At the start of the second half, Chelsea took advantage of their kickoff to launch a fierce offensive against the Forest team. Mourinho's intention was clear — not to relax the pressure on the Forest team's rear defensive line, not to give the Forest team a decent chance to fight back, and to firmly control the pace of the game in his own hands.
If he had his way, the Forest team would have a difficult time. Tang En never doubted that their goal would be lost again if they let Chelsea play under pressure.
If they did not want Chelsea to attack unscrupulously, they had to bring some trouble to their rear defensive line.
Fight back.
This was the guiding idea for the Forest team in the second half. No matter how bad the situation was, they had to find ways to fight back.
Offense was based on defense, and defense was not just about not conceding the goal. It should have a greater role.
Piqué won the aerial battle with Drogba. He headed Chelsea's pass out, and the football landed in the open space in front of the penalty area. Chelsea and the Forest team had a chance to get the ball.
Lampard rushed up, and so did George Wood.
In the end, Lampard was the first to hit the football, but George Wood used his body to block the powerful volley shot at close range.
After a muffled sound, the football bounced high and flew to the front field.
Ribéry ran from the flank to the middle and stopped the football in front of Makelele. He did not turn around to dribble the ball. Instead, he distributed the football to the feet of Ashley Young, who was sprinting on the flank.
"Nottingham Forest's counterattack is really fast!"
Ashley Young was, of course, fast. Ashley Cole was not to be trifled with. He was competing with Young in terms of speed, running with the ball and running without the ball. They were evenly matched.
The two men's bodies were entangled as they ran, and neither wanted to give up. Cole looked at the gap where the football was knocked out by Young and suddenly shoveled it with his foot. He did not expect Young's foot to be faster than his and poke the football away before he did. This time, Cole's foot stomped firmly on the side of Ashley Young's foot.
Ashley Young, who had been running at high speed, was like a wild horse that had lost its center of gravity. He tumbled and crashed to the ground.
The referee's sharp whistle rang out at the first moment.
"Foul! … God, that's not a light kick! "
The force of the impact pushed Young out of the field, and he tumbled and fell onto a billboard on the sidelines. Ashley Cole, who had committed the foul, jumped up at the first instance, waving his arm at the referee who was running over to signal that he had not done it on purpose.
"Red card!" Seeing Ashley Young fall out of the field, Tang En jumped up from his seat in the technical area, waving his fists as he roared at the referee.
The referee only took out a yellow card from his pocket.
"F * ck!" Tang En, who was very dissatisfied with this result, cursed in Mandarin.
Dunn glanced at him.
The team doctor, Fleming, had already run over with a first aid kit. Ashley Young had fallen outside the field, and they did not need to wait for the referee's permission to go over and treat him.
Before he left, Fleming specifically said to Tang En, "You'd better get Lennon to warm up now, Tony."
This sentence made Tang En's mood even worse.
Fleming was an experienced team doctor. If he said that, it was obvious that Yang's injury was not light … Thinking about it, how could he be fine after being ruthlessly shoveled from the side while running at such a high speed?
Dunn had already gone to get Aaron Lennon to warm up.
There was some chaos on the field. Forest's players swarmed over, surrounding the referee and Ashley Cole, intending to denounce them. Chelsea's players stood between them, and there were some pushing and shoving movements from both sides.
"The referee showed Cole a yellow card. This is the reason why Forest's players are dissatisfied. Perhaps they want Ashley Cole to be directly sent off with a red card? "
"Just change the question to an affirmative. This foul is indeed very serious from the visual effect. If the referee directly sends off Cole with a red card, it would not be a problem. Of course, giving a yellow card is also not a problem. The judgment is in the referee's heart. Perhaps he doesn't want this game to lose too much of its entertainment value? "
The other commentator laughed out loud. "There's not much to watch in this match in the first place. Sending off one person to break this balance might even be better. "
※ ※ ※
"Listen to me, man. I didn't do it on purpose. Hey, I really didn't do it on purpose … I was going for the ball … "Ashley Cole explained to his national team teammate, the Forest team's captain, George Wood, what had just happened. He pointed at Young, who was lying on the ground, and made a" ball "gesture.
