Chapter 243: Hazard's transformation plan restarted

After the match against Watford, Jiang Yuan, who was rated 6.0, was pushed to the forefront by the media. It's not that the rating is so low, but the timing is rather awkward.

Because Jiang Yuan had just returned from playing for the national team, and the national team games that Jiang Yuan participated in were not recognized by the fans.

In the eyes of European fans, the South Korean U23 team is trash, and Jiang Yuan just beat the trash.

This also made Jiang Yuan feel helpless. After his value skyrocketed, the fans became more and more strict with him, especially The Sun. This damn newspaper did not study the gossip carefully and kept staring at him. It was simply a thorn in Jiang Yuan's side.

However, the good thing is that not everyone is criticizing Jiang Yuan. Chelsea fans, players, and even coach Mourinho have expressed understanding of his situation.

"Jiang, you have watched your semi-finals and finals in the national team. What you need to understand is that your national team games and club games are completely different. The difference between the two is huge. You need time to adjust back. This is normal. You can't have psychological pressure."

After the training, Mourinho had a private talk with Jiang Yuan. Some of it was encouragement, but most of it was the truth.

Judging from the match against Watford the day before yesterday, Jiang Yuan’s skills or physical condition did not decline, but he simply failed to keep up with the rhythm.

The most obvious thing is that his movement was not as timely as before, so that William and Fabregas failed to pass the ball to Jiang Yuan several times.

As for his skills and physical fitness, Jiang Yuan made 3 dribbles and 2 of them were successful, the highest among all players.

Being able to maintain such data is enough to prove that Jiang Yuan is not in bad shape.

As Mourinho said, Jiang Yuan needs time to adjust.

"Thank you, Jose"

Jiang Yuan crossed his hands behind his buttocks and said, "I realize my problem, but don't worry, I will adjust as soon as possible."

"Tell me the truth, have those journalists' comments and reports had any impact on you?"

Mourinho asked suddenly. After all, Jiang Yuan is a young player and may not be mature enough in dealing with external pressure.

"Don't worry, Jose"

Jiang Yuan smiled for the first time in a long time: "I am definitely not happy to see those newspapers, but I believe that those things will not affect my performance in the competition. It should be as it is."

"That's good"

Mourinho patted Jiang Yuan on the shoulder: "Jiang, I need you to remember that no matter what happens, I, Brown, and the Chelsea players will stand behind you! Just play with confidence!"

After the conversation, Mourinho said goodbye to Jiang Yuan, and then walked straight to Leon Brown who was waiting behind. The two had an agreement that Mourinho would take Brown to the clinic to see a dentist today.

Brown and Mourinho walked side by side, and the Portuguese coach's Jaguar was parked in the parking lot at the entrance of the base. "Jose, you shouldn't have let Jiang start the day before yesterday."

Mourinho swung the keys in his hand: "I know"

"Then why don't you explain it to Jiang, maybe it can help relieve some of his pressure."

Brown was a little surprised. Mourinho rarely admits his mistakes, and this is probably the first time he has done so this month.

“I definitely can’t say”

Mourinho opened the car door and looked up at Brown who was sitting opposite the car: "That would be like admitting my mistake to the players."

“You know, I can’t do that.”

……

On the afternoon of February 2th, London time, 6 hours before Chelsea's home game against Manchester United on February 2th, Mourinho spread a thick notebook on his arm, which contained the training plan Mourinho prepared for today.

“Today we are training in groups.”

Mourinho raised his head and took a quick look, spending extra time on Hazard. "Separate the frontcourt and the backcourt. Eden, Zlatan, Jiang, William, you form a group of four. The remaining Kurt, Cesc... you form a group. As for the substitutes, Brown will arrange them for you later."

Jiang Yuan nodded. It seemed that Mourinho was going to practice some small-scale cooperation today. If that was the case, then today's training should not be too tiring.

But it was a little strange. According to Jiang Yuan's understanding of Mourinho in the past six months, he was not a coach who liked to train the starting players and substitutes separately. Of course, since Mourinho asked for this, Jiang Yuan, as a player, only needed to follow Mourinho's instructions.

After Mourinho finished his speech, Brown took the substitute players to the training ground next to him. Less than two minutes later, only Hazard and four other players were on the huge 2-a-side field.

"Sir, what are we going to do now?"

Ibrahimovic showed his teeth and touched things with his hands, looking very anxious.

Mourinho glanced at Ibrahimovic and signaled the team's Swedish center forward not to worry: "Today we will practice a new cooperation tactic..."

"Zlatan, you still have to be at the front. Remember, today you are a pure striker. If the timing is not right, you just need to be at the front and put pressure on your opponent."

Ibrahimovic gave a thumbs up: "No problem at all!"

Because of Chelsea's tactical system, Ibrahimovic did not play his favorite left striker in the last round against Watford, but a standard striker like Costa.

