Midfielder

Whenever a new player joins, it is estimated that there will be an adaptation period, but Mourinho will try to shorten this process as much as possible, especially for guys like Anelka who have been in the Premier League for many years.

Anelka is not unfamiliar with this league. Perhaps he is more adapted to the confrontation here than in other leagues. His speed and technical advantages can also be brought into play in front of those Premier League defenders.

This is why Anelka signed immediately after receiving the invitation from Chelsea.

In addition to proving his value in front of his old club, he also has to use the club's performance as a stepping stone in the national team. No matter who it is, it may not be able to resist the temptation of the national team.

Even a lonely guy like Anelka will start to fight hard because of the call of the national team.

And compared with other new players in Chelsea, Anelka has no language barriers.

Cassano and Friedrich and others still have to strengthen their language communication skills, but Anelka has almost no problems in this regard, not to mention that there are French fellows like Makelele to help.

It can be said that among the new players, Anelka is the first one to get into the state.

So after a week of training, Mourinho let Anelka start the game. This was not to test his strength, but to make this knife work immediately. He believed that this guy could do it.

Birmingham, a team that is not difficult to deal with, and this is playing at home at Stamford Bridge.

This is a good choice. At home, when you have an advantage, you can try new tactics.

I guess Birmingham can only blame their bad luck. They came to Chelsea automatically just after Chelsea replenished its troops. How could that group of animals miss such a good opportunity to ravage others?

Mourinho rarely changed Chelsea's recent single striker tactics. He didn't plan to replace Drogba with Anelka in the starting lineup, but to use these two guys to play double strikers.

Anelka can indeed play as a center forward, but compared with Drogba's pillar role, Mourinho hopes that Anelka can bring something different to Chelsea's forward line, such as his ability to penetrate.

Drogba's single striker has always been a powerful weapon on the front line. His headers and physical confrontation in the penalty area are his advantages, but this guy's counterattack speed is not fast and relies on the support of the two wingers.

Like the game against Manchester United, Chelsea did not play very smoothly on the two wingers, which also affected Drogba's power in the middle. This is also the limitation of his type of center forward.

He has enough height and strength, but Drogba lacks enough mobility, especially breakthroughs.

Often Drogba's attack comes from the through ball from the midfield or the bottom cross from the wing.

Once these two passing routes are strangled by the opponent, Drogba can only stand near the penalty area and wait for the opportunity to compete for the header. If Lampard and Gerrard are not ambushing behind him now, it is estimated that this guy's role will be infinitely weakened, but Chelsea cannot always rely on a fulcrum to conquer the world.

If the striker is stared at, Chelsea's subsequent attack can only rely on other people to dispatch.

This also means that when the situation is deadlocked, Chelsea can only rely on the midfield to tear open the defense line, and the forward line can only be an offensive fulcrum. Mourinho advocated buying Anelka for multiple changes.

Drogba and Crespo are too similar in type, and both need a lot of support to complete the goal.

Moreover, this double center forward tactical play sometimes makes the two people compete with each other when grabbing points, or give in to each other, which often makes their power not play out, especially when facing strong teams.

If you encounter a weak team, you can still play some threatening high-altitude bombing, but when you encounter Manchester United or Arsenal, this pure point-grabbing forward line is actually not very effective.

Moreover, Crespo has been seeking a transfer. The Argentine who cannot serve as the main center forward in Chelsea does not want to waste his youth, which is not much, in the shadow of Drogba.

It’s just that Crespo and his agent have not found a team to take over, so he has not made any transfer requests to Chelsea, but the news that Crespo is leaving is not news.

If Chelsea had not forcibly recovered his ownership, it is estimated that this guy would continue to play for AC Milan, but now it seems that the Rossoneri do not want to spend too much money for such a veteran.

But if you want a guy like Kenyon to let Crespo go for no reason, it is also a dream.

The struggle between the two sides may continue until the summer. Anyway, Mourinho will not easily let go of anyone who helps the team, even if he cannot give these people a starting position.

However, Crespo and Drogba do have similar roles, which also makes their coexistence a problem. When Mourinho began to try to change the style of Chelsea's forward line, someone must be sacrificed.

Compared with Drogba, the main center forward hand-picked by Mourinho, the Argentine obviously has no advantage.

Mourinho needs the forward line to create opportunities by itself, and it is not necessary to play a single striker. If Anelka is paired with Drogba, the ability of the forward line to create opportunities will increase.

In a stalemate, once the midfielder cannot provide firepower support, the striker can solve the problem by himself. Mourinho is not only considering the Premier League now, he is more concerned about the Champions League.

Chelsea and Barcelona are too familiar with each other, from personnel configuration to tactical changes.

