Thiago Mendes is under a lot of pressure. Pen "Fun" Pavilion www.biquge.info

It's not just this game, he's been under a lot of pressure since the start of the season, he's actually an awkward player in the Chelsea team, and many people see him as Mourinho's 'descendant' because he was brought to Chelsea by Mourinho, but Thiago Mendes knows he's not, never has been.

Mourinho was previously in charge of Porto and Thiago Mendes was from Benfica, and Mourinho did value him, perhaps because he was very good when Benfica played against Porto.

He is also grateful for Mourinho's trust.

But because he wasn't a direct or Chelsea player, the problem came – his position in the dressing room became very awkward.

This awkward position has also affected his relationship with his teammates and the speed at which he integrates into the team.

In fact, until now, Thiago Mendes has not adapted to the environment of the Premier League.

From the beginning of the season to the present, Mendes's performance is very average, and if he is in an average team, he will naturally have fewer opportunities to play if he does not play well. If that's all there is, Thiago Mendes will be able to take it lightly.

It's a big deal to be a substitute!

At Chelsea, a rising upstart in Europe, there is nothing unacceptable about being a substitute, and most of the other team-mates in the Benfica team have no chance of coming to Chelsea.

But Mourinho values him and gives him the opportunity to play repeatedly.

Although he has always performed averagely, Thiago Mendes has played more minutes than even the average main player.

This emphasis puts a lot of pressure on Thiago Mendes.

When he doesn't play well, he doesn't know how to face his team-mates or how to face the Chelsea fans.

It's the same with this game.

Thiago Mendes made two mistakes in the last game, one of which he almost conceded for Chelsea, and he was expected to stay on the bench in this game to accept the arrangement and prove that he is not the special one in the team.

But manager Jose Mourinho gave him the chance to start – as a right-back.

Right-back?

Thiago Mendes had no idea that he would play at right-back when he arrived at Chelsea.

But what can be done?

He's actually a midfielder and he's very good at attacking, but his team-mates in the middle of the midfield include Frank Lampard and Claude Makelele, so he doesn't have a place for him at all, and he can only play as a right-back or right-midfielder.

Thiago Mendes is completely out of tune with the position.

However, Thiago Mendes is not nervous, at least not at the moment, because the opponent is only Fulham, and he feels that even if the team does not have him, he can still win with such teammates, and the opponent has no one who can threaten the defence, and he may be the one who has a lot of work on the field of play than goalkeeper Cudicini.

This time you have to face the breakthrough of the other party.

No, not a breakthrough.

According to Thiago Mendes' previous experience, as long as the opponent breaks through to this position and walks tightly on his own, the opponent will choose to pass.

It will be the same this time!

Thiago Mendes thought as he slowly ran forward, and in front of him was a veteran, not a player who often broke through.

He didn't have to worry too much.

Thinking of this, Mendes calmed down a lot.

――――

Thiago Mendes is definitely a good defensive player and his experience has given him a knack for how to defend.

In the face of the approaching Portuguese, Pembridge calmly and casually flicked the ball to the side with his right foot, and then suddenly flicked the ball to the left again, shaking twice in a row, making Thiago Mendes a little flustered.

Pembrich took the opportunity to slam the pace!

Pembridge's outburst wasn't too fast, but it was enough to deal with a somewhat flustered defender, and by the time Thiago Mendes reacted, he had been left behind.

This is a very ordinary pass, but the effect is very good, and it also illustrates a problem: passing is actually a very simple action, as long as the other party has been deceived, a simple action is enough to play a role.

Thiago Mendes didn't expect that he would be easily shaken by the other party.

No!

He hadn't even thought before that the other party would choose to break through!

By the time he reacted, it was too late to catch up, so he had to stay behind Pembrich.

It was a pleasant surprise to Fulham fans, who did not expect their own players to play the ball dribble of a Chelsea player when the team was so passive.

They cheered!

This scene did not surprise Shen Yang, because he knew that Thiago Silva's form was only 63%, which was an absolutely unsatisfactory value, because the average player is in more than 75%, and Fulham's players are all over 90%.

Coleman was a bit surprised.

Pembrich?

Pembrich is thirty-four years old, and he will soon be thirty-five, and he will probably retire next summer, and he has not seen Pembridge pass in more than a season at Fulham.

But what happened, the other party is still a semi-main player of Chelsea, worth nearly 10 million euros, but the value of most players in Fulham is higher.

In professional football circles, value does not necessarily represent strength, but if there are no special circumstances, it can also indicate strength to a certain extent.

Pembrich's brilliance is quite astonishing.

At this time, even Pembridge himself was very surprised, although the coach said that they should look for opportunities from Thiago Mendes, but it was his own choice, but he didn't expect it to be really successful, he suddenly had a youthful excitement - it turns out that I can also break through the star in the game!

Pembrich suddenly became energetic, he rushed with the ball and rushed towards the Chelsea penalty area, Carvalho met him, Pembridge did not choose to pass, but was cut off by Carvalho.

Coleman looked straight at his face.

Shen Yang shook his head silently.

"Just because Thiago Mendes is not in good form doesn't mean that other Chelsea players are not in good shape, and with Carvalho's quality, even if he is in poor form, he can't be left behind by you......"

Pembrich thought of this too, and he was annoyed by the impulse just now.

Thiago Mendes has a bit of a sense of the aftermath and if Pembridge plays well and bursts into the box and finds the chance to score the ball, then it will certainly be his responsibility!

