After the opening, Milan continued to implement their high-position pressing tactics.
The reason for this is very simple. Chelsea lined up five midfielders, obviously to compete with Milan for control of the midfield and create space.
Milan only has three serious midfielders.
Although they are all strong men and can do their best whether it is running and covering, pressing and pressing, or fighting with strength, after all, the opponent has more people and strength, and if the striker does not help, it will still be a bit difficult.
So after the game started, both Ibrahimovic, Salah and Mane started running and fighting actively.
By forcing the entire midfield and frontcourt, Chelsea's midfield performance can be restricted to the maximum extent and the passing space of Chelsea players can be compressed.
When switching from defense to attack, Milan's two wingers will separate to the wings and violently attack Chelsea's wings together with the two full-backs. In the center, it is now more Kante who initiates the attack.
As a result, Chelsea felt a little uncomfortable.
Their control of the midfield has declined somewhat this season, otherwise they would not have thought of making up for it by increasing the number of midfielders.
Facing AC Milan's ferocious frontcourt pressure and sudden side fast break, Chelsea was a little breathless.
Especially the connection between Lampard, Essien, and Mikel in the middle is now cut into pieces. It doesn't feel like a whole at all, and there are frequent mistakes in passing and controlling the ball.
Especially Essien, although his passing organization ability is not as good as that of technical players like Messi and Kaká, after all, he has developed some in the past two years and is also used in various games like
Pretty decent.
But in this competition, "Africa Joey" can only act like a reckless man, running into obstacles everywhere.
Chelsea interim coach Di Matteo also frowned on the sidelines.
This former Italian midfield star, who has the same hairstyle as Zidane, is not actually a top figure in the coaching world.
Before joining Chelsea as an assistant coach, he also coached West Bromwich Albion in the English Championship and led the team back to the Premier League.
But after a poor record of 13 losses in 18 games in the Premier League, Di Matteo was forced to leave get out of class.
After Villas-Boas was dismissed this season, Di Matteo came to lead Chelsea to move forward, but obviously he did not immediately gain the trust of the top management and did not immediately become the official head coach.
In fact, in Pan Yi's previous life, Di Matteo only became a regular player after Chelsea unexpectedly won the FA Cup and Champions League this season.
However, he could not stay in this position for more than a few months and was eventually dismissed.
Then in the next few years, he moved to Schalke 04 and Aston Villa, but his contract was terminated due to poor results. After that, he faded out of his coaching career and never served as a head coach in any team again.
This in itself shows that Di Matteo's coaching level is actually limited.
His success as Chelsea's interim coach this year was mainly due to his status as a Chelsea legend and his extremely friendly style, which allowed veterans such as Drogba in the team to regain their glory, and also created a harmonious atmosphere in the locker room.
After reviving their morale in this way, Chelsea gained the tenacity to not be afraid of difficulties or falling behind, and became a formidable enemy.
But after this anger passes, the game will always return to the technical and tactical level.
Now, Di Matteo faces the tactical questions thrown by Milan ahead of time:
Known: Now that Chelsea’s space is blocked, it is difficult to penetrate and cooperate in the middle.
Solution: How should Chelsea break the tie?
Di Matteo quickly wrote on the test paper:
Answer: Hit Drogba on this point.
This is Chelsea's optimal solution when they cannot open up the situation, and it is also one of the few tactical configurations in Di Matteo's mind.
Give the ball to Drogba, use Drogba's high center advantage to create opportunities in the frontcourt, and forcefully tear apart the opponent's defense!
but……
A few minutes after Di Matteo handed in the paper, "Teacher Pan Yi's" grade came down:
50 points. Failed.
On the court, AC Milan's two central defenders have been staring at Drogba.
Especially the tall and tall Van Dijk.
Although Drogba is a monster, he is already 33 years old after all.
Van Dijk is also a physical beast. He is not yet 21 years old, and his strength and strength are at their peak.
Despite the ups and downs, the confrontation between Van Dijk and Drogba did not fall behind.
Coupled with the fact that Thiago Silva, who is experienced and accurate in blocking positions, assists in defense from time to time, Drogba feels even more uncomfortable.
When Chelsea takes the ball from the wing, the landing point is often grabbed by Milan's two central defenders;
Even if Drogba grabs the first spot, it is difficult to have a comfortable attacking posture, and it is difficult to exert force, so naturally he cannot pose a threat.
Chelsea gave the ball to Drogba and asked Warcraft to break through with the ball, but Van Dijk dared to compete with him for body and speed. Drogba could not take advantage at all;
Drogba took the ball with his back at the edge of the penalty area and wanted to turn around and shoot. Van Dijk was also stuck behind him like a plaster, making Drogba unable to twist his body at all, and of course unable to shoot...
After so many rounds, the young Van Dijk's physical fitness is still not much, but Drogba is a bit overwhelmed.
DiMatteo on the sidelines sadly discovered that the "teacher" seemed to have graded his test paper too high.
This is not 50 points, it is simply 0 points!
Drogba's all-purpose answer in the past has been marked with a big X in today's test paper!
…
The fighting on the field has already lasted about 30 minutes.
Milan's high-pressure press continued.
Lampard handed the ball to Essien, and Gattuso immediately pressed forward.
In a hurry, Essien could only transfer the ball to Ramirez on the wing.
But the power given by the ball is too little.
Kanter came out from behind Ramirez and intercepted the ball with a first kick.
Kanter dribbled the ball forward, and at this time, both sides of Milan began to run forward quickly.
Chelsea's two wingers, especially Mata and Ramirez, also quickly returned to defense to help their full-backs prevent the opening of the wing.
But Kanter did not pass the ball, but continued to move forward.
Chelsea's centre-back and captain Terry quickly came up to intercept.
At this time, Kanter had already seen Ibrahimovic swimming between Terry and Cahill.
At the same time that Terry was grabbing the ball, Ibrahimovic made a reverse run, leaving Cahill's defense aside.
Kanter's ball was also sent forward at this time, and it hit Ibrahimovic's feet!
After Ibrahimovic took the ball, he only took a slight step forward and shot straight away!
At this time, he was less than ten meters away from Chelsea's goal. His shooting speed was extremely fast and the angle was very tricky. The ball almost missed the post and entered the net.
Chelsea goalkeeper Cech just subconsciously reached out to block it, but he was unable to prevent the goal at all.
"The ball is in!"
"It's Ibrahimovic again, and it's Da Fengxian again!"
"This pass and shot, the coordination is really wonderful. Chelsea's two central defenders didn't realize what happened, and the ball had already entered the net."
"Milan's high pressing tactics have achieved results again, and Chelsea seems to have nothing to do about it!"
Stamford Bridge suddenly fell silent.
There was only a small section of visiting team fans in the stands, and the Milan fans cheered loudly.
At this time, Ibrahimovic also ran all the way to the Milan fans' stand and slid to his knees under the fans' stand.
If the top two in the skateboarding world are Henry and Drogba, then Ibrahimovic can at least be ranked third!