Chapter 247: Epitome of the Season, Born Champion

After seeing his team lose the second goal, Guardiola did not show disappointment and annoyance as usual.

He was very calm, which exceeded the fans' expectations and perhaps his own expectations.

Was he disappointed?

Of course he was disappointed.

After all, he had made sufficient tactical precautions against Li Ang before the game.

Manchester City defended Li Ang's long-range shot very well today.

But facing Li Ang's "surprise" of running long distances and making a back pass after getting rid of him again, Guardiola could only spread his hands helplessly, his heart full of bitterness.

However, his expression was still quite calm, and this calmness came from the habit of being hit by Li Ang repeatedly.

From Li Ang's restriction on Messi at the beginning, to his insertion to disrupt his team's midfield defense, to the unexpected threatening long-range shot later...

At first, Guardiola thought that Li Ang was excited when he played against Barcelona, ​​but now he has realized that Li Ang is completely excited when he plays against the team he coaches!

Every time he played against Li Ang's team, Li Ang would bring him a big surprise.

When they first met in the Premier League, Li Ang scored two long-range shots to defeat his ambition to defeat Chelsea.

And today, Li Ang once again gave him a big surprise.

If he hadn't been accustomed to Li Ang's characteristic of getting more excited when playing key games, he would definitely be anxious and annoyed at this moment.

But the biggest benefit of losing to Real Madrid in the previous two seasons was that he could control his emotions more properly and look at the temporary victory and defeat more rationally.

"Do you still want to limit his offensive performance now?"

Guardiola was even in the mood to make a joke with his assistants.

Before the game, many members of Manchester City's coaching staff suggested targeting Li Ang's offensive running habits based on Chelsea's recent five game data.

Guardiola didn't agree at the time, and many of his new assistants didn't understand it at the time.

Now, they finally understand the significance of Guardiola's disapproval of their preparations.

"Li Ang just runs to the side with more opportunities, and he is so smart that he basically only chooses to insert into our weak side of defense."

"How did he develop this skill of back-to-basket? It is more stable than many center forwards who stand still. I can't understand it!"

"And he is not greedy for credit. He passes when he can. He can always suppress our midfielders in one-on-one situations. How can we restrict him..."

The people in the Manchester City coaching bench half sighed and half complained.

Guardiola did not stop them from venting. He had made a decision in his heart.

After complaining, it's time to face reality.

Since Chelsea can't be restricted from playing the game rhythm they are best at, Manchester City can only face the challenge and make the last effort with their best offensive means now!

Guardiola at this moment is like Mourinho when he first came to Real Madrid.

In order to unify the tactical thinking of the players and coaches in the team, he has to emphasize the correctness of his tactics over and over again.

He also has to make his players and coaching staff members clearly aware of this.

Their past game experience is no longer suitable for this new era. Only by fully cooperating with his transformation of the team can they get everything they want.

Perhaps in this game, Manchester City will eventually fail.

But it was through such a tragic and painful defeat that Mourinho stimulated the growth of Real Madrid players and finally cleared the obstacles for him to fully control Real Madrid.

What Guardiola is doing now is to replicate the model of Mourinho leading Real Madrid to rise.

Manchester City players can't imagine the "good intentions" of their new coach.

As their opponents, Chelsea players can't imagine this.

If Li Ang knew Guardiola's true intention, he would only give him a thumbs up and praise him as "really ruthless".

After all, Mourinho's move was a risky move, but now it seems that Mourinho succeeded, so what he did back then will always be talked about by fans and the media.

But for Li Ang, who had experienced such a difficult period, he knew.

If the old man was not eager to find the right person to end Barcelona's domination of La Liga.

Mourinho might have been fired by Real Madrid directly after only winning a King's Cup in his first year as coach.

So now Guardiola wants to go back to the path that Mourinho has taken.

If Li Ang knew what he was thinking, he would only think that he was taking a crazy adventure.

Of course, without knowing it at this moment, Li Ang only felt that Guardiola's on-the-spot adjustment seemed to have made the same old mistake again.

Manchester City did not make a new tactical decision immediately in the last game time of the first half.

Chelsea, who had a two-goal advantage, did not want to take too many risks.

Mourinho sat on the coaching bench with his arms folded, and looked at Li Ang with satisfaction as he signaled his teammates to shrink their formation.

Li Ang now meets his picky requirements for the core of the team more and more.

He can attack when advancing and defend when retreating, and he makes decisive tactical decisions, and he can focus on team victory.

To be honest, Deco and Lampard when they were young were not the most perfect offensive and defensive cores in his heart.

When he took over Real Madrid, the most satisfying thing about his predecessor was that he left him a big offensive and defensive core like Xabi Alonso.

But Xabi Alonso was already quite old at the time. If Alonso could be four or five years younger, Mourinho would have no objection at all.

Originally, he thought it would be difficult for him to coach a core midfielder who was just the right age and whose ability fully met his requirements in his life.

Unexpectedly, three years later, he discovered and slowly cultivated a...

The referee's whistle interrupted Mourinho's fantasy sitting on the coaching bench.

Looking at the Chelsea players who were walking towards the player tunnel one after another, Mourinho also led Holland to stride back to the locker room.

The laughter of the Blues players soon rang out in the Wembley all-staff tunnel.

With a smile on his face, Li Ang patted Ibrahimovic's butt and walked into the locker room with a smile.

Now that the first championship trophy after transferring to the new club is in sight, the core players of Chelsea, led by Li Ang, all look relaxed.

However, they did not let down their guard in their hearts. The closer they were to winning the trophy, the more they cheered up and dared not slack off.

The smiles on their faces reflected their confidence more.

After all, they had won too many victories in the Premier League and Champions League this season.

