Football: Starting from being abandoned by Barcelona

As the team continued to have people leaving, this caught the attention of Li Lei and De Bruyne.

On this day, the two were changing out of their dirty training clothes in the locker room and talked about the recent loss of players in the team.

"I heard that Kakuta and the others have been sold, what is the team going to do?" Li Lei frowned and said

"This is too weird, like a big purge." De Bruyne was also puzzled,"We don't even have enough substitutes at the moment."

"Something must have happened between the top management and Mourinho." Li Lei analyzed,"Otherwise the team transfer would not be so chaotic."

"What you said makes sense." De Bruyne nodded,"Mourinho has a strong personality, which may not be in line with the club's philosophy."

"This will put us in a tight spot in the second half of the season." Li Lei said worriedly.

"But you will have more opportunities to play!"

On January 20, it drizzled in London. Despite the bad weather, it did not dampen the enthusiasm of the fans. The inside and outside of Stamford Bridge echoed with each other, and the sound of horns and songs continued. In the

22nd round of the league, Chelsea vs. Manchester United, the focus of the Premier League, will start in the next few dozen minutes.

The main focus today is whether the Red Devils Manchester United can rebound under Chelsea's high pressure.

With the arrival of the bus, players from both sides came to the locker room early, excited and focused.

Mourinho wrote and drew on the tactical board, arranging the team's deployment. This season is of great significance to him. He vowed to lead Chelsea to win all three points.

"Hello everyone, welcome to watch this heavyweight battle in the Premier League."Today's opponent is Manchester United Red Devils, a blue-red battle is about to take place." Keane opened the show."

"Indeed, Manchester United is Chelsea's old rival, and the two teams have a deep historical entanglement."However, in recent years, the Red Devils are no longer the dominant force they used to be."

"Chelsea is in good form this season, and this is a great opportunity for them to win the championship."But Manchester United has also strengthened its strength during the winter transfer window," Keane said."

"Considering the current state and tactics of the two teams, I think Chelsea has a slight advantage." Jones gave his opinion

"But this is a big battle after all, and any slackness could lead to a complete defeat." Keane concluded,"Let's wait and see, this will be a great showdown.!"

"From a tactical point of view, Chelsea may adopt their usual 4-2-3-1 formation in this game, with Ramires, Lampard and Li Lei in the frontcourt to ensure midfield control."

"I predict that Manchester United will also adopt a 4-2-3-1 formation, with Michael Carrick and Phil Jones as double defensive midfielders and Danny Welbeck responsible for organizing the attack."

"In terms of strength, Chelsea's defense led by captain Terry is very stable, while Manchester United's midfield is relatively immature."

"From the perspective of historical performance, Chelsea and Manchester United are on par with each other"

"Overall, Chelsea's midfield and frontcourt have good coordination, and their defense is also experienced."

"Manchester United is not as good as its opponent in the frontcourt, but the front line is powerful. It looks like this will be a match of equal strength."

Historically, the two teams have been competing for many years since the first encounter.

In the early days, Manchester United defeated Chelsea many times with the golden lineup of the Ferguson era.

Especially in the 1907-2008 season, Chelsea was completely suppressed by Manchester United with 1 draw and 5 losses, and Manchester United became the Premier League hegemon.

But after entering the 2010s, Chelsea's strength has increased greatly and defeated Manchester United many times.

In the past 10 years, Chelsea has won 9 wins, 7 draws and 10 losses in the league match between the two teams, and the strength comparison has reversed.

After a brief review, the two soon began to compare the starting lineups on the screen and introduced the players on both sides.

Chelsea (4-2-3-1)

Goalkeeper: Petr Cech

Defenders: Azpilicueta, John Terry, Gary Cahill, Branislav Ivanovic

Midfielders: Li Lei, Eden Hazard, Oscar, Ramires, Lampard

Forward: Eto'o

Manchester United (4-2-3-1)

Goalkeeper: De Gea

Defenders: Rafael da Silva, Nemanja Vidic, Jonny Evans, Patrice Evra

Midfielders: Phil Jones, Michael Carrick, Antonio Valencia, Adnan Januzaj, Ashley Young

Striker: Danny Welbeck

With the referee's whistle, the Red Devils Manchester United took the lead.

Chelsea took advantage of the home advantage and rushed directly towards Manchester United. Their primary goal now is to control the ball at their feet.

The back line composed of Cahill, Terry and Ivanovic did not push up, but steadily defended the last line of defense.

Both sides' formations belong to 4231, so the midfield competition is particularly critical.

Chelsea's Li Lei and Hazard are respectively against Jones and Carrick, and the four of them are constantly fighting for the midfield possession.

In the game, Manchester United midfielder Phil Jones, with his hands on his knees, panting, and looking at the Asian player on the opposite side with an embarrassed face.

After 10 minutes of the opening, Jones found that this Asian player was very difficult to deal with. He had a good grasp of the timing of close defense and tackling, and once he found a gap, he could break through and pass the ball.

Just like the time just now, Jones wanted to tackling him closely, but the player made a clever body feint, allowing the ball to pass perfectly and pass directly to the front court.

"This kid is too hard to deal with."Jones thought to himself. His dribbling ability and vision are very good. Once he gets the ball, he can quickly organize an attack.

It seems difficult to limit him, so Jones can only keep an eye on him to reduce his chances of touching the ball.

At the same time, he must pay attention to his breakthroughs. This Asian player is also very skilled at footwork. Once he enters the penalty area, he is very threatening.

At this time, teammate Antonio saw that his teammates were struggling to defend, so he stepped forward and said:

"Jones, do you need my help??"

"No! I can handle it."Jones shook his head and refused.

Antonio shrugged and ran to his position.

Jones knew that he could not show weakness at this time. He had to grit his teeth and hold on, using his skills and physical strength to suppress his opponent.

"I'll show you what the strength of Manchester United's midfield is!" Jones said to himself.