"Oh? What did I just see? Leeds United looks like they're making a substitution!? But the first half isn't even over yet!"
Jon seemed a little surprised to see Toure standing on the sidelines adjusting his jersey in the footage.
Let alone Jon, no one expected Li Shiguang to make a substitution in the first half, including Mourinho on the other side. At first, he thought Toure was coming off the bench to warm up and prepare for the second half. It wasn't until he saw the fourth official walk to the sidelines with an LED light board that Mourinho realized Li Shiguang was going to make a personnel change at this time.
Mourinho began brainstorming, his eyes fixed on Li Shiguang, who was speaking to Toure.
If Toure comes on, who will he replace?
He was certain that Li Shiguang wanted Toure to come up and help the two defensive midfielders increase their control of the midfield.
But Leeds United also played 4-4-2 today. Could it be that Li Shiguang wanted to substitute a striker and put out a three-defensive-midfielder formation to defend for a draw before the first half was even over? But if that's the case, wouldn't it allow Manchester United, who already took all three points from Aston Villa yesterday, to benefit from this?
Soon, the light stick in the fourth official's hand gave Mourinho the answer.
Toure came on, replacing Modric!
This caught Mourinho off guard. Less than 40 minutes into the first half, Li Shiguang made a like-for-like substitution, and the player who was substituted was not injured. Apart from being tactically targeted by Chelsea, he did not make any obvious mistakes.
Mourinho looked suspiciously at Li Shiguang, who was standing on the sidelines waiting for Modric to come off the field.
Are you worried about what the players will think if you do this at this point in time?
"Huh? A like-for-like substitution? Jon, did you understand Li's adjustment?" Lineker was completely dumbfounded, watching Li Shiguang pat Modric on the back with a big smile and say something. "I don't really understand. When it comes to controlling the team's rhythm and passing ability, Toure doesn't seem to be as good as Modric. I thought Li was going to use Toure to replace Torres or Ibrahimovic and then play three defensive midfielders!"
Jon nodded, unusually agreeing with some of Lineker's points: "Indeed! But there's one point I disagree with. The biggest difference between Leeds United this season and last season is that they almost never took the initiative to defend when the game was tied. With Manchester United already winning, neither team should be able to accept a draw today! Although I don't quite understand the intention behind this substitution, I'm sure that Lee definitely wants to regain control of the midfield through this substitution!"
However, with little time left in the first half, Toure's introduction did not bring about any significant changes to Leeds United's attack in the short term.
However, unlike before, the double defensive midfield pairing of him and Alonso is indeed much stronger in terms of toughness.
Although it was still difficult for Chelsea's midfield giants to control the ball and turn to organize an attack, at least they didn't easily give up possession.
Soon after the two minutes of added time ended, the referee blew the whistle to end the first half, and both sides went into halftime.
Mourinho quickly returned to the home team's dressing room, praised his players' performance in the first half, and then turned to Lampard, who was wiping sweat with his head down: "Frank, I need you to continue to control the midfield in the second half. Tell me honestly, can you handle Leeds United's new number 24 by yourself?"
Upon hearing Mourinho's voice, Lampard quickly took the towel off his head, looked up, and replied seriously, "It's a bit difficult, boss. His physical attributes are much stronger than the previous number 6. If Leeds United uses him as a transit point, I can guarantee that he won't be able to turn and pass the ball immediately, but to quickly take the ball away from him... that is indeed difficult!"
"OK!"
After receiving Lampard's affirmative reply, Mourinho immediately turned to look at Essien and Makelele, who were sitting on the other side.
"Michael, in the second half, shift your focus to offense. Whenever number 24 receives a pass from his teammate, I need you to work with Frank to intercept the ball immediately!"
"Claude, once Michael comes on, you'll be our last line of defense. Play to your strengths, increase your coverage area, and for the remaining 45 minutes, I'm going to make it impossible for Leeds United to make a move in midfield!"
····
The 15-minute break passed quickly, and soon both teams returned to the field.
However, after the referee blew the whistle, Li Shiguang noticed that Essien's position seemed to be further forward than in the first half.
Noticing this, Li Shiguang glanced at Mourinho discreetly, a wicked smile creeping onto his lips, and finally breathed a sigh of relief.
Hehe, Mutombo, you've fallen for it!
Just as Mourinho believed that Li Shiguang would not adopt a defensive strategy in the event of a draw, Li Shiguang was well aware of his own thoughts.
Manchester United won yesterday, and if Chelsea fails to beat Leeds United at home today, they will fall at least 7 points behind Manchester United, who have 55 points, which Mourinho absolutely cannot accept.
That's why he substituted Toure for Modric, to show Mourinho that Lampard alone couldn't handle Toure; he needed to add players! Otherwise, once Toure and Alonso regained their footing, Chelsea might not have control of the midfield anymore!
Seeing that Chelsea had almost completely switched to a three-man central midfield formation, Li Shiguang knew that Leeds United's opportunity was coming!
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