Chapter 300 Carabao Cup, FA Cup, Premier League and Champions League, We Want Them All!

"Preview of the Carabao Cup Final, London Derby"

"Chelsea's Ambition to Defend the Title"

"Appetizers for a Harvest Season"

"Double Victory of Tactics and Stars"

...

After Chelsea beat Liverpool 2-0 away from home, all British media seemed to assume that Chelsea would definitely enter the Carabao Cup final this season.

They all ignored the possibility of Liverpool's comeback in the second round.

This overwhelming and one-sided news report made Liverpool fans quite annoyed.

But to be honest, they failed to break through Chelsea's defense at Anfield and Chelsea scored two away goals.

No matter how you look at it, going to Stamford Bridge this time is a bad omen, and the probability of a comeback is indeed very low.

Fortunately, they still have a full week to make tactical adjustments, and Liverpool fans are also looking forward to the return of the main players who were injured in the team before.

In order to fully prepare for the second leg of the League Cup semi-final, Liverpool even fielded a lineup of substitutes and youth training to face Bolton in the fourth round of the FA Cup on January 24.

In the end, they were eliminated as expected.

There are quite a few Premier League teams that were eliminated in this round of FA Cup.

Many Premier League teams are trying to further reduce their burden so that they can sprint for the second half of the league.

It is not just the teams in the middle and lower reaches of the league that will make such a choice.

Strong teams at the top of the Premier League, such as Everton and Manchester City, have also strategically given up this season's FA Cup.

Chelsea's luck in the draw is very good. The opponent drawn in this round is Bradford City from the English League One, and they are also at home, saving the trouble of traveling.

Chelsea also used a lineup of substitutes and youth training to deal with this round of FA Cup, but they finally won 1-0 and advanced.

In the 73rd minute of the second half of the game, Salah received Torres's back pass and cut in with a low shot to score the goal, which was the final word!

After this round of FA Cup, Chelsea also entered the final 16 of this season's FA Cup.

The next round of FA Cup will not start until February 14. During this period, Chelsea only needs to focus on the League Cup and Premier League.

Thanks to the rest of the fourth round of FA Cup, Chelsea's main players have had enough rest time.

But Mourinho did not plan to send all the main players in the second round of the match with Liverpool.

First, it is unnecessary. Chelsea's advantage in the first round is already big enough.

In the second round, as long as they don't underestimate the enemy, the rotation lineup is enough to compete with Liverpool.

Secondly, after playing the League Cup match with Liverpool, Chelsea only has three days of rest time before they will face Manchester City in the second league match of this season.

This battle is the "focus event" recognized by the entire Chelsea team.

In order to better target Manchester City, some of Chelsea's main players still need to maintain a better state and physical fitness.

A week later, Chelsea faced Liverpool at Stamford Bridge.

Rodgers finally waited for the return of several important players.

Sterling, Lovren, Glen Johnson and Lallana were all included in Liverpool's 18-man squad for this round.

Although it is not known whether Rodgers will take the risk of letting these players who have just returned from injury play directly.

But Mourinho still made a plan based on Liverpool's most commonly used tactical play.

19:45 local time in London.

After the pre-match opening ceremony, Chelsea and Liverpool started the second round of their recent competition at Stamford Bridge!

Rodgers finally chose to challenge Chelsea with his best tactics.

As soon as the 433 starting formation came out, the offensive trident combination of Sterling, Suarez and Coutinho once again started together.

The midfield trio of Gerrard, Lucas and Henderson is also Liverpool's most impressive midfield combination.

On the defensive line, Liverpool's past glory is gone, and they can only rely on Skrtel and Lovren, who has just returned from injury, to take the lead.

Glen Johnson may still be physically uncomfortable, so Rogers did not let him start today, and continued to let Markovic sit on the right.

Liverpool's starting left back is still Moreno.

Emre Can, who was fooled by Li Ang in the last game and whose personal performance was not stable, naturally sat on the bench in this game.

Seeing that Neng Ge could not start today, Li Ang was also very regretful.

Without the big smartness to use, Li Ang just organized the attack steadily at the beginning of the game, and first tested the defensive strength of Liverpool on the two sides today.

Liverpool's right side where Markovic is located is naturally the breakthrough point that Li Ang wants to continue to make a fuss at the beginning.

But I don't know if Rogers instilled a firm defensive idea in this full-back before the game.

