Chapter 324: The Power of Zone Offense Tactics Begins to Show

"Alan Wang equalized the score for Chelsea. This counterattack was too fast and our players seemed unable to adapt to the sudden increase in pace. I hope they can find their feeling as soon as possible and play in the same state as before."

Seeing Wang Li score a goal, the live announcer at Highbury Stadium was much more depressed than the commentator at the ancient oriental court TV station.

Arsenal had just experienced the feeling of taking the lead and had just entered the winning mentality, but just a few minutes later, the opponent equalized the score. This sudden change of situation made all the Arsenal fans in the stadium a little uncomfortable. For a long time after Wang Li scored, many Arsenal fans were still staring at Wang Li with his fists raised on the field. They were so surprised that they didn't know what to do.

However, the "professionalism" of these Arsenal fans is indeed very good. After they realized what was happening, they immediately booed the arrogant figure on the field fiercely and in unison.

This is Highbury Stadium, how can Chelsea players be so arrogant?

At this time, the Blues fans were really excited. Even though they had enough confidence in Chelsea, they did not expect the surprise to come so quickly, which made them all excited. The Blues fans' stands in the stadium were like boiling water, and they directly exploded. The cheers of more than 10,000 fans even overwhelmed the voices of 25,000 Arsenal fans, and many neutral fans also began to cheer for this goal. they only supported the wonderful attack. Undoubtedly---

Chelsea's goal was brilliant

On the field, Wang Li was very happy after scoring the goal. This was not only the success of Chelsea's tactics, but also the affirmation of his own ability. He jumped up hard and raised his fists high, as if he was demonstrating to everyone in the stadium, which made the boos of Arsenal fans even louder.

Frank Lampard, the "upright man" who followed from behind, looked at Wang Li's movements and expressions, bent his body and made a bow, and joked: "Your Majesty, please attend the coronation ceremony."

Fortunately, this was on the pitch, and Lampard's voice was not loud enough for other Arsenal supporters to hear. If the Arsenal fans in the audience knew what Lampard had just said, they would definitely riot. You know, this is Highbury Stadium, and a coronation ceremony is being held here?

This is an act of complete disregard and blatant contempt for Arsenal, and the referee on the field will also regard this as a serious provocation to the fans. It is estimated that this "upright man" will receive a yellow card for this.

Compared with the joyous Chelsea players, the Arsenal players were more or less sad.

From the beginning of the game, Arsenal had been frantically besieging Chelsea's half, and this siege did have a good result - they scored the first goal and took the lead. However, this advantage did not last for a few minutes before the opponent equalized the score, which was a bit frustrating.

The same was true for coach Wenger on the sidelines, but at this time he and the Arsenal players had different ideas.

'Should Arsenal bring in a superstar next season?'

Wenger thought as he looked at the somewhat arrogant black-haired boy on the field. From the perspective of the Frenchman, Arsenal had a complete advantage in terms of tactics, form, and performance after the start of the game, which also allowed the team to score a goal and take the lead in just over 10 minutes, but Chelsea equalized the score with a player's "flash of inspiration".

This is the role of superstars. Often their dazzling performance can bring goals to the team. In Wenger's view, Wang Li now has the strength of a superstar.

What Arsenal lacks is this kind of player. Although Henry's performance is also very good, after all, he is also a striker trained under the Arsenal system. He may be outstanding in football basics, tactical movements, cooperation, personal ability, etc., but what about creativity?

At least, Wenger is sure that Henry's current creativity is definitely not as good as that of world-class superstars, such as Ronaldo, or even some younger young players, because under the training of the system, his personal skills and abilities have been fixed, and it is difficult for him to show any creativity.

This is also a common problem in training players under the system - just like the standard English defenders trained by West Ham.

In short, even though Arsenal's strength is among the top European clubs, it still lacks a creative superstar.

