Football Feast, Starting From the Acquisition of European Clubs

   Chapter 144 It's too late to regret

  Although the rotation plan has been determined, Chen Ran sent all the main force on the back line, except for Southgate, who was too old and physically unable to support.

   In addition, there is good news for Crystal Palace.

   That is, Simeone and Tony, who were injured before, are now ready to play.

   Center Tony

   Left midfielder Evra, right midfielder Alves

   Midfielder Mascherano, Midfielder Cesc Fabregas, Midfielder Simeone

  Left-back Chiellini, center-back Vidic, center-back Thiago Silva, right-back Maicon

   Goalkeeper Cech

   On the Chelsea side, Mourinho waited for the rest, and naturally he was the main force.

   Left winger Robben, center Drogba, right winger Duff

   MF Makelele, MF Lampard, MF Thiago

  Left-back Bridge, center-back Carvalho, center-back Terry, right-back Ferreira

   Goalkeeper Cudicini

   As soon as the game started, Chelsea were on the line. The offense went from wave to wave, without giving the Crystal Palace players any chance to breathe.

   Mourinho seems to want to take advantage of the poor physical condition of the Crystal Palace players and eat the opponent in one bite.

  According to Chen Ran's tactical arrangement, all Crystal Palace players, except Tony, all shrunk in their own half.

   And the two full-backs Evra and Alves, Chen Ran also specially instructed them not to think about attacking, their task today is to help Chiellini and Maicon in defense.

   As a result, one of the two teams pressed the attack in an all-round way, and the other took the initiative to shrink the defense, and this game suddenly became a standard half-court offense and defense drill.

   "I didn't expect it. That Chinese would actually adopt such a conservative tactic today."

  Because of the importance of this game, many media reporters gathered in the stands. It is also surprising to see the situation of the two teams on the field.

   "Hehe, who made Crystal Palace's schedule not good. I heard that they just flew back from Lisbon in Portugal yesterday, and they are going to play Chelsea today. What can you do if you are the head coach?"

   "Yeah, after Chelsea played the game against Barcelona, ​​they had a full ten days of rest and were waiting to play the Crystal Palace game."

   "Tsk tsk, it seems that the FA really takes care of that Chinese man."

   "Hey, for this new thorn, of course the FA has to hit it first."

   "Isn't the Russian boss of Chelsea also new?"

   "You don't understand that. Although the Russian upstart from Chelsea is also a newcomer, the CEO Peter Kenyon he recruited is a veteran."

   "That's right. When Peter Kenyon was the CEO of Manchester United, all aspects of the relationship were maintained very well. Everyone would not be too embarrassed by Chelsea for his face."

"Look at Crystal Palace again, that Chinese man used his friend and classmate Stephen, who has no experience in football club management, as CEO. Rookie and rookie, no one understands the rules. You said, who the FA doesn't beat them to beat? "

   "To be honest, it is quite remarkable that the Chinese people can bring the Crystal Palace to this point."

   "Cough, okay, you've talked too much. Watch the game, watch the game."

  The reporters in the stands can chat easily, but Chen Ran, who is standing on the sidelines, feels like his life is like a year now.

   Every wave of Chelsea's offensive is like a battering ram constantly hitting the gate of Crystal Palace.

  Chen Ran stood on the sidelines and kept loudly reminding the players on the field to help defend and fill up. Before the first half of the game was over, his voice was hoarse.

  10 minutes, 20 minutes, 30 minutes

  Chen Ran kept looking at his watch, really hoped that the referee would blow the whistle for the end of the first half as soon as possible.

   On the other hand, Mourinho has also changed from calm and confident at the beginning of the game to a gloomy face now, as if someone owes him money and has not paid it back.

   Mourinho did not expect that the willpower of Crystal Palace players is so tenacious.

   More than half of Crystal Palace's players are substitutes. And even those main players are already exhausted.

   But even so, after more than half an hour of the game, Chelsea still failed to break the Crystal Palace goal.

   In Mourinho's view, this was a complete failure.

   snorted coldly, and Mourinho, who was very upset, returned to the bench and sat down.

