Chapter 294 The Significance of Attacking the Core

In this game, Wang Li's position was behind Drogba and Gudjohnsen, and compared to Lampard's position, his position was closer to the front.

The reason for this arrangement is that head coach Mourinho intends to use Lampard's ability to organize attacks in the backcourt to drive the frontcourt attack with Wang Li as the core to open up the situation for Chelsea and win the game, while also allowing Wang Li to gradually adapt to the attacking midfielder's style of play.

Overall, Frank Lampard's task is to plan the big picture.

Every attack is initiated from the backcourt, and Lampard's job is to make the most correct judgment and sound the attack with a superior overall view. In defense, the double defensive midfielder line formed by him and Claude Makelele is a powerful interception network in the middle of Chelsea. It can be said that Lampard is the most important person in Chelsea's formation.

As an attacking midfielder, Wang Li's task is to organize the attack. To put it simply, he is the offensive core of Chelsea.

If you observe carefully, you can find that the biggest reason why Chelsea can attack so smoothly at the beginning is that the football almost always revolves around Wang Li. Although the one-foot pass is indeed prone to mistakes, Wang Li has effectively made up for this while showing extremely high personal ability---

At least in the first five minutes, he didn't make a single mistake.

When the ball is passed at Chelsea's feet, whether it is the transfer to the left or right, or the connection and cooperation in the midfield, it almost revolves around Wang Li. This is the role of the attacking midfielder.

Having said so much, perhaps there are still many people who don’t know the significance of the offensive core.

But now on Stamford Bridge, Chelsea's attack fully explains all of this and tells everyone what the real offensive core is.

Chelsea attack.

In the backcourt, Lampard kicked the ball to Robben on the wing, who didn't stop the ball and kicked it to Wang Li near the center line.

Wang Li played very easily in this game because Porto did not send anyone to specifically guard him. After receiving the ball, he did not rush to attack quickly, but dribbled the ball slowly while observing the position of his teammates.

The Porto players obviously wouldn't let him go so easily, Quaresma ran over and stuck to him to interfere. Before the game, the Porto players had watched Chelsea's game videos and were obviously impressed by this young black-haired boy. Quaresma knew that it would be difficult to grab the ball with his defensive ability, so he just followed Wang Li's side and kept interfering with him, preventing him from playing freely.

But obviously, Quaresma was still careless.

On the pitch, Wang Li suddenly kicked the ball forward, and then shook off Quaresma who was clinging to him and chased the ball. Obviously, at least at the current Stamford Bridge, no one's starting speed is faster than Wang Li. When Quaresma reacted, he was already more than 3 body lengths behind Wang Li, and could only follow behind him and eat dust. Fortunately, the weather in London was not dry, so he didn't get covered in dust.

After passing Quaresma, there was another Porto defender in front of Wang Li, but this time he did not choose to continue passing the player. Instead, he transferred the ball to the left and ran to the penalty area line in a flash with light steps.

After Arkin Robben got the ball, he turned and dribbled it to the right. Robben's sudden cut inside immediately attracted two Porto defenders, who then directly kicked the ball to Wang Li.

Seeing the ball rolling towards the opponent's black-haired boy No. 21, the Porto players remembered the boy's long-range shooting ability, and then many players nearby stared at Wang Li to prevent him from receiving the ball and shooting from a long distance.

In this situation, Wang Li certainly had no chance to shoot, but this did not hinder Chelsea's continued attack. Wang Li quickly took a step towards the direction of the ball, and his right foot touched the football with his toes while his body was unbalanced.

As the football rolled, it turned around and rolled diagonally backwards.

There's Frank Lampard coming in from behind.

Faced with this opportunity, Lampard shot the ball with force without thinking. The football almost drew a straight line in the air, hit the crossbar with a "bang", and bounced out of the bottom line, making all the Porto players break out in cold sweats.

"... Frank's shot was so accurate that I thought it was going to score when the ball was in the air. However, Porto still escaped. It doesn't matter, I believe Chelsea's goal will come soon."

Although they failed to score, this did not stop the Blues fans in the stands from cheering for their team. In their opinion, under this situation, scoring a goal was not far away.

This attack also demonstrated Wang Li's role as the core of the offense - as the hub of the offensive coordination, creating shooting opportunities for Chelsea.

………

"Alan played really well." On the Chelsea bench, assistant coach Mr. Clark couldn't help but say as he watched the game on the field.

Mr. Mourinho next to him had an indifferent expression on his face, his eyes still fixed on the game. After a while, he said, "As a field commander, he is just getting started."

After listening to Mourinho's words, Clark thought about it again and said, "But sir, don't you think it's a bit of a waste of his outstanding personal ability to let him stay in this position?"

"Personal ability?"

Mourinho closed his eyes tightly with mixed feelings. He certainly knew what Clark was referring to. Now Wang Li has been acting as a fulcrum for passing the ball on the field. This position is of course very important, but in fact Lampard can also do this task very well. If Wang Li changes to a pure striker, relying on his personal ability to dribble past opponents and shoot, then perhaps Chelsea would have scored now.

