Chapter 382: Indissoluble bond with Manchester United

After the match against AC Milan, Chelsea's amazing performance of scoring three goals in five minutes in the second half became the topic of the entire game, and it was also the turning point of the entire game. Although AC Milan players were all awakened by these three goals, at this time, they were already powerless to turn the tide.

If it was 4:2, AC Milan players would not be too worried, and Ancelotti would not care too much. With a difference of two goals, they could still catch up by returning to San Rossi, and they had two away goals, which would have a great impact on the result in the two-round match.

But Robben's final golden goal chilled the hearts of AC Milan's coaches and players! !

Two goals are easy to chase, but what about three goals? Even though Ancelotti is very confident in his team, he is still not sure that he can score three goals against Chelsea at home. After all, AC Milan is not Barcelona. They are better at defense than scoring goals.

Thinking of this, all the Italian media were chilled by Chelsea's terrifying offensive ability. AC Milan's defense is definitely the best in Italy, but this iron wall of defense allowed the opponent to score 5 goals in the 90-minute game. Facing Chelsea, AC Milan's iron wall became a paper tiger that could be broken with a single poke.

No matter what the media thinks, Chelsea eventually won the game at home with a three-goal advantage. This score was too favorable for Chelsea, and they almost had one foot in the Champions League semi-finals.

AC Milan has not completely lost hope, as long as they can win 3:0 at home, they will be able to advance directly. However, AC Milan's league title is now under constant threat from Roma, and I am afraid they cannot fully cope with the Champions League games. So after the game, even most of the Italian media are not optimistic about AC Milan's situation.

Unless they can find a way to break Chelsea's defense and suppress Wang Li's performance, it will not be easy to score three more goals at home. In fact, the former is easier to say, as Chelsea's defense is also very solid, but it is somewhat inferior to the Italian team. The latter is the most difficult. In fact, all Chelsea's opponents this season are studying this, but at least so far, no team has been able to really succeed in doing it.

Perhaps, they can only hope for God's help. If they can score 3 goals in 5 minutes in San Rossiero, they still have a good chance of winning.

At the end of the game, Ancelotti, who shook hands with Mourinho, looked helpless. He had lost all his face in this game.

Before the game, Ancelotti had said, "A goal in 5 minutes will easily eliminate Chelsea," but now he has to prepare for the next game with all his strength. On the other hand, Mourinho was all smiles. With this score, he really had no reason to be unhappy. He was smiling when shaking hands with the Italian, which was completely different from his expression before the game.

Finally, Mourinho, with a victorious smile, patted Ancelotti on the shoulder and signaled him not to be too sad. This made the Italian even more depressed, because he is 4 years older than Mourinho.

After the game, the media focused all their attention on Chelsea's 5-minute outburst in the second half. Wang Li's stunning performance shocked the whole of Europe, and Chelsea used a very simple long pass tactic to easily break AC Milan's zonal blockade. This highlight made all the clubs that suffered from Italian-style defense think deeply.

"Should we also buy a strong center and play long passes?"

Many small Italian clubs are considering the feasibility of this style of play. This tactic only requires high ability from the center forward at the front of the team, and there are not many requirements for the midfielders and backcourt players except for a long pass. This economical and practical tactic has opened up new horizons for many clubs.

Chelsea and Mourinho became models for many clubs to learn from. Suddenly, a piece of groundless news appeared in the media - "AC Milan extended an olive branch to Gilardino..."

"Liverpool are keen on Wolverhampton striker Peter..."

"Real Madrid is interested in signing Manchester United striker Van Nistelrooy..."

...In short, the price of strong center forwards in the transfer market has risen sharply, and some tall center forwards who are always looked down upon in the club have become popular.

The AC Milan media put Kaladze on the gallows, they thought Kaladze was a "traitor" and that Kaladze was the turning point of the game. If he had not scored an own goal, Chelsea would not have won the game by such a big margin.

According to them: 'It's not that Chelsea is too strong, but AC Milan has a traitor.'

However, Ancelotti scoffed at this statement. Facing the media, he said: "It was just an unintentional own goal. This kind of ball is very common in the game. Kaladze is a strong player. I will not blame him for this."

As the person involved, Kaladze must be feeling very uncomfortable. Now he is the first substitute of AC Milan. It is not easy to get this position in AC Milan, which has many world-class defenders. After the game, he apologized to all AC Milan fans in a low-key manner and claimed that he would work hard to make the team beat Chelsea in San Rossi.

Subsequently, many AC Milan players also publicly expressed their support for Kaladze. At this sensitive time, it would be very unwise to hear discordant voices within the team.

