Chapter 967 Go ahead, I'm counting on you!
Villas-Boas' situation at Chelsea was not easy, but no one expected it to be this difficult.
Over the past period of time, with players such as Drogba participating in the African Cup, Chelsea's performance has been greatly affected. Not only has it fallen out of the top four again, but its performance is also far from satisfactory. Even at Stamford Bridge, there have been calls for Villas-Boas to be sacked.
This is not difficult to understand, as Boas' team has performed very badly recently.
Since mid-January, Chelsea have only gotten three points in the last four Premier League games, including three consecutive draws against Norwich, Swansea and Manchester United. The most frustrating was the 3-3 draw against Manchester United, where they were leading by three goals but then conceded three goals in a row.
It can be said that the Red Devils vented all the resentment they had accumulated towards Manchester City on Chelsea in one breath.
Chelsea's only victory in the past month was the FA Cup away game against Queens Park Rangers at the end of January, and it was a lucky win thanks to Mata's penalty.
It is not difficult to see from this report card that after a rebound, Villas-Boas' Chelsea quickly fell into decline again.
In the fifth knockout round of the FA Cup against Manchester City at home, Drogba ended the African Cup and returned to Chelsea. Everyone began to feel that Chelsea was likely to rebound, and even if they could not beat Manchester City, at least they could perform better.
At the very least, should Torres, who had not scored in 20 games, be replaced? To everyone's surprise, Villas-Boas refused to do so! The stubborn Portuguese actually fielded a lineup that was unbelievable to everyone when facing Manchester City.
Drogba, Lampard and Terry all did not appear in the starting lineup. Terry was not even included in the roster. The reason was that Terry had a knee injury and Villas-Boas hoped that he could have a good rest and prepare for the Champions League in the middle of the week.
As for why Drogba and Lampard were on the bench, Boas explained that Drogba had traveled a long distance and was not suitable for the starting lineup, while Lampard was given a rest. He believed that his starting lineup could stop Manchester City.
…
When Su Dong and Manchester City players received Chelsea's starting lineup list in the locker room before the game, everyone's first reaction was, has the internal conflict at Chelsea reached this level?
Just the day before the game, Terry and Lampard both accepted media interviews and looked forward to this FA Cup. They believed that Chelsea had the strength to compete with Manchester City. Terry is the team's captain and spiritual leader. Both of them called on Chelsea's players not to be afraid of Manchester City's strength.
As for Drogba, after the African Cup, he said in an interview with the media that Chelsea has the ability to achieve results in both the Champions League and the FA Cup, and he hopes that after returning to the team, he can bring more help to Chelsea.
As a result, Boas took down all three of them at once.
These are Chelsea's three best performing players in recent times.
Boas must know what kind of heated discussion this decision will trigger.
But he did it anyway.
"This may very well be Boas's last madness." Assistant coach Estiat was also puzzled by this decision. Only Boas himself knew the specific reason, but a reasonable guess is that Boas was making his last effort.
He wants to prove that his team can stop Manchester City without these veterans.
"Then let us see him off for the last time!" Su Dong smiled and stretched out his hand.
The teammates around him also stretched out their hands, placed them on Su Dong's hands, shouted "Come on" in unison, and started walking onto the court.
…
After the game started, Manchester City unexpectedly found that Chelsea defended very resolutely.
Gary Cahill, who joined the team during the winter break, and Ivanovic formed a double central defender and followed Su Dong closely. All three lines retreated, which allowed Chelsea to block Manchester City's passing and control of the ball, but on the other hand, it also left Chelsea powerless to fight back.
On the contrary, Su Dong and Manchester City played very relaxed and waited patiently for opportunities.
In the 19th minute, Douglas Costa dribbled the ball on the right and created a corner kick opportunity.
The team quickly took a corner kick, David Luiz and Gary Cahill competed for the header at the front point, but neither of them could get the ball. Su Dong rushed over the ball in the penalty area. Although he turned around immediately, he had missed the chance to score. He could only sweep the ball to the left side of the goal with a flash of inspiration. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw a figure wearing a black Manchester City away jersey.
There should be a Manchester City player lying in ambush there! As expected, Hazard had been lying in ambush there for a long time. Without waiting for the ball to arrive, he volleyed the ball directly into Chelsea's goal.
At this time, Cech was still on guard behind Su Dong, and almost half of the goal was empty.
One to zero!
After that, the game continued to enter a stalemate.
What made all the Chelsea fans at the scene dissatisfied was that in the first twenty minutes, Boas' team did not even have a single shot on goal, and the number of times they entered the 30-meter area was also very few.
They expect the team to attack and counterattack.
Nothing after twenty minutes, nothing after thirty minutes, nothing after forty minutes.
