After returning to the hotel from the press conference, the entire Blackburn team did not stay, but drove out of London overnight. Although they sent a full set of main players, their opponents used a full substitute lineup to suppress and beat them. Four to one. Even though it was an away game, this result was really humiliating.
It was certainly an enjoyable night for Spurs fans. After witnessing a perfect victory and seeing the outstanding competitive state of the veterans, all their worries before the game had disappeared at this moment, and they had more expectations for the team's journey this season!
Just four days later, Tottenham fans celebrated victory and the songs echoed over the stadium again. Faced with a two-goal defeat in the first round, PSV had to fight to the death. The main players of Tottenham, who had been fully rested, defeated their opponents with one goal at the Philips Stadium and advanced to the Champions League quarter-finals!
After losing many generals such as Bouma, Park Ji-sung, Vogel and Van Bommel in succession, PSV suffered a huge blow in the transfer market last summer. Being able to rely on the last bit of fuel left in the tank of the old captain Cocu and the strategizing of the head coach Hiddink to reach the knockout stage of the Champions League and earn more TV broadcast fees and bonuses, PSV Eindhoven is quite satisfied.
The result of advancing to the quarterfinals of the Champions League is certainly gratifying, but Tottenham players have no energy or time to celebrate. Because three days later, they will usher in Tottenham's most critical battle of the season-the twenty-ninth round of the Premier League with Chelsea!
As of now, Tottenham leads the standings with an unbeaten record of 23 wins, 5 draws and 0 losses, while second-placed Chelsea is chasing closely behind Tottenham - under the leadership of Mourinho, they have also finished 28 games. The Blues are only three points behind Tottenham in the league!
The entire Chelsea team attaches great importance to this game. After all, if Tottenham loses in a direct duel with Chelsea, they will successfully recover the three-point gap in the league standings and bring the two teams back to the same starting line. Not to mention, many people still believe that Tottenham deserved the Premier League title in the 2004-05 season, rather than relying on Clattenburg's troubles at critical moments and Tottenham's subsequent distraction from the Champions League to catch up from behind. Chelsea!
Whether it is to achieve the goal of defending the Premier League this season, or to prove that last season's league championship trophy is worthy, or Mourinho wants to prove that he is the "most special one." There is no doubt that the Chelsea team's desire for victory has reached its peak before the game starts!
Compared with Chelsea, who are gearing up, Tottenham's desire to win is equally strong. This kind of direct showdown with a championship opponent, as long as one's side wins in the end, will bring benefits far beyond the three-point difference seen on the surface - a loss in a direct showdown with a championship opponent will have a psychological impact on the players. The impact is obvious. If adjustments cannot be made in time, the losing side's record will inevitably fluctuate in the future, giving the other side the opportunity to further expand its lead. And this is the result that Tottenham, currently in a third-line combat situation, most hopes to see!
There are many famous derbies in international football, such as the Spanish El Clasico between Real Madrid and Barcelona, the Milan Derby between the Milan duo, the Northwest Derby between Manchester United and Liverpool, and so on. In comparison, the derby between Tottenham and Chelsea, two wealthy upstarts, which has been dubbed the "London Derby" by many media outlets, somewhat lacks historical foundation. But such a game is about the ownership of the Premier League this season, and the two sides are the two most powerful clubs in European football today... As the time approaches, the popularity of the "London Derby" is also rising!
This peak showdown at Stamford Bridge on March 11, 2006 is destined to attract the attention of fans around the world!
As for Chelsea, after being blocked by Barcelona in the Champions League quarterfinals in midweek, Mourinho, who now only has to deal with the league and the FA Cup, sent out the main lineup as expected: Akinfeev , Ferreira, Carvalho, Terry, Gala, Makelele, Essien, Lampard, Ribery, Duff and Ibrahimovic!
Obviously, compared with George, who rotates the starting lineup from time to time, the "Madman" who pays more attention to stability is not keen on rotating the main players. The depth of the bench created by Abramovich's strong personal financial resources is more often used when the main players are injured and in some games where the strength gap between the two sides is large, rather than being used to share the pressure of the main players and ensure that the main players are in critical situations. competitive status.
On Tottenham's side, although the midweek match against Eindhoven did not consume too much energy from the main players, George did not forget his original intention and still adjusted the starting lineup based on the physical examination report submitted by the team doctor - contrary to most To everyone's surprise, in this crucial battle that is likely to determine the direction and even final ownership of the Premier League championship this season, George actually chose to exclude Drogba, Robben, Alonso, Evra and Vidic. Outside Tottenham's starting lineup!
"Fuck! I didn't expect that George would do this!" At this time, Mourinho, who also saw Tottenham's starting lineup, couldn't help but his face darkened. "Did he guess that I would target these points? Is that why you made these changes to the starting lineup?”
Yes, in order to maximize Chelsea's peak showdown with Tottenham, Mourinho has conducted a lot of targeted training on the team since being eliminated by Barcelona in the Champions League. Especially how to deal with Drogba, Robben and Alonso in the game, these generals that Mourinho will definitely entrust George with important tasks, the Portuguese madman has spent even more effort!
At first glance, George's rotation has reduced Tottenham's paper strength a lot, but the actual impact is not as serious as it seems. In terms of personal ability, Klose and Drogba are about equal; Arshavin and Davis can be good substitutes for Robben and Alonso when they are in good condition; as for Baines and Phil Neville, Although the two are not as strong as Evra and Vidic, they are still qualified to deal with Chelsea, which lacks the ability to attack on the right and attack the penalty area. The most important thing is that George unexpectedly rotated the starting lineup today, which almost completely failed Mourinho's pre-game arrangements!
When the key defensive target is no longer Drogba and the others, Chelsea players who have formed memory inertia under Mourinho's targeted training before the game will undoubtedly have considerable deviations in their judgment during the game!
Mourinho formulated targeted tactics for Tottenham's midfield and frontcourt core, and George used rotation to perfectly crack this target... Before the game even started, no one knew about this pair of "brothers" who came from the same school. Under the circumstances, a round of smoke-free confrontation started!
