Chapter 1009 How the Cold Open Was Born
Almost everyone in the world guessed wrong.
Except for Chelsea fans.
In the first leg at home, Chelsea drew 0-0 with Bayern Munich. It can be said that they played extremely poorly. Except for defense, all other data were lost to Bayern, and the gap was very large.
So much so that even many British media joked that Chelsea played like an amateur team in front of Bayern.
Strictly speaking, this is correct.
Not only in the first leg, but also in the second leg at the Allianz Arena, Chelsea was still in a mess.
There is no need to say much about how much importance Bayern attaches to this season's Champions League. All you need to know is that this year's Champions League final will be held at the Allianz Arena. Bayern has no reason to let down their guard. And as one of the strongest teams in Europe in the past few years, there is absolutely no need to doubt Bayern's overall strength.
Before the second leg was even played, the German media were already hyping up the possibility of winning against Chelsea by more than three goals at home and teaching the Premier League Blues a lesson in revenge for the humiliation of being tied away in the first leg. The morale of Bayern was high.
It can be said that before the game, except for Chelsea fans, everyone's predictions for this game were one-sided. Even the odds offered by all bookmakers were that Bayern would give up one goal, which shows how obvious Bayern's advantage is.
As a perennial Champions League semi-finalist and a former treble winner for three consecutive years, Bayern's strength is comparable to that of a dynasty. They also attach great importance to this game, so it is no surprise that everyone is so optimistic about the German giants.
The trend of the game seems to confirm this view of the outside world.
Just three minutes into the game, Thomas Muller took advantage of a mistake by Chelsea's defense and received an assist from Modric to score the first goal for Bayern, opening the door to victory.
Bayern fans at the Allianz Arena also cheered crazily.
Afterwards, the game completely turned into a one-sided situation with Bayern attacking fiercely and Chelsea defending desperately.
The Blues' iron-bloodedness and tenacity won unanimous praise in the first leg, but in the second leg, even though they lost a goal early on, they still defended tightly.
Cech was stationed in front of the goal, Terry was the defensive pillar, Lampard was in the midfield, and Drogba was at the front. Chelsea's entire central axis supported Chelsea's iron wall. No matter how Bayern Munich attacked, they were never able to break Chelsea's goal again.
Under Bayern's wave after wave of attacks and crises in front of the goal, Chelsea seemed to be in a precarious situation, but it just refused to fall. Every player on the field was trying their best and formed an unbreakable whole.
That kind of spirit and momentum really makes people sigh with emotion.
This is the Iron-Blooded Blue Army!
…
“It’s really ironic.”
Pepe clicked his tongue in amazement, sneered and shook his head.
"Barcelona, coached by Mourinho himself, was forced to play against us, losing 0-1 at home and 1-4 away. But the iron-blooded team he left behind managed to hold on to the present despite Bayern's powerful offensive."
Today's Chelsea is still mainly composed of the team from Mourinho's era, which no one can deny.
Drogba, Lampard, Terry and Cech were all the central players during Mourinho's time. These veterans were the backbone of Chelsea and also preserved the spirit of Chelsea.
This is definitely not something that can be explained in just a sentence or two, but rather a precious treasure accumulated over the years.
It may gradually dissipate with the departure of this group of veterans, and may not even appear again in the future.
But at least now, at this moment, when facing Bayern Munich, it is still the core fighting force of Chelsea.
It is also the most admirable thing about Chelsea.
As to whether it was the veterans who created Chelsea's spirit or Mourinho who created this spirit, there is no need to dwell on it.
"Bayern still needs to try to score one more goal, otherwise it will be very dangerous." Su Dong reminded.
Gomez's performance tonight was average and he didn't get many opportunities to perform in front of Terry and Cahill.
As a result, Ribery and Robben also lost their threat. Thomas Muller also performed well but failed to score.
Bayern Munich's current offensive is very strong and fierce, but its efficiency is not high, which is a big problem.
Everyone only remembers that Capello is a typical one-to-zero person, but many people forget that Capello also said that one-to-zero is the most dangerous score in the world and is very unsafe.
Doesn’t this sound contradictory?
Actually, it’s not.
Capello's one-to-zero strategy does not mean not to attack, but to prioritize defense. First, make sure you don't lose the ball, and then attack. Therefore, the investment on the offensive end is very small, and it is more difficult to score, so you often only score one or two goals.
Then why is one to zero the most dangerous?
Because the score could be equalized at any time.
Especially in a situation like Bayern Munich's current one, where they have an overwhelming advantage but have been unable to expand their victory, the players will inevitably become a little impatient. Over time, they are likely to make unnecessary mistakes, which would be dangerous.
