"Hazard has the ball!"
"Facing Jung... beautiful change of pace!"
"He's past him! Hazard gets to the byline and crosses!"
"Costa!"
"Oh, what a pity. That shot lacked power and was easily gathered by Benaglio."
It was Hazard's first touch of the game, and he almost assisted the 'Beautiful Beast' Costa for a goal.
This wave of attack also highlighted Hazard's individual ability!
Hazard received the ball on the left, spun around, and then suddenly accelerated, getting past the right-back Jung who was defending him.
He then got to the byline and sent in a low cross, finding Costa in the box.
If it weren't for De Vrij's interference nearby, causing Costa's swing to miss the sweet spot, Wolfsburg might have conceded a goal right from the start.
Although it wasn't a goal, Stamford Bridge still gave their number ten a round of applause!
However, Wolfsburg was not to be outdone.
With the ball in hand, Benaglio immediately threw it to R. Rodriguez on the left.
R. Rodriguez drove forward with the ball, then sent a through pass to Gustavo in the center.
The latter flicked the ball with the outside of his foot, passing it to De Bruyne who had dropped back to receive it.
In this match, besides Mark being tightly marked by Ivan, Mourinho certainly wouldn't overlook Wolfsburg's true midfield orchestrator.
As soon as De Bruyne got the ball, the tall and strong Matić immediately came to meet him.
De Bruyne was not familiar with Matić.
Because when De Bruyne left in January this year, Matić had just transferred from Benfica.
The two were practically passing ships.
It's worth mentioning that Matić's experience was somewhat similar to his own.
Both had mistakenly joined Chelsea at a young age and were then loaned out to other teams for development.
The only difference between them was that after developing at Benfica, Matić returned to Stamford Bridge as a new signing.
And he, on the other hand, returned to Stamford Bridge as an opponent!
Looking at the towering Matić, De Bruyne didn't hesitate, passing the ball directly to Mark on the left, and then continued to push forward.
Mark released the ball with one touch before Ivanović could close him down, tapping it back.
However, when De Bruyne looked up, he realized that Matić, who had just been blocking him, was in hot pursuit, as if he had anticipated his next move.
In his moment of hesitation, Matić stretched out his long leg from behind and poked the ball away from him!
Blues center-back Cahill took a quick step forward, secured the ball, and then passed it to Fàbregas.
Little Cesc sent a long overhead pass without hesitation, directly traversing the entire midfield to find the onrushing Costa.
"Beautiful pass!"
The ball landed perfectly in front of Costa, who then held off the taller Naldo, taking a touch and a dribble, before charging into the penalty area!
Fortunately, the trailing De Vrij timely blocked his path and used his body to deflect Costa's rushed shot!
With a 'thump', the ball hit De Vrij's thigh and bounced out.
"Wow!"
"De Vrij has made another great play!"
Amidst a gasp from the Blues fans, the ball came to Guilavogui's feet.
The French international also sent a through pass, finding Perišić on the right.
Perišić took the ball, turned, and instantly executed a 'Boiling Soup' move, trying to outrun Azpilicueta, but the latter got there first with a sliding tackle, clearing the ball out for a throw-in!
This successful defensive play also earned applause from the Stamford Bridge fans.
"Well done!"
"That's it!"
"Kill the Germans!"
Without any probing or caution, Chelsea and Wolfsburg immediately went all out at Stamford Bridge!
However, in the first twenty minutes of the match, the home team still had a slight advantage.
Due to Matić's marking, De Bruyne found it difficult to turn and advance with the ball in the center of the field in this match.
However, he was also very smart, constantly interchanging positions, looking for space, and then using passes to link up the team's attacks.
And Matić didn't dare to follow him everywhere, so he had to return to his defensive zone.
After all, Chelsea's central defense relied heavily on his interceptions and tackles.
As De Bruyne roamed around the midfield, Mark also became Wolfsburg's main ball carrier.
In the twenty-first minute, Mark dropped back to receive the ball, turned around, and saw the familiar face of Schürrle.
Schürrle started this match as the right winger.
As a fellow German international, he naturally knew how excellent Mark's footwork was.
Therefore, he did not rush forward recklessly but adopted a side-on defensive stance, allowing Mark to advance with the ball.
