Chapter 450 Towards Maturity

As Chelsea are about to challenge Manchester United at Old Trafford, Blues head coach Boas refuted the other side's claim that Chelsea's lineup is too old. He gave the example of Red Devils veteran Giggs, saying that age is not necessarily a problem.

Manchester United's first team coach Mullenstein previously said, "Chelsea's lineup is too old, and their rhythm is not enough to win the Premier League championship." In response, Boas responded, "It's strange for him to say that, because we have all seen the important role of Giggs, Van der Sar and Scholes to Manchester United over the years."

"This week, Giggs scored in the Champions League, and everyone is praising him. What's the difference between this and some of our players?"

In terms of the expected starting lineup, the average age of Manchester United is about 25 years and 141 days, while Chelsea is 27 years and 320 days. 30-year-old Terry and 33-year-old Lampard will return on Sunday after the mid-week round break. Boaz said: "We may have one of the oldest lineups in the league, but look These players have won the championship. They have a lot to contribute. You just need to find the right balance between youth and experience.

Manchester United's head coach Ancelotti was still coaching Chelsea last season. Speaking of his familiarity with the Blues, he may be better than Boas!

But Boas said that he would not be affected. I won't be intimidated by Ancelotti or Old Trafford. Of course, I won't think that I and Ancelotti are equal. You must pay tribute to a person who has achieved so much, but I feel that the game is not against him, not between two head coaches. With my understanding of football, this is not the case. Of. At this level, the role of the head coach is minimized, the players decide everything, and they will explore their talents and enjoy the game. What we can do is to help them explore their talents, but our participation is relatively small.

"What I can do is to treat this game like an ordinary game. I hope I can mobilize my players to win, which will make our situation better than now. As for the familiarity with Ancelotti you said, I don't know how to comment. Chelsea is no longer a year ago."

Boaz also talked about some focus players. For Sturridge, who has been in good shape recently, he said: "He has performed well recently and will become better. If you ask him, he will say that he feels more comfortable playing as a striker, but I feel that he has the same potential for playing on the sidelines. What we are trying to find for him is playing on the sidelines. The free space of the ball.

The topic inevitably mentioned Torres, and Boas said, "Let's wait and see. I can't say more." I'm very satisfied with the team's performance against Leverkusen, but I won't help you make too many comments on my striker.

In fact, Boas and Ancelotti have had a direct communication. A few weeks ago, they met at the UEFA Coaches Forum in Switzerland, but the topic they talked about was somewhat surprising. Boas revealed: "It's a little strange. We're talking about the introduction of offside rules to the out-of-bounds ball, mainly talking about Stoke City."

For Manchester United's new player Mata, it is exciting to play Chelsea. He will compete for the team with Giggs, a lot of idol player he pays attention to. Mata said: "That day, Giggs' goal showed his value. He has always been one of the best wingers in the past and present. I pay the most attention to him because he plays in the same position as me. His scramble, tape and overall style are impressive.

Speaking of the competition in the Champions League and the Premier League, Mata said: "The Champions League is obviously very important, which is very attractive to us, but we are also very interested in the Premier League and other events we want to participate in."

"Real Madrid and Barcelona have performed well and improved a lot over the years, but I think there are several teams that can cause trouble for them now. I would say that Chelsea is one of them. The Champions League is a very difficult game, so I think everyone has a chance."

Speaking of Torres, Mata said: "He is an excellent player. In the past, many games have shown his ability to score a lot of goals. Everyone will go through a low point, but I think this will be his season. He will score a lot of goals this year."

Another noteworthy game in this round is Arsenal, because this game is likely to be related to Wenger's position.

Arsenal lost again! In the first five rounds of the Premier League in the 2011/12 season, the Gunners only achieved a record of 1 win, 1 draw and 3 losses, with only 4 points! The last time Arsenal had such a bad start, Van Persie was not born yet.

The last time Arsenal scored only 4 points in the first 5 rounds, it was in the 1982/83 season! And this season, the tragedy is repeated.

In the first round, Arsenal faced the unstable Newcastle and had only two shots in the game. The Guardian commented after the game: "The helpless Arsenal is like the last place last season." In the second round, Arsenal lost 0-2 to Liverpool, losing to the Reds at home for the first time in 11 years, and for the first time in 42 years that they did not score a goal in the first two rounds of the league. In the third round, Arsenal was washed by Manchester United (Weibo) 8-2 at Old Trafford and suffered the worst failure in 115 years. In the fourth round, Arsenal finally took advantage of a shocking mistake of the opposing goalkeeper to win the promotion of Maswanxi 1-0 at home and won the first victory of the Premier League in the new season.

Before this round, Blackburn had only 1 point with 1 draw and 3 losses, ranking first from the bottom of the table. Arsenal, which had just won the first victory in the league and drew with Dortmund in the Champions League, wanted to use this opponent to continue to accumulate confidence.

