Football feast, starting from the acquisition of European clubs

Chapter 143 It's Boring Without a Competitive Opponent
At the beginning of the second half, it was not only Crystal Palace who made substitutions.For Manchester United, Ferguson also replaced Fletcher with Alan Smith.

Ferguson also wants to understand now, instead of using the offensive and defensive balance, there is no outstanding Fletcher.

It's better to use Alan Smith, who was born as a forward, to fight. Anyway, now that Manchester United has fallen behind, strengthening the offense is the top priority.

Mascherano's defensive coverage is huge. After he played, the interception ability of the Crystal Palace midfielder immediately improved significantly.

Under Chen Ran's order, the Crystal Palace players refused to budge and blocked Manchester United's offensive from outside their penalty area.

Except for a few times when Manchester United made long passes from the midfield directly to the Crystal Palace penalty area, it was difficult for Manchester United to send the ball into the Crystal Palace penalty area through passing and cutting, whether it was on the wing or in the center.

And the direct long pass from the midfielder is not effective for the Crystal Palace defense line that is waiting for the battle.

So throughout the second half, the two sides still engaged in a meat grinder-style competition in the midfield.

Until the referee blew the whistle to end the game, the score remained unchanged.

In the end, with Jan Kohler's supplementary shot, Crystal Palace beat Manchester United 1-0 at home.

While achieving the first victory against Manchester United this season, it also brought Chen Ran a winning bonus of 200 million euros.

在本轮的其他比赛里，切尔西在客场3：1战胜了诺维奇，阿森纳在主场3：0大胜朴次茅斯，利物浦则在客场0：1负于纽卡斯尔联队。

No.20 After the end of the nine rounds of the Premier League, Crystal Palace continued to top the standings with a record of 28 wins and a draw of 85 points;
With 23 wins, four draws and two losses, Chelsea still ranks second with 73 points;

Manchester United ranked third with [-] wins, nine draws and three losses with [-] points;
Arsenal ranked fourth with 57 points from [-] wins, six draws and five losses.

Thousands of miles away in China, the fans of Crystal Palace are all rejoicing for the team's victory over Manchester United.

"Haha, I finally won against Manchester United this time. Those Manchester United fans have nothing to say."

"That's right. After winning Manchester United, Crystal Palace will be considered a sweep against the other four strong teams in the Premier League this season."

"Hey, this is called tyranny of all kinds of dissatisfaction."

"It seems that it should not be a big problem for Crystal Palace to win the Premier League. The next step is to see how they perform in the UEFA Cup."

"Brother, you are 'eating what's in the bowl, looking at what's in the pot'."

"That is. The Premier League can only be regarded as a civil war. Whether Crystal Palace is considered a real strong team depends on their performance in the European arena."

"It makes sense. But this season's UEFA Cup is not a real test. I am now looking forward to next season's Crystal Palace in the European Champions Cup."

"I'll go, Crystal Palace vs AC Milan, Juventus, Barcelona, ​​Real Madrid, Bayern Munich is exciting."

"Chen, we have found the Lewandowski you were looking for. This kid plays for a third-tier club in Poland. When the other party saw that it was our Crystal Palace who wanted to buy it, the Lion opened his mouth and asked for 500 million euros."

The little fat man rushed into Chen Ran's office angrily.

"puff"

Chen Ran almost choked on the coffee in his mouth.

"What? How much do you think the other party is asking for?"

"Five million euros! Fxxxk! Those guys saw that we are currently the No. 500 team in the Premier League, and directly offered 500 million euros, and no counter-offer was allowed."

Hearing this, Chen Ran covered his forehead speechlessly.

What a mess of shit.

When Crystal Palace was still an unknown Championship team, it could not attract those already famous stars to join.

Now he has brought the team out with great difficulty, has become famous, and has met all these people who speak loudly.

First, Kompany was offered 1000 million euros last time, followed by Lewandowski's 500 million euros this time.

Chen Ran had a premonition that it would be more and more difficult for Crystal Palace to find bargains in the future.

"Chen, what should we do? Do you want this Lewandowski?"

The little fat man looked at Chen Ran and asked a question.

