"Chelsea! Chelsea! Whoa, whoa, whoa! " The Chelsea fans shouted their team's name in the stands and pubs in London, cheering for the team to take the lead so quickly.
"Chelsea has taken the lead. They have equalized the total score. With just one more goal, they can complete the reversal and cancel out the Forest team's two away goals. Perhaps even Mourinho did not expect the start of the game to be so wonderful!" The television commentator said as he looked at Mourinho, who was cheering and celebrating the goal on the sidelines.
"Go to hell, Nottingham Forest! It must be us who go to Athens! "
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"Chelsea's full-court pressing tactics are very effective. Their frantic pressing in the front field has made the Forest team very uncomfortable. In fact, this goal concede is not surprising at all. If Manager Twain does not make any adjustments, the Forest team will continue to concede goals! I'm not being an alarmist. "
The Chelsea players finally finished celebrating the goal. They returned to their respective positions on the field, ready to restart the game.
Albertini shouted to his teammates on the sidelines, "Don't take it to heart. We still have a lot of time! Let them see how good we are! "
After Eastwood heard the captain's shout, he gave him a thumbs up, indicating that he did not have to worry and that the team was in good condition.
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The Chelsea fans in the stands were still singing and cheering for the goal just now. Their voices annoyed the Nottingham Forest fans.
Fat John stood in the front row and turned back to shout to his fan club, "This is our home ground, guys! Don't let that bunch of damn Londoners run wild here! Let's show them what we're made of and sing our song!! "
Suddenly, the Forest team's team song rang out in the stands. The singing spread in all directions from here and quickly reached the other three stands. The voices of the Chelsea fans could no longer be heard over the City Ground stadium.
"We're the best team in England! We're invincible and invincible! We're fearless! Because we're the best team — because the world is in our hands!! "
In the midst of the singing, the referee blew the whistle for the kickoff.
Van Nistelrooy kicked the football out gently. Eastwood followed and passed the ball back to van der Vaart at the back.
Van der Vaart made a gesture for both flanks to plug in before he received the ball. Next, the football rolled in front of his feet. He did not immediately pass it out. Instead, he controlled it. On the one hand, he looked for a more suitable route for the ball to go out. On the other hand, he waited for his teammates to get into attacking positions.
This time, he was not worried that the ball would be snatched from his feet because there was a "shadow" behind him.
As soon as the ball came out, the Chelsea players pressed up according to Mourinho's pre-game arrangement. Makelele directly charged through the center circle from the defensive midfielder position, intending to launch a robbery in the Forest team's half of the field.
Seeing Makelele rushing toward him with a murderous look, van der Vaart used his heel to knock the football to George Wood behind him. Then he ran without the ball and looked up to find the best passing route again.
Makelele saw the football suddenly at Wood's feet and was stunned for a moment before changing his target to pounce on Wood.
Wood passed the football back to van der Vaart again, and then he ran forward himself.
The Chelsea players must still remember Wood's performance in the first leg. His great activity in the offense made Chelsea suffer. If it was the same in this game …
Makelele did not hesitate to turn and follow Wood.
Tang En told Wood that his task in this game was to defend and protect van der Vaart, creating time and space for him to hold the ball. He did not need to participate in the offense. Wood, who had been carefully taught by Albertini for a season, had his own judgment.
In the beginning, Tang En had asked him to protect others and only let him snatch back the ball that his teammates had lost with his strong defensive ability. Now, Wood's outlook was different. He thought that such protection was passive and did not always work in the face of a strong opponent.
Protecting teammates and creating time and space for teammates did not necessarily have to rely on defense. It was also possible to plug in to assist!
Wood used his own actions to prove the idea in his mind. Makelele was pulled away, and Essien also closely watched the sudden plug of this "dangerous man." For a moment, van der Vaart, who had the ball, did not have a single Chelsea player around him!
Van der Vaart looked up at the situation in front of him. He knew that he did not have much time. Wood's fake plug would soon be seen through by the experienced Makelele. If he had not passed the ball by then, he would be stuck in the quagmire.
Left or right? Or in the middle?
His eyes quickly switched between the field. Lennon, Ribéry, van Nistelrooy, and Eastwood. Which of the four points was the most suitable for the pass?
This consideration was only a matter of a moment. The situation on the football field was changing rapidly. It was impossible for him to think clearly before passing the ball.
Van der Vaart swung his leg and passed the football long to Franck Ribéry, who was running wildly on the left flank.
Can break through, can pass, can shoot … I'll leave it all to you, Franck!
Ribéry glanced back and found that the football was flying toward him. He slowed down a little and prepared to receive the ball.
