"The familiar scene is playing out again, Chelsea are playing the role of Manchester City again, and Atletico Madrid don't seem to be very accurate about Chelsea's role.

If Atletico choose to be the attacking side, they will have to strike a balance between the range of forward pressure and the speed of the return, otherwise Chelsea's possession at the back will become a cage for Atletico.

In last year's Champions League final, Simeone's tactical play against Chelsea was not very adequate, I wonder if he has come up with a way to crack it this year? ”

The commentator for Sky Sports England watched with interest Simeone who was watching the pitch under the live camera.

The coach paid Mourinho's tuition on the stage of last year's Champions League final.

You can't fall twice in the same pit, can you?

Now Chelsea have once again come up with a style of play that attracts Atletico Madrid to attack with possession at the back, and if Atletico can crack it successfully today, it will be a model for other Premier League teams.

Under the curious gaze of countless fans in front of the TV, Simeone did not spend much time observing the form of the game, and he also came up with a tactical response plan relatively quickly.

Atletico's two strikers and two wing-backs still pressed decisively into Chelsea's half to press high.

At this moment, Atletico's two full-backs, Carrasco and Koke, did not pull the wings to press Chelsea's ball carriers.

They were placed behind Antoine Griezmann and Diego Costa, putting defensive pressure on Chelsea's playmaker in the middle of the midfield.

In front of the flanks were Atletico's two full-backs, Felipe Luiz and Juanfrán.

Atletico Madrid's pressing change at the moment has made many fans shine.

The wing-backs take on the pressing tasks that should have been carried out by the midfielders, while the space they free up on the wings is filled by the full-backs' pre-positioned positions.

In this way, Atletico's front line is enough to press, not to mention, and the two central midfielders can also occupy positions to prevent Chelsea from counter-attacking.

The two centre-backs behind the midfielders added a safety rope to Atletico's defence.

This kind of pressing formation will certainly not achieve the effect of the ball pressing by the whole Atletico team, but if it is only to deal with Chelsea's possession tactics at the back, such a novel style of play is enough.

At the end of the day, Simeone was here to stop Chelsea's quick counter-attack.

As long as this can be achieved, it will not matter if Atletico can win the ball up front and launch a quick attack.

Mourinho watched Simeone come up with a response plan, and a flash of surprise flashed in his eyes.

Speaking from the heart, Simeone's tactics are far from optimal, but he can immediately come up with this set of countermeasures, which can foresee the adequacy of Atletico's coaching staff's pre-match preparation.

Looking at the several Atletico Madrid players who were in the Atletico half, Mourinho pondered for a moment, and then returned to the coach's bench to communicate with Holland.

Leon on the field is also communicating with Kroos with tactical gestures at the moment.

Seeing that Atletico Madrid was not fooled, Leon teamed up with Kroos to control the ball for the first time, further slowing down the pace of the game.

On the one hand, they need to wait for the latest tactical instructions from the manager, and on the other hand, they also need time to observe the opposition's pressing system and find a way to solve it.

In the eighth minute of the first half, Leon received a mid-range pass from Maguire, turned his back to bypass Diego Costa's pressing, and then tried to dribble forward on his own.

However, he couldn't get the ball across the halfway line and faced a combination of Koke and Gabi.

Looking at Gabi's slightly fierce defensive eyes, Li Ang had no doubt that he would definitely be stopped by the opponent with a tactical foul if he took two more steps.

Hardly wasting time thinking about it, Leon decisively stopped cutting forward and dribbled sideways to return possession to Kroos' feet.

He is sometimes playing more aggressively now, but it depends on whether people are or not, and he will still give full respect to a top midfielder like Gabi, who is already considered to be one of the top five in Europe.

After several trials, Li Ang can be regarded as fully experiencing the intensity of Atletico's midfield defense today.

He made a tactical gesture of "slow down" to Kroos, and Kroos also understood that he continued to control the ball and was not in a hurry to organize the attack.

However, they didn't wait long, and soon, Holland, who had finished communicating with Mourinho, walked to the sidelines, and made tactical adjustments to change the formation while still holding the tactical board in his hand.

Chelsea started in a 4231 formation today, and after Holland made the change-up gesture, Chelsea's players quickly switched positions.

Nemanja Matic and Kroos have remained the same in midfield, but they appear to be slightly more positioned than before.

Eden Hazard and Kevin De Bruyne were on their left and right flanks, while Leon trotted forward under the amazed gaze of all the fans in the stadium until he overtook Suarez!

