Midfielder

What the French old man Wenger said was not actually a hint that Chelsea's title defense would be in vain. It was just that he had experienced such a cruel title defense experience. After so many years of struggling in the Premier League, the professor was too familiar with all the rules and troubles of the Premier League.

Arsenal's failed title defense last season was that they began to become powerless in the middle of the league when facing many competitors, and finally let Chelsea complete the reversal. Chelsea must now be a leader, and all opponents will be eyeing them behind.

To successfully defend the title, you not only need super strength and desire for victory, but you also have to consider whether you can always maintain a high level of concentration in the long season. This is the case in the game between Chelsea and Wigan. Chelsea really wants to eat the opponent in one bite.

Maybe the game last season was too smooth. The league record of only losing one game made many Chelsea players think that they would kill their opponents with a strong attack, just like they won Arsenal in the Community Shield, but the reality is not the case. The opponent is very tenacious.

Wigan Athletic, a newly promoted team to the Premier League, will not have any scruples. Even their coach said that when we play such a game at home, we will also defend desperately. It is very unwise to want to compete with Chelsea in offense. The team he leads does not have the strength to knock down the opponent.

Showing weakness does not mean that the opponent has surrendered. On the contrary, such weakness is to find a suitable excuse for their iron bucket formation. Wigan only had three shots in the whole game, and that was in the opening stage. They took advantage of the home court and suddenly rushed out and attacked fiercely several times.

None of the three shots succeeded, but while temporarily suppressing Chelsea's momentum, Wigan's coach waved his hand decisively on the sidelines and retreated! Then the problem Chelsea had to solve was the dark group of people in front of them. They had to tear open the opponent's dense half-court defense.

Although Chelsea had more than 20 shots in the whole game, only a few passes sent by Lin Yi in the second half were fatal threats. Most of the other shots were long shots from the periphery, or barely grabbed points in front of the goal. When facing a group of defenders, you really have no good way.

Even if Drogba is obviously taller than the opponent's central defenders, two or three heads interfere in front of you. Even if you are an elephant, you can't really knock everyone away to complete this kind of header. What's more, the opponent's central defenders are all traditional Englishmen with good headers.

It can be said that in the whole game, except for the first five minutes when Chelsea had defense, they were desperately attacking in the next 85 minutes, including Ashley Cole and Ferreira began to press forward unscrupulously, but their running did not achieve any effect.

People, all fucking people, no matter which Chelsea player tried to break through, there were one or two opponent players in front of them. Those Wigan Athletic guys didn't have any fancy skills, but they had fierce tackles, which was enough. What they had to do was to destroy.

Try to disrupt Chelsea's cooperation as much as possible, and use your big foot to destroy the football that flies in front of you. Wigan Athletic never thought about playing any sharp counterattacks. They just started near the center circle, using a series of defense lines to try their best to intercept Chelsea's layers of advancement.

Although Lin Yi's right ankle was injured at the last moment, in the previous 80 minutes of the game, Lin Yi himself couldn't remember how many times he was overturned by the opponent. Wigan Athletic received a total of six yellow cards and one red card in the whole game, most of which were for defending Lin Yi.

This is the opponent's defensive strength. Even if Lin Yi retreats to the center circle, the opponent's plaster-like defense will chase him. As long as Lin Yi gets the ball, it will be a fierce tackle, not only for the ball, but also for the person. Anyway, they have only one idea, that is, not to let Lin Yi dribble.

Even if this kid gets the ball near the center circle and doesn't break through immediately, they will knock him down fiercely. Get a card? It doesn't matter. Just look at the head coach of Wigan Athletic. He used up three substitutions early in order not to let the yellow card drag down his defensive strength.

If Lin Yi hadn't forced the opponent's central defender to be sent off by his own breakthrough before the end of the game, perhaps the last-minute chance would not have appeared, but Lin Yi also paid the same painful price. The moment he completed the pass, his supporting foot was tackled by the opponent's defender and kicked up.

If Lin Yi hadn't restrained his strength at the last moment, it might have been a very ruthless stress injury. Although the game was won, Lin Yi, who was lying on the stretcher, still had a score of 1 to 0, which was already reminding Mourinho and Chelsea players that if you want to defend the title? You have to experience such a game every week.

After the first game, Mourinho knew very well that this was the game situation he would face this season. Those opponents would not feel how ugly they played. They only needed to get points in front of Chelsea, or ensure that they lost less. After all, Chelsea is a great quadruple champion.

Who would have nothing to do to fight the quadruple champion in attack? There may be such reckless teams, but most teams are ready to set up a solid defense and let Chelsea attack as much as they want. They only need to tighten the fence and wait for one or two counterattack opportunities.

