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- Monterrey faced Serie A side Inter Milan at the Club World Cup earlier this week
- The Mexican side deployed a double wall for a free-kick during the game
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Fans have called out the use of a unique tactic at the Club World Cup, insisting it shows the ‘game’s gone’.
Serie A giants Inter Milan faced Mexican outfit Monterrey in California earlier this week in the opening game of the tournament for both teams.
With the match level at 1-1, Inter were awarded a free-kick on the edge of the area, and Monterrey opted to deploy a never-before-seen tactic to defend it.
Rather than putting up one wall, they set up a double wall with four players in each, while leaving a gap in the middle for the goalkeeper to get a clear view of the ball.
The unusual setup worked as Inter failed to score from the set-piece, but most fans on social media were having none of it.
‘Game’s gone’, commented one Instagram user after TNT Sports posted a photo of the double wall on their official account.
Monterrey set up a double wall to defend an Inter Milan free-kick at the Club World Cup
One fan claimed the never-before-seen tactic was a sign that the ‘game’s gone’
Another supporter described the double wall as ‘woke nonsense’ but Inter failed to score
One Instagram user was thoroughly unimpressed by the double wall, branding it ‘stupid’
Another claimed Inter should have just passed the ball to one of their open players
But one social media user defended the tactic and claimed ‘every team should do it’
Monterrey went on to get a creditable 1-1 draw, with Sergio Ramos scoring their only goal
‘Woke nonsense’, added another, while one fan simply wrote: ‘This is stupid’.
Meanwhile, one supporter insisted Inter had an easy solution at their disposal to the double wall that contained eight Monterrey players in total.
‘So many open players to pass to,’ they pointed out.
However, the new tactic was not universally condemned as one fan replied on Instagram: ‘Every team should do it’.
The game ended up finishing 1-1 as Monterrey secured a hard-earned point. They had taken the lead through a header from Real Madrid legend Sergio Ramos, but Inter equalised thanks to Lautaro Martinez.
Monterrey have two more group games to come against River Plate and Urawa Red Diamonds, and it remains to be seen if they will deploy the double wall again.
It is not the only unusual incident that has taken place at the Club World Cup this week.
In a separate match between Uslan HD and Mamelodi Sundowns, South African goalkeeper Ronwen Williams was penalised for holding onto the ball for longer than eight seconds.
In a separate match at the Club World Cup, the referee penalised a goalkeeper for holding onto the ball for longer than eight seconds
Mamelodi Sundowns goalkeeper Ronwen Williams was caught out as Ulsan HD were awarded a corner
Refereeing chiefs announced plans to clamp down on time-wasting by goalkeepers prior to the tournament, and Williams was caught out as Ulsan were awarded a corner for his infringement.
Fortunately for Williams, the corner came to nothing and Mamelodi went on to pick up a 1-0 victory.
