Chapter 253 God's Curse

"Fuck!"

boom!
Ibrahimovic kicked open the door of the locker room, took off his jersey and threw it on the ground.

英超第29轮，切尔西主场0：0战平斯托克城，蓝军全队11脚射正0个进球！
The players walked into the locker room dejectedly. No one expected the final score to be this. Especially Jiang Yuan, the young player from China, who covered his face with his hands while sitting on the bench. 94 shots on target in 7 minutes, 1 missed!
As the offensive core of the game, Jiang Yuan thought about it and felt that he needed to step up and take the blame.

So Jiang Yuanskin moved away from the bench: "Hey, guys, I didn't shoot today..."

"Stop, stop, stop!"

Hazard stopped Jiang Yuan and said, "You are fine. It's all my fault. Damn it. I should have scored that goal at the beginning of the second half!"

Ibrahimovic put his hand on Hazard's shoulder. He felt the same way. For some reason, Chelsea's front line had no shooting feeling today. They clearly grasped the rhythm of the game, but they just lacked the last shot.

It can't be said that it's all Chelsea's fault. Stoke City goalkeeper Butland was in really good shape today. He was like a wall standing in front of the goal. It was simply outrageous.

"Don't be nervous, we are drawing, not losing"

Zouma interjected, saying that the French defender did not play in today's game and could not feel the feeling of missing the target with numerous shots.

"But we should have won!"

Hazard spread his hands and kept shooting but couldn't score. In this situation, the players in the midfield and frontcourt were the most uncomfortable, especially Hazard. Today, Hazard dribbled the ball into the penalty area from the top of the arc twice, but his last shot either went into the air or was saved by Bartran, which made Hazard more and more angry.

"Pause!"

Ibrahimovic suddenly shouted. It couldn't be called a shout, because his voice was neither loud nor soft, very strange, and he looked towards Terry's position when he spoke: "I know we should have won, but regardless of the result, we played well, am I right?"

"..."

Ibrahimovic's words left Hazard speechless. Yes, although neither side scored a goal, the performance of Chelsea players in this game cannot be denied.

The most obvious reason is that Hazard has started to adapt to the position of attacking midfielder. This is also thanks to Mourinho - the Portuguese is still being interviewed by reporters.

After the game against Norwich a week ago, Mourinho and other members of the coaching staff conducted some targeted training on Hazard's problems.

The Belgian superstar is worthy of being a 7500 million euro superstar. His learning ability is not much inferior to Jiang Yuanlai. In today's match against Stoke City, the probability of Hazard making tactical mistakes was reduced by at least 20%.

"Guys, we are a very strong team, a draw is not a ..."

Ibrahimovic was halfway through his speech when Terry suddenly took a step forward and said: "Zlatan is right. We can't just look at the goals. We played pretty well, at least better than the last game. If we played Norwich today, I think the score would not be 3:0, but 4:0 or even 5:0."

"..."

Ibrahimovic was a little unhappy about being interrupted, but because Terry added "Zlatan is right" before he spoke, Ibrahimovic did not say anything in the end.

There is no doubt that Terry is the boss of Chelsea. Ibrahimovic knows that as a newcomer he cannot interfere with the team's locker room ecology, but this seems a bit inconsistent with his character.

In the eyes of the Swedish center, Terry is not a qualified boss.

Ibrahimovic, with his butt on the edge of the physiotherapy bed, expressed his opinion on today's game: "Let's not talk about this for now. Our problem is the next game. We will play Paris at home in 4 days. If we lose, we will be eliminated."

“We’re not going to be out.”

Zuma said firmly: "I said I would lead Jiang to win the Champions League. We can't lose in the first round of the knockout stage, right?"

“We were in the top 16 last season”

Hazard gave a reminder, then realized that he had said the wrong thing and said "sorry" again.

“I think you need to take a good rest now.”

Mourinho, who had just finished the interview, pushed the door open and said, "Tomorrow is a holiday. This time I won't restrict you from going to the bar..."

Hearing this, Hazard and others were somewhat happy, but Mourinho had not finished speaking.

"The second leg against Paris is coming soon. What I mean is... I hope you can give more for the team. I know you have made a lot of sacrifices, but as I said before, it's not enough."

Hazard and Terry looked at each other. Neither of them finished speaking, but they both understood what the other was thinking.

clap clap!

"Ok! Everyone is tired today, relax in the locker room, and then you can go home. I also have to go back to be with my family."

Mourinho turned to leave, then remembered something and glanced at Brown beside him: "Leon, shall I take you home?"

"I'll drive here...oh, Jose, thank you for your help!"

Brown hurried over and followed Mourinho out of the locker room, and the two walked side by side in the circular passage under the Stamford Bridge stands.

