Pan Yi was still in the Black Country with his team when he learned about Manchester United's upset at the hands of York City.
The Black Country is located in the west of Birmingham. Although it can only be regarded as a small town, it also has good teams such as Wolves and West Bromwich Albion.
Chelsea's opponent in the third round of the League Cup is the smallest professional team in the Black Country - English League One team Walsall.
Pan Yi mainly used a rotating lineup to play, but still defeated his opponent 4:1 in the away game.
Lingard, Gnabry, Moses and Christensen each scored a goal, but Walsall only scored a face-saving goal in the final stages of the game.
Then, Pan Yi received a call from Scaloni.
On the phone, Scaloni excitedly told Pan Yi how his team defeated Manchester United.
Pan Yi's first reaction was that he was a little surprised, and then he burst into laughter: "You can do it, Van Gaal is probably going to be mad to death, right?"
Although the League Cup is a bit tasteless for wealthy teams, losing to low-level teams is still quite impressive.
Moreover, since Van Gaal took charge of Manchester United, he has not been able to lead the Red Devils to win any trophies. Therefore, Van Gaal does not want to give up any competition easily this season.
Including the FA Cup, Van Gaal also said that he would work hard to compete for it.
Because he knows that in a club like Manchester United, if he fails to produce any results, the only thing waiting for him is dismissal.
Therefore, he certainly wants to compete for the Champions League and the Premier League, but if he really can't compete, he will settle for the second best and compete for the FA Cup and League Cup. This can be regarded as a life-saving straw.
Look at Wenger next door. Isn’t it just relying on the cup championship to survive until now?
But one of these two straws was broken by Van Gaal as soon as he came up, and it was broken by a small team like York City. Of course he would be unhappy.
After returning to London, Pan Yi carefully watched the video of the game, and then had a conference call with Scaloni to discuss the gains and losses of the game.
"The game was exciting, but it also exposed many problems." Pan Yi said, "It is difficult for us veterans to adapt to Manchester United's pressing. The ball is too easy to lose. If Baker hadn't played well, we wouldn't have won the ball."
York City's first two goals can be said to be a bit of a "sneak attack", taking advantage of the advantage of the home court and Manchester United's feeling of underestimating the enemy to win two games in an instant.
But when Manchester United cheered up and began to stabilize their position and attack, York City's defensive problems were fully exposed.
The two midfielders, Gary Fletcher and Joe Partington, are very experienced veterans, but their running distance is not enough and their defensive coverage is not good enough. They were almost killed by Herrera on the opposite side.
Including the defense line, which was continuously broken through by the director of the Ma Chaal, it was very embarrassing.
So Manchester United quickly equalized the score.
"Your defensive adjustments in the second half were very good, and you withstood Manchester United's continuous attack." Pan Yi praised Scaloni.
"You didn't teach me, boss," Scaloni said with a smile.
Scaloni is now confident.
Even Manchester United can be defeated, so why should he be afraid of other English second-division teams? What's more, he has a big backer like Pan Yi.
In the second half, York City resolutely implemented Pan Yi's explosive play style of "defensive counterattack + long pass and lob", making it difficult for Manchester United to find a breakthrough.
Then, using a flash of inspiration from Baker, he finally defeated Manchester United.
"With the current lineup, I feel that there shouldn't be a big problem in dealing with League Two this season." Pan Yi said, "If you encounter some strong teams with strong control, just use the tactics you used against Manchester United. But if
After being promoted to League One, the team's lineup still needs to be adjusted."
"Well," Scaloni nodded on the other end of the phone, "there are some veterans over 35 years old in the team. Their health declines quickly, and the competition in English League One is more intense. It really should be difficult for them to adapt."
"In the end, we have to rely on younger players." Pan Yi added, "You see Baker scored two goals against Manchester United. A tall and strong young man like him is easy to use. Our funds should not be a problem next season.
Big, you can do more of these."
"Well, thank you, boss." Scaloni said a little naughtily.
What Pan Yi said means that the transfer budget for next season will not be low.
Although it is definitely not comparable to wealthy players like Chelsea, as long as you have a few million pounds, you can almost survive in the English League.
Not to mention that Pan Yi's database seems to have endless player resources, and he can pull out a big killer at every turn.
"It's up to you this year." Pan Yi said with a smile, "When we get to League One, it's not just about updating the players. It also includes the renovation of the training base, the recruitment of better staff, and even the renovation of the stadium. They will all be planned.
Don't forget, our vision is to make York City a strong team that can truly gain a foothold in the Premier League!"
"Yes, boss." Scaloni's answer was simple, but you could also hear his inner excitement.
Once this vision is realized, Nascaroni will also become a witness and experiencer of this great miracle.
