Chapter 543: Volume 4 The Storm Contrary to Expectations

The atmosphere at Stamford Bridge has been ignited. Red and blue formed two distinct phalanxes in the stands. Their numbers are not equal, but judging from the momentum, they seem to be on par. The Forest fans, who do not have an advantage in numbers, did not show any weakness when facing a large number of Blues fans in the away game, and frantically responded to various provocations of their opponents. They did everything except not rushing directly to fight and throw wine glasses.

Twain likes such fans. In this regard, he and Roy Keane have something in common - they both hate those so-called sophisticated fans who sit in the first-class box and wear suits and ties. If the fans who came to the scene were not frantically involved in the atmosphere of the scene, they might as well watch the TV broadcast at home honestly.

It is precisely because of the support of such a group of fans that he has the confidence to lead Nottingham Forest across the country and sweep the opponents.

Before entering the field today, I saw those Forest fans cheering his name wildly, fighting against Chelsea fans for him. The sense of accomplishment in Tang En's heart could no longer be expressed in words.

Apart from winning the game and winning the Champions League, is there anything else that can be used to repay these lovely fans?

So he told his team members not to stop until the goal was reached.

Just kidding, we are speeding on the right highway, how can we stop?

"The two teams have had nothing to do with each other in the past 100 years. They are strangers. The arrival of Tony Twain and Mourinho has changed everything. Two people with unique personalities and extremely conceited are unwilling to be The opponent's opponent. The past 100 years have been peaceful for these two teams, but it doesn't mean that they can still communicate with each other from now on. There will be another pair of enemies in England's classic red-blue confrontation... But we all I like to see this kind of game, because it is exciting enough...I don't say it is wonderful, because this game may be a little conservative because of the importance of the result, but there must be no shortage of intense shots on the scene...even if you want to be less. "

The TV commentator speculated on the tactics of both sides based on his experience. Because this is a Champions League semi-final, the result is more important than everything else, so the probability of wanting to see a wonderful confrontation is too small. What's more, Mourinho and Tony Twain are both well-known conservative coaches.

The only thing the audience can expect is the intensity of the scene - red and yellow cards, fouls, bangs, slobber, glaring, passionate performances by the coaches of both sides...

Tang En was standing on the sidelines at this moment waiting for the game to start. Like him, Mourinho was standing on the edge of the head coach's command area. The two coaches couldn't sit still dozens of seconds before the game started.

Ruud van Nistelrooy and Eastwood stood in the center circle, waiting for kick-off.

The referee is checking the time with the fourth official through the headset. The Stamford Bridge Stadium, which was just as noisy as a pot of boiling water, gradually quieted down.

The referee looked down at his watch, then gave a thumbs up to the fourth official on the sidelines. Everything is OK, you can tee off.

"beep--"

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The narrator was still introducing what a conservative head coach he thought Tony Twain was. His football was so lifeless that he couldn't make the audience cheer and applaud. Except for the fans of Nottingham Forest, I'm afraid he wouldn't. There are people who support him. This is a man who offends a lot in English football and then when he finds out England is too small, he goes to continental Europe and look what he did to poor Frank Rijkaard...if he ends up taking The champion of the Champions League, I am afraid that the entire UEFA will go crazy...

While he was chattering, the Forest team kicked out the football, and after a simple pass back, the football reached Wood's feet.

Wood did not continue to pass back, but kicked the football to the Dutch midfielder Van der Vaart who was diagonally in front of him. He handed over the specific attack to Van der Vaart to organize.

Van der Vaart didn't take the ball either, but passed the football. This was Twain's request. Chelsea's midfield defense ability was world-class. If one person had too many balls, he would easily fall into the trap of Essien, Makelele, and Ballack.

Twain hoped to let the team quickly pass through the midfield and not give the opponent time to entangle him. In such a situation, passing the ball is obviously a more effective method than dribbling.

He always told his team members that no matter how fast a person runs, even if the world's 100-meter sprinter runs, it is impossible to run faster than a football. So if you want to break fast, passing is the best option.

Van der Vaart passed the ball to Ribéry, who, after attracting Chelsea's defensive attention on the left, then slid it over to Ashley Young on the right.

The Forest team passed the ball quickly and decisively this time, and the overall running position and response were very skillful, which fully demonstrated their tacit understanding.

"As if calculated, Forest changed the football from left to right with a few passes."

"Watch out for his cross!" shouted Cech, the Chelsea goalkeeper. As an opponent in the Premier League, he knows the technical characteristics of Ashley Young like the back of his hand. The Premier League assist leader last season has great talent and ability in passing.

Now the forest team's center is Ruud van Nistelrooy, who is known as the "King of the Small Box". Ashley Young's cross is even more useful.

Cech didn't dare to be careless and asked everyone to be more vigilant.

