Twenty minutes after the game began, everyone saw that the media's pre-match predictions were correct.

Sneider, who just returned from injury, is not in very good condition. In addition, Chelsea's defense against him is very strict, so he almost doesn't give Sneider any room to get the ball.

During these twenty minutes, Sneider had almost no decent performance, and he spent most of his time fighting against the opponent's body.

Physical confrontation was not Sneijder's advantage, so he often fell to the ground.

Although the referee also calls the Chelsea player foul, Manchester City's offensive rhythm has been disrupted. What's the point of giving Manchester City some free kicks in the midfield?

Chelsea pressed hard in this game and started robbing in the frontcourt, making it difficult for Manchester City to fight back. Occasionally, a few kicks were passed directly to the frontcourt, which may not be a threat.

David Silva, who has performed well recently, has also been targeted by Chelsea's targeted defense. His physical ability is weaker. Chelsea is simpler to deal with him than Sneijder - it is to increase the intensity of physical confrontation. David Silva's small body can't withstand the pressure of a group of stupid black and black men in the middle and backcourt.

In the first half, Chelsea, who played at home, had the advantage. They kept putting pressure on Manchester City's goal amid the singing of home fans.

It seems like a goal will happen at any time.

But the goal did not appear.

When the game is thirty minutes, the score is still 00

Chelsea got some opportunities but failed to score.

This made Ancelotti on the coach's table unable to sit still. He got up from the coach's table, walked to the sidelines, wrapped his hands around his chest, and stared at the court with a frown.

He knew very well that if he wanted to beat Manchester City at home, he had to score first.

Scoring goals can change many things, improve one's morale, and attack the opponent's fighting spirit, and at the same time there is more room for tactical maneuvers.

But if you are unable to score a goal for a long time, the advantages you have now will gradually be tilted to Manchester City. After all, Chelsea's tactics are very physically exhausting. In the second half, Chelsea players will not be able to run.

By then, Manchester City will regain the initiative in the game.

If Chelsea did not take the lead before that, the situation would be bad. On the contrary, if it leads, Chelsea can reclaim the defense and hold the advantage of even one ball at home.

※※※

"Chelsea has mastered the initiative in the game, and it is only one goal short of it," said John Mortson.

Alan Hansen next to him shook his head: "When playing Manchester City, without scoring, it's not considered taking the initiative in the game. Pay attention to Ancelotti's expression, he was a little anxious. On the contrary, Benitez seemed very calm. Maybe playing 00 in the first half was Benitez's plan."

The Chelsea fans in the stands seemed to be tired of singing, and their singing was smaller than before.

At the same time, in the game, Chelsea's siege also showed a slowdown. After half an hour of continuous siege, Chelsea players encountered the first obstacle in their physical fitness, and they also needed to adjust themselves.

The goal has not arrived yet.

Chelsea fans in the stands, some of their expressions became solemn.

Manchester City fans in front of the TV are constantly cheering on their team's defense.

The game just passed ten minutes. After the first half was forty minutes, there were five minutes left. The first half ended, and at most two minutes of injury time were added.

Instead of continuing to hold his arms and watch, Ancelotti waved his arms and shouted loudly to make the players speed up the pace again.

It's too early to have physical fitness problems now...

It is necessary to maintain oppression on Manchester City, otherwise it will be like the chain of a beast tied to loosen, allowing the opponent to escape as soon as he breaks free. Chelsea, who is holding the chain, will be dangerous.

Chelsea players also realized this, so they stepped up their siege in the midfield and frontcourt and continued to put pressure on Manchester City.

The benefits of this adjustment are immediate, and the initiative in the game is back in Chelsea.

And in the 42nd minute, Chelsea launched an attack from the wing and hit the middle. Godin pushed the ball out while competing with Drogba.

But because of Drogba's disturbance, Godin did not push the football far away. The football flew out and landed on the top of the free throw arc.

Just before everyone could react, Chelsea's No. 8 Lampard suddenly rushed up and took a kick to the ball.

A dull bang

The football was pulled towards the goal by Lampard's front instep.

Faced with such a sudden kick, Joe Hart was powerless. His save move was obviously slower than the football. When the football hit the net behind him, his palms passed the football trajectory...

