Chapter 124: Welcome to the devil’s schedule!
Pellegrini took a corner kick, but it was headed out by the opponent's defender!
Chen Xiaoliang received the ball outside the penalty area, and just when others thought he was going to take another long shot, he immediately passed the ball back to Pellegrini who had just taken the corner kick.
The linesman raised the flag, offside...
"Damn it!" Chen Xiaoliang cursed in his heart. He was so excited that he didn't even notice that Pellegrini was still at the corner flag and didn't retreat!
But on the other hand, Pellegrini is so lazy that he didn't even retreat after taking the corner kick...
At this time, the fourth official raised the card, Abraham left the court and Wu Lei came on the field.
In the 59th minute, Zalewski took a shot from the left side of the penalty area, and the ball hit Cesco's head and bounced out of the bottom line.
The game had completely become a one-sided offensive routine training for Roma.
Chen Xiaoliang only had one thing to do, which was to snatch the ball from the opponent's goalkeeper or defender, then pass it to a teammate nearby, and then look back at them to organize the attack until the next time the opponent kicked the ball... and so on...
In the 64th minute, Mkhitaryan dribbled the ball to the right side of the penalty area and was double-teamed by two opposing players. He passed the ball back to Chen Xiaoliang who was waiting behind him.
When the ball rolled over, Chen Xiaoliang had already observed that Cesco was at the top of the penalty area, with the opponent's two central defenders on his left and right.
Wu Lei and Pellegrini were roaming slightly behind Cesco , ready to attack from offside at any time.
Chen Xiaoliang stopped the ball with his right foot, then gently pushed it forward, took a step forward and made a cross into the penalty area at a 45-degree angle!
The speed of this ball is very fast!
At first, the opponent's goalkeeper Ved Bellec thought the pass was too long and ran forward two steps to jump up to catch the ball. Unexpectedly, the ball started to spin inward more and more strongly halfway through its flight and turned towards Cesco!
Cesco saw the ball flying towards him a few steps, so he took a step forward and jumped forward to head the ball!
The ball was hit hard and was touched by the attacking Ved Bellec, and bounced to the baseline!
Wu Lei, who had just come on the field, did not let the ball go out of bounds. He rushed to the baseline to grab the ball back, and then passed it back to Weletu who was in the open position behind!
The Frenchman got the ball one meter inside the penalty area and shot it. The ball bypassed the opponent's player who was blocking him, but was again saved by goalkeeper Ved Bellec!
Salernitana fans are going crazy!
They shouted the Slovenian goalkeeper's name in unison!
The song about the French raising the white flag was also sung again.
Having missed the goal again, Cesco looked regretful and kept touching his head with his hand, as if he wanted to make it harder.
"He has a very strong desire to score goals, and his off-ball running and anticipation are also very good. But he is not calm enough in front of the goal. If he had not used so much force and chose to lob the ball, he might have gone in." Joao analyzed the new signing who was bought at the last minute beside Mourinho.
"However, Chen's cross was too accurate. If the force of the ball was smaller, it would have been caught by the central defender. If the force was larger, it would have been within the control range of the goalkeeper. He chose the middle between the two, leaving a gap for Cesco."
"Substitute Cesco and let him keep this hunger to face the next opponent." Mourinho said after listening to Joao's praise.
The progress on the field is no longer important to Mourinho.
According to the real-time data analysis in Joao's hands, Salernitana does not have a fulcrum like Immobile in the frontcourt who can take the ball and run, so the success rate of the tactical routine of long pass counterattack after getting the ball is too low.
At this point in the game, their pass success rate has dropped to 52%. Basically, their passes are intercepted when they leave the penalty area. This is not a data that a mature Serie A team should have.
But then again, a striker like Immobile is not something you can get just because you want one.
Even in Serie A, transfers between city rivals or competitors are commonplace. If it were in the Bundesliga, they would have been bought by Bayern Munich long ago.
Tonight the new tactic of three central defenders assisting each other in defense was simply run-in and was not put to the test.
What really made him think was the game against Tottenham.
By then, the headline of his return to London will surely be publicized by the media with great fanfare. In addition, Conte has also coached Inter Milan and Chelsea, and won championships. Now he has succeeded him as Tottenham Hotspur. The media will definitely not miss any opportunity to compare the two.
On the field, Pellegrini's corner kick was once again blocked.
Cesco was substituted and Mourinho walked up to encourage him.
For an 18-year-old young man, except for the lack of a goal, his performance tonight was very good.
Mourinho returned to the coaching bench and once again had an expressionless face.
He was in deep thought, but he was not thinking about why Cesco failed to score the previous goal, but that he had already designed a new offensive tactic, thinking of incorporating Chen Xiaoliang's cross into it.
In the 69th minute, Carles Perez, who came on as a substitute for Cesco, dribbled the ball to the left side of the penalty area and passed the ball to Wu Lei in the middle while running!
