After the "Battle of Heavenly Kings Mountain" with Swansea, Pan Yi and the coaching staff took the time to watch several videos of Dortmund's games this season.
Because in a few days, it will be the first game of this season's Champions League group stage, when Chelsea will face Pan Yi's old rival Dortmund at home.
There have only been three rounds of Bundesliga games, but Dortmund's performance can only be described as average.
They lost to Bayer Leverkusen 0:2 in a strong match in the first round.
In this game, Klopp used a 4132 formation, which is also the formation he often uses in warm-up matches before the start of the season.
This also shows that Klopp wants to make some changes to his style of play after his lack of success in the first two seasons.
In this formation, Aubameyang and new aid Immobile appear on the front line. Behind them are Joic, Royce and Mkhitaryan, and the defensive midfielder Kyle protects behind these people.
But obviously, the effect of such a change is not very good.
Dortmund did a very poor job of protecting the two wings, and the two-forward formation naturally lacked a midfield support, which also caused them to lose to Leverkusen in the midfield competition.
In the end, Leverkusen defeated Dortmund away from home with goals from Bellarabi and Kiessling.
Of course, the Italian Immobile has been performing poorly since joining Dortmund, which is also an important reason.
He does not have Lewandowski's ball-playing ability and retreating ability. He can be said to be a relatively pure point-grabbing forward.
He also lacks a fulcrum role, and his combination with Aubameyang is not very smooth.
So, when facing Augsburg in the second round, Klopp made decisive changes.
This time he arranged a 4141 formation, leaving only Aubameyang as a forward in front, and letting Joic, Reus and Mkhitaryan, as well as Grosskreutz support him behind him .
This change of formation really worked, and they won the away game 3:2.
In the third round against Freiburg, Klopp made changes again, and they defeated their opponents with a 4231 formation.
This time, the man at the front is Colombian forward Adrian Ramos, and Shinji Kagawa also started, serving as an attacking midfielder to deliver cannonballs to him.
In the end, Adrian Ramos, Shinji Kagawa, and substitute Aubameyang each scored a goal, helping the team win 3:1.
"Judging from these games, Klopp seems a little confused about his main style of play in the new season."
After watching the game video, assistant coach Horan said: "Three different formations and starting lineups were used in three games. This is more fickle than our head coach."
In the conference hall, the coaches laughed.
This is true. Although Pan Yi also used almost all first-team players in the four rounds of the Premier League, after all, they were still under the framework of the 343 formation, unlike Klopp who repeatedly jumped across various formations. .
"This is a good thing for us." Scaloni also analyzed:
"After losing the first game, Klopp rejected the 4132 formation he had been practicing in the summer training camp."
"At the same time, Immobile was also denied. This caused a lot of preparations they made before the season to come to nothing."
"After three games, Klopp seems to be returning to the 4231 that he used more and more skillfully last season."
"And it just so happens that when our leader was in the Bundesliga, we severely beat his 4231 set several times."
"Of course, maybe it was because of the failure against the boss last season that Klopp tried to find a way to develop a new formation, right? It's a pity that it failed..."
Pan Yi nodded slightly and agreed with the two assistant coaches.
He added: "While Klopp is struggling with the stability of his formation, it also creates problems for us in judging his starting lineup and style of play."
"But it doesn't matter. I tentatively assume that he will return to his old career and use 4231, which is a single forward and double midfielder style of play. After all, many formations are variations of it."
"The forward may be Adrian Ramos, or it may be Aubameyang, or it may be Immobile, but it doesn't matter. With our current three-back system, it is completely understandable."
"As for their double midfielder, sometimes it's Kyle + Joic, sometimes it's Kyle + Bender. In short, Klopp still trusts the veteran Kyle."
"Kyle has rich experience. He has a clear mind and clear ideas. He is full of energy and runs constantly during the game. He is very fierce when defending. He is indeed a good player."
"But the problem is that he is 34 years old this year. It can be seen from the game just watched that his running ability has already declined significantly."
"Therefore, he is our breakthrough point. When attacking, we have to hit this point more often and pull him in two directions to make him exhausted."
"When Dortmund's midfielder is unable to effectively organize and defend, their metronome will be destroyed by us, and it will be difficult for Klopp's high defensive tactics to be implemented smoothly."
