Chapter 296 The Devil with 19 Consecutive Wins, a Perfect Half-Time Ending!

After the 17th round of the Premier League, the entire Chelsea team rushed back to London overnight.

There will be no training on the morning of December 23, so the Chelsea players who finished the game with Stoke City can sleep in comfortably.

They will not need to report to the Cobham training base for physical examination and recovery training until 3 pm.

The next round of competition with West Ham United will come in four days.

This is the only good news for the entire Chelsea team in the near future.

Because after playing West Ham United, they only have one and a half days of rest time, and then they will go to Southampton away.

Such a schedule is difficult to understand for the top teams in the Premier League, and these teams are basically unacceptable.

The mid- and lower-level teams in the Premier League with weaker bench depth have only two choices in the face of such a devilish schedule.

One is to bet hard, betting that bad luck will not find the players in their team, betting that their players are so durable.

Second, in order to ensure the health of the players, they can only give up this round of the final game for tactical rotation.

There is no way. If they don't give up, they will have to play the 20th round of the Premier League after the New Year three days after the final game.

Two games in seven days is already too much, and the English Football Association has directly arranged a schedule of three games in seven days!

If the core players of a small team are injured at this stage, it will not be a small matter, and it will almost affect the team's overall preparations for the second half of the league.

These teams are still very clear about what is important.

Chelsea's opponent in the next round of the league, West Ham United, may also consider starting rotation in the final game and strive for a draw with the opponent.

But in the match against Chelsea, they barely have spare energy after four days of rest.

At present, their fourth place in the Premier League is not very stable, so naturally they still want to take points away from Stamford Bridge.

On the afternoon of December 26, most Premier League fans around the world turned their attention to the Stamford Bridge Stadium in London.

The match between Chelsea and West Ham United is about to begin, which is also the early opening match of the 18th round of the Premier League.

British media of all sizes have sent reporters to the Stamford Bridge.

Compared to witnessing another dominant victory for Chelsea.

These reporters certainly want to see West Ham United create a miracle and overthrow Chelsea at Stamford Bridge.

Then they will have more explosive content to write, and the breaking of Chelsea's unbeaten record will also cause a greater public opinion sensation.

In the pre-match publicity of this Premier League focus game, many English sports newspapers even clearly stood on the side of West Ham United.

At this moment, West Ham United has completed the warm-up, and the players who are ready to play will inevitably have a sense of pride in their hearts that they will represent other Premier League teams to fight against the big devil Chelsea.

Facing opponents who are much stronger than themselves, it is certainly a good thing to have this confidence.

West Ham United's head coach Allardyce could only further encourage his players at this moment.

He also wanted to remind his disciples to keep their heads clear at all times, and to clearly recognize the huge gap between their team and Chelsea.

But if he said that, he was worried that it would affect the morale of his players.

So in the last moments before the game, Allardyce simply stopped emphasizing caution and vigilance.

The weak beat the strong, and the gap in strength is not small, so naturally they can only make a fuss from the spiritual will.

The completeness of West Ham United's current lineup is pretty good, and they can fight this tough battle.

To put it bluntly, Allardyce is also gambling. If he wins, his team will have qualitative growth in the spiritual level.

If he loses the game in the end, he also has reasons to comfort his players.

After all, Manchester City and Arsenal lost to Chelsea before, and it's good that we can resist tenaciously.

Anyway, there is something to say whether we win or lose, and we are not afraid of being criticized by the fans.

In this game, West Ham United was more like a barefoot reckless man, who just went for it and didn't have too many concerns about the game.

As for Chelsea, they naturally wanted to firmly control the rhythm of the game, so as to win the game at a lower cost.

Of course, in the pre-match preparation, Mourinho and Chelsea's coaching staff had anticipated West Ham United's tactical attitude towards this game.

In other words, after winning 17 consecutive league games and receiving praise from major sports media across Europe.

The entire Chelsea team was mentally prepared to face desperate sniping from different teams in the subsequent leagues.

Let alone defeating them, as long as they could draw with them and break their winning streak, they would gain extremely high reputation and media praise.

If they were the current West Ham United, they would have to fight to see if they could bring down the top overlord of the league!

When Li Ang was preparing for the match a few days ago, he felt that today's battle with West Ham United would definitely be very intense.

So he didn't delay for long and used a physical recovery potion yesterday.

His physical condition has not recovered to its peak state at present, but it is at least more than 90%.

So if the midfielders of West Ham United want to take advantage today, they will definitely get a big "surprise"~

At 1:45 pm London time, the early opening match of the 18th round of the Premier League started on time at Stamford Bridge.

West Ham United, who won the first kick-off right, boldly launched full-line pressure on Chelsea's half!

West Ham United, which arranged a 433 starting formation, can use three forwards, three midfielders and two full-backs at one time on the offensive end.

This is a big deal, and the offensive strength of the Hammers really surprised the fans in front of the TV!

Regardless of whether the offensive effect is good or not, just for this courage, all Premier League fans cheered for West Ham United in their hearts.

