Chapter 322 The Best Old Turtle of the Year

"This will be a fierce clash between two of the best teams in the Premier League!"

For the League Cup semi-finals, the Premier League and European media generally gave high praise.

The League Cup is tasteless, tasteless, and a pity to abandon. But that is for a team that aims to win the championship. For Manchester United this season, the League Cup is determined to win, because it is difficult for them to imagine that they are ahead by so much. Chelsea will stop and rest like the foolish hare in the tortoise and the hare.

After Ye Qiu led Chelsea to an almost crazy 14 wins, tying the Premier League record set by Arsenal that year, in the 24th round, they once again defeated Portsmouth 3:0 at home, not only breaking the Gunners record. The historical record set also tied Real Madrid's record of 15 consecutive wins.

Real Madrid's 15-game winning streak occurred more than 40 years ago. The Real Madrid team at that time had top stars such as Di Stefano and Puskas. In the 1961/62 season, they created a dream that has never been broken. 15 consecutive victories, a record that also tops the five major European leagues.

Now, Ye Qiu has led his Blue Army chariot to catch up with this historical record, and is only one step away from breaking it!

Chelsea performed well, and Manchester United's recent performances have been equally impressive.

Ferguson's Red Devils habitually work hard in November and December and during the winter break. This Manchester United has achieved an impressive record of 10 wins and 3 draws in the past 13 games, and the league rankings are also constantly rising. Now They have firmly secured the third place in the league. Although the possibility of winning the championship is unlikely, at least the Red Devils' performance is impressive.

Not only that, Ferguson is known as the king of semi-finals in the Premier League because he has played in 10 semi-finals in the past 15 years. There is no doubt that the past 10 times have ended with Manchester United winning. Ferguson also won the reputation as the king of the semi-finals. Many people felt that as long as Manchester United reached the semi-finals, there would be no chance of losing.

The most typical example is the FA Cup semi-finals last season. At that time, the undefeated Arsenal were in good form, while Manchester United was in an embarrassing and embarrassing situation. However, the two teams were in the FA Cup semi-finals. The duel ended with Manchester United defeating Arsenal 1:0.

It was in that game that Manchester United fired the first shot that ended Arsenal's dream of winning the Triple Crown!

Ferguson praised Ye Qiu before the game. He also admitted that the 1:2 draw in the first leg of the League Cup put Manchester United in a relatively disadvantageous situation. However, he kept calling on the Manchester United players to perform as well as they did last season. The same courage and determination that he showed when he played against Arsenal in the semi-finals, he defeated Chelsea in one fell swoop at Stamford Bridge.

Regarding the provocation from Ferguson, Ye Qiu counterattacked without giving in, saying that the team will reach the League Cup final at Stamford Bridge because, "Winning the championship is always a pleasant thing, and as a player As the head coach of a team, my responsibility is to lead the team to bring more joy to the fans!”

The duel between the two teams that have been in the craziest and best form in the past few months has naturally attracted great attention from the outside world. But what is depressing is that this duel, which should have been very exciting, In the end, it will become an extremely boring 0:0!

"Coward!"

After the game, Ferguson stood in front of the visiting team's coaching bench. When he saw Ye Qiu walking over, shaking his head, he deliberately muttered something loudly. It was obvious that he was telling Ye Qiu on purpose to disgust him. of.

This is also Ferguson's consistent style. You can beat me on the court, but you can't stop me from disgusting you off the court.

"Are you talking about you? Sir Alex Ferguson, congratulations, you should get the Times Old Turtle of the Year Award!" Ye Qiu smiled and stretched out his hand and shook it with Ferguson.

The bickering between the two was heard by Manchester United's assistant coaches, but no one stepped forward to intervene, including Queiroz.

This was a contest between Ye Qiu and Ferguson, and no one else was qualified to participate.

"This is your home court, Mr. Ye Qiu, but you defend like a tortoise. Is this what you call offensive football?" Naturally, Ferguson would not get angry at Ye Qiu at every turn, or punch him, because he You may not be able to defeat this Chinese.

"Ha, Sir Alex Ferguson, you are so funny. I have to press out to play at my home court. Please, you lost 1:2 in the first round. Shouldn't you press out and play? Oh, I understand, you have no idea at all. I thought about advancing, I thought highly of you, I thought you would bombard me from the first minute of the game, but luckily I deliberately put on a defensive attitude to accommodate you. "

When he said this, Ye Qiu put on a picture. You are really sorry for my recognition of you, Sir!

It’s funny to say that Ye Qiu had already won away from home in the first round. In the second round, he wanted to try to adjust his tactics. Because if he advanced from the semi-finals, his opponent in the final would be Liverpool, so Ye Qiu wanted to give it a try. Play defensive counterattack.

After all, Manchester United lost the first round, so it was natural to play away from home.

What I didn't expect was that Ferguson was also very cautious. Not only did he not press forward decisively after the start, but even as the game came to an end, he defended like a tortoise and did not make any small moves until the last ten minutes. , but what’s the use of that?