However, this did not have much impact on the two head coaches. In the press conference after the game, Mourinho did not mention this matter at all. Instead, everyone praised AC Milan's defense. He said: "Their defensive ability is better than ours. It is not an exaggeration to say that they are the best in the world. The ability of each backcourt player is beyond doubt."

He then added: "However, I am most optimistic about their young player Kaka. I admire his performance in the game. This Brazilian teenager is indeed worthy of the title of Italy's best foreign aid."

But these compliments sounded strange to Ancelotti.

If AC Milan's defense is the best in the world, then what is the reason why Chelsea scored 5 goals against AC Milan in one game? Offense first? This is a naked irony! ! The second sentence is purely an olive branch to Kaka. Ancelotti even suspected that the Russian crocodile was already taking actual action. You know, as the chairman of the club, Mr. Abramovich cannot miss such an important game.

"Kaka is not for sale! He is one of a kind!"

When many English media were concerned about Kaka, Ancelotti said directly: "This is just like Chelsea's Alan Wong. Does Mr. Mourinho intend to sell him in the summer transfer window?"

"Of course not!"

Mourinho said affirmatively, and then continued with a smile: "The salary we give to Alan is unique, but it is said that Kaka's treatment in AC Milan is not very good..."

This sentence sounds purely disgusting to Ancelotti. Doesn't this force him to go back and apply for a salary increase for Kaka?

But in fact, the Italian head coach does not have the power of the Premier League team's head coach, which means that Ancelotti does not have the right to raise the players' salaries.

As a result, the press conference ended in a bad mood.

After the aftermath of this game, European bookmakers lowered Chelsea's odds of winning the championship again. The lowest odds now are from a company in London, England. They have even adjusted the odds to an ultra-low 2-to-1. This is mainly because at the beginning of the season, many Chelsea fans bet on Chelsea to win the championship. If Chelsea really wins the championship, then due to the odds of more than 40 times set at the beginning of the season, this company will face bankruptcy.

Now many senior executives of European bookmakers have even called for an end to betting on Chelsea winning the championship, as they feel the risk is too great.

The English media began to praise Chelsea again, claiming that Chelsea and Wang Li have now entered a peak period of form, and their performances are stable and convincing.

However, according to this statement, Chelsea has never declined since the beginning of the season.

On April 9, Chelsea lost to Southampton away. In this game, Mourinho sent out all the substitutes, even a few youth team players were mixed in. The final score was 1:0. Southampton, who was facing the relegation crisis, easily earned three points, which made them very satisfied as they had no hope. After the game, the opposing coach also praised Chelsea's spirit of play.

However, this point has not been recognized by any media.

Chelsea has already won the league championship, and they have no control over who Mourinho sends to play in the game.

However, the power of the media should not be underestimated. Under the continuous appeal of many clubs that were defeated by Chelsea at home and away this season, the media unanimously asked Mourinho to pay attention to the league. On the other hand, there are also teams that play against Chelsea, who think that Mourinho's approach is correct and that unimportant games should be abandoned.

Both of these views represent the interests of various teams and the media. During the time without the Champions League, the media are spitting at each other on this topic.

Mourinho, the person involved, didn't care at all. The players of Chelsea's reserve and youth teams were even more excited. Many young players were happy to be able to represent Chelsea in a Premier League game. Under normal circumstances, they would definitely not have any chance.

On April 10, the second day of the 32nd round of the Premier League, the coaches of Arsenal, Manchester United, Chelsea and Blackburn gathered in London again to attend the FA Cup semi-final draw ceremony.

On this day, the players of Chelsea Football Club also gathered in the office to watch the ceremony. Both the FA Cup and the Champions League are Chelsea's goals this season, and the weight of the FA Cup championship is much heavier. The English FA Cup is the oldest football competition in the world. In the eyes of most English fans, this championship is even more important than the league championship.

For Chelsea, the opponent they most want to play against is of course Blackburn. Although they have a lot of experience playing against Manchester United and Arsenal, Blackburn is the softest target. If they can draw Blackburn, then Chelsea will have one foot in the Millennium Stadium and let the other two teams fight.

Since Chelsea won the league championship, the English Football Association gave face to Chelsea head coach Mourinho to decide the opponents among the four teams. So, the Portuguese stood up and walked to the stage in a glorious manner. Looking at the four exquisite cards, he thought for a long time before taking the one on the left.

Unfortunately, Mourinho's luck was really not good. When he opened the card-like note, all the media cameras in the audience were directed to the old knight sitting in the front row.

Manchester United!!

Manchester United VS Chelsea!!

