Chapter 439 The Absolute Leader

Mourinho never expected that his carefully constructed defense line would be broken so easily.

If Mbappe relied on his unreasonable speed, Chen Xiaoliang relied on his unreasonable range.

It's just that the degree of unreasonableness far exceeded Ugarte and Kone's expectations.

Mbappe akimbo, with a displeased look on his face, waiting for the referee Osatu to blow the whistle, and then kick-off.

"Beep!"

He pushed the ball straight to Ugarte, gave him a sharp look, then turned and ran forward.

Although the popularity in the team is not very good, especially the South American gang headed by Neymar and Marquinhos basically don't talk to Mbappé, but everyone in the team knows that this team wants to go to the end. It really wouldn't be possible without this Frenchman who is at his peak.

Afterwards, the two sides took the initiative to choose a more secure style of play after each had a wave of climax.

On Manchester United's side, the defensive midfielders began to focus on intercepting the pass from the midfielder to Mbappe, while on the Paris side, the distance between the two defensive midfielders and Chen Xiaoliang's close defense was obviously further forward, almost as long as they saw the ball go towards the goal. When he comes over, someone will stick to him immediately.

In the 32nd minute, Dybala received the ball from the right side of the ribs and rubbed the ball to the left side of the Manchester United penalty area with his left foot. Mbappe turned sideways and wanted to make a volley but failed to hit the ball. Wan Bisa was recovered behind him and defended in the penalty area. Card Bigfoot made a clearance.

In the 37th minute, Neymar received the ball from the left side of his ribs. After a feint, he cut in and failed to pass Timber. However, he passed the ball with the instep of his right foot, and drew the ball with an external spin and distributed it to the right side. sidewalk.

Ashraf inserted from the back, and after receiving the ball, he made a half-high pass from the bottom. Mbappe outflanked the near post from the penalty spot and wanted to shoot. Lima, who was stuck in the position, took the lead to destroy the baseline.

During the two offensive attempts, there was another Neymar shot from outside the penalty area, but the ball missed more of the right post and did not pose a threat.

Manchester United continued to play the routine of directly kicking the ball and passing the ball after the two wings broke through, trying to use as few troops as possible to achieve greater threats.

In the 39th minute, Kewa swayed continuously from the left and then swayed Ashraf to the left side of the penalty area. Lucas Hernandez made up the defense. Ashraf, who was passed behind him, turned around and chased quickly with the same superb speed. Form a double-team.

Kwa poked the ball towards the small penalty area in front of the right, and Cesko immediately started to get rid of Skriniar, who was defending him, and prepared to grab a shot. However, Donnarumma attacked in time and fell to the ground ahead of Cesko The ball was caught, Cesko could only retract his legs in time and jump, jumping over Donnarumma to avoid hurting the opponent.

When the time came to 40 minutes, Ten Hag on the sidelines had been looking up at the time on the big screen above the stands from time to time, and the players on both sides were also watching.

Because they all received the head coach's tactical arrangement before the game.

In the 43rd minute, Paris launched an attack from the backcourt. Ashraf dribbled the ball from the right and wanted to pass it directly to Mbappe who retreated in the middle. Change, came to the foot of Dybala on the right rib.

Chen Xiaoliang quickly got up and rushed towards Dybala again. Dybala didn't dare to fight, and directly took a long shot. The ball hit the back of Casemiro, who was jumping up and blocked, and flew high and popped out of the baseline.

Sure enough, as Chen Xiaoliang, Kwa, and Sesco said before the game, near the end of the first half, the three central defenders of Paris stepped in to participate in the corner kick.

This is Mourinho's usual tactic. He arranged it like this when he was in Rome. He used the set-piece attack to aggressively press the score before halftime, so as to start the second half with a great psychological advantage.

The echelon arrangement has become two defensive midfielders and two wing backs, and three central defenders, together with Mbappe, lined up from left to right in Manchester United's penalty area, plus Neymar wandering outside the penalty area. In between, Manchester United's defense is like an enemy.