  The first half seems to be like this, wait until halftime to teach these incompetent guys a good lesson.

   Seeing the gloomy expression on the head coach's face, the Chelsea bench, which had a relaxed atmosphere at first, was suddenly silent, and no one dared to speak.

   "Beep!"

   The referee finally blew the whistle for the end of the first half of the game. Chen Ran let out a long breath, wiped the sweat from his forehead, picked up a bottle of mineral water on the ground, and poured it violently.

   Intermission, Crystal Palace dressing room.

  Chen Ran was also moved when he saw the sweaty team members.

   He knew that these guys really tried their best.

   "Guys, you played very well in the first half. Chelsea attacked for 45 minutes and couldn't take advantage of you. You are the best!"

   "Because of the schedule, I know that everyone is very tired now. However, the outcome of this game is related to whether we can guarantee the Premier League championship this season."

   "So, for the sake of the championship, I hope everyone will grit their teeth and persevere. As long as Chelsea does not narrow the points gap with us, it will be a victory. Do you have any confidence?"

"Have!"

"must have!"

   "Don't worry, boss, we will definitely be able to press Chelsea down."

   "Under your body? What do you want to do?"

   "Haha, do whatever you want."

"Ha ha ha ha."

   Chen Ran was relieved to see that although the team members were physically tired, their mental state was still good.

   At the end of halftime, neither team made any substitutions.

  At the beginning of the second half, Chelsea continued the offensive in the first half.

   Probably because Mourinho got angry at half-time, Chelsea's players were more engaged than in the first half.

   As the game time went on, the lack of physical fitness of Crystal Palace players gradually emerged.

  Those substitutes are fine, but the main players on the back line are now running more and more heavy.

  Chen Ran lowered his head and glanced at his watch, now the game has been underway for less than 60 minutes.

   But I have to make adjustments myself, or something will definitely happen.

After getting the idea, Chen Ran looked back at the bench, gritted his teeth, and called Pepe up.

   "Kepler, after you come on the court, take over from Cesc's position to play the midfielder, understand?"

   "Okay, boss."

  Pepe was stunned for a moment. His main position was the central defender, and the midfielder was only his occasional cameo position. How could the boss let him play the midfielder?

   However, he did not hesitate and immediately agreed.

   No matter what you do, you can finally play the game. Does it matter which position you play?

  Chen Ran couldn't do anything either. In such an important game, he didn't dare to put Pepe's ticking time bomb in his penalty area.

   In case this guy gets a fever and comes with a red dot package, then Chen Ran really won't have time to cry.

   Now put Pepe in the position of the midfielder, even if he fouls a lot, he is still outside the penalty area anyway, and there is still a chance to remedy.

After    was replaced by Pepe, a vigorous new force, the other defenders of Crystal Palace could finally breathe a sigh of relief.

   As for Cesc Fabregas, no one organized the attack?

  Chen Ran can't take care of that much anymore.

   As for why not replace Tony who was doing nothing in front of him?

   Chen Ran did this just to hold back Chelsea's two central defenders, so that Chelsea wouldn't dare to overwhelm the half-court.

   Seeing that Chelsea couldn't attack for a long time, Mourinho on the other side couldn't sit still.

   Seeing Chen Ran continue to increase Crystal Palace's defensive strength, Mourinho also called up Crouch, who had just joined during the winter transfer period, from the bench.

   "Peter, after you played, you formed a double center with Didier, and the team is now starting to play the double tower tactic. You came from Crystal Palace, and you should be familiar with this tactic."

   "Perform well and score goals. Shut up those who question your worth of 20 million euros."

   Having said that, Mourinho patted Crouch on the back heavily and pushed him into the substitution area.

   Following behind the fourth official, Crouch, who was waiting for the dead ball to play, had mixed feelings in his heart.

   He hasn't had a good time since arriving at Chelsea during the winter transfer window.

   Because Drogba firmly occupies the position of the main striker, and Mourinho's tactics use only one center.

   Therefore, it is even more difficult for other forwards to get the chance to play.

  For example, Goodjohnsen and others have to frequently make cameos as wingers as substitutes for Robben and Duff.

