Chapter 528: We Can Win

Since George Wood started his career in professional football, he had given people the impression that he was excellent in defense and worthless when it came to offense. Before when everyone played against Nottingham Forest, they would not think about defending against George Wood. He almost never went up and crossed to the other half to participate in the offense. There had even been a football pundit who joked that Nottingham Forest “has twelve players in defense and only ten players when it comes to offense” to illustrate how little Wood contributed to the team’s offense.

However, three and a half seasons later, everyone discovered that the other half of the talent that resided within the body of the “genius in defense and rubbish at offense” was slowly awakening. His defensive performance in the game was more average, but the few times he participated in the offensive had been impressive.

How much more potential could be uncovered from this kid.

※※※

“George Wood’s shot! It was a pity that there was no goal, but this attack embarrassed Makelele. We rarely see Makelele like this. He was completely at a disadvantage when he used his body to compete.”

Terry ran over to help, but he did not manage to make it in time. He was only on time to help Makelele up. “Do you need any help?” He had asked out of kindness but only made Makelele feel despised. He shook his head hard and said, “it won’t be like this next time, I promise.”

He had to admit that he underestimated Wood when he defended against him because his previous impression of the man had made him think that Wood would not be much of a threat.

He looked at Wood’s back and clenched his fists.

I’ll make sure to repay this humiliation by double!

※※※

George Wood’s shot from the left flank did not make Chelsea adjust their defensive strategy. They still placed their heavy forces on Ashley Cole’s side. It seem they were deliberately permissive of George Wood.

The commentator tried to make a case for the arrangement, which, of course, were only the reasons he thought of. Some commentators liked to rely on their own understanding to form judgements on the game and use their own brains to replace the two managers. It seemed to be more professional than the managers in command of the games, which was quite able to deceive a part of the audience to support their views. If they guessed right, it was just luck. If they guessed wrong, then they made jokes to divert from the topic.

“Chelsea did not make any defensive adjustments on this side of Wood. That’s actually normal. Although Wood actively performed in the offense during the game, he is not a professional attacking player after all. His offensive is less threatening than Ribéry, Lennon, and the others. Chelsea can’t rush to adjust its defensive focus just because of his brief breakout performance. Ashley Cole’s side is obviously under more pressure…”

In fact, it had nothing to do with which side had the bigger threat. Chelsea did not adjust due to its trust in the veteran player, Makelele.

Makelele had faced a variety of offensive players in his career and many of them were world-class experts. He had a lot of experience and had weathered all sorts of challenges. He could handle George Wood.

Once van der Vaart had an inkling of the idea, he did not hesitate to transfer the football to the left flank this time. Compared with the last time, this time his passing, whether in terms of strength, speed, and accuracy, was just right. George Wood could stop the ball effortlessly.

Wood stopped it, but Makelele also came up.

Everyone expected Wood to make another relentless breakthrough but did not realize that Wood was in a precarious situation on the field.

The football was stopped at his feet, and Makelele stood less than three meters opposite him, standing in wait. He did not rush up to grab the ball, so he did not know what to do.

Similarly, as a defensive player, Wood could feel the oppressive power emitted by Makelele; the kind of oppression that came with the confidence he could stop him no matter which side he decided to break through.

From a professional standpoint, Makelele’s position blocked very well. Furthermore, Wood was not good at thinking of his next move once he stopped the football.

He was better suited to the kind of work that kept the football moving, such as the successful breakthrough just now where he made his next move in an unconventional situation. He did not have to think too much and just followed his body’s instinctive reaction.

Once he let his body stop and gave his brain a chance to think, his mind would jam.

What should he do?

Makelele quietly looked at this man in front of him and the ball at his feet. He did not try to poke the ball. He waited for Wood to make his move. Don’t know what to do? Just as I thought, this boy has too little experience in offense. His stunning performance was just purely instinctive. I just need to box him out and he will not know what to do.

