Chapter 443 Scoring twice in a row
On September 9th, London time, Chelsea faced Nottingham Forest at home. This was their fourth game in September and the third home to Hazard's double and goals from Pogba and Zouma, Chelsea defeated Nottingham Forest 4-1 at home and successfully advanced to the next round.
Jiang Yuan did not play in this match, and was not even included in the squad. However, the Blues' goal feast in the frontcourt made the fans who bought tickets to watch the game feel that the ticket price was not worth it.
After the game with Nottingham Forest, the fans who had looked at Chelsea's schedule suddenly reacted.
Including the Community Shield, Chelsea has won 8 consecutive games this season!
Click!
Click, click, click!
At the press conference, Tuchel remained very calm in front of more than 30 reporters.
"This is your eighth win of the season, and you have played a total of eight games so far this season. This is an amazing achievement."
As the reporter said, Tuchel has the best initial results among all the coaches who have coached Chelsea.
"Because this is a very good team, we have good players and a good coaching team, so we can achieve good results. I think the eight-game winning streak is just the starting point. We need to work harder to win the championship."
Tuchel did not take all the credit for the team's early season success on one person, because he knew that one coach could not change the team in a short period of time.
The reason why Chelsea is so strong this season is that Tuchel has ate the cake left by Mourinho to a certain extent. The Portuguese took the initiative to leave here in order to give the Blues a stable locker room, and the new Tuchel enjoyed this very exaggerated lineup of players.
Of course, Tuchel would never thank Mourinho when facing reporters.
"Thomas, you just mentioned goals. Can you tell me more about your goals for this season?"
"League champions, that's for sure"
Tuchel smiled.
In fact, his original plan was to just get into the top four, so that his performance would be satisfactory when he first came to Chelsea.
But the abilities of these players in the team obviously exceeded Tuchel's expectations!
"League champions? Although you are now first in the league, I need to remind you that Chelsea was also first at the beginning of last season, but Mourinho finally led the team to fourth place."
The reporter tilted his head.
I don’t know if it was intentional to embarrass Tuchel, but he used several complicated English words when he spoke.
"The situation is different now. We had some injuries last season, but this season the situation is very good. After this round of rest, Jiang has fully recovered. I can assure you that he will be included in the roster for the next game."
"The World Cup qualifiers between China and Australia are about to begin. When will Jiang plan to return to the national team? Or, um... will he play in the team's match against Manchester City?"
The reporter's words made Tuchel sweat.
Not to mention the game against Manchester City on September 9th.
Even Jiang Yuan can't participate in the Champions League match against Qarabag on September 9!
Tuchel did not answer immediately, and the reporter continued: "The first round of the play-offs between Australia and China will start on October 10th, London time. On September 5th, you will play a league game against Manchester City. Manchester City is only 9 points behind you. This is a very crucial game..."
"I know. Of course I know this is a very crucial game. I don't need you to remind me of this, OK?"
Tuchel interrupted the reporter: "It's still early, and we are not sure when Jiang will leave. Whether he plays in the game against Manchester City or not, we will do our best."
Jiang Yuan has confirmed that he will not participate in the club's two games against Manchester City and Crystal Palace, but Tuchel cannot tell reporters about this.
There is still a little more than a week left before the game against Manchester City. If Tuchel reveals the news at this time, it will be bad if Guardiola temporarily develops a lineup to target Chelsea.
……
Sky Sports interviewed Tuchel's original words: Jiang is confirmed to play in the next league game against Stoke City, but the Blues coach did not specify whether Jiang will start.
The front page headline of Manchester Evening News: The Chinese superstar’s participation in the game is in doubt, may Manchester City have a chance to beat Chelsea and top the standings?
The Sun - If Manchester City beats Chelsea, Manchester United may have a chance to rank first with the advantage of goal difference, but the probability of Manchester City ranking higher than Chelsea is very low. If Manchester City wants to rank higher than Chelsea after the next game, they need to get at least 4 goals.
