Red Rebels

595 Chelsea Can’t Get Up

Many people say that the away-then-home schedule in the Champions League knockout rounds is very advantageous, but in fact, is this really the case?

The gap in strength often exceeds the disadvantage of the schedule, and the disparity in mentality will become the most fatal problem.

A team playing away from home wants to win, but is afraid of losing, wants to score goals, but is worried about a big defeat, and wants to defend, but feels unwilling to do so. It always hopes to have an away goal in hand, which can also bring itself back. There is more confidence at home.

In fact, the so-called guest-first-home schedule is not as beneficial as imagined, really!

Only veterans who have experienced the Champions League for many years will understand that the schedule is actually just a part of the football match. In addition to everything on the football field, the key to the two-round knockout round is the mentality.

How to adjust the mentality and how to coordinate the mentality of all players is the top priority.

Mourinho's first leg at Stamford Bridge fully reflected this. Every player knew very clearly that in this game, they must fight defensively and counterattack. They must defend first and then counterattack. Even if they don't score, they must fight for it. Don't let Chelsea score.

Very conservative?

Yes, the score of 0:0 is indeed conservative, but what about being conservative?

The Red Rebels got a relatively favorable result on the schedule. As long as they defeat Chelsea at home, the Red Rebels can advance.

Before the game, many media were worried about this score, because if the two sides were tied again in the second round at the Red Rebel Stadium, Chelsea would be able to eliminate the Red Rebels as long as they scored one away goal. The result will inevitably lead to Chelsea's aggressive pressure after the start, striving to get an away goal.

But will it really be so?

After the game started, Mourinho stood on the sidelines with a confident look on his face. Everything was so sure of victory, while Ancelotti looked very serious and stared at the court. superior.

In this game, Ancelotti's starting lineup was slightly adjusted. Shevchenko was at the front, Ronaldinho played on the left wing, Camoranesi played on the right wing, and Lampard played on the right wing. In the front midfielder, Deco and Ballack form a double midfielder. The defense line from left to right is Ashley Cole, Cannavaro, Alex and Bosingwa. The goalkeeper is Hildebrand.

The change from the usual 4321 to 4231 is just a small change, but it is not difficult to see that what Ancelotti wants to do is to make a fuss on the wing and change the unfavorable situation of wing attack in the first round.

And what about the Red Rebels?

The goalkeeper is Adler, the defense from left to right is Evra, Terry, Curtis and Maicon, the double midfielders are Beckham and De Rossi, the front midfielder is Kaká, and the left and right wingers are Xiao Xiao Ronaldo and Messi, with Drogba as the center, are the main lineup configuration of the Red Rebels in the second half of this season, and there are not many changes.

The lineups of both sides are not too surprising, which is also in line with everyone's guesses before the game. After all, there is not much difference in player strength between the two teams. The Red Rebels are in better shape and are slightly half a half ahead of Chelsea. level, but the two sides are very familiar with each other, and it is basically impossible for any strange soldiers or formations to appear.

It is precisely because of this that the head coaches of both sides made good guesses about the opponent's main lineup and staffing before the game. The key still depends on each other's tactical arrangements and the players' performance on the court.

For this, Mourinho has greater confidence than anyone else. When he was interviewed by the media before the game, he shouted the slogan of a 3-0 victory over Chelsea.

This is the score the Red Rebels won against Chelsea at home in the Premier League this season.

And don’t forget, in the two rounds against Chelsea this season, the Red Rebels scored a total score of 4:0 and did not concede a goal. This also gave the Red Rebels a natural psychological advantage in this game.

This makes Mourinho's formation more calm.

"The referee blew the whistle to start the game and Chelsea took the lead to take the kick-off."

As soon as the game started, the frontcourt players of the Red Rebels immediately surged up like a tide. Drogba, Ronaldinho, Messi and Kaka also rushed towards Chelsea's half in a targeted manner. Go, and the Red Rebels midfielder and defense who are following behind also press forward.

This was a very positive signal, and it also caused all the Red Rebel fans at the scene to burst into the first wave of enthusiastic cheers since the opening, obviously cheering for the team's positive tactics.

