Chapter 216 The Best Forward
The European Champions League group draw ceremony has ended, and the other three teams in Group H where Chelsea is located are: defending champion Porto, Paris Saint-Germain and CSKA Moscow.
This group couldn't be better for Chelsea.
Perhaps, Porto had a perfect record under the leadership of head coach Mourinho last season and the team's level was very high, but in one summer, Porto's team has been divided up by major European giants, which shows how much strength it has left.
Regardless of the result, the group draw is finally over, and this ceremony may also have another meaning for the top teams in the Premier League---
The intensive schedule of the entire season has begun again
In early September, due to national team matches, all clubs did not have any matches for more than 10 consecutive days. However, from September 11 to September 25, Chelsea had 5 games to play, an average of one game every 3 days.
So, let's take a look at Chelsea's upcoming schedule:
In the 5th round, Chelsea will face Tottenham Hotspur at home.
In the first game, Chelsea will fly to romantic Paris to challenge Paris Saint-Germain away.
In the 6th round, Chelsea will challenge Middlesbrough away.
On September 23, the League Cup round of 32 knockout stage kicked off, with Chelsea facing Newcastle United at home.
In the 7th round, Chelsea faced the giants Liverpool at home.
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After attending the group draw ceremony, Mourinho did not stay in Switzerland, but flew back to London that evening.
The upcoming match is the first challenge of a dense schedule, so Mr. Mourinho must make adequate preparations. In such a frequent schedule with an average of one game every three days, it is obviously irrational to reuse the same lineup.
For a normal football player, the interval between two games should be more than one week. During this period, through small-scale daily training and rest at the club, the physical energy lost in a game can be fully compensated.
If this time is shortened, or even if the players participate in consecutive games with short intervals, they will feel tired and have physical problems. Playing football under such conditions will not only affect their performance in the game, but also easily cause injuries. This is not something anyone wants to see.
Therefore, in these five games, head coach Mourinho had to make some choices.
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Tottenham Hotspur, because its traditional home jersey is white, is also called the "White Rose" by Tottenham fans.
In recent years, Tottenham Hotspur's most recent honor can be traced back to the 1999 League Cup. In that year, Tottenham Hotspur defeated Leicester 1-0 in the final and won the League Cup.
Although Tottenham's performance in recent years is not comparable to that of top teams such as Manchester United and Arsenal, in the new season, Tottenham welcomed Frenchman Santini, invested nearly 20 million euros in the transfer market, and introduced many young players such as Sean Davies, and the team's strength has been enhanced.
Since Tottenham Hotspur itself has a formidable forward line and attacking power, once Santini is able to adjust the team's defense, it will not be a far-fetched thing for the old powerhouse Tottenham Hotspur to regain the strength of the Gascoigne and Lineker era.
But now for Tottenham, if they can beat Chelsea, which is in its heyday, at Stamford Bridge, this may be the beginning of the team's revival.
Therefore, Tottenham's morale was very good and they came to Stamford Bridge in high spirits.
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September 9, Stamford Bridge, London, England.
A light drizzle was falling from the sky, with occasional raindrops falling on the crowded stands. However, it did not make these fans feel any reluctance to retreat. At this moment, the entire stadium's audience seats were covered in blue. Tens of thousands of Chelsea fans were forming a blue ocean with their bodies, as if interpreting the meaning of the 'Blues'.
A small group of Tottenham fans wearing white uniforms gathered in a corner of the southeast stand of the stadium. In contrast, the Tottenham players wore gray away uniforms today. If it weren't for the same team logo on the chest of both uniforms, it might seem that Tottenham had no supporters today...
Of course, as veteran Tottenham fans, they obviously would not notice this, but the conversation between the small group of Chinese students between Tottenham fans and Chelsea fans made these Tottenham fans very embarrassed.
"Liu Jun, why does Chelsea's opponent today seem to have no fans supporting us?" A clear female voice stood out among the crowd. It sounded very nice, but the content of the words made the Tottenham fans nearby very angry, as if they were all ignored by this woman.
"Faint! Aren't there a lot of people around?" replied the man named Liu Jun.
"Really?" At this time, the girl found that many "uncles" in white jerseys on the left were looking at her, which made her face turn red. But she wondered, "Why are they all wearing white jerseys, while the players on the field are wearing gray jerseys..."
