Chapter 76

December, the most anticipated month in all of England. Not only does it bring the洗礼 of Christmas, but it also features a match that rivals the Spanish Clásico—a battle of the ages between Chelsea, on a 15-match winning streak, and Arsenal, unbeaten in 55 games!

This match is the 17th round of the Premier League, with Chelsea traveling to Highbury to challenge the unbeaten champions. Today is December 2nd, and there are less than two weeks left until the highly anticipated clash!

In the world of football today, Arsène Wenger's unbeaten Arsenal and Jovian's undefeated Chelsea are undoubtedly the two brightest stars. Although Real Madrid is filled with superstars, Juventus dominates Italy, Manchester United remains the world's top club, and Bayern Munich is nearly invincible in the Bundesliga...

Just like the matches between Real Madrid and Barcelona in Spain, the game between Arsenal and Chelsea has captured the attention of football fans worldwide. While the star power of the two teams may not be as prominent as those of the giants, the unbroken winning and unbeaten streaks of both teams ensure that this will be the most-watched match of the year!

Because...

No matter the outcome of this match, one of the two myths—Chelsea's undefeated streak or Arsenal's unbeaten run—will surely come to an end!

With just 10 days until the match, the English media has already begun to focus heavily on Chelsea and Arsenal. Even Manchester United, which has shown signs of revival with five consecutive league wins, has been overlooked.

"There is still some time before the London derby on December 13th. During this period, Chelsea will face Newcastle at home in the league and Porto away in the Champions League. Both opponents are strong, and this tight schedule will be a test for Chelsea's players and a significant challenge for the young manager Jovian. In contrast, Arsenal's situation is much better. Although they also have two matches, both are at home, and their opponents, Birmingham and Rosenborg, are much weaker. The pressure on Arsenal is significantly less, especially since the London derby will be at Highbury. This is undoubtedly Jovian's biggest challenge of the season." — *The Daily Mail*.

Undoubtedly, the objective factors are not in Chelsea's favor, while Arsenal seems to have divine favor, with all three of their upcoming matches at home! They can prepare their physical condition, training, and tactics thoroughly.

The entire Chelsea club, from owner Roman Abramovich to the cleaning staff, is paying close attention to the match against Arsenal. At the Cobham training ground, Abramovich's presence is almost daily.

Abramovich loves football, there's no doubt about that!

Last season, Chelsea's encounters with Arsenal were disastrous, losing 1-2 both home and away. Therefore, in recent days, Jovian's coaching staff and the club's technical department have provided him with countless pieces of information about Arsenal, piling up on his desk. Jovian, frustrated, shouted loudly, "I'm a coach, not a spy!"

In the 16th round of the Premier League, Chelsea's lone striker was Eidur Gudjohnsen, with Wayne Rooney on the left wing and Joe Cole on the right. Recently, the Icelandic striker has been in poor form, with a 564-minute goal drought. Even in the last two matches, the fourth-choice striker, Jari Litmanen, performed much better.

However, in terms of ability, with Michael Owen injured, Gudjohnsen is undoubtedly the team's main striker. Assistant coach André Villas-Boas also advised Jovian to give the Icelandic striker more time.

Jovian himself had calculated that, so far this season, he had used 75 milliliters of Source 1, with 125 milliliters remaining. With 48 matches left in various competitions, he could only allocate an average of 2.6 milliliters per game, which was clearly insufficient for major matches. Therefore, starting from the last League Cup match, he began to conserve the drug, using it only in crucial moments!

In this league match, Chelsea hosted Newcastle at home. Jovian gritted his teeth and did not use the precious Source 1 before the game. He was confident that he had already stunned Newcastle's manager, Sam Allardyce, in the previous match, and this time, Newcastle was destined to be a joke!

However, while the intention was good, reality was harsh. Throughout the first half, Chelsea's relentless attacks were fruitless, and Gudjohnsen missed three excellent scoring opportunities! On the other hand, Newcastle's striker, Alan Shearer, performed exceptionally well, scoring with a powerful shot to break Petr Cech's goal! Newcastle actually led at halftime!

Is the old general still capable?

At 34, Alan Shearer gave the peak Gudjohnsen a good lesson!

