Midfielder

If you come with bad intentions, good intentions will not come. Anyway, Mourinho will not despise any competitor, even if he really dislikes this competitor.

But in the pre-match press conference with Liverpool, Mourinho did not squeeze Benítez in his words. He just said a few words about respecting the opponent's glorious history very objectively. But at the end of the interview, Mourinho also said that he had not planned to end the unbeaten streak at home.

Respecting the opponent's past glory does not mean that you have to give the opponent any face on the football field. The dignity on the green field is won by your feet.

Although Benítez did not say anything harsh in front of the London media that he must win the game, he showed his thoughts with practical actions.

Because this guy almost sent all the active main players in Liverpool's lineup in the starting list. Except for the goalkeeper position, he used the newcomer Kirkland. The main players in the back line, Carragher, Hyypia, Josemi, and Traore, all started.

In the midfield, Benítez specially arranged two defensive midfielders according to Chelsea's midfield. Alonso and Gerrard played together, but Benítez gave them considerable freedom, especially Gerrard. Benítez allowed him to find an offensive position that suits him. He needed Gerrard's long shots.

The main reason is that Liverpool's current striker is really not strong. After Owen left, no one can take up the responsibility of the main striker.

Whether it is Cisse or Baros, they are a bit crazy in their on-the-spot performance. When they are in good condition, they can score two or three goals in a game. When they are in bad condition, you may not see them in the whole game. Benítez, the bald man, is also helpless about the neurotic performance of his striker.

Kewell and Riise are responsible for the wing. In addition to attacking, they must also take on the defensive task of suppressing Joe Cole and Duff.

Luis Garcia is an invisible second striker hiding behind striker Cisse. This guy's main task is to use his sense of smell in front of the goal.

This is the same as Mourinho ambushing Lampard behind Drogba, except that Luis Garcia is not as strong as Lampard.

Benítez is obviously determined to play a steady counterattack, so he did not choose Baros on the forward line, but to use Cisse's speed.

This lineup may be the best choice Benítez can arrange now. It can be seen that he really wants to win the game at Stamford Bridge.

Benítez knows that he is playing away, so he did not choose to take risks because he wants to kill his opponent. He can use two defensive midfielders for stability. This stable formation can indeed allow Liverpool to find opportunities in the entanglement, especially in the midfield so that they will not be controlled by Chelsea.

Chelsea's big wins in the last two games are because Mourinho made adjustments in the Blues' midfield, especially the 4-5-1 formation. In the midfield competition, Chelsea always has the advantage. Middlesbrough and Paris Saint-Germain both died under this strong midfield control.

Benítez doesn't want to repeat such a bad process at Stamford Bridge. It doesn't matter if the game turns into a hand-to-hand fight.

Fighting hard in the midfield, Benítez believes that he has the confidence to say that compared with Chelsea, Liverpool's midfield strength is not much worse.

Especially the double defensive midfielder combination put on the field by the Spaniard is the biggest guarantee for him to dare to fight hard with the opponent in the midfield. Gerrard plus Alonso against Lampard or Lin Yi, no matter which guy starts, Benítez is sure to use the double defensive midfielder to lock Chelsea's organizer.

However, this is also the fifth time that the Spaniard has adjusted the team lineup in the last six games. Many people still don't know which player in this bald head is the absolute main force. Even a core player like Gerrard has been put on the bench.

Maybe Benítez is also thinking about this problem, but unlike his fickleness, Mourinho rarely changes the combination of the main lineup.

Especially after Duff returned, he has fixed his starting lineup, and has not changed it in the last two games. The only adjustments made are the suspensions and injuries of some positions. Most of the main players have been stable for a long time, and there will be no large-scale rotation.

This game is no exception. Although Benitez has put a lineup that Liverpool has never used, Mourinho still uses the lineup of the last game. Only one substitution is made at left back. Gallas starts to replace Bridge who was slightly injured in the last game.

Cech is still the starting goalkeeper. Gallas, Carvalho, Terry, Ferreira, the four defenders, will basically not be adjusted when there are no injuries.

There is no change in the midfield. Makelele and Thiago are still guarding the middle, Lampard is lurking behind Drogba, Joe Cole and Duff are active on the two sides respectively, and the forward line, as usual, is the African elephant who starts. The state of that guy is really hot recently.

