Football: A late bloomer, starting with Leicester City

Chapter 294 Defeated at Stamford Bridge, the third round of the Champions League is here! (4k)

On October 10th, the eighth round of the Premier League arrived.

In this game, the entire Leicester City team went to Stamford Bridge, Chelsea's home stadium, to battle against Conte's Blues.

This is not the first time the two teams have met this season. The two teams have met once before in the EFL Cup, and Leicester City lost that game.

Of course, Leicester City took the initiative to let it go.

It stands to reason that the last time they met, the team lost because they gave up the EFL Cup schedule.

In this matchup in the Premier League, Leicester City has to fight back no matter what. They must find the team's confidence in Chelsea.

But with a dense schedule stacked together, sometimes you won’t be able to follow your ideas.

The crucial match against Copenhagen in the Champions League is just around the corner. Many players suffered from severe fatigue after returning from the national team game.

After much thought, Ranieri reluctantly made the decision to rotate the lineup.

Kanter was replaced by Ndidi, and the two full-backs also came off the field, giving Achraf and Chilwell the opportunity to start.

Similarly, Odegaard, Maguire, Klose and others all appeared together.

Since you have to give up, don't have any other thoughts. Don't give up and be reluctant to give training opportunities to players who have played less.

In this way, Leicester City lined up a brand new lineup for this game.

The goalkeeper is still Schmeichel, and the back line includes Chilwell, Morgan, Maguire and Achraf.

In the midfield position, Ndidi paired with Odegaard, with Albrighton and Chen Yufeng on both sides.

At the forward position, Ulloa paired with Klose, which can be regarded as piling up two high-point players directly in the middle.

The game started at 4 o'clock in the afternoon, and Chelsea played with all its main players, striving for three points.

Leicester City's youth team could not help but be suppressed by Chelsea after the start, and they fought a half-time offensive and defensive battle for more than 20 minutes.

It wasn't until the 24th minute of the game that they created danger through Chen Yufeng's breakthrough on the wing.

"Chen Yufeng will not go down today. Often, he is actually the one Ranieri wants to protect the most, so he has more time to rest."

On the Sina Sports broadcast platform, Director Zhang Lu was analyzing and commenting for the fans, "But other players have indeed not rested for too long. He needs to lead these children to support this game."

"It just so happens that the Belgian team is strong. In some preliminaries, Chen Yufeng can decide whether to go or not based on his condition. The burden on his shoulders is not heavy. He didn't go to the last game, so he got sufficient rest time."

"We'll see what kind of game he can lead these kids."

"I don't expect to win, but I hope to be able to play something."

After his comments, Zhan Jun took over the main voice and provided fans with commentary on the game scene.

The two of them already have a tacit understanding of each other. They don't need to communicate or exchange opinions based on their expressions, and they won't steal each other's words.

"Chelsea's attack! Batshuayi! Chen Yufeng has not been to the Belgian team these days, and he has also been recruited by the Belgian national team! His performance is good!"

"Pass to Hazard! Connection from Belgium!"

"If Chen Yufeng can also cooperate with the two, he may be able to play beautiful offensive football, but in club games, that scene will not happen."

"Hahaha..." Director Zhang Lu occasionally smiled and responded occasionally to warm up the situation for Zhan Jun.

"Give me a kick!! Beautiful!!"

After seeing the first goal happen, Zhan Jun had some excitement on his face, "Hazard! Scored Chelsea's first goal of the game!!"

"King of the ball! A strong contender for the third person in the world before Chen Yufeng was born!"

"Chelsea took the lead in the 29th minute of the game. This was a wonderful attack. In the end, Hazard defeated Achraf in a one-on-one battle and scored the goal!"

"I'm looking forward to how this group of young players from Leicester City will perform when faced with a falling situation!"

"Should we just give up? Or should we fight to the death? Or should we stabilize our mentality first, move forward steadily, and seek opportunities to regain the score?"

Judging from Zhan Jun's tone, the situation he wants to see must be the last one.

And he did see this expectation next.

Under the command of Chen Yufeng, Morgan and others, this group of young people played very maturely and did not feel like they were of their age.