No matter how Li Ang cooperated with Hazard to test the attack, Markovic did not take the initiative to steal the ball, as if he was just going to stay in the pit in this game.

In addition, Henderson and Coutinho actively returned to defense and made up for the defense.

Liverpool's right side, which seemed to be the focus of Chelsea's breakthrough, was still defending well at the beginning of the game!

Instead, after Li Ang dispatched his teammates on the left side to participate in the offensive test, Liverpool seized some counterattack opportunities.

Henderson's physical fitness is quite outstanding, and his defensive sweep area is also very wide. The key is that this guy also has a very good long pass.

So compared to many black and hard midfielders in the Premier League, he does not need to pass the ball to the team's midfield core after completing the steal.

He can launch a counterattack long pass by himself in the first time!

Suarez's range of activities in the frontcourt is also very large. When he and Henderson successfully connect, Liverpool's counterattack success rate will rise sharply.

In the eighth minute of the first half, Suarez received Henderson's long pass and accelerated on the right.

After attracting the defense of Matic and Terry, Suarez passed the ball to Coutinho, who had swapped positions with him and was inserting from the middle.

And Coutinho's dribbling shot almost bypassed Cech's defense!

If Cech hadn't been focused enough and had a good arm span, he would have finally touched the ball with his fingertips.

Coutinho really helped Liverpool take the lead shortly after the start of the game!

Coutinho, who missed this great opportunity, covered his head with an unbelievable look on his face.

And Suarez, who almost got an assist, also shouted a pity.

At this moment, Li Ang clearly felt the sweat in his palms.

He did not make any tactical mistakes, nor did he underestimate the Liverpool in front of him.

But he found that he still underestimated the growth rate of several future superstars in Liverpool.

Coutinho and Sterling have indeed not grown to the peak of their careers.

But there is no doubt that they now have the ability to change the situation on the court with a flash of inspiration.

Others don't know their talents and potential, but Li Ang knows it.

Plus Suarez, who is still in Liverpool and has entered his peak period.

If such an offensive trident really explodes, it is completely reasonable to catch Chelsea off guard.

The absolute advantage of the midfield can bring an overwhelming victory to the team in many cases.

But the sport of football is always full of the charm of shining stars and the exciting unknown.

After all, he has witnessed the terrifying performance of the peak BBC and MSN striker combination.

Li Ang doesn't want to lose the team's advantage because of meaningless negligence.

So under vigilance, he decisively decided to retreat, at least back to the eighth position, so that Lampard, who is his partner today, can play as the front midfielder.

Many Liverpool fans in front of the TV were just cheering for the wonderful performance of Suarez and Coutinho.

But when the live camera turned, they saw that Li Ang and Lampard quickly covered their mouths to communicate, and then retreated directly to Suarez's side.

The excitement cooled down instantly.

The commentator of Sky Sports also laughed and joked at this moment:

"Well, it seems that Liverpool's counterattack at the beginning was a bit too fierce~ They played too much and forced Li Ang, who was in a defensive posture, out, ha..."

Mourinho sat on the bench and had no opinion on Li Ang's tactical choice at the moment.

Although he also felt that Li Ang might be a little too worried about Liverpool's counterattack momentum, it's not wrong to be careful.

Whether it is a conservative or aggressive style of play, Mourinho doesn't really care.

The only thing he cares about is whether he can successfully enter the League Cup final.

The head coach didn't say anything on the sidelines, so the core decision on the field was the priority for all Chelsea players to follow.

For Terry and Matic, the backbone of the defense, Li Ang's choice to retreat to assist them in defense will naturally further reduce their game pressure.

Liverpool's three forwards soon had a hard time.

Suarez, who was closely guarded by Li Ang, was even more helpless.

He is the only core of Liverpool's frontcourt offensive system. This is not only clear to Liverpool's players and fans, but also to almost all Premier League fans.

Fans who don't usually watch the Premier League, just looking at Suarez's league data of 30+10 last season, will understand his important role in the operation of Liverpool's entire offensive system.

Whether he chooses to attack himself or hold the ball as a tactical bait, his frontcourt teammates will benefit from it.

So Li Ang's choice of marking is very firm.

If Coutinho and Sterling can break Chelsea's defense today without relying on Suarez's involvement and deterrence, he will accept it.

Anyway, he just doesn't let Suarez play comfortably.

Regardless of whether it is running or taking the initiative to pass the ball, don't think about getting in touch with other teammates in the frontcourt and that's it!