And victory is the best catalyst for confidence.

If Mourinho and Li Ang had not knocked and warned the entire team from time to time.

Perhaps most of the young players in Chelsea would be flattered now.

But with the example set by the coach and the new core of the team and the "verbal attack", Chelsea's young players can only stay firmly rooted in the ground.

So they are confident and alert. Perhaps to a large extent, such mature performance is not their original intention.

But as long as they continue on this path of growth, even if it is passive.

One day they will understand how important this is for the development of their career path.

Mourinho is the same as most of the games that have taken the lead in the first half.

During the halftime break, he made very little adjustment to the tactics, and basically adopted the tactical plan arranged before the game.

He prefers to make simple and incisive comments on the players' personal performance, and then ask them to pay more attention to the execution of tactical details.

For example, Bertrand, who played quite well on the offensive end today, but gave Nasri several opportunities on the defensive end and let Matic help him wipe his ass many times.

At this moment, he listened obediently to Mourinho's tactical instructions to him and nodded continuously.

After finishing such a task, Mourinho also gave the rest of the time to Terry.

The words of the old captain of the Blues inspired the desire and enthusiasm of all Chelsea players for the League Cup championship.

When Li Ang finally stood in the middle of the locker room and generously promised to invite all teammates to celebrate after winning the championship.

The Chelsea locker room was cheering and howling, and the momentum was like a rainbow!

There was the pursuit of championship honors, and there was also the excitement of the core of the team treating guests to a carnival after the game.

The veterans in the Chelsea team were happy to watch the younger teammates rush out of the locker room and step back onto the court.

On the other side, after receiving the chicken blood stimulation of Guardiola, the Manchester City players also returned to the court firmly and embarked on their desperate counterattack!

It can be said that the defeat in the first half of the game has knocked out all the voices in the Manchester City team that were different from Guardiola.

After all, the 0-2 halftime result has explained everything.

Manchester City players still want to turn the tables and win, so now they can only choose to trust Guardiola.

So after the second half of the game started, almost all Manchester City players were involved in controlling the ball and advancing the ball!

In the first half, Chelsea was able to do crazy high pressure, pulling out two full-backs to participate in the risky forward pressure and interception rhythm.

Correspondingly, in the second half, Manchester City let go of the mentality of the whole team, let alone the two full-backs.

Even Kompany once participated in the ball control organization, pressed across the center line, and seemed to play back to the defensive midfielder position he played in the Bundesliga before!

Guardiola's courage on the offensive end far exceeded the expectations of Chelsea fans.

Mourinho doesn't seem to want to compete with his old opponent for this moment of courage.

At his signal, Li Ang quickly commanded his teammates to stick to the center line and changed the high-pressure tactics to a complete defensive counterattack.

For a moment, the game seemed to return to the rhythm of the strongest spear and the strongest shield in the Premier League from the tit-for-tat in the first half.

This is in line with the expectations of many fans for the rhythm of the game between Guardiola and Mourinho.

But watching the two teams still fighting for the fierce confrontation rhythm on the court, neutral fans want to see the bloody and tense passion of the two teams fighting for the bayonet attack in the first half.

However, Li Ang can take his teammates to go all-in when he is desperate, but he is also good at sitting on the Diaoyutai after holding enough lead, as solid as a rock!

When it comes to the time and tactical node of defense, he completely turns into the most trustworthy interception wall in Chelsea.

Whether it is Yaya Toure or Fabregas who comes in from behind, it is difficult to make a single step forward when facing him with the ball!

So even if Manchester City increased its offensive in the second half, they still chose to give the ball to the offensive players on both wings.

In terms of offensive coordination, Manchester City also made more space on the wing and half-court areas.

This is the offensive method that Nasri and Silva are good at.

But without the containment of the central attack, it was quite difficult for the two of them to play whether facing Matic or Lampard's inward defense.

At this moment, time became the most precious thing for Manchester City, and Guardiola had to use his last offensive method.

Dzeko came on the court, he replaced Fernandinho, and formed a double striker with Aguero, and Manchester City also changed to 442.

With a high center forward on the field, even if Dzeko is not as tough as the traditional British high center forward, Manchester City's ability to grab points in Chelsea's penalty area has indeed been greatly enhanced.

Mourinho did not hesitate for long and also used the substitution.

The tall Van Ginkel came on the court and replaced Lampard.

And Gary Cahill was also warming up on the sidelines at this moment.

Li Ang did not drag his feet. After Van Ginkel came on the court, he did not take the initiative to change his position, but still stood firmly at the front of Chelsea's penalty area.

So Chelsea's 433 formation was further flattened, and the three defensive midfielders acted as a protective wall in front of the central defenders.

Hazard and De Bruyne moved further inward and locked in the rib area, leaving only Ibrahimovic standing in Manchester City's half.

Chelsea has played this defensive system quite skillfully, after all, they have more midfielders who can play as defensive midfielders.

Guardiola looked around and saw Essien and Mikel standing up from the Chelsea bench one after another. His expression was the same as that of most Manchester City fans at the moment.

Helplessness has surpassed anger and anxiety.

Watching the game time pass bit by bit, countless neutral fans also let go of the last bit of expectation in their hearts.

This game is like a microcosm of the Premier League this season.

Before the official match, Manchester City seemed to be able to fight Chelsea, and after the game started, both teams were able to play back and forth.

But with Li Ang's outbreak, Chelsea took the upper hand and never gave Manchester City any room to resist.

In terms of defense, Chelsea did a really good job.

And until the referee finally blew the whistle to end the game, Manchester City failed to break through Chelsea's door!

Watching Li Ang cheering and celebrating with his teammates in the live broadcast, countless fans could only sigh in the end.

Li Ang really has the flavor of a natural champion!