Chapter 188: London Derby Again
After returning to London, Jiang Yuan's first thing was not to go back to Cobham to rest, but to go to the post office in the small town of Cobham to apply for a D1 form for a Provisional Driving Licence. Because in the UK, learning to drive is not about going to a "driving school" for students to practice in a fixed open space, but the instructor will take you directly on the road to practice based on the zip code where you live.

After applying to a driving school, you will start learning to drive. There are three very famous driving schools in the UK, but these large driving schools have training time limits, that is, the time is not determined by you, but by the driving school and the instructor.

In order to make more efficient use of his time, Jiang Yuan, at Terry's suggestion, spent 3000 pounds to hire a well-known local personal trainer. However, even a personal trainer seemed to have some difficulty in time management.

"Is 8 o'clock in the evening okay? 8 o'clock, can't you practice until 10 o'clock and go back to sleep?"

Jiang Yuan was yelling on the phone. On the other end was his personal driving instructor, McClelland, a Scottish man in his 40s.

"Mr. Jiang, this is impossible. I don't work after 3 o'clock. I need to spend time with my family at night."

McClelland directly rejected Jiang Yuan's request. Britain is a developed country with an average weekly working time of only 42 hours per person, and the British are not used to working at night. If they want to work overtime, employees must go home before 7 pm. Because if the working hours exceed 48 hours a week, the company where the employee works will be severely punished.

"Hey……"

Jiang Yuan sighed. On weekdays, he finished training at 3:30 pm, and McClelland would have finished get off work by then. But if it was a weekend, he was sorry, McClelland would not work the whole day!
As a result, if Jiang Yuan wants to get a driver's license, he will have to wait until the off-season, but Jiang Yuan is not a person who likes to wait.

"Sir, I am willing to pay you more"

Jiang Yuan uttered these words slowly. People in capitalist countries should be treated in the same way as capitalists. Capitalists are evil, but if you want to live a good life in a capitalist country, you must be that evil capitalist.

"I'm sorry, I need time to spend with my family, even if you are willing to offer a higher price..."

"Don't say that, 8000 pounds, I'll give you 8000 pounds, and you come to the gate of Cobham base to pick me up at 8 o'clock in the evening. I don't want to wait, I want to get my driver's license within 2 weeks."

"No problem, it's my pleasure to serve you, my dear sir. Amen"

The reason why Jiang Yuan was so anxious to get a driver's license was because if he had a driver's license, he wouldn't have to use his teammates' cars every day. It was true that taking an Uber was a way to get around, but the Chelsea brothers would never allow Jiang Yuan to take an Uber in front of them.

In their words: Good brother, why don’t you take my car, give me a reason!
This directly led to Jiang Yuan having ridden Ferrari, Lambo, Bentley, and RR in less than three months since he came to Chelsea, and Jiang Yuan was familiar with the characteristics of his teammates' cars.

For example, Zuma's AMG, the steering wheel of that car would shake when driving, I don't know how this French guy treats his car. Of course, there is also a possibility that this AMG is just a toy for Zuma.

Even though Zouma's weekly salary is just over 2 pounds, this guy received a signing fee of 75 pounds when he transferred from Saint-Etienne to Chelsea!

And the most amazing thing is that Zuma, like Terry, likes to drive after drinking. For safety reasons, it is a good choice for Jiang Yuan to get a driver's license and buy a car.

The British driver's license is more difficult to obtain, but the coordination of athletes is much better than that of ordinary people, so it is not difficult for Jiang Yuan to get a driver's license. After practicing for 2 days, he was able to drive. However, due to legal requirements, Jiang Yuan needs to complete the minimum training time of 20 hours and wait for 2 weeks before receiving the driver's license.

But that’s all in the past. The Premier League schedule is too tight, and Jiang Yuan now needs to focus all his attention on training and no longer goes out to practice driving at night.

For a professional player, playing well is more important than anything else!
……

At 9 a.m. London time, with less than six hours left before the match against West Ham United, Mourinho gathered the players in a conference room on the second floor of the base for a tactical seminar on the afternoon's away game against West Ham United.

