The confrontation between the two managers on the sidelines became the most discussed topic. The television broadcast repeatedly replayed the original situation, showing the entire process of the incident from different angles and positions to satisfy the audience's curiosity.
The game continued, but the protagonists had changed from the star players on the field to the two managers, Tony Twain and José Mourinho.
"The managers stole the limelight from the players. We can say that as long as Mourinho and Twain are in the game, they will be the focus of everyone's attention. This kind of game is really good to watch. We can enjoy beautiful goals and see the passionate and hot-blooded duel between the two managers … Hahahaha! "
Amidst the commentator's laughter, the first half ended. Nottingham Forest and Chelsea tied at 1: 1 for the time being. If the comparison of the strength of the two teams was taken into account, the score could satisfy Nottingham Forest, who was playing at home. But thinking about the number of players on both sides and the scene of the game in the first half, Twain did not feel satisfied at all.
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Conceding a goal at the last minute of the first half was a blow to the Forest players. It could be seen from their breathing after they sat down. It was heavy and hurried.
Twain stood in the locker room and looked at the players who were quietly changing into clean jerseys.
"I remember a few days before the game, I kept emphasizing to you what kind of team this Chelsea is now. I said that if we were in the lead, we must pay attention to their counterattack. Now, my words have been confirmed. We were equalized by Chelsea, who was playing in an away game and had one less player. It looked like we lost the goal because Wood did not defend against Drogba, or because Piqué left the field with an injury, leaving us with one less player to mark Drogba. But in reality? "Twain spread his hands." Before we lost the goal, we were pressed by them for 25 minutes! There was no other way! If they were lucky in those 25 minutes, they could have scored a goal at any time. In that case, it would not be a draw now … We were completely restrained by them, weren't we? We couldn't attack. We defended. It was difficult to defend. "
The players did not say anything. Clearly, they felt the same way. Chelsea was really strong. They only knew this after having a direct conversation with them. No wonder they could always maintain pressure on the leader, Arsenal, in the league tournament.
"Alright!" Tang En suddenly raised his voice. "Don't lower your heads! Let's look at it from another angle. Conceding a goal at the end of the first half is not necessarily a bad thing. At least we have more time to make targeted adjustments. At the same time, their rhythm was also interrupted by the 15-minute halftime break. It's just a draw. Do you think we were lucky to score in the first half? Ferreira being sent off is also our good luck? Chelsea was not an invincible battleship. They also had a lot of weaknesses. Frank, why did the second half of the first half seem to have disappeared? "
He called Ribery's name.
"I … Uh, I'm back to defend …" Compared to when he first came to Nottingham, Ribéry's English had improved rapidly. Whether it was listening or speaking, there was not much of a problem.
"Alright, in the second half, remember: Continue to play like you did in the first half. Our offense mainly relies on the flanks. If you and Ashley Young are both missing, how are we going to fight back? The two of you, listen up. In the second half, our flanks will play like this … "Tang En turned around and drew on the tactical board." Your task is not to pass from outside the penalty area. Once you get the ball, try to cut inside from here … "He drew two diagonal arrows cutting into the penalty area at the two corners of the penalty area. "Press Chelsea's defenders into the penalty area and try to hold onto the ball. Try to break through them after you get into the penalty area! Just do whatever you want in the penalty area. Be careful of your opponents. "
Ribéry and Ashley Young nodded at the same time.
Tang En turned around to look at George Wood. "George, do you mind telling me how you feel one-on-one with Drogba?"
Wood looked at Twain and said, "He's very strong."
"Of course. Twenty-four million pounds is not just talk." Tang En shrugged. "Your task in the second half is the same as before. You and Piqué will defend against Drogba. Don't give him too many chances. If he takes the ball with his back, don't give him the space to turn around. Be careful of his long shots. If he passes back, don't mind him. Let him pass. But you absolutely can't let him face the goal after he gets the ball. Don't underestimate this big black man with rough techniques. Do you understand what I'm saying? "
Wood nodded.
After assigning individual tasks, Tang En began to talk about the team's tactics. "Guys, you've all seen it. Chelsea is pressing very fiercely in our backfield. This is the key to them being able to attack continuously. So, in the second half, I want you to play the ball more concisely. You have to be fast in receiving the ball, fast in running, and fast in passing! You can't give Chelsea a chance to snatch the ball from under our feet. It's very dangerous to keep the football moving around in our back half of the field. If you can't find a suitable teammate to receive the ball, just drive the ball to the front. Do you see that? Crouch is so tall. If he shaves his hair, he'll be a lighthouse pointing the way forward for you in the fog! "
Tang En patted Crouch hard on the shoulder. His teammates laughed.
