Starting from playing as a defensive midfielder for Real Madrid - Chapter 389

c382 It is a natural collapse.

After Barcelona was eliminated from the Champions League, there were no soft persimmons left for Chelsea.

Real Madrid, who had full experience in key battles, Atletico Madrid, who was tough, and Juventus, whose defensive ability had been upgraded compared to last season.

No matter who they were drawn to in the semi-finals, Chelsea was destined to play two more tough battles to hone their will and ability.

However, from the perspective of the fans of the other three teams, they didn’t want to draw Chelsea in the semi-finals.

There was no way. Chelsea, carrying the aura of the defending champion, performed too well in the knockout rounds of the Champions League this season, and brought too much pressure to other teams.

One Paris Saint-Germain and one Bayern Munich, if they had better luck in the draw, they would have the strength to enter the Champions League semi-finals.

But the two teams met Chelsea in advance and were suppressed very uncomfortably on the field. In the end, one fell in the round of 16 of the Champions League and the other fell in the quarter-finals of the Champions League.

Looking only at the hard power shown, Chelsea is undoubtedly the strongest team among the top four teams in the Champions League this year, and it is also recognized by the fans as the strongest, without a doubt.

This feeling is quite similar to the momentum of Barcelona in 2011 and Real Madrid in 2013 before entering the Champions League final.

Almost everyone is optimistic about it, and it is recognized as the favorite to win the championship. Moreover, the team’s main lineup has remained relatively intact at the end of the season, without any lack of strength.

Under the enthusiastic publicity of the English media, Chelsea seems to have already booked the Champions League championship in advance.

However, at this moment in the Chelsea team, although the topic of defending the Champions League title has always existed among the players, there is no bad atmosphere of impetuous complacency.

The team coaching staff’s persistent knocking and alerting played a key role at this moment.

And the Chelsea players, who have been pulled by their own head coach to wake up their minds for almost the entire season, can’t be proud now.

After defeating Bayern, they immediately entered a new round of preparation training, and even the rest time was arranged very tightly by the coaching staff.

In this fulfilling rhythm of competition and training life, all Chelsea’s first-team players have no time to think too much. They just want to continue to win until they finally get the two championship trophies they want most.

On April 16, the second day after the Champions League quarter-finals, the Champions League semi-final draw ceremony officially began amid the expectations of fans around the world.

There were no pre-divided half-zones, nor any seeded teams.

After the Champions League quarter-finals implemented the random draw without avoidance rules, the semi-finals still determined the fate of the four teams according to the same draw rules.

Chelsea vs Atletico Madrid!

Real Madrid vs Juventus!

The two teams in last season’s Champions League final met again in this season’s Champions League semi-finals.

And the fans of Real Madrid and Juventus also believed that they had obtained the best draw results.

On April 26, the Champions League semi-finals will kick off.

The teams that have entered the top four of this season’s Champions League have the last ten days to prepare, and before the Champions League battle, they still need to complete the final stage of the points sprint in their respective leagues.

Among them, Chelsea’s schedule is the most brutal.

First play Manchester City, then play Tottenham, and then they will face the challenge of Atletico Madrid at home.

If Chelsea can’t get through this brutal schedule, it is very likely that they will miss out on two heavyweight championship trophies.

Just three games almost determine the final fate of Chelsea’s two-line battle this season!

The pressure is so great that many Chelsea fans are beginning to feel nervous.

But Chelsea is still calm at this moment. Except for Mourinho who attended the press conference before the game, no player accepted the interview to express his views on the Champions League draw.

Mourinho, who attended the press conference before the 34th round of the Premier League, was also very “friendly” this time and did not refuse to answer questions related to Atletico.

Although he called on reporters to respect Chelsea’s league opponent Manchester City this round, he still answered when a reporter asked him about his views on the game with Atletico.

“This is undoubtedly a huge challenge. Atletico Madrid has proved their strength in recent seasons. They are a very tough team. Playing against them is extremely exhausting for the team’s physical strength and energy.”

“I regret the result of the draw. It is not a good draw, but we have no choice but to accept it. This will be a cruel endurance competition.”

“I think we will not make any more rotations. The next three games are very important for us, and we have no choice but to go all out…”

Mourinho praised the opponents that Chelsea will face in the next three games.