It would be the best if they could get the goal, but it doesn't matter if it doesn't work. They just need to keep the draw and get a point. Even their fans will probably cheer for a draw. This situation will only get worse. Chelsea's defensive counterattack tactics last season were so successful.

Just like Moyes and other coaches have used such tactics since the beginning of last season, but now it seems that this defensive counterattack or defensive without counterattack tactics may backfire on Chelsea. They must be prepared to face the iron wall-like defensive formation like Wigan in every game.

Not only does Chelsea need to be very alert to seek diversified offense when facing those weak teams, even when playing against giants, the opponent's first thought is to stabilize the defense, rather than considering how to play against Chelsea. This is the case when they met Arsenal in the second round of the league.

The Community Shield game made Wenger realize a problem. Chelsea's offense has indeed changed qualitatively compared to last season. If they are to head-on with the opponent, then they will definitely suffer in the end. Although Lin Yi was absent from this game due to injury, the opponent is still very strong.

So in this away game, Arsenal obviously took a defensive stance, especially this game was a bit commemorative. Wenger has coached 500 games in the Premier League. The Arsenal players led by him don't want to celebrate their head coach with a failure.

The same is true for the process of the game. Without Lin Yi's organization in the middle, Chelsea's offense is indeed a little less inspired. Whether it is Gerrard or Lampard, they are brave in the offense but lack of spirit. However, this kind of drastic offense also puts a lot of pressure on Arsenal's defense.

But most of the time the game is still in a stalemate. Arsenal has learned their lesson. The failure of the Community Shield makes them not to expect to fight with opponents with pure offense. Henry and Van Persie's offensive combination has also been withdrawn to the vicinity of the midfield, and only in counterattacks, they occasionally show their prowess.

However, this contraction-style play did strangle Chelsea's fierce offensive momentum in the opening stage, and with a top scorer like Henry, Chelsea's defenders did not dare to press forward as recklessly as they did against Wigan. They could only rely on the offensive power in the frontcourt to fight with the opponent.

But such a game is indeed awkward to play. Last season, they defended themselves, and then fought hard with the opponent in the midfield, seizing the opportunity to attack the opponent's defensive loopholes. Now everything is reversed. In the past, they took advantage of the loopholes of others, but now they have to guard against the opponent finding a breakthrough point.

Moreover, without Lin Yi's agile running and offensive organization in the midfield, Chelsea's play is too procedural. No wonder the commentator on the sidelines complained, "We don't have that angel-like little guy, and suddenly I feel that Chelsea's offense seems to be missing something."

It is estimated that there are more than one or two people who hold this idea. Although many fans of Lin Yi know that this kid cannot play in this game, they still wear the No. 20 Chelsea jersey, stand on the seat, and keep waving, as if to bring some offensive inspiration to these Chelsea players.

Mourinho also saw the trouble of lacking Lin Yi in the game. "It would be better if there was another person who could deliver penetrating passes in the midfield." However, this guy's extravagant wish still made Brito despise him. Is that little lunatic still a mass-produced type? Is there any chance of survival?

However, without Lin Yi's tearing in the midfield, Arsenal's midfield did have less pressure, especially Flamini, who was infinitely destroyed by Lin Yi in the last game, and began to create trouble for Chelsea's offense in the midfield. Such interception did hinder Chelsea's offense repeatedly.

Although Arsenal's midfield has one more Hleb, most of their offense still relies on the resonance between Pires and Henry. However, in such a counterattack, this tacit cooperation did cause Chelsea a lot of trouble. Henry created threats with several breakthroughs.

But Chelsea's defense is even tougher than last season, and they are highly focused when playing at home. Even an ace shooter like Henry can't take any advantage of them, not to mention that there is a high-level goalkeeper like Cech on Chelsea's steel defense line.

So Arsenal had a total of ten shooting opportunities in the whole game, but those shots that hit the goal frame were firmly grasped by Cech's hands. The stalemate between the two sides has been maintained like this. Although the game was not as boring as the previous game against Wigan Athletic, it was definitely not exciting.

Don't expect both sides to make mistakes on their own in such a game. Sometimes God is the one who can dominate the final result. When the stoppage time was already in the last few seconds, even Mourinho had no hope of defeating the opponent at home, but at this time, Chelsea scored.

Lampard quickly took a free kick on the right and passed it diagonally into the penalty area. Drogba leaned on Senderos with his body 8 meters in front of the goal. Although his ball control was not coordinated, the ball hit his right knee and refracted into the near corner. This time, the error in stopping the ball actually stopped the ball in the opponent's goal, and the score was rewritten.

Even Drogba was stunned after scoring the goal. He even forgot to run and celebrate crazily, because the African elephant himself did not realize that the ball was scored so strangely. Not only him, but also the German goalkeeper Lehmann looked confused and melancholy at such a strange goal.

