After defeating Bordeaux to qualify for the group, the Blues returned to London non-stop. There was no time to complain about the intensive schedule. Now they didn't even have time for tactical training. After two days of rest, they would challenge Arsenal away from home.
The Gunners' recent situation is not particularly good. After losing to Aston Villa and Manchester City one after another, the Gunners are ranked first in the league standings, and the point gap with Chelsea has reached 10 points. More people think that Arsenal
Na has fallen behind on the road to winning the championship.
Although Arsenal's lineup is still strong, you can find this if you look at the starting lineup, the forward line of Adebayor and Robin Hood, the midfielder of Nasri, Song, Denilson and Cesc Fabregas, of course
, The defense and goalkeeper position have always been the biggest problems restricting Arsenal's progress. If this problem cannot be solved, even if teams such as Chelsea and Manchester United make mistakes, Arsenal may still have no chance to catch up.
Prince's consecutive starts in games have calmed down the problem area of Chelsea's internal strife. The media no longer decisively pay attention to this issue. However, in order to find something to watch, reporters certainly did everything possible. The confrontation set up this time was between two people.
The head coach of a team.
After Scolari took over at Chelsea, he mentioned Arsenal coach Arsene Wenger as a friend of his in public more than once. Of course, there is a reason for this.
They first met while working in Japan, where Luiz Scolari was coaching Yamaha Iwata, and Wenger left his post at Nagoya Eight for Highbury, England. Since then, it's been a direct career.
Their footsteps only crossed when Scolari visited this country as the head coach of Brazil or Portugal and paid attention to the talented international players he could use.
In interviews with the media before the game, Scolari mentioned this again.
"I came to London to watch the game and we had a discussion afterwards at his house because he invited me to dinner and we talked about football and what I thought about my team and what Arsenal thought, and we had some ideas about football the same way.
"Our personalities are different because I was born in Brazil and he was born in France and our families are different, but some of the ideas about football are the same and I like his style. He is a
Very good friend, lose, win or draw. He is the same person in every game. I like him because he is a very good coach and a friend, I think!”
"No matter what the result is tomorrow local time, or what happens, the friendship will continue. We are opponents only for 90 minutes. Before the game. We will talk, discuss the game, the players, this or that. He is at Stamford Bridge
After the game, I will invite him to my house, no matter if we win, draw or lose. This is a moment for two friends. But in the game, we are rivals."
As for reporters' questions about Arsenal withdrawing from the title race, Scolari answered this way.
"Here in England you can never say 'I'm the champion' before the last game. So, no matter how our London opponents start the 2008-09 season, they still have the potential to be our best team this season.
One of the tough opponents."
And Wenger seems to have a tacit understanding with Scolari. During the interview, he did not mention anything related to tactics at all. He was more promoting his good relationship with Scolari, at least in front of everyone.
It is a harmonious competition at the upper level.
But is that actually the case? Obviously not.
Arsenal, playing at home, gave the tired Chelsea a bitter taste with two goals in the first half, while Scolari, who promoted his great friendship with Wenger, looked at the scoreboard with a gloomy expression.
"Sir, he was offside. The whole world can see it very clearly. Didn't that guy on the field wear his contact lenses?" When Van Persie received the ball from the offside position and scored the second goal, Scolari angrily turned to him.
The fourth official on the sidelines complained about the referee's inaction.
"Please calm down, Mr. Scolari. If you are dissatisfied, you can appeal to the FA after the game instead of chattering here. If your words are excessive, I will write it into the game report. I hope you can
Understandable." The fourth official said expressionlessly.
Scolari turned around and walked away angrily, and not long after, the first half of the game was over.
"Michael, please explain to me what happened to Cesc Fabregas's two assists?" In the locker room, Scolali asked Essien, who was mainly responsible for marking the core of the Gunners, Cesc Fabregas.
Both of Van Persie's goals were assisted by Fabregas. Fabregas's pass was just right for Van Persie to shoot directly without having to make extra moves. Cech had nothing to do about this.
Essien bowed his head and remained silent in the face of the questioning, and he did not dare to talk back in the locker room. Although he disagreed in his heart, Xiaofa was a talented player, could he really beat him to death?
Scolari didn't get an answer and said nothing more. He knew not to be too harsh on the players, otherwise the players would have no morale to play in the second half.
Of course, Chelsea did not gain anything in the first half. Drogba took advantage of a corner kick to score the Gunners' goal. The score in the first half was 2:1.
"We must score in the second half. If we don't want Manchester United to catch up, we must win this game. If you all admit that you are a guy who doesn't have a handle, then it doesn't matter what the result is. You think about it yourself!" Scola
Li simply started to irritate the players, and his words also made the Chelsea players look angry.
"I said, Jose, you won't watch your national team teammates showing off while you make no achievements yourself. This is not your character!" Cech was scored two goals in the first half, and he must have been in a mood.
Not very good, and Prince's silence in the first half was one of the reasons why Chelsea fell behind.
"Well, I just wanted to rest in the first half. Xiaofa is a genius, but he is not good enough. Let's see my performance in the second half." The prince nodded vigorously.
It’s not without reason that the prince didn’t perform well in the first half. Several consecutive and intensive games made the prince’s physical strength somewhat serious. Although his physical fitness is good, he can’t withstand continuous appearances. Therefore, the inevitable state
There are some ups and downs.
While going to the toilet, the prince secretly entered the system and drank a bottle of stamina potion before walking onto the field. Now he feels full of strength. (To be continued. If you like this work, you are welcome to come.
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