Chapter 201: Two Wings Flying Together (2)

In the first half of the game, Aston Villa exposed too many problems: the wing defense problems of the 532 formation, the lack of offensive ability against teams with strong defensive ability, the slowness of defensive counterattacks, etc. This 532 formation was only used by O'Leary this season, and in this game, Chelsea helped O'Leary find out the disadvantages of these formations, which may be of some benefit to Aston Villa. At least after returning to Villa Park, O'Leary will definitely improve these problems.

Aston Villa's head coach David Anthony O'Leary, a former Irish international, is a completely practical coach. His playing career was undoubtedly very brilliant. His eight-year journey with Arsenal brought him countless honors. To this day, he still holds the record of 733 appearances for Arsenal, which is almost unsurpassed.

As a coach, although his performance is not too bad, he certainly cannot catch up with the "old foxes" like Mourinho, Ferguson and Wenger in terms of tactical application. Since entering the football field, they have been studying tactical play. With more than ten years or even decades of experience, they have studied tactical application ability, temporary response strategies and other aspects very thoroughly. Therefore, most of the top coaches in Europe have been engaged in coaching careers for more than 20 years, or they are academic coaches.

When a superstar becomes a coach, it may be difficult for him to achieve something right away because of his different vision during his playing career, even though O'Reilly has been a coach for ten years. This is the reality in football.

Faced with Chelsea's unconventional tactics of flying on both wings and high-hanging ball into the penalty area, head coach O'Leary had a hard time coming up with any solution in a hurry. By the time of the half-time break, the team was already trailing 3-0 and had almost no chance of changing tactics and striving for victory.

In Aston Villa's locker room, O'Leary did not yell and criticize his players, but took the initiative to admit his mistakes. "In the first half of the game, you played very well. There were some problems with my tactics. The opponent is now advancing from the wing, relying on the strength of the middle to get scoring opportunities, and we have no advantage in defending high balls."

After hearing the head coach's words, the players in the locker room nodded in understanding. In the first half, they played too passively. It seemed that they were being led by their opponents throughout the game. They had no room to fight back. Even if they occasionally counterattacked, it was difficult to break through the opponent's defense. They only had one pitiful shot in the entire first half, which was embarrassing to talk about.

"So sir, what about the second half?" Samuel asked, a little out of breath. Samuel was also very unwilling to accept the first half of the game. On the left side where he was defending, the black-haired kid on the other side was really arrogant. He was so angry that he wanted to kick violently, but the referee seemed to be targeting him. The only tackle he made was easily passed by the opponent, and he was severely warned by the referee. Thinking about this, Samuel was full of resentment.

"In the second half, Drobny and Mark, you two go on the court and pay attention to the penalty area. Keep an eye on the big black guy and don't let him shoot easily. De La Cruz, you move forward a little and pay more attention to the opponent's No. 21 kid on the lower right. Don't let him break through so easily. Samuel, don't stand so far forward. Were you sleepwalking in the first half? I can't even remember how many times you were easily broken through."

Drobny and Mark are two big defenders of Aston Villa, both over 190cm tall. Due to their stiff body movements, their defensive ability is not very outstanding, but in this game, they used their height advantage to block Chelsea's tactics of rushing into the penalty area from the middle, which was perfect. By moving De La Cruz forward, it was obvious that O'Leary planned to abandon the 532 tactics in the second half and switch to the ordinary 442. In this way, the defense on the wing can be tighter, and Chelsea's breakthrough and cross on the two wing will be more hindered.

Although the result of this game was already obvious, O'Leary obviously did not want to continue conceding goals in the second half. The score of three to zero was already enough. If they conceded again, Aston Villa would definitely lose face. He really didn't know how to face those reporters and the fans who had always supported the team.

As for attacking? ... It still depends on luck. Even Manchester United can't be sure of scoring a goal at Stamford Bridge.

However, in terms of scheming, ten O'Learys are no match for Mourinho, the "old fox". The Portuguese man could certainly guess Aston Villa's thoughts. In the second half, the opponent would definitely strengthen some defense on the two flanks. So in the second half, Chelsea changed the offensive formation in the first half and turned to attack the middle.

Duff replaced Joe Cole and Geremi replaced Robben. The two players were not strong in individual ability, but they were very good at short passes due to their rich experience. After the start of the second half, Lampard, Carvalho and Geremi kept passing the ball to penetrate the opponent's defense. In addition, the cooperation between Duff and Wang Li on the wing made the Aston Villa players feel troubled.

