Chapter 338 Mourinho's Trap

"Chelsea is awesome, they beat Schalke 04 4-0. Is this still the Chelsea I know?"

"Last season, Chelsea's attack was like constipation, this season, Chelsea's attack is like diarrhea!"

"The person above posted a savory comment..."

"It's a bit of a lie, it feels like Chelsea's offense has found its rhythm after Fabregas and Diego Costa came on board!"

"So, not only are Spanish forwards useful, but Spanish midfielders are also useful!"

In this game, Diego Costa, like Lin Quan, also completed a hat trick.

Moreover, both of his goals were extremely exciting, which made the fans very excited.

Diego Costa has been at Chelsea for just over a month and has already completely won the love of the Blues fans.

Although it looks a little ugly, it is really useful!

With him on the field, Chelsea fans don't have to worry about the team not being able to score goals.

Including this game, Diego Costa has played 5 games for Chelsea since joining Chelsea and has scored 10 goals, averaging 2 goals per game! This goal efficiency is at a level that is unique, whether compared with Shevchenko, the nuclear warhead, Andy Lau, Drogba, or T9, who is worth 50 million pounds but is far below the standard.

It is no wonder that Mourinho praised Diego Costa in the press conference after the game. Who wouldn't like such a useful player with such a high goal efficiency? To know how important Diego Costa is to the team, just look at Atletico Madrid in La Liga.

Atletico Madrid, which was invincible in the Champions League last season, lost the first game of the new season's Champions League group stage.

Without Diego Costa on the front line, Atletico Madrid's offensive strength has declined significantly.

In the first match of the Champions League group stage, they lost to the mediocre Greek team Olympiacos with a score of 2:3.

This result surprised the outside world. You know, Atletico Madrid was the runner-up of the Champions League last season! Therefore, after learning that Atletico Madrid lost and their own team won a big victory, Chelsea fans were extremely fortunate.

Fortunately, they acted early and signed Diego Costa before other teams.

If they had acted a little slower, they might not have been in any danger.

And the price of 50 million pounds seemed expensive at first, but now it doesn’t seem expensive at all.

After all, part of the 50 million will be allocated to the full-back Felipe, and the actual transfer fee for Diego Costa is probably only 35 million pounds!

It’s a real profit to spend 35 million pounds to buy such a strong striker!

Look at the 60 million pounds Manchester United spent on Di Maria, that's a complete loss! In this round of the Champions League, except for Arsenal, the remaining three Premier League teams all won.

Arsenal really met their nemesis. In the away game against Dortmund, they were once again defeated 2:0 by their opponents.

Liverpool, who returned to the Champions League after five years, played very cautiously in their first game.

Fortunately, thanks to goals from Balotelli and captain Gerrard, they narrowly defeated their opponents and won their first victory in the group stage.

In other group matches, Bayern, Barcelona and Real Madrid all won this round.

Among them, Real Madrid continued its strong firepower from last season and defeated its opponent 5:1 at home. C Ronaldo, Bale, Benzema and James Rodriguez all scored goals.

This season, Real Madrid's desire for the Champions League is even stronger.

Barcelona next door is also eyeing the Champions League trophy. It will undoubtedly become more difficult for all the major teams to win the Champions League trophy! …

Since the team did not win the Champions League so easily, Pellegrini did not give the players a holiday after the game, but instead gathered them together for closed training.

It was so hard to play against Zenit, so how could they play against Chelsea, which was at its peak? The match against Chelsea was played at Manchester City's home ground, a match that Manchester City could not afford to lose.

If they lose this game, not only will they be left behind by Chelsea in the standings, but it will also be even more difficult for them to take revenge on Chelsea the next time they visit Stamford Bridge.

Last season, Manchester City did not take advantage at Stamford Bridge and was almost defeated by Chelsea.

This season, facing a much stronger Blues, Manchester City's visit to Stamford Bridge will only be more difficult.

"Coach, you don't look well. Do you want to take a rest?"

On the training ground, the assistant coach saw that Pellegrini looked very ugly and seemed to be in some pain, so he asked worriedly.

"I'm fine, don't worry. Encourage these brats to train well and don't let them slack off!"

