Chapter 167: Money Can't Buy Success
() Fulham Reserves, Tottenham Reserves, Everton Reserves.
Chelsea have scored nine goals in three games, with Hao Junmin contributing seven assists.
Such a result made everyone's eyes shine, and Kane patted Hao Junmin on the shoulder: "Hao, you are very good, we will communicate actively with TEDA." ”
Tang Wu was not stingy, and directly invited three teammates to have a good time in the "lipstick" for two days and two nights, because the second leg of the Champions League is coming soon.
In the first leg at the Stade d'Longs, Porto gained the initiative to reach the final. However, the famous "Team Newspaper" analyzed that the mighty AC Milan can be eliminated by Laco in a 4-1 situation, what else can not happen on the football field?
Regarding this question, Porto coach Jose Mourinho said lightly in an interview with the media: "AC Milan is not Porto, and Chelsea is not Deportivo La Coruna. You can't force a goalkeeper who can't even be a caddie to guard the door, any more than you can't let a mute speak. ”
"Porto are the strongest and most likely team to win the Champions League and in fact we are on the verge of doing it!"
Porto's young coach doesn't look down on Chelsea and doesn't look down on Chelsea's young goalkeepers.
After the media hype, Tang Wu was also a little angry.
'I don't know how a translator who has only coached nine games to get that confidence because he probably doesn't know me or Stamford Bridge. If I wanted to, I could get all the Stamford Bridge caddies to throw the ball into their net! ”
Jose Mourinho only became manager in 2000, but his contract with Benfica only lasted for the ninth game. Although he has achieved excellent results in Porto in recent years, Benfica's experience is undoubtedly a slot in Mourinho's coaching career.
Tang Wu's "counterattack" was responded to more strongly by Mourinho: "To be honest, I don't think he's a qualified goalkeeper. ”
"A good goalkeeper should keep the ball as far away from himself and the goal as possible so that the goal can be safe. Statistically, since he became Chelsea's starting goalkeeper, Chelsea's possession at the back has increased by 20 per cent. I don't refuse to allow the goalkeeper to be involved in the team's passing and attacking, but a goalkeeper who touches the ball frequently when a striker is in danger puts the goal in danger, which is a huge irresponsibility for the goal and the team. ”
'To be honest, if it's that kind of opponent, I'd love a goalkeeper like this because we might score three, four, or even more; But if such a goalkeeper is my player, then I'm sorry, maybe he won't even be able to play. ”
This time, Mourinho's statement was not just a mouthpiece, it was already a bit of a curse.
Porto's counter-attacking on the defensive all the way to the last four has proven the Portuguese's tactical merits. In so many games, Porto's possession rate is actually not high, with the lowest game only around 28 per cent.
Jose Mourinho pursued a quick, concise and efficient counter-attack, as he believed that too much possession would make his players more sluggish and put his team in jeopardy.
Tang Wu's performances on the field were just the opposite of Mourinho's, and he relied on his aggressive running and skillful long and short passes, frequently luring opposing players to grab and pull the opponent's formation. In this way, it is inevitable that the possession rate will rise. As for whether the opponent's striker will seize the opportunity overnight, at present, the cooperation of Tang Wu and Terry and others has not yet appeared in such a situation.
But no matter what, after a few rounds of mouth cannons, the two also became incompatible.
Mourinho wanted to interfere with Tang Wu's normal heart and make him make mistakes in the game; Tang Wu also wanted to provoke this young "young marshal" with his mouth cannon and make him give wrong orders away from home.
The two used the words "disagreement in philosophy" to attack each other, but they didn't know that the other party had a strong heart.
On May 5, at 20:45 p.m., the second leg of the two sides kicked off at Stamford Bridge.
At the beginning of the game, Bridge made a long pass from the left. Porto's clearance was denied by Jusselbaink and the Dutchman's low right-footed shot from 22 yards was parried away by goalkeeper Bea.
