Starting with Real Madrid kicking the midfielder

Chapter 223: Set a small goal first, win the EFL Cup Championship [Please subscribe, guys! 】

"UEFA is really not a thing, and it even engages in Arsenal! I, a non-Arsenal fan, feel distressed!"

"After playing Barcelona and Real Madrid, we will continue to play Bayern. UEFA is afraid that Arsenal will be able to play a few more games in the knockout rounds."

"Does Bayern have anything to say this season? Real Madrid and Barcelona, ​​who beat Arsenal in the first round of the Champions League knockout round, won the Champions League in the end."

"This year, let's look at Real Madrid and Bayern. Barcelona's striker still needs to be strengthened. Messi can't keep playing in the middle. It's too wasteful."

"Bayern will definitely succeed in revenge. This year Real Madrid lost Li Ang in the midfield. Hmph, wash your neck and wait!"

……

The draw for the first round of the Champions League knockout rounds has ended, but fans from all over the world have just begun to discuss the draw ceremony.

The old hapless Arsenal has naturally become the object of pity for countless fans.

Maybe Wenger himself doesn't know whether he had inadvertently offended UEFA's top brass before, or whether Arsenal's luck is really so bad.

In the past four seasons, they have drawn all three clubs in Huangsaren in the first round of the Champions League knockout round!
If you really want to say that UEFA didn't do anything tricky in it, then Arsenal's luck is really bad.

After all, in addition to their matchup with Bayern, the only strong dialogue drawn from the Champions League draw this year is the matchup between Manchester City and Barcelona.

The other powerful teams have basically drawn relatively satisfactory opponents, including Chelsea.

Paris performed very well in the Champions League last season.

But after losing Ibrahimovic this season, they didn't even compete with Olympiacos in the group stage, and in the end they could only qualify second in the group.

In the six group matches, the strength shown by Greater Paris has fluctuated too much, and it cannot be called a stable and strong team at all.

Chelsea, which has performed very well in both the Champions League and the Premier League, is currently widely considered by fans to be the top team in Europe this season.

Therefore, in the Champions League knockout contest between Chelsea and Paris Saint-Germain, the vast majority of fans are more optimistic about Chelsea's easy pass.

Few fans think that Chelsea and Paris Saint-Germain are at the same level.

However, although the strengths are not at the same level, there are not many things to watch in the match between the two teams.

After all, in Paris Saint-Germain's first team, there are many former Real Madrid players who have played for Mushi Real Madrid before.

Face brother Khedira, who was purged out of the team by Mourinho, still complains to the media from time to time. 272.

And the current Paris striker Higuain.

These are all Mourinho's former disciples and Li Ang's former teammates.

Coupled with the friendly relationship between Diego Silva and Leon Ibrahimovic, Ibrahimovic was the biggest contributor to Paris Saint-Germain's promotion to the semi-finals of the Champions League last year...

The bond between the two teams is really deep enough!
Among them are the reunion of old friends, and the reunion of enemies who do not know each other.

The conflict between Li Ang and 272 was quite a big deal in La Liga back then.

After so many years, whenever Li Ang thanked his former teammates, he would ignore 272 directly, as if he was dead.

And 272 never hides his dislike for Li Ang.

Perhaps to this day, he still firmly believes that it was Li Ang who took away the Real Madrid starting position and championship honors that should belong to him.

After all, he has complained to the media by himself or through his father in recent years.

However, Li Ang never paid much attention to his speeches, even if he knew about his strange speeches, he might still treat him as pure fun and a joke.

Also, Li Ang has been waiting for this opportunity for a long time!

If I didn't meet him before, there's no need to worry about him before talking about him.

But now that he was lucky, Li Ang's thoughts suddenly came to life.

The night after watching the lottery ceremony, Li Ang thought about how to greet his former teammate.

However, there are still more than two months until the 1/8 knockout rounds of the Champions League start, so Li Ang is just thinking about it for the time being.

More energy still needs to be put on the upcoming Carabao Cup and Premier League.

After defeating the current relegation team Crystal Palace 3-0 the day before yesterday, Chelsea had squeezed all the soft persimmons in the first half of the league.

In the first 16 rounds of the Premier League, Chelsea achieved a record of 13 wins, 2 draws and 1 loss. This record is not without luxury.

But in the next three rounds of the league, Chelsea will face challenges from Arsenal, Swansea and Liverpool.

Before the start of the league war, there is a crucial EFL Cup quarter-final knockout match against Stoke City!
From October 12st to October 17th.

In these 13 days, Chelsea will play a total of 4 games!
The schedule is very dark and the task is very difficult, but Chelsea must also withstand it.

