Football Feast, Starting From the Acquisition of European Clubs

   Chapter 313 Eat the meat first

  Although Carrick scored a world-wave long-range shot in the stoppage time stage of the game and regained another goal for Manchester United, it still failed to prevent Manchester United from losing 2:4 to Crystal Palace at Old Trafford.

   While getting the key three points, Chen Ran also added a "Level 1 Chicken Blood Card" from the system.

  After defeating Chelsea, Crystal Palace won Manchester United again, and even the direct competitors of the two league championships also made Crystal Palace finally open a little point gap.

   In other Premier League matches this round, Chelsea beat Sunderland 2-0 at Stamford Bridge, Liverpool won 3-1 away at Reading, and Arsenal beat Middlesbrough 4-1 at home.

  When the sixteenth round was over, Crystal Palace secured their lead by four points ahead of Chelsea and Manchester United, while Chelsea pushed Manchester United to third place again with a goal difference advantage.

  Because of Crystal Palace's consecutive victories against Chelsea and Manchester United, the English media had to pinch their noses to praise Crystal Palace even if they were reluctant.

   And far away in China, the fans of Crystal Palace are once again proud, and the popularity of Crystal Palace Post Bar has reached a new high.

   "Haha, even without Ibrahimovic, Toni and Jan Kohler, Manchester United and Chelsea are no match for Crystal Palace."

   "That's right. Chen Ran has many ways to do it. His move to transfer Ronaldo to play center is really a stroke of genius."

   "That's it, we don't have to worry about Crystal Palace not having a good striker in the future. Even if the two kids Dzeko and Cavani can't kick out, Ronaldo will always be there."

   "I'm thinking now, let's just let Ronaldo play as a striker. Crystal Palace doesn't lack wide players anyway."

   "The upstairs is right. Whether it's Ribery or Messi, or Evra and Alves, they are all good players on the wing. Let Ronaldo play on the wing, it always feels a bit overkill."

   "If I say this, we don't need to worry about it. It's just a thief's brain, and it must be clearer than us."

   "That's right. Anyway, I am completely convinced by Chen Ran's eyes now, and I support how he wants to use players."

   "Support +1."

   "Support +2."

   Three days after the end of this Premier League match with Manchester United, the final Champions League group stage match, Crystal Palace's home game against Valencia, is about to start again.

   However, because Crystal Palace had already secured the first place in the group to advance to the quarter-finals of the Champions League, Chen Ran made a large rotation in this game.

   All the players who played the whole game against Manchester United were put on the bench by him.

  In the end, with the goals of Cesc Fabregas and Cavani, Crystal Palace lost 2:3 at home to Valencia. With four wins, one draw and one loss, with 13 points, the team ranked first in the group and successfully advanced to the Champions League round of 16.

   The other three Premier League clubs participating in the Champions League, Manchester United, Chelsea and Liverpool, have all successfully advanced to the Champions League round of 16, continuing the strong performance of the Premier League over the past few seasons.

   Two days after the Champions League match against Valencia, Crystal Palace ushered in the 17th round of the Premier League, this time they will face Middlesbrough at home.

   However, because Chen Ran used all the substitutes in the Champions League matches, the main players of Crystal Palace got enough rest time.

   In the match against Middlesbrough, Crystal Palace played the main force. With the goals of Kaka, Yaya Toure and Tony who returned from injury, Crystal Palace easily won Middlesbrough 3:1 at home.

  At the same time that he got three points, Chen Ran also got a "Level 1 Rehabilitation Card" from the system.

   And in other Premier League matches this round, there are two interesting strong conversations.

   One is the Premier League double red meeting where Manchester United goes to Anfield to challenge Liverpool, and the other is the same-city battle between Chelsea and Arsenal at Stamford Bridge.

  Unfortunately, things did not develop in the direction Chen Ran expected. Neither Liverpool nor Arsenal could stop Manchester United and Chelsea from catching up.

  In the end, Manchester United beat Liverpool 1:0 away, and Chelsea also won Arsenal 1:0 at home.

  Manchester United and Chelsea stubbornly maintained their four-point deficit and did not continue to expand.

