Chapter 1067: Lose to the Saints

"This is too much! This is absolutely too much!"

"They, Southampton, are simply going too far. Do they think we at Chelsea have no one?"

In the chairman's stand at Stamford Bridge, Abramovich was roaring angrily.

Beside him, club chairman Bruce Buck and CEO Granovskaia were silent.

The reason why the Russian was so furious was because he saw Southampton's lineup.

The goalkeeper is Neuer, and the back line from left to right are Luke Shaw, Nastasic, Stones and Chambers.

The midfield is a combination of Kovacic, Tielemans and Oscar, while the frontcourt is a combination of Ravel Morrison, Harry Kane and Sturridge.

Sitting on the bench are young players such as Martial, Prowse, Patrick Roberts and Halilovic.

Judging from the lineup, Southampton did use the second team, or it could even be said that it was a combination of the second team and the youth team.

Except for Neuer, no other players have ever been the main players.

The defense is relatively okay. Stones, Nastasic and Luke Shaw are all important rotation players in the Saints' defense this season and their performances are quite good. However, the midfield and frontcourt are all substitutes and youth team players.

However, if we look at the strength alone, the Saints' lineup is not bad.

Needless to say, Harry Kane is the England national team's chief center forward, forming the England national team's offensive combination with Sturridge and Ravel Morrison.

Such a lineup is only found in Saints. If it were any other Premier League team, it would at least be at the core level.

Especially Harry Kane and Sturridge, they are both players who have scored double-digit goals in consecutive Premier League seasons, which shows their strength. As for Ravelle Morrison, it is not difficult to see the level of this player from the fact that so many top teams want to poach him.

In the midfield, Kovacic is so strong that even Real Madrid favors him. Oscar is a popular international player and core of the Brazilian national team. Tielemans has just been selected for the Belgian national team and is hailed as the most anticipated midfield rookie in Europe in the next decade.

It should be said that the overall strength of the Saints' lineup is not bad.

But comparing yourself with others will only make you angry.

What made Abramovich angry was that the Saints fielded such a second and third team, but Chelsea, playing at home, had to send out all their main players and act as if they were facing a formidable enemy, as if they might not be able to defeat their opponent.

Tell me, is it depressing?

Both Granovskia and Bruce Buck knew what was going on, but neither of them dared to remind their boss.

"Kill them for me, you must kill them for me!"

Abramovich roared almost like he was going crazy.

Not to mention how important the FA Cup is to Chelsea now, Abramovich was so angry that he felt like bleeding when he thought that if he lost this game, it would be like handing over a perfect season of the Grand Slam to the Saints.

Anyone can win, except the Saints!

"Marina!"

"Boss!" Granovskia responded quickly.

If she hesitated for a moment at this time, she would be criticized.

"Tell Hiddink to win for me and beat them to death!"

"I understand!" Granovskia answered immediately, but in his heart he was secretly mourning for Hiddink.

We must win, but how?

…………

…………

As the whistle sounded, Chelsea, who took the lead in kicking off, immediately passed the ball to the backcourt.

As soon as left-back Baba Rahman received the ball, he saw Sturridge coming towards him and passed the ball forward with a long foot.

The ball was obviously going to the frontcourt to find the team's forward Mandzukic, and the pass was also very good.

But Saints' center back Nastasic got ahead of Mandzukic and with a precise positioning, he blocked the Croatian center behind him, then jumped high and cleared the long pass with a header.

This wonderful clearance won a lot of applause in Stamford Bridge.

Obviously, there are quite a few Southampton fans in this stadium tonight.

The first attack failed to pose a threat and Chelsea quickly organized a second one.

But this time, after entering Southampton's 30-meter area, the middle route was blocked and they had to pass to the right.

Tielemans faced Chelsea midfielder Calhanoglu in the right side of the penalty area. He calmly intercepted the ball, but failed to pass it and snatched the ball from Calhanoglu's feet.

After successfully intercepting the ball, Tielemans immediately passed the ball to Kovacic.

Kovacic dribbled the ball forward, passed it to the left, and passed it to Luke Shaw who came in from behind, and then passed it to Ravel Morrison. Facing Ivanovic, he made a clever and realistic feint, shook off Ivanovic, and then Ravel Morrison made a cross.

The ball quickly fell into the penalty area, Harry Kane rushed over and headed the ball into the goal with an effortless header.

Begovic flew to catch the ball, barely defusing Southampton's attack.

Although the Saints' first attack resulted in a threatening shot, they failed to seize the opportunity, but it was enough to make everyone in Chelsea break out in a cold sweat.

"This group of young Saints players are using their performance on the field to tell their opponents not to be careless, we are not to be trifled with!"

The ESPN TV commentator joked with a smile.