When van der Vaart did not see the appearance of another beautiful attack, he looked over at Wood in puzzlement.

There was clearly a void in the back. As long as he could break through, he could create another threat. Wood decided to force a breakthrough. In the last confrontation, he knew that his physical advantage was very obvious. Since he could do it the last time, he should be able to again this time.

Wood suddenly kicked the football forward and got ready to start. At the same time, Makelele quickly turned around and separated him from the football. Wood had not accelerated yet and just started before he knocked into Makelele’s back. He tried to knock the Frenchman away, but instead of pushing him aside to clear the path, he pushed Makelele toward the football ahead.

Makelele took advantage of the momentum to catch up with the football and intercepted it.

The opposing defense had succeeded.

Wood was stunned for only a moment before he quickly counter-pressed. He pounced on Makelele.

Essien came up to get Makelele out of the bind, otherwise the ball that he just intercepted from Wood was likely to be robbed back by Wood. That would be more humiliating.

After the football was passed to Essien, Wood changed his target and turned around to pounce on Essien.

Makelele looked at his opponent’s back and shook his head gently. Interesting guy, he switches roles so quickly after being tackled. He doesn’t seem to be affected by the loss of the ball at all… Or is he ready to lose the ball at any time? Makelele suddenly wanted to laugh. It did look like the mind of a defensive player.

Although he was the enemy, Makelele liked the taciturn lad. Maybe it was because there were currently fewer players who specialized in defense and met standards.

On the pitch, they did not receive any attention but were indispensable players on every team. It was very paradoxical.

But boy, I know you’re physically strong and fast. Defense is not a job that solely relies on the body to dominate.

※※※

“The contest between Makelele and Wood…” murmured Twain off the field. “It must have been that bastard Mourinho’s idea.” He turned to looked at the Chelsea technical area. Mourinho was staring intently at the field.

Mourinho was actually willing to use Makelele to mark George Wood. Twain did not anticipate that. He thought Makelele would follow van der Vaart all the time.

Now van der Vaart was followed by Essien, and George Wood was entangled with Makelele. The flank where he wanted to attack Ashley Cole was heavily guarded by Chelsea.

The game went into a deadlock again. The Forest team’s offense did not pick up for a long time.

Twain quickly scanned the big screen with the game time on it. It was now the 68th minute of the game.

He decided to make a substitution.

There was no one on the substitutes’ bench. The players were out warming up. Every once in a while, they were summoned by the assistant manager, Kerslake to warm up to make sure that they could play at any time when needed.

“Go get the little monkey,” Twain ordered Dunn.

Soon, Gareth Bale ran back looking excited. When he saw Twain, he asked, “Chief, is it time for me to play?”

Twain nodded and took the tactical board from Dunn’s hand. He pulled Bale to the sidelines.

“You go up there and support the offense. Do you see where Wood is now?” He asked, pointing to the field. Wood just taken the ball on the flank and Makelele had rushed up. This time, Wood did not choose to force a breakthrough but passed the ball to van der Vaart. This move was a bit desperate, as it was van der Vaart who had passed the football on him.

“I see.” Bale nodded.

“Our offense on the right flank is blocked, and now Wood lacks support on the left flank. If you cover and run alongside from behind, Makelele will suffer.”

Leighton Baines was stronger in defense than Bale, but what Twain needed now was offense and not defense. He wanted to take down Chelsea in this away game, and not just to be contented with a draw.

“If you must be firm when you run alongside to the back, you cannot hesitate. Otherwise Makelele won’t be diverted. You just sprint ahead and don’t think too much about defense during the attack. Don’t think about what will happen if you lose the ball. Just remember, when you rush up, there’s George Wood behind you.”

When Twain said that, Bale laughed even more happily.

“All right. Get ready to play. Go and take this vest off.”

※※※

“Nottingham Forest makes a substitution; number 2 Gareth Bale replaces number 22 Leighton Baines.”