Not only Barcelona knows Chelsea, but also those teams that are still preparing to make a big splash in the Champions League will focus on the defending champion. Studying Chelsea has long become a compulsory course for many strong teams. How to find the weaknesses of Chelsea's overall tactics and how to exploit these weaknesses. Mourinho conservatively estimates that Chelsea's tactics have long been figured out by opponents.

Everyone is studying themselves. If Chelsea does not seek some changes, it is just waiting to die.

It can be said that there is no secret between Mourinho and Rijkaard. If they still play in the same way as last year, Mourinho is a little unsure and he dare not guarantee that he can win.

After all, in this kind of top-level confrontation, the outcome may only be a corner kick or a free kick. There is no so-called overwhelming victory at all. The final result is just a matter of millimeters.

But if every step is calculated by the opponent, then in the end, it must be his team that suffers.

Mourinho often makes others a tragedy, and this time he doesn't want to make himself a tragedy.

I guess Rijkaard also has this idea, otherwise this guy has been experimenting with how to break the dense defense in the league recently. It can be seen that he has not forgotten the depression of being strangled last season.

Now Barcelona has been searching for available center forwards during the winter transfer period. It can be seen that when Eto'o cannot play a role, Barcelona still wants to prepare a back-up plan.

Barcelona has not forgotten Chelsea's defensive skills. Similarly, Mourinho has not forgotten Ronaldinho's fairy-like shot from the sky. He doesn't want to be repeatedly besieged by Barcelona.

You know, this season Barcelona's offensive ability is more fierce than last season, and the interception ability of the midfield has become stronger due to the joining of Van Bommel and others. With the guarantee of midfield interception, Barcelona has become more precise and sharp when counterattacking.

In addition to creating trouble for the opponent in defense, it is necessary to think of more ways in offense to keep the opponent out of the most dangerous area. After all, it is impossible for Lin Yi to challenge the opponent's entire defense line alone. After the two games last year, Lin Yi has long been a thorn in Barcelona's eyes.

If the confrontation in the Champions League still depends on Lin Yi to solve the problem, it is not that Mourinho does not want to, but that the opponent will not give Chelsea this opportunity, so Mourinho needs to find other offensive fulcrums.

Just like Chelsea will definitely send someone to keep an eye on Ronaldinho, Lin Yi will also be double-teamed by Deco or Van Bommel and others. At that time, it is likely to be ready for a war of attrition.

If Lin Yi is entangled by the opponent at that time, he can communicate with Anelka by passing the ball.

By giving full play to the Frenchman's ability to penetrate the front line, Chelsea's front line can continue to cause trouble for the opponent without Drogba retreating, which can also give the midfield more freedom.

The most important thing is that with so many available guys in his hands, Mourinho can come up with more tricks to give the Catalans a headache. He hopes that those people will guess what tactics Chelsea may play every day, so from now on, the tactical combinations he wants to make will also change.

Maybe Anelka will be paired with Drogba, maybe Anelka will be the center forward, or two center forwards will appear at the same time. Anyway, Mourinho can come up with many new ways to combine the personnel in the front and midfield.

He needs to make his opponents, every time they meet Chelsea, have to spend a lot of effort to guess what these animals are going to do. Instead of being seen through, it is better to start changing first.

Now Mourinho is using actual combat to practice his new tactics. Anyway, Chelsea is leading so much now, and there are so many new players joining, he has plenty of time and personnel to adjust.

In this game, not only the forward line was changed to two forwards, but also the midfield was disrupted. Gerrard returned to his position as a defensive midfielder in Liverpool, and Maniche was also arranged to the left of the midfield.

But Mourinho did not need Maniche to be responsible for crosses on the wing like Robben. He asked this old subordinate to cut inside more and get closer to the goal. Mourinho did not forget that Maniche also had a long shot.

The first player on the right side was Bosingwa, who could play as a forward and defender on the right side. This time he showed his versatile style in front of the home fans. This is what Mourinho values ​​about him. In addition to being able to press forward in the offense, he can also withdraw to assist in defense.

In the case of Ferreira's recent unstable state, Bosingwa may be a good replacement.

In the position of central defender, Terry finally has a chance to rest after playing more than 20 games in various games. Friedrich will also partner with Carvalho to be responsible for the central defense this time.

Although Mourinho does not have too many concerns about the German's ability, being able to get by in the Bundesliga does not necessarily mean smooth sailing in the Premier League. No matter who it is, they have to rely on games to prove their abilities. When Lin Yi first came to Chelsea, he also sat on the bench for several games.

Friedrich is tall, and Carvalho's foot speed is fast enough. With such a pair of central defenders, even if Terry can't play due to an accident, Mourinho will not worry too much about any problems in defense. However, all these assumptions must be verified by the game and the German's own performance.

