwhelm teams that are not very cohesive as a whole.

However, with Li Yuan as a liability for Monaco, Sevilla is going to suffer a great loss.

On the day of the match.

The Pizjuán Stadium was already packed.

Sevilla are playing a 4-2-3-1 formation.

The goalkeeper is David Soria.

The back line, from left to right, consists of Escudero, Rami, Carrizo, and Mariano.

The two defensive midfielders are Nzonzi and Krychowiak.

Left winger Vitolo, right winger Koke, attacking midfielder Banega, and center forward Gameiro.

Actually, looking at it this way, Sevilla's squad is really strong, with many talented players, but their bench depth is lacking.

This season, Sevilla is only ranked 8th in the league, and is far from the 7th place European qualification zone. With two rounds left in La Liga, it can be said that they have basically said goodbye to European competition next season.

For a team like Sevilla, whether they can qualify for European competitions next season is extremely important.

The fact that the Europa League champions qualify directly for the Champions League is extremely important for Sevilla.

So Sevilla played casually in the last league match, just to have their full strength and energy ready for the Europa League semi-final against Monaco.

Monaco played a 4-3-3 formation today. This season, after Li Yuan and Mbappe secured their starting positions, Monaco has actually been switching between 4-2-3-1 and 4-3-3 formations.

If you want to attack, switch to a 4-3-3 formation.

When you need to play a defensive counter-attacking style, use a 4-2-3-1 formation.

However, today is an away game, and the opponent is Sevilla, the strongest team we've faced so far, plus the team itself has a bonus effect.

Jardim still fielded this 4-3-3 attacking formation, and to be honest, the starting lineup was quite surprising when it was announced.

The goalkeeper is Subasic, of course.

The back line, from left to right, consists of Raggi, Carvalho, Wallace, and Bakayoko.

The three midfielders are Fabinho in the center, Moutinho on the left, and Bernardo Silva on the right.

The three forwards are Mbappe on the left wing, Traore in the center, and Li Yuan on the right wing.

Setting up such an offensive formation is undoubtedly a way of telling the opponent that we are going to attack today.

After the match started, Monaco kicked off first in the first half. After a few passes, Monaco launched an attack in the 2nd minute.

Fabinho made a long pass from the middle to Traore in the attacking third, who plays a pivotal role.

Actually, his attacking ability is just average, and his goal-scoring ability is not outstanding as a center forward. However, he can act as a pivot, receive the ball, and then distribute it. In this respect, he is the best player in Monaco's squad.

Therefore, he is often the starter in crucial matches.

He was also needed in today's game, just like Fabinho is now making long passes from the backfield directly to him.

Traore held off the defender from behind, got the ball, stopped it, and passed it to the onrushing Bernardo. Then he turned and moved forward, pretending to receive the ball, thus taking one defender away from him.

But in reality, the ball will definitely not be passed to Traore; his role is to draw away the defenders.

After the defender was taken away, Bernardo suddenly found himself in an open space.

Bernardo calmly looked up to observe, then passed the ball to Li Yuan.

Li Yuan received the ball, near his ribs.

There was a defender in front of him.

He did not rush forward to make a breakthrough.

Bernardo was unmarked by any defenders, as they had been drawn away by Traore in the middle and Mbappe on the left flank.

Li Yuan alone attracted the attention of two defenders.

This resulted in Bernard being in such a dangerous position in the middle, and the defenders failing to keep up.

This is a good opportunity.

Li Yuan keenly realized this.

So he subtly flicked the ball to the left with the outside of his left foot.

It looked like he was about to cut inside, but it was actually a pass.

Although Bernardo didn't expect Li Yuan to pass the ball to him at first, he reacted very quickly after receiving it.

He pretended to dribble forward, drawing the defense that was originally on Li Yuan's side back to him.

Li Yuan decisively moved inwards, crossing paths with Bernardo.

Bernardo ran to the right flank, but as soon as he got there, he backheeled the ball to Li Yuan.

"Wow! A backheel pass! Li Yuan and Bernardo are working together flawlessly, they've really nailed it!"

Li Yuan found himself in an open spot and received the ball. What was there to wait for?

Just kick it!

Without hesitation, Li Yuan straightened his left leg and kicked the ball with the instep.

"Li Yuan, shoot! Goal!" Zhan Jun shouted. "Li Yuan scored just 3 minutes into the game! Another away goal, another Li Yuan goal!"

"This is Li Yuan's 8th Europa League goal! That's incredible!"

At this moment, Li Yuan was already hugging and celebrating with his teammates.

"Monaco's goal was very simple. They found their center forward in the backfield, controlled the ball, and then passed it back to the midfielder. The midfielder and Li Yuan combined, and Li Yuan should have cut inside or passed the ball next. But Li Yuan was very clever. He noticed that Bernardo was unmarked, so he passed the ball to Bernardo and combined with him. Then, using that momentum, he shot directly at the goal. The goalkeeper didn't even have a chance to react. That's what it means to play with your brain!

Zhang Lu's praise was so overwhelming that Zhan Jun couldn't even get a word in edgewise.

All I can add is, "Indeed, Li Yuan's goal was extremely clever!"