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The stadium broadcast announced the latest tweak that Nottingham Forest made.

Mourinho looked at Bale running onto the field. The figure evoked unpleasant memories for him. The play that made the kid famous was him scoring a winning free kick in the final moments of that game against his team.

Gareth Bale was a full-back who was stronger in offense than defense. The reason that Twain brought him on was obvious — to step up the offense.

Mourinho was not afraid of Twain stepping up the offense. On the contrary, he was afraid of Twain strengthening his defensive force and hunkering down, but as long as Twain planned to come out attacking, Chelsea would have a chance to score.

With twenty minutes left in the game, let’s see who will score first!

※※※

After Bale came on, the Forest team’s left flank offense was boosted. Makelele immediately felt the pressure of two against one.

When he guarded Wood, Bale always rushed up from behind. Was he supposed to drop Wood or ignore Bale?

It was a dilemma.

When he decided to keep an eye on Wood, Wood passed the ball to Bale who plugged in from behind. Bale easily broke through after the pass. If it were not for Terry, van Nistelrooy would have headed the ball again.

Twain broke the initial balance on the field with this move. And if Chelsea did not adjust their defensive strategy, their right flank would be thrown into disarray.

Mourinho had to give up the idea of a heavy-handed defense on the left flank and restored the defensive line to its normal state. Now the best defense was not to put more efforts in the rear defensive line but to seize the time to launch more attacks. They had to use a strong offensive to push the Forest team formation back so as to play down the threats from the Forest team.

Just as Mourinho had previously thought, it was not about whose defense was more robust but whose offense was sharper in the final moments of the game.

“After Gareth Bale came on, he effectively strengthened the Forest team’s offense on the left flank. But there are disadvantages too. As a result, their defensive power is weaker. Wood needs to juggle between offense and defense and the two full-backs also have to frequently assist. I think the opportunity that Chelsea is waiting for has finally come.”

That was what the Chelsea players thought, too.

They stepped up their offense. Drogba, Shevchenko and Robben all got the chances to shoot. It was different from the first half. There was a lot of empty space in the Forest team’s defensive line that could be exploited. The defense around them was not as tight as it used to be.

Edwin van der Sar threw out the opponent’s threatening shots twice in a row and shouted anxiously to the teammates that pressed ahead. “Pay some attention to the defense! You must come back after you go up. If you can’t come back, then don’t press up!”

Twain certainly saw the situation. Chelsea’s offensive strategy was fierce in response to the Forest team’s adjustment.

He got up from the coaches’ area and walked to the sidelines to yell towards the field. “Chimbonda, go back to defend!” After Bale went up, it was risky to have just two full backs in defense. He wanted Chimbonda, who was stronger in defense, to run back and strengthen the defense to contain Chelsea’s attack.

“Wood! Go back to the middle!”

Now the formation of both sides had returned to normal. It was pointless to let Wood go to the left flank again since it would hinder the movements and areas of activity for Bale and Ribéry. It was a good choice to let him go back to stabilize the defense.

The Forest team’s difficulties were eased after the return of both Wood and Chimbonda to the defensive line. Chelsea was still constantly seeking an attacking opportunity and did not retreat just because the Forest team had stepped up its defensive power.

There was little game time left, and they were more anxious than Nottingham Forest. If they ended up with a score of 1:1 at home, it would be a big blow to their confidence for the second leg of the away game.

They had to win, even if it was just a score of 2:1.

George Wood’s brief performance in the offense was over and he was back in the defense work that he did the best, which was to build a wall in front of the penalty box and in the middle of the field for his teammates in the rear.

The Chelsea offensive intensified, and the Forest formation was slowly pushed back. Soon the situation became like how the game had started: the Forest team playing their most handy defensive counterattack.

