I almost helped Manchester United revive, but I chose to run away

Chapter 8 We are on the right track

Manchester United fans are really impressed by Li Chen’s adjustment methods!
Regardless of whether he took advantage of tactics that his opponents did not understand, the fact that Li Chen was able to lead his team to a 2-0 lead away from home against the current Premier League top team is a reflection of his ability!
What's the point of bragging about active offense and pressure defense? If you can't win the game, then sticking to the so-called "correct tactics" is just a waste of effort!

At least the Manchester United fans who have been in a bad mood due to the team's fluctuating results and performances for the past month have now truly realized the preciousness of victory!

In this game, Ronaldo scored twice in just half an hour, which was a strong response to the British media's previous doubts about him.

It is said that his arrival completely disrupted Solskjaer's tactical arrangements. He took up too much firing rights, resulting in poor performance of other Manchester United offensive players.

The key point is that these very obvious paradoxes were publicized and recognized by many neutral fans when Manchester United's performance was turbulent before.

This is nonsense!

If his arrival really disrupted Solskjaer's tactical arrangements, he would not have scored twice in his debut, and he would not have scored the winning goal and equalized the game so many times in the subsequent Champions League games!

The media did not mention the injuries of Rashford, Cavani and Pogba, and the fans also turned a blind eye to the impact of Sancho's slow integration on the entire offensive system.

Just because he is the most famous and has scored the most goals in Manchester United, he has to be the one who takes the blame, and his goals hurt the team? !
Cristiano Ronaldo, who was angry, didn't want to make any explanation for this wave of public opinion. He just wanted to continue to prove himself with his performance on the field, just like he proved himself in Real Madrid and Juventus before.

But he soon discovered that the Manchester United team was on the road to losing control.

Solskjaer no longer has the trust of the vast majority of first-team players, his tactics have problems, and many of Manchester United's main players are performing poorly under tremendous pressure from public opinion.

In this case, even if he can still try to seize opportunities to score goals in the frontcourt, the team's midfield and backcourt will use more mistakes to ruin the game advantage.

This situation where the whole team was about to collapse once seriously interfered with his will and spirit.

Fortunately, after Solskjaer left office, the bad luck surrounding him in recent years seemed to have dissipated, and he finally waited for a head coach who truly understood him!
Li Chen put him back in his most familiar position, equipped him with a pivot center who could draw the opponent's defensive attention, and designed a stable connection channel between him and the midfield...

It has been a long time since Ronaldo has been able to do what he does best on the field so happily and calmly.

Li Chen understands him, knows how to use him, and knows how to protect his condition. He only lets him focus on shooting. Under this tactical arrangement, his goal efficiency will naturally increase sharply!
He was too overwhelmed with gratitude to say these words, and he also understood that Li Chen didn't need him to say them.

Then keep up the form and continue to repay Li Chen’s trust with a steady stream of goals on the field!
Just as Li Chen said when he hugged him after returning to Carrington Base.

"We must take back what belongs to us in the Premier League. Let's forget the past and start over together!"

The deafening boos that gradually began to sound at the Stamford Bridge scene could not at all dampen the fighting spirit that had been rekindled in Ronaldo's heart!

At this moment, the other Manchester United main players who gathered around him and celebrated passionately with him were also closely united, and their morale was boosted!

This is the power of spiritual upliftment.

When self-doubt disappears and the seeds of self-confidence take root again in the heart, a team stuck in a cycle of continuous failure will have the possibility of being reborn from the ashes!
Having only reached this point, it cannot be said that Manchester United can truly be reborn from the ashes.

But at least they have embraced hope again!

However, at such a critical juncture, Li Chen was the first to calm down from his excitement and personally "cooled down" the Manchester United players on the field.

Anger and passion are important factors in maintaining players' fighting spirit, but during the game, the coach, as the team's main point guard, must find the right opportunity to cool down and control the speed of the team that is moving at full speed.

Excessive passion will bring endless opportunities, but it will also create endless risks.

When it comes to risks, Li Chen, like his teacher Mourinho, wants to control them as much as possible.

Li Chen understands Tuchel's temper.

The German coach sometimes has a bad temper, but he never lacks the courage to fight to the death.

Most head coaches will choose to stabilize the situation and defend well when they see their team falling behind by two goals early on.

Even a head coach who prefers offensive football would not be so stubborn as to force his players on the field to play offensive football against their opponents.

