Chapter 158: There's not much time left for Chelsea

Fabregas lowered his head, ran down to the nearest touchline on the pitch, then slowly walked back along the sideline to the bench.

Who still had the mind to run to midfield to high‑five and hug Matic?

Even though Chelsea was two goals down, scattered applause still rang out.

He turned his head to look at Lewokusen's number 10 on the field.

A hint of envy unintentionally showed in his eyes.

As if he saw himself at eighteen...

He suddenly remembered something: he still needed to get an autograph from Li for his sixteen‑year‑old stepdaughter Maria!

Forget it... she doesn't deserve it.

The game restarted from midfield.

Rémy ignored Pato's gesture.

He took a reverse‑foot kick‑off and passed it back to Matic.

Old Matic was the most trustworthy person.

You, Pato, can't even hold onto the ball for a minute.

Ah!

What's going on?

Has Lewokusen stopped pressing?

"Lewokusen has completely changed its previous frantic, aggressive pressing style."

"Their formation has dropped very deep!"

"The game is shifting into a positional battle phase."

Bender conveyed the coaching staff's tactical adjustment to his teammates.

Lewokusen's formation withdrew in an orderly fashion to the thirty‑meter zone.

Only the energetic Son Heung‑min remained up front.

Although the Korean forward struggles in positional play, as long as he has space to sprint in a counter‑attacking game, he can cause trouble for Chelsea.

Chelsea quickly advanced into Lewokusen's half, reaching the thirty‑meter area.

Still, they were not pressed.

Van Dijk directed his midfield and defensive teammates to contract and fall back.

Brandt and Havertz were spread out on the left and right flanks, harassing Chelsea's ball‑carriers.

And Li Kang?

He went nowhere, seeming to drift outside the system, closely tailing Hazard.

Mikel was a bit bewildered: his job was to stick to Li Kang and carry out the "exchange" tactic, but Li Kang ran off to mark Hazard instead...

"Lewokusen's defense is very Chelsea‑like!"

"William, do you have a chance to strike?"

Right flank.

William received the pass from Matic.

Old Matic, having once been the attacking hub at Benfica, possesses top‑notch technique and organizational ability.

Brandt's defending was timely, blocking the path forward of the blue army's winger.

But it was of little use.

William didn't need to slow down at all; he lifted his left foot over the ball.

Brandt didn't fall for the initial move of that "step‑over"!

As a result, William didn't even make the second step!

He shoved the ball hard toward the touchline with his right foot!

Pick up speed!

Charge!

He shook off Bei lai yin's little fatty!

"Too simple and efficient!"

"The once‑brilliantly gifted Samba genius has found the playing style that suits him best at Chelsea!"

"Chelsea's attack is coming!"

William surged ahead alone!

He lifted his head and gazed toward the sea of people in Lewokusen's penalty area.

The idea of crossing the ball wavered a bit.

Then he saw Pato making the "keep it low" gesture.

The notion of crossing suddenly firmed up!

Professional football is very realistic; when you fail to deliver a satisfactory performance, even teammates of the best character will begin to distrust you.

Brandt chased back madly.

Too late.

William finished his adjustment and completed the lofted pass!

The ball left the ground.

In the air it traced an extremely tricky little arc.

It plummeted toward Lewokusen's penalty area!

"What a beautiful low‑driven cross!"

The effort was fully exerted!

Look at this ball!

Wei Lian's low, driven cross is an absolute skill.

It possesses both ball speed and power.

The tricky trajectory always stays away from the goalkeeper.

The intense sideways spin makes it easy for defenders to score an own goal when heading to clear.

Some Chelsea fans involuntarily jumped to their feet in excitement!

They eagerly hoped the team would quickly equalize the score!

Leverkusen's penalty area.

Heads bobbed.

Fan Dai Ke and Ka Xi Er continued their aerial duel!

Nobody managed to head the ball!

Back post!

Not afraid of ten thousand, just afraid of Yin Wan!

Yin Wan Nuo Wei Qi, who somehow slipped in, leapt high!

Nobody could stop him!

He headed the ball towards goal!

Thud!

The ball, like a cannonball, screamed toward the top right corner of Leverkusen's goal!

The hearts of all Chelsea fans present felt as if they'd been tugged!

They awaited, they hoped...

Hot blood surged!

But...

A pair of dung-yellow gloves extinguished all hope!

Lai Nuo.

His body stretched to the limit in midair!

He thrust both palms out!

