"Arsenal equalized the score! No one expected it to be Touré who helped the team score a crucial goal! What's even more incredible is Qin Xiong. He completed an assist that can be called a masterpiece of art! Look at how he received Pires' terrible corner kick near the end line in the penalty area. When the football bounced off the ground and swept past him, he did not stop the ball. Instead, he completed a gorgeous half-turn along with the football's forward trajectory. At the same time, the back heel of his left foot knocked up the football, which did not have a high range, to form an assist that caught Chelsea's rear defensive line off guard! Chelsea's defensive line is very stable, which has been vividly reflected in this season's Premier League. To break through their goal requires more creativity and unexpected results. Is Arsenal's attack a tactical arrangement? I don't think it's possible. This is Qin Xiong's improvisation and it's very effective! Now the score is 1: 1, which is still not good for Arsenal. We can look forward to what will happen next. "
Touré was surrounded by his teammates after he scored. Qin Xiong, who provided the assist, was also praised by his teammates.
Wenger's face looked better, but for some reason, he always felt that something was wrong even though the team played a dazzling and wonderful attack.
It was as if victory was pinned on luck.
When the same opportunity came, Arsenal might not be able to grasp it again. This was an ironclad fact. In terms of the overall situation, Chelsea was more advantageous. After all, Chelsea had more space to attack.
But just like in the game against Bayern Munich, after the away team scored first, the home team's room for adjustment was very small. No matter what, they had to score, win, and win more goals!
Mourinho accepted the reality of the team's goal loss expressionlessly. He had long been aware that utilitarian football could be very strong, but it did not mean that utilitarian football could become the world's overlord. When the opponent used higher creativity to break down the steel fortress, don't be angry, don't panic, and don't lose your mind!
When the defensive counterattack had already occupied the commanding advantage of the offensive space, there was nothing to complain about when it was destroyed by the opponent's gorgeous attack.
Chelsea did not show any signs of panic after losing the ball. They were calmer and calmer than Arsenal expected.
After the game restarted, Qin Xiong tried to find Henry, Pires, and Ljungberg directly in the midfield and sent them a very dangerous straight ball. After more than half a season of practice and familiarity, they all understood Qin Xiong's ability and knew that they should cooperate with Qin Xiong in passing and running.
But if Qin Xiong wanted to send a direct scalpel pass from the middle, it would always be fruitless. Makelele himself was an insurmountable barrier. Chelsea's defensive line today, to put it bluntly, was four center backs. Their defensive habits tended to be inward, which greatly limited Arsenal's mainstream style of passing and cutting in the flank.
As a result, it became Arsenal's offense from the midfield to the forefront. Often, it was Pires or Ljungberg who controlled the ball on the outside of the flank. The closer to the dangerous area, the less space there was for the combination of the sides and the center, because Chelsea's shrinking of the defensive line to squeeze out the attacking space was very effective.
"The first half of the game ended 1: 1. Both teams played well for a period of time and scored goals respectively. The situation now is a bit unfavorable for Arsenal. If Chelsea holds on to a draw, then Chelsea will have a great advantage to advance to the Champions League semi-finals when they go to Stamford Bridge in the next round!"
When leaving the field, Henry trotted to Qin Xiong's side and began to discuss the details of the game with him.
"It's difficult for our vertical attack to penetrate Chelsea's defense."
"Well, I'm also aware of this. The opponent's defensive line's protection of the penalty area is very good, unlike the combination of two full backs and two center backs."
A full back, as the name implied, was a defender on the flank. Although this role had the responsibility to assist in the defense of the penalty area, it would more or less pay attention to the defense of the outside. But today, Chelsea's four defenders had the attributes of a center back, which reduced their enthusiasm for the defense of the outside, so it was difficult for the gaps in the flank to appear.
Arsenal communicated with the team, trying to find the password to break Chelsea's defense.
Wenger also slightly adjusted the offensive strategy in this regard during the halftime interval. He asked Qin Xiong to be more active in directly threatening the opponent's penalty area, and Vieira was responsible for steadily sending the ball to the flank. In any case, Arsenal's offensive foundation was the combination of the sides and the center, which could not be abandoned.
In the second half, the two sides changed sides again. Chelsea did not seem to have changed. They still relied on the tactics from the first half to shake Arsenal's defense.
Chelsea had honed this set of defensive and counter-offensive tactics skillfully and freely, and it was close to perfection!
Barcelona was destroyed by Chelsea's counterattack storm.
Arsenal paid more attention to the offense of the flank in the second half.
Instead of fighting hard in the inefficient middle, it was better to force a move from the flank. As long as they posed a threat, they could force Chelsea to adjust! Then they could catch the flaws that the opponent might expose in the adjustment process!
In the 57th minute of the game, Qin Xiong and Vieira cooperated in the midfield. He took the initiative to pull to the side and then combined with Pires to hit the wall on the left flank. After shaking off Lampard, Qin Xiong cut across the middle from the left flank in front of the penalty area and did not give Makelele a chance to get close. He raised his leg to shoot!
The football bypassed Gallas and flew straight to the top right corner of the goal. Čech's heroic save was successful!
"Čech blocked Qin Xiong's goal that was bound to be scored! Chelsea's stability in the defensive line is inseparable from Čech's excellent play this season. He definitely has the strength to become the world's number one goalkeeper! "
In the 60th minute of the game, Drogba once again challenged Senderos one-on-one. After the collision, the two men lost control of the football and it became a 55-1 scramble for opportunities. Fortunately, Ashley Cole cleverly returned to the penalty area from the flank to clear the ball. Otherwise, the consequences would have been unimaginable.
Senderos became Chelsea's main offensive target. He tried very hard to bear the pressure, but Drogba, who became braver as the game went on, inevitably made him feel a sense of danger.
In the 64th minute of the game, Qin Xiong and Ljungberg played a one-two combination on the right flank. The football that Ljungberg passed back to Qin Xiong was destroyed by Huth and went out of the sideline.
The fans in the stands felt the stalemate of the game. The earth-shattering battle between the two London giants was too fierce. Chelsea's defensive strength was an eye-opener for the fans. Most of the time, Chelsea played some games in the league with mid-to-lower tier teams. Not many neutral fans were willing to watch the games because the games were too boring.
Now that they saw it, it was not by chance that Chelsea could become the team with the least number of goals conceded and the best defense in the league, and even in the top five leagues in Europe!
And it just so happened that Arsenal today had the strongest offensive firepower in the top five leagues in Europe.
This was really a battle of spears and shields!
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