Chapter 377: Final Shot! Final Draw?

Before the game, there were media analysis reports that believed Chelsea would have the advantage in physical fitness in this final because due to injuries and personnel composition, most of Chelsea's starting players in the final had not played many games this season.

For example, Drogba only started 26 games, and another midfield core Ballack only returned from injury in December last year and started 12 times, which is equivalent to only playing half a season; in addition, Makelele only played 22 games, and the only player who started more than 27 games was Joe Cole.

In comparison, at least six players in Manchester United's starting lineup for this final had played more than 6 games, including Ferdinand with 40 games, Wes Brown and Evra with 48 games, Ronaldo and Vidic with 45 games, and Van der Sar with 43 games. The one with the most appearances was Ricardo Richie, with 41 games!

Fortunately, Manchester United was eliminated early in the League Cup, otherwise the core players would have been under greater schedule pressure.

However, although Chelsea seemed to have the advantage in physical fitness and created threats first in extra time, it was Manchester United who played better, gradually controlling the tempo of the game and patiently looking for opportunities.

Just like Li Qi thought, playing overtime, physical fitness is important, but calmness is more important;

Because on a cold and rainy night in Moscow, after 90 minutes of fierce fighting, even the most physically fit superman would have his tank empty, the only difference being 7% or 5% left. The movements would become distorted, and the coverage and efficiency would drop rapidly.

Moreover, with the high-intensity rhythm and tense atmosphere, the players on the field, whether on or off the field, will suffer from brain hypoxia. They are so addicted to the game that they rely more on instinct to kick and run in the simplest way and forget to think.

If it is purely a competition of physical strength, willpower and simple playing style, Manchester United may only be able to defend against this iron-blooded Chelsea.

But Manchester United has the shrewd Giggs and the cunning Li Qi. They are the representatives of playing football with their brains. They deeply understand that at this time, they should play smarter, run smarter, create local advantages, control the ball with their feet and reduce unnecessary consumption...

So apart from that one chance at the start of extra time, Chelsea had little chance to touch the ball and were constantly being moved around in the midfield by Lizzie and Giggs, making them run around in a hurry.

Chelsea coach Grant was very anxious watching from the sidelines, although his mind was blank and he almost lost his reason and ability to think, or even if he still had some, there wasn't much he could do;

If they shout and yell on the sidelines, they might let go of the Blues' last breath, causing them to be at a loss and collapse.

But if they continued playing like this for another ten minutes, Chelsea would surely collapse first under the tense passive defense. So Grant could only choose to make substitutions to maintain the team's physical output.

In the 98th minute, Chelsea replaced Joe Cole, who had already been unable to run, with the future legendary French striker Anelka.

But not long after this substitution, Li Qi finally seized a crucial opportunity.

In the 100th minute, Manchester United's attack was blocked by the energetic Tevez, and Chelsea got a rare chance to attack from the goal.

Ashley Cole dribbled the ball across half court and then passed it to Drogba who was retreating to receive the ball.

This time, the Manchester United defense did not dare to leave Drogba open. The Chelsea striker had already left Manchester United's defensive third zone, but Ferdinand had been following closely behind him, constantly blocking him, while Hargreaves retreated to the defense line and Carrick was responsible for protecting and assisting the defense.

Drogba, who was under the pressure of close defense and double-teaming, had long been irritated and depressed and had lost his ability to think. He could only subconsciously pull Ferdinand's jersey while subconsciously sending a cross to the area where Joe Cole might be without looking up...

But Joe Cole had already left the field, and Anelka, who came on as a substitute, had not yet adapted to the rhythm. Unlike Joe Cole, who was born in the midfield and liked to return to the midfield to support, Anelka played as a standard center forward and liked to be at the front...

After Drogba retreated, the person responsible for joining the top striker line was midfielder Lampard, who was in great form today; defensive midfielder Makelele was still guarding the center circle for protection, and Ballack should have come to meet Drogba, and was also the only possible point for passing the ball.