   Now, due to the arrival of Crouch, the original forwards who had few chances to play, suddenly became less.

   One can imagine how the original Mutu, Kežman and Goodjohnsen would have treated Crouch.

   That is, because Crouch is a native of England, these guys dare not do anything excessive.

   But forming gangs and deliberately estranged was enough to make Crouch uncomfortable.

   That's right, more money is earned.

   But Crouch couldn't help but start to miss his days at Crystal Palace.

  Although he is also a substitute, because Crystal Palace only has two serious forwards, he and Tony, so Crouch has many opportunities to play.

   And the atmosphere in the Crystal Palace team is also very harmonious, there are not so many bad infighting between the players.

   For a moment, looking at the familiar faces on the field, Crouch couldn't help but feel a little regret.

  My move to Chelsea this time, is it really wrong?

   "Beep!"

   At this time, there was a chance of a dead ball on the court. The referee pointed to the side of the court and signaled the start of substitution.

  According to Mourinho's arrangement, Crouch replaced midfielder Thiago, and Chelsea changed to 442.

   Forget it, it's too late to regret it now.

   Still perform well and try to gain a firm foothold at Chelsea.

  Crouch hugged Thiago, who was on the scene, and said to himself in his heart: There is no going back.

   Seeing Crouch running into their penalty area, the Crystal Palace players were also very mixed.

   In the past, everyone had a good relationship, but now they have to fight each other.

   Forget it, this is professional football.

  Crouch, I'm sorry, we won't be polite to you.

   Seeing Mourinho replace Crouch, Chen Ran frowned.

   In the past, he always used the double-tower tactics to bully others, but now it is his turn to be dealt with by Mourinho with the double-tower tactics. Really come out to mix, one day I have to pay it back.

  Vidic is now in charge of marking Drogba, so we can only send Thiago Silva to guard Crouch.

   But Thiago Silva is only 183cm tall. It is a bit reluctant to ask him to compete for the header with Crouch, who is 201cm tall.

   And now Thiago Silva is still relatively immature, and there are not so many tricks to deal with this situation.

   No, we have to find a way.

   "Javier!"

   Taking advantage of the dead ball, Chen Ran called Mascherano to the sidelines.

   "From now on, your position is no longer a defensive midfielder, but a free man in the backcourt."

   "The difference in height between Thiago Silva and Crouch is too big. When they are fighting for a header, you have to go over and interfere with Crouch's take-off, understand?"

   "Understood, boss."

   Mascherano nodded, understanding Chen Ran's explanation.

  As a small man with a height of only 174cm, Mascherano was able to serve as a central defender in Barcelona for a long time in his previous life, so he naturally has his little skills against tall players.

  Although Mascherano is far from being as mature as he was at his peak, it is more than enough to be a helper to Thiago Silva.

  With Mascherano's help, Mourinho's twin-tower tactic did not have the effect he expected.

   The game was still very stalemate, and Chelsea could never break the Crystal Palace goal.

   When the time came to the 70th minute, Chen Ran called Ronaldo from the bench again.

   "Chris, you will replace Tony later. I won't give you a fixed position, you will be a free agent in the frontcourt."

   "I will tell them to kick you straight from the backcourt. As for whether you pass the ball or shoot after you catch the ball, it's up to you to decide."

   "I only have one request, and that is to keep the ball in Chelsea's half as much as possible. Understand?"

   "Understood, boss. You mean, I'm free to fire now, don't you?"

   When he heard Chen Ran say that he would do whatever he wanted with the ball, C Roma's eyes lit up, which was exactly what he had always wanted.

   "That's right. It's best if you can kick the ball into Chelsea's goal. If you don't have a chance, you can delay the time with set-pieces and touchline kicks."

   "Don't worry boss, I'll leave everything to me."

  Cristiano Ronaldo patted his chest and made a promise, although he was also very tired, he was still young after all. If you only play for 20 minutes, your physical fitness can still be supported.

   So Mourinho saw that Crystal Palace replaced Tony with Ronaldo.

What does it mean?

   Are you going to counterattack?

   (end of this chapter)