Chapter 401: A Different Kind of Marathon Competition
Before the game, Bayern Munich had a firm attitude. They repeatedly held press conferences to say that 3 goals was not an insurmountable gap. The team was confident that they could turn the disadvantage around at Stamford Bridge and would work hard for any hope of advancement.
All Bayern players also showed a high morale, which made Bayern fans regain confidence in the game. They all expected Bayern to create a miracle, complete a big comeback and defeat Chelsea to advance to the Champions League final. If Bayern can accomplish this difficult task, then the championship is almost in the bag.
Fans all hope that Bayern can achieve greater success and strive to bring the team to a higher level.
"We lost 3 goals in the last game, and we need to score at least 4 goals in this game to enter the final, which is indeed difficult. But it is not impossible, and we will work hard to strive for every hope of victory. In the history of football, there are many teams that have completed a big comeback, and Bayern will also strive to do this. We have the confidence and ability to do it."
On the official website of Bayern Mourinho, there is a message that constantly encourages the players. This has allowed many players to regain their confidence, and the fans have also begun to pay attention to the game again. They hope to see a Bayern with an enterprising spirit and hard work. This must be a brand new Bayern.
After losing 2:5 to Chelsea at the Olympic Stadium, the atmosphere at Bayern has been like this. The whole team seems to have learned a lesson and is very united. What the media and fans have seen is the spirit of striving for progress, which makes everyone feel that Bayern still has some hope---
As long as you work hard, there is hope, right?
Even though we were 3 goals behind, even though it was an away game, there was still hope of winning.
As long as there is hope, there is motivation
Therefore, there were many Bayern fans who came from Germany to watch the game. At 12 noon, there were already many fans wearing Bayern jerseys at the entrance of Stamford Bridge. They gathered together, holding props to cheer for Bayern, and it seemed that they were quite competitive with Chelsea fans in terms of momentum.
Unfortunately, the outside is outside and the inside is inside
Even if all the fans in Munich were moved to London, there are so many seats at Stamford Bridge, and most of the rights to sell tickets are in the hands of Chelsea. Will they sell so many tickets to Bayern fans? ---
The answer is no.
In fact, the total number of tickets held by all Bayern fans is less than 2,000, which is not even one twentieth of that of the Blues fans.
For this reason, Bayern even had staff specifically responsible for communicating with fans to report the situation to UEFA, but this kind of thing is simply impossible to explain clearly. A Chelsea spokesperson said, "The tickets were sold too quickly, and thousands of them were bought by someone claiming to be a Bayern fan." This also made UEFA helpless. If they really intervened in the investigation, it would simply be a loss. Even if Chelsea sold fewer tickets to Bayern, it was human nature and reasonable.
Although the European Federation has relevant regulations, even if the investigation results come out and it is found that Chelsea is responsible, they will just be fined. This small amount of money is not worth the fuss.
As a result, only less than 1,800 Bayern fans were able to enter Stamford Bridge, which was dwarfed by the nearly 40,000 Chelsea fans. This enriched the scalpers who bought more tickets outside the stadium. The original 68 pounds of Champions League semi-final tickets have been raised to more than 300 pounds by them. Even so, the supply still cannot meet the demand. It is even said that a Bayern fan who came with the team even spent 1,500 pounds to buy a ticket from a Chelsea fan.
More than two hours before the game started, players from both teams, led by their coaches, rushed to the stadium to adapt to the venue.
Chelsea players were already very familiar with the field, so they just did some relaxing exercises on the field, laughing and joking with each other, which made the atmosphere very lively. Bayern's half was completely different, with every player working hard on adaptive training, and they were very serious about their training. Several players practiced passing the ball to each other, as if a real game had just begun.
The difference in performance between the two teams' players made it obvious to the fans who had just entered the stadium that the two teams had completely different mentalities.
Faced with this situation, the Blues were delighted, they felt that the team could play better if they relaxed. In fact, before the start of the game, Chelsea rarely looked serious. Their lively atmosphere could make the players more stable in mentality and enter the game state earlier without being nervous.
On the other hand, Bayern fans think that Chelsea is very arrogant. They look down on Bayern Munich who came to Stamford Bridge. However, they do not shout angrily or anything. Instead, they hope that this kind of "arrogance" will continue. Only when the opponent is careless, Bayern will have a better chance of turning the tables.
Before the half-hour adaptive training was over, Chelsea players walked towards the locker room in twos and threes. When Chelsea's half was over, not even one Bayern player left. This difference in seriousness made the German reporters who entered the scene happy and they immediately took pictures of it. This was evidence of Chelsea's carelessness.
If Bayern can make a comeback after the game, then this evidence will become the basis for them to mock Chelsea and England's arrogance. Of course, if Chelsea wins smoothly, then this video and photos can be discarded directly.
In the locker room before the game, the team's head coach Jose Mourinho's expression was not as relaxed as the players. He looked very serious and kept reminding the players in the locker room to be careful and not to be careless. On the tactical level, he did not say much and only briefly mentioned defense.
Finally, Mourinho concluded: "...you must pay attention to Bayern's attack. Their Ballack, Hargreaves and even Frings may become the initiators of the attack. Lucio and R. Kovac in the backcourt may also participate in the attack."