God was still on the side of Chelsea at the last moment. He did not let Arsenal celebrate Wenger's 500th coaching record with a draw. However, such a weird way of winning left Mourinho with nothing to celebrate. The excitement and the process of winning the game are really difficult.

Many commentators who were still on Chelsea's side at the beginning of the game and advocated defending the crown began to become cautious after consecutive games, and many people began to find faults with Mourinho's team. , believes that this Chelsea team has not yet reached a perfect state.

"When the opponent starts to defend, Chelsea loses its most powerful weapon. Their offensive level is not up to the level of Manchester United and Arsenal at their peak. Defending the title is not an easy task for them now. The task, one to zero in two games has already explained the problem.”

After losing the game, Wenger only said one sentence, "Luck is no longer on our side tonight. I can only say that God has destined Chelsea to win, but such luck does not happen every day. I will go to Stamford Bridge in the evening, the league has just started and nothing has been decided yet.”

You can say that Wenger was a little unconvinced after losing his 500th game in such a weird way, but you can't deny what Wenger said. Indeed, you can't rely on luck to win every night, God. Chelsea won't be favored every day, and the league is indeed very long.

You must know that Arsenal's early games last season were almost all big wins. It was not until they lost to Manchester United that their results began to decline significantly. However, Chelsea's current starting attitude is obviously not as good as Arsenal's. Smoothly, this momentum of defending the title has cast a shadow.

If they continue to complete the game in this state, many football commentators believe that if Chelsea wants to defend the title, they may fall even worse than Arsenal last season, unless their offense can make a qualitative change. Otherwise, it is best not to mention the topic of defending the title.

Once any tough opponent tries to win against Chelsea, perhaps the courageous spirit of the defending champions will dissipate, and what awaits them may be continuous misfortune. You know, any team trying to defend the title in the Premier League will... It has become a tradition to run into trouble of this kind.

Obviously many people are now dismantling Chelsea's tactics. Maybe they don't expect to see everything that has trapped Chelsea, but as long as they can limit Chelsea's habits, half of the defensive task has been completed. In the last two games, In the middle, both wings of the Blue Army flew together, but neither of them took off.

It seems that this has become a consensus, that is, Chelsea can be allowed to attack from the center, but they cannot be allowed to open the gap from the side. Otherwise, it will be like the game when Arsenal lost the Community Shield Cup, and they were horrified by the Blues. The offensive firepower is sieved, and no one may want a big defeat.

Defense is still Chelsea's capital to dominate, but now it seems that not only must its defense be stable, but it must also have an offensive weapon that can tear apart the opponent's defense at any time. Mourinho refused all interview requests after the game. It seems that perhaps the team's offense must be sharpened.

Especially when Lin Yi is absent, you can't always rely on your body to fight against the opponent. Now that Chelsea is the defending champion, no one will give themselves a comfortable offensive channel, nor will Chelsea be able to play the defensive counterattack they are familiar with. If you want to grab points, you must attack with all your might.

Both games were won 1-0. Many people may say that a win is better than a draw. At least Chelsea scored all six points. This result is not too bad luck, but Mourinho saw that But the trouble he has to face all season long, breaking through the dense defense, will be a new topic.

However, the news that Lin Yi fully recovered within a week finally gave Mourinho a little light in his hard thinking. After all, with or without Lin Yi on the court, Chelsea's offensive level is not at the same level. The results of this league also confirmed Lin Yi's importance to the team.

Less than two minutes into the game, Lin Yi started in the midfield. The opponent tried to use a double-team defense of three people to contain this kid's breakthrough. However, they were able to prevent Lin Yi's forward path, but they could not prevent Lin Yi's pass. His pass accurately penetrated the encirclement of these three people and went straight into the penalty area.

When Lampard received the pass, he didn't even need to make any adjustments. He only needed to use an easy push to defeat the opponent's goalkeeper in a one-on-one situation. West Bromwich Albion's so-called iron defense line , only persisted for two minutes, and then a hole was poked out by Lin Yi's sharp blade.

Just like what Lin Yi said in an interview before the game, "If there are really many people who think that pure defense can trap Chelsea, then let them give it a try, and the final result will prove it." How unrealistic are their ideas? It doesn’t matter!

When Lampard danced a cradle dance in the corner flag area to celebrate the birth of his child, Lin Yi stood aside and waved his fist high. In this way, he wanted to warn those who stood in the way, defense? Yes, this is your choice, but I will tear you apart mercilessly!

The road to defending the title will not be smooth, but Lin Yi is ready to put all the bumps under his feet. Never underestimate the heart of a champion. . . Not to mention the big heart of a little lunatic.