In the following time, Matuidi's performance was also quite eye-catching. He was omnipotent at the front of the penalty area, constantly stealing, passing the ball, and making long passes...
This surprised Ji Ya, because he has always known that Matuidi is an excellent midfielder. In addition to his strong defense, he also has good offense and the ability to send projectiles forward. But his performance in this game,
But it's a little too good.
Of course, this is definitely not a bad thing for Southampton.
In the 20th minute of the game, Matuidi even stepped forward and took a long shot, but Cech made a timely save and did not allow Southampton to expand the score.
Southampton fans booed. They felt that if Cech hadn't caused trouble, Southampton would have been leading 3-0 now...
However, Southampton's advantage on the field is indeed quite large now. In the first 20 minutes of the game, they were almost overwhelming Chelsea, and Chelsea didn't even have the ability to resist.
If it weren't for Cech's outstanding performance and other defenders who were doing their best to assist in defense, Chelsea's defense might really be like a sieve now.
It wasn't until the 27th minute that Chelsea gradually stabilized their position and started attacking.
After receiving a pass from Ramirez, Oscar took a long shot from outside the penalty area. Navas flew to save, blocked the ball with one hand, and then pressed the ball under him.
"Okay, continue the attack!"
Benitez shouted to the field. Seeing that the team finally launched an attack made him feel relieved. Otherwise, being beaten by Southampton all the time would mean that Southampton's level is higher than Chelsea's.
Much higher.
Fortunately, there is no essential difference between his Chelsea and Southampton.
However, after this attack, Southampton quickly regained the advantage on the field. Benteke's forced breakthrough forced Ivanovic to foul, and Southampton received a direct free kick 25 meters away from the goal.
, Mkhitaryan took the penalty, and the ball bypassed the wall, but missed the crossbar and flew out of the bottom line.
Southampton fans let out a huge sigh again.
However, in the following time, Southampton still occupied the advantage on the field. James Ronaldo and Vidal each had a very threatening shot, while Chelsea only relied on Oscar and Lampard's long-range shots to restore the offensive success.
face.
When the referee blew the whistle to end the first half, the score was 1-0, and Southampton took the lead temporarily.
In fact, this score is not an exaggeration, and can even be said to be a bit normal. However, after looking at the data, all those who know more about it will take a breath.
As for the ball possession ratio, Southampton occupied 73%, while Chelsea accounted for less than 30%.
Southampton took 13 shots, seven of which hit the goal frame. Cech made four key saves for one goal. Chelsea only took three shots, and Navas made no key saves.
From the perspective of offensive threat, Chelsea's offense in the first half was simply no threat.
As far as the scene is concerned, this is already considered one-sided.
"We shouldn't pay too much attention to this... We have to remember that we only led by one goal in the first half, and this lead was actually very precarious. No matter how good our performance is, it doesn't mean we have gained more leads.
Chelsea has always been very good at winning in passive situations. This has been their biggest characteristic in the past ten years. This characteristic will not change just because the head coach becomes Benitez. Do you understand?"
The players nodded one after another. It was the last game of the season, and they didn't want the last game to leave any regrets.
Moreover, everyone is very interested in the honor of winning three consecutive Europa League titles!
Under such circumstances, Southampton still had a considerable advantage in terms of desire to win, which is why they were able to overpower Chelsea in the first half.
Benitez didn't say anything in the locker room. He was so passive in the first half and the players' performance was not a big problem. The main problem was that the midfielder was suppressed by the opponent. This problem cannot be solved by substitution. Lampard has already
He worked very hard, and everyone can detect the veteran's desperate feeling on the court.
Moreover, in the first half when he faced Southampton's pressing, he still passed some balls, completed some organization, and also contributed defensively. If you were to replace him with someone else, he might not be able to perform as well as him.
Therefore, Benitez can only encourage the players, and then let the backcourt hit the ball to the frontcourt as quickly as possible, and use the personal abilities of Mata and others to launch the attack.
In a passive situation, using personal ability to complete the offense is something Chelsea is good at.
Didn't they just stick to it last season and then rely on the personal performance of Drogba and others to win the Champions League?
This approach may not be enough for league games, but it is often enough for cup games!
"The second half is about to begin... There are no substitutions on either side! Benitez is really confident. It was different when he was at Liverpool. He was very good at substitutions... However, Chelsea's lineup this year is always uneven.
He has no one to replace. Southampton had an absolute advantage in the first half, but they only led by one goal. This may be a big hidden danger for Southampton... Well, let us look forward to the second half.
The game is even more exciting!”
"What's interesting is that this season's European finals are all domestic competitions. The Europa League is between Chelsea and Southampton in the Premier League, and the Champions League is between Bayern and Borussia Dortmund in the Bundesliga! And Bayern and Dortmund are still eliminated.
In the finals where the La Liga duo entered, Bayern beat the previously invincible Barcelona very badly. Their full-court press and close confrontation caused Barcelona's ball-control tactics to fall apart! The tactics that Noriya had used before were finally carried forward in the hands of Bayern.
Yes! And Dortmund also destroyed Real Madrid through gorgeous offense! The topic has gone off topic, the performance of this Europa League final so far does not seem to be exciting..."
The commentator's complaints also resonated with some neutral fans. In their opinion, this first half was indeed not very exciting. Of course, the main reason was that Chelsea was too conservative...
After the start of the second half, Chelsea seemed to be still defending, while Southampton continued to attack.
Such a scene makes many neutral fans feel very disappointed. They think that the second half will be ugly. Maybe Southampton will solve the game in the simplest way with 1-0 and win the unprecedented Europa League third place.
The honor of consecutive championships!
After all, there is no name game in the final, and to win three consecutive championships, of course, we must use the safest method to achieve it. Southampton has the advantage in possession of the ball, and they can use this advantage without any worries!
