Chapter 273: Warm-up before the competition
The forward line does not just refer to the strikers, in the mind of Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho, for this game, it has become a general concept, that is, all shots that can pose a threat to the goal.
It was clear in the game that Manchester City were more efficient than Chelsea, and Mourinho also put the reason down to the 'striker'.
This conclusion can be drawn from both observation and data.
However, in Mourinho's view, the more critical thing is indeed the striker player, because for the attack, the role of the striker is not only reflected in the goal.
Just like Nicolas Anelka and Didier Drogba in this game, they are the same type of players, they are at the front of the formation, not just looking for opportunities to shoot, no matter which of the two is also tasked with another very important responsibility - tactical centre-forward.
Just like Liverpool's striker Crouch, everyone knows that Crouch is a tactical center forward and doesn't score many goals in many games, but Benitez gives him the chance to start again and again, because even if Crouch doesn't score, he can play a considerable role in the overall strategy, and the simplest one, he can attract enough defense.
The same goes for Nicolas Anelka and Didier Drogba, who are not standard 'tactical' centre-forwards, but the players who rush to the front will always have a tactical effect.
In addition, for the whole team, the running, pulling and coordination with the whole team of the forward players is also very important for a center forward, which can give himself more opportunities, but also make the opponent's defense more headaches, and at the same time can also cooperate with the whole team's attack.
All of the above adds up to all the things a striker does in the game, and each of them is important.
In Mourinho's view, Drogba is by no means weaker than Anelka in terms of personal ability, and his body and technique are not bad. The main difference in the game was the tactical role, and in addition, Anelka also played better on the last goal.
In other words, Anelka does a better job of attracting defences, running to help his teammates pull space, and at the same time, shooting more efficiently.
The former is not only about individual ability and performance, but also has a lot to do with Manchester City's tactics, which simply require each player to keep running, and Anelka as a striker. Naturally, he has to be involved in the tactical system, and his constant running in front will cause a headache for Chelsea's defence, and Anelka is also Manchester City's 'most dangerous player', so the defenders will pay attention to him, so he can attract more defence, which also creates more space and opportunities for other Manchester City players.
Another point is the efficiency of direct shots.
It was all an individual play, with Anelka scoring two goals from four shots. Didier Drogba also had four shots on goal, but so far he has not found a goal.
This is where the difference in performance between the two lies.
If Drogba had Anelka's efficiency, the current scoreline could be a different story.
Mourinho sighed in his heart.
When he arrived at Chelsea three years ago, he was in dire need of an effective centre-forward. So Drogba, who chose the 'big guy', now regrets it secretly.
Drogba is not bad, but if there is a more efficient Anelka, maybe the next three years will be different.
But now...... It's late.
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Man City in the dugout.
Wan Sheng sat down steadily. A smile appeared on his face.
He didn't know what Mourinho was thinking, but the game was going according to his plan.
Few could have imagined before the game that Manchester City would opt for a hard-fought battle at home against Chelsea.
That's right. It's hard work.
Manchester City's previous style of play, is the control of football, coupled with the intention to carry out a fast attack to fight for opportunities, there are not many times to really fight hard, but in this game, Manchester City did this, they completely let go and Chelsea fought for a whole game, the two teams fought fiercely, but also played against each other, this direct collision, the key to victory or defeat is not in the tactical coordination, but in the comprehensive strength of the two teams and on-the-spot play.
When some professionals saw Manchester City playing like this, they immediately felt that it would be Chelsea who would win, because Chelsea's overall strength was stronger.
Compared with the lineup, Manchester City is also very good, but considering every position of Chelsea, they are all stars who have been worth more than 10 million and are honest and playing, while Manchester City is mostly young players, and there are veterans like Beckham in the starting lineup.
In the game, you can also see that Chelsea are in the ascendancy.
The two teams had similar possession, but considering that some of the possession was at the back, Chelsea still played a lot of advantages, and the number of threats to the goal also showed this, but now the score has turned the situation upside down - Manchester City lead 4-2!
Manchester City is more efficient!
Anyone can see this, and as Manchester City's manager, Wan Sheng is no surprise at all.
Why?
