Chapter 200: The Fake Fall Behind the Victory
PS: A double master, after the son had a fever, the daughter-in-law also began to have a fever and was depressed
As January wore on, the doors of the European winter closed, leaving Chelsea's biggest defensive weakness unfortunate.
Jose Mourinho said Chelsea would guarantee two quality players in every position, but Bridge's departure has left a gap in the left wing-back position, and while there are Del Orno and Gallas to play on the left, it is not entirely reassuring and the position is by no means rich.
Gallas is an absolute all-rounder, but that's where he gets "uneasy". As soon as there is a gap elsewhere in the defence, the Frenchman will have to move to fill it, and he will play at right-back in this game, and because Carvalho has received a red card, Gallas will probably return to the middle of the field in the next game, so his left-back can only be counted as half.
The real unsettling thing is the Spaniard, and whether Del Orno can live up to Mourinho's demands may not be the case.
For more than a month, rumors of Portuguese dissatisfaction with Orno have been exposed several times for only one reason: defense. In Mourinho's view, this is the duty of a full-back, Ferreira, who will not assist, has been able to occupy the main force of the right wingback for a long time, relying on kraft candy defense, and after Gallas moved to the left side, he basically "scrapped" in the attack with his right foot, but this does not matter, as long as he can defend, he will be "OK".
Del Orno seems to be at odds with Jose Mourinho, who tends to outperform defence in attack. In the fourth round of the league, Orno scored in a match against Tottenham and scored his first goal early. He also never hesitated to press and cross, and the 'Spanish trace' was conspicuous in a Chelsea squad that was less likely to advocate for full-back assists.
However, in the defensive aspect that Mourinho values the most. Orno's answer was unsatisfactory.
Often out of position and being "eaten" when one-on-one is his biggest problem. The game was forced to draw 1-1 by Charlton, and the goal conceded was a mistake by Horno who dragged behind to make an offside mistake, and when Bent inserted into the penalty area, the Spaniard hesitated and did not get close, allowing the opponent to flick his head to the goal.
In the 80th minute, Ambrose, who was active in the game, dribbled the ball on the right side and completely deceived Orno with a feint. Bent then fired a powerful shot from a cross and just a few dozen seconds later, Orno was replaced by Carlton Cole. It was both a tactical necessity and it could not be ruled out that it was his defensive mistakes that helped Mourinho make the final decision. Back to the away game against Manchester City, although the team won, Orno's left flank was frequently breached by Sinclair. He became the most unstable factor in the defensive line.
Mourinho still has expectations for Orno. But the shape faced by the Spaniards quietly became urgent. 'Orno has shown what he can do, but he has to be more aggressive and more demanding of himself,' Mourinho said, 'and he has a few months to improve himself and that's what he has to do. β
In the transfer of Bridge, Fulham had asked for a permanent sign, but Mourinho insisted that he could only go on loan. Rumours have it that the Portuguese has even promised Bridge a place after his return in the summer, while Orno is unable to prove himself. He, a "foreigner", may not be in a worse position than Bridge.
In addition to Orno, another ticking time bomb in Chelsea's defence was on its own, with Mourinho's compatriot Carvalho receiving a red card in the second half, making it more difficult for Chelsea to counter-attack. It was an unnecessary back tackle, if you can rely on Bente, the opponent may not be able to make a difference, but the "impatient" Carvalho did not hesitate to fly out, although Mourinho said that the foul should not be carded, but the direction and nature of the foul determined, the Portuguese did not have much to argue.
In terms of style, Carvalho's style of play is very aggressive, unlike the interception line that Terry is good at, he often pounces on the opposing striker and kicks fiercely, once he plays well, he can cause more trouble for the opponent, but there is a potential danger hidden in it, once it is removed, it can only be compensated by fouls, compared to the relatively steady Gallas, Carvalho is more like a double-edged sword in the central defender position.
This reflection on the defensive problems also stems from a draw in the last three games, with Chelsea drawing 1-1 at Aston Villa, with Arjen Robben taking the lead, but Luke Moore seized the opportunity to equalise in the second half. Chelsea have drawn three games in a week with Charlton Athletic, Everton and Aston Villa.
Although it was a surprise to extend the lead to 15 points, this qiΔ was all about the opponent's help, not its own strength, and the problems at the back must be taken seriously.
However, Chelsea's leading position in the Premier League has been unshakable, Manchester United lost 3-4 away to Blackburn Rovers in this round, making the gap between first and second place into five games, and everyone believes that with Mourinho's steadiness, he will not give his rivals any chance in the next game, and there is no suspense about the Premier League title.
