The match entered a high-intensity confrontation and fast-paced situation right from the start.
Mourinho and Tang En's teams did not carry out any probing, directly exchanging fire.
Forest won the right to serve in the pre-match coin toss. From the time the referee blew the kickoff whistle, Forest sent the football to Chelsea's goal with three passes and two kicks.
The starting center forward, Mark Viduka, fought for a header in front of the goal with Terry. Eventually, he successfully headed the football, but at the same time, he was interfered with by Terry and was unable to head the ball in the right spot. The football slid past the goal, startling the Chelsea people into a cold sweat.
A loud "whoosh" came from the stands.
"The home team, Nottingham Forest's first attack posed a threat to Chelsea! It's completely different from the Forest team's away game against Arsenal. From the start, both sides did not intend to hold back any strength … "
"This match will be an exciting one to watch."
"That's right, that's right. Very exciting and intense … The speed at which both sides switch between offense and defense is very fast. As we spoke, Chelsea's counterattack had already reached the Forest team's 30-meter zone … Lampard's long shot —! The crossbar! What a pity! "
Lampard hugged his head, not believing that his shot could bypass Edwin van der Sar's ten fingers, but it failed in front of the crossbar. Another loud gasp came from the stands of the City Ground stadium.
Edwin van der Sar lay on the ground, looking at the crossbar trembling above his head, still feeling a lingering fear.
Lampard's shot was too sudden. He thought that Chelsea's main midfielder would choose to pass the ball, so he was not prepared to pounce for a long shot. He did not expect …
It was not only van der Sar who had lingering fears. Off the field, Tang En's heart nearly jumped out of his throat. He saw the football go past the unprepared van der Sar and thought it was going in …
"In the opening two minutes, both sides have a wonderful attack. I hope that both teams can slow down a little … Otherwise, I won't have a chance to introduce the starting and substitute lineups of both sides for today's match. "
Lineker, who was next to him, chuckled through the microphone. "I don't think they'll do as you wish, John. You'll have to make use of every opportunity and divide the list into several parts to introduce! "
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Of course, Motson still found the opportunity to introduce both sides' lineups, but he spoke twice as fast as usual. If he did not do that, he might miss a very exciting scene.
Chelsea was still Mourinho's traditional 4-3-3 formation. The goalkeeper was the Czech Republic's Petr Cech, and the four defenders were Paulo Ferreira, John Terry, Ricardo Carvalho and William Gallas. The three midfielders were Frank Lampard, Tiago and Makelele. The three strikers were Didier Drogba, Robben and Duff.
The Forest team was still the traditional 4-4-2. The goalkeeper was Edwin van der Sar, and the two center backs were Piqué and Pepe. The two of them had used their actual performance to secure their positions as the team's main force. The Forest team had only conceded four goals so far this season, and the effect of the defensive improvement was very obvious. The right back, Chimbonda, was in the starting lineup, and the left back was Leighton Baines. Standing parallel to each other in the midfield, from left to right, were Frank Ribery, George Wood, Mikel Arteta and Ashley Young. The front line was a combination of one tall and one fast: the center forward, Mark Viduka, and the fast second striker, Nicolas Anelka.
Mourinho placed a lot of emphasis on the flank offense. Robben and Duff were both good players in the flank offense. At the same time, there was also a flank genius like Shaun Wright-Phillips on the bench. The flank offense was their guarantee of victory.
Nottingham Forest was also in the same situation as Chelsea. Although they did not have wingers like Robben and Duff, the Forest team's two side midfielders had already attracted widespread attention since the start of last season. Many teams coveted Ribéry and Ashley Young. This summer, Twain had already rejected a number of teams' offers for the two. The two extremely fast side midfielders could lead and break through, pass and shoot, advance and retreat, and defend. They were much better than the wingers.
In reality, in the current football world, the boundary between the wingers and side midfielders was becoming increasingly blurred. Ribéry and Ashley Young could be side midfielders, but they could also play as wingers. It all depended on the tactical needs.
Faced with Chelsea's wing tactics, Twain's response was to pin the rear defensive line firmly at the back. The two full backs were not allowed to assist, and they were not allowed to give Robben and Duff space to sprint and accelerate. If necessary, they could use foul tactics. At the same time, Twain did not intend to blindly defend. If he wanted Chelsea's flank to behave, the simplest way was to let his own flank offense rise and overwhelm the opponent.