Ashley Young did pass the ball, but instead of Van Nistelrooy and Eastwood outflanking the center, he kicked the ball back to Chimbonda who came up for the assist.

"Trap their attack on the wing!" With this thought in mind, Chelsea's players rushed forward to block Chimbonda and Ashley Young's attack from the wing.

Ashley Cole, Chelsea's left-back, kept a close eye on Ashley Young, preventing him from slipping past him, while Essien came in to guard Chimbonda, preventing him from easily passing the ball. Pass it on to Ashley Young.

"Forest's attack faltered very quickly and Chelsea's defense was very solid."

Generally speaking, more people are needed to support Chimbonda at this time. Van der Vaart didn't go, he just watched from a distance in the middle, maybe this matter has nothing to do with him?

No, there are simply better candidates.

George Wood ran over from his defensive position, Chimbonda saw him in the crowd, and immediately passed the football to the captain who came up to meet him.

After receiving the football, Wood didn't adjust or even observe, so he kicked the football directly to Van der Vaart who was waiting in the middle.

Ballack also wanted to come up and force Wood to turn around and pass back when Wood stopped the ball, but he didn't expect Wood to pass the football again without even observing, and the pass was very accurate...

After van der Vaart stopped the football, he couldn't turn around under Makelele's close marking, so he shifted the football to the left again. Ribery inserted again and made a cross!

Ruud van Nistelrooy had a head-on confrontation with Terry in front of the goal, and in the end Terry pushed the football over the baseline under his interference.

"A beautiful attack, but unfortunately no goal. Terry's defense is reassuring!" The commentator praised the captain of the Blues, John Terry.

Tang En and his coaching staff looked at each other and smiled, and these people saw what they wanted to see.

The key to this attack, or where is the transfer station? Not van der Vaart, but George Wood's on-the-spot pass, pulling the ball out of the mud and out into the open.

This is the ability that Twain has always hoped for Wood to have, to help the team's offense, and to complete seemingly inconspicuous but actually very critical tasks in seemingly inconspicuous places. Obviously, before he ran to meet Chimbonda, he had already seen Van der Vaart's position clearly and knew what he should do best. That's why I was able to send the football where it should go immediately after receiving the pass from Chimbonda.

The front midfielder is too far forward, the vision is limited and it is easy to be stared at by the opponent's midfielder. The defensive midfielder is the same, the position is more free, and there are no defensive players who are inseparable around him, so there is sufficient space and freedom to make moves.

If this position is only used for defense, it is really a waste.

"Although we didn't score any goals, we got off to a good start." Dunn shook hands with the coaches in celebration. Then he went up to Albertini.

"He did a good job."

Albertini nodded with a proud expression on his face. "Of course, my student."

Tang En laughed. "I hope he can be the next metronome."

Albertini had this nickname when he played football, which means that he controls the rhythm of the team and the rhythm of the game like a metronome on the court. If it was just a defensive midfielder who could participate in the attack, Tang En would not be reconciled. When Wood can become the double core from spirit to tactics, he can formulate special tactics around this kid. At that time, the Forest team... will gather a large number of excellent players around Wood, and it will be extremely powerful.

"Then he still has a long way to go, not only training, but also experience."

"Anyway, he's still young." Seeing Wood running on the court, Tang En added, "I'm still very young too..."

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After the forest team's corner kick, Piqué's header was directly caught by Cech, and then Chelsea launched a quick counterattack.

Petr Cech throws the ball, Ballack catches it and passes it to Essien, who in turn passes it to Lampard.

It is also a quick pass through the midfield, and Mourinho does not want to confront the Nottingham Forest midfielders here. Although the Forest team does not have a world-class lineup like Ballack, Essien and Makelele, one George Wood is enough to give him a headache.

After taking the ball, Lampard chose to shoot directly. He took a long shot 28 meters away from the goal. He wanted to catch Van der Sar by surprise, but he missed the goal.

After a short sigh at Stamford Bridge, it was replaced by applause.

"The two sides had a beautiful attack after the opening... Maybe this game will present us a completely different Nottingham Forest and Chelsea?" This is the commentator's good wish.

His wish was shattered by the ruthless reality in the next game.

The Forest team quickly chose a defensive counterattack tactic, and Chelsea didn't have many ways to defend against the Forest team. The semi-final of the European Cup was bogged down after five minutes.

Defenses, turnovers, steals. This is all the key words of the game in these ten minutes. After both sides contributed a shot each, their offense suddenly misfired.

Ten minutes later, there was the first yellow card. Makelele tackled van der Vaart in defense and was warned by the referee for his excessive action.

The two head coaches both want their football to pass through the midfield quickly, and at the same time, they don't want the opponent to pass through their own midfield quickly. Therefore, the midfield has become the most intense area of ​​fighting, and it has become a place where both sides will not give an inch. strategic location.

