Mourinho's analysis was very accurate. Although the Forest Team defeated Chelsea 2: 1 in the first round and obtained two away goals, Tang En, who returned to the City Ground stadium, did not say that he would use offense to suppress Chelsea. Instead, he adopted the defensive counterattack tactics that the Forest Team was best at.
It was reasonable for Tang En to do so. With the overall lead, he did not need to frantically press out to attack the enemy, which would instead create a void in the rear defense and give the opponent a chance to score. Defensive counterattack was the best way to swap roles with the opponent, seize the trailing side's desire to score as soon as possible, patiently deal with them, and then find the right time to launch a fatal counterattack to further widen the gap in the score and completely destroy the opponent's confidence and fighting spirit.
If they wanted to win, this was the safest way.
At the start of the game, Nottingham Forest, playing at home, put on a defensive counterattack posture. They kicked off, but only three players put in the first attack. Eventually, van Nistelrooy hurriedly launched a long shot outside the penalty area under Terry's close pursuit. The threat of the king of the penalty area was greatly reduced when he left the penalty area, and the shot became an anti-aircraft gun.
After the hurried end of the attack, the Forest team's offensive quickly receded like the tide surging ashore.
They put on a tight defensive formation in their back half of the field, waiting for Chelsea to attack.
Tang En sat in the technical area and crossed his legs. Chelsea would be very eager to press up. He only needed to wait for them to hand over possession of the ball, and then take the opportunity to launch a counterattack.
Chelsea seemed to play the game exactly as he envisioned.
More than half of the blue team rushed up to participate in the attack, but so many people were helpless in the face of Nottingham Forest's "iron bucket formation." After three passes and two downs, the ball was lost.
Chimbonda intercepted Robben's ball and passed it to van der Vaart.
This was a great opportunity for the Forest team to launch a counterattack!
The stands suddenly rang with the excited shouts of the Forest fans.
They had seen such scenes countless times. Few teams could resist the Forest team's quick counterattack!
The football was still in the back half of the field, and van der Vaart was not in a hurry to pass it out. He decided to observe the situation first.
Just as he looked up to confirm his teammates' position, a sudden oppressive force hit him. Intuition told him it was Chelsea's counterattack. In a hurry, he wanted to pass the football out but kicked empty air!
"Makelele intercepted the ball! Van der Vaart is too careless. Does he think it's safe in his own half of the field? "
Van der Vaart's sudden loss of the ball immediately put the Forest team in an extremely passive situation because Ribéry, Lennon, Eastwood and van Nistelrooy had all turned from defense to offense in an instant. At that moment, they were sprinting toward the opponent's goal.
The Forest team's defensive strength was insufficient!
Makelele, who intercepted the ball, did not let the football stay at his feet for more than a second and passed the football to Robben, who had already plugged in.
Faced with Chimbonda, who hastily responded to the challenge, Robben used his speed to force his way through and overtook the Frenchman.
The Forest team had been in a good situation to prepare for a counterattack, but in a few seconds, it had become Chelsea's counterattack. The Forest team did not expect this. The defense was organized too hastily and too loosely.
"Go fill in!" Piqué shouted to Kompany. The Belgian kid was the closest to Robben.
Kompany desperately ran to cover the defense. At this time, Robben was about to enter the penalty area. He decided to take the risk of shoveling the ball. Even if it was a foul, he could not let him enter the penalty area. The consequences would be unthinkable once he entered.
Kompany, who was running at high speed, flew to shovel Robben.
Twain, who saw the scene off the field, held his head. It was the most reckless choice.
There was no doubt that Robben easily buckled Kompany, who shoveled, and then broke into the penalty area.
The cheers of the Chelsea fans overwhelmed the Nottingham Forest fans for a moment. They saw the hope of a goal.
Robben lifted his foot to pass the ball. The football had just left his foot when it was blocked out of the end line by a leg.
"George Wood!" Wood, who rushed back, blocked Robben's pass and defused the crisis. He ran from the defensive midfielder position into the penalty area and temporarily played as a center back.
Mourinho had already gotten up from his seat. He wanted to celebrate the goal, but in the end, he only saw a failed attack. He waved his hands in annoyance and sat back down.
Robben held his head in his hands. He saw clearly before he broke through Kompany that there were not many defensive players in front of the Forest team's goal. As long as the ball was passed to the front of the goal, Drogba would be able to poke the ball. He did not expect the omnipresent Wood to appear on the passing route in the blink of an eye.
This man's speed was not much slower than his own.
