Chapter 216: No. 1 in Goals Scored in the Premier League, Top Three in Both Charts, and the Best Defender, This Is Li Ang!
"Chelsea has already taken a 3:0 lead before the half-time! This result was probably not expected by many viewers before the game, and neither did Coach Zhang and I!"
"Schalke 04's head coach was completely at a disadvantage in terms of tactical arrangements. They should have played more proactively now, because there is no way out!
You haven't even finished the half-time game and have already lost three goals. It's meaningless to investigate whose fault it is, which defender performed poorly, or the goalkeeper performed poorly today.
We have to attack!
There is only one way to go. It would be best if we can score a goal in the last minute of the first half.
If you can't score, relax your mentality and sort out this idea during the halftime break. At this point, just go for the attack..."
He Wei and Zhang Lu were talking in a relaxed mood in the Wutai studio.
When Ibrahimovic and Li Ang scored goals one after another, the two had already celebrated passionately.
So from Schalke 04's perspective, Coach Zhang still made a lot of pertinent suggestions.
After all, to put it bluntly, the game has been messed up, and it is completely meaningless to worry about which player performed poorly.
The most important thing is to seize the halftime break and unify the team's thinking.
If the psychological pressure can be relieved smoothly, they can fight Chelsea and score one or two goals to save face.
But if they can't turn this idea around, the second half of the game will still be pure torture for Schalke 04.
At Stamford Bridge, Chelsea fans are already celebrating the team's early qualification for the top spot in the Champions League group!
After all, no matter what the results of Steaua Bucharest and Basel on the other side are.
As long as Chelsea can win this game against Schalke 04, Chelsea can get the top spot in the group two rounds in advance.
With the recent schedule becoming increasingly tight, this is great news for Chelsea.
In the last two rounds of the Champions League group stage, Chelsea can completely use youth training and rotation players to deal with it, and the main Chelsea players can concentrate on the league.
But for Schalke 04 fans, their qualification situation has reached a serious point where they cannot make mistakes in the future.
If Basel beats Steaua Bucharest in this round.
Then in the last two rounds, Schalke 04 must first beat Steaua Bucharest by a large score, and then defeat Basel head-on!
If one link is not done well, they may be squeezed into the Europa League by Basel.
After all, Chelsea is likely to have no desire in the next two rounds and will use young players to practice.
Why should we help Schalke 04 to fight Basel again?
Schalke 04 fans think clearly and know that after this round of defeat, they can only rely on themselves to qualify.
And Schalke 04 coach Keller obviously figured it out during the halftime break and quickly adjusted the tactics.
He first replaced the left forward Fuchs, who was mediocre in the first half, with Clemens.
Then he replaced the American old midfielder Jermaine Jones with Max Meyer.
When Coach Zhang saw Keller's substitution, he immediately slapped his thigh and said it was right.
Schalke 04 also changed to 433.
The midfield combination of Boateng and Max Mayer has the ability to push forward and organize the ball.
They are definitely not as good as Chelsea, but they are enough for their own offense, which just matches their current forward level.
Schalke 04, who played freely, is also very good in offense.
Draxler got closer to Chelsea's penalty area. At this moment, Chelsea doubled him again, and his pass seemed particularly threatening.
On the defensive end, although Schalke 04's defensive strength was much less than in the first half, the division of labor among the defensive players became clear at once.
Although the pressure was great, there was no need to worry about having stupid teammates.
So this Champions League group match officially entered the most exciting stage in the second half.
In the first half, Chelsea was simply slaughtering Schalke 04, and in the second half, the Bundesliga giants were also trying to make their own counterattacks.
The two teams played back and forth, which was definitely more interesting than a one-sided slaughter.
Mourinho did not issue tactical instructions to require the Chelsea players on the field to shrink their formation, so the entire Chelsea team was still looking for opportunities to continue scoring goals.
Unfortunately, Schalke 04 was relatively relaxed about other Chelsea offensive players.
Only Ibrahimovic and Li Ang, the two "executioners" who raised their butcher knives in the first half, were closely watched.
Even though all Chelsea passers were trying to pass the ball to Ibrahimovic, hoping that Ibrahimovic could successfully perform a hat trick in the Champions League.
But Ibrahimovic played until the 80th minute of the second half and was replaced, and he did not score any more goals.