"West Ham United!"

Mourinho opened his notebook and slowly spoke in front of everyone: "Although most people are familiar with West Ham United, considering the presence of newcomers, I still need to emphasize the characteristics of the opponent. This is a team that is good at set pieces and counterattacks. Their weakness is wing defense, which happens to be our strong area. So do you understand? Tell me how we can win today."

Zuma raised his hand: "Win at will"

Mourinho spread his hands and said: "Can someone give me a pile of shit? Our Mr. Kurt seems a little hungry."

"Ha ha!"

Terry pushed Zouma to the ground and said: "Eat your shit"

Zuma touched his head, looking a little aggrieved: "I am telling the truth, how could the Hammers beat us? They are just a mid-level team."

After Zouma expressed his opinion, Mourinho emphasized: "Strictly speaking, we are also a middle-class team now. You may not believe it, but I tell you, if we meet a really strong team like Real Madrid, Barcelona, ​​Bayern, we have no chance of winning."

"So, stay serious, that's what I ask!"

Mourinho asked Brown to move the tactical board to the front and tell the players today's lineup.

Because the starting right back Ivanovic was injured, Zouma once again played the role of right back, and there was no other change.

Logically speaking, Mourinho would let Jiang Yuan rest for today's game, but Jiang Yuan had already contacted Mourinho last night.

After a scolding from Mourinho, Jiang Yuan started again.

Of course, Jiang Yuan had talked about the team's left wing problem intentionally or unintentionally last night, but whenever Jiang Yuan mentioned the word "left wing", Mourinho always remained silent.

The two chatted for half an hour, but Jiang Yuan failed to get anything useful out of Mourinho.

"Okay, pack your things, the bus is waiting downstairs. We're going to Upton Park, where we have a victory that we haven't won yet!"

“Move! Move! Move!”

……

In the player tunnel, the two home teams stood side by side. West Ham United's home stadium gave Jiang Yuan a shabby feeling. He wondered why the management did not renovate the team.

Cresswell, who was standing on Jiang Yuan's right, greeted Jiang Yuan: "Hello, Jiang!"

"Hello there!"

Jiang Yuan smiled and stretched out his right hand. The No. 3 next to him was the left back of West Ham United in this game, the one who was facing Jiang Yuan.

"9 goals in 8 games, you are great, but..."

Cresswell raised his eyebrows and said jokingly, "I won't let you pass!"

Hearing this, Zuma behind him threw himself on Jiang Yuan's shoulder and said, "Haha, Jiang, did you hear me? You can't get through!"

Zouma and Cresswell seem to know each other, but both of them transferred to the Premier League last year, so it is normal for them to have some connection.

Jiang Yuan just smiled at this. Although he had never played against him, he had some understanding of his opponent today. Cresswell, an English full-back worth 800 million euros, was good at attacking, not defending as he said.

Jiang Yuan didn't like talking about the game with his opponent off the court, so he changed the subject: "Aaron, I don't mean to offend you, but your home court...are you really not going to repair it?"

As he spoke, Jiang Yuan pointed to a corner of the player's tunnel, where the grass had been lifted up, revealing the concrete floor inside.

"Ha ha!"

Cresswell laughed. "It seems we are moving. Er... we are moving to a new stadium. I also heard that they are going to turn it into a real estate development or something. I think it's a good idea to move. Upton only has more than 3 seats, and the tickets have to be divided into A and B tickets to sell. It's really boring!"

What Cresswell said is correct. If you go to the UK to watch the Hammers' home games, you will find that West Ham United's tickets are divided into two categories, A and B. Category A tickets are mainly for games against Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool, Manchester United and Tottenham, and the ticket price is higher. The remaining 14 teams have Category B tickets, and the ticket price is lower.

The main reason is that the team is very popular and 3 seats cannot fully meet the needs of fans.

"Change courts. By the way, where are you going?"

Zuma showed off his shiny white teeth. Cresswell was stumped by Zuma's question and had to ask Tomkins in front of him: "James, where are we going next year?"