"Yes. Try to bargain as much as you can. Anything less than 300 million euros is acceptable."

"Really? That kid is only 16 years old now, who knows if he can be kicked out when he grows up."

Fatty felt that spending 300 million euros for a 16-year-old player was too expensive.

"Hehe, don't worry, we will definitely not lose the 300 million euros."

After five days of rest, Crystal Palace ushered in the UEFA Cup competition for the quarter-finals.

The opponent Crystal Palace encountered this time was Ronaldo's old club, the Portuguese giants Sporting Lisbon, which still uses a two-round home and away game system.

The schedule arranged by the FA once again presented Chen Ran with a big problem.

On March 3, Crystal Palace will face Sporting Lisbon at home;

On March 3, Crystal Palace will fly to Lisbon to play the second round of the game;

On March 3th, Crystal Palace will fly back to the UK for a strong dialogue in the No.20 round of the Premier League. They will go away to challenge Chelsea, which is currently chasing after them.

Looking at the schedule in front of him, Chen Ran was completely numb.

Temeow is like this again?Is it over yet?

Obviously, Chen Ran had to make a choice between the away game against Sporting Lisbon on March 3 and the away game against Chelsea on March 18.

"Boss, from this point of view, we may need to give up the game against Chelsea. Anyway, we have a big lead in the league, and the price of losing a game is affordable."

Together with Chen Ran, his three assistant coaches had a headache.The first to speak was Southgate, who is also the captain of the team.

"That's right. The UEFA Cup is a knockout round. Sporting Lisbon is also a veteran Portuguese team with good strength. We can't make any mistakes."

Simeone also agrees with Southgate.

"The best way is for us to get enough goal difference in the first round against Sporting Lisbon. Maybe we can make some rotations in the second round away game."

Guardiola touched his thinning hair and said with longing.

"Come on, your idea is too beautiful. Sporting Lisbon is not a weak team. If you want to get more goal difference, you can get more goal difference?"

Southgate looked at Guardiola speechlessly, this guy must be daydreaming.

"Think about it, maybe you can do it."

"What Josep said is not unreasonable, we will work hard in this regard. If it is done, it will be the best. If not, then we can only give up the league game against Chelsea as Gareth said. "

After considering the proposals of his assistants, Chen Ran finally made a choice.

Damn the FA!
Unfortunately, the ideal is full, but the reality is the backbone.

In the first leg on March 3, Crystal Palace beat Sporting Lisbon 11-3 at home with goals from Jan Kohler, Modric and Alves.

While bringing Chen Ran a winning bonus of 250 million euros, he also got 2 goal difference for himself.

However, the two goal difference is not much, and it is not much, which makes people feel a little bit not too small.

Moreover, Crystal Palace also allowed Sporting Lisbon to score an away goal, which is like a fishbone stuck in the throat, not to mention how uncomfortable it is.

How could Chen Ran dare to rotate in the second round?

Make sure to qualify for the UEFA Cup first.

As for the game against Chelsea?It can only be considered later.

So, on March 3, in the Crystal Palace away game against Sporting Lisbon, Chen Ran still sent all the main players.

Crystal Palace played extremely hard in this game, and Sporting Lisbon worked hard and attacked frantically.

In the end, with the goals of Ronaldo and Vidic, Crystal Palace lost to their opponents 2:3.

Fortunately, Crystal Palace got enough goal difference in the first round. Even though they lost the game, Crystal Palace still advanced to the quarter-finals of the UEFA Cup with a total score of 5:4.

As soon as the game was over, Chen Ran took the team back to London overnight to welcome the upcoming match against Chelsea in the No.30 round of the Premier League.

This game can be said to be directly related to the ownership of the Premier League champion this season.

If Chelsea win, then they also retain the opportunity to catch up.

If Crystal Palace wins the game, they can basically secure the Premier League title.

Whether it is the media or the fans, everyone's eyes are focused on this game.

London, Crystal Palace Club, Chen Ran's office.

"Let's talk about it, what shall we do in this game?"

Seeing that his three assistant coaches all lowered their heads and remained silent, Chen Ran had no choice but to ask questions directly.

The three guys looked at each other, and finally Southgate, who was also the captain, was pushed out.