Boulahrouz certainly would not let such an obvious pass pass over his defensive zone. He jumped in the air and headed the football out to cut off the passing route …
"Boulahrouz's defense is very timely. The Forest team's offense this time … Eastwood!"
The Romani received the ball that Boulahrouz headed down. He did not hesitate. When he saw Ribéry run behind the Dutch defender, he immediately kicked straight at the goal of the penalty area!
Ribéry was disappointed when he looked back to see Boulahrouz jump in the air to head the football back, but the inertia of his speed prevented him from slowing down and he still rushed forward. Just when he thought the attack was over, he saw the football appear diagonally in front of him again!
It was a big surprise!
Boulahrouz moved to the front to defend, leaving a large space behind him for Ribéry.
Relying on speed to break through was his favorite thing. At that moment, he no longer hesitated and immediately increased his speed to the maximum to chase after the ball.
"There's a gap in Chelsea's defense. Nottingham Forest's chance!"
After Ribéry received the football, he took advantage of the situation and stepped into the penalty area. Carvalho, who rushed to defend against him, dared not easily make a move. He could only run with Ribéry to the end line in an attempt to block him out of bounds.
Ribéry, who dribbled the ball in the penalty area, slowed down and made a feint to shoot. He swung his leg up and put it down. Carvalho only made a defensive posture and did not trick him into losing his balance.
The distance to the end line was getting closer and closer. Carvalho's defense was about to succeed.
A smile surfaced in Carvalho's heart and the pace of his feet slowed down a little. What if Ribéry deliberately kicked the ball off his body and bounced it off the end line when he saw that there was no hope of shooting and passing? He did not want to give the opponent another corner kick at the last minute.
Ribéry could feel that Carvalho was not following closely as before. He could even see the goal and the goalkeeper, Čech. This was the last chance!
Ribéry swung his leg again. Carvalho thought he was going to create a corner kick and deliberately leaned back. His defensive legs were not completely sealed in front of the ball.
This was not a feint. Ribéry shot directly!
The football flew past Carvalho's side and went up over Čech's head, which was close at hand. Then it hit the lower edge of the crossbar behind him and rebounded into the net!
The ball went in?
The ball actually went in!
"What a wonderful goal! Zero-degree angle! Franck Ribéry, his goal has doused Chelsea's newly ignited flame of hope into ashes! "
The cheers over the City Ground stadium reached a climax.
After the goal, Ribéry shrugged his shoulders and looked at the annoyed Carvalho in front of him. It seemed that he still could not believe that his shot from a tight angle could really go in. His celebratory gesture was even more humiliating in Carvalho's eyes.
Indeed, he did not expect Ribéry to still think of shooting under such circumstances and still be able to score a goal …
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"Damn it!" Mourinho rushed out of his seat and waved his fists angrily. He was completely unprepared to concede the goal so quickly. Who would have been prepared?
Just now, the whole team was still immersed in the joy of equalizing the overall score. They did not expect that …
"Forty-five seconds." Tang En, who had just celebrated the goal, looked up at the time on the big screen. There were only forty-five seconds of game time between conceding the goal and scoring the goal. He smiled at the people around him. "Forty-five seconds to equalize the score. Now it's Chelsea that's taking a big hit, not us."
"We're only ahead by forty-five seconds! What is Carvalho doing? He can still let Ribéry raise his leg to shoot and score from that angle! " Mourinho roared angrily. The people around him did not dare to breathe loudly as they watched their boss lose his temper. "This is simply a disgrace to Chelsea's defensive line! FUCK！ FUCK！”
Vulgarities burst out one after another. It was clear how angry Mourinho was now. He was simply furious.
The light of hope for advancement only flashed in front of him for a moment before disappearing again. This was a terrible blow to people. Not many people could remain calm in the face of such a situation.
On the other side, everyone on the Forest team's substitutes' bench and technical area was high-fiving in celebration.
"Well done, Franck!"
"I'll treat you to a meal after the game!"
"Another one!"
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In the VIP box, Evan Doughty saw this scene and remembered what Tang En had said a few days ago when he came over to his house to chat.
It was thirty percent skill and seventy percent luck.
Tony's gambling luck was really good …
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"Nottingham Forest immediately equalized the score after falling behind. Chelsea did not expect it at all. Look at these close-up shots. Their eyes are full of confusion … How pitiful. They're only ahead by forty-five seconds …"
The Chelsea fans in the stands of the City Ground stadium were completely extinguished. The blow came too quickly and too hard. Many people could not accept the reality for a while.
The Forest fans went crazy. They chanted the name of the scorer, Ribéry, and returned all the depression of losing the goal to the Chelsea fans.