"Leon, I think they were a little unhappy just now. Did you see the whole thing? What was going on in the locker room?"

“I think it’s OK”

Brown gave a fairly fair evaluation: "It's normal to be unhappy after a 0-0 draw with Stoke City. But it's still relatively good this time. Everyone is analyzing it seriously. Zlatan and John..."

"What happened to the two of them?"

Mourinho raised his eyebrows. Although he had expected it in his heart, it still sounded different when it came from Brown's mouth.

“Some issues, but not a big one”

"Then leave it alone"

Mourinho shook his head. He brought Ibrahimovic from Paris to Chelsea just to be prepared. "The most important thing for us now is to win the knockout match against Paris. John and Zlatan's problems can only be put aside for now. Um... from your perspective, have they improved?"

Brown swung his arms back and forth. Mourinho walked quite fast, and Brown always had a hard time walking with him.

"What aspect do you mean by improvement?"

"How about this, do you think they will go to the bar tonight? We can make a bet."

Mourinho slowed down his pace, giving Brown a chance to rest. The Blues assistant coach thought for a moment, then replied: "Well, I think so."

"Then I'll bet they won't go to the pub. What do you think of a fiver?"

"Whatever!"

"That's it, we have a deal."

……

That night, the results came out and not a single player from the Blues team went to the bar. They all went home to be with their families.

The Sun reporter also found that Jiang Yuan picked up a chocolate birthday cake at Maison Bertaux after get off work. Judging from Jiang Yuan's behavior at the time, he must have booked this cake a long time ago.

It’s most likely a family member’s birthday.

This is the conclusion reached by a reporter from The Sun.

With five hours to go before the game started, Chelsea held a press conference at Stamford Bridge, and the team's head coach Mourinho was interviewed.

"Wow, looks like you guys have been waiting for a long time"

Mourinho smiled as he held a sandwich cake, also made by Maison Bertaux, which cost £4.98.

"Mr. Jose, you seem to be in a good mood. Is it because you think the team can win today?"

Reporters' eyes were very sharp. This was the first time Mourinho walked into the press conference hall with a smile. It was hard not to believe that something good was going to happen.

Or, something good is about to happen.

"Oh, are you talking about today's game? I think we will win, just like before every game, I always feel that my players can win, and today is the same."

"Because we have the away goal advantage, today..."

"no no no"

Mourinho finished the cake in his hand and then explained: "Away goal advantage? This doesn't affect us much. I will treat the last game as a draw."

"Okay. We found that in the first three league games, you let Hazard play as a central midfielder. Will you do the same in today's game?"

"Maybe. I will arrange a lineup that can help us win the game, and a tactic that can win the game. At least in my opinion, my lineup and tactics are appropriate."

Mourinho was vague. To be honest, the reporter's level today is not high, and it is useless to ask such questions.

The reporter wanted to continue asking questions, but Mourinho pushed them away: "Hey, no need to raise your hand, I know what you want to ask. I'm sorry, the questions you want to know are all things I can't answer now."

“Believe me, wait another 5 hours, or 7 hours, and all the questions in your mind will be answered.”

"As for whether Chelsea can win, only God knows"

……

"Zhuangdianertai, Zhuangdianertai!"

"Here is the live broadcast of the 2015-2016 UEFA Champions League quarter-finals, the second leg between Chelsea and Paris. I am the commentator of this game, Zhan Jun, and I am the commentator Huang Jianxiang."

"You can see that today's stadium is all blue. This is the home stadium of Chelsea Football Club, located at Stamford Bridge in London, England."

"Both players are ready"

"Cavani kicks the ball out, the game begins!"

"Now let me introduce the starting lineups of both teams. First up is the home team Chelsea, wearing blue jerseys and blue shorts, attacking from the left side of the screen to the right side!"

"..."

"Then the visiting team, Paris Saint-Germain, wearing pure white jerseys and shorts, attacked from the right side of the screen to the left side"

Paris Saint-Germain (4-3-3)

Goalkeeper: Trapp
Defenders: Maxwell, David Luiz, Thiago Silva, Marquinhos

Midfielders: Matuidi, Motta, Rabiot
Forwards: Lucas Moura, Cavani, Di Maria

Head coach: Blanco

In terms of formation, Chelsea used the most popular 4231 in the Premier League this season, while Paris used the most popular 433 in Ligue . The two formations have their own advantages and disadvantages, and it depends on how they play.

Then there are the players. Due to the special avoidance rules of the Champions League, Ibrahimovic will still not be able to play in the second round.

"Hey!"

Seeing Fabregas being pressed by Rabiot and Cavani, Jiang Yuan ran over to respond. After getting the ball, he kicked it with his heel and cleverly got rid of Motta at the moment of receiving the ball.