Wu Lei wanted to shoot, but there were too many people defending in front of the opponent. At this time, Mkhitaryan reached out for the ball on the right, and Wu Lei immediately pushed it over. Mkhitaryan volleyed the ball. Although the opponent's goalkeeper Ved Beleć was in surprisingly good shape today, the ball was too tricky and it hit the post and bounced into the net!
3-0!
Mkhitaryan immediately hugged Wu Lei to celebrate and express his gratitude!
Shots 5 to 24
Shots on target 0 to 8
20% ball possession vs. 80%
Pass success rate 52% vs 89%
Corner Kick 1-10
The game got to this point, even the number of fans in the Red Country live broadcast room decreased a lot. After all, it was early in the morning, and many people had to sleep for a while and then get up to go to work.
The fans who stayed behind also started chatting about topics unrelated to the game in the barrage.
There are only two types of discussions. One is about whether Chen Xiaoliang was specially trained by Mourinho to cross the ball. The other is about whether Roma was too strong today or some Serie A teams were too weak.
Every time this happens, there are always fans who compare it to the Premier League, and other fans immediately respond with words like "If you like to watch the Premier League, go watch it, don't show off your IQ in the Serie A live broadcast room."
Although the coach and fans' thoughts gradually became irrelevant to the game at hand, the Roma players on the field were working harder and harder.
It's not easy to get a chance to bully the weaker team. He has already scored three goals. Why not take the opportunity to improve his stats and increase his weight in Mourinho's heart?
Pellegrini and Carles Perez, who just came on the field, were particularly active.
One, as the captain, is trying to get out of the scandal as soon as possible and regain Mourinho's trust, while the other, as a perennial substitute, is desperately trying to fight for a starting position.
So one shoots when there is an opening, and the other breaks through when there is a gap.
In the end, they actually scored a goal.
In the 84th minute, Carles Perez broke through a three-man double-team on the left and broke into the penalty area. At a small angle, he passed the ball back to Pellegrini on the penalty area line. Pellegrini made a slight adjustment and then shot a world-class goal. The ball drew a beautiful inward arc, just bypassing Ved Bellec's raised hand and flew into the upper right corner of the net, 4-0!
The Slovenian goalkeeper has given his all.
Once this goal was scored, the already one-sided game completely entered garbage time.
Joao glanced at the PAD in his hand, and his mind shifted to the next game: "Jose, have you considered letting Chen Xiaoliang play as a right midfielder?"
Mourinho nodded, but replied in a negative tone: "Look at this game, the opponent was so weak that they had to pay two yellow cards in the first half to defend. After Chen came on in the second half, the opponent's counterattack never came out again. In terms of the team's current defensive ability, it is completely different to have him in the defensive midfielder position or not."
"What if there are two defensive midfielders? When he moves to the right to cross, let Cristante or Veretout protect the middle, just like the game against Lazio."
"Oh my god, don't mention that game, it makes me angry. It's not impossible to play with two defensive midfielders, but the opponent's coach will definitely be happy to see us arrange it this way, just like in the first game, the half where Chen is not will easily become the opponent's main attack point. I wish I could split Chen into two people!
Besides, your suggestion reminds me of someone.”
"who?"
"Manchester United used to have a Valencia, an Ecuadorian who wore the No. 7 jersey for a season. Do you remember him?"
Joao thought about it, suddenly realized, and couldn't help laughing: "That guy is good at crossing, but his dribbling and shooting are not good. His speed and physique are good, but he insists on the right side. He uses his right foot for crossing and dribbling. He basically has no ability to cut inside. His ability of through balls and long passes is also average. He also played as a right back in the later period. Except for the fact that he can't use his left foot, the other things are really similar now that you mentioned it."
"So, do you want a Gattuso on the defensive midfielder or a Valencia on the right wing?"
When Mourinho said this, Joao knew that he had considered it.
Besides, in the team now, only Cesco's header is good, Abraham is just so-so, and the other forwards are either not tall enough or can't stand in the penalty area.
This kind of long-distance 45-degree cross from the back row depends on the striker's ability to prevent offside and score.
Facing this kind of opponent today, Chen could still make an occasional contribution. However, if he played against those three giants, Roma would be obviously behind in ball possession, and Chen Xiaoliang would not be able to take care of the defense, let alone have the time to go around the wing and make assists.
As the two were chatting, the referee blew the final whistle.
Back in the locker room, the players who were still celebrating happily as if the gloom of the day had been swept away immediately put away their smiles when they saw Mourinho walk in with a grim face.
Joao reported on the other games:
AC Milan 4-1 Cagliari;
Verona 1-3 Inter Milan;
Lazio 6-1 Spezia;
Genoa 1-2 Napoli;
Among several strong teams, only Juventus lost 0-1 to Empoli at home. It seems that after Ronaldo left, Juventus' offense was completely silenced.
Currently, Napoli and AC Milan have won all three games and are ranked first and second with 9 points. Inter Milan has 7 points and is still ranked third based on goal difference. Behind them are Roma and Lazio with 7 points each. Juventus, with 4 points, has dropped directly to 13th place.
