Chapter 338 Mourinho’s Trap

"Chelsea is awesome. They swept Schalke 4:0. Is this the same Chelsea I know?"

"Last season's Chelsea offense was like constipation, but this season's Chelsea offense is like running out of steam!"

"There was a tasteful comment posted upstairs..."

"The words are rough but the reasoning is rough. I feel like after the arrival of Fabio and Diego Costa, Chelsea's offense suddenly found the trick!"

"So, not only the Spanish forwards are easy to use, but the Spanish midfielders are also easy to use!"

In this game, Diego Costa, like Lin Quan, also completed a hat trick.

Moreover, both of his goals were very exciting and made the fans enjoy watching them.

Diego Costa has completely won the love of Blues fans in just over a month since he arrived at Chelsea.

Although it looks a little bit awkward, it’s really easy to use!

With him on the court, Chelsea fans don't have to worry about the team not scoring goals.

Counting this game, Diego Costa has played a total of 5 games for Chelsea since joining Chelsea and has scored 10 goals, averaging 2 goals per game!

Whether compared with the nuclear warhead Shevchenko, compared with European Andy Lau Drogba, or compared with the 50 million pound T9 that is far below the standard, this goal efficiency is at a unique level.

It's no wonder that after the game, Mourinho praised Diego Costa at the press conference. Who wouldn't like a player who is so useful and has such a high scoring efficiency?

Just look at Atletico Madrid in La Liga to see how important Diego Costa is to the team.

Atletico Madrid, which was invincible in the Champions League last season, lost the first game of the Champions League group stage in the new season.

Without Diego Costa on the front line, Atletico Madrid's offensive strength has dropped a lot.

In the first game of the Champions League group stage, they faced the mediocre Greek team Olympiacos and lost to their opponent with a score of 2:3.

This result shocked the outside world. You know, Atletico Madrid was the runner-up in the Champions League last season!

Therefore, after learning that Atletico Madrid lost and their team won a big victory, Chelsea fans were extremely happy.

Fortunately, they started early and dug out Diego Costa before other teams.

If they had been slower, they might have been fine.

And the price of 50 million pounds seemed expensive at first, but now it doesn’t feel expensive at all.

After all, part of the 50 million has to be allocated to full-back Felipe. The actual transfer fee for Diego Costa is probably only 35 million pounds!

Spending 35 million pounds to buy such a powerful striker is a huge profit!

Look at Di Maria, who Manchester United spent 60 million pounds to buy. That's a loss!

Except for Arsenal, all three remaining teams in the Premier League have won this round of the Champions League.

Arsenal really met their nemesis. In the away game against Dortmund, they were defeated 2-0 by their opponents again.

Liverpool, who returned to the Champions League after five years, played very reservedly in the first game.

Fortunately, with the goals of Bashen and captain Gerrard, they defeated their opponents in a thrilling manner and won their first victory in the group stage.

In other group matches, Bayern and Barcelona both won this round.

Among them, Real Madrid continued its strong firepower from last season and defeated its opponents 5:1 at home. Cristiano Ronaldo, Bale, Benzema and Ronaldo all scored.

This season, Real Madrid's desire for the Champions League has become even stronger.

Barcelona next door is also eyeing the Big Ears Cup. It is undoubtedly more difficult for major teams to win the Champions League trophy!

…

Since the team's victory in the Champions League was not so smooth, after the Champions League game ended, Pellegrini did not give the players a holiday, but concentrated on closed training.

It's so hard to play against Zenit. How can you play against Chelsea who are at their peak?

The game against Chelsea was played at Manchester City's home court. This was a game that Manchester City absolutely could not afford to lose.

If they lose this game, they will not only be widened by Chelsea in the standings, but it will only be more difficult to take revenge on Chelsea the next time they visit Stamford Bridge.

Last season, Manchester City failed to take advantage at Stamford Bridge and was almost defeated by Chelsea.

Facing the much stronger Blues this season, Manchester City's visit to Stamford Bridge will only be more difficult.

"Coach, your face doesn't look good. Do you want to go and rest for a while?"

On the training ground, the assistant coach saw that Pellegrini's face was very ugly and his expression seemed to be in pain, so he asked worriedly.

