Chapter 1438
Words:1822Update:22/12/17 01:40:54
Although Chelsea's trend this season was more turbulent than last season, starting high and going low, they finally regained a lot of energy after the change of manager.
A change of manager was like a change of blade.
Di Matteo used Chelsea's defensive counterattack in the past and quickly won two consecutive games in the league.
After a 3: 0 win over Wolverhampton Wanderers at home in the last round, Chelsea defeated Newcastle United at St James' Park in the 14th round of the Premier League!
After the game, Fleet Street praised Di Matteo and believed that Chelsea was expected to return to the championship group because the locker room seemed to have changed after Villas-Boas was driven away.
Arsenal defeated Wigan Athletic by 4: 0 in the away game.
Manchester City, who lost to Anfield in the last round, was not beaten to the point of collapse. After all, they were still the leaders in the league table. The pressure of Liverpool catching up could stimulate their fighting spirit.
Back at the Etihad Stadium, Manchester City immediately gave the fans a shot in the arm with a 5: 1 win.
Norwich City was a little unlucky to run into a resentful Manchester City and was slaughtered.
Manchester United defeated Aston Villa by 1: 0 at Villa Park and looked quite low-key.
It was Liverpool's turn to play. It was their fifth game in two weeks. The first four games were against strong teams. The Premier League would have a devil's competition schedule in the second half of the month. Comain needed to let the main players get some rest, so he rotated them in this round.
Comain wanted to play the weak card to Fulham so that Fulham would have the guts to go head-to-head with Liverpool at home.
But he did not expect Fulham to not be fooled and still put up an iron bucket defense at home.
At the end of the 90-minute game, Liverpool could only reluctantly accept a 0: 0 draw.
This made the point gap with Manchester City, which was shortened in the last round, widen again.
Manchester City, 37 points.
Liverpool, 33 points.
Manchester United, 32 points.
Chelsea, 28 points.
Arsenal, 26 points.
Except for Arsenal and Chelsea, who were a little far away from Manchester City, the points difference between the other three teams was not that big.
This allowed the Premier League title race to enter a critical juncture when the devilish competition schedule arrived!
For the Champions League group stage finale, Liverpool did not bring their main force to Greece. In the away game against Olympiacos, Comain sent out a lineup that made Olympiacos shudder.
It was a combination of a group of substitutes and young players.
Deja vu, isn't it?
In last season's group stage, Liverpool put out such a lineup in the closing game. In the end, it scared Inter Milan out of their wits. If Inter Milan did not rely on Liverpool's second team to draw with FC Twente in the Netherlands, they might have been eliminated in the last game of the group stage.
Because of this, Olympiacos dared not underestimate their opponents. God knows if Liverpool's second team was using the pretext of letting their opponents lower their guard to start a massacre!
In the end, Olympiacos defeated Liverpool's second team 2: 0 at home with a cautious and steady performance. They beat Marseille and Borussia Dortmund to win second place in the group and advance to the Champions League's top 16.
At the end of the game, the Greeks were sure that Liverpool was really merciful to send them warmth today!
Comain faced doubts from the European media after the game. They thought that Liverpool sent such a lineup to give Olympiacos a chance to win.
Comain was forced into a corner and suddenly became furious. "My team won first place in the group at the end of the last round, but we're still behind Manchester City in the league. Manchester United is also under a lot of pressure to catch up. We're about to enter the Premier League's cruel Christmas devil schedule. If you were me, what would you do? Bring all the main force from Liverpool to the distant Greece? Then fight hard with the opponent for 90 minutes and run back to Liverpool to prepare for the league in three days? If you would do that, you'd be the stupidest manager in the world. Some people are willing to be a fool, but I won't! Stop asking stupid questions and end this time-wasting farce. "
Comain left in a huff and then accepted the fine issued by UEFA and paid a fine of 30,000 euros.
A day later, the draw ceremony for the Champions League knockout stage was held.
The defending champion Liverpool's draw was a bit unlucky. They drew the second strongest team in the group: AC Milan.
However, the Liverpool fans were not worried at all. AC Milan had been in decline and was no longer the Milan dynasty of the past.
They were back in the Premier League.
Manchester United took the lead in beating Wolverhampton Wanderers 4: 1 at Old Trafford.
The Red Devils quietly advanced steadily and approached the top of the table.
Arsenal struggled to beat the Toffees Everton 1: 0 at the Emirates Stadium. Wenger's team seemed to be completely different from the beginning of the season. The revamped Arsenal formation now had a savior striker that all the top teams wanted: Robin van Persie.
It was thanks to the healthy Robin van Persie's repeated saves that Arsenal was able to win again and again in recent times.
Liverpool, whose main players were rested for two games, went all out in Anfield and defeated the visiting Queens Park Rangers 4: 0.
The three traditional powerhouses all won in the 15th round of the competition.
The most anticipated game of the round would be played at Stamford Bridge.
Chelsea's home game against Manchester City!
Gary Neville had recently opened his mouth and mocked Chelsea. First, he said that Luis was like a game character manipulated by a 10-year-old child. Then, he speculated that there was something wrong with the Blues' locker room.
In response, the Blues' new manager, Di Matteo, hit back one by one. "A top Brazilian defender who plays for the national team that has won the most world championships. You'd better be careful with what you say."
"I'll be very happy to say to Neville's face, what do you know about Chelsea's locker room? What does Neville know about our locker room? Why do you like to imagine what happens in Chelsea's locker room so much? How do you know? Have you been to Chelsea's locker room? Do you know where Cobham's training base is? Do you know the way to Cobham? "
Before the game against Manchester City, Nasri made fun of Chelsea again. "Liverpool is our biggest threat. I don't think Chelsea is scary. To get three points at Stamford Bridge like how Liverpool beat the Blues …"
Chelsea had lost to Arsenal at home this season and suffered a humiliating defeat by Liverpool. Then there was the emergency of the Champions League and the change of manager.
It seemed that the Blues had become the weak team that everyone bullied.
Di Matteo was dismissive. He claimed that the Blues were recovering!
In the last three games, Chelsea kept their opponents clean and won three big victories with the score of 3: 0.
Chelsea, led by Di Matteo, did not have time to be killed by their opponents. They broke out with a tenacious fighting spirit after the tactical adjustment of showing weakness to the enemy.
December 13.
The Blues and Blue Moon fought fiercely at Stamford Bridge for 90 minutes.
When the 90-minute game was over, an unexpected result was born!
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