"Well, if we look at the rankings, our current results are not too bad. Chelsea is second, and we're only 13th. We're 11 places apart. If we treat ourselves as a normal newly promoted team, this result is acceptable. Many teams have already made up their minds to lose less and win more before they meet a strong team. But we can't do that. Why? Because we're not like them. We're not a normal newly promoted team. Our goal this season is not just to avoid relegation. We have a bigger goal. We're at home in this game, so there's no reason to be satisfied with a draw. If we don't win the game in the end, I promise everyone won't have a break the next day. From this game onwards, I want everyone to understand that if we can win, then I will never accept a draw. If it's a game we can't win, I will never accept failure! "
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Dunn sat alone in his seat. It was halftime. Most of the fans took the opportunity to go outside to drink some beer and eat something to replenish their energy. He was not interested in these things because he was not like the people around him in the first half, who screamed crazily, clapped and stamped his feet. His energy consumption was almost zero, and his throat did not hurt.
Nottingham was a city with a lot of international students, so it was not uncommon for fans with yellow skin and black hair to appear here. No one gave the Forest youth team manager a second glance.
Tang En was the team's manager and was allocated a certain number of tickets before every home game. He would always leave one for Dunn, whether he went to watch or not. Dunn chose to watch at home most of the time. He could also record the game and replay it in slow motion, which could help him analyze the game.
But today, when it was raining, he chose to come to watch the game live. Towards the end of the first half, he saw a wonderful one-on-one between the two managers. If he had been the Forest manager, it would have been impossible for such a scene to happen. He had thought more than once about how he would do if he were the team's manager.
He and Tang En were too different. Tang En wanted him to be his assistant and manage the team together with him, but he was considering whether his character could work well with such a flamboyant person. Although they lived together, because one was managing the First Team and the other was a youth team manager, they were not familiar with each other's work.
Tang En always said that they would be able to work well together. Was it just because they would always get together at night to study various videos? Dunn always felt that he did not understand that person at all. He felt that sometimes the actions he did were completely inconceivable. For example, when he confronted Mourinho just now, was he not worried that it would anger Chelsea? Chelsea was ranked second, a strong team that had not lost a single game since the start of the league tournament six rounds ago!
The rain was still falling, and the number of people around them gradually increased. The second half of the game was about to begin.
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Tang En did not know what Mourinho said to his players during halftime. The Chelsea players looked high-spirited and did not feel that the future was bleak because they were down a player. But he was not worried, because his players were similarly high-spirited and did not feel depressed because their opponents had equalized the score with ten players.
Both teams were in a good state of mind. What about the two managers?
Naturally, they were also full of fighting spirit.
Both sides had been fighting from before the game to during the game. At this point, naturally, no one was willing to lose to the other. Otherwise, losing three points was a small matter, but losing face was a big matter!
Your boss is rich, you've won the European championship, and you've recruited strong players. Do I have to be afraid of you?
No matter how rich your boss is, how many championships you've won, and how famous your players are, it's all useless when it comes to the game. The score speaks!
We'll fight again in the second half!
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Chelsea's tactics in the second half did not change much compared to the second half of the first half. They strengthened their pressure in the front field, then created chaos in the Forest team and took advantage of their mistakes.
In the first half, Chelsea successfully equalized the score with this method. Mourinho believed that the inexperienced Forest team would be at a loss when faced with this kind of oppressive, wave-like defense, and then make a lot of mistakes that were usually impossible to make. But he was smarter than Mourinho, and Tang En was not a fool. Since Chelsea had relied on this move to score the equalizer in the first half, how could he not guard against it?
The Forest team began to consciously play long passes to Crouch in front during the offense. And if the opponent did not press too hard, they would turn the ball to the flank and hand it over to Ribéry or Ashley Young to let them decide the details of the attack. And what about the Forest team's rear defensive line? Everyone minimized the time they spent in possession of the ball. The defenders even only needed to kick the ball forward with a big foot and did not have to consider whether Crouch could receive it.
Because the Forest players were very determined to implement this tactic, ten minutes later, Chelsea found that their constant running in the front field to intercept had little effect. Every time they saw a Forest player not far in front of them get the ball, they would rush over, but the other side did not hesitate to kick the ball behind them with a big foot.
It was really annoying to watch. Chelsea's pressing tactics were certainly curbed, but at the same time, the Forest team's offense appeared too simple and crude with a low success rate. The game fell into a stalemate. Both sides did not have too many good opportunities. They just kept making mistakes, mistakes, and mistakes.
(To be continued. If you want to know what happened next, please log on to WWW. CMFU. COM. More chapters. Support the author. Support original reading!)
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