The ball is in!

Chelsea took the lead late in the first half!

At the riverside stadium, Middlesbrough fans were silent, they didn't expect the team to score first, but they were chased two goals in a row at halftime, they were expecting a leading halftime break, but they didn't expect to end up behind, the gap before and after is too big.

The mood of Chelsea fans is quite the opposite.

From the beginning of the first half to the team's first goal, this period was a bit too long, and seeing Middlesbrough score first, they were all prepared for a bad game, but they didn't expect that in the last time, the team chased two goals in a row.

What a surprise!

They celebrated in the audience, so suddenly recovering the score and overtaking the score, they were extremely happy, this was a goal, this was a surprise, and they were also happy for this Zhang Tiehan's goal.

It wasn't just a comeback goal, it was Zhang Tiehan's first competitive goal for Chelsea.

This was also said by the various commentators who broadcast the game live.

'It was the first goal for Chelsea and it came very suddenly, he scored the first goal with a cold shot, which is a testament to Zhang's ability, for him it is not very difficult to score a goal, Zhang has already scored the ball before we can react at all......

"There is the first, there is the second, and the third...... The league has only just started and we expect Zhang to score more goals for Chelsea in the future......

"A cold shot, this is Zhang, he uses the goal to tell all opponents, as long as one is not careful, he has the ability to send the ball directly into the goal......"

While the commentators commented on the goal, Zhang Tiehan also celebrated with his teammates on the field.

A lot of Chelsea players came running. Congratulations to Zhang Tiehan on the first goal, they and Zhang Tiehan hugged each other, shook hands, and Zhang Tiehan was also very happy to score a goal.

A goal is not a big deal for him, but it was his first goal for the team after all, and it still makes a lot of sense.

After celebrating with teammates. He didn't forget to wave at the Chelsea fans' stands.

The move was echoed by many Chelsea fans at the scene, with Sky TV commentator Alfi also laughing and saying, "Although Zhang has not been at Chelsea for a long time, it seems that he has already received a lot of support from Chelsea fans. ”

……

Sidelines.

Grant immediately smiled when he saw Zhang Tiehan's goal, this goal was really surprising, and he was able to overtake the score at the end of the first half, so that the team's shape was quite good.

On the other hand, Middlesbrough boss Gareth Southgate felt powerless.

He was also a great professional footballer, well-known in England and was still playing last season. Therefore, he knows very well the difficulty of Zhang Tiehan's goal just now, either because the team's defense is not good, or because the opponent's personal ability is too strong.

He felt helpless.

With such a gap in ability, and the opponent's state is extremely good, how can you play this game?

Without this goal, the score of 1:1, Middlesbrough would still be barely acceptable, after all, it was a draw. This is still on the riverside pitch, Middlesbrough's turf. But conceding a goal in the last half of the first half was too much of a blow to the team's morale.

From leading to lagging behind, it was less than seven minutes.

Chelsea scored twice in quick succession after seven minutes, and as the first half drew to the end of the game, he was bothering his players at half-time. Even with fighting spirit and confidence, Southgate knows by now that it will be difficult for Middlesbrough to win, or even to get a point.

How to play in the second half? He didn't even know.

He can only look at his own players, who are also former teammates. One by one, he drooped his head and walked back to the dressing room, but Southgate still knew what he had to do, although he didn't have much confidence, he still went back with his head held high, no matter what, he couldn't let the players know that he didn't have confidence either, he had to show confidence and hope, so that the team could be more confident, more fighting and hopeful.

Back in the dressing room, Southgate spoke about the first half.

He attributed the team's backwardness to helplessness, "It was the opponent's No. 9 Zhang who played too well", he said to everyone, "but he can't keep this form for the whole game, we still have a chance." ”

After listening to Southgate's words and thinking about the opponent's two goals in the first half, many players nodded along with him.

Isn't it?

In the first goal, the opponent's No. 9 faced the defense of four people, passed Yakubu and passed the ball into the penalty area, creating a good opportunity for the opponent, and the second goal was completely the personal watch of the opponent's No. 9, a cold shot from the edge of the box to create a goal, such a goal would feel very weak for anyone to defend - because that opportunity could not be defended.

This is indeed the personal table of the other party's number nine.

Stars are like that, the occasional individual watch will make the opponent's whole team helpless, but such a table can't last the whole game, everyone believes what Southgate said.

