Chapter 324: The Magic Bird Enters the Palace for the Third Time?
Enzo did not give up despite repeated setbacks. With all his knowledge and understanding of Chen Xiaoliang and his utmost determination, he firmly carried out the task of defending Chen Xiaoliang.
In fact, he also remembered that in the six months he had been with Chen Xiaoliang, this red countryman who was well-balanced in all aspects had been making rapid progress. It was just that they had been separated for three months this time, so his impression of Chen Xiaoliang remained at three months ago.
Both teams had a shot that hit the goal frame, which made both teams return to a cautious mentality.
In the 17th minute, Kovacic made a long diagonal pass from the left side of the backcourt to Havertz outside the penalty area. The German center forward took a long shot with his left foot without waiting for Wijnaldum to come forward, and Patricio fell to the ground and hugged the ball.
Afterwards, Roma attacked the frontcourt, and Dybala responded with a left-foot shot after cutting inside from outside Chelsea's penalty area, but the ball slightly missed the left post.
After 20 minutes of the game, Chelsea's double midfielder changed from parallel left and right to one in front and one behind. Kovacic, who had average defensive ability, became the main organizer, while Enzo, who was lagging behind, focused a lot of energy on defending Chen Xiaoliang.
Felix and Sterling in the front did not stick to the wing, they often switched positions to the middle to attack, while the two wing-backs were more likely to take on the offensive responsibilities on the wing.
After playing for 20 minutes, Chen Xiaoliang understood firsthand why Chelsea played like this this season. There was a lack of explosive points in the frontcourt, the forwards had a low shooting accuracy and could not stand in the penalty area, the midfielders were weak and had poor frontal interception and defense capabilities, they could not get back after going to the wing, and once the three central defenders moved to the wing, they could not be stopped in the middle.
This is also the reason why Burley is willing to spend 120 million on Enzo. There are too few young waists available in the world.
However, in the 3-4-2-1 formation, the configuration of only two midfielders requires that these two people must be capable of both offense and defense. In addition to being able to retreat to protect the front of the penalty area, they must also be able to dribble, organize, and directly participate in the offense.
After Enzo came to Chelsea with full confidence, he also found that the reason why he was so comfortable playing as a defensive midfielder in Roma was that no matter in the three-center-back or four-center-back system, he always had Chen Xiaoliang as the central midfielder in front of him to help him deal with a considerable part of the threats. But in Chelsea, Felix and Sterling in front of him were only responsible for offense and did not contribute much in defense. This made him, as a defensive midfielder, always directly exposed to the opponent's central attack.
Another point is that in the Premier League where physical confrontations and headers are very common, Enzo, who is 178cm tall, and Kovacic, who is 177cm tall, not only have limited height, but are also not good at aerial work. In defending high balls, even if these two midfielders retreat to the penalty area, they do not have much effect on the team's air defense.
There are no perfect tactics, only suitable players.
Looking at Kante sitting on the bench, who has been out for more than 200 days since June 2022 due to knee problems, hamstring injuries, and hamstring injuries, not only Chelsea fans sighed, but even Chen Xiaoliang felt a little regretful that he could not compete head-on with such a top defensive midfielder in active service.
The goal came quickly.
In the 28th minute, Chen Xiaoliang received the ball on the right side and attacked. Dybala passed the ball back to him and then he moved forward without the ball. Chilwell did not dare to miss him and ran backwards with Dybala to avoid Chen Xiaoliang's direct pass behind him.
Chen Xiaoliang made a cross pass from the right, Cesco retreated actively, overpowered Kovacic and stopped the ball with his chest, then passed it to the left to Kva who had already smelled the opportunity.
Kva received the ball and moved forward, as if possessed by Chen Xiaoliang. The right center back Fofana, who was defending in front, turned around immediately, but Kva, who started one step ahead, used his speed to eat Fofana and dribbled the ball into the small penalty area!
Koulibaly in the middle was still looking at Cesco, Cucurella on the side was preparing to block Dybala who rushed in, and Fofana's loss of position caused the three-center-back defense line to fall suddenly!
Two meters away from the left corner of the small penalty area, Kva stretched out his right foot!