Then the Champions League will become the focus of Chelsea's next stage of the game, the opponent has been determined, La Liga giants Barcelona, not enemies, the Champions League knockout match with Barcelona will be an important watershed for Chelsea in the Champions League this season, over the hurdle of Barcelona, the following will be much better, if you can't pass, you can only come back next year, but will Abu give Mourinho so much time, the Champions League can not break through, and even not as good as last year's results?
The Champions League is actually a hurdle for Mourinho.
Barcelona will travel to Stamford Bridge in 10 days to take on Chelsea in the Champions League, and Barca leader Ronaldo Jr., who was knocked out of last season's Champions Cup, is still haunted by the fact that he said that if Barcelona can knock Chelsea out of the tournament next, he will sleep much more comfortably at night.
In Ronaldo's opinion, it would be ideal to meet Chelsea in the Champions League final in Paris on 17 May, but the two strong rivals met early, so Ronaldo said that this time he can only succeed and not fail.
'Defeat is not on my mind, I was unhappy to lose to Chelsea in the Champions League last season, ruined a good season and the World Cup in June. I don't want to go to the World Cup with a mental burden. My dream is to help Barcelona win the Champions League and I thought we had a good chance, but last season Chelsea poured cold water on me. It was a weird game. Being 3-0 down in the first 20 minutes would have been a loss of confidence for any team, but we got two goals back and then conceded another and it was over. I didn't get a good night's sleep afterwards and my heart was broken. Of course, we can lose to any team, whether it's Chelsea or not. But being out of the game made me feel devastated. β
When the reporter who interviewed Xiao Luo mentioned the word "revenge", Xiao Luo did not want to express too intense feelings, he said: "Why revenge? It's a terrible word. I don't like it. This is a battle between two strong teams, and this match will be on a level no less than the final of any competition. Of course I want to win, but it has nothing to do with last year's defeat, even if we didn't play against Chelsea last year. I want to beat them all the same this year. As for revenge. I would say that football is a passionate game, and when two teams are not convinced of each other, the game is definitely full of gunpowder, but after the game, the score doesn't matter anymore. We blamed ourselves for our defeat last year, and we can only regret that we didn't make it to the end. β
'Of course I want to win the trophy, but I'm also aware that even if we win against Chelsea. We don't necessarily end up on the podium, and there are a lot of other teams that are very good. I have the same respect for them. β
Ronaldo, who is also a big fan of Chelsea's Portugal boss Jose Mourinho, said: 'Jose Mourinho is very talented, no one can disdain what he has achieved in football, some say Chelsea FC has a lot of money, but you can have a lot of money but you don't necessarily make Chelsea a great team. Jose Mourinho is very different, of course our manager Rijkaard is also great, I think there is a lot in common between the two of them, they both motivate the players to improve, and such a coach is not only worth playing for, but even worth dying for. β
In fact, Ronaldo has always admired Chelsea, and no less than six of his recent European star teams are from Chelsea, but Barcelona has none of them, and his choice has caused a lot of controversy, but Ronaldo believes that his opinion is not wrong. Ronaldo has also publicly admitted that he is looking forward to the opportunity to play alongside Frank Lampard, describing him as "a true all-round midfielder". 'I have a lot of respect for Frank Lampard and I look up to him, but I also like Steven Gerrard at Liverpool. With both of them, England have a strong midfield and I'd love to have the opportunity to play alongside those two players. β
Ronaldo also said he has a lot of respect for Chelsea captain John Terry. He said: "John Terry is one of the best defenders in the world, I've played against him a lot and he gave me a lot of pain last season, Terry is passionate and very dedicated on the pitch, but he has a very disciplined defensive movement and never goes black. I don't expect him to let me have a good day in the next games. β
But Ronaldo has made it clear that he does not want a move to Chelsea. 'I had the opportunity to play for Manchester United but I turned it down, so Chelsea is no exception, I love life in Spain and I don't want to leave Barca,' he said. I can't imagine myself being as happy at other clubs as I am at Barcelona. I'm very loyal to BarΓ§a, unless BarΓ§a want to sell me, I won't leave, if BarΓ§a really want to sell me, I will be disappointed, but luckily there is no sign of that yet. I have a good relationship with the coaches and officials and I love the fans. β
While their opponents talk about revenge, Chelsea are in trouble in the league, with their opponents Liverpool again in the round of 25, and the two sides have met several times in all competitions this season, now for the second time in the league.
