Chapter 233 Oops, We Have Become Substitutes [Please Subscribe! ]

The battle between Chelsea and Manchester City is getting closer and closer. Not only the fans of the Premier League, but also fans of many other leagues seem to be very interested in this focus battle of the English League.

After all, it is a duel between the teams coached by Guardiola and Mourinho.

Although both of them are no longer in La Liga, their coaching styles have not changed. The duel between Chelsea and Manchester City is also regarded by many La Liga fans as a weakened version of the "National Derby".

In addition, the Premier League officials have spared no effort in publicity.

So before the start of this Premier League battle, many fans of major leagues have already memorized the date and time of the game, waiting to enjoy this audio-visual feast on time.

On February 1, the 24th round of the Premier League officially started.

Newcastle and Sunderland completed the early opening game of this round of the league.

In the next two days, all 18 Premier League teams appeared and played 9 games in this round of the league.

Many teams in the lower reaches of the league were upset, such as Sunderland defeated the Magpies 3:0, and the Tigers tied with Tottenham. Everton was tied by Aston Villa, and West Bromwich drew with Liverpool at home...

The arrival of the FA Cup and the tight schedule after the 23rd round of the Premier League have affected the performance of most of the top eight teams in the Premier League.

However, this phenomenon did not make Chelsea players panic. On the contrary, Chelsea was happy because of such a game situation.

After all, they had voluntarily given up the FA Cup before, so when other Premier League teams were dragged down by the recent tight schedule, Chelsea benefited from it.

Other teams were affected, but Chelsea was able to prepare for the game and rest normally. In contrast, Chelsea's advantage in the league has naturally expanded further.

And their league rival Manchester City, who will face off in this round of the league, was also affected by the FA Cup.

On January 25, Manchester City played the fourth round of the FA Cup against Watford with a half-main lineup. On the evening of January 29, they fought a fierce battle with Tottenham Hotspur at White Hart Lane.

The two consecutive games consumed a lot of physical energy of Manchester City's first-team main players and rotation players.

And they got less than 5 days of rest time.

So even if they had the advantage of home court against Chelsea, Manchester City's physical disadvantage could not be easily made up.

Reflected on the fans of the two teams, their respective emotions and mentalities were completely different.

Although Manchester City fans are also very confident because of their recent outstanding results, after watching the last round of the thrilling 5:3 Tottenham battle, they are very worried about the physical condition of their players.

Chelsea fans are very relieved about their main players.

After all, after the 22nd round of the league, all Chelsea's main players did not consume any physical energy in the League Cup and FA Cup.

The rest time between the 22nd and 23rd rounds of the Premier League is as long as 10 days!

Chelsea's main players took 4 days off, and in the 23rd round they played West Ham United again, and Chelsea won easily.

Compared with Manchester City's schedule, Chelsea's side can't be described as relaxed.

The match with West Ham United seemed to be just a warm-up match for Chelsea, a warm-up before the top battle with Manchester City.

So when they arrived at the Etihad Stadium on the day of the game, thousands of Chelsea fans looked very relaxed?

They were confident but not arrogant. Perhaps it was their calm attitude that made tens of thousands of Manchester City fans on the scene a little nervous.

As the players of both teams were warming up on the field, Mourinho was still thinking about what Guardiola said at Manchester City's pre-match press conference yesterday:

"Jose and I are both old friends and old rivals. Before he came to La Liga, we had played against each other in the Champions League, and after he came to La Liga, our duels were countless.

So we know each other very well, and we can even say that we are the friends and rivals who know each other best.

This season, our first duel with Chelsea ended in defeat, which is an undeniable fact. For the second round of the game, we will certainly be more fully prepared.

Tactical trump card? No, there is no tactical trump card. I said that Jose and I know each other very well. There is no possibility that one of us can play a tactical trump card..."

Mourinho thought about it carefully again, but he muttered softly.

"Nonsense..."

There is one thing Guardiola said that he agrees with, that is, they really know each other very well.

What tactics is he good at? They all know what Guardiola is good at, so if there is a tactical trump card, it is indeed very likely that it does not exist.