Pellegrini covered his chest and spoke toughly for a moment, but still found a place to sit down.

At that moment just now, he felt a blackness in front of his eyes, and his chest seemed to be pressed by a huge rock, and he suddenly found it difficult to breathe.

I've had this feeling before, but never as severe as it is today.

Could it be that I have been overworked these days and didn’t get enough rest?

Pellegrini couldn't help but feel a little skeptical.

In order to study the opponents and tactics, he stayed up late almost every day these days.

As I get older, my body can’t handle staying up late.

He also knew that this was not a good thing, but he had no choice but to do it this way!

This year is a crucial year for Manchester City if they want to take a step forward and become a true top team.

We must win another championship trophy this year! However, it is more difficult to maintain a business than to start one. Last year, Manchester City emerged as a challenger.

The major giants don't pay that much attention to them, and they are not that wary of them.

In the Champions League, they were looked down upon by many teams because of their poor record in the past, which gave them a chance to counterattack.

But this year is different, the wind direction has changed!

As the defending champions, they are the focus of research and targeting by other teams.

No one will underestimate Manchester City. On the contrary, many teams will even be proud of defeating Manchester City! For example, Zenit!

In the previous game, Zenit players were like they were injected with chicken blood when facing Manchester City, and their excitement could be clearly felt.

It is also true that if they can beat last season's Champions League champions, what an honor it would be for them? The attention and vigilance of other teams towards Manchester City made it very difficult for Manchester City to play this year.

The situation in the league is better. Manchester City’s strength advantage is too obvious, and the long schedule can greatly improve their tolerance rate.

But in the Champions League, especially after entering the knockout stage, they will not only encounter stronger opponents.

Moreover, the schedule will be greatly shortened, and if they don't play well, there will be no room for error.

Therefore, Manchester City is not qualified to make mistakes this year and must take every step carefully.

This has invisibly added a huge burden and psychological pressure to the coaching staff.

"It will be fine once we get through this period!"

Pellegrini can only comfort himself in this way.

…

Before the game, Mourinho once again used his advantage to wage psychological warfare on Manchester City in front of reporters.

Surprisingly, Mourinho did not attack Manchester City directly.

Instead, he gave his own analysis of Manchester City's decline: "Manchester City has won the Champions League. For their players, the lack of motivation seems to be an understandable thing!"

After hearing his words, the reporters attending the pre-match press conference wondered if there was something wrong with their ears.

For the first time ever, Mourinho did not take advantage of his opponent's misfortune and even took the initiative to explain for his opponent.

Is this a gender change?

When the reporters were confused, Mourinho added:

"I can understand this feeling. After all, I have two Champions League trophies, the most among all the coaches in the Premier League!"

The reporters at the scene couldn't help but roll their eyes. "Okay, okay, okay, we know you have two Champions League trophies, okay?" Leading two different teams to win the Champions League has always been Mourinho's greatest pride.

Of course, this is something to be proud of.

In the Premier League, except for Ferguson who has retired, the gap between other coaches and Mourinho in this honor is obvious.

In fact, in the entire football world, there are only a handful of current coaches who can reach his level.

Read the error-free version on 6Ⅹ9Ⅹ bookⅩ bar! 6Ⅹ9 book bar first publishes a novel.

Only he, Guardiola, Ancelotti and Spain's coach Bosque can do it.

Each of these four coaches is a well-known figure!

Mourinho led Porto to win the Champions League, setting a record for winning the championship in a league other than the top five.

Guardiola pioneered the passing and controlling football style and created Barcelona's Dream Three Dynasty.

Ancelotti led AC Milan to a stellar Champions League campaign, and he has also proven himself in multiple leagues! As for Bosque, he is even more remarkable, having led the Spanish national team to win the Grand Slam of world championships and defended the World Cup title, making him the world's number one coach.

The reporters were not interested in listening to Mourinho's self-boasting, but they agreed with Mourinho's analysis of Manchester City.

After the press conference, reporters reported Mourinho's remarks extensively.

After learning Mourinho's original words, many people actually agreed with his point of view.

