Chapter 231: Going Toe-to-Toe Part 1

Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

Naturally, Chelsea"s players and fans had reason to doubt the decision made by the referee. They could reason that Ferreira did not slide tackle Ribéry, and he fell only because of the slippery ground, or that Ribéry had purposely flopped in hopes of being awarded a penalty kick. But their doubts or protests could not change the results.

Just 11 minutes into the match, Right Back Paulo Ferreira was given a red card because he had tackled a player from the back. In addition to that, Nottingham Forest was awarded a penalty kick by the referee.

Ribéry, who had gotten tackled, lay outside the field. He was receiving treatment from the team doctors, and his condition did not seem serious. On the other hand, Ferreira looked dazed as he stood and watched the main referee raise a red card at him. His mind was a mess. Not only was he given a red card, he also had given the opponents a penalty kick; he had put Chelsea at a disadvantage both in terms of the number of players and points.

José Mourinho pursed his lips as he watched all of this from the outside. He was the one who had brought Ferreira in from FC Porto. In the new club, Ferreira was one of the more trustworthy players; after all, he was already an old troop. He chose not to use William Gallas or Glen Johnson, insisting on using Ferreira all in hopes of letting someone familiar take up a main position on Chelsea"s first team; to help firm up his position as their general. Unexpectedly, Ferreira, who had been such an eye-catcher with his excellent performance on FC Porto, had had persistent difficulty in getting used to the style of English football after coming to London. Match after match, he played worse and worse until no one had any confidence in him at all.

Perhaps it was time to give up on him.

※※※

"Red card! Penalty kick! This is a catastrophe… Paulo Ferreira"s performance is a complete mess! This poor Portuguese man couldn"t keep up with Ribéry"s speed and rhythm at all. He was taken for a spin by his opponent, and in the end, could only finish up this failure of a match with a foul."

Looking at the displeased expression of the referee, Ferreira lost all strength to try to defend himself. He simply hung his head and turned to walk off the field.

On Nottingham Forest"s side, Tang En gave a deep sigh of relief as the team doctors informed him that there was no big issue with Ribéry"s ankle. With the Frenchman"s outstanding performance, he had already become one of Forest"s main players. If something happened to him, Forest"s threat in their offense would take a huge hit.

Now that Ribéry was fine, and Chelsea had lost a person along with a penalty kick, Forest"s situation was extremely advantageous.

Eastwood put the ball on the penalty spot and took a few steps back as he prepared to take his kick.

In front of him was Czech"s genius goalie Petr Čech. A big man who stood over six feet tall, his robust body reflected both his strength and speed. When he stood before the goal with his arms stretched wide, the opening looked entirely sealed off.

Chelsea"s players still held onto a sliver of hope. Penalty kicks did not have a hundred percent chance of becoming a goal; and added to that were the slippery grounds caused by the rain. Perhaps Eastwood would be unsteady on his feet, slip, and miss the ball.

But Eastwood quickly burst their bubble of imagination.

On the referee"s whistle, he took off with strength and speed, shooting a powerful volley!

Čech made an error in his judgment of its direction. As he hurled himself towards the right side of the goal, the ball went towards the middle instead.

"Goal! 1:0! Home team Nottingham Forest leads Chelsea!"

The spectators" stand in City Ground erupted with ear-splitting roars. Earlier, they had still been shouting Brian Clough"s name. Now, they were stamping their feet and clapping for Freddy Eastwood.

While all of Forest was celebrating the goal, José Mourinho was pestering the fourth official, protesting the unfair judgment made by the main referee. The fourth official warned him to be careful and not to throw around accusations without conclusive evidence. Furthermore, the referee was the law on the field. His judgments could not be changed.

Tang En could not care less about what José Mourinho was trying to do; he was celebrating the goal with the rest of the managerial team. In fact, he might as well take up a spot supervising on the sidelines. Now that his team was leading and the opponent had one less player, the situation was greatly to their advantage. He needed to be on guard against Mourinho"s retaliation and remind the players to maintain their composure.

After waiting for the players to get back onto the field and be ready for the kick-off, Tang En yelled at them from the sidelines to capture their attention. He gestured, pressing down both his hands and making a motion to "keep steady."

