Team Spirit

Chapter 260 The Strongest London Derby

August 27th, the third round of the Premier League.

Dartford will host West Ham United in back-to-back matches at home.

West Ham United made big signings this summer with Argentine stars Carlos Tevez and Javier Mascherano.

Both players adapted quickly and scored a goal in this match.

But Dartford's 4-3-3 formation began to shine, with Duff and Ribery each scoring a goal, leading to a 2-1 victory over West Ham United.

Fourth in the Premier League, securing a Champions League spot for the first time in three years!

Early September, national team match days.

Lu Kai's "black hand" has been promoted to the England team. Since the current matches are not important and the England team has just won the World Cup, it is a time for everyone to relax.

This national team roster has also undergone significant changes.

Stanley stated that he hoped the key players of the national team could get more rest so as not to affect their performance at the club level.

Shuangde felt incredibly pleased to hear this.

Beckham, who has moved to the MLS, no longer needs to fly back from Huangfengling.

So this was a very young England team.

Eighteen-year-old Cattermole, seventeen-year-old Smalling, Ramsey, and Henderson were all selected.

In addition, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, who holds dual Gabonese and French citizenship, has been called up to the Gabonese national team for the first time.

This caused widespread lamentation in the French media.

After all, anything produced by Green Gun is bound to be of high quality. Perhaps in a few years, Aubameyang will become another superstar like Vardy.

Now, some people call this Black Monkey "Green Henry".

Henry: ? ? ?
In fact, the French team also extended an invitation to Aubameyang and tried to get key national team members such as Ribery and Valbuena to act as intermediaries.

Unfortunately, Aubameyang's father was the captain of the Gabonese national team, and Aubameyang ultimately chose to follow in his father's footsteps, rejecting the powerful French team.

This choice undoubtedly impacted his career achievements.

However, as long as your goal isn't to be one of the top players in football, the quality of the national team's performance doesn't significantly affect your historical standing.

France failed to secure the promising young star Aubameyang, so they had to settle for calling up Giroud.

Giroud, whose talent is mediocre, became a national team player five years earlier than in history, thanks to his experience with the Green Gunners.

Overall, there are very few players in the Green Gun team who are not national team players, and most of them are too young, rather than lacking ability or fame.

On September 9th, in the fourth round of the Premier League, Dartford played away against Everton.

Everton's strength in recent years has been quite impressive, reaching a point where they can truly compete with Liverpool.

Their Merseyside derby has been one of the most back-and-forth matches in recent years.

Before the match began, Lu Kai and two former Everton players embraced and chatted.

They are Everton's starting center-back Lescott and Everton's versatile substitute defender Ashley Williams.

Lescott's time at Manchester United was not smooth, and the club promptly sold him to avoid being stuck with the club.

Both teams were in good form during the match.

Everton were luckier, winning 3-2 against Green Gunners thanks to an own goal.

On September 17th, in the fifth round of the Premier League, Greens will visit White Hart Lane to challenge Tottenham.

With goals from Lu Kai and Ribery, the two sides drew 2-2.

The first London derby of the season was uneventful.

But that's okay, because London fans have had plenty of derbies these past few years. Looking at the greater London area, the previous West Ham United vs. Manchester United derby also counts as a London derby.

A week later, in the sixth round of the Premier League, at the Green Penguin Stadium.

Another London derby is on the horizon.

Dartford host Chelsea!
The latter just won the Premier League title in the last round!

Sky Sports: "Tottenham warm up, Chelsea serve the main course! Back-to-back London derbies, can Dartford handle it?"

BBC: "London is rising! Chelsea, Arsenal, Tottenham, and Dartford are all in the European qualification zone! It's a pity Dartford will soon be expelled from London!"

Unfortunately, West Ham United, Fulham, and Watford, teams located either geographically or geographically within the greater London area, were also removed from the list.

Before the match, Mourinho gave an interview: "Datford is a team not to be underestimated. Perhaps after two more years of training, they will become our biggest problem."

"But they still need time to grow."

"Their 4-3-3 formation has its merits, but what determines the strength of a 4-3-3 is not tactics, but the players' abilities. Chelsea has an undeniable advantage in this regard, however..."

Mourinho did not say what followed.

"However, Chelsea have had to abandon the 4-3-3 formation this season in order to balance the presence of superstar Shevchenko." Guardiola, holding his tactical board, smiled knowingly. "We might not lose this match!"

It is well known that Shevchenko has never been what Mourinho needs.

But Abramovich couldn't refuse his insistence and bought him at a high price. Mourinho has no choice but to use him.

