Please! Agbonlahor didn't even fall; he was just bumped!
Although Huang Hao was furious, attacking the useless fourth official clearly wouldn't change the result, and he might even be sent directly to the stands.
Ayu was still emotional at this moment, arguing fiercely with the referee despite his teammates' attempts to stop him.
Yellow card!
Seeing the situation, Lewandowski immediately waved to Vardy, and the two finally pulled him back!
“Darren, let Mario go on.”
Huang Hao knew that if Ayu remained on the field at this point, his mentality would be greatly affected, and it would also impact the entire team.
Lewandowski saw the substitution board, immediately nudged Ayu, and watched him walk to the sideline, preventing him from going back to argue with the referee again.
Huang Hao was also waiting for Ayu on the sideline, and seeing his flushed eyes, he hugged him tightly!
“You’re fine! You did great, understand?! Great!”
“Now, go take a hot shower, forget everything that happened today, just remember that you did very well, and that’s enough!”
With that, Huang Hao forcefully pushed him towards the player tunnel! The tears welling in Ayu’s eyes finally fell at this moment.
After Gotze replaced Ayu, Agbonlahor walked to the penalty spot to take the penalty himself.
He slowly retreated to the left-rear of the ball, paused briefly, then ran towards the ball again!
Agbonlahor lifted his right foot, and at the moment of contact, Oblak chose to dive to the right side of the goal!
Seeing Oblak get up, Agbonlahor revealed a cunning smile, immediately stopped applying force with his right leg, and instead gently pushed the ball to the left side of the goal!
The ball rolled gently into the goal, in the opposite direction of Oblak!
Agbonlahor’s big heart was fully displayed in this penalty kick!
2:3!
Aston Villa took the lead again in the 79th minute of the second half!
However, this time Aston Villa's goal did not receive cheers; the more than 2,000 away fans clearly could not stop the overwhelming boos at Selhurst Park!
It started pouring rain on the field again, and Huang Hao decided to go all out, substituting Vida for Vardy, and Lacazette for Sun Jihai, moving Lovren up to the center forward position, changing the formation to 2413.
In the 82nd minute of the match, Aston Villa got a throw-in on the left side of the front field.
Luke Young threw the ball directly to the in-form Downing, who, after receiving the ball, dribbled horizontally, evaded two Cambridge United defenders, and then threaded the ball between Golonas's legs to Haskey at the edge of the penalty area!
Haskey, with his back to the goal, had just received the ball and was about to turn when Van Dijk immediately made a sliding tackle, poking the ball away!
Agbonlahor got the ball and continued to try to break through!
Vida made another clean and crisp tackle!
Kante, after gaining possession nearby, immediately passed the ball forward!
Substitute Lacazette held off Luke Young's press on the left side of midfield, and after Golonas moved forward, he successfully completed the ball exchange!
Golonas dribbled the ball with large strides into Aston Villa's penalty area, advancing while looking towards the center!
Delph in the middle was quickly tracking back, gradually closing in on him. Lewandowski and Lovren, meanwhile, were pulling and tangling with Dunn and Davis, preventing them from coming up to challenge.
Seeing Delph getting closer, Golonas turned his head towards the center one last time, but then suddenly put power into his left foot, unleashing a thunderous shot!
Although Taylor had sealed off the near post, he was partially distracted by Lewandowski and Lovren in the middle, and was clearly somewhat unprepared for Golonas's sudden shot!
The ball shot by Golonas flashed past him, directly into the far corner of the goal, hitting the side netting!
3:3!!!
Cambridge United, in just 3 minutes, stubbornly equalized the score once again!
“Mahrez!”
Mahrez heard his name and quickly ran towards Huang Hao.
“Boss! Am I going on?!”
“No, go to the locker room and tell Ayu that we’ve equalized.”
Looking at Huang Hao's serious expression, Mahrez even thought about where he should kick the ball if he made a mistake in the next training session.
Cambridge United, having stubbornly drawn with Aston Villa at home, immediately threw themselves into preparations for the next match.