In the end, Chelsea, who played at home, took all three points thanks to goals from Gallas and Ibrahimovic and Jose Mourinho got the game that almost declared the league title in hand, so he was in a good mood to Benitez's criticism of Robben's fake fall, and he did not hit back at it. 'I'm not interested in what Benitez says, why should I comment on what he says, he says whatever he wants, but sometimes we talk without thinking, especially after a loss.
Speaking about the game, Mourinho even suggested that Chelsea could have won 3-0 or 4-0, but in the second half a goal by Jonker was ruled offside, which the footage shows was a misjudgement. "I just finished a game and we won. We played well, we could have won 3-0 or 4-0. We scored one of the best Premier League goals of the season but the referee blew it off. But this race brought us close to the championship. β
'We still need eight more wins, it's our 50th Premier League win in a year and a half, we've played nine games against Liverpool, we've only lost once, and this game proved that we're the best team in the country, and I'm happy with that.'
"It's a big day for us, but now it's time to relax. Because there's one more game on Wednesday [FA Cup extras against Everton] and we're going to do everything we can to get to the final and I'm in a good mood right now. β
Despite having 21 points behind Liverpool in the standings (the latter has played two games less). But Mourinho refused to claim that he had already secured the title, and he wanted to continue to inspire his team to fight for victory until there was a theoretical chance of being overtaken. "Anything is possible in football, yesterday I watched an Africa Cup of Nations. Tunisia led by 2 points in the penalty shootout. But they ended up losing to Nigeria. We need eight wins now and it's as simple as that, we want to be champions again and it's not far off. At the moment we are in a very good position, today we have a good table, this game shows why we are champions, I don't think we will lose more than four games this season. β
After this game, Jose Mourinho's Chelsea have won all four of their meetings with Liverpool. But another phenomenon is that in the 4 meetings in the European arena. None of them won, and Mourinho himself can't explain that.
'If you score first against Liverpool, you have a good chance and that's what we did at Anfield and here. When they try to defend they always play well and maybe that's why, once we're ahead and they have to change their style of play and we have a big chance. There was something special about the Champions League games, we didn't score in those four games, so let's just say we played badly in those games. β
Had it not been for the referee's misjudgment, Jonker could have even repeated last year's two-goal goal against Liverpool, when he slotted in in the 69th minute and was ruled offside.
When Jonker started to sprint, Volnock was still behind, which was a well-coordinated fit, this time with Joe Cole as the passer, but with an extra referee in the way. 'We scored one of the best goals in the Premier League this season and the referee blew it off. For this goal, even Mourinho watched from the sidelines and got angry.
But the goal that sealed the win was impeccable. In the 68th minute, Horno picked into the penalty area, and Jonker ran back to get a chance, and volleyed with his left foot from a tight angle to send the ball into the far corner side netting with precision. Starting his 20th game and scoring his 19th goal, Chelsea's no.25 continued his efficiency.
Before the game, Mourinho mentioned Drogba, intentionally or unintentionally. 'We miss Drogba, he can give us something different and of course it's not disrespectful to Ibrahimovic or Carlton Cole. Although the Portuguese did not forget to play the round, everyone could hear the excitement in the words, and sure enough, before the words fell, Jonk scored in such an important game, and Mourinho could not hide his pride. "It's a race that shows what you desire, not to prove anything, but to win." In the end, Jose Mourinho got the three points and Jonk proved himself once again, and they were a win-win.
After this game, Jonker continued to top several lists. He averaged one goal in 99 minutes in the goalscoring efficiency charts, ahead of Thierry Henry and Ruud van Nistelrooy, while a surprising 19 of only 40 shots on goal so far, the highest ratio of shots to goals in the Premier League.
In addition to this, he also quietly rose to the top of the list in another number, which is offside. After 25 rounds and 43 appearances, the Chelsea no.25 seems accustomed to leapfrogging the thunder pool by half a step, but it must be noted that many times it was Jonker who was too fast for the linesman to distinguish.
Seriously analyzed, I am afraid that there are many unjust, false and wrongful cases similar to today, and their proportions may be distinguished by Jonker's "hat trick" in this game: he scored a total of 3 goals, the first judgment in the first half was offside, the second was an authentic good goal, and the third was a misjudgment, accounting for 33% each.
Such numbers have to do with the characteristics of Jonker, who Lampard has compared to Drogba. "Didier's strengths are speed, strength and physicality, while Jonker is more well-rounded, and now he's a box-killer with one more run to his specialty."