"The ball scored and the goal scored, just as the first half was about to end, Chelsea, who played at home, took the lead."

John Motterson yelled.

"Lampard's volley was so beautiful that the ball kept shooting. It was very sudden. If he stopped the football and kicked it, the ball might be gone..." Alan Hansen commented.

Stamford Bridge Stadium, which was still silenced just now, was also ignited by Lampard's volley. All Chelsea fans jumped up from their seats and shouted.

They were shouting the name of goalkeeper Lampard.

As a veteran who has been playing for many years at Chelsea, vice captain Lampard has won the love of many Chelsea fans. Now, Lampard uses this kick to prove that Chelsea fans love him when the team needs him the most.

"Chelsea's league championship competition is good at home"

※※※

Seeing Lampard score, a group of people rushed out of the coaching and bench in Chelsea. Like the Chelsea fans in the stands, raising their arms and chanting to celebrate the goal.

As the team's head coach, Ancelotti was not too excited. He just waved his fists and was more relieved - he finally scored a goal before the end of the first half and took the lead, so the tactics were not in vain.

But Ancelotti did not lose his mind because of this goal.

As the team's head coach, you must always be calm and sober, whether it is leading or falling behind.

His brain was running at high speed and began to think about how to play next, especially the remaining minutes of the first half.

Generally speaking, after the team leads in the game, they will continue to attack due to their morale boost, and their performance in the offense is usually pretty good. There is a period of time when they can almost play against their opponents. If they can seize the opportunity and score another goal, it is not difficult to expand their lead.

If this goal happened in the middle of the first half, Ancelotti might let the team play like this.

But now it doesn't work, he must not let the players continue to attack Manchester City's goal after leading.

Because this is a very dangerous behavior

He was worried that after the players were so proud, they would give Manchester City a chance to counterattack. He had seen Lyon's game against Manchester City at home three days ago. Lyon's offense was so smooth that the players were a little proud, which led to them being hit by Manchester City to counterattack and concealed the ball.

As someone who has played against Rongguang in the Champions League final, Ancelotti can barely be regarded as Rongguang's old opponent.

He knows this person very well.

For others, losing the ball may hit his fighting spirit and confidence.

But glory will not.

On the contrary, losing the ball will only stimulate glory and make him more aggressive.

Even though there was not much time left in the first half, Ancelotti didn't want to take this risk.

He was unwilling to give Glory any chance to equalize the score.

If Rong Guang scored the goal before the end of the first half, wouldn’t Chelsea play in vain in the first half?

Thinking of this, he decided to make some adjustments so that the team would not continue to attack after scoring the goal, but shrink the defense.

But the stadium is very noisy now, and almost everyone is cheering. He shouts loudly on the sidelines and screams, and no one will hear what he is saying.

So Ancelotti decided to find someone to give him an in-person opportunity. He rushed into the stadium and found Barack, the closest to him.

"Tell them not to rush to attack. In the last stage of the first half, defense must be strengthened."

Ancelotti didn't just ask someone to pass messages. If they were looking for someone else, they might have some doubts about their decisions.

But Barack won't.

Because Barack can be said to be the one who knows glory best in this Chelsea team.

Sure enough, after listening to Ancelotti's words, Barack did not ask Ancelotti "why", but nodded and ran to find his teammates.

Ancelotti also returned to her position, and also gave an apologetic look to the fourth official.

The head coach is not allowed to rush into the court during the game. Of course, if you have a good attitude, the referee will usually turn a blind eye.

※※※

Barack quickly brought Ancelotti's latest adjustment to his teammates.

The Chelsea player who had just scored a goal was still very excited. He suddenly heard that the head coach actually made the defense shrink. He was stunned.

But soon, they all realized that we were facing a team with glory.

Then it is not wrong to be cautious...

So after the game started again, everyone saw that Chelsea did not take advantage of the victory to pursue it, but chose to retreat. Even if the ball possession was at their feet, they did not invest much in the offensive force.

John Motson saw why.

"With the first half a few minutes to end, Chelsea really doesn't make a chance to give Manchester City an equalizer. Being able to enter the midfield with a goal lead is a good thing for Ancelotti's team."
Chapter completed!