After upgrading the 'shooting skills', the coaching skills have almost doubled the ability in front of goal, and if it is not more efficient than Chelsea, it really shows that the team's form is extremely poor.
So Wansheng didn't have to worry about this at all, and the whole game was under control.
The situation is something that was thought out before the game, and that's confidence in your own team, and it's because you have faith in the masters of soccer training.
It is estimated that Mourinho and those media will think that the gap is caused by the performance of the players, or the ability of the strikers, but in fact, Wan Sheng will not tell them.
In fact, Wansheng did not do this to 'test' coaching skills.
That doesn't make sense.
In this game, in addition to trying to "not lose" to ensure the team's undefeated, the more important purpose is to highlight the ability of the strikers.
The most important thing is - Nikolai Anelka!
Anelka will almost certainly leave at the end of the season, so highlighting his ability now can also give confidence to those 'buyers' who want to shoot from France even more frantically, and Anelka's value will increase a lot.
That's the main purpose.
The goal seems to have been achieved, four shots, two goals, this kind of individual ability, high efficiency in front of goal, and famous players, how many can you find in the world?
Now there is only one thing in front of you!
After this match, the clubs that have made an offer for Anelka will surely be more willing to raise the price.
Wan Sheng smiled with satisfaction.
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After Nicolas Anelka's second goal, the score became 4-2 and City led by two goals with only 10 minutes left.
Also, it's important to note that winning or losing games doesn't really mean anything to Chelsea.
So by this point, the Chelsea players didn't have much fighting spirit, and there weren't many fans watching the away game, so they didn't have to fight for 'ten minutes without meaning and hope'.
As a result, the final battle between the two sides was much calmer, with less scramble, less targeted attack, and less threat in front of the goal.
In the final period, the soccer ball spent more time rolling around the halfway line, with players from both sides engaged in the battle, but many players running a lot less.
Everyone knows that the game has gone into 'garbage' time.
Eventually, with the referee's whistle, the game ended at full-time and City beat Chelsea 4-2 at home.
"The game is over, Manchester City win 4-2!"
"After 37 rounds of the league, they are unbeaten in 37 games, which is an amazing result!"
"There's one round left, there's only one round left, and as long as they hold on, they can have the great glory of being unbeaten in 38 rounds of the season! Historically, only AC Milan and Arsenal have achieved this feat, and Manchester City will have the opportunity to add their own team names! ”
At the shouting of Belbart, many Manchester City fans were also excited, and they chanted from the stands.
"Undefeated! Undefeated! ”
"Unbeaten season! Manchester City are undefeated! ”
They shouted excitedly, as if Manchester City had won another league title.
In this atmosphere, Wan Sheng also walked over and took the initiative to shake hands with Mourinho, and the two looked at each other with a smile, as if they were old friends, but in fact, their eyes exuded an unfriendly taste.
In England, their clash is not over yet.
Half a month later, in mid-May, Manchester City and Chelsea will face each other at the new Wembley Stadium for the FA Cup crown in the 06-07 season.
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After the game, many media reported that Manchester City were unbeaten in the '37 rounds', and there was only one opponent left in front of Manchester City - Tottenham Hotspur.
This is an away game.
Despite Tottenham Hotspur at home, looking back at Tottenham's encounter with Manchester City, no one thought Tottenham would be able to beat Manchester City and stop their unbeaten season.
'There's no reason for Tottenham to start a big game with Manchester City, and there's no reason to stop Manchester City.'
"Even if they wanted to, it would be hard to do it."
These two reasons make many people believe that Manchester City can create a great result of unbeaten season, just like the last round is 'irrelevant' for Chelsea, and the last round is meaningless for Tottenham, their players and coaches are ready to enjoy a rare vacation, and they have no intention of dealing with meaningless battles.
In addition, even if Tottenham wanted to stop Manchester City, it would be difficult to judge their previous results against Manchester City.
"Maybe this game will be a warm-up before the big game between Manchester City and Chelsea." The game comes just three days before the FA Cup final and "this warm-up will also make Manchester City in better shape." ”
"Manchester Stadium" is not without irony.
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PS: New week, ask for recommendation votes!! (To be continued.) )