  Just as the Premier League is going on as usual, there is an update on the talks between G14 and UEFA and FIFA.

  Crystal Palace Club, Chen Ran's office.

"Chen, it's not what you expected. In exchange for the dissolution of G14 in exchange for UEFA and FIFA's compensation for players' injuries while representing the national team, it was unanimously approved at the G14 meeting. "

   Stephen, who had just attended the G14 meeting in Brussels on behalf of Crystal Palace Club, immediately described the meeting to Chen Ran in detail.

   "Hehe, it's only expected. When these guys see that they can exchange the G14 skin for real money, they immediately abandon it. Stephen, tell me, which club is the most positive about this matter?"

   Chen Ran was relieved to hear that things were still developing as they should.

   "Chen, we are not unfamiliar with the most active club. We just made a deal with us in the summer."

   "Oh? You don't mean FC Barcelona, ​​do you?"

   "Yes, it's Barcelona. Looking at their positive appearance, I even suspect that they are the white gloves that UEFA and FIFA are ambushing in G14."

  Barcelona?

   There were also rumors in the previous life that Barcelona was the undercover agent that UEFA and FIFA installed in G14, with the purpose of bringing down the organization of G14.

   But there was no conclusive evidence for this matter, and then it was gone.

   However, Barcelona took advantage of several times in the Champions League, and many people believed that Barcelona was taken care of by UEFA, so this rumor has not disappeared.

   "I don't care if Barcelona is a UEFA undercover agent. Stephen, did this meeting discuss the establishment of a new organization after the disbandment of G14?"

   After thinking about it carefully, Chen Ran asked what he was most interested in.

   "There was no formal discussion at the meeting. However, in private, I heard that UEFA has released news that it is preparing to establish an official, formal and larger organization to replace G14."

   "Well, they really have prepared. This is after dismembering G14 and swallowing the vacant territory."

  Chen Ran rubbed the stubble on his chin and turned to look at Stephen.

   "Stephen, you pay close attention to the news from UEFA. Once they announce the establishment of a new organization, we at Crystal Palace will sign up as soon as possible."

   "The first time? Chen, will this be too urgent? Should we wait and see the trend of the old giant clubs before making a decision? This is more secure."

   Hearing Chen Ran's radical plan, Stephen was also surprised.

   "Hehe, Stephen, haven't you seen the matter of passing G14? Those old giant clubs are just a group of paper tigers, and they will be broken once they are poked."

   "If you really do things behind their buttocks, you won't be able to gnaw at the bones, at most drink some soup."

   "Instead of doing this, we might as well move closer to UEFA and eat the meat first."

   "At least, when we Crystal Palace met Barcelona in the Champions League, we wouldn't suffer too much."

   "Barcelona."

   Hearing that Chen Ran had added Barcelona's name in advance, Stephen gave Chen Ran a thoughtful look and nodded slowly.

   "Chen, I understand."

   After arranging the strategic direction of Crystal Palace Club, Chen Ran ushered in the famous Premier League Christmas Devil schedule.

  On December 23, the eighteenth round of the Premier League, Crystal Palace will go away to challenge Newcastle United;

  On December 26th, in the 19th round of the Premier League, Crystal Palace will play their old rival Liverpool at home again;

  On December 29th, in the twentieth round of the Premier League, Crystal Palace will face Blackburn at home;

  On January 1st, in the twenty-first round of the Premier League, Crystal Palace will go away to challenge Bolton again;

  On January 5th, in the third round of the FA Cup, Crystal Palace will host Sheffield Wednesday at home.

  There are five games in thirteen days, with an average of less than one game in three days. There is also a tough battle against Liverpool, which is another severe test for the physical fitness of Crystal Palace players.

  On December 23, facing the first game of the Christmas Devils schedule, considering that there is still a tough battle with Liverpool two days later.

  Chen Ran made some adjustments to Crystal Palace's starting lineup, arranging a lineup of half the main players and half the substitutes to play away to Newcastle United.

  In the end, with the goals of Beckham and Alves, Crystal Palace beat Newcastle United 2-1 away.