Dybala took a corner kick from the right. As expected, the 5000-year-old, 26-meter-high central defender Di Sassi, who was bought from Monaco for 190 million euros last year, overwhelmed Rashford and Lima to grab the front point, but he The kicked ball was slightly off angle, and it bounced back on the right post. Mbappe, who was close at hand, did not expect such a shot at all. Before he had time to make a move, the ball hit the ground His face was off the post.

But this time, all the fans in the audience exclaimed "Wow".

De Gea glanced at Lima, seemingly still in shock, but Casemiro was already yelling at the ball boy behind the goal to throw the ball in!

De Gea immediately came to his senses, ran outside the goal post to catch the ball thrown by the clever little caddy, quickly placed it on the line of the small penalty area, and passed a half-high ball to the outside of the penalty area.

Mourinho couldn't sit still anymore, so he quickly got up and ran to the sidelines and shouted, "Get back to defense! Come back to defense!"

Because he could see clearly from the sidelines, Kewa, Sesco, and Chen Xiaoliang, who was leaning on the bench, had already run up the front court from the three lines from the left, center and right!

Neymar, who was dragged outside the penalty area, was the first to run back. Regardless of his running speed or expression, he was very serious about defending against Manchester United's counterattack, but the 32-year-old was also hit. The curse of "Brazilian players go downhill when they are over 30 years old" can't hide their shape, and their physical strength will inevitably decline.

At this time, the game was nearing the end of halftime, and he rushed out for a while, but let alone catching up with the three Manchester United who had already run ahead, it was a bit difficult to keep up with Rashford who rushed out of the penalty area.

Wan Bissaka ran out of the penalty area to receive the ball thrown by De Gea, and pushed it forward to Rashford who advanced in the middle.

Because Rashford was asked by Ten Hag to retreat to the penalty area to defend, he was already too far away from the front three at this time. Without thinking about it, he passed the ball from a long distance to Chen Xiaoliang in the front right.

Chen Xiaoliang slowed down a little to catch the ball. With no one around him, he continued to speed up and push forward. When he came to the right side and was close to the third area of ​​attack, the left central defender Di Sassi rushed forward, slightly stuck inside and tried to force Chen Xiaoliang. slow down.

Chen Xiaoliang did stop for a while, because what extraordinary people pay attention to is the change of speed and rhythm, rather than blindly rushing and hitting. Once he loses the ball, it is equivalent to wasting the effort of the whole team for a run.

He took two steps slowly. At this time, the defenders of Paris behind were running back, especially Kone. The left half was his area of ​​responsibility. He rushed towards Chen Xiaoliang like a jerk.

Chen Xiaoliang suddenly picked up speed, and Di Sassi retreated quickly!

In order not to let Di Sassi get stuck on his forward route, Chen Xiaoliang advanced to the area outside the corner of the penalty area on the right and slowed down, then controlled the ball to his left foot and made a fake move to cut inside. Sassi's center of gravity immediately retreated to avoid being swayed away by Chen Xiaoliang.

Tonight, his dribbling is 20, and his technique is also 20!

The ball was under his feet, as if it had been cast with a magic spell, and was firmly attracted between his feet by a force of gravity.

Disassi's center of gravity retreated, allowing Chen Xiaoliang to pick up speed for the third time, waving the ball directly to the bottom line, and then blasting away from the outside line to the bottom!

It was too late for Disassi, who had withdrawn his center of gravity, to jump forward. Although he did so, there was already a distance of more than three meters between him and Chen Xiaoliang at this time, and he could not form a defensive pressure at all.

Kone, who was desperately chasing behind him, was about to catch up, but he didn't expect Chen Xiaoliang to speed up suddenly. After running more than 70 meters in one breath, he was at the end of his strength, so he could only slow down discouragedly, watching Chen Xiaoliang rush to the bottom line in front of him , then adjusted the angle and pace, swung the inside of the instep with his right foot, and hit the ball towards the small penalty area!
Zhan Jun: "Xiao Liang got rid of it beautifully!"