Mourinho's 4-2-3-1 formation is essentially still a 4-3-3, with the most important element being attacking down both wings. Drogba, with his physique, speed, playmaking, explosiveness, and the pivotal role he played after his time at Greenfield, is irreplaceable by other types of center forwards.

So Mourinho can change the lineup however he wants, but the center forward must be Drogba.

Both flanks must be speed dogs.

But with Shevchenko's arrival, firstly, he couldn't replace Drogba, nor could he assume Drogba's tactical role or coexist with the wingers.

Therefore, Mourinho would have no choice but to field a two-striker formation of Drogba and Shevchenko.

To maintain a balance between offense and defense, having one more center forward means having one less winger.
No, actually it's two fewer wingers.

Chelsea's previous attempts with a single wing were ineffective, and the asymmetrical formation created dead zones in the defense.

"Sure enough, they've set up a 4-3-1-2 formation." Zidane discerned Chelsea's choice for this match by observing the opponent's starting lineup.

Robben, Joe Cole, and Wright-Phillips on the wings were all on the bench.

Inside the players' tunnel, Duff was greeting his old teammates Lampard, Drogba, Terry, and others, but seeing Robben not there, he was even more convinced that he had made the right choice.

Robben, who was ranked higher than him, is now sidelined. If he hadn't left this season, he would probably have been stuck on the bench.

"Hello everyone, welcome to this round of the Premier League London derby."

"Chelsea's starting lineup is quite different from before. Mourinho has set up a new formation specifically for Shevchenko and Ballack."

"The results are quite good; we have successfully taken the top spot in the Premier League this round."

"But in terms of both offense and defense, they are not as consistent as last season."

Shevchenko, Drogba

Lampard

"Barak, Makelele, Mikel"

Ashley Cole, Carvalho, Terry, Ferreira

"Cech"

"A luxurious 4-3-1-2 formation, apart from Ferreira not being entirely satisfactory and Mikel needing more time to prove himself, the rest of the players are all excellent."

"However, this formation somewhat cripples the wings, and perhaps only Chelsea can build two core lineups on the wings and in the center at the same time."

"This summer, Chelsea acquired Ashley Cole, which has somewhat compensated for their attacking weakness on the flanks. It seems they also intend to shift their attacking play from the wingers to the full-backs."

"In fact, it is rumored that Mourinho once asked Abramovich to bring Maicon to Chelsea to form a wing partnership with Ashley Cole, but unfortunately it did not come to fruition."

"Chelsea have several candidates for the right-back position, including Ashley Young of the opposing Green Gunners."

On the pitch, Dartford's formation was also set up.

They still used the 4-3-3 formation in this match because the three-center-back formation that Lu Kai had specifically practiced was only just beginning and had not yet reached its full potential.

But this 433 formation is already the strongest lineup for Green Gunner, representing the highest level of Green Gunner's head-on confrontation:
Duff, Giroud, Ribery
Lu Kai
Patton, Motta

Filho, Vidic, Kompany, Ashley Young
Neuer

The center-back pairing is absolutely monster-like, known as "Vidic and Kompany are unstoppable," and they can easily hold their own against Drogba and Shevchenko. Moreover, since both Vidic and Kompany are still young and have a strong desire to run, their mobility is not as lacking as it was later in their careers, making them more than capable.

Its only shortcomings are agility and turning ability.

If Chelsea still relies on their formidable wingers, Lu Kai would consider replacing Kompany with Li Weifeng. Ideally, Thiago Silva would be best, but Thiago hasn't fully developed yet, and his overall performance isn't as good as Li's.

However, since Chelsea lacks two formidable wingers, their attacks can only originate from the middle.

This provides the best conditions for "the pores to remain undisturbed".

beep!

With the sound of a whistle, the match officially began.

As soon as the two sides clashed, Chelsea's Green Gun team sensed something different about them compared to the past.

The old Chelsea team was all-around in attack and defense. They didn't pursue possession, but when they had the ball, their attacks were very sharp, and they were never suppressed.

But today, although Chelsea actively fought for possession, once they got the ball, they seemed unable to get it past the halfway line and were unable to pass the ball to the forwards.

The offensive threat has decreased significantly.

In the eighth minute, Ribery suddenly pressed Ballack.

Dzeko was also attacking from the sidelines.

With no hope of passing back to Makelele, Ballack could only try to connect with Terry.

As soon as he passed the ball out, Lu Kai rushed out from the flank and headed the ball away half a step ahead.