Suarez naturally refused to give up. He fully utilized his running advantage and wanted to work hard to get rid of Li Ang and do something on the offensive end.

But in Li Ang's view, Suarez's versatility has become a stumbling block for him at this moment.

In terms of dribbling, Suarez is not as good as Messi and Iniesta, and in terms of running, he is not as good as Muller.

And Li Ang happened to defend all of the above players~

So unless Suarez is in great form today, he will not be able to get rid of Li Ang in Chelsea's half.

Coutinho and Sterling saw that their big brother was restricted in his performance, and finally they could only bite the bullet and take turns to receive the ball and act as the main attacker.

Liverpool is equivalent to one less Suarez at this time, but Chelsea is also equivalent to one less Li Ang.

After the two exchanged pieces, the on-field confrontation between Liverpool and Chelsea is actually quite fair.

But for the time being, there is no help from Li Ang. Chelsea has Ibrahimovic, who has his own offensive system, in the frontcourt, and Matic in the back.

The organization and connection of the midfield are not smooth, but the operation of the offensive and defensive system is still fine, which can be regarded as the upper limit of performance being lowered.

But Liverpool is missing Suarez, so it is not simply a lowering of the upper limit.

Last season, Suarez can be said to be pushing Liverpool's upper limit.

But this season, when Sturridge disappeared, Suarez was carrying Liverpool's lower limit!

Li Ang still slightly overestimated Sterling and Coutinho now.

Their growth rate is indeed very good.

But when they meet Matic and Azpilicueta, who are now in their prime, in front of these top defenders, they really can't burst out!

Liverpool's tactical thinking in this round is to seize counterattack opportunities as much as possible, and when necessary, all players should press forward to attack.

But now their sharpest spearhead has been grasped and pressed down by Chelsea.

No matter how hard the spear holder stabbed, without the spearhead, it could not penetrate the thick armor of the opponent.

Suarez ran in the frontcourt for almost half an hour. Seeing that he really couldn't get rid of Li Ang, he finally had to choose to retreat.

He almost retreated to the midfield before he received the ball steadily again.

But this is not a solution. After all, he has no problem holding the ball and passing the ball, but who will receive his pass and take the responsibility of scoring?

Rogers, who couldn't find a tactical solution, could only sit in the coaching seat and watch the time pass by.

At the end of the first half, the two teams tied 0-0.

Chelsea did not have much desire to attack, but they did a flawless job on the defensive end, and they had the strength to temporarily give up the attack.

At the beginning of the second half, Rogers thought Chelsea would continue the style of play in the first half.

But he never expected that Mourinho commanded the team to fiercely fight with Liverpool for control of the game at the beginning of the second half!

Well, Suarez was free at this time, and Li Ang did not personally guard him, but his teammates were forced to retreat again and again by Chelsea's fierce forward pressure!

Chelsea's typical high-pressure crazy running tactics this season reappeared, the offensive was like a tide, and the rhythm of the whole team's game was also swift!

Liverpool's midfield, which had no advantage in both power confrontation and speed, could only crawl to the front of its own defense line in the end, and lost the initiative of the game in a mess.

Under Chelsea's continuous strong attack, Lovren also made mistakes in a hurry and personally ruined Liverpool's last hope of a comeback.

In the 59th minute of the second half of the game, Lovren was a beat late in intercepting, but when chasing, he reached out and pushed down Hazard who had entered the Liverpool penalty area!

The referee on duty gave a yellow dot meal without saying a word.

Li Ang scored a penalty kick, expanding the total score of the two-round match between the two teams to 3-0!

This goal completely destroyed the hope of the entire Liverpool team.

After completely switching to a defensive rhythm, Chelsea finally shut out Liverpool and entered the League Cup final of this season with two wins!

At this time, the other League Cup semi-final between Tottenham Hotspur and Sheffield United has not yet started.

But no matter which of the two teams enters the final stage, the entire Chelsea team is sure to win and can retain the League Cup championship!

The gold content of this domestic cup competition in England is indeed not very high.

But last year Chelsea first won this trophy to announce its re-emergence.

This season Chelsea's goal of winning the championship is even more ambitious.

And the members of the Chelsea team are also happy to use the League Cup championship to lay the foundation for their season achievements again.

But this time, their ambition is not just the Premier League championship.

League Cup, FA Cup, Premier League, and Champions League.

They want it all!