Red Rebels

For Blackburn who were almost relegated last season, Mark Hughes seems to be their savior. In addition to helping Blackburn successfully avoid relegation this season, he once saw the dawn of European competitions.

This is absolutely no different from a dream for Blackburn, who was almost relegated last season.

Does that mean that Mark Hughes made earth-shaking changes to the lineup before the season?

No, for Blackburn, they really can't spend much money on signings, and Mark Hughes didn't spend even a penny on the club's transfer fee. He even brought Stead, who performed well last season, to Sold to Sunderland for 1.8 million pounds because he felt that Blackburn's current lineup was still good.

Sure enough, under his coaching, the Blackburn team was completely transformed and became a headache for everyone in the Premier League. Not only that, Blackburn also reached the semi-finals of the League Cup.

Looking at the current main lineup of Blackburn, Xiao Yu is more impressed by the American goalkeeper Friedel. The other one is Bentley, who is on loan from Arsenal. This right midfielder has been trained by Mark Hughes this season. His outstanding performance has attracted a lot of attention, and the right wing he sits on is also Blackburn's offensive weapon.

Mourinho knows this very well, so he gave very clear instructions to Ribery's left wing in this game. From the first minute of the game, he used the attack from the left wing to suppress Blackburn's right wing and force Bentley pulls back.

Mark Hughes appeared in the stadium for the first time as a coach, and the fans gave him the warmest applause. Obviously every fan still clearly remembers Mark Hughes in the League Cup final with Blackburn Rovers. After the game, Si accepted the No. 7 jersey presented to him, and he spoke very highly of it at the time.

Even in this life-and-death confrontation, Mark Hughes still gave high praise as always. He believed that it was far from the low-level league team it was back then. It was now one of the top teams in Europe. For Black Originally, it was undoubtedly a formidable opponent.

Facing the applause and cheers from the fans, Mark Houston came to the sidelines, waved to the fans in the stands, and greeted them with a smile. The whole scene was very heartwarming.

However, although both sides were friendly before the game, once it was during the game, the atmosphere was completely different.

Ribery implemented Mourinho's tactics and frequently attacked Blackburn's right wing from the beginning. German fullback Lahm behind him also actively stepped forward to cooperate with him, coupled with the support and support of organizational midfielder Michael Johnson. Support, the left side quickly suppressed Blackburn's right side.

Bentley was indeed outstanding, but when he tried his best to attack the right wing where he was, he had no choice but to retreat and participate in the defense. Despite this, Blackburn's defense was still broken first.

In the 22nd minute, Ribery hit back after breaking through on the left, and Lahm passed the ball diagonally to the penalty area at a 45-degree angle. Blackburn's attention was attracted by forward Villa and midfielder Kaká, and did not notice. Rossi quietly appeared at the back point and scored a header from close range, 1:0!

This goal greatly damaged Blackburn's morale. After all, they lost at home and fell behind again on the road, forcing them to score 3 goals before they could defeat. Everyone knows that the home team wants to score 3 goals on the pitch. , I'm sorry, such a team has not been born so far!

After the goal, the game was very calm. The double defensive midfielder composed of Michael Johnson and De Rossi steadily controlled the situation on the field. After Blackburn's most threatening right wing was suppressed, it almost turned into being pulled out. A tiger with toothless teeth is simply unable to organize an effective attack and counterattack.

However, I don’t want to push Blackburn too hard. After all, this is a famously brutal team in the Premier League. Once they are pushed hard, they may perform a few times where they can’t beat the ball. This is more nervous for today’s personnel. It is undoubtedly the most disadvantageous.

Although the offensive has been slowed down,

However, the overall strength was dominant, so in the 39th minute of the first half, we still seized an opportunity. Under the attack of three people on the right, Messi continuously changed speed and direction in a small area. After dribbling, he passed the ball low into the penalty area. , Kaka scored with a poke, 2:0.

After the halftime break, Mourinho, who had already established victory in the game, replaced Kaká, De Rossi and Vidic. The team also slowed down its offensive. Although Blackburn recovered and hit several times Counterattack, but unfortunately it still failed to have any impact, and the final score of 2:0 was maintained until the end.

