Leon was not surprised by the home win over Maribor.

Against the last Slovenian First Division team, the dignified Premier League hegemon can't win more than two goals in a single game, that is a real surprise and humiliation.

It's just that after playing Maribor, Leon became more and more surprised that Sporting Lisbon and Schalke 04 failed to win Maribor in the first two rounds of the group stage.

The Slovenian team, which miraculously made it to the Champions League this season, is not a team that likes to swing the bus.

At least in this round of the group stage, they faced Chelsea, who were much stronger than themselves, and also put on a 442 starting formation with wings flying together.

If they hadn't put some effort into the offensive end and didn't defend the opening game, Leon would not have been able to cut in and score in the ninth minute of the first half.

Subsequently, under the rotation of Drogba and Ibrahimovic as the fulcrum, Li Ang directly played in Maribor's penalty area, and did a hat-trick with his head and feet.

It is precisely because of the personal experience of Maribor's defensive intensity that Leon is even more speechless about Sporting Lisbon and Schalke 04.

He only felt that his previous evaluation of these two teams was simply no offensive power, and he was completely stating the facts!

With a big win over Maribor in this group stage, Chelsea have won the first three rounds of Group G of the Champions League and are top of the table with nine points.

The other Champions League group stage of Group G, which started at the same time, ended with Schalke 04 beating Sporting Lisbon.

Schalke 04 narrowly beat Sporting Lisbon 4-3 at the Schalke Stadium.

Both teams understand that if they want to qualify for another Champions League knockout spot in Group G, they will basically have to fight each other hard.

No way, who let them fail to take advantage of the opportunity to score against Maribor?

After this round of group stage play, Schalke 04 took the lead in qualifying, and is currently ranked second in Group G of the Champions League with 4 points.

Sporting Lisbon only picked up one point, and unfortunately fell to the bottom of the group.

The last three group games, especially the Champions League group stage against Maribor, will be crucial for Sporting Lisbon.

If they can't beat Maribor to fight for that glimmer of life, let alone fight for the second place in the group to play in the Champions League knockout round, they may not even have to play in the Europa League in the end!

Of course, for Chelsea, the fierce competition in the last three rounds of Group G of the Champions League has little to do with them.

In the next round of the group stage, as long as Chelsea win Maribor.

No matter how Schalke 04 and Sporting Lisbon fight and what the result is, Chelsea will lock up a place in the group ahead of schedule.

And as long as Sporting Lisbon competes for the next round of the group stage and does not let Schalke 04 win, then Chelsea will lock the first place in the group in advance!

After a brief analysis, the Chelsea fans all lay down and sighed.

How lonely it is to be invincible~

The new season started with eight consecutive league wins, and the Champions League group stage also won the first three rounds, plus an EFL Cup victory.

Chelsea have won 12 in a row on three fronts since the start of the new season!

When Chelsea's win after win became a habit, neutral fans in other leagues took it for granted when they saw the news of Chelsea's win again.

England's big and small media and newspapers are even more desperate to cheer for Chelsea.

It is as if Chelsea, who have only played three group games, are already the favourites to win the Champions League this season.

It is certainly not enough to kill, the English media has always been this virtue, and they also promoted it with such fanfare when Manchester City beat Bayern in the group stage before.

Coupled with the fact that the other three Premier League teams have been a little weak in the Champions League recently, it is understandable that the British media is pinning their hopes on Chelsea.

Liverpool lost two consecutive group stage games, losing to Basel and then losing to Real Madrid, and the qualification situation is in jeopardy.

Arsenal only won one win, one draw and one loss after the first three rounds of the group stage, which is not obvious compared to Anderlecht, who is third in the group.

Manchester City started high and low in the group of death, winning Bayern Munich in the first round, but then lost in the cold of Moscow and the frenetic atmosphere of the Olympic Stadium in Rome.

In contrast, Chelsea have had the luckiest group draw of any team to represent the Premier League in the Champions League this season, but they also have the best record.

Chelsea, who are almost secure to qualify for the group stage, will naturally have a better chance of going further in the Champions League for the Premier League.

The recent defeat in the Champions League has affected the players of Manchester City, Liverpool and Arsenal to some extent.

But the Premier League came soon after, but they didn't have time to review the Champions League games and frustrate.

In the ninth round of the Premier League, the Premier League's strong teams basically took advantage of their opponents in the middle and lower reaches.

Well, the same is true for Chelsea, whose showdown with Manchester United is the highlight of the Premier League.

But looking at Manchester United's current 11th mid-table ranking in the Premier League, the gold content of this game naturally has to drop a lot.

However, even if the gold content was insufficient, the match still attracted a large number of neutral fans.

Without him, these fans just want to see if Chelsea, who have slaughtered Maribor, will cause another tragedy against Manchester United.

They don't care about the lives of Manchester United, they just want to see the blood flow, and the more talked about the game they get, the more excited they are.

And in this extremely disadvantaged public opinion environment that the whole network is not optimistic about, Manchester's local pro-Manchester United media also hurriedly called on Van Gaal to stop tactical work!

Usually play 442 diamond midfielders, play three back system, and barely take down the weak team, so forget it.