As for the left side, it is still Ashley Cole. For this guy bought at a high price, Mourinho's principle is to use him as much as possible. Guys like Bridge are more likely to play in the League Cup.

No matter what kind of tricky team he encounters, Ashley Cole's defense and assists can also defend the wing.

However, compared with these personnel adjustments, Lin Yi's appearance and position may be the most concerned. The previous scandal of him sneaking out to Los Angeles for a date has almost made him an entertainment star.

The rest of the game has made many people speculate whether this is a punishment for Lin Yi by Mourinho, but now it seems that the boy does not seem to be affected at all, otherwise, Mourinho would not arrange him behind Drogba and Anelka, closer to the opponent's goal.

Lin Yi hasn't been so close to the goal for a while. In the early league, he was more likely to stand in the midfield, waiting for the opportunity to advance, or pass the ball to tear open the opponent's defense after receiving the ball.

This time Mourinho wants this kid to play as a standard front midfielder, standing behind the two forwards, not only to be closer to the goal, but also he needs Lin Yi to provide more passes to the two forwards.

"Anelka's range of activities is very large. You can communicate with him as much as possible about his running position. His running like this can make the opponent's defender passive and make mistakes. You have to take advantage of this loophole."

This is the task Mourinho gave to Lin Yi before he came on the court. He believes that this kid can make the newly joined Anelka play the greatest offensive efficiency and integrate into the team faster.

Mourinho actually has another purpose. People like Anelka and Cassano have strong personal abilities. If he wants to make them more stable, there must be someone in the team who can suppress them. In the past, Cassano was Totti's helper. There must be someone who is stronger than them, otherwise, it is hard to guarantee that these two guys will not make trouble. Lin Yi is Mourinho's best candidate.

In terms of personal skills, it is estimated that few people can be better than Lin Yi now. He may not be as gorgeous and elegant as Zidane, but in terms of practicality and skills, this kid's dribbling breakthrough is sharper.

As for the passing skills, there is no need to say more. Originally, this kid's passing was the stepping stone for him to impress Mourinho. After Costa and the tempering of the league in recent years, he has long been a fine man.

Last season, he had become the assist king in the Premier League statistics, and his pass success rate was the highest in the entire Premier League and even in major leagues. This season, Lin Yi's various data also rose straight up. Just after the halfway point of the league, his assists had already reached double digits, far ahead of those pursuers. Chelsea's offense was so hot, thanks to this kid's contribution in the midfield.

In the first training session of the new players joining the team, Cassano tried to show his skills in front of Lin Yi, the core of the midfield. However, during the group confrontation, Lin Yi performed two consecutive single-handed breakthroughs in front of Cassano. His footwork was full of tricks. One of them was to start dribbling in the backcourt, fake moves all the way, and get rid of five people.

This made Cassano lose his temper after a training session, at least for the time being.

Mourinho did not comment too much on Lin Yi's performance, but his thumbs up showed that this kid did a good job. At least when he was with these offensive players, he had to perform more prominently in some aspects so that they could be more obedient. Terry was a fairly competent captain, but in terms of suppressing those troublemakers, this guy obviously did not have such a shocking effect as Lin Yi.

Mourinho needed Lin Yi to have outstanding performance. On the one hand, he had to suppress the arrogance of Cassano, and on the other hand, he had to let Anelka start to rely on Lin Yi's passes. When a striker cannot do without midfield support, the possibility of this guy's thorns may become more stable.

Lin Yi also took orders to play, just like he rarely disappointed Mourinho. When facing Birmingham at home, the energy that this little madman had been holding back on the court was fully released this time.

Bart and Upson should really read less gossip about Lin Yi before this game, otherwise, they would not think that this kid has been a little weak recently and forget how dangerous he can be.

Less than two minutes into the first half, Bart was on the front defense when Lin Yi used a cow's tail-like action to shake him. Then he could only watch Lin Yi use the same action to deal with Upson. After passing two people, Lin Yi seized the best passing route and accurately passed Johnson's legs with a low ball that was close to the grass and curved. It found Anelka who had cut in from the ribs. It was not a problem for Anelka to single out the opponent's goalkeeper.

With a full-strength volley, Anelka announced in this way that he officially returned to the Premier League from this moment! And three minutes later, Lin Yi's second pass gave Anelka an opportunity for Drogba to shoot in front of the goal, and also added an assist to himself.

This is a perfect return. When Stamford Bridge begins to cheer for this lonely guy, perhaps Anelka will realize that he really made the right choice by joining Chelsea.

However, what Mourinho got was a sharp knife that was being sharpened. . .

(Automatically updated...)