Today Mourinho asked Ibrahimovic to play as a striker and Ibrahimovic was undoubtedly very happy.

Which player doesn’t like to play the position he is best at?

"Then it's Jiang. You go on the left, William goes to the right, and Eden...you go to the middle, as the attacking midfielder. Do you understand?"

???

Jiang Yuan and William looked at each other.

Jiang Yuan, who had played for Chelsea for half a year, had never heard of this style of play.

William, who has played for Chelsea for two and a half years, has never heard of this style of play.

Jiang Yuan originally started out as a left winger, and William originally started out as a right winger, so this style of play is considered normal.

But...what does it mean for Hazard to play as attacking midfielder?
Jiang Yuan glanced at Hazard who was standing on his right. The Belgian's expression was unexpectedly calm. It seemed that Mourinho had probably already communicated with Hazard in private.

"Okay, that's it"

Mourinho threw his notebook on the grass and motioned for everyone to squat down.

"Here, Jiang, William, your two tasks are to play as left winger and right winger. You will play the same way as before."

"Then Eden, you need to control the ball in the middle and try to avoid confrontation with the opposing defenders. As for breakthroughs... Of course I need you to break through, but not on the wing, but from the top of the arc into the penalty area..."

Mourinho spoke for about 10 minutes, and Jiang Yuan, William and Ibrahimovic understood what the Portuguese meant.

It is probably to let Hazard take on the role of a number 9 and a half. In this way, Chelsea's three lines, Jiang Yuan and Hazard, all have the ability to break through and can help each other attract defensive players.

All Hazard needs to do is to make a simple ferry pass in the attacking midfielder position. The difference between him and William is that sometimes Hazard needs to dribble the ball into the penalty area by himself in the middle, because the Belgian superstar's ability to change rhythm can only be brought into play in 1V2 or even 1V3 situations.

He can not only pass the ball to Ibrahimovic, but also dribble the ball into the penalty area. Overall, Hazard is the PLUS version of attacking midfielder William, or Little Messi.

Unlike Messi, Hazard is a forward midfielder on the field and will not retreat too much.

After discussing the tactics, Mourinho first let Jiang Yuan and other four players play without defense. After they became familiar with the situation, he asked some young players in the team who had no chance to play to come and serve as sparring partners.

The whole process lasted about 30 minutes and the effect was quite ideal.

"Um...Jose, so is this how we're going to play tomorrow?"

Jiang Yuan walked towards Mourinho. If Mourinho arranged the tactics in this way, he might really have a chance to get the first pick of Chelsea's left winger and unlock his new template.

Unfortunately, Mourinho also had his own ideas, and the Portuguese's final answer poured cold water on Jiang Yuan.

“Just trying”

……

There are still four hours before the game. It is 4pm London time. The British do not have the common habit of taking a nap. At this time, the Stamford Bridge is already crowded with Chelsea fans.

“Home or away come and see us play～”

"You're welcome anyday, hey!"

When fans of the same team gather together, it's like fishermen going fishing together, they always have endless things to talk about.

"Believe me, Jiang will definitely get back to his best form in this game!"

A fat British youth and the thin British youth next to him said so. Although the starting list has not been announced yet, everyone knows that for this kind of game, it is almost certain that Chelsea will use their full main lineup.

The thin young man grabbed the Chelsea scarf around his neck and analyzed the situation seriously despite the noisy environment around him: "There is no need to regain the form, Dick, didn't you hear what Mourinho said? Jiang just needs to get used to the rhythm of the game again. He is the top winger in the Premier League, and everyone in our school thinks so."

Don't be fooled by the two standing there like hooligans, they are both top students of Imperial College London. This university has a special feature, that is, there are really a lot of Chelsea fans in it.

Dick folded his hands in front of his chest, showing a very understanding look: "I agree with what you said, but Cohen, I think it is not easy to adapt to the rhythm of the Premier League again."

The two were about to discuss how long it would take Jiang Yuan to find his rhythm again, when an Asian man suddenly appeared beside Dick. The Asian man touched his head with one hand and put the other hand on his waist, his face slightly red. "Hey, can I buy you a ticket for this game?"

The man's name is Wang Ziyi, and he is a Chinese student studying at Imperial College London.

"Oh, come on"

Dick took a step back and said, "I think I saw you in the school cafeteria... Well, brother, how much are you willing to pay for my tickets?"

"500 pounds"

"If it were normal, I would be happy to sell you the ticket, but you know, today is the highlight game, so..."

Dick spread his hands, and his meaning was clear: £500 was not enough to make him give up watching the game.

"Well, then, buddy, are you willing to sell it to me?"

Seeing that Dick had no intention of selling the tickets, Wang Ziyi turned his target to Cohen who was beside Dick.

"500 pounds? If it's 1000 pounds I might consider selling it to you."

