spnThe current coach of Chelsea is not the Portuguese Mourinho, who is known as a madman, but the firefighter Grant. In September 2007, Grant took over the Chelsea coach from Mourinho. At first, Grant was extremely criticized by Chelsea fans.
There was huge resistance, but he led the team to a 16-game unbeaten run and finally received a four-year long-term contract in December 2007.
The League Cup semi-finals are his first test after getting a long-term contract. Of course, he attaches great importance to this first-leg home game.
Carvalho, who was released from the ban, and Malouda, who recovered from injury, both returned in this game. Belletti, Carvalho, Bridge, Ballack, and Joe Cole took turns to play, and Cudinic returned from injury and entered the bench.
After the baptism of the Christmas Devil schedule, Chelsea unfortunately has a long list of injuries. Ashley Cole, Terry, Lampard, Makelele, Cech, Shevchenko, almost all midfielders
players, coupled with the two attackers who left the team in the African Cup, it seems a bit stretched for Chelsea to be able to put together a complete attacking lineup.
His Chelsea lineup is 4-4-1-1: No. 40 goalkeeper Hilario; No. 35 Belletti, No. 6 Carvalho, No. 33 Alex, No. 3 Bridge; No. 12 Mick
Er, No. 13 Ballack, No. 24 Wright-Phillips, No. 15 Malouda; No. 10 Joe Cole; No. 14 Pizarro.[
Chelsea, who are almost at the top of the forward line, can only rely on the midfielders to hope for goals. Wright, Malouda, and Joe Cole are all good players on the wing. They can play up or down at any time.
It can be converted into a 4-3-3 attacking formation, with Joe Cole in the middle, supported by Ballack and Mikel behind him. Grant used Mourinho's double midfielder tactic when people were available.
However, in the case of incomplete personnel, rotation is adopted in many positions.
Leigh, No. 18 Phil Neville, No. 11 McFadden; No. 17 Cahill; No. 8 Andy Johnson, No. 22 Albertche.
The visiting team's lineup has also changed a lot. Captain Neville has returned to the midfield, while Tiger Yagielka has been placed on the back line. The most surprising thing is that Moyes sent out all the forward players in the team during the game.
It’s just that McFadden appeared in the midfield position. There was no way Arteta was suspended and could not play. Pienaar had physical problems and did not come to London at all. In today’s game, Everton only had 4 players on the bench.
, unlike Chelsea’s situation, Everton has to do this because they don’t have many people.
The game kicked off on time at 19:45 local time. In just one minute, McFadden passed a direct pass to Andy Johnson, but Hilario struck out early to confiscate the ball. Everton made a good attack at Stamford Bridge as soon as it started.
.
In the 2nd minute, it was Chelsea's turn to attack. Defender Yabo made a header error and Wright-Phillips made a direct volley from the edge of the penalty area without adjusting. However, Wright's shooting skills were not as sharp as his speed. The ball
Missed the goal.
The two teams did not play conservatively from the beginning, and the players were quite familiar with each other. The two teams directly started an offensive and defensive battle without any testing.
In the 8th minute, Belletti made a clever pass and passed back, but Joe Cole's shot from the right side of the penalty area was blocked by Carsley. Carsley was very dissatisfied after the tackle and pointed at the referee, seemingly complaining.
What, a yellow card warning, it is best not to offend the referee on the court, the consequences will definitely be detrimental.
Then there was a direct conversation between the two captains on the field today. Chelsea's captain Ballack still tackled fiercely today. He brought down Neville. The referee only gave a verbal warning and did not mean to play a card.
Chelsea's offense still likes to make fuss on the wing. This time it launched an attack on the right. Joe Cole and Ballack passed the ball continuously. The latter went to the frontcourt and knocked across the field. Pizarro tried to pass to the center but was blocked.
Belletti followed up with a long shot in time and missed the post.
Everton has done a good job so far, defending well enough, and many of Chelsea's shots were blocked by defenders.
Finally it was Everton's turn to attack. Lescott penetrated into the opponent's hinterland and kicked a strange pass from the left side of the penalty area straight to the goal. The ball was very fast and hit the net behind the goal. The game ended.
Nearly 20 minutes into the game, Chelsea did not have a big advantage on the court. After all, Everton is a strong team in the Premier League, and Chelsea did not dare to rush all the way. The battle between the two sides was almost always in the midfield.
After a struggle, it was the home team that scored first.
In the 26th minute, Malouda received a throw-in from the left side of the frontcourt and passed it straight to Wright in the penalty area. Wright bypassed Howard with a right-footed curve ball from the edge of the penalty area and hit the far side post.
Goal, 1:0, Chelsea takes the lead at Stamford Bridge.
Wright Jr. rarely hits the world with a kick!
Everton began to prepare to attack, but Chelsea began to retreat, preparing to use defensive counterattack tactics to threaten the opponent. This was also the way Chelsea was most accustomed to playing in the Mourinho era. This was often the way they played after taking the lead.
The away team's offense did not show off. Instead, the home team Chelsea, with the cheers of the home fans, became more and more courageous and got good opportunities in succession.