In fact, at the beginning of the season, Gudjohnsen's form was excellent. In the few appearances he had, he had already scored 8 goals, ranking 9th on the scoring chart. However, since Owen's injury, the Icelandic striker seemed to have been affected, and his distance from scoring goals grew.

Sam Allardyce, leading at halftime, was smug, calmly directing his team from the sidelines and waving to the Chelsea fans. He even chatted with the fourth official, looking at Jovian with a disdainful eye, completely in the posture of a victor!

After all, this was at Stamford Bridge, Chelsea's home ground! Leading the mad Chelsea was a great honor. The shame of the 5-0 defeat at home last time seemed to have been completely forgotten by Mr. Allardyce.

Jovian detested the smug and self-satisfied attitude of others. If it were a world-renowned coach like Ferguson, Mourinho, or Hiddink, he might have tolerated it, but who was Sam Allardyce to act so smugly in front of him?

During the halftime break, Jovian, with a stern face, first scolded the players who had performed lazily in the first half in the dressing room, and then resolutely took out the 3 milliliters of Source 1 from his pocket!

"Damn it, I'll crush you without mercy!" Jovian gritted his teeth and fiercely called out three names: "Gudjohnsen, Rooney, Kaka, you three come here!"

This had happened before. Those who received such treatment, getting personal "guidance" from the boss, were usually the team's star attackers, like Rooney, Kaka, Lampard, Owen, and Joe Cole. Gudjohnsen, who had not scored in several consecutive matches, was overjoyed to be summoned by Jovian, much like a young eunuch being summoned by the emperor.

In the second half, the cheers at Stamford Bridge were even louder. The Chelsea fans were not at all affected by the one-goal deficit, as they had become accustomed to the various victories Jovian had brought them. A Sam Allardyce, a Newcastle, was not even on their radar.

In fact, the great Mr. Jovian had never disappointed Chelsea's fans!

At 21:45, the second half officially began. As Jovian walked onto the pitch, he wore a strange smile and cast a disdainful glance at the opposing bench. The final score was more than enough to satisfy the fans in attendance!

Rooney completed a hat-trick!

Kaka scored twice!

Joe Cole and Lampard each scored a goal!

7-1!

For Chelsea to defeat Newcastle, and for Jovian to crush Sam Allardyce, it took only half a game!

Mr. Allardyce, um... was already arguing with his assistants...

In the post-match interview, Jovian, with his arms crossed, said boastfully, "I had a feeling we would crush the opponents! So I told my players not to put too much pressure on the other team in the first half. Indeed, Mr. Allardyce is quite capable, breaking through Cech's goal. In fact, I hoped for that."

"Hmm? You wanted Newcastle to score a goal?"

"Yes!" Jovian said without a hint of embarrassment, "When we played at St. James' Park, we beat Allardyce 5-0. If we had kept a clean sheet again, I was worried that Allardyce's position as Newcastle's manager would be limited to just three months! We are colleagues, after all, and I don't need to bully anyone!"

The reporter: "..."

The next day, Newcastle's official announcement was eye-catching: "Due to poor team performance and repeated humiliations, Sam Allardyce has been dismissed! The position of Newcastle manager will be temporarily filled by the club's youth academy director, Rod, and we thank Sam Allardyce for his significant contributions to Newcastle over the past three months."

Jovian's words had come true!

Sam Allardyce became the first manager to be dismissed this season!

The *Daily Star* recalled his performance at Newcastle: "Sam Allardyce's performance at Newcastle can only be described as abysmal! Of course, he had his moments of brilliance, such as in the 16th round of the Premier League, when he led the team to a surprising 1-0 lead against Chelsea at halftime! At halftime, he was calm, smiling, and gentlemanly. Unfortunately, in the second half, Jovian put aside his playful attitude and gifted Newcastle seven goals, completely shattering Allardyce's 45-minute gentlemanly performance and even leading to arguments with his assistants! This accelerated his dismissal."

Although the team won a big victory, Jovian and Villas-Boas were still worried that Gudjohnsen still hadn't scored a goal! Even... Jovian had used Source 1 on him!

"Put him on the bench. Maybe using Litmanen, or pushing Rooney to the front and Dauf to the left wing, would be a better setup," Villas-Boas suggested cautiously. With the match against Arsenal approaching, confirming the starting lineup was becoming increasingly important.