Chapter 255 Long-distance raid

Although Eliza was very reluctant, she finally spent Christmas with Ye Qiu and his wife at Totridge's home under the persuasion of Ye Qiu and his wife. This was the first time for the three of them to spend Christmas together, because when they were in the Netherlands, Ye Qiu and his wife usually went back to their country, leaving Eliza alone.

For the three of them to spend Christmas together, they naturally made a special event, but there was nothing special, just a very rich meal on Christmas Eve, a good reward for themselves.

After Christmas, Huang Chu had to go to the hospital for duty, Eliza flew directly to the United States, and Ye Qiu led the team to participate in the 18th round of the Premier League, away to Charlton.

Goalkeeper Van der Sar, the back line is Evra, Cannavaro, Terry and Maicon, the midfield is Davis, Makelele and Deco, the front court Ronaldinho, Lampard and Drogba form a trident, Chelsea has arranged the strongest lineup.

Although Charlton played a defensive game at the Valley Stadium, it still couldn't stop Chelsea's overwhelming offensive.

Although Christmas had just passed, the players were somewhat rebellious about playing in the Premier League on Christmas Day, but Ye Qiu obviously comforted them. In addition, the players in the Chelsea team were full of anger to prove themselves, so the team overcame the psychological problems of the Christmas schedule very well.

At the Valley Stadium, Chelsea still started this battle with Ye Qiu's iconic start. Just 40 seconds after the start, Evra cooperated with Ronaldinho on the left, forcing the Charlton defender to kick the ball out of the baseline. After that, Ronaldinho took a corner kick, and Terry headed the ball in the penalty area to open the scoring for Chelsea, 1:0!

After that, Chelsea launched another round of bombardment and launched a powerful attack on Charlton.

In the 10th minute, Ronaldinho took a direct free kick in the frontcourt, Terry headed the ball in front of the point, and Lampard jumped in the middle to score another goal for the team, 2:0!

After scoring two goals in a row, Chelsea obviously intended to relax their offensive, because they had another league game to play in two days, and Ye Qiu had to save some energy to play well in this game two days later.

But in the 35th minute of the first half, Evra received a diagonal pass from Deco in the midfield, quickly inserted into the left side of Charlton's penalty area and suddenly knocked back. Ronaldinho got the ball in the penalty area and dribbled past the opponent's central defender and shot into the goal, 3:0!

In the second half, the two sides changed sides and Chelsea obviously intended to relax their offensive, but still firmly grasped the rhythm of the game. In the 53rd minute, Maicon suddenly cut in from the right and passed the ball diagonally into the penalty area. Lampard inserted a calm shot and scored twice, helping Chelsea lock the score at 4:0.

This time Ye Qiu did not hold back, and replaced Ronaldinho, Lampard and Davis successively, and replaced Ribery, Joe Cole and Parker, so that these three main players could get a good rest.

In the 73rd minute, Charlton took advantage of the turmoil after Chelsea's substitutions and the chaos in the penalty area to break Chelsea's goal and scored a goal to save his dignity. The final score was locked at 4:1, and Chelsea retreated away from home!

Ye Qiu was very satisfied with the team's performance after the game. He believed that the Christmas schedule was not terrible. As long as everyone in the team had a unified belief and a strong desire to win, Chelsea could defeat any opponent.

"You know, since the beginning of this season, we have scored a lot of goals. We only didn't score in two games, but we didn't let the opponent score, because we scored continuously. So when we only scored 1 goal in the past three games, and two of them were draws, everyone felt that Chelsea was going to be finished!"

This is also the concern of many media about Chelsea before and after Christmas. Ye Qiu has now clarified it, because in his opinion, no matter how much you say before the game, it's useless. You have to use iron-clad facts and scores to tell everyone that what I say is right.

"I never worry about the team not being able to score. We have a group of very good offensive players, Drogba, Ronaldinho, Lampard, Deco, Maicon and Evra, even Davis and Terry often score goals, I am not surprised at all, and I never worry about scoring."

"Sometimes a team is like this, there will always be ups and downs, and any team that wants to laugh at the end of a long league, the most important thing is to ensure that the team can score points when it is at a low point, and we did a good job in this!"

But it was not just Chelsea that defeated the opponent, Arsenal and Manchester United also defeated the opponent. Arsenal won Wolves 3:0 at home, while Manchester United was in a dilemma and was almost overturned by Moyes' Everton at Old Trafford.

Moyes' team played a midfield suppression tactic in this game, and Rooney returned to the midfield more, but it was obvious that Moyes' team did not suppress Manchester United's midfield well due to the strength of the players, and coupled with the absence of Yabo in the back line, there were many mistakes. Although they fell behind twice and equalized twice, they were finally saved by Manchester United.

3:2, Ferguson's team defeated their opponent at Old Trafford, but everyone could see that Manchester United played so poorly against Everton, which had performed poorly this season, and the Red Devils' strength was indeed declining.

