Chapter 190: After three league games, this is already ranked first?
The content of the interview will be published in the next issue of the biweekly "France Football" in two weeks, but the league schedule is proceeding as usual.
Training, system, and attributes are still the focus of Chen Xiaoliang's daily life.
In the two [Rival Tasks] in the previous game, Chiesa, who was injured and retired early, naturally lagged behind in all aspects. Chen Xiaoliang, who played as a central midfielder for most of the game and only returned to the defensive midfielder position in the last 20 minutes, was completely focused on the game and did not pay attention to the progress of the task in time. As a result, when he returned home and opened the system, he found that in the "Aerial Competition" item, his data was 3-5 less than Vlahovic, who frequently received crosses, resulting in a missed opportunity to draw a card.
However, what was even more unexpected was that the system didn't know whether it had no position screening mechanism or was deliberately spoofing, but the Juventus legendary star card that was drawn was actually the man who was twice the Italian Footballer of the Year and the world's best player in the same position awarded by the International Federation of Football History and Statistics five times...
[Obtain a peak Gianluigi Buffon goalkeeping attribute card (five minutes)]
Chen Xiaoliang was stunned. He didn't know what to do with the central defender Samuel he was given last time against Inter Milan. He was planning to use it as a material card to upgrade attributes in the future. He didn't expect it to be even more exaggerated this time. He gave it directly to a goalkeeper!
Book that!
I trained at the club for 2 days, and still had the fixed 1.5-hour training sessions in the morning and afternoon every day.
After the training, there was only one stamina recovery card left in the system, which had to be used in the next game. He had to reduce the amount of extra training and only practiced with Wu Lei and Abraham for half an hour before going home.
Cesco, who started in the last two games and played the entire game, felt some discomfort in his leg muscles. To be on the safe side, he only participated in light physical recovery and ball training in training sessions for several days.
On the evening of January 17, Roma welcomed Cagliari, who were ranked second from the bottom, at home.
Having defeated two giants, AC Milan and Juventus, Mourinho made some appropriate adjustments in this game against a weak team.
However, in view of the losses in the first half of the season, he did not dare to make drastic rotations.
No one can accept that the three points that were fought hard for against Juventus were given away to the team in the relegation zone.
Let's leave the glorious deeds of robbing the rich and helping the poor to other teams...
Mourinho once again deployed a 4-2-3-1 formation, with Kumbulla, who did not play in the last game, and Mancini, who was suspended for the league, as the double central defenders. Karsdorp and Bigna, who had not started since the opening of the winter transfer window and the arrival of new players, returned to the left back position;
Defensive midfielders Cristante and Veretout, and central midfielder Pellegrini, this trio was also a frequent partner in the first half of the season and even last season;
Center forward Abraham started again, Zaniolo played as right winger, and young player Gian, who scored the winning goal against Juventus in the last game, got a chance to start as left winger.
Also sitting on the bench with Chen Xiaoliang was Cesco. The team doctor repeatedly checked and confirmed that his muscle discomfort was just overfatigue and he was not injured.
After much deliberation, Mourinho decided to put the two players on the roster to see how the situation develops. In case the situation changes, they will have to be sent on the field.
The game was very lively and the gap in strength was too obvious. The total value of Cagliari's starting 11 players was only 68.2 million euros, 200,000 euros higher than the value of Chen Xiaoliang alone.
Roma launched a one-sided attack and shot 17 times around Cagliari throughout the game, but they just couldn't score a goal.
In the 70th minute, Mourinho could no longer sit still and replaced Chen Xiaoliang to strengthen the cross-field.
However, before Chen Xiaoliang got the ball, Matic, who replaced Cristante in the second half, hit the arm of Cagliari's left wingback Dalbert with a long shot from outside the penalty area.
After checking VAR repeatedly, the referee finally awarded a penalty and showed Dalbert a second yellow card.
Pellegrini took the penalty and the ball fooled the goalkeeper and scored steadily.
Seeing this, Mourinho simply let Chen Xiaoliang take charge of defense, and the team maintained the score of 1-0 until the end with a mentality of playing it safe.
Although the win against a weak team was not attractive, half of the main players got a chance to rest, no new injuries occurred, and the team achieved a rare clean sheet without conceding a goal. Mourinho was still very proud of himself after the game.