Carvalho couldn't help but complain and shouted, "Be careful, don't be easily broken!" ”

Thiago Mendes nodded, signaling that he had heard.

In the eyes of ordinary fans, it seems that it is not a big deal for a player to be broken through, but in the eyes of professional players, it is different, especially in the top games, it is difficult for any team to have a chance to beat a strong opponent if there is one less person, because the difference in strength between the two sides is difficult to exceed the level of 'one person'.

When a player is broken through, it means that this way, or this line, is broken, and the defensive tactics, positioning, etc., are meaningless.

In football games, most of the offense stops at the 'second line of defense', the 'second line of defense' refers to the fullback and the midfield position, if the 'second line of defense' is penetrated, the opponent will attack the last line in front of the goal, then it becomes very threatening, the central defender player often has no time to think about what to defend, when the football enters the penalty area, it is basically a direct hard fight, or the central defender clears the ball, or the opposing player finds an opportunity to shoot.

If the opponent has a good chance on goal, the goalkeeper will not have another chance to save, even if it is close, it is enough to threaten the goal.

Therefore, in a football game, a player, especially a player in the 'second line', is broken through, which is not a small thing, but a big thing that must be taken seriously.

Pembrich walked back with some chagrin, he felt that he shouldn't have broken through, but thinking about Thiago Mendes's performance, he felt that he should remind his teammates, "Look at that guy?" He's really not in any shape! I easily shook him off. ”

"Yes, just do it, keep doing it!"

Some of his team-mates said, especially the players who had the opportunity to meet Thiago Mendes, with some ill-intentioned look in their eyes.

In fact, there were no Fulham players at first, and it was thought that finding opportunities all the way from Thiago Mendes was a good choice, and in the Chelsea team, Thiago Mendes was not well known, but Mourinho's trust in Thiago Mendes was well known, and even the Chelsea supporting media criticized Thiago Mendes for his long playing time and poor performances.

But Mourinho trusts Thiago Mendes, and in the understanding of many professional players, being trusted by a championship coach must have a certain ability state.

With such a player, there must be nothing wrong with defending.

With Pembridge's tentativeness, the rest of the players know that Thiago Mendes is at least out of form,?? Chelsea's defence is tight, but with such a breach, even the tightest defence has holes.

The Fulham players suddenly gained confidence.

As long as you can break Thiago Mendes' way, scoring goals is not a dream, right? Then the door to victory is opened.

――――

In the following games, Fulham began to deliberately attack Thiago Mendes' point. Whenever there is an opportunity, the player with the ball will pass the ball to this way, and when a player encounters Thiago Mendes, he will look for an opportunity to deliberately break through.

Fulham's frequent targeted attacks have put a lot of pressure on Thiago Mendes, and he even hopes that the manager can replace him, as for affecting the playing time in the future, it doesn't matter at all, he is not a very ambitious player, as long as he can play in the top league normally, he has not wanted to be the world's No. 1 player.

Thiago Mendes has not been adapted to English football.

One is that the English football style is tougher, and it is common for the body to collide on the field, and the second is that the rhythm of English football is too tough and fast, and sometimes the opponent has already passed the ball before he can react.

Pembrich and Andy Cole, two veterans took turns to break through against Thiago Mendes.

If it were the usual obstacles, Thiago Mendes would not be in good shape, and he would not be afraid of the breakthrough of the two veterans, but now it is different, whether it is Andy Cole or Pembridge, they are more than 95% in form, and the state reflects the performance, reflecting the adaptability on the field, calm and composure and many other factors.

The state cannot change the body and ability, but it can allow a player to bring out his strength.

The difference between the opponent playing more than 90% of his strength and his own only 60% of his strength is very large.

Thiago Mendes struggled to defend well, and was broken through time and time again, making him feel like he was in hell.

Thiago Mendes was simply unprepared.

The opponent's targeted attacks again and again made him a little overwhelmed, so his state became worse, and when Fulham did not attack him, he forgot to defend his position, so that the defense was full of holes along the way.

――――

Sidelines.

Chelsea boss Jose Mourinho frowned, he didn't expect Thiago Mendes to be so unbearable.

In fact, Mourinho always likes to send Thiago Mendes, which is also a helpless choice, the summer transfer, Chelsea's squad has been improved, but there is one position that has always been problematic, that is, the defense on the right side, the team does not have a very good right wing-back.

Chelsea have a good young player - Glenn Johnson, but Johnson is too young, Mourinho has no interest in developing new talents, in contrast, Thiago Mendes is much more experienced and quite good.

Also, it's important to note that Thiago Mendes is a player he is determined to bring in.

Although Thiago Mendes did not play for Porto before, the players he brought to Chelsea always felt that they were 'their own people', and if they wanted to establish authority, they had to use their 'own people' to win, otherwise they would not be denying their own vision.

Thiago Mendes didn't perform well, and Mourinho didn't care too much, but hoped that Thiago Mendes could use his playing time to adapt more to the Premier League so that he could perform better in the future.

Now Mourinho is frowning as he finds that Thiago Mendes is not only in poor form, but also targeted by opposing players.

Generally in the face of this situation, there must be some adjustments, the best way is to replace Thiago Mendes off the field, the opponent has nothing to target, but the first half is not over yet, and now the substitution is tantamount to a denial of the starting list, just for the sake of establishing prestige, and it should not be done like that.

Mourinho could only frown.

Halfway through the first half, Chelsea have a big advantage, and Thiago Mendes is being targeted by the opposition, so probably there will be no problem, right?

But what Mourinho didn't expect was that the problem really arose.