"Indeed, Manchester City's players have almost won everything and no longer have any hunger for the championship!"

"It can be seen from the last game that they are not as aggressive in tackling and running on the field as last season!"

"Although Mangala did make an unforgivable mistake, it cannot cover up the mediocre performance of other players on Manchester City's defense!"

For a time, criticism against Manchester City players' attitude towards the game came from all directions like a tide.

This had a huge impact on Manchester City players who were preparing for the game.

Although Pellegrini conducted closed training, it was impossible for him to confiscate the players' mobile phones and prevent them from browsing the news online.

What's more, it is impossible to prohibit traditional media such as newspapers and television stations from following the trend.

Unless the players are isolated from the world and turn a deaf ear to what is happening outside, it is impossible for them not to know about the criticism from the outside world.

This criticism has put a lot of pressure on Manchester City's players, especially psychologically.

They don't want to be accused of having a bad attitude towards the game and having lost their desire for victory and honor.

So, after the game started, Manchester City's players played very aggressively and... violently! Shortly after the start of the game, Aguero was injured in a fight and could not continue the game, so he was replaced.

His departure seemed to have ignited a fuse, making the Manchester City players angry.

In the 12th minute, Fernandinho received a yellow card for a rough foul.

Not long after, Zabaleta received another yellow card. Manchester City accumulated two yellow cards in a short period of time, and both were in key defensive positions! "Zabaletta's foul was unnecessary. The opponent was not holding the ball in a dangerous position, and his teammates did not lose their defensive positions. I don't understand why he fouled."

"Perhaps Aguero's injury ignited the anger of Manchester City players and made them lose their composure?"

"I think it might be affected by Chelsea's psychological warfare before the game. Did you notice that Manchester City's players were very uncalm in this game, as if they were deliberately showing off..."

In the coaching booth, Pellegrini frowned.

He also noticed that the players' performance today looked a little strange.

Although the team has become more aggressive in both fighting and running, the number of fouls is too many, isn't it?

It's only been 30 minutes and Chelsea has already won seven free kicks.

In the visiting team's coaching booth, Mourinho couldn't help but curl up the corners of his mouth when he saw the opponent's players getting cards one after another for not keeping calm.

Haha, Manchester City was fooled!

Thinking of this, he stood up and gestured to the players on the field.

After receiving the instructions, Chelsea players deliberately increased the physical confrontation with Manchester City players and even consciously increased the number of fouls.

In the 36th minute of the game, Lin Quan was tackled by Matic while dribbling the ball in the middle.

The opponent kicked the ball hard and Lin Quan was tackled and flew out.

Not only did Matic not feel ashamed of his foul, but he shouted at the top of his lungs that it was a dive.

This move caused dissatisfaction among Manchester City players, and they rushed up to teach Matic a lesson.

Chelsea players also rushed out immediately, the game was interrupted, and there was even the possibility of a fight.

At this time, Lin Quan got up from the ground and stopped his teammates.

"Calm down, they are deliberately trying to provoke us!"

With his injury immunity talent, such fouls will not have much impact on him.

If the opponent is willing to actively request a yellow card, he is happy to do so.

"Look, what did I just say? He is fine, it turned out to be a fake fall!"

Seeing that Lin Quan acted as if nothing had happened, Matic immediately started yelling.

He was a little confused. His kick was very heavy, so why didn't the opponent get carried away like Aguero? The referee ignored Matic's words and showed him a yellow card to warn him.

But Chelsea did not restrain themselves because of the yellow card. Just three minutes later, Ramirez tackled Lin Quan from behind again and knocked him to the ground.

This time, Manchester City players were completely enraged.

They rushed up collectively to argue with Chelsea players.

David Silva also reached out and pushed Ramirez. Even Yaya Toure, who had previously been at odds with Lin Quan, stood up and demanded an explanation for Lin Quan.

The situation on the field became a mess. The players on both sides were not focused on football, but just wanted to roll up their sleeves and fight each other! Seeing this scene, Mourinho smiled triumphantly! Now, if he fouled Lin Quan again, he would probably be able to anger him, right?

Once Lin Quan loses his composure, Manchester City will definitely lose!

(End of this chapter)