Chapter 204 A True Hero Saves the Lord in Times of Crisis, the First Big Test of the Season [Please Subscribe! ]

"Look, Xiao Li is going to play, right? I said, Mourinho puts in Van Ginkel, he can't suppress Oscar. These two young midfielders can start either one when rotating, but you must match Li Ang or Lampard to suppress them..."

General Fan, who was a guest in Sina Sports Live Room tonight and commented on the Champions League with Zhan Jun, patted his thigh and began to praise Mourinho's timely response.

"Yes, after the loss of the ball, Mourinho also responded quickly and chose to send Li Ang first to stabilize Chelsea's rhythm initiative in the midfield.

I just don't know which Chelsea starting midfielder Mourinho will replace with Li Ang first?"

Zhan Jun made a conscious decision, and at this moment, domestic fans have already spoken out and complained about Oscar's poor performance today.

Although Van Ginkel didn't have a bright performance in the first half of the game, it was because you Oscar took away all the ball.

At least Xiao Fan is still working hard on the defensive end and doesn't complain when he doesn't have the ball.

In contrast, Oscar, who currently plays in the same position as Li Ang and played more selfishly today, is naturally not very popular with Chinese fans.

A few minutes later, Chelsea took the opportunity of a dead ball and made the first substitution.

Li Ang was ordered to come on as a substitute in the 30th minute of the first half of the game, replacing Oscar, who had performed poorly before.

The cheers and applause at Stamford Bridge also rang out, fully revealing the confidence of Chelsea fans in Li Ang at this moment.

After high-fiving his teammates along the way, Li Ang also brought Mourinho's latest tactical adjustment instructions.

First of all, the formation, Chelsea changed from the previous 4-3-3 that was more inclined to attack to the 4-2-3-1 that was more balanced in offense and defense.

If Mourinho intends to let Li Ang play as a defensive midfielder, then the 4-3-3 can continue to play.

Because Li Ang can do all the work of organization and defense by playing as a single defensive midfielder.

But at this moment, Mourinho is counting on Li Ang to seize the control of the rhythm of the game and organize the attack in the midfield.

So 4-2-3-1 is the most reliable formation choice for Chelsea at this moment.

Van Ginkel has the talent and potential to play as a single defensive midfielder, but he is still young after all

Before the talent is realized, it is just a talent. Mourinho is more assured that he and Essien form a double defensive midfielder partnership.

Hazard and De Bruyne on the forward line retreated successively and returned to the left and right wing forward positions.

With Li Ang's reasonable dispatch in the middle and stable ball control, Chelsea's offensive ideas also quickly became clear and definite.

Compared with Oscar, Li Ang's desire to shoot is not particularly strong.

In the absence of a good opportunity to shoot, he generally prefers to organize the ball in the middle, allowing teammates on the wing to involve or try to blast the opponent's defense.

Only when Hazard and De Bruyne are both out of form like in the last round of the league, will he more frequently dribble the ball forward and actively participate in the attack.

Of course, there is no big decline in the form of Hazard and De Bruyne today.

They did not show much performance before, and it was also because Oscar grabbed too much ball rights in the middle today.

So with Li Ang's reasonable distribution of ball rights, let alone Hazard, De Bruyne today was very active in trying to break through on the wing.

After the Belgian wingers showed their power at the same time, Basel's two defensive players were naturally difficult to block.

And in the 36th minute of the first half, Li Ang made a forward pass to De Bruyne's cross pass, and then suddenly kicked a pass over the top!

This threatening pass over the top was beyond the expectations of all Basel defensive players, but it seemed to be slightly beyond Torres' expectations...

So in the hasty forward rush, Torres finally headed Li Ang's wonderful pass out of the goal frame.

Lukaku, who was sitting on the bench at the moment, sighed while holding his head, and seemed to show a slightly disgusted expression.

It was as if he was the striker in Torres' position just now, and he would have been able to head the ball into Basel's goal.

