It's cheating, but Hazard

Chapter 296: Gunners Red and Chelsea Blue (I)

In the 88th minute, the game was coming to an end.

Marseille's free kick from the left was passed in front of the goal. In the chaos, Heinze fell to the ground and shot in the crowd, but the ball was finally successfully caught by Cech.

Just one minute later, Mikel intercepted the ball in the frontcourt and shot hard in front of the penalty area, but the force was too great and the ball slipped past the goal.

At the end of the game, Chelsea defeated Marseille 4-0 at home.

All the Chelsea fans in the stadium were extremely excited, but not all Chelsea players were like them.

Drogba stood in the player tunnel and quietly watched the Marseille players passing by.

Charles walked up quickly and asked quietly, "What's wrong?"

Seeing that Deschamps was about to come over, Drogba did not stay where he was, but turned around and walked towards the locker room with Charles.

"I think you should understand how I feel."

Drogba whispered.

Charles was stunned for a moment, but soon realized what happened.

Drogba is homesick.

But his situation is different from Tesixiang's.

He became famous in Marseille. In the 2003-2004 season, the last year before his transfer to Chelsea, Drogba won the honor of the best player in Ligue in Marseille.

In that year, he began to reach his peak, scoring 5 goals in the Champions League. When Marseille played in the UEFA Cup, he scored another 6 goals and led the team to the final.

But in the end he didn't win that championship.

Although he is doing well at Chelsea now, Marseille is his eternal home in his heart.

"When we go to the away game, the coach will definitely let you play."

Charles didn't know what to say, so he could only comfort her in a low voice.

Not long after arriving in the locker room, Ancelotti also walked in. After looking around, he finally looked at Charles.

"Ciel, come with me to the interview."

Today's reporters must be difficult to deal with, and he must find someone who can control the reporters.

"Ok."

Charles immediately put down the chocolate bar, clapped his hands, and followed him out.

Post-match press conference.

The dense crowds of reporters had been waiting for a long time, and Deschamps had no way to satisfy their appetite. Just as Ancelotti and Charles pushed open the door and walked in, the entire press conference became lively in an instant.

Deschamps looked up at Ancelotti and continued: "Chelsea is indeed strong. We are at a disadvantage both technically and physically."

"It was difficult for Marseille to compete with them in the first half. It seemed like there was a chasm between the two teams."

"We tried our best in the second half, but they almost scored the fifth goal. The difference in strength between the two teams was obvious. We lost this game without any excuse."

After saying that, Deschamps shut up, but he did not leave. Instead, he continued to sit in his seat, turning his eyes to Ancelotti and Charles from time to time.

"Carlo, what do you think of Chelsea's future prospects in the Champions League?"

Ancelotti put the gum away. "I think Chelsea's qualification situation is very optimistic. This game has given us the initiative. There are still four Champions League games left, but we can't take it lightly. The next two games against Spartak Moscow are very crucial."

"Charles, throughout the normal game, there was a clear change between the first and second half. You didn't fight as hard as in the first half, but tried to control the ball more. Why is that?"

Before Charles could speak, Ancelotti once again moved the microphone closer.

"That was my arrangement at half-time so they could keep their energy for the weekend game against Arsenal."

As Ancelotti said the name Arsenal, the reporters off the field became even more excited.

"Charles, do you want to go to the Emirates Stadium? Or to put it another way, are you closer to Arsenal this summer? Will you give your all in this game?"

"Charles, do you know Charleston? What do you think of this?"

"What do you think of Arsenal's current situation? Are you sure you can beat Arsenal?"

All the reporters in the audience were like sharks that smelled blood, revealing their original crazy faces.

Deschamps on the side was shocked. He did not expect that the British reporters' questions would be so sharp, or that they were so good at finding topics.

Ancelotti just mentioned Arsenal casually, but the reporters in the stands asked so many questions.

Charles pulled the microphone over.

"The past is the past, and I think the focus is on what will happen in the future. As for the game this weekend, I will do my best, no matter who the opponent is. As long as I am on the court, I will demand myself as a professional player."

"After the World Cup, basically all the top football clubs will be affected to some extent. Arsenal's players are very good and have basically been called up by the Football Association. So it is normal that there are many injuries to Arsenal players at present."

"Mr Wenger is an excellent coach. Whether we can beat Arsenal requires the efforts of all Chelsea people."

"As for the Charleston you mentioned, I really don't know."

The reporter who had just asked the question stood up again and asked, "Do you know Marathon?"

"I know this."

Ciel replied quickly.

The reporters off the field became excited. "Charlesthon means 'Charlesthon', which is similar to Drogbathon. This summer, Arsenal fans followed the example of Marseille fans and set up a donation website to raise transfer funds. For a while, the website was often congested."

Deschamps on the side rubbed his face in embarrassment.

He has also donated money to this website.

He still remembered that the website had raised more than three million before the World Cup semi-finals, and not long ago the website returned all the money raised.

As for the Drogba marathon?

Of course he donated money too.

There is nothing else to it, it’s mainly because he is a kind person.

Without waiting for Charles to respond, Ancelotti quickly reached out and pulled the microphone in front of Charles.

"I'm sorry, but Charles can't answer that question."

After saying that, Ancelotti pulled Charles up and left the press conference.

But the storm did not end with their departure.

Wenger and his team had just flown back to London from Serbia. When he was about to go home to rest, he was blocked by Fleet Street reporters waiting at the door. Ancelotti is not a coach who likes to play psychological warfare before the game, and the verbal battle between him and Wenger is rare.

The first war of words between the two was in January this year.

In response to Platini's proposal to introduce the "Fair Financial Competition" regulations in 2012, Chelsea instantly cleared its 3.4 million debt, and Abramovich instantly converted his personal funds loaned to Stamford Bridge into Chelsea's "internal capital."

