Chapter 601 Who is the leader?

In the first round of Tottenham's Champions League group match, while they slaughtered Braga with seven goals at home, the performances of each Premier League team in the European war were also freshly revealed. Barcelona defeated Panathinaik 5:1 at home. Chelsea defeated Slovakia's Zilina 4:1 away from home, the latter being the weakest team among the top 32 teams in the Champions League this season.

There was also a big upset in the group stage, when Manchester United was forced to a draw by Glasgow Rangers 0:0 at home.

But in this game, Ferguson obviously did not try his best. Not only did the starting trident not play, but also players such as Vidic and Evra on the defense did not play. Sneijder, Carrick and Raphael in the midfield Diarra did not play any of them, which led to Manchester United's weak attack and many defensive problems.

Ye Qiu is very clear about Manchester United's rotation, because they will face a key battle against Liverpool on the weekend.

Benitez's Liverpool has no pressure from the Champions League or even the European War this season, so they don't need to worry about two-front operations at all. Because of this, Ferguson is so nervous and pays attention to it, because the Spanish fat man's ability has always been All worrying.

Just as Ye Qiu said when he mentioned Benitez and Liverpool to Ferguson at the beginning of the season, Liverpool has always been a team that pays great attention to spiritual strength. This has been the case since the beginning of the boot room culture. There was a collapse during the Ness period, and Premier League history would not be what it is now.

Benitez is also very strange. He is also a head coach who places great emphasis on overall collaboration. If you want to twist everyone on the team into a rope, mental strength is indispensable, and Benitez is the most admirable. What's amazing is that he can train some seemingly weak technical players into strong-willed warriors.

Just like Juan Mata, David Villa and Xavi Martinez who newly joined Liverpool this season, these three players quickly integrated into Liverpool's tactical system and formed a team with Torres. Liverpool's Spanish gang showed great strength and a strong desire to win in this match against Manchester United.

Benitez's on-the-spot commanding ability was once again reflected in this game against Manchester United. Rooney's two goals in the first half completely put Liverpool into a desperate situation, but in the second half, Benitez passed effective After adjustments, Liverpool relied on Gerrard's two goals to score two goals in a row and tied Manchester United.

But at the critical moment, it was Ferguson's trusted trident combination that secured a chance for Manchester United in the frontcourt. Rooney did not miss the perfect opportunity, scoring the winning goal for Manchester United and also performing a hat-trick for himself. .

For Benitez and his Liverpool, it is an honor to lose in this battle. At least they can play this situation with Manchester United at Old Trafford. For Benitez's team, it is also a shame. It's quite good, after all, even now, they haven't reached the best condition yet.

Compared to Manchester United's thrilling victory, Chelsea had a near miss. With Drogba's pass and shot, they defeated newly promoted Blackpool with four goals at home. This battle made Ancelotti's Chelsea start to its fifth consecutive victory. While winning, they also achieved amazing results.

Scored 21 goals in five games and conceded only one goal. Such a report card is undoubtedly shocking for Chelsea, because this is not only the strongest offense and the strongest defense in the Premier League, but also the strongest defense in Europe. Among the four major leagues, they are second to none, so almost the entire European media is praising Chelsea.

Many commentators believe that Ancelotti will usher in Chelsea's golden period and even have the opportunity to lead Chelsea to create a more brilliant offensive football storm than Ye Qiu's year. Ye Qiu's remarks before the season that Chelsea could not win the championship have also been criticized. Many malicious media criticized and ridiculed him, thinking that he was more jealous.

But there is really no need to be jealous, because Tottenham also defeated Wolves with four goals in this round and continued to maintain pressure on leader Chelsea.

After finishing the fifth round of the Premier League, Tottenham Hotspur ushered in the third knockout round of the League Cup at White Hart Lane. The opponent was Arsenal, a rival team from North London, and this was also the league's third knockout round match. The first strong dialogue of the Cup.

However, in the eyes of English fans, this is more like a direct confrontation between the youth teams of Tottenham Hotspur and Arsenal.

The title of The Times is, Tottenham Hotspur II VS Arsenal II!

"This is a game that will be broadcast live to the whole world. You will face the best team in the Premier League and even Europe, so you must have a 120,000-point spirit and at the same time, show your support to your team. Opponents, and show your strength to everyone, so that all the fans who come to White Hart Lane and sit in front of the TV will remember the name behind your jersey!”

This was the mobilization call made by head coach Ye Qiu to the young players of Tottenham Hotspur in the locker room before the game. He emphasized to all fans more than once that this game is crucial, but in addition On the one hand, he made a full substitute lineup for this game.

But it can be said, as Ye Qiu has always emphasized, "I know your strength better than the reporters outside who think we gave up the game. They think I arranged for you to play because we gave up this game." It’s a game, but I know it very well because I believe you can win!”

Arsenal also did not play in the main lineup in this game. Wilshere, Denilson, Vela, Rosicky and others all appeared in the starting lineup. This made Arsenal look like they were almost purely playing as a substitute lineup. White Hart Lane.

