Chapter 155: Moving Forward in Regret
PS: I had a low-grade fever for two nights in a row, caused by an old problem, and a boil! It may be the reason for the old sitting, anyway, it's dizziness and butt pain, and the state is not very good, forgive me, bear with me!
For the sake of my insistence, book friends who have been subscribed, can you give some recommendation votes, it's really bleak!
At 7 p.m. local time on April 30, the champion of the Premier League this season was born. After 10 years of a red monopoly, Chelsea painted the Premier League blue.
However, the Chelsea people did not have time to revel, and three days later (3rd) there will be a do-or-die match against Liverpool in the Champions League semi-finals. After snatching the Premier League title in their arms without any suspense, can Chelsea win the Champions League twice in a row?
The answer is vague.
On the same weekend 50 years ago, Chelsea were crowned in England for the first time.
On Saturday, many Chelsea fans in their old age burst into tears on the streets around Stamford Bridge, saying they never imagined they would ever live to see this day. There is an essential difference between being kings twice in 50 years.
Drake's Chelsea side won the title by accident, at a time when English football was dominated by Tottenham, Arsenal, Wolves and Manchester United, and even Liverpool were not giants.
Today, in the 21st century, Chelsea's reign is as significant as the Bosman Act. With Abu's bottomless financial resources, the Premier League will open a new page, the past 10 years of north-south confrontation between Arsenal and Manchester United has ended, the era of the three countries has arrived, and even the level playing field that the British are obsessed with is likely to follow Chelsea's "maximisation" process. Evolved into a one-dimensional world of "only I am great".
Chelsea's ambitions were inflated and gradually succeeding in the Premier League, but they were challenged strongly on the continent.
A 0-0 draw at home to Liverpool in the first leg of the semi-finals was not enough to worry Mourinho. Then. Chelsea have an incomplete squad and are close to Liverpool in terms of strength. In Tuesday's second leg, Liverpool midfielder Marcos Alonso was suspended, a huge loss for the hosts, while Chelsea have Duff back.
However, success depends on the right people at the right time. Chelsea have the advantage of personnel, but they are not as good as Liverpool's location and timing: Anfield has become Liverpool's Champions League blessing this season. Here, the hosts eliminated Bayer Leverkusen and Juventus in quick succession.
Liverpool also have the upper hand in terms of timing, with many of the signs of the team's Champions League triumph more than 20 years ago repeated this year. Liverpool accounted for two of the three factors. So that the war tends to be balanced again.
Jose Mourinho is an expert on 'man counts' and his Chelsea have repeatedly achieved good results in the face of adversity. Whether they can rely on people and surpass four-time Champions Cup winners Liverpool this time and overturn AC Milan, who have already stepped into the final with one foot, is to break their fate. The first step towards European hegemony.
50 years ago. They would have had the opportunity to play in the first Champions Cup, and with England's status at the time, it is unclear whether Real Madrid will win five consecutive titles. Today's Chelsea have broken a lot of records, with its development momentum, following in the footsteps of Real Madrid to monopolize the Champions Cup, is the ultimate challenge to it, Liverpool, Manchester United's efforts have failed to reach this height, Chelsea half a century of explosion. Can it be done?
This is the fifth meeting between the two teams this season, with Chelsea joining the club for the second top-flight title in more than 100 years ago three days ago. Although Liverpool are 33 points behind their opponents in the league, they already have 18 league titles and four trophies to their name, and the Reds started without surprise, with Hamann returning from injury replacing the suspended Xavi Alonso and Baros returning to the starting line-up. For Chelsea, Arjen Robben remains on the bench and Duff with a tendon injury is not even in the squad, as was the case last weekend in the league, with Graimi replacing Johnson at right-back.
Chelsea's biggest contributor to the victory night, Jonker, didn't even make the squad for the game.
Before there was a league fetters Jonker to attack the league, no one could say anything, but now the situation is very different, the league championship has been in hand, if Jonk can't be on the squad, this is very intriguing.