The abundant physical fitness and physical condition they accumulated after extra training also gave them more confidence to play the second half against Chelsea.

However, there is a more serious problem. After Mahrez comes off the field, Albrighton's offensive ability is obviously much weaker.

He is simply unable to lead the team to complete a good offensive organization, nor can he share the defensive pressure with Chen Yufeng.

Chen Yufeng himself is not perfect, and he has to be continuously marked by Cesc Fabregas and Matic. He is a little lost today.

This is normal, he did hold back his kick.

Sometimes you have to be smart and know when you need to be in good shape and when to let it go.

Of course, this state of free contraction cannot be used as an excuse.

Otherwise, you won't be able to do anything, and the more you play, the worse you will get. You still have excuses, but you're not playing well anyway.

Chen Yufeng is definitely not like this. He is just saving his energy for the key battle in Copenhagen.

He and Ranieri had discussed it a long time ago. On the court today, the main purpose is to lead the young players. There are no other requirements for talking more and running less.

"Beep!"

Not long after, the referee blew the whistle for half-time.

Shortly after the start of the second half, Chen Yufeng was replaced by Mahrez.

The two of them played half a court each, maintaining their form without using too much force.

This is a tactic that many head coaches choose when rotating.

After Mahrez returned to his original right wing, for a period of time, he even felt uncomfortable.

After Chen Yufeng arrived, he played more on the left side and changed his playing habits long ago.

This time it changed, he really needed time to adjust.

The game went on like this minute by minute, and Leicester City gradually became more and more stable, but lacked some threats in offense.

"It's actually pretty good."

In the coaching seat on the sidelines, Ranieri had a relatively relaxed expression, chatting with Chen Yufeng and others: "You can see that these kids are paired with a few veterans, and there is no obvious gap when facing the big6. "

"I didn't even think we should have conceded that goal. If they had adapted faster, maybe we would have even had a chance to take away a point."

His face was full of satisfaction, and there was some affection in his eyes when he looked at each young player. "In addition, in the previous EFL Cup game, they scored first, and Chelsea made a difficult comeback in the end."

"This shows what?"

"They are geniuses." Chen Yufeng took over and added.

Ranieri gave Chen Yufeng a thumbs up, and everyone continued to watch the performance of the young players attentively.

Time also continued to move forward unknowingly, and gradually it came to the end of the game.

"Beep! Beep! Beep--!"

A few seconds after the referee's whistle sounded, the people on the Leicester City bench reacted and stood up to applaud, encouraging the young players for their performance.

Odegaard and others walked towards the field with unconvinced expressions, as if they were dissatisfied with the result.

"Everyone has done a good job, don't be embarrassed." Chen Yufeng smiled and patted everyone on the body, as if he was beating: "The strength is getting stronger step by step."

"I still hope that you can get more positive feedback, remember this feeling of fighting and fighting, remember how to defend well, and go over what you did well in your mind over and over again."

"As for the mistakes? Just do it better next time. Just look up and move forward."

After a few words of encouragement, he also expressed his expectations, "I hope you can win if you have this opportunity next time."

After that, as the captain, he took the players to the Leicester City Expedition Fan Stand to thank the fans who came from afar.

In fact, they already knew that this would be a rotation battle, but they still came all the way to support the team.

Chen Yufeng led everyone to clap and applaud to express his gratitude to the fans. They also heard the shouts of many fans.

"It doesn't matter! We can understand losing in rotation. It's impossible not to lose in football. As long as there is no content, we can accept it!"

"Yes, keep your head up! Chilwell, I watched you play in the youth team!"

"Hold your chests high! Young people! We lost this time! Get it back next time!"

"I hope you can have a happy time in Leicester City and experience the feeling of winning!"

"Odegaard, Achraf, Maguire, Chilwell, including Ndidi, you are all great! Come on!"

Listening to their encouragement, the young players from Leicester City had a somewhat serious look on their expressions.

They gritted their teeth and vowed to bring a victory to these fans in the next game.

Instead of relying on Chen Yufeng and others, they only rely on themselves!

Chen Yufeng, who was standing nearby, looked at this scene with some emotion in his eyes.

