The Prince of Inter Milan starts with Brother Xiaosa

Chapter 18 Taking the lead
  "Oh, this Dutchman really regards these two brats as life-saving straws."

Mourinho couldn't help but sneered after getting the starting lineup for this round's opponent Tottenham.

Magic Bird has always attached great importance to pre-match preparations, especially intelligence work on opponents. His coaching staff has always been equipped with at least one dedicated intelligence analyst.

Therefore, whether it is the Welsh wing Gareth Bale who scored goals in two consecutive games, or the Asian midfielder Leo on loan from Inter Milan, the Portuguese have conducted research.

“It’s nothing more than a fast wing player, just don’t give him space so that he can’t pick up his speed.

As for this one…”

Mourinho held his chin and picked up Leo's analysis report.

"It's interesting. Let's see if he can give me any surprises."

Champion coach Magic Bird does not believe that rookie Leo, who has only played two top league appearances in total, can cause any trouble to his team.

9月15日晚，07-08赛季英超第5轮，托特纳姆热刺对阵切尔西的比赛在白鹿巷打响。

Martin Jol unexpectedly started two young players.

Chelsea's starting lineup has undergone major changes. Lampard and Makelele are absent due to injuries, and Sidwell, who performed generally at the beginning of the season, partners with Essien in the midfield.

On the forward line, Drogba had a knee injury and Pizarro had physical problems after returning from South America. Ukrainian Shevchenko started for the first time this season. His partner in this game was teenager Kalu.

The defense is still the center back combination of Wallace and Terry.

Although he is playing with a broken team, Mourinho still has full confidence in defeating his opponent away from home.

Before the game, players from both teams observed a moment of silence in the center circle to commemorate Chelsea's meritorious coach Itfeld who had just passed away.

Standing on the pitch at White Hart Lane, Leo felt a little emotional. The last time he started a game was also at home. Although it was only less than a month apart, it still felt like a world away.

It feels great to be able to start the game!
  The home team Tottenham took the lead in the first half. Malbranque's breakthrough on the right wing was destroyed by Ashley Cole and went out of the sideline.

Chimbonda threw a throw-in, but Tottenham's teammates did not receive the ball. Instead, Chelsea defender Alex returned the ball to Cech.

At the beginning of the game, both sides did not attack with all their strength and were cautiously testing each other.

In the sixth minute, Janus made a wide-range move after stealing the ball in the frontcourt. Gareth Bale on the left tried to speed up the pass but was blocked by Belletti.

The Welshman had no choice but to fight back. Leo was not frightened after getting the ball in the left front of the penalty area. After dunking the Chelsea defender, he took advantage of the situation and volleyed hard!

The ball was blocked by Wallace who was on defense.

"oops!"

Leo kicked the turf on the spot. When he kicked it out, he knew that there was little hope. Even if it was not blocked by Wallace, it would probably not get past Cech's fingers.

I can’t blame others, I can only say that my shooting training during this period is not in place and there is still a lot of room for improvement.

He gave Bell a thumbs up. The opponent passed the ball very well. It was an opportunity, but it was a pity that he failed to seize it.

The Tottenham fans at the scene still gave the young midfielder an encouraging round of applause.

This is the advantage of home court. Leo cheered up instantly. Yes, there are so many people supporting me. It doesn't matter if the goal is not scored. Just keep working hard.

Subsequently, the away team also looked for scoring opportunities in the frontcourt, but Chelsea, with an uneven lineup, could not produce a decent cooperation.

After all, Leo does not play as a forward, but still has to participate in defense. This has made the recent improvement in his "Brother Xiaosha Template" matching degree slow, and there is no way around it.

Speaking of which, he played as a midfielder, got the template of a forward, and now plays as a wide midfielder all day long.     But this is to have more opportunities to play, and it is also a very common situation.

There are countless players who have practiced for more than ten years and then switched to other positions due to the needs of the team or other reasons. Some have succeeded and some have failed.

For example, current teammate Gareth Bale played as a left back when he debuted. Later, after showing his offensive talents, his position continued to adjust forward.

