Chapter 111: Four Goals! You're Fired! Mourinho, Get Out!
December 26th, afternoon, 1:57 PM.
Mourinho had just returned to the visiting team's technical area after shaking hands with Yang Cheng.
Standing in front of the home team's bench, watching the two teams already lined up on the pitch, Mourinho's expression didn't look too good.
In the end, he still chose Shevchenko.
Yang Cheng, on the other hand, stuck with his usual 4-3-3 formation.
Goalkeeper: Neuer
Defense: Leighton Baines, José Fonte, Pepe, and Piszczek
Midfield: Gökhan Inler in the holding role, with Modrić and Lass Diarra ahead of him
Forwards: Ashley Young, Džeko, and Arshavin
Mourinho actually acknowledged that the Chinese team from Bayswater had a decent lineup.
And in this match, the most critical period was right at the start.
What worried him most right now was whether his team could withstand Bayswater China's opening blitz.
That worry drove Mourinho to the sideline once more. He called over Ferreira and Carvalho, instructing them to stay focused right after kickoff and, above all, to maintain the integrity of the defensive structure.
Before the match, his assistants had also suggested playing Essien at center-back.
That way, Ferreira could play on the right, because Geremi wasn't very reliable.
Essien was decent at man-marking and had good speed.
Other than aerial balls, the middle and right sides could be relatively secure with him there.
But the problem was—it would weaken the midfield.
Makelele could hardly cope with back-to-back games in a week anymore.
His age was catching up with him.
If Essien played at center-back, the holding midfielder would have to be either Geremi or Mikel—neither of whom gave Mourinho peace of mind.
You had to understand, they were about to face Arshavin.
This Russian had been in electrifying form all season, especially in recent weeks—everyone could see it.
This season, Chelsea had signed three major stars.
Ashley Cole was solid.
Shevchenko had turned into a big problem.
Ballack, however, had integrated fairly well. His chemistry with Lampard was steadily improving.
Their understanding of who to push forward, who to hold back—it was getting better.
In this situation, how exactly should the lineup be arranged?
Mourinho was finding it tough.
...
The referee for this match was England's famed Howard Webb.
Before the coin toss, he gave both team captains—Lampard and Modrić—a quick talk.
He told them he wanted to see a smooth, exciting football match.
"Today's Boxing Day. Everyone's still in the Christmas mood—don't ruin it for the fans, OK?"
Both teams nodded in agreement.
The Chelsea fans in the stadium had already cranked up the volume.
During the toss, Lampard picked the side that gave his team the advantage, meaning Bayswater China got first possession.
After that, the two teams returned to their respective halves, rallied their teammates into huddles, and hyped each other up.
Once the lineups were finalized, everyone could clearly see who was starting for both sides.
Arshavin stood in the center circle, ready to kick off alongside Džeko.
Clearly, he was going to continue in his free-roaming role.
This was Yang Cheng's ultimate show of trust in him!
And at this moment, inside one of the boxes at Stamford Bridge, Roman Abramovich was watching Arshavin on the pitch with a complicated expression.
As Arshavin rose to stardom in the Premier League, his fame in Russia had also soared.
After Abramovich returned home, quite a few people had asked him about Arshavin.
In fact, many Russian fans were calling on Abramovich to sign him.
But Abramovich knew—it would be very hard.
Extremely hard.
Bayswater China would absolutely not want to sell Arshavin to Chelsea.
"How did Yang Cheng even know Zenit had an Arshavin? And how did he decide to sign this guy?" Abramovich asked curiously.
He just wanted to understand how Yang Cheng operated.
Unfortunately, no one around him—including Chelsea's CEO, the chairman, his personal assistants, and even renowned agents—could give him an answer.
But what was certain was that Yang Cheng's moves had been wildly successful.
After selling Ribéry for a massive fee, Arshavin had been nothing short of brilliant.
That kind of talent simply couldn't be hidden.