But it’s really hard to say about Tuchel, because he is really not afraid of taking the blame!

Li Chen didn't want to gamble on Tuchel's tactical choice. He directly prepared for the most extreme situation, actively slowed down the pace of the game, and waited for Tuchel to make a move before responding on the spot.

Having worked in the football world with Mourinho for more than ten years, Li Chen has laid a very solid foundation in tactical basics.

But if you ask him to name his two best coaching abilities, he would definitely choose the ability to select players according to the situation and the ability to make on-the-spot adjustments.

In Li Chen's opinion, tactical preparation and deployment is a basic skill that must be learned well. With this solid foundation, he pays more attention to his ability to select players, build teams and respond on the spot.

As for the former, he prefers to imitate and learn from Ancelotti, and as for the latter, he naturally would not tire of asking Mourinho for advice.

So it’s not that Li Chen is arrogant. Just in terms of his ability to adjust on the spot, he thinks he has reached the top level in football.

It is precisely because of this confidence that he dared to order the players to slow down and wait for the opponents to make the first move when the team was leading by two goals.

Tuchel didn't know what Li Chen was up to, but seeing that Manchester United seemed to be taking control of the game, he felt relieved.

The situation on the field had room for maneuver, so there was naturally no need for him to take the risk of fighting Manchester United early on.

After forcibly ordering Jurgen Klopp not to move forward too much to participate in the attack, Tuchel called on Mount and Havertz on the bench to warm up quickly.

Jorginho has a very high football IQ and naturally understood Tuchel's intention. He also took the initiative to slow down the pace of the game and fought back and forth with Manchester United for control in the middle of the midfield.

As Manchester United deliberately contracted their formation to cut space, Chelsea gradually gained the upper hand in the midfield.

However, Werner and Ziyech's shooting form was really bad.

In the remaining ten minutes of the first half, they did have opportunities to shoot, but their shots ultimately went wide of the goal frame.

Under the gaze of the live camera, Tuchel shook his head repeatedly, and it seemed that he had little trust in these two people.

After the halftime whistle sounded, Tuchel walked into the player tunnel without looking back. Following him were Mount and Havertz, who had completed warm-up in the first half.

Li Chen looked at it thoughtfully for a few seconds, then quickly walked back to the locker room with Carrick.

During the halftime break, his tactical adjustments were minor. Taking advantage of the team's high will to fight, he further emphasized the importance of the frontcourt players returning to defense in the second half.

However, under such frequent and active defensive requirements, Li Chen pays more attention to the quality of the subsequent quick counterattacks!
In this regard, his tactical habits are very different from those of Mourinho.

To put it more simply and bluntly, he and Mourinho have different ideas and tactical thinking to end the game.

After the team has achieved what he believes to be a sufficient lead, Mourinho will prioritize protecting the penalty area and disrupting the opponent's offensive rhythm as much as possible.

The main tactical idea is that I will no longer actively attack, but you can't even think about attacking.

Li Chen also attaches importance to defense, but he will not put too much hope of ending the game on defense like Old Mu.

Except in the last few minutes of the game, Li Chen will never give up the initiative to counterattack behind the opponent's defense line.

This tactical thinking is actually quite consistent with the Manchester United team of that year.

No matter how you defend, I’m going to stab you twice if I get the chance!

Manchester United's main players are also very convinced by Li Chen's tactical arrangements.

As soon as the second half of the game started, they had already made sufficient mental preparations and successfully withstood Chelsea's fierce attack.

Sancho and Martial's further retreat allowed Manchester United to change their defense directly to a 451 formation. With a large number of defenders in the midfield, they were not afraid of Chelsea's penetration through the middle at all.

Li Chen's adjustment of Wan Bissaka's position on the left today was a stroke of genius at this moment!

A healthy Reece James is definitely a strong contender for the No. 1 right back in football in the past two seasons!
In the past, whether in the Premier League or the Champions League, he could rely on his strong physical fitness to advance on the wing like a tank, and was invincible!

But today, facing Wan-Bissaka who was stubbornly staying on the wing, James had an extremely uncomfortable time playing.

Wan Bissaka, who focuses on defense, is indeed an extremely difficult character!

His physical strength can barely keep up with James, and his speed is not bad either. More importantly, his defensive attitude is very positive and tenacious!
Even though he couldn't lock down James in a 1v1 defensive situation, Wan-Bissaka succeeded in annoying James and made his opponent feel very uncomfortable.