However, Wenger still had a little doubt in his mind at this time, that is, the feeling of this attack was different from Chelsea's previous attack. After a long period of research, the Frenchman found that all the goals scored by the black-haired boy, except for direct shots after teammates passed the ball, were scored by him getting rid of the defenders and passing the ball into the penalty area to create opportunities for his teammates.

But this time, it took several very imaginative passes before the ball finally reached Wang Li. Of course, this goal was more due to Wang Li's personal strength.

"Is this a coincidence, or?"

Thinking of this problem, Wenger frowned. If it was just a coincidence, then there was nothing to be afraid of in the next game. Superstars would occasionally have a "flash of inspiration", but it was impossible for them to "flash continuously" throughout the game. But if it was not a coincidence but Chelsea's tactics, then Chelsea's next offensive would be smooth, and Arsenal might face a test.

This thought made Wenger hesitate, but then he felt that it was unlikely to be a tactic, because that kind of creative pass was unlikely to appear in a tactical way, and the opponent's midfielder Lampard's last ball was obviously a mistake, which was obviously just the personal strength of the black-haired boy---

Thinking of this, the French felt a little relieved.

The game had restarted, but the big screen in the stadium and the screens of various TV stations were still replaying the goal. Compared with Arsenal's fierce attack, this quick counterattack was not only fast, but also shocking with several classic passes. It can definitely be written into the collection of wonderful goals in world football.

Commentators from different countries had different comments on this goal. For example, the English media, such as Sky TV, have been praising Wang Li endlessly, saying that he is "a rare genius in England in a century, and this performance fully reflects the charm of English technical football."

On the other hand, TV stations in other countries, especially the German and Portuguese media, which compete with English football, refuted the claim that the English football system could not produce such a skilled player. They believed that the goal was just a coincidence and a player's sudden inspiration, which was not surprising.

However, these media also recognize Wang Li's strength.

………

After the game resumed, Arsenal was obviously a little hesitant after the counterattack. They were afraid that if they pressed too hard, Chelsea would launch another quick counterattack, so the players who pressed forward in the backcourt also paid attention to defense and put more work on defense.

But it is undeniable that even so, Arsenal's attack in the frontcourt is still very fast.

On the left side, the attack led by Pires repeatedly penetrated Chelsea's defense. Arsenal always passed the ball into Chelsea's hinterland, creating opportunities for the team. In the middle, Henry continued to attack the back line. The performance of this world-class striker was undoubtedly the highlight of the game and attracted the attention of many Chelsea defenders.

The young player Fabregas was always lurking behind Henry, frequently cooperating with his teammates and delivering precise through balls, which made him the bright spot in Arsenal's offense.

This young Spanish player, who is not yet 18 years old, finally made his debut in front of the world's media in this competition.

Although Pires' performance on the wing was dazzling and Henry always stole the spotlight in the middle, it was undeniable that the performance of the lesser-known Francisco Fabregas was no worse than the other two. He lingered near the center line most of the time, and his outstanding passing ability allowed him to often play the role of an offensive organizer, constantly creating crises for Chelsea.

If they are laymen in the football field, they may ignore this young player because they only see the wonderful dribbling and shooting. However, after watching for 10 minutes, insiders clearly realized that the most important role in Arsenal's lineup is the organizational core Fabregas.

Led by these three players, although Arsenal has invested less manpower in the offense, it still has the advantage on the field overall, which can be seen from the relevant data: in the 10 minutes after Chelsea equalized the score, Arsenal's ball possession rate reached 57%, the pass success rate was 89%, and the number of shots was 4, while Chelsea only had 2.

It has to be said that even if Mr. Mourinho does not admit it, he knows it very well in his heart. In terms of offense alone, if Chelsea did not have Wang Li, it would definitely be a big gap with Arsenal. Wang Li's outstanding personal ability makes up for this shortcoming, which greatly narrows the gap between the offensive capabilities of the two teams.

