Chapter 258 Don't Score, Brother, You Are Already Fourth in the Premier League Scorer List

"I've said it before, Barcelona's front line is too wide, if they had given up the King's Cup earlier, they wouldn't be playing so restrained now.

The end of wanting everything is often to get nothing. They no longer have dominance in the Champions League, but their fans are still living in four or five years ago, and they need to clear their heads..."

Compared to the excitement and passion when the team scored the equalizer, Mourinho was not so excited after seeing Ibrahimovic score the goal that the team surpassed the score.

He sat in the coaching seat, talking to his assistants with a look of having seen through Barcelona's strengths and weaknesses.

Holland and the others had nothing to say at this time, and they only had faith and respect for Mourinho.

If Li Ang was sitting on the bench at this time, he would definitely tear him down when he heard Uncle Bird bragging like this.

It was one thing to achieve tactical targeting against Barcelona, ​​but when they fell behind on the court, Li Ang didn't believe that Uncle Bird had such a calm mentality.

Unfortunately, there were only Lukaku and Essien on the bench at the moment. Except for some young people who didn't dare to talk to them, there was only Mourinho's boss.

So the Chelsea coaching bench and the bench were full of joy at the moment, and the atmosphere became more relaxed and harmonious.

But Mourinho didn't just brag.

After seeing that Li Ang and the others had almost finished celebrating, Mourinho quickly called Kalas and Lampard to warm up.

The movement on the Chelsea bench quickly attracted the attention of the live camera.

Li Ang naturally saw Kalas and Lampard on the sidelines on the court.

Without any signal from Mourinho, he called his teammates around him to gather together, and then directly issued a tactical order to shrink the formation.

With half an hour left in the game, such a tactical decision can indeed be called conservative.

But as I said, in the Champions League knockout away game, there is no 100% strength to crush the opponent. If you have enough advantage, then you should focus on stability.

In the last round of knockouts against Paris Saint-Germain, Chelsea basically suppressed Paris Saint-Germain in all aspects, so it doesn't matter if they play more aggressively.

Barcelona is different after all. If Leon doesn't retreat, Matic really has no good way to deal with Messi.

Leon is now the offensive and defensive core of the Chelsea team, and he must look at the overall situation in terms of tactical considerations.

If Chelsea can get an away goal and tie with Barcelona, ​​it will be a victory.

If they can keep the score of 2-1 until the end of the game, Chelsea can say that half of their body has entered the semi-finals of this year's Champions League.

Leon would like to take advantage of Barcelona, ​​but if you think about it carefully, it is unlikely.

No matter how stubborn the head coach of Barcelona is, the players of Barcelona should fight hard, right?

If they are forced into a corner and Barcelona really stage a reversal in Camp Nou, Chelsea will suffer a lot.

The most painful way to kill someone is to cut the flesh with a blunt knife, slowly, and wear down the fighting spirit of the Barcelona players bit by bit.

Hehe, this job, Li Ang is extremely good at~

When Barcelona kicked off again, they soon discovered that Chelsea was shrinking across the board.

Messi held the ball, watching the Chelsea bus formation where all the players except Ibrahimovic were positioned in the half, and he could only sigh silently in his heart.

As long as it is a team coached by Mourinho, no matter how strong or weak, whether it is a European giant or not, these teams will not have extra pride.

Everything is for victory, attack with all your strength when it is time to attack, and when it is time to park the bus, you will park the luxury bus without hesitation.

Barcelona's players are definitely unable to do this.

To be honest, Messi can't appreciate this style of football at all.

But at this moment, Messi had to admit that Chelsea made the most correct tactical choice, while Barcelona could only swallow the bitter fruit of being counterattacked and targeted by high-altitude balls again...

Chelsea is not the best in Europe in terms of defense now, after all, Mourinho has only been back to polish the tactical system for less than a season.

The team with the best defense in Europe should be Atletico Madrid, and Barcelona has long experienced the strength of Atletico Madrid.

Anyway, they have not won Atletico Madrid once in any competition this season.

Chelsea's current regular defensive strength may be more than 80% of Atletico Madrid.

After all, there are still a lot of veterans in the team, and it is still difficult for Chelsea to achieve the kind of full-field pressing and strangling of Atletico Madrid.

But Chelsea can still do it if they insist on high-intensity strangling and pressing for 30 minutes.