"...Puchi" A boy next to her laughed out loud, then reached out to cover the girl's mouth and whispered in her ear: "Xuanxuan, you should just watch the game. These British fans are not very good-tempered. Didn't we agree to come and cheer for Wang Lilai today?"
The girl turned her head to look at the white-clad fans on her left who were staring at her with wide eyes, lowered her head timidly, and muttered softly, "What's so great about that? Alan is still more handsome." Then she turned her gaze to the court.
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"...Today's weather is not very good, but this little rain may make people feel refreshed. I just don't know if our Chelsea players can adapt to this kind of weather. The rain will definitely make the grass a little slippery. Maybe this is bad news for Alan. I don't know if we can still see his gorgeous dance steps today."
"Both teams have already taken to the pitch. Let's look at Tottenham's starting lineup. Goalkeeper Paul Robinson, defenders Ifill, Nebet, Ledley King and Edman, midfielders Mendes, Sean Davis, Redknapp and Czechson, and forwards Kanoute and Defoe."
"Let's take a look at our Chelsea team. The goalkeeper is young player Thomas Clarke, the defenders are Paulo Ferreira, Robert Huth, Wayne Bridge and Ricardo Carvalho, the midfielders are Claude Makelele, Geremi and Thiago Mendes, and the forwards are Adrian Mutu, Arjen Robben and our 'dancing master' Alan Wang."
"...Obviously, in this match, Mr. Mourinho sent most of the substitutes to play in order to give the stars who had just finished playing for the national team some time to rest. However, even this substitute lineup is very luxurious. I hope these players on the field can take advantage of this opportunity to perform well..."
Before the game started, the commentator Creed Pesvak at Stamford Bridge hurriedly introduced the starting rosters of the two teams. However, Chelsea's starting roster still made Chelsea fans a little uneasy. At this time, the team's pillar Frank Lampard was not on the field, and the captain John Terry was also missing in the backcourt, which would definitely reduce the team's defensive ability a lot.
Fortunately, Allen Wang is still there in the frontcourt, so they don't have to worry about not scoring any goals in this game---
In the hearts of Chelsea fans, Wang Li has undoubtedly become synonymous with scoring goals.
Although Wang Li broke the news in the England team that he and Eriksson were not getting along and left the team without saying a word, these Chelsea fans still supported him, and the article by George Kulentalik, a reporter from The Sun, also convinced most people---
Why does a striker with such a high goal-scoring efficiency always sit on the bench?
This is obviously unreasonable.
Therefore, at least all Chelsea fans are unwavering supporters of Wang Li, and in this game, they also believe that this "all-powerful" black-haired boy on the field will definitely score goals for Chelsea at Stamford Bridge.
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The game was about to start. Wang Li, standing on the field, looked straight at the Tottenham Hotspur team. He was thinking about what the head coach said to him in the locker room.
"…Tottenham's strength this year should not be underestimated. Their forward attacking ability is very strong. Chelsea's defensive ability is difficult to ensure that the team does not lose the ball, so at the beginning of the game, it is best to play a quick attack to get ahead, so that the rest of the game will be much easier."
"...Now, Frank and Terry are not playing. Although you have just joined Chelsea, you are undoubtedly the one who has the most say in the offensive line among the starting players. So in the team's offense, you need to communicate and cooperate more with your teammates. This is also a kind of training for you..."
For Chelsea and head coach Mourinho, this league game is actually not very important. Chelsea now has 12 points and is at the top of the league with an absolute advantage. Even if they lose the game, it will only be 3 points. Chelsea can still afford to lose.
In order to cope with the upcoming Champions League match, Chelsea can only send out most of the substitute lineup to play this game.
However, even though Tottenham Hotspur has always been an offensive team, and now at Stamford Bridge, Chelsea must not lose to their opponents on the field even if they fail.
Therefore, in Mourinho's mind, the key to winning or losing this game lies in offense, and the key to the team's offense, of course, lies in Wang Li, the focus of the team's offense and who has extremely high goal efficiency.
The expectations of all the fans, the absolute trust of the head coach, and the support of his teammates on the field all give Wang Li no reason to fail. On the other hand, facing the media and fans who accuse him of being "arrogant", he also needs to use his performance to prove that ---
I, Alan Wong, am England's best striker.