It seems that Mourinho has made up his mind to remain unchanged in the face of ever-changing situations. Not many people seem to find this guy's decision strange.

Anyway, just like Chelsea's iron-blooded style of play, Mourinho has rarely adopted risky tactical arrangements since he landed in the Premier League.

Maybe in that guy's mind, there is only the desire for league points, and there is no such exciting thinking. Stability has overwhelmed everything.

But Benitez not only noticed Chelsea's starting list, he saw the name of the black-haired boy on the sixteen-man roster. This arrangement made him a little alert. Not starting? Is this a knife that Mourinho has hidden for himself, or is he using it when preparing for an emergency?

Benitez is not God, so it is impossible for him to guess Mourinho's thoughts, but Lin Yi is on the roster, which is a definite fact.

As long as this kid has the possibility to play, Benitez has to guard him. He doesn't want to be suddenly attacked by that kid like the Manchester United team in the first game. In the locker room, Benitez fucked his A Spanish-like English explains the importance of defense to everyone.

"If that black-haired kid comes on, you two must stay focused at all times and don't let him run through the midfield."

Benitez explained to Gerrard and Alonso in such a serious tone that his double midfielder combination was prepared for that kid.

However, Mourinho did not let him start, which allowed Benitez to use Gerrard's personal ability to press forward and participate in the offense appropriately.

Maybe Lin Yi left too many shadows on others, so Benitez's eyes were completely attracted by this kid's name, and ignored the names of other people on the big list. Chelsea was not the only one. There are several dangerous elements sitting on Lin Yi's bench.

But Benitez cannot be blamed, because there is no unknown person on Chelsea's roster, and he can only focus on the most dangerous people among them.

Maybe this guy will be angry at his negligence after the game. Anyway, Mourinho has more than one knife hidden away.

As for what Benitez will say in the locker room, Mourinho actually doesn't care. This is Stamford Bridge and he needs the team to be centered around me.

"There are nearly 40,000 people outside, but not all of them are our supporters. I heard that at least 7,000 Liverpool fans are here. What are they here for? I think their purpose here should be the same as that group of people wearing red. The guys in the same clothes are just here to kill us!"

"This is Stamford Bridge, the home ground of our Chelsea team. The only shouts of Chelsea fans should be heard here! And our crazy celebration of victory! But those guys who carry the banner of past glory now want to be on our territory. Come on, step on our heads to celebrate victory!"

"Are you going to make those guys' fantasies come true?" Mourinho's voice was not loud, but it was enough for everyone to hear clearly.

His answer filled the entire locker room, "NO! We're going to make these guys lie down and go back! We're going to kick their butts!"

"OK, remember what you said. In ninety minutes, I hope all the Chelsea fans at Stamford Bridge will cheer crazily for you!"

At this time, Benitez is still patiently arranging tactical arrangements for everyone or explaining things that should be paid attention to after playing.

Then Mourinho has omitted any tactical narrative. For him, the only thing that needs to be paid attention to now is to stimulate the fighting spirit of these beasts. When they start to go crazy, Mourinho believes , no one can stop Chelsea from winning at Stamford Bridge.

Not only the guys who are going to play must be full of fighting spirit, but also the guys sitting on the bench must be ready to fight at all times.

When Chelsea's players were leaving the dressing room, Mourinho said to the substitutes at the back, "Be ready to play at any time."

Lin Yi and the other substitutes had no objections to this sentence, because they knew that they were not here to make soy sauce in this game. If they killed Liverpool, they might become the winner on the field. No change in formation? In Mourinho's tactical arrangement, the more unchanged it is, the more terrifying it is.

Because he always has the opportunity to adjust. When he starts to adjust his tactical arrangements, he must have found a flaw or weakness in the opponent's defense.

That Benitez guy had better start praying now, because a danger lurking behind has begun to send out a fatal signal.

Sometimes, a sharp knife, even if it is not unsheathed, can bring a kind of pressure to people, such as the boy sitting on the bench. . .

(Bosh's injury... I really don't know how the Heat should adjust their inside line now. Will this be the reason why Bosh is traded again? Speculation...)