Whether Mourinho did it on purpose, or whether some things off the field were punished by the club in disguise, it is unknown, none of the parties responded positively to this question, and Jonk didn't know what to say, and he himself didn't know what to say.
Sitting on the rostrum and watching such a crucial game, it would be a lie to say that you are not in a hurry, but what can you do?
There is no way, look, pray! Jonker was in no mood to analyse the game at the moment, and he was just like the average Chelsea fan, praying for Chelsea to reach the final and achieve a great treble.
But not long after the opening, only 4 minutes, Reese cut into a low cross on the left, Gerrard rubbed the ball over the top with the outside of his right foot, Barosh volleyed with his right foot 7 meters in front of the goal, and then collided with Cech who made a save and fell to the ground, Luis Garcia grabbed in front of Terry, and volleyed with his left foot 4 meters in front of the goal, the ball touched Terry's body and flew to the goal, although Gala hooked the ball with his right foot, but Slovakia referee Mitchell judged that the ball had crossed the goal line, and Liverpool led 1-0!
Rafael Benitez sat quietly back in the dugout, while Mourinho stood with his arms folded and chewed gum.
Both managers were calm and no one thought the game was over, it was just the beginning, and it was not time to celebrate or be depressed.
But the truth is cruel, it was this one goal, the only goal of the game, that determined the final outcome of the game, and the aggregate score was still one goal, Chelsea were eliminated by Liverpool and reached the Champions League final for the first time in 20 years. On May 25, Liverpool will face the winner between AC Milan and PSV Eindhoven in Istanbul for the title.
Jonk silently accepted all this, for the first time he questioned the manager's decision, Chelsea was obviously weak in attack in the second half, but he could only stare dryly, what is this for, Champions League!
He couldn't even get on the list for anything, although he was unwilling and unhappy, he didn't let the media who came over say anything. It's not his character to solve the things in the team, and it's not his character to talk outside, like a long-tongued woman. He couldn't do anything like that, but when he had the chance, he had to say the doubts in his heart to his face.
Liverpool reached the Champions League final for the seventh time and became the first English team to reach the Champions League final since Manchester United in 1999. The Reds boss and fans began to party, and Anfield echoed "You'll never go it alone". The Chelsea players were very frustrated, Galla sat on the turf and sobbed, their coach and owner was gracious, and the expressionless Mourinho shook hands with the opposing players in congratulations. Abu smiled and applauded from the stands.
Jonk didn't wait for the whistle to blow and left the court early, he needed to clear his eyes at the moment. The failure is very unhappy, empathize, and the most difficult thing for him to suppress is the unwillingness.
Didn't join up with the team, and flew back to London by himself. Stay at the villa.
It's not really stupid. Jonk is playing with his life, training with his life, and he can't go to the training ground, so he practices Xuangong and equipment.
Outside the arena, there are many different sounds around.
At the final whistle, Anfield was boiling, and Mourinho calmly walked towards Benitez, and the two men high-fived. whisper and then turn to the respective player.
Mourinho looked very calm on his face. There wasn't much frustration or disappointment to see, and he knew that although the game was over, he still had something to do. He walked to Arjen Robben, hugged the Dutchman, and then the two of them hugged each other and walked to the center circle, and then, he comforted the crying Terry, Frank Lampard and others also gathered around, near the center circle, Mourinho and their arms together in a group, in the Liverpool fans "You will never walk alone" singing, these blue figures looked a little lonely, but shocking.
The good and bad sides of life are always changing, and no one can predict the fate that will follow. In 1996, a month after the death of Mourinho's sister, his wife gave birth to his first child.
"First it's the bad side of life, then it's probably the good thing, and that's life, and you can never predict it." Jose Mourinho has said that he is now savoring the strange cycle of the season, three days before he was the savior of Chelsea's league title tribulation, and just three days later he was a loser against his old rivals in the Premier League.