Withstood, the English League Cup advanced to the semi-finals, and the sword pointed to February, and the half of the league could end perfectly.

If you can't stand it, if you play overtime with Stoke City, you will not be able to tell the winner if you fight Arsenal again.

At the last moment, Chelsea may really be overtaken by Arsenal in the standings again.

Morale is a very mysterious thing, but it's like this. As the saying goes, if you can't boost your energy, you will naturally pull your hips.

Li Ang became extremely serious and nervous, and Mourinho almost took his team to sleep directly in the tactical conference room of the base.

He must make tactical plans in advance as much as possible. The preparation time for the subsequent battles is inherently short, and the game is played one after another.

In the final stage of the first half, they played successively against the hard-boned Sky City, currently second in the Premier League, fourth in the Premier League and tenth in the Premier League.

The fans must have enjoyed it, but these four games will be played in 13 days, and the pressure on Chelsea is indeed too great!
"Actually, we are still six points ahead of Arsenal and Manchester City, which means we have two wins, otherwise we..."

Ruiz, who kept rubbing his temples in the conference room, made his own suggestion, but Mourinho interrupted his speech without thinking.

"No! We can't take this into account, let alone let the players know that we are making such assumptions!
This is not a direct conversation with Everton, Southampton or Manchester United.

These teams are not our real competition this season either.

When facing teams like Arsenal and Liverpool that can really threaten our top position, we can't take a step back!

If we take a step back, they will take a step forward. This time we conceded, so next time we encounter this kind of schedule, should we concede or not? "

Mourinho's words completely set the tone for this tactical meeting.

Chelsea's entire coaching team also quickly unified their tactical thinking.

Since Huashan is going to go all the way to the end, they no longer discuss too much if they lose, what will happen if they lose.

Going all out to figure out the opponent's tactical weaknesses and lineup weaknesses has become their most important preparation work.

And when such a firm will to play was passed on by the coaching staff to all the players in Chelsea's first team.

Chelsea tightened the clockwork up and down, and simply devoted themselves to the preparations for the battle.

Of course, for Chelsea's opponents.They are also under considerable pressure to challenge the top team in this tight schedule.

Stoke City, which bears the brunt, ushered in a quarter-final knockout match against Chelsea in the Carabao Cup on the night of December 12 in a dignified and tense pre-match atmosphere!
Ten days earlier, they had drawn 10-0 with Chelsea at their home ground, the Britannia Stadium.

But that draw did not give them enough confidence now.

Because everyone knows that Chelsea had no reason to fight them to the death in that game.

Rather than saying that they managed a draw with Chelsea, it is better to say that Mourinho chose to rest the main veterans in the team and also chose a draw.

Now ten days have passed, and the main veterans in the Chelsea team have all had ample rest time.

In the last round of the league against Crystal Palace, both Lampard and Ibrahimovic were replaced by Mourinho in advance when they took a 2-0 lead at halftime.

So in this round of the Carabao Cup, what Stoke City has to face is a main force, and there are enough reasons to beat their full state Chelsea!

There is a lot of pressure on both the Stoke players and their manager, Mark Hughes.

But the EFL Cup has already reached the final eight, and it is impossible to be eliminated easily no matter what.

Going one step further, it will be the top four, and the distance from winning the championship is only two more opponents!

Stoke City's current tactics happen to be very suitable for cup competitions. It is difficult to win the Carabao Cup, but there is always a chance.

In the 10-11 season, the relegated team Birmingham beat Arsenal to win the League Cup.

For the teams in the middle and lower reaches of the Premier League, it is a very good case of defeating the strong with the weak.

So even under tremendous pressure, the players of Stoke City still hold ardent hopes in their hearts, hoping to create a real miracle at home!

What if, what if they get past Chelsea's difficulty?

Which team behind them can make them worry? !
The nervous and excited Stoke City players held this idea in mind and finally stepped onto the big stage to play against Chelsea!

After the game officially started that night, the entire Stoke City team instantly felt the importance that Chelsea attached to the game.

Chelsea, who used a starting lineup of 4231, did not rush forward to attack in the opening game.

Instead, after gaining control of the midfield in a stable manner, they slowly advanced and launched an offensive test against Stoke City from the two wings.

Li Ang even played as a defensive midfielder right from the start today, and Matic and he controlled the middle of the midfield!
Mourinho clearly told Mark Hughes with this starting arrangement:

Today, don't try to hit my center line with a high ball. I will directly place my trusted general in front of my penalty area. This way is blocked!
Chelsea, who have done a good job of defense and control, are very safe on the scene.

Steadily encroaching on the space in the midfield, and steadily and slowly suppressing Stoke City tactically!
Unwilling to follow the rhythm of Chelsea, Stoke City will of course fight back.