Because they will make a lot of relevant tactical plans for each other, very detailed tactical plans.

But if it is said that the game will lose all tactical suspense, then Guardiola is deliberately misleading the reporters and himself.

It is one thing to have no new and novel tactics.

But it is another thing that is likely to happen that they pick out the most surprising tactics among the tactics they have played.

This is true for Guardiola and Mourinho.

After all, they have played against each other too many times. In Mourinho's first season at Real Madrid, Real Madrid lost badly, but then Guardiola's Barcelona was suppressed.

There are too many routines in the duel between the two, and there have been wins and losses, and some draws.

Mourinho had to admit that when he played against Guardiola for the first time in the Premier League this season, Li Ang's sudden outbreak brought him great surprise.

It was precisely because of Li Ang's sudden explosion that Chelsea's easy victory far exceeded his pre-match expectations.

But the individual outbreak of the players cannot be counted in the design of tactics, so Mourinho was not as relaxed as he seemed before the start of this game.

The Manchester City led by Guardiola is not easy to play.

Because the current Manchester City is much stronger defensively than the Barcelona he led in La Liga.

At the beginning, Mourinho could attack both wings, avoid Barcelona's highly controlled midfield, and defeat Barcelona with high-altitude balls and Ronaldo's personal ability.

That was also taking advantage of Barcelona's inability to defend against high-altitude balls.

But now Manchester City's midfield control is far inferior to Barcelona in the previous two seasons, but on the defensive end, this Manchester City is not afraid of ground balls or high-altitude balls.

Their defense is both strong and balanced. In the entire Premier League, Manchester City's defensive strength. Maybe like Arsenal, it is the top level second only to Chelsea.

The only flaw is Joe Hart.

So far, most fans in the world may not understand why Joe Hart always makes some small mistakes despite his excellent goal-line skills.

This defect of his also makes him always lose the chain when defending long shots and unexpected shots.

However, with the lesson of losing to Li Ang's long-range shot in the last match, Mourinho does not believe that Guardiola will continue to suffer such a loss.

It is conceivable that in this battle, Guardiola will definitely focus on protecting the front of his own penalty area.

So for the sake of insurance, Mourinho basically has no hope of continuing to take advantage of Manchester City in long-range shots.

It is reflected in the tactics he arranged today, that is, defending the two wings, counterattacking and pushing the center line, and then splitting the ribs to hit the Manchester City penalty area.

Li Ang inserted from behind and Ibrahimovic in the penalty area formed a double end point. The scoring threat should be completed in the Manchester City penalty area to be the safest.

Long-range shots can be an auxiliary offensive means, but they will not be Chelsea's main offensive means today.

Mourinho is still imagining whether there are any loopholes in the tactics arranged before the game today, but soon the players on both sides finished the pre-match warm-up.

After entering the last mobilization link before the game, neither Mourinho nor Guardiola spent too much time explaining the tactics.

After all, the pre-match preparations have been completed, and now is the time to relieve the pressure and cheer up the players.

Near 8 pm local time, the players of Manchester City and Chelsea began to step onto the court with the pace of the referee team.

In the cold winter night of Manchester, the fans of the two teams created an unusually hot atmosphere.

As soon as Li Ang, wearing Chelsea's white away No. 10 jersey, appeared, Guardiola, who was sitting in the coaching seat, looked dazed.

Almost pure white jersey, pure white shorts, socks and gloves, plus black stripes on the shoulders, at first glance Guardiola thought he saw the familiar Real Madrid lion again.

However, the big three-star letters of the sponsor on the chest of Chelsea's away jersey finally brought Guardiola back to his senses.

"Today's Chelsea away jersey looks familiar, and it looks particularly suitable for Li Ang~"

"I've worn it for two and a half years, so how can it not be suitable? Everyone is familiar with it."

In the studio of Sina Sports, Zhan Jun and Coach Zhang once again teamed up to comment on this Premier League focus battle for domestic fans live.

After the two joked, they quickly explained the recent points and records of Chelsea and Manchester City to the domestic audience.