Wood looked at him coldly and did not say a word. Cole did not know if he accepted his explanation. He ran to comfort Young, who was lying on the ground, to show his friendliness.
To be honest, when he shoveled Ashley Young, he did feel nervous for a moment, for fear that the referee would directly give him a red card. Now that he had gotten the benefit, he naturally had to behave himself.
"This is clearly a foul that can be directly given a red card!" Some of the other Forest players surrounded the referee and protested loudly. "We injured a man, but he only got a yellow card warning!?"
Only then did someone remember to pay attention to Ashley Young's specific injury. A few people surrounded him.
"Fleming, how is Young?"
Fleming looked up at the anxious players and did not say anything. He just shook his head.
When van Nistelrooy saw this, he hurriedly squeezed out from the crowd and gestured to the technical area for a substitution.
Ashley Young held his ankle as he lay on the ground in pain. To suffer such an injury in such a crucial game … Although the specific examination results had not yet come out, if he was unlucky, Young could miss the next semi-final against Chelsea. He could even miss the final — if the Forest team could make it to the final.
Everyone could imagine how painful it was for these professional players to miss such an important game.
George Wood had missed the final last season. As a result, he had held back his energy for a season. During training, he was like an angry lion, training with all his might. It was as if he wanted to vent the regret of not being able to participate in the final on the training ground.
No one was in the mood to reason with the Chelsea players. Ashley Young was already injured. A fight would not make him jump up and continue playing.
Tang En saw van Nistelrooy's gesture and cursed again. He then called Lennon back from his warm-up.
"Lennon, when you go up, attack Ashley Cole. He has a yellow card on him. Don't be afraid of him. Charge at him. If you retreat, you'll be playing right into his hands. The more you charge, the more he won't know what to do. He's afraid of being sent off … "
Lennon nodded to show that he understood.
"In addition, ask Chimbonda to actively participate in the offense. Also, ask Ribéry to run more to your side. The entire team's offensive focus will shift to your side."
"Yes, Boss."
"Go!"
※ ※ ※
Ashley Young was given a simple treatment by Fleming on the sidelines. Supported by the team's doctor, he limped back to the substitutes' bench.
Tang En shook hands with him. "What a pity, Young. You almost broke through that kid. Once you go over, it'll be a whole new world. "
Ashley Young forced a smile but said nothing.
"Go back to the locker room and change." Tang En waved his hand and sent him off.
The field had regained its calm. After the fourth official checked Lennon's studs, he allowed him to go on. He ran onto the field and told everyone about Tang En's tactical adjustments, letting the team focus their offense on Ashley Cole.
"Heh heh." Ribéry laughed. "Boss, that's a good decision. Since the referee didn't send the kid off, we'll do it ourselves! "
His words received everyone's support.
"Wait, what if they shift their defensive focus to that side?" Leighton Baines raised a question.
Van der Vaart glanced at him and thought his question was idiotic. "Then we'll pass the ball to the other side. There's always one side that's weak."
"But if you also go to the right side, who's going to the left …" Baines asked again. He soon realized that everyone was looking at him. "Uh, me?"
"Is there anyone more suitable?" Van der Vaart retorted.
"But didn't Boss say to stabilize the defense first?"
"Boss also said to actively fight back."
Baines still did not relax his furrowed brows. "If Chimbonda goes up, I'll go up too. Once the opponent intercepts the ball and counterattacks, we only have two center backs and a George. I always think it's too risky."
What he said was not without reason. The fear of the opponent intercepting the ball and counterattacking was almost fatal.
Wood, who had been silent, stepped forward. "I'll do it."