Seeing this, Li Ang also retreated decisively.

Together with Matic and Kroos, they directly moved to the front of their own defensive third zone.

Lukaku and De Bruyne, who replaced Hazard in the starting lineup today, followed him to recover.

They blocked West Ham United's ball organizers from the two wings and the top of the center circle.

Chelsea quickly entered the defensive state and did not give West Ham United too many offensive penetration opportunities.

Seeing that the start was not going well, Allardyce also quickly instructed his players to maintain the defensive level and quickly switch to the two-wing advancement mode.

However, West Ham United's two-wing flying style is not that two wingers take turns to join.

The main attacker on the right side of West Ham United is indeed winger Downing.

But on the left side, their winger Enna Valencia relies more on speed to rush the opponent's defense line.

And the beater and crosser who makes more delicate offensive changes is their left back Cresswell.

Relying on this slightly strange two-wing offensive tactics, West Ham United has achieved a lot of tactical effects in previous games.

Downing can play freely on the right. Although Jenkinson behind him has weak offensive ability, he can defend honestly and clean up his mess.

Downing, who has had enough offensive tactical weight, has handed over 4 goals and 5 assists in 17 league games!

This offensive efficiency is not bad at all for a winger who has reached 30 years old.

So today Mourinho deliberately let Azpilicueta play as a left back, cooperating with Matic to directly lock Downing's performance.

On the right, because of his age, the slower Ivan can only sit on the bench today.

Kalas, who has good speed and single-man defense ability, started on the right.

Valencia has a strong explosive ability, but after playing in front of Kalas for more than ten minutes, he has not had a chance to get rid of the bottom.

Cresswell's performance in the back today is not as good as before. There is no way. Every time he wants to go forward, there is a covetous Li Ang in front of him.

How can he play well?

In front of Li Ang, his speed and confrontation are not superior.

In order to lose as few important ball possessions as possible, Cresswell can only move forward slightly.

Either to support Valencia, or to receive the ball from West Ham United's left midfielder Kouyate.

It can be said that the Chelsea coaching staff considered the threatening figures on both wings of West Ham United before the game and made corresponding restrictive measures.

For this reason, Mourinho did not hesitate to give up the initiative of attack at the beginning of the home game, consolidate the defense first, and test the strength of West Ham United's offensive system.

After watching the development of the game for about 15 minutes, Mourinho gradually had a bottom line in his heart.

He also subconsciously looked at Li Ang, who was still in his own half and focused on defense.

"Tony, next time we grab the ball, we won't play the long pass tactic. You take control of the field, stabilize the rhythm first, and we will slowly try to press over the center line!"

Like Mourinho, Li Ang, who has been observing the situation on the field since the start of the game, has seen the strength of West Ham United's attack.

It can be said that West Ham United has achieved good results in the previous league and has a reason to be among the top four in the Premier League.

Their midfield is very strong, the confrontation is also very tough, and the tactical system of attacking on both wings is complete.

In addition to Carroll, the center forward who has performed well this season, West Ham United's offensive style is relatively rich, and the offense and defense are balanced.

Compared with Manchester United, which is still improving its tactical system, and Tottenham, which is full of injuries, they are indeed more qualified to rank fourth in the Premier League.

However, if they want to confront Chelsea head-on, doing this is far from enough.

West Ham United's two-wing attack is indeed good, but it relies too much on Downing's performance.

Once Downing lost his firepower, West Ham United not only lost a right leg, but also lost at least three-fifths of its wing attacking firepower!

Carroll did not have much independent attacking ability, and he was still waiting for his teammates to pass the ball to him.

When Downing needed support, he basically could not stand up and give feedback.

After seeing through this, Li Ang decisively decided to take back the control of the game and began to suppress West Ham United for a counterattack.

Let Azpilicueta defend Downing 1-on-1.

As long as Downing can't move, Valencia on the left of West Ham United is just a reckless "passing and dying" player.

To deal with such a player, Karas, who has strong single-man defense ability, will naturally teach him a lesson.

After a series of instructions, Li Ang directly increased the firepower of the sweep in the backcourt.

In the 24th minute of the first half, Chelsea, who once again seized the ball, no longer launched a long pass attack as before, looking for the wingers on both wings to attack West Ham United's quick counterattack.

Kroos held the ball in his own half, deliberately reducing the speed of ball possession and the rhythm of the game.

Originally, the players on the field of West Ham United were very worried that Chelsea would press forward.

But they waited for a long time, but they only saw a Chelsea team that patiently controlled the field and slowly regained the midfield position.

Unable to hold back, West Ham United's frontcourt players began to press Chelsea's ball-controlling players.

But no matter whether Kroos or Li Ang controlled the ball, it was difficult for West Ham United's pressing players to touch the ball from their feet.

The two not only held the ball steadily, but also passed the ball with high accuracy.

In particular, Li Ang's dribbling and turning in circles can often create space from the double-teaming of two West Ham United players and break through the siege!