Finally, Pan Yi pointed to Dortmund’s defense position on the tactical board:
"Their frontcourt has changed a lot, but the backline is relatively stable."
“Their new captain Hummels is injured, so the defenders are actually played by Durm, Subotic, Papastathopoulos, Schmelzer and Piszczek. "
"The difference is that sometimes Durm plays on the right, then Schmelzer plays on the left; sometimes Durm plays on the left, then Piszczek comes up and plays on the right. It doesn't make much difference to us. .”
"We just need to make good use of the numerical advantage of our three forwards + two wing-backs, constantly attack both sides of them, and then create a strong offensive side, and finally get a shooting opportunity!"
"Although the opponent is Dortmund, we still have to be prepared for a tough battle. In the German Cup final last season, Klopp unexpectedly launched a defensive counterattack with me."
"This time we are at home. To be honest, I still don't think Klopp will take the risk of playing against us!"
"So, our training focus this week is still on offensive drills and set-piece drills..."
Listening to Pan Yi's key instructions one by one, the members of the coaching staff all nodded in agreement, and then went to work separately after the meeting.
——
"To be honest, I think if we just pursue stability, it may be difficult to stop Chelsea's attack."
Almost at the same time, Klopp and his coaching staff were meeting intensively at the Dortmund training base to discuss how to deal with Chelsea's games and tactics.
They all know that Pan Yi is leading his Chelsea to prepare ambitiously for the Champions League.
Once successful, he will undoubtedly join the ranks of legends in world football history.
After all, at the age of 28, he can reach the top of Europe three times. If he is a player, it is possible, but as a coach, it is really unreal.
28 years old!
And now, Dortmund will be the first to stand in front of Chelsea and become the first obstacle to prevent Pan Yi from embarking on the road to legend!
Dortmund's coaching staff also watched the first few rounds of Chelsea's Premier League games this season, and everyone saw how fierce Chelsea's attacking firepower was.
It can be said that Chelsea, with Lukaku, Hazard, B-seat, Kante, Azpilicueta and others as its core, has demonstrated its unique offensive ability in the Premier League.
If there were still people who questioned Pan Yi's inability to adapt to the Premier League before, then after these four rounds of crazy performance, Pan Yi has completely conquered the Premier League.
Especially when facing Chelsea, whose offensive pace is almost crazy, every Premier League team invariably adopted a defensive stance, but without exception, no one could hold on.
Four goals were scored against each team!
It is precisely because of this that Klopp put forward a different view from his assistants.
If you can't defend, what will happen if you do the opposite and have a confrontation with Chelsea at Stamford Bridge?
"However, Pan Yi always adopts a tougher offensive at home. Is it really safe for us to play against them with the support of tens of thousands of their fans?"
Assistant coach Zeljko looked at Klopp with an unconfident look on his face.
Pan Yi defeated Dortmund in Hamburg last season. This not only made Klopp feel disappointed, but also hit many people in the team, and Zeljko was one of them.
Therefore, he also advocated focusing on defense first in this game. He could even put all five defenders in his hands on the field and use an extreme defensive formation like 541 to resist Chelsea's attack.
No matter whether the situation is ugly or not, as long as we can hold on and take one point home, it is victory!
One of the key points in his argument is that when Leicester City faced Chelsea, they did not go on the defensive at first, but they were also defeated by Chelsea.
This shows that even if they play against Chelsea, it will be difficult to get good results.
But Klopp waved his hand and said: "Defense has never been our advantage. Last season's German Cup final proved it."
"And I also guess, is it because everyone allows Chelsea to open up the offense, so they can have such a scoring efficiency?"
"After all, with an offensive formation of at least five and up to eight people deployed in the frontcourt, defense is almost no longer considered."
"And if we set up a position to fight them, Pan Yi may be wary and won't send so many troops to attack. This will instead reduce our defensive pressure."
"And offense is also the strength of our team! We have established ourselves in the Bundesliga with our sharp offense, and we must have confidence in this!"
"No disrespect to Leicester City, but the level of our offensive staff is still higher than theirs, right? What they can't do doesn't mean we can't do it either."
"Strengthen the confrontation, fight for every inch of ground, and let the players fight with them desperately for possession of the ball. We hope to win!"
With that said, Klopp hit the tactical board hard.
He really didn't want to run into Pan Yi when he drew lots, but now that he did run into him again, he had to face it well.