Everything looked normal and was going towards what the fans had expected, with Chelsea attacking hard at home and Porto defending against the steal.
In this game, except for Makelele's suspension due to yellow cards, Ranieri played his main force.
In the dressing room before the game, the Italian also tried to motivate his players with United's title winning run in the 99-00 season.
It may have taken three minutes for the Red Devils to score two goals that year, but for Chelsea today it feels like half a century to score a goal.
In first-half stoppage time, Melchiott dribbled down the middle and played a wall-to-wall link with Gudjohnsen. The Icelander turned and tapped a right-footed diagonal shot into the box and Frank Lampard fired a right-footed shot into the bottom left corner from 12 yards.
A one-goal lead in the first half gave the Blues hope of an aggregate equaliser, and they attacked again early in the second half.
But on the football field, you never know which will come first, tomorrow or the unexpected.
In the 51st minute of the game, Joe Cole, who was eager to beat his opponent, began to make mistakes again and again due to psychological imbalance. The result was not only a fire on the left side of Chelsea, but also a source of exhaustion. In one of the defences, Joe Cole "applied" himself a red card with a flying tackle from behind. When he saw the card of this color rise, La's blood pressure instantly increased, and he almost fainted on the spot.
Mourinho, on the other side, waved his arms excitedly and constantly hugged the staff around him.
With one man less, Chelsea can no longer guarantee a pressing attack, and every time Porto counter-attack, it is along Chelsea's left touchline, all the way to the end.
In the 58th minute, Deco accelerated the ball and leaned on John Terry with his body to volley from a tight angle on the right side of the Blues penalty area. Tang Wu subconsciously stretched out his right foot and blocked the ball from the bottom line.
In the 63rd minute, it was Deco on the right side of the goal, Maniche tacled on the edge of the small penalty area and did not touch the ball, but shook Tang Wu. Outflanked Delly hit the near post from 3 yards out, sending the Blues fans in a cold sweat.
In the 71st minute, the Porto midfielder accurately passed behind the defensive line, and Delle burst into the left side of the penalty area to kick back, and was blocked by Tang Wu. Dellai quickly followed up and shot from a small angle with his left foot, but was blocked by Tang Wu, who got up from the ground in time.
There was less and less time left, but Porto were attacking more and more.
Tang Wu's activity space was gradually compressed in the small penalty area, resisting high, swooping left and right shoveling, and using all methods to save the "glimmer of life" for the team.
However, Chelsea have one less man, not only will they not be able to engage in hand-to-hand combat with the opposition in positional battles, but they will also have multiple players surrounding Crespo when they are quick to counter-attack. Coupled with the constant small movements of the Porto players, Chelsea could not even pass the ball fluidly.
In the 77th minute, Frank Lampard was hit in the neck by Valente's left elbow as he unloaded the ball on the right side of the pitch. It took a full minute to lie on the ground before Lampard was helped to his feet by his team-mates. And the opponent got nothing more than an innocuous yellow card.
And just like that, time passed minute by minute. Mourinho has also begun to resort to "rogue" tactics. Three substitutions in a row dragged on for a minute and a half.
When Gudjohnsen's blast from outside the box bounced over the crossbar and into the fans, the referee finally blew the whistle for the end of the game.
At this moment, Stamford Bridge has nothing but the Porto man who celebrates passionately, just as Chelsea did at Highbury when they knocked out Arsenal.
After the game, the Blues were confused in their eyes, but Ranieri at the press conference had already seen through it, expressing his frustration with his usual humor.
"Can a win change anything? Apparently not! Forget it, my friend, and welcome to my 'funeral'! ”
When all the reporters were surprised by Ranieri's open-mindedness, the Italian smiled bitterly in heartiness, "My fate has long been decided, and there is no way to change it." But I hope Abu realizes that money can't buy victory. Maybe he feels like running a club is like running his oil company, but there's a world of difference. He could spend another £1bn for another 40 new players, but that doesn't guarantee success. ”