No one understood what he meant, so they didn't react for a moment.
He added, "Baines can choose not to go up. If needed during the attack, I'll go to the left side. If we lose the ball, I'll immediately return to defend. If necessary, I can also foul in the front field. "
Everyone turned to look at him. It did not sound like what he said.
"Any objections?" Wood asked when no one said anything.
Ribéry, who reacted the fastest, hurriedly shook his head. "No!"
"Me neither."
"No, no."
"Then it's settled. Get ready to kick off."
Everyone dispersed.
The Forest team's free kick in the front field did not directly go in for a long diagonal pass. Ribéry passed the football to van der Vaart. The Forest team intended to organize a positional play.
After moving the football horizontally to the left side, the Forest team suddenly hit the football back to the right side with a long pass. Lennon beautifully unloaded the ball in the air and faced Ashley Cole.
Cole noticed van der Vaart next to him. While he was paying attention to Lennon, he was also careful to guard against van der Vaart and Lennon's coordination.
Lennon lifted his right foot as if he wanted to pass the ball.
Was it a two-pass?
Just as Cole's center of gravity moved, Lennon suddenly pushed the football in a straight line. At the same time, he accelerated — a breakthrough!
Cole did not expect the kid to break through so firmly. He did not hesitate to speed up. By the time he reacted, Lennon had already swept past him like the wind to form a breakthrough …
"A beautiful forced breakthrough! Nottingham Forest's wingers may be the fastest in the Premier League. Franck Ribéry, Petrov, Ashley Young and Aaron Lennon, each has a unique skill of speed. "
After the breakthrough, Lennon passed the football in, and van Nistelrooy grabbed the ball to shoot!
Unfortunately, the angle was too straight, and he was directly pressed under Čech, who was in a good position.
Čech, who hugged the football, jumped up from the ground and shouted at Ashley Cole, "Are you distracted, Cole?" He was displeased that his full back was so easily broken through by the opponent.
Cole waved his hands in annoyance. He had underestimated the kid in front of him. Compared with Ashley Young, the Premier League's King of Assists, Lennon could only be regarded as a star of hope. A star of hope like him was not uncommon in English football, which liked to boast about itself.
Come on, kid, I won't let you go this time!
Ashley Cole looked at Lennon and thought to himself.
※ ※ ※
The Forest team made a comeback, but the player who attacked Ashley Cole was not Lennon, who he wanted to meet. Instead, it was the sharper and more experienced Ribéry.
Cole successfully forced Ribéry to the side, ready to let him stay out of the end line, but he did not expect Ribéry to hook his foot and poke the football out from between Cole's legs just as it was about to go out of bounds!
Ribéry suddenly sped up to get rid of Cole before Cole could turn around. He broke through again!
After breaking through Cole, Ribéry did not choose to directly pass the ball. He continued to break inside, intending to directly attack the root of the problem!
Carvalho cursed under his breath and pressed forward to supplement the defense. The space behind him could only be left to his other teammates.
Ribéry still wanted to break through, but the space he could display in the penalty area was too small. Carvalho responded to the myriad of changes by remaining unchanged and blocked the football out of the end line.
The Forest team received a corner kick.
"The Forest team has continuously launched attacks on their right flank. They have successfully broken through Ashley Cole twice in a row.
！”
Mourinho stood up from his seat. He could certainly see that Tang En wanted to focus the offense on Cole's side. He did not intend to replace Cole. It was hard to say whether or not another person would be able to withstand this kind of continuous impact. His way of making up for it was the entire team's defensive support.
"Terry!" He roared off the field. When Terry looked over, he pointed at Cole and said, "Go help over there!"
Captain Terry knew what to do without having to say it too clearly. He directed the rear defensive line to lean to the left as a whole. The Forest team wanted to break through Ashley Cole, who had a yellow card on him. They must not let them succeed.