However, because the clearance speed was so fast, it caused a lot of doubts.

Wenger really couldn't understand why Chelsea could write off the original 340 million debt in an instant like magic.

Ancelotti said Wenger was Harry Potter who could foresee the future, and Wenger said Ancelotti was a super accountant.

Then the two of them started to have a verbal fight.

However, there was almost no verbal battle between the two after that.

At this time, the Fleet Street media missed the "special one" very much. Even though Wenger would not say any explosive news, they could not miss any possibility.

"Wenger, are you confident you can win at Stamford Bridge and take away the three points?"

"Arsene, do you have any tips for dealing with Charles?"

"What do you think of Charleston? Is Charleston the most regrettable of your many bad picks?"

"Do you think you can bring Charles back to the Emirates Stadium, Wenger?"

In the darkness, flashes of light appeared one after another.

Wenger looked at the reporters with some surprise.

He didn't expect that the reporters' questions had nothing to do with the Champions League, but were all about Charles.

"Did the Football Association extend our transfer window again? Or did the Premier League restart the transfer?"

Wenger looked at the reporter in confusion.

But the reporter almost put the microphone into his mouth, "So Arsene, you are sure that Charles will join Arsenal again, right?"

Wenger's face darkened instantly.

No, when will these people stop poking at his scars?
But looking at the dense crowds of reporters, he had no way of leaving directly and could only pick a few questions that were easy to answer.

"We will try our best in the game. Cesc's injury is almost healed. If the team doctor allows, he will be able to play at Stamford Bridge."

"Chelsea are really strong but we will do everything to get the three points, as the saying goes, the ball is round."

"What about Ciel?!"

Finally, some media couldn't help but raised their voices and asked.

He really didn't want to hear Wenger's Tai Chi answer again.

"He... Every coach likes excellent players. Although Mourinho did not contact me, I know that when he first went to Real Madrid, he must have been very excited to hear about Florentino's recruitment plan. After all, they have always had a player called 'The Prince Who Was Away'. In the end, he must have been disappointed. I don't believe that he didn't have a plan on his desk about the team's lineup after Charles joined."

As soon as Wenger finished speaking, another reporter stood out among the many microphones.

"So do you have a way to deal with Ciel?"

"What do you think is the most important? Beating Chelsea or beating Charles? If you think beating Charles is the most important, then I would say that no one can really be beaten, especially a real warrior like this. But beating Chelsea, my answer is yes, because I believe we can beat a good team."

……

After finally dealing with these annoying reporters, Wenger dragged his tired body back home.

After washing up and lying on the bed, Wenger couldn't fall asleep.

Although I was very tired, my mind was unusually clear.

He opened the curtains in annoyance. There was neither moon nor stars in the night sky of London today.

With a sigh, Wenger put on his clothes and pushed open the door of the study.

The desk is piled with various drafts.

Wenger turned on the desk lamp and took out a piece of draft paper to read.

“4-3-3:1-阿穆尼亚/3-萨尼亚、6-科希切尔尼、5-维尔马伦、22-克利希/27-埃布埃、4-法布雷加斯、2-迪亚比/19-威尔希尔、7-夏尔、23-阿尔沙文。”

……

The next day, when Charles woke up, he saw many reports about yesterday's various competitions.

The Times: "Champions League second round comprehensive briefing: the giants are in full swing."

"Yesterday, the second round of the 2010-2011 UEFA Champions League group stage officially kicked off. In the eight games played yesterday, many top teams won all of them, demonstrating their strong dominance."

"In Chelsea's home game against Marseille, Charles scored two goals and one assist, Malouda and Neymar each scored a goal, and Chelsea finally won 4-0 at home against Marseille."

"Another Premier League giant Arsenal travelled to Serbia to challenge Belgrade Partizan, and Arsenal won 3-1."

"In two other key matches, La Liga giants Real Madrid beat Auxerre 1-0 away, with Di Maria scoring the only goal of the game in the 80th minute."

"The Bundesliga giants Bayern Munich reversed and defeated Basel away. The home team took the lead in the first half, but Bayern Munich's midfield core Schweinsteiger scored two goals in the second half, and finally helped Bayern Munich win 2-1."

Metro: "Arsenal red and Chelsea blue? The weekend is coming to Stamford Bridge."

"In the 16th century, Shakespeare wrote many popular plays, whether it was Romeo and Juliet or Hamlet, and even after a long time, those stories are still passed down from mouth to mouth."

"Chelsea's home game against Arsenal this weekend may be the new Romeo and Juliet script."

"Let's not discuss the story between Charles, Wenger and Chelsea this summer. Just from the competitive level, this is a game that Arsenal cannot afford to lose."

"Because if they lose away, Arsenal will fall behind Chelsea by as many as seven points."

"In recent years, the final champion of the Premier League has always exceeded 85 points. As long as Chelsea can maintain the seven-point gap, Arsenal can directly withdraw from the championship race."

"For Arsenal, this is a huge points difference. Wenger has to fight for the top four before the halfway point of the season."

"But when it rains, Arsenal continues to be plagued by bad news."

"There is no sign of Fabregas and Almunia returning. Although Wenger thinks there is still hope for them to play, it is basically impossible for them to play."

"According to Arsenal's official website, eight players including Fabregas, Bendtner, Van Persie, Almunia, Gibson, Ramsey, Vermaelen and Walcott will miss the match against Chelsea. Diaby, who was injured before, may return."

"Wenger is confident that Arsenal will secure the youngster. If he is not Harry Potter, then he may just have to hope that Xia Miou is willing to give everything for Gunners Juliet."

"But after yesterday's game, Charles has made it clear that this is impossible."

(End of this chapter)