Team Spirit

Chapter 280 Helmeted War God, Seven Stars Align

Upon returning from halftime, Chelsea surprisingly did not make any changes to their lineup.

The camera repeatedly focused on Mourinho, as if to see if he took a nap during those fifteen minutes.

Alfred: Take away your damn monitor!

Mourinho was in a bind. He couldn't touch the two Russian and Ukrainian giants, so he specifically instructed Lampard and Ballack not to push forward in the second half, but to stay back and act as two hard-working defensive midfielders.

These two near-Golden Ballon d'Or level super midfielders were stunned when they heard this request.

Of course, they knew the reason, and could only secretly cast resentful glances at the two Russian and Ukrainian leaders.

At the start of the second half, both sides cooled off a bit.

Kompany made a long pass from the right to the left, and Duff made a mistake in his control, sending the ball flying out of bounds.

In the 49th minute, Arshavin made a cutback pass after reaching the byline.

Shevchenko received the ball and feigned a pass to Drogba, but actually launched a surprise shot himself.

boom!
Cech successfully saved the ball.

In the 55th minute, Drogba held off Kompany and unleashed a long-range shot from outside the box, but it still hit the target.

That was a world-class goal.

Cech made a spectacular save, lifting the sky with one hand.

"Oh! An incredible save!"

"Cech was completely unaffected by wearing a helmet; he was in incredibly good form."

"If it weren't for him, I feel Chelsea would have scored two goals or even more today."

"This is unbelievable, was he really injured?"

"If Cech can maintain this form and play in the second half of the season, then I think Chelsea lost out on this deal!"

Some people have already noticed that something is wrong.

Rather than saying Cech was injured, it's more accurate to say he was promoted.

It's outrageous!
In the 58th minute, Ballack passed the ball to Robben, who made a high-speed inside cut on the right.

Finally, he unleashed a powerful shot from just outside the right side of the penalty area.

It didn't seem like a big threat, but the ball went straight for the near corner.

"That was an incredible shot... an amazing save!"

boom!
Cech once again blocked the ball out of bounds with one hand.

Stamford Bridge stadium was filled with wailing.

Robben himself couldn't believe it and put his hands on his head.

Lu Kai gave Cech a thumbs up.

Cech nodded slightly.

Protecting the goal behind him is what he should do.

In the 66th minute, Robben won a free kick just outside the penalty area.

This area is extremely dangerous.

Chelsea has many free-kick specialists, and everyone can take a shot, but none of them are at the top level. In the end, Arshavin took the free kick this time.

If you go a little further away, you'll find Lampard.

boom!
Arshavin unleashed a perfect arc, successfully clearing the towering Green Gunners wall.

But just as the football was about to go into the goal...

boom!
Cech made another save.

Chelsea's players have even lost the will to fight for rebounds and shots.

They stared blankly at Cech, a figure both familiar and strange.

Dartford's morale was high, and everyone rushed towards Cech, surrounding him and celebrating as if they had scored a goal themselves.

This scene also had a strong impact on all the viewers.

Before today, even Cech's most optimistic fans wouldn't have dared to say that Cech could recover to such a good condition.

Ultimately, everyone can only conclude that "Dartford is a land of miracles, after all."

On the sidelines, Mourinho had several players start warming up.

In the 71st minute, after failing to break through on the right, Ribery made a long pass while dribbling back.

Duff cut inside the penalty area from the left without the ball and headed it back.

Lu Kai followed up with a volley.

The football went straight into the net.

But before Lu Kai could start celebrating, the linesman raised his flag.

Duff was offside.

"Oh! Duff missed out on an assist hat-trick."

"What a pity! Lu Kai played that ball really well!"

"Mourinho can't sit still anymore, Chelsea is finally going to make substitutions. According to their usual style, Shevchenko and Arshavin should be replaced."

"Shevchenko is indeed in a slump, but Arshavin is performing quite well, it's just that his stamina is relatively poor... wait, what's going on?"

Staff members held up a substitution sign on the sidelines.

"Mikel has replaced...Lampard!"

"Sean Wright replaces Robben!"

Two major announcements ignited the entire venue.

The reason for this change of personnel is simply because it was too bizarre.

Although Lampard is not good at organizing, he has become the core of Chelsea's midfield, just like Lu Kai is to Green Gun.

Normally, he should never be substituted.

Lampard himself was completely unprepared for this, still thinking about how to break the deadlock, only to find out that he was the one who was substituted... Damn it, what a terrible situation!

Lampard stormed off the field, refusing to high-five Mitchell and Mourinho.

After returning to the bench, he kicked his seat repeatedly.

He kept cursing, "Shit, it's all shit!"

The word "all" clearly includes Mourinho, Shevchenko, Arshavin, and Abramovich.

Robben fared somewhat better, as he was frequently substituted during this period.

Sean Wright and he were substituted in the same position.

"Why not substitute Shevchenko? He contributes almost nothing on the field!"

