soon.
With a whistle from Clattenburg.
The first half ended with Leeds United leading by one goal at halftime.
Back in the locker room, Li Shiguang didn't give his players a long speech to encourage them as he had before the game. He simply offered a few words of encouragement and then gave the players their precious rest time.
Li Shiguang thought that although Leeds United only scored one goal in the first half, the players executed their tactical intentions very well. Since Grant did not make the first move, he did not plan to make any changes at halftime!
However, compared to the harmonious atmosphere in the home team's locker room.
The atmosphere in the away team's locker room was rather somber.
The Chelsea players sat around their seats, heads drooping and silent.
Grant stood in the center of the locker room, looking at the group of players who showed no fighting spirit whatsoever. He wanted to say something, but found himself at a loss for words.
Strictly speaking, of the players in front of him, only Anelka, who just joined in the winter transfer window, can be considered someone he decided to bring in. The others are either legacies left by Mourinho or players that his boss mainly bought.
In the past, when the team was at a disadvantage.
Terry will be the first to step up and encourage his teammates, and if Terry isn't there, there's vice-captain Lampard.
Unfortunately, due to injuries, neither of them traveled with the team to Elland Road Stadium today.
He sighed inwardly, thinking that he should at least try his best in the second half and try to turn the score around!
Grant was about to speak.
Today, Cech, wearing the captain's armband, stood up. The Czech player clapped loudly and then scanned the locker room with a serious expression: "Guys, don't be like that, it's just one goal! It's not like we haven't beaten Leeds United before, we still have a chance in the second half!"
Finally, someone stepped forward to boost morale.
Grant breathed a sigh of relief, about to say what he hadn't said earlier, when a soft sigh came from the other side of the locker room: "Sigh... Don't fool yourself, Peter. We defended flawlessly for almost forty minutes, and every time we intercepted the ball and passed it upfield, we couldn't hold onto it. If we had a chance, we should have been in the lead..."
Hiss!!!
At this crucial moment, who the hell is jumping out to contradict me?!
Grant gasped and turned in the direction of the sound, only to see Carvalho looking at him with a resentful expression.
It's obvious.
His words just now were pointed.
As for who it refers to?
The only player who stayed in the attacking third... was the Frenchman, Anelka!
It's no wonder Carvalho was somewhat resentful.
To be honest.
When Mourinho was in charge, Chelsea almost exclusively used a defensive counter-attacking tactic.
But no matter how bad the situation is or what disadvantage the team is in, as long as the ball is passed to the front, Drogba can keep the ball in 90% of cases!
But ever since Drogba went back to participate in the Africa Cup of Nations.
The situation changed after the newcomer Alneka took over the starting center forward position.
Anelka and Drogba are not the same type of striker at all.
In open play, Anelka may be a decent threat, but to expect him to become a focal point in Chelsea's attack when they are at a disadvantage, like Drogba, is truly difficult.
Especially against a strong team like Leeds United, it's almost impossible!
To say that Chelsea had no chances in the first half?
The answer is no!
For at least the first half hour, they were playing a back-and-forth game with Leeds United, but as Carvalho said, the ball was passed up the pitch, but Anelka couldn't hold onto it and it was quickly intercepted by Kompany or Silva. What good was that?
Under these circumstances, it's understandable that Carvalho, who had spent half the day painstakingly guarding the position, would feel some resentment.
But this is, after all, a competition.
Such remarks, which are detrimental to unity, must never be made.
As the head coach, Grant immediately realized something was wrong. He raised his hand and opened his mouth, ready to exercise his rights as head coach. But before he could even say what he had prepared, he was interrupted for the third time by other voices.
"What do you mean?! Are you accusing me?!"
It’s over!
Without even looking, Grant knew that Anelka had said those words.
Grant was well aware of Anelka's character; if it weren't for Anelka's arrogant and eccentric personality, he wouldn't have gone from a promising young striker to the footballing rogue he is today.
Ever since Alneca defied Wenger's advice and left for Real Madrid, news about his discord with teammates and the head coach has never stopped.
During his time at Real Madrid, rumors frequently circulated that Anelka had conflicts with the Spanish players on the team and even with then-Real Madrid coach Vicente del Bosque.
After leaving Real Madrid, Anelka himself stated in an interview, "Raul is not a good striker, much less a good person."
After leaving Real Madrid.
Anelka returned to Paris Saint-Germain, but then fell out with his manager during a training match and was quickly kicked out of the club. He then began wandering around several teams, including Liverpool, Manchester City, Fenerbahce, and Bolton.
He arrived at Chelsea this month.
Anelka maintained his aloof personality, never actively adapting to the Chelsea dressing room environment, and the same applies to training; he always trained alone unless absolutely necessary.
So although he has been a member of Chelsea for some time now.
But as for the relationship with his teammates, it's just that they're teammates...
Seeing that Anelka not only failed to reflect on his actions but even stood up and pointed at him to ask questions, Carvalho naturally wouldn't back down. He immediately stood up and said in an unfriendly tone, "Of course! Is there anyone else who's just standing there uselessly besides you?"
Seeing that Carvalho was no longer making insinuations, Anelka's dark face turned bright red: "Why don't you come up here and try? Show me how to stop your extremely casual long passes when you're sandwiched between two strong men!"
"Heh...how novel!" Carvalho sneered. "Are you a striker or am I a striker?! When Didier was around, let alone two, even ten strong men could win the first ball. Why can't you?!"
"I...."
"Enough!!!" Grant, unable to contain himself any longer, finally uttered his first words upon entering the locker room. "The game isn't over yet! What are you doing!? Are you even going to play or not!? If you're not going to play, I'm going to find the staff right now and tell them we're not playing this game because of internal team conflicts. I'll have them declare us the loser, okay!?"
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