"The best team won? No, I don't think so. In the post-match interview, you could already see a smile on Mourinho's face, "The best team lost, everybody saw that, and we were sad because we played really well and I'm proud of my players. 'Mourinho accepts defeat but refuses to admit defeat, that's his character.
Later, Mourinho also talked about the Carabao Cup final between the two teams, and the vicissitudes of football made him feel a lot. 'It was a replica of the Cardiff game, where a team scored at the beginning of the game, and in Cardiff, Reese's goal was fantastic, but in this game, no one knew if it was a goal or not, not even the linesman.
'I felt the magic of Anfield, it was amazing, I felt like my players weren't affected, but maybe the rest of the people were affected and maybe the result of the game. You should ask the linesman what he decided to score, and for that to happen, the ball has to be 100 per cent over the goal line and he has to have 100 per cent of the goal score. My players said it wasn't a goal and others said they couldn't say it was a goal for sure. ”
'It's very strange that one person decides the fate of a team and the fate of players who have never reached a Champions League final, it was a goal from the moon or from the stands at Anfield, I don't know where it came from.
'But I respect the decision, I make mistakes, the players make mistakes, the linesman too, that's life.'
Jose Mourinho was referring to the only goal of the entire game, the one that sent Liverpool to the final. The controversy now is whether the ball crossed the goal line before Gallas cleared the ball. 'It's not a 100 per cent certainty and the linesman won't know it, maybe 50 or 60 per cent? If it's a referee's mistake, I'll accept it, but if it's because of something off the pitch, it's hard for me to accept. ”
Off-market factors? Mourinho has something to say, and the personality coach who has always thought that he should say whatever he thinks once again expressed his thoughts that could cause a stir. For UEFA, their ears must be a wake-up call, what off-field factors. They may ask the Portuguese to explain clearly.
However, Mourinho congratulated Liverpool on their efforts. 'They played the way they wanted, they fought hard. I must commend them for that. Benitez decided what tactics to use and I can't criticize them, but they made it to the final and naturally happy. ”
Before the end of the pitch, Mourinho walked into the stadium and shook hands or high-fived the Liverpool players one by one, and he lost. But there is no forgetting to pay tribute to the winners. 'From the bottom of my heart, now I want Liverpool to win the Champions League.' Mourinho said he seemed to have calmed down when he said that.
The 1-0 result was heartbreaking for the Chelsea players. In a sense, though, it was a relief for the Blues' players, who have already had a successful season with the league title in hand. Second, we have left a goal for next year. This is a new kind of motivation.
Frank Lampard can also be relieved, as Chelsea's iron man has gritted his teeth for too long.
His performance in this game was still strong, and he was the main candidate to play the attacking scene when the attacking fire on the wing was sluggish, Thiago and others were sluggish. Chelsea's three most dangerous attacks in the second half were all linked to Frank Lampard, starting with his through ball tearing through the defence for Arjen Robben to burst into the box and deflice off a defender, only to be blocked by a second defender who followed up with a defender. Then Frank Lampard's free-kick tested Dudek's reflexes, culminating in a goalmouth chance from Gudjanssen. It was also Frank Lampard's overhead cross into the box that was created by John Terry's battle for the top.
After this game, Frank Lampard was finally able to undergo surgery, having been plagued by an injury to his foot for a long time. 'The problem is next to the little toe, there's a hole between the toes,' said Lampard, 'and you can do it before every game and it won't be too big, but every now and then it will be uncomfortable and I hope to make it until after the Champions League final and then have a minor surgery to treat it completely. ”
'Terry has a similar problem, but he's hurt worse than mine.
Unfortunately, Frank Lampard's wish to qualify for the final did not materialise, which gave him a chance to completely heal his injury, but for Lampard, who has struggled all year and is so hungry for glory, he may prefer to use his early surgical opportunity to trade for the right to the final, and the Iron Man does not want to end the season with injuries and regrets.
