Chapter 328: Advance to the Champions League semi-finals without any bloodshed!
Kwa was so excited that he almost cried, of course he was so happy.
He has never received such a simple assist in a mobile game in his life...
Just pass the ball casually and someone will come over and run over two people like a bulldozer and score the ball.
The referee Mario Samptero also calmed himself down. He has been refereeing games for half his life, whether as an assistant referee when he was young or as a referee now. Today was like a small prick in the butt - he finally opened his eyes.
But the work had to go on, and he showed three yellow cards at the same time, to Enzo and Chie who had clearly committed fouls but did not result in a foul, that is, they had committed a foul but did not succeed, and Chen Xiaoliang who took the initiative to take off his jersey and exposed his upper body.
Chen Xiaoliang didn't care. He took the spare jersey that Forti sent him, put it on, clapped towards the stands, and returned to his seat.
According to the rules of the Champions League, at the semi-final stage, all accumulated yellow cards that will not lead to suspension will be reset, so the card he received today is actually insignificant and will not affect the subsequent semi-finals.
He calmed down and thought about it. The previous shot was also a risky move. If the two Chelsea defenders were replaced, and the one who squeezed past him was not Enzo, who was 178 cm tall and 72 kg, but Chie, who was 191 cm tall and 88 kg, then he might not have been able to withstand the shot.
After all, Enzo practiced with him almost every day, and that guy especially liked to compete with him one-on-one. He always shouted that he wanted to beat him. He knew exactly how Enzo would exert his strength and what actions he would do in a hurry.
The total score was 4-0. Both Porter at the scene and Burley at home knew that the two-round game was completely over.
Burley angrily called the club's sporting director Lawrence Stewart again:
"What happened to this Red Countryman's transfer?!"
Stuart: "His agent doesn't want to talk to us because we don't have the Champions League next season."
Boli was furious: "Then increase the money and let them set the conditions! You can give the agent extra commission!"
Stuart: "Boss, don't get excited. We have been working hard. You know how many clubs are eyeing this red countryman..."
Burley: "What about Mourinho? You can't handle him either?"
Stewart: "No, his agent Mendes is very willing to contact us, but as far as I know, Paris Saint-Germain is also in contact with Mendes, hoping that the Portuguese will leave Rome and go to Paris to coach at the end of this season."
"There is also Newcastle. If they don't make the top four this season, the Saudis will consider firing Eddie Howe. They are also in contact with Mendes."
Boli: "Damn Middle Eastern people, they want to get involved everywhere. Anyway, they report to me every three days!"
The fact is just as Stewart said, facing a pile of offers, Reese is not in a hurry at all.
Rare goods are valuable and the whole world is eager to buy them.
However, to Riise's surprise, Napoli was the most aggressive among these clubs. Owner De Laurentiis even publicly stated in an interview that the Roma board was the most short-sighted board he had ever seen. Missing out on Chen Xiaoliang would be a big mistake that would go down in history, just like missing out on Messi and Ronaldo. Napoli would do everything they could to get him, and then the team could be the champion of Serie A for more than 15 years.
However, it was not Riise's turn to reject their offer, because the 150 million euro settlement fund in Chen Xiaoliang's contract clearly stated in black and white that it was only valid for clubs in countries other than Italy. Pinto directly rejected it, and he also rejected Juventus.
Among the remaining clubs, Paris Saint-Germain offered the most generous conditions. They were willing to offer a weekly salary of 750,000 euros to show their sincerity.
This salary ranks fourth in Paris Saint-Germain, behind Mbappe, Neymar and Messi.
Ranked 5th in the world, the first place is naturally Cristiano Ronaldo, who is reported to have an annual salary of 200 million euros (about 3.84 million euros per week).
Newcastle is willing to offer the same weekly salary of 500,000 pounds as Chelsea, and promised that if Chen Xiaoliang is willing to join, they will invest an additional more than 200 million pounds in the summer window to build a lineup capable of competing for the Premier League championship.
The one that made the biggest move to the outside world was Real Madrid. Their transfer team gave Riise the feeling that since Real Madrid had spoken, it would be Chen Xiaoliang's turn to take the initiative to express his opinion, just like many people have done before, telling the media that he had dreamed of joining Real Madrid since he was a child, and now that the opportunity to realize his wish had come, he would definitely seize it.
The conditions of the remaining teams are similar. Bayern is slightly more cautious, Manchester City chooses to draw more long-term plans, and Manchester United is willing to give the No. 7 jersey that symbolizes the core and represents the legend.
Barcelona is still trying to raise 150 million euros in transfer funds.
Watching Chen Xiaoliang's beastly goal just now, Riise leisurely turned off his mobile phone, poured a small glass of whiskey, sat on the sofa and continued to enjoy the game.
With performance like Chen Xiaoliang's, those wealthy bosses and transfer directors are going to be anxious.
On the field, Havertz kicked off and the game continued.
