Green Field Eunuch

Chapter 350 Chelsea Parking the Bus

"The most important thing in the match between Manchester City and Chelsea is Shan Yongzhuo's performance!"

"Chelsea's strategy is also very important. If they rely on the old methods and have one player defend against Shan Yongzhuo, it will be too difficult to achieve the desired effect. Top strikers are very difficult to contain. Just like when I was young, even against the toughest defense, I was confident that I could score..."

In the BBC's live broadcast studio, Lineker spoke candidly about his views on the match.

Before the match, both Manchester City and Chelsea kept a low profile.

Perhaps this is because Chelsea has been keeping a low profile.

Although Shan Yongzhuo declared his determination to win, no one from Chelsea responded, making Manchester City's punch seem to have hit nothing.

Chelsea simply couldn't help but keep a low profile.

Firstly, they genuinely lack confidence. The previous match against Manchester City was still fresh in their minds, where they barely managed to draw with Manchester City. This was the first time they had managed to draw with Manchester City in the past two years; the other times they suffered heavy defeats and were powerless to fight back.

Secondly, even if they are confident, they don't want to say it.

They really didn't know how to face Shan Yongzhuo; this opponent was their nightmare.

Moreover, Shan Yongzhuo's declaration of certain victory put immense pressure on them.

Everyone knows that Shan Yongzhuo basically never makes statements, but once he does, he almost always delivers on them.

Looking at it this way, even many Chelsea players feel they have no chance at all.

Soon, the competition began.

The Etihad Stadium was packed, showing the atmosphere of a major battle. However, judging from the overall atmosphere, it did not seem like a Champions League semi-final, but rather like a regular Premier League match, because Manchester City's home games this season have all had this kind of atmosphere.

Many reporters mingled among the fans, conducting pre-match interviews and surveys, and many fans shared their opinions.

"I think Manchester City will win, and win easily."

"I predict it will be a high-scoring victory for Manchester City. After all, Shan Yongzhuo has always won by a large margin against Chelsea."

"Manchester City can definitely reach the final!"

"I don't care about the score, I only care about how many goals I score in one-on-one situations!"

Manchester City fans were full of confidence, while Chelsea fans who came were less so. They also hoped Chelsea would reach the final, but their answers seemed somewhat lacking in confidence.

Finally, the stadium opened, and the fans entered the stadium in an orderly manner.

Nothing else happened before the match.

Manchester City and Chelsea played like it was a regular Premier League match, and then the game returned to the pitch, with the referee blowing his whistle to signal the start of the game.

Chelsea launched an attack right after the kickoff.

Chelsea's two wingers pushed forward, pushing the attack very high and reaching near the byline, but they failed to deliver the final cross, only creating a corner kick opportunity.

Then, with Mata's corner kick being punched away in mid-air by Joe Hart, De Jong got the ball, and Manchester City launched an attack.

Chelsea's defensive speed was very fast, and they set up their defensive formation almost immediately.

Apart from Drogba, who was leading the attack, everyone else dropped back to their own half, demonstrating their defensive resolve.

This is the defensive style of "parking the bus" that Chelsea used to be most adept at.

This tenacious, iron-willed defense once brought Chelsea much glory, and now, against Manchester City, they can only resort to the same stubborn, almost impenetrable defensive formation. Faced with such a defense, Manchester City's attacks didn't create many good opportunities; their attacks barely crossed the halfway line before being dispossessed before even reaching the penalty area, allowing Chelsea to launch quick counter-attacks.

Mata sprinted with the ball, broke through the halfway line, and passed it to Meireles, who then went straight for Drogba.

However, Manchester City won the ball back, and Chelsea players did not hesitate to start tracking back to defend.

Chelsea didn't have many players involved in the attack, and Terry was marking Shan Yongzhuo very closely. Lampard was also keeping an eye on Shan Yongzhuo's movements. The two of them were the main defenders against Shan Yongzhuo in this game, and they dared not be careless in the slightest.

Lampard didn't even participate in the counter-attack; he only ran forward a short distance symbolically. After seeing that Shan Yongzhuo was no longer retreating, Lampard also stopped running.

Everyone knows that it's impossible for Terry to defend Shan Yongzhuo by himself alone. In so many previous games, he had Shan Yongzhuo completely destroyed.

Therefore, Chelsea had no choice but to bring out Lampard as well.

Although Lampard's attacking prowess has been sacrificed, he is currently Chelsea's most defensively reliable midfielder, leaving Matteo with no choice but to place his hopes on him.

Manchester City indeed faced a more tenacious defense from Chelsea than ever before.

An attack.

Two attacks.

Three attacks.

Ten minutes into the game, Manchester City, despite dominating possession and having a significantly higher possession rate than Chelsea, failed to create any clear-cut chances.

They didn't even manage a single shot on target.

In fact, Manchester City is not a team that likes to control the tempo of their attack.

Manchester City's tactics do not rely on midfield organization and distribution. In their 4-2-2-2 formation, the midfield consists of two sweeping defensive midfielders, while the attacking rhythm is controlled by the two attacking midfielders on the wings.

This makes Manchester City's attack actually more adept at counter-attacking.

When faced with an impenetrable defensive formation, they had few options, or perhaps only one: to rely on Shan Yongzhuo's personal abilities to break the deadlock.

Chelsea's decision to abandon the midfield battle and focus entirely on defense and counter-attacks is making things difficult for Manchester City.

More importantly, Shan Yongzhuo was defended very tightly.

Terry marked Shan Yongzhuo closely, Lampard circled around him to provide support, and Mikel stood not far in front of Shan Yongzhuo, ready to cut off Manchester City's passing lanes to him at any time.

This made it difficult for Manchester City to accurately pass the ball to Shan Yongzhuo.

What frustrated Shan Yongzhuo even more was that Manchester City had a corner kick opportunity in the 5th minute, but his direct shot from the corner kick failed to result in a goal.

Cech seemed to be on fire in this match, making incredibly brilliant saves from Shan Yongzhuo's corner kick.

This caused Shan Yongzhuo to lose his best weapon, the Mighty Vajra Leg, so he could only slowly look for opportunities.

This made the pace of the game somewhat slow and dull, not at all like a fierce battle in the Champions League semi-finals, but rather like an ordinary Premier League match between mid-table teams.

This slowdown lasted until the 29th minute of the match.

This time, Manchester City finally got a chance to pass the ball to Shan Yongzhuo.

(End of this chapter)