However, the reporters at the scene were still skeptical about his statement that Chelsea would not rotate next.

Many Premier League fans who read the news at the press conference thought that Mourinho was throwing tactical smoke bombs again.

Chelsea may not choose to rotate the main players against Manchester City and Atletico Madrid, but in the league match with Tottenham in the middle, Chelsea still has the confidence to rotate some of the main players.

It all depends on whether Mourinho has enough courage by then…

On the morning of April 17, the Chelsea team completed the last pre-match training as usual, and the Manchester City team had also arrived in London in advance.

As time went by, both teams completed their final preparations before the game, and Stamford Bridge was ready to welcome the “Premier League Finale” of this season in advance.

Nearing three o’clock in the afternoon, the main players of Manchester City and Chelsea completed the final pre-war mobilization in the locker room.

As the restless cheers of the fans at Stamford Bridge broke out, the live broadcast also showed the players of the two teams following the referee team onto the court.

During the pre-match ceremony, commentators from various countries also seized the last pre-match time to introduce the starting players and formations of the two teams in today’s game to the audience.

Fighting to the end of the season, both Manchester City and Chelsea have suffered inevitable injuries.

Bertrand on the Chelsea side still does not know the specific time of his return.

Maguire returned from injury before the big game, but Mourinho did not put him in the starting eleven for the game to be on the safe side.

Manchester City lost two absolute main players, David Silva and Kompany, in the Champions League battle with Real Madrid.

So today, both teams actually failed to recover to their best strength and state.

But in terms of fighting spirit, both teams did not make any concessions, and both sides were mentally prepared to fight their best today.

At 3 o’clock in the afternoon, the referee on duty blew the whistle to officially start the game!

Manchester City, playing away, took the lead in kicking off, while Chelsea decisively defended the midfield, preparing to have a round of physical consumption battle with Manchester City in the midfield.

While directing his teammates to quickly get into position on the defensive end, Li Ang kept observing Manchester City’s midfield configuration and offensive play today.

After David Silva, the offensive soul of Manchester City, was injured and absent, Guardiola did not let Sane start to continue playing 433, but chose to change to 4231.

The two midfielders Gundogan and Fernandinho remained in the same partnership, and Fabregas was still in the middle.

But in the right forward position, Guardiola chose to trust Nasri, who has become a substitute in Manchester City this season.

Sterling’s position also retreated and did not top the front line, so Manchester City’s five midfielders today still look quite solid.

Li Ang felt that Guardiola had returned to the previous tactical thinking of excessively pursuing midfield thickness and the team’s delicate organization on the offensive end.

If this is true, then Mourinho’s decision to give up midfield control today and focus on the tactic of fast counterattacks on both wings has hit Manchester City’s lifeline again!

As soon as Li Ang retreated in the middle of the midfield, Chelsea formed a defensive position of three midfielders again.

Once this set of tactics was used, Chelsea didn’t care whether Manchester City played five or six midfielders, and concentrated its forces to defend the middle and rib space.

Once Chelsea completed the interception in the midfield and backcourt, whether it was Kroos, Li Ang or Matic, all three had a very high level of long passes.

This set of squatting tactics, coupled with the front line combination in the frontcourt, was completely like a fish in water when counterattacking.

Li Ang originally thought that Manchester City would not give Chelsea too much counterattack space today, just like the first time the two teams met this season.

But he did not expect that Manchester City, playing away today, would make the same old mistakes as in the past few seasons.

However, thinking from the perspective of the Manchester City coaching staff, Li Ang soon felt relieved.

Silva and Kompany were injured one after another, and Manchester City’s strength on both offense and defense was greatly damaged. In addition, Manchester City just lost to Real Madrid in the Champions League, so it is normal for morale to drop.

The team’s hard power has declined, and the core of the defense and the core of the offense cannot return in the league battle with Chelsea. It is estimated that it will not be possible to control the field and stabilize the defense.

The team’s morale is low. If you want to restore the confidence of the players, you must naturally think of ways on the offensive end.

Blindly focusing on defense and showing weakness will only further undermine the confidence of the players.

So it can’t be blamed that Guardiola was too bold in his tactical arrangement today, but he had to do so. Manchester City really has no way out!

Playing their most confident tactics and regaining confidence along the way of attack is Manchester City’s last hope no matter how you look at it.

