Boos reverberated throughout the Highbury stadium.
In Chelsea's half of the field, the Arsenal fans in the nearby three stands attacked Chelsea's players with boos and taunts.
Since the kickoff, the football had never crossed the field under the feet of Chelsea's players!
Arsenal had shrunk their defensive line as a whole, waiting for Chelsea's attack, but Chelsea did not attack!
This triggered the dissatisfaction of the Arsenal fans. Chelsea had been playing defensive counterattack throughout the game, but at the last moment, they even gave up attacking in order to not lose the ball!
"Some Fleet Streetball commentators said that Mourinho's Chelsea played so well that many teams in the Premier League did not dare to attack. But now what's happening in Highbury is that they dare not attack when Chelsea is behind in the score! Of course, a score of 3: 2 can be said to be very advantageous for Chelsea. When they return to Stamford Bridge, a net win over Arsenal by two goals or more will allow them to advance to the Champions League semi-finals. But a score of 1: 0 or 2: 1 can also allow them to advance. Considering the home advantage, Chelsea will certainly not be disappointed with a score of 3: 2. It's just that the game is not over yet, but they have put on such an attitude. The dissatisfaction of the Arsenal fans is understandable. "
Henry stood at the back of the center circle and looked at Chelsea's half of the field.
Chelsea's players also felt embarrassed. No one came to press for the ball, but they had to pass the ball back and forth, just like in training. The score on the scoreboard did show that they were behind.
Under such circumstances, in fact, no one could guarantee that Chelsea would be able to beat Arsenal when they returned to Stamford Bridge. What if it was a draw? At least this season, Chelsea had not beaten Arsenal. The first game in the Premier League was a draw and the second game had not been played yet. If they lost in the Champions League, it actually proved that Arsenal absolutely had the ability to take away the draw at Stamford Bridge.
Pires used his last breath to rush to the front of the field to press for the ball. Chelsea passed the ball back and forth. After a minute of injury stoppage time, Lampard lobbed the ball to the front of the field from the midfield. Although the English football philosophy was not traditional offensive football, they still cared more about the attitude on the field. They were playing utilitarian football, and yet they did not attack. It was a bit of a joke.
Lampard's pass almost made Mourinho furious!
Toure cleared the ball and the football fell at Qin Xiong's feet.
Qin Xiong started from the front of the penalty area and passed the ball with Vieira. After shaking off Drogba, Qin Xiong suddenly stopped to avoid Joe Cole's side interception when he touched the ball for the second time. Then, he passed the ball to Henry, who was at the back of the midfield.
After passing the ball, Qin Xiong sprinted forward. He knew that this might be the last of his stamina.
Henry kicked the football, but his speed was not fast. He gradually accelerated from a very slow state.
Qin Xiong ran past Henry on the right side and then ran diagonally to the front of Henry. Henry dribbled the ball to the front right at the same time. Lampard thought that Henry would pass the ball to Qin Xiong, but he did not expect it to be a pretense. Henry broke through Lampard's defense area unimpeded.
When Geremi rushed up, Henry passed the ball diagonally to Qin Xiong, and then turned to run in front of Qin Xiong. Qin Xiong turned to the front right and dribbled.
The two men ran in a continuous crisscross position, and dribbled to break through as a means of advancement.
It turned Chelsea's defensive line upside down.
When Drogba, Joe Cole, Lampard, and Geremi were broken down one by one by Qin Xiong and Henry's combination of passing and cutting, anyone could see that Arsenal's wave of attack would probably kill Chelsea!
Mourinho rushed to the edge of the coach's command area and kept yelling for Chelsea's defensive line to shrink!
The flanks to the inside line!
Quick! Quick! Quick!
Fill the damn penalty area for me!
Block the damn goal for me!
Chelsea's defenders were still relatively calm. They quickly withdrew into the penalty area to form a tight defensive line. In front of the defensive line, there was also the defensive master, Makelele.
Qin Xiong slowed down before encountering Makelele. He had to do so. He was unable to sprint anymore.
In front of Makelele, he passed the ball to the left to Henry.
As soon as Henry stopped the ball, Qin Xiong changed direction and ran to the left behind Henry. Qin Xiong's idea was to make one last attempt with Henry. Henry would pass the ball to him, then Henry would plug in and Qin Xiong would send him a straight ball.
But Henry was faced with Terry's rush and Makelele's pincer attack. Makelele poked the ball out of the way while he was adjusting!
Fortunately, the poked football rolled to Qin Xiong. Qin Xiong stepped on the ball with his right foot. He had no physical strength to break through and could not speed up at all. Furthermore, Carvalho was very steady. He had no intention of breaking through at all.
In front of him, Chelsea used a human wall formed by four defenders to block his shooting angle. He had no chance to shoot.
Henry wanted to cut in, but he was blocked by Terry. The space was too small.
At the critical moment, Qin Xiong sent out a diagonal kick!
Ljungberg went around the inside line from the flank and cut straight behind Chelsea's defensive line. Qin Xiong's pass found him!
Gallas turned and rushed diagonally to block Ljungberg's possible shot with his body. Huth also turned to attack Ljungberg.
In the face of the falling football, Ljungberg did not look at the frightened expression on Gallas's face. Although he rushed up, in fact, his physical strength was also spent. He barely managed to complete a volley in the air!
He would not have a chance to adjust. If the ball fell to the ground, it was bound to be destroyed by Gallas and Huth. Ljungberg could only shoot immediately!
There was a huge sigh in the Highbury stands. Ljungberg knelt and covered his face … The football flew into the stands.
"If this goal is scored, it will put Chelsea in a desperate situation. If this goal is scored, Arsenal will leave another classic goal in this season's Champions League. Qin Xiong and Henry's spiraling movement is dazzling. They almost broke through Chelsea's midfielders layer by layer. Unfortunately, the last barrier, the defensive line, Chelsea is still very calm and composed."
Mourinho was relieved and his expression eased a little.
Wenger sighed in disappointment. He knew that Arsenal was unable to change the score.
At this time, Arsenal made a substitution. In fact, Wenger had submitted the substitution request a few minutes ago. It was just that Chelsea had not attacked and the game was not interrupted, so it was delayed until now.
Arsenal's substitution killed time. Chelsea also dawdled for a while after the kickoff. The game finally came to an end.
Qin Xiong walked directly to the players' tunnel after the whistle. He felt extremely tired and his legs could cramp at any time. He did not have time to thank the fans. He had to recover his fatigue and relax his muscles immediately. Otherwise, he was not sure if he could play in the league in a few days and the second leg of the Champions League final in a week.
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