The team defeated Blackburn with a total score of 3:0 in two rounds and successfully entered the UEFA Cup final. The fans were elated, but they did not forget Mark Hughes at all.

This former Manchester United hero had already been accepted by the fans with his actions after the League Cup final that year. Now, although he came to the stadium as an enemy, the fans still gave him warm applause and encouraged him.

When Mark Hughes was interviewed after the game, he expressed his great gratitude for the friendliness of the fans. He believed that this was the stadium with the most home atmosphere he had ever been to, and it also had the most fanatical fans here.

"They showed Premier League championship-level strength. Even though they arranged a lot of substitute players to play, their overall strength is still better than ours. We are convinced that they deserve to advance to the finals!"

In the other match of the League Cup semi-finals, Droylsden hosted Arsenal.

These two teams are not only deadly rivals in the League Cup semi-finals, but also deadly rivals in the league. The two teams are very tight on points and frequently change positions, so they vent their anger in the league in the League Cup.

In the first round, they went away to challenge Arsenal. Droisden lost to Henry. The French forward scored the only goal in the game with a shot in the 18th minute. Although Arsenal created many opportunities, But they failed to break through the defense led by Mike Dawson and Jagelka.

The centre-back combination of Mike Dawson and Jagielka has performed well in the Premier League this season, coupled with the strong double midfielder combination of Bloods captain Mascherano and Huddlestone, making Droylsden They have performed steadily both in the league and in the cup, and the frontcourt offense relies on the trident combination of Ashley Young, Dzeko and Forlan.

After losing to Highbury Stadium and returning to Butcher's Knife Stadium, Pellegrini focused on crafting offensive tactics to target holes in Arsenal's defense, seizing the initiative of the game at Butcher's Knife Stadium, and using Forlan at the Butcher's Knife Stadium. In the 77th minute, he assisted Ashley Young and scored the only goal of the game.

Both rounds were 1:0, the total score of the two sides was tied 1:1, and the game entered overtime.

Pellegrini once again made a brilliant move. He replaced Milner with Kitson, who had a mediocre performance throughout the game. Kitson, Dzeko and Forlan formed a front three, with Ashley Young roaming on both sides. Road, behind him is the double defensive midfielder composed of Sully Muntari and Mascherano, and then let Micah Richards and Leighton Barnes frequently advance to assist.

As expected, this suppressed Arsenal, who were not in good physical shape, in overtime. Especially with Henry's dismissal, Robin van Persie, who came on as a substitute, seemed to be mediocre under the restrictions of Droysden's tactics. On the contrary, Droy was Stern's attacks became more and more powerful.

In the 119th minute of overtime, Dzeko pulled the ball to the right. After cooperating with Ashley Young, the latter crossed to the edge of the penalty area and suddenly passed the ball diagonally to the back point. Kitson used his strong body to He forced Galas to header the goal.

Faced with this close shot, Almunia was still powerless despite his outstanding performance throughout the season and saving many threatening shots from Droylsden throughout the game.

Almunia looked very frustrated after losing the goal. After switching to Arsenal this season, he suddenly became Arsenal's chief goalkeeper. His performance was steady and was hailed as Wenger's biggest gain this season, especially since he was still free transfer. it will be pass away.

With Kitson's goal, Droyden eliminated Arsenal and successfully entered the League Cup final.

This is also the first time in the history of the Bloods that they have reached the League Cup final, but their luck is not very good, and they are unlucky to encounter it. This is also known as the Newton Heath derby!

…………… Four days after the second leg of the League Cup semi-finals, the fourth round of the FA Cup ushered in.

This time the opponent is Coventry from the English Championship, which is not weak, but Mourinho pays more attention to the Premier League. After all, the schedule is relatively loose during this period, and the team must ensure not to lose points. Once it reaches the Champions League When the war is rekindled, when the team fights on multiple fronts, it is inevitable that there will be mistakes.

It is precisely because of this concern that Mourinho once again arranged for substitutes and young players to play in the FA Cup.