"Bastard!" Motta's reaction speed was very fast. After finding that he was shaken off, he directly pulled Jiang Yuan down with his hands to prevent Jiang Yuan from starting from the wing.

"Beep!"

Brich blew the whistle, calling a foul on Motta's pulling, and Chelsea won a free kick near the left sideline. Azpilicueta hurried to the position where Jiang Yuan fell, touched the ball with one hand, and then knocked it across with his instep, sending a straight pass to the front court.

"Wow! On the Chelsea side, Azpilicueta quickly sent a free kick to Remy who was in the front"

"Paris's defensive players haven't arrived yet, Remy passes the ball back to Hazard, who passes it to William on the right"

"William! Get down to the bottom!"

"Maxwell is following very closely. I don't know if William has a chance. The Brazilian winger from Chelsea has very good footwork, but he may not be as good as Maxwell in physical confrontation..."

"Hey, we've reached the bottom line. From this perspective, William doesn't stand a chance..."

"Through the crotch! Oh my God, it's William's through-the-crotch dribble on the right!"

"William bypasses Maxwell and passes the ball!"

At Stamford Bridge, the ball flew in an arc towards the Paris penalty area. Remy ran forward against Silva. At the same time, Jiang Yuan on the left also started. The two were ready to try in the penalty area.

In the middle, Remi jumped up, but couldn't reach the ball.

At the back point, Marquinhos stood in front of Jiang Yuan, and the latter could only use his body to force his way into the defense.

Unfortunately, Marquinhos, who had the advantage in position, took the lead and cleared the ball out of the baseline.

fuck!

Mourinho held his head in his hands. If it was Ibrahimovic instead of Remy standing on the field, the header at the first point might have been a goal.

The special avoidance rules of the Champions League are really damn annoying!

Mikel is still responsible for Chelsea's corner kick.

After moving Hazard to the middle, Mourinho also made some adjustments to the team's corner kick tactics. Originally, when attacking corner kicks, William would stand at the top of the arc or around the top of the arc to look for opportunities for inverted triangle long shots, but now this task is the responsibility of Hazard.

The freed William needs to enter the penalty area. Chelsea does not need him to go for headers, but the Brazilian boy's flexible movement can help the team's header experts attract defense.

Beep!
The referee blew the whistle and Mikel raised his right hand.

Tactical corner kick!

Fabregas ran over to receive the ball. Facing the slow and flat ball from Mikel, Fabregas made a 45-degree cross without stopping the ball.

"Later point!"

As Hazard shouted, the Paris penalty area suddenly fell into chaos. Jiang Yuan and David Luiz were entangled with each other, and after a confrontation, he found an opportunity to jump.

Because of Louis's interference, Jiang Yuan knew that his header would not have much power, so he did not choose to attack the goal directly, but smashed the ball to the ground with his head.

Snapped!
The ball bounced in front of the Paris goal and was kicked in by an outstretched foot after rebounding.

The goal was scored by... Terry!
"Roar!!!!!!!"

Terry roared in celebration, and the next second, the linesman threw a red and yellow flag to tie the game, and Brich blew the whistle to indicate that the goal was invalid.

offside!

Upon hearing the bad news, Terry swung his leg in anger and used the resin studs on the sole of his shoe to lift up a small piece of grass on the field.

"Fuck!"

A goal being blown off is a catastrophic moment for any player, especially in the current situation, because Chelsea urgently needs to vent their anger on Paris because they were equalized in the first leg.

Fabregas ran over and patted Terry on the shoulder: "Cheer up, it's not over yet!"

"Ok!"

Terry shook his head. Fabregas was right. The focus now was not to be sad about the goal that was blown off, but to find a way to get a second chance to score.

"Clap clap clap!"

"Backcourt set piece, hurry back!"

At Terry's urging, the Blues' front players began to run slowly back.

"..."

"Matuidi passed the ball to Motta, who passed it to Rabiot. It can be seen that Paris is a very calm team. Although Chelsea has the advantage of away goals, Paris did not lose its composure because of this... Hey, Coach Zhan, from your perspective, how did Chelsea perform in today's game?"

"Well, leaving aside the disallowed goal, Chelsea's performance in the second leg was obviously better than the first leg. Look at the ball possession rate. Although Chelsea's ball possession rate was slightly lower than that in the first leg, this was the inevitable result of letting Hazard play as a front midfielder. Let's look at the number of shots and the shot conversion rate. It's now the 28th minute and Chelsea has already had 9 shots, but in the first leg this number was 7."

"That's right. Coach Zhan, who do you think has a better chance of winning this game?"