The positive start soon brought good luck to the Red Rebels. Ronaldinho took the ball on the left, and Maicon firmly stood in his position. The Brazilian hesitated, waiting for Ashe to come up from behind. Leigh Cole, but De Rossi kicked the ball out of the sideline and made it a foul ball.

Ashley Cole's long-distance throw-in was cleared by Curtis' header. After Beckham stopped the ball on his chest, he was forced by Lampard and knocked back to Terry. Terry immediately passed the ball Curtis, who knocked back the door.

After the whole process went down, the ball was controlled by the Red Rebels, and the rhythm stabilized.

Messi was running back and forth on the right wing. He was not very fast. He had to save some energy and do it later, so naturally he would not waste his energy in such unnecessary running.

Adler handed the ball to Maicon. Ronaldinho only harassed Maicon symbolically. After seeing Maicon hand the ball to De Rossi, he relaxed. He was alert, but at this moment, Maicon suddenly stepped forward, and De Rossi's ball immediately returned to his feet.

Maicon was very fast and immediately brought the ball into Chelsea's half. Chelsea's defense was retreating quickly. Ashley Cole seized the opportunity and stepped forward to intercept Maicon. But the Brazilian suddenly passed the ball along the right sideline.

The speed of the ball was very fast. When Messi touched the ball, he stopped the ball towards Chelsea's penalty area, and then he was about to pass the ball, but he was tackled to the ground by Cannavaro who came out of the penalty area.

The referee undoubtedly issued a warning to Cannavaro, and at the same time awarded the Red Rebels a free kick not far from the edge of the penalty area. This position is not far from the goal, but with Beckham's strength, the penalty was scored directly and freely. The possibility of hitting the ball is low.

Curtis and Terry both came to the frontcourt. Beckham glanced at the two teammates and said, "Middle!"

The two header experts looked at each other. When they entered the penalty area, they had already divided their labors and cooperated. They both occupied the back position, but Curtis was further back and did not receive much defensive pressure. .

Beckham raised his right hand high. When the referee blew the whistle, he suddenly jumped out and used his signature Beckham free kick gesture to kick a very strong spinning kick. A curve ball, this ball was very fast. After bypassing the high-rising wall, it fell quickly.

At this time, Terry attracted everyone's attention at the back point, and Drogba and others were disrupting the situation. No one noticed that Curtis suddenly accelerated, ran to the middle, and dived in front of the rapidly falling football. Rush to the top.

Hildebrand was powerless to do anything about this close shot. He could only watch as Curtis jumped up from the ground and ran desperately to celebrate. The Red Rebel players were even more scrambling. of gushing away.

"In less than 3 minutes of the opening, the Red Rebels took advantage of an indirect free kick in the frontcourt. Captain Beckham assisted center back Curtis and scored with a header. The Red Rebels won 1:0 at home. Lead!"

The moment Curtis scored, Mourinho clenched his fists in excitement to celebrate, but he quickly calmed down and ran to the sidelines toward the Red Rebels players who were celebrating the goal not far away. He kept waving his hands, indicating that they should continue to press and maintain pressure on Chelsea.

At the home court of the Red Rebels, the players cannot leave any chance to their opponents, especially a sharp player like Chelsea.

"There were many media comments before the game. The Red Rebels were afraid of conceding the ball at the beginning and did not dare to attack too aggressively. Chelsea were afraid of the Red Rebels' offense and did not dare to take the initiative. The opening stage of the game must be very boring, but we saw that, The Red Rebel offensive is like a 'tide'."

During the commentator's analysis, the Red Rebels once again got a chance. Kaká quickly broke through with the ball in the middle. After getting rid of Ballack, he passed a through ball in front of Chelsea's defense. Xiao Xiao Luo cut in from the left, received the ball and sent it to the center. Drogba, who had originally retreated, suddenly stepped forward. After throwing away the defender, he volleyed hard and missed slightly.

"After the opening, the Red Rebels obviously wanted to take the lead as soon as possible and launched wave after wave of attacks, which indeed achieved results. Chelsea was in a state of being beaten for a while. Facing the Red Rebels' crazy attack, they were forced to defend .”

The Red Rebels' offensive made Chelsea feel uncomfortable for a while. They were passively beaten everywhere and were unable to organize an effective attack. Deco and Ballack in the midfield were Kaka retreating and De Rossi galloping all over the field. , I didn't get a good chance to get the ball. Even if I did, it was passed out in a hurry.