Ye Qiu’s starting lineup for this game is goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois, the defense is Alba, Nastasic, Varane and Kyle Walker, and the midfield is Ramsey and Phil? Jones and Pogba, and the frontcourt is the attacking combination of Coutinho, Neymar and Eden Hazard.

Perhaps it was influenced by the media publicity and hype before the game, or maybe the head coaches of both sides hoped to win such a derby that was related to the future successor of the team. Therefore, after the game started, both sides played fiercely. , but Tottenham Hotspur took advantage of the start and home court advantage to overpower Arsenal from the beginning.

When Coutinho took the ball on the left and cut diagonally in, trying to penetrate Arsenal's defense, Neymar ran over from the middle. When the two passed each other, Coutinho knocked the ball with his heel. Neymar, who quickly turned around after receiving the ball, faced to the left, and blocked Arsenal center back Koscielny with his body.

Alba rushed past Neymar at the fastest speed at this time. I believe that at this moment, both Eboue and Koscielny just felt the flash in front of their eyes. The ball at Neymar's feet had already reached Alba. The Spaniard rushed forward quickly and passed the ball directly in front of the baseline.

This pass was very fast, crossing more than half of the field, and landed near the right post of the goal. Hazard shook off Gibbs and shot in front of the goal, piercing Arsenal's goal, 1:0. !

After scoring the goal, Hazard rushed away from all his teammates who were blocking him halfway, and rushed all the way to the stands of Tottenham Hotspur fans, forgetting everything and celebrating his first goal of the new season. Although it is only a goal in the League Cup, it is still worthy of joy and celebration.

The Tottenham Hotspur fans in the stands were also chanting Hazard's name!

Although most of the fans who came to White Hart Lane tonight looked down on the league and the Champions League, they came to White Hart Lane because of the low ticket prices of the League Cup and FA Cup, but they were Tottenham Hotspur's enthusiasm, their familiarity and understanding of this team, and the game atmosphere they created are not inferior to the league at all.

Hazard was a rising star of Tottenham Hotspur last season. Although he cannot be compared with superstars such as Franck Ribery and Messi for the time being, the strength of this Belgian winger also makes him famous. It is full of expectations, and his progress at Tottenham Hotspur has already attracted the attention of many wealthy teams, such as Real Madrid.

But Hazard has repeatedly stated that he only wants to play for Tottenham Hotspur because he feels he can succeed in this team, and he also hopes to help this team win more honors. .

As Ye Qiu said before, English fans highly value loyalty and hard work, so Hazard is very popular with fans.

After the opening goal, Arsenal made adjustments and gradually gained a firm foothold. After all, Arsenal's substitute lineup and young players are also very strong, such as Eboue, the previous main player, and Koscielny. There are also Carlos Vela, Wilshere, and Lansbury on the right, who performed well after being loaned to Watford last season.

It is precisely because of such an outstanding youth training team that Wenger dared to proudly respond to some of UEFA President Platini's remarks about Arsenal. Wenger also vowed before that Arsenal will be at White Hart Lane. Beat Chelsea on the pitch.

Wenger's greatest strength is Arsenal's youth group that dominates the Premier League.

But this time Tottenham Hotspur obviously want to challenge Arsenal's young guard's status as the king. In Ye Qiu's words, if the young rookies in the past can be counted as a fig leaf for Arsenal's lack of championships for many years, then this time , he will use this game to remove Arsenal's last fig leaf!

Ye Qiu's remarks before the game clearly irritated the players, and with the goal scored just a few minutes into the game, Tottenham Hotspur's group of young players suddenly started a round of attacks on Arsenal like wolves and tigers. Another round of onslaught.

In the 34th minute, the aggressive Tottenham Hotspur finally scored again. Ramsey took the ball in midfield and sent a sharp through ball. Arsenal originally wanted to cause an offside, but The cooperation between the young left winger Gibbs and the two central defenders was not tacit enough, and it was delayed at the end. As a result, Neymar easily received Ramsey's through ball and formed a one-on-one goalkeeper, facing the attacking goalkeeper Fabians. Ji, calmly pushed and scored, 2:0!

However, Tottenham Hotspur's group of crazy young players still had no idea of ​​​​concentrating. Before the end of the first half, Arsenal's defense made another mistake. Gibbs on the right was blocked when defending Hazard. The Belgian teenager easily achieved a breakthrough. The latter entered the penalty area from the right side of the penalty area. After attracting Djurou, he distributed the ball to Pogba who came in behind.

The 17-year-old French player swung his right foot and fired a powerful shot, once again opening Fabianski's goal, 3:0!

The outstanding performance of this group of young players from Tottenham Hotspur made the Tottenham Hotspur fans who came to White Hart Lane very excited. They sang the Tottenham Hotspur team song in the stands and shouted the names of the players on the field. They obviously knew every player well.

The consecutive goals boosted Tottenham Hotspur's morale, but also completely hit Arsenal's morale.