He played all the way from full-back to winger, and also played as a frontcourt free agent for Tottenham for a period of time. It was the Welshman who was able to play freely that season and won the honor of the Premier League's best player with his outstanding performance and received the Real Madrid's favor.

Another example is South Korean star Cha Duli. He trained as a forward since he was a child, but eventually became one of Asia's top full-backs.

Of course, Leo was different from them. He knew that sooner or later he would be able to return to the position he was most familiar with and best at.

The compromise now is just to get more playing time, so that I can play more games and improve faster.

Back to the game in front of us, Wright-Phillips also dribbled the ball from the right to initiate an attack. Leo returned to defense in time and worked with Bell to double-defense and shut down the opponent.

After Bell stole the ball, he launched a quick counterattack on the spot, running straight along the left wing with a large open space in front of him.

However, after bringing the ball to the left side of Chelsea's penalty area, the visiting team's full-back Belletti came forward again.

Leo stepped forward to respond, and Bell faked a pass back. Sure enough, he deceived Belletti. With his reverse, he directly got rid of the opponent's defense and broke through to the bottom line to send a cross!

Tottenham have two points in the penalty area, Berbatov and Robbie Keane, waiting for an opportunity!
  Chelsea goalkeeper Cech did not dare to be careless, he was highly focused and threw the ball under him regardless of the danger!
  Robbie Keane almost missed the Czech with a shot.

Worthy of being the player with the most caps in the Premier League, Cech's strength needs no introduction.

Um? Something seemed wrong with the situation. Seeing that the team was at a disadvantage, Mourinho couldn't sit still and came to the sidelines to yell and shout at the court.

The effect is there, Terry passed the ball from the left in the backcourt, and Shevchenko's heavy shot from the sideline of the penalty area slightly missed the right post of the goal!
  Immediately afterwards, Wright-Phillips received Kalou's through ball and crossed the goal, but the linesman had already raised the flag to indicate offside.

In the 13th minute, Chelsea got a corner kick on the left. Joe Cole gave the corner kick into the penalty area. Robinson struck out and knocked the ball out. Belletti passed the ball into the penalty area from the right again. Terry and Wallace came from behind. They grabbed a spot and collided with each other, failing to pose a threat.

No matter what, the visiting team's offense showed some improvement. Upon seeing this, Mourinho nodded with satisfaction before sitting back down.

Neither side created any good scoring opportunities in a short period of time, and the game fell into a stalemate.

Tottenham and Chelsea started a fierce battle in the midfield. Despite Essien's help, Sidwell's ability was really limited, and the Blues gradually lost in the confrontation.

"It seems that the absence of Lampard and Makelele will have a great impact on Chelsea."

The result of the midfield defeat was that the home team took control of the ball and began to attack the Blues' goal.

Berbatov, Robbie Keane, Malbranco and others completed their shots one after another. If it weren't for Cech's high pass to resist the goal, Tottenham would have taken the lead by now.

In the 32nd minute, Chimbonda stepped forward with an assist and was brought down by Ashley Cole. Tottenham got a chance to set the ball in the frontcourt.

Janas's free kick from the right crossed the wall and reached the goal. Kabul jumped high in the middle and beat Wallace to header!
  However, Chelsea goalkeeper Cech still struggled to punch the ball out of the penalty area. Leo, who had quick eyes and quick feet, took control of the ball outside the penalty area.

The Blues penalty area was full of defensive players. Leo scanned the area and keenly discovered a gap. He didn't miss the opportunity and didn't care whether his teammates understood what he meant. He passed the ball directly with a half-high ball.

It is true that there were no Chelsea people around the place where Leo passed the ball, but at the same time, there were no teammates around him either!
  Terry did his part and was about to step forward to make a rescue, but Berbatov, who was looking slow, was in place!

It didn't take much effort for Brother Xiaosa to get rid of Wallace's marking and get in place. He didn't have time to stop the ball and adjust to follow up, and then he shot a semi-volley into the net!

One to zero! Tottenham took advantage of a free kick to break the deadlock!

The camera showed the "madman" on the sidelines. Mourinho's face was quite ugly. If nothing else, he looked like he was already thinking about how to curse after returning to the locker room after halftime.

(End of this chapter)