Although their next opponent, Chelsea, was also a London team, which meant players could avoid travel fatigue, Cambridge United only had three days to prepare.
The only good news was that after entering the grueling schedule, Cambridge United performed exceptionally well and did not collapse as people had predicted.
After the match against Aston Villa, Huang Hao and Darren finalized the training plan for the next three days.
Defense, defense, and more defense!
Out of the three days, one was mainly for recovery training, so there was very little time left for Cambridge United to train. Therefore, Huang Hao put all his focus on defense.
The continuous goals conceded at the start of matches made Huang Hao very dissatisfied with the team's current defensive intensity, so this week's training sessions were packed with various defense-related drills.
Under Ancelotti's leadership, Chelsea had been winning consecutive matches this season. In the previous round, they secured a decisive 0:3 victory away against Liverpool. Today, Ancelotti also fielded his main lineup, hoping for a big home win to continue their winning streak.
In front of goalkeeper Čech were Ashley Cole, John Terry, Ricardo Carvalho, and Branislav Ivanović.
The midfielders were Frank Lampard, Michael Ballack, John Mikel, and Joe Cole.
The forwards were the beast Drogba and Nicolas Anelka.
Cambridge United, on the other hand, completely maintained their starting lineup from the previous match, as the current combination was still working well.
Blue is the colour, football is the game.
Blue is our dream, football is our battlefield.
We're all together, and winning is our aim.
We are united, victory is our direction.
So cheer us on through the sun and rain.
Whether it's sunny or rainy, please keep cheering us on.
B'cause Chelsea, Chelsea is our name!
Because our name is Chelsea, Chelsea
After the entire stadium sang Chelsea's famous song "Blue is the Colour," Stamford Bridge immediately erupted in cheers, instantly raising the atmosphere.
And at this moment, referee Pawson blew the whistle to start the match precisely at 7:45 PM!
After the kickoff, Chelsea, leveraging their home advantage, began to press Cambridge United.
Just as Huang Hao had lost expectations for the home grounds of major clubs, Cambridge United's players, having been through more than ten rounds of the Premier League, had shed the naivety of their first appearances and become increasingly mature.
With Ballack's long-range shot from outside the box, which went directly into the stands behind the goal, Chelsea did not get the early lead they wished for.
Oblak waited for all his teammates to get into position, then kicked the ball directly to Vida beside him. Facing Cole's press, Vida did not panic too much, but instead made a long pass, directly transferring the ball to the right side of the front field.
Mahrez gently hooked the ball, and with a quick flick, he directly evaded the rushing Essien.
Immediately after, Mahrez continued to send the ball forward, this time targeting Lewandowski in the front field.
Lewandowski feigned a forward breakthrough, then suddenly retreated, jumped high, and flicked the ball directly to Tadić on the left wing.
Ivanović, who had been faked out by Lewandowski, immediately moved quickly to the wing, attempting to track Tadić.
However, Tadić did not give him a chance, and instead lofted the ball directly into the penalty area!
Ayu got the upper hand in the aerial duel with Cole at the far post, heading the ball back to Vardy in the middle!
Unfortunately, under Carvalho's tight marking, the shot was a bit central, and Čech directly tipped the ball over the bar for a corner kick!
The still-shaken Chelsea fans quickly gave their most enthusiastic applause to Čech.
O'Connor, back in the starting lineup, unhesitatingly ran to the corner flag to take Cambridge United's right-sided corner kick.
After slowly placing the ball, O'Connor looked up to observe his teammates' positions.
Seeing that the somewhat slender Cole was defending Vida at the far post, O'Connor unhesitatingly sent the ball towards Vida!
Despite Anelka's assistance in defense, Vida still managed to win the first aerial duel!
Vida, jumping high, had a clear view from the air, but standing at the top corner of the six-yard box, it seemed a bit too ambitious to attempt a shot from that distance.
Just then, Vida caught a glimpse of a yellow figure out of the corner of his eye, so Vida unhesitatingly knocked the ball back to his teammate behind him!
The person was none other than Cambridge United’s Kante!