Dybala was making a run inside and Cesco also rushed back to the back of the penalty spot. Both of them were in place, just waiting for Kvart to make the final move!
Chelsea goalkeeper Kepa did not block the ball at the near post. At 186cm tall, he is not considered tall among goalkeepers, but he is known for his reaction. He chose to stay less than 2 meters away from the near corner, and once Kvart shot at the near corner, he would use his reaction speed to make up for it.
Kwa shoots with his right foot!
Low ball!
Kepa fell to the ground immediately!
The left hand caught the ball!
The ball bounced up, but still flew towards the goal!
Zhan Jun: "This ball...still went in!"
"Kepa's reaction speed was very fast, but his left hand did not completely touch the ball. The ball did not block it out, but bounced up and flew into the goal!"
Zhang Lu: "This ball exposed Chelsea's defensive problems. Reece James didn't come back after his run forward, and Kvart didn't go to the left but to the left flank. The flank should be the position where the defensive midfielder defends first. If the defensive midfielder can't defend, the defender should make up for it behind the defensive midfielder."
"What about the defensive midfielder? Kovacic was defending Cesco who was retreating outside the penalty area to receive Xiaoliang's long pass. Because he played with three central defenders, if Koulibaly followed Cesco out of the penalty area, there would be no central defender in front of Kepa and in the entire middle. This is absolutely not possible, so Kovacic has no problem."
"But he is short. How can he compete with Cesco for the high ball? So the problem lies with the other defensive midfielder. Where is Enzo? Where is Enzo?"
Zhan Jun: "Enzo was mainly defending Xiaoliang today, and Xiaoliang, who moved to the right side, was on the other side ready to block him from moving forward."
Zhang Lu: "So why do we say Mourinho is so good at this? He has used it countless times this season. Once the opponent double-teams Xiao Liang in the middle, Xiao Liang will run to the side. Will your players in the middle follow him?"
"If you don't follow, let Xiaoliang play against a wingback or a wide defender. He can break through, pass the ball, and even dribble into the penalty area and shoot."
"You follow? Then Kwa, Dybala, and Cesco, the three good offensive players, should all retreat to the middle, use more people to defeat fewer, and wait for Xiaoliang to pass the ball to us."
"Among these three players, one is tall, one is good at breaking through, and one has excellent footwork. If you let a single defensive midfielder protect the top of the gourd, how can you possibly defend against them?"
"Excluding the goalkeeper who is in a fixed position, football is a game of 10 players against 10 players, using and pulling space. When a player can attract more than two defenders from the opposing team, he can break the balance of space occupied by the offense and defense, which will inevitably cause the defense to defend with fewer players in a local area."
Zhan Jun: "So in the final analysis, Mourinho's trump card is also a treasure that all European giants are eager to get, proving that the 150 million euro penalty clause is really not expensive at all!"
They took the lead away from home almost without any bloodshed, without causing too much fluctuation between the two sides.
Firstly, it was still early with three quarters of the game still to go, and secondly, given Chelsea's embarrassing situation of being only 10th in the Premier League, it was not surprising that Roma had the advantage on the field.
After conceding the ball, Kovacic spread his hands towards Koulibaly. Koulibaly put his hands on his hips, shook his head and looked at Fofana. Fofana, who was cleanly passed by Kovač, had no one to blame and could only sigh to the sky.
Havertz kicked off and the game continued.
Seeing that there was no way out in the middle, Chelsea began to attack the two flanks.
The reality of being behind made them feel less psychologically burdened, and they started to attack, and their momentum improved thanks to the impact of a group of youngsters in the frontcourt.
In the 34th minute, Reece James' cross from the right side was headed out by Gvardiol. Kovacic received the ball in the middle and passed it to the left. Chilwell got the ball from the left and made a cross directly from the left.
Smalling headed the ball in front of the goal . Not only the Roma players were surprised by this header, but even Havertz behind Smalling was not surprised. Although he had jumped, his header did not hit the right spot, and in a panic he headed the ball high over the crossbar!
Smalling quickly raised his hand to signal to his teammates and took the blame. Patricio came over and patted him hard on the back, as if to wake him up.