However, Mourinho, who was also angry at the moment, did not even consider replacing Lukaku with Torres.

Because Chelsea's current center forward, Ibrahimovic, has been warming up on the sidelines under the leadership of assistant coach Faria.

Chelsea fans who watched this scene also blushed.

After all, many of them had made similar jokes such as "Ibrahimovic is coming to London to retire" after seeing the official announcement of Ibrahimovic joining Chelsea at the beginning of the season.

Unexpectedly, Ibrahimovic can no longer be supported in old age, but is being eaten by Chelsea.

Such a reversal made Chelsea fans no longer able to make such jokes as before.

Instead, they were very glad that the club spent less than 20 million in transfer fees to buy a reliable center forward like Ibrahimovic.

However, Mourinho did not make his second substitution in the first half.

Seeing that the team had clearly taken control of the offensive initiative and had repeatedly and stably blocked Basel's counterattacks.

Mourinho was quite satisfied and returned to the player tunnel after the halftime game.

Ibrahimovic, who had fully completed the warm-up, also walked to the team's locker room.

All Chelsea fans knew that Ibrahimovic would definitely play directly at the beginning of the second half.

When they thought that Li Ang and Ibrahimovic would be on the court in the second half, Chelsea fans had nothing to worry about the temporary backward situation and score.

And the thousands of Basel fans at Stamford Bridge naturally would not become worried because of Chelsea's tactical changes in the second half.

Before coming to London, they had never thought that their team could still take the lead at the end of the halftime game.

For them, happiness at this moment is the most important!

Basel fans cheering and singing at Stamford Bridge also passed on their support to the Basel players whose morale was greatly boosted.

Salah, who scored a very beautiful goal in the first half, was full of confidence at this moment.

He firmly believed that today was the right time for him to become famous!

However, when the second half of the game officially came, Chelsea showed a completely different defensive aggressiveness from the first half.

Basel's offensive organization immediately became disorganized.

Facing Li Ang's full-scale attack, Basel's midfielders Fry and Dias both played very uncomfortably.

So much so that Salah had to start retreating to the midfield frequently to meet his teammates and assist them in passing the ball.

After specifically limiting the performance of Salah, Basel's sharp knife on the wing, Chelsea also launched frequent attacks on the bottom on both wings.

Azpilicueta was more inclined to defend, so De Bruyne's forward pressure was not very large.

But on the other side, Bertrand and Hazard wanted to live directly in Basel's half.

With the extra care of Li Ang, Bertrand's forward penetration became more and more unscrupulous.

Such a scene can easily remind Chinese fans that when Li Ang was still in Real Madrid, Marcelo and Ronaldo's alternating attacks could often quickly suppress the opponent's right-wing offensive mode.

It is difficult to say whether Mourinho's new left corridor for the Blues now refers to the extreme wing offensive combination of Ronaldo and Marcelo that he made when he was in Real Madrid.

But there is one thing that fans can be sure of, that is, when Li Ang is on the court, Mourinho will give power to such an extreme wing offensive duo.

The left-wing combination of Bertrand and Hazard is definitely not comparable to the Real Madrid corridor of Marcelo and Ronaldo.

But it is not an exaggeration to say that the former is a beggar version of the latter.

Moreover, when Hazard is in normal condition, his impact is definitely not as good as Ronaldo's.

But in the field of tearing the opponent's defense line, Hazard's dribbling threat is not worse than Ronaldo.

In addition, what we have to deal with today is only Basel's defensive system.

So when Bertrand and Hazard work together on the offensive end, Basel's right defense can be regarded as a dimensionality reduction attack!

Salah was very unwilling and tried to find a counterattack opportunity alone under the pressure of Chelsea's stormy attack.

But when the defensive player he had to face changed from Essien to Li Ang, he quickly understood a truth.

The defensive player who could limit Messi's performance one-on-one two years ago was really strong!

In terms of stealing, tackling, reaction, and burst speed, Li Ang alone cannot be called the strongest defensive player in today's football.