"I hope everyone can persevere until the end, as long as we are willing to work hard, the game will have a chance, although the opponent's No. 9 Zhang is very good, but the opponent's entire team is not good, we defend steadily, find opportunities to counterattack, and we can still equalize."

Many people looked at Tang Ning.

Downing's goal in the first half was really good, and it was a reflection of his individual ability, and it was not easy for him to score the ball against Terry's defence.

They have Downing, and they have Yakub, why don't they have a chance?

There must be.

The Middlesbrough players rekindled their fighting spirits and then listened to Gareth Southgate make second-half tactical changes and some game advice.

There is nothing to say about tactical adjustment, on the whole, it is still a defensive counterattack, Middlesbrough can almost only play defensive counterattacks in the face of Chelsea, they cannot play other tactics, and the result of choosing a hard fight is definitely not very good, which Middlesbrough knows very well. In addition, Southgate explained what to pay attention to in the second half, and the focus was on the defensive set-up, especially the defense on the left side of the penalty area, which was the most important. Although Southgate told his players that the two first-half goals were just Zhang Tiehan's surprise individual performance, what if it ...... What if he surprised again in the second half? That's a real deal.

Southgate can't guarantee that all he can do is tell his players to defend seriously.

……

In the Chelsea dressing room.

Grant walked into the locker room with a smile on his face, and he could tell that he was in a pretty good mood, in fact. It's about the situation of the game.

With the same 1:2 scoreline, the first goal and the last goal give a different feeling.

When Middlesbrough scored first, Grant, like the fans, was ready for a difficult game, but the team scored two goals in a row in the final minute, and suddenly the situation was different, which surprised Chelsea fans and also Grant.

He kept lamenting that coaching a team like Chelsea was different.

Previously, when he was in charge of the Israeli national team, he had to put his team on the underdog side in every game. This is especially true in the World Cup, where every game is full of wonders if 'will you get a point', and when it comes to the game, most of the time it is disappointment, Israel does not have too good stars, and it is difficult for Grant to see surprises outside of his tactics.

Chelsea are different.

He doesn't actually do much work for the team, it's basically about analysing the opponent and strategizing the game. It was just a matter of starting the line-up and he wanted to give Chelsea some of his own label. But this work is still very long-term, and it is almost impossible to produce results in a short period of time.

But the result was a comfortable three-goal victory over the opponent in the first game, and now in the second game, when the opponent scored one goal first, the team overtook the team by two goals in seven minutes.

Victory seems a little too easy......

But either way, Grant let out a long breath. In fact, as Chelsea manager, the pressure on him is very high, to make a comparison, when he was in charge of Israel. Losing in the World Cup, fans and the media will feel normal, Israel can win the opponent is really surprised to them, even only lose one goal, the media will say 'Israel has improved under the leadership of Grant', a draw, the media will say 'Israel is tenacious', defeat the opponent, the media immediately happy to say 'Israeli football is improving very fast'.

All in all, it's all good words.

It's normal to lose to your opponent, and winning a game is a surprisingly good game.

That kind of work doesn't have a lot of pressure, and now it's different at Chelsea, although he won the first round, if he can't win in the second round, or even a draw, he will be under a lot of pressure, mainly because he had Mourinho in his last term, and Chelsea spent almost 200 million euros in the summer to buy players, and now the whole team is full of stars on all three fronts.

The expectation of the media and fans is that Chelsea will continue to win the league and improve in the Champions League.

What is this concept?

Manchester United is Chelsea's biggest rival, that is to say, Chelsea's results must be better than Manchester United, Manchester United wins, Chelsea must win one, and now it seems that as long as it is not against opponents of the same level, such as Arsenal, Manchester United, Liverpool, then Chelsea must win, and even against opponents of the same level, Chelsea must also have an advantage, only by playing such results, Chelsea can continue to win the league title.

Then in the Champions League, Chelsea finished in the last four.

To improve, to get to the Champions League final, that's the bottom line, and Grant is well aware of that, and if he can't do that, then he'll be at Chelsea for a year at most, not on a longer contract.

And that's not all.

Many Chelsea fans, no, it should be said that the club's president Roman Abramovich also wants the team to pull off a miracle and win a better honour than Manchester United, who won the treble in '99, which means that Chelsea's expectation is to win all the trophies they can win.

The goal is ...... It's a little too big.

Even if such a goal is accomplished, the media and fans will only say that the whole Chelsea team is doing well, which player is playing well, Abramovich's investment has paid off, and as for Grant's role...... It is estimated that we will have to find it from the top three in the 'Chelsea Championship Contribution Ranking'.