The less you can grab the ball, the more you want to grab it, and the more anxious you are.

Under the control of this increasingly impatient mood, more and more players from the entire West Ham United team are involved in pressing.

At this time, Li Ang deliberately let Kroos and himself take the ball back.

At first, he wanted to slowly regain control of the midfield and then suppress West Ham United.

But now he has a better offensive tactical choice.

Since West Ham United players like to press forward so much, why not help them?

The midfield space left by Li Ang and Kroos after retreating was quickly filled by West Ham United's midfield players.

After seeing that the opponent's midfield and backfield had been pulled loose and even disconnected, Li Ang suddenly took the ball and rushed forward!

After passing West Ham United captain Nolan, Li Ang seized the opportunity and sent a long pass!

The football quickly hit the right side of West Ham United's half like a guided missile.

Lukaku, who had already accelerated, first unloaded the ball with his chest while running, and then made another violent dribble!

Jenkinson was no match for the little monster in the wing confrontation!

This scene is very similar to the story of Drogba and Senderos.

What's more coincidental is that Jenkinson is also an Arsenal player now, he is just on loan to West Ham United~

After overtaking in the sideline without any suspense, Lukaku rushed straight into the West Ham United penalty area!

At this moment, West Ham United's central defenders Collins and Reid only thought that Lukaku would pass the ball to Ibrahimovic who came from the middle.

But they never expected that Lukaku's final cross from the bottom line went straight to the back point!

De Bruyne, who shook off Cresswell's defense, easily unloaded the ball, and then quickly knocked the ball back to the top of the West Ham United penalty area.

It was not until this time that the West Ham United players realized what a terrible threat they had missed!

"De Bruyne's knock back! Li Ang came in from behind... Shoot!!!"

Li Ang, who hadn't scored a long shot for a while, swung his right foot at this moment, and then shot a burst from the front of the penalty area!

A terrifying dull whistle exploded over the West Ham United penalty area!

Adrian, who was guarding the West Ham United goal, made an extreme save with his instinctive consciousness at this moment.

But his fingertips did not touch the football as he expected, changing the trajectory of the football!

The sound of the football and the net rubbing against each other finally reached Adrian's ears, and directly hit his heart to the bottom!

And what followed was the crazy cheering and celebration of more than 40,000 Blues fans at Stamford Bridge!

"Oh--!!!!!! The ball went in! Li Ang scored a world wave!!!

God! Scored again in consecutive games! This is also Li Ang's 17th Premier League goal!!! He is still soaring his goal count! He still stands up in every deadlock and helps Chelsea open the record!"

The commentator of Sky Sports couldn't help but shout with excitement at this moment!

In the distant country of China, Zhan Jun, General Fan and Coach Zhang, who were commentating on the game, were already cheering and celebrating!

Allardyce licked his dry lips and kept comforting himself in his heart, "The first half of the game is not over yet, we still have time."

But in fact, at this moment, there was another voice in his heart that kept echoing.

"The gap in personal ability between the players is really too big, too big..."

Mourinho broke away from Holland's passionate embrace, smoothed his messy hair a little, then walked to the sidelines and quickly made a gesture of pressing his hands down.

The Chelsea players on the field seemed to have a tacit understanding and did not celebrate for long.

After the game started again, Chelsea quickly controlled the rhythm of the game and dragged the game into their favorite "fishing tactics".

The more West Ham United struggled, the more troops they invested in the offensive end, and the more defensive risks they had to bear.

The score was finally fixed at 1-0 in the first half, which was the last hope for West Ham United players to counterattack.

But within 20 minutes of the start of the second half, Chelsea made two lightning strikes and expanded the score lead to 3-0.

The morale of the entire West Ham United team was also crushed!

This so-called Premier League focus battle finally ended at Stamford Bridge with a score of 4-1.

Countless Premier League fans lamented the strength of Chelsea.

After winning 18 games in a row, Chelsea has broken the 52-point record they created in the first half of the season.

For Chelsea, there is only one game left for the 19-game winning streak.

Such a dominant team has never appeared in the history of the Premier League before.

Most of the English media have begun to praise Chelsea's tough performance this season.

No one puts the hope of overturning Chelsea's unbeaten record on Chelsea's opponent Southampton in the 19th round.

Including Southampton itself.

Under this overwhelming propaganda, on December 28, Chelsea, who was full of momentum, directly launched a round of offensive battles with Southampton at St. Mary's Stadium!

Li Ang, Hazard and Ibrahimovic all scored in this game.

And Chelsea also ended all the events in the first half of the 2014-2015 season with a score of 4-2!

Chelsea has created an unprecedented record of winning all 19 league games in the first half of the Premier League after the reform.

Li Ang also became the top scorer of the Premier League this season with 18 league goals, surpassing Cavani and Suarez who scored 15 goals in the first half of the league!

The big devil Chelsea raised his head high on the throne of the Premier League, looking down on his opponents.

Wherever he went, everyone surrendered!