“Welcome to Leicester’s King Power Stadium!”
“This is Sky Sports, and the match we are about to bring to you is the FA Cup fourth round, with Leicester City playing at home against the Premier League giants traveling from London, Chelsea!”
“For this match, compared to the starting lineup that defeated Manchester United three-to-one in the last round, Mourinho has made changes in six positions.
Obviously, he has rotated the team’s squad…”
“Nemanja Matic, the Portuguese League’s Player of the Season who just transferred from Benfica, gets his first start and will anchor the midfield alongside Lampard.”
“Counting this match, Lampard surpasses Bonetti to become second in the club’s history for FA Cup appearances, only 6 games less than Harris.”
“Leading the line up front is Torres…”
“Meanwhile, Samuel Eto’o, the Cheetah who scored a hat-trick against Manchester United in the last match, and team captain Terry, are both on the bench standing by…”
“As for Leicester City, compared to the last league match, they have also made some rotations.”
“The most notable point is that the young prospect Ling Feng, who burst onto the scene in the last round of the FA Cup against Stoke City, has finally earned the first start of his professional career for the first team following consecutive excellent performances off the bench!”
Along with the live commentator’s words, Ling Feng appeared on the stadium’s big screen once again.
As a homegrown player from Leicester City’s academy, this kind of treatment was naturally a piece of cake.
And facing the camera, Ling Feng simply flashed a crooked smile, which immediately drew cheers and fluttering hearts from the female fans in the stadium!
“So handsome!”
“His gray eyes look so beautiful!”
Before the match, the two teams shook hands.
Although he was feeling both nervous and excited.
Ling Feng still tried hard not to show the little internal fanboying thoughts of meeting his idols, greeting each of these stars he used to only see on TV with a smile.
Lampard, Hazard, Ashley Cole…
And Ling Feng’s first impression on the Chelsea players was singular: Holy shit, this kid is really handsome!
During the team photo, Ling Feng stood on the far left of the second row, flashing his brightest smile at the camera.
With the “click” of the shutter, Ling Feng captured his first starting lineup photo.
After the coin toss between the two captains, Leicester City won the right to choose sides, while Chelsea got to kick off first.
Arriving in their own half, Captain Morgan called everyone to gather in a circle to cheer each other on: “Let’s show them what we’re made of!”
Seeing his teammates stack their hands together, Ling Feng also reached out and placed his hand on top of his teammates’, and then passionately yelled together: “Forward, Blue Foxes!!!”
With a long whistle from referee Paul Tierney, the match officially kicked off!
Chelsea kicked off first.
Torres, dressed entirely in white, played a pass back, and the ball rolled to Oscar’s feet.
Oscar didn’t overthink it and continued to pass it back.
As the team’s primary ball carrier, after three or four passes, the ball found its way to Hazard on the left wing.
In this era, Manchester United’s Zaha hadn’t yet transferred to Crystal Palace, and Gladbach’s Xhaka hadn’t yet become a Gunner.
There was only one King Hazard in London!
And that was Chelsea’s number 17 left winger, Eden Hazard!
His sharp dribbling and ability to bypass opponents had put Hazard in the spotlight ever since his debut at Lille in Ligue 1.
After arriving at the Blues in 2012 as the Premier League’s most expensive transfer of the window, he quickly conquered the Chelsea fans at Stamford Bridge with his dribbling skills.
For the past season and a half, he had been among the top three players in the Premier League for successful dribbles.
Even though he hadn’t yet reached his absolute peak, the Hazard of this moment was already Chelsea’s sharpest weapon on the left flank to tear open opposing defenses!
Receiving the ball, Hazard didn’t hesitate at all and drove the ball straight down the left wing.
And defending him was his Belgian compatriot, Leicester City’s right-back De Laet.
During the pre-match tactical preparations, Pearson had specifically emphasized that Chelsea’s left flank was their main attacking direction.
So, to limit Hazard’s impact, he not only instructed De Laet to give Hazard more physical pressure but also told Andy King, the right-sided central midfielder, to shift over and help.
However, even when facing a double-team, Hazard couldn’t care less.
Feinting left and breaking right, with a simple drag of the ball, he easily breached the edge of Leicester City’s penalty area.
Immediately after, he dribbled laterally, opening up space, and instantly swung his leg for a fierce shot!
With a “bang,” the ball curled a beautiful inward arc through the air, flying towards the far corner of the goal.
Fortunately, goalkeeper Kasper Schmeichel was fully concentrated.
Subconsciously diving sideways, he tipped the ball with his fingertips, altering its trajectory and sending it just wide of the post!
Seeing this, Hazard couldn’t help but hold his head with both hands, revealing an expression of disbelief.
From accelerating and dribbling down the wing, cutting inside, shaking off the defenders, to the final curled shot into the far corner, everything was fluid and perfect.
He thought for sure that this was going in.
After staring at the calm-faced Schmeichel for a moment, Hazard turned and jogged back without dwelling on it.
While jogging back, he silently repeated to himself:
“You saved it this time, I’ll score the next one…”
Seeing this wave of attack ultimately fail to find the back of the net.
The Chelsea fans in the stadium couldn’t help but let out a collective sigh of pity.
While the Leicester City fans in the stadium broke into a cold sweat.
If Hazard had scored right at the start, this match would be even harder to play.
You have to remember, the defense has always been the strongest link of Mourinho’s Chelsea!
The commentator also offered sincere praise for Hazard’s dribbling: “A perfect dribbling exhibition!”
“It’s a pity the final shot wasn’t handled perfectly.
If the curve had been trickier, even Peter Schmeichel himself would have found it hard to keep out…”
Hazard fired a warning shot right out of the gate.
But this was only the beginning…
After possession changed hands, what Leicester City’s coaching staff and players on the pitch didn’t expect was that Chelsea, a team known for playing counter-attacking football, actually employed a high press at the King Power Stadium?!
Starting from striker Torres, all the way back to defensive midfielder Matic, the entire formation pushed up.
Matic, in particular, stuck to Ling Feng like a shadow, not letting him receive the ball easily.
With no other choice, central midfielder Dean Hammond, who had dropped deep to receive the ball, had to play it out wide.
However, Knockaert on the left wing only managed to carry it for two steps before being double-teamed by two Chelsea players, quickly losing possession.
Possession rapidly changed hands.
In the next second, Chelsea players in white jerseys surged towards Leicester City’s half like a white tide, putting immense pressure on the backline.
Watching this scene, Pearson, who had been sitting calmly, instantly stood up from his seat with a grim expression.
He never expected the visiting team Chelsea to adopt an all-out attacking posture right from the kickoff.
Chelsea’s “abnormal” behavior left Pearson astonished.
He couldn’t help but turn his head to look at Mourinho on the away team’s bench.
“Portuguese, what exactly are you planning…”
(END CHAPTER)