Although Potter did not arrange any tactical changes, Chelsea's players on the field involuntarily played a defensive contraction. As for whether there would be a counterattack, that was another matter. The first priority was to defend.
Their dignity as professional players told them that they had already lost face enough and could not concede any more goals. If they did, Dortmund would be in the same situation where they conceded 7 goals.
With a 4-goal lead in hand, Roma players played very relaxed and comfortable. Even if someone made a mistake, his teammates just laughed it off, which was in sharp contrast to the serious faces of the entire Chelsea team.
In the 28th minute, Dybala cut in from the right and made a cross. Abraham and Koulibaly collided while competing for the header and both fell to the ground. The referee Mario Samptoro saw them lying on the ground and stopped the game, but did not call a foul on either side.
In the 34th minute, Mudrick found an open space on the left and received a lob pass from Chilwell behind him, overtaking Binya at the bottom line. However, he did not pass the ball immediately and wanted to turn around and break into the penalty area along the bottom line. He was double-teamed by Binya who was caught up and Mancini who was blocking him, and the ball went out of the bottom line.
In the 41st minute, during Roma's continuous siege, Perrone and Matic switched positions and came to the left half to receive the ball and participate in the organization. Without being once again demonstrated his vision and talent. He passed a half-high ball with his left foot to the right side of the penalty area and accurately found Dybala, who did not stop the ball and jumped sideways to volley. The ball was touched by Cucurella and then flew out of the bottom line after hitting the crossbar.
Many people on the Chelsea bench almost slipped off their seats. They were almost humiliated by another world-class goal.
Dybala took a corner kick, Koulibaly headed the ball out at the first point, Chen Xiaoliang blocked Kovacic who rushed out to catch up with the ball, and Matic from the outside made another long shot, the ball hit the post and went out of the goal frame.
Lou Yichen: "Hey! Roma keeps getting chances to shoot, Chelsea's goal is in danger, the home team may score again at any time!"
Liu Yue: "There is still a problem with the personnel. The defense is not strong enough and the speed is not targeted. Using the soft Cucurella and Kovacic to participate in the defense makes Matic and Perrone play freely."
"In fact, these two players have been targeted in the Serie A. Matic is old and slow in speed and turning. Perrone's defensive hardness and ability are not enough. He is not good at getting rid of close pressure in offense."
“As a result, Chelsea neither used speed to attack Matic nor put defensive pressure on Perrone today. The weaknesses of both players were protected, and their strengths were naturally revealed.”
"It's almost the end of the first half. I don't know if Potter will make any adjustments. Reece James, Kante, and even Pulisic can all be used. Although Felix has good offensive linking and dribbling abilities, everyone has to participate in defense in the modern football tactical system. His confrontation and defensive abilities are still a bit weak, especially when he retreats to defend in the frontcourt. He can hardly put any defensive pressure on Chen Xiaoliang."
Soon the halftime break came. Matic, Dybala and others couldn't help but walk up to Chen Xiaoliang to discuss the goal he had just scored, asking him how he did it.
Perrone, who has been in the team for 3 months, was completely convinced by Chen Xiaoliang today, even more shocking than the game in which he scored 5 goals against Dortmund.
What a rising star in the Argentine midfield, what a genius that both Guardiola and Mourinho have their eyes on, what a person who will surpass Enzo in the future. These praises ignited his inner confidence a hundredfold when he left Sarsfield and came to Rome on loan, and he felt that European football would not be much more difficult than South American football.
But now looking at young people like Mbappe, Haaland and Chen Xiaoliang, Perrone only feels that he is a mediocre person, and those people are the real geniuses.
Back in the locker room, Abraham imitated Chen Xiaoliang, Kwa played Enzo, and Gvadiol, who did not play, played Chie. They reenacted the process of scoring the goal and even exaggerated the process of Chie falling backwards after tearing his clothes.
Mourinho didn't say much, just gave an appropriate reminder that Chelsea and Liverpool now not only do not represent the highest level of the Premier League, but are still a long way away.
What this means is that future opponents will be even stronger, so don’t be blindly optimistic.
In the second half, he replaced Kva with Pellegrini.
On the Chelsea side, Potter seemed to have replaced the "worst signing in history" Cucurella with Reece James at the right center back, and Fofana changed to left center back, following the advice of the "bystander" coaching staff.
At the same time, Havertz was replaced by "Captain America" Pulisic.
But this move was unanimously criticized by the commentator Michael Owen in the Champions League broadcast room and Liu Yue in the Red Country broadcast room in the second half.
Without Havertz, Chelsea's frontcourt didn't even have a high point. Felix was in the front and took the initiative to cut off a person who could retreat and organize. After Pulisic came on the court, the defense in the frontcourt was a little better, but with Felix and Mudrick, two people who lacked physical confrontation, in the front, the offense never started again.
In the 61st minute, Roma took a corner kick from the right side. After Dybala took the kick, Chie headed the ball out before Ibanez. Felix caught up with the ball and wanted to launch a counterattack, but his pass was intercepted by Chen Xiaoliang.