A team's defensive ability is limited, which is very much like the law of conservation of energy in physics. After strengthening the defense on the wing, the defense in the middle will inevitably be weaker. Therefore, O'Leary was one step behind again, and Chelsea once again gained an absolute tactical advantage.

During this period, Wang Li also reduced his dribbling on the wing. During the half-time break, the task assigned to him by the head coach was to support the middle from the wing and cooperate with the attack in the middle. If there was an opportunity, he would pass the ball directly to the penalty area line. At the same time, he would also look for opportunities to receive passes from the middle to create scoring opportunities.

As a result, Wang Li's performance was certainly not as eye-catching as in the first half, and it was difficult for Chelsea fans to see the blue whirlwind on the field. However, Wang Li clearly felt that the team's offense was more threatening. The ball rolled around the opponent's penalty area again and again, and all that was missing was a chance to score.

Compared to lobs, through passes are obviously more threatening. Although the number of shooting opportunities created will be reduced, the efficiency of shots is much higher. During this period, Wang Li has been hovering near the penalty area, occasionally touching the ball to make the team's offense smoother. From the position point of view, he seems to have returned to being a striker, but compared to midfielders, strikers have fewer opportunities to get the ball, and of course the threat after getting the ball is greater.

In the 71st minute of the game, Chelsea finally got a good chance. It was another short pass in the middle. Chelsea's four players passed the ball to each other more than a dozen times. The wonderful cooperation dazzled the fans in the stands and easily sent the ball to the penalty area line.

In the last pass, Geremi at the left corner of the penalty area did not choose to pass the ball directly to Drogba in the penalty area, as that would likely be blocked and waste the attacking opportunity. So, he chose to pass the ball sideways to Wang Li on the right. Geremi now has 100% trust in this black-haired boy who has just joined the team. Not to mention the tactical arrangements of the head coach, the record of scoring six goals in three league games alone is unmatched in the entire Chelsea and even all Premier League teams.

After Wang Li received the ball, he changed his posture slightly, dodged the opponent's defender's foot and stole the ball. He glanced at the penalty area with his eyes, took a small step forward with his right foot, and used the "stick" technique with his left foot to pull the ball back with the instep. Seeing Wang Li's set of actions, the opponent player took a small step to the right in panic. With this step of space, Wang Li curled his lips, turned halfway backward, and kicked the ball with his right foot---

The football passed through the sides of two opposing defensive players and rolled towards the small penalty area.

At this moment, the "ferocious" Drogba took advantage of his physical strength, swinging left and right while running, causing Drogba and Mark, who were defending him closely, to be knocked into a mess. In this way, Drogba could easily get rid of them, and then he caught up with the ball, swung his right foot hard, and shot the ball with the outside of his foot, sending it straight to the right corner of the opponent's goal.

Goalkeeper Thomas Sorens could only symbolically wave his left hand and helplessly watch the ball fly into the net. Perhaps Sorens was the most helpless person in this game. The goal he was guarding had been penetrated four times, but he was completely powerless and could only shout out his frustration and vent it on the defenders.

In the 72nd minute of the game, Drogba volleyed the ball with the outside of his foot, changing the score to 4-0. Ole's head coach on the bench covered his face with his hands, as if he couldn't bear to watch any more. On the other hand, Mr. Mourinho on the bench of Chelsea had a smile on his face, and occasionally he would look at the helpless figure on the bench of the other team, as if to say, "You are too young to fight with me."

The fans of the Blues have almost become immune to goals. They have changed from supporters of the team to spectators of goals, as if Chelsea's goals are a matter of course.

And now, the most enthusiastic cheers in the entire audience came from the west side of the fans' stand, where there was a group of crazy female fans dressed beautifully and fashionably. Looking roughly, there were at least a hundred of them. Some of them were holding up large banners, and some were dancing with colorful balls in their hands. They all shouted in unison: "Alan, come on, Alan, we love you, Alan, score another one!"

Since Wang Li came to Chelsea, Chelsea's female fans have organized a female fan association - the Women's Fans Association Supporting Allen. Their cheerleading actions seem to be more organized and disciplined.

This is something that almost all the players in the Chelsea team envy. Every man would want to have so many female fans supporting him, even if it is just a kind of vanity...