Just when everyone was worried about Manchester United's thrilling victory, bad news came out from Chelsea, that is, the team's top midfielder Davis suffered a back strain and will be sidelined for at least 20 days. This news was exposed by the media , was immediately affirmed by Ye Qiu, but he said that the team can well deal with the impact of Davis' absence.

"I believe that when Edgar returns to the team, we will still maintain a 4-point advantage. This is my promise to him!"

On the 28th, the team welcomed Portsmouth at Stamford Bridge, and Ye Qiu made a bold change.

…………

…………

No one can ignore the advantage Chelsea had throughout the first half, because in the first half, Chelsea completely dominated the game. The team had an astonishing 68% of the ball possession rate, but only got a pitiful 5 shots. Only one shot was on target, but failed to score, while Portsmouth, which had a pitifully low ball possession rate, had 2 shots.

It's completely impossible to explain what happened to Chelsea in this game. Was it a change of formation?

In this game, Ye Qiu changed the team's formation from the previous 4321 tactic to a 4231 tactic. Without Davis, Deco dropped back to form a double midfielder with Makelele. Ronaldinho and Lan Padre and Ribery formed the attacking formation in the frontcourt, with Drogba alone at the front. It all seemed not much different from the past.

But some players really have to wait until you lose them before you realize how useful they are.

Without Davis, Chelsea's midfield seems to have lost something. No one knows what it is, but it seems that there is something missing. It always feels that something is not smooth and awkward.

It stands to reason that after more than half a year of training and running-in, there is no problem with the team's tacit understanding. Although it cannot reach the level of understanding, at least it can be done with skillful cooperation, but now it seems that it has suddenly changed. Very awkward.

A very important reason for the low number of shots is that the team passes the ball forward less, especially Deco and Ronaldinho. These two players are important passers for the team. There are obviously fewer deep passes.

Maybe it's a kind of psychology. In the past, when Davis was here, they dared to take risks because they were at ease and not afraid of being beaten behind. But now that Davis is gone, they seem to be a little worried, especially Deco, who is afraid of Mark. Lailai couldn't stop him from behind.

For this phenomenon, Ye Qiu severely scolded the team for 15 minutes in the locker room during the halftime break. From the moment he walked into the locker room to the moment he left the locker room, he cursed the players. Everyone was criticized.

"It's hard for me to imagine that you guys who have been playing in the Premier League for half a year have turned into pussies. If you take off that layer of manly skin, everyone will think that your performance in the first half was weak. Women, no, saying you are women belittles the courage of women, you are not even as good as women!”

Everyone could clearly hear that what Ye Qiu was dissatisfied with was not their poor performance, but their lack of courage and adventurous spirit. He had always said that the more difficult the situation, the more courageous he should try and use all means. and possibility to defeat your opponent, which requires courage and courage.

At the last moment of the halftime break, Ye Qiu said something, "Everyone came to me in the second half and passed all the passes to Portsmouth's penalty area. If you win, it's yours. If you lose, it's mine." But if I see someone who is so cowardly and timid again, I will definitely replace him and let him die on the bench!"

To be honest, Ye Qiu's words aroused the anger of the players. The head coach also mentioned this. Anyone who doesn't overpower him is really a coward that even he looks down on. Therefore, everyone was holding back in the second half. I want to vent my anger.

At the beginning of the second half, Chelsea launched a frantic attack towards Portsmouth. The latter had defended the entire first half and had done their best. After defusing Chelsea's attacks one after another, they counterattacked with a long pass.

Terry quickly retreated and headed the ball from the front of the penalty area to Makelele who was retreating. The latter quickly distributed the ball to the right. After getting the ball, Maicon turned around, raised his head, observed the situation, and found Everyone in Portsmouth is preparing for a counterattack, and the defense is also pressed out, which is a good opportunity.

Maicon adjusted the ball under his feet, felt it, and then directly swung his right foot and made a long pass.

Near the midline, Ribery noticed Maicon's long pass. He didn't care, he just rushed forward quickly. Then during the sprint, he discovered that the landing point of Maicon's long pass was On the right side of the top of the arc in front of the penalty area.

Drogba is also aware of this, so he appropriately attracts defensive attention to Ribery.

The French Scarface sprinted very fast, and his absolute speed was not slow. He sprinted like a gust of wind, quickly passing through most of the stadium from the midline, and got ahead of Portsmouth at the top of the arc to the right in front of the penalty area. The left back and center back took the ball forward with their feet and then pushed the ball forward with their chests.

The ball hit his chest and bounced forward, and Ribery's speed, which had been slowed down by unloading the ball, exploded again the moment the ball hit his chest. His amazing explosive power allowed him to Quickly pass directly between the two defenders, and the next thing becomes very simple!

The French scarface who formed a single shot directly shot a powerful and precise straight shot, letting the ball pass between the goalkeeper and the right post and hit the bottom of the net, 1:0!

"GOALLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL!!!!!!"