Li Qi had been keeping an eye on Ballack, waiting for Drogba to pass the ball. With the little energy he had left, it was pure wishful thinking for him to break through Manchester United's defense.

But Drogba's pass was better than Li Qi expected. Li Qi didn't even need to intercept Ballack, because Li Qi's positioning was so good. It felt like he was waiting for Drogba to pass the ball to him.

Li Qi intercepted the ball in one step, changed direction, stopped and passed, and instantly passed Drogba who missed the chance to receive the ball.

Manchester United had a golden counterattack opportunity, Lampard, Ashley Cole and Ballack were not in defensive positions...

After Li Qi dribbled the ball through the center circle, he didn't wait for Makelele to get close, but passed the ball directly to Tevez who was waiting for a counterattack on Ashley Cole's side.

The latter took the ball and drove straight into Chelsea's penalty area, dribbled inside and dribbled past Carvalho who was seriously exhausted, raised his left foot and volleyed a shot from 20 yards in front of the goal.

Seeing Tevez kicking the ball without thinking, Li Qi cursed inwardly: "Damn! Hurry up?", and then hurried forward to meet the ball.

To be honest, Tevez's powerful shot was of good quality, but Chelsea's last two lines of defense were on high alert and well prepared. Not only did they make Cech, who performed well in this game, make a save, but Terry couldn't even get past the first hurdle.

Terry, who was guarding the middle, stretched his head and headed Manchester United's rare quick break shot out of the penalty area.

Then Essien in the other corner of the penalty area headed the ball in before Ronaldo and headed it towards the midfield...

However, the ball was intercepted in the air by Evra who came in from behind at high speed. He stopped and passed the ball, then accelerated to the bottom, leaving Anelka, who was a very amateur in defense, behind him.

Evra changed direction and overtook, rushing between Essien and Makelele who had returned to the penalty area and did not dare to commit a foul!

With only one step to reach the corner of the small penalty area, Cech, who was as steady as an old dog, could only quickly crouch down and prepare to attack to block the near corner.

Evra, who was being chased by the Blues, was waiting for Cech to attack. In the last step, he let go of his center of gravity and passed the ball back to the penalty spot with great force...

Giggs and Lizzie both tried to get the ball, both of them got in front of Ballack and tried to grab the spot.

However, Li Qi knew that he couldn't give up the ball. Wang Laoji's pace was wrong, and if he shot hastily and missed the goal, he would be in trouble. So Li Qi squeezed out the last drop of his energy to turbocharge Tbol, exhaled all the air in his lungs and shouted, "Mine!"

In addition, in addition to the two Manchester United players, Chelsea also has one player who can save the ball, that is Terry who just headed the ball away. He is guarding the middle of the penalty area, and he is the one closest to the ball...

But just as Terry was about to use a tackle to intercept Evra's sure-fire assist, his feet slipped again. Instead of making a flying tackle, he half-knelt on the ground and could only barely touch the ball with his toes. Not only did he fail to intercept the ball, he also slowed it down.

This deceleration helped Li Qi. Giggs was guarding the middle, and he was cutting to the front from the back. If the ball did not slow down, according to Li Qi's judgment, he would probably be half a beat later than Giggs. But the ball slowed down, so this point was his!

Unfortunately, Terry slipped twice in one game, giving the thief a chance to steal the chicken. Of course, this is closely related to the slippery field, decreased physical strength, great psychological pressure and distorted movements.

But it was useless to say all this. Li Qi faced the ball and used the most reliable inside arch of his right foot to push the ball into Chelsea's empty goal...

After scoring the goal, Li Qi forgot to look at the referee to confirm whether the goal was valid, and ran madly towards his own fan group, where his family and girlfriend were cheering!

Li Qi once again felt as if someone had pressed the mute button on the scene. He could not hear any sound except the frantic beating of his own heart.

And the red fans who were getting closer and closer, their facial features were almost distorted due to excitement and madness...

Ugh! So ugly! Where's Julian? Will she jump up with excitement too?

……