My light shines on Arsenal

Chapter 195 Crossing the Blue Bridge

April [-], Emirates Stadium.

The temperature in London has risen to over ten degrees, the wind is not strong that day, and the sun is shining brightly. It is a very suitable day for football.

In the first leg of the Europa League quarter-finals, Arsenal faced Chelsea at home.

Chen Yao stepped on the turf of the stadium. The temperature had risen and the turf felt much better. This was a good thing for a team with poor skills.

"Wish us good luck, coach." Juan Lillo gave him a high-five.

Not far away is Rafa Benitez, the half-bald Spanish coach wearing his oversized suit, standing on the Chelsea coaching bench like a penguin.

There are many Chelsea fans who came to the Emirates Stadium with the team. The distance between the two teams in London does not cross national borders like other European teams.

"Rafa doesn't look very likable." Lillo squinted at the Chelsea players who were coming on, then looked at the Blues fans in the stands, and said to Chen Yao.

"Yes. Rafa used to be the coach of Liverpool. And he replaced Di Matteo." Chen Yao smiled, "Chelsea players and fans like Di Matteo very much."

"If Di Matteo is so good, why should he be replaced by Rafa?"

"Then you have to ask Abramovich, Juan." Chen Yao sighed, "I can only say that if the opponent is Di Matteo, the game will be much easier... But if it is Rafa, maybe his Tactical discipline is not reflected in Chelsea's players, which is probably a good thing."

"We'll find out soon if it's a good thing, coach."

……

Arsenal has a full lineup.

All the returning injured players started, and their lineup returned to the sharp-edged team they were in the first half of the season.

The starting center is Olivier Giroud, the left and right wingers Antoine Griezmann and Theo Walcott, and the central attacking midfielder is Santi Cazorla.

The defensive midfielder partners Arteta and Aaron Ramsey. Arteta's experience and composure are still an indispensable part of the young team, and Ramsey, who is in good form, also deserves to be in consecutive starts.

Italian twin stars Jorginho and Verratti sat on the bench.

The four defenders are Nacho Monreal, Laurent Koscielny, Per Mertesacker and Bakari Sagna, and behind them is goalkeeper Szczesny.

Benitez also arranged his ideal starting lineup.

Forward Demba Ba, behind him are three talented attackers: Oscar, Mata and Hazard.

Double defensive midfielder Ramirez and Lampard.

The four defenders are Ashley Cole, Branislav Ivanovic, Gary Cahill and Azpilicueta.

Behind them, starting goalkeeper Petr Cech.

……

Rafael Benitez's side caused problems for Arsenal.

From the first minute of the opening, Chen Yao could read the Chelsea players' attitude towards the game from their body language.

Perhaps the frequent coaching changes have caused Chelsea players to lose a lot of cohesion, but after all, they are still professional players from the Premier League giants.

They may not give Rafa Benitez much trust and affection beyond basic respect, nor will they give everything for this outsider coach, but they can at least do what the coach asks for in the first 15 minutes of the game. .

Chelsea showed great aggression.

Rafael Benitez's understanding of the role of the high press in modern football is not far behind the European frontier.

As early as four or five years ago, Benitez had already implemented these concepts in his team, but his ideas were not mature enough.

In Chelsea's last and only heavyweight championship knockout match of the season, Benitez asked his players to launch a surprise attack on Arsenal in the first 15 minutes on the road.

Demba Bazhi is at the front, Oscar and Hazard both stay in the high position, Juan Mata also stays in the frontcourt to participate in the press, and the two midfielders Ramirez and Lampard are in the frontcourt at the same time, creating pressure in the frontcourt. .

Chelsea's defensive organization is quite oppressive and aggressive, and they enter the game faster than Arsenal.

In the 9th minute, Laurent Koscielny was pressed by Chelsea players and kicked the ball back to Szczesny in a hurry.

The French central defender, who had just returned from injury, was mentally prepared for Chelsea's pressure, but his physical and technical condition had not adapted so quickly.

Szczesny stopped the ball, and Demba Ba rushed forward again with the pressing network behind him. In the eyes of the Poles, Chelsea players were everywhere in his field of vision.