"God! Leon: What is this doing? Could it be that this is the surprise that Mourinho gave to Atletico and all the fans today?! Li Ang was actually put forward by the Chelsea coaching staff at this time! ”

"Nine-and-a-half? No! Leon's position has surpassed Chelsea's full-fledged centre-forward Suarez! Could it be that at this moment Leon has become Chelsea's new centre-forward, and Suarez has retreated to play as a shadow striker?! ”

"It's definitely the most historic scene in football this season! In the past, when Leon first appeared in the midfield position, we discussed the possibility of him playing as a striker, and now it has really happened!

Centre-back, midfielder, centre-back, midfielder, striker...... In addition to the goalkeeper position, is there any position on the pitch that Leon can't play right now? He is simply the Beckenbauer of our time! ”

When Li Ang reached the front of Chelsea's formation and seemed to have really become Chelsea's new center forward, commentators from all over the world invariably "climaxed"!

However, in essence, Leon is not Chelsea's centre-forward at this time, as he does not take on too much of the scoring burden, and Chelsea's only full-fledged centre-forward is still Suarez.

Mourinho wants Leon to play a tandem and fulcrum role in central midfield, and if necessary, he also needs to push into the Atletico penalty area to act as a high-post meat shield.

In this way, does Leon's tactical role at this time look similar to Real Madrid's Benzema?

Yes, the Chelsea coaching staff wants an all-round fulcrum!

When there is no need to use substitutions to bring Llorente on the pitch early, Leon's forward position can be a good realization of Mourinho's tactical intentions.

This is indeed a tactical surprise that Mourinho has prepared for the entire Atletico coaching staff.

A tactical trap doesn't work, then move on to a smarter and more targeted attack.

Atletico have met Real Madrid twice in La Liga this season, but they have been overwhelmed by Real Madrid's quick shifts and crosses, which Mourinho cannot afford not to exploit.

Chelsea don't have to be as obsessed with crosses as Real Madrid, but a strong fulcrum up front can be put together first.

Leon naturally doesn't have the same deterrent as Drogba back then, but as long as he can suppress Atletico's defenders in the head-to-head confrontation, it will be enough for Mourinho.

As for the ability to connect with the ball, Leon reassures the whole Chelsea team.

They have long practiced this set of playing style after changing formations on the training ground, and now they dare to use it directly in the Champions League semi-finals, obviously they have mastered it.

Simeone watched Leon directly seek confrontation with Jimenez as soon as he took the center position, and raised his hand to confidently ask for the ball, and suddenly he was not calm!

He has always believed that there is still a lot of potential to be explored in Leon, but he really can't imagine that Mourinho would dare to play like this!

At first glance, Leon seems unreliable to play as a center forward, but just think about it, excluding the talent of smell in front of goal, Leon's static confrontation and ability to play the ball with his back seem to have completely exploded most of the center forwards in football.

And Simeone didn't believe that Mourinho would be targetless, he was beating a drum in his heart at this moment, and subconsciously clenched his palms.

On the court, Leon will also usher in his first catch in a new position.

In the face of Jimenez's defensive interference, Leon first sank his waist and abdomen, and then slightly spread his arms to block it behind him.

Back ability is a thing that looks at the physical fitness of the player, and the second depends on the player's ball quotient.

Leon took the initiative to find Jimenez for a ground confrontation, but it wasn't because he was fed up.

The main reason is that he wants to avoid Godin's defensive strength first, and the secondary reason is that he wants to drag Jimenez into the trap of static confrontation.

If both of them rush to play, Jimenez has the advantage of defending, and although he may not be stronger than Leon in the confrontation, it is still okay to destroy the ball first.

But when both men grapple on the ground, Leon's strength and physique advantage are magnified exponentially.

Whether it's shoulder width, weight tonnage, or explosiveness, Jimenez is not as good as Leon.

So when Kroos's long pass was sent in front of the two, Leon, who had already suppressed Jimenez on the ground, jumped off more easily and got the ball first.

At this time, Leon didn't even need to jump high, as long as he suppressed Jimenez in terms of strength and ensured that his opponent didn't jump as high as himself.

After winning the ball, Leon continued to firmly resist Jimenez's defensive intrusion with his broad shoulders, and then took the ball and half-turned and moved sideways, and after a little observation, he quickly transferred the football to the left!

This series of actions Li Ang completed in one go, and he couldn't tell that it was the first time he played a fulcrum center, not to mention, it really has the flavor of Benzema!

Eden Hazard, who stepped forward to receive the ball, took the ball directly past Juanfran and did not give the opponent a chance to make a tactical foul.

For the first time in the first half, Hazard sent in a superb cross.

The football flew into Atletico's penalty area with a strong gyration in the air, and at this time, Leon really pushed into Atletico's defensive hinterland like a high school striker, rushed past Godin's defense and jumped in the middle!

However, the football finally flew to the back of the Atletico Madrid penalty area, and Li Ang, who attracted the defensive attention of most of the Atletico Madrid defenders, also looked back at the moment.

