No one knows what happened in the halftime locker room between the two sides, but whether it was Scaloni or Arteta, they seemed to have made an appointment and stayed put.
The formation and play style have not been adjusted, and the player lineup has not changed.
Even when the game remained stalemate in the second half until the 60th minute, the two sides had no intention of making substitutions.
I have to say, this is a very strange thing.
After all, these two coaches are Pan Yi's favorite disciples, and Pan Yi's biggest trick is to quickly find the problem on the field, and then use substitutions or formation changes to finally break the game.
Now is it because both sides are from the same school and there are no flaws in each other's moves? Or is it simply because they are too familiar?
In short, Arteta doesn't make substitutions now, and Scaloni doesn't make substitutions either, so both sides are wasting their time.
Although the two of them have been standing on the sidelines directing the game as usual, and they can be heard shouting and encouraging the players on the court from time to time, they really have no plans to make major adjustments to the existing lineup tactics.
Time is passing by bit by bit.
The slightly boring game also made the fans a little restless.
When the time entered the seventy-minute mark, Arteta suddenly turned around and walked back to the coaching bench and said to Steve Holland: "How's it going?"
Steve Holland obviously understood what Arteta wanted and immediately handed over the tablet in his hand.
On the screen of the tablet, the data of York City players that he has been counting and collecting is displayed, including kilometers run, sprint frequency, number of defensive returns, etc.
This does not include technical data such as the number of shots, the number of passes, pass success rate or breakthrough success rate. In fact, it is mainly biased towards the evaluation of the players' physical condition.
And this is also the breakthrough point Arteta wants to seek.
Because he knows that under such a high-intensity confrontation, there will definitely be players in York City who cannot withstand it.
At this time, Chelsea will focus on attacking its weak points, which will definitely achieve twice the result with half the effort.
Now, Arteta has keenly captured one point from this row of data.
Lin Liangming is dying!
In fact, since entering the 60th minute, his performance level has been on a downward trend, with less running and insufficient defensive efforts.
This shows that under the repeated attacks of Hazard and Marcos Alonso, the Dragon Country international is indeed a bit tired of coping and feels that he can hardly hold on.
This is the opportunity Arteta is waiting for!
However, when Arteta was about to stand up and prepare to change to the B seat and launch a fierce attack on Lin Liangming's side, he saw Scaloni next door who didn't know when he had arrived with a player.
The fourth official.
And that player is none other than Thomas Amon.
"...He also discovered this problem?"
Arteta was still thinking, the fourth official had already raised the substitution card, and indeed he replaced Lin Liangming with Amon!
When making substitutions, Scaloni seemed to smile at the Chelsea coaching bench, as if to say: Brother, what you saw, I saw too!
"Shit, it's true!" Arteta was so angry that he laughed bitterly.
This guy Scaloni is really difficult to deal with!
The loophole he finally found was immediately blocked by him!
"Should we make the same substitution?" Steve Holland asked with concern.
Arteta thought for a while, shook his head and said: "Wait a minute, now is not the time."
He didn't believe it. Scaloni could really keep watch for ninety minutes?
Thinking of this, Arteta walked to the sidelines and signaled the players to continue to speed up the pace.
Since you have to fight for consumption, of course you have to fight until your opponent collapses.
York City is not a fuel-efficient team. Scaloni has always attached great importance to physical fitness. If they want to consume all their physical energy, Chelsea will really have to go all out!
——
"Fortunately, the boss reminded me, otherwise Arteta would have taken the opportunity."
In the York City dugout, Scaloni and De Zerbi were chatting.
Obviously, during the halftime break, Pan Yi also came to the locker room and gave them his own advice.
One of the most important ones is to stick to the current defensive style and not rush to press forward with troops.
"In today's final, Chelsea wants to win more than us, and the pressure is on their side." Pan Yi said at the time, "We just need to calm down, play according to the established guidelines before the game, and stay until the end. The victory will belong to
our!"
Obviously, Pan Yi has a clear understanding of the strength comparison between the two sides.
Chelsea is better than York City, and their bench depth is not at the same level.
If we start a head-to-head battle with Chelsea too early and it wears off in the end, it will only be York City that suffers.
But if we stabilize our rhythm, establish a good defensive formation, and save our physical energy, it is possible to fight with the Blues until the end.
Pan Yi also reminded that even so, on the two sides where Chelsea focuses on attacking, especially the side where Hazard and Marcos Alonso are located, York City will be under great pressure.
As a winger who needs to go up and down to attack and defend on this wing, Lin Liangming is the most likely to be consumed in advance.
Therefore, as a coach, you need to observe the situation of the players on the court at all times. Once they appear to be physically exhausted, replace them immediately. Don't hesitate!
Obviously, Scaloni took Pan Yi's reminder to heart.
