Since Chelsea entered December, the sudden wave of chain-off operations really surprised everyone. They lost four consecutive games, missed the chance to enter the semi-finals and compete for the League Cup championship, and completely ruined the good situation in the league.

　　 In the same round of Chelsea's loss to Manchester City, Manchester United has already relied on a wave of three consecutive victories in the league after losing to Chelsea, successfully overtaking the points and returning to the top position.

　　 It's just a pity that, when Chelsea was tied by Everton in the sixteenth round, Manchester United did not continue their winning streak.

　　 Manchester United lost to Aston Villa in the same upset at home. Instead, Chelsea regained the top spot in the standings due to the disadvantage of the goal difference.

The Premier League’s devil schedule in December is actually a matter of choice for all teams. The league is about to enter the mid-term, but it will usher in the most intensive wave of schedules. For ordinary teams, the players’ physical reserves are not bad. But for several giant teams, their main players have experienced the league, the Champions League and the domestic cup, as well as several national team call-up trips. When the physical fitness itself is about to reach the critical point, it ushered in the most dense The schedule, physical stamina and game state all have to withstand severe tests.

Especially for those players who have just transferred from other leagues to the Premier League team, they are familiar with the winter break of other leagues during the Christmas period, but now they have to play in the original "little holiday", physically and psychologically. There will always be unsuitable situations.

Therefore, for the Premier League giants, every December, various "rollovers" will be staged in the league. In the case of fatigue, the gap between giants and ordinary teams is the smallest in the long league. If you go to fight away again, then the probability of a giant team overturning will increase.

Chelsea’s flight to the UAE to participate in the World Club Cup schedule happened to conflict with the Premier League’s Devil’s schedule. Since Chelsea participated in the UEFA Cup at the beginning of the season, there has been one less league match. In order to ensure that the gap between Chelsea and Manchester United will not expand, this time the supplement The match schedule is extremely tight, which is very detrimental to Chelsea.

The original match against Portsmouth on the 17th would be arranged immediately after the New Year’s day. The match against West Ham on the 20th will be postponed for one day and will be held on the 21st. Both the third place and finals of the Club World Cup It was on the 19th, when Chelsea could already participate in the Club World Cup and rush back to England.

　　 As the Champions League champion, Chelsea played a bye in the Club World Cup and directly encountered the Mexican team Atalante who defeated Oakland City in the semifinals.

　　 Generally speaking, as far as the Club World Cup is concerned, the strength of the Champions League and South American champions must be naturally dominant.

　　Considering that the opponent in the final three days later will most likely be the Copa Libertadores champion, the Argentine team, the Argentine college team. In this semi-final, Ancelotti did not play all the main players. He sent some substitute players to retain some of the main players' physical fitness. Three days later, he would do his best in the finals, and he had to consider the brutal schedule of returning to England. , To allow players to rotate to ensure their status in the next Premier League.

　　Mexican team Atalanta also knows that their strength cannot have much impact on Chelsea. The players' performance on the field is very relaxed. Neither team made too many arrangements on the defensive end, it was a pure offensive battle.

　　 In this kind of competition with huge disparity in strength, tactics are not that important anymore, just show the best of yourself in front of audiences all over the world.

　　 In the end, Chelsea easily defeated Atlanta with a score of 4 to 2. Not only did it easily advance to the finals, but it also allowed several major players in the front court to get plenty of rest time.

　　 In the other semi-final, the college team defeated the South Korean team, Pohang Steelers, with a score of 2-1. In the finals as expected, a meeting of Europe and South America was formed.

　　 In the football world before the Bosman Act was introduced, Europe and South America represented two different football cultures. The gap between clubs and teams was actually not that obvious.

　　 But with the commercialization of football, the five major European leagues, relying on the backing of the country's developed economy, can offer higher wages to attract outstanding players from all over the world.

In contrast, clubs in South America are unable to retain the best players. The basic composition of South American teams is some newcomers who have just emerged and have not been poached, and some have already made their way in Europe. , Veterans who have entered the final stages of their careers, or some ordinary players who have not attracted the attention of European clubs...

　　 The Argentine college team, although expensive as the last season’s Libertadores Cup champion, the team does not have any particularly big players. In terms of hard power, there is still a clear gap with Chelsea.