After almost all the players retreated, Chelsea had no worries about defensive strength on their own flanks and half-court ribs.

Especially when Mourinho replaced Lampard and Kalas, Chelsea's ability to sweep and intercept inside and outside the penalty area was greatly improved.

Lampard has enough physical strength to complete the 30-minute defensive task. Kalas's flexibility and ability to steal the ball on the defensive end can assist Matic or Leon to further keep a close eye on Messi.

Hazard was off the field, and Chelsea, who changed their formation to 5-4-1, almost announced their tactical intentions.

So the most brutal offensive battle of the game began.

Even if Martino wanted to save more energy for the main players, facing the result of 1-2, he had to command Barcelona to fight in the last thirty minutes.

If they didn't fight for a favorable situation, at least they would have an explanation to the fans.

Otherwise, if they lost, all major Spanish sports media would point the finger at him and Barcelona after the game.

Barcelona's players didn't think about these off-field things at the moment, they just wanted to defend the dignity of their home court.

Neymar stood up under the heavy pressure.

Neymar, who has not yet proved himself with a heavyweight championship trophy in European football, is very hardworking.

Perhaps many Barcelona fans have criticized that Neymar's habit of sticking to the ball too much on the offensive end will cause certain damage to Barcelona's offensive system.

But his super strong individual combat ability at this moment is another hope for the entire Barcelona team.

In addition to Messi, Neymar is Barcelona's sharpest knife on the offensive end.

When he no longer focuses on faking and showing off, his samba dance steps do have the possibility of forcibly tearing open the opponent's defense in a small local space.

When the game reached the 70th minute of the second half, Neymar took the ball and went alone, forcing Azpilicueta to foul one-on-one.

In just three minutes, Azpilicueta received a yellow card from the referee on duty because of a helpless tactical foul!

This made many Barcelona fans at the Camp Nou feel that they saw the hope of equalizing the score!

Neymar was also full of confidence. After getting up from the grass, he shook hands with his teammates one after another. He even encouraged Sanchez and Messi.

Iniesta stood in front of the penalty spot, ready to take this front-court set-piece.

Terry wanted to instruct his teammates to set up a human wall inside and outside the penalty area, but Li Ang had a different opinion from Terry.

"They won't play a high ball. If they do, only Pique can head it. Captain, you should keep a close eye on Pique. David (Luiz), you should keep a close eye on Busquets!

They will definitely choose a tactical set-piece. Believe me..."

Li Ang persuaded Terry. He asked Lampard and Kalas to expand the defense area and not to shrink to the front of their own penalty area.

As expected, Iniesta soon played a tactical set-piece.

Xavi received a short pass from Iniesta in the middle of the midfield, and then quickly transferred the ball to Messi on the right.

Kalas, who was previously ordered by Li Ang to be pulled outside the penalty area, immediately pressed Messi who had the ball!

The close combat between the two ended with Messi nimbly passing Kalas.

But after passing Kalas, facing the defensive interference from Li Ang, Messi, whose physical strength was rapidly depleted, could only choose to protect the ball and then pass it to Alves who was attacking from the side.

The ball was still under Barcelona's control, but their tactical set-piece attack was obviously a failure.

Messi did not have enough space to play, and Chelsea's defensive players once again stood in position.

Barcelona could only continue to pass the ball from the outside and continue to look for the next suitable attacking opportunity.

After Messi's failure, Xavi and Iniesta naturally had to choose to feed Neymar more offensive ball rights.

Li Ang took the initiative to change positions with Lampard and ran to the right side of his own half with a fierce look.

Azpilicueta breathed a sigh of relief instantly.

And Neymar's eyes changed quietly.

In another strong breakthrough attempt, Neymar still passed Azpilicueta, but this time the Spanish full-back deliberately pressed forward to defend.

After he lost his position, Li Ang rushed out from the wing and forced Neymar all the way to the sideline, leaving Barcelona with only one chance for a throw-in.

Neymar, who was forced out of the sideline by Li Ang, did not feel any shame or anger.

If it were other Chelsea defenders, Neymar might still want to fight back and try to regain his face in a one-on-one match.

But facing Li Ang, a ruthless man who could defend Messi closely, Neymar still had no temper.

As expected, Barcelona's offensive performance on the left side was cut off by Li Ang's position change defense.

Li Ang did not mind changing positions and running more on the defensive end.

But the Barcelona fans at the scene minded it very much.