This shows how embarrassing Grant's job is and how stressful it is.

This Israeli is really not easy.

Fortunately, there is not much pressure on him now, after all, the team is already ahead, especially at half-time, Grant thinks about the two goals in the first half, and walks into the dressing room with a rather relaxed expression.

He praised the players for their performance in the first half.

'Everyone did a great job and we had a one-goal lead. We continued to play like this in the second half, but I still have to emphasize a few points......" Grant said about the game.

Most of the players in the dressing room didn't have much respect for Grant though.

The Israeli has yet to establish authority at Chelsea, and when it comes to the team's voice, captain John Terry and Frank Lampard are the most authoritative at Chelsea, and most of their team-mates will listen carefully when they speak. And then there is Zhang Tiehan, although he has just come to the team, everyone knows that Zhang Tiehan is the absolute main force, he will have the absolute support of Abramovich, his value is also extremely high, and his appearance is also extremely good, which is the authority of personal ability.

Next is Grant.

He's the head coach of the team, although he has a lot of rights. But everyone knows that those are vain, he has no absolute authority, for example, he does not dare to keep Terry, Frank Lampard and Zhang Tiehan on the bench...... At the very least, he has to start as long as those three want to play.

It may be a privilege, but it's certain. If he had a conflict with any of the three, his position would be in jeopardy.

Club president Roman Abramovich will support the players. Chelsea fans will also support the player because no one believes in Grant's ability and he has yet to convince Chelsea fans.

Fortunately, both Frank Lampard and John Terry are veteran Chelsea players, and Terry came from the Chelsea Academy, and they want the team to do well. There will be no infighting, Zhang Tiehan will not have any conflicts with the head coach, and he also hopes that the team will be good, and it is best to bring more championships.

That's what Grant kept saying, and some of the Chelsea players were listening. Some didn't know what they were thinking, but the overall atmosphere was good, at least no one interrupted Grant.

After talking about the simple tactical arrangement, the players will do their own thing.

Zhang Tiehan is discussing with Robben the technical problem of cutting inside from the wing to the middle, Robben is definitely a master in this regard, even if he can't occupy an absolute main position on the wing now, but many people know that Robben is very good at cutting from the wing to the middle, and then completing a shot, that is almost his signature way of scoring.

Robben discussed this issue with Zhang Tiehan.

He pointed out the key, "You have to cut inside and shoot straight at your chance," he said.

Zhang Tiehan is a little abrupt, but how to grasp it is still not good, Robben can do a good job in this regard, this is his signature way of scoring goals, but it is not easy to imitate, Zhang Tiehan feels that his long-range shooting ability is much stronger than Robben, in the process of cutting the ball, if there is a chance to shoot, it will be a powerful arc ball, but it is not easy to seize the opportunity, and it is not easy to play well.

In the discussion between the two, time passed quickly, and in a blink of an eye, the halftime was over, and everyone walked out of the locker room to prepare for the second half of the game.

……

The fans at the scene have been waiting for it for a long time.

The halftime was only fifteen minutes, but for most fans, five minutes was enough to settle the game, and they waited in their seats for the game to start.

Finally, both teams reappeared on the pitch.

As the clock passed, the referee team also came out of the makeshift lounge, and the referee walked to the center circle, motioned for the players of both teams to take their positions, and kept looking at their watches, and when the second hand pointed to twelve, he blew the whistle for the restart of the game.

The second half began.

When the ball came out, Chelsea pressed again and kept the Millsbrough half pressed, with every player taking the attack seriously and looking for an opportunity to breach the Middlesbrough defence.

Middlesbrough had expected Chelsea's attack to be a little more restrained in the second half, after all, Chelsea were the lead and this was the riverside stadium, but in fact Chelsea did not do so, they still maintained the intensity of the attack, and did not give Middlesbrough a little respite.

Zhang Tiehan is still attacking on the wing, and his dribbling, passing, and passing have always been the focus of the whole game, even now.

However, Zhang Tiehan's style of play has changed a bit, and he is trying to keep cutting inside and looking for opportunities to shoot.

In the wing-back position, he has more opportunities to get the ball, but most of the time, he does not have a direct shot on goal, and if he breaks through the line, his only option can only be passing, but he can make a cold shot when he has the opportunity to cut in the middle.