Chen Xiaoliang passed the ball to his right rear with his heel, Malaysia received the ball and pushed it to the left front, Perrone who was lying in ambush outside the penalty area took a few steps, faced the defending Mudrick and shot with a low shot with the outside of his left foot!
The speed of the ball was not too fast, but the ball almost rolled into the net along the left post!
Roma leads 2-0 at home!
Perrone was extremely excited. This was his first Champions League goal since arriving in Europe, and it was against the Premier League giants Chelsea!
Malacia was also very happy, as this was his first assist of the season.
More than 60,000 Roma fans were celebrating at the scene. Some even took out smoke bombs and ignited them. The red and yellow smoke representing the Roma team emblem immediately filled the west stand. Soon a group of security guards rushed over and subdued the person involved ...
The more joyful one side is, the more miserable the other side is.
Porter on the sidelines touched his head, touched his beard, and crossed his hands on his chest. His hands that didn't know where to put them and his anxious expression accurately expressed his tormented mood.
It was really a waste of time. During the half-time break, assistant coach Billy Reid suggested that he replace Felix, but he hesitated and replaced Havertz, leaving Felix on the field.
He had no choice. He had personally requested Felix, and in the end the club supported him and spent 11 million euros to rent him for half a year... If he didn't play, or was replaced after only a short while, wouldn't that be a slap in his face?
Unexpectedly, he still couldn't escape the slap in the face.
In desperation, he could only send Kante on to replace Kovacic.
The total score was 5-0, which was already a tragedy. We had to defend until the end and not concede any more goals.
Kante's appearance did immediately improve the toughness of Chelsea's midfield.
In modern football, the stronger the defensive midfielder is, the more offensive threats can be filtered out in front of the penalty area line, which will greatly reduce the pressure on the central defender as the last line of defense.
Enzo is currently an excellent midfielder, but he is obviously still some distance away from being the sole defensive midfielder to support the midfield.
Under the muscular defense of Kante, Chilwell and Jurgen Klopp, Enzo had more opportunities to organize the game with the ball.
In the 71st minute, Chelsea made the best attack of the game. Pulisic made a low cross from the right. Although Felix ran out of position, the ball was blocked by Ibanez who fell to the ground and stretched his legs in advance.
Enzo used his chest to take the flying ball outside the penalty area, moved it horizontally to the left, and then made a lob pass with his right foot back into the penalty area.
Mudrick successfully made an offside move on the left side, and when the ball reached him, he volleyed the ball with his right foot before Patricio got close to him!
Patricio quickly jumped up to grab the ball, but he was half a beat too late!
Everyone's eyes were on the ball, and for a moment, as the ball flew in its parabola, everyone was waiting for the suspense of whether Chelsea could defeat Roma to be revealed.
Lou Yichen: "Alas! Chelsea, Chelsea, they played many successful tactical routines in the two rounds, but they all went wrong in the last shot."
"Since Mudrick joined the team three months ago, he has played eight times and has only made one assist. He has not scored any goals yet. This time, he was only the width of a crossbar away from scoring a goal."
Liu Yue: "Chelsea now reminds me of Liverpool two months into the season. There was a period when Salah and Firmino just couldn't score no matter what. It was also during that period that Nunez's shot into the far corner was criticized by the fans. It was as if the whole team had collectively lost confidence."
Lou Yichen: "What Lao Liu said is right. It was the same at Manchester United before Solskjaer was sacked. Once the team lost consecutive games or always lost in important games, the players would start to doubt themselves."
"Enzo is very helpless. All we can say is that he tried his best. But looking back from today's perspective, he chose to transfer too early in the winter window. Not only will he miss out on the championships this season, but he will also miss the Champions League next season."
Liu Yue: "He was after the big contract offered by Chelsea, but if you look at Xiaoliang, he will definitely win one or two championships at the end of the season and he can have more highlights with the team, he will have more choices in the summer window."
Seeing that they were almost losing the ball, Mourinho stood up and kept waving at the backcourt to remind them to close up and be more compact. The opponent's frontcourt had no height and could only play low crosses or offside. A dense defensive formation was the best way to break through.
Both sides then replaced several players, but the game could no longer be reversed. Although Kante's defensive skills are still there, the area he covers, his ability to counterattack on the spot after a steal, and to chase back on the spot after losing the ball have all declined significantly with the decline of his physical functions.
Chelsea still have a long way to go, but it is clear that their journey this season has come to an end.
“Beep! Beep! Beep~~~~!”
As the referee Mario Samptero blew two short and one long final whistle, the whole audience cheered!
The semi-finals, Roma once again made it back to the semi-finals!
This is their best Champions League result in five years since the 2017-18 season, but that year they were only third in the league, 18 points behind the champions Juventus.
Many fans held up cardboard or inflatable Champions League trophies in the stands, and many began waving flags with Chen Xiaoliang's back showing a striking number 33, his head tilted to show half of his face, and a medieval crown on his head.