By the end of the first half, everyone was surprised to find that Chelsea didn't even have a single shot on goal in the first half!
Zero shots! Not only Chelsea fans were stunned, but even Manchester City themselves couldn’t believe it.
Chelsea actually had a counterattack, but the long pass was made to the front court. Torres had a hard time keeping the ball under the defense of David Luiz and was basically unable to do anything. Ultimately, he was unable to keep the ball in the front court and could only miss the opportunity depressingly.
The score of 1-0 in the first half was not very harmful, but extremely insulting! Chelsea fans in the stands of Stamford Bridge once again called for Villas-Boas to be sacked. This was not the first time, and judging from the current situation at Chelsea, Villas-Boas was indeed getting closer and closer to being sacked.
…
Ending the first half with a lead, Manchester City's mentality was obviously better than Chelsea's.
Especially forcing Chelsea to not have even a single shot, which gave Manchester City a sense of accomplishment.
When Manchester City players ended the half-time break and were about to return to the field, they saw Chelsea players already in place in the player tunnel. Drogba, Lampard, Cech and several other players gathered their teammates around them and whispered together, obviously having their own meeting.
This made Su Dong look at his teammates around him, and sure enough, everyone's reaction was the same as his.
I'm afraid that Boas has been sidelined by the players!
After all, you are still too young.
Since Villas-Boas took office, many people have been pessimistic about him. The reason is very simple. He does not have enough qualifications and confidence, and he is even much younger. How can he control the locker room?
If nothing else, Guardiola is a big name, right?
Didn't he also have trouble managing the dressing room in his first season as Manchester City coach? Even now, Su Dong still has confidence that if he leaves, Guardiola may not be able to control the dressing room.
Management is a science that requires not only prestige but also skill.
There is a huge difference between Boas and Mourinho in this regard.
At least, if Mourinho were in charge, he would not brazenly say that he would get rid of veterans such as Drogba, Terry and Lampard as soon as he joined the team. Wouldn't that make enemies for himself?
Fortunately, he thought this was to establish his authority! ...
In the second half, Drogba replaced Torres and Lampard replaced Mikel as Chelsea tried to adjust the team's midfield and frontcourt.
Unfortunately, the entire attack still did not improve much and still seemed lifeless. It still failed to organize a threatening attack. It was not until the 57th minute that Chelsea's first shot of the game was taken by Lampard.
This is simply a shame!
But there is no way, Manchester City is too strong, whether it is passing and controlling the ball, pressing in the midfield and frontcourt, or the players' running and tactical execution, Chelsea tonight is far behind.
It is precisely because of this that Manchester City played quite relaxed.
In the 68th minute, David Luiz suddenly dribbled the ball from his own half, drove straight into the left side of Chelsea's penalty area, and after rushing into Chelsea's 30-meter area, he was tripped by Ramires who was returning to defense about 25 meters away from the goal, winning a free kick on the left side of the frontcourt for Manchester City.
Ramirez also received a yellow card for this.
Su Dong ran over and pulled David Luiz up. The Brazilian center back with a shaggy head looked at Su Dong happily and expectantly, "Boss, can you let me have a real fight?"
Su Dong was a little surprised. In this position, he was still very confident, and the team's one-to-zero lead was not safe.
But seeing David Luiz's burning eyes, Su Dong knew that he couldn't let him down, so he smiled and nodded, "I'll cover for you."
David Luiz nodded happily immediately.
Su Dong placed the ball as he usually did, but he and David Luiz prepared in front of the ball for a while, and then the two of them stepped away. Everyone, including everyone inside and outside the Manchester City stadium, felt that David Luiz was just a decoration.
He came here just to cover for Su Dong.
Only Su Dong understood that David Luiz's footwork was actually very good, and he had also practiced free kicks himself and had a good hit rate, which was why he gave David Luiz the chance.
The ball can still be scored, but the teammates cannot lose heart.
Compared with satisfying David Luiz's eager expectations, Su Dong felt that scoring one goal less was really no big deal.
Moreover, he was also sure and confident that Chelsea would not cause any trouble tonight.
"David, they must think that you are here to provide cover, so just go up and do it!" Su Dong said with a laugh.
David Luiz was also happy, who says he wasn't?
Su Dong's reputation and influence are there, and his standing there is itself the biggest cover for him.
Who would have thought that a central defender who had never taken a free kick could actually snatch the free kick penalty from Su Dong?
But because of this, David Luiz is even more grateful to Su Dong.
"Thank you, boss, watch me!" David Luiz moved his right foot eagerly.
Su Dong smiled and nodded, "Go ahead, I'm rooting for you!"
The Brazilian center back nodded and quickly ran forward.
(End of this chapter)
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