Stamford Bridge, home team dressing room.
Mourinho started talking tactics to Robben and Duff.
"Their left back is a weak point. Whether it is Hart, who may come back, or Matteisen, who may replace him, speed is not their strong point. The focus is on attacking the left wing."
"Use speed to blast him, don't give them a chance to breathe."
"The counterattack must be quick, just pick up the ball and look for the two wings, or look for Gudjohnsen."
Chelsea continued to use a 433 formation in this game.
The goalkeeper is still Cech. The Czech has performed stably since coming to Chelsea and cooperates well with the defense. In the first 12 rounds of the Premier League, he only conceded 3 goals.
The defense from left to right is Barbaroa, Terry, Carvalho and Ferreira.
The midfielders are Makelele, Thiago and Lampard.
The three frontcourt are Robben, Duff and Gudjohnsen.
Especially after Robben and Duff returned from injury, Chelsea got rid of the trouble of 1-0. It is no longer a game where you can't score my goal and I just want to steal a chicken from you.
And Gudjohnsen also relied on his heroic performance to firmly put Drogba on the bench. In the 10th round of the home game against Blackburn Rovers, the Icelander scored a hat-trick. There was also a goal in the last round away game against West Bromwich Albion.
"Our midfielder and backfielder still have to limit the opponent's Alan Smith's deep penetration. He has the same characteristics as Frank, he likes to penetrate deep and attack. This season, after Lee moved his position deeper, he performed very well. But there is still one thing that is different from Frank. He likes to get into the penalty area when he comes in, and even headers to grab points. So our two central defenders should not be taken away by their forwards at will."
Terry and Carvalho nodded.
"You have to be careful when playing the ball. Their counterattack is different from ours. Our counterattack usually starts in the backcourt. They press very hard in the frontcourt, so their counterattack usually starts after they get the ball in the frontcourt. , must hit the focus. The teams in front have already suffered."
"Frank, when you attack, pay attention to fighting for the second spot and hit the goal when you have the chance."
"Okay, boss." Lampard replied simply.
Mourinho finally said to Makelele.
"Claude, stand in the midfield and give it to me. Make up the position quickly. If you find any leakage, make it up quickly."
Mourinho said a lot in one breath, and then he breathed a sigh of relief.
His assistant Boas handed him a bottle of water.
"That's not the case. I haven't seen you take it seriously when playing for Liverpool before."
"Liverpool? In my opinion, Benitez is not as difficult to deal with as this little fox."
Villas-Boas looked at Mourinho. His senior brother had obviously got more gray hair since he came to England.
Although he is still so wild and unruly on the surface, privately Boas knows how much pressure Mourinho is under.
Mourinho took another sip of water and spoke again.
"Look, in the next few seasons, apart from Manchester United and Arsenal, Leeds United will be our biggest competitor."
Before Villas could say anything else, Mourinho began urging the players to go out and warm up.
On the other side, the visiting team's locker room.
George Li was also making pre-war arrangements, but he looked a little calm and relaxed, without the frowning look of the past few days.
"Our two wingers will definitely receive a big impact today, so Layton and Gary you two don't have to press too hard today."
Today, Leeds United's two full-backs are Baines and Kelly. Mills cannot play today due to injury.
The cause of the injury is also very strange. It was because he was scratched by a razor while repairing his bald head in a barber shop. It is said that the barber was dozing off at the time and accidentally injured Mills' scalp.
After learning the news, George Lee asked Mills if the barber was from London and if he was a Chelsea fan.
Other teammates in the team were speechless after learning the news. Graveson called Mills specifically to ask where the barber shop was. He didn't want to take his brothers to destroy the shop, but he was thinking of him. I am also bald and want to avoid lightning.
"Martin, pay attention to the forward on the opposite side. No matter whether it is Gudjohnsen or Drogba who starts, if you are as soft as Carlton Cole in the last game, I will let Kevin or Matthew next time Starter.”
Kevin Dawson is the elder brother of Nottingham Forest player Michael Dawson. They have three brothers in total, but the most famous is his younger brother Michael Dawson. This summer, Leeds United introduced Kevin Dawson from Stettfield.
Matthew Kilgallen is Leeds United's own youth training product and is known as the "new Woodgate".
The two are ranked behind Mateo, Matteisson, and Albuchesson. They are the team's substitutes and do not have much playing time.
"Edgar, today you will serve as the left midfielder of the team. You need to help Leyton more. Your direction must be the focus of Chelsea's offense."
In this game, Leeds United's midfield triangle was broken up. The three starting players were Graveson, Smith and Buck. Davis was placed on the left by Lee George.
Because I asked Romedal to try the left wing before, and the effect was not that good. And today, facing Chelsea again, Lee George had to strengthen his defense, so he simply sent Davis to the left. The position was a bit asymmetrical with Romedal on the right. Davis's position was relatively deep, not on the left. A forward can only be regarded as a left midfielder.
Bratten and Pedersen, who tried before, did not start because their defensive strength was not enough.
The lone striker is still Robin van Persie.
After struggling at the beginning of the season, Van Persie's performance has gradually stabilized, and all statistics are on the rise. It can be said that he is a player that fully meets the needs of a strong Premier League team.
But George Li also discovered some other problems with the team, such as the insufficient thickness of the lineup. After many injuries occurred in the team, Li found that his formation was also somewhat stretched. He also finally experienced the feeling that no one was available to the old man Ferguson in the previous stage.
"Warm up, warm up."
Assistant coach Brian Kidd opened the door and urged the team's players to go out and warm up.
"Chelsea has started to warm up, so hurry up and go, hurry, hurry, hurry."
Kidd glanced at George Li and smiled slightly.
George Li saw Kidd smiling at him, and he smiled too. He thought of what Kidd and Gray had said to him when they came to see him a few days ago.
^^^
"You know Brian Clough?" Gray said.
"The man who was hailed by the media as one of the greatest managers in the history of English football."
"He coached us at Leeds United before going to Nottingham Forest. How many days do you think he stayed before he was dismissed?"
"George, you know, he stayed for 44 days and then left."
"Then he went to Forest and won two Champions Leagues."
In the 1978-1979 season, Nottingham Forest played in the European Champions Cup for the first time, defeating Liverpool, Cologne and other strong teams to reach the final. Finally, with Francis' goal, they defeated Malmo 1-0 and won the Champions League for the first time in history.
In the 1979-1980 season, Nottingham Forest, who once again competed in the Champions League, defeated four teams, including Ajax, and reached the Champions League final for the second consecutive season. In the final, Forest scored a vital goal in the 20th minute. It was with this only goal that Forest beat Hamburg 1-0 and successfully defended the Champions League title.
"But you know, for such a great coach, he only served as our head coach at Leeds United for 44 days and then he quit."
"He looked down on me and said that I, Dee Gray, was a good horse, and that he was shot a long time ago."
"Although he is a coach who has won a European championship, in my opinion he is still not as good as Don Revie."
"We at Leeds United also reached the Champions League final, right George, but we just lost to Bayern Munich for some special reasons."
"That Portuguese guy isn't that good. There's no need to compare with him. He just won the Champions League."
"We at Leeds United look down on a manager who has won two Champions Leagues. Are we afraid of this one who has won one?"
"We're going to win the Champions League too, right, George."
"Under your leadership, we will win the Champions League, George."
Finally, with the encouragement and inspiration of the two old men, George Li gave up his distracting thoughts and no longer took the games with Chelsea and Mourinho seriously.
Of course, George Li also set a small goal for himself.
That is, leading Leeds United to a European championship.