In this round of the league, AC Milan unexpectedly lost 1-2 to Spezia at home, Fiorentina swept Genoa 6-0 at home, Inter Milan drew 0-0 with Atalanta away, Juventus beat Udinese 2-0, and Napoli beat Bologna 0-2 away.
Roma and Inter Milan both have 47 points and have once again topped the list thanks to their league win-loss record.
Mourinho was even more proud.
However, a week later, the 23rd round of the league presented a completely different picture.
Mourinho sent out all his main players to challenge Empoli, who were ranked 13th in the league, in Tuscany, a famous wine producing country, at the Carlo Castellani Stadium.
Chen Xiaoliang ended his rotation and returned to the starting lineup, partnering with Matic as a defensive midfielder.
Both sides played very fiercely, with shots 15 to 13, shots on target 6 to 7, ball possession 58% to 42%. Empoli attacked vigorously and Roma counterattacked vigorously.
In the 24th minute, Matic, who created a penalty in the previous game and started this game, shot again from outside the penalty area. The ball missed the target and inexplicably went wide and rolled to Cesco's feet.
The defensive players didn't expect the shot would turn into an assist. Cesco adjusted and turned to shoot. Empoli 0-1 Roma!
This goal also made Cesco's league goal tally finally reach double digits.
However, what caused heated discussion among fans was that Mourinho did not celebrate enthusiastically after scoring the goal. Instead, he turned around with a smile and blinked his left eye at the camera.
Then in the 34th minute, Pellegrini's corner kick caused panic in the Empoli penalty area.
Mancini headed the ball and it hit the back of the defender and bounced out. Abraham made a follow-up shot, but the defender fell to the ground and blocked it with his body. Mancini took advantage of the chaos to make a follow-up shot and finally scored. Empoli 0-2 Roma!
This was Manic's first goal this season and he was very excited after scoring.
Especially after receiving a red card which led to the team's defeat, he urgently needed such a performance to defend his starting position.
No one expected that just one minute later, after Empoli kicked off, the diagonal pass was intercepted by Chen Xiaoliang, who passed it directly to Karsdorp, who made a low cross from the right bottom, Zaniolo knocked the ball with his heel in front, and Sesco in the middle received the ball and shot.
Empoli 0-3 Roma!
Just when Mourinho was planning to replace the main players with substitutes for training in the second half, just over a minute passed. This time, Pellegrini received a long pass from Chen Xiaoliang on the left and launched a counterattack. After a cross from the bottom, Zaniolo pushed the ball into the goal.
Empoli 0-4 Roma!
It went smoothly, too smoothly. Mourinho, who had been smiling and winking just now, couldn't help himself and laughed out loud, even joking with Lapeti.
I also want to keep a low profile, but my strength doesn't allow it.
After the halftime, Mourinho again replaced Cesco, Chen Xiaoliang, Matic and others with Darbo, Zalewski and Wu Lei to improve their condition.
However, with this change, Mourinho's smile gradually began to disappear from his face.
In the 55th minute, Empoli played the same combination as Roma. Captain Bandinelli made a cross from the left bottom, and center forward Pinamonti stopped the ball near the penalty spot and shot. The ball went straight to the lower right corner of the goal.
Empoli pulled one goal back to 1-4.
When the cross was made, the two central defenders Mancini and Ibanez were like being hit by the sunflower acupuncture point, and they had no reaction at all. In their previous running, they completely forgot about Pinamonti who was in the front of the opponent.
In the counterattack, due to the departure of Chen Xiaoliang, the only stable point for passing the ball became Cristante, who came on as a substitute. Empoli intensified their pressure on him during the transition from offense to defense.
The other two central defenders and Darbo's long-distance passes lacked accuracy, resulting in the inability to launch an effective and quick counterattack in the first time even if the defense was successful. For this reason, Pellegrini had to keep retreating to help receive the ball, which actually reduced the frontcourt's one point of support.
One thing led to another. Under Empoli's targeted arrangement, in the 72nd minute, Albania's midfielder Bayrami's shot hit Mancini's calf and deflected into the net.
The Roma vice-chairman never expected that he would either not win or score twice today, one goal in each half, and both goals were scored on the same side of the field.