The Sun - Chelsea staff went to the United States to recruit two new nutritionists and a new sports nutrition consultant. One of the new nutritionists came from the NFL North Carolina Panthers.
Football Emperor - Zhang Yuning and Wei Shihao have reported to the training base. Currently, Jiang Yuan is the only one in the national team roster who has not returned to the team. The staff of the Sports Bureau and the Football Association are urging the matter.
Football Emperor's overseas observation: Jiang Yuan's younger brother Jiang Hao scored a goal in the match between Chelsea U13 and Liverpool U13. The Chinese U1 men's football team is observing him. If all goes well, Jiang Hao may be selected for the new U15 training list.
……
Time came to the day of the match against Stoke City.
Stoke Bet365 Stadium.
Chelsea announced the starting lineup for the game 40 minutes before the game. Jiang Yuan was on the list, which attracted the attention of fans.
After the League Cup match against Nottingham Forest, Tuchel said Jiang Yuan would play in the first game.
The fans thought he was a substitute, but in the end they didn't expect that he would be the starter.
There were fans who were questioning the severity of Jiang Yuan's leg spasm injury, but now those guys are silent.
Jiang Yuan was doing simple leg shaking warm-up in the player tunnel, but he actually had his own difficulties.
Tuchel and Jiang Yuan both wanted to use him as a substitute in this game, but the club's top management and Jiang Yuan's agent Biko made new suggestions.
Because Jiang Yuan returned to China directly after the game. If he was still a substitute in this game, Jiang Yuan would give Chelsea fans the illusion that he disregarded the club.
In order to avoid misunderstanding, Jiang Yuan finally decided to start the game. In this way, except for the match against Leicester City, Jiang Yuan started all other league games this season.
This way there should be no suspicion of saving strength for the national team!
"Hey, bro!"
After a simple hug with his old teammate Indi, Jiang Yuan began to walk towards the venue.
"China Media Group, China Media Group..."
Because he knew he would be substituted in the second half, Jiang Yuan took the initiative to lead Hazard in the offensive in the first half.
As soon as he sees an opportunity to attack, Jiang Yuan will immediately call Hazard and Pogba over at the same time. This is the experience Jiang Yuan gained from playing in the Premier League.
He is very attractive to defenders, and Hazard is also very attractive to defenders. If the two of them play together, it will be very uncomfortable for the opposing defenders.
In the 12th minute of the game, Jiang Yuan made a long shot from outside the penalty area and successfully opened the goal of Stoke City.
The score is 0:1, Chelsea takes the lead away from home!
Stoke City manager Mark Hughes lowered his head and took a deep breath.
It’s okay, being 0:1 behind Chelsea is not only acceptable but also within Mark Hughes’ expectations.
Don’t panic, don’t panic!
It was the 20th minute of the first half, and Chelsea suppressed their opponents with 70% ball possession.
Although Chelsea's ball possession rate has slightly improved this season, they are not the kind of team that likes to play controlling games. In this case, Stoke City is still 20% behind Chelsea in ball possession rate, which is enough to show that Stoke City has begun to be unable to bear it.
The only good news for Stoke City now is that their head coach has not panicked yet and temporarily changed the 4231 formation to 451.
Mark Hughes knew that Chelsea liked to use the width of the field, so he took the initiative to change the formation to lengthen the width of the field when defending!
31 '
"Stoke City's attack, the opportunity is not easy to come by, let's see how Stoke City's players will seize this opportunity"
"Hesse went to the right and cooperated with Saric, Pogba was deceived!"
"It's a bit bad. Pogba probably thought that Jesse was going to give up the attack on the right, so he didn't follow him!"
"Azpilicueta, Azpilicueta, come up and block Hesse's running route, Saric, Saric, move to the middle"
"Jesse, can you get past Azpilicueta?"
The camera was directed to the left side of Chelsea. Hesse walked towards the bottom line little by little, and Azpilicueta followed closely.