And when Mark saw Schürrle facing the direction of the inside cut, blocking his route, he didn't hesitate to perform a step-over, intending to break through on the outside.
"No way!"
Just as Schürrle turned, Mark tapped the ball with his left heel, and the ball, which should have gone to the outside, instantly changed direction!
Mark accelerated with a quick step, took a touch, and completed the inside cut!
After getting past Schürrle, Mark didn't continue to dribble but directly passed the ball horizontally to De Bruyne, who was supporting in the center.
"K!"
De Bruyne understood implicitly, and before Matić could rush up, he smoothly pushed the ball forward.
Mark took the ball with one touch and directly charged into Chelsea's attacking third from the half-space!
At this moment, he was like a knight charging forward, gripping his sharp sword, bravely rushing towards Chelsea's defensive line, known as the strongest in the Premier League!
The first to come up and block him was Gary Cahill!
Facing the charging Cahill, Mark performed a fake shot, deceiving the latter into a momentary pause, then flicked the ball with the outside of his foot, continuing to dribble horizontally.
Then he arrived at the edge of the penalty area, drew his bow and arrow, and unleashed a powerful shot!
Bang!
His instep struck the middle of the ball fiercely, and the ball flew out!
Amidst the flying grass, the ball arced beautifully, flying straight towards the far corner of the goal.
Unfortunately, the Blues' goalkeeper Courtois was focused and prepared, making a diving save to tip the ball out for a corner!
After rolling and getting up, Courtois immediately shouted to the defensive line: "Mark your men!"
"Don't let him shoot so easily!"
De Bruyne's corner kick also found Naldo in the box.
Unfortunately, under Terry's interference, the header was slightly too high, flying over the crossbar.
Both sides played back and forth, with the pace of attack and defense at full throttle, making for an exhilarating watch.
Playing back and forth with a Premier League giant like Chelsea at Stamford Bridge was enough to prove the strength of this Wolfsburg team.
Chelsea's attacks were mainly concentrated on the left wing, and Wolfsburg's attacks were likewise.
And the turning point of the match soon arrived!
"K, let's switch positions!"
Hearing this, De Bruyne also nodded: "Okay!"
As Mark and De Bruyne switched positions, Mark became Matić's marking target.
Among the front four, if we're talking about ball-carrying or advancing ability, Mark was undoubtedly the strongest.
Compared to De Bruyne, Mark had greater Speed and explosiveness; although Matić had long strides, his slower Speed and explosiveness couldn't keep up with Mark.
He could only choose to stick close to Mark before he received the ball, or have Oscar, the attacking midfielder, go up to interfere.
In the twenty-eighth minute, Mark dropped back to receive the ball in the center, and Oscar immediately rushed up.
However, Mark didn't receive the ball and turn; instead, he immediately tapped it back, then turned to create space before receiving the ball again.
With a simple one-two, he received the ball, turned, and faced Chelsea's goal.
Next, it was his time to perform!
He drove forward with the ball without hesitation, actively entering Matić's defensive zone.
Facing the tall Serbian, Mark first slowed his pace, taking small touches, enticing Matić to press forward.
Seeing Matić remain still, he then used the inside of his right foot to pull the ball, feigning a breakthrough to the left.
This time, because the feint was so realistic, Matić finally chose to step out, intending to intercept Mark's breakthrough path.
And this was exactly the effect Mark wanted!
In an instant, Mark lightly touched the ball with the inside of his right foot, then quickly followed with a flick of the outside of his foot, completing a 'elastico' dribble in a flash!
"Elastico!!!"
With a powerful push, Mark used his explosive strength to glide past Matić in the blink of an eye!
Immediately after, he strode forward with the ball, directly facing Chelsea's defensive line.
And just as Mark was contemplating his next move, a familiar voice came from the left:
"L!!!"
Turning his head, he saw De Bruyne also making a diagonal run into the half-space, and Mark didn't hesitate to deliver a diagonal through ball with his instep!
The ball passed perfectly between the center-back and the full-back.
De Bruyne, arriving in time, took a touch, which also served as a dribble, and burst into the penalty area from the half-space between Chelsea's center-back and right-back.
Then, facing Courtois, who had once given him a 'green hat' (cuckolded him), De Bruyne's eyes were sharp and filled with murderous intent: "Screw you!!!"
The next second, he swung his leg and shot!