West Ham United's centre-back turned his head: 'Olympic Stadium'

"Yes, that's right, that's it!"

Zuma pointed at Tomkins' nose and showed an expression of sudden enlightenment: "London Stadium, that was the venue for the 12 Olympic Games, it has 6 seats!"

“Wow, 6 seats?”

Jiang Yuan opened his mouth wide. This was bigger than the home stadiums of most BIG6 teams!
Fortunately, with Tottenham's White Hart Lane at the bottom, Stamford Bridge is not the stadium with the fewest seats among the BIG6.

"Beep!"

Three referees blew their whistles in front, and the expressions of the players from both teams in the tunnel instantly became serious. The caddy next to Jiang Yuan grabbed Jiang Yuan's wrist even harder.

It’s time to enter!

……

10pm on October 24th, Beijing time.

"Zhuangdianertai, Zhuangdianertai!"

"This is a live broadcast of the 10th round of the Premier League, West Ham United vs. Chelsea. The match will be held at the Boleyn Ground, also known as Upton Park, in east London."

"It is worth mentioning that this is Chelsea's third London derby this season. They have won all the previous matches against Arsenal and Tottenham. I wonder how the Blues will perform in today's away game against the Hammers."

"Players from both teams are ready!"

"The referee is looking at the watch"

"Okay, let the game begin! Now let me introduce the starting lineups of the two teams. First up is the home team West Ham United. They ranked 12th in the Premier League last season and are currently ranked 9th this season."

West Ham United (4-2-3-1)

Defenders: Jenkinson, Collins, Tomkins, Cresswell
Midfielders: Noble, Kouyate, Payet

Forwards: Lanzini, Diafra-Sakho, Zarate
Goalkeeper: Adrian

Head coach: Bilic

"..."

West Ham United was founded in 1895, 10 years earlier than Chelsea. As a European powerhouse, West Ham United does not have many trophies to show for itself.

The fates of West Ham United and Chelsea this season are surprisingly similar. Both lost all the way to the relegation zone and then jumped up. However, Chelsea may have jumped a little more and went directly to the Champions League zone.

"huh, huh"

"Ok!"

Jiang Yuan bumped into Kouyate and used his strength to clear a route forward, but Kouyate pressed very hard and stuck one arm in Jiang Yuan's chest, giving Jiang Yuan no chance to pass the ball.

There was no other way. Since he didn't need to use his physical strength to force his way past the opponent, he could only use his flexibility. So Jiang Yuan made an emergency stop and braked the car before he went out of the baseline.

But the problem is, Jiang Yuan was already very close to the baseline, and the only way he could do was to stop the ball except to force a cross. So Jiang Yuan's action had actually been anticipated by Kouyate. When Jiang Yuan was about to cut inside, Kouyate stretched out his foot to destroy it.

"call--"

Jiang Yuan exhaled, feeling a little helpless. This 1-meter-tall defensive midfielder was really hard to deal with. He was like a wall in front of him. He also found that once his space was restricted, it meant that the 9v1 between him and Kuyate would end in failure. For this tall defensive midfielder, forcing a breakthrough did not seem to be a good option.

Chelsea had a sideline ball, Zouma threw the ball to Jiang Yuan, Jiang Yuan then passed the ball back to Zouma's feet, the two of them went back and forth and successfully broke through the defense of Kouyate and Zarate.

"Zuma dribbled the ball towards the middle, looked up, and passed it to the left! Good job, Oscar stopped the ball with his chest, and the ball came to Hazard's feet, look at Hazard!"

"Hazard also chose to go to the middle, Jenkinson chased him, and looked at the middle. William was still in a familiar position waiting for his teammates to pass the ball. Hazard shot!"

"Oh, a fake shot and a real pass. Hazard used the outside of his foot to pass the ball to William. Noble tried to grab it, but William turned around and passed it straight to the right!"

"Wow, the ball rolled past Cresswell, Jiang Yuan rushed forward and grabbed the ball before Kouyate. At this time, Jiang Yuan must pass the ball quickly, otherwise it would be bad if he was blocked by Kouyate."

