Chapter 390 Magath's Confidence

After such a long period of tentative contact, Bayern's players had some understanding of Chelsea and were more confident. So, in the 17th minute of the game, they couldn't help but launch the first wave of massive attacks.

The attack was initiated by England's midfielder Owen Hargreaves on the wing.

Hargreaves is only 24 years old this year. He was born in Canada. His father is Welsh and his mother is Irish. He has never lived in England and has never played for an English club. However, he joined the England team and was selected for England's 23-man list for the 2002 World Cup. At that time, he was the only player not playing in the Premier League.

The strength of the midfielder who can be included in the England team's roster should not be underestimated. After receiving the pass from the backcourt, Hargreaves suddenly shook off Arkin Robben who was following him. This sudden start was very fast and the Dutch boy was directly left behind by him by as much as 2 meters.

Afterwards, Hargreaves stepped forward about 10 meters, and under the double-team of two defenders, he passed the ball accurately to the middle.

There's Barak!

Ballack is a late bloomer. In 2002, when he joined Bayern at the age of 26, his performance has been widely questioned by fans. It was not until now that he was recognized by the club and fans.

So many years of hard work have brought Ballack incomparably rich experience and fierce temperament. After receiving the ball, he made a two-pass cooperation with Ze Roberto and directly shook off the sticky Frank Lampard. Facing Ricardo Carvalho's interception, he suddenly started and forced his way past the opponent using his 190cm tall body!

He succeeded, and Carvalho was helplessly left behind.

After dribbling the ball from the left to the baseline, Ballack turned around to stop the ball, changed direction with a big foot, once again shook off Carvalho who wanted to steal the ball, found space and passed the ball to the middle.

There were not many people in the Chelsea penalty area, so Salihamidzic got the chance, he jumped up and headed the ball, but the ball was punched out by goalkeeper Thomas. At this time, the penalty area was in chaos, and the defensive players were extremely careful. In the end, Terry kicked the ball out of the penalty area, but it fell to Ballack's feet again.

Ballack faced the ball without hesitation and kicked it!

The football hit defender William Gallas and changed direction and bounced towards the left corner of the goal!

At the critical moment, goalkeeper Thomas Clark caught the ball with his hand and it hit the post and flew out of the bottom line, ending Bayern's surprise attack.

"Michael Ballack!!!"

"Barak!! Barak!! Barak!! Barak!!"

This attack fully demonstrated Ballack's personal ability. The strength displayed by the 29-year-old German man is indeed extraordinary. As soon as the attack ended, the Bayern fans in the entire audience shouted his name excitedly.

Although it was a pity that the ball did not go in, Bayern fans believed that under this situation, Bayern would score a goal soon.

In the Bayern coaching booth, coach Felix Magath was also very satisfied with this attack. In his eyes, there was more than one Ballack. The performance of Owen Hargreaves who initiated the attack was also remarkable. If he had not taken the lead in leading the attack, Ballack would have no chance to perform.

Although Magath only took over as coach of Bayern at the beginning of the season, he now knows the team very well. To make an analogy, Ballack is the general charging into battle on the football field, who is brave but lacks the overall view.

In this regard, Hargreaves is stronger, and the young player is only 24 years old this year. Although his personal ability needs to be improved, there is still a lot of room for development.

Thinking of this, Magath couldn't help but turn his head and look at the Chelsea player wearing a black jersey on the court - Frank Lampard.

Before Wang Li joined Chelsea, Lampard had always been the team's commander. As a front midfielder, his individual abilities were slightly insufficient, but his exceptional overall view, superior defensive ability, and precise passing made him thrive in the position of defensive midfielder. As a defensive midfielder, he was still the initiator of the team's attack.

What Bayern Munich lacks now is such players.

Ballack, Hargreaves, Frings and others are all not suitable to be the core of the team. They rely more on their personal abilities and fighting spirit in the game. In this case, Magath only uses the team's tactics to force them together and make the team a whole.

German football has always been like this. When such a team encounters an opponent weaker than itself, it will often win with a large score, but when it encounters a stronger team, it often becomes powerless and can only surrender.

This is the consequence of not having a team commander. Magath knows that the German football atmosphere is simply not capable of cultivating such talents.

But for this game, after watching the attack just now, Magath felt that victory would not be a problem.