As long as the system designed by Pan Yi for York City can run smoothly, York City will be able to continuously recruit football talents and even cultivate talents themselves.
By that time, York City may have entered a new era, and even gone one step further to become a top club.
This is Pan Yi’s grand plan for York City!
He wants to build a wealthy club that is completely his own!
Now, the upset victory over Manchester United is just the beginning!
——
Shortly after the third round of the League Cup, the draw for the fourth round was held.
Chelsea and York City both drew a Premier League team.
Chelsea faced Stoke City, while York City drew Manchester City!
Another Manchester team.
But Manchester City is not Manchester United.
They have not only performed well in the Premier League in recent years, but also played well in the League Cup.
For "new money" like them, any championship can enhance the club's reputation and become a bargaining chip to attract big-name stars to invest, so they will never give up any event easily.
In 2014, they won the League Cup, and today they are also going all out in this event.
In the third round, Manchester City also defeated Sunderland 4:1 and advanced to the fourth round, which is the top 16.
In this regard, Pan Yi's instructions to Scaloni were: "Just do your best, your main goal is to break through."
Facts have proved that York City played a bit too hard against Manchester United, and it even affected the English League Two at the weekend.
They challenged Notts County away from home and lost 0:1.
After all, with the thickness of York City's current lineup, it is indeed difficult to cope with multi-front operations.
The team's funds are limited, and the most they can do is guarantee a good starting lineup. The gap between the abilities of the substitutes and the main players is often quite large.
Once the main players are unable to play due to fatigue, injury, or suspension, their performance will plummet.
Why do some small teams' efforts to qualify for the European competition often mean complete defeat or even relegation in the league? That's why.
York City is almost in the same situation now.
In addition, the team is mainly composed of veterans and cannot support high-intensity multi-line operations, not to mention that the English League Two schedule itself is very intensive.
Therefore, Pan Yi's goal is also very clear, which is to ensure that he reaches the top three in English League Two to qualify for promotion. For example, the League Cup and the FA Cup are all about reaching them, so don't go shopping with those teams with strong financial resources.
——
Chelsea also ran into a bit of trouble when York City lost away from home.
At St. James' Park, Newcastle United, who were playing at home, showed great respect when facing the defending champion and directly set up an iron barrel formation.
During this period, Newcastle United did not yet have the tycoons from the Middle East. It could only be regarded as a civilian team at best, and there was still a certain gap between the strength of Newcastle United and Chelsea.
New coach Steve McClaren, who only took office this summer, is very pragmatic and just wants to draw with Chelsea to score points.
His formation is even somewhat similar to the one when York City defeated Manchester United. It also placed a high center forward in front.
This high center forward is none other than the Serbian spiritual guy, Mitrovic!
Well, this is another case of "players that Pan Yi has played are easy to use".
Newcastle also spent 25 million euros this season to bring this strong 20-year-old from Hamburg to St. James Park.
Then, let him partner with Spanish small forward Ayose Perez to form a striker, with Wijnaldum, Sissoko and other stars behind him providing support.
When facing Chelsea tonight, Newcastle gave up all possession of the ball and huddled in their own half, even on the outside of the penalty area, using a steel barrel formation to face Chelsea.
When counterattacking, a long pass is sent to the frontcourt, allowing Mitrovic to fight for the top, and then letting Ayose Perez break through.
If you can break out, break out; if you can't, continue to defend.
This targeted and conservative tactic also brought huge trouble to Chelsea.
The offense can't find a breakthrough, and the pass can't find any space to penetrate.
Sometimes Newcastle's players don't even want to counterattack and concentrate on defending.
The sign is that even Mitrovic will return to his own penalty area to participate in defense a lot of the time, leaving only the faster Perez in front to harass.
This caused Chelsea to immediately fall into a melee as soon as they attacked the frontcourt, and their offense was hit hard again and again.
Pan Yi also has some reservations in the lineup considering that next Wednesday will be the second round of the Champions League group stage against Porto.
The forward line is the combination of Mbappe and Harry Kane, while the midfielder is the offensive-oriented single defensive midfielder + double attacking midfielder style of Loftus-Cheek + Lingard + Gnabry.
But obviously, this effect is not very good.
The forward combination lacks a fulcrum and has poor attack effect;
The midfielder's coverage and passing accuracy are also slightly poorer, resulting in fewer absolute opportunities created.
In the first half, Chelsea had an overwhelming advantage and had many shooting opportunities, but they mainly took long shots.
Although Newcastle only had one shot in the first half, they defended the most dangerous area at the front of the penalty area very well, preventing Chelsea from penetrating inside to obtain a better shooting angle.
During the halftime break, neither side made any substitutions.