"Really? Then you really don't have confidence in your defense!" Ferguson said sarcastically.

Chelsea has conceded the fewest goals in the top five European leagues so far. Ye Qiu is not satisfied with such defensive ability, and he still wants to defend. Isn't this extremely conservative?

"You are wrong, Sir. I am not unconfident in my defense, but I overestimated your Manchester United's offense. I never thought that in such an important game, you would only have 7 shots. Although we played a defensive counterattack, we had at least 13 shots, and we also had a lot of substitutes." Ye Qiu counterattacked.

"Only 6 of your 13 shots hit the target, while 5 of my 7 shots hit the target. It can be seen who is more efficient!" Ferguson took a stance. Although he lost the game, he could not lose verbally.

"Hey, Sir, you are really efficient. You didn't score a goal with 5 shots on target. If it weren't for Ferdinand and Howard's outstanding performance, I could have scored at least 2 goals in 6 shots!"

"Pooh, are you dreaming?" Ferguson pouted to his side.

Although the two were arguing over there, anyone with a discerning eye could see that Chelsea had three or four substitutes, and they had already won the first leg, so it was understandable that they played a little conservatively even at home. Manchester United's tactics were relatively passive, and Ferguson was obviously very clear that once he pressed forward, it would be difficult to guarantee the quality of his defense.

Of course, when the two were arguing, no one would bring up these things, but in fact, everyone knew it very well in their hearts.

"Congratulations, the king of the semi-finals, you finally don't need to feel pressured by this title in the future!" Ye Qiu smiled and hit Ferguson, feeling a little proud in his heart.

Ferguson smiled proudly, "Do I care about this?"

But soon, Ferguson looked at Ye Qiu again and reminded him, "I like you, kid. Be careful, Benitez. Liverpool is a bit like Chelsea last year, but they play more conservatively than you. Damn it!"

Last season, Chelsea had three defensive midfielders composed of Davis, Deco and Makelele, plus Lampard and Drogba formed the frontcourt, forming a strong midfield pressure, and the defense line pressed forward, allowing Chelsea to do both pressure defense and pressure offense at the same time, because they were all carried out in the opponent's half, so the offense and defense switch was very fast.

But Liverpool is more conservative. The Red Army's current tactics are actually to shrink the defense and then counterattack through long passes.

In other words, they only have pressure defense, but not the kind of pressure offense of Chelsea. However, because of the presence of Xavi Alonso and Gerrard, Liverpool's counterattack is very sharp. Coupled with Benitez's targeted defensive tactics, anyone who encounters such a team will have a headache.

It's not just Ye Qiu and Ferguson who are having a hard time. Almost every team that meets Liverpool this season will have a headache.

It's like a hedgehog, ready to hit you, but you don't know where to hit!

"If after I beat Liverpool, you don't tell the media that it's thanks to your reminder, I will consider saying thank you!" Ye Qiu laughed and stretched out his hand again.

Ferguson was also amused by Ye Qiu's words, and couldn't help laughing and shook hands with Ye Qiu.

Having an opponent, especially an opponent of great weight, is really a very pleasant thing, because you will know clearly at any time and anywhere which direction you should work hard and exert yourself, so that you can always maintain a passion.

So, it's really good to have an opponent!

Ferguson sent Ye Qiu away, looked at his back, and muttered to himself in his heart. He was more or less worried about this young opponent in his heart, because he also had his own channels and heard some rumors.

Chelsea defeated Manchester United with a total score of 2:1 in two rounds and successfully advanced to the League Cup final. The opponent was Liverpool, which eliminated Watford. The Reds faced Watford in the English Championship, and the two rounds were 1:0. Benitez's tactics were indeed very helpless.

After the League Cup, they immediately ushered in the FA Cup 32 knockout match, and the opponent was Birmingham.

Ye Qiu still adjusted the lineup for this game. The young player Messi replaced Ronaldinho in the left winger position, Joe Cole played as a front midfielder, and Ribery played on the right. The three became Chelsea's frontcourt attack combination, and Van Persie was on the front line.

Fabregas and Essien partnered as midfielders, Evra, Gallas, Terry and Sun Jihai formed the back line, and the goalkeeper was the substitute goalkeeper Cudicini.

Although he has played in double digits in the Premier League this season, he was basically a substitute. Messi's main battlefield is still in cup games. For example, in the first few rounds of the League Cup and the two rounds of the FA Cup, he started and performed well. On the contrary, Fabregas has experience in starting in the league.

Messi didn't get a chance in the League Cup against Manchester United before, which made him very active in this game. He frequently created opportunities on the left. First, after a quick breakthrough on the left, he passed the ball horizontally to Birmingham's goal, but Van Persie, who came in from behind, missed it by a little bit and missed a very good scoring opportunity.

Then Joe Cole received a pass from Franck Ribery on the right, volleyed the ball without stopping, and moved the ball to the left side of Messi. The Argentine teenager quickly stepped in and shot directly, and the ball passed by. A diagonal line went straight to the upper right corner of Birmingham's goal, but the referee ruled that Messi was offside and the goal did not count.