I thought that after Joao's report, Mourinho would at least give some words of encouragement, but I didn't expect Joao to compare the team's offensive conversion rate and defensive success rate with AC Milan and Inter Milan...
There is no doubt that Roma is not ahead in any of these data, only the number of cards received is far ahead...
Mourinho and Joao had discussed this when they were chatting in the coaching booth just now.
After Joao had laid the groundwork, it was Mourinho's turn to take the field.
“You beat a newly promoted team that hadn’t played in Serie A for 22 years, scored four goals, and looked so smug. I thought you were celebrating your early Champions League spot.
A week later, we will play Sassuolo at home. As Joao said just now, they now have 7 points and are ranked seventh, two places higher than Fiorentina !
And don't forget that they pushed you to the last round last season with 62 points. It was only thanks to a two-goal difference that you ranked seventh and squeezed into the Europa League.
After playing against Sassuolo, we had to rest for one day and then fly to London. After one day of training, we played against Tottenham on the evening of September 17. After that game, we didn’t even have time to rest. We flew directly from London to Verona and had an away league game on September 19.
So what are you excited about? Excited about the upcoming tough schedule with no rest?"
Joao said while holding a PAD: "Tottenham is in very good form this season. They won the first three games 1-0, beating Manchester City, Wolves and Watford respectively. In the last game against Crystal Palace, they lost 0-3 because of a red card at the beginning of the game. Now they are ranked third in the Premier League."
It was Mourinho's turn to speak again, in what sounded like a rehearsed double act: "Some people will think, 'Oh, they are only third and we are fourth, about the same, and we haven't lost yet'. If you really think that, that's great. I hope you can also think about your rubbish performance in the first half today and see if your defense can stop Kane and Son Heung-min!
Now hurry up and pack up! Go back to the club for recovery training tomorrow morning! This game is too easy, there will be no day off tomorrow!"
After being scolded by the two, the players' complacency was instantly shattered, and they quietly sorted out their clothes.
Looking at these players who dared not say a word, Mourinho felt a little emotional.
If it had been in the past, whether it was Real Madrid, Chelsea, Manchester United, or even Tottenham, when he first took over the team, he would never have blatantly belittled the players in front of him in the locker room like he did today.
Those conceited big names will not allow a new head coach to directly deny them.
When he was at Tottenham, Son Heung-min and captain Lloris even quarreled with each other directly in front of him in the locker room, as if the head coach did not exist at all.
Not to mention that Pogba, who would feel angry every time he thought about it, actually said to himself, "You picked the wrong person."
In this day and age, it is almost impossible for a head coach to do what Ferguson did, to have complete control over a top club from top to bottom, and still receive almost unlimited support from fans and the board even without winning the championship. And it seems even less likely in the future.
Even for the currently popular Klopp and Guardiola, if Manchester United's situation of not winning the championship for three consecutive seasons from 2003 to 2006 happened to them, the fans would definitely shout slogans for their dismissal and replacement.
He looked at the group of players in front of him and believed that there would be three to five of them who would become world-class stars in the future.
I don’t know whether they will be like the humble Modric or the shouting Pogba when communicating with the future head coach.
Chen Xiaoliang only played for half of this game, did not get any goals or assists, and only gained 3 training points and 2 physical recovery cards.
Training value 0→3, physical strength recovery card 2→4.
After returning to the Trigoria base, the players immediately started training.
The atmosphere was less oppressive than before, but still serious.
Mourinho deliberately arranged crossing routine training for Chen Xiaoliang in the training, allowing several players on the wing to cooperate in a small range, dribble the ball forward to attract the opponent's defensive players, and then pass the ball back to Chen Xiaoliang who was on the wing behind him for a long-distance cross at a 45-degree angle.
Then the striker and attacking midfielder in the center rushed in to grab the ball.
After practicing again and again, his teammates were surprised to find that Chen Xiaoliang's crosses were so accurate, but in contrast, his way of crossing was very simple.
Once Mourinho adds a player to force him to block, he has limited dribbling ability and can only choose to pass back.
Fortunately, even if he uses his left foot on the left, he can still kick a good quality cross.
Just like those famous players, when doing fancy challenges, they like to kick the ball into a hole or a plastic bucket from dozens of meters away to prove their outstanding footwork.
Crossing is simply the epitome of a player's control over the strength, speed, and curvature of the ball.
Therefore, the players with good footwork in the team really couldn't understand how a player with such dribbling skills could perform such accurate diagonal passes...
After practicing again and again, the one with the highest success rate is Cesco, who has the best heading ability among the forwards.
However, in this way, by chance, it seemed to have become an exclusive training for the two of them, and the tacit understanding between Chen Xiaoliang and Cesco in the system increased rapidly.
Cesco is increasingly understanding how Chen Xiaoliang controls the ball, and Chen Xiaoliang is increasingly understanding how Cesco shoots with his head.
When the two looked at each other, Chen Xiaoliang seemed to feel that the feeling of Glasgow had returned.
