rpbooks Chapter 271 Group Situation
Chapter 271 Group Situation
Chapter 271 Group Situation
On the evening of August 8, local time, Chelsea challenged Everton away in the third round of the Premier League.
Everton has two long-term Chelsea players, one is Lukaku, the little Belgian monster who has high hopes, and the other is Eto'o, who came on a free transfer.
Only one change was made to Chelsea's starting line-up, with Willian replacing Oscar, who was injured in training.This lineup made Everton suffer.
Only 36 seconds into the game, Cesc Fabregas made a direct pass, and Diego Costa succeeded in countering offside.
Two minutes later, Chelsea broke out again. Shi Hao made a 2-degree diagonal pass to the goal after passing two people on the left.
In just 2 minutes, Chelsea took a two-goal lead and got off to a fantastic start.
After that, under Mourinho's signal, the team began to shrink slightly, using skilled ball possession tactics to firmly grasp the initiative on the field.
Everton did not get back a goal until the end of the first half. Coleman broke through the right and made a cross. Miralas beat Cahill with a header.
Judging from the first half, it was a flat game.But after the intermission, the situation changed suddenly.In the 67th minute, Hazard broke through McCarthy's defense and cut into the left side of the penalty area to pass, but the ball hit Coleman's leg and deflected into the near corner, and the score became 3:1.
In the 69th minute, McGeedy broke through Ramirez and passed to the goal. Naismith catapulted the far corner with the instep from the left side of the penalty area. Courtois couldn't make a save, and Everton tied the score at 3:2.
In the 74th minute, Diego Costa and Shi Hao cooperated continuously. In the end, Shi Hao knocked the ball back to the top of the penalty area. Matic followed up with a strong shot, and the ball hit the right post and entered the net.Howard didn't react at all.This is also Matic's first Premier League goal.
But soon Everton regained a point, bringing the game back into suspense.In the 76th minute, Baines took a free kick from the left, and his free kick was hoisted towards the goal. Eto'o, who had just played for less than 1 minute, hit a great ball that rebounded close to the ground and rewritten the score to 4. :3.
The morale of Everton at home is so high that it seems that they may equalize the score at any time.But Shi Hao quickly shattered their illusions.Just 1 minute later, Shi Hao and Matic kicked a kick into the wall at the front of the penalty area, and made a clever shot in the upper right corner of the small penalty area, hitting the football from Howard's crotch into the goal. Howard smiled wryly.
Like Diego Costa, he also started with goals in 3 consecutive games.
The 5:3 score made Everton almost lost hope. In the last ten minutes, they began to become anxious and careless.
But they still made some efforts.In the 81st minute, Naismith made a cross and Lukaku's header was saved by Courtois.Coleman grabbed the second spot and continued to pass the ball. Miralas nearly scored with an acrobatic shot in front of the goal. After Courtois's beautiful side attack, the ball changed direction and hit the post.
In the 83rd minute, Brazilian left-back Felipe replaced Hazard and made his Premier League debut.In the 90th minute, Shi Hao made a series of dazzling dribbles in the penalty area and then passed the ball with his heel. Diego Costa caught the ball on the left side of the penalty area and passed Distin and then shot. The ball passed Howard's legs through the far corner.This was the third time Howard had his crotch pierced in this game, and he could only shake his head with a wry smile.
The score of 6:3 showed Chelsea's strong offensive power this season, making all competitors shudder!
At the press conference after the game, Mourinho said triumphantly: "Everton is a strong team, but we are stronger."
"Shi and Costa have integrated into the team very quickly. They are already indispensable and important players for the team."
"Of course we want to keep winning. I don't see a reason not to win. You've seen the form of Shi and Costa, and Hazard, I can't imagine anyone in the world who can stop them from scoring goals. "
The media also expressed their admiration and admiration for Chelsea's state.
"3 goals and 5 assists in 5 games, China Stone continues to be in a hot state!"
"3 goals in 4 games, Diego Costa seamlessly integrated into Mourinho's system!"
"Schuerle: Shi is great. He often makes moves that make me dumbfounded in training. I will patiently wait for my chance."
"Hazard: It's a pleasure to play next to Stone. We don't have a competitive relationship, we can form a good complement."
"Costa: He Shi is very comfortable playing football. As long as he runs to the position, he can always send out great goals."
The next day, the group stage of the UEFA Champions League was drawn. Due to their good performance in the past few seasons, Chelsea was classified as a first-tier team and assigned to Group G.
The opponents in the same group are Bundesliga giants Schalke 04, Portuguese super giants Sporting Lisbon and Slovenia's Maribor.
Among the three group opponents, the biggest threat to Chelsea should come from Schalke 3.However, the two sides also played against each other in the group stage last season. As a result, the Blues double-killed the team from Gelsenkirchen with a score of 04:3 in both home and away games.
You know, Chelsea last season was just a blue team in a "transitional period".And now with Costa, Shi Hao and Cesc Fabregas joining, Chelsea's strength has not only improved to a higher level!
In addition, the two sides also met in the group stage in 2007. Chelsea scored 4 points on the opponent, which also has an obvious advantage.So when facing Schalke 04, Chelsea has an absolute psychological advantage.
Among the traditional top three in the Portuguese Super League, Sporting Lisbon may be the worst one in recent history.Although they won the league runner-up last season, it was their first time in five years.
Chelsea's other opponent, Maribor, is the first time Chelsea have encountered in the Champions League, but the Blues are no strangers to the Slovenian team.In a warm-up match last month, Chelsea was a guest in Ljubljana, Slovenia. As a result, the Blues won easily. At that time, Shi Hao, Cesc Fabregas and Costa had not yet practiced with the team.
After the UEFA Champions League group stage draw, the British media analyzed the grouping situation.It is generally believed that among the four participating teams in the Premier League, Chelsea is the best prospect.
After going through the "adjustment period" of last season, the current Chelsea team has joined first-line superstars such as Shi Hao, Cesc Fabregas, Diego Costa, and, with Drogba's free return, Chelsea has been at its peak in recent years, both in terms of the strength of its personnel and the fighting spirit of the team.
(End of this chapter)