"Arshavin and Robben were evenly matched, so it's understandable that he wasn't substituted, but I'm worried that he might slump due to fatigue."

The professional commentators' concerns soon came true.

In the 73rd minute, Chelsea had a counter-attack opportunity. Arshavin dribbled forward through the middle and passed the ball to Wright-Phillips on the right wing. However, the ball went wildly wide, falling far behind Wright-Phillips and flying out of bounds.

Arshavin immediately reached out to Wright Jr. to apologize.

“Andrei is tired,” Lu Kai said to Ashley Young.

The so-called fatigue is not that you can't move at all, but that your accuracy has greatly decreased.

Especially during the final sprint.

Arshavin's sprint distance has become shorter.

If I could sprint forty meters in one go before, now I can only sprint less than twenty meters.

During this period, the difficulty of adding passing, shooting and other actions also becomes higher.

Therefore, his threat level dropped almost vertically.

Dartford are also making substitutions.

Vardy replaced Duff.

Chen Tao replaced Modric.

Two substitutions were made.

"Does this substitution mean that Green Gun's offensive focus is shifting?"

"Vardy has distinct characteristics; he's faster than Duff, but his dribbling is a bit weaker. If he drops deeper into the box, the defense on the left flank will be strengthened."

"Chen Tao's offensive attributes are also more obvious than Modric's, and his range of movement is also further forward."

"The strongest left blade is about to become the right blade?"

In the 76th minute, Dartford got the ball and quickly pushed forward into the halfway line.

Arshavin returned to defend, but Ribery easily outmaneuvered him with a single dribble.

Without physical strength, Arshavin was not much different from a wooden stake, serving only as a psychological comfort.

Ribery is going up against Ashley Cole one-on-one; he's a tough nut to crack.

But it doesn't matter, Ashley Young has already made his run down the wing.

Ribery passes the ball.

Ashley Young swept aside the enemy with a sharp attack.

Ashley Cole was a beat too slow in extending his leg.

Giroud won the ball at the near post inside the penalty area, outmaneuvering Carvalho, but missed it.

Lu Kai and Vardy flanked from the middle and back lines respectively.

But Terry was right in front of Lu Kai, too close, and his shooting angle was blocked.

And it won't leak to Vardy's side either.

Lu Kai had a flash of inspiration, he backheeled the ball and passed it back to the penalty spot.

Chen Tao followed up with a low right-footed shot to the left.

Hilario's vision was obstructed, preventing him from making a save.

"GOAL! Three to zero!" "Datford scores again!"

"The goal was scored by the young player Chen Tao, who just came on as a substitute!"

"Lu Kai provided the assist, this was a Chinese connection!"

"Despite Mikel's presence on the pitch, Chelsea's defensive numbers didn't increase, and they were clearly stretched thin in the face of Green's onslaught."

On the pitch, Drogba was panting heavily.

Because Shevchenko's participation in defense was ineffective, he usually had to come back to defend.

While the physical exertion is significant, Drogba has excellent stamina and would have no problem playing against other teams.

But the green gun is different.

Most of the Green Gunners' backcourt players are capable of passing the ball out, their attacking organization is very fast, and they can exploit Drogba's time difference.

By the time Drogba returned, the opposing team had already scored.

Mourinho's "Drogba's Great Displacement" defensive tactic failed.

Mourinho quickly made a substitution, replacing Drogba with Kalou.

The latter is too physically demanding, his defensive role is gone, and his offensive role overlaps with Shevchenko's, and Shevchenko cannot be substituted—sacrificing Drogba is the only option.

Despite being Mourinho's favorite player.

Seeing the dejected Drogba, Mourinho's heart was bleeding.

Kalou is also from Ivory Coast. He had been waiting for the Dutch national team to call him up, but unfortunately, despite Dutch coach Van Basta's repeated statements that he would include him in the national team, Kalou was ultimately not selected for the 2006 World Cup squad for other reasons.

Kalou has now confirmed his move to Ivory Coast.

On the other side, Dartford also substituted Dzeko for Giroud.

In the 81st minute, Sean Wright crossed the ball from the wing.

However, Kalou and Shevchenko were both contained by Vidic and Kompany respectively, and neither was able to get a touch on the ball.

The football flew to the other side and rolled out of bounds.

Arshavin lacked the stamina to keep up with the ball.

In the 82nd minute, Green Gun launched an attack.

Ashley Young accelerated past the still-recovering Arshavin and then passed directly to Ribery.

Ribery cut inside from the right wing, made two subtle changes of direction to get past Cole, and then curled a shot into the air.

Carvalho blocked the ball with his body.

Ribery tried to turn and chase the ball, but was interfered with by Cole's collision.

Ashley Young, following up, made a high-legged feint towards the byline, drawing Cole towards the byline while he himself cut the ball to the left and entered the penalty area.

Ribery immediately dropped back, clearing the way for the ball.

