Chapter 263 On the eve of the war
There was no goal until the 80th minute, but in the 81st minute, the situation on the field suddenly changed. Ibrahimovic broke the ice by receiving Hazard's right-foot cross in the penalty area.

"vamos!"

Mourinho shouted excitedly, and the result was incredible. Just after Ibrahimovic scored the goal, 4 minutes later, De Bruyne of Manchester City made a explosive shot from outside the penalty area, which stunned Courtois.

i wipe...

Jiang Yuan scratched himself.

Even though this game lasts 90 minutes, the key lies in these 5 minutes!
“Let’s go!”

At the end of the game, Chelsea and Manchester City fought fiercely at Stamford Bridge and ended the game with a 1:1 draw.

It looks like a draw, but Manchester City has the advantage because they are on away goals.

Ibrahimovic and De Bruyne scored a goal each. Although the number of goals was not large, the game was still quite exciting because De Bruyne's shot was from long range.

Jiang Yuan took his cell phone and followed the players back to the locker room.

"First, let's interview who I personally think is the best player of the game, Zlatan!"

The camera was pointed at Ibrahimovic, and Jiang Yuan turned into a reporter in the locker room: "Ibrahimovic, do you have anything to say to the fans?"

Ibrahimovic glanced at the iPhone in Jiang Yuan's hand and pointed at his nose: "English or Chinese?"

“You don’t speak Chinese either…”

"Too!"

Ibrahimovic nodded and put on his clothes. "I am very happy to score a goal, but as you can see, I had two good chances to score in the game, but I didn't seize them."

In this game, of Chelsea's three frontcourt players, Hazard was unpredictable, Willian had forgotten how to dribble past the defense, and only Ibrahimovic was exerting his strength. Unfortunately, the Swedish center's shooting feel was not very good today. Apart from a header in front of the goal, his other shots were a bit far off. Those who didn't know might think he had been drinking before the game.

"As for the second round..."

"Quick, interview me!"

Zouma stood up from the bench. He wanted to push Ibrahimovic aside and run to Jiang Yuan, but after thinking about it, he decided not to do so. He just took a bottle of mineral water from the box and used it as a microphone.

"Okay, okay, let's interview our Snail Brother (Chinese)"

"Kurt, you played badly in this game, do you have anything to say about it? (English)"

Jiang Yuan held back his laughter. Zouma was one of Chelsea's best players in today's game. If he met a real reporter, he would definitely praise his teammates, but in front of his teammates... Sorry, I'd better keep it down.

"Hey, come on!"

Zouma took a step back: "I played well, with a lot of clearances. And in the second half, I almost scored that header!"

The "almost" that Zuma mentioned must be a lot different.

[Anchor, can you go to Manchester City for an interview? I’m a Manchester City fan! ]

[I suggest interviewing Courtois and De Bruyne at the same time. I want to see this]

[It's a pity that the score is 1:1. Manchester City has the advantage of away goals. I hope Chelsea can do well in the second round! ]

[I didn’t learn English well in school, damn I regret it now, can Xiao Jiang give me a real-time translation?]

[I can understand the general idea, but I still need someone to translate for me. Zuma speaks too fast, and knowing English may not be helpful.]

[Can the anchor draw a jersey? I want it signed! ]

"Well, what is this?"

Hazard saw Zouma holding a bottle of water and talking nonstop, and walked over unsteadily. Finally, he said a few words to Jiang Yuan and took Jiang Yuan's phone from him: "7 people, um! This is much more than the people on the scene!"

"Hey, Eden, you got your phone! Got it!"

Zuma suddenly said, throwing the mineral water bottle on the ground and half squatting: "Brothers from China, look at my taichi!"

Hazard took two steps back, trying to get Zouma's entire body in the photo, and even joked: "Hey, your taichi is not even as good as Cesc's!"

"You fart!"

Zuma shook his head, apparently ready to get serious.

Jiang Yuan was standing nearby, wanting to take the phone back, but seeing how excited Hazard and Zouma were, he didn't reach out in the end.

Obviously I am the host!

……

The schedule is very tight. After the Champions League on the 6th, the 9rd round of the Premier League will be played away against Swansea on the 33th. Because they need to prepare for the second round of the Champions League in 5 days, Mourinho asked Hazard, Jiang Yuan, and Zouma to be on the bench for this game.