And the strategy of attacking with attack is the best plan he can think of now.
In fact, he was already practicing this tactic in the third round of the league.
That is to pick up the 4231 formation again and use the ultimate offense to crack the opponent's offense.
Offense is the best defense!
After hearing Klopp's words, the coaches also nodded.
They also understood what Klopp meant.
Uncle Zha doesn’t want to be conservative this time, even at Stamford Bridge!
"Guys, if we want to be the best team in Europe, then we have no reason to be afraid of any opponent."
Klopp finally said:
"Even if we face Pan Yi and his powerful Chelsea, I believe we are all capable of fighting."
"Even on the road, we have no reason to be conservative, right?"
"If we are timid when facing Chelsea now, what can we do to face Bayern and other stronger opponents?"
"Let's start preparing! The trip to Stamford Bridge is our first Champions League game of the new season. No matter what, we must do our best to win this game and make a good start for the new Champions League season. Do you understand?!"
"Understood!" everyone responded loudly.
The expression on Klopp's face was unusually determined.
He knew that what he said was to encourage everyone, and also to encourage himself.
He is a man who aspires to be the best coach in the world, and he really can't just admit defeat in front of Pan Yi.
He also needs to prove in front of the whole world, or prove to himself that he is stronger than Pan Yi! ——
On the evening of September 18th, London, Stamford Bridge Stadium.
When Pan Yi followed the players through the long and narrow player tunnel and came to the exit, his eyes suddenly opened up.
The roar from the stadium was like a tidal wave, rushing toward us.
This is the third time Pan Yi has come out of here, but he is already very accustomed to the atmosphere at Stamford Bridge.
Since he took charge of Chelsea, the football market at Stamford Bridge has been very good.
And after he continuously defeated his opponents by big scores and put Chelsea first in the Premier League standings, it was even harder to get a ticket at Stamford Bridge.
Who doesn't want to come here on a midweek or weekend night to enjoy an offensive battle and then get a hearty victory?
Playing well and winning, this is what fans all over the world want to see.
But not every team can do it.
Some teams can play beautiful football and even maintain this style for many years, such as Arsenal.
But their form has been ups and downs, and they haven't been able to win a Premier League title for a long time.
The opposite is Chelsea under Mourinho or Atletico Madrid under Simeone.
They can win the Premier League title or the La Liga title, but sometimes the ugly scenes can make the audience drowsy.
And now, Pan Yi has perfectly integrated the two!
Good results and a great game!
Therefore, it is only natural for Chelsea fans to "vote" with their tickets.
Because of this, Pan Yi's reputation among Chelsea fans has almost reached its peak.
Two or three weeks ago, Pan Yi was just a "Triple Crown coach" in the hearts of Chelsea fans, a figure who seemed to be able to lead them to the top, but it would take time to prove it;
But now, it only took Pan Yi four games to conquer the discerning fans.
He came to Stamford Bridge like God and brought perfect football to Blues fans!
Therefore, when Pan Yi walked out of the player tunnel and appeared in front of all the fans, the cheers from the stadium stands suddenly came like a mountain falling apart, and then turned into uniform singing:
"I'm so happy that Pan Yi is a member of the Blues;"
“I’m so happy that man came to Stamford Bridge;”
"Pan Yi told me that we will win the Premier League and the Champions League together, and I believe him;"
"I fell in love with him and I felt great..."
This is the latest product produced by Chelsea fans, the Chelsea version of "The Song of Pan Yi".
And it was amid such singing that Pan Yi walked to the visiting team's coaching bench.
"Hello Jurgen, welcome to Stamford Bridge!"
Pan Yi smiled and stretched out his hand to Klopp.
Klopp also smiled and shook hands with Pan Yi: "You are polite first and then attack. You have been thinking about how to beat me again, right?"
"Don't dare, don't dare." Pan Yi said with a smile, "Just because of your starting lineup, I feel like you want to turn against the visitors at Stamford Bridge."
Dortmund's starting lineup today is indeed 4231, and it does include more attackers.
Center: Immobile.
Frontcourt: Aubameyang, Reus, Mkhitaryan.
Midfielder: Kyle, Bender.
Defenders: Schmelzer, Papastathopoulos, Subotic, Durm.
Goalkeeper: Weidenfeller.
What surprised Pan Yi the most was that Klopp still chose to start Immobile, and Aubameyang also appeared at the winger position.