This……

Wang Ziyi was embarrassed. 1000 pounds is nearly 1 yuan. Wang Ziyi was able to study in the UK, so his family was obviously well-off, but it was not to the point where he didn't consider 1000 pounds as money.

There was no way, Wang Ziyi sighed, it seemed that he would have to watch the game in the pub nearby today.

Just then, two buses with the Chelsea logo slowly approached from the far end of the asphalt road, and Wang Ziyi's eyes lit up.

Although I couldn't watch the game live, if I wanted to get Jiang Yuan's autograph or take a photo with him, it would be worth coming to Stamford Bridge today! So, Wang Ziyi didn't hesitate and squeezed through the white people in front of him. After a lot of effort, he finally broke through the obstacles.

"Jiang Yuan!!"

"Jiang Yuan!! Can you give me an autograph?"

There were many people around who wanted autographs. In order to attract Jiang Yuan's attention, Wang Ziyi spoke Chinese and shouted very loudly.

Chinese showed its superiority at this time. Jiang Yuan in the bus immediately noticed Wang Ziyi below, so he opened the window.

"Jiang!"

"Jiang! wow~!"

Being young is good. Dick and Cohen also rushed over. The three students from Imperial College reunited under the Chelsea bus.

Jiang Yuan wanted to give Wang Ziyi an autograph, but he had nothing good to give him, so he looked at Zuma who was sitting next to him and said, "Little Kurt, let me use your stuff for you."

"Hey, Jiang, what are you doing!"

Jiang Yuan snatched the scarf from Zuma's neck, wrote his name on it with a marker, and then leaned out of the window.

"Hey, this scarf is for you."

Jiang Yuan handed the scarf to Wang Ziyi and casually reminded him, "Don't forget to cheer me up later!"

"Um... Brother Jiang Yuan, I didn't get the tickets."

Wang Ziyi felt a little embarrassed, but immediately added: "But don't worry, I will cheer you on outside the stadium!"

"Wait a minute, I'll see if I can get you one."

Jiang Yuan retracted his head. After about 10 seconds, Jiang Yuan poked his head out again: "Um... I'm sorry, all the tickets are indeed sold out. There are no tickets left."

"All right……"

Wang Ziyi was a little frustrated, but he understood it.

"but"

Jiang Yuan suddenly took out a small blue card with his left hand: "I haven't used my family ticket yet, this is for you, it's for the west stand"

!!!

Wang Ziyi jumped up and took the card from Jiang Yuan's hand, then turned the card over under the gaze of Dick and Cohen.

Executive seating area for VIP
NO:V00004
……

In the home team's locker room at Stamford Bridge, Mourinho pulled Jiang Yuan aside and emphasized some words in private: "Don't be too stressed. Remember, you are no longer our new player. You, like Eden, are Chelsea's trump card!"

Jiang Yuan tied up the bandages on his shin guards and stomped his feet on the ground twice in his football shoes: "An ace should perform like an ace."

"Wow"

Mourinho raised his eyebrows: "It looks like I don't need to worry"

clap clap clap!
"Come on, guys! Come here!"

Mourinho gathered the players in the middle of the locker room: "Our opponent today is very strong, but!"

"They are not as strong as us!"

Terry led the players to hug the shoulders of the people next to them, and the 11 starting players plus Mourinho shouted loudly together.

"Chelsea, go ahead!"

……

"Zhuangdianertai, Zhuangdianertai!"

"Good evening, fellow football fans, this is the live broadcast of the 25th round of the English Premier League, Chelsea vs. Manchester United."

"The referee is already looking at the watch"

"The game begins! Let me introduce the starting lineups of both teams. First up is Chelsea, who are playing at home today. They are wearing blue jerseys and will attack from the left side of the screen to the right side."

"..."

"Then it's Manchester United, the visiting team, wearing red jerseys and black shorts, attacking from the right side of the screen to the left side. The lineup is still the 4231 that Van Gaal likes to use this season."

Manchester United (4-2-3-1)

Goalkeeper: De Gea
Defenders: Jackson, Blind, Smalling, Darmian
Midfielders: Carrick, Fellaini, Mata

Forwards: Martial, Rooney, Lingard
Judging from the lineup, Manchester United is clearly at a disadvantage today. After Valencia recovered from injury, Ashley Young and Luke Shaw were injured one after another, which is not good news for Manchester United's wingers.

In front of the visiting team's bench, the team's Dutch coach Van Gaal also had a worried look on his face.

This also proves the saying that after Ferguson, no one can step down from the Manchester United coaching position with a smile.

"Go forward, control the ball in the middle without hesitation!"

Mourinho shouted on the sidelines, signaling the players on the field to ensure control of the ball as much as possible.

This is because Van Gaal used the "big circle tactics" at Manchester United. The core of this tactic is to use the width of the court to threaten the opponent through frequent lateral movements and wing attacks.

