Shevchenko, who had been singled out by Mourinho, suddenly raised his head, his eyes filled with a mixture of grievance and anger as he looked at Mourinho.
Shevchenko was quite confused. Where did he fail to pass the ball? He made a threatening pass from the byline right at the start of the game, and you selectively ignored it? And can you blame him entirely for that goal? The defense was pushed so high, and they were easily breached by a long pass. Why don't you blame them?!
He was about to speak in rebuttal, but Mourinho did not give him a chance to explain.
"These are the statistics from Silvino for the first 45 minutes. Throughout the first half, our breakthrough success rate on the left flank was as high as 70%. To put it bluntly, Leeds United's right-back was basically a decoration. I even suspect that Cudicini could easily get past him if he played on the left wing!" Mourinho pointed to the arrow on the left side of the whiteboard with his pen, ignoring Shevchenko who wanted to speak. "Overall, everyone executed my tactical requirements quite well in the first half. Although there was a slight mishap at the end, I think we still have a great chance to overtake our opponents in the second half."
After a slight pause, Mourinho gave Shevchenko a meaningful look again and continued, "But I want to emphasize one point: if I find anyone not playing according to my tactical plan after they come on, then I'm sorry, there are other players on the bench who want to play..."
On the other side, Li Shiguang was very satisfied with his team's performance in the first half, but he didn't forget to remind his players not to become complacent because of their lead. Chelsea's strength is definitely top-tier in the Premier League, and if they were to equalize in the second half, winning the game would be much more difficult!
"How are you, Danny? Can you still hold on?" After giving the team a pep talk, Li Shiguang walked over to Mills, gently placed his hand on his shoulder, and asked him softly as he looked down at the panting Mills.
Besides veterans Rivaldo, Cannavaro, and Camoranesi, 29-year-old Mills is the fourth oldest player in the Leeds United squad. Although he is still in his prime, he had already withstood the relentless attacks of Robben and Drogba for a full 45 minutes. By the time the referee blew the whistle to end the first half, Mills felt like he could barely walk...
"Boss, if Chelsea continues to focus their attacks on my side, I estimate I can only last for another 10 minutes at most." Mills shook his head. He knew his own limitations; Robben could wear him down with just his speed, and he couldn't possibly last another 45 minutes.
"Then kick it again..."
"Come on, boss, winning this game is more important!" Mills interrupted Li Shiguang, who seemed to want him to play a little longer, and then joked self-deprecatingly, "You must have seen my performance in the first half. I felt like I was standing on the right wing, saying to the Chelsea guys, 'Come here, this is it!' If it weren't for Javier and Fabio's help, I would have been torn to shreds by that Dutch kid."
"Hahaha, you little rascal..." Li Shiguang was thoroughly amused by Mills' words. He then nodded and looked at Simone, who was standing at the door: "Diego, go tell Frank that when he comes on, we'll play 3-5-2 in the second half!"
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"Alright, fans, the 15-minute break has passed in the blink of an eye, and both teams' players have returned to the field." After being reminded by the director, Lineker also stopped his casual conversation with Jon and got back to the main topic.
"It seems Mourinho is still very confident in his starting lineup; Chelsea didn't make any changes at halftime. But Leeds United made a personnel change, with Ribery replacing right-back Mills, and judging from their formation, Leeds United switched to a 3-5-2 in the second half. And Lee actually put Lahm in the left center-back position!?" Seeing Leeds United's positioning, Lineker, who had been calmly explaining, suddenly sounded surprised. "Jon, what do you think of Lee's adjustment?"
Jon rolled his eyes and joked with Lineker: "How do I see it? I see it with my eyes! It's obvious that Mills can't withstand Robben and Drogba's onslaught. Lee is sending Ribery to race Robben and Cannavaro to mark Drogba."
Mourinho had clearly noticed Leeds United's tactical change. He glanced furtively at Li Shiguang sitting on the bench and cursed inwardly, "That cunning Easterner!"
He originally thought that based on Li Shiguang's style this season, he wouldn't start parking the bus in the backfield so quickly. As long as Mills was still playing in the second half, Chelsea would have an easy way to break through! But he didn't expect Li Shiguang to be so decisive and directly substitute Mills.
With this formation that appears to be a three-man defense but is actually a five-man defense, it will be difficult for Robben to break through Leeds United's defense as easily as he did in the first half.
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The situation on the field confirmed what Mourinho had in mind.
After the start of the second half, the entire Leeds United team retreated to their own half, with even Ibrahimovic and Torres dropping back to the center circle.
Chelsea continued to build their attacks down the flank from Robben's side, but after a few minutes, Mourinho realized something was wrong!
The biggest problem is that Ribery is just as fast as Robben, and physically, the Frenchman seems to be a bit stronger than Robben.
Robben had the ball on the wing just now, intending to use his speed to outpace Ribery. However, after dribbling the ball away, he not only failed to shake off Ribery, but was also completely blocked by Ribery's body while chasing the ball, ultimately failing to get possession...
Seeing this situation, Mourinho had no choice but to take advantage of Chelsea's throw-in to call Lampard over and give him a few instructions.
Chelsea then changed their attacking strategy, starting to try to penetrate through the middle, seemingly wanting to use short passes to get behind Leeds United's defense.
However, in midfield, Chelsea's players are indeed a cut above Leeds United in terms of physical strength, stamina, and tireless running.
However, when it comes to organizing attacks and controlling the pace of the game, Alonso is far superior to Essien and Makelele.
So, with both sides pulling and tugging at the ball, the game seemed to have returned to the state it was in before Leeds United's goal in the first half, with both sides constantly battling for possession in midfield. This situation continued until Chelsea made personnel changes...
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