This is what he thinks.

Compared with his teammates, Zhang Tiehan still believes in his own shooting.

But Zhang Tiehan didn't do well twice, and he found opportunities to shoot twice in a row. The first time the position was not good, I couldn't kick the strength at all, and the second time I hit it directly.

However, Zhang Tiehan was not discouraged, he had already found some feelings.

This time it was still on the side with the ball, and after shaking off the opposing player with a horizontal dribble, between two or three steps, Zhang Tiehan ran horizontally along the line of the penalty area. The Middlesbrough players couldn't keep up at the first time, and as a result, Zhang Tiehan thought about Robben's 'shoot at the first time', so he immediately got up and attacked the goal.

He got up and shot in the middle of a quick dribble, and the ball spun so hard as it flew towards goal, and goalkeeper Schwarzer had a hard time judging the direction of the ball, but it was a pity that the shot flew off the post and off the line, drawing a chorus of pity from the Chelsea fans.

Again, Zhang Tiehan came again.

Same dribbling, same shots. The Middlesbrough players still couldn't keep up, and after these few times, Zhang Tiehan found that the sudden lateral dribble was indeed easy to shake off the opponent, turn 90 degrees to dribble, and then turn 90 degrees to shoot, so that it was difficult for the opposing defenders to keep up with his movements even if they predicted in advance.

This time he found another shot on goal.

It's a pity that the ball was kicked very right, and the football plunged directly into the arms of goalkeeper Schwager. Zhang Tiehan could only sigh and shake his head, in such a fast dribble. It's very difficult to turn 90 degrees to shoot the ball into the corner, and every shot will not be exactly the same position and direction, even if he has a hard time, it will take more practice to really do what Robben did.

……

Although Zhang Tiehan felt that these two times were a waste of opportunities, others did not think so.

The standards of the two sides are not the same.

In Zhang Tiehan's opinion. As long as you don't score, it's a wasted chance, but others think it's good enough to create a threat, Zhang Tiehan shot twice, once brushed the post and flew to the bottom line, and once the football plunged into the goalkeeper's arms. Both the former and the latter pose a big threat to the Middlesbrough goal.

The two shots on goal made Middlesbrough pinch a cold sweat up and down.

They didn't expect Zhang Tiehan to actually cut inside to shoot himself in a row, and more importantly, they found it difficult to restrain Zhang Tiehan from doing so.

Directly turn the corner 90 degrees to dribble the ball, Zhang Tiehan relies on speed, body and technique, his advantage in this aspect of speed and body is too obvious, because the body is quite flexible, his dribbling skills are also very good, even if two people follow him, he can still cut inside to the middle line and then shoot.

It's almost like creating your own threat, and with a little bit of luck you can score.

Middlesbrough's defense was a little flustered, and the Middlesbrough players who were responsible for paying attention to Zhang Tiehan's defense failed to have much impact on Zhang Tiehan several times in a row, which made other Middlesbrough players complain a few words, in any case, let Zhang Tiehan let go of the ball and shoot like this, the threat to the team is too great.

But in fact, they don't have much to do with Zhang Tiehan.

Other people also know that this is not a problem of defense, it is entirely because Zhang Tiehan's personal ability is too good, and they have not been able to block the penalty area line in the first time, but the penalty area line is very long after all, and it is impossible to completely block it, Zhang Tiehan's speed is very fast, and they want to completely hold it Unless more than a dozen people are all standing on the penalty area line, there will always be three or four players who are open.

That's where the Middlesbrough players got helpless.

They remembered what manager Southgate said in the dressing room at halftime, when Southgate said that the opponent's two goals all relied on Zhang Tiehan's personal ability to highlight the table, and he couldn't maintain this kind of table for the whole game, but now they found that what the coach said was not necessarily right, at least Zhang Tiehan was very capable of threatening the Middlesbrough players - just using ordinary tables!

This is not a 'flash of inspiration', it is such a big threat, so if it is a 'flash of inspiration', they will definitely not be able to prevent it.

And the 'flash of inspiration' seems simple to this guy, as long as the soccer shot is a little more tricky, it will almost certainly be a goal.

Middlesbrough were a little unconfident in their play.

They don't know how to survive the next half hour, now let alone use the attack to tie the score, it's good to keep the goal, they don't dare to fight, but there is still a lot of time in the game, and it's not time to fight hard.

But if you don't fight now, will you still have a chance when the game is almost over? (To be continued......)