Chapter 99

The Football Database website has updated its latest world club power rankings, and Chelsea, with 31 consecutive wins across all competitions, has finally claimed the top spot! Second place is occupied by Mourinho's Real Madrid, followed by Juventus in third, Arsenal in fourth, and Barcelona in fifth. Manchester United, on a strong run recently, has climbed to third in the Premier League and has finally entered the top ten in the global club power rankings.

Now, almost every team in European football is studying Chelsea's tactics, a 4-1-4-1 attacking formation that somewhat resembles the total football of the Netherlands in the late 1980s and early 1990s, as well as Barcelona's traditional Tiki-Taka. However, it is only similar in spirit, not in form. The fluid offensive combinations and the seemingly chaotic player movements in the attacking third have left many team managers baffled.

Interestingly, Spain's El País reported that Huelva, a team in the Segunda División near the relegation zone, blindly adopted Chelsea's 4-1-4-1 attacking system. The result was a 6-0 thrashing by Tenerife, another team in the relegation zone, in an away match.

With this negative example, the idea of learning from Chelsea's style has been abandoned by most managers, who fear making the same mistake and embarrassing themselves like Huelva did.

Now, all major European clubs and media outlets are eagerly awaiting one thing: Chelsea's first defeat! Even a draw would be significant! The Champions League will not resume until late February, so naturally, all of Europe's football community is pinning their hopes on the English domestic scene, hoping for a hero to shatter the unbeaten myth of "Big Gun" Qiao Wanxian.

After Wenger and Benítez were defeated in the league, Chelsea finally faced another big name in the League Cup—Sir Alex Ferguson!

In this match, Qiao Wanxian fielded his usual unbeaten lineup, with only the left-back position occupied by Grosso and Fernando Torres as the lone striker. The double attacking midfielders, Kaká and Lampard, along with the wingers Wayne Rooney and Joe Cole, struck fear into any team.

The appearance of Roy Keane in the starting lineup made Sir Alex Ferguson's expression unusually stern! The camera captured a telling moment: Ferguson, sitting on the bench, was chewing gum, but his hands were trembling!

For this match, Ferguson also fielded his strongest lineup, with Ruud van Nistelrooy and Alan Smith up front, and Cristiano Ronaldo and Arjen Robben on the wings, who were no less impressive than Rooney and Joe Cole. The double pivot of Paul Scholes and Gregory was both defensive and offensive.

Stanford Bridge was particularly lively that night, with the few red-clad Manchester United fans completely overwhelmed by the sea of blue. Waves of supporters surged through the stadium, creating a spectacular scene.

Recalling Qiao Wanxian's first official match as Chelsea's manager, which was the league opener against Manchester United, the situation has changed dramatically in just half a year.

At the time, the blue fans scoffed at the young, yellow-skinned coach, and many did not even bother to attend the match. The stadium then looked more like a home ground for Manchester United. But now, every time Qiao Wanxian appears on the big screen, the fans erupt in cheers.

The changes over time have indeed left Qiao Wanxian with a sense of nostalgia.

Amid the fans' enthusiastic cheers, the match finally began, and Chelsea dominated possession in the first ten minutes.

However, after a few minutes, Chelsea's midfield playmaker, Frank Lampard, was surprised to find that Manchester United was clearly well-prepared! The aggressive pressing of Gregory and Scholes made it difficult for him to control the game and maintain the rhythm. Especially Gregory, who seemed to harbor deep resentment towards his former club, aimed his tackles at Lampard's ankles without hesitation, regardless of the potential yellow card.

The two attacking midfielders, Kaká and Lampard, had clear roles: Kaká was responsible for breaking through, while Lampard controlled the ball. Kaká led the fast-paced attacks, while Lampard managed the slower, more strategic play. Kaká's focus was on advancing, like a dragon-slaying sword delivering a fatal blow, while Lampard's strategy was to move the ball left and right, like a heaven-defying sword.

By limiting Lampard, Manchester United effectively cut off one of Chelsea's arms. How could a one-armed team compete with two fists?

After just a few minutes, Lampard had already lost possession four times, both actively and passively, which was unimaginable in his usual performances! After another failed attempt to regain the ball, Lampard couldn't help but look up at Ferguson on the Manchester United bench. The red-faced manager was chewing gum, looking very pleased.

Ferguson claimed he had found Chelsea's weakness, and it seemed that the old manager had indeed spent a lot of time studying Chelsea to avenge the 6-1 humiliation in the league opener!

