Stamford Bridge, 6 January.

Chelsea host Watford.

It's the third round of the FA Cup, and it's in this round that Premier League teams are all in action to compete for the world's oldest trophy.

It would not be an exaggeration to say that the FA Cup is the oldest football competition.

Back in 1871, they completed their first tournament, with the Rangers winning the championship by beating the Royal Engineers 1-0 in the final.

And what year is 1871, it is the year of Tongzhi in the Qing Dynasty......

Incidentally, the first FA Cup winners, Rangers, are still there, but in the 15th tier......

Therefore, compared to the cup competitions of other countries, the FA Cup still has a relatively high status in English football, and many teams will try their best to play better.

Some strong teams will also try to win, after all, the winner can also qualify for the Europa League!

So, which team has won the most titles in FA Cup history?

None other than Arsenal!

So far this season, they have won the FA Cup 12 times, especially in the last two consecutive seasons, hence the name "Thermos Cup".

It's just that if you go back to this game, the attention itself is not very large.

It's not about the importance of the FA Cup on either side of the game, especially Chelsea's side of the Premier League and Champions League, but on the basis of a quality comparison.

After all, Chelsea are now a 20-game unbeaten giants in the Premier League, while Watford are just a Championship side.

Even if Pan Yi often sends a rotating lineup in such a game, the difference in strength between the two teams is still obvious.

The scene of Borussia Dortmund being blown off by Chelsea's substitute is still vivid.

Moreover, Chelsea is still playing at home!

This also avoids the occurrence of small probability events such as York City's upset defeat to Chelsea in the rain to the greatest extent.

However, due to the recent transfer of Lingard, all the media and fans have turned their attention to this game.

Everyone is concerned, will Jesse Lingard feature in this game?

After going through this period of turmoil, can he play to the level that Pan Yi expects?

After the game started, everyone found that Pan Yi really rotated the game significantly.

The likes of Romelu Lukaku, Eden Hazard and N'Golo Kante were all on the bench.

Or to put it another way, all the starters in the last game against Manchester United were rested.

So, what about the four wingbacks?

Didn't Pan Yi send all four wingbacks to deal with Manchester United at that time, and today he is all resting, isn't there no wingback?

Pan Yi's answer is very simple - then you don't need a wingback formation!

Chelsea's formation today was an equally bizarre 3-3-3-1.

The back three centre-backs, led by captain John Terry, led by two youngsters, Andreas Christensen and Kurt Zouma, were brought along by two youngsters.

The middle three are a midfield trio in an inverted triangle position, with Loftus-Cheek and Ramirez playing as pseudo-wingers on the left and right, while Mikel drags back to occupy a central midfield position.

There are three in front, Gnabry on the left, Willian on the right, and it is the new signing Lingard who stands in the front midfield!

Pan Yi still threw Lingard directly, and he also used it immediately after completing the transfer procedures.

This will be Jesse Lingard's first game for Chelsea and his official debut at Stamford Bridge!

The other Chelsea debut was today's starting goalkeeper Martin.

For now, this FA Cup game is his battlefield!

And the center forward at the top is Bamford.

This 3-3-3-1 formation is a relatively unpopular formation in world football, and it can be regarded as an evolution of the 3-4-3 formation.

It's a more attacking formation, and Argentina coach Bielsa was the first to suggest using it.

In fact, Bielsa is a believer in the space theory of Michels, a generation of Dutch coaches, and his tactical philosophy can also be seen as all-attacking and all-defensive football in a sense.

Michels believes that 4-3-3 is the formation that maximizes the space on the pitch, but Bielsa questioned why should my formation cover all the space on the pitch?

As long as the defenders are not too stretched, it is no problem for the three defenders to keep an eye on the two strikers of the opposing side at the first time, and my formation does not need to cover the space on the flanks of the back at the first time.

So, after his research, a set of 3-3-3-1, or 3-3-1-3 formations, which looked more anti-human, was born.

Although it seems that there are only three people on each side, in fact, this formation is not a formation that many people take for granted that lacks width.

The four people in the front court form a diamond-shaped pressing team, that is, 1 center, 2 wingers and a forward midfielder, the first time to press in the frontcourt, the opponent to break the pressure to retreat and fall to the defense.