After the game restarted, Newcastle still responded with strict defense, while Chelsea strengthened their personal breakthroughs in the frontcourt, especially the two midfielders Lingard and Gnabry, who took the ball more actively to instigate the attack, but the effect was
Not ideal.
"As long as I can score a goal, it will be fine." Arteta, sitting next to Pan Yi, murmured.
Pan Yi nodded slightly.
This is a very simple truth that breaks the iron barrel array.
When you keep failing to score, the opponent's defense will be very determined and will try their best.
And if you score a goal and break the deadlock, then many things will be solved.
Because it is meaningless to defend with all your strength at this time, and many players will be distracted or have differences of opinion.
Then it is possible to score the second or third goal.
Sometimes when a strong team beats a weak team, there may be only one layer of paper between 0:0 and 5:0.
But the question is, how to pierce this layer of paper?
The first poke is always the hardest and the one with the greatest resistance.
"Don't be anxious, wait a little longer, we will score." Pan Yi whispered to Arteta, "Wait for the players on the field to wear them down for a while."
Arteta thought for a while, understood Pan Yi's intention, and nodded in agreement.
Now the field is in a stalemate, and both sides are spending a lot of money.
Although Lingard and Gnabry failed to contribute goals or assists, their unremitting running and interweaving on the court still exhausted Newcastle's back line and consumed a lot of physical energy.
Wait until you are almost exhausted with the other party, then switch to another person and rush for a wave, you will definitely gain something.
Don't forget, the one sitting on the Chelsea bench now is Hazard, an ace like Hazard in seat B!
Time passed by minute by second, and when the game came to the 65th minute, Hazard and Seat B had almost finished warming up.
"Let Wijnaldum step in, and you can even attract Coloccini and Sissoko to the front position, because they will definitely set up defenses at the front of the penalty area." Pan Yi gave Hazard his final instructions.
Azar nodded.
"As for you, try to bring the ball to the outside of the right corner at this time, so that you should be able to gain some time and space. And your task is to try to pass the ball diagonally behind you to find Kane or Mbappe, understand.
Yet?"
This is said to Seat B.
Of course Seat B understands.
Although he nominally plays as a midfielder in the central midfield three, Pan Yi actually requires him to play more wide, which is the responsibility of a pseudo-winger.
"When you go up, tell Kane and Mbappe to pull back first and then jump in. When you pass the ball, pay attention to the goalkeeper's position and don't hit it too close. Krul is tall and powerful, and his air defense range is quite good.
big."
The two kept nodding.
"Go." Pan Yi patted Azar and Seat B on the shoulders hard to encourage them.
The two obediently ran to the sidelines quickly.
This time they made a matchup substitution, and the ones to be replaced were Lingard and Gnabry.
The two young men fought fiercely, with fatigue visible to the naked eye on their faces, but they still ran to the sideline just as quickly and high-fived the two teammates who came on as substitutes.
Because they know that time is running out and they must hurry up!
"They changed people?"
McLaren couldn't help but feel a little worried when he saw Chelsea making two substitutions in a row.
Pan Yi's on-the-spot command has always been unpredictable, and now that he has sent his two ace players on the field at such a sensitive time, he must have some ideas.
But the reason why McLaren did not immediately follow up and make adjustments was mainly because Pan Yi made a matchup substitution.
Since it is a matchup substitution, Chelsea's current style of play should not change much.
And if Newcastle follows suit and makes changes, it may cause unpredictable damage to the existing defensive system.
For a coach like him who is not considered a world-famous coach, "following the rules" may be his creed.
Since the tactics are working well now, why change them?
More importantly, even if you want to change, how can you change it? You don’t even know what Pan Yi wants to do!
This is the gap between McLaren, or a coach of his level and a world-class coach.
"Chelsea made substitutions."
"Bernardo Silva and Hazard replaced Gnabry and Lingard."
"The two young players Gnabry and Lingard performed very hard tonight, but the effect of the breakthrough from the wing was not very good. Now they are replaced by two more powerful players, Hazard and Bernardo Silva.
The main force is, I don’t know if the situation will change.”
"In the past few years, Pan Yi's on-the-spot command has been praised by everyone. I wonder if he will shine again tonight?"
"Look at this time, Chelsea is still attacking, handing it to Hazard on the left."
"Hazard still wanted to try to break through with the ball, but Janmat was very solid on this side and had no chance. He passed the ball back and reached the feet of Loftus-Cheek..."
When Loftus-Cheek got the ball, Newcastle's entire formation had retreated to the outside of the penalty area.
Sissoko, Wijnaldum and Coloccini lined up in a row, giving the impression of being transformed into a city wall.
Chike kept in mind Pan Yi's instructions to Hazard and moved forward with the ball.