After Chelsea focused their defensive attention on Cole's flank, the Forest team's offense was hindered. They could not break in several times and could only wander outside.
After van der Vaart took the ball again, he still faced the heavily defended Chelsea's left flank. He glanced at the other side: there was no one there.
Huh?
The Dutchman frowned. Leighton Baines was afraid that the rear would be lost and stayed behind. But what about George? Didn't he say that if they needed to attack, he would go to the left flank to support? Where was he now? There was not even a shadow!
While he was distracted, the ball under van der Vaart's feet was stabbed away by Essien!
Sh * t!
Van der Vaart wanted to turn around and snatch it back, but it was too late. Nevertheless, he turned around and desperately chased back.
He only ran two steps before he stopped chasing, because Essien's dribbling was stopped by George Wood. The two men kicked at each other at high speed, and the final victor was the stronger Wood. Essien pounced, and he kept the football.
Van der Vaart came back to receive Wood, and Wood passed the ball to him.
"Where were you just now?" Van der Vaart asked him after he received the ball. "I was looking for you, and it was cut off …"
"I was about to run over." Wood's answer was concise. With that, he ran to the left.
Looking at his back, van der Vaart shrugged helplessly. He was always a little worried.
Facing the bloated right flank corridor again, van der Vaart glanced at the middle. It did not seem feasible to force a breakthrough in the middle. He could only pass it to the left. He transferred the football with a long kick.
At the moment of the pass, Wood's figure was still not in sight.
Would he really be there? After the football was kicked, van der Vaart thought with some regret.
"It's a wide range transfer, but there are no Forest players over there … Ah, wait!"
A red figure rushed in from outside the television camera like lightning.
It was George Wood.
He appeared at the exact spot where the ball was supposed to land, without missing a beat. However, it was a little difficult to stop the football in such a high-speed run. What's more, the football was already very, very close to being realized, and the height was not low.
Van der Vaart's pass was a little wide.
Should he let it go out of bounds?
The word "give up" did not appear in Wood's mind.
He leaped high in the sprint and stopped the football with his chest on the sidelines!
"It was a beautiful stop, but …"
Makelele appeared in front of Wood without anyone noticing.
Many people did not expect this encounter, including van der Vaart, who passed the ball to Wood. He had thought that there was already an open space over there. As long as Wood stopped the ball, he could adjust however he wanted. It would not be a problem to pass or dribble the ball. Anyway, no one would follow for a while.
He did not expect Makelele to have been waiting for this!
Mourinho leaned back in his chair. Tang En's adjustment was as he expected. Next, it would depend on whether Makelele, who specialized in defense, was better or a half-baked offensive player.
※ ※ ※
The football was stopped a little high. Makelele waited on the sidelines for it to fall a little and snatch the ball away. Anyway, in order to stop the ball, Wood's body had already jumped outside. He was not afraid.
Damn, why is this football so high? Makelele looked up at the falling football. Because van der Vaart passed the ball very hard, Wood did not care about the technical action of stopping the ball with his chest in order not to let the ball go out of bounds. It stopped straight up and down. The height was indeed a little ridiculous.
The height was right.
Makelele was ready to jump up and head the ball out, but someone jumped out a step ahead of him. A dark shadow obscured most of the sky above Makelele's head.
He saw the face clearly.
George Wood!
Bastard, when did this kid … Makelele changed his mind at the last minute. He did not want to compete with Wood in jumping. He blocked the position!
He twisted his body sideways to keep Wood's body out of bounds. He knew that Wood was going to head the football into the field. As long as he blocked the position, the football would still be Chelsea's. He was still not afraid of losing the ball.
Wood jumped in the air and headed the football into the field. Makelele saw the ball fly in and let go of Wood to chase it. If he continued to block there, it would be a blocking foul.
Competing with Wood in speed, Tang En, who saw the scene off the field, laughed.
It was almost the same with Luo Ben!