"I'm fine, don't worry, urge these brats to train well and don't let them be lazy!"

Pellegrini covered his chest and spoke harshly, but still found a place to sit down.

At that moment, his eyes felt a little dark, as if a big stone was pressed on his chest, and he suddenly couldn't breathe.

This feeling has been felt before, but never as severe as it is today.

Could it be that you have worked too hard these past few days and haven't had a good rest?

Pellegrini couldn't help but be a little skeptical.

In order to study opponents and tactics these days, he stayed up almost every day.

As we get older, our body becomes a little overwhelmed after staying up late.

He also knows that this is not good, but it can’t be done otherwise!

This year is a crucial year for Manchester City, if they want to take a step forward and be promoted to a real giant team.

This year we must win another championship trophy!

However, keeping a business is more difficult than starting a business. Last year, Manchester City appeared as a challenger.

The major wealthy families don't pay that much attention to them, and they aren't that vigilant.

In the Champions League, they were despised by many teams because of their poor record in the past, which gave them a chance to counterattack.

But this year is different, the trend has changed!

As the defending champions, they are the focus of other teams' research and targeting.

No one will look down upon Manchester City anymore. On the contrary, many teams will even be proud of defeating Manchester City!

Just like Zenit!

In the previous game, Zenit's players felt like they were on fire when they faced Manchester City, and their excitement could be clearly felt.

Thinking about it, if they can defeat last season's Champions League champions, what an honor it would be for them?

The attention and vigilance of other teams towards Manchester City has made Manchester City's game very difficult this year.

Things are better in the league. Manchester City's strength advantage is too obvious, and the long schedule can greatly improve their fault tolerance rate.

But in the Champions League, especially after entering the knockout rounds, they not only have to face stronger opponents.

Moreover, the schedule will be greatly shortened. Once they fail to play well, there will be no room for error.

Therefore, Manchester City is not qualified to make mistakes this year, and every step must be taken carefully.

And this has virtually added a huge burden and psychological pressure to the work of the coaching staff.

"It'll be fine once you get through this period!"

Pellegrini could only console himself in this way.

…

Before the game, Mourinho once again took advantage of his situation and launched a psychological war against Manchester City in front of reporters.

Surprisingly, Mourinho did not directly attack Manchester City.

Instead, he gave his own analysis on Manchester City's decline in form:

"Manchester City have already won the Champions League and it seems understandable that their players lack motivation!"

Hearing his words, reporters attending the pre-match press conference wondered if there was something wrong with their ears.

For the first time, Mourinho did not add insult to injury and even took the initiative to explain to his opponent.

Is this a gender change?

While reporters were confused, Mourinho added:

"I can understand this feeling. After all, I have two Champions League trophies and am the team with the most Champions League trophies among all coaches in the Premier League!"

The reporters at the scene couldn't help but roll their eyes, OK, OK, I know you have two Champions League trophies, okay?

Leading two different teams to win the Champions League has always been Mourinho's greatest pride.

Of course, this is something to be proud of.

In the Premier League, except for the retired Ferguson, the gap between other coaches and Mourinho in this honor is obvious.

In fact, in the entire football world, there are only a handful of currently active coaches who can reach his level.

Only he, Guardiola, Ancelotti and Spanish coach Del Bosque can do it.

Each of these four coaches is a resounding presence!

Mourinho led Porto to win the Champions League, setting a record for winning titles outside the five major leagues.

Guardiola created the pass-and-control football genre and single-handedly created Barcelona's dream third dynasty.

Ancelotti led Milan to victory in the Champions League, and he himself has proven himself in multiple leagues!

As for Del Bosque, this one is even more amazing. He led the Spanish national team to win the World Series Grand Slam, and even defended the World Cup championship. He is currently recognized as the world's number one coach in football.

Reporters were not interested in hearing Mourinho's boasts, but they recognized Mourinho's analysis of Manchester City.

After the press conference, reporters reported on Mourinho's speech.

After understanding Mourinho's original words, many people actually quite recognized his views.

"Indeed, Manchester City's players have won almost everything and have no hunger for the championship anymore!"