"In terms of defense, we should focus on the middle. The opponent's midfielder Ballack is very strong, so we must be careful of his headers. They are likely to use their high altitude advantage to attack with high crosses. My requirement is to guard the penalty area, retreat the formation, shrink the defense line, and give the middle area to the opponent. Our focus is on defense, and we must do a good job of defense. We have a 3-goal advantage in our hands, so don't rush to score a goal, as that will give the opponent a chance."
Seeing the serious expressions of the players around him, Mourinho nodded and continued: "Alan, when you have the chance, dribble the ball more. In this game, we are mainly defensive, and the offense depends on you. Alkin, you should also look for opportunities to move forward from the left. In this game, the team's offense is mainly in the middle and left, so you must be fast when attacking."
"...Also, Alan, you need to move forward a little more, don't always come back to participate in defense, and trust your teammates..."
Before leaving the locker room, Mourinho said a few words to Wang Li, emphasizing his role. Even if he couldn't get the ball, he was a deterrent to Bayern. If he returned to the backcourt to defend, it would definitely be a loss.
Wang Li was also very clear about this, so he just nodded in understanding in response.
In fact, before the game, although Wang Li also considered a lot, the focus was still on the atmosphere within the team, but he did not do any analysis on the game. Of course, most of these are the work of the head coach, he is just a player, but it is undeniable that, as Bayern said, they still have the possibility of a comeback. Although the possibility is very small, Wang Li does not want this to happen, otherwise Chelsea will definitely be nailed to the cross, and his result will not be too good.
This was Wang Li's first time participating in the UEFA Champions League, a competition for the highest honor among European clubs. He didn't want to lose the trophy due to a momentary negligence, so he listened to Mourinho's words very seriously.
In the away team's dressing room, head coach Magath was constantly encouraging the players' morale. In fact, there was no point in doing anything else. No matter what tactics were used, Bayern players had to fight hard to advance. From the first minute of the game until the end, only continuous attacking could help the team advance.
As for defense, that needs to be considered only after the score is tied. However, Chelsea has scored 5 goals away from home, and the goal advantage is too big. They have to catch up with at least 4 goals before they can consider defense.
They have no choice but to fight to the death
…………
The players from both teams quickly gathered in the player tunnel.
When the game just started, Wang Li turned around and looked at the fans' stands around him. The atmosphere of Stamford Bridge today was completely different from that of the previous league game. The entire stadium was completely covered in blue, and there was only a small corner with a pitiful thousand or so Bayern fans. Seeing this situation, Wang Li felt very bored.
As more and more games were played, he felt that some evil potential in his heart had erupted. Before each game, he liked to provoke the fans. Scoring goals in the anger of others and trampling on the dignity of others would cheer him up.
But now, the entire stadium was filled with Blues fans, and the weak cheers and shouts from Bayern fans were drowned out without causing any waves. If he went to provoke the fans, he would probably be greeted with crazy cheers instead of anger.
Although Wang Li was somewhat pleased with this, and his reputation in London, he also found it somewhat boring. Such a competition was too advantageous and seemed to have no challenge at all.
After the game started, in accordance with the head coach's tactical thinking, Wang Li kept lingering near the middle, running back and forth. This was to look for opportunities and also to tie up Bayern's backcourt and prevent them from attacking with all their strength.
But he didn't expect that his actions would make Bayern's defenders furious, and they had to run with him, which made Lucio and Sagnol, who were responsible for defending him closely throughout the game, exhausted and out of breath before 10 minutes had passed. But Wang Li's running with luck and inner strength did not require much physical strength as long as he did not sprint significantly.
The gap between the two sides is obvious at a glance.
This scene was fully seen by the two head coaches on the sidelines. Mourinho smiled softly, with a mocking smile on his lips, while on the other side, Bayern coach Felix Magath seemed helpless. Before the game, he ordered Lucio and the other man to defend Wang Li closely throughout the court. He felt that only in this way could they be foolproof. If they conceded a goal to this black-haired boy, Bayern would find it difficult to advance to the final, and it would even be difficult to save face.
But the current situation is that the players under his command are not in good physical condition, and the black-haired boy on the field seems to have endless physical energy. The two sides competed with each other and Bayern was completely defeated.
So in desperation, seeing that the game had entered the 15th minute and Lucio and the other player could hardly keep up, Magath stood on the sidelines and quickly ordered R. Kovac and Lizarazu to replace the above two players to defend Wang Li.
In this situation, Bayern's backcourt was messed up by Wang Li who didn't get the ball. The four defenders were unable to support. Bayern's attack was launched vigorously every time, but each time it was in vain. But a blessing in disguise, when the offense was weak, the defense was much stronger. Chelsea fought back several times but couldn't find any opportunities.
Wang Li was still running around the midfield. There was no particular pattern to his movements. He just ran back and forth following the position of the football, looking for the best position to receive the ball. This way, as long as a Chelsea player got the ball, his position would ensure that his teammates could pass the ball easily.
Faced with this situation, Bayern's defenders did not fail to run closely.
