"It's nothing to lose one game, there is no undefeated team in this world."

'Losing before the season is a good thing for the team, because it's a signal that at least it will make the players understand that United are already eyeing it.

Chelsea boss Jose Mourinho, although depressed, does not admit that Manchester United are stronger than Chelsea.

"The league is all about the consistency of the team, not one or two games to decide the final winner, at the end of the season we know who is the winner. Manchester United are capable of competing for the title, but the winner will definitely be us, and Chelsea will be able to achieve three consecutive league titles. ”

Despite losing the opening game of the new season, the title will remain Chelsea's only goal in the Premier League. If it happens, the Blues will win three titles in a row – something that only four teams have ever achieved in the history of the English top flight (Hosfeld in the 20s, Arsenal in the 30s, Liverpool in the 80s and Manchester United in the 90s).

In the new Premier League season, Chelsea are still the biggest favourites. William Hill and Ladbrokes are both odds to win the title at 1.44, which is much higher than the second-placed Manchester United at 7.00. Reuters also said in a pre-season commentary on the Premier League that "Chelsea's third successive title looks likely. ”

Reuters also analyzed that in the third year, the European Champions Cup will be Mourinho's primary goal. The introduction of Andriy Shevchenko and Ballack is not just aimed at England, as the Blues have been strong enough to dominate the country. It remains to be seen whether this strategic shift in objectives will have an impact on the Premier League's journey.

However, Chelsea will have some difficulties to overcome in order to win a third in a row. Compared to the three main rivals, Chelsea's squad changes are the largest, with Arsenal leaving the centre untouched, Liverpool only reinforcing the wings and attacking line, Manchester United having few variables, and the Blues' top scorer substitutions and midfield changes are likely to bring instability at the start of the season.

Coupled with the impact of the World Cup, Chelsea will need a run-in period in the new season, and it may be difficult to repeat the perfect start of last season's nine consecutive wins. In the Community Shield, Chelsea's passing and receiving links were a little jerky and the signs of individual play were evident, and it was difficult to describe it as a cohesive whole, so that it was difficult to create a goal in the second half.

There is also the question of how to keep the players in a positive mood. The downside of the big names is that it is inevitable that someone will be unhappy because they can't play, and Mourinho has been tackling that problem well for two years, and he will need to do the same for the new season. For this reason, Mourinho deliberately emphasized that his squad only needs 20 players, which is also to avoid the problem of personnel accumulation caused by an overly large squad.

And the biggest rival, Manchester United?

After a successful season of 433 changes, United are finally starting to get on the right track. Carrick's arrival has given the squad an elevated midfield, but overall the squad is not as complete as Chelsea's, with varying degrees of weakness on every front.

Let's start with the defensive line. The most reassuring thing for Ferguson is the goalkeeper and central defender, Van der Sar and the new Kuzkazak are both known for their solidity, the central defender Vidic is the most reassuring, Ferdinand has no problem if he does not twitch, they can also form a small group with Brown and the young Pique, according to normal circumstances, Ferguson can be comfortable with this position, but once the central defender is without Vidic, this defence is a bit pumped.

Heinze's return from injury has strengthened the left-back, and with his tough body and abundant fitness, coupled with a wealth of experience, it will not be difficult for the Argentine to seize the main force, and the young Patrice Evra may have to be the first substitute, and Silvestre will add to the central and left-back in due course, but Ferguson has always wanted to deal with him.

The right-back is in some trouble. Neville's attacking and defensive balance is reassuring, but the Red Devils captain has been plagued by injuries for almost a year, and once Neville is injured, United could be in trouble on the right flank.

The forward line, the combination of veterans and recruits is reasonable, Giggs and Scholes have performed well in the pre-season warm-up, Smith is also about to return, Carrick, Park Ji-sung and Fletcher have been very stable, although they are not the top players, but they have a common characteristic, very practical and hard-working.

The forward team is Ferguson's most satisfying trident, with Wayne Rooney, Ronaldo and Dong Fangzhuo as the main force, and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and Rossi waiting for an opportunity. Wayne Rooney's temper and depth on the bench are the two major issues that Ferguson must solve, whether Ole Gunnar Solskjaer can return to the level of the magical substitute in '99, and whether Rossi can verify the reputation of "prodigy", at least for now, Manchester United fans are still unsure.

The most important point is that once Dong Fangzhuo is not in the center forward position, Rooney and Ronaldo seem to become unable to play and will also not be able to score. In November last season, Manchester United suffered Waterloo because Dong Fangzhuo returned to China to play in the World Cup qualifiers. Ferguson will have to tackle that this season.

And Ferguson believes that the key to solving the problem is not to put Rooney in front, but to adjust the 433 formation to 442 in the absence of Dong Fangzhuo and play double strikers......

Of course, every team can't be expected to be like Chelsea, ready to come up with two squads for stiff competition. In terms of selection alone, Manchester United has also achieved the ideal situation of "two people in each position". There will be no major changes in the formation, only switching between 433 and 442.

In terms of the overall strength of Manchester United, as long as the players are in good shape, they can still win most of the games.

Manchester United's top four league opponents are relatively weak, with Fulham at home, Charlton Athletic and Watford away, and Tottenham at home, and if they can win four or two at the start of the season, it would be good to host Arsenal at home in the fifth round.

And just as there was a debate about who would win the league between the two teams, Manchester United officially announced that they had won the case with Chelsea over the transfer of Mikel players and received a £12 million compensation. The club will use £6 million of that to buy Croatian youngster Luka Modric.

"Who is Modric?"

Manchester United fans are not familiar with Modric at all, and the name is naturally from Eastern Europe, but the name is not well known.

The club's official website details Luka Modric:

Luka Modric (born 9 September 1985 in Zadar, Croatia) is a Croatian footballer who plays as a midfielder.

Modric was born in Zadar on 9 September 1985 to woollen factory workers. As a child, Luka Modric was inextricably linked to football. In 1991, when civil war broke out in Yugoslavia, Modric's grandfather was shot dead by Serbian militants while walking cattle on an abandoned street. Unable to recover from their grief, Modric's family began a life of exile, eventually settling down in a large hotel that served as a refugee camp.

In addition to the effects of the war, Modric was tempted to give up football at one point due to his short stature.

At the end of 2001, Luka Modric was selected by Croatian giants Dinamo Zagreb and officially started his career. In the 2003-04 season, when Modric was 18 years old, Dinamo Zagreb loaned him to Zlinski Mostar in the Bosnia and Herzegovina Premier League. That season, Modric made 22 appearances in the Bosnia and Herzegovina Premier League, scoring eight goals and was named Bosnia and Herzegovina Premier League Footballer of the Year.

In the 2004-05 season, Modric returned to the Croatian league on loan to Ingel Zagreb, where he finished runners-up in the Croatian league with three goals in 18 games, and Modric himself was named Croatia's Star of the Year.

In 2005, Modric returned to Dinamo Zagreb after his loan spell expired. From the start of the 2005/06 season, Modric quickly established himself as a regular in the Dinamo Zagreb squad with his excellent performances.

At this time, Manchester United gave him a contract with a weekly salary of 40,000 yuan......

"Welcome, Mr. Modric, our new No. 8."