However, before leaving the field, Ibrahimovic still added personal data. He assisted Hazard to score Chelsea's fourth goal of the game!
Lukaku's counterattack goal scored in the injury time of the game was considered to have ended this goal battle.
The final score of the game was 5:2!
Ibrahimovic made two assists and two shots, while Li Ang made one shot and two assists!
The two participated in all five Chelsea goals and scored three of them.
After the game, the two immediately became the targets of reporters on the sidelines.
And Mourinho also comforted Keller, who was looking sad at the moment, with a smile on his face.
But less than a minute later, after hearing the good news from his assistant, Keller showed a surprised smile on his face!
Not only him, all Schalke 04 players also shouted in surprise in the away team's locker room!
On the other side, the results of the match between Steaua Bucharest and Basel came out.
The two teams tied 1:1 again. Basel missed the opportunity to overtake Schalke 04 and become the second in the group. Currently, it has three points and is still ranked third in the group!
At this moment, the German media almost praised Steaua Bucharest to the sky!
However, there is a saying that Steaua Bucharest has performed very tenaciously in the last two rounds of the Champions League.
Although they can't beat Schalke 04 and Chelsea, facing Basel, which is still stronger than them, they stubbornly won two points for themselves and have enough dignity...
Well, this is also a better way of saying it.
To put it bluntly, it was just two noobs fighting each other, but the bigger noob capsized in the gutter and failed to beat the opponent for two consecutive rounds!
After Li Ang and his teammates finished celebrating and thanking the audience, he shook his head when he heard the coaches talking about this matter.
"Sazi, sazi, it's not that I don't help you, but you are useless when I give you a chance!"
After complaining in his heart, Li Ang also put the next Champions League group opponents behind him.
For them, the main players of Chelsea, the Champions League group stage of this season has ended today.
If they still force themselves to play later, they can only be criticized by the media and fans for brushing data.
Even if Li Ang doesn't care about public opinion, he can't do such a thankless thing.
The most important thing for him at this stage is the remaining Premier League in November and December.
The Champions League knockout rounds and subsequent FA Cup games will have to wait until next year.
In addition to the league this year, Chelsea only needs to play one more League Cup quarter-final.
The same game decided the outcome, and the opponent was only Stoke City.
It was a bit difficult, but it was not a strong opponent at all.
So Li Ang was in a very relaxed mood at the moment.
After Mourinho announced that all Chelsea players participating in this round of the Champions League would get a day off, Li Ang also cheered with his teammates.
Before a tight round of schedule was completely over, this day of rest seemed so precious.
Li Ang did not go to the Cobham training base for extra training the next day, but stayed at home and slept in, and indulged himself comfortably for a day.
Of course, his indulgence still included aerobic exercises such as jogging and swimming in the afternoon.
After all, he was used to exercising, and he couldn't let Li Ang indulge himself for a day or two without exercising.
On the morning of November 8, Li Ang and his teammates arrived at the training base on time to report and have a physical examination.
After the afternoon training session, Mourinho also took Li Ang to his office.
Mourinho told Li Ang a good news and a bad news.
The good news is that in the next round of the league against West Bromwich, Li Ang can get greater tactical freedom on both offense and defense.
The bad news is that the team doctor suggested that Hazard and Lampard take a rest in the next round of the league, so Li Ang's helpers in the midfield and frontcourt will be reduced by two.
In other words...
"You've worked hard in the next round of the league, little lion, I'll find a chance for you to take a rest later."
Listening to Mourinho's unreliable promise, Li Ang felt that he should look forward to Lukaku suddenly playing the center forward well one day...
Time is tight, Li Ang is not hypocritical, and directly reassures Mourinho.
With Matic in the midfield to stabilize, Ibrahimovic in front and Terry in the back, this configuration is enough to play West Bromwich.
Mourinho also thought so. On the afternoon of November 9, he rarely arranged a 442 starting formation.
On the back line, Azpilicueta, Terry, David Luiz and Ivanovic lined up.
Matic and Li Ang are in the middle of the midfield.
Bertrand is in the starting position as the left midfielder today, while De Bruyne is the right midfielder.
Ibrahimovic and Lukaku are the strikers.
This lineup configuration cannot be said to be bad in any way. The media commented before the game that it was more than enough to play against West Bromwich, which is currently ranked 12th in the Premier League.
