Starting from playing as a defensive midfielder for Real Madrid

"EFL Cup Final Preview, London Derby"

"Chelsea's Title Defending Ambition"

"Harvest Season Appetizer"

"Double Victory of Tactics and Stars"

…

After Chelsea defeated Liverpool 2-0 in an away game, all British media seemed to agree that Chelsea would definitely enter the EFL Cup final this season.

They all ignored the possibility of Liverpool's comeback in the second round.

This overwhelming one-sided news report makes Liverpool fans quite annoyed.

But to be honest, they failed to break through Chelsea's defense at Anfield, and Chelsea scored two away goals.

Going to Stamford Bridge in this round, no matter how you look at it, it will be a disaster, and the probability of a comeback is indeed very low.

Fortunately, they still have a full week to make tactical adjustments. Liverpool fans are also looking forward to the return of the injured main players in the team.

In order to fully prepare for the second leg of the EFL Cup semi-finals, Liverpool even deployed a substitute and youth training lineup to face Bolton in the fourth round of the FA Cup on January 24.

In the end, they were naturally eliminated.

There are not a few Premier League teams that have been eliminated in this round of the FA Cup.

Many Premier League teams are aiming to further reduce their burden so that they can sprint into the second half of the league.

It's not just the teams in the middle and lower reaches of the league that will make such a choice.

The top teams in the Premier League, such as Everton and Manchester City, also strategically gave up the FA Cup this season.

Chelsea's luck in the draw is very good. The opponent in this round is Bradford City from League One, and it is also at home, so there is no need to travel.

They also used a lineup of substitutes and youth training to deal with this round of the FA Cup, but Chelsea finally advanced with a 1-0 victory.

In the 73rd minute of the second half of the game, Salah received the ball from Torres and cut in with a low shot. The final word!

After passing this round of the FA Cup, Chelsea also entered the final 16 of this season's FA Cup.

The next round of the FA Cup will not start until February 14. During this period, Chelsea only needs to concentrate on the EFL Cup and Premier League matches.

Thanks to the rest in the fourth round of the FA Cup, Chelsea's main players have received sufficient rest time.

But Mourinho has no intention of sending out all the main players in the second round against Liverpool.

First of all, it's not necessary. Chelsea's advantage in the first leg was already big enough.

In the second round, as long as you don't underestimate the enemy, the rotation of the lineup will be enough to compete with Liverpool.

Secondly, after playing the EFL Cup match against Liverpool, Chelsea only had three days to rest before facing Manchester City for the second league match of the season.

This battle is considered the "focus event" recognized by the entire Chelsea team.

In order to better target Manchester City, some of the main players in the Chelsea team still need to maintain better condition and physical fitness.

A week later, Chelsea faced the challenge of Liverpool at Stamford Bridge.

Rogers also finally waited for the return of several important players.

Sterling, Lovren, Glen Johnson and Lallana have all entered Liverpool's 18-man roster for this round.

Although I don't know if Rogers will take the risk and let these players who have just returned from injury play directly.

But Mourinho still made a plan based on Liverpool's most commonly used tactics.

London local time 19:45.

Chelsea and Liverpool, who had gone through the pre-match opening ceremony, started their recent second-round contest at Stamford Bridge!

Rogers ultimately chose to use his best tactics to challenge Chelsea.

As soon as the 433 starting lineup came out, the offensive trident combination of Sterling, Suarez and Coutinho also started together again.

The midfield trio of Gerrard, Lucas and Henderson is also Liverpool's best midfield combination now.

On the defensive line, Liverpool's past glory is no longer there, and they can only rely on Skrtel and Lovren, who has just returned from injury, to take the lead.

Glen Johnson may still be a little unwell, so Rogers did not start him today and continued to let Markovich sit on the right.

Liverpool's starting left back is still Moreno.

Emre Can, who was teased by Li Ang in the last game and whose personal performance was really unstable, naturally took the bench in this game.

Li Ang was also very sorry to see Brother Neng unable to start the game today.

Without a big brain to exploit, Li Ang organized the attack in a down-to-earth manner at the beginning of the game, first testing the defensive strength of Liverpool on the two wings today.

Liverpool's right wing, where Markovic is located, is naturally the focus of breakthrough for Li Ang who wants to continue to make a fuss in the opening stage.

But I don’t know if it was before the game that Rogers instilled a firm defensive mindset on the full-back.