"Sure enough, Jiang Yuan chose to pass the ball directly to the middle, Costa, header! Alas, Costa's header hit the plane, what a pity, in the 4th minute of the first half, Chelsea took the lead in completing a shot, but it was a pity that Costa did not keep his center of gravity."

With his feet back on the grass, Costa looked at the flying ball with an expressionless face. No one knew what was going on in his mind.

He remained expressionless even after missing a goal. This calmness is unique in the five major leagues!

"Hey, go to the wing, why are you running to the middle? Damn it, break through to the wing, break through to the wing!"

On the sidelines, Mourinho used his hands and mouth, and the sadness on his face was in stark contrast to Costa's calmness.

Before the game, we agreed to go to the wing, but Jiang Yuan and Hazard just didn't listen!

When Jiang Yuan was returning to defense and passing the sideline, Mourinho pretended to kick Jiang Yuan in the butt: "Asshole, just pass Kouyate and go straight to the bottom. Cresswell can't defend you. Look back more, little Kurt can pass the ball to you!"

Jiang Yuan gave a thumbs up.

However, a scene beyond everyone's expectations occurred. The fourth official complained to the referee Jonathan Moss. The English referee hurried to the sidelines and took out a colorful small card from his shirt pocket.

Yellow card!

"Ok?"

Mourinho was about to curse, but Brown covered his mouth with his hand.

If Mourinho had really scolded him, Chelsea might be without a coach today!

"He is my player and I was just pretending. I didn't even kick him, so why was it my yellow card?"

Mourinho stared into the eyes of referee Moss.

Who can stand getting a yellow card for no reason?

However, Moss ignored Mourinho. From the perspective of the fourth official, Mourinho just wanted to kick Jiang Yuan's ass. According to the respect that European and American countries have for athletes, Mourinho was considered to have attempted to attack the players on the field and should be given a card.

Jiang Yuan was also confused and ran up to plead for Mourinho, but Moss motioned Jiang Yuan to step back. His meaning was very clear, the penalty that had been determined could not be changed.

"hiss--"

Mourinho took a deep breath, stretched out his arms, and placed his right wrist over his left wrist to form an "X".

What it means is: The FA manipulated the game!

[Is it so effective? ]

[Hahaha, Mourinho is acting weird again. Yellow card reason: attempted kick on Jiang Yuan’s buttocks]

[If you don't understand, you can get a yellow card for this? Does this mean that the English Football Association is really manipulating the game? ]

[Jiang Yuan probably didn't strictly follow the tactical requirements just now, so Mourinho is a little angry now. To be honest, it's a small chance that Xiao Jiang and Mourinho will meet each other.]

[Jiang Yuan: No, can you blame me for this? ]

[Hmm? Why do I feel that West Ham United's targeted tactics are particularly good? That black defensive midfielder is so tall, let me see what his name is... Kouyate, 1 meters tall playing as a defensive midfielder, does he think he is Pogba? ]

[You really don’t say it, Kouyate can be regarded as a poor version of Pogba]

[Damn, these two are not the same type at all, okay? Kouyate is a defensive midfielder, Pogba is good at both defense and attack, but Pogba sometimes doesn't want to defend, so he gets passed by]

[King Jiang, it's time to play big! 】

[Who would have thought that the first card of this game would be given to the head coach. But it’s okay, the coach can still command in the stands after getting a card, and the players just need to get fewer cards.]

……

In the 14th minute, center back Tomkins faced Costa's pressure and dribbled the ball leisurely in the penalty area. Just when everyone thought Tomkins was playing with fire, the Englishman shook off Costa and sent a wonderful through pass, and the ball came from the backcourt to the feet of attacking midfielder Payet.

"He is so skilled and so bold. With Tomkins' long pass, West Ham United launched a strong attack. Payet, Sarath and Lanzini walked forward at the same time. Payet now has three options for passing the ball: left, right, or back pass?"

"Oh, no, Fabregas has blocked Sarat's position. Now if Payet wants to pass the ball forward, he can only pass it to the right."

