Before the first half was over, Grant had to make a substitution.
Ashley Cole's appearance can be regarded as a rejection of his own starting lineup.
After Cole came on the field, the situation on Chelsea's side improved somewhat. After all, with Bridge's lessons learned, Cole positioned himself deeper and focused entirely on defense.
Coupled with the fact that they were full of energy when they first came on the court, Tottenham basically failed to defeat their opponents here.
"It's Luka with the ball now."
"Steven doesn't dare to rob easily."
"Luka didn't stick to the ball and passed the ball first."
"The ball came to Allen's feet."
"Allen dribbled the ball forward, but failed. Belletti's defense was still very solid."
"Allen passed the ball and Keane came out to receive the ball."
"pretty!"
"Keane's through ball was so precise, the ball passed between John's legs."
"Chelsea's captain is chasing after him desperately, hoping to make up for his mistake."
"Tottenham made a wonderful combination in front of the Chelsea penalty area, a chance to score!"
"Berbatov!!!"
"Oh, the cake buyer!"
"Peter, it was Peter who saved the team again at the critical moment!"
"Peter's save was extremely solid."
"Except for DONG, few players can easily break through his door."
"But now Tottenham is blooming more, which is not good news for Chelsea."
On the court, Robinson stood there holding his waist, extremely bored.
Chelsea haven't attacked his side of the field for a long time. The last time he quickly retreated into the small penalty area was ten minutes ago.
It felt like a century had passed to him.
Idleness is not a good sign for a goalie.
Goalkeepers need to be highly focused physically and mentally so that they can make reasonable saves at critical moments.
Just like Cech, from the beginning of the game to now, he has contributed more than 10 saves for Chelsea, and his physical functions have been heated to the maximum.
Even if it's a fairy ball, he might save it.
On the other hand, Robinson might not be able to react if his opponent were to take a cold shot right now.
But there is nothing we can do depending on the situation on the field.
Chelsea couldn't attack for a while, and Robinson could only stare and worry.
"It would be great if they could never attack us!"
Robinson thought innocently.
Then he looked at Drogba who was ready to go and Anelka who was ready to steal the chicken at any time on the wing. Robinson still shook his head.
"If it doesn't work, let's add a few more! Only then will I feel confident."
Robinson thinks the idea is sound.
In the entire first half of the game, Chelsea had only three shots, and only one weak shot hit the door frame and was confiscated by Robinson.
Chelsea fans in the stands continued to protest loudly.
A year ago, Chelsea, under the command of Magic Bird, spent most of their time on defense, but a counterattack could break through the opponent's defense. This made all the teams that were pressing the Blues panic.
At that time, Chelsea's counterattack was a tactic, but now Chelsea's is just being suppressed and beaten.
We have the best players in the Premier League, but they cannot perform to the heights they should achieve when combined. This is the problem the Blues are currently facing.
What's more, with Wang Xiaodong here, in any Blues counterattack, you can see Wang Xiaodong desperately returning to defense to fill the position.
Chelsea's offense is often intercepted in advance just after halftime and is stillborn.
Regarding this phenomenon, Grant also expressed helplessness, and even more confusion.
It is obvious that the formation is 433, with three forwards in front, why is the counterattack ability weaker?
Of course, in the words of fans, this is the gap between Grant and Magic Bird.
...
“DONG’s location is so critical.”
"Not only can he attack, but he's also willing to do the dirtiest and most tiring work on defense."
"This is his most outstanding quality."
In front of the TV, Sir Alex Ferguson said to Ferguson.
"If DONG is protecting the midfield at Manchester United, and Leo is behind to help intercept. Plus Van der Sar, even Real Madrid and Barcelona can't break this central axis!"
"This way, Cristiano and Wayne in front can let go and attack."
"To be honest, when these two kids attack with all their strength, even Milan ten years ago would be hard-pressed to resist."
"Of course, all this is based on the fact that DONG can come to Manchester United next season." Ferguson said at the end, telling the biggest key to this assumption.
Now all the European giants want Wang Xiaodong.
Although they have different ideas and uses, these giants at least know that even if they put Wang Xiaodong on the bench, they will weaken their opponents in disguise.
"How much money can the club spend this summer?"
After hearing Sir Alex Ferguson's question, the assistant clapped his fingers and said, "About 4000W-6000W."
"6000W?" After hearing this number, Sir Alex held his chin and said after a while, "If this is the only number, then we must make commitments in other aspects in order to impress him."
If Manchester United can only spend up to 60 million in the summer window, then the new owner will never allow all the money to be used to buy a player.
"If DONG continues to perform like this, he may become the most expensive player in Europe." Sir Alex murmured.
…
On the court, Essien made a flying tackle, destroying the ball from Wang Xiaodong's feet like "revenge".
He didn't dare to really "retaliate", that would only make him "die" faster.
After the whistle sounded, Modric came to Wang Xiaodong immediately and pulled him up.
In fact, guys like Lampard, Essien, and Mikel are not weak in fouling Wang Xiaodong, Modric, and others, but young players like Tottenham are better at enduring.
The opponent's tackle did not take Wang Xiaodong too much time to recover. In fact, he has long been accustomed to the intensity of confrontation in the Premier League.
As long as the opponent's foul of this level does not attract the attention of the referee, then he can fight back in the same way.
Don't say that I am eating youthful food. If you want to blame me, just blame yourself for being too old!
While removing the dirt from Wang Xiaodong's body, Modric whispered.
"They have too many people in the penalty area. It's not a good thing if it continues like this."
"Let's cross paths first. If we still can't pull away, we'll retreat a little and hook them out first."
"You can't always rely on your long-range shots to wear down your opponents."
Wang Xiaodong nodded and agreed.
Essien's being bored was just an example. There was almost no time in the game for him to make more adjustments and kick such a hard shot.
What's more, every time he takes a shot, he goes towards the goal instead of rushing towards people.
Opposing players are willing to block the eyeballs, and no one can stop them.
Grant looked at the timer above his head, planning how to play the second half.
"If we were only one goal behind, we still had a chance in the second half."
"Didier's condition has recovered well. As long as he rushes into the opponent's penalty area, it is impossible not to send two people to guard him, even DONG."
"If it doesn't work, we can also create more set pieces."
Just as Grant was thinking, Tottenham's offense struck again.
Ledley King made a long pass from the backcourt and passed the ball to the right, and Lennon rushed over.
Mikel was chasing and observing. When he noticed that it was Wang Xiaodong and not Modric who appeared in his peripheral vision, he couldn't help but feel a tremor in his heart.
How could it be him?