Ribéry and Ashley Young's flank would be the Forest team's main attack corridors in this match. Most of the offense would have to go through their feet to send the football to the front line.
Arteta was different from Lampard. He was more of an organization in the middle and back field, rather than dribbling the ball to the front to shoot and score, even though his scoring ability was not weak and he also had an outstanding set piece technique.
The most important link in Chelsea's defensive system was not the captain, John Terry, nor was it the world-class goalkeeper, Čech, but the 32-year-old French veteran, Makelele. His blocking in the midfield would be the key to Chelsea's defense's success.
Chelsea had Makelele, while Nottingham Forest had George Wood. Makelele's body was not very strong. His defense relied more on experience, while George Wood's defense relied on his body, which was so tough that it was not like that of an Earthling. There was no need to say more about Wood's importance in the Forest team. In any case, with him around, the Forest team, be it the players in the front field or the players in the back field, would all feel at ease.
Chelsea's three midfielders appeared to have fewer numbers than the Forest team's four midfielders. In reality, it could be seen that two of Chelsea's three midfielders were defensive midfielders. Lampard was the forward midfielder, while Robben and Duff could be seen as the two side midfielders. In this way, Chelsea had five midfielders.
However, numbers did not mean strength.
Up until now, the match had gone on for 20 minutes. The Forest team and Chelsea were evenly matched, which could be seen in the midfield. The current situation of the match was in a delicate balance. Both sides were attacking fiercely, and the transition between offense and defense was very fast. It looked like both sides had plenty of opportunities, but they could not grasp them.
The score was still 0: 0.
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"The screen displayed the words. The match has gone on for 20 minutes. It's been 20 minutes before we know it! Time flies. The intense game between both sides has made us ignore the passage of time. Apart from the score, this is a perfect game! "
"But in a game like this, it's only a matter of time before a goal is scored. If this game ends at 0: 0, it must be very ironic. Let's see who will break this stalemate and who will tilt the scales in favor of … "
As soon as Lineker's voice fell, Chelsea launched an attack. It was a surprise attack. A direct long pass from the backfield found Robben on the flank. Robben's first stop was perfect. He stopped not far in front of himself. He took advantage of the momentum to accelerate and passed Chimbonda, who came up to defend him, without any hindrance!
The Forest team's defensive line was broken through, and Edwin van der Sar's goal was in danger!
Robben looked up in the direction of the goal, then changed direction and accelerated. In the middle, Drogba raised his arm and followed. Piqué and Pepe did not dare to slack off. They stuck close to the defense from the front and back. George Wood was chasing at high speed from outside the penalty area. His target was Robben.
The angle was very small. Everyone thought Robben would pass the ball. After all, even if Drogba was blocked, there was still Lampard outside the penalty area. George Wood chose to chase Robben, which meant that Lampard would be unmarked for a period of time.
As long as Robben was selfless, he could create a chance for Lampard to shoot vigorously when no one was marking him. But would Robben pass the ball?
It was a little difficult for Robben to pass the ball to someone else when he was unmarked and dribbling the ball into the penalty area …
Robben looked up again. He was not looking for someone, but to confirm the position of the goalkeeper and the angle of the shot. He slowed down and adjusted the football under his feet.
George Wood was already close at hand. He did not care that he was in the penalty area. He flew forward to tackle the ball!
At the same time, Robben's calf quickly bounced and he shot!
The football darted in front of Wood's toes and then drilled into the goal from the side of Edwin van der Sar, who was caught off guard!
When the ball went out, Robben jumped up and avoided Wood's deadly tackle.
“What_GOOOOAL！ What_GOOOOAL！！ It was Chelsea who broke the stalemate! The visiting team, Chelsea, scored first. They led the home team, Nottingham Forest, by 1: 0! "
"The scales tilted in favor of the visiting team, Chelsea!"
"What an unexpected blow. The Forest team's two side midfielders are still standing near the center line, and Robben is already celebrating his goal!"
Mourinho, who was on the sidelines, ran along the sidelines for about ten meters after seeing Robben's goal before stopping. He was so excited that it was as if he wanted to hug the goalscorer, Robben. In fact, the Chelsea players were all celebrating on the field. He did it for Tang En to see. He had almost rushed across the center line and ran to the front of Nottingham Forest's technical area …
Tang En turned his head to look at the electronic scoreboard and turned a blind eye to Mourinho.
He knew what Mourinho was thinking. He did not want to do as the man wished.
(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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