Twain did not yell on the sidelines. He just let them defend and counterattack. This was purely the players’ decision which they made according to the situation on the field. It was like second nature. When the other side’s attack was ferocious, they would unconsciously withdraw to lure the other side out. Then they would suddenly hit their opponent’s back and settled the fight decisively.

※※※

Mourinho brought off Ballack and brought on Joe Cole to boost their possession rate in the midfield. He could tell that everyone was currently in a hurry to attack and was playing with agitation. Impatient for results, they were not very effective. The midfield made too many mistakes, which only wasted time and opportunities.

Joe Cole could slow down the pace by taking more balls after he went up and his skills could also help Chelsea ease the way in the midfield again.

Hopefully, that was the case.

Joe Cole’s first pass took the football straight out of the sidelines. The commentator defended him by stating that he had just been brought on, so he had not warmed up yet and was not quite comfortable with the atmosphere of the game. After all, the game had now entered the white-hot stage.

Everyone believed it. A minute later, Joe Cole took the ball but because he held on to it for too long and was tentative, he was knocked to the ground by George Wood. While he earned a free kick in the front field for Chelsea, he squandered a better chance.

“Joe Cole hasn’t quite got into the game yet.” The explanation was feeble.

Chelsea’s free-kick was not good either. The pass was capped by Piqué after it got in. Wood managed to grab a header again in a scramble with Makelele, and he headed the football forward.

As the defensive set piece was at the back, there were not many Forest players in front at this time. There was only one player.

Van Nistelrooy came back to form the human wall because he was tall, and Eastwood received Wood’s header.

“This is Nottingham Forest’s chance to fight back! But Eastwood lacks support without any teammates around him. He’s cutting across as he dribbles… Carvalho is close at his heels.”

Wood saw the situation and only hesitated a little before he ran forward.

After only taking two steps, he was overtaken.

Franck Ribéry and Gareth Bale seemed to be in a hundred-meter race. Both men frantically charged forward, tearing past Wood.

Wood looked at the two men’s backs and slowed down. But it was only for a moment. He changed his mind again and accelerated again to run after the two men.

“Four against three!”

Not counting the goalkeeper, Chelsea’s backfield had only three defenders. Nottingham Forest managed to put four players to attack in the shortest possible time. The situation was very bad for Chelsea.

Mourinho nervously stood up from his seat.

Carvalho did not know what was going on behind him. He just knew that he could not allow Eastwood to dribble. He continued to press on to push him into the corner flag area. This way, his attack would be considered unsuccessful.

“Watch for Wood!” Terry roared loudly.

George Wood’s active performance in the offense for this game had managed to attract a lot of attention to him. The Chelsea players wondered what kind of terrifying shot this monster was going to launch again.

When Eastwood dribbled the ball near the end line, he did a breakthrough feint. He swayed to open up a gap and he did not hesitate to pass!

It was not an easily seen aerial ball. Instead, it was a fast rolling ground ball!

Terry was getting ready to defend against George Wood. Everyone almost focused their attention on this eye-catching guy. Ribéry charged in from the side and scared all the Chelsea people out of their wits.

“Franck Ribéry… did not get it!” Ribéry swung his foot towards the football but did not manage to kick the football during his sprint, and the football escaped through his legs.

The commentator wanted to say that it was an amateur blunder, but he did not have the time to make such a lament before he saw a red figure appear on the path of the football behind the crowd at the back corner of the goal.

Čech had already fell to the ground because of Ribéry’s first shot. He had made a move to save, but the football had not come. Instead, the goal behind him was wide open.

It was Gareth Bale’s chance.

Bale kicked and the football hit the inside of his foot. It changed direction and easily flew into the goal in front of him.

This was his first Champions League goal.

“Nottingham Forest’s counterattack has finally paid off! Gareth Bale! Nottingham Forest now leads Chelsea by 2:1 in their away game!”

Twain took the lead and rushed out of the technical area with his arms raised in celebration. This was the crucial goal that could determine which team would make it to the Champions League final.