This loss of possession gave Manchester United another excellent counter-attack opportunity. Robben on the left and Ronaldo on the right, both sprinting at full speed, looked like the wings of a soaring eagle, providing the power for the flight. Scholes, the ball controller, found Cristiano Ronaldo, his more trusted player, with a precise pass!

Robben had only joined a few days ago, and although his reputation was on par with Ronaldo's, Scholes still trusted Ronaldo more.

"Cristiano Ronaldo!" The Manchester United commentator was excited, his voice filled with enthusiasm: "Ronaldo is accelerating! He has the strongest burst and sprinting ability in the world. It's laughable that no one from Chelsea is helping the amateur Grosso to defend. Are they leaving their left flank open?"

The commentator clearly looked down on the left-back from an Italian relegation-threatened team. If the other ten players on Chelsea's team were gold, then Grosso was undoubtedly sand! Apart from his looks, what else could he bring to Chelsea?

"Watch our new No. 7, Ronaldo, perform. Scissors move... Scissors move... Another scissors move! He finally chose to break through... Hmm, it seems this Italian is defending well, sticking to him without any gaps, more scissors moves..."

The Manchester United commentator suddenly realized his language was mocking and quickly shut up, frowning: "Italians are known for their defense, and it seems true. This £1 million left-back actually managed to stop our wing killer, Ronaldo, which is incredible... What's happening? Cristiano Ronaldo has taken the ball out of play!"

"Boo..."

Boos erupted from the stands at Stamford Bridge. The young Ronaldo was disappointed, angrily shaking his head and looking at Grosso with surprise: "Who is this guy? Even against Arsenal's Ashley Cole, I didn't feel this helpless..."

Terry walked over, patting Grosso on the shoulder, taunting Ronaldo: "Good job, mate, you've got that young hotshot under control!"

Qiao Wanxian, on the sidelines, smiled slyly. He knew that with Robben just joining, the right flank would be Manchester United's main attack direction. So, before the match, he had given Grosso 1 milliliter of Source 1, which indeed neutralized the future world-class Cristiano Ronaldo, leaving him with no room to showcase his skills.

Ronaldo walked back, disappointed, hearing Robben's incessant chatter and making a gesture of apology. Normally, with his stubborn and fiery personality, Ronaldo would never apologize to a newcomer like Robben, but his last move was too embarrassing—being unable to break through and taking the ball out of play after doing the scissors move over ten times.

Chelsea launched another attack, but this time, Lampard was more cautious. Instead of controlling the ball and setting the pace, he handed the rhythm to Kaká, acting as a supporting player and passing the ball to Kaká, who had found space up front, as soon as he received it!

With Scholes pushing too far forward and Gregory being drawn to Lampard, Kaká would face Manchester United's central defenders directly!

Now, the entire European football community knew that if Kaká got a shot in the area around the penalty arc, it was as good as a penalty! This area had been dubbed the "Kaká Zone"!

Before the match, Qiao Wanxian had given Kaká, Torres, and Grosso Source 1, making Kaká even more formidable. Facing the world's most expensive central defender, Rio Ferdinand, Kaká performed a series of step-overs, like a butterfly dancing, as if mimicking Ronaldo's earlier move but with even more grace and fluidity.

Ferdinand, despite his reputation as the world's best defender, failed to match the defensive prowess of the £1 million Grosso and was easily outmaneuvered by Kaká, who then delivered a classic Kaká curve from the edge of the penalty area!

The ball flew into the top right corner of the goal!

This scene had played out countless times at Stamford Bridge, and the fans began to cheer in anticipation. The commentator, full of energy, shouted at the moment of Kaká's shot: "GOOOOO... OOOOOOAL!"

"Bang!"

The entire stadium sighed.

The Manchester United commentator wiped the cold sweat from his forehead, still shaken: "Wow, Kaká made a beautiful move to get past Rio Ferdinand and completed a fantastic shot. Fortunately, the post helped, and Manchester United avoided a crisis. Both Gregory and Ferdinand are to blame for allowing Kaká to shoot so easily from that position. Didn't Sir Alex Ferguson warn you about the 'Kaká Zone'?"

Although the ball didn't go in, Qiao Wanxian smiled: "Sir Alex Ferguson, you're too presumptuous. You think stopping Lampard will cripple me? Don't you know that even with one arm, Yang Guo was invincible?"