"Wright-Phillips!!" Jon couldn't contain his excitement and shouted, "He opened the scoring for Chelsea! Just like I said, Chelsea have indeed taken the lead! They're leading Leeds United away from home!"
"Oh my god!! Danger..!!" Sitting next to him, Lineker hadn't stopped exclaiming since Drogba let the ball pass. "Oh no!! Neuer couldn't save Phillips' shot!! As a team that started the high-pressing trend in the Premier League, Leeds United are actually being overwhelmed by Chelsea's high press today! Xabi Alonso made an extremely basic passing error, leading to his team conceding a goal!"
Chelsea players celebrated wildly after scoring.
In contrast, the Leeds United players were dejected after conceding the goal. Xabi Alonso, whose passing was intercepted and led to the team falling behind, hung his head and walked forward without saying a word.
"Harvey!"
Hearing someone calling his name, Alonso turned his head blankly in the direction of the sound.
Then he saw Li Shiguang standing on the sidelines, pressing his hands down repeatedly, looking at him calmly, and saying slowly, "Don't rush, you're playing fine! But remember, use your and Luca's strong ball control to your advantage, don't rush to pass the ball forward, understand what I mean?"
He discovered that Li Shiguang was not being harsh on him, but instead offered words of encouragement.
Alonso was somewhat moved.
He's the kind of player who likes to use his brain when he plays football. After hearing the reminder, he thought for a moment and understood what Li Shiguang meant.
So he nodded vigorously, walked back to his position, and before the game started, he relayed Li Shiguang's words to his teammates.
on the sidelines
Li Shiguang was also very clear about this.
His players were a bit flustered by Chelsea's relentless pressing and wanted to pass the ball forward quickly, since the further the ball was from their own goal, the less of a threat it posed.
Under this mindset, even some of the team's most composed midfielders made mistakes...
····
But in any case.
Trailing in the score, Leeds United were always looking for attacking opportunities.
After the game restarted, Leeds United began to try to fight back.
Following Li Shiguang's instructions, during the transition from defense to attack, except for Adriano who was always at the forefront, the entire midfield actively dropped back to the center line. They were no longer in a hurry to pass the ball across the center line, but instead used short passes in the area to stretch Chelsea's defense and wear them down.
Leeds United are, after all, one of the BIG5, and their formidable strength is undeniable. Once they stopped rushing and started passing the ball around in short passes, they actually managed to organize a few decent attacks.
On the Premier League stage now.
When it comes to head coaches who understand high-pressing tactics and have specifically trained in this area, Li Shiguang is second to none.
When Leeds United had just been promoted to the Premier League and their strength was still insufficient, this tactical style was Li Shiguang's favorite.
As a result, Leeds United's physical training has always been referred to as "hellish" training by fans and the media.
Li Shiguang knew very well.
If Chelsea continues to play like this, they will inevitably slow down after 35 minutes as their players lose a lot of energy!
Just as he expected.
After Leeds United slowed down the pace and started passing the ball slowly in their own half, Chelsea organized a pressing for a few minutes. However, finding that they could no longer easily intercept the ball as before, they retreated to their own half under Mourinho's guidance and began to play their most familiar defensive counter-attacking style.
And their retreat.
Leeds United's pressure in possession in the backfield has been greatly reduced, and they are no longer limited to passing the ball around in the backfield, but have begun to organize attacks in the frontfield!
Thirty-seventh minute.
Leeds United launched an attack down the left flank.
Bale and Kaká executed a brilliant one-two pass, outmaneuvering Belletti before Bale dribbled the ball deep into Chelsea's penalty area.
Then, facing Alex who rushed to defend, Bale cleverly passed the ball across to Adriano, who was receiving it in the middle.
Although Carvalho cleared the ball before Adriano could reach it, Alex's hasty tackle on Bale was seen by referee Atkinson.
He promptly stopped the game, awarding Leeds United a direct free kick and showing Alex a yellow card.
Although Kaka's subsequent shot did not go in.
However, this attack did have some effect on boosting Leeds United's morale.
Five minutes later, they came back.
De Bruyne crossed the ball from the right wing, and Adriano, at the edge of the penalty area, outjumped Alex to win the first header and headed the ball back to Kaká.
After receiving the ball, Kaka made a slight adjustment and then assumed a shooting stance.
Carvalho didn't hold back either. Seeing Kaká about to shoot, he rushed up and made a sliding tackle, bringing Kaká and the ball to the ground. As a result, Atkinson gave him a yellow card.
In just five minutes, two Chelsea center-backs each received a yellow card, leaving Mourinho on the sidelines furious but helpless.
Anyone would see those two goals as a clear yellow card.
Especially Carvalho's second foul.
In Li Shiguang's opinion, Carvalho not only showed his studs, but he didn't even touch the ball.
If he were the referee, he would have given Cavalieri a red card and sent him off the field!
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