No matter how Li Ang cooperated with Hazard to test the attack, Markovich did not take the initiative to attack, as if he was bent on squatting in this game.

In addition, Henderson and Coutinho actively defended and supplemented the defense.

Liverpool's right wing, which seems to be the focus of Chelsea's breakthrough, still defended decently at the beginning of the game!

Instead, after Li Ang dispatched his teammates on the left to participate in the offensive test, Liverpool seized some counterattack opportunities.

Henderson's physical fitness is quite outstanding, and his defensive sweep area is also very wide. The key is that this guy also has a very good long pass.

Therefore, compared to many black and tough defensive midfielders in the Premier League, he does not need to hand the ball to the team's core midfielder after completing the steal.

He himself can launch a counterattack and pass the ball immediately!

Suarez also has a wide range of activities in the frontcourt. When he and Henderson successfully connect, Liverpool's counterattack success rate will skyrocket.

In the eighth minute of the first half, Suarez received a long pass from Henderson and accelerated on the right.

After attracting the defense of Matic and Terry, Suarez distributed the ball to Coutinho, who had switched positions with him before and was inserting from the center.

And Coutinho's smooth shot almost bypassed Cech's defense!

If Cech hadn't been focused enough and his wingspan was good enough, he would have finally touched the football with his fingertips.

Coutinho really helped Liverpool take the lead shortly after the game started!

Coutinho, who missed this perfect opportunity, covered his head with a look of disbelief.

And Suarez, who almost received an assist, also cried out that it was a pity.

At this moment, Li Ang clearly felt the sweat on his palms.

He made no tactical mistakes and did not underestimate the Liverpool team in front of him.

But he found that he still underestimated the growth rate of several future superstars in the Liverpool team.

Coutinho and Sterling have indeed not yet reached the peak of their careers.

But there is no doubt that they now have the ability to change the situation on the court in a flash.

Others don't know the growth talents and potential of the two of them, but Li Ang is clear in his heart.

In addition, Suarez is still in Liverpool and has entered his prime.

If such an offensive trident really breaks out, it would be completely reasonable to catch Chelsea off guard.

The absolute advantage of the midfield can bring an overwhelming victory to the team in many cases.

But the sport of football is always full of the shining charm of stars and the exciting unknown.

After all, I have witnessed the terrifying performance of the peak BBC and MSN striker combination.

Li Ang doesn't want to lose the team's advantage due to meaningless negligence.

So under vigilance, he decisively decided to retreat, at least back to the eighth position first, allowing Lampard, who was partnering with him today, to assume the role of attacking midfielder.

Many Liverpool fans in front of the TV were applauding the wonderful performances of Suarez and Coutinho just now.

But when the live broadcast camera turned, they saw Li Ang and Lampard quickly covering their mouths to communicate, and then retreated directly to Suarez.

The excitement cooled down instantly.

The Sky Sports commentator also laughed and joked at this moment:

"Well, it seems that Liverpool's counterattack at the beginning was a bit too fierce~ They went too far and forced Li Ang out of his defensive posture, ha..."

Mourinho sat on the bench and had no objection to the tactical decision made by Li Ang at this moment.

Although he also feels that Li Ang may be a little too worried about Liverpool's counterattack momentum, there is nothing wrong with being careful.

Whether it is a conservative or aggressive style of play, Mourinho actually doesn't care much.

The only thing he cares about is whether he can successfully enter the EFL Cup final.

The head coach didn't say anything on the sidelines. The core decision on the field was the priority for all Chelsea players to comply with.

For backbone players such as Terry and Matic, Li Ang's choice to drop back to assist them in defense will naturally further reduce their game pressure.

As for Liverpool's three forwards, life soon became difficult.

Suarez, who was closely guarded by Li Ang, was even more helpless.

He is the only core of Liverpool's frontcourt offensive system. This is not only known to Liverpool players and fans, but also to almost all Premier League fans.

Fans who don't usually watch the Premier League will understand Suarez's important role in the operation of Liverpool's entire offensive system just by looking at Suarez's 30+10 league data last season.

Whether he chooses to attack on his own or use the ball as a tactical decoy, his frontcourt teammates will benefit from it.

Therefore, Li Ang's marking choice was very decisive.

If Coutinho and Sterling can overwhelm Chelsea's defense today without relying on Suarez's involvement, then he will admit it.

Anyway, he just doesn't let Suarez play comfortably now.

Regardless of whether you are running or taking the initiative to get the ball, don't even think about getting in touch with other teammates in the frontcourt and that's it!

