Chapter 348 Fig Leaf

When the Southampton team returned to Southampton with the honor of the first League Cup championship in the club's history and accepted the cheers of the fans in this port city, a flight from Naples, Italy back to London seemed lifeless and indescribably depressing.

This is the plane that Chelsea took on their expedition to Italy.

When they went there, everyone was full of confidence, but when they came back, they all looked like defeated roosters.

Napoli ranks sixth in Serie A this season, and Chelsea ranks fifth in the Premier League this season.

Logically speaking, the two teams are about the same.

But the problem is that Serie A is now in decline, and Premier League teams have always had certain advantages against Serie A teams. But now, they are being slaughtered 0-3 away from home. What does this mean?

This is a shame!

What a shame!

It's not only a shame for Chelsea, but also a shame for the Premier League!

Captain Terry sat in his seat with a cold face and did not speak.

Lampard, who was sitting next to him, was also silent.

The two soul figures in the team had the same expression, which made everyone feel a chill in their hearts.

Chelsea had the advantage on the field in this game. A 58 percent possession rate was enough for Chelsea to take the initiative, but problems emerged when it came to converting the advantage into shots.

Torres was closely watched by Napoli players throughout the entire game. Not only did he make no contribution, but he also wasted the opportunities that Adam Lallana had worked so hard to create time and time again.

Napoli's 3-5-2 tactics put Chelsea's midfield in trouble.

The weak midfield defense gave Napoli's offensive players the opportunity to face the defense directly time and time again.

If it weren’t for Terry and Benatia’s outstanding performance, we would have conceded more than three goals!

We lost 0-3 in the first leg away from home, and everyone knows what this means.

In the deathly silence, a loud cough woke up all the players.

Then we saw the team owner Abramovich leading the crowd into the cabin where the players were.

The Russian was followed by Granovskaia and chairman Bruce Buck.

"boss!"

"boss!"

Everyone stood up immediately, including the players.

But the shouting sounded very weak.

The Russian raised his right hand and waved it in the air a few times, wanting to say something, but no words came out.

Everyone present could feel his mood at that moment.

He is about to lose his temper!

"Who can tell me why this happened?"

Finally, he said it, but his tone was not as violent as others expected, but rather calm.

But there seemed to be a knife hidden in his words, and he wanted to cut through the fog bit by bit.

"Before the game, everyone said we could win, but why didn't we win? Instead, we lost so badly? Why?"

Abramović pointed at everyone present, enunciating each word with particular emphasis.

"Tell me, why?"

Everyone present remained silent, and many even lowered their heads.

They feel guilty!

For example, Spanish striker Torres!

Since joining Chelsea, he has been like Shevchenko before him, falling into a complete slump and unable to regain the invincible scoring momentum he had at Liverpool.

How could a striker who can't score goals but earns a high salary and is worth up to 60 million not feel guilty?

Head coach Villas-Boas looked at the players and felt that as the head coach, he should stand up at this time.

Protecting players is also one of the responsibilities of a head coach.

"Boss, we still have the next..."

But as soon as he opened his mouth, Abramovich started roaring!

"Shut the fuck up right now!"

This roar not only scared all the players in the cabin, making them look up in disbelief at Abramovich, whose expression was distorted and ferocious, but also at Boas, who was stunned by the roar.

"From now on, don't set foot in Cobham and Stamford Bridge again. I don't want to see you again!"

Abramovich pointed at Boas and continued to roar.

His voice echoed throughout the cabin.

Boas is very young, but he has been coaching for many years. He was shocked by Abramovich's roar at first, but he soon came to his senses, turned around and walked out of the cabin without saying anything.

Obviously, the moment the plane landed was the moment he left the Chelsea coaching position!

Everyone was frightened by this sudden change.

Does this mean firing the team's head coach?

It is not surprising that Villas-Boas was sacked, but the question is, who will take over the team in the future?

"I'm ashamed of you!"

Abramovich said this coldly, then turned and walked out.

The Chelsea players left in the cabin have not yet fully recovered from the shock.

Terry and Lampard were the first to react because they are the soul of the team.

No matter who Abramovich touches, he will not easily touch these two.

They also know the team's problems better than anyone else.

After all, Torres's inability to adapt did not just happen now. It already existed after he transferred here in the second half of last season.

But why, during the summer transfer window, did they try every possible means to force Drogba away?

Look at the state of the Beast in Southampton, he is enthusiastically playing a goal competition with Ibrahimovic!

Even if Drogba was sent away because he was too old, what about Sturridge?

Why can't this rising star be kept?

Everyone knows that there are problems in the midfield, but why not keep Matic?

The Serbian midfielder's performance in the Netherlands is obvious to all. Keeping him can strengthen the team's strength, so why not keep him?

If you say that you sold people, there is nothing wrong with that.

But after you sell it, you have to bring in strong reinforcements!

You just don’t!

After all, the team has come to this point because of its poor operations in the transfer market!

