In the final stage of the game, Chelsea still tried every means to attack Leeds United's goal.
After Shevchenko received Kalou's pass in front of the penalty area, he found that he was firmly stuck behind the opposite center defender and had no chance to turn around.
If it were Drogba at this time, he would definitely be looking for two players to cut in from the wing, or a midfielder to insert from behind.
But Shevchenko's first thought was to do it himself, use his own skills to get rid of his opponent and then hit the goal.
It's just that Albchesson, who is guarding him, has been in the Premier League for several seasons. He was brought in by George Lee after he took over Leeds United, and he adapted to the intensity of confrontation in the Premier League earlier than Shevchenko.
Some physical actions that would be whistled off in other leagues will not be whistled off by referees in the Premier League.
Therefore, under constant harassment, the Ukrainians had no way to attack the goal themselves and could only settle for the next best thing.
"here."
When Shevchenko was in dilemma, she finally heard the voice of her teammates.
Lampard still adhered to the style of play he was best at when Mourinho was here, and attacked later.
Shevchenko passed the ball after observing Lampard's position.
In this little bit of slow time, Chelsea's best offensive opportunity slipped away. When the ball was passed to Lampard, because the two people were relatively close, the force of the ball was relatively strong.
In addition, Lampard, who has been running for the whole game, is close to the limit of his physical fitness, so when stopping the ball, he stops the ball a little wide.
Seeing the ball out of his control, Lampard seemed to rush to chase it back.
But it was too late.
When Mattison, who was on the defensive side, saw the ball coming to him, he quickly turned around and blocked Lampard behind him, and then protected the ball with his back, not giving any opponent the possibility of passing by him.
Matteisen did not control the ball, but gave it to Edwin van der Sar who was attacking from behind.
Leeds United's high press is excellent, and they also do a good job in dealing with the opponent's pressure. If this ball came from another team, then the defender would definitely lean on his opponent, then try to control the ball at his feet, and then play the ball in other directions.
But Leeds United was different. Van der Sar saw the opportunity and pounced directly, taking the lead to hold the ball firmly.
Then, immediately get up and look for opportunities to counterattack.
Because Lampard stepped forward, there was a large gap in Chelsea's midfield. Mikel did not come up from behind, and Essien was on the other side. There was a vacuum among the three.
Alan Smith discovered this gap very keenly and ran there quickly from Essien's side.
Van der Sar threw the ball as hard as he could.
The Dutch had a way of throwing the ball by hand. The ball was fast and accurate. As soon as it hit the ground, it bounced when Smith used the instep of his foot to push it forward.
Chelsea's defense immediately began to shrink. Although the head coach has changed, the defensive concept will not change.
Alex and Terry, who had just come on, retreated in an orderly manner, and Mikel rushed towards Smith.
The two wingers began to shrink back appropriately towards the center, because the real side positions would be reserved for the two retreating wingers.
Lampard and Essien kept chasing Smith from behind.
It can be said that although Mourinho is gone, he still left a valuable asset to Chelsea. Grant retained the team's original defensive system and only added a little of his own, with little movement.
But Smith still found some loopholes in the opposing defense.
That is, between the full-backs and the wingers, the gap between Chelsea's two ribs is a bit wide because the three midfielders are shrinking to the middle.
When Smith advanced, he looked to the right first and saw that Cole's defensive position was okay. Then looking to his left, Belletti was a little deeper than Cole, almost in the same line as the two central defenders.
The arch of his right foot moved forward and the ball went to the side.
Baynes, who came on for Bell, stepped in in time and received Smith's pass.
After receiving the ball, Bynes stopped the ball near the sideline. Because the team just made a substitution, replacing Arnesen and replacing him with Kevin Davis.
Now Leeds United are led by two serious centers. Baines can choose to cross to threaten the goal.
It's just that Chelsea's two center backs did a good job of man-to-man defense. Each one of them kept Kuyt and Davis in check, leaving almost no space.
Baynes saw that Belletti was also on guard, so he quickly passed the ball out.
Because there is no interference, the quality of the cross is very high.
Terry and Kuyt, who were at the front, both wanted to top the ball, but neither of them touched it. Because Bynes just wasn't ready to pass the ball to the front point.
Baines's physical condition is actually not outstanding, and he is actually not very popular in the lineup that George Lee now requires. But why he is still Leeds United's first choice at left back is because of his outstanding wing assists. ability.
The ball flew to the back point with spin. Two people who were also substitutes pushed me and I pulled you, refusing to give in to each other.
Finally, Davis pushed Alex with a small move and gained the advantage of taking off.
He jumped up high and pinned Alex down at the same time.
But Alex was not a vegetarian, and tried his best to destroy Leeds United's attack and deny Davis a chance to header the goal.
Davis, who felt the pressure from above, changed his offensive method and gave the ball to his teammate who came in behind.
This kind of cooperation has not appeared like this this season, because Sneijder is not the kind of midfielder who penetrates very deep, so Davis will not move the ball to his side to create opportunities for his teammates.
But today is different. Today that person is Leeds United’s No. 17.
Alan Smith ran over. He was sprinting very fast before, but when he approached Davis, he began to slow down.
Because he has to adjust his pace and prepare to hit the goal.
He knows Davis can pass the ball, because they have tried this offensive method many times in the past two seasons, and the cooperation is quite tacit.
Black and Arneson aren't the only ones with unique offensive styles, Smith and Davis do too.
Turn sideways and push with the instep of your right foot.
A semi-high ball, the ball is not high from the ground, but has a large arc.
The ball bypassed Cudicini's outstretched hands and flew into the goal against the post.
2 to 0.
In the most familiar position, Smith told all the spectators that he was still the all-powerful captain of Leeds United.
^^^
The game finally ended 2-0, and Leeds United scored all 3 points at home, continuing their new unbeaten journey.
After the game, Smith took the initiative to find Lampard and exchanged jerseys.
Lampard looked at Smith with strange eyes. It was hard to imagine that this was brought up by someone who was not on good terms with him and was even a little hostile.
But seeing Smith's sincere eyes, he started to take off his jersey.
Smith had already taken it off. He took Lampard's jersey, hung it on his shoulder, and started walking into the tunnel.
"Alan, our opponent is not just Chelsea, and your opponent is not only Lampard. You did a good job today, but I hope you can do better tomorrow."
This is what George Lee said to Smith when Smith was replaced after scoring the last goal.
During the midfield, he encouraged Smith to work hard in the second half to win the game, but after the game, he hoped that Smith's excellent performance could continue and not be used only in the competition with Lampard.
And Smith also understands the head coach's perspective.
So he also took the initiative to find Lampard to exchange jerseys. Lampard was not the only opponent. He needed to play every game down-to-earth.