"Alan, look at Alan, it's incredible that he's still running. I think since the start of the game, although he didn't get the ball a few times, most fans' eyes and many TV screens have been watching him from time to time."
At this time, taking advantage of the break when the ball went out of bounds, Graham could not help but comment: "We can see that although Chelsea's offense seemed weak in this game and Allen rarely got the ball, the front and back courts were equally exciting. Allen's constant running made the Bayern players helpless. In order to prevent accidents, they could only run with him. At the beginning of the game, Lucio and Sagnol followed him, but now they have been replaced by R. Kovac and Lizarazu. We can see that Lizarazu seems to be a little out of breath following behind. Oh~~~, he stopped, and his face looked helpless. Oh my God, Allen has been running from the beginning to now. I am really worried about his physical fitness, but it seems that he has no problem. Really..."
By the 20th minute of the game, almost half of the fans in the stadium had their eyes fixed on Wang Li. They didn't care about Chelsea's defense in the first half. The team had a three-goal advantage, so it didn't matter even if Bayern scored a goal. Instead, Bayern's 'marathon' game in the first half was more eye-catching.
Wang Li didn't know this, but he was still running, but the situation was different now.
When Wang Li found that the two Bayern players following him were running all the time, he decided to keep running and compete in physical strength. As long as he could use up the physical energy of these Bayern defenders, it would be much easier for Chelsea to counterattack. This is what he thought and he kept doing it.
…………
At this time, Magath, the coach sitting in the Bayern coaching seat, saw the situation in Bayern's backcourt and couldn't help but swear. In the last match against Chelsea, he hadn't realized that this black-haired boy's physical fitness was so abnormal. Now the game was almost in the 30th minute, and this black-haired boy was still running, and the speed was even faster than a marathon.
Not only that, running on the football field is not a marathon-like gradual and rhythmic running. Wang Li was running around in the field, sometimes left, sometimes right, sometimes stopping and sometimes sprinting quickly. This is an extremely energy-consuming sport. At least just now Lucio and the other two were already exhausted and out of breath, and now it seems that the physical fitness of R. Kovac and the other two seems to be declining rapidly, which makes Magath feel incredible.
Judging from the face of the black-haired boy, he didn't seem to have consumed much physical energy. Could it be that he has twice as much physical energy as the Bayern players? How is that possible?
Magath would never believe such a thing. In his opinion, Wang Li on the field was just pretending. 'Since you want to run, we will follow you. As long as we tire you out, we can attack freely.' This is what he thought in his heart and what he did.
So, Lucio and the other man soon replaced R. Kovac to defend Wang Li. Magath's intention was to let them follow Wang Li and see who would run out of energy first.
For other players, the main battlefield was still in Chelsea's half. Although Bayern's attack declined a bit without the support of the backcourt, it was still very sharp. Chelsea had to defend with all their strength to keep the goal.
In the 30th minute of the game, Bayern's attack finally paid off. Hargreaves passed the ball straight into the penalty area with one foot left and right, giving striker Salihamidzic a chance. The latter received the ball, turned around and shot. Thomas Clark, who was blocked by the defenders, had no time to react and the ball had already entered the net.
Bayern scored a goal.
But at this time, apart from more than 1,000 Bayern fans, few people cared about Bayern's goals. The Blues fans were more concerned about the track and field competition between Wang Li and Bayern's defenders.
When Bayern was celebrating, at least on the surface, Wang Li's face didn't change at all, and he didn't seem to have consumed much energy. On the other hand, the same was not true for the Bayern defenders. The four defenders looked like they had just played a whole game, and their bodies were covered in sweat. The weather in England in May was not too hot, so this situation could only be attributed to the fact that they had consumed too much energy.
"Allen Allen Allen"
"St. Allen the Undying"
"That's amazing, Bayern boys, you still want to compete with Allen in physical strength, haha, you are overestimating your own abilities"
…
No one booed Bayern's goal, and the cheers coming from the audience were still about Wang Li. This scene made the foreign reporters present feel incredible, but the FA officials and English reporters looked as if it was a matter of course.
If a survey is conducted now on who is the most influential person in London, it is estimated that 60 percent of the respondents will vote for Wang Li, and the British Prime Minister and the Queen will have to stand aside. Their influence among the public cannot be compared with that of Wang Li, who has been the hottest figure in the world for a season.
Especially at Stamford Bridge.
Even if Bayern scored, what would it matter? Chelsea fans felt that this game was just a gimmick, and the club's stars were the focus, and Wang Li was the top priority.
Seeing Wang Li's unexpected "marathon" with the Bayern defender just now made the fans excited. As for Bayern's goal, who would care?
…………
PS: Thank you all for your continued support. Xiao X recently published a new book called "Holding the Book of Life and Death", a fantasy novel. I feel it is well written. The book number is: 2059077. If you are interested, you can click on it and take a look.
As for the current book, Xiao X promises that he will continue to write it seriously, and starting a new book will not affect this book. After all, at least for me, this book is the most important.
Xiao X promises that I will never stop updating, never have a bad ending, and never abandon the story. Three 'never's'. Although my updates are not very good, at least Xiao X's update quality is still somewhat guaranteed~~~~~~