As a staunch believer in thunder, Lacazette had already been intently watching the situation in the frontcourt, and he was already preparing for a counterattack even before the opponent took a penalty.
Having had the same experience, he knew all too well how monstrous Rey was when defending penalties; Rey was an opponent that many strikers in Ligue 1 complained about and didn't want to face at the time.
When he saw Ray save the penalty, he knew that his team's chance had come.
Cazorla was indeed in a good position. After receiving the ball, he had enough room to adjust. After dribbling for a while, he passed the ball to 272, who was in a better position. Facing this ball, 272 fully demonstrated his individual ability, swaying left and right, which directly made Terry, who came up to defend, lose his balance.
All I can say is that Terry's age is a major disadvantage against 272; he simply cannot match the opponent's agile change of direction.
Under everyone's watchful eyes, as Lacazette ran to his designated spot, the ball appeared right in front of him. Lacazette launched a diving header, leaving Chelsea goalkeeper Courtois with no chance to react, and he could only watch helplessly as the ball flew into the goal.
Courtois stood there dumbfounded; it was truly the first time he had ever encountered such a counter-attack.
From the penalty kick to the goal conceded, the match lasted less than two minutes. He really didn't expect Arsenal's counterattack to come so quickly.
Although both teams were aiming for an attacking style of play in this match, their offensive strategies were actually completely different.
Chelsea's attacking style is efficient and simple, using the fewest passes to create the most effective attacks, with long balls and crosses being their favorite tactics.
In contrast, Arsenal's attack always pursues a beautiful style of passing. While their fluid passing attacking patterns are certainly visually appealing, if they fail to score goals, such attacks can only be described as mere showmanship.
However, Arsenal did not play beautiful football at all; instead, they launched an efficient counter-attack, leaving Arsenal still reeling from the illusion that the penalty was a sure goal.
At this moment, even the head coach in charge of the match was surprised. He couldn't understand why Arsenal had suddenly scored the goal.
However, this is also acceptable. As long as the balance is lost, the game will only become more and more exciting, which is also within his plan.
Conte slapped his thigh and cursed, "Damn it, what's going on? Didn't I tell them to be prepared for a counterattack? Look at what they've been doing just now!"
He was furious and vented his dissatisfaction towards the substitutes' bench.
On the other side of the bench, Arsenal's Wenger wore a very satisfied smile.
This goal perfectly demonstrated the value he was expected to achieve in this transfer. Ray's ability to save penalties is truly amazing; even though it wasn't the first time he had seen it, he was still impressed.
However, what satisfied him even more than Ray's ability to save points was his sensitivity to counterattacks.
This goal fully demonstrates his ability to plan counter-attacks. Cazorla may not have the best footwork, but he was definitely in the best position at the time. The fact that Lei Ming was able to pass the ball to the opponent after saving the penalty shows that the opponent may have already planned to counter-attack before making the save.
In this attack, every player demonstrated their expected level of skill. 272's sharp breakthrough was undoubtedly the highlight of the attack, and Lacazette's final shot was also crucial.
Although they had practiced this tactic in training, how to apply it flexibly in a match was a real test of the players' understanding, and they clearly performed well.
“ohoooooooooooooooo”
~~~~~
At Stamford Bridge, the cheers of Arsenal fans after the goal completely drowned out the larger number of home fans, while many also laughed heartily.
"Hahaha, that's so satisfying, so incredibly satisfying!"
"What goes around comes around; no one escapes the wrath of Heaven! Hahaha!"
"Chelsea did a great job. Fabregas is actually our mole. Don't you know that?"
"Yes, let's get that kid off the bench right away!"
"I'm really growing to like Ray more and more. I'm going to buy all his merchandise tomorrow, just to repay him for that brilliant save."
...
Countless away fans were laughing heartily; they dared to say that this was absolutely the most satisfying moment they had experienced in many years.
Letting that traitor indirectly assist us is even more painful than killing him outright!
Even Lei Ming himself didn't expect it to be so effective; Chelsea really didn't track back!
After the game restarted, Chelsea, who failed to track back, launched an even more intense attack. Fortunately, Arsenal's aggressive defense played a significant role. Although Chelsea's attacks were fierce, most of them were more bark than bite, with very few shots actually landing on goal.
After missing the penalty, Fabregas seemed to be affected a bit, which made Chelsea's attack less fluid.
However, Arsenal's players failed to capitalize on this opportunity in the final stages of the first half.
But the key player in all of this was a small, dark-skinned man.
Kante, a player highly regarded by many head coaches today.
Lei Ming had previously glanced at the other party's information and had some understanding of them.
After this encounter, he truly witnessed what it meant for Chelsea to have an insurmountable obstacle.
Gunners' attacks were mostly silenced by the opponent's interceptions, which also led to Thunder making fewer and fewer long passes after taking the lead, because almost every long pass was intercepted by the guy.
He observed for a moment and could almost intuitively sense that the opponent's running rate was truly abnormal; he was everywhere. However, what surprised Lei Ming even more was that this guy could maintain a smile at all times. Even when he was offended during a conflict with an Arsenal player, he still managed to say "Thank you" in a friendly manner.
In this respect, Lei Ming felt that this guy's 'Thank you' was similar to his own negotiation skills.
During halftime, the professor clearly noticed the difficulties they were facing and made it clear that in the second half they must also bypass the midfield and go straight for the goal.
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