Fate strikingly similar to Anfield, in the Champions League. In 2003/04, Chelsea lost 2-1 to Arsenal over both legs in the league and the FA Cup, drawing 1-1 at home in the quarter-finals of the Champions League and beating Nemesis 2-1 away in the last game.
Just a year later, Chelsea have won Liverpool twice in the league and the Carabao Cup final against the Reds, but after a draw in the first leg of the Champions League semi-finals, a defeat in the last game kept them away from Istanbul, while Liverpool similarly ended their nemesis in the last game of the season.
In both seasons, Arsenal and Chelsea were unbeatable in the Premier League, but they lost to Premier League opponents who had been pressing for a season in European competition.
And compared to the Carabao Cup final, the situation is also surprisingly similar. Garcia scored a lightning goal in the fourth minute of the game, and in the Carabao Cup final, Reese also broke the deadlock after just 45 seconds, and if it wasn't for Gerrard's own goal in the 80th minute, the Reds would probably have beaten the Blues with a one-goal goal, but after all, Anfield was not Cardiff and the Reds did not carry the bad luck of the end of February to the beginning of May. Chelsea, on the other hand, struggled for 92 minutes but could not turn the game around.
Liverpool have been unremarkable this season, with frequent injuries to players plaguing the Reds and their hopes of fourth place in the league becoming increasingly slim. But Liverpool's performances in the cup have been surprising. In the group stage, he beat Deportivo La Coruna, eliminated Bayer Leverkusen in the 1/8 finals, and eliminated the Serie A giants Juventus in the 1/4 finals. Having kept a clean sheet in their last three European matches, Liverpool have never conceded more than one goal in 14 Champions League games so far this season, keeping seven of them clean sheets. When it comes to cup history, Liverpool has always been proud to win the League Cup, FA Cup, Charity Shield, UEFA Cup and UEFA Super Cup in 2001.
Chelsea, on the other hand, have been knocked out of the semi-finals for the second year in a row, and were beaten by Monaco last year with a two-goal lead at home.
This season, Chelsea have become the favorites to win the title, knocking out La Liga leaders Barcelona in the 1/8 finals, and beating the Bundesliga champion Bayern Munich in the 1/4 finals. In the semi-finals, they were drawn at home and also lost away, but were finally eliminated by Liverpool, who are also fifth in the Premier League.
It can be said that Chelsea has all provoked strong opponents that can fight, but they have planted a heel in the internal junior brother.
Jose Mourinho was unbeaten away from home in charge of Porto last year, while Chelsea have failed to reach that level this season. From the analysis of Chelsea's own situation, Chelsea has not yet obtained the "time to be king" in Europe.
The first is that they have just won the Premier League title, and under the team's carnival celebration, the players will subconsciously relax their tense nerves. Physically, Chelsea have played five games in 14 days since the home draw with Arsenal on 20 April, with the likes of John Terry, Claude Makelele, Frank Lampard and Didier Drogba not giving the likes of John Terry, Claude Makelele, Frank Lampard and Didier Drogba a chance to recuperate. At the same time, Benitez intends to hide some of the main players in the weekend league to fight for the Champions League.
Injuries are enough to plague the Blues. In the closing stages of the season, the Reds' previous injuries gradually returned, Benitez was able to face the main squad to face the team, while Chelsea lacked the most crucial wings, Duff was unable to make the squad for the two legs due to injury, Arjen Robben had just recovered from injury, and the Dutchman, who had been out for a long time with two injuries in the middle of the season, also had some psychological problems, and the absence of Bridge and Ferreira due to injuries has made the two wing positions a soft underbelly.
The absence of four main players on the flanks kept the Blues unable to fly on the wing, while Liverpool held on to the middle, so the result was not surprising.
The media will question Mourinho's use of troops to some extent, but everything seems to be useless, and no one knows how useful Jonker will be when he comes on the field, it is just a means of attacking and questioning. (To be continued......)