In fact, Chelsea and Manchester City have already had a relatively deep fan base in China.

A large part of Chelsea's fans in China originated from the iron-blooded Blue Army period when Mourinho first coached.

As for Manchester City, let alone the team played by China Sun, it was also a team that was deeply concerned by domestic Premier League fans in that era.

The two teams already have a relatively strong fan base in China, and with Li Ang's absolute viewing factor, Sina Sports this morning is destined to set off a ratings frenzy.

Nearly 4 a.m. in the middle of the night in China, accompanied by the familiar voice of Zhan Jun’s introduction.

After the opening ceremony, the players from Chelsea and Manchester City stood in their respective half, waiting for the game to officially begin.

"Today Chelsea plays 433, with Czech goalkeeper Cech as the starting goalkeeper.

Defensively:

Left back is Bertrand, center backs are Terry and David Luiz, and right back is Azpilicueta.

In midfield, Matic plays as the single defensive midfielder, with Li Ang and Lampard on the left and right sides of the midfield.

Left winger Hazard, right winger De Bruyne, center forward Ibrahimovic."

"Manchester City's starting lineup today is 4231.

The starting goalkeeper is England goalkeeper Joe Hart.

On the defensive line, Kolarov is the left back, Nastasic and Kompany are the center back, and Zabaleta is the right back.

In midfield, Yaya Toure and Fernandinho play as double defensive midfielders, Fabregas starts today as the attacking midfielder, and the left and right wingers are David Silva and Jesus Navas respectively.

Center forward Dzeko."

As soon as Zhan Jun finished speaking, the referee on duty today blew the whistle.

The focus of the second half of the 2013-2014 Premier League season has officially begun!

Manchester City, who kicked off first, was just like usual. After Fabregas took control of the ball, he and Yaya Toure first sought stable control in the backcourt.

In the past, Fabregas and Fernandinho did this job together.

But after Yaya Toure had to bow to Guardiola recently, the Ivorian superstar midfielder also regained the opportunity to start.

In the previous league and cup games, Yaya Toure played very well in the backcourt.

He and Fabregas can complete the tactical tasks assigned by Guardiola very well.

As long as Yaya Toure does not have a seizure, the midfield duo of him and Fabregas is one of the top midfield combinations in the Premier League.

The strongest midfield duo in the Premier League is of course Leon and Matic. In terms of offense alone, they may be slightly inferior to the duo of Fabregas and Yaya Toure.

But when it comes to the balance of attack and defense, Leon and Matic are absolutely the best in the entire Premier League.

However, Manchester City played very patiently today and was not in a hurry to attack after the opening, which made the defensive net set up by Leon and Matic in the middle useless.

At first, Mourinho thought that Guardiola was using his previous passing and controlling style, advancing from the back to the front layer by layer, and penetrating layer by layer.

So Mourinho was also very patient, and he did not signal his disciples to put pressure on Manchester City in a hurry.

Leon also made tactical gestures to let Lampard retreat first, and block the route that Manchester City might play passing and controlling infiltration in his own half with Matic.

He himself went deep into the enemy's hinterland to test Manchester City's ball control strength today.

With Leon leading Hazard and De Bruyne to put pressure on Manchester City's backcourt organizers, according to common sense, Manchester City can usually try to pass the ball forward at this time.

But Manchester City did not do so today. David Silva and Navas did not go to Chelsea's slightly empty wing to prepare for receiving the ball and attacking.

Instead, the two of them retreated to the side area of ​​the other half to meet Fabregas and Yaya Toure, further strengthening their control of the ball in their own half.

This resolute control of the ball made Mourinho frown.

He not only remembered what Guardiola said in the pre-match press conference.

"Do you really have any tactical trump cards?"

Mourinho was a little unconvinced. At this moment, the game had only been played for less than five minutes, and Mourinho could only continue to watch patiently.

He wanted to see what Guardiola was up to by playing pass control in his own half today!

Li Ang was not in a hurry on the court, because now it was just him and two wingers, at most plus Ibrahimovic, who jointly put defensive pressure on Manchester City's half.