After that, the left wing composed of Messi and Evra was very active, coupled with Ribery on the right, Chelsea's best twelfth man last season, although his performance this season has declined a bit, but However, the overall strength is making steady progress, and the performance on the court is becoming more and more confident, resulting in Chelsea's two wings playing very actively.

In the 57th minute of the second half, Cesc Fabregas passed the ball overhead from the backcourt. Messi quickly cut to the ribs from the left, with his back to the opponent's goal. Without the height to threaten the opponent, Messi took advantage of it. The position and awareness intercepted the ball in advance, and the header was given to Robin van Persie not far away.

As soon as the Dutch striker saw the ball coming, he raised his foot, stopped, stood firm, and then raised his foot before the ball hit the ground. The whole process was like flowing water, very smooth and smooth, and it was very pleasing to the eye.

The ball crossed Birmingham's defense line, and Messi, who was still fighting for the ball just now, quickly passed through Birmingham's defense line. This time, he did not choose to turn around and stop the ball with his chest, but turned his head sideways to see the ball. The ball came with his left foot, and he volleyed directly into the goal with his left foot.

This kick was very light and not very powerful, but the advantage was that it pursued a tricky angle. And Birmingham goalkeeper Mike Taylor, because Messi was on the left to receive the ball, was a little left, and he deliberately hit the goal. The upper right corner is almost a blind spot for the goalkeeper standing on the left.

The ball went into Birmingham's goal again, and this time, no one would call it offside!

"GOALLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL!!!!!!"

The announcer in charge of the on-site commentary at Stamford Bridge prolonged the sound of the goal for more than ten seconds.

All the Chelsea fans rushed out of their seats crazily and gave the Argentinian youngster's outstanding performance the warmest applause and cheers.

This is not the first goal he scored for Chelsea, but it is definitely the most exciting game he has played for Chelsea!

Messi quickly rushed to the bottom of the Chelsea fans' stands on the sidelines, and his teammates behind him rushed up one by one, surrounded him, and each one offered their congratulations to the Argentine teenager.

After two years, the potential of Messi and Fabregas has dazzled everyone. Many people even think that they are the golden treasures that Ye Qiu will bring to Chelsea in the next ten years. They will definitely be able to Become Chelsea's core backbone for the next ten years.

Because of this, the big brothers in the team take great care of the two young players, especially Ribery, who is also a foreigner. After seeing Messi score, he directly carried Messi on his back. He ran quickly along the podium.

Perhaps because he was used to moving bricks and moving bricks back then, Ribery did not slow down at all when doing such hard work. Instead, he still maintained his sharp sprint speed, while the fans in the stands kept shouting at each other. The two cheered in return.

But this was obviously just the beginning. In the 80th minute, it was Messi's quick breakthrough on the left that caused a foul by a Birmingham player. Chelsea got a free kick opportunity in the frontcourt, and Joe Cole personally took the kick. Terry hit a header, further expanding the score for Chelsea, 2:0!

Continuous goals completely destroyed Birmingham's morale. When Chelsea scored in the 86th minute, after Messi and Evra formed a cooperation on the left, Evra hit the center and Joe Cole passed the ball to the right. Berry quickly cut into the penalty area on a diagonal, and after receiving the ball, he directly pushed and shot, locking the score at 3:0!

This is also the last goal in this game!

The outstanding performance of Chelsea's substitutes and youth players in this game completely conquered the discerning Blues fans. Players such as Messi, Ribery, Joe Cole, and Robin van Persie charged forward, and midfielder Fabrega Sina's general-like strategizing, as well as Essien's sweeping and running, make people full of expectations for this young generation of Chelsea players.

Ye Qiu also expressed his satisfaction with the current situation of the team after the game. He even shouted that Chelsea will no longer need to carry out large-scale signings in the next few years, but should strive to promote the young players and young players in their team. Youth training.

"We have a group of outstanding young players who are full of potential and talent. In the next two years, they will become the new force of the team. I have no doubt that players such as Leo Messi, Cesc Fabregas and Robin van Persie will They will all become the future of the team, and I can’t even wait for their outstanding performance!”

With their outstanding performance in this game, Chelsea's youth team also won unanimous praise from the English media. They believed that Ye Qiu's team has a very good combination of old, middle and youth, and he has promoted young players in the past two years. He has also spared no effort in training and training. I believe that under his leadership, this group of young Chelsea players will soon take over.

"When the precocious Rooney has become a crucial member of Chelsea's offensive formation, Fabregas, Messi, Van Persie and others are working hard to improve their strength. Ye Qiu also promised to give them more opportunities in the next two years so that they can fully exert their strength."

"We can predict that the emergence of this group of young players will bring a new change to Chelsea. They will make Chelsea more passionate and better."

"As Ye Qiu said, we are also full of expectations for their future!"

After the FA Cup, time finally left January during the winter break and entered February.

Chelsea won the two Premier League monthly best awards in January with its outstanding performance, but just after entering February, the monthly best curse seemed to appear again.

However, this time it was not on the court.