Simply put, Manchester United's midfield possession ability is weak, so they simply focus on the flanks, which coincides with Chelsea's tactics.

However, the two sides of Manchester United, the combination of Martial + Jackson and Lingard + Damian, are far inferior in strength to the combination of Hazard + Azpilicueta and Jiang Yuan + Ivanovic.

As of the 22nd minute of the game, Chelsea's ball possession rate was as high as 68%. Rooney, who was past his peak, obviously could not bring enough pressure to Chelsea's ball-control players.

"Snapped!"

Matic made a long pass in the backcourt and accurately passed it to Ivanovic who suddenly made a run on the right. The moment Ivanovic stopped the ball, Martial rushed over to press, so Ivanovic decisively transferred the ball to the middle, and Fabregas passed the ball directly in front of Jiang Yuan after getting the ball.

"Wow! Fabregas' through ball from the backcourt was a very beautiful shot!"

"Let's see if Chelsea can make good use of this attacking opportunity. Jiang Yuan, one-on-one with Carrick, speed up! Wow, very good, this is what we said at the beginning, Chelsea must find a way to create 1-on-1 or even 1-on-2 opportunities for Jiang Yuan and Hazard on the wing."

"After all, if we look at the Premier League's dribbling charts, Jiang Yuan and Hazard are currently ranked first and second with 29 and 25 times respectively. The top two players are from the same team, which is a very rare situation in the Premier League."

"Cross the ball into the penalty area and Ibrahimovic heads it back."

"William got the ball at the back post and could have shot, but he hesitated"

Chelsea's Brazilian attacking midfielder took one more step after stopping the ball, giving Fellaini the opportunity to press forward, which also meant that William could not shoot directly.

So, William swung his right leg and pretended to shoot, but actually knocked the ball, and passed it to Hazard on the left. After getting the ball, the latter rushed into the penalty area decisively.

In order to give Hazard a comfortable environment for a breakthrough, Ibrahimovic walked directly into the small penalty area, blocking De Gea's sight while locking a Manchester United central defender. Jiang Yuan was also waiting near the penalty area on the right, not giving Jackson the chance to return to the penalty area to make up for the defense.

The Belgian star did not disappoint his teammates. He scored by turning his left foot inward and then pushing the ball with his right foot.

“GOOOOOOO—AAAAAAAAA—LLLLLLLLL!!!!”

"Eden Harzard!!!!"

perfect!

After scoring the goal, Hazard immediately changed direction, ran towards the left corner flagpole and completed his sliding kneel celebration.

Familiar outstretched arms, familiar pear blossoms, familiar fragrance!

【Awesome... Awesome! 】

[Hahahaha, I was just saying, why are there still people criticizing Chelsea's two wingers? The combined worth of these two brothers is 1.5 million]

[The strength of the Beggar's Edition with two wings flying together is still there! 】

[What the hell, I didn't even react from my god's perspective. Smalling stretched out his right foot and left foot, probably thinking that Hazard was going to pass the ball to Ibrahimovic, but we were all fooled. This is the difference between top players and average players.]

[Perfect, Jiang Yuan made a good breakthrough, Ibrahimovic did a good job of attracting firepower, and Hazard also handled the fake pass well. Brothers, it feels like Chelsea is invincible this season. Can't they beat Arsenal and Leicester City above? ]

[Please stop bragging. You know what Manchester United is like this season. They are almost falling apart...]

[Alas, Red Devils, what a pity. Chelsea was like this at the beginning of the season, but they adjusted quickly. It seems that it depends on me, the King of Football, Van Gaal, to make an offer! ]

[Don't think too much. Xiao Jiang can save Chelsea because Chelsea was the champion team last season. Now Manchester United has a problem with injuries and coaches. Will Van Gaal be able to coach? I really admire him.]

[I suggest Van Gaal be fired, and a Manchester United fan from the comment section should be randomly picked to coach the team. Liverpool fans should just stay away.]

"Chelsea"

"Clap!"

"Chelsea"

"Clap!"

Amid the cheers of the fans, Martial passed the ball back to De Gea, preparing to use the opportunity of the kick-off to launch a quick attack.

"boom!"

De Gea kicked the ball to the front court, but the position was not very accurate, but fortunately Martial ran fast and got the ball on the left.

!!!

Mourinho had specifically instructed that if Martial passed the opponent on the right, Jiang Yuan would need to help Fabregas return to defense, so Jiang Yuan did not hesitate, predicted Martial's forward route, and ran in an arc near the sideline.

After some mental struggle, Jiang Yuan fell to the ground and tackled the ball, knocking the ball out from under Martial's feet and knocking Martial to the ground at the same time.

"Wow! A very clean tackle. Manchester United's plan for a quick break was successfully dealt with by Chelsea!"

……

(End of this chapter)