Wood used a lot of force when he headed the ball. He knew that Makelele was waiting for him below. If he headed the ball too lightly, the other only needed to take two steps to get the ball. So, he headed it far enough that it would not fall at the feet of the Chelsea players behind, nor would it let Makelele easily get it.
By the time he landed, Makelele had already run three steps, about three meters away.
George Wood was like a cheetah ready to attack behind its prey. With a low roar, his muscles burst with a huge energy and he rushed out like an arrow.
Makelele did not have to look back to feel the danger that was rapidly approaching behind him. It was instinctive. He certainly knew that he could not gain the slightest advantage in speed with Wood, but he could use his experience to block the position. As long as the position was blocked, no matter how fast you were, you had to slow down.
The football was still bouncing in front of the two men, attracting the two men to fight with all their might for ownership.
Makelele moved sideways and got stuck in Wood's path. But before he could stabilize his footing, he felt a huge impact on his back, causing him to stagger from the impact …
Wood saw Makelele's running posture and knew that he was going to block his position. If he really got stuck, he would have no other way but to foul. He relied on his strong physical fitness to forcibly change direction to the left and avoid the route. He did not slow down and still rushed toward the football.
Nevertheless, his momentum still brought him to Makelele.
In the world of football, France's Makelele was an exception. He was not good at offense, his body was not strong enough, and he was only 1.7 meters tall. But his defensive ability in the midfield could be ranked in the world's top three. His rich experience, excellent defensive skills and accurate judgment were the unique skills that made him unique in the world of football. With him in the midfield, it was as if there was an indestructible iron gate, which made the rear defensive line and goalkeeper feel at ease.
Chelsea's ability to win the Premier League title for two seasons in a row had a lot to do with Makelele's tireless running and interceptions in the midfield. His presence ensured that the threat to Chelsea's rear defensive line was limited.
But this time, there was a crack in the iron gate …
Makelele staggered and could no longer maintain his balance. Seeing Wood overtake him, he threw his entire body up unwillingly, intending to slow down Wood's pace.
So everyone saw such a strange scene. Makelele awkwardly put his hands on Wood's waist, but Wood did not have the slightest intention of stopping. He dragged Makelele and continued to run forward, although his speed was affected.
The referee put the whistle in his mouth. He was still hesitating whether to blow or not. Was this situation considered an advantageous offensive side?
Wood finally got the ball again. He did not care that he was still dragging Makelele with him. He raised his leg and shot directly while running!
"Here we go again! George Wood — the ball … Did the ball go in? "
The commentator in the broadcast box saw the football blast toward Chelsea's goal like a cannonball. Čech flew to save, but the net behind him was still lifted. He almost shouted, "The ball went in again!" Fortunately, his calmness at the critical moment did not make a fool of him.
Čech lay on the ground and looked up at the net that was lifted by the football. The football had fallen in front of the billboard. He felt like he had escaped death.
The football did not enter the goal. Wood's shot at an angle of about forty-five degrees went wide, startling the Chelsea people into a cold sweat.
Watching the football hit the side of the net, Wood waved his hand with some chagrin. At this time, he turned to see Makelele lying on the ground, who was also looking at him.
Is this kid a monster? Makelele stared at Wood, as if he wanted to see through him, through his permeable structure, to see whether the creature standing in front of him was human or something else.
Stamford Bridge was shocked by what had just happened and fell into a brief silence. No one knew what to say about the attack just now. Should they boo in response? Or applaud?
Wood looked at Makelele and did not go up to stretch his hand to pull him. He turned and ran away.
If it were not for this nuisance, he could have made a more leisurely choice. Dragging a living person with him made him choose to shoot in a hurry. In fact, he wanted to pass the ball to his teammates. He knew how good his shooting was.
A failed attack. Because he did not score, Wood gave himself such an evaluation in his heart.
But who knew what kind of attack they would see in the stands, on the field, and behind the TV, through the astonished eyes of the spectators …
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