The two people on the side of the midfield should each hold one side, step forward to respond to the winger when attacking, suppress the opponent's wing when the opponent organizes, and fall into the position of full-back or full-back when defending, requiring two people to run up and down, one person to support one side.

There needs to be a "big gate" in the middle of the midfield to sweep in front of the defensive line and help the ball out of the back when attacking.

The three centre-backs are generally used to deal with the opponent's two-striker, and when facing a single-centre-forward formation, it becomes two centre-backs, and the extra one mentions the midfield.

The prerequisite for being able to use this formation is to have enough all-rounders to adapt to all kinds of changes on the field.

Clearly, the players in the current Chelsea squad meet that need.

Of course, Pan Yi used this formation today, in addition to letting the four wingbacks in the team rest, there is another important reason, that is, to give Lingard the best "experience".

He knows that Jesse Lingard is only playing at his best in a midfield position, and that he has only been at Chelsea for a day or two now, so it's too early to convert him into a winger or something, so it's better to let him play in the most comfortable position.

The success or failure of the debut is very important for a player's self-confidence! This is especially true for Lingard, who was previously caught in the whirlpool of public opinion.

This is a different situation from the last game in Gnabry.

Gnabry was originally born as a winger, and going up to play as a winger is naturally plug-and-play and seamless.

In addition, although this 3-3-3-1 formation is a variant of the 3-4-3 formation, after all, the Chelsea players have not really used it in actual combat.

Today's match against the weaker Wadford is also a good time to practice.

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After the start of the game, Wadford played very pragmatically, setting up a bucket formation in front of the penalty area.

They don't care what 3331, 3313, or 343 you are!

In fact, there is no shortage of some powerful players in Wadford's team, such as Mexican international Layun, Fabricini, who has been selected for the Italian national team, and Nigerian, the future Chinese Super League legend and Manchester United legend Yin Halo......

The squad of the Championship team is often better than the other bottom four leagues, and this is no joke.

It's just that today they faced Chelsea.

Away from home against the Premier League leaders and giants, they have no choice but to stick to this as a Championship team.

Defend to the death, defend to me, 0:0 throughout, and then see if you can steal one, or even play a draw and rematch and fight again to see the character, this is the only way for them to win.

Clearly, this strategy seems to have worked.

The game lasted for more than 80 minutes, and the score was still 0-0.

Neither side was able to score!

It's just that Pan Yi is not very anxious about this.

The FA Cup, like the League Cup, is also a place for training.

In fact, although the players on the pitch were a little unaccustomed to today's formation, Chelsea played very well overall.

Sometimes you can't just watch a game just by looking at the score.

How do you assess whether a manager is using the right tactics in a game?

It's really about the chances that the team creates, or the number of goals expected.

If a chance has been created and you just can't score, sometimes it's just bad luck, after all, the coach can't go on the pitch and kick the damn ball into the net!

Just like today's game.

Chelsea's tactics were very aggressive today, with Jesse Lingard playing well up front.

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He's not the kind of player who can make unthinkable moves in tight spaces (like Iniesta), but his aggressive attitude, strong running ability and dexterous movement are a perfect fit for the 3-3-3-1 midfield.

In the 2002 World Cup, Argentina's coach at that time was Bielsa, so why didn't he call up Riquelme?

Apparently because Riquelme lacked the ability to run and not be able to complete Bielsa's demands of pressing up front.

That's why he opted for Veron in the midfield position, with the ability to run and execute pressing tactics, as well as an excellent big-picture vision.

Jesse Lingard is now the 'Veron' of the Chelsea team, but not as much as he is to be at the heart of the team's attack.

Because in this Chelsea team, it's not a simple single or dual core, it's distributed cloud computing! Mom doesn't have an absolute core, but everyone can play a central role.

That left Chelsea's attack unguarded and created a plethora of dangerous shots.

It's just that in today's game, their luck is indeed a bit bad.

For example, this attack in the 84th minute.

Gnabry picked up the ball on the flank, cut diagonally inside and, after encountering an interception, slotted the ball past Loftus-Cheek, who in turn immediately struck Ramirez.

Ramirez takes the ball high into the box.

Watford's Jamaican defender Doyon secretly tugged at Bamford's shirt, but was unable to stop the opponent's jump.

Bamford jumped high and scrambled for a header.

Under Doyiner's interference, his jump was limited, his position was not good, and he finally rubbed the football with the back of his head.

Peng!

