Qin Xiong understood Vieira's complaints over the past few years. When his attention began to look at the overall situation and pay attention to the changes in the team, instead of focusing solely on his own progress and strength, there was a feeling that was very uncomfortable!
At the beginning of every season, he had to work with the young players and tolerate the "willfulness" of the young players.
The reason why Fàbregas and Qin Xiong were mature despite their young age was because they were team players. While they were conscientious on the field, they always put the team's interests first.
As for some of the new players, it could not be said that they were selfish. It was just that when they first arrived, their desire to perform was stronger and they hoped to usurp the position of the main force, so they paid more attention to their own performance. This was understandable, but for some teammates, it was either uncomfortable and they chose to tolerate it, or they could not bear it and finally had a choice to explode.
When the three of Hleb, Van Persie, and Reyes were in the starting lineup, Qin Xiong felt that it was completely different from when Pires, Henry, and Ljungberg were on the field. It was as if they were playing different football!
In the 16th minute of the game, Qin Xiong diagonally passed to the flank to create an opportunity for Reyes. Reyes had at least three choices. He could pass to Van Persie, pass back to Fàbregas in the inverted triangle in the middle, or break through Gallas!
The best choice was to pass to Fàbregas. In this way, Qin Xiong, who was surrounded by Lampard, Makelele, and Tiago, would have a little more space in the middle. At least Fàbregas' advance would attract Lampard's attention, and Lampard would have to block Fàbregas. If Qin Xiong moved again, the offense in the middle would be a different situation.
It was not wise to pass to Van Persie. Van Persie was not a columnar center forward. It was difficult to get rid of Terry and Carvalho in a narrow space to find an opportunity to shoot, but it was not impossible.
The worst choice was to break through Gallas.
First of all, it was difficult to break through. Second, what would happen after the breakthrough? It was back to the previous choice: pass or return to the inverted triangle. After all, Reyes's style of play was different from that of wingers like Robben, Duff, and Joe Cole, who cut inside. Even if he succeeded in breaking through, Chelsea's defensive line would shrink and there would be less space. Under the same circumstances, the effect would be worse.
Reyes chose to break through on his own, and he did not succeed in breaking through at all. Gallas did not rush forward to snatch the ball. When he retreated, he waited for Tiago to assist in the defense. Including the sidelines, they surrounded him from three sides. When Reyes wanted to turn back to look at other options for passing the ball, Gallas poked the ball away. After that, Tiago launched a counterattack. Lampard began to plug forward, and Joe Cole directly turned into the middle after receiving from the sidelines.
Chelsea's counterattack was more skillful and tacit than last season. When there was a lot of space, the crazy winger could cut inside with a clear mind and choose the right time to pass.
After Joe Cole cut inside, he passed the ball to Robben, who cut inside on the other side.
Robben dribbled horizontally in front of the penalty area, and Silva did not dare to rashly make a move. Robben's pace was very fast, and his kick could become a foul. When Fàbregas returned to defend to help Silva, Robben suddenly shook his ankle and stuffed the ball straight into the penalty area.
The football that rolled past Touré and Lauren was received by Lampard, who cut in front. Fàbregas suddenly realized that he had missed a man!
Lampard's running position was very decisive. With Drogba and the winger, Joe Cole, to contain or cover him, and no defensive midfielder to block or interfere with him, he easily cut into the penalty area and then calmly pushed the ball into the far corner of the goal.
Qin Xiong was helpless. Then he pointed to Fàbregas at Reyes, indicating that he should have decisively passed the ball to his teammate instead of rashly breaking through!
Even though Hleb had also failed to break through and was counterattacked, Hleb was a newcomer after all.
He could use his lack of understanding of Chelsea as an excuse, but how could Reyes, who came to the team half a year earlier than Qin Xiong, not know what kind of team Chelsea was?
It was very dangerous to lose the ball in the front field!
It could be said that in a game against Chelsea, patience was a must. What they pursued was not the number of attacks, or even the number of threatening attacks, but the quality of the attacks!
They could not make mistakes in this kind of game. Even if it was a mistake in the front field, which did not seem to bring about the danger of being tired, it was actually not allowed!
Every attack either resulted in a shot, or the ball was kicked into the stands. In short, they could not let Chelsea launch a counterattack storm in a flowing game. In that case, the more attacks there were, the lower the quality of the attacks. Instead, it gave Chelsea more opportunities to attack, and they were all damn good opportunities!
Reyes lowered his head and did not speak. Qin Xiong might not understand his situation. In the year and a half since he came to Arsenal, he had never been recognized by manager Wenger or the fans!
Even if Wenger had always defended and encouraged him in front of the media, he was still on the road to prove himself.
In the first half, Arsenal's offense was a mess. Qin Xiong was attacked from both sides. On the one hand, he was blocked by Chelsea's valiant three midfielders. On the other hand, his teammates in the attacking group were unable to share the pressure for him. They did not even take the initiative to share the pressure for him!
This was the gap between a top player and a first-rate player.
When Henry was able to retreat in a wide area to break through the opponent's defensive line with his individual disc to free Qin Xiong, Robin van Persie just stayed in the front line and waited for his teammates to feed him the ball.
When Ljungberg was able to participate in the defense or take the initiative to play in the middle, Reyes still paid attention to his meaningless breakthroughs on the flanks and passes from deep in the game.
When Pirès was able to cut into the middle and take the initiative to switch positions with Qin Xiong to play the offensive confusion effect of shifting positions, Hleb seemed to be unable to stand steadily on the flanks.
Even though Fàbregas had the intention to go forward to share the pressure for Qin Xiong and open up the disadvantageous situation in the midfield, he himself was under tremendous pressure.
He was not Vieira. He did not have the domineering aura of a one-man pass in defense.
If Chelsea's counterattack was just a traditional counterattack, it would be fine. But Chelsea's group of wingers were all cutting inwards, which meant that Silva had to become a defensive line to intercept from the side. It was crucial for Fàbregas to mark Lampard's plugging in from the back. Lampard, who was already close to being a world-class star player like Qin Xiong, was not someone that Fàbregas, who was just starting to take on the role of a leading player, could stop!
If Qin Xiong had the space to attack as well as the same resistance as Chelsea, he was confident that he could completely blow up Fàbregas, or there would be no one-on-one opportunity at all. Because of his smart and decisive positioning, in terms of timing, he could make Fàbregas lose the opportunity to defend.
Arsenal lost their second goal before the end of the first half. Robben blew up Ashley Cole on the flank, and then after cutting inside the penalty area, he vigorously passed the ball to the back of the goal. Joe Cole was in position to wrap up and send the ball to the back of the goal.
At the end of the first half, Qin Xiong went to Fàbregas and whispered to him.
You've already exceeded your reading limit for today. If you want to read more, please log in.
Login
Select text and click 'Report' to let us know about any bad translation.