Wenger said before the game: "We feel that the team has turned the corner, but it still needs to be judged by the consistency of the record. Within the club, we feel that we have returned to the right track, and the spirit of the team is good, strong and united. We want to change the skepticism around us, but only by relying on a consistent good record can we change the tone of others. Let's fight down one after another, stick to it together, and prove ourselves with actions.

However, Arsenal, which vowed, failed to prove itself with practical actions, but gave more truth to the critics! In this game, the Gunners were actually scored 4 goals by Blackburn and became a stepping stone for the "deputy squad leader" to get rid of the relegation zone, which was really embarrassing.

This loss is also Arsenal's 100th away defeat in the history of the Premier League. Wenger specifically emphasized before the game: "You should note that we had the best away results in the Premier League last season. The defeat of Old Trafford is just a special case. We can't erase our excellent away performance in the past few years because of that defeat. You may lose confidence because of the loss at Old Trafford, and it will take a long time to regain it, but we will try to do it through every next game.

Last season in the Premier League, Arsenal scored 8 wins, 7 draws and 4 losses away from home, scoring 31 points, scoring 39 goals and conceded 28 goals, with a goal difference of +11. This away record is better than Manchester City with 8 wins, 4 draws, 7 losses and 28 points, a goal difference of +5, Chelsea (Weibo) with 7 wins, 5 draws, 7 losses and 26 points, +10 goals, Manchester United with 5 wins, 10 draws, 4 losses, 25 points, and +4 goal difference is better! Ranked 1st in the away scoreboard!

However, this season, Arsenal's away record is 1 draw and 2 losses, 5 goals and 12 goals. Such an away record is only better than Fulham and Swansea, who lost two games, ranking 18th in the away table! What's more shocking is that in the 16 Premier League games after last season's League Cup final, Arsenal only scored 16 points, with an average scoring rate of only 1 point. If there is only this scoring rate in 38 rounds, then the season will be only 38 points, which will be relegated in the Premier League last season!

Arsenal fans can't sit still anymore! According to Yahoo Sports, the Arsenal Fan Foundation (AST) is looking for an opportunity to write to Stan Kerenke, the club's major shareholder (who holds 66.6% of the shares) in the coming week, and plan a face-to-face meeting to ask him to give a detailed explanation of the team's future plans. .

When Kroenck took over Arsenal in April this year, he sent a document to each shareholder of the club, promising that he would do his best to communicate with the fans; but so far, he has been absent from any interaction with the fans. A spokesman for the Arsenal Fan Foundation said: "At the AST meeting this week, our members decided to write to Clark asking him to fulfill his promise as soon as possible." Arsenal's problem is not just at the competitive level; the vegetarian meal at the top of the club is the root cause of the gunners's current predicament. Perhaps the openness of the board of directors will become a turning point.

Wenger's departure and stay may also be clear. Such an Arsenal is so sad!

Back to the game of Manchester United, Chelsea is not Manchester United's favorite opponent. In the history of the Premier League, Chelsea is one of the few teams that have the upper hand in the record of playing against Manchester United.

In the history of the Premier League, Manchester United has averaged 1.47 points against Chelsea at home, which is lower than the scoring rate against any other Premier League team. However, this is not what it used to be. Manchester United has scored 18 goals in the first four rounds and has scored 32 consecutive goals in the league, while Chelsea has only conceded one goal in the last 16 visits to Old Trafford. In the last eight Premier League games, Chelsea has only achieved a clean sheet.

Therefore, it is logical for Manchester United, which is in a hot state, to break the goal and even win in this game. After winning this game, Manchester United and Chelsea's England record was 12 wins, 14 draws and 13 losses.

Do you still remember Li Yu at the beginning of last season? All British media are marveling at the efficiency of Manchester United's No. 9 goal; this summer's media are keen to hype that he will leave Manchester after Ferguson's retirement.

His position has retreated this season, but the answer submitted by Manchester United No. 9 does not seem to fade.

Two consecutive hat-tricks, all goals were scored in the opening five rounds of the Premier League. Li Yu also became the second player in the history of the Premier League after Reyes scored all the goals in the first five rounds of Arsenal in the 04-05 season. Although Manchester United's next league opponent Stoke City is the team that has conceded fewer goals in the Premier League after 4 rounds, considering the current attack power of 21 goals in 5 rounds of the Red Devils and the explosive state of Li Yujing, Manchester United broke this historical record and became the hope of scoring in six consecutive rounds after the opening of the Premier League. It seems to be within reach. Moreover, 9 goals in the first 5 rounds also set a new record in the Premier League.

His excellent state has also helped the Red Devils become the only team to win five rounds of the Premier League so far. These victories include an 8-2 victory over Arsenal and a complete victory over London Tottenham Hotspur and Chelsea. These 15 points are full of gold!