But after thinking for a while, the Portuguese held his chin with one hand, a confident expression flashed across his face, and said: "It seems to be so now, but as long as he can find a balance between personal ability and teamwork, then Chelsea's offense will truly achieve perfection, do you understand?"

"But don't you think the result of the game is the most important?" Clark thought for a while, shook his head and asked back.

Mourinho smiled and said, "It's nothing. Even if Alan doesn't play, Chelsea will win, right?"

Clark was also somewhat moved by the confident expression on the face of the Portuguese man next to him. He couldn't help but sigh in his heart: "Yes, even without Allen, Chelsea's strength is still not comparable to Porto's."

Thinking of this, Clark became more confident and focused his eyes on the court again.

………

In the 19th minute of the game, Chelsea launched another attack.

Goalkeeper Petr Cech passed the ball to central defender Ricardo Carvalho, who passed the ball to the wing. Damien received the ball near the center line and passed it to Wang Li in front of the center circle.

Seeing the black-haired boy on the other side get the ball, Porto midfielder Leal rushed over, hoping to prevent Wang Li from turning quickly to protect the ball and win a chance to steal the ball. However, Leal's idea failed to come true. His relentless pressing made Wang Li leave him behind with a quick change of direction, and then the ball was moved to the right.

Arkin Robben received the ball, made a two-pass cooperation with Lampard next to him, passed Quaresma, faced a Porto defender, turned around to protect the ball, and kicked the ball to the middle.

When the football rolled quickly to the front of the penalty area, Wang Li just got in, but at this time, Porto's defensive force at this position was the most concentrated, and it was almost a fantasy for him to continue to dribble through or shoot directly.

Wang Li didn't want to take any risks.

In this game, he was Chelsea's offensive commander, not Maradona. He didn't need to waste his energy on one-on-six plays, and the goal efficiency of doing so was obviously not very good.

So he moved the ball to the left again.

After receiving the ball, winger Damien Duff didn't even stop and kicked it directly into the penalty area.

At this moment, everyone thought that the Irish star had made a mistake, because at the moment he passed the ball, there was only one Drogba in the penalty area, but the latter's position was impossible to get the ball. Even the cheers of the Blues fans in the audience stopped abruptly, but the next moment, the scene made them feel very guilty for this distrust.

A Chelsea player wearing blue suddenly appeared in front of the ball, and the '21' behind him gave the Blues fans a boost of confidence.

"Alan, opportunity!" Creed Pesvak shouted excitedly.

I saw the black-haired boy on the court suddenly appear in front of the ball.

At this time, Wang Li was in a very awkward position, with Porto players in front and behind him, and the dense defensive players in the penalty area made it impossible for him to shoot, and the ball would definitely be blocked by the Porto defender.

It happened in a hurry

These were just the thoughts of the fans in the audience, but Wang Li in the field reacted extremely quickly. He stepped forward with his right foot and rubbed the football, as if he had deliberately missed the ball, but the path of the football had changed.

Passed between two Porto players.

Then, it rolled in front of Drogba.

Before the game, this tactic had been rehearsed countless times, and Drogba had been scolded countless times by Wang Li, but these hard trainings finally paid off in the game. Since the beginning of the attack, this Ivorian specialty has been staring at the football. As soon as the ball rolled towards him, Drogba opened his legs and prepared to shoot.

At this time, many Porto players in the penalty area didn't know where the ball was. Of course, some players still reacted. The participant of Greek mythology, the current Porto defender Sitaridis, saw the black-haired boy from Chelsea pass the ball, and he started running towards Drogba. But how can a person run faster than the ball? Sitaridis rushed towards Drogba, but---

It's too late

Mr. Warcraft had already swung his right foot, and his thick calf even left a dark mark in the air.

The football instantly traveled several meters in the air and flew directly into the blind corner of the goal.

"Alan, you missed it, Drogba shot Gooooooooooooal the ball went in..."

There was no need for Creed to explain much, the entire Stamford Bridge stadium had erupted, this goal made the Blues fans feel refreshed, this was truly a wonderful combination, they had just enjoyed a visual feast, in the previous moment, most fans thought it was a mistake made by the Irish star, but the next moment, the football had already reached the opponent's goal

Even the reporters from various countries on the sidelines felt that the trip was worthwhile, simply because the goal was so magnificent. The reason it was called magnificent was not because Drogba's shot was difficult, but because the attack was so smooth.

It was obviously Wang Li who launched the attack.

The ball was transferred from Wang Li to Robben on the left, then from Robben through Wang Li to Duff on the right, and then Duff transferred the ball to Wang Li, and Wang Li transferred it to Drogba.

This constant change of left and right lanes, coupled with Wang Li's superb personal ability, made the Porto defenders helpless, because even though they knew that the black-haired boy was the core of the offense, they still couldn't defend against him. This was the result of Chelsea's training before the game---

Let Wang Li's outstanding personal abilities be utilized in team cooperation. In this way, the offense with him as the core will be extremely smooth and Chelsea's offensive capabilities will be more diversified.