"Oh my god, Payet chose to pass to the left. The home team was very brave today! Fabregas and Sarat fought for the ball. Sarat had the advantage in position, but Fabregas was not without hope."

"Oh no! Fabregas made a mistake, oops, Sarat caught the ball without any interference!"

Chelsea used a 4231 formation. Oscar on the left had his own defensive tasks and basically would not run to the right, so Sarat only needed to get past Fabregas to face Zouma.

In this situation, Fabregas' defensive mistake was undoubtedly fatal.

Just when everyone thought that Sarat was going to pass Fabregas, Chelsea's Spanish midfielder reached out and grabbed Sarat's clothes and forcibly pulled Sarat back.

"Beep!"

The referee blows the whistle and Fabregas gets a yellow card!
West Ham United wins a free kick!

Hearing the referee's whistle, Sarat immediately stood up and ran forward. At the same time, Payet immediately rushed to the position where Fabregas committed the foul, touched the ball with one hand and immediately passed it to Sarat.

"Snapped!"

Quick free kick attack from West Ham United!

"Back! Back! Fast!"

Terry was shouting anxiously from behind. Payet's quick free kick caught Chelsea off guard. Jiang Yuan ran back desperately, but Sarat's distance advantage was too great. Even if Jiang Yuan was incredibly fast, he couldn't touch him.

"Zarat starts to go down the line, Zouma, can Zouma defend him? Bicycle kick...go down the line and cut inside! Zarate is very fast, but Zouma has the height advantage, and he puts one hand on Zarate's chest to prevent him from going into the penalty area."

"Zarat passed the ball out, Sakho received it and passed it back to Lanzini, then walked forward"

"Lanzini passes the ball again, and the ball goes between Cahill and Sarath, a perfect through ball! Sakho takes the ball into the Chelsea penalty area"

"Sakho now only has Terry in front of him, and behind him is goalkeeper Begovic. Chelsea is in a bad situation now."

"Zarat returns to the left, but Zouma is stuck in front of him. This is not a good pass option. Sakho... shoots straight!"

"Wow, Terry, it's Terry, the captain of Chelsea stood up, Terry used his knee to block Sakho's shot, a corner kick for West Ham United!"

"call……"

Chelsea players and fans all breathed a sigh of relief. The situation just now was really dangerous. No one expected Payet to take a quick free kick in that position. Fortunately, veteran Terry was still strong, which prevented West Ham United from scoring.

"Jiang, come here and keep an eye on number 8"

During the preparation for the corner kick, Begovic asked Jiang Yuan to look at Kouyate. The 1-meter-tall defensive midfielder possessed very good heading ability.

Heading ability is secondary. Kurt is 7 or 8 cm taller than Jiang Yuan. If he really jumps, Jiang Yuan may not even have a chance to grab the ball.

But there was no other way, Jiang Yuan could only ask Zuma to help "take care of it" a little.

"Snapped"

Noble took the corner kick.

Front point!

Jiang Yuan had a bad feeling and quickly followed Kurt. Although Kurt was tall as a defensive midfielder, he was quite flexible.

Fortunately, Zuma used his body to block Kurt's path, allowing Jiang Yuan to get the first point.

"Ceske!"

Jiang Yuan jumped high, shouted, and then headed the ball out.

Jiang Yuan had observed the positions of his teammates before jumping, and he was going to head the ball to Fabregas. But the positions on the field changed too quickly, and when Jiang Yuan hit the ball, Fabregas's position had already been occupied by Cresswell.

"boom!"

Cresswell hit the ball hard with his right leg, and the ball suddenly flew out like a cannonball.

At this critical moment, Zuma had an idea and sat down on the ground.

"Snapped!"

The ball hit Zuma's thigh, bounced a bit and then got stuck in his crotch.

"shit!!!"

Looking at the four thighs flying towards him, Zuma secretly thought it was not good. Fortunately, Begovic reacted quickly, jumped on Zuma's thighs and hugged the ball directly.

"call……"

Zuma breathed a sigh of relief after escaping danger.

Damn, I was scared to death!

……

(End of this chapter)