But what no one expected was that in this round of Premier League games that day, the first team to score was West Bromwich!
Sean Long, the center forward who scored 11 goals for West Bromwich last season, scored a goal in the 29th minute of the game after receiving a pass from his teammate Amalfitano!
West Bromwich fans were boiling at Stamford Bridge!
David Luiz, who was supposed to block the ball, was a beat slower in his defensive action for some reason.
He also seemed extremely angry after losing the ball and slapped his forehead hard.
Chelsea's offensive players, who had been attacking for a long time without success, also seemed very helpless.
Their offensive performance today was relatively smooth.
But within 30 minutes of the first half, they had already hit two goal posts. Their luck in scoring goals was extremely bad!
After seeing the team's setbacks on both ends of the offense and defense, Li Ang did not encourage his teammates' morale as passionately as usual.
He pointed to his temple, and then made a gesture of pressing his hands down to his teammates.
"Calm down, brothers, we need to stay calm, don't be anxious, start with defense, and we'll take it slowly!"
After loudly calming his teammates' emotions, Li Ang also pulled Bertrand to make some explanations.
Bertrand can attack and defend, and it's okay to occasionally play as a left forward, but he is now a serious left back after all.
With a focus on defense, he can completely lock West Bromwich's right attack with Azpilicueta.
And the middle road has Li Ang and Matic who actively retreated to guard.
West Bromwich's central advancement is even more difficult.
After this defensive posture, West Bromwich, who originally wanted to strike while the iron is hot to see if they can steal the chicken again, also used up all three axes and had no follow-up.
Chelsea held on for the remaining ten minutes of the first half, and Mourinho was not dissatisfied with Li Ang's temporary tactical decision on the field.
On the contrary, he praised Li Ang in the player channel for his calmness and clear thinking.
After all the Chelsea players who had calmed down returned to the locker room, they were soon inspired by Mourinho's stimulating words.
Adjust the tactical play, boost morale, and finally comfort all the players to help them unload their psychological burden.
After this set of chicken blood process, Mourinho could only choose to trust his disciples 100%.
After the start of the second half, Chelsea, which no longer pursued the speed of wing advancement and crosses, but instead made more penetration articles in the middle, played very patiently.
Lukaku was more at the forefront, attracting the attention of West Bromwich defenders.
Ibrahimovic frequently retreated to receive the ball and make passes, cooperating with Li Ang to open up Chelsea's offensive width.
With patient entanglement and transmission, Chelsea's players on the left and right wings continued to probe into West Brom's defensive hinterland.
In the 62nd minute of the second half, Li Ang once again received Ibrahimovic's return pass and chose to pass the ball directly to a large range without stopping!
He kicked the ball to the right side where De Bruyne opened up.
This sudden change in the pass made all the defensive players of West Bromwich subconsciously lean towards their left side.
And De Bruyne, who has become famous in Chelsea through threatening passes again and again this season.
At this moment, he also confidently sent out his iconic long arc cross!
Lukaku caught up, and the powerful impact made the two central defenders of West Bromwich dare not ignore it at all!
But De Bruyne's cross ball eventually bypassed the three of them.
At the moment of going back, it was stopped by Ibrahimovic who had deliberately lagged behind by one body position before!
West Bromwich's Irish goalkeeper Myhill abandoned the goal and tried to expand his defensive area to force Ibrahimovic to make a shooting error.
But Ibrahimovic used a stretching and realistic fake shot to pass Myhill first, and then pushed the ball into the empty goal!
After scoring the equalizer, Ibrahimovic simply celebrated by punching in the penalty area of West Bromwich.
Then he and Li Ang, who rushed into the goal and picked up the ball, ran to their own half!
The other Chelsea players, whose morale was soaring, didn't care about celebrating at this time. They waved their arms and roared to cheer themselves and their teammates!
And West Bromwich, which was hit hard by a sudden blow, was a little panicked.
In the past 10 rounds of the Premier League, they scored 10 goals and lost 10 goals.
The offensive level can only be ranked in the middle and lower reaches of the Premier League, and the defensive level looks good.
But after being hit by Chelsea twice in the first half and being scored in the second half.
The players of West Bromwich all understand that the data cannot reflect the gap in hard power between them and Chelsea.
They want to defend, and West Bromwich head coach Steve Clarke also wants to hold on to this point.
