Chapter 54: Footsteps in hot pursuit
As the league is about to enter March, it is not easy for Blackburn to lose the three points expected to be in hand, but under Mourinho's control, Blackburn Rovers quickly returned to a stable winning streak. Pen | fun | pavilion www. biquge。 info
The Premier League is almost two-thirds of the way through the schedule, but there doesn't seem to be a clear trend in the league landscape, and if there is a hint of winning and relegation before Christmas, the Premier League is now a big game, and the situation is becoming more and more difficult to see.
Looking at the overall situation of winter transfers, it seems that the Premier League teams have not given up their last chance of the season easily, but are working hard and preparing seriously.
Therefore, in the winter transfer season in Europe, the turnover of personnel in the Premier League is very frequent. Of course, the new reinforcements will undoubtedly want immediate results, after all, the schedule is very busy and intense. But when I really got along with the team and played a role, it was actually in March.
On the evening of March 2, Blackburn Rovers ushered in the first game of March.
Blackburn Rovers beat Bolton Wanderers 4-1 away for a crucial morale-boosting victory.
Just four minutes into the game, Blackburn Rovers quickly broke the deadlock on the pitch. Cambiaso broke the ball in midfield and launched a counter-attack, advanced to the middle and suddenly sent a less threatening cross, but the Bolton defender cleared the ball and Benayoun found an opportunity to quickly cut in and stop the ball past the opposition goalkeeper before pushing the empty goal.
Blackburn, who led by one goal, did not give up on the attack.
In the 11th minute, Blackburn central defender Carvalho took a high ball in the backfield, Ibrahimovic headed back in front of the penalty area, Duff got the ball and did it horizontally again, Cambiaso followed up with a volley and shot straight to the corner, Blackburn led 2:0.
After conceding back-to-back goals, Bolton had no choice but to give it a go.
In the 31st minute, Bolton sent a cross from the wing, and the striker's header from inside the box was confiscated by Friedel.
In the 37th minute, Bolton won a free kick and scored with a header, but the goal was disallowed for offside.
In the 39th minute, Bolton won another free kick opportunity, and the midfielder shook his head in front of the goal, and the ball grazed the far post and went wide.
In first-half stoppage time, Blackburn Rovers counter-attacked quickly, Duff took the ball inside and suddenly sent a through ball, and Ibrahimovic quickly followed up with a volley from a tight angle.
At the end of the first half, Blackburn Rovers temporarily led 2:0.
In the second half, Duff took the ball to the front of the penalty area and divided the side, and the follow-up Jeff Kenner crossed the arc ball from the side, and Ibrahimovic, who had already been ambushed in the penalty area, grabbed the volley into the top corner of the goal before the defender, and Blackburn led 3:0.
It was Ibrahimovic's 16th league goal of the season, just two behind Thierry Henry, who is second in the Premier League's scorers' charts.
In the 56th minute, Blackburn Rovers took the lead in making adjustments, with the injured Marcos Alonso replacing Benayoun and Mourinho starting to let his team control the tempo on the pitch.
In the 61st minute, Duff burst into the penalty area after a barb on the side to face the goalkeeper, he calmly blocked and crossed in front of the goal, but was blocked by the supplementary defender before Gyuli, Duff got the ball and shot again, the ball was held by the Bolton goalkeeper.
In the 63rd minute, Bolton suddenly counterattacked quickly, the striker played a two-over-one match in the front field and then entered the penalty area, and suddenly shot diagonally at a small angle during the run, but unfortunately hit the ball high.
In the 74th minute, Bolton made a cold arrow from outside the penalty area to cause Friedel to get out of his hands, but fortunately, Stam cleared the bottom line in time. The corner kick into the box caused chaos, and Bolton's header from two yards was miraculously blocked by the reflexing Friedel, who followed up again and was blocked by Friedel on the ground.
In the 81st minute, Duff sent the ball behind him after passing two people in a row, and Gyuli quickly inserted a volley to score, but the referee signaled offside and the goal was invalidated.
In the 84th minute, Lampard picked up a pass, Duff broke through on the side to form an empty space and crossed in front of the goal, Gyuli quickly grabbed the shot and was blocked by the Bolton goalkeeper, Ibrahimovic scored a brace with a header, and Blackburn led 4-0.
In stoppage time, Bolton went straight up front and the home striker's shot was saved by Friedel, but then the net was clear.
In the end, the game was over, and Blackburn Rovers beat Bolton Wanderers 4-1 away.
Four days later, in the 29th round of the Premier League, Blackburn Rovers welcomed Villa's challenge again.
Mourinho made five changes to his starting XI compared to last weekend's league game. Striker Helen Pierce, who is about to turn 21, made his first league start under Jose Mourinho and wore the captain's armband, which may have been his farewell game, as the young Blackburn Academy right winger is not in sight with Benayoun and new signing Gyuli in sight.