Give Van Gaal, a famous football coach, face, and the local media and fans in Manchester will not spray him.

But we are about to play Chelsea, so don't fix up the offensive side first, do a good job defensively, but don't lose at Old Trafford!

The local Manchester journalists felt their advice was reasonable, and it was supported by many of United's die-hard fans.

But Van Gaal is also very aggrieved, he also has something to say!

Before coming to Manchester United, he clearly agreed with Sandezi that he would reorganize the midfield first.

Now Manchester United's midfielder, he doesn't dislike it if he can make do with it, but at least he has to buy a core to press the lineup, right?

As a result, after a summer window, Van Gaal's most wanted Kroos was cut off by Chelsea, not to mention, that is, Chelsea acted too quickly and too decisively.

But the alternative Milner and Xavi Alonso Manchester United did not make an official offer, and there was not even a transfer scandal, which made Lao Fan quite dissatisfied.

There is no big core available in the midfield, and it will be difficult to rebuild a big team.

Fortunately, the strength of Manchester United's wide players is okay now, and Van Gaal has no choice but to watch the food and try to create a new Manchester United with excellent wing attack ability and outstanding counter-attacking strength.

Tearing down last season's Manchester United's original lineup and style of play and re-establishing the tactical system naturally requires the cost of trial and error.

The outside world complained that Van Gaal has been constantly trying new formations since the start of the new season, and this is how he came to work.

Later, Van Gaal found that no matter how the formation changed, Manchester United's current midfield configuration was completely incapable of competing for control of the game with other strong teams.

So he simply stopped competing with other strong teams in the middle, directly gave up control of the midfield, protected the dealer Carrick, focused on playing left and right, and came out with a "big circle tactic".

Of course, the current Lao Fan is still trying to make mistakes, looking for new tactical ideas, and there is only one preliminary idea of the big circle tactics.

But even if he hasn't found a concrete way to restrain other Premier League powerhouses, Van Gaal is well aware.

His Manchester United would have died a miserable death if they had fought in midfield at Old Trafford and Chelsea.

Last season's tragic plight on David Moyes was a wake-up call for Louis van Gaal.

Don't play against Chelsea, and don't hoard heavy players in the middle of the midfield to steal the rhythm of the game with Chelsea.

If you want to take advantage of Chelsea, you must not make these two mistakes!

After thinking about it, Van Gaal finally decided to simply give up the initiative in the midfield and use the speed advantage of the two wings to do a tactical routine to see if he could succeed in stealing chickens.

If you can't steal the chicken, that's like those reporters say, the passive defense goes all the way to the end, and if you play like this, Manchester United can still hope to get a point at home.

On the afternoon of 26 October, the United players, who had made full tactical preparations, warmed up to the cheers of the fans at Old Trafford.

But in Manchester United's home dressing room, Van Gaal, who got Chelsea's starting eleven, had a very strange face.

There is a hint of embarrassment hidden in the relief and relaxation.

Because today Mourinho directly discharged a set of rotation lineups!

Yes, in this round of Manchester United, the Chelsea coaching staff has no idea of sending a pure main force to play.

Even in the last two rounds, the main players in the Chelsea squad have actually recovered their game and fitness through rotation.

However, Mourinho, like he did with Crystal Palace and Maribor, still sent a rotational formation.

Except that Mourinho doesn't think Manchester United can cause too much trouble for Chelsea.

Mourinho is the only reason why he is worried that Manchester United's tactics in this game may cause injuries to Chelsea players......

The face hurts!

Many local reporters in Manchester and countless die-hard Manchester United fans only felt a pain in their faces after seeing Chelsea's starting eleven list!

Chelsea's 'contempt' is a naked humiliation for Manchester United!

At least now the fans of Manchester United only feel that their anger is full!

Di Maria returned to the dressing room after the warm-up and listened to the assistant coach talk about Chelsea's starting game, and suddenly understood what Leon had been saying to him "rest assured".

Feelings Leon is really not joking, Chelsea really have no intention of fighting Manchester United at Old Trafford this game?!

To say that this is an insult to Manchester United, Di Maria doesn't think so.

Despite Mourinho's pre- and post-match remarks, he has never made the tactical decision to deliberately humiliate his opponent in an official match.

But now, as a Manchester United player, Di Maria is not good at talking to Mourinho in the dressing room.

Wait until the players of both teams have finished lining up in the tunnel and follow the referee team to the court.

Manchester United fans who got the news at the scene were furious at the Chelsea players' shouts!

However, the Chelsea players who started today were relatively calm.

It's no wonder that Jose Mourinho decided to use rotation for the game against Manchester United.

It's no wonder that Manchester United's style of play, which has slowly changed its tactics in the previous league games, is getting more and more brutal.

Probably looking to protect Carrick as much as possible from the lag behind the organisation, Louis van Gaal is now keen to start in midfield with Marouane Fellaini and Herrera.

In terms of the tempo control of the midfield and the technical combination of the team, United don't see much at the moment.

But when it comes to the brutality of the confrontation and the number of fouls, Manchester United's midfield combination is now far ahead of the Premier League.