Without James' offensive assistance and support, Mount's tactical role on the right side, who came on as a substitute, would be greatly reduced.

At this time, many Chelsea fans at the scene missed Kante and Kovacic very much.

If their two midfield players were healthy and able to play, why would Chelsea have such a hard time advancing in the midfield today? !
Although Jurgen Klopp looks strong and has comprehensive skills, his dribbling and advancing with the ball is like child's play in front of Matic.

They couldn't break through with a head-on attack, and they didn't know how to find ways to move to the flanks. All the problems of ball possession were left to Jorginho and his teammates in the frontcourt. It was really enough to make your blood pressure rise!
Li Chen's arrangements on the defensive end directly blocked Chelsea's most threatening means of advancement.

Hudson-Odoi was also watched by the cautious Dalot on the left. Whenever Alonso cut inside, he would be closely interfered by B Fee. He couldn't even protect the ball, let alone shoot!
After several adjustments failed to achieve effective tactical results, Tuchel couldn't help but curse "bad luck" in his heart!
If Chilwell and Kante could play, Chelsea would have opened up the offense long ago!

Manchester United can defend James' side, but can they be distracted and double-team Chilwell to limit his performance?

It is true that even a good cook cannot cook without rice.

What’s even more hateful is that Manchester United always wants to steal the ball on the counterattack!

Scoring two goals was not enough, they also wanted to try their luck to expand their lead. How could this style of play be so shameless and abominable!

Throughout the second half of the game, Tuchel turned his head from time to time to look at Li Chen who was standing not far from him, and he was worried.

"Did this kid learn the coaching philosophy from Mourinho? Why is he so 'greedy'? Isn't he afraid that if he put so much counterattack force into the rear, it will be unstable and I will really score a goal?"

Tuchel's idea actually makes sense, but Li Chen insisted on seizing opportunities to counterattack, and relied on this momentum to force Chelsea's defenders to be wary of him.

The two teams were in a stalemate until the 70th minute of the second half, and the score remained unchanged. Tuchel didn't have many cards to play and could only try to replace Lukaku, whom he did not trust.

As soon as the "Little Beast" came on as a substitute for Hudson-Odoi, Havertz retreated to the attacking midfielder position. Chelsea's attacking mode directly switched to frequent kicks from both wings.

Compared with previous years, Lukaku's threat in the penalty area is much stronger now. Chelsea plays simpler games, but their offensive efficiency has increased.

However, Li Chen did not continue to sit and watch the situation develop at this time. Instead, he replaced Sancho with McTominay and directly changed to a three-midfielder formation!

The appearance of Wright provided more vitality and air defense strength to Manchester United's defense.

Both Lukaku and Havertz were closely marked by Manchester United, and their aerial headers were not smooth.

After being silent for dozens of minutes, B Fee and Ronaldo once again threatened Chelsea's goal with a successful counterattack in the 78th minute of the second half!

However, this time Thiago Silva was very determined in his close defense of Ronaldo, forcing Ronaldo to force a shot on the left side of the penalty area!

Mendy did not give any more chances and steadily confiscated Ronaldo's forced shot.

Although Manchester United's counterattack ultimately failed to score another goal, it did further intimidate Chelsea's midfield and backcourt defense!
Jorginho was forced to retreat further, which in turn weakened Chelsea's offensive organization in the frontcourt.

Lukaku, who only got 20 minutes of playing time, was still trying to find his shooting touch, but the game was quickly dragged into injury time by Manchester United.

At this moment, Li Chen was very much like Mourinho, replacing Ronaldo and Martial with Van der Beck and Phil Jones at once.

Manchester United, which strengthened its midfield and defense, did not give Chelsea any chance and maintained the score of 2-0 until the end of the game!

When the referee's whistle sounded, Li Chen smiled and high-fived and hugged Carrick, then he straightened his clothes and walked towards Tuchel.

"It was a great game, congratulations on your victory."

Tutu was still very graceful after the game. There was no past grudge between him and Li Chen, and he congratulated Li Chen generously.

After Li Chen expressed his gratitude, he was surrounded and blocked by a group of reporters on the field.

Faced with those interview microphones that were actively extended to him, Li Chen just grinned and played an old joke.

“I think we’re on the right track.”

(End of this chapter)