He has been paying attention to this since the start of the second half of the game, and before Lin Liangming's side was attacked heavily by Chelsea again, he replaced Amang, replenishing the new force in time and avoiding possible loopholes.
Everyone knows that when a person's human body energy is exhausted to a certain extent, he will inevitably become slack, his performance will be greatly reduced, and even his technical movements will easily go out of shape.
Now, except for Lin Liangming, the other York City players are currently performing quite normally and it seems they can continue to persevere.
"This game is really a war of attrition. We will see who can withstand it in the 90 minutes!" Scaloni finally said to De Zerbi.
——
The time suddenly entered eighty minutes.
After a wave of fast-paced offense, Chelsea slowed down its offense again.
Everyone can see that the consumption on both sides is really huge.
This is true for York City, and so is Chelsea.
But the players on both sides are still continuing and persevering.
In comparison, York City, on the defensive side, has an advantage. After all, their most important thing is to maintain a rigorous overall formation, but Chelsea is different. They need to do more.
It is always easier to destroy than to build, and the same is true on the football field.
"Judging from the current situation, the two sides are likely to be tied in the final 90 minutes. Chelsea had every advantage in the game, but they were never able to break through York City's defense."
"York City's defense today is truly amazing. To be able to keep the goal and keep the defensive formation in such a disadvantageous situation, I have to say that Scaloni is a master in terms of his coaching ability.
!”
"But, is he really ready to play overtime? Being able to last for 90 minutes does not mean that he can play for 120 minutes. He really has so much confidence in his players that he can defend for such a long time and can defend at points.
Win the ball battle?"
"As for Arteta, will he accept a penalty kick against York City? Give the decision of the FA Cup championship to that extremely random 12-yard penalty?"
"If he wants to end the battle within 120 minutes, or even within 90 minutes, why hasn't he started making substitution adjustments? Is he really so afraid of York City?"
"This should also be the doubt in the minds of all fans watching this game around the world. It has been more than 80 minutes. If we don't make a substitution, it will be too late..."
The live TV camera went to the sidelines and found that Arteta could no longer sit still in the Chelsea coaching box.
He was leaning on the pillars of the coaching bench, watching the game intently, but he still couldn't hide the worry in his eyes.
On the other hand, Scaloni also did not hide his anxiety and uneasiness at all.
The game is getting closer and closer.
Especially after 80 minutes, the players' mentality began to change subtly, and there were more mistakes on the field.
The more times like this, the easier it is to become nervous and lose control.
"That's almost it. It's time for us to strengthen our attack!"
Suddenly, Arteta approached assistant coach Steve Holland and said to him.
The crowd was buzzing, and Steve Holland could only reply loudly: "Yes, I think they defended the whole game. I guess their physical fitness is about the same and they can rush!"
Of course Chelsea doesn't want to play extra time or a penalty shootout.
Unlike York City, which has finished other competitions this season, Chelsea still has a more important Champions League final to play.
If too much is consumed in this game, it will not be conducive to preparations for the Champions League final.
So now their strategy is to take advantage of York City's physical fitness and defensive attention to drop, and rush them in the last ten minutes!
After all, even a robot would start to smoke after being protected for so long!
Arteta thought for a while, nodded and said: "Let them press forward a little, but be careful to protect their backs."
"Want to make a substitution?" Steve Holland asked.
Arteta hesitated.
"Lukaku's performance today was very average. He was entangled by the opponent's three central defenders and had no way to deal with them."
Listening to what Steve Holland said, Arteta nodded first, then shook his head: "He can contain York City's three central defenders, but he still can't touch him. Substitution in this place will be very fatal, and substitution may not be able to be like him."
role.”
Steve Holland said nothing, but looked at Arteta, waiting for further instructions.
Lukaku cannot move, who should be replaced? Harry Kane?
But Harry Kane also did a good job connecting the midfield and frontcourt today. If he is replaced, it should have a big impact on the organization of the frontcourt.
At this time, Arteta was thinking, why not change the striker?
To be precise, it is to replace the striker, but replace it with a defender or midfielder, and then rush York City's defense line, maybe there will be a chance?
That damn Scaloni, today's targeted defense was very good. Both Chelsea's forwards were frozen, and there was nothing they could do. But what if there is another one? Just like Mbappe!
With three forwards, plus the two attacking midfielders Hazard and Gnabry, can York City still hold on?
More importantly, Mbappe's performance has been very vigorous recently. Whether he is holding the ball at his feet or rushing forward, he is a good player.
The only disadvantage is that he is a bit young and is prone to aggressive advances, and he is not too active in defense. Once he goes up, he may be easily counterattacked by York City on his side.
Arteta was silent for more than a minute. This was a very difficult choice for him.