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The most wronged person in this goal concede was probably Čech. He trusted his teammates so much, but he did not expect Carvalho to put the football over. It was too late for him to make a save at such a close distance. He could only watch the football go into the goal. As a world-class goalkeeper, he had nothing to say in the face of such a goal concede …
He got up and fished the football out of the net. He held it in his hand and looked at it for a while. Then he kicked it back to the center circle with a big foot. He could only use this action to express his dissatisfaction. He could not roar at Carvalho.
Carvalho himself knew it was his mistake. He bowed his head and said nothing. Everyone had thought that with the equalization of the total score, there was a good chance that they could win the game and advance to the final in one go.
They did not expect their negligence … to make all their efforts go up in smoke.
Terry was equally disappointed with this goal concede. But he was the captain and had more things to consider. He came over and patted Carvalho on the shoulder.
"Don't take it to heart. There's still time in the game. It's not the last minute. Who knows what the result will be? "
Carvalho nodded.
"Don't give them the slightest chance. Be especially careful with that group of people." Terry looked at the Forest players who were still celebrating the goal. "Although I find it a little strange that we haven't won a game against them in recent seasons, I have to admit that they are very strong. Well … although the boss said he wanted no one to fall behind when we go to Athens. But I think … if we don't go all out in this game, we won't win. "
Terry smiled at Carvalho.
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The game went through two center circle kickoffs in a few minutes, and the atmosphere in the stadium gradually developed to a fever pitch. The two goals ignited the passion on and off the field.
Chelsea still insisted on their full-court pressing strategy. If they did not press, it would be even more hopeless. The Forest team responded with a small range of passes and cuts in the midfield.
The two sides fought fiercely in the midfield, and the football changed hands many times. No one wanted to easily hand over control of the midfield.
The first half came to an end in this chaotic stalemate.
Chelsea was not reconciled to the score. They desperately wanted to score again. Unfortunately, the Forest team's defense was more vigilant than before the goal concede. Even if Chelsea snatched the ball through the front field, it was a little difficult to threaten the goal guarded by Edwin van der Sar.
On the other hand, Nottingham Forest put more energy into entangling with Chelsea in the midfield, and the offensive efficiency was also not high. Despite George Wood's protection and sharing of the burden, the midfield iron gate formed by Makelele and Essien still made it very difficult for van der Vaart.
No one had a chance. At the end of the first half, the score was still 1: 1.
But when they came off the field, the Forest players' expressions were clearly more relaxed than the Chelsea players'. The score was not bad for them. Even if it remained unchanged until halftime, they would still be the ones to advance. The Chelsea players were different. Each of them frowned and quickly walked toward the tunnel with their heads down.
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In the visiting team's locker room, Mourinho looked at Carvalho with an unkind expression. The Portuguese iron guard, who followed his teacher to Chelsea from Porto, lowered his head and dared not breathe.
Because of Terry, everyone did not express their dissatisfaction with the goal concede on the field, but many people were still a little upset in their hearts. At this time, Mourinho glared at Carvalho, and no one stood up to say a word for him.
The boss's tactic was to overdraft his physical strength in exchange for a lead in the score. They almost succeeded. They did not expect Carvalho's defensive negligence to give the opponent a chance to equalize the score forty-five seconds later. As a result, they wasted forty-five minutes of physical strength and got nothing in the end.
Anyone who encountered such a thing would feel uncomfortable.
The result of our hard work was so easily given away by you … What you gave away was not a goal, but a ticket to the UEFA Champions League final!
After glaring at Carvalho for a while, Mourinho said with a sullen face, "I don't want to see any mistakes in the rear defensive line in the second half." Although he said it to the whole team, he still looked at Carvalho. "I want you to understand that maybe Nottingham Forest's rear defensive line can make one or two mistakes, but we can't afford to make half a mistake ourselves! We have no right to make mistakes, no right to be negligent, no right to think that victory is in sight! Before you hear the final whistle, keep your nerves tight and don't relax! "
After lecturing Carvalho, he turned to look at the captain, Terry, and said, "John, you pay attention too. You got a yellow card in the first half. Pay attention to your actions in the second half. "
Terry nodded. "I'll pay attention, boss. But … "He was a little hesitant.
"But what?"
"But boss, you know, there are some things in a football game that are hard to say and can't be explained clearly. If I encounter a situation where I have to commit a foul, I won't hesitate. "Terry stood up and said to his manager.
Mourinho looked at his captain and did not speak. After a while, he turned around and said, "Then you'd better pray that never happens before the end of the game. Twain broke into the final but did not have Wood, and they eventually lost. I don't want Nottingham Forest's scene to repeat itself on my team. "
Terry sat down silently.
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