On the Chelsea side, many people shook their heads in regret.
Four minutes later, Chelsea made a comeback on the right. Enzo dribbled the ball and passed it back to Reece James behind him before Chen Xiaoliang approached him. The English full-back made a long pass at a 45° angle, but Gvardiol still won the header over Havertz.
However, Sterling grabbed the second penalty and volleyed his right foot directly into the stands from the penalty area line.
Zhan Jun: "Happy football is back! Chelsea created chaos in the penalty area twice in a row, but all the opportunities were wasted!"
Zhang Lu: "It's not surprising at all. One is Havertz and the other is Sterling. Havertz is not as good as Sterling. Sterling at least has a running position. He can always run to a threatening place. Havertz doesn't even have a running position. It often feels like Chelsea is playing with one less player in the frontcourt."
Zhan Jun: "In the five games in the whole month of February, they only scored one goal, and the fans joked that they didn't even need to be voted for the best goal of the month."
"They have only scored 29 goals in the Premier League this season, ranking 13th, which is indeed inconsistent with their status as a BIG6 giant."
In both defenses, either one shot went over the top or the other shot missed a player. Although the opponent barely managed to lose the ball, it still forced Chen Xiaoliang on the field to be alert.
Having just finished an away game against Fiorentina, and having flown over 1,400 kilometers from Rome to London, the team's condition was indeed affected by the fatigue of the journey. In addition, as it was an away game, the atmosphere and environment were not favorable for the visiting team, so it was obvious that some players were not in very good condition today.
He extended a tactical finger to the two defensive midfielders and full-backs, which meant to shrink the defense, reduce the frequency of pressing forward, and pay attention to staying inward to protect the penalty area.
This was an instruction to his teammates, and he himself aimed at Kovacic.
This main player of the Croatian national team not only helped his country achieve good results in the World Cup, but also played for three giants including Inter Milan, Real Madrid and Chelsea during his club career.
At this time on the court, Enzo's main energy was on defending himself, while Kovacic became the commander of the midfield, and almost all the transfers between the two flanks were carried out through him.
In the 41st minute, Roma, who had given up a large area of the midfield, retreated voluntarily, and Chelsea automatically pressed forward as a whole and continued to create opportunities on the flanks.
Reece James was very active today, running back and forth on the right, and Kva retreated with him, trying to reduce the space he had to get the ball together with Wijnaldum.
However, in the large open area in the midfield, an interesting scene appeared.
Chen Xiaoliang always moved near Kovacic, and Enzo did not dare to be too far away from Chen Xiaoliang, to avoid Roma launching a counterattack once they got the ball and he would not have time to catch up and defend.
Because there are only three central defenders behind him, and they also have to guard against Roma's three strikers.
The three of them seemed to be strung together. Wherever Kovacic ran, the other two moved together.
With this, Kva and Wijnaldum on the flanks dared to double-team. As long as they covered Chelsea's flank possession area, they would not be able to pass the ball sideways, and the only way they had was to pass the ball back.
The trapped Reece James refused to believe it. He saw that there was no hope in passing the ball to Sterling, and Kovacic ran towards him to catch the ball, and sent it out with a tiptoe.
Faced with such a free ball, Chen Xiaoliang would not be polite at all. Although Kovacic bent his knees with all his strength to try to block Chen Xiaoliang behind him, the huge difference in strength and speed meant that before he could get into position, Chen Xiaoliang went around in front of him and stretched his legs to block the ball, and trapped Kovacic behind him.
Chen Xiaoliang passed the ball to Cristante on his left side, at the back of the court, then immediately turned right, ran forward, and pointed to the right.
After receiving the ball, Cristante immediately made a long pass to Dybala who had already started to make a run on the right.
After receiving the ball on the right, Dybala adjusted himself, turned sideways and drew another long diagonal line with his left foot, and passed the ball to the left side of Chelsea's penalty area.
Kwa arrives! He lightly jumps up and takes the ball with the outside of his right foot!
Reece James, who was supposed to be defending him, was chasing the Roma captain with Enzo behind Chen Xiaoliang.