But in the end, he took a deep breath and gritted his teeth and said: "Change, let Mbappe come up and replace Azpilicueta!"
——
Finally, with all the fans watching, Chelsea also made substitution adjustments.
French youngster Mbappe walked to the sidelines and replaced Azpilicueta.
Scaloni on the side chuckled: "Sure enough, just as Mr. Pan expected, Chelsea will eventually lose their composure and fight for our lives! So... we have to change too!"
So soon, York City also made an adjustment, but it was not a substitution.
Rice, who originally played as a central defender, returned to the defensive midfielder position, and Amon, who originally played as a wing midfielder, was also pushed to the front line, forming a strike partner with Baker again. York City's formation also became a more commonly used one.
4-4-2.
Corresponding to Chelsea's change from 3-5-2 to 3-4-3, both sides are obviously making tit-for-tat adjustments, and they are all adjusting to strengthening the offense!
And such adjustments are likely to change the trend of the game.
All the fans at the scene felt it, and the atmosphere suddenly became heated.
Not only the fans, but also the on-site commentators became excited.
After all, the game was indeed deadlocked for too long.
Not everyone understands or is interested in tactics;
No matter how technical it is, it’s not as fun as entering ten or eight of them!
A commentator who cannot shout "goooooal" has no soul!
"3-4-3 versus 4-4-2, both sides have added a forward. Now it depends on who can break the opponent's goal first in the last ten minutes!"
——
After Chelsea adjusted their substitutions, their passing in the midfield became more concise. The basic principle is to quickly pass the ball to the feet or heads of the three forwards in the frontcourt, and then form a shot.
In many cases, the Blues would drive directly forward from the backcourt, looking for Lukaku or Harry Kane, or directly in front of Mbappe to let him use his speed.
This is the advantage of three forwards. With more people in the frontcourt, there is a greater chance of grabbing the ball. As long as they grab it, the three forwards can cooperate with each other or wait for the midfielder to come in.
of.
But Scaloni quickly realized the problem and signaled the frontcourt players to step up their counterattack and interfere with Chelsea's long pass.
York City's two central defenders also firmly locked up the air superiority. As soon as the ball arrived, they immediately seized the first landing point, directly headed the ball back to the midfield, and then took this opportunity to quickly launch a counterattack.
When counterattacking, we mainly rely on veteran Xavi Alonso's passing arrangements.
Since he has decided to officially retire after this season and then join the coaching staff of York City, this will be the last official game he plays on behalf of York City and the last game of his career!
In such a game of personal importance, Alonso also performed at a high level and did not fall behind in the midfield confrontation with Chelsea. He could also often threaten Chelsea's defense with the ball and provide support for the two front teams.
The forward creates opportunities.
In the 85th minute, Alonso passed the ball to the left side of the frontcourt. Aman took the ball and knocked it back to Karlström.
After getting the ball, the Swedish veteran chose to penetrate the left rib area diagonally and successfully broke through Chelsea's defense. However, Terry, who was chasing after him, tripped to the ground while fighting close to the outside. Terry also received a yellow card for this.
But this time, after the free kick was sent into the penalty area, Martinez abandoned the goal and snatched the ball away from mid-air.
Of course, Chelsea had more offensive opportunities. Mbappe, Hazard and Gnabry all had several chances to get the ball, but they were never able to pose a real threat.
York City has too many defensive players in the hinterland. No matter where Chelsea's offensive players go, there will always be at least two defensive players flanking them.
Even though Chelsea had three forwards who were all shooting at the same time, York City still responded well and maintained a very tight defense.
After a whole season of training and games, York City's players are cooperating better and better, and De Ligt and Westerman, the old-to-new centre-back combination, are becoming more and more reliable.
Spectrum.
Especially De Ligt, after a year of training in the professional league, he is obviously much more stable than before - as long as he doesn't take action.
On the sidelines, Scaloni also stood on the sidelines, constantly signaling to the team to stay calm and stay calm.
Even in the last few minutes, you still have to keep your mind calm!
And Arteta didn't know when he started standing on the sidelines but didn't sit back. Obviously he couldn't sit still anymore.
There were 80,000 fans in the stadium, whether from Chelsea or York City, all cheering for the team.
It's the last few minutes, and they all hope that the team can keep up their efforts, work harder, and strive for a goal!——
Time is flowing bit by bit.
When the game reached the 89th minute, everyone was almost certain that the game would end 0-0 within 90 minutes and would soon enter overtime!
The fourth official on the sidelines also marked three minutes of stoppage time.
This is mainly because there were not many fouls or delays in the second half, and the game went fairly smoothly.
Even fans in the stands were beginning to get restless, taking advantage of this short break to go to the toilet, or eat some burgers to replenish energy.
