Chapter 172, Veteran Player

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In the twenty-second round of the Premier League on January 19, Manchester United played against Chelsea at Stamford Bridge.

Thirty minutes before the start of the game, the players were warming up on the court, and Morris and Raman of Sky TV were introducing the starting lineups of both sides.

Raman looked at the Manchester United starting list in his hand: "De Bruyne, who was not the main player at Chelsea, was favored by Manchester United's young coach Kintiger. Look at the list of Manchester United in our hands. De Bruyne actually played today. Will be starting!"

Morris continued to introduce Manchester United's match list: "Today, Manchester United is still in the familiar 442 formation: the goalkeeper is De Gea, the defense is Ferdinand and Van Dijk partnering central defenders, Evra is on the left, and Rafael is on the right. The field positions are Kanter and De Bruyne, Mahrez and Valencia are separated at the left and right forward positions, Martial is behind, and Van Persie is at the top. The seven substitute players are: Alisson, Alonso, Jones, Nainggolan, Carrick, Salah and Icardi."

"Manchester United's starting lineup has also undergone some changes in this game. The biggest change is the forward line. In the semi-finals of the League Cup, Rooney received a red card for a malicious foul. After the final ruling of the FA, Rooney was suspended for four games. The game started from this game. Therefore, Kintag’s formation was a bit stretched today. He let Martial, who had been playing the right midfielder before, return to the forward position, and then let Valencia play on the right. Valencia The biggest feature is the balance of offense and defense. He may bring something different to Manchester United when he is on the field."

"As for the midfield position, Kintiger made the new winter aid De Bruyne start. This adjustment is a bit worrying. After all, De Bruyne's performance in recent games has been somewhat unsatisfactory."

Raman took the words: "Morris, you always speak so softly and conservatively, De Bruyne's performance is not satisfactory? I think it is a mess! Look at the first few games of Manchester United, De Bruyne's performance The accuracy of long balls is extremely poor, and chances were wasted many times. The reason why Manchester United can win consecutive victories is entirely because the first few opponents are too weak. Today they ushered in Chelsea. In this kind of strong dialogue, waste Chances are the equivalent of suicide!"

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Morris argued: "De Bruyne has joined the team for too short a time, he still needs to run in, and he needs time."

Raman disagreed: "It needs to be adjusted and time is needed. This is fine, so let him hone on the training ground and go to the bench to wait for opportunities. For such an important game, Jin Taige knows that De Bruyne is not yet ready. If he integrates into the team well, he dares to let him play, I really don't know what Jin Taige thinks."

Morris didn't speak anymore. The warm-up of the players on the field was over. He watched the players walking towards the locker room, and he was also a little worried.

Is De Bruyne okay in this game?

In the locker room of the home team, Mourinho looked at the players with a very serious face: "We have practiced the tactics of this game for a long time, and I believe you should be familiar with them. Eto'o stepped forward and became the fulcrum of the attack. Hazard Er, Oscar, and William strengthen the connection of the ball and pull the slow midfield defense as much as possible. You have all seen Kanter's strength. It is not easy to beat him one-on-one, so you should make more use of the depth of the court and try to avoid Kanter's defense. Defensive area, reduce the frontal confrontation with Luis, your ability to advance is very strong, if you have the opportunity, try to advance unexpectedly, disrupt Manchester United's defensive deployment, and create opportunities for offensive players Ramirez, this game Your task is very heavy. Once Luis rushes up, you are the only midfielder left. You must protect yourself and don’t let Manchester United easily break through the area in front of the penalty area, especially Marshall who is facing you. Er, his speed is very fast, you have to get in position and don't let him charge up."

Mourinho finished laying out the tactics, and then told everyone that this game has a lot of variables, and the offensive and defensive situations of the two teams are unpredictable, so everyone should be prepared to adapt.

Then he asked several substitute players to keep them in shape and ready to play at any time.

Several substitute players agreed without saying much.

Ashley Cole whispered to Torres beside him: "There is nothing to prepare, we won't be allowed to appear anyway."

The 32-year-old Ashley Cole's state has gradually declined this season. He has lost Mourinho's trust and spent two consecutive months on the bench, so he has some criticisms of Mourinho. And Torres is not liked by Mourinho. Since he moved from Liverpool to Chelsea in 2011, he has never returned to his peak period, nor has he performed well. He has become a joke material in the eyes of fans and a soft-footed shrimp on Chelsea's front line. Sometimes Torres wondered what was wrong with him, and his state went from peak to trough like a roller coaster. He trained hard and tried his best to familiarize himself with the opponent's passing style, but he still couldn't return to his peak state. After years of invasion, Torres is now 30 years old, and his future at Chelsea is even more elusive. Maybe this summer, he should look for other ways out.

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The two veteran players, Torres and Ashley Cole, are now suffering from the same disease, and both are very worried about their future.

The other veteran Lampard sitting next to the two of them has also remained silent. He listened to Mourinho's pre-match arrangement with a blank expression.

Lampard is 35 years old this year. It stands to reason that a 35-year-old football player has already reached the age of retirement, not to mention that Lampard is still a midfielder, which requires physical strength and physical position. But although Lampard Germany is getting older, but his competitive state is still very good. This depends on his good living habits and hard training, so that he has the state and strength not inferior to young players.

Although Lampard is in good condition, Mourinho trusts the young Hazard, Oscar and Willian more. During this period of time, even the new aid Matic has more chances to play than Lampard. Lampard was very unwilling.

But Lampard is the "magic lamp" of the Blues. He dedicated his best youth to Chelsea. Even if he is on the bench, he is willing to stay here. Especially after winning the Champions League in 2012, Lampard is even more satisfied with his career. He is now only looking forward to retiring in his favorite team like Manchester United's Scholes. If that is the case, it will be really complete.

Thinking of Manchester United, Lampard suddenly remembered the scene when he met his national teammate Michael Carrick on the training ground just now (Successor of the Red Devils)