Coupled with Royce and Mkhitaryan, Klopp almost sent all the most capable and best attackers in the team.
"Haha..." Klopp grinned, "Tonight is also the first time I compete with your 343. Let's see who has the stronger attack power!"
Pan Yi understood that Klopp was competing with him.
Who allowed him to send Dortmund 3:0 twice last season?
Anyone who puts this on will always remember it.
And tonight, Klopp is here to "revenge"!
"Then, I wish you good luck!" Pan Yi stretched out his hand again.
Klopp also shook hands with Pan Yi again, and the two went back.
Looking at Pan Yi's leaving back, Klopp's eyes were full of complex expressions, but he soon became firm again.
He must win this battle tonight!
——
At this time on the court, players from both sides have arrived at their respective half-courts, positioned in formation, ready for war!
Chelsea's starting lineup is of course still the regular 343.
Due to the diversity of the 343 formation and the comprehensiveness of Chelsea's players, Pan Yi does not need to change formations frequently.
Forwards: Oscar, Lukaku, Willian.
Midfielder: Cancelo, Kante, Ramires, Ivanovic.
Defenders: John Terry, David Luiz, Gary Cahill.
Goalkeeper: Courtois.
Compared with the regular main lineup, while the defense remains unchanged, Pan Yi made adjustments in five positions, that is, half of the players were replaced.
This is actually a necessary rotation for the game against Manchester City three days later.
Players who have no physical problems will be given priority to play, and players who feel a little tired will take a break.
After all, whether it is the Champions League or the Premier League, they are extremely important!
The game against the previous champion Manchester City is the top priority in the Premier League.
Because this is also the first truly tough opponent Chelsea has encountered in this season's Premier League journey. Only by defeating them can we truly prove that Chelsea has the ability to win the Premier League, and it can also greatly boost morale.
In this game, Pan Yi chose the Brazilian twin stars Oscar and William, who have performed well in training recently, plus midfielder Ramirez and center back David Luiz to form a "Brazilian set".
They often train and compete together whether in the national team or the club, and their cooperation will be more tacit. This is one of the reasons why Pan Yi chose such a starting lineup.
"The game is about to start."
"Although both teams will return to their home leagues to play in three days, the lineups for this game are different."
"Klopp obviously wants to make a difference at Stamford Bridge. He has sent all his main players to compete with Chelsea with the strongest lineup."
"But Chelsea has rotated five players! Pan Yi looks even more confident."
"He is very confident in every player under his command. Even in important games like the Champions League, he will insist on rotation in order to better alleviate the pressure of multi-line operations."
"So, let's wait and see who wins tonight!"
Following the commentator's voice, a crisp whistle sounded on the field.
Amid the cheers of the fans in the audience, the game officially kicked off!
Chelsea kicked off first.
Lukaku made another reverse kick and gave the ball to Ramirez.
Then, Lukaku, Oscar, and William's three forwards rushed directly towards Dortmund's position!
Is this an attempt to replicate the miracle of scoring a goal in ten seconds in the Premier League?
Sure enough, Ramirez just looked up slightly and immediately passed a big kick in the direction of Lukaku's running.
But just when Lukaku was about to receive the ball, Dortmund's midfielder Kyle directly fell to the ground and tackled the ball out, also uprooting Lukaku.
Then the whistle immediately sounded again, Dortmund committed a foul and Chelsea got a free kick.
"As expected of Klopp."
On the sidelines, Pan Yi nodded slightly.
Klopp's teams have always been known for their crazy running and aggressive fighting, and they are unambiguous when it comes to fouling.
The ball just passed the halfway line, but if Lukaku can control the ball and then split the ball, he might be able to recreate the goal he scored against Swansea.
But now, Lukaku was brought down directly, the threat of this attack was immediately resolved, and Chelsea only got a free kick with little threat.
"Everyone, pay attention to physical confrontation and don't be weak!" Pan Yi shouted to the court.
It can be seen that Dortmund is going to play against Chelsea today, so the first thing to do is to prepare physically.
Only by daring to engage in fierce confrontation with opponents can it be possible to gain the upper hand in the midfield battle, and only then can there be a basis for attack.
Therefore, Chelsea cannot be cowardly.
On the other side of the field, Klopp couldn't help but smile when he heard Pan Yi say this.
It seems that there is really a good show going on today!