Therefore, in the battle between the two teams, the offense is more about state and momentum. Whoever has more momentum and better state will be able to gain control on the field. Of course, scoring a goal still depends on some luck.

At this time, as Arsenal still had the advantage on the field, the spirits of Arsenal fans were lifted again, and their confidence in the game was boosted. After all, it was only 1:1 now, and the two teams were back at the starting line. They believed that the team would definitely win in the end.

However, as the game time slowly passed, Chelsea players gradually regained their form.

Perhaps at the beginning of the game, Chelsea did not show its due strength because of the lack of adaptation to the away game and the fact that the opponent caught them off guard. However, after equalizing the score, the players regained their confidence. Under the leadership of Wang Li, Chelsea's new offensive tactics finally slowly showed its power at Highbury.

………

Arsenal attack.

Pires made a one-two combination with Fabregas on the wing, shook off William Gallas, and then passed the ball to the front of the penalty area.

Reyes cut in from the right and got in front of the ball just in time to receive the pass.

This 21-year-old Spanish genius is much more famous than Fabregas. He joined Arsenal for 15.75 million pounds last winter. So far, he has played 27 Premier League games for Arsenal and scored 8 goals. Although many fans think he is a fake because he is not well adapted to the confrontation in the Premier League, it is undeniable that his spiritual dribbling and wonderful passes always bring opportunities for Arsenal's forwards.

It was the same this time. After receiving the ball, Reyes didn't think about it and kicked the ball directly into the penalty area. The ball flew past Carvalho's side and passed to Henry's feet.

Unfortunately, just when the Arsenal fans were exclaiming that the team was about to score, John Terry, who was next to Henry, kicked the ball out of the penalty area, destroying the opportunity created by this wonderful pass.

Next, of course, is Chelsea's attack.

Frank Lampard steadily carried the ball across the center line. It was obvious that Chelsea was preparing to launch a steady attack.

After crossing the center line, Fabregas came over to interfere with the defense. Among Lampard's personal abilities, passing the opponent is a serious flaw, which means he is not good at dribbling or passing the opponent. The big Englishman who was well aware of his disadvantages did not insist on dribbling the ball, but pushed the ball with his right foot and passed it to Arjen Robben on the wing.

At this time, Reyes was standing next to Robben.

In the first 30 minutes of the game, Reyes had already experienced the ability of this Dutchman. In this game, he had been overpowered by Robben's speed twice, so this time, Reyes did not impulsively step forward to steal the ball, but took two steps back to prevent Robben's sudden acceleration.

However, Robben did not choose to dribble past the opponent, and did not even stop the ball. Under Reyes' surprised gaze, he directly kicked the ball back to Wang Li who was diagonally in front of him.

There is no doubt that Wang Li is the center of Chelsea's attack.

Seeing Wang Li preparing to dribble forward after receiving the ball, Robben and Duff on the two wingers began to consciously shrink their positions and slowly ran diagonally towards the middle. In this way, they were no more than 20 meters away from Wang Li's dribbling position, and the cooperation between them could be much easier. Behind them, Lampard also slowly ran forward from the center line, ready to launch an offensive response at any time. Gudjansen in the frontcourt was always staring at the ball under Wang Li's feet, ready to shake off the defensive players to create opportunities for his own shooting.

Flaminius came over.

In fact, in Arsenal's defensive system, although this young midfielder seldom participated in the attack, his position was still very forward. When he saw the black-haired boy on the opponent's side rushing forward with the ball again, he hurried over to defend. Behind him, Arsenal's defensive general Campbell also came over to defend. This was done to fill the space after Flamini was passed and prevent Wang Li from running with the ball.

As for Flamini, maybe he can steal the ball?

Campbell, who had participated in the European Cup together with Wang Li, already knew Wang Li very well. He did not believe that the young man in the team had the ability to stop the black-haired boy from dribbling the ball. In fact, according to media statistics, the only person who had actually stopped Wang Li from dribbling the ball was Chelsea's central defender Ricardo Carvalho. As for whether Flamini would be the next one, Campbell felt that he was more likely to do so.