Chelsea's passivity troubled Ancelotti on the sidelines. He had reminded the players before the game that they must be steady at the start, but who would have thought that the Red Rebels scored first, but he believed that, As long as this period of time is sustained, Chelsea's opportunity will come when the Red Rebels' offensive gradually stops.

Sure enough, after the first 15 minutes of offense, Chelsea gradually stabilized the situation, and the wing attack arranged by Ancelotti also began to bear fruit.

In the 21st minute, Maicon fouled Ronaldinho on the right, giving Chelsea a free kick opportunity in the frontcourt similar to the one where the Red Rebels scored shortly after the start. Ronaldini Austria stood on the penalty spot.

Facing the wall formed by the Red Rebels, the Brazilian also fired a curve ball with a wonderful trajectory, which went straight to the back point. However, Shevchenko who was ambushing at the back point was firmly controlled by Curtis. Behind him, the Englishman headed the ball to clear the ball, ruining a Chelsea attack.

Although this attack failed to produce results, it also gave Chelsea a breath of relief. Immediately afterwards, there was another lob shot by Lampard from the front of the penalty area. Fortunately, Adler reacted quickly and jumped up in time. Lift the ball over the crossbar with one hand.

Ronaldinho's corner kick was once again cleared by Curtis in advance, but after three consecutive attacks, Chelsea also played vigorously, but the Red Rebels, with Curtis and Terry sitting in, were unable to defend. Despite being impregnable, Chelsea were never able to break through the Red Rebels goal and even the score.

Especially Curtis, the England international has performed very well this season. Compared with the previous "frizzy", Curtis seems to have a completely new look this season. Not only does he perform well on the defensive line, but he also The offensive end is also very good, especially his forward penetration with the ball in the backcourt, which gave the Red Rebels more variety when they were in a stalemate.

Curtis has scored 7 goals in all competitions this season. Counting this one, the total is 8 goals, and he has also done a flawless job defensively, making almost no major mistakes. Compared with the fact that he frequently received cards and even received red cards and suspensions in the past, Curtis has not received even a single red card this season.

From this point, it is not difficult to see his transformation and maturity this season, and the double central defender combination formed by him and Terry is also known as the strongest central defender combination in today's football. Partnering with Vidic, This allows the Red Rebels to use easier rotations to solve the troubles caused by multi-line operations.

Just like this game, after Carvalho was absent due to injury, Alex and Cannavaro insisted on fighting on multiple fronts in the past two weeks, which made their physical fitness and competitive situation not very ideal. Previously, Curtis The first goal was related to Alex's marking error.

Not only them, many Chelsea players, including Deco, Ronaldinho and others, also insisted on fighting on two fronts. On the contrary, the Red Rebels, after beating Manchester United, Mourinho Let the main players rest, playing Chelsea away from home and Liverpool at home. They did not play, recuperating their energy just for this game.

This makes the Red Rebels better than Chelsea in terms of physical fitness, and the players are more excited and fighting fiercely because they have no worries anymore, while Chelsea still has to fight for qualification for the Champions League next season. .

Mourinho always watched calmly from the sidelines. Chelsea's performance did improve after the 20th minute, but the Red Rebels did a perfect job in defense, especially Curtis, whose performance was even better. "Color" did not give Chelsea a good chance, which made him very satisfied.

However, the scene has slowed down, the pace is sluggish and a bit boring.

"Chelsea's speed can't be improved!" Cassel came to Mourinho's side and laughed.

After the Red Rebels scored, Cassell was half-hearted.

The advantage of the Red Rebels over Chelsea lies in the team's rotation, which allows the main players to have sufficient rest time to prepare for this game, but Chelsea's substitute lineup is still inferior to the Red Rebels in terms of strength. , making their rotation ineffective, and now is a critical moment. Ancelotti relies too much on the main force, making physical fitness the biggest problem for Chelsea.

This is not difficult to see from the slowness and dullness of the current scene.

Mourinho smiled and said, "After the fierce fighting and fast fighting after the opening, Chelsea's lack of physical fitness will only be exposed faster. It seems that we should speed up the pace again!"

Cassell smiled sympathetically.