Leicester City fans moved him a lot. In Chen Yufeng's heart, they are the best fans in the world.

There is no doubt about this.

Thinking of the Champions League match a few days later, Chen Yufeng clenched his fists.

He not only wants to help the team get a better qualifying situation, but also brings a hearty victory to the fans!

Home game against Copenhagen…

He will definitely try his best.

…………

After this game, Leicester City did not attract much attention.

Not to mention losing in rotation, even losing normally is to be expected.

After all, the team's overall strength is still far behind many teams.

As long as the Champions League is doing well, no one will care how Leicester City performs in the league.

Of course, just don't downgrade.

Time continues to go day by day, advancing rapidly towards the front.

In the blink of an eye, another game day has arrived.

This morning, reporters from all over the world gathered near the King Power Stadium to interview the fans watching the game.

This is Leicester City's home game against Copenhagen, a game they must win!

Fans of the visiting team Copenhagen were taken into the stadium by bus early and sat down, while fans of the home team purchased peripheral products and performed cheering activities outside the stadium.

"What do you think of this game? Are you nervous?" A reporter from an unknown international team stepped forward with a microphone and blocked a female Leicester City fan.

"Nervous for sure, to be honest every Leicester game makes me nervous."

The female fan nodded slightly, a little shyly, "Because this is a weak team that can give people hope, I can raise expectations for it, and once I have expectations, I will definitely be nervous."

The reporter nodded and asked, "Do you know the specific situation of this game?"

"Clearly, if they fail to win, Leicester City will basically lose the possibility of qualifying first in the group." The female fan nodded.

"We all know that the match between Porto and Club Brugge is about to start. What results do you expect them to achieve?" The reporter asked another question.

There were also many Leicester City fans surrounding the two of them, looking curiously, as if waiting for the female fans' answer.

Even though she was relatively shy, the female fan still raised her middle finger to the camera after hearing about Porto. She first expressed her dissatisfaction with Porto, "I hope they lose, a big defeat, and a few more people are injured."

"That's what I expect from them. I never have anything good to say about such gangsters."

"They're a bunch of shit!"

"Yeahhh..." The fans who had been waiting for the female fan's words immediately raised their hands in the air and cheered, then waved flags and shouted, "Leicester city!! Leicester city!!"

Female fans also waved and cheered for the team with everyone else, showing their best spirit in front of the media.

"last question."

This time the reporter did not direct the microphone at the female fans, but at everyone, "What kind of game do you want Leicester City to play today."

The fans rushed to answer, waving their hands towards the camera excitedly.

"Three goals to win!"

"Big victory! Kick them all!"

"Although I have no grudge against Copenhagen, I still hope to defeat them!"

"Come on Chen Yufeng, score two more goals, bringing your number of goals in the Champions League this season to 5!!"

"Chen Yufeng, the goal and assist that were blackballed by the referee should be returned in this game!"

"Chen Yufeng, I love you!"

"..."

Amid bursts of cheers, the fans quickly walked into the stadium and took their seats.

This game also officially started its appearance ceremony at 7:50 in the evening.

"Kick Barcelona! Kick Barcelona! Kick Bayern Munich...!"

"Our factory has collapsed...!"

Familiar music sounded, and Chen Yufeng led the Leicester City players to appear at the King Power Stadium again.

This is their team's third Champions League game, and it can be said that the novelty has not worn off yet.

However, after the last round of games, the players have a lot of experience in the Champions League and don't have to suffer from stage fright.

Having experienced the worst, what else do they fear?

After Chen Yufeng simply had a pick-up with the Copenhagen players, he came to the sidelines to take a photo with the starting lineup.

After the group photo, he led everyone in a circle and put his hand in the middle.

Chen Yufeng raised his head, looked around, swallowed, and said after a long time: "You know what to do, more than 20,000 Leicester City fans are right behind us."

"Leicester City... come on!!" A chorus of shouts rang out, and all the players quickly ran to their positions from where they were, making final preparations for the game.

A Champions League battle is about to begin.

…………

ps: Change to 4k chapters, the reading experience will be better, hope you understand

(End of this chapter)