The forward is Ismail, the two wings are Walcott and Robben, the attacking midfielder is Aguero, the double defensive midfielders are Cesc Fabregas and Michael Johnson, and the defense line from left to right is Lahm, Curtis, Chiellini and Alves, the goalkeeper is Casey Keller, the American goalkeeper started two consecutive cup games.

Coventry has good strength and has entered the play-off qualifying area this season. Although they attach great importance to the league, they also have a relationship with the cup, so in the home game, they played their best.

The young players were intimidated by Coventry's aggressive style of play from the beginning. Especially after the opponent fouled several times, the players couldn't let go, which put them at a disadvantage on the court.

But at the critical moment, Curtis stood out from the crowd, first destroying Coventry's attack with a wonderful and accurate tackle, and then single-handedly dribbling the ball through the midfield and passing the ball to the left. Walcott used his With that lightning speed, after receiving the ball, he went straight into the penalty area. With a single goal already formed, he made a wonderful pass to Robben and scored, 0:1!

Mourinho saw this goal from the sidelines. Instead of showing happiness, he was actually a little dissatisfied.

"Theo was in a better position than Aryan just now. He could shoot by himself, but he chose to pass the ball!" Mourinho felt that Walcott really needed to be hammered.

Indeed, it is good to value teamwork and like assists, but scoring by yourself when necessary is what Mourinho requires of his players. However, Walcott seems a bit weak in this aspect. Since he played on behalf of the first team, So far, his assists plus this one in this game are 12, most of which were obtained in cup games, but he only scored 2 goals.

If he gave up his recklessness and chose to cooperate with his teammates because he had no chance, Mourinho would give him enough praise, but no, Walcott is obviously more willing to assist rather than score by himself.

Why?

When Mourinho looked at Cassel, the latter nodded, apparently acknowledging Mourinho's judgment of Walcott.

"His self-confidence is still not enough, especially in one-on-one dribbling and final kicks. He worries about gains and losses, which makes him more willing to transfer responsibilities to his teammates instead of choosing to do it himself." Cassel can be said to be watching. Growing up with Walcott, he was very optimistic about this player's talent, but he was still a little worried.

To put it bluntly, there are countless talents who are talented when they are young, but in the end, there are very few players who can play and achieve achievements comparable to his talent. The reason is very simple, that is, the growth of a player has many aspects. Baidu Sister-in-law @ban(.*福)生—Red Rebels

The problem Walcott is facing now is that after he was promoted from the youth team to the first team, he discovered his own shortcomings when training with the first team players, which made him somewhat lacking in self-confidence. Once he played, he did not seek merit. But he wants to make no mistakes, even in passing people. Unless he is very sure, he will choose to pass the ball.

"When I go back, tell him that my team doesn't need a coward like him. Let him play in the reserve team and youth team for a while. When he figures it out, let him come back!" Mourinho seemed unfazed. polite.

Cassel smiled bitterly and nodded. Mourinho had other meanings in his words. Cassel must convey these meanings to Walcott and let him know the head coach's expectations and dissatisfaction with him. , pointing out his shortcomings, and the punishment is to hope that he can rebuild his self-confidence.

Of course, it is not without reason for Mourinho to delegate Walcott at this time. After all, the League Cup and FA Cup will be on break for two weeks, and now the first team has sufficient personnel on the wing. Even if Walcott stays, The first team may not be able to play in the game. Instead of this, it is better to let him go to the reserve team and youth team to participate in games to train himself.

Although Walcott did not score in this game, his performance was once again amazing, especially in the second half, when he dribbled the ball continuously in a small space on the left that was comparable to Messi's previous game. , passed the opponent's three defenders and assisted Ismail's outstanding performance in scoring, and was awarded the genius honor after the game.

However, although he won the best player of the game, Walcott could not get the champagne because he was not yet 18 years old. However, judging from his expression, he was still very excited. I believe that at this time, he would be beaten to death. Unexpectedly, what awaits him is Mourinho's beating.

But young people often need all kinds of experiences before they become mature and can be entrusted with important responsibilities.