Most of the time, the football wandered around the midfield, appearing at the feet of the Forest team for a while, and ran to Chelsea in a blink of an eye.

Because everyone is focusing on the midfield, the offensive efficiency is pitifully low. The combined number of threatening shots from both sides does not exceed five fingers.

Tang En was happy to see this situation, so he turned his head and sat back on the coach's bench. On the other side, Mourinho walked out from the coaching bench.

In the away game, Twain's bottom line is draws and away goals, so he can still sit firmly on the Diaoyutai after the game is deadlocked. And Mourinho, as the home team, has a lot of pressure, he must win.

Mourinho, in his light blue shirt, with his sleeves rolled up to his elbows, is flailing his arms, letting the team press on while roaring into the pitch.

The team's offense was deadlocked, and he fidgeted, wandering back and forth between the command area and the coach's seat.

Tang En squinted at him, wondering maliciously whether Mourinho would have to take a shower and change during the intermission. Look at his light blue shirt, which has been gradually oozing out of sweat and turned into dark blue...

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"The game went on for 20 minutes, and the ball possession rate came out. From the statistical point of view, Chelsea had the upper hand. Their 69% ball possession rate was 31% compared to Nottingham Forest's 31%. The gap is huge. But Chelsea's players are not at all easy to play, empty possession but not scoring goals is the biggest problem for Chelsea now. Nottingham Forest... If, I mean, if Forest wins in the end, then this is really A typical 'Tony Twain-like' game - using the ugliest scenes to win the most important game. But that would be a disaster for us fans..."

Tang En, who was sitting on the coach's bench, simply crossed his legs. He did this on purpose to anger someone.

It doesn't matter if that busy person can't see it now, Tang En believes that the sensitive TV broadcast will definitely capture it, and the effect will be the same after the game.

Let's be chaotic, the more chaotic the better, so chaotic that Chelsea can't find a route to attack, so chaotic that they can't care about checking the loopholes in their defense... That would be great!

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Mourinho paced back and forth on the sidelines for a while before sitting back down. After seeing Tang En's peaceful posture, he suddenly became less anxious.

"George Wood is not a god. He alone cannot replace the work of the entire defense line..." He sat on the coach's bench and murmured to his assistant.

The Forest team continued to mess up Chelsea's offensive rhythm with fouls and fierce defense. If Chelsea still followed the tactics formulated before the game, then it would only become more and more chaotic. The method of passing through the midfield quickly is no longer possible, it will only increase the active turnover rate of your own team.

"Let them make more lateral transfers. Mobilize the forest team's defense and look for loopholes..." he instructed his assistants.

Chelsea quickly adjusted to this instruction.

George Wood found himself increasingly struggling alone as Chelsea's attack eluded him. They're always doing lateral moves and putting themselves on the run.

Because of his full trust in Wood's ability, he is the only defensive player in the Forest team's midfield.

By doing this, Chelsea intends to bypass him and go straight to the weak area of ​​the Forest team's defense. Without the defensive line of the Forest team to be protected later, the valuable strategic depth will be lost. A penetrating direct or oblique pass from the opponent can easily tear apart Van der Sar's front line of defense, and Chelsea's midfielder definitely has that ability.

Essien passed the ball to Robben, and George Wood came to assist in the defense. Robben was not greedy this time. Watching Wood come up, he passed the ball to Lampard in the middle.

When Lampard received the ball, George Wood was still on the wing. No matter how good he was, he couldn't run over to rescue him in the first place...

"Lampard has the ball, there are no Nottingham Forest players around him for the time being, this is Chelsea's chance... Will he shoot another long shot?"

The commentator thinks so, and Van der Sar thinks so too. His position is obviously defending Lampard's strong long-range shot.

The Chelsea No. 8 has a penchant for long-range shots and has a reputation for being good at them.

Now that no one is marking, he has no reason not to shoot...

Piqué didn't care about his own defensive area, and threw himself to fill George Wood's position. Just when he just stepped forward, Lampard kicked - passed the ball!

The football rolled past Piqué, he wanted to stretch out his foot to stop it, but instead he was thrown by Huang, and he was completely out of position...

"Great opportunity!"

The stands of Stamford Bridge suddenly set off monstrous waves, and the blue sea water pressed towards the red magma from all directions.

"Drogba received the ball and there was no one around him... the chance was for nothing!"

Seeing this scene, Mourinho left his ass and leaned forward, ready to pop out to celebrate.

Drogba turned around after receiving the ball, Van der Sar thought he was going to burst in, so he was ready to attack and intercept the ball.

Who knew that Drogba also kicked and shot at the same time as he turned around. Van der Sar couldn't react at such a close distance. Clear, as if in slow motion... very clear.

"What_a_GOOOOAL!"

It was the opposite of what Tang En expected...

The voice Chelsea fans most wanted to hear finally rang out over Stamford Bridge.