Unfortunately, the louder they booed, the more excited Li Ang became.

If he was not afraid of receiving a warning from UEFA or even a serious penalty of suspension after the game.

Mourinho even wanted to provoke the Barcelona fans at Camp Nou again, so that Li Ang could play better.

After the 80th minute of the second half, Mourinho made his third substitution in this game.

Ibrahimovic, the hero of the goal, left the court and Essien came on. Mourinho was determined to win this Champions League knockout match.

Martino had no choice but to continue to pile forwards in the frontcourt.

Pedro got a chance to play in the last 10 minutes of the game, and he replaced Xavi.

After fully warming up, Alexander Song and young defender Bartra also came on the court one after another, replacing Mascherano and Jordi Alba.

Martino made such a substitution adjustment not to strengthen the defensive ability of the back line, but to enhance Barcelona's ability to grab high balls in Chelsea's penalty area.

Well, being forced to this point, Martino has done his best.

But the two so-called header masters on the Barcelona bench are still not good enough in front of Chelsea's defense.

Just as Li Ang explained to Terry before, the header masters who need extra attention in the Barcelona team are actually Pique and half Busquets.

Bartra and Alexander Song can't take advantage of Matic and Kalas at all.

So when the real last moment came, the Barcelona fans at the Camp Nou watched the ball fly into the Chelsea penalty area and was quickly pushed out by Chelsea's defensive players, feeling a little embarrassed.

The referee on duty seemed to be unwilling to see Barcelona fans suffer any more. As soon as the three minutes of stoppage time came, he blew the whistle to end the game!

2-1, Chelsea defeated Barcelona in the first round of the Champions League quarter-finals!

At the moment the game ended, the live camera was focused on Li Ang, who scored a goal in this game.

He was celebrating with his teammates one by one by clapping hands.

After Messi rested for a while with his hands on his hips, he also took the initiative to walk to the area where Li Ang was.

"You lied to me again in the game..."

"Hey, it's over now. All is fair in war...Besides, you scored a goal at the beginning today. If I don't take care of you a little more, I will be the one who is upset now."

Hearing Li Ang's smiling words, Messi felt his eyes twitching.

He really wanted to knock Li Ang's head hard, but it was a pity that he was still on the live broadcast and couldn't knock it. He had to be patient!

"Huh..."

After slowly exhaling, Messi took off his jersey.

"Exchange jerseys. I must let you come to me in person to exchange jerseys in the next game!"

Messi rarely said harsh words, but Li Ang still smiled and took Messi's jersey without refutation.

The game was won, and he wouldn't lose a piece of meat if he let Xiaomei vent his anger and say a few harsh words.

However, this time, facing Messi's invitation to have barbecue together in the evening, Li Ang could only refuse helplessly.

Until now, the teams competing for the championship in the league and the Champions League have very tight schedules.

In order not to delay the players' rest and the subsequent preparations for training, Chelsea's coaching staff announced early that the whole team would fly back to London immediately after the game tonight.

So Li Ang had no time either.

Chelsea's players celebrated briefly on the spot, washed up in the locker room, changed clothes, and then all got on the bus to wait for Mourinho's post-match press conference.

It was not until the early hours of the morning that the entire Chelsea team returned to London.

At this point, no one in the Chelsea team had the heart to go to nightclubs and bars for a while.

After going home to wash up, they might not even bother to read the news. After playing away games, the Blues players went straight to bed and slept soundly.

It was not until 2 pm on April 3 that the players of Chelsea's first team arrived at the Cobham training base one after another and began recovery training.

To be honest, the time for the entire Chelsea team to rest and prepare for the next round of the league is definitely not enough.

The first team players who just finished the match against Barcelona need a more adequate rest period after the game.

But time waits for no one. On the afternoon of April 5, Chelsea will face Stoke City at home.

So Mourinho can only choose to rotate the main players again.

After a tense preparation, Chelsea used a half-main lineup to welcome Sky City, which is currently ranked ninth in the Premier League, at Stamford Bridge.

Because Manchester City had already defeated Southampton 4-1 in the early game, Chelsea did not have much to say in this round of the league.

Winning is the basic requirement, and the worst result is to maintain a draw.

If the full main lineup can be sent out, it will be very simple for Chelsea to win.

But now that the half-main lineup has been sent out, the game will eventually have some suspense.

