Chapter 333: Chelsea Won't Really Go for Overtime, Right?

When it comes to the war of attrition, Li Ang has a lot to say.

He followed Mourinho from Real Madrid to Chelsea, and he has played this kind of game every season.

Whether it is single-point defense or coverage and sweep, his physical hardware is enough to support him to compete with any opponent in the midfield.

Atletico Madrid is very good at running and does a very good job in confrontation.

But to be honest, the game pressure they brought to Li Ang is really not as good as that of the super Bayern in 2013!

Li Ang had to clean up Marcelo's butt on the defensive end, to defend Robben one-on-one, and from time to time he had to compete with Schweinsteiger and Martinez in the midfield.

He has withstood such defensive pressure, so it doesn't make sense that he is restricted in his performance against Atletico Madrid now.

Before the Atletico Madrid team adjusted its tactics to suppress the midfield pressure, Li Ang and Kroos almost completely controlled the midfield situation.

The two controlled the field as long as they said they would, and there was no idea of ​​trying to penetrate the attack again.

Chelsea's possession rate data also rose sharply.

Diego Costa and Raul Garcia's pressing could not cause too much interference to Chelsea's half-court pass control.

The two of them were very active, but it was obvious that at this time, Atletico's overall investment in the frontcourt was needed for Atletico to have the qualification to compete with Chelsea for the ball near the center circle.

Although Simeone was a little hesitant, he finally signaled his disciples to compete with Chelsea for the rhythm of the game first.

He could accept giving up the initiative of the game first, but the premise was that Chelsea would actively press forward after getting the initiative.

But in this situation, Chelsea had no intention of attacking at all, so Atletico must fight for the ball and take the initiative of the game into their own hands first.

After receiving the tactical instructions from their head coach, the four midfielders of Atletico finally cooperated with the two forwards to start pressuring Chelsea's midfield.

In the 13th minute of the first half, Matic almost lost the ball under the pressing of Raul Garcia and Arda Turan.

Although Mako finally managed to pass the ball to Kroos who was retreating to receive the ball, his small mistake still made the Chelsea fans at the scene exclaim.

Atletico's pressing system is very mature. After investing enough manpower, the effect has gradually emerged.

Seeing this, Li Ang also decisively retreated to form two main ball control points in the midfield with Kroos.

Raul Garcia didn't believe in evil. Seeing Li Ang taking the ball, he wanted to call Diego Costa to double-team and press.

As a result, Li Ang took the initiative to move his body and forced the ball to Bertrand on the wing against his defensive interference!

Diego Costa seemed to have expected Raul Garcia's defeat by Li Ang.

Other midfielders would feel uncomfortable when facing such a strong pressing, and their movements might even be deformed.

But who is Li Ang?

In the La Liga field back then, if Pepe and Diego Costa were the most difficult to mess with among the defenders and forwards respectively,

Then in the midfield, Li Ang is definitely the defensive player that the offensive players of other La Liga teams except Real Madrid hate to face the most!

This guy can retreat to attack the striker and attack the defender. After returning to Real Madrid in the summer window of 2011, he has never retreated in any game!

Anyway, Diego Costa has suffered a lot from Li Ang, and he doesn't want to waste energy and physical strength to provoke Li Ang again.

Raul Garcia was forced to "tough" by Li Ang, and his mind was cleared up, and he recalled Li Ang's reputation in the La Liga.

Of course, he is not a coward.

But when he thought of the famous rumor that Li Ang would not get a card for elbowing someone, Raul Garcia hesitated for a moment, and finally gave up the idea of ​​continuing to compete with Li Ang.

Gradually helping his teammates to stabilize their position in the backcourt, Li Ang still did not careless, and continued to direct his teammates' defensive positions, and then returned the main task of controlling the ball to Kroos.

There was no beautiful ball possession and no chic display of passing skills.

But Li Ang is now in the backcourt, and his tough performance shows his core style!

Mourinho sat back in the coaching seat with confidence, and countless Chelsea fans in front of the TV also felt very at ease at this moment.

On the contrary, Atletico fans are naturally feeling bored at this moment.

When Li Ang was still in Real Madrid, he repeatedly made Atletico's offensive players suffer on the field.

To be honest, at that time, Atletico fans' dislike for Li Ang may not be worse than Barcelona fans.

Unexpectedly, it has been almost two years, and Li Ang still successfully troubled Atletico in a head-on confrontation!