So after West Bromwich Albion restarted, they quickly unified their tactical thinking, tightly contracted in their own half, and tried to control the ball more to delay time.
The entire Chelsea team actively pressed past the center line, and after gaining possession of the ball, they quickly spread out their formation and continued to besiege West Bromwich Albion!
The previous goal has proved that Mourinho's tactical adjustment is correct.
Chelsea's players did not doubt him, and continued to patiently use passes to tear West Bromwich Albion's defense line.
Ibrahimovic, who scored a goal, has obviously become the focus of West Bromwich Albion's defenders at this moment.
However, Ibrahimovic's excellent skills and physique make it difficult for him to be stared at.
Even if he can't kick easily, he can serve as a fulcrum and firepower attraction point to help other Chelsea offensive players get opportunities.
Chelsea's patience allowed them to get several good shooting opportunities on the offensive end.
Even if they didn't score, all Chelsea players always had firm confidence and great hope.
And Li Ang has been actively looking for the next wide crack in West Bromwich Albion's defense line.
It was not until the 84th minute of the second half that Li Ang found such a great opportunity again!
Ibrahimovic was fighting with Olsson, the central defender of West Bromwich Albion and his national team teammate, in the penalty area.
Lukaku suddenly moved forward and rushed to the right side of West Bromwich's penalty area!
There was indeed a short gap in that place.
After West Bromwich's defenders noticed it, they quickly filled in and double-teamed Lukaku.
Li Ang moved at this moment.
But he did not pass the ball in the direction of Lukaku's running position, but did the opposite, passing the ball to Bertrand who cut into the West Bromwich penalty area from the left!
Bertrand, who had a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, looked at the crowded West Bromwich penalty area at this moment, knowing that his pass might be disrupted by West Bromwich's defensive players first.
So he held back his strength and used his left foot to directly shoot a powerful ball that seemed like a pass or a shot!
This ball might hit the goal range, or it might fly directly out of the goal frame, but Bertrand dared to gamble, but West Bromwich's defenders didn't dare to gamble!
Another West Bromwich central defender, Macaulay, who was about to turn 34, chose to fly to block the gun hole!
He used his chest to block the football pulled out by Bertrand out of the small penalty area!
But the tightness and pain in his chest made his mind unusually clear at this moment, so he also clearly saw Li Ang who had begun to adjust his pace towards the landing point of the football!
Li Ang was not as happy and confident as Macaulay thought.
It is difficult to play a volley, even if he had just scored a very beautiful volley some time ago.
But he himself had to admit that he was not more than half sure of scoring at that time.
To put it bluntly, sometimes playing this kind of ball is a gamble!
But Li Ang had no other choice at this moment, he could only gamble!
If he lost the bet, the worst thing would be to be laughed at for a week.
Li Ang could afford the price, and he was not afraid of being laughed at.
What he was more afraid of was that he did not dare to try when facing an opportunity!
So when the football flew to Li Ang's controllable range, he did not think so much, let alone stop the football and readjust the idea of organizing the attack.
Take a deep breath, adjust the pace quickly, judge the landing point of the football, swing your legs, and exert force!
Li Ang really felt the tense instep of his right foot and the real touch of the football.
He tried his best to suppress his strength and the football running towards the goal.
In a flash, Li Ang saw West Bromwich goalkeeper Myhill jump into the air to make a save.
He also saw the surprised and worried expression on Macaulay's face.
After the unbalanced force, Li Ang blinked, and he did not see the trajectory of the football clearly.
But half a second later, he saw the football pass Myhill's fingertips and dive into the West Bromwich goal! ! !
Almost at the same time, the passionate screams of more than 30,000 Chelsea fans at Stamford Bridge suddenly sounded!
It also suddenly roared into Li Ang's ears!
He Wei was completely excited!
His commentary speed was like a machine gun firing bullets!
Under his passionate celebration commentary, Coach Zhang could not get in a word at all, and could only laugh continuously!
At this moment, the commentator of Sky Sports was completely impressed by Li Ang's tenacious and wonderful performance!
"Once again, he saved the day! Eighth goal in his Premier League debut season! Eight goals and six assists in eleven league games! No. 1 in the Premier League in terms of goals created! Top three in both goal and assist charts! Leading the way in defensive statistics! This!
That's Li Ang!!!"
No matter how hard I tried, I still managed to write 10,000 words today...