Super Marshal

May 15, 2010, afternoon, cloudy.

Since yesterday, the whole of London has been immersed in enthusiasm for England's final peak match of the season.

From the streets to the buses and subways, there is a strong atmosphere of the finals everywhere.

Subways, buses, trams... busloads of fans were sent to Wembley Stadium on the outskirts of London.

In order to prevent football hooligans from causing trouble, the UK has announced a ban on alcohol in public transportation since 2008. Especially before such major events, security has been fully upgraded. At every bus stop and subway station, you can see the enemy-like police officers. police.

Especially when it comes to Wembley Stadium, security is almost strict. All fans entering Wembley Stadium must pass the most comprehensive inspection before entering the stadium.

But even without the help of alcohol, England fans still sent Wembley Stadium into a frenzy.

Chelsea is nicknamed the Blues, and their jerseys are famous for their blue color, while Manchester City's nickname is Blue Moon. Their jerseys are also blue, but there are some differences in shades. But in the stands at Wembley Stadium, looking up, it is blue, just like that at Wembley Stadium. A rare blue sky in the UK.

Since the last round of the Premier League, everyone in the UK has been looking forward to this crucial matchup.

After several days of deliberation, on the final day, the atmosphere reached its climax.

The two teams they faced were Manchester City and Chelsea, the champions and runner-ups of this season's Premier League. Both ranked first and second in strength in the Premier League. It could be called a decisive battle between the two strongest teams in the Premier League.

Although before the game, except for die-hard Chelsea fans, most people believed that Manchester City would eventually win, the Blues may not have no hope of an upset. Scolari repeatedly emphasized at the pre-match press conference, The Blues will never sit back and wait.

In this game, Scolari also went against his past conservatism and insisted on playing in a 433 formation.

The goalkeeper is Hilario, and the defense from left to right is Ashley Cole, Terry, Alex and Ivanovic.

This is the strongest defensive force that Chelsea can field this season. The player lineup is also very neat. The league has just ended and the game state is generally maintained well.

Among the three midfielders, Essien is still behind, with Lampard and Ramires in front. Among them, Essien of Ghana Buffaloes has made considerable progress after being moved to the midfielder position in the second half of the season. Became one of the main candidates in this position.

Especially in this critical final, Mikel is inexperienced and Ballack is old, so Essien takes the starting position.

The front trident has been adjusted. Drogba and Falcao started together, forming a double forward. Robinho lurked behind the two, acting as a shadow striker, connecting the midfielder and striker.

In the last few rounds of the league, Scolari has been repeatedly running into this trident combination, and his performance is also remarkable. It can be said to be the key to Chelsea's upset counterattack in this game.

Relatively speaking, Manchester City's starting lineup is not surprising.

The goalkeeper is Cech, the back three are Kompany, Xavi Martinez and Mascherano, Xabi Alonso is in the back, David Silva and Modric are in the middle, and Ka Card serves as the attacking midfielder, with Cristiano Ronaldo, Benzema and Sanchez forming a trident.

Manchester City's injuries have not had much impact this season, and the lineup is complete. After playing the last round of the league, the team got ample rest time, allowing Gao Han to use all his main players in this game.

This is why everyone is optimistic about Manchester City, especially the offense.

You know, Manchester City has an offensive lineup that can score hundreds of goals in a single season.

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Everyone knows that Wembley Stadium is a terrible venue, and this venue is not friendly to teams like Manchester City who play a pass-and-control style. On the contrary, it is conducive to Chelsea's style of play.

This has also become one of the reasons why many people badmouthed Gao Han and Manchester City before the game.

Another reason is the referee.

The referee of this game is Chris Foy. This referee, who is nearly fifty years old, has ten years of experience in the Premier League. He officiated the League Cup final last season and the Community Shield at the beginning of the season. Cup, very experienced.

But there is one area that is often criticized, and that is weak law enforcement.

Before the game, many media including The Guardian and The Times believed that the FA's appointment of Chris Foy to whistle the FA Cup final was somewhat of a consideration to balance the strength gap between the two teams, and it also hinted that Chelsea could win. It is appropriate to adopt a more aggressive style of play.

But when it came to the game, everyone was surprised to find that neither the first nor the second reason played a role in the game, because Manchester City had firm control of the ball from the beginning.

Chelsea tried every means to intercept, but they were never able to destroy Manchester City's control of the ball and rhythm.

Only two minutes into the game, Manchester City broke into Chelsea's penalty area.

Kaka passed the ball, Benzema broke into the penalty area and kicked the ball. After the ball was blocked by Terry, Kaka followed up with a push that was too angular and slightly missed the post. Chelsea's goal kick.

But just two minutes later, Benzema received a pass from Xabi Alonso and headed the ball. Cristiano Ronaldo shot from the left side of the penalty area and missed the near corner again.

Two consecutive shots gave Manchester City's offensive advantage, especially the ball control from the midfield and backfield, and planned an endless stream of offensives for the frontcourt organization, allowing Manchester City's frontcourt superstars to focus on looking for opportunities.