With a crisp 'thump', the ball shot out like a cannonball.
The power was immense, the Speed of the shot so fast that Courtois couldn't even see the ball's trajectory.
He instinctively raised his hands, but couldn't stop the ball from flying over his head and into the net!
With a swish, the ball slowly rolled down from the net.
And Courtois, standing on the goal line with his hands raised, looked just like the French soldiers who raised their hands to save their lives during World War II... This powerful shot silenced the entire Stamford Bridge.
The next second, thousands of away fans erupted in astonishing cheers!
"GOAL!!!"
"Kevin~~~ De Bruyne!!!"
"This Belgian genius, discarded by Chelsea, has truly launched a counterattack against his former club!"
"The assist for him came from Wolfsburg's most threatening player in this match, Mark Lane!"
"Wolfsburg scores at Stamford Bridge, and the score becomes zero to one!"
De Bruyne was extremely excited after scoring.
He spread his arms, ran to the away fans' stand near the corner flag, jumped, punched the air, and roared:
"Come On!!!"
Immediately after, Mark also hugged him from behind and shouted in his ear: "That shot was so violent! Bro!"
"Your pass was absolutely brilliant!"
"Hahaha, it's all thanks to your excellent guidance!"
As a mentor to a midfielder like De Bruyne, Mark's passing skills naturally improved rapidly.
He had seen De Bruyne pass this kind of ball more than once and had learned a lot about controlling the power of his passes.
And seeing his team concede the first goal, Mourinho, who had been sitting on the bench, suddenly stood up and came to the touchline, beginning to rage: "Ivan (Ivanović)! How could you let him slip away right under your nose!"
"And Cesc (Fàbregas)! You should have come over to help defend that!"
Facing the coach's roar, the Blues players just hung their heads, not daring to retort.
This goal could be attributed to Matić's carelessness, or Ivanović watching the ball instead of the man.
It could also be said that the entire Chelsea team was slow to react to the opponent's changes!
Because no one expected that after Mark and De Bruyne switched positions, Mark would suddenly drive the ball through the middle, then consecutively get past Oscar and Matić, delivering a deadly diagonal pass!
De Bruyne's nose for finding space and his chemistry with Mark were also the essence of this goal.
De Bruyne was not only organizing attacks and distributing passes in the center but also capable of dribbling past opponents and making runs on the wing!
His playing style was more like a wide-area playmaking core, effective both centrally and out wide, making him incredibly difficult to defend against!
Especially when paired with Mark, a highly threatening explosive winger, the defensive pressure and attention he received would naturally be greatly reduced.
This was also why Ivanović reacted half a beat late when he made his diagonal run on the wing.
Because the latter had been entirely focused on Mark and the ball at his feet!
Perhaps no one would have expected before the match that the home team, Premier League leaders Chelsea, would concede the first goal!
And the scorer was none other than De Bruyne, the former Chelsea player 'discarded' by Chelsea!
At this moment, countless media reporters following the match had already begun furiously typing on their laptops.
A former player scoring against his old club is always a very hot topic in the football world.
As Wolfsburg took the lead on the road, Chelsea's players had no choice but to intensify their attack, attempting to equalize before halftime.
Going into the locker room a goal down is completely different from going in with a draw.
What Mourinho and Chelsea fans didn't expect was that Wolfsburg, after taking the lead, did not sit back and defend!
The front four of Olić, De Bruyne, Mark, and Perišić all engaged in a collective high press, not allowing Chelsea's backline to easily play out.
Furthermore, the overall formation was pushed up, moving the pressing line to the edge of the midfield circle.
Seeing this, Mourinho on the sidelines couldn't help but raise an eyebrow.
They dare to play an attacking game against me at Stamford Bridge?!
They scored one goal and now they don't know who they are!
Immediately after, the Special One waved his hand, signaling his players to push forward and attack!
After three passes and two assists, the ball once again reached Hazard's feet on the left.
Although Fàbregas, a top midfielder, was brought in this season, the team's tactical style only became richer and more diverse, without changing its core.
And a very important part of Chelsea's long-standing core tactical approach is to rely on Hazard's individual breakthroughs on the left wing to create danger.
This time, under the expectant gaze of all the fans, their 'King Hazard' once again showed his prowess!
"King Hazard"