The players in the cabin were full of criticism, but they didn't dare to say it out loud.

Abramovich walked out of the cabin, also furious, but had nowhere to vent.

Of course he knew what the problem was, but he couldn't admit it.

He also knows that after sending away Drogba, Matic and Sturridge, Chelsea should recruit new players.

But the problem is, he has no money!

He was drained by that damn bastard Yang Huan!

Adam Lallana and Benatia cost him 70 million pounds, Toni Kroos alone cost him 60 million pounds, plus the salaries of Drogba, Sturridge and Matic.

That comes to nearly 150 million pounds!

Damn it, even if he drills for oil in Siberia faster, he can’t keep up with the speed at which he’s spending money!

Not to mention last year's summer transfers, there is no money to invest in this year's winter transfers.

There will also be no funds to invest in the next two seasons!

Yang Huan's move was not only sucking his blood, but also cutting his flesh!

But what can he do?

I could only keep regretting why I was kicked in the head by a donkey and why I lost my mind and went to make a bet with him!

"Yang Huan, sooner or later, I will strangle you to death!"

Abramovich gnashed his teeth and shouted in his heart.

…………

…………

Chelsea changes coach!

This sudden news shocked the entire European football world and even fans around the world.

Villas-Boas did not say anything to the public, and Chelsea only announced that Villas-Boas was dismissed and the position of head coach was temporarily taken over by assistant coach Di Matteo.

As Chelsea's acting head coach, Di Matteo made it clear at his first press conference.

"The team will work hard to adjust in the next half month and strive to turn the situation around in the second round of the Champions League round of 16. We believe that we will be able to beat the opponent at Stamford Bridge!"

But what is the reality?

On March 14, Chelsea welcomed Mazzarri's Napoli at Stamford Bridge.

A good cook cannot cook without rice!

Di Matteo's team still cannot get rid of the embarrassment of weak forwards.

Although the referee gave Chelsea a penalty, Lampard scored the penalty and took the lead.

But Napoli quickly equalized the score, and the two sides finally drew 1-1.

In this way, Napoli eliminated Chelsea with a total score of 4 to 1.

At the same time, in another round of 16 knockout match, Arsenal hosted AC Milan at home.

Back at home, Wenger changed his ways and reused Chamberlain, the local winger who was brought in from Southampton at a high price this season.

It was this young player who led Arsenal's counterattack.

Two assists helped Arsenal beat AC Milan 3-0 at home.

But in the end, the Italian Rossoneri still eliminated Arsenal with a total score of 4 to 3.

The Champions League has reached the round of 16, and four Premier League teams have been wiped out!

Early the next morning, almost all the authoritative newspapers in England were filled with grief.

The authoritative Times even used black and white pages to express condolences for the Premier League team's complete defeat.

What is the reason that has caused the once powerful Premier League to fall into a state of collapse where it is even worse than Serie A?

Manchester United, Chelsea and Arsenal are the strongest teams in the Premier League over the past decade.

Why did we lose so miserably?

What is going on with the Premier League?

When the news was spread through newspapers and media, the whole of Britain was suddenly filled with gloom.

Countless fans even burst into tears.

They all couldn't help but wail in their hearts.

Is English football really going to decline from now on?

Is it true that the Premier League, which claims to be the most profitable football league in the world, is no longer viable?

No, there is still a chance!

There's still a fig leaf, isn't there?

Europa League!

Aren’t Manchester United and Manchester City still in the Europa League?

Since we can’t win the Champions League, let’s just win the Europa League, at least it can cover up the shame!

As a result, countless Premier League fans turned their attention to the second round of the Europa League round of 16 knockout matches the next day.

In the first round of matches earlier, Southampton was tied 1-1 by Valencia at home, Manchester United was defeated 2-3 by Athletic Bilbao at home, and Manchester City lost 0-1 to Sporting Lisbon away.

Judging from this score, Southampton has the slimmest hope and their opponent is the strongest.

Because of the strength of the Bat Army, everyone knows that it is difficult to beat the opponent at home, let alone on the road.

Although Manchester United lost at home, given Manchester United's strength, they may still have hope in away games.

As long as Ferguson and the Red Devils can adjust themselves well, it will not be difficult to defeat Athletic Bilbao.

As for Manchester City, it is normal to lose 0-1 away from home, and the greatest hope is to reverse the opponent when returning home.

Three teams, three destinies.

Southampton has the slimmest hope of advancing, as they are a Championship team. Manchester United follows closely behind, while Manchester City has the greatest hope.

Therefore, the entire English football world began to pay attention to this round of Europa League knockout matches, which was originally not taken seriously.

There are even many fans who call on Manchester United and Manchester City to be in their best form and do their best to compete for the Europa League and stop the decline in the Premier League.

The media also paid unprecedented attention to the match between Manchester United and Manchester City, and almost all newspapers, TV stations and radio stations, big and small, sent delegations to cover the match.

Countless fans also sat in front of the TV, waiting for the latest progress of the game.