It has to be said that for defenders in the Premier League, stealing the ball from Wang Li has become a symbol of honor and strength, because there are so few people who can do it.

Although Campbell and Flamini did a good job on defense, what they didn't expect was that the black-haired boy in front of them passed the ball.

Still Arjen Robben on the left.

However, at this time the Dutch boy was standing about 5 meters away from the penalty area line, and there were two Arsenal players next to him, but Wang Li's pass was too sudden, they didn't even react, and it was impossible for them to make any predictions, let alone intercept the ball in the middle.

After kicking the ball towards Robben, Wang Li immediately took light steps and ran towards the heart of Arsenal. In this way, in the eyes of all the fans, his figure almost instantly passed Flamini and Campbell and reached the penalty area line. This shocking speed won the hearts of many neutral fans.

At this time, Arjen Robben's pass also rolled over.

After spending half a season at Chelsea, Robben had gotten to know Wang Li quite well. Facing Wang Li's pass, he didn't even think about it and directly kicked the ball back behind Campbell. Yes, he was not worried at all that Wang Li would not be able to receive the pass, as this kind of cooperation had been carried out many times during training.

This skillful cooperation directly tore through Arsenal's defense, making Campbell and Flamini's defense a joke.

At this time, the defensive players in Arsenal's penalty area also pressed forward. Although Chelsea's cooperation just now did make them feel uneasy, this is Highbury Stadium and they must not have any intention of retreating.

However, facing Arsenal's tight defense and under the surprised gaze of all Arsenal players, Wang Li passed the ball again. On the right, Duff was located next to the penalty area. He instantly shook off the player who was defending him closely and was running towards the right baseline. Although he received the ball in a hurry, he still managed to stop the ball.

Perhaps Wang Li's pass this time seemed very normal to many people, but if you watch Chelsea's game videos carefully and collect data, you can find that Wang Li would more often choose to dribble and shoot from a distance in the penalty area, because this is already within his shooting range. Even if he does not shoot directly, he will choose to pass the ball directly into the penalty area to create a good shooting opportunity for the center forward in the penalty area.

However, passing the ball from this position is extremely rare.

Before the game, Wenger emphasized this point to the players regarding Wang Li's defense. He was serious: "As long as the opponent's No. 21 receives the ball near the penalty area, don't rush to grab the ball impulsively, but focus on spreading out to hinder his passing route and shooting angle towards the goal."

But that is no longer the case.

However, although this caught Arsenal's defenders off guard, their good quality allowed them to adjust in time to deal with this attack - defender Lauren rushed to the right to make up for the defense.

But it was too late. Damien Duff did almost the same thing as Arkin Robben after receiving the ball. He directly passed the ball into the penalty area from an empty angle.

This pass is so weird.

"Chelsea made a mistake," the commentator kept shouting excitedly.

Wang Li took a step forward and ran at the same moment as he passed the ball. But in fact, although Duff's pass was also in accordance with the tactical arrangement, due to Arsenal's tight defense, there was no angle at all in the closer position. Wang Li ran forward as hard as he could to barely reach the ball, but at this time, he could not adjust to shoot.

In this situation, Wang Li hurriedly jumped forward with both feet. When the ball flew past him, he hooked the ball backward with his right toe. This force changed the direction of the ball and rolled diagonally backward.

That's Eidur Gudjohnsen

"Beautiful opportunity" The commentator of the ancient oriental court TV station was not to be outdone.

Unfortunately, the Icelander also felt that the ball was doomed, so he did not react at all. The moment the ball hit his foot, his body kicked it reflexively. The ball rolled towards the goal without any force and was easily caught by Arsenal goalkeeper Almunia.

