Chapter 234: The Premier League's Top Two Teams Reconciled, Arsenal's Joy Turned Into Sorrow [Please Subscribe, Big Guys! ]

Mourinho slapped his thigh, holding the tactical board in his hand, and quickly walked from the sidelines to the coaching seat.

In his heart, he kept muttering, "Okay, you, a guy with thick eyebrows and big eyes, have also learned bad things!"

Guardiola really took out something new to deal with Chelsea at home, which was a situation that Mourinho had never expected before the game!

In the past, Guardiola's passing and controlling style did often control the ball for a long time in his own half.

But this kind of play, which almost controls the ball in the 30-meter area of ​​his own side with the midfield, wingers and defenders to avoid the opponent's high pressure, is really the first time Mourinho has seen it!

The key is that Guardiola's set of counterattacks is really novel.

It is not based on the wingers to advance, nor is it based on long passes to find the center forward fulcrum and then radiate the frontcourt attack, but the full-backs move forward from the back and then seek opportunities to pass the ball.

Even the final blow is initiated by the right back and completed by the left back.

Facing this kind of tactical play for the first time, Chelsea's defense line was almost penetrated by Manchester City!

If it weren't for Li Ang's desperate pursuit and bold defensive action at the last moment.

If Kolarov, who was almost unmarked at the time, successfully completed the shooting action in the penalty area, Mourinho really didn't know whether Cech could defend it.

After a quick analysis of Guardiola's play with some nervousness and excitement, Mourinho and Holland also quickly adjusted the positions of the players on the tactical board.

Guardiola didn't have much excitement and joy on his face at this moment. Instead, he stood on the side of the court with his hands on his waist and chattered non-stop.

If a reporter could get close to Guardiola at this time, he would be very surprised to find that Guardiola's mouth was full of complaints about Li Ang!

Indeed, in the confrontation with Mourinho's coaching team, since the 11th to 12th season, Guardiola's team has suffered many losses from Li Ang.

At first, it was Li Ang's restriction on Messi on the defensive end that made Barcelona lack the most powerful explosive point and offensive firepower output.

Later, Li Ang gradually grew to the point where he could break through Barcelona's central defense from the middle and deliver shells to Real Madrid's forwards, or he could rush forward to compete for the top to create threats.

And now, Li Ang is constantly causing trouble for Guardiola's Manchester City on both offense and defense!

If it weren't for Li Ang's convulsion-like explosion and two world-class long-range shots in the last match, Manchester City would not have been passive tactically for the whole game.

After patting his forehead and letting out a long breath, Guardiola also stood on the sidelines again and kept applauding his disciples to show encouragement.

This new style of play he developed almost caused Chelsea to overturn when it first appeared. Judging from the tactical effect, Guardiola was still very satisfied.

Although he also knew that Mourinho would definitely restrict it immediately and make tactical adjustments to deal with it.

But no matter what Mourinho chooses later, as long as Manchester City does not have a strong desire to take the initiative to attack today, Chelsea will not have a good way to deal with Manchester City.

After all, if Chelsea wants to break the deadlock as soon as possible, facing Manchester City's retreating formation, it must take the initiative to press forward to seek more offensive opportunities.

As long as Chelsea presses forward, Manchester City will always have the possibility of counterattacks on both wings.

Zabaleta and Kolarov are both full-backs with strong offensive desires, and their skills are enough to support this style of play.

Of course, in Guardiola's mind, the most suitable for his tactics are of course his disciples in Barcelona.

Xavi, Iniesta and Busquets' retreat organization have absolutely stable control over the ball.

If Manchester City's right back is Alves and the left back is Alba, then the rapid counterattack will only be more sharp!

It's a pity that they can't dig them. If they can dig them, Guardiola would like to dig Messi directly.

Wait for him to build a season of tactics in Manchester City. We can definitely compete with Chelsea in the Premier League!

After imagining for a while, Guardiola sighed and shook his head, and put his attention back to reality.

The game started again soon, and Mourinho had not had time to make targeted tactical adjustments, but the Chelsea players on the field were more vigilant about Manchester City's counterattacks on both wings.

Lampard did not dare to easily advance to participate in the attack. He stayed in his own half and Matic on the left and right, blocking Manchester City's counter-attack route.

Li Ang can grab and has abundant physical strength, but he has no way to face the three-man team of Fabregas, Yaya Toure and Fernandinho's backward control of the ball.

In the past, defensive pressure and ball possession interception were also because the opponent had the desire to attack forward and had the desire to deliver the ball forward.

If the opponent wants to take the initiative to attack, there will naturally be flaws, which can be exploited.

But the way Manchester City plays now is that they have three holding midfielders in front of their back line, and two wingers who retreat to assist in passing the ball.

Without active attack, there are too few opportunities for Li Ang to steal.

This reminds Li Ang of a tactic that Mourinho occasionally used when he was in Real Madrid.

That is the tactic of no desire and no desire to defend after leading. If you say no attack, you really won't attack. After all, there is no attack and defense conversion, how can the opponent seize the mistakes and counterattack?

The tactics designed by Guardiola now are similar to Mourinho's no desire and no desire to defend.

Mourinho then made tactical adjustments, and Chelsea's offensive style also changed greatly.

Li Ang and Lampard took turns to advance into Manchester City's half, and put defensive pressure on Manchester City with the three forwards in front.

