"Hazard controls the ball..."
Hazard skillfully pushed the ball forward, his agile body suddenly feinting left, seemingly preparing to break through on the outside.
Jung immediately stepped right, intending to block the path of the outside breakthrough.
However, he didn't expect it to be just a feint!
With a simple left feint and a burst to the right, Hazard cut inside from his left, slicing along the flank space all the way to the edge of the large penalty area.
Seeing Hazard winding up his leg, ready to shoot.
Alarmed, he quickly stretched out his foot, trying to block Hazard's shooting angle.
However, in a flash, Hazard performed a fake shot and a real push!
With a gentle outward flick, Hazard bypassed Jung and gained more space for a shot.
The next second, before center-back Naldo could step up to block, Hazard unleashed a shot!
Benaglio, whose vision was obscured, thought he would curl it to the far corner and took a step sideways toward it.
Unexpectedly, the ball skimmed across the turf and flew straight into the near corner of the goal!
By the time Benaglio realized it, it was too late.
The moment the ball hit the back of the net, the entire Stamford Bridge erupted!
The Blues fans excitedly waved their scarves and team flags, turning the stands into a sea of blue.
"Goal!"
"Unbelievable!"
"Hazard, with a brilliant ground-skimming shot, helps Chelsea equalize!"
"Pure individual skill!"
"Truly worthy of being called the Premier League's Dribbling King!"
Hazard's sequence of cutting inside and scoring with a low shot to the near corner was a perfect display of individual ability!
Jung, who was beaten, and Naldo, who stepped up to block the shot, both wore expressions of helplessness.
Benaglio, having conceded the goal, also turned around helplessly, walked to the goalpost, picked up his water bottle, and took two sips.
He knew very well that their defense had done everything possible to prevent this from happening.
Whether it was Jung's constant marking or Naldo's sideways block, they had done nothing wrong.
After scoring, Hazard ran to the corner flag and performed a stylish knee slide.
Watching Hazard celebrate with high-fives and a smile, Mark's heart couldn't help but stir.
"Truly deserving of the title King Hazard, the only one in London!"
During his time with the Blues, Hazard was definitely the Premier League's top winger, capable of competing for the title of the third best player in the world.
His extremely rapid footwork, bulldozer-like physical strength, and highly deceptive dribbling rhythm allowed him to dominate even in the muscle-bound, highly physical Premier League!
With Hazard's goal, the Blues' morale immediately soared.
Cheered on by the home fans, Chelsea launched wave after wave of fierce attacks.
Fortunately, Dieter Hecking, sensing the shift in momentum, waved his hand.
The entire team formation retreated accordingly, building a tough and fierce defensive line in their own half.
Although they had said they wanted to test the team's attacking power against Chelsea.
However, seeing the equalizer-scoring Chelsea side look so aggressive, they knew they had to avoid their sharp edge.
Under this pattern of attack and defense, Chelsea enjoyed sixty percent possession.
However, perhaps because they disliked possession, or perhaps because Wolfsburg's defense was too tight, Chelsea failed to breach Wolfsburg's goal again for the remainder of the first half.
Ultimately, thanks to the goals from the two Belgians, De Bruyne and Hazard, the first half came to an end.
Both sides returned to the locker room with the score tied at one-one.
"Huuuh... Haaah..."
Sitting on a chair in the locker room, Mark panted heavily while wiping the sweat from his body with a towel.
It must be said, the Champions League is the Champions League!
Whether in terms of match intensity or opponent strength, it was higher than the Bundesliga.
Crucially, compared to the defensive intensity of the Bundesliga, the Premier League's defensive intensity was a notch higher.
Especially when the opponent was Chelsea, who had the best defense in the Premier League!
He wasn't fouled often in the first half, but he was pulled and shoved several times.
"My shoulder here... and my thigh here... Hiss... Right there!"
Enjoying the relaxation provided by the physiotherapist, Mark frowned, experiencing pain and pleasure simultaneously.
Hecking clapped his hands to draw the players' attention: "We played well!"
"Away from home, we didn't get stage fright; we played with great confidence!"
"In the second half, they will definitely push forward to attack at home, which means the space behind them will open up!"
"We will execute our defensive counter-attack well!"