This is often how upsets are born.
"Drogba is a very experienced and tenacious player. If he is careless and seizes the opportunity, he can score a goal in a minute. At that time..."
Su Dong hadn't finished speaking yet, but Pepe and others looked up at him.
Since the team eliminated Barcelona and reached the Champions League final, everyone was very happy, so they decided to have a team-building dinner at Su Dong's house and watch the focus game where Chelsea challenged Bayern away.
At this moment, when everyone heard what Su Dong said, they were immediately reminded.
In the first leg at Stamford Bridge, the two sides shook hands and agreed to a 0-0 draw. If Bayern can maintain the current score of 1-0, they will naturally be able to advance to the final smoothly. However, if Chelsea scores in the later stages, the score will become 1-1.
The aggregate score was tied, but the problem was that Chelsea had a valuable away goal, which was equivalent to a reversal.
Heynckes was obviously aware of this, so he kept reminding the players on the field to stay steady, not to kick freely, to slow down the pace appropriately, and to stabilize the rhythm and defense.
"Bayern is a little anxious now." Toni Kroos also realized the seriousness of the problem.
When he was playing football before, he really didn't think too much about it, and just followed his temperament and habits. But after playing under Guardiola for two years, his level of controlling the ball and rhythm in the midfield has really improved a lot. Many things that he was confused about before, he basically understands now, and naturally can see Bayern's current problems at a glance.
In other words, up to this point in the game, it seems that Bayern is leading and has the advantage, but Chelsea may reverse the situation at any time.
…
The further into the game went, the more nervous everyone became.
Not only were the two opponents on the field nervous, but even the people watching the game were nervous.
Everyone can see that Bayern has an absolute advantage in strength, but Chelsea is too tenacious.
The two teams were attacking and defending, but Bayern was unable to overcome the tough challenge of Chelsea.
At this time, the commentator of the live TV broadcast said, "At this critical moment, Bayern Munich fans must miss Su Dong very much, because in the past at such times, Su Dong always stepped forward to save the team and turn the tide."
"After Su Dong left for Manchester City, Bayern Munich now has stars such as Ribery, Robben, Modric and Gomez, but at this critical moment, no one can stand up and score another goal for the team to establish an advantage, so that both teams are fighting for suspense."
When everyone in Manchester City heard this, they couldn't help but turn around and look at Su Dong, feeling admiration in their hearts.
The commentator was absolutely right. Su Dong's role became more obvious at the most critical moment.
Especially for the players on the field, this is a feeling that is difficult to explain to outsiders. As long as Su Dong is by their side, they feel at ease when playing football. When Su Dong is not on the field, they will easily become worried and anxious when playing football.
As time passed, Bayern still failed to score a goal, but it looked like they were going to hold on to the one-to-zero score.
But just in the 88th minute of the game, Chelsea counterattacked in the frontcourt and got a corner kick opportunity.
"I don't know why, but I always feel that this corner kick is very dangerous." Su Dong shook his head.
This is a sense of instinct that comes from the scorer, a keen sense of danger.
Just when the Manchester City players around him were puzzled, Juan Mata took a corner kick, and there was chaos in the penalty area. Drogba broke out of the crowd and headed the ball into the goal from close range before everyone else.
The ball was headed into Bayern's goal!!!
The Ivorian elephant king charged on the field like crazy!
All the Chelsea players chased him madly, roaring and venting at the top of their lungs.
One to one!
Chelsea turned the game around at the last minute! In front of the TV, the Manchester City crowd was stunned, especially looking at Su Dong as if he was a charlatan, wanting to ask, how did he know to score a goal?
In the subsequent game, Bayern Munich fought back frantically and created opportunities continuously, even getting a penalty kick at the last minute of overtime.
Robben took the penalty himself.
This was originally a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, but in the end, Robben's penalty was directly saved by Cech.
The entire Allianz Arena was plunged into despair.
Many Bayern fans couldn't help crying.
They were leading for ninety minutes, but at the last minute, they lost the qualification for the finals.
Chelsea was indeed tenacious and persistent, but the problem of Bayern losing the game was their own fault, not others.
Whether it was a defensive error on a corner kick, wasting too many opportunities, or Robben missing a penalty in the end.
"As I said just now, Bayern Munich will miss Su Dong very much!" said the commentator with emotion.
"Just like all the teams that lost Su Dong, only when they lost him did they realize how valuable Su Dong was and felt regret and remorse."
"Maybe, no, I should say it is 100% certain that Bayern fans will continue to miss Su Dong for many, many years to come!"
(End of this chapter)
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