In the second half, Tottenham Hotspur's offensive continued unabated, and they still launched a fierce attack on Arsenal. They also assisted Nastasic with goals from Neymar and Eriksson, who came on as a substitute, and finally Tottenham Hotspur defeated Arsenal 5:0 at home and successfully advanced to the next round!

This direct contest between Tottenham Hotspur's youth team and Arsenal's youth team ended with Tottenham Hotspur's complete victory, and the most impressive performance of the whole game was undoubtedly the Brazilian genius Neymar.

Neymar joined Tottenham Hotspur many years ago, but due to the regulations of the Brazilian Football Association, he was not allowed to leave the country before the age of 18, so Neymar has been on loan in Brazil, and his performance in the Brazilian league has always been followed by Tottenham Hotspur fans.

This summer, when Tottenham Hotspur announced that it would recall two Brazilian players, including Neymar and Coutinho, to the team, all Tottenham Hotspur fans were looking forward to the performance of these two players. If Coutinho performed better in the preseason, then Neymar, who scored twice in this game, became the most dazzling star of the game, and even completely overwhelmed Arsenal's newcomer Wilshere.

Not only Neymar, but also Ramsey, Pogba, Coutinho, and Eriksson who came on as a substitute later, all performed very well in this game. Ramsey is already a familiar face in the first team, Pogba is one of the best rookies in the team last season, and Eriksson also performed very well in Ajax last season.

This group of outstanding young players gathered in Tottenham Hotspur's first team, which enabled Tottenham Hotspur's rejuvenation to proceed smoothly. Everyone was a little worried about Ye Qiu's rejuvenation strategy before, but through this game, I believe that no one will doubt the strength of Tottenham Hotspur's youth army.

The five-goal home win over Arsenal made Tottenham Hotspur's young rookies resound all over the world overnight. Almost all fans who follow Tottenham Hotspur know their names. In the next round, Tottenham Hotspur will go north to challenge Newcastle away. This time will also be the stage for Tottenham Hotspur's youth army.

It was also in this round that Chelsea lost 3:4 to Newcastle, and Liverpool lost to Northampton from the third-tier English league in a penalty shootout. The three Premier League teams also played mainly with substitutes and youth teams. This battle was also Chelsea's first defeat in the official game of the new season outside the Community Shield.

But just when many media defended Ancelotti's Chelsea and believed that the Blues had just accidentally encountered an accident, Chelsea returned to the Premier League, but unexpectedly lost to Manchester City 0:1 away in the sixth round. Argentine star Aguero scored the winning goal for Manchester City and defeated the arrogant Chelsea.

In the same key battle, Tottenham Hotspur encountered its city rival West Ham United in East London.

The two sides had a feud over the Stratford Stadium, and then there was the regional competition between Tottenham Hotspur and West Ham United after they moved south. At the same time, Rebolovlev has always emphasized that he hopes to build West Ham United into a strong team with the strength to challenge Tottenham Hotspur. In addition, Falcao's relationship has made the two sides have a deep feud with each other.

Tottenham Hotspur also sent out all its main players in this battle, including the new trident of Ribery, Cavani and Messi, who also appeared in this game to challenge the luxurious lineup of the Hammers. In the end, with Messi's key goal, they defeated West Ham United 1:0 away and won the key battle.

Like Chelsea, Arsenal also suffered two consecutive setbacks in three days. After being eliminated from the League Cup, the Gunners unexpectedly lost to West Bromwich Albion 2:3 at the Emirates Stadium. What's more surprising is that Arsenal was almost suppressed by West Bromwich Albion in the first 80 minutes, without the demeanor of a strong team, and fell behind 0:3.

At the critical moment, Nasri and Arteta's performance helped Arsenal score two goals in a row, slightly regaining face.

Interestingly, this is West Bromwich's first victory in the past 18 Premier League away games, and Arsenal's excellent performance in the previous five rounds was completely shattered in this game, because they not only lost their original characteristics in offense, but also made many mistakes in defense.

As Arsenal and Chelsea lost in succession, another Premier League powerhouse Liverpool was in a better situation. Benitez's team encountered the black cat Sunderland at Anfield, and the result was also very embarrassing. Liverpool's offense and defense were also in chaos, and they were seriously out of form. They drew with Sunderland 2:2 at home.

Manchester United also drew 2:2 with Bolton away, plus Everton drew 0:0 with Fulham, and Newcastle lost 1:2 at home to Stoke City. This round of the Premier League can be said to be a poor turnaround.

Only Tottenham Hotspur, a wealthy team, has remained unbeaten with five wins and one draw in the past six rounds of games, after all the strong teams have failed in this round. Not only has it won 16 points, but it has also jumped to the top of the Premier League standings. This is also the first time that Tottenham Hotspur has taken the lead in the new season.

After finishing this round of games, Ye Qiu made his voice known through the Times and the Guardian, telling the reporters of the Independent who had criticized him before, "Look, who is sitting in the leading position?"