After scoring another goal to make it 2-4, Empoli became more motivated and started to attack Roma.
What was supposed to be a massacre turned into a bus parking.
Mourinho, who was smiling and winking at the camera in the first half, now frowned and looked dissatisfied.
Forti didn't say a word. After all, it didn't take a football professional or even an amateur fan to see that such a big change in the situation was caused by Mourinho's substitution in the midfield.
This is Serie A, which is at least the third-largest league in Europe. Although there are gaps between the teams, the gap is not as big as reflected by the total market value.
In addition, Empoli is a team that attracts a lot of attention. This season, it has defeated Juventus, Bologna and other top 8 teams in the league, and defeated Napoli, which was ranked first at the time, 1-0 away from home. It lost 3-2 to both Milan teams, but lost to relegation teams such as Genoa and Venice.
Moreover, although Roma is a well-known team in Serie A, it is still far from the level of a top club. These players are either capable but young and inexperienced like Zaniolo and Cesco, or experienced but obviously on the decline like Matic and Mkhitaryan. The remaining few who are in their prime, Smalling, Mancini, Pellegrini, Abraham, etc., all find it difficult to enter the national teams of their respective countries. Even if they do, they will be on the bench like Cristante.
Fortunately, Roma managed to hold on in the end and the score of 2 to 4 was maintained until the end.
Wu Lei was so depressed. He had a good chance to play as a right winger, but he ended up being a right wingback. He was always helping Karsdorp defend and steal the ball in his own half. He played for more than 40 minutes, but he didn't even get a shot. He did have 2 interceptions...
In this round, AC Milan and Juventus drew 0-0, Inter Milan and Napoli won, and Roma topped the list for two consecutive rounds. Immediately, many media touted Mourinho's team, saying that they showed the potential to be champions despite being unfavored before the season.
Mourinho's fans were even more outraged, claiming that Serie A was an easy task for Mourinho, and that winning the league, cup and Europa League treble this year was just around the corner.
Although Mourinho felt good, he was a seasoned player after all, and he knew the strengths and weaknesses of the players under his nose.
For a head coach who has worked with Eto'o and Drogba, how could he not know what Abraham's shortcomings are?
For a head coach who has coached Lucio, Maicon, Samuel, Ramos and Terry, how could he not know how incompetent Karsdorp, Mancini and Ibanez are?
For a head coach who coached Smalling and Mkhitaryan at Manchester United... How could he not know that these two players in Roma are not as good as they were at Manchester United...
But the good and the bad are that we have won three consecutive league games and everything is moving in a good direction.
In early February, the draw results for the two events were also announced.
In the Italian Cup quarterfinals, Roma drew Atalanta away, and the winner between the two teams will face the winner between Fiorentina and Sassuolo at home;
AC Milan will play against Juventus, while Lazio will host Inter Milan at home.
This draw can be said to be a stroke of luck, as we will not encounter the three giants on the way to the finals.
Without notifying the board, Mourinho immediately adjusted the team's expectations for domestic cup competitions this season, which is to at least reach the final and challenge for the Italian Cup title.
In the Europa League draw, Roma was placed in the upper half and will face the winner of the play-off between Celtic and Borderland FC on March 11. This means that Chen Xiaoliang may return to Celtic Park to challenge his arch-rivals in the Scottish Premier League.
Among the remaining teams in the top half, the more well-known ones include Leicester City and PSV Eindhoven;
In the lower half are Feyenoord and Marseille.
After comprehensive consideration and consultation with the coaching team, Mourinho believes that the top priority this season is still the league. As the team is currently able to remain in the top four and even challenge for the championship, the Italian Cup and the European Cup should be given lower priority.
However, there is nothing wrong with winning more championships. Considering that the team's lineup depth is not strong, the Italian Cup, which is relatively close and has more familiar opponents, was placed in second place.
The Europa League, which only qualifies a team for the Europa League even if it wins the championship, is naturally placed last in the priority list.
In this way, with full confidence, the team welcomed its opponent in the 24th round of the league, Genoa, who was ranked at the bottom, at the Olympic Stadium in Rome.
At 16:00 on February 5, the day when the new issue of the biweekly "France Football" was released, Roma's main players fielded the team, which had won all four previous encounters and had not won a single game in the previous six rounds of the league.