Ashley Young unleashed a powerful right-footed shot.

The football soared into the sky, heading straight for the far corner of the net.

It's similar to the kick Robben received when Cech made a brilliant save.

"GOAL! Four to zero!"

"Datford are on fire!"

"Ashley Young scores with a powerful shot!"

"Little Yang is showing off in front of Ashley Cole!"

"You know, back then, when people mentioned Ashley, they could only think of Cole. But now, people's first choice might be Young!"

Huang Jianxiang: Pshaw, pshaw, pshaw, the word "Yang" is unlucky.

"Datford's adjustments have had an immediate effect, with them launching a storm of attacks on both the left and right flanks."

"On the other hand, Chelsea's best defense was not up to par today."

"Although their attack is impressive, they have yet to score a goal under Cech's relentless pressure."

In the 84th minute, Chelsea launched an efficient counter-attack.

Carvalho passed the ball to Ballack.

The latter made a diagonal pass with his back to goal, connecting with Shevchenko.

Shevchenko also backheeled the ball, and under pressure from Kompany, he turned and created lateral distance before accelerating with a flick of the ball, outmaneuvering Kompany.

boom!
Shevchenko sent a direct pass.

Kalu's one-on-one chance!

Compared to top center forward Drogba, Kalou's technical characteristics are more like those of a winger; he is a fast, strong, and powerful winger.

"Cech strikes!"

"Kalou is shaky, but Cech isn't affected by shaky moves."

"Kalou dribbled and faked a shot, but Cech still didn't fall for the feint."

"Kalou...Vidic has destroyed the ball!"

"Nice defense!"

"Cech perfectly intimidated Kalou and joined forces with Vidic to resolve the crisis!"

Chelsea missed their best scoring chance yet!

"Mourinho was so angry he knelt down on the sidelines!"

Boos erupted from Stamford Bridge.

Kalu gave an awkward smile, but he hadn't yet realized the seriousness of the problem.

He will likely become the scapegoat for this crushing defeat after the game!

After all, neither Mourinho nor Abramovich could be wrong.

The only one who could possibly be wrong is Kalu, who can't even land a single shot.

In the 87th minute, Ribery broke through on the right and won a free kick, resulting in a yellow card for Cole.

Chen Tao lobbed the ball into the penalty area.

Vidic's header went over the bar.

In the 89th minute, Ashley Young helped Ribery to the right side of the penalty area.

Ribery passed the ball back to Chen Tao.

Chen Tao sent a through ball.

Dzeko pounced on the opportunity, using his physical advantage to push past Carvalho, and then, mimicking Carvalho's move, completed the pass with a backheel.

Vardy, who came from the left, faced the same situation as Lu Kai at the time: no direct shooting angle, so he continued to flick the ball with his heel.

Lu Kai met the ball with a low shot from outside the left side of the penalty area.

There was no one defending it.

Chelsea goalkeeper Hilario was tricked twice, but when he saw Lu Kai shoot, he made a quick save, leaving an opening in the far corner.

Lu Kai shot at the far corner.

"GOAL! Five to zero!"

"Give Chelsea a five-finger mountain of green spears!"

"The Green Guns executed a beautiful combination! It was less of an attack and more of a playful dribble, with two consecutive backheel passes that looked like child's play!"

"Congratulations to Lu Kai, he has also achieved a brace."

The Green Gunners celebrated enthusiastically.

Chelsea fans began to leave the stadium.

But soon, everyone stopped.

In the second minute of stoppage time, Sean Wright's cross struck Phil's arm, resulting in a penalty.

Although this goal was irrelevant to the outcome of the match, it salvaged a little bit of pride for Chelsea.

Zero to five, that sounds awful!

Shevchenko arrives at the penalty spot.

As the whistle blew, he rushed towards the ball and unleashed a powerful shot.

boom!
Cech leaped to his left.

He rolled over and stood up.

He raised his hands high, holding a black and white soccer ball!

"OMG!!!"

"Cech caught Shevchenko's penalty kick perfectly!"

"That's comparable to a block in basketball!"

"too strong!"

"Cech has committed a crime! He has utterly destroyed Shevchenko's and Chelsea's dignity!"

"The whistle blows, the game is over!"

Dartford have advanced to the EFL Cup final with a massive 7-3 aggregate score!

"There couldn't be a more perfect comeback debut in the world!"

"Cech overcame his injury, he overcame himself, and he overcame Chelsea!"

"He made a heroic save to shut out the opponent! He's the helmeted warrior in my eyes!"

At that moment, Chelsea fans who hadn't left were slapping themselves in anger. So what were they expecting?
Soon, scattered applause broke out.

In the end, everyone was impressed by Cech and applauded him.

But at the same time, the pain in the hearts of Chelsea fans has reached its peak.

They actually gave away such an excellent goalkeeper to Dartford like a package of garbage.
Even the richest person can't withstand this kind of manipulation!

(End of this chapter)