There was a sudden influx of people near Arsenal's penalty area, and Szczesny could only take a big shot to avoid playing with fire and making mistakes.

His big foot did not go too far due to Demba Ba's pressure. Ramirez, who was in front of the ball, used his powerful running ability to grab the first point and pass it to his teammates.

Chelsea's frontcourt pressure immediately turned into attack. Juan Mata broke through Mikel Arteta's block along the left rib and went straight into the penalty area with his left foot.

Mata's pass found Demba Ba, who held up Laurent Koscielny, who was closely defending, and used it as a pivot to pass the ball to Oscar, who was slightly behind.

Oscar took off and arced, and his cross was directed behind Per Mertesacker, where Edin Hazard sprinted into the space behind the German defender at full speed.

Mertesacker's turning speed obviously couldn't keep up with Hazard's attack.

Hazard dribbled the ball from behind Mertesacker into the small penalty area, Szczesny moved his feet to block it, and the Belgian demon forward picked the ball towards the center.

Demba Ba knocked the ball into the open goal.

One to zero.

Rafa Benitez jumped like a joyful penguin as Chelsea's players celebrated the blitz goal.

Chen Yao gritted his teeth and ran to the sidelines to shout a few words to the players. Juan Lillo grabbed Bergkamp and nervously analyzed something with the notebook and tablet in his hand.

Falling behind early at home is not a good thing.

After scoring the goal, Benitez was very pragmatic. He ran to the sidelines and kept making gestures to the players to sit down, stabilize the rhythm and shrink the defense.

Benitez was unwilling to play against Arsenal at the Emirates Stadium. He believed that his strategy had achieved its goal, taking advantage of Arsenal's unsteady foothold to break down their defense.

Now, it's his turn to hold on to the victory.

Chelsea's formation quickly adjusted to 4-4-2, and the distance between the three lines was quickly reduced, forming a solid defensive formation as a whole.

No matter where Arsenal wants to attack from, they have to face a number of opponents that are evenly matched with their own.

Benitez knows this group of players under his command very well. They do not have long-term and sustained training, so they cannot be expected to maintain the same aggressiveness and passion as in the opening stage throughout the game. However, it will be much simpler to just maintain discipline on the defensive end. .Arsenal also encountered obstacles in attacking Chelsea's defence.

Chelsea's defensive players are all very tall. They defend their own areas skillfully, and their cooperation is also quite skillful when they need to switch positions to attack.

An inescapable link in Arsenal's frontcourt offense is Santi Cazorla. The Spanish midfielder's dribbling and connection are the key factors linking the Gunners' frontcourt offense, and Benitez arranged targeted arrangements for him. defense.

Ramirez, who is good at running and intercepting on the spot, entangled Santi Cazorla. As soon as Cazorla receives the ball, Ramirez will focus on the Spanish midfielder.

The space left at the front of Chelsea's penalty area is quite limited. Even if Cazorla can get rid of Ramirez, there is not much room for him to move around.

Benitez also focused on the restrictions on the ball path when restricting Arsenal's midfield. The positions of other players blocked a large number of Cazorla's receiving routes. When the Spanish midfielder controlled the ball, Lamy Reis was not in a hurry to throw his weight away and steal the ball from Cazorla's feet. Instead, he drove him towards Chelsea's strong side and cut off the connection between him and his teammates.

This is a successful strategy.Cazorla had a hard time playing, and the Spanish attacking midfielder lacked the ability to quickly find the fleeting space to play the ball.

As a result, Arsenal's offense stalled in Chelsea's half.

Cazorla's position with the ball is getting further and further away from the area where he can pose a threat, and after getting the ball, he cannot get rid of the ball immediately.

Although Chelsea's players could not snatch the ball from Cazorla's feet, Arsenal could not organize their offensive cycle. Instead, they fell into the strangulation of Chelsea players and were suffocated silently.

In the first half of the game, Arsenal's ball possession rate reached 60.00%, but they only had four shots and no great opportunities.

Chelsea's defense is impregnable.

In the second half of the game, the Arsenal coach replaced Griezmann and replaced Zaha. Arsenal's offense spread from both wings.