"Go to the bottom! Cross!"

"Middle Road!!!"

"This goal is scored!!!"

"Sesco!!!"

"In the middle of the penalty area, get in between the two defenders. Facing the passing ball in the small penalty area is a header!"

"The distance is too close, Donnarumma can only subconsciously reach out to fish."

Xie Hui: "The defensive route and positioning of the two central defenders of Paris Paris were correct, but they did not defend Sesco closely. In the middle of one after another, he suddenly went forward and completed the shot."

Zhan Jun: "Skriniar is in front of him, and Lucas Hernandez is behind him. Neither of them is pressing Sesco."

Zhang Lu: "Hahaha, Mourinho got up and went back to the locker room. It seems that he is very dissatisfied."

Guan Zeyuan: "He usually has this habit. He will go back early when the halftime is about to end, and make arrangements for the second half."

Zhang Lu: "Xie Hui is right, but it is really easy to defend in a quick counterattack. The players retreat all the way to each other, and there is no time to communicate with each other. Why does Skriniar look forward instead of looking behind him?" Cesko? Because with his position, he has to see if Xiao Liang will pass Disassi and rush into the penalty area, and when Xiao Liang rushes in, he has to pounce on it."

"And Lucas Hernandez's attention must have been disturbed by Kwa rushing in from the left side of the penalty area, and thinking that there are already two people sandwiching Cesco, the ball should not be passed."

Zhan Jun: "I just didn't expect this pass to be passed so fast and accurately!"

Zhang Lu: "That's right."

Zhan Jun: "This is Cesco's sixth goal in the Champions League this season! It is also Xiaoliang's 6th assist in the Champions League this season! He has scored 10 goals and 10 assists in the Champions League this season. Completed a double-double in the Champions League in two seasons!"

"What's even more milestone is that since statistics are available, he is the player who has sent the most assists in all competitions in a single season in history! He has sent out a terrifying 40 assists this season!"

"In terms of goals alone, there are Harland and Mbappe in front of him in Europe, but in terms of assists, this data is well-deserved No. 1 through the ages!"

Xie Hui: "Real Madrid's willingness to spend 5 million to buy him is absolutely not on impulse."

Zhang Lu: "Manchester United's refusal to sell for 5 million is not impulsive."

Everyone: "Hahahaha."

After Manchester United celebrated, the time had come to 45 minutes and 21 seconds, and the game continued.

2 to 1 behind, Mbappe with his hips on his hips was expressionless, and returned to the middle circle to kick off.

Facing Manchester United's retracement defense, Paris took control of the ball. At 46 minutes and 50 seconds, the referee Osatu blew the whistle for the end of the first half.

The players on both sides walked back. Although the expressions were different because of the difference in the score, the one with the ugliest face was Mbappe.

Dybala ran over and patted Mbappe on the back. Mbappe nodded, but his expression was still full of blame.

At the entrance of the passage, I happened to meet Neymar who came over at the same time. Neymar did not have any communication with Mbappe. He pretended to look back at his teammates behind him and let Mbappe walk into the passage first.

In the locker room, Mourinho was already waiting for his players with a look of rage as if he had been ignited by a flame.

Mourinho: "Quiet me all!"

"Only less than the last 15 minutes!"

"In the future, even if you want to hear me again, you won't have this chance!"

"I know that we are all in an employment relationship with each other, and we are no different from employees in all walks of life. We receive a share of money and do a job. Everyone may have plans for the future in their hearts."

"However, it is not easy to go all the way to today!"

"Winning this championship is not for me, but for yourselves, for those fans who only earn a few thousand euros a month, but pay thousands of euros for tickets to see you and shout your name in the stands !"

The young ones such as Ugarte, Kone, and Nuno Mendes all looked serious, listening to and thinking about what Mourinho said while drinking water, while the old ones such as Skriniar, Di Barra, including Marchinhos, Verratti and others who did not play, were also engrossed.