The domineering header, just about to cross the goal line, had its momentum abruptly halted.

Heroic divine save!

Unbelievable!

Lai Nuo always puts on a godlike performance when facing Chelsea!

The crisis is not over yet!

Lei Mi!

Yin Wan Nuo Wei Qi's header shot was too powerful.

Even though Lai Nuo made a splendid save, it was hard to avoid the consequence of spilling the ball.

The ball bounced off the left side of the six-yard box.

Lei Mi took a big stride, extended his pitch-black long leg, and fiercely poked at the ball!

Thud!

A white-clad figure flashed by.

Getting a step ahead, he cleared with a big kick!

The ball floated aimlessly out of bounds.

The whole stadium sighed.

An empty goal!

If Lei Mi's foot were just five centimeters longer, he could break the goal!

Li Kang!

That clearance was too crucial!

Leverkusen escaped disaster!

Lei Mi slid a short distance on the turf, his buttocks burning with pain.

His gaze dazed: 'Isn't that Li Kang kid following A Zha Er?'

Fuck!

Turns out that A Zha Er guy also ran in to contest the point!

Li Kang bent over, hands on his knees, gasping heavily.

In his vision, Ne Si Ta's phantom lingered, refusing to fade.

Negative emotions were spreading wildly.

He struggled to let the shadows in his mind contract... before his mood slightly eased.

'Red-Black Soul' achievement increased the appearance frequency of the Milan star module, while also greatly increasing the emotional load.

By the pitch.

Tuopu Laotou quickly grabbed the warmed-up Ji Si Lin.

For aerial defense in positional play, we still need to bring in the Bundesliga heading monster.

After Dino finished communicating with the fourth official, he ran back to the bench, patted his chest, and said with lingering anxiety: 'Thank goodness we have plenty of height!'

The other side.

Hiddink's face was as calm as a still lake, without a ripple.

But inside he was extremely anxious.

He furtively glanced at the clock, desperately restraining himself from making a second substitution.

The scoreboard hanging high in the air read 0:2... stabbing his heart.

The Dutch master's thinking was simple: taking off Fabregas was no mistake; facing a monster like Li Kang, he had to use Mikel to complete the pairing...

"The waist, it has to be firm!"

CTV5 live broadcast room.

-【An upset is coming!】

-【Hiddink is really clueless; Chelsea won't really be eliminated, will they? From having an away-goal advantage to now being two goals down, it's terrifying!】

-【I actually think Hiddink's tactical setup and personnel arrangements are fine; when facing weaker teams in the league, he often makes small adjustments that are very effective.】

-【That makes sense; even if Pato and Rémy are weak, they're still a cut above Leverkusen's average players.】

-【But running into Li Mingdeng, he probed the entire central axis in the first leg, and now wants to play tricks in the second? Bound to be eliminated.】

-【Guys, don't panic; Chelsea is solid, they'll turn it around any minute; remember the next match—Barça beating Atletico with eyes closed could advance, 100% sure!】

-【Tomorrow's Champions League quarter-final, Juventus will definitely beat Bayern; Morata gets stronger against stronger opponents!】

-【Real Madrid won't field their full strength tomorrow; Manchester City, playing at home, could very well turn things around and advance!】

Stamford Bridge Stadium.

After Kiessling replaced Havertz.

Leverkusen's aerial defensive pressure suddenly eased.

The Bundesliga heading monster is strong not just in attack!

By judging the ball's trajectory, timing the leap, and the aggressiveness of heading duels...

Even Willian's low, driven crosses were repeatedly thwarted by Kiessling's head.

Match time passed second by second.

In positional play, Chelsea gained nothing.

Hazard grew increasingly frustrated, unable to touch the ball at all.

He just couldn't shake off Li Kang, who clung to him like a shadow.

Teammates seeing Li Kang lurking nearby simply wouldn't pass the ball to him.

Lai Nuo continually met and cleared, defusing one feeble attack after another.

Yet he also found no chance to launch a quick goal-kick counterattack.

Chelsea's midfield and defense were very solid.

Of course, as time went on, the game increasingly favored Leverkusen.

Finally.

Beep! Beep-beep~

The head referee blew the whistle signaling the end of the first half!

"Chelsea has only 45 minutes left!"

"World-class coach Hiddink must find a way to beat Leverkusen within the fifteen-minute halftime break!"

"I believe the broad masses of fans still have confidence in Chelsea."

"Oscar and Diego Costa should be brought on."