Harry Kane's run back from the front attracted the attention of the Newcastle players as he looked like he was coming to meet Loftus-Cheek.
This immediately made Newcastle players nervous, trying to compress Harry Kane's space.
At this time, Hazard moved to the left and Seat B moved to the right. The two of them opened up the space on both sides, which also straightened Newcastle's defense line.
At this time, Chik was forced to pass the ball, and it was passed to Hazard.
And Janmatt immediately followed Hazard.
At this time, the Belgian did not dribble the ball, but directly passed the ball over the head and passed it to the other side, at the feet of seat B.
Newcastle left back Mbabu also quickly followed suit.
Seat B stopped the ball forward, quickly raised his right foot, and kicked a diagonal pass.
The football flew out from Seat B's right foot, quickly crossed an arc, passed Mbabu's head, and landed at the back of the goal.
What appeared here at this time was Harry Kane!
It turns out that his retracement just now was also the work Pan Yi asked Hazard to do.
When Harry Kane retreated, Mbappe, who was originally standing on the left, moved closer to the center and right side of the front, creating a feeling that he wanted to beat Harry Kane's retreat.
The feeling of this gap.
This is not an illusion.
If Newcastle's defensive players don't make up for it in time, Chelsea will really play like this.
But Newcastle's centre-back caught up with him in time.
Then there is the movement and transfer of Hazard and Seat B from both sides, which also spreads Newcastle's defensive focus to both sides.
At this time, Harry Kane rushed back and no one noticed him.
It can be said that this area is Newcastle's defensive vacuum!
During Chelsea's training, Pan Yi repeatedly emphasized the practice of passing from Seat B, especially these diagonal passes, which are really unique and the placement of each ball is very comfortable.
And they are all from angles that are difficult for defensive players to resist.
Sure enough, seat B made a diagonal pass and sent the ball from the outside of the right corner of the penalty area to the back point.
The ball was given very quickly, and the landing spot was so good that after Harry Kane had just entered the penalty area, as a top center, the shooter's instinct told him that the ball was there!
Kane hit the falling ball lightly with his forehead.
The ball was given very well, just a touch and a change of direction, and the ball went in.
"GOALLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL!!!!!"
"Harry Kane! Wonderful cooperation, wonderful header, Krul can't do anything! The ball is scored!"
The St. James Park stadium suddenly fell silent, and the visiting team Chelsea fans jumped up from their seats crazily.
On the sidelines, head coach Pan Yi also high-fived the assistant coaches.
This goal was indeed scored beautifully. The most important thing is that it fully demonstrated the tactical points that Pan Yi ordered when making substitutions.
This group of players needs spirituality and spirituality, as well as tactical discipline and tactical discipline. The pain for them is really not in vain!
"Bernardo's pass was really beautiful!" Arteta and others were also convinced.
Arteta, in particular, admires Pan Yi's ability to recognize people even more at this moment.
For each player, Pan Yi always has a clear idea of how to use it and when to use it.
As for Seat B’s progress since his transfer last year, everyone can see it.
From Seat B, we can clearly see how great Pan Yi is in discovering and cultivating young players.
The most important thing is that he is particularly keen on capturing the abilities and potential of young players, and he can find the right direction at once. Once the young players find the right direction, their progress can be described as rapid.
"I guess McLaren will have to fight back with all his strength next!" Arteta reminded.
"Come on, just wait for him to fight back!" Pan Yi said confidently.
If Chelsea scores a goal, Newcastle cannot defend it.
And this is exactly what Pan Yi wants to see.
Otherwise, if a team like Newcastle, which actually has some good stars, firmly adopts the iron-barrel style of play, even a team as strong as Chelsea will feel a huge headache.
But as long as it's loose and pressed out, things will be simple.
——
McLaren indeed made a substitution.
He first replaced midfielder Kolbeck with French forward Obertan, and then replaced defender Mbabu with English forward Ivan Toney.
This is obviously a signal to step up the attack.
The main reason was that there was not much time left, so McLaren could only adopt a more active counterattack strategy and launch an attack on Chelsea.
But Chelsea was already prepared for this. Pan Yi had saved his energy and was waiting there early in the morning.
As soon as Newcastle pressed out, Chelsea played steadily and counterattacked whenever they had the opportunity.
In the 82nd minute, Chelsea seized an opportunity.
Hazard took the ball from the left, Wijnaldum tried to grab it, but he got rid of it laterally. The Belgian cut in laterally and sent the ball behind him.
Mbappe crossed behind him at great speed and scored with his right foot, giving Chelsea another victory.
0:2!
This goal can be said to have completely destroyed Newcastle's confidence and fighting spirit.
Chelsea finally defeated Newcastle United with this score and won the seventh round of the Premier League!