After the restart, Begovic sent a goal kick, but the ball soon fell into the Saints' feet.

Southampton players pressed forward and began to attack Chelsea.

"Although the Saints played with a substitute lineup, their overall strength was very strong, and the team's tactical style was basically consistent with the main team. The players had strong execution, which caused Chelsea a lot of trouble."

"But under Hiddink's coaching, Chelsea's style of play has also tended to be more stable. Once they lose the ball, they choose to retreat immediately without dragging their feet or considering counterattacking on the spot. Although this is a bit conservative, it can help Chelsea achieve better results."

"The Saints played very patiently, Tielemans was in the defensive midfielder position, and he looked like a general. Although he is a defensive midfielder, he has very fine skills, excellent physical fitness, experienced defense, and a strong sense of position. He is indeed a rare good embryo and has been selected for the Belgian national team."

As he was speaking, Tielemans and Oscar cooperated again and teamed up to snatch the ball from Chelsea.

"Hey, Southampton steals the ball again, Oscar passes it to Tielemans."

“Without hesitation, Tielemans quickly moved to the left wing and passed it to Luke Shaw.”

"It can be seen that Southampton's attitude in this game is very determined, that is, to play on the left and let Ravel Morrison deal with Ivanovic. Ancelotti's return to Stamford Bridge is very targeted."

"Let's take a look at the Saints' offense this time."

"Okay, Luke Shaw passes to Ravel Morrison."

“Morrison got the ball on the wing and tried to break through Ivanovic again, but this time Ivanovic had learned his lesson and was not fooled by him. No chance, pass back to Luke Shaw.”

"Luke Shaw gets the ball, ah, cross it in!"

"Inside the penalty area... at the back post..."

"Good chance, the ball goes in!!!"

"Sturridge, Sturridge!"

"In the eighth minute, Sturridge opened the Chelsea goal first. Luke Shaw made a precise cross from the left, and Sturridge cut in from the right rib and headed the ball into the goal!"

“One to zero!”

"We saw Sturridge was so excited that he ran out of the stadium and danced under the main stand at Stamford Bridge to celebrate another goal at Stamford Bridge."

"This player, who was sent to Southampton by Chelsea, performed very well every time he faced Chelsea. He was full of desire to play and he always scored goals."

"We don't know what Abramovich is feeling at this moment, but we can definitely guess that he must be feeling very bad. Will he regret it?"

"We sent Sturridge to Southampton, but now he is the main striker of the England national team and has scored many goals. Compared with Falcao and Icardi, who were brought in by Chelsea with a lot of money, giving up Sturridge is like picking up sesame seeds and losing watermelons. The gain does not make up for the loss!"

In front of ESPN's live camera, Abramovich looked a little disappointed, but did not react too much.

Because he knew that the camera would definitely capture his reaction at this time, so he had to remain a gentleman.

But when he saw Sturridge suddenly rush to the front of the chairman's stand and dance to celebrate his goal, his face suddenly changed color and the anger in his heart could no longer be suppressed.

"What the hell, what the hell, what does this bastard want to do? What is he trying to show off?"

Abramovich was almost roaring with anger. He almost had the urge to take off his clothes and rush onto the court to fight with Sturridge.

Ever since he became successful, no one has dared to show off in front of him like this. This is simply a slap in his face. How could he endure this?

"What the hell are these bastards doing? When they were negotiating their salaries, they were all as cunning as ghosts, but when they were on the court, they were beaten so hard that they dared not fight back. What kind of professional players are they? Professional shit!"

Abramovich was so angry that he stood up from his seat and could no longer sit still.

He didn't even want to watch this kind of game.

Watching the boss's back as he left angrily, Bruce Buck and Granovskia looked at each other, as if they saw the helplessness in each other's eyes.

The boss is too impatient!

How can it be so simple and easy to rebuild a team?

Apart from anything else, doesn’t Southampton’s achievements today all rely on the hard work Yang Huan has put in over the past six years?

How is it possible to catch up with Southampton in a short time?

Since you can't catch up, you have to be prepared to get beaten, right?

Is it possible to compare everything with Southampton?

They have Messi, Hazard, and Suarez. Even in the substitute lineup, there are Brazilian and England internationals. But what about Chelsea?

Today, Chelsea is not only having trouble choosing head coaches, but also has problems recruiting players.

Besides, there are many wealthy teams in European football now, and the value of better players has risen sharply.

Your boss is unwilling to invest but just wants the team to achieve results. How is this possible?

At Chelsea right now, the boss is eager for quick success, the head coach is in a difficult position, the players are in a difficult position, and even the management is in a difficult position.

Who says it’s not?

Just as Bruce Buck and Granovskia were exchanging tacit glances, on the field, Southampton II team once again stole the ball from Chelsea who had restarted the game and launched another counterattack.