Players like Leon, Nemanja Matic and Ibrahimovic are not afraid of losing money in the Chelsea squad.

However, Hazard, who has been a little uncomfortable in his ankle since returning to the club after making a big effort in the national team competition, Mourinho will definitely not let him start.

Even De Bruyne, who only played half of the last round of the Champions League group stage and felt a little uncomfortable in his thigh muscles, was also taken off by Mourinho in this round of the league.

With both Belgian stars rested, Chelsea's attack will naturally be discounted.

However, in the last round of the Champions League group stage, the excellent performances of Romelu Lukaku and Salah also reassured Blues supporters.

Nemanja Matic, Kroos and Leon all started today, and Chelsea's midfield still dominated the game.

Even with John Terry resting at the back and Nemanja Matic protecting him, Maguire's centre-back partnership looks quite solid.

So don't look at Chelsea's continued rotation, but the starting formation and the strength of the players still pressure Manchester United.

No matter what the fans and players on the pitch thought and how angry.

Once the game began, the difference in quality between them and Chelsea was quickly reflected in the attacking and defensive competition.

Manchester United relinquished control of the midfield first, and Chelsea were naturally happy to take over.

But just when Manchester United wanted to open up a second battlefield and increase the intensity of the counterattack on the wings.

But they have to admit that the offensive and defensive strength of Chelsea's two wings after rotation can still stabilize them!

Manchester United's Luke Shaw and Di Maria on the left are both very good in attack, but when it comes to the defensive combination of Nemanja Matic and Cesar Azpilicueta, it is difficult for them to take advantage of anything.

Rafael Gamata on the right wanted to play the technical flow penetration, but when they met Ashley Cole, who was extremely experienced in Leonga's defense, they played even more uncomfortable!

Di Maria on the left can still use his speed advantage to rush from time to time to create some chances for Van Persie in the penalty area.

Juan Mata on the right does not have this physical advantage, and he can't play well with his teammates, so he has really little room to play in attack.

This is the most important reason why Mourinho was determined to sell Mata when he returned to Chelsea.

Juan Mata needs plenty of chances on the ball, but he prefers a playmaker who prefers to play on the wings.

Playing as a pure winger, his ability to break the game is not enough, and playing in the middle, his confrontation is not good.

Coupled with the fact that Mourinho was bent on correcting Leon at that time, it was natural that he could only sell Mata.

In contrast, Eden Hazard and Kevin De Bruyne are clearly the more suitable wide partners for Leon.

In today's game, Mata was targeted at the beginning of the game, which can be regarded as further proof of Mourinho's correctness in selling him in the first place.

It's not that Mata isn't good, it's that his technical characteristics really don't fit Mourinho's tactical system.

Correspondingly, Mourinho put Lukaku and Salah on the left and right sides to force the Manchester United backline, and the tactical effect is extremely outstanding!

Luke Shaw is strong in attack and weak in defense, and often cooperates with Di Maria to insert in front of him and then fails to defend in place.

Salah didn't feel too comfortable at him.

And Lukaku crushed Rafael purely in terms of confrontation!

The two are not at the same level at all, and even though Herrera has dropped back several times to help Rafael limit Lukaku's play, the defensive effect is mediocre.

In desperation, after only ten minutes of play, Van Gaal had to let Fellaini and Herrera switch positions, and use Fellaini to play a tactical match with Lukaku.

But Lao Fan's adjustment, Leon, who smelled the smell of opportunity, suddenly took Azpilicueta to attack!

After the two worked together to snatch the ball at Di Maria's feet, Leon directly dribbled the ball past Herrera and went straight to Manchester United's defensive hinterland!

Fellaini stubbornly dropped his defensive area and hurried forward to intercept Leon.

But when he was out of position, Leon directly hoisted the ball high in front of Lukaku, who had accelerated on the right side of Manchester United!

Rafael looked at Lukaku who was coming towards him, and his scalp was numb!

But in the end, he bravely met it!

Then he was bounced off by Lukaku's pig spurt...

Manchester United fans who saw this scene shook their heads again and again and exclaimed.

And after Lukaku broke into the bottom line of the Manchester United penalty area and sent an inverted triangle pass that was deliberately conceded by Ibrahimovic, Old Trafford was even more nervous!

Li Ang, who was inserted at the back point, directly met the ball on the right side of the Manchester United penalty area, and shot angrily!

This shot Leon played decisively and did not drag it out at all!

De Gea has reacted quite quickly!

He showed his saving prowess as the top goalkeeper in football at the moment!

But again, after Li Ang hit this kind of powerful shot in the penalty area, he didn't dare to guarantee that the football would not be pumped away.

This kind of shooting, Li Ang himself doesn't know if it's a rule, anyway, it's a force to drop ten, how to break it, just ask you how to break De Gea?!

De Gea was ultimately unable to get his hands on Leon's powerful volley.

And just as he was slapping the ground and roaring in annoyance, Li Ang had already rushed to the corner flag area excitedly, and came to celebrate with a high fist!

Take turns?

A slap in the face?

That's right~

Today they are playing in the face of the Premier League's No. 1 giants!

(End of chapter)