Terry quickly approached Lu Kai and continued to press his body against him.

Lu Kai caught up with the ball at the edge of the penalty area and forced a long-range shot.

boom!
The shot was of lower quality than the ball, but it was within the goal area.

But Cech made a brilliant save, blocking the ball.

"Don't pass the ball like that, watch out for Lu, his coverage area is very wide," Terry shouted to Ballack.

This mistake was partly due to Ballack's and the team's lack of familiarity with the game.

But the main problem was the team's poor offensive performance, which allowed the Green Gunners to seize the opportunity.

Such a problem would never have occurred in the era when both wings could fly together.

Those two flanks have such strong passing capabilities that they won't even stay in midfield.

Zidane offered a sharp critique: "Chelsea essentially added a workhorse to their already ineffective midfield – Ballack."

"Two key players were removed from the two most needed flanks. A combination of one plus one is less than two in the forward position."

"They are crippling themselves from the inside out."

"No wonder Mourinho is so dissatisfied with Abramovich. It seems like he gave him a superstar, but in reality, it's like he dismantled Mourinho's entire tactical framework. The fact that Mourinho is willing to try to change the lineup is already a sign that he's kneeling down to the money."

In the eleventh minute, Dartford pressed forward in attack.

The successful pressing earlier has made Chelsea hesitant to act, and the momentum on the pitch has temporarily shifted in Chelsea's favor.

Ashley Young didn't cross the ball after going down the wing; instead, he passed it back to Ribery.

Lu Kai runs to receive the pass near the penalty area line.

Ribery's diagonal pass to Lu Kai.

Lu Kai faced Terry on his left, held him off, stepped on the incoming ball with his right foot, and then chipped the ball with his left foot in a fancy footwork move.

Ribery followed the ball, cutting into the penalty area and unleashing a low shot.

Carvalho's attempt to block the shot failed.

But Cech made another brilliant save, deflecting the ball out of bounds.

However, the storm surrounding Green Gun did not subside.

In the 16th minute, Giroud retreated to the edge of the penalty area to receive the ball.

Motta sends a through ball.

Giroud slammed his fist against the wall and knocked it back to Lu Kai, who was closer.

Lu Kai drove the ball through the wall.

Giroud was blocked by Carvalho as he turned and rushed into the penalty area.

It looks like we're about to lose the ball.

But Duff also slipped into the penalty area without the ball, rushing towards the ball from behind Carvalho.

In an instant, Duff, Terry, and Cech rushed toward the ball from three different directions.

In the end, Cech bravely caught the ball first, displaying incredible courage.

Despite pulling back his leg, Terry's knee still struck Cech's head during the flying tackle.

At the crucial moment, Duff slowed down and leaped over the two men, causing no more serious injury to either of them.

The team doctors from both sides entered the field.

Lu Kai expressed satisfaction with Duff's choice: "Playing football is about protecting yourself; your health is our fighting strength."

Duff was initially worried that Lu Kai would scold him, after all, with such a good opportunity, if he really went all out, he might just score a goal.

It should be noted that Lu Kai is known for his relentless work ethic.

Green Gun also has a fiery tradition of "not giving up an inch of ground".

The result was unexpected...

Duff felt a warmth in his heart.

On the sidelines, Mourinho appeared quite disdainful.

Duff, who was still considered ruthless under his command, didn't dare to charge when facing Green Gun.

Green Arsenal, the graveyard of player heroes.

Chelsea's morale was boosted by this "internal battle" between Terry and Cech.

Both of them were unharmed.

In the 25th minute, this improvement was evident on the field.

Chelsea midfielder Mikel steals the ball from Barton.

Lampard rushed up and poked the ball to Shevchenko.

Shevchenko turned and challenged Vidic one-on-one, seemingly cutting inside, but actually going outside to penetrate into the right side of the penalty area.

Vidic struggled to catch up.

Although Filho was fast, he was still a body length behind Shevchenko when he arrived from the outside.

However, Kompany quickly recovered and blocked the shot with a sliding tackle.

Drogba had space at the penalty spot, and Shevchenko made a cutback pass.

but……

boom!
Shevchenko took a shot, but the ball was blocked by Kompany's leg and bounced up.

Vidic then headed the ball away.

"Oh! What a pity! This was Chelsea's best chance so far, and they've basically only managed this one attack."

"Chelsea will hardly get such good opportunities in the middle again."

On the field, Lu Kai was communicating with Giroud before dropping deep into midfield.

The middle lane was overcrowded, and both sides were struggling to move.

Instead, the side roads became the main thoroughfares.