But when he has the first-class level in today's football in these ability values, and even some of his abilities have reached the top threshold.

Coupled with the defensive positioning ability that cannot be measured by data, he is the unique strongest single defense monster in active service!

After being taught a lesson by Li Ang several times, Salah had to accept it.

At present, he only has one burst speed that can slightly gain the upper hand when facing Li Ang.

But now Li Ang, who has rich defensive experience, how could he give him enough space to speed up?

So Salah's performance gradually became silent.

In the 61st minute of the second half of the game, Ibrahimovic, who received a pass in the penalty area after Hazard's breakthrough, also successfully completed the goal!

Ibrahimovic's goal this time fully demonstrated his crushing advantage over Basel's defensive players in terms of physical talent and technology!

At this moment, seeing Ibrahimovic successfully score the equalizer on the offensive end, Mourinho also cheered hard in front of the bench!

However, after celebrating, Mourinho also complained a little.

"I told you to listen to me and change your playing style as soon as possible, but you refused. You wasted several years, and now you are on this path..."

Faria, who heard Mourinho's complaints, smiled knowingly.

When he and Mourinho transferred to Inter Milan, Mourinho was very optimistic about Ibrahimovic.

Not only did he personally formulate a transformation plan for Ibrahimovic, but he also invited Ibrahimovic to stay and bring Inter Milan a heavyweight championship trophy with him.

Of course, everyone knows what happened later.

Ibrahimovic did miss his best chance to win the Champions League trophy and wasted several years of his career peak.

Of course, even if they failed to reach an agreement in the end and failed to go to the end side by side with Inter Milan, Ibrahimovic still has a good impression of Mourinho.

He has said more than once that he admires and likes Mourinho, and what he likes most is Mourinho's recognition and sincerity towards him.

Perhaps it is precisely because of Mourinho's sincerity.

So after Ibrahimovic received calls from Leon and Mourinho in the summer window this year, he quickly and decisively applied for a transfer to Paris Saint-Germain.

Admittedly, compared to when he first worked with Mourinho, Ibrahimovic has slowly passed the peak of his career.

But his physical and technical conditions are there after all. As long as he is willing to transform, he can make full use of his physical and height advantages.

Then Ibrahimovic in the penalty area is still dominant!

And this dominance is not fabricated by Faria and Mourinho.

But Ibrahimovic played with his four goals in four games in the new season of the club!

Looking at Ibrahimovic and Leon hugging each other and cheering for the fans on the court, Faria's heart is full of passion!

In Porto, Inter Milan and Real Madrid, he and Mourinho have worked together to create miracles and dynasties.

The only regret back then was naturally that he did not lead the iron-blooded Blues to win the Champions League.

And now the opportunity to make up for the regret is right in front of them.

Faria is also very confident that this time he and Mourinho will not leave only sad tears at Stamford Bridge...

After the equalizer was scored, Chelsea's players on the field naturally became more motivated!

Li Ang was also shouting over and over again at this moment, encouraging his teammates to keep up the good work!

With someone shouting and someone pulling, Chelsea's young players can see an extremely clear direction in front of them.

At this moment, Chelsea's old captain Terry, who was sitting on the bench, kept nodding with satisfaction.

In the first half, he was once worried that Chelsea, which was lagging behind, would not find the direction to move forward and lack the motivation to spur on.

After all, for a long time in the past, there would always be someone on the field to cover the bottom and boost the morale of the whole team, whether he, Lampard or Drogba.

But today he and Lampard both took turns to rest, so Terry, as the old captain, was inevitably a little worried.

However, after seeing a series of encouraging actions and performances made by Li Ang after he came on the court, Terry felt that he could really rest on the bench with peace of mind.

Even though Chelsea only tied with Basel in the end of this game, Terry felt that the young players in Chelsea had gained a lot.

After all, the spirit of the Iron Blues can't always exist only in these old guys.

