blogombal Chapter 179
Chapter 179
At this time, the players of both sides had finished their warm-ups one after another.
Li Shiguang took the initiative to find Mourinho and shook hands, then followed the players into the player tunnel.
"Bang!"
As Li Shiguang closed the door of the locker room, the noisy sounds in Elland Road were also isolated outside the door.
The Leeds United players were all sitting in their positions, each making final preparations before going on the court.
Li Shiguang pulled up a chair placed by the wall and dragged it to the middle of the locker room. Li Shiguang sat down, looked around, and did not rush to speak.
Gradually, everyone noticed Li Shiguang's appearance, so they all stopped their movements and focused their attention on their head coach.
Li Shiguang smiled, first raised his wrist to look at the watch, then turned his eyes back to the players, his eyes looked a little hot.
"Okay, brothers, there are still 17 minutes left, and we will go out to play this 6-point game with those London guys." Li Shiguang had not used such an excited tone to mobilize the pre-match in the locker room for a long time.
"I believe everyone knows our current situation. Only by winning this game can we continue to give Manchester United enough pressure and stay in the championship sequence. Although we lost the last game, it was because of the shitty schedule. I know everyone is too tired."
Hearing Li Shiguang's words, Ibrahimovic, who was sitting in front of him, nodded in agreement. Indeed, in Ibrahimovic's mind, if it weren't for playing two games in three days, how could the powerful Leeds United lose to Sheffield United at home!
Li Shiguang stood up from his chair and waved vigorously to the players who were already excited. His face flushed and his voice became louder and louder: "Now we have rested comfortably for a week, and each of us has recovered to the peak of physical strength and condition! In the next 90 minutes, I want each of you to go all out and let these Londoners go back to where they came from with big duck eggs!"
"Let's get 3 points, and then go home comfortably to spend a happy Christmas Eve! Is there any problem!?"
"No problem!!! Kill these Londoners!!!"
Looking at Li Shiguang, who hadn't been so passionate for a long time, the group of young men in white jerseys in front of them stood up and shouted in unison!
In the away team's locker room on the other side, the atmosphere seemed a little serious.
"Defense! Defense! Still damn defense! Everyone remember, stabilize our defense line and find opportunities to pass the ball to Didier and Arjan." Mourinho re-emphasized today's tactics to Chelsea players with a blank face.
But after saying this, he seemed to know that he had said something wrong, and subconsciously glanced at Shevchenko who was looking down and wondering what he was thinking.
Seeing that Shevchenko had no reaction, he continued to say: "Remember what I said to you before, and remember what we practiced on the training ground this week. Today we have only one goal, that is to blow up their right wing!"
10 minutes later, the players of both sides met in the player tunnel.
Chelsea was fine, and the players were relatively calm.
But the players of Leeds United were just stirred up by Li Shiguang in the locker room, especially Ibrahimovic, who was always a thorn in the side. At this time, he was staring at Drogba who was standing next to him. From his gaze at the Ivorian, he could feel the smell of gunpowder in the air.
This last Christmas Eve battle of the first half of the Premier League season is about to start!
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After the players completed the process of going out, Cannavaro and Terry stood on the sidelines. Under the guidance of the referee, the two tough guys finished choosing sides.
The TV broadcast also put the camera on the two captains' tightly clasped hands.
I believe that from the blue veins on the two people's hands, you can imagine what kind of dragon-tiger fight will be in the next 90 minutes!
After completing all the procedures, both sides stood in their respective half-courts, waiting for the referee to blow the whistle to start the game.
Drogba and Shevchenko walked into the center circle and stood on both sides of the football that the referee had placed, ready to kick off!
"Okay, the two teams are in place, fans, look forward to it, let's see what kind of wonderful Christmas Eve battle these two teams will give us!"
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With the referee's whistle, the stands of Elland Road Stadium suddenly erupted in cheers!
Chelsea kicked off first, and they planned to use the advantage of the kick-off to directly attack Leeds United's goal. As long as the rateScore a goal first, and then they will retreat to the backcourt with the advantage, and Leeds United may not be able to penetrate their defense!
So, Drogba tapped the ball lightly in the center circle, and Shevchenko next to him did not pass the ball back to Lampard behind him as usual, but shook his right foot and kicked the ball directly to the left side, where Robben ran out just after the referee blew the whistle.
However, Chelsea's attack did not pose a substantial threat to Leeds United. Although Robben on the wing successfully received Shevchenko's pass, Mills and Alonso immediately came up and blocked his front and side routes.
Li Shiguang also noticed this, and he nodded repeatedly while standing on the sidelines.
Mourinho actually thought of this move before the game.
There is no way. After Maicon was demoted, Mills is indeed the biggest breakthrough point in Leeds United from the perspective of paper strength.
Combined with seeing Robben, who had been a substitute for several games, get the starting position before the game, Li Shiguang was more certain of Mourinho's idea of attacking the right side. So during the warm-up, he specifically reminded the two defensive midfielders to pay attention to the defense of the right side.
Once they saw Robben taking the ball, in addition to Mills defending in the front, they had to send someone to assist.
However, even if Robben saw the two people surrounding him, he did not choose to pass the ball immediately. After all, the game had just started and his teammates had not had time to run over to meet him. He planned to dribble the ball out of the gap between the two.
But is Alonso so easy to break through?
Robben just pushed the ball to the gap between the two with his left foot. Alonso saw the opportunity, stretched out his right foot and poked the ball to Mills in front.
Mills reacted very quickly. He did not choose to stop the ball. As soon as the football rolled in front of him, he kicked it directly to Chelsea's half.
And looking at where the ball landed, Torres had already leaned on Ashley Cole, ready to fight for the first point.
For a moment, the offense and defense changed...