………

The game on the field had already reached the 40th minute of the first half. At this time, the scoreboard in the middle of Highbury Stadium still showed the score of 1:1. In this case, the two teams seemed to have tied, but the fans supporting the two teams in the audience were in completely different moods---

The Blues fans were extremely excited, while the Gunners fans were worried.

This is mainly due to the difference in performance between the two teams in the past 10 minutes.

In fact, on the field, the two teams really tied. Whether it was the ball possession rate or the number of mistakes, the difference between the two teams was not too big. The reason for the difference in performance was that Chelsea's offensive efficiency was really ridiculously high.

Almost every attack of Chelsea could cause great threat to Arsenal. In the offensive with Wang Li as the core, relying on Wang Li's outstanding performance and Chelsea's strange but smooth passing method, Arsenal's defense encountered crisis again and again. Although the score on the field is still 1:1, even the fans in the audience know very well in their hearts---

Chelsea just lacked a little bit of luck to score

But looking at Arsenal, although their attack was still very fast, the passing and cooperation were very smooth, and there were not many mistakes, but due to Chelsea's strong backcourt defense, their offensive efficiency was completely not on the same level as Chelsea. It was difficult to break Chelsea's defense every time they attacked, let alone create good scoring opportunities for the team.

At least in the past 10 minutes, Arsenal had only one pitiful shooting opportunity, which was missed by midfielder Pires.

At this time, Chelsea coach Mourinho was smiling on the bench. For a football coach, nothing can make him feel more fulfilled than seeing the tactics he created work on the field.

Even though the Portuguese rarely put on a vain face in front of reporters, he actually cares about his own results. Now that Arsenal, who are at the same level as Chelsea and even one level higher in the hearts of the fans, are facing crises due to his new tactics, his sense of achievement has risen sharply. At this time, he was chatting with assistant coach Clarke about the game on the court, while glancing at the Arsenal coaching bench from the corner of his eye, wondering how the Frenchman would respond to his tactics in a while.

But in fact, Mourinho overestimated Wenger's level and underestimated the ability of the new tactics.

Faced with this offensive tactic that is almost impossible to find loopholes in, and is completely designed for the performance of one player, how could Wenger come up with any response in a short period of time?

Even though the game had already lasted 40 minutes, Chelsea's new tactics had only been in play for 10 minutes. Wenger now felt that the offense on the field seemed to be a little different from the previous performance, but he thought it was only because Chelsea players were in good shape during this period. In other words, he had not yet realized that this was Chelsea's new tactic.

In fact, it's not that Wenger is not strong enough. Even if you watch the whole game, without careful analysis, it is difficult to see this new tactic from the field.

Especially for the head coach of a top team.

For a top team, they will hardly formulate tactics specifically for a certain player, and these big-name coaches will only choose players who fit their own tactical system to participate in the game, so the fact that Mourinho specifically formulated tactics for Wang Li sounds a bit shocking.

At least in the short term, most head coaches would not think in that direction.

And now at Highbury, even if you look closely at Chelsea's formation, you can only find that Arjen Robben and Damien Duff's positions in the attack are somewhat closer to the center, while the positions of other players have not changed at all. In other words, the offensive formation is still 4321. How could Wenger notice this small change in Chelsea's tactics in a short time, and how could he realize that it is this small change that has led to the high efficiency of the attack?

In this situation, Chelsea's attack created shooting opportunities for the team almost every time, and from the scene, the goal was imminent.

This situation made the Arsenal fans in the audience restless. All they could do was shout and cheer for the team. Of course, when Chelsea players got the ball, booing was also indispensable. They also wanted to use this method to interfere with the performance of Chelsea players.

But in reality, this seemed to have no effect at all. Instead, Chelsea's attack became smoother and more threatening.

At Highbury Stadium, the 'zone attack tactics' specially formulated by Mourinho for Wang Li was finally demonstrated to the public for the first time, slowly showing its power.

………