Although Blackburn's hierarchy are trying to keep Helen Pierce, the former Blackburn Under-17 captain still submitted a transfer request, and Arthur also made a big move and did not set a minimum on his transfer fee.
In other words, as long as Helen Pierce finds a home, he can join a new team even if he doesn't give Blackburn a transfer fee.
It has to be mentioned here that Mourinho also played a key role in the reason why Helen Pierce chose to leave the team so firmly.
Unlike the hypocrite-type managers in football, Jose Mourinho can sometimes be too harsh and ruthless, but he will tell the truth.
Just as Helen Pierce was only the third choice after Benayoun and Giuli in Mourinho's tactics, Mourinho did not hide his attitude in order to keep the team deep, but directly showed his attitude.
If Helen Pierce is willing to be a replacement for Benayoun and Gyuli, then Mourinho welcomes his stay.
But if Helen Pierce wants to continue to grow on his own, then Mourinho doesn't mind his departure either.
Helen Pierce is not yet 21 years old, and he is in a critical period for official players to "rise the ball", so he is not willing to be a spectator in the Premier League.
Some fans put up signs in support of Helen Pearce and sang songs in support of Friedel.
In addition to Helen Pearce, Alonso, Paolo Ferreira, Sun Jihai and young defender Martin Taylor also got the start.
Aston Villa retreated into the half-time after the break, and Blake was looking for a chance with his feet on his back. Paolo Ferreira, Helen Pierce, Alonso tried long-range shots in quick succession. Jose Mourinho called Martin Taylor to the sidelines to guide him individually.
Blackburn had the best chance of the first half in the 25th minute when Paolo Ferreira's cross from the right of the box was denied by the Aston Villa goalkeeper from 11 yards.
It doesn't matter if the goal didn't go in, but Alonso, who has just returned from injury, seems to have an ankle injury after landing, but fortunately, after the team doctor's examination, there is no major problem, which makes Blackburn, including Mourinho, break out in a cold sweat.
Blackburn Rovers stepped up in the second half, with Helen Pearce plugging into the right side of the box and cutting behind the defence to shoot from a tight angle that was blocked by the Aston Villa goalkeeper's leg.
Blackburn finally broke the deadlock in the 56th minute!
Frank Lampard and Alonso crossed in quick succession, Helen Pierce knocked back the outside edge of the box on the right side of the box, Paolo Ferreira crossed, and Lampard headed the ball into the far corner from 5 yards in front of goal, 1-0.
It was Frank Lampard's ninth league goal of the season, while his tally of league assists reached eight, and he was not far away from a double-double in the league.
And the "magic lamp" that has grown rapidly under Mourinho's tutelage has almost booked a place in the 23-man England squad brought by Eriksen to the World Cup in South Korea and Japan this summer - you know, in Arthur's previous life, although Lampard entered the 10th October 1999 in 99, Frank? Frank Lampard made his senior England debut but was not named in the England squad for Euro 2000 in the Netherlands, Belgium and the 2002 World Cup in South Korea and Japan.
Curtis and Ben Boggs then came on to replace Stam and Ibrahimovic. Fans took advantage of the long applause between games to show their support for the club, as they never imagined before the start of the season that they would be able to sit at the top of the league table when March arrived.
Paolo Ferreira, Curtiz, Martin Taylor and Son Jihai have formed one of Blackburn's weakest defences this season, but Friedel made a series of saves: Aston Villa's free-kick from the left was tipped over the crossbar by Friedel...... Villa's attack shifted to the right side of the box and the right winger's left-footed volley was blocked by Friedel's body.
In the 73rd minute, Mourinho's last thing to see happened: Duff strained a muscle in his right leg when inserting into the box, went to the sidelines for treatment, and was eventually stretchered off, and Duff, who scored seven goals and 11 assists in the Premier League and domestic cups, was injured at the most critical moment of the league competition.
Although the team doctor told Mourinho that his injury would only take about 10 days at most, Mourinho was still frowning because it meant that the team would be without the left-sided big man for at least two league games.
In the end, Blackburn won 1-0 against Aston Villa.
After the game, Jose Mourinho pointed to the club's Blackburn Rovers crest on his suit and raised his fist to the fans as a sign that the fans believed in themselves and the players.
Why are Blackburn Rovers fans still nervous after two wins in a row?
Because Blackburn, who had been leading the top teams before, have fallen from the top of the league standings after this round.
Liverpool, who slaughtered their opponents 4-0 and 6-0 in two consecutive rounds, has already tied Blackburn Rover, who has played one less round in points, and pushed Blackburn to the second place in the standings with a goal difference.
Blackburn, in danger?