striker cool brother

Chapter 150 An Unexpected Goal

"I'm the happiest one!"

This is what Mourinho said in an interview with the media when he coached Chelsea for the second time.

He won the triple crown at Inter Milan, won the long-awaited league championship with a record 100 league points in Real Madrid, and returned to the Blue Bridge again, and he has high hopes.

He is no longer wild and unruly before, and the years have left vicissitudes on his face. The once sharp edge has been restrained, and there will be a kind smile on his face.

From black hair to gray hair, the only constant in Mourinho is his passion for football.

This season, Chelsea has occupied the top position since the first round.

So far, Chelsea and Manchester City behind them have opened up a 10-point difference, and the league championship is basically locked.

In the League Cup, Chelsea eliminated Tottenham 2-0 and won their first championship of the season.

Facing Leicester City, which has won four consecutive victories, Chelsea is bound to win this make-up match.

After returning to Stamford Bridge, Mourinho's veterans in the first period are only Terry, Drogba and Cech.

Although the monster Drogba is no longer as brave as he used to be, he can always help the team make a final decision at critical moments.

Veteran Terry is rejuvenated, and his sophisticated defense makes him and Gary Cahill a defensive barrier.

Cech is no longer the best choice for the team's starting goalkeeper, and the young Courtois has established himself.

He will only play in cup games or other insignificant games.

Facing the top team, Pearson's team looked particularly relaxed.

The make-up match will not affect the current points ranking. Even if they lose, Leicester City will still not fall into the relegation zone.

They have to focus on the last 4 games in May.

In this round of the game, Rossi is sitting on the bench, which was agreed in advance, and he will only play in the last half an hour to find his status.

Because the team played against Newcastle at home two days later.

Chelsea have played against Manchester United and Arsenal one after another, and the players are also very tired.

In this game, Diego Costa did not appear on the list and was replaced by Didier Drogba.

Behind Drogba, there are three extraordinary maniacs, Hazard, William and Ramirez.

Xiaofa and Matic partnered with double midfielders.The tall and long-legged Matic can escort Fabregas.

The pair of Terry and Cahill is by far, the combination of central defenders who have conceded the fewest goals among the 20 teams in the Premier League.

On both sides are Azpilicueta and Ivanovic with solid defense.

For Leicester City, Pearson adopts a winning streak of 5-3-2 lineup, and the right back Albrighton must always attack forward.

The three central defenders, Wasilewski, Huth and Morgan, ensure the height and strength of the defense.

The left back Konchesky also has the task of plugging in at any time.

In the midfield trio, Drinkwater is the core of the offensive organization, Andy King and Cambiasso are responsible for defensive interception, and they must attack when appropriate.

On the front line is the combination of Vardy and Ulloa, one high and one fast.

Perhaps because of the continuous high-intensity games, Chelsea was out of shape after the opening, facing the high pressure of Leicester City, it was difficult to move forward.

Hazard, the dribble king, is not in a good state. He tried to dribble several times, but was successfully defended by Cambiasso.

Under Vardy's interference, Fabregas had a hard time delivering a threatening ball forward.

Although Chelsea have possession of the ball, their offense is frequently restricted by their opponents. Returning the ball to the feet of goalkeeper Petr Cech is a common sight.

Seeing this, Mourinho rushed out of the rest area, put his hands in his trouser pockets, and watched the game seriously.

The last few rounds of the league will most test the team's perseverance and bench depth.but
Mourinho never felt that his lineup would play so passively away.

The reason is that the games against Manchester United and Arsenal in the first two rounds made the players physically overwhelmed.

In the 10th minute, Leicester City made a successful steal in midfield.

Hazard's breakthrough swayed Drinkwater's defense, but was intercepted by Albrighton who came from behind.

From defense to offense, Albrighton's advance was very fast, and Drinkwater had two to one, passed Matic's defense, and handed the ball to Vardy.

When counterattacking, Vardy moved on the wing, used an arc to run, and diagonally inserted into the penalty area from the front of full-back Ivanovic.

Ivanovic saw through Vardy's intentions, put a shovel at the front of the penalty area, and poked the ball at Vardy's feet towards the goal with his toes.