"It can be seen from the last game that their fighting and running on the field are not as active as last season!"

"Although Mangala did make a huge mistake that is unforgivable, it cannot cover up the mediocre performance of other players on Manchester City's defense!"

For a time, criticisms of the Manchester City players' attitude towards the game poured in from all directions.

This has had a huge impact on the Manchester City players who are preparing for the game.

Although Pellegrini conducted closed training, he could not confiscate the players' mobile phones and prevent them from browsing the Internet for news.

What's more, traditional media such as newspapers and TV stations cannot ban follow-up reports.

Unless players are isolated from the outside world and deaf to what is going on outside the window, it is impossible for them to be unaware of the criticism of them from the outside world.

This kind of criticism adds a lot of pressure to Manchester City's players, especially psychological pressure.

They don't want to be told that their attitude towards the game is poor and they have lost their desire for victory and honor.

So, after the game started, Manchester City's players played very aggressively and... rough!

Shortly after the start, Aguero was injured in a fight and was unable to persist in the game and was substituted.

And his exit seemed to have lit a fuse, making the Manchester City players' emotions become violent.

In the 12th minute, Fernandinho received a yellow card for a rough foul.

Not long after, Zabaleta received another yellow card, and Manchester City accumulated two yellow cards in a short period of time, all of which were in key defensive positions!

"Zabaleta's foul was unnecessary. The opponent was not holding the ball in a dangerous position, and his teammates did not lose their defensive position. I don't understand why he committed the foul."

"Perhaps it was Aguero's injury that ignited the anger of the Manchester City players and made them lose their cool?"

"I think it may have been affected by Chelsea's psychological warfare before the game. Have you noticed that the Manchester City players played very uncoolly in this game, as if they were deliberately expressing themselves..."

On the coaching bench, Pellegrini frowned.

He also discovered this. The players' performance today looked a bit strange.

Although fighting and running have become more active, there are too many fouls, right?

It was only 30 minutes, and Chelsea had already won seven free kicks.

On the visiting team's coaching bench, Mourinho couldn't help but curl up his lips when he saw his opponent's players receiving cards one after another for not being calm.

Haha, Manchester City was indeed fooled!

Thinking of this, he stood up and gestured to the players on the field.

After receiving the instructions, Chelsea players deliberately increased the physical confrontation with Manchester City players and even consciously increased the number of fouls.

In the 36th minute of the game, Lin Quan was tackled by Matic while dribbling the ball in the middle.

The opponent's kick was very heavy, and Lin Quan was shoveled away.

Not only was Matic not ashamed of his foul, he instead shouted at the top of his lungs for a flop.

This move caused dissatisfaction among the Manchester City players, who rushed forward to teach Matic a lesson.

Chelsea's players also rushed out immediately, interrupting the game and possibly even engaging in an all-out showdown.

At this time, Lin Quan got up from the ground and stopped his teammates.

"Calm down, they are deliberately irritating us!"

With the talent of injury immunity, such fouls will not have much impact on him.

The other party is willing to take the initiative to apply for a yellow card, and he is happy to accompany him.

"Look, what did I just say? There's nothing wrong with him. It's really a fake fall!"

Seeing Lin Quan acting like nothing happened, Matic immediately started shouting.

He was a little confused in his heart. His foot was obviously very heavy, so why was the opponent not lifted off like Aguero?

The referee ignored Matic's words and gave him a yellow card.

But Chelsea did not restrain themselves because of this yellow card. Just three minutes later, Ramirez tackled Lin Quan from behind again and brought Lin Quan to the ground.

At this time, the Manchester City players were completely angered.

They rushed forward collectively and wanted to reason with the Chelsea players.

David Silva also reached out and pushed Ramirez. Even Yaya Toure, who had not dealt with Lin Quan before, stood up and wanted an explanation for Lin Quan.

The situation on the field became a mess. The players on both sides were not thinking about football. They just wanted to roll up their sleeves and fight with each other!

Seeing this scene, Mourinho smiled proudly!

Now, as long as he fouls Lin Quan again, he will probably be able to anger him, right?

Once Lin Quan loses his cool, haha, Manchester City will definitely lose!