Chelsea counterattacked quickly. Wright-Phillips quickly counterattacked and passed the ball. Joe Cole forced a break through Gagilka and then stumbled into the middle of the penalty area. His single shot from 14 yards was saved by Howard. Referee Walton made up for the foul on Gagilka.
, a foul was required after completing the shot. This penalty caused great dissatisfaction from Moyes off the court, and the referee could only verbally warn the hot-tempered Scotsman.
Ballack came to take the penalty. His free kick was of extremely high quality. It went over the wall and the ball missed the post slightly. Howard didn't react at all. He came to his senses and roared loudly. He seemed to be right.
The team's wall is very unsatisfactory.
In the 31st minute, Malouda moved to the right, Joe Cole passed the ball straight at the first time, and Wright-Phillips' shot from the right side of the penalty area was blocked by Jagielka.[
Everton's offense was too chaotic. Instead, Chelsea, who was originally preparing to defend and counterattack, formed a continuous attack. So far, Everton's ball possession rate is only 377%.
Lescott's performance in this game was pretty good. From the current point of view of Everton's players, only his performance was normal. As a defender, he once again inserted into the Chelsea penalty area and shot with his left foot.
Hilario flew and saved the ball.
Defenders frequently stepped forward. In today's game, Everton's offense was too chaotic.
In stoppage time, Everton's offense improved, and they finally got the first corner kick of the game. McFadden took a corner kick from the left, and Andy Johnson, who was defending, hit the ball from 11 yards.
Confiscated by Hilario.
At the end of the first half, thanks to Wright's goal, Chelsea temporarily led 1:0.
At the beginning of the second half, both sides obviously strengthened their defense. At the beginning, yellow cards were issued frequently.
Neville fouled Malouda on the right side of the penalty area and received a yellow card. He also gave Chelsea a free kick.
Later, Joe Cole tackled Lescott from behind during a so-called pullback. Not only was he injured, but he also received a yellow card, which was not worth the loss.
The red card finally appeared. In the 50th minute, Mikel made a flying tackle. It was too fierce and he was sent off directly. In that case, he would be suspended for three games. However, Mikel will participate in the African Cup, so he will miss the game anyway.
, now Mikel can go to the African Cup of Nations with peace of mind. He deliberately reported to the national team late, so that he has no worries, which is not bad.
Chelsea led by one goal, but had one less player to fight. As long as Everton scored a goal on the away road, they would have a chance to make a comeback at home. The game was still very suspenseful.
During the game, Little Wright, who played the best, once again intercepted the ball in the midfield, quickly counterattacked, and passed it directly to Pizarro. The latter immediately formed a single goal. Pizarro actually kicked the single goal directly to goalkeeper Howard. Pizarro
His condition was indeed not very good. The cheers from the home fans were muted, and there were even a few boos.
In the 61st minute, Sidwell replaced the somewhat injured Joe Cole.
Everton, with one more man, finally started to attack aggressively and equalized the score.
McFadden took a free kick from the left side of the frontcourt and passed it to the back point. Hilario made a mistake and Yabo passed the ball back to the goal. Chelsea defender Alex made a clearance not far away. Johnson half-turned in the penalty area and went into the air.
After hitting the goal, the ball hit the dead center, 1:1, Everton evened the score, Everton finally seized this rare opportunity.
In the 69th minute, Johnson made a wonderful pass with his heel from the wing. McFadden dodged Carvalho's tackle and broke into the left side of the penalty area to shoot from a small angle. The ball hit the far corner post.
In the 72nd minute, Belletti broke into the right side of the penalty area and Lescott elbowed the opponent. Referee Walton refused to give a penalty.
In the 78th minute, Belletti was given a yellow card for a retaliatory foul on Lescott in the backcourt. Jagielka made a free kick from the left, Cahill made a header from far away, and Andy Johnson shot from 4 yards.
deviation.
In the 83rd minute, Ferreira replaced Pizarro who performed poorly.
In the 89th minute, Belletti took a corner kick from the right, and Carvalho's header from far away went wide.
Chelsea sealed the victory in the 94th minute. Bridge's cross from the left was blocked and deflected. Ballack made a hook pass from the left side of the penalty area. Lescott was not prepared enough and failed to take off. Wright-Phillips fought for the top from behind from 6 yards.
, the ball hit Lescott's face and deflected into the net.
At the last moment, Everton's bad luck struck again. Lescott, who performed well in this game, scored a rare own goal and fell behind again in the away game.
The most frustrating thing is that the little Phillips defeated the tall Lescott. He was not an opponent at the same level at all. Such a situation happened. It must be said that without the lucky star Li Yu, Everton was in the game.
The lucky ones are generally not the ones to win.[
The following few minutes of the game further proved this point. In the 95th minute, McFadden made a direct pass, and Lescott, who was defending, shot a single shot from 8 yards but was bravely saved by Hilario. In the end, Chelsea won with difficulty.
In the games where Li Yu was absent, Everton faced the other top four teams in the league standings and all ended in defeat.