This is also the reason why the team's head coach Jose Mourinho has always wanted to train Wang Li to become the team's offensive core.

This attack looks easy, but in fact, without Wang Li as a fulcrum, this attack is almost impossible to complete.

As a central link, Wang Li has to take the responsibility of transferring the ball to the left and right sides. Neither Alkin Robben nor Damien Duff's passes are very accurate. They just pass the ball diagonally to the open space in front of Wang Li. If Wang Li does not have a super footwork like Lingbo Weibu, who can always receive this kind of pass? The opponent's players' blocking will directly interrupt the attack.

But at least this time, Chelsea caught Porto off guard and they succeeded.

"This attack was really beautiful, it was simply magnificent. I have to say that the cooperation between Chelsea players was just like a finely crafted work of art. Even if it was damaged a little, it would feel imperfect. But this time it was successful. In the 11th minute, Chelsea scored a goal. The goal was scored by the 'Ivorian Beast', our Super Drogba."

"...it was also his second goal for Chelsea this season and it was great to see the striker find his form again since scoring against CSKA Moscow last time out at Stamford Bridge..."

After Chelsea scored, Mr. Mourinho, who had been sitting on the bench with a blank expression, was obviously very excited. He turned around and hugged the main coach Mr. Clark next to him. From the wide shot, we can see that the Portuguese's eyes were red. Obviously, he was holding back tears to avoid making a fool of himself in front of so many media and fans. It can also be seen from here that the 'madman' really attached great importance to this game.

On the other hand, Mr. Fernandez on the Porto bench was in a different state. He held his chin with both hands and watched the celebration of Chelsea players on the field. I don’t know what he was thinking, but what we can know is that the Spaniard must be in a bad mood. You know, before the game, Mourinho had already announced the starting players and the team’s lineup. Chelsea scored a goal after only 20 minutes of play. Isn’t this a slap in Fernandez’s face?

At this time, Mr. Fernandez could not help it. While the Chelsea players were celebrating the goal, he hurried to the sidelines and told the team's defender Pepe to move forward and pay more attention to defending the opponent's No. 21.

Obviously, in the Spaniard's view, if Chelsea could play in good form, the outcome would be decided in the first half.

………

As the treble winner last season, even though Porto has fallen apart this season, the team still has some foundation. Although they were continuously suppressed by Chelsea for a long time in the first 15 minutes of the game, after the players entered the game state, the team's defense and counterattack became organized.

At this time, Fernandez's triangle defense tactics began to work.

Every time Chelsea's attack approached the hinterland, Porto players could easily block and double-team, which seriously hindered Robben and Duff's attacks on the two flanks, and Chelsea's attack also came to a halt.

As a result, it became very difficult for Chelsea to launch an attack like the one just now, because various short passes were difficult to connect between the midfield and the frontcourt, and the positioning of Porto players did not allow any large passing space in the frontcourt. Coupled with occasional small mistakes and repeated waste of opportunities, Chelsea wasted countless opportunities in subsequent games.

In this situation, Porto's frontcourt began to become active. On the two wingers, Quaresma and Maniche frequently performed dribbling tricks with their Portuguese-style gorgeous footwork. Even if they just made crosses from the bottom, Chelsea, who had set up an offensive formation, was helpless and the backcourt was in constant crisis.

Fortunately, Porto striker Postiga's form this season is really disappointing. Many Portuguese fans even call him a fake, and the young player Diego's skills are still imperfect. Such young players always make frequent mistakes when they are not playing well.

Of course, Porto still has a number one striker, CA Carlos Alberto. The strength of this Brazilian striker has been fully demonstrated last season.

Many people call him the Schumacher on the court and the Bolt of the new era. He is also a cornerstone in Mr. Fernandez's heart. In this game, Porto played a defensive counterattack. If there was a chance, Alberto would most likely be the one to score the goal because his speed is so fast.

Of course, the above are all what Portuguese fans say. For English fans, only the dance master is the real king of counterattack.

The combination of gorgeousness and speed is the perfect counterattack.

But unfortunately, Chelsea is too strong this season. When playing against ordinary league opponents, many teams hide in their own penalty area, making it impossible for Chelsea to counterattack. At least they haven't seen that kind of fantastic counterattack recently.

In any case, after a period of time, the defensive players in Chelsea's backcourt gave special care to Porto's first striker Alberto. After all, Alberto was not Wang Li, and he did not have such outstanding personal abilities and trump cards. After being closely defended by Chelsea captain Terry, it was difficult for him to exert his strength, which also made it difficult for Porto's offense to get good opportunities.

As a result, the offense of both teams was not smooth, which made the game tense for a while.

Wang Li, on the other hand, was always in Porto's half, constantly coordinating attacks with his teammates. He didn't seem to care about the form of the game at all, but used the real game to exercise his abilities.

In fact, in Wang Li's mind, he even regarded the game as an offensive and defensive drill for Chelsea. After all, this was the first time he truly integrated into the position of an offensive commander.