The difficult header rubbed back, but the ball hit the crossbar with a muffled sound.

The ball was then kicked off the touchline by a panicked Wadford defender.

This is the fourth time Chelsea have hit the woodwork today!

This feeling can't be described as bad luck, it's a bit metaphysical!

The doorposts at Stamford Bridge deny the Lord!

The game went into 90 minutes and stoppage time.

Chelsea are also making their last attacking chances.

Of course, they don't want to play a rematch, after all, this is still a relatively large drain on the players' physical strength, and it may even affect the later games.

At this time, Mikel's long-range shot was blocked by the opposing defender with his body, and Ake, who had pressed to the front, picked the ball into the box.

Bamford headed in again but was saved by the goalkeeper.

Gnabry got the ball first, but he immediately spotted that Lingard was in a better position in the middle and immediately pushed the ball to Lingard.

Jesse Lingard controlled the ball in a crowded penalty area, and he nimbly flicked the ball sideways before swinging a shot at goal.

"Block him to shoot!" Wadford's Brazilian goalkeeper Hilario Gomez shouted.

Two of their centre-backs stretched out their legs almost simultaneously to block the shot.

However, Lingard just slammed the ball and avoided their block, before smashing his foot to shoot.

All!

At this time, the referee's whistle sounded.

Lingard's shot was also not complete.

This is because Wadford's Layun was panicked and pushed down Lingard directly from behind!

"Penalty!"

It was a penalty without a doubt.

The referee pointed directly to the penalty spot.

At the same time, a second yellow card was shown to Layun, who had committed a foul.

Layun turned two yellows into one red and was sent off with a red card.

In fact, Wadford have already paid the price of seven yellow cards for stopping Chelsea's attack in this game, and it is already miraculous or lucky to have one person sent off at this point.

Watford manager Jokanovic clasped his head in his hands and looked frustrated.

His team resisted almost the entire game and looked set to fall short in the final moments.

While a Championship club doesn't usually have any hard requirements for an FA Cup result, it would be an honour to hold their opponents to a draw against Chelsea.

It might as well get him to the attention of Premier League teams......

This is Chelsea, who have just beaten Manchester United by eight goals!

Of course, there was a glimmer of hope that Chelsea would not be able to score the penalty.

Jokanovic then set his sights on his own penalty area to see who was in charge of the penalty by Chelsea.

But now on the field......

No one took the penalty!

Because Chelsea's first penalty taker was Eden Hazard, who wasn't on the pitch.

The second penalty taker was Romelu Lukaku, who was also not on the pitch.

The third penalty taker was David Luiz...... Not there either!

Oscar and Schurrle, who are at the top of the penalty pick, have also left the team, which makes everyone suddenly not know who to take the penalty.

So, everyone turned to look at the coach's seat.

"Whoever creates will be punished!" Pan Yi shouted loudly, "You little rabbits, do you still want to ask me about such a trivial matter?" ”

While it seems reasonable to say that Pan Yi called the young players on the field "little bunnies", it sounds a bit funny considering that there is Terry on the field who is older than Pan Yi.

But Terry doesn't think it's wrong, he has long been used to calling this young head coach "leader", "boss", do you care about being called "little bunny"?

He was also the first to pick up the football from the ground and stuff it into Lingard's arms: "Come on, relax, get it in!" ”

Lingard nodded.

He was okay with his penalty, his mental quality was good, and he often took penalties when he was in Manchester United's youth team.

It's just that having him take a penalty in his first game for Chelsea today still puts him under a bit of psychological pressure.

What's more, it's a crucial penalty at this time of the game!

But Lingard also understands that this is the opportunity given to him by Coach Pan Yi.

The coach wants him to make his debut today and boost his self-confidence at the same time!

So, he can't back down either!

Lingard walked to the penalty spot with the ball, kissed it gently and put it down.

The referee's whistle blows.

Lingard breathed a sigh of relief, ran and shot!

He didn't make any feints, he didn't think too much, he just aimed at the bottom right corner of the goal!

Wadford's goalkeeper Hilario Gomes was on the right track, but the angle was too tricky to keep the ball out of the net.

The ball is in!

The Chelsea crowd erupted in cheers.

“gooooooooooooooollllllllllllll！”

'Lingard calmly scored the penalty! Chelsea are 1-0 up! Jesse Lingard's Chelsea debut, also on the scoresheet! ”

"Considering it's the final minute of stoppage time, it's a goal that completely kills the game!"