"Kevin, watch for the runs on both flanks and play more over-the-top balls..."
"Mark, Ivan (Perišić), you two switch positions in the second half to catch them off guard!"
While Wolfsburg was setting up its tactics, in the home team's locker room on the other side.
Mourinho stood next to the white tactics board, arms crossed: "Our performance in the first half wasn't good enough!"
"Especially defensively!"
"Judging by their retreat in the final moments of the first half, they will definitely choose a defensive counter-attack strategy in the second half!"
"Since we are at home, we must show our desire to win!"
"As long as we are the first to break their goal and take the lead, their defensive counter-attack strategy will fall apart, and they will be forced to push forward."
"Therefore, the key to victory lies in whether we can score the second goal..."
"In the second half, Eden (Hazard) and André (Schürrle), you must stretch the play wide to create more passing space for Cesc..."
"Diego (Costa), you stay right in front of their center-backs..."
Following the brief halftime break, the second half began with both sides switching ends!
Seeing Wolfsburg continue to retreat and defend deep in their half, the Blues players suddenly understood.
Indeed!
The Boss was right!
They plan to play defensive counter-attack away from home and try to sneak another goal past us!
Just as the Blues players were marveling at their coach's foresight, Mourinho on the sidelines noticed a change in the opponent: "That kid Lane switched positions again?!"
While studying the opponent's tapes and highlights, he discovered that Mark could play not only left winger but also right winger.
Especially since Mark had mostly appeared as a substitute right winger during his playing time last season.
"Does that mean the main direction of attack in the second half will be the right flank..."
In fact, the lineups and tactical styles of both Chelsea and Wolfsburg had quite a few similarities.
Both had a winger with exceptional breakthrough ability and a midfielder skilled at creating chances.
Although Wolfsburg's center-forward Olić was considerably weaker than the more physically combative Costa.
However, the overall strength of the two sides was not vastly different.
Moreover, both teams' tactics relied on wing breakthroughs, either to draw defenders or tear open the defense.
As Wolfsburg willingly surrendered possession, the home team naturally pushed forward aggressively, launching successive assaults against Wolfsburg.
As the team's primary ball-handler, Hazard was naturally Chelsea's most threatening player.
Faced with Hazard's immense individual skill, even Sebastian Jung, who had previously been called up to the German National Team, was left looking utterly disheveled by the dribbles.
After being repeatedly beaten by Hazard, he could only resort to fouling to stop him.
And he received the first yellow card of the match.
Seeing Hazard brazenly taking the ball and breaking through on the left, Mark had to frequently track back to the midfield line.
Then, central defensive midfielder Guilavogui also went over to assist in the defense.
Although the three subtly surrounded Hazard, cutting off his connection with his teammates, they somewhat curbed Chelsea's offensive push on the left.
Whether it was Fàbregas, Oscar, or Matić, they had to think twice before attempting to pass the ball to Hazard.
Hazard is the typical ball-dominant core player, simply put, the King's style of play.
When he has the ball, he is the best player in the Premier League!
But without the ball, he couldn't even be called second-rate.
Nevertheless, Hazard used his deterrent power to draw Wolfsburg's defensive focus, creating an overloaded strong side, which naturally reduced the number of defenders in the center and on the right.
This gave other players, like Fàbregas, more space to receive and pass the ball!
This was Chelsea's true objective!
In the fifty-seventh minute, Hazard received the ball on the left, and after drawing defensive midfielder Guilavogui over to assist, he used the outside of his boot to knock the ball across to Fàbregas in the center.
Fàbregas received the ball and turned, glanced at Schürrle on the weak side, feigned a pass, but then flicked his ankle and delivered an incredibly subtle through ball forward!
The ball perfectly found the surging "Beast" Costa.
The latter forcefully held off Naldo, controlled the ball, charged into the box, and then unleashed a powerful shot!
The shot was so powerful that Benaglio had no time to save it.
With a whoosh, the ball violently ripped into the white netting, splashing up waves of white.
The home fans in the stands erupted once more, shouting Costa's name in unison.
"Goal!"
"Diego~~~ Costa!"
"This bulldog-like center-forward has helped Chelsea take the lead at home!"