The younger generation of Chelsea players need to be tempered by more games like this. They need to bear more mental pressure.

Of course, they also need a new leader of their generation!

The spirit shown by Li Ang in this regard made Terry feel very satisfied.

And in the 82nd minute of the second half, when Li Ang almost carried the defensive interference of Basel midfielder Diaz and broke into the Basel penalty area and made a penalty successfully.

Terry's satisfaction turned into a strong impulse!

Terry, who is about to turn 33, is like the young Chelsea players sitting on the bench with him. He rushed out of the bench and roared passionately to celebrate!

At this moment, Li Ang, who was surrounded by his teammates and patted and pulled up excitedly, quickly hugged the football and then stuffed it into the arms of Lampard, who was a little surprised and had just come on the bench.

"Li Ang, don't you plan to take this penalty?"

Lampard had been fully prepared before, giving up the opportunity to take the penalty kick, so that Li Ang could enjoy the cheers of the fans after leading the team to a successful reversal.

He did not expect that Li Ang would give up the opportunity to become the focus of the whole game so easily.

Li Ang just smiled and shook his head at this moment, and even made a joke with Lampard.

"You are the first penalty taker on the field, Frank. Besides, the boss did not allow us to discuss who will take the penalty kick~ I don't want to be caught by the boss and have a hair dryer after I leave the field."

After listening to Li Ang's speech, Lampard also laughed, patted Li Ang on the shoulder, and then walked to the penalty spot with a firm step, holding the football!

Even though he was a substitute in the 76th minute of the second half, Lampard's confidence in the penalty spot was not weak at all.

After the referee blew the whistle, Lampard didn't even look at Sommer's predicted reaction, and firmly kicked out his powerful volley aimed at the center of the goal!

Sommer pounced on the left side of the goal this time, and his prediction failed!

And Lampard also used a neat penalty opportunity to help Chelsea successfully complete the reversal of Basel at home!

The player who completed the reversal goal was Lampard.

But at this moment, the reporters at the scene once again turned their cameras to Li Ang, who was celebrating happily with his teammates.

In this Champions League group match, Li Ang did not gain any personal offensive data.

But his important performance was imprinted in the eyes and hearts of every fan watching the game!

When the referee finally blew the whistle to end the game, thunderous cheers and applause rang out across Stamford Bridge!

Salah was very disappointed. When Li Ang took the initiative to find him, the live broadcast camera immediately focused on the best players of both teams in this Champions League group match.

After teaching a representative star of the future post-90s generation a lesson, Li Ang routinely encouraged him.

Salah, who was originally a little depressed, suddenly became excited again. After exchanging jerseys with Li Ang, the two hugged and communicated.

Being able to reverse and win the Champions League this season is still a result worth celebrating for Chelsea players.

However, before Li Ang's turn to speak in the locker room that night, Terry and Lampard came forward and took the initiative to invite all the players in the team to have a dinner in the city.

This kind of dinner with a warm atmosphere and very helpful for the new and old players in the team to get closer, Mourinho certainly won't control it too much.

All the players of Chelsea's first team attended the dinner that night, even Ivanovic and Mikel, who were still recovering from injuries, were present as scheduled.

Since the start of the new season, Chelsea has maintained a record of winning all the games on both fronts.

For Chelsea's old players, they haven't had such a near-perfect start for several years.

So all the Chelsea players' faces were full of smiles that night.

After a night of celebration, the next afternoon, Chelsea's players adjusted their mood and state and rushed to Cobham training base to start their recovery training.

It's not that Mourinho doesn't want to give the players more time to rest, but the current Premier League schedule has become more intensive.

Three days later, Chelsea will play against Fulham at home in the fifth round of the Premier League.

After that, there will be a round of League Cup games.

In the sixth round of the Premier League, Chelsea will go away to challenge Tottenham Hotspur!

Two London derbies and a domestic cup game in a row, Chelsea's first big test of the new season is here!

I have coded 10,600 words, and there are still 4,400 words to go. Come on!