They opened up the width, tried to break through Chelsea's defense from the wings, and used Olivier Giroud's aerial advantage as a fulcrum or attack point to break Chelsea's goal.

Chen Yao's changes achieved results for a period of time. Walcott and Zaha gained an advantage in breaking through and confronting Ashley Cole and Azpilicueta, but they sent Several crosses failed to pose a threat.

Chelsea's backcourt has an obvious size advantage, and Giroud couldn't gain much advantage in the confrontation with them.

In the 65th minute, Rafa Benitez came on for David Luiz and replaced Lampard.

He gave Chen Yao his second surprise.

Seven minutes later, Arsenal's offensive cooperation in Chelsea's defense zone was once again disrupted, and it was David Luiz standing in front of the center back who won the ball.

Lewis directly sent a long pass, and he himself was the starting point of the attack.

Chelsea's frontcourt players suddenly opened up space and rushed forward. Louis' long pass found Demba Ba at the front. Demba Ba carried Koscielny and returned. Behind him, Oscar, Mata and Aza Erdu rushed forward, opened up the width, and created a threat.

Ramirez in the midfielder position also ran from the Chelsea penalty area to the Arsenal penalty area as the second receiving point.

It was Ramires who got the ball, a long pass situation that Chelsea had practiced many times in the training ground.

He took a few steps forward, moved his left foot, and distributed the ball to Hazard's feet.

Right back Azpilicueta also advanced at high speed, creating an overload on the right.

Nacho Monreal couldn't watch two players. Azpilicueta was about to pass the ball. Monreal got up to block it. It was indeed a diagonal kick. Hazard crossed from behind him. Move the ball in front of you with your right foot and shoot.

The ball penetrated Szczesny's defense again.

Two to zero.

The Emirates Stadium fell silent.

……

three days later.

Europa League quarter-finals, second leg.

Stamford Bridge is not very far from the Emirates Stadium, and the weather has hardly changed in the past few days.

Hope the good luck last time continues.Rafa Benitez thought.

Entering the second round with a score of [-]-[-] and two away goals, Benitez felt that this round of competition was already a sure thing.

Benitez took over last season's Champions League championship team, but he knew that this Chelsea did not have the top dominant strength in Europe.

Their lineup is very unstable, there is too much player turnover, and Abramovich's frequent coaching changes have left Chelsea without a stable tactical system.

Chelsea's playing style in each period is extremely dependent on the coach at that time and the harmony of the locker room.

Benitez had no impression of his former coach Di Matteo. In the eyes of the Spaniard, Di Matteo's tactical attainments were not considered high.

He studied the team's performance last season before taking over Chelsea. There was nothing unexpected about the team under Di Matteo, and there was no scene that made him wow.

But Benitez can see that the discipline and effectiveness of Chelsea's players are quite high under Di Matteo compared to the indulgent attitude they often show.

This shows that the players respect and trust Di Matteo.

And this valuable quality, Benitez knows that he does not have.

He was once the head coach of Liverpool, and he is not a famous Chelsea player like Di Matteo. He can only rely on his own ability, experience and achievements to take charge of Chelsea.

Benitez recalled being in the dressing room before the game.

"Hey guys, listen to Rafa give us a few words." Lampard clapped his hands, and the players looked up and looked at the coach.

There is nothing aggressive about Benitez's appearance. He is like a naive and good-natured gentleman, wrapped in his suit and giving lectures to their players.

The Chelsea players looked at him with less than awe, they missed Di Matteo.

Di Matteo is a good person, a person trusted and respected by Chelsea players. Although he led them to a poor record...but isn't there a Champions League there?

For many Chelsea players, there is suddenly a Champions League in their career, and there is no more competitive pursuit, maybe just financial.

"Guys, I'm very happy with your performance at the Emirates Stadium three days ago. We are two goals ahead, but don't be proud and hold on to our victory, okay?"

After Benitez finished speaking, Chelsea players had few reactions.

"Okay, grandpa, we will win the game for you." A player said strangely from behind in the crowd.

Benitez sighed softly and walked to Stamford Bridge with his players.

(End of this chapter)