Awareness and movement are Jonker's latest stunts. He always holds the position of the last defender, presses the line and sprints, once he succeeds. It's often just a chance, and of course, he pays the price of falling into an offside trap. "I need to familiarise myself with my team-mates' habits, such as whether Joe Cole will play the ball at once or control it twice and then pass ......"
Against Liverpool, Jonker raised the flag three times in the first 30 minutes, and he was the only one in 10 offsides for Chelsea. It can be said that the deadly No. 25 is now living on the "razor's edge", and his every sprint will either end his own attack. Either you can finish your opponent.
Quietly, Jonker has transformed from a speedy and powerful striker to a point-grabbing consciousness, and perhaps many fans are not aware of such a change. But Jonk was transformed. When will he be able to unify the style he has mastered, at that time will be the real incomprehension, he himself is also trying, and he is also changing, and those who love him can always see Jonk grow.
The feeling of growing up with the star step by step and finally becoming the king of the ball is even more crazy, at least in Huaxia Jonker is already a true god in the football field. As long as football is mentioned in anything or anything, the first thing that comes to mind for Chinese people is always Joan Ke. And in many other fields, as long as there is the name of Jonker, then it will always have something to do with sports, and the sales are certainly gratifying.
After a big battle, Jonk once again won everyone's affection with his good appearance, but after the red and blue battle, the war of words between the two teams greatly weakened people's attention, and many people were paying attention to the other person.
Reyna was walking towards the referee Willy, waiting to be punished, Robben approached the Spaniard and said a few obviously provocative words, the enraged Reina turned around and touched Robben's face with his hand, and the Dutchman immediately covered his neck, full of "emergency assembly", "Ah! The ground fell with a thud.
Less than 3 seconds later, Robben sat up and spread his hands away from his neck, looking helpless. Immediately, he touched his neck again with his hand, as if to check the injury.
The scene that took place in Chelsea's 2-0 win over Liverpool last Sunday was destined to deepen the feud between Chelsea and Liverpool, and between Jose Mourinho and Rafael Benitez. Insiders who have repeatedly watched the slow motion believe that Reina is just a "touch", and far from a "hit". Robben was touched in the face by Reina, just in time for Reina, who had just tackled Gudjohnsen from behind, to receive a red card, and the Dutchman's vivid performance earned him another "Oscar".
Benitez ridiculed Robben in his post-match press conference that he was "on his way to the hospital" and "I'm afraid he broke his neck", Mourinho didn't fight it for tat at first, but then he couldn't hold back the exchange of courtesies, "Why should I care about Benitez's remarks? They should focus on their team and leave Chelsea to me. Maybe he's frustrated because he's played nine Chelsea games and won just one. The stupid guy is Reina, and in my opinion, Robben's table for the whole game is excellent. β
Mu Shuai is the only one who publicly supports Robben. Jose Mourinho once accused Wigan players of acting after they went down injured, teaching his players not to return the ball to their opponents as usual. Applying double standards on the same issue and resolutely defending the interests of his own team is nothing new for Mourinho. However, Hiddink, who is also Robben's coach, publicly criticized Robben when he was in Eindhoven with him: "This kid has such a good talent, it shouldn't be like this. He must learn to deal better with his opponent's fouls and learn to stand on his heels rather than relying on a light fall to earn a free kick or a yellow card from the opposition. β
Chelsea have banned players from discussing Robben's fake-and-roll falls.
Out of Stamford Bridge, Robben's life was not so good. Famous mouth Alain. Hansen accused Robben of "shameful" behavior, Liverpool star Redknapp lamented that footballers should not have the idea of "I'm going to him", and Charlton coach Kirbishley advised Robben to "not fall to the ground like he was punched by Tyson".
On Monday night, the person concerned, Reina, went berserk: "I'm angry. Robben was a good actor enough to win an Oscar. He's a good player, but this way he's doing is fraudulent. I wouldn't be so annoyed with others. β
But Robben felt wronged, saying on Dutch television: "It's Reina who is out of control, not me. I can't remember exactly what I said to him, but it was like, 'You're stupid for this foul, aren't you?' Next, he turned around and responded with his hand. I don't see why I'm being blamed for that, Liverpudlians shouldn't talk about me, they should look at themselves. β
Robben's words may not be exchanged for too much sympathy. "Dive" is the same word as "diving", and the media spoofed British diving folks to comment on Robben's three classic fake falls against Portugal at the European Championship and Manchester United and Liverpool in the Premier League. Against Liverpool, he was given a 10 this time, "his body fell like a rock and his facial expression was perfect. (To be continued......)