However, after 32 shots at home, the score was still 0-0.
And in the 67th minute, Genoa defender Stigard pulled Abraham and fouled him with the last man on the field, and was directly given a red card and sent off.
Even so, Roma still couldn't break through Genoa's door even with one more player.
The old Italian goalkeeper Sirigu seemed to have taken the wrong medicine. He made high shots and blocked the ball. In addition, Roma had a ridiculous method of only 7 shots on target out of 32 shots. It was not until the 94th minute that Zaniolo dribbled beautifully sideways in front of the penalty area, dribbled past the opponent's defender and scored with a low shot in the far corner.
But before the players had celebrated the winning goal for half a minute, Mourinho almost wanted to slide on the ground, but the referee blew the whistle and signaled that the goal was cancelled.
VAR showed that Abraham fouled the ball from a Genoa player before passing it to Zaniolo.
Zaniolo couldn't help it and ran over to question the referee loudly. Chen Xiaoliang knew something was wrong and wanted to rush over to pull him, but it was too late.
Unable to accept such a penalty, the Roma striker chased the referee and said many words to promote professional ethics. Because of his moving and sincere words, he was issued a direct red card...
Mourinho watched all this helplessly without any complaints. He walked into the field and took the initiative to hook Zaniolo and pull him back off the field.
The red card is a foregone conclusion, and any war of words will happen after the game. However, facing such a ridiculous referee and league penalty system, if Zaniolo continues to argue with the referee, he will only face a more severe suspension penalty.
Although he wanted to get angry, he had to hold it back.
Thus, Mourinho's 100th milestone game in Serie A ended with the Roma fans booing the referee.
The 2 points lost in this round failed to help the team widen the gap in the standings. At the same time, in the Milan derby, AC Milan defeated Inter Milan 2-1 and ranked second with 50 points, 1 point behind Roma.
Inter Milan is ranked third with 50 points due to win-loss record, while Napoli is ranked fourth with 48 points after losing to Venice.
Juventus continued their winning streak, beating Verona 2-0, and with 43 points they have regained hope of reaching the top four.
From January 15th to February 5th, a full 21 days, there were three games with 2 wins and 1 draw, and a total of 9 training points and 4 physical recovery cards as rewards were obtained through league tasks.
At the same time, two stamina recovery cards were consumed in the match against Genoa and during extra training.
Stamina recovery card 1→3
The 17 days of 3 hours of formal training and the 21 days of additional training with an average of 1 hour per day added up to a total of 72 training points.
Training value 19 → 100
Thinking about the interruption of the physical recovery card due to the recent loss, Chen Xiaoliang spent 80 training points to increase the last physical attribute, physique, by 4 points.
Constitution 11→15
This way, his natural physical strength recovery speed during half-time breaks and non-match days will be faster.
Of the remaining 20 training points, he took out 15 points and increased long shots from 7 to 10.
Training value 100 → 5
Originally, he was reluctant to add long shots so quickly. After all, both shooting and long shots were too low and required a large number of points to add them. It would be better to improve the advantageous attributes to play a greater role.
However, the draw with Genoa really made him feel itchy.
No matter how he looked for open space to cross, pass to the side, or make a straight pass, and no matter how good his teammates' shooting opportunities were after receiving the ball, his shots were either too straight and were saved by Sirigu, or too far to the goal and went past the goal.
Many times he wished he could go up and shoot a few times himself.
Although the 10-point attribute of long shots is still mediocre, it can still be tried in certain circumstances, such as when Cesco assists himself with the pass, adds the bonus of tacit connection, and there is no obvious interference nearby.
However, with the release of the exclusive interview with France Football and the draw with the bottom team, Turin Sports Daily also "appropriately" published a series of responses to Chen Xiaoliang's remarks.
It can be regarded as a classic case of making indirect accusations.
Everyone knows that the alliance formed by Juventus, Real Madrid and Barcelona is still creating the image of a "lone hero" and is determined to "fight" UEFA to the end, and must "seek welfare, fairness and eliminate monopolies" for European clubs and create a "new path" for the development of football.
Now some people come out to criticize the European Super League with well-founded reasons. How can this be possible?