If it hadn't been for losing the penalty due to the wet slip on the field in the second half, and if it hadn't been for Mata's selfless ball at the end of the game, Li Yu's league goals after five rounds would have reached double digits! In the whole game, Li Yu shot five times and hit the target twice and scored one goal. In addition, she also sent two threatening passes and two opportunities to create a set-piece in the front court. After the game, Sky Sports gave Manchester United the team's third highest score of 7 points. The comment was "supporting Manchester United's attack, but missed the penalty."

It's a pity that Li Yu missed the penalty kick. In the 55th minute of the second half, Nani ran all the way with the ball in the front court. After the shot outside the penalty area was blocked, he broke into the penalty area and made a make-up shot. As a result, he was put down by Bosinwa. The referee Dodd blew a penalty kick, and Li Yudang walked to the free throw point. But what's terrible is that before the Manchester United King shot, his left foot was accidentally slipped by the turf that had just been watered by Old Trafford. His shot also flew far away. Li Yu, who got up, deliberately pressed back the turf he stepped on, and then ran away helplessly.

However, Li Yu's luck is not always so bad today. In the 45th minute of the first half, Phil Jones assisted into the opponent's penalty area. After losing the ball, he was relieved by Terry to Nani. The ball bounced to the foot of Rooney, who was almost facing the empty goal near the penalty point, and the latter naturally smiled rudely.

Of course, it can't be said that Li Yu's 9th goal of this season is all due to luck. Even in the face of half an empty goal, you have to master your footwork. Look at Torres's soul out of the completely empty goal in the second half. Can you say that Li Yu's shot has no technical content at all?

Speaking of wasting empty doors, the empty door that Li Yu gave to Mata before the end of the second half can better reflect his current "irreplaceable" role in the team.

In the first minute of stoppage time, Li Yu succeeded in offside on the left side. When facing Cech one-on-one, she chose to selflessly cross the other side of the new aid Mata. Maybe he regarded the Spaniard as a little pea. Mata's speed did not keep up with Li Yu's pass. His reluctant shot was relieved by Ashley Cole in front of the goal. If there is no penalty kick, and if Li Yu chooses this single shot to shoot by herself, perhaps the first three consecutive hat-tricks in Premier League history will be born. However, Li Yu made it very clear before the game: "It is far more important for Manchester United to win the game than I set some records, which is also my motivation to fight on the court."

Why is Li Yu irreplaceable? God, Fowler explained that in an interview with the Mirror, the former England international praised the younger generation: "What I'm talking about is compared with superstars like Cantona, Van Nistruy and Cristiano Ronaldo, but look at what Li Yu is doing for the team now, I must say that he is irreplaceable."

For the players under Liverpool's sworn enemy, the Red Army legend is even willing to compare it with Messi: "I know that Messi's achievements in the past two or three years are unparalleled, but in terms of the current state, I don't think anyone can compare with Li Yu. He reinterpreted the definition of center, not only because of his phenomenal scoring efficiency, but also because of his ability to organize the team's attack. And Messi is the kind of player who shows his intelligence in the game (different from Manchester United No. 9).

Before the last Champions League group match against Benfica, the home team leader Jesus praised Li Yu's style of playing more and more favored Latin style. Ancelotti didn't agree with this: "I don't think Li Yu can be positioned in a certain type. In the game, we can To see, he has great courage, always wants to participate in the competition, and has incredible perseverance. Look at Bailey, a fierce attacker, and can take over the game by himself, so can Li Yu! It's just that Li Yu is completely a Huang Zhong person. He is 'Huang Bailey'.

What is the secret behind the frenzy? When the Sun reporter Beasley raised this question, Li Yu was particularly modest and no longer looked arrogant in front of the camera last season: "We have slightly changed some of our playing style this season, and fortunately I happened to be the beneficiary of this tactical change. I've never scored two hat-tricks in a row, so I enjoy it very much.

In fact, the real secret behind Li Yu is easy to explain. It is not because of the change in the field, nor because she became a groom official, but because of the maturity of mentality. Since this season, Li Yu has behaved more mature than ever. Perhaps this is what Chinese people always like to say. Marry is a real man. Now he always interacts with his beloved wife Jenny on Twitter. For example, last weekend, he complained on Twitter about the boredom of staying in a hotel and missing his new wife, and Jenny It was also very sweet to respond on Twitter at the first time.

After scoring a goal against Bolton in the last game, Jenny congratulated Li Yu for the first time: "Honey, I'll give you the award."

Li Yu responded the next morning, saying that it was just a joke, and the media should not take it seriously.

It can be seen that many things will not be shared with the young couple, and family and sense of responsibility are gradually becoming the focus of his life. This also makes him comfortable on the green field and always be able to make correct, decisive and selfless decisions at the first time. This is an indispensable quality to become the core of a rich team's attack. The transformation of Manchester United No. 9 has been almost successful.