But on the midline, Chelsea always maintained two midfielders to assist the full-backs to curb Manchester City's side counterattacks.

When necessary, Li Ang and Lampard can insert into Manchester City's half together, Matic and David Luiz can defend the midline, assist the wing players in defense, and Terry can drag alone.

Such a tactical arrangement is to win in a stable manner. Guardiola only watched for a while and understood Mourinho's plan.

After Mourinho secretly scolded Guardiola for being bad and cunning, Guardiola continued to complain that Mourinho was still too conservative as before.

Both sides put a lot of effort on the defensive end, wanting to gain benefits in a stable manner, and were unwilling to take the risk of handing the knife handle to the opponent.

So after a thrilling opening stage, the game quickly entered the patience competition between the two teams.

Manchester City waited for Chelsea to press forward and attack, but Chelsea invested limited offensive power, defending the center line and the wing, just not giving Manchester City a chance to counterattack.

After the stalemate and playing the entire first half, let alone other neutral fans, the Chelsea and Manchester City fans on the scene yawned.

However, Mourinho and Guardiola were both relatively acceptable to such a half-time situation in their hearts.

If this round of the league was held after the 30th round of the Premier League, and Manchester City was 6 points behind Chelsea, Guardiola's tactical choice might be completely different.

But now the league has just reached the 24th round of the Premier League, and there are still 14 rounds of the league before the end of the entire season.

So Manchester City can still afford to wait, and there is no need to rush to fight Chelsea directly.

Last season, before he was dismissed from La Liga, Guardiola wanted to use this method to avoid the points gap with Real Madrid.

It's a pity that he and Barcelona's top management had a falling out over the issue of signings in the winter window. Otherwise, if he continued to lead the team in the second half of the league, Real Madrid might not be able to easily win the championship in advance.

"You are as confident as ever..."

When the game was played to the 60th minute of the second half, Mourinho was still unmoved, as if he was going to finish the game at the current pace.

Guardiola couldn't help but shake his head and muttered.

Mourinho doesn't seem to care at all that if he draws with Manchester City in this round of the league, Arsenal will take the opportunity to narrow the points gap.

In other words, Mourinho firmly believes that his team is more stable and can get more points in the games against weak teams and other top 8 teams in the Premier League.

So in the direct dialogue with Manchester City or Arsenal, Mourinho is not in a hurry to do a one-shot deal and knock down his competitors directly.

He still prefers a safe victory and a stable win of the long-term league championship!

Guardiola would like to take this opportunity to knock Chelsea down.

But he also knows clearly that the current Manchester City is far from meeting his tactical requirements. He needs one or two seasons to find more suitable players and further improve his tactics.

Before this, facing Mourinho, who built a team faster, played more utilitarian, and had Li Ang as the core of offense and defense, Guardiola knew that he could not just fight hard.

He resisted the urge to fight Chelsea in the 70th minute of the second half.

So the commentators from various countries and countless neutral fans were surprised.

Because today they once again saw Guardiola forcibly change his tactical concept.

Even though they all knew that Guardiola chose such a tactic only by chance.

But such scenes are still too rare.

Li Ang also knew that Mourinho would not take risks when he didn't want to, so he didn't take the initiative to lead his teammates on the field to attack Manchester City.

In the last 20 minutes of the second half of the game, Manchester City did not control the ball in front of their own penalty area, and they also tried to penetrate the midfield.

But facing Chelsea, which had switched to full-line defense at this moment, Manchester City's attack did not work.

Li Ang also honestly pulled Matic and Ramires, who came on as a substitute in the second half, to block all possibilities for Manchester City to attack from the center line.

The final game ended with a score of 0-0. There was no winner in this game, or in other words, both Manchester City and Chelsea were losers after the game.

Arsenal, who won the Crystal Palace, became the only winner, because they not only surpassed Manchester City by two points, but also narrowed the points gap between themselves and Chelsea to 4 points.

Such a result is almost perfect for Arsenal fans.

Chelsea and Manchester City fans complained on the Internet, and after a few complaints, they could accept the draw in their hearts.

Only the major sports media in England continued to criticize the conservatism of Manchester City and Chelsea, complaining that they did not play the exciting scenes they should have in this focus battle.

But it is too difficult to see too many beautiful offensive scenes in a game that Mourinho is determined to be conservative.

Guardiola does not want to give a chance, so such a result should be expected by the media.

Like most practitioners in Sky Sports, after watching the first half of the game, they all know that this so-called battle will not make any waves.

But after the game, they still have to criticize, after all, they rely on public opinion to make a living.

Seriously analyzing the tactical choices of the two head coaches will not attract too many fans' attention, so some topics must be created.

However, they did not wait long this time.

Five days later, in the 25th round of the Premier League, Liverpool kicked off the war with a 5-1 massacre of Arsenal that shocked the whole of England.

In the afternoon, Manchester City took over Liverpool's baton and swept and massacred the Canaries Norwich 6-0!

And Chelsea, who played later, was not to be outdone and suppressed the Magpies Newcastle 5-0!

Ibrahimovic and Hazard scored successively, Li Ang scored twice with his head and feet, and Terry scored his first league goal of the season!

At this point, all British media were boiling again.

Isn't the topic here!

Liverpool, Manchester City and Chelsea played strongly, which aroused heated discussions among a large number of Premier League fans.

Only Arsenal was injured in the world, and it was achieved~