   While getting three points, Chen Ran also got a "Free Kick Master Card" from the system.

   In other matches in the Premier League this round, Chelsea beat Blackburn 1:0 away, and Manchester United beat Everton 2:1 at Old Trafford.

   Liverpool beat Portsmouth 4-1 at Anfield, while Arsenal beat Tottenham Hotspur 2-1 in the north London derby.

  Crystal Palace remain four points clear at the top of the table, while Chelsea and Manchester United are clenching their teeth.

   Two days later, on December 26, in the nineteenth round of the Premier League, Crystal Palace welcomed their old rival Liverpool at home.

  Although the results of leading Liverpool in the Premier League are lackluster, due to the team's excellent performance in cup competitions, especially the Champions League title, which makes Benitez's position as Liverpool's head coach as stable as a mountain.

   Coupled with the fact that the two American owners who joined Liverpool soon are standard laymen for football, this makes Benitez even more powerful in the Liverpool club.

   Facing Crystal Palace again, Benitez also tried his best to break his wrist with Chen Ran.

For the head coaches of giant clubs such as Benitez, Ancelotti, Ferguson and Wenger, defeating Chen Ran's Crystal Palace in the league has now become their obsession, even more than winning the Premier League The champion is even stronger.

   After all, no one wants to be crushed on his head by a young man from a country that is backward in football.

   Shame!

   Unsurprisingly, Benitez once again sent all the main players who could play in his hand to prepare for a showdown with Crystal Palace.

   Center Torres

   Left midfielder Babel, midfielder Kuyt, right midfielder Benayoun

   Defender Harvey Alonso, Defender Gerrard

   Left-back Aurelio, center-back Hypia, center-back Carragher, right-back Abeloa

   Goalkeeper Reina

   On Crystal Palace's side, with only a four-point lead in the Premier League, Chen Ran didn't dare to be sloppy, and the main force played against Liverpool.

   Center Tony

   Left midfielder Cristiano Ronaldo, midfielder Kaka, right midfielder Ribery

   Midfielder Vieira, Midfielder Modric

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

   Goalkeeper Cech

   For Crystal Palace and Liverpool, two teams that are already very familiar with each other, no probing is required.

   As soon as the referee blew the whistle to start the game, the two sides immediately launched a fierce battle.

   Torres, who had just joined Liverpool from Atletico Madrid during the summer transfer period, had almost no problems with adaptation.

   There seems to be no difference between the Premier League and La Liga for him, and he started his scoring performance immediately after coming to Liverpool.

   In the 18 rounds of the Premier League, Torres has scored 13 goals, and the scoring rate has exceeded an astonishing 70%.

   Chen Ran naturally saw Torres' amazing performance this season.

   To this end, in the pre-match preparation meeting, he specially arranged for Vidic to be responsible for pressing Torres closely, and Thiago Silva was responsible for making up defenses at any time.

   However, Torres is not like a traditional center, who honestly stays in the penalty area and waits for his teammates to pass the ball.

   He is similar to Cristiano Ronaldo's method of playing as a center. They constantly run outside the penalty area to cooperate with his teammates, and then turn back and jump in to grab a shot.

  Torres ran out of the penalty area, and Vidic, who was in charge of marking him, had to follow.

   This time, Vidic was hurt. Fighting the body, fighting the header, and fighting the frontal defense are his strengths, and it is also where Chen Ran wants him to limit Torres.

   But in terms of physical flexibility and speed, Vidic is no match for Torres at all.

   Seeing this situation, Chen Ran immediately went to the sidelines and arrested Ribery who was closest to him.

   "Frank, you go and tell Vidic that if Torres leaves the penalty area, replace Thiago Silva with him. He is only responsible for the defense in the penalty area."

   "Okay, boss."

   Hearing Chen Ran's order, Ribery nodded immediately, turned around and ran back into the arena.

   In fact, even Thiago Silva's speed and flexibility can't be compared with Torres, but the gap is not as big as Vidic, and he can keep up.

   After patching the holes in Crystal Palace's backline, Chen Ran turned his attention to Liverpool's penalty area.

   (end of this chapter)