The score in the first half was 1:0. Chelsea opened the scoring with a goal from Azpilicueta. Mourinho then brought on Zouma and Hazard in the 62nd minute and Jiang Yuan in the 78th minute. With the combined efforts of several players, Ibrahimovic received a pass from Oscar in the penalty area and successfully killed the game.

The final score was 2:0, with Chelsea winning by a narrow margin. The victory in this game allowed Chelsea to overtake Arsenal and rank second in the league, still 2 points behind first-placed Leicester City.

Reporter interview.

"I'm Joseph from The Times. Mr. Jose, first of all, congratulations on your victory in this game. And... judging from the results this season, Chelsea's record against strong teams is not very good. On the contrary, when playing against weak teams, Chelsea can always win with a small score or even a big score. Many people think that this is because Chelsea can't beat any strong team. Mr. Jose, what is your opinion on this..."

Mourinho pursed his lips: "Well, first of all, Swansea is not a weak team. As we said before, every Premier League team has very strong strength. We won against some smaller teams, which shows that our team's strength is relatively stable."

relatively stable?

Joseph's pupils shrank. This season, there are three teams that love roller coaster games the most: Liverpool, Chelsea, and West Ham United. You have no idea how these three teams will play next.

However, Mourinho was not finished yet.

"I know you don't recognize Chelsea's current strength and think we haven't reached the level of last season. But you have to look at the results of the Champions League. We have made progress in the Champions League this season. We beat Paris and drew with Manchester City, whose injured players returned. Yes, it was this game."

"In five days, I will take the players to Etihad, and then you will know"

After saying that, Mourinho took off his headset, put it on the table, and left the press conference without looking back.

"Jose!"

"Sir, I still have some questions!"

"Hey!"

……

Due to time constraints, Mourinho cancelled the team's holiday, but as an important match is approaching, the training intensity will definitely not be too high.

As for why Mourinho didn't just let the players take a break, it was mainly because he was afraid that everyone would go to the bar to drink.

It would be terrible if Chelsea players were blocked by dancers at The Connaught bar before the game even started.

The next day, after training, Jiang Yuan sat with Hazard, Zouma, and Terry in the cafeteria. In fact, Jiang Yuan and Hazard were eating together at first, but later, Zouma came over, and then Hazard pulled Terry over, making it seem like the four of them formed a small group.

However, there are basically no problems in Chelsea's locker room now. It doesn't matter who eats with whom. This is not something the coaching staff needs to worry about now.

"Little Kurt, John, can you sit over there?"

Mourinho pointed to the far end of the dining table, motioning Zouma and Terry, who were sitting opposite Jiang Yuan, to move to the side.

Zuma picked up a piece of takoyaki with a fork and raised his hand to the air and stopped: "Can I not go?" "No"

Mourinho was about to send them away, so Zouma and Terry had no choice but to move to the opposite side. However, Mourinho was still not satisfied and shook his hand: "Sit further away!"

"Please!"

Terry spread his hands and said, "We are all on the same team. I am the captain. Is there anything I cannot talk about?"

That was true, but in the end Terry took Zouma to sit at the far end, leaving the corner of the restaurant for Jiang Yuan and Hazard.

The two looked at each other, then at Mourinho, and said at the same time: "Should I leave?"

"Stay"

Mourinho sat down opposite: "I want to talk to you about the starting position today"

!!!

As soon as he heard the words "starting position", Jiang Yuan straightened up and suddenly lost his desire to eat.

"First of all, I must admit that you are all very good wingers. But I think you should also see that if Eden plays as a front midfielder, then our backcourt and frontcourt will be out of touch."

Mourinho looked at Hazard and said: "I don't blame you, it's just that you are not good at retreating to support"

Jiang Yuan put the fork on the table, looking thoughtful. Mourinho was right. Hazard's technical characteristics were there. Even if he could retreat to support, the depth of his retreat would not be enough.

In order to avoid the situation where the backcourt and the frontcourt are out of touch, Mourinho has three ways.

1. Change Chelsea's current 4231 to 433
2. Put Hazard back on the left.

3. A defensive midfielder with strong midfield coverage ability
"That's how it is. There are three conditions, but if I want to complete it this season, I can only let Eden go back to play on the left. In this case, Jiang, you will still play on the right."