The Stamford Bridge stadium, which had been holding for nearly 50 minutes, finally erupted. All the Chelsea fans cheered wildly. Almost everyone's face turned red because of the crazy roar, but they were still crazy. to vent their emotions and excitement.

Finally, a goal came. The team dominated the game throughout the first half, but never scored. This made everyone feel depressed, but Ribery's goal finally broke the deadlock!

The French scarface was also very excited. He quickly rushed out of the penalty area and ran around the Stamford Bridge stadium in a venting style. He finally became the hero of this stadium, even if it was just once!

You know, he could come to London with great anxiety before the season, but during the season, he looked at Ronaldinho, Lampard, and Drogba with great envy again and again. Seeing each of his teammates become the heroes of the team, he was very envious, even jealous.

But now, he finally seized the opportunity. His goal not only broke the deadlock, it would even completely change the trend of the game. Therefore, when Ribery stopped, he saw the people on the sidelines. Ye Qiu gave him a thumbs up, while the fans in the stands at Stamford Bridge were chanting "Ribery".

He raised his head and listened to the sound, which was like a roaring mountain and a tsunami. He had the urge to burst into tears!

He succeeded! It really worked!

"It's very unexpected, the long-distance run from the midfield by the young French player Frank Ribery!" Sky TV kept replaying the entire goal process. Andy Gray couldn't help but feel proud of Ribery's goal. Surprised by the outstanding performance.

"His speed is very fast, almost no one can stop him, and the emergency stop to unload the ball at the edge of the penalty area also makes people see his excellent foot skills. After unloading the ball, he suddenly starts again, which completely destroyed Park The two-man double-team defense that Zsmouth has formed can be said to be a stunning individual performance!”

"We have absolutely reason to believe that Franck Ribery, from now on, we will all remember this player!"

With Ribery's goal, Chelsea, from players to fans, greatly vented their previous depression and depression. After this outbreak, and the changes brought about by Ribery's goal, everyone at Chelsea became More confident, more confident with the ball and passing the ball, and more adventurous.

Risk-taking is creativity, Ye Qiu firmly believes in this!

Sure enough, soon, in the 73rd minute, Drogba got the ball and passed an opponent's central defender and passed it behind him. Lampard stepped in and fired with his right foot from the front of the penalty area, giving Chelsea another victory. , 2:0!

After that, Chelsea completely turned into a beast, launching wave after wave of attacks against Portsmouth. The latter was forced to retreat, and could not even defend the penalty area, because in the 81st minute, At that time, right back Maicon took advantage of an opportunity to attack from behind and volleyed vigorously from 25 meters away from the goal, scoring Chelsea's third goal.

This also allowed Chelsea to defeat Portsmouth 3-0 at home.

But what is regrettable is that although Manchester United and Arsenal had a difficult away game, these two teams were obviously prepared for the devilish Christmas schedule, and in the end they narrowly defeated their opponents, both by 1 :0 small victory.

It’s no wonder that in this kind of almost extreme challenge, except for teams like Chelsea with excellent bench thickness, other teams basically adopt the strategy of win or lose, even Manchester United and Arsenal are the same. Don't be demanding a big win, be pragmatic and just seek 3 points.

In such a 3:0 victory, Chelsea ended its 2003 and ushered in a new 2004.

With the arrival of the New Year, Chelsea also has a new atmosphere. After Ronaldinho moved to a new home at the end of last year, the team's captain John Terry also moved to a new home. His home is in Surrey outside London. According to As usual, he also invited everyone on the team to his new home on January 1st for a good meal.

Then Lampard completed contract renewal negotiations with the team. Ye Qiu said that renewing Lampard's contract was the best signing for the team during the winter break. He also said that he was very satisfied with the current team's lineup. , firmly believe that the team will gain something this season.

When Chelsea made some moves, Manchester United was not idle either.

Since last year's 0:3 defeat at the hands of Chelsea at Stamford Bridge, Ferguson has been in contact with Fulham's French forward Louis Saha. The French forward has scored in 20 Premier League games this season. 13 goals, equal to Henry of Arsenal, and his performance is very eye-catching.

In addition to scoring many goals, what Ferguson valued most about Louis Saha was his ability to hold the ball with his back.

Although Fulham was unwilling to let go of its core attacker easily, in the end Louis Saha still failed to stop Manchester United's offensive, and Fulham was forced to accept Manchester United's transfer offer of 13 million euros.

On the first day of the new year, Manchester United announced this heavy signing, and Ferguson also said very confidently that the forward combination of Ruud van Nistelrooy and Louis Saha will ensure Manchester United's combat effectiveness in the second half.

But the problem of the arrows has been solved, and the crisis of the defense has reappeared, because Ferdinand will be absent for 8 months due to the drug test incident, which means that the English central defender will miss all the games this season in advance, which undoubtedly casts a shadow on Manchester United's defense.

While Ferguson has gains and losses, and Wenger is still playing soy sauce as usual, Ye Qiu has made a good start in the new year and got off to a good start.