However, in past games, they used Crouch as the fulcrum in the frontcourt, and their high-flying counterattack method was not very effective today.

Crouch is very tall, but his light weight has also held him back.

Even though his confrontation ability is actually not weak.

But in the face of the resolute double-team defense of Li Ang and Matic, it was also very difficult for him to stand still and steadily win the long pass from his teammates.

From a certain point of view, Crouch is enough to be proud of his tactical value.

Crouch is No. 1 if he can be double-teamed by Li Ang and Matic, the current No. [-] midfield defensive team in the Premier League!
But for Mark Hughes, this situation is quite bad.

After all, Crouch is not a prolific shooter, and his tactical value is more important than his scoring ability.

In Stoke City's frontcourt offensive system, if Crouch cannot play his fulcrum radiation role.

Stoke City's counterattack advance was completely in vain.

After all, the high-altitude ball can't land stably, so what's the point of playing a long pass and counterattack?

Only played 20 minutes in the first half, and Mark Hughes had already seen it.

Mourinho would really rather sacrifice a little more initiative on the offensive end, but first kill the most important link in Stoke City's counterattack system!

He, like the head coaches of other teams in the middle and lower reaches of the Premier League, complained at this moment about Mourinho's perverted pursuit of defense in the middle!
A defensive combination like Matic and Leon is simply a football bug that violates the rules!

They can guard any type of offensive player.

Together, there is no way to untie double-teams, and they will do one-on-one individual defense separately. Their abilities in this area are also extremely powerful!
After watching for a long time, Mark Hughes, who really couldn't think of a way to break the game, could only consider changing to another offensive mode.

That is to let Arnautovic take over the responsibility of counterattack.

Although "Austria Ibrahimovic" is far from the powerful scoring ability of Chelsea's genuine Ibrahimovic.

But his ability to play both sides and his outstanding skills are enough to drive the offense of teams in the middle and lower reaches of the Premier League like Stoke City.

Mark Hughes wants the Austrian striker to make more use of his ball-handling ability on the offensive end to help Stoke City tear apart Chelsea's defense.

In this case, even use Crouch as a tactical bait.

Stoke's striker has one more season left in double figures for Walters to finish the finisher.

But Anautovic doesn't just want to be a green leaf for others.

After getting more offensive ball rights, he is like the young Ibrahimovic back then, and he wants to rely on his foot skills to become the absolute focus of the game.

He also went directly from a variation point on Stoke City's counter-attack to a ball-losing maniac.

After all, the Chelsea defenders on his side are Li Ang and Ivanovic!

The two took turns giving Arnautovic a fight.

Not to mention tearing apart Chelsea's defense with the ball, this kid couldn't even complete a stable offensive advance several times and fell to the turf frequently.

And when Stoke City's counterattacks failed repeatedly, Chelsea used their patience to slowly show their sharp fangs on the offensive end!

Hazard, who didn't play very happily in the last round of the match, became Chelsea's well-deserved offensive protagonist in today's game.

When he has enough offensive possessions, Ibrahimovic is in front of him and Lampard is behind him to support him.

He is currently the most destructive super winger in the Premier League!

Perhaps in terms of visual impact on the opponent's defense, Hazard and Bale, who switched to Real Madrid this summer, are still incomparable.

But in terms of tactical effects, Hazard's super dribbling ability is better than Bell, and he can continue to break through and create opportunities in small spaces.

This is quite powerful.

Without much space, he can break through dense defenses and forcefully create threats.

The best job in today's football is Messi, and Hazard is one of the top players under Messi's sole block.

Throughout the first three and 10 minutes of the first half, Stoke City's Nzonzi and full-back Camron on Hazard's side were passed over and over again.

According to Stoke City's past style, it may be necessary to make some rough tactical fouls at this moment.

However, perhaps thinking of the scene in the previous game where Chelsea fought back hard against West Ham United, Stoke City could only endure it again and again.

The defensive moves are big and big, but they are not to the point of lethal tactics.

This kind of confrontation intensity is still within his acceptable range for Hazard.

So his breakthroughs have been tried and tested, and he has also created many threats on the offensive end.

It is a pity that today Ibrahimovic and Lampard's two shots in the Stoke City penalty area were both substandard.

And Hazard, who saw himself missing two assist opportunities, was also very depressed.

It wasn't until the No. 304th minute of the first half, when Li Ang actively advanced from the backcourt, that Hazard saw another excellent offensive opportunity!

Lampard got rid of the cross, allowing Li Ang to further hold the ball and advance towards Stoke City's defensive hinterland in a relatively relaxed defensive environment.