This was the first time that the Englishman played against Chen Xiaoliang, and it was also the first time that he faced Chen Xiaoliang directly in this game. He cursed in his heart as he ran: "Fuck! Too fast! Fuck! How can this guy be so fast! Fuck! Fuck!"
Two long passes hit behind the defense line, and right center back Fofana had to leave the penalty area to make up for the deficit. It had not been long since he was eaten alive by Kovač's speed. Now he was facing the Roma winger head-on, so he had to keep a distance from him to avoid being overtaken by another step.
Kva used his signature left-right change of direction, first dribbling the ball on his left foot, then taking advantage of the defender's change of center of gravity when he retreated, instantly switching to his right foot and breaking through to the right front.
At this time, Cesco was fighting with Koulibaly, and Cucurella came over and gave up Dybala who was coming from the left, and chose to block Chen Xiaoliang.
After Kva made a breakthrough, he created space and Kepa had to move two steps towards the near post.
Fofana turned around and wanted to stick to Kva, Kva passed the ball back to the top of the penalty area, and Chen Xiaoliang was ready to receive the ball!
An alarm seemed to sound in Cucurella's mind. He had just seen the door frame shaking in the penalty area after being hit by Chen Xiaoliang.
What kind of power can produce this abnormal shot?
At this time, Chen Xiaoliang was already on the penalty area line. With his strength, as long as he shot the ball, it would be almost the same as a penalty kick.
Thinking of this, Cucurella stretched out his right leg like a split, while holding his hands tightly in front of his chest.
Players are sometimes forced to fight for their lives.
That year, Manchester United's Alan Smith sacrificed himself to block Riise's violent long-range shot. The huge force of the ball hitting his calf and the downward pressure when it landed instantly broke the Englishman's calf in two.
Facing Chen Xiaoliang, who has the same extraordinary strength, Cucurella's defense is a matter of all.
Chen Xiaoliang swung his right foot back, Cucurella frowned, narrowed his eyes, and his facial features were distorted!
At that moment, he even stopped breathing, clenched his fists tightly in front of his body, and prayed silently in his heart, "God bless you!"
Then, after he fell to the ground, there was neither the imagined sound of the ball hitting the target nor the light or shadow of the ball being shot out.
Chen Xiaoliang moved the outside of his right foot to the right and passed the ball lightly to Dybala who was not guarded.
Faced with a perfect pass, Dybala shot the ball into the upper left corner of the goal with the inside of his left foot without stopping the ball!
With such a powerful shot in the penalty area, there was not even a defensive player in front of him to block the shooting route. Kepa did not make any reaction and the ball went straight into the upper left corner of the net.
"Yeah!" There was a warm cheer from the Roma fan area of more than 1,500 people, and four or five team flags were waving back and forth, while the Chelsea fans of less than 40,000 people sighed.
Zhan Jun: "We were 0-2 behind at home, and lost both positional warfare and counterattacks. It seems that this battle for Mourinho's return to his old place will end with a clear-cut situation of strength and weakness as expected before the game!"
Zhang Lu: "Porter is too inexperienced and has almost no on-the-spot command. Roma took the initiative to retreat, but Chelsea pressed forward. The start was pretty good, shrinking and counterattacking. After falling behind by one goal, they had two good chances but missed them. It felt like they forgot who they were."
"This ball has the same problem as before. Cucurella defended Xiaoliang, and Dybala was left alone. Dybala, who was unguarded in the penalty area, was not Sterling. Basically, he would score if he was given a chance."
"And if Xiaoliang wasn't guarded, he would be celebrating his score right now."
Zhan Jun: "The difference is whether to celebrate scoring or celebrating assists."
Zhang Lu: "They are still pressing forward even though they can't be defended. I really don't know why Burley just refuses to replace Porter."
Zhan Jun: "Chelsea fans are also sighing. Tourhe, who was sacked at the beginning of the season, has found a new job at Bayern Munich!"
"Commander Tu's troops have arrived in Munich! And it seems that Potter's journey to lead Chelsea in the Champions League this season will also come to an end."
"Some fans in the stands held up banners hoping Mourinho would return to Stamford Bridge for a third spell. I wonder if Burley would see this and be tempted by the embarrassing situation in front of him?!"