Morale is a mysterious thing. Sometimes chicken soup doesn’t work, so you really have to force yourself to burst out.

If you succeed, you can counterattack all the way, and it is not impossible to turn the tide against the wind.

Lose…

That can be regarded as no regrets!

After all, if you use the tactics you are best at to fight to the end, if you still lose the game, what else can you say?

Li Ang thinks that he has grasped Manchester City’s tactical thinking and the team’s ideas.

Since the old rival wants to go all the way on the offensive road, it is natural to fulfill their wish.

Don’t you just want to attack?

Chelsea directly gave up the control of the midfield, and Manchester City can attack as much as they want.

Press, the closer the better!

The greater the defensive pressure on Chelsea’s midfield and backcourt players, the more threatening opportunities Chelsea’s forwards can find on the counterattack.

Li Ang has no doubt about the ability of his forward teammates to seize counterattack opportunities.

He patiently swept the pit in front of his own penalty area. Manchester City attacked very resolutely, but Li Ang also used tough defense to lead his teammates to withstand Manchester City’s offensive impact.

When technology can no longer determine the direction of the game, fierce physical confrontation gradually becomes the mainstream tone on the court.

Manchester City does not have an advantage in this regard, at least when facing Chelsea, they have never had the upper hand in confrontation.

But driven by a strong sense of crisis, Manchester City’s midfielders and frontfielders still bravely fought hand-to-hand with Chelsea’s defensive players!

This was a competition and confrontation of courage, and the fierce rhythm of the game also made the supporters of both sides quickly hold their breath, barely daring to blink and pay attention to the changes in the situation on the field.

But such fierce competition and confrontation did not last too long.

Under the astonished gaze of many neutral fans, Manchester City, who were fighting so hard with Chelsea, showed their fatigue in just 10 minutes.

This does not mean that Manchester City’s players are exhausted, but that the entire Manchester City team can no longer keep up with Chelsea’s tough and fierce confrontation.

With the fast-paced confrontation before, Chelsea might be able to hold on for another 10 minutes, until the first half hour has passed.

But Manchester City has obviously reached the point where they need to take a breath. Let alone 10 minutes, they can’t even hold on for 5 more minutes.

This is clearly not the Manchester City that neutral fans know.

Mourinho, who was watching this scene from the sidelines, shook his head insignificantly at this moment.

“Manchester City collapsed. They have been unable to fight high-intensity tough battles until now!”

Holland excitedly made a conclusion on the sidelines. Mourinho didn’t quite agree with his point of view, but it was indeed a fact that Manchester City’s entire team had physical problems.

If you do the math carefully, Manchester City has indeed played too many games this season.

Both domestic cup competitions in England have reached the late stages. The Champions League just ended a few days ago. In addition, the recent intensive Premier League competitions…

Chelsea dared to fight on four fronts last season, and Mourinho’s greatest strength was the depth of his bench.

Manchester City’s bench thickness and strength this season are good, but they cannot compare with Chelsea last season.

In addition, Guardiola’s rotation in the early stages of the league was not large, and he relied more heavily on the main lineup.

Therefore, it is natural that Manchester City’s overall state has problems until now.

Mourinho was a little happy and a little sad.

And just when he was filled with emotion, Cross had already received the intercepted pass from Li Ang on the court and decisively launched a counterattack with a long pass.

Hazard, who unloaded the ball almost perfectly from the wing, advanced wildly.

However, when faced with Zabaleta’s pursuit and interception, Hazard did not choose to force a breakthrough, but reasonably passed the ball back to Suarez who inserted in the middle.

The Uruguayan striker once again showed his excellent passing skills. A coquettish overhead pass allowed De Bruyne to easily get rid of Kolarov and get the ball down.

De Bruyne’s final cross went straight to the back of Manchester City’s penalty area.

Li Ang, who had been rushing forward after stealing the ball before, only now entered the live broadcast camera again.

He almost jumped up against Otamendi’s defense and shook his head to attack the goal!

Bravo also made a save immediately, but Li Ang’s lion’s head flick was very powerful.

The football almost hit the outside of Bravo’s palm, and finally flew into Manchester City’s goal!

The entire Stamford Bridge stadium was boiling at this moment!

Li Ang slapped his chest and roared towards the bottom line!

Also rushing towards their third consecutive Premier League title!