Only Mbappe and Neymar, one is drinking water, but obviously not thinking about the lecture, and the other is wiping sweat, with no change in expression.

Across the rivers and lakes like Mourinho, there is nothing to do with these two people.

You can never guess what the former is thinking, money, honor, money, honor, he jumps back and forth between the two may make you feel like going to Real Madrid today, staying in Paris tomorrow, and maybe going to Saudi Arabia to earn money the day after tomorrow Dad's check.

No one knows what this young man's career plan is and what he is pursuing.

You say that he is chasing money, and he will claim that he should win the Golden Globe, and you say he wants to chase the Golden Globe, but he can't get out of the eyes of money.

The latter, since he came to Greater Paris and worked hard for a few times, but realized that neither his performance nor the platform of Greater Paris could help him surpass Melo and become a figure at the top of the pyramid, he lost the vigor he used to have when he was in Barcelona.

He is still working hard on the court, but his wonderful life off the court has become more and more. The reports people see about him are no longer honors and trophies, but which nightclub he went to and which beautiful woman he has Claiming to have had a spring night with him.

He gives the impression that he doesn't care anymore, so be it.

It’s not that Mourinho has tried to put pressure on the two, but not only for the two who don’t care, this kind of pressure has little effect, and the Paris Club also has a wonderful management. Chairman Nasser will never agree with the head coach Put these two people, who the club has spent heavily on supporting their salaries, on the bench as mascots.

Indeed, their abilities are beyond ordinary people, and they still have the desire to win the game in their hearts, but they are independent individuals dissociated from other players.

This is why Mourinho is determined not to coach in Paris.

This is also the reason why at this moment he can only use irritating words to revive the two people's inner fighting spirit.

He continued: "In the 2020 final, Bayern won that year and they achieved the Triple Crown. Many of you shed tears. I also watched that game."

"If it was you who won at that time, you could also win the Triple Crown!"

"Today, we played against a stronger opponent, unbeaten all season and with the best players on the planet."

"The same opportunity is in front of us again. We are fully capable of winning the game, as long as you remember the tears and emotions when you lost to Bayern that night!"

Compared with Mourinho's training process of motivating tactics first and then arranging tactics on this side, Manchester United's dressing room on the other side has a completely different atmosphere.

The players returned to the locker room, whether they played or not, they were all discussing the gains and losses of the first half of the game in twos and threes.

No matter how old their cards are or how old their qualifications are, the substitute players are stretching, handing water to the players on the field, and putting forward their own views on key points.

Varane shared with Lima about Mbappe's playing habits when he was in the national team, and Kwa told Timber that he could try to split sides in counterattacks.

And when Chen Xiaoliang opened his mouth, everyone immediately quieted down. He repeatedly emphasized to his teammates not to underestimate any opponent, especially the opponent in the Champions League final.

Mourinho will definitely do something, and none of those stars are vegetarians.

Ten Hag didn't talk about any tactical things. After a whole season, it's not less than 15 minutes. What he requires of his players is to stay focused from beginning to end and trust his teammates.

Just like the slogan Chen Xiaoliang yelled out with a tuba near the end of the intermission:
"we are the champion!"

Ten Hag opened the door to let the players back on the field, and he stood outside to give everyone a high-five.

This team is enough to make him forget the pain and regret caused by Ajax's Champions League semi-final lore.

A more gifted and talented team, an unquestioned absolute leader on and off the field, and most importantly, the two fit perfectly together.

This is a necessary condition for any collective project to achieve brilliance.

Seeing all the players walk out of the locker room until only he, Van der Garhe and McLaren were left, he couldn't help but hold the hand of his old partner who had worked with him for many years, but he didn't say what he wanted to say .

The two of them held his hand vigorously, and they both knew that the ideal they had struggled for for so many years might really be very close.

Chen Xiaoliang, who finally walked out of the locker room, turned around and called the three of them:
"Coach, play together! Let's win the championship together!"

(End of this chapter)

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