With such pressure, even if the ball could not be grabbed, there would be no loss.

With Matic and Lampard watching in the backcourt, no matter what tricks Manchester City plays, his two wing players will be defended one-on-one by Matic or Lampard in the first place.

Now that all three players in the middle of Manchester City are staying under his eyes, Li Ang doesn't believe it. In terms of speed, can Yaya Toure and Fabregas be faster than him?

Li Ang still has such confidence.

But he never expected it. When Manchester City deliberately slowed down the speed of passing and control, and Chelsea's pressure also slowed down appropriately, Lampard suddenly appeared in his field of vision!

Li Ang felt something was wrong, but before he could remind Lampard to retreat, Fabregas from Manchester City had already sent a diagonal pass!

Fabregas did not pass the ball directly forward, but gave the ball to Manchester City's center forward Dzeko. His passing target was Manchester City's left back Kolarov who saw the opportunity and resolutely advanced!

Previously, when Lampard was guarding the right side of Chelsea's half, Kolarov was very honest and showed no sign of moving forward at all.

But just when Lampard crossed the center line and wanted to participate in the pressure on Manchester City. Kolarov immediately caught Chelsea off guard with his decisive forward insertion!

Kolarov, who passed De Bruyne to receive the ball, had no Chelsea players in front of him to intercept it in the first time.

Lampard lost his defensive position, and Matic had to stay in the middle at this time, so he could only retreat with Terry and David Luiz to set up the defense line in front of the penalty area.

Azpilicueta had to press forward to intercept Kolarov, but at this time, Kolarov sent a long pass forward!

The football drew a flat trajectory in the air, and then fell directly into Dzeko's control range.

David Luiz gave up retreating and blocking Dzeko at the first time.

His decisive defense made it impossible for Dzeko to easily control the ball and turn around, and he could only continue to pass the ball to Manchester City's right side with his back to the ball.

Jesus Navas was already at high speed. After receiving the pass from Dzeko, he did not hesitate to force overtake and pretended to break through Bertrand.

Bertrand had no choice but to stick to Navas at the first time and force him to slow down.

But Navas's subsequent heel knock made Bertrand's defense fall into the air!

Like Kolarov, Zabaleta was very determined to advance in the counterattack. Navas's strong attack looked more like a feint. The real threat was still on Zabaleta who was advancing!

This Manchester City winger, who was the first right back in the Premier League last season, raised his foot and sent a big diagonal pass!

The football drew a beautiful arc close to the grass, and Dzeko and Terry at the front point did not reach the football.

At the back point, Kolarov rushed into Chelsea's penalty area and was about to shoot the ball!

As a result, a white figure fell to the ground and poked the ball before Kolarov, and passed the ball directly to Cech in front of Chelsea's goal!

This defense was extremely bold.

If there is no tacit understanding between the player who fell to the ground to destroy the football and Cech, it is very likely to cause an own goal.

Fortunately, Cech's attention had been very focused before, and the defensive player also shouted to Cech to pay attention when he was doing defensive destruction.

So the Czech goalkeeper finally hugged the ball in his arms very neatly!

Guardiola went from being eager to jump and preparing to kneel down and hold his head in annoyance. His mood fluctuated greatly. He glared at Li Ang who had just stood up from the grass.

Yes, it was Li Ang who just completed the back-chasing tackle!

Lampard, who had lost his position before, also breathed a sigh of relief at this time, and hurried forward to pull Li Ang up from the grass, constantly apologizing and thanking him.

Li Ang just patted Lampard's arm and didn't say much.

After all, Lampard was not born as a defensive midfielder. He has tried his best to play as a defensive midfielder this season. It is normal for him to make some defensive mistakes occasionally.

However, Manchester City's performance today surprised Li Ang.

In the past, Mourinho's team counterattacked Guardiola's team, but today Guardiola used his novel tactics to teach Mourinho a lesson!

The Chelsea players who had just been threatened with a counterattack looked at each other.

"Oh no, they are counterattacking us, and we have become substitutes today!"