"Boss, as far as I can see from the reactions of the main players, they are all exhausted. Even if they are sent to play in this game, I am afraid it will be difficult for them to be in a good state."

Southgate directly reported the feedback from the front line of the team to Chen Ran.

"So, if we go to play Chelsea this time, we can only use substitute players? This is not easy."

Simeone scratched his head vigorously, and he also found it tricky.

"Boss, if it doesn't work, we will adopt Diego's defensive counterattack tactics. From the first minute of the game, we will retreat across the board. This way, we can cover up the shortcomings of the lack of strength of the substitute players to the greatest extent."

Guardiola also had an idea at this time.

Although he has always been uncomfortable with Simeone's defensive counterattack tactics, he thinks it is too passive.But in this situation, he couldn't think of any other good way.

"That's a good idea. Boss, I think it's better to play this game according to Josep's idea."

As soon as he heard that Guardiola, who had always been contrary to his tactical thinking, proposed to adopt his own tactics, Simeone immediately became energetic.

"Boss, I also think we can only use Josep's method." Southgate also agreed.

"Well, in this game, let's use Diego's defensive counterattack to meet Chelsea for a while."

After thinking about it, Chen Ran really couldn't think of a better way.

There is no way, the physical fitness of the players is so much, the intensive schedule and the exhaustion of boats and cars, no one is hard-pressed.

而在切尔西这边，他们刚刚在3月9日主场4:2战胜巴塞罗那，并以总比分5:4淘汰对手，现在士气正盛。

And their players have been fully rested. After the game against Barcelona on March 3, they have no games and are waiting to play Crystal Palace.

"Jose, this time you can take revenge. Crystal Palace just flew back from Lisbon yesterday, and now their players are probably too tired to run."

Peter Kenyon handed Mourinho a glass of red wine with a smile.

"Hehe, Peter, is this glass of wine poured a bit early? I'm still used to drinking another glass after winning a game."

Despite what he said, Mourinho took it and took a sip.

"It's not early. I'm just celebrating you in advance. Even the mighty Barcelona was eliminated by you, let alone the newly promoted Crystal Palace?"

"I have to admit that the Chinese man has actually done a very good job. Being able to bring the mediocre Crystal Palace to the present state is really beyond the reach of ordinary people."

"Indeed. Jose, this Huaguo man, may be your opponent for a long time in the future."

"That's more interesting, isn't it? If there is no opponent of comparable strength, it is actually quite boring."

The corners of Mourinho's mouth were slightly raised, revealing a mysterious smile.

"Peter, although we don't want to admit it, we must be mentally prepared for one thing. Even if Chelsea wins the Crystal Palace game, most of the Premier League champions this season will still belong to Crystal Palace."

".You're right. I'm already mentally prepared for this."

Hearing Mourinho's harsh words, Peter Kenyon's face changed slightly, but he couldn't help reminding him.

"Jose, just say this in front of me. If you meet the boss, don't say that."

"You mean Mr. Abramovich? Don't worry, I'm not that stupid."

"Besides, if I can bring him a European Champions Cup trophy. Peter, do you think Mr. Abramovich will care about whether there is a Premier League trophy?"

After all, Mourinho raised his neck and drank the red wine in the glass.

Thousands of miles away in China, countless Premier League fans gathered in front of the TV.

Regardless of whether they are fans of the two teams of Crystal Palace and Chelsea, everyone knows that the victory or defeat of this game determines whether there is any suspense about the Premier League championship this season.

Before the game started, the Crystal Palace's post bar was already full of popularity.

"I'm so nervous, tonight will decide whether Crystal Palace can win the championship."

"Hehe, calm down. Even if Crystal Palace doesn't win this game, the league champion will still belong to Crystal Palace."

"That's right. I checked. Crystal Palace is now [-] points ahead of Chelsea. In the remaining eight rounds, apart from Liverpool, which has performed poorly this season, Crystal Palace has no close opponents."

"As for Chelsea, they will face Manchester United and Arsenal in the future. Whether Chelsea can win these two strong teams is still a big question mark."

"Stop chatting, the game is about to start."

"What's the hurry, let's watch and chat."

(End of this chapter)