Suarez naturally refused to give in. He took full advantage of his running position and wanted to work hard to get rid of Li Ang and do something on the offensive end.

But in Li Ang's view, Suarez's versatility has become a stumbling block for him at this moment.

In terms of dribbling, Suarez is not as good as Messi and Iniesta, and in terms of movement, he is not as good as Muller.

And Li Ang happened to have guarded against all of the above-mentioned players~

So unless Suarez is in great shape today, he won't be able to get rid of Li Ang in Chelsea's half.

Coutinho and Sterling saw that their eldest brother was restricted from performing, and in the end they had no choice but to take turns catching the ball and acting as the main attacker.

Liverpool is missing a Suarez at this time, but Chelsea is also missing a Liang.

After the two exchanged their coins, the on-field duel between Liverpool and Chelsea was actually quite fair.

But without the help of Li Ang for the time being, Chelsea had Ibrahimovic with his own offensive system in the frontcourt, and Matic was behind him.

The organization and connection in the midfield are less fluid, but the operation of the offensive and defensive system is still fine. It can be seen that the upper limit of performance has been lowered.

But without Suarez, Liverpool will not simply lower their performance limit.

Last season, Suarez could be said to have reached the upper limit of Liverpool's performance.

But this season, when Sturridge disappeared, Suarez was forced to carry Liverpool's lower limit forward!

Li Ang still looks slightly higher on Sterling and Coutinho.

Their growth rate is indeed very good.

But when they meet Matic and Azpilicueta, who are now in their prime, in front of these top defenders, they really can't do it even if they want to!

Liverpool's tactical thinking in this round was to seize counterattack opportunities as much as possible, and when necessary, use all members to attack.

But now their sharpest spearhead has been grasped by Chelsea.

No matter how hard the person holding the spear stabs, without the spearhead, it will not be able to stab an opponent with thick armor.

Suarez ran in vain in the frontcourt for almost half an hour. After seeing that he really couldn't get rid of Li Ang, he finally had no choice but to retreat.

He almost retreated to midfield before he steadily received the ball again.

But this is not a solution. After all, he has no problem holding the ball and passing the ball, but who in front will receive his pass and shoulder the responsibility of scoring?

Rogers, who couldn't find any ideas for a tactical solution, could only sit on the coaching bench and watch the time pass by.

At the end of the first half, the two teams tied 0-0.

Chelsea doesn't have much desire to attack, but it does a perfect job on the defensive end and has the strength to temporarily give up the offense.

At the beginning of the second half, Rogers originally thought Chelsea would continue the style of play they played in the first half.

But he never expected that Mourinho would command the team to fiercely seize control of the game from Liverpool at the beginning of the second half!

Well, Suarez was free at this time, and Li Ang no longer marked him personally, but his teammates were forced to retreat again and again by Chelsea's fierce forward pressure!

Chelsea's typical full-court high pressure and crazy running tactics this season have reappeared. The offensive is like a wave, and the entire team's game rhythm is also as fast as fire!

Liverpool's midfielder, who had no advantage in both strength and speed, could only rush to his own defense and lost the initiative in the game.

Under Chelsea's constant attacks, Lovren also made a mistake while busy, personally ruining Liverpool's last hope of a comeback.

In the 59th minute of the second half of the game, Lovren was a beat late in his interception, but when he was chasing the defense, he accidentally reached out and pushed down Hazard who broke into the Liverpool penalty area!

The referee on duty gave him a yellow dot meal without saying anything.

Li Ang faced a penalty kick and scored in one stroke, directly extending the total score of the two teams to 3-0 in the two rounds!

This goal can be regarded as completely destroying the hope of the Liverpool team.

After completely switching to a defensive rhythm, Chelsea finally shut out Liverpool, winning both games and entering this season's EFL Cup final!

At this time, the other EFL Cup semi-final between Totram Hotspur and Sheffield United has not yet started.

But no matter who of the two teams makes it to the final stage, Chelsea's entire team is sure to win and retain the EFL Cup championship!

The gold content of this English domestic cup is indeed not very high.

But last year, Chelsea won this trophy first to announce their re-emergence.

Chelsea's goal of winning the title this season is even more ambitious.

The entire Chelsea team is also happy to once again use the EFL Cup championship to lay the foundation for their season achievements.

But this time, their ambitions go beyond the Premier League title.

EFL Cup, FA Cup, Premier League, and Champions League.

They want them all!