"Chelsea got a corner kick in the opening two minutes. They seem to want to turn the tables here? If that's the case, this game will be worth watching. "
Van der Vaart apologized for easily losing the ball, but no one blamed him. Who would have thought that Makelele could rush to the thirty-meter zone to grab the ball? Everyone completely ignored the little black man.
Chelsea's corner kick was launched. Kompany, who had just been easily bypassed by Robben, intended to make up for it. He struggled to jump in the crowded penalty area and headed the football high above.
The Nottingham Forest players did not receive the ball. Instead, Essien, who was lying in wait outside the penalty area, shot directly into the air in an attempt to take advantage of the chaos to score a goal.
The football hit Piqué and bounced out again. This time it was Wood who received the ball. He intended to turn around and pass it to Ribéry on the flank. As soon as he turned around, he was pushed from behind.
"This time it was Makelele's foul. He stopped the Forest team's quick counterattack!"
The referee's whistle rang. It was a foul by Chelsea, but as the commentator said, they used a trivial foul to stop the Forest team's quick counterattack. Whose loss was greater? It went without saying.
Wood, who was knocked to the ground, slapped the ground a little angrily. He was not at all prepared for the collision. More importantly, he was knocked off center and fell to the ground, forcing the team's quick attack to end here.
At this time, a black hand appeared in front of him.
He looked up and found that it was Makelele, the perpetrator.
Makelele smiled and held out his hand to him. It was a smile that made people unable to be angry. Wood did not fly into a rage at Makelele's foul, but he did not accept his opponent's kindness. He turned a blind eye to the hand stretched out in front of him and got up from the ground.
Makelele was not annoyed by Wood's attitude. He just smiled and ran away.
The Forest team was awarded a free kick in the backfield. Wood was ready to kick it. He stood in front of the ball and looked up at the situation in front of him. Except for the strikers, the Chelsea players had all returned to defend. In the face of such a situation, it was certainly not feasible to play a quick attack again.
Wood had to kick the ball to Chimbonda on the flank. The Forest team moved back and forth in the backfield, looking for a way forward. Unfortunately, the other side had already set up the defensive formation. It was not easy to find it again.
Van der Vaart waited in front for the ball to be passed over, but he found that the football did not come for a long time, so he had to run back to receive it.
The Forest team's offense finally found the right candidate. Wood passed the football to van der Vaart and stayed in the back to stabilize the defense.
Van der Vaart organized an attack after he received the ball, but because the two flanks needed to take care of the space behind them, the pressure was not thorough enough, and the attack died.
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As the game went on, Tang En, who was sitting in the technical area, discovered one thing. It was very difficult for his team to quickly advance when it came to switching from defense to offense.
The reason was that Chelsea did not care about their stamina and committed crazy fouls in the front field.
The Forest team, who was not mentally prepared, was not used to Chelsea's rabid full-court press. They made frequent mistakes, let alone organizing a quick counterattack.
This was completely different from Chelsea's performance in the first leg. Tang En did not expect Mourinho to play this hand before the game. He turned his head to look at the visiting team's technical area next door.
Mourinho sat in the technical area and similarly crossed his legs.
Tang En did not immediately get up and walk to the sidelines to yell. He still did not know what kind of adjustments to make. He just stared at the field and thought of countermeasures.
Kerslake was anxious about the situation in front of him. He got up from his seat and went out to take two steps before sitting back down. In this way, he used his own actions to explain what it meant to be "restless."
Tang En waved his hands. "David, can you sit down? You're dazzling me like this. "
"Uh, sorry …" Kerslake sat back down. "Tony, we're not in a good situation right now."
"Of course I know."
"I think we should make adjustments as soon as possible."
"Of course I know that too."
"Then you …"
"The problem is that I still don't know what adjustments to make," Tang En muttered as he looked at the field.
Kerslake did not say anything after hearing him say that. He focused on watching the game.
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Mourinho's tactic was indeed effective. Through the frenzied press in the front field, not only did it prevent the Forest team from counterattacking, but it also gave him some opportunities to launch a counterattack on the spot, threatening the goal guarded by Edwin van der Sar several times.
As long as they put in a little more effort, they would definitely be able to blast open Nottingham Forest's goal!
Mourinho turned his head to look for Tang En as he thought about it. He found that Tang En did not stand up to direct the game on the sidelines despite the disadvantageous situation. He still sat in his chair. The only change was that he had uncrossed his legs.
He did not believe that Tang En could not see such an obvious tactic. Now it was up to the other side to make a move.
