Chelsea's 433 formation is the same as Manchester City's 433 in terms of positioning. There is a center forward in the middle and a winger on each side, forming a large forward triangle. Then there are two midfielders and a defensive midfielder, leaving the two flanks empty, forming an inverted small triangle in the midfield, plus four full-backs and a goalkeeper.
The difference is that Manchester City's 433 is an attacking mentality, while Chelsea's 433 is a cautious mentality.
Whether attacking or defending, Ancelotti asked Chelsea players to be cautious and pay attention to protecting their flanks.
The disadvantage of the 433 formation is that it is afraid that the opponent will use counterattacks to attack from behind the full-backs, so Ancelotti requires the two full-backs not to rashly make assists.
From a tactical point of view, Mancini's 433 is more comprehensive and fierce, but it is also easier to lose the ball due to being hit through the ribs.
Ancelotti's 433 formation relies more on the performance of Lampard, the soul of the No. 8 team, and focuses on the defensive cooperation of the entire team.
This is actually similar to Southampton's tactical thinking.
Although Southampton's formation was 442 instead of 433, the entire team was on defense, with Gu Ran the only one to organize the offense.
So, theoretically, this game will not be a fierce and aggressive game, but a showdown between a cautious team at the Champions League level and a cautious team at the English Premier League level.
Of course, Chelsea has a super luxurious lineup, and even if they are not careful, there is almost no suspense in this game.
Chelsea's center forward is No. 9, "Holy Child", "Golden Boy", "T9", Toni, Fernando Torres! Torres was originally Liverpool's star player. In January this year, just a week ago, he was scooped from Liverpool to Chelsea by NO sister for a transfer fee of 50 million pounds!
The transfer fee of 50 million pounds also set the highest transfer record in the Premier League! When interviewed by the news media, Torres said excitedly, I really didn't do it for the money. Liverpool is just a dream, but Chelsea can make me reborn.
Head coach Ancelotti liked the deal very much, so as soon as Torres transferred over, he couldn't wait to arrange for Torres to play.
Torres scored a goal for Chelsea in his first game. It was at Stamford Bridge in the rain. Torres faced West Ham United and scored his first goal for Chelsea! This goal made the Blues fans very satisfied, as if the high-spirited golden boy who could be as famous as Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo was back!
Today was Torres' second game for Chelsea! Ancelotti directly let Torres start the game, while the original center forward Drogba sat on the bench to watch the game.
Torres is 26 years old, 185cm tall and weighs 76kg. He is a Spanish international and just won the World Cup for Spain in the 2010 World Cup.
In fact, Torres had a serious knee injury. During his time at Liverpool, his performance had been declining due to the knee injury. He even played with an injury in the 2010 World Cup. It was thanks to Spain's smooth passing and controlling style of play that Torres would have found it difficult to win this world championship.
So, in the 2010 World Cup, it was not Torres who led Spain forward, but the Spanish team that carried Torres forward.
Of course, even with his knee injury, Torres is still very strong.
As a Spanish star, Torres has very good footwork. He likes to dribble the ball past the goalkeeper, likes to pull into the open space to receive the ball, likes to make wall passes, and likes to shoot with one touch.
Torres is extremely fast. Even after suffering a knee injury, his speed is still top-notch among Premier League center forwards.
The last time Southampton played a warm-up match against Liverpool, Gu Ran played against Liverpool stars such as Gerrard, but Torres, who was still Liverpool's star player at the time, was on vacation, so Gu Ran did not play against Torres.
Today is also the first time that Gu Ran faces Torres head-on.
As a defensive midfielder, Gu Ran will first face the world-class center forward, Torres.
But it's better than facing the "Magic Beast" Drogba right from the start.
Drogba, the Beast, is the truly terrifying figure.
Drogba's physical confrontation and ability to turn and get the ball are definitely the best in the world. Almost all defenders have to take a deep breath when they see Drogba, and then put in all their strength, and then wait to be knocked away by Drogba.
Ancelotti put Drogba on the bench today, which is good news for Southampton.
Chelsea's starting left winger today is No. 15 "Baboon" Florent Malouda.
French star Malouda is 30 years old, 177cm tall and weighs 79kg.
Apart from anything else, just the height and weight make him look like a baboon.
In fact, although Malouda is French, he is from French Guiana, which is one of the French colonies in South America.
The capital of French Guiana, or should I say capital, is called Cayenne.
So, Malouda is actually a South American player. His technique is not very sophisticated, but his physique, speed, awareness, and experience are all world-class.
Moreover, Malouda is a rare left-footed player, and playing on the left wing is like a duck in water for him.
When Malouda was young, he was very fast, but as he got older and his life was not very disciplined, he was no longer a winger at the age of 30. However, his sprint was still world-class, and he had the physical confrontation of South American players, strong crossing ability, and good control in front of the goal. He also had the ability to take violent long shots.
Chelsea's starting right winger is "AK39", "Mr. Angry", "The ruthless man who dares to insult his own head coach during the World Cup", "Butterfly Killer", "Nazi Salute", "World Class Troll", "Wandering Wizard", and "World of Warcraft's Good Brother" Nicolas Anelka.
Anelka is definitely one of the most distinctive players of our time.
Anelka is 31 years old, 185cm tall and weighs 83kg. He is a typical strong center and winger.
Unlike Malouda, Anelka is a star who was born in France. His footwork, dribbling, speed, sprinting, positioning, crossing, cutting inside, shooting, confrontation, etc. are all first-class.
The only thing that prevented Anelka from becoming a world-class star was his personality.
Anelka has an emotional and impulsive personality and often clashes with others during games, no matter whether the other party is an enemy player or a teammate, the referee or his own head coach, or the occasion is a training ground, a game field, or even a World Cup stadium.
In short, in one sentence, as long as I, Anelka, am unhappy, no one else can be happy.
…
(End of this chapter)