Before the game started that afternoon, the live camera was given to the head coaches of the two teams. As a result, Mourinho's face seemed to be more serious.

Before the game, Zhan Jun also teased the excited mentality of Chelsea fans now.

After all, the Premier League title is just around the corner, and the points gap between Manchester City and Chelsea has widened to a full ten points.

So if Chelsea can win this game steadily, then the most conservative estimate is that Chelsea will win the championship in advance by winning two more league games.

Is there any pressure? Maybe a little.

But I think at this moment, the Chelsea players and fans are more expectant and excited.

Let's not talk about the Champions League title for now, which is still far away from Chelsea. Even the Champions League semi-finals have not been decided yet.

But the Premier League title is a dream that all Blues fans can reach.

At the last mobilization before the game, Lampard also shouted the slogan of going all out to sprint for the Premier League title this season.

Li Ang is also eager and looking forward to the Premier League title, but his mentality is calmer than other young teammates in the team.

After all, in the past three seasons, Li Ang has won the honor of the top league championship.

So although he is looking forward to it, he is not excited.

After the game officially started that afternoon, he sat in the midfield and quickly suppressed the rhythm of the game in the organization, and also reduced the unnecessary mistakes of his teammates at the beginning of the game.

Stoke City played more conservatively today, so Li Ang was not in a hurry. He slowly mobilized the two wingers to attack Stoke City's defense in turn to find offensive opportunities.

Neither Hazard nor De Bruyne started in today's game.

But Lukaku and Oscar's impact is not bad at all, at least it is enough to deal with Stoke City's wing defenders.

Torres is at the forefront and can still safely complete the fulcrum tactical task assigned to him by Mourinho.

At least he is much more reliable as a center forward than Lukaku.

Lampard benefited from the containment of Torres and Li Ang, and got three chances to shoot in the first 20 minutes of the game.

Including Lukaku and Torres' three shots, Chelsea had a total of six shots on the offensive end, and three shots on target.

This efficiency is not bad, and it also greatly threatens Stoke City's goalkeeper Begovic.

It's just that Li Ang was relatively quiet in the opening stage today, at least it doesn't seem to be very active in attack.

However, in the 24th minute of the first half, after receiving Lukaku's back pass on the wing, Li Ang suddenly chose to dribble and plug in!

After passing Stoke City midfielder Glenn Whelan, Li Ang passed the ball horizontally to Lampard who was attacking with him.

A large number of Stoke City's defensive forces were immediately attracted by Lampard and Torres who retreated to receive the ball.

So when Li Ang received Lampard's return pass again, he easily broke into the front of the left side of Stoke City's penalty area.

In this position, Li Ang was fully capable of passing the ball to Lukaku who was just diagonally inserting from the side to the middle of Stoke City's penalty area.

But he did not kick the ball straight, but faced the defense of Stoke City center back Shawcross, and completed the heavy artillery shot with his left foot!

Li Ang now likes to play this kind of unexpected long shot from the edge of the penalty area more and more.

Begovic is tall and strong, and sometimes he can make an extreme save with his outstanding arm span.

But facing Li Ang's full-strength shot, which did not leave himself a way out, Begovic's save was still half a beat slower!

The football whistled and finally went into the dead corner above the far corner of Stoke City's goal!

This ball was not a perfect shot, but it was not far off, and the quality was very high. Begovic's save was considered his best effort, and it was normal if he didn't save it.

Li Ang was very happy to help the team score the first goal again, but he didn't expect that Lukaku looked even more excited than him!

"Boss! Do you know that you have surpassed Sturridge and risen to the fourth place in the Premier League scorer list?! God, you are only three goals away from Zlatan's league goals!"

Li Ang was still a little confused. He didn't pay attention to the league scorer rankings recently, but a large number of Premier League fans remembered it clearly like Lukaku.

This is Li Ang's 18th goal in the Premier League this season. He successfully surpassed Sturridge and climbed to the fourth place in the Premier League scorer list!

He is also the only midfielder in the top ten of the Premier League scorer list!

Now ahead of him, only Suarez with 26 goals, Cavani with 24 goals and Ibrahimovic with 21 goals are left.

Perhaps it will be very difficult for Leon to surpass these top scorers in the end.

But countless Premier League fans now believe that Leon will increase his Premier League goal tally to 20 in his first season with Chelsea!

This is a milestone achievement.

The young lion king is about to roar his dominance in the Premier League!