While the fans were hugging their heads and yelling "It's a pity", Ulloa suddenly appeared on the trajectory of the ball.

Ivankovic's tackle to clear the siege turned into an assist by mistake.

Central defender Cahill hurriedly defended from behind. Under his interference, Ulloa failed to stop the ball in the first step, which affected his second follow-up shot.

Goalkeeper Petr Cech attacked very quickly, fell to the ground and saved Ulloa's shot with his right palm. The ball rolled towards the baseline and was cleared by Ivankovic.

Although already 33 years old, Cech really hit in front of the goal and is still world-class.

Pearson, who has tasted the sweetness, took advantage of the home game to push forward the offense and play more space on Chelsea's sides.

Especially on the right, Hazard advances with the ball, and will basically not return to the defense immediately after being intercepted. William in the middle has no sense of supplementary defense and interception, and relies entirely on the midfielder Matic.

Leicester City is on the left, not only Drinkwater, but also Albrighton who frequently attack.

Ulloa at the front can take away Terry's defense, and once Hazard loses the ball, they can build a numerical advantage in this area.

Mourinho was very dissatisfied with this and asked Ramirez and William to switch positions to make up for the gaps in the defense. This gradually allowed the team to gain a firm foothold in defense.

Just when the fans happily thought that the two sides would have a close contest, in the 19th minute, Andy King was injured and fell to the ground after a confrontation with Matic.

The team doctor came in to check the injury, made a substitution gesture to Pearson, and Matthew James stepped in.

Only 6 minutes later, Leicester City suffered another blow.

Huth and Drogba had a broken brow bone in a summit fight, bleeding profusely, unable to continue the game, and was replaced by Drogba.

Just halfway through the first half, Leicester City was forced to make two substitutions and adjustments, and the team had to switch to passive defense to conserve energy.

Fatigue brings players not only instability of state, but also the body is easily injured in high-intensity confrontation. Many teams pull their hips in the second half because of extensive injuries.

Leicester City has been in a tight state of catching up since February, trying 120% of their efforts in every game before escaping from the relegation zone.

In the last game in April, the physical condition of many players was not ideal. Even a strong team like Chelsea was in an unstable state, let alone Leicester City.

After the injury substitution, the game became more dull.

The Chelsea players have not opened up for a long time, and their bodies seem to be more bulky than usual. Hazard, William and Ramirez in the frontcourt all lost their previous breakthroughs.

Because Leicester City was forced to switch to defense, they stayed in the second half and did not have too many bright offenses.

In particular, Rossi is not on the sidelines, relying only on Drinkwater in the frontcourt counterattack, the single offensive mode is easily restricted.

The central defender composed of Terry and Cahill can limit Ulloa, the only high point of the home team, to death. Leicester City did not threaten to shoot.

Three minutes into stoppage time, Mourinho had already turned black, ready to return directly to the locker room after the half-time whistle sounded.

Home fans also take the time to go to the bathroom to avoid overcrowding during the intermission.

In the last 1 minute of stoppage time, Albrighton dribbled the ball from the right into the half court, facing Matic's defense, and after completing a two-on-one with Drinkwater, he handed the ball to Vardy on the side. Insert quickly toward the middle.

Facing Azpilicueta's defense, Vardy suddenly started, pushed the ball forward, and swept the ball to the goal at the moment when there was an empty space.

This cross was too hasty. In order to avoid the defender's block, Vardy didn't kick the ball completely. The arc and height were not enough. It was a low ball.

Albrighton at the previous point saw this low and fast cross, and in front of him, he could not shoot in a conventional way.

So, he stretched out his right foot and used the instep to pad the ball towards the upper corner of the goal.

At such a close distance, goalkeeper Cech and Terry had no time to react. Although they reached out to save, they still couldn't stop the ball from flying into the net.

1:0! !
This goal happened suddenly and unexpectedly. Not only Chelsea, but even the players of Leicester City couldn't believe that they were ahead.

The King Power Stadium suddenly boiled, and the fans who were queuing to go to the toilet heard the cheers and ran out in a hurry. Seeing the team celebrating, they were both happy and regretful.

I just queued up to go to the toilet, and I was ahead of the curve.

Mourinho returned to the locker room without looking back, and this result made him very dissatisfied.

(End of this chapter)