"Wolfsburg, after taking the lead, chose to retreat and surrender the initiative."
"And Chelsea seized the opportunity..."
"There are still thirty minutes left in the match, Wolfsburg has plenty of time..."
Witnessing the process of the goal, Mark frowned, his heart stirring: "Is this the legendary fàbregas-costa connection?!"
Falling behind first, then scoring two consecutive goals, Chelsea used their performance to remind the visiting Wolfsburg:
This is Stamford Bridge, this is my territory!
And on my territory, I rule!
Having taken the lead, Chelsea once again seized control of the match at home.
At this moment, Mourinho waved his hand, and Chelsea's formation suddenly retreated!
Only after Wolfsburg restarted the game did they realize, to their surprise, that their opponent had changed tactics!
Watching Chelsea suddenly drop deep into their own half to play a defensive counter-attack, both Hecking on the sideline and the Wolfsburg fans in the stands showed expressions of helplessness.
"Too utilitarian!"
"Damn it, parking the bus again after taking the lead?!"
"This is an insult to football!"
However, Mourinho didn't care at all what others thought of him.
What he cared about was finding every possible way to win this match!
In his view, playing his best defensive counter-attack style after taking the lead was absolutely the best choice!
The opponent would definitely push forward to attack in order to equalize.
This would open up space behind them, and they only needed to execute effective fast breaks to threaten the opponent's goal again!
In just over ten minutes, the situation on the field reversed once more.
This time, it was Chelsea's turn to retreat into their half and play a defensive counter-attack.
Wolfsburg, meanwhile, gained more possession.
Facing the Blues' tight defensive line, Wolfsburg had no choice but to remain patient, constantly circulating possession to stretch the opponent's defense.
However, five minutes passed... then ten minutes passed...
Although they used some set pieces and ground penetration opportunities to threaten Chelsea's goal.
They consistently failed to create a clear goal-scoring chance.
On the contrary, because their formation was pushed up too high, Chelsea seized two transition counter-attack opportunities and nearly extended their lead again!
Facing the coach and team best known for defense in the world, a hint of despair began to grow in the hearts of the Wolfsburg fans.
In this adversity, with the team trailing, how exactly could they break the deadlock?
It was at this moment that one person stepped forward and gave them the answer:
If you are strong enough, even the bus can't stop you!
The match reached the sixty-eighth minute, and Mark received the ball on the right flank.
This was his fourth one-on-one duel against Azpilicueta this match.
In the previous three encounters, Azpilicueta had fouled him twice and already received a yellow card.
This time, Mark didn't hesitate and immediately drove the ball forward.
With a yellow card hanging over him, Azpilicueta dared not press or challenge, opting instead to defend sideways, retreating while fighting, waiting for teammates to cover.
However, Mark didn't give them a chance to swarm him.
A dropped-shoulder feint, making it look like an outside breakthrough, but actually cutting inside.
Stepping over the ball with his right foot, flicking it outward with his left, and accelerating suddenly, Mark forcefully overtook him on the inside!
"Isn't he right-footed? He can use his left foot too?!"
Startled, Azpilicueta subconsciously reached out a hand, wanting to stop him.
But he suddenly remembered his yellow card and immediately pulled his hand back.
In that brief moment of distraction, Mark had already carried the ball forward by a body length!
"He's past!"
Thanks to Mark's forceful breakthrough, the Blues' entire defensive line was instantly torn apart.
He was like a sharp sword, plunging fiercely into Chelsea's right flank, arriving at the right side of the edge of the penalty area!
Facing left center-back Terry, Mark unceremoniously performed two consecutive step-overs, throwing Terry off balance, before flicking the ball with his right foot and bursting into the box!
"Beautiful!"
"He's in the box!"
"The angle is tight, will he shoot, or will he cross?!"
Thibaut Courtois, the Blues' last line of defense, also moved to the near post, spreading his arms wide to maximize his defensive area.
Just when everyone expected Mark to either shoot or cross the ball into the center from that position, he swung his leg and, at the moment of contact, delivered a cut-back pass!
The target of the ball was neither the goal nor the front of the goalmouth.
It was the penalty spot!
"What!"
"It's a pass?!"
As everyone's gaze followed the ball closely, a green figure arrived at full speed!