Now, the team has completed the exploratory stage. After the players understand their opponents, as long as the team really gets going, they will be motivated both in offense and defense. A machine will always be more powerful than individual parts. In Magath's eyes, Chelsea relies more on the personal abilities of several players, but is no match for Bayern.

While Magath was thinking, the game continued.

In the 24th minute, Bayern Munich launched another attack. Ballack and Ze Robert set off a speed storm on the wing. Accurate passes and quick dives allowed the ball to quickly reach the baseline. After that, Ballack turned towards the penalty area, and Ze Robert took the ball to the baseline and made a cross.

Ballack, who had just entered the penalty area, happened to run to the place where the ball landed. His height of 190cm gave him an innate advantage in the penalty area. He suddenly jumped up and headed the ball directly. The short Makelele next to him was helpless!

This time the header was powerful enough, but the angle was not tricky. Goalkeeper Thomas easily punched the ball out with both fists, but the ball fell into the feet of Bayern players again.

Guerrero got the ball. The 20-year-old striker was a substitute for Bayern and had only played 10 times throughout the season, so his ability was questionable.

This time, Guerrero might have been too excited about participating in the Champions League semi-final. He chose to take a long shot from 25 meters away from the goal. The ball was completely powerless and was kicked back by captain John Terry before it reached the goal.

The football fell near the left center line.

Wang Li was in the center circle, but his position was a bit far from where the ball would land. But when he had the chance, he still ran after the ball.

Bayern's central defender R. Kovac jumped up and stopped the ball with his chest. He took a step forward and kicked the ball to Frings.

"careful!"

Behind Kovac, his teammate Lucio shouted. Kovac only saw a dark shadow coming towards him, and then the ball under his feet disappeared. He swung his right foot but missed the ball, and his body fell backwards on the grass due to inertia. After he supported himself from the grass with his left hand with a grin, he noticed that it was the opponent's No. 21 player who snatched the ball from him. But at this time, he was already more than 5 meters behind, and it was too late for him to stand up and chase back.

After Wang Li grabbed the ball, Lucio stuck close to him.

Lucio, who is 1.88 meters tall, has excellent physical fitness. His jumping, explosive power and speed are all amazing. Even forward players find it difficult to match him in physical fitness. Lucio, who has both European tactical qualities and South American talents, makes full use of his physical advantages. He can always keep the opponent's key players in check during the game, and from time to time he will create amazing works.

As a member of the 2002 Brazil World Cup champion team, Lucio is the mainstay of Bayern Munich's backcourt. It is no exaggeration to say that he is the strongest central defender in the Bundesliga.

When Wang Li was stuck by Lucio, he wanted to shake him off with his speed but couldn't, and swaying back and forth seemed to have no effect on the big man next to him. When he was helplessly trying to force a change of direction, two other Bayern defenders, Sagnol and Lizarazu, also surrounded him. The three of them formed a circle in front, and with no space left, Wang Li could only stop the ball and then pass it back to his teammate.

Coming up behind him was Joe Cole.

But at this time, Hargreaves was running back to defense beside him. When Wang Li passed the ball, Hargreaves reacted and immediately stepped forward to steal the ball. Joe Cole received the ball in a hurry and stopped a little too far, so it was directly snatched back by the opponent.

Taking advantage of this counter-attack opportunity, the Bayern players reacted and immediately continued to attack.

At this time, Chelsea's backcourt was a little chaotic. The ball was just at Wang Li's feet, and many people were running forward desperately to find opportunities, but in the blink of an eye, the ball was at Bayern's feet again. They wanted to re-position themselves to defend, but it was too late. The football was passed several times by Bayern players and finally reached the feet of striker Guerrero.

Guerrero had missed a shot just now, and he was frustrated, but this time he was very steady. After dodging Terry's hook, he passed the ball to Salihamidzic who was in a good position nearby.

Salihamidzic, who is not tall, has excellent explosive power and speed. He is the nightmare of any opponent's left-back. Bayern fans also affectionately gave him the nickname "Angel Wings". Even Cruyff said: "Hassan is one of the best forwards in the world."

As the first striker of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Salihamidzic has excellent shooting ability. After receiving the pass from Guerrero, he instantly started to shake off Carvalho next to him, and then volleyed the ball accurately into the dead corner of the goal.

Thomas was powerless to do anything about this close-range shot.

Referee Temenk blew the whistle to signal a valid goal, the score became 1:0, and Bayern scored the first goal.

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