It has to be said that Chelsea has an inextricable relationship with Manchester United this season.

After learning the result, Mourinho was furious. He stood on the stage and openly questioned loudly: "I doubt the fairness of the English Football Association!!"

After saying this, he ignored the stunned FA officials and reporters beside him and directly turned over a card on the right, on which was clearly drawn the Blackburn team logo and the English letters 'Blackburn Rovers'.

"Oh, sorry, I was just saying..."

Mourinho looked at the pattern on the card and his face immediately turned red. After leaving a puzzling remark, he turned around very coolly, completely ignoring the gazes of the people around him, walked straight down the stands, and then walked out of the draw site. Before leaving, he even greeted Sir Alex Ferguson in a friendly manner, and then took the team's special car back to the club.

No one stopped him. Even after Mourinho disappeared outside the door for more than 10 seconds, the whole scene was still silent. Everyone was recalling what had just happened, and many people even suspected that they were dreaming.

As a result, the man who stirred up the entire Premier League season has once again become the topic of conversation in the English media. The live video of him openly questioning the English Football Association has seen a sharp increase in clicks on various websites, even directly surpassing Wang Li's "Dream Dance" and becoming one of the most popular short films in England in April.

That afternoon, Ian Watmore, the executive director of the English Football Association, held a press conference. He angrily said: "This practice is a serious insult to the English Football Association. We will discuss the results as soon as possible and will definitely give severe punishment to this ungentlemanly 'thug'! !"

Shortly after the press conference, the English Football Association’s punishment measures were introduced: Chelsea Club was fined 300,000 pounds, Mourinho himself was fined 100,000 pounds, and suspended from the league for 6 rounds.

This kind of punishment is already very severe under normal circumstances. A six-round suspension means that Mourinho will not be able to appear in league games before the end of the season. But for Chelsea now, it is not a big deal. 400,000 pounds is just a drizzle for Chelsea, which is only equivalent to Wang Li's weekly salary. For the head coach, it does not matter at all that he does not have to participate in the league. Perhaps the Portuguese is very happy with this result.

After this farce ended, the media's focus immediately returned to the match between Chelsea and Manchester United.

Speaking of which, the two teams really have an indissoluble bond this season. The two teams met in the League Cup and FA Cup semi-finals, and Manchester United even played against Chelsea at home twice. But until now, judging from the situation of the two teams, Manchester United really lost too badly - they were defeated twice by Chelsea in the Premier League and lost at home in the League Cup. Perhaps this game is the only chance to save face.

For Manchester United, the FA Cup is the only championship they can compete for this season. If they lose to Chelsea again, they will really get nothing. For old Ferguson, the Manchester United he led has been the strongest team since the start of the Premier League. Now he cannot tolerate Chelsea suppressing them.

Having said that, the media do not hold out much hope that Manchester United can beat Chelsea.

They lost three times out of three encounters, can you still expect them to win the fourth time?

Maybe Manchester United has an advantage, as they can prepare for the game steadily at home, while Chelsea needs to go to Milan on the 13th to participate in the second round of the quarter-finals, and the game against Manchester United on the 17th is still an away game. This schedule is extremely unfavorable.

Perhaps, Manchester United should expect Chelsea to suffer losses in Milan, then their hopes will be greater.

But after this result came out, Manchester United was still very low-key. At least there was no other 'Saha' who would mindlessly challenge Wang Li... Countless results have proved that such an approach is unwise. Even if there is such a person again, the media will treat him as a clown... And Arsenal is the most enviable. Although they did not win anything, they at least secured the second place in the Football Cup and also sat firmly in the second place in the league, which is much stronger than Manchester United.

Even Ferguson said sourly about this: "That Frenchman is really lucky..."

Speaking of luck, the luck of Manchester United and Chelsea was really not that good... Afterwards, many reporters went to interview Chelsea and Manchester United players. They wanted to stir up the excitement of the game through the words of the players of the two teams.

"I think our team and Manchester United have a great affinity. We have played against each other several times before, and now the opportunity has come again." In an interview with reporters, Wang Li said: "I hope this game can be more exciting and they can play to their full strength. Now I feel that Manchester United's threat is getting smaller and smaller. If this continues, Chelsea will have no opponent next season."

Originally, in the eyes of the reporters, Wang Li's remarks could provoke a war of words between the two sides, but unfortunately, Manchester United did not react. The reporters in London regarded this as Manchester United's cowardice, while the reporters in Manchester quoted an idiom from an ancient oriental country. They claimed that Manchester United was really "lying on straw and tasting gall" - if they do not make a sound, they will be amazing!

(To be continued)