"Chelsea adjusted their form and used new tactics"

"So Coach Zhan is optimistic about Chelsea?"

"No, to be honest... I am more optimistic about Paris. My reason is that Paris' league form this season is much better than Chelsea's."

In the 35th minute, Chelsea got the ball in the backcourt. At this time, Paris' three forwards, Cavani, Di Maria, and Mola, began to press Chelsea in a high position.

No matter how calm the Paris players are, they cannot waste time with Chelsea.

"Keep an eye on him!"

Cavani pointed at Hazard, signaling Di Maria to keep a close eye on the Belgian. Then, the Uruguayan striker of Paris accelerated towards Mikel, forcing the latter to pass the ball back to Courtois.

This is not the end yet. Cavani had already anticipated Mikel's choice of passing the ball. When he raised his leg to pass back, Cavani decisively changed direction, made an arc, and ran towards Courtois in front of the goal.

The fight was fierce!

"come over!"

Courtois took small steps with the ball in the penalty area, while signaling his teammates to come and receive the ball.

The first one to come over was Azpilicueta from the left, but because of Cavani's presence, it was impossible for Courtois to kick the ball out easily.

The easiest way to handle the ball at the moment is to hit the ball out of the sideline, but Courtois will not do so unless he has no other choice.

"Hey!"

Courtois called out, and after Azpilicueta ran near the baseline, Courtois raised his right leg and hit the ball.

right!

Cavani's eyes lit up, he made a curve and prepared to rush towards Azpilicueta, but he fell into Courtois's trap. His right foot kicked into nothing, and after adjusting one step, he passed the ball to Fabregas at the edge of the penalty area. Fabregas took the ball and turned around, and Chelsea's counterattack began.

“Here!”

Hazard got rid of the two defenders in front of him and ran to the open space to meet Fabregas, who decisively passed the ball to Hazard.

Hazard dribbles the ball through the middle!
Remy turned around and quickly ran towards the Paris half. Jiang Yuan and William, two wingers, also moved forward. After returning to their original positions, their performance became even better.

Hazard looked up and exchanged glances with Jiang Yuan on the left. As a teammate for more than half a year, Jiang Yuan knew what Hazard wanted to do. He lowered his head and rushed out like a spring.

Hazard made a long pass with his right foot, the ball flew over Marquinhos' head and came in an arc to a position about 2 meters in front of Jiang Yuan.

ta!

Jiang Yuan stretched out his foot to stop the ball and used the most elastic part of his right foot, the outside of his foot, to take the ball off.

Paris' defense was in position very quickly. After Jiang Yuan stopped the ball and turned around, Marquinhos, with his hands behind his back, rushed over and faced Jiang Yuan one-on-one on the wing.

It's a little late!

Because of Marquinhos's approach, Jiang Yuan was a little helpless. He pretended to go to the bottom line and did not shake off his opponent. So he simply stopped suddenly and passed the ball back to Hazard who came to respond.

At the same time, Jiang Yuan cut in from behind Marquinhos and entered the penalty area, receiving the pass from Hazard before entering the penalty area.

"Snapped!"

Before Luis came up to defend alone, Jiang Yuan passed the ball. Standing in the penalty area was the Blues center forward of this game, Loicremy.

boom!
duang!

In most cases, a successful goal only involves one shot, but Remy's double shot was clearly problematic.

He hit the ball against the post!
"shit!"

The ball hit the left post and bounced out. Jiang Yuan reacted and rushed over to make a sliding shot, but Louis had cleared the ball before Jiang Yuan arrived.

There is an extremely large ultra-clear camera under the VIP stand of Stamford Bridge, and the lens is now pointing at Chelsea's bench.

Mourinho looked at the camera and leaned back.

wdf! ?
Remy's shot hit the post and sighs were heard at Stamford Bridge.

In the last home game against Stoke City, the Blues players had no shooting feel at all.

In today's Champions League knockout match against Paris, I still don't have the shooting feel.

Other teams have bonuses at home, why is it that for Chelsea, Stamford Bridge seems to be under a curse?

The game was still going on. Mourinho shook his hands and then sat down next to Brown. The Portuguese coach put his elbows on his thighs and crossed his fingers in front of his mouth.

Brown and Kennedy, who was sitting behind him, exchanged a glance. The latter pointed at Mourinho and whispered, "Go up and comfort him?"

"you go"

Kennedy waved his hands and moved one person to the side.

"well"

Brown shrugged and then patted Mourinho on the back: "Jose, are you okay? Don't be nervous, maybe it's just bad luck"

"hiss--"

Mourinho took a deep breath, slowly raised his upper body, and finally leaned back on the chair and said slowly: "Stamford Bridge is cursed by God!"

……

(End of this chapter)