※ ※ ※
"A, drag it out with Chelsea. Defend desperately and guarantee not to concede a goal. This kind of full-field press consumes a lot of energy. When they run out of energy, the winner will naturally be us. B, change our offensive tactics and recapture the midfield. Use our offense to suppress them. "In the technical area, Tang En raised two fingers to the two assistant managers. "Which one do you choose?"
Kerslake considered it for a moment before saying, "It sounds like … I think A is more confident. Chelsea's players will definitely enter a physical vacuum in the second half of the second half. At that time, whether it's their offense or defense, they'll be a mess. Then we'll press up to attack. As long as we score a goal, we can take their lives! "
After listening to him, Tang En turned his head to ask Dunn, "Which one do you choose?"
"B," Dunn answered concisely.
"Reason?"
"We can't guarantee that we'll be able to defend if we play like A, especially in a situation like this. Especially in a situation like this … Chelsea seemed to be able to score at any time. Although the outcome of B is unclear, it can effectively reduce the defensive pressure, "Dunn analyzed.
Tang En nodded as he listened. He was also more inclined to choose B.
"We definitely have to make adjustments. But we need to spend some time to carefully consider how to do it."
"What we lack the most right now is time. Chelsea can score at any time," Dunn reminded expressionlessly.
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As they spoke, Chelsea finally scored. They worked tirelessly to break open the Forest team's defense, which was known as "indestructible reinforced concrete."
It was a typical forward tackle. After Lennon took the ball, he looked around, hoping someone could come up to support him. He did not expect Chelsea to pounce on two players in one breath. After they snatched the ball in the chaos, they immediately launched a counterattack.
Chelsea had had a few such opportunities before, but unfortunately, the last pass or the last shot was always a little short.
This time, Drogba did not let down the expectations of Mourinho and all his teammates, as well as all the Chelsea fans. He decisively lifted his leg after receiving the ball, and the football flew under Edwin van der Sar's armpit into the goal.
The City Ground stadium was only filled with the cheers of the Chelsea fans for a short period of time. These people saw the dawn of advancing to the final!
"1: 0! Chelsea scored first in the away game. Drogba tied the total score of both sides at 2: 2! But that's not enough! If Mourinho wants to go to Athens, he has to let the team score another goal and not let Nottingham Forest score! "
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Looking at the Chelsea players celebrating wildly on the field, Tang En was not too angry. He just rolled his eyes at Dunn. "Don't jinx it."
Then he got up from the technical area and walked to the sidelines. Taking advantage of the other side's goal celebration, he shouted a few names, "Wood! Van der Vaart! You guys come here! "
Two players heard the manager's shout and ran over from the distance.
"We're changing our strategy." Tang En pulled the two men to his side and instructed. "Chelsea doesn't want us to quickly pass through the midfield and hit behind them through the whole field. We won't quickly pass through the midfield. The midfield is the key in this game. Snatch it back for me. "He clenched his fists.
Van der Vaart asked, "How do we snatch it back, boss?"
"You're in charge of the Forest team's entire offensive organization." Tang En pointed to van der Vaart. "Control the football. Don't rush to pass it out. Under the opponent's pressure, our players who receive the ball will make mistakes here and there."
"But, boss, we're more likely to be intercepted this way. Didn't you see the goal we just lost? "Van der Vaart objected.
"Of course I saw it. That's why I've called two people over, not just you." Tang En turned to Wood and said, "George, your only task in this game is to defend. I don't need you to participate in the offense. Got it?"
Wood nodded.
"Your task is to protect van der Vaart and the ball at his feet. Protect him from being easily besieged. If the ball is lost, snatch it back for me immediately. Do everything possible to create opportunities for van der Vaart to hold the ball for a long time and find gaps. Let him organize the offense without interference. "
"No problem."
"The midfield and the middle are the key. Only when you guys are alive can our wings fly." Tang En patted the two men on the shoulders. "Don't take the goal concede to heart. Since they've scored our goal, the best way is to send the ball back. We'll score one of theirs too! Go on, their celebration is coming to an end. "
The two men ran back to the field. The other Forest players had already placed the football at the midpoint and were waiting for the Chelsea players to return to their positions.
On the surface, the goal concede did not have much impact on them. Perhaps it was because even if they were 0: 1 behind, the score would not cause them to be eliminated. Without that pressure in their hearts, they naturally felt a lot more relaxed.
Another important reason was that it was only the seventeenth minute of the game. The Forest team believed that in the remaining seventy minutes, they would have many chances to score. After all, this was their home ground.
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