Seeing Chelsea successfully resolve Atletico's wave of pressing offensive, Atletico fans' resentment towards Li Ang has become more and more serious.

"Should we increase the intensity of the press? Our two full-backs can also try to press over the center line. As long as Li Ang is not in Chelsea's first echelon of counterattack, Diego (Godin) and Gabi can handle Chelsea's fast attack!"

The Atletico assistant coach gave a bold tactical suggestion.

Simone looked at the game situation on the field at the moment, and saw Li Ang who had been staying in the half court to defend. After thinking for a moment, he finally nodded!

In this Champions League final, he and Mourinho will naturally focus on stability.

But in addition to the stable tactical main tone, some small adjustments and variations are still necessary to try.

And at this moment, Chelsea's tactical tone of defending the half court has been formed, and it takes time to change the tactical thinking.

Simeone thinks that before Chelsea's counterattack, it is not a bad idea for Atletico to take the initiative to attack and test for a few minutes.

So after making a quick tactical adjustment, Atletico's forward pressing and shoving went deeper into Chelsea's hinterland.

Many neutral fans in front of the TV became excited at this time.

No matter which side of Chelsea and Atletico took the initiative to attack, the game finally had a change in rhythm.

Even if Atletico finally hit Chelsea's steel defense line, it was better than the previous stalemate between the two teams.

But under the expectant gaze of countless fans.

Seeing that Atletico had unified its tactical thinking and was going to press forward, Li Ang did not control the ball to the end.

Instead, he decisively kicked the football that Kroos passed back to Atletico's half!

There was no hesitation in the action of kicking the ball!

Gabi, who had already pressed past the center line, could only chase back helplessly at this time to receive the ball controlled by goalkeeper Courtois.

Many Atletico fans were also amused by Li Ang's big kick at this moment.

What a joke!

If Atletico didn't take the initiative to press forward to test Chelsea, they would control the ball. As soon as Atletico pressed forward, Chelsea would kick the ball in the backcourt.

So which side has stronger hard power in today's final?

Can't Chelsea show some dignity and face of a strong team!

If Li Ang knew the voices of Atletico fans at this moment, he would definitely respond simply:

Our team really doesn't have these empty-headed things!

Maybe when playing in the league or some small cup games, Chelsea will still pay attention to the so-called face of a strong team.

But since it has reached the Champions League final, Mourinho's team will only be pragmatic!

There is no so-called tactical surprise, and more backhands are also to deal with emergencies.

As long as the score balance on the field today is not broken, Chelsea will be stable to the end, and will compete with Atletico to see who can make fewer mistakes!

When Atletico controlled the ball and finally launched a siege on Chelsea.

Chelsea's players burst out with great defensive enthusiasm in their own half!

Atletico's offensive ability is not the best in the entire four major leagues, but today Chelsea will take the initiative to give Atletico 200% respect.

Give Atletico enough space so that they can organize the attack calmly?

That is impossible!

Chelsea directly took out the posture to deal with Manchester City in the Premier League.

Tough fight, confrontation, defensive strangulation!

Anyway, it is impossible to let Atletico attack calmly in Chelsea's defensive hinterland!

In Atletico's own half, it doesn't matter how Atletico passes the ball, but it can't cross the line.

Once you reach Chelsea's half, you must challenge according to Chelsea's rules!

Manchester City players have suffered from Chelsea's defensive system this season, and Atletico's players on the field today have to eat it all!

Under this intense confrontation rhythm, the thorns in Atletico's team soon couldn't stand it and began to fight with Chelsea's defensive players.

Led by two beast forwards, Raul Garcia and Diego Costa, Atletico's offensive players used unconventional confrontational moves.

On the Chelsea side, Matic and Terry on the back line were also not gentlemen.

In addition, the referee's whistle was relatively loose today.

So the two teams were wrapped together, and before the winner was determined in terms of skills and tactics, they were about to stage a full-scale fight!

At the critical moment, Li Ang stood up again!

In the chaotic situation, he first pushed away Raul Garcia who wanted to make trouble with Marco, and then confronted Diego Costa head-on!

"Tell your teammates not to bother my brother anymore! And watch your actions! This is the Champions League final! Not some Spanish Second Division or English Championship game! You don't feel ashamed, but we do!"

"Isn't it because you guys made the first move?! If you can't afford it, just surrender in advance and don't complain like a woman!"

"Shut up your stinky mouth! I'll fight you! Come on, let's do it right here..."