Kante struck the ball with fury!
The ball zipped directly towards the near post!
Ashley Cole, who was lurking at the near post, instinctively ducked his head!
Čech stretched out his right arm as much as he could, trying to block the ball!
Thud!!!
The immense impact made the entire goal tremble!
Unfortunately, Kante's shot slammed hard against the crossbar!
Lampard, meeting the rebounding ball, quickly cleared it with a powerful kick towards midfield!
Cambridge United's opening three-pronged attack also served as a warning to Chelsea's players.
This promoted team standing before them was not a soft touch that only knew how to defend.
However, after weathering the initial storm, Chelsea, as the strongest team this season, slowly took control of the game.
In the 18th minute of the first half, Chelsea earned a corner kick on the right side of the attacking third.
Joe Cole sent the ball directly in front of the goal!
Lovren outjumped Terry, heading the ball away!
Anelka intercepted the ball on the right side of the goal, immediately turned his back to the goal, and dribbled the ball away!
As he dropped back, Cambridge United's defensive line immediately pushed forward.
Just then, Anelka suddenly pushed the ball to Cambridge United's vulnerable left side!
The onrushing Ivanović did not trap the ball, but instead half-turned and shot directly towards the goal! Oblak, who had been squatting and maintaining high alertness, immediately dived to the left side of the goal, pushing the ball out on the goal line!
Drogba quickly rushed out, and just as the ball was about to go out of bounds, he backheeled it to Ballack!
Unfortunately, Ballack did not choose to shoot immediately, but instead passed the ball to Lampard. After a few passes between the two, all of Cambridge United's defenders had returned to position, and the ball was eventually kicked directly out of bounds by Van Dijk, with Chelsea once again failing to score!
As the match progressed, Chelsea players, after failing to break through Cambridge United’s defense for a long time, gradually and intentionally ceded midfield control.
The first half had entered injury time. Cambridge United, attacking in the final third, had Ayu on the ball, instantly surrounded by three Chelsea players!
Essien, Lampard, and Ballack formed an umbrella shape, gradually closing in on Ayu.
Although Tadić had already moved forward to the wing to receive the ball, Ballack had clearly blocked that passing lane.
After a moment of thought, Ayu decided to pass the ball to Lewandowski at the edge of the penalty area.
Before Ayu's foot even touched the ball, Lampard started running towards Lewandowski!
At this moment, Ayu’s pass had just been kicked!
Ayu looked at Lampard in disbelief, wondering why he had such excellent anticipation, reading his intentions perfectly!
What Ayu didn't know was that under Mourinho's coaching, Chelsea's daily devilish defensive training focused on how to cut off the opponent's passing lanes as its core content!
After Ancelotti arrived, he infused the essence of Italian defense, taking Chelsea's defense to a new level.
While Ballack was blocking the wing passing lane, Lampard had already prepared to intercept Lewandowski.
Indeed, the moment Lewandowski touched the ball, Lampard rushed up and kicked the ball directly from Lewandowski's feet to Essien in midfield!
Essien immediately distributed the ball to Ivanović on the right wing!
Ivanović, upon receiving the ball, immediately delivered a curving cross into Cambridge United's penalty area!
The ball arced beautifully through the air, perfectly clearing Cambridge United's last defender, Lovren!
Drogba and Anelka were like two sharp knives, piercing into Cambridge United's penalty area from the flanks!
Drogba, having trapped the ball in the air, landed directly inside Cambridge United's penalty area!
With no defenders closing in, Drogba powerfully blasted the ball towards the left side of Cambridge United's goal!
Oblak fully extended his body in the air, tipping the ball with his right hand!
Unfortunately, the ball was not tipped out of bounds, and Anelka followed up in time, heading the ball into the empty net!
1:0!
In the last minute of first-half stoppage time, Chelsea took a one-goal lead with Anelka's follow-up shot.
Stamford Bridge immediately erupted in huge applause and shouts.
Pawson immediately blew the whistle for the end of the first half, with both teams resting for 15 minutes before resuming play.