Although Chelsea's on-field captain does not have Walker's amazing physical ability, he has been in the Premier League for many years after all, and he has plenty of defensive experience. It was difficult for Hesse to get past him.
After several unsuccessful attempts, Hesse chose to cross the ball to Saric in the middle.
Before passing the ball, Hesse looked in front of the left and right sides. This horizontal pass was the conclusion he came to after observation, but this guy was still too naive.
Jiang Yuan just ran up from behind him!
"Run up and tackle!"
"Pretty!"
"Jiang Yuan intercepted the ball!"
"Hesse failed to pass the ball to Saric, and now Christensen in the middle has the ball!"
"Pass it to Walker, Walker dribbles the ball forward!"
"Pretty!"
Sensing that something was not going well, the home team fans had already started blowing their whistles, and Jiang Yuan's proactive interception when returning to defense directly destroyed Stoke City's offensive chance.
"Gogogo! Fast! Fast!" Tuchel shouted in his German-accented English on the sidelines. Walker did not disappoint his new coach and broke through with the ball.
Snapped!
After cooperating with Ibrahimovic, Walker came to the top of the arc on the right!
Walker continued running for 60 meters, and his counterattack with the ball can be said to be very fierce.
Seeing Walker running towards the middle, William very smartly ran into the penalty area first, made a semicircle and came to the right baseline, then reached out for the ball after reaching his position.
Walker noticed William and was about to pass the ball, but goalkeeper Bartram shouted "Stop him", and then Joe Allen stepped on Walker's ankle.
"Fuck!"
Hazard ran to the referee immediately. Mike Dean was very decisive and directly called a foul on Stoke City, and then awarded Chelsea a direct free kick.
"here!"
Ibrahimovic shouted and threw the ball to Jiang Yuan, who dribbled the ball to find his form while walking towards the penalty spot.
The referee and some players from both teams are confirming Walker's injury.
Clarkson was already ready to enter the court, but Walker stood up at the last minute, staggered a few steps, and then returned to his original walking posture.
This is usually what happens when your ankle is stepped on. After the severe pain, it returns to normal. As long as it is not stepped on often, there is basically no problem.
"Walker, get back to your position!"
"Chelsea's penalty, let's see how Jiang Yuan performs"
"Hit the door! It's flying!"
"Jiang Yuan's penalty shot flew directly into the stands!"
fuck!
Jiang Yuan covered his face with his hands as he watched the ball fly over the crossbar.
Only after I hit it out did I realize that I had lost my center of gravity!
What a fuck!
"it's okay no problem!"
Hazard ran over and touched Jiang Yuan's head, then signaled his teammates to return to defense quickly.
"Jiang Yuan's penalty kick missed. This is a low-probability event!"
"Everyone said Stoke City couldn't win, but now it seems that's not necessarily the case. The goddess of luck is on Stoke City's side today."
"Wow, the booing is really loud now!"
Jiang Yuan missed the penalty kick, and as expected, the home team fans began to put pressure on him. In addition to boos, there were also fake whistles, all directed at Jiang Yuan.
Whoosh whoosh!
Jiang Yuan is under a lot of pressure now, and his breathing has become much louder.
"Steady, steady!"
Many comebacks start with a flying penalty. Tuchel felt something was wrong and signaled the Blues players to stay calm and get through this weak period first.
Of course the players on the field thought so too, but just 3 minutes later, Jiang Yuan found a very good opportunity, so he ran out.
"Jiang Yuan, very fast!"
"Fletch wants to do a one-on-one defense, but it's a bit difficult. Jiang Yuan is already close to his maximum speed. At this time, it is unlikely to be a one-on-one defense unless there is a position advantage."
"Ibrahimovic, come over to support. Hey, this is a pick-and-roll. Ibrahimovic helped Jiang Yuan block Indi who wanted to run up. This was Jiang Yuan's old teammate from the Porto period!"
"Jiang Yuan, come into the restricted area!"