The most dangerous moment was often after a goal while gaining a lead on the opposition. It was easy for players to get off track in their thoughts and lose focus. This could lead to a chance for the opponent to even the score, which would be a huge blow to the team"s morale.

Other than helping his players calm down, Tang En did not need to do anything else. The situation was good, and he only had to wait quietly in a corner while Mourinho adjusted.

José Mourinho quickly did so by subst.i.tuting Forward Kežman for William Gallas. Now, his priority was how he could prevent losing any more goals, not how many to beat Forest by.

Chelsea"s core in their midfield was Frank Lampard. However, his main purpose was not managing the ball, but in scoring. It could even be said that Frank Lampard had become so successful only because of Mourinho"s tactical arrangement.

Tang En asked Albertini to guard Lampard for the match, primarily to prevent him from scoring after a break. As Lampard was not a holding midfielder, it would reduce his threat if he was only allowed to pa.s.s.

Originally, Tang En was worried that Albertini would not be able to cope on his own. But now he no longer had that worry. With Chelsea down a player, they were forced to swap a Forward for a Full Back. This took pressure off Forest"s defense. So, Tang En adjusted his own strategy. George Wood would continue his co-defense with Piqué against Drogba, and Albertini and Matthew Upson could handle Lampard.

Chelsea, who had lost a player, resolutely began playing with the strategy of long pa.s.sing from the backfield to Drogba. After losing a ball, it caused the pressure on Forest"s defense to sharply increase.

What was the saying?

There was not much technique to speak of, yet it was very effective. The strategy of using long pa.s.ses in England was exactly that.

With Drogba"s physical capability and skill in heading, he was suitably qualified for the position as a center-forward who set up shots. Because Kežman had been swapped out, Lampard advanced more frequently, almost as if he was playing as a Forward. Drogba would often hold the ball and look for Lampard. In direct confrontations with Drogba, Piqué was often at a disadvantage; the difference in their experience was too big, and he lost out slightly in the physical aspect. Furthermore, in their co-defense, Wood and Piqué faced an issue with their coordination.

In the backfield, Terry wound up for the kick, once again looking for Drogba.

The African stuck close to Piqué and stopped him from coming around to his front. He then jumped to receive the ball. Piqué, who had been squeezed to the back, could only watch helplessly as the African jumped to head the ball out.

When Lampard received the ball while under Albertini"s disruption, he chose not to take the midpath and instead moved diagonally towards the right wing. Drogba, who had pa.s.sed the ball to Lampard earlier, turned and ran towards the goal, readying himself to receive Lampard"s pa.s.s.

When George Wood saw this, he heeded Tang En"s instructions and followed Drogba into the penalty area.

With Forest"s defenses focused on Drogba and Lampard, the area in front of the penalty box was empty. At the opportune moment, Lampard made a horizontal pa.s.s, his aim not towards Drogba, who was right in front of the goal, but Joe Cole, who was outside the penalty area!

"Chelsea has a chance!"

Joe Cole suddenly appeared in the middle, throwing Nottingham Forest into ma.s.s panic. Upson quickly turned and tried to get to him, but the distance was too far. It was impossible for him to stop Joe Cole from shooting.

As José Mourinho saw Joe Cole lifting his right foot to kick, he shot up from the manager"s seat and stared straight at Nottingham Forest"s goal.

"A direct volley!"

Joe Cole"s long shots were inconsistent, sometimes great and sometimes bad. When they were good, they could be a fantastically amazing shot; but when they were bad, they posed no threat at all. Which would it be this time?

The football flew over Matthew Upson"s head, who was trying to block the shot, past the outstretched fingers of Darren Ward, and past the top of the crossbar… It went high!

The whole of City Ground took in a deep breath. The shot had only sc.r.a.ped past the crossbar before going out; it was nerve-wracking.

"Dammit! Another loophole!" Tang En groused. They were lucky not to have lost a ball. "The defensive line isn"t focused enough. David, we"re back to the same old problem."

"Tony, I don"t think this problem can be resolved with just training. But there are two methods which might be effective. First, to just keep acc.u.mulating match experience so the players know when they need to stay focused; Second, to yell at them during halftime to wake those lads up." Kerslake laughed.

