My light shines on Arsenal

Chapter 257 Mourinho’s doubts

On December 21st, the match between Manchester United and West Ham was held first.

In the end, Manchester United won the game 37-. They briefly played one more game and accumulated points, two points behind Arsenal.

The Premier League has entered its seventeenth round and the schedule is about to pass halfway.

The battle for the Christmas championship remains suspenseful.

Although the Christmas championship or half-distance championship does not determine the final result, it is not a bad thing after all to establish a good lead in the first half of the season.

Alex Ferguson's Manchester United are chasing Arsenal in the standings. Even though Arsenal have been unstoppable in the league in recent times, Manchester United still clings to the points.

There are not many teams that can stop Arsenal's progress.

Mancini's Manchester City team is no longer a concern in the eyes of Ferguson. Even though Ferguson was very unhappy with being robbed of two championships by his city rivals, Mancini and Manchester City fell behind early this season.

The teams that Ferguson likes this season, besides Arsenal, are Liverpool and Chelsea.

Rogers is a pragmatic and meticulous coach. Under his guidance, Liverpool's stability this season is quite good. After defeating Cardiff City in the same match, Liverpool accumulated 35 points, only two points behind Manchester United.

Another team that may be able to block Arsenal is Mourinho's Chelsea.

Old Trafford.

After the game, the audience gradually dispersed and the players also left the stadium one by one.

"Sir, why Chelsea?" Manchester United assistant coach Mike Phelan couldn't help it and asked Ferguson, "Mourinho took over a very unbalanced team and he didn't have time to find players who met his requirements. You Why are you so confident in this guy?"

Alex Ferguson was in a good mood after a hearty victory. He told his assistant: "Jose... I don't like this guy, I guess not many people like him. But he is the kind of person who is suitable for stirring up trouble. "

"If you give him enough time to transform the team, he will probably not be able to do it well. But if it is only for one or two seasons, in the short term, Jose can build a team that performs far better than its paper strength. That's his style."

Ferguson turned to remind his assistant: "Don't forget to watch the match between Chelsea and Arsenal. I'm curious whether Arsenal is capable of dealing with an opponent with Jose's style."

"Ok."

Alex Ferguson nodded and slowly walked deeper into the corridor, leaving Mike Phelan alone.

Mike Phelan took out his notebook and wrote down what Ferguson asked him to do.

These are Ferguson's two most valued opponents this season.

……

December 24th, eight o'clock in the evening.

Stamford Bridge Stadium, the 17th round of the Premier League, Arsenal versus Chelsea.

The noise in Chelsea's home court seems to be a bit louder than in the previous two seasons. Chen Yao guessed that Mourinho is also responsible for this.

This pretentious "madman" attracts attention wherever he goes.

Of course, it is undeniable that Mourinho's performance has indeed been eye-catching for a period of time. Even if you don't like his behavior or his football philosophy, you must admit that he can bring victory.

This is not the first time that the two coaches have met. In the Champions League group stage last season, Chen Yao led the ascendant Arsenal team and played against Real Madrid led by Mourinho.

Mourinho's hair is gray, and his eyes make no secret of his strong self-confidence, stubbornness and aloofness, which is in line with Mourinho's external personality.

The two coaches shook hands briefly.

Mourinho did not exchange polite greetings. He looked into Chen Yao's dark eyes and said, "You are younger than I believed."

"I'm younger than all the coaches in the Premier League." Chen Yao replied.

"But nothing like the stupidity of young people I've seen," Mourinho said. "I have reservations about your football philosophy. But your team is top of the table and your football brings wins. So I Don’t want to deny it now.”

"Oh?" Chen Yaoyi raised his eyebrows, "When will you deny it, Jose?"

"With any luck, after this game." Mourinho seemed very satisfied with his cold joke and laughed to himself, "Don't expect me to say good things about you in front of reporters." "If I win I will praise you well during the game, Jose."

"Not much chance." Mourinho let go of his hand and walked straight to Chelsea's coaching bench.

Bright lights hit the venue, and Chen Yao rubbed his ears. It was rare for the Stamford Bridge Library to be so noisy.

The players from both sides lined up on the court and the game began.

……

Mourinho's team deployed a 4-2-3-1 formation, which is also Mourinho's most commonly used formation.

Mourinho has never been shy about his determination to focus on defense. In his view, as long as he can win, it is a success.

It is also a three-pointer. To win with open offensive football, it is better to win with pragmatic and low-key defensive counterattacks.

The 4-2-3-1 formation, the midfield barrier formed by the two defensive midfielders, and the presence of defensive backs on the wings made Mourinho feel familiar and at ease.

Petr Cech served as the starting goalkeeper, and Azpilicueta, Terry, Gary Cahill and Ivanovic lined up in the defense.

The double defensive midfielders are Ramirez and David Luiz.

Mourinho pushed Luis, who was originally a central defender, into the midfielder position. Luis' defensive skills can continue to play a role, and his aerial and passing abilities can accelerate Chelsea's counterattack.

The three attackers are Hazard, Oscar and Schürrle, and the single arrow is played by Eto'o.

A very classic Mourinho-style armored bus.

From the beginning of the game, Chelsea switched to a solid defense. They never aggressively pressed and pushed forward, but slowed down the pace and even seemed to be a bit shrinking.

Arsenal is a team that likes to control and attack. Mourinho knows this very well. Playing against a team with offense engraved in their genes and getting more and more aggressive the more they attack, is not only a short attack but also a long-term attack. Seeking death.

Then let Arsenal control the ball and attack. Making this decision is not difficult at all for Mourinho.

What he is waiting for is the moment when his opponent fails and makes a mistake in the attack. At that moment, he will make Chelsea's players suddenly speed up, seize the opportunity with skillful counterattacks, and tear apart Arsenal's defense.

As long as he can score a goal, Mourinho will be confident that the victory of this game is his.

……

Ten minutes later, Mourinho wiped the sweat from his forehead.

To his surprise, Arsenal did not attack in a big way at Stamford Bridge.

There were even several situations where Arsenal were forced back into the half-court and into the penalty area by Chelsea. Chelsea players had to enter positional battles that they were not good at.

Mourinho frowned. Arsenal's young coach deliberately moved the formation backward. He knew that he was not good at positional warfare, so did he want to lure the snake out of its hole?

Yes, Mourinho thought, I am indeed not good at positional warfare.

However, Arsenal is not a team that is good at defense.

Take Arsenal's defensive midfielder as an example. Arteta, Jorginho, and a little-known French second-division midfielder. The first two players are Arsenal's regular rotation. They are in the ball-controlling offensive system. Able to grasp the rhythm with ease, and also able to counterattack and intercept immediately when the offense makes a mistake.

However, they are not defensive midfielders who make a living by intercepting and sweeping. Forcing them to defend, or exposing them to the firepower of the opponent's offensive midfielder in a two-way impact, is the wrong way to use them.

wrong. Mourinho's frown deepened.

In this game, Arsenal also adopted a double defensive midfielder formation, and the two people who served as defensive midfielders were...

Santi Cazorla and N'Golo Kante?

What kind of combination is this?

Is he conducting tactical experiments in the Premier League?

A player who has been involved in offensive organization in the frontcourt for more than ten years in his career, and a Ligue 2 midfielder whose Premier League appearance records can be counted on one hand, serve as Arsenal's starting midfielder?

Mourinho shook his head to get rid of the speculation in his mind.

It doesn't matter, he thought, sudden tactical changes often bring not advantages, but disadvantages.

Just let the game continue.

(End of this chapter)