The two greeted each other fluently and skillfully in Spanish.

However, when Li Ang grabbed Diego Costa's arm and signaled him to really fight on the spot, Costa subconsciously pulled back his forearm.

The referee on duty was also in a big trouble.

These two teams happened to rank in the top two in the number of fouls in this year's Champions League.

If these two teams really fight on the court today, then his chance to referee such a large event will basically end!

After a fierce and rapid whistle, the referee forcibly separated Li Ang and Costa who were still arguing.

A 50-point penalty is inevitable, and both Leon and Costa received a severe verbal warning from the referee.

Raul Garcia and Matic, who were previously quite tough in confrontation, were also seriously pulled aside by the referee to give a warning.

He blew the whistle loosely today, but it was only to ensure the smoothness of the game.

This does not mean that he acquiesces that the two teams can have further confrontation on the court. There can be gunpowder, but there must be no conflict. This is his red line!

After a commotion, the game started again.

However, facing Chelsea's defensive stranglehold, Atletico, who did not dare to continue to make trouble, obviously did not have many ways to break through the situation.

If Griezmann could still play stably at this time, his long-range shots and local breakthroughs could still play a significant role in the strong attack.

But he was absent due to injury.

As the real offensive core of Atletico at the moment, Arda Turan naturally had to take up the responsibility.

Looking at the data alone, Arda Turan actually does not have the style of a first-class European offensive player.

He has been transferred to Atletico as a winger for four years, but it was not until last season that he handed over his best single-season career data in La Liga.

Throughout the 2013-2014 season, Arda Turan played a personal performance of 9 goals and 6 assists.

At first glance, this data is really not the top in Europe.

But Arda Turan's role in Atletico is completely invisible from his personal data alone.

He is not fast. Although he mainly plays on the wing, he is not a fast winger at all.

But he has excellent skills, steady dribbling, stronger confrontation ability than ordinary winger, outstanding ability to read the game, and a unique skill of holding the ball with his back.

In terms of connecting the wing and the middle and penetrating the rib area of ​​the court, he is a rare offensive player in the four major leagues.

Not to mention that he is also responsible for the short-distance ball advancement of Atletico's midfield.

It can be said that Griezmann's data this season is better and has received more attention from the outside media.

But Arda Turan is the indispensable offensive core of Atletico.

He is still Simeone's most trusted offensive cornerstone.

At this moment, Turan has more offensive ball rights, and he naturally has to find a way to help the team open up the situation on the offensive end.

Unfortunately, many media and fans don't know the goods, but as Atletico's opponent, Chelsea has studied Atletico's offensive and defensive system very carefully in preparation for this game.

Mourinho certainly understands the importance of Arda Turan to the operation of Atletico's midfield offensive system.

So Li Ang took over the tactical burden again, and actively marked Arda Turan, who looked ordinary!

Li Ang also made up for some recent highlights of Arda Turan's games some time ago, and knew that he could not be allowed to hold the ball and advance into his own defensive third zone.

Turan has the ability to pass threatening balls, and his ability to change direction and break through in short distances is very strong!

The closer this threatening player is to the penalty area, the more he can play alone!

So to successfully restrict him, it is necessary to further restrict his range of activities to the wing, not giving him the opportunity to cut inside, and it is best to head to the vicinity of the center circle.

This is not difficult for Li Ang to do.

Now he can basically achieve a natural state of resistance when facing opponents with slow midfield speed.

And Turan's good confrontation ability is only compared with other wing players.

In front of him, Turan can't withstand his strong collision even if his lower body is stable.

Mourinho's rogue tactical behavior made Simeone shake his head repeatedly when he stood on the sidelines.

Turan was targeted by Leon on the right, and finally had no choice but to switch sides with Koke and go to the left to find opportunities.

But soon the Turkish midfielder found that Leon also quickly exchanged positions with Kroos and came to his opposite again!

Such a game scene is completely torture for Atletico fans.

Atletico's offensive operation was basically declared invalid. The routine of directly kicking the ball from the middle to find Costa was difficult to work because of the presence of Terry, the air tyrant.

The only thing that made them feel relieved was that Chelsea was just playing around with them around midfield control throughout the first half, and did not launch a large-scale attack on them.

But seeing that the first half of the game was about to end, Chelsea still looked as stable as a mountain.

A large number of neutral fans couldn't help but put a question mark in their hearts.

"Chelsea won't really go for a war of attrition today and force overtime?"