'The penalty was created by Jesse Lingard and it was scored by him, which is arguably the best reward for his good performance today.'

'You can imagine the psychological pressure he was under after his disastrous performance against Chelsea for Manchester United and his immediate move to Chelsea.

"If he can't come out of the shadows today, or even if he still doesn't perform well, what a blow it will take on him."

'Luckily, Pan Yi still trusts him and the whole Chelsea team trusts him. Jesse Lingard played a good game today and scored the crucial goal. ”

"Obviously, Lingard understands that. He rushed to the coach's bench immediately after scoring the goal and hugged Pan Yi. Considering what has happened in the past few days, this is really an emotional scene! ”

'Maybe we can really see Lingard, a kid who grew up at Manchester United, get a new life at Chelsea......

In the end, it was Jesse Lingard's penalty that Chelsea won 1-0 at home to Wadford and reach the fourth round of the FA Cup.

At this point, the terrifying Premier League Christmas schedule has also come to an end.

From December 23 to January 5, Chelsea also achieved an excellent record of four wins and one draw in five games in 12 days!

In addition to Chelsea, there is another Premier League team that also has four wins and one draw, and that is Manchester City.

They are 3:0 Crystal Palace, 3:1 West Bromwich Albion, 2:2 Burnley, 3:2 Sunderland and 2:1 Sheffield Wednesday in those five matches.

Although it is not as big as Chelsea with an 8:0 Manchester United, it has also scored a lot of points.

As a result, the top two teams have also further opened up a gap with the other teams in the standings, after all, there are not many teams that can exit the Christmas schedule!

Not to mention United's heavy defeat to Chelsea, Arsenal drew with Liverpool and then lost 2-0 to Hull City......

Therefore, Chelsea is now in first place with 58 points, Manchester City in second place with 46 points, and Manchester United in third place, with only 37 points!

It is precisely because Manchester United is still in the third position that Van Gaal still carried it for the time being and did not leave the class immediately......

At the post-match press conference, Pan Yi also praised Lingard:

'He's been doing so well that he doesn't even feel like he's playing for Chelsea for the first time.'

'In the midfield position, he played his best and if he hadn't been unlucky, he might have scored in the first half.

"Yes, I like this player a lot. Not only does he give his best on the pitch, but he is also a pistachio off the pitch. ”

"Can you believe it? On his first day at the club, he made Kante laugh a few times. That's something that would take us a month or even three months to achieve! ”

"What do you think of our winter window operation? It was perfect. We have added three players who can perfectly fill the void left by the departing players. ”

"Don't forget Martinez, who also made his debut today, he did a great job! Of course, it wasn't his fault that he couldn't make a single save in the game...... It's good to get a clean sheet bonus! ”

"Are there any other operations in the winter window? I think we're strong and complete enough with our squad right now. Unless there are players left, I think our winter window may be over. ”

'Will Jesse Lingard start in the next Premier League game against Newcastle United? I'm not sure about this yet. Let's see......"

Pan Yi's final answer was not sloppy.

After all, the strength of a mid-table team in the Championship is not the same as that of a mid-table team in the Premier League.

Therefore, the difficulty of playing against Watford is naturally different from that against Newcastle.

If it wasn't for an early two-goal lead when playing Manchester United, Pan Yi might not have let Gnabry play so quickly.

So if Jesse Lingard wants to play against Newcastle, he'll need to be better in training.

After all, even if Lingard did well in his last FA Cup game, it was against a Championship side and in what amounted to a tailor-made 3-3-3-1 formation for him.

If Pan Yi wants to change the formation to 3-4-3 again, at this time Lingard will have to play in the left and right winger positions, will he still be able to play at his own level at this time? This is to be put under a question mark.

This is not to say which formation Pan Yi will use, but under his command, his players need to adapt to every formation and every style of play, which is a basic requirement.

Just like Oscar, who has just moved to SIPG, he is actually best at midfielding, but he has also found his place in this Chelsea team.

In short, just one FA Cup game still doesn't know if Jesse Lingard has really adapted to Chelsea.

It still depends on whether he can adapt to Chelsea's training and Pan Yi's training!

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ps: Thank you for Zhuge incompetence and another 10,000 reward!