Seeing this, Ibrahimovic also pulled out of Stoke City's restricted area and came to respond to Li Ang.

The possible connection between the two immediately caused a little confusion in Stoke City's backcourt defense.

At this moment, Li Ang quickly sent a through ball to his right front!
De Bruyne, who hadn't played much before, finally got a rare chance to pull a cross.

He adjusted his pace and started a run-up before the football was in front of him, and then he directly completed a non-stop arc cross!

Ibrahimovic, who had accelerated behind the Stoke City penalty area, immediately became the focus of all Stoke City defensive players!
Shawcross's active fighting made Ibrahimovic unable to occupy the position and shake his head directly to attack the goal.

However, Ibrahimovic, who has been paying attention to Li Ang's running position, also has the offensive option of heading the ball.

After holding Shawcross's defensive interference sideways, Ibrahimovic directly headed the ball to Li Ang, who was currently active in the middle of Stoke City's penalty area.

This is considered a return header, and Li Ang's position is not very good, but after all, there is still the opportunity and possibility to deal with the ball in the next step.

Facing the close defense of Mark Wilson, another central defender of Stoke City, Li Ang subconsciously chose to block the attacking position first.

Being entangled by the opponent in the middle of the penalty area, it is basically impossible to hit the goal directly.

It was even more nonsense to hit the goal with a header. They didn't rush up, and the header didn't have speed and strength.

After instantly rejecting the two methods of attacking the goal in his mind, Li Ang suddenly caught a glimpse of a blue figure standing on the edge of the penalty area...

"Li Ang took the position! He's going to...return the header again! Hazard!"

Zhan Jun exclaimed in the studio. At this moment, all Huaguo fans also looked at Hazard who received Li Ang's return pass!
The Belgian winger finally got the chance he had wanted in the first half!
There is nothing to hesitate.

He stopped the ball to adjust his pace, and then shot his right foot rubbing shot that he is best at!

Begovic was still distracted by too many offensive and defensive players in front of him.

And the angle of Hazard's rubbing shot is really tricky!

By the time Begovic saw the trajectory of the football, it was too late to make a save!
The football went straight to the upper right corner of the Stoke City goal!
And the Chelsea players who successfully broke the balance of the game also clearly saw the bright prospect of advancing to the final semi-finals of the Carabao Cup!

The [-] Stoke City fans in the Britannia Stadium were panicked at this moment.

Because Chelsea scored first in the game this season, Chelsea finally won the victory!

Mourinho was terrifying and tricky after the lead, and the Stoke fans were convinced of that.

Of course, Mourinho soon used his own tactical adjustments to further deepen the anxiety of Stoke City fans.

"Return to defense! Everyone, return to defense! Don't let even a mosquito fly into our restricted area!"

Mourinho's undisguised excitement encouraged his disciples.

Mark Hughes, who was standing not far next to him, only felt noisy and had a headache when he heard his words.

This time the situation on the court changed suddenly. The side that actively defended became Chelsea, while the side that actively pressed out to attack became Stoke City.

It is a pity that Stoke City does not have a strong offensive point that can stably tear apart Chelsea's defense, let alone a midfield core that can break the offensive and defensive balance on the court.

So they spent the rest of the first half netting nothing but a long shot attempt.

With a one-goal lead, all members of Chelsea entered the halftime break contentedly.

After the start of the second half of the game, Mark Hughes saw that Chelsea was still in a posture of continuing to defend, and his whole heart was cold.

Of course Mourinho is capable of holding on for the entire game with only one goal ahead.

Not only can he do this kind of thing, he has done it many times, and he can do it very well!
So Mark Hughes was in a hurry, and so were the players in Stoke City.

Even 15 minutes before the second half, Stoke City were still calm.

But after the game time exceeded 10 minutes of the game, Stoke City was no longer eligible to negotiate conditions with Chelsea.

Stoke City began to press forward aggressively.

And De Bruyne also drew his sword in the 707th minute of the second half!

When he helped Ibrahimovic single-handedly go to the meeting with an overhead pass of more than 30 meters, extending the team's lead to two goals, the suspense of this game was completely ended.

After the whole game, it was not Hazard and Ibrahimovic who scored goals who were named the best players of the game.

It was Li Ang who played more on the defensive end than on the offensive end throughout the game!

Contributed 84 effective interceptions, 77 steals, 92 key clearance, [-] passes in total, [-] successful, about [-]% pass success rate, plus [-] threatening passes and [-] assist...

Li Ang's perfect offensive and defensive performance has once again amazed countless Premier League fans.

For the Chelsea team, after entering the semi-finals of the EFL Cup this season, it is time for them to set small goals for the season.

Let's have fun with a League Cup champion first!

(End of this chapter)