But at this moment, York City suddenly exerted force.
It was originally an attack by Chelsea. They launched an attack from the right. After taking the ball, Harry Kane continuously changed direction and rhythm. After deceiving Alphonso Davies' defense, he tried to pass the ball across.
Find Lukaku.
But Lukaku was restrained by De Ligt and failed to stop the ball. Westerman directly stepped forward to clear the ball.
Lukaku's performance was also greatly reduced tonight under the intensive care of De Ligt, and he completely lost his style of killing everyone in the Premier League.
The ball flew over the center line and landed directly at the edge of Chelsea's penalty area, where Baker was.
But David Luiz went around to defend, headed the ball directly, and then pushed the ball back to the midfield.
At this time, the midfield was controlled by York City. All four of their midfielders suddenly pressed up, forming a numerical advantage in a short period of time.
After Rice grabbed the ball, he handed the ball directly to Alonso.
Alonso stopped with his right foot, glanced ahead, and then quickly sent a long overhead pass.
The ball flew over the heads of Terry, David Luiz and others, crossed Chelsea's defense, and landed at the edge of Chelsea's penalty area.
And Amon, who had been hovering near Chelsea's defense, suddenly changed direction at this time and ran straight into the penalty area as quickly as possible.
The Cameroon forward's speed advantage was fully utilized at this moment.
There is a kind of speed called Thomas Amon!
In the stands, when Pan Yi saw Aman unguarded, he stood up excitedly.
When he saw Alonso send an overhead pass, he knew he had a chance.
This is the opportunity York City have been waiting for!
This is also the opportunity that Pan Yi has been telling Scaloni to wait patiently for!
When Amon was replaced, he was just waiting for this moment. At the last moment of the game, he suddenly accelerated and gave Chelsea a fatal blow!
On the court, although Ake immediately turned around and started sprinting, chasing the ball, Amon was obviously faster.
After he caught up with the ball first, he took the ball ahead of Martinez who was attacking.
The ball was directly lifted over Martinez's head by Amon and fell towards the goal behind him. Then both of them could not stop their momentum and collided with each other.
Baker on the other side had already outflanked him. He rushed into Chelsea's penalty area and caught up with Amon's pass-like ball. When it bounced off the ground, it was near the small penalty area line.
, sending it into the goal within easy reach.
"The ball went in!!!!!!!!!"
"York City scores a goal!!!!!!"
"Oh my God, it was York City who scored the goal!!! It was their top scorer Baker!"
After Baker scored, he roared ferociously, turned around and rushed out of the stadium, calling for Aman and his teammates along the way.
All the York City fans in the audience suddenly let out a "boom" sound, like a bomb dropped on Wembley Stadium, and the decibels suddenly increased several times.
When Pan Yi passed the ball past Martinez, Pan Yi couldn't help but jump up.
When he saw Baker's shot again, he cheered even more forgetfully.
"Well done! Well done boys!!!"
No wonder Pan Yi was so excited.
It’s not easy to hold the door in front of Chelsea, which you have carefully built, and it’s even more difficult to score a Chelsea goal!
A full ninety minutes!
Chelsea attacked for a full ninety minutes!
But York City held on and even scored a goal at the last minute!
And this is the best result obtained by Pan Yi and Scaloni after a long period of "planning"!
"God, at the last moment of the game, York City suddenly launched a counterattack. With the help of Amon who came on the bench, Baker scored the winning goal for Chelsea!"
"One to zero!"
"Tonight's game is really the pinnacle of the showdown. Both sides played to a very high level and with great tactical qualities, and Chelsea had the advantage on the field."
"But in the end, York City used a key winning goal to take the lead 1-0! It can be said that this is football!"
All the York City substitute players and coaches also rushed to the sidelines and celebrated wildly.
Scaloni clenched his fists with both hands and let out a loud shout.
This is the most fascinating part of football!
It can be beaten for ninety minutes, but once the opportunity comes, it will reverse!
After celebrating, Scaloni turned around and hugged the coaching staff one by one, and then waved to the podium in the stands.
Obviously, he was thanking Pan Yi for helping him.
To be honest, if Pan Yi hadn't been encouraging him and asking him to be patient, he really didn't know if he would have been able to survive until the end.
After all, the atmosphere of such a final is suffocating, and Scaloni is likely to be the first to make adjustments when he sees that his side's situation is unfavorable.
But if they start a stranglehold and attack with Chelsea too early, whether they can seize control is another matter. In terms of physical consumption alone, it is estimated that York City will not be able to persist to the end.
And if Chelsea had scored a goal earlier, then the final victory would not be a true "win".
At this time, Scaloni suddenly saw Pan Yi smiling and waving at him, and giving him a thumbs up.
This is recognition from the boss, and even more recognition from the master!