Mourinho has made his attitude clear. This season, Jiang Yuan will most likely not appear on the left again. Even if Jiang Yuan plays on the left, it is a temporary tactic formulated by Mourinho based on the characteristics of the opponent.

"..."

Jiang Yuan held the fork in one hand and grasped the corner of the table with the other. He didn't say anything because a voice came from his mind.

[Limited-time mission (You, go kill Azar!) Mission failed]

[Mission update: You, go and kill Ronaldo! ]

[Requirement: This season's Champions League Golden Boot]

[Reward: 5% of the gold-edged Luo template]

i wipe...

"Hey, Jiang, are you listening to me?"

After being yelled at by Mourinho, Jiang Yuan shook his head: "Ah, ahem, sorry, sorry, Jose, I'm listening"

On the other side, the Portuguese coach narrowed his eyes slightly: "Hmm...you seem very dissatisfied with my decision?"

"Nothing"

Jiang Yuan made a judgment immediately. To be honest, instead of fighting to the death with Mourinho for a position, it would be better to direct the conflict outward.

It may seem unrealistic to compete with Ronaldo for the Champions League Golden Boot, but you have to know that Jiang Yuan is now number one on the Champions League scorer list!

Knowing Jiang Yuan well, Mourinho would never believe this: "Well, this is the result of a comprehensive discussion between me and Lyon. But I also need to tell you in advance that our lineup this season has a high lower limit, but a very low upper limit. By next season... Eden"

Mourinho looked at Hazard, who was eating French fries with thick tartar sauce on them.

"When we resume training during the summer break, we will train you in the attacking midfielder position. For the future of the team, you must go to the attacking midfielder position."

Mourinho's voice was a little low when he said the word "must", and it can be seen how determined he was to make this decision. Mourinho will get the answer this summer whether Hazard's wing talent can be brought into play in the attacking midfielder position.

"no problem"

Hazard ate the fries and didn't even forget to lick the sauce off his fingers: "So we want to buy a sweeping defensive midfielder in the summer window, right? I like to have a midfielder who runs around in the team, so that I can run less."

……

北京时间4月13日凌晨1点45分，距离欧冠四分之一决赛次回合，曼城VS切尔西的比赛还有1个小时开始。

Yesterday, Real Madrid defeated Wolfsburg 3-0 at home and advanced to the semi-finals with a total score of 5-0. If Chelsea wins today's game, the Blues players will meet Real Madrid players in the semi-finals.

"You know just what I was there~"

“for You heard me saying a prayer for~”

"Someone I really could care for~"

"And then there suddenly appeared before me~"

"..."

At this time, outside the Etihad Stadium, fans wearing light blue jerseys were walking around. The game was about to start in an hour, and most of the people staying outside at this time were fans who had not gotten tickets.

Champions League knockout rounds + Manchester City + Chelsea, three BUFFs added up, scalper tickets start at 1500 pounds. You can't go in to see it, but it's still a very good thing to feel the atmosphere outside.

The big screen outside the stadium will broadcast the game information in real time, and the commentary can also be heard outside the stadium. To round it off, watching the game from outside the stadium is also like watching it from inside.

In the crowd, a white youth with a backpack shook the beer in his hand and opened the can.

puff!
The dark yellow wheat juice with pure white foam sprayed out from the can and sprinkled on the surrounding fans. However, the fans who were splashed with the wine were not angry, but looked very happy.

Visiting team locker room.

Mourinho pulled Oscar and William to the middle, and waved to Jiang Yuan and Hazard who were sitting on the periphery: "OK, guys, come here and move to the middle."

"Half an hour, in half an hour we will have the most crucial game of this season so far"

"Guys, look at where we are in the league right now. We are only two points below Leicester City and we have one game less. What does that mean?"

Mourinho looked around and tapped the tactical board: "This shows that we are the strongest team in the entire Premier League."

"Arsenal? No!"

"City? No!"

"Chelsea! only Chelsea!"

"Woww!!"

The players in the locker room cheered. Just as Mourinho said, Chelsea had one game less but was only 2 points behind, so they should be the strongest contender for the championship.

The strongest contender for the championship = league champion, league champion = the strongest in the league, the strongest in the league = invincible in the Champions League civil war. According to the Corgi inequality, Chelsea > Manchester City.

"That's it. Now, let's go out there and...win this game!"

……

(End of this chapter)