I saw Suarez stretch his bow and arrow after his smart running position, and directly chose to volley without stopping!

The tens of thousands of Chelsea fans at Stamford Bridge are almost ready to cheer at this moment!

But in the next moment, Courtois used his long arm span to block Suarez's shot from the bottom line!

The cheers suddenly turned into exclamations.

Leon also held his head, but it was a pity that Suarez's shot this time was on goal.

But then, with applause, he pulled Suarez, who was kneeling on the turf and lamenting in chagrin.

"Well played! Luiz, it's okay if we don't score this time, we'll have plenty of attacking opportunities behind us, take your time......"

Leon's comfort and encouragement fueled Suarez's fighting spirit.

And the hundreds of millions of fans in front of the television were even more amazed by the huge role that Leon played in Chelsea's attack.

Many commentators have even seriously discussed the possibility of Li Ang transforming into a center forward again.

But at the moment, Li Ang himself didn't think about it that much.

After participating in the corner kick, he slowly withdrew from the Atletico penalty area while reminiscing about the feeling of suppressing Jimenez to win the ball, patiently waiting for the next opportunity to appear.

Simeone is still in quick discussions with his assistant coach about how to deal with such an unexpected situation, but Chelsea's attacking attempts on the pitch will not stop there.

Kroos, who has tasted the sweetness, will first observe Leon's running as soon as he gets the ball, and as long as Leon is in the right position, he will directly send the ball over with a long pass.

At this time, although the distance between him and Li Ang is much farther away, the tacit cooperation between the two still exists.

Through a precise long ball connection, Kroos combed the ball and fed the cannonballs forward, while the attacking organization up front was still done by Leon.

The division of labor between the two is very clear, and Chelsea's midfielders are constantly running around them.

In the twentieth minute of the first half, Li Ang repeated his old trick and once again suppressed Jimenez in the ground grappling and won the ball first.

The previous few times he had been particularly effective in diverting the ball, so Atletico's defenders also learned to be smart, waiting to be next to Jimenez to block Leon's turning pass.

But this time in the attack, Leon knocked the ball back to Suarez who withdrew from the penalty area to meet him.

The Uruguayan striker's clever catch and then decisively split the side, still completing the delivery of the ball to the wing.

After passing the ball, Suarez began to cut forward and plunged into the Atletico penalty area.

Leon, on the other hand, runs sideways, approaching De Bruyne like a midfielder who is tangled with Felipe Luis on the flank.

At this moment, De Bruyne did not pass Felipe Luis for the first time, and the opponent had been further forced to the sideline, seeing Leon receiving the ball, he took the ball and retreated a step back to knock the ball horizontally.

Leon received the ball in the rib area of Atletico Madrid's half, obviously didn't look behind much, but as if he had a long eye in the back of his head, he directly passed the ball back to Kroos who stepped in front!

His shift immediately made Atletico's shrinking defense at the back a little embarrassing.

Kroos has been given more space to take the ball and time to think.

By the time Saul was behind to interfere with Kroos, the German midfielder had already kicked up and sent a straight ball over the top behind the Atletico defence!

Hazard, who cut diagonally into the Atletico penalty area from the wing, plunged into Atletico's defensive hinterland like a sharp knife at this moment!

The linesman saw it very clearly, there was no flag raising on the wing, it was a good ball, not offside!

And Hazard, who had already volleyed the ball on the left side of Atletico Madrid's penalty area, did not hesitate too much at the moment, giving Atletico Madrid's returning players the opportunity to make contributions.

He stopped the ball and just made a slight adjustment and sent an inverted triangle pass!

The Atletico Madrid backline, which had already returned to defend en masse, had no chance to turn around and press outside the box at this moment.

And Li Ang, who had just completed the forward insertion at this moment, faced the football sent by Hazard, and directly adjusted his pace and shot in the Atletico Madrid penalty area!

A terrifying muffled sound struck the heads of all the Atletico players in the box like an invisible sledgehammer!

They subconsciously turned their heads to look dizzy, but they didn't even see the flight path of the football clearly!

Courtois made a saving choice with a numb scalp, but Leon's shot was too strong and the ball speed was too fast, and he didn't have much confidence to keep the ball out!

The wind from the soccer ball eventually blew across his face, and all his palms ended up touching was the air currents!

When he turned his head to look, the soccer ball that had hit the net was unwillingly falling towards the turf inside the goal!

Stamford Bridge erupted in loud and joyful cheers at this moment!

Leon roared and rushed to the boiling stands!

Mourinho also raised his arms and shouted to the stands behind the coach's box!

Their recent hard work in training and preparation has not been in vain!

Chelsea, who are more prepared today, have once again stabbed Atletico Madrid!

(End of chapter)