Tang En scratched his head. "I"m afraid it"ll be too late by the time half-time comes around."

He rose and walked to the sidelines. Taking a deep breath, he yelled into the field, "Keep a close eye on your guys! Don"t let them out of your sight! Mark them! Kill them!" He pounded his fist.

When Joe Cole took the shot, José Mourinho had expected it to be in the bag. He did not think it would graze the crossbar and fly out instead. It sent him reeling back in his chair as he stomped his foot and cursed silently. As he did so, he saw Tang En yelling at the sidelines.

Kill us?

With tight brows and pursed lips, he narrowed his eyes at Tang En.

Don"t think the match is won just because you"re leading by a goal and have a player more than us.

He also stood and walked to the sidelines. He held out two fingers to both Full Backs and pointed in the direction of Forest"s goal, directing them to actively cut forward. Don"t worry about the s.p.a.ce at the back being used by your opponents. If Forest team dares to attack again from the wings, we"ll push them back with our offense!

※※※

For the rest of the first half, it was Chelsea, with one player less, who had the advantage in the field. They suppressed Forest into their half and bombarded them. The blues, who were behind and lacking a person, appeared to have been provoked into a fiery anger.

Tang En believed that the character of the team reflected the character of their manager. In the past, during the time of Ranieri, despite the lion on Chelsea"s emblem, they were as soft and gentle as a cat. This Chelsea, since José Mourinho took over, had the character of the Portuguese man branded on it. Wild and unruly, with upturned noses and arrogance. In such a tight spot, a team like them would explode with immense fighting power. They absolutely would not allow themselves to be defeated by a team that had only just been promoted.

Tang En knew this. It was why he loudly reminded the players to be careful after Joe Cole"s attack. It was a sign of Chelsea"s retaliation.

Now that Forest team had provoked a fearsome beast, it was the most dangerous period. With wave after wave of attacks from Chelsea, Drogba gave Forest"s defensive line a lot of trouble. A defensive line that was this inexperienced faced too much difficulty in trying to completely stop Drogba and Lampard.

"Lampard tries for a long shot! Darren Ward takes a mighty leap!"

"Drogba unleashes a header! At such a short range, that shot took on a tricky angle! Darren Ward has already given up… Ah! But the goalpost helped him out!"

"Joe Cole… what beautiful technique, he went past! Against Matthew Upson, a backheel pa.s.s! Frank Lampard – this time it"s Piqué! The Spanish champion used his body to block Lampard"s powerful shot! He"s collapsed onto the floor. Main referee Poll is signaling for the team doctor to go over… What an intense match, Chelsea"s constant attacks at Forest"s goal are giving them no s.p.a.ce to breathe! Under a mighty attack from the Blues, George Wood and Albertini have lost their control over the midfield. Chelsea"s attacks are unimpeded! Nottingham Forest has lost an important piece of territory. Things are not looking good."

While Piqué was undergoing the medical examination on the field, Tang En took the opportunity to call Albertini over. He used simple English vocabulary and gestures to get his message through.

"After intercepting the ball, do your best to kick it forward. Don"t think about controlling the ball from the back and pa.s.sing it up level by level. Chelsea is tackling fiercely and pressing tightly at the front. Every second with the ball under our feet is an extra second of threat to our goal. Play simply. Do you see Crouch? Send every ball over to him!"

When Albertini nodded in understanding, Tang En patted his shoulder and sent him back. With the team doctor"s help, Piqué stood up and exited the field. He was bent over with a hand holding his chest, possibly requiring further treatment. Or it could just be a formality. Even if the injured player had recovered, he still had to exit the field accompanied by the doctor and wait at the sidelines until the main referee permitted him to enter.

Joe Cole from Chelsea ran towards the corner, ready for a corner kick.

Tang En stood at the side, anxiously watching the crowded mess in front of the goal.

Piqué"s departure from the field would definitely be used by Chelsea. As expected, he saw José Mourinho, also on the sidelines, waving vigorously to signal Carvalho and Terry to move up from the back.

"This b.a.s.t.a.r.d…" Tang En muttered. He then shouted, "Crouch! Back! Go back to defend!"