"Shoot! Far corner, near corner! Jiang Yuan chooses a near corner!"
"Goalkeeper Bartram made no save!"
"The ball is in!"
"Jiang Yuan, a solo goal from Jiang Yuan! Beautiful!"
Hahaha!
After scoring the goal, Jiang Yuan's suppressed emotions were released, and he and Ibrahimovic ran side by side to the side.
3, 2, 1!
Swish, swish, swish——!!!
He scored twice, but it came a little later than expected.
[Jiang Yuan is still C, but this penalty is outrageous. Chelsea needs to practice Jiang Yuan's penalty kicks more.]
[I feel the Chinese national football team also needs to practice, as the play-offs may require a penalty shootout]
[A penalty kick is not as easy as scoring a goal alone, right? Xiao Jiang is awesome, but he does need to practice this penalty kick. He is Chelsea's top penalty taker, and it would not be good if his success rate is not 85%]
[Chelsea will win again? There is really no suspense at all. I have been betting on Chelsea to win since the beginning of the season. Now I think the bet has increased dozens of times.]
[No way, Chelsea's lineup is really good. The two wingers are worth 2 million euros, Hazard and Pogba are worth another 2 million euros, and Kante is worth 5000 million. It's all money! ]
[Brothers, I am moved to tears. Mourinho is still working hard! 】
[Can Tuchel let Jiang Yuan rest earlier? What if he gets cramps? ]
[Your leg cramps have healed a long time ago. It’s only the first half now. If you were to make a substitution in the first half, you might as well have Jiang Yuan be a substitute in the second half. It’s impossible to replace Jiang Yuan in the first half.]
“Let’s go!”
At the end of the first half, Chelsea entered the halftime with a 2:0 advantage. As soon as Jiang Yuan walked off the field, Tuchel was about to ask him about his calf, but was stopped by Love.
Back in the locker room, Tuchel dealt with the tactical board while talking to Jiang Yuan: "Are there any discomforts in your calves?"
clap clap!
Jiang Yuan kicked the ground twice and shook his head: "I don't feel anything anymore. It should be better now, otherwise I should have felt it after the first half."
"arrow"
Tuchel turned around and said: "This is good news, but we still have to be more stable. If we can maintain a 2-goal lead in the second half, I will consider replacing you after 70 minutes."
Jiang Yuan nodded slightly, and Tuchel began to talk about some key points in the second half of the game.
The first was Mark Hughes' formation change in the first half. Stoke City registered 4231 before the game, but after falling behind by one goal they started playing 1.
5 midfielders, this is a popular style of play in the Premier League, specifically used against Chelsea, Manchester United, and Liverpool.
Because the wing attacks of these three teams are very strong.
Teams in the same league have tactics against Chelsea, and Chelsea certainly has ways to deal with this kind of play.
According to Tuchel, Chelsea will adopt a high-pressure strategy in the second half, allowing Jiang Yuan, Ibrahimovic, and William to penetrate deep into the opponent's defense line.
Simply put, it is to use your own frontcourt players to disrupt the opponent's defense line in order to achieve the purpose of attack.
This tactic places very high demands on Kanter, as well as Walker.
If necessary, Walker needs to run to the wing to participate in the attack, or even go to the midfield to help the team defend.
To this end, Tuchel slightly adjusted the formation.
Defenders: Azpilicueta, Christensen, Walker
Midfielders: Pogba, Hazard, Kante, David Luiz
Walker, who originally played as a right midfielder, was moved to the back, which required him to run a longer distance when participating in the attack in the second half of the game.
"If anyone has any physical problems, just signal me, got it?"
Tuchel looked around at all the players in the locker room.
This tactical change has only been tried during training and competitive matches, and it is not yet known what effect it will have in real matches.
If he finds something wrong, Tuchel will change the formation back immediately.
"arrow"
He looked down at his watch and said, "It's almost time. Let's go out and gather. Little Kurt, Marcos and Moses, you can go directly to the venue to warm up."
(End of this chapter)