Manchester City attacked the penalty area again and again, forcing Chelsea to shrink its defense and stay in the penalty area.

But even so, Manchester City quickly seized an opportunity.

In the 11th minute, Cristiano Ronaldo challenged Ivanovic one-on-one on the left. After passing the ball into the penalty area, Benzema used his body to block the defensive player and knocked the ball back to the front of the penalty area. Kaká followed up. , a long shot without thinking.

The quality of the ball was so high that goalkeeper Hilario had no time to react, but the ball accidentally hit the right post and flew directly out of the field.

Kaká, who thought the goal was inevitable, was completely confused. When he took off, he felt that he was in the right position.

Not only him, but everyone in Manchester City was a little depressed. Unexpectedly, at the critical moment, it was the pillar that saved Chelsea.

But soon, Manchester City planned an offensive again.

David Silva passed the ball and Benzema went to the left side of the penalty area to receive the ball. He passed Ivanovic and hit the goal directly, but was saved by goalkeeper Hilario.

Two minutes later, Kompany's header was again blocked by Terry with his body.

Immediately afterwards, Cristiano Ronaldo shot twice from the left, both of which were saved by goalkeeper Hilario.

Everyone at the scene also realized that Manchester City seemed to be in trouble in this game.

Chelsea's first attack occurred in the 22nd minute of the first half. It was the first time the Blues broke into Manchester City's 30-meter area since the start. Robinho used a counterattack to plan the attack from the right. Robba then clicked back and Falcao took a shot from the front of the penalty area, but was saved by Cech who had predicted it well.

But just a few minutes later, Manchester City once again played a very threatening attack.

Ivanovic fouled when defending Cristiano Ronaldo one-on-one. Manchester City got an indirect free kick opportunity before the baseline. David Silva took the penalty with his left foot and Kompany hit the penalty area. Out, header from close range.

But in the end, this inevitable goal hit the crossbar and once again missed the baseline.

What's even more terrible is that three minutes later, Manchester City once again got a direct free kick opportunity from a good position. Cristiano Ronaldo took a very high-quality kick. Goalkeeper Hilario was completely disarmed, but The ball hit the crossbar, bounced into the penalty area again, and was caught by the goalkeeper.

If it was just like that, it would be nothing, but in the 32nd minute, Sanchez, who was closely monitored in this game, finally exerted his strength and forced a one-on-one break through Ashley Cole and reached the right side of the penalty area. Hilario failed to intercept the cross, and Cristiano Ronaldo volleyed undefended from behind.

As a result, the shot hit the crossbar again.

Manchester City's three consecutive shots hit the crossbar.

Once on the post and three times on the crossbar, Manchester City seemed to be completely on the opposite side of luck throughout the first half.

But Blue Moon still firmly controlled the situation on the field and launched an attack on Chelsea's goal.

In the 41st minute of the first half, there was another cross from Sanchez from the right. Cristiano Ronaldo seized the opportunity in the middle and kicked the goal. As a result, he hit the left post again and bounced out of the baseline.

One minute later, Cristiano Ronaldo passed the ball from the left. Benzema's shot from the front of the penalty area was saved by Hilario. The following corner kick was taken and Javi Martinez headed the header. .

In the 44th minute, the first half was almost over. Modric dribbled the ball into the penalty area from the right. The pass was interfered by goalkeeper Hilario and fell to the center. Kaká followed up and shot into the empty goal. , but was rescued by Terry at the critical moment.

There were protests throughout Manchester City, believing that Kaká's shot had crossed the goal line, but the referee Chris Foy made it clear that the goal was invalid and warned the Manchester City players who pressed for it.

But according to the slow-motion replay on the big screen at the scene, the ball did indeed cross the goal line.

Two uprights, three crossbars, and one misjudgment.

In the entire first half, Manchester City had every advantage, even allowing Chelsea to reach the 30-meter zone of Manchester City only three times in 45 minutes and shoot twice. This report card is not bad.

As for the opportunities that threaten Chelsea's goal, they are countless.

However, God did not seem to be on Manchester City's side today. The continuous uprights and crossbars made everyone in Manchester City feel distressed, and the referee's misjudgment at the last moment made people even more angry.

Needless to say, these are usually scoring opportunities. As long as half of them are seized, Manchester City is now three goals ahead and the championship trophy is directly declared.

Ironically, God seemed to be on Chelsea's side, rejecting the ball from the Blues' goal again and again, and the continuous bad luck made the Manchester City players feel extremely depressed.

Especially in the last attack of the first half, Cristiano Ronaldo was whistled for offside as soon as he started. However, when the referee had already blown the whistle, the Portuguese rushed forward madly and hit the ball. He volleyed the ball directly into Chelsea's goal.

He seemed to be using this move to vent his frustration, but it also brought him an unnecessary yellow card.

Cristiano Ronaldo's irritability also made it clear to everyone that the Manchester City players were a little out of control emotionally. Although the situation in the first half seemed a bit like being teased by God, once the emotions are out of control, it is very likely that the second half will...