Abramovich glanced around the room, disappointed, then turned his eyes back to the pitch.
This time, he focused on Shevchenko.
In this match, the Ukrainian striker had been deployed by Mourinho as a right winger.
Once again—far away from the goal!
Abramovich couldn't help but feel let down.
He wanted to see Shevchenko scoring goals for Chelsea.
But clearly, that wasn't what Mourinho wanted.
"We should be able to win this one, right?" Abramovich muttered.
Peter Kenyon, sitting next to him, heard it and smiled slightly, "At the very least, we won't lose."
Abramovich nodded.
It was Boxing Day, and a home match—if they lost, there would be serious trouble.
...
With the sound of Howard Webb's whistle, the match officially kicked off.
Džeko passed the ball to Arshavin, who immediately returned it and sprinted forward.
The Bosnian striker charged ahead as the spearhead.
Just as Yang Cheng had laid out in the pre-match meeting:
It didn't matter if it was Essien or Ferreira—their aerial defense was their biggest weakness.
"So, Edin, your job in this match is to win the first ball in the final third and lay it off to the teammates around you!"
"Especially Arshavin!"
Thinking of this, Džeko immediately knew what he had to do.
"Andrey." Džeko reached Chelsea's defensive line, turned his back, got into position, and called out.
Arshavin understood right away and slowed down his pace.
His job was to float around Džeko, ready to receive the ball.
They had run this play many times before. They knew the routine well.
Oftentimes, targeted tactics on the pitch were no secret.
For instance, Mourinho was fully aware that Ferreira and Carvalho had a height disadvantage against Džeko.
So Chelsea had prepared accordingly.
Disrupt Džeko's aerial attempts, double-mark the Bosnian forward, or assign Essien to mark Arshavin.
They might even increase the number of long balls from midfield and limit the number of passes to Džeko.
All of these were counter-tactics.
In the first three-plus minutes, Bayswater China tried several forward passes but failed to make anything work.
After a few attempts, they shifted play to the flanks.
On the right, the young Piszczek was still sizing up Kalou.
So the team focused on the left wing.
Shevchenko didn't defend actively, and wasn't great on the wing, so Leighton Baines took advantage of that, pushing forward aggressively to support Ashley Young.
In the 4th minute, Baines' cross from the left was deflected out of bounds by Ballack.
Throw-in.
"Chelsea's approach to the start has been very cautious."
"Their defensive focus is clearly on point."
"Bayswater China keeps trying to find Džeko, but they haven't had any luck."
"Let's see what they do with this throw-in."
Ashley Young ran back from the front to receive the ball, prompting Ballack to immediately move toward him.
But Baines suddenly threw the ball across the field.
Modrić, who had just arrived, volleyed it with a high, arching pass toward the front line.
In the central area about 30 meters from Chelsea's goal, Džeko was already tracking the ball's trajectory.
As the ball came down, Džeko leapt high and nodded it on with a header, flicking it to Arshavin.
The Russian received the ball with a deft touch right next to Essien, stopping it dead and preparing to cut in toward the right side of the penalty arc.
Essien stuck to him like glue, giving him absolutely no space.
With excellent technique at his feet, Arshavin shouted out to Džeko, then suddenly stopped short. With a sharp right-foot drag-back and a quick flick with the outside of his left foot, he created a sliver of space and passed the ball back to Džeko.
The Bosnian striker had already reached the edge of the penalty area. As soon as he heard Arshavin's call, he knew he was in trouble. He stopped on the spot, turned, and used his body to shield the ball from Carvalho, locking down the prime position.
After releasing the pass, Arshavin sprinted laterally, temporarily shaking off Essien.
But the Ghanaian bull was right back on him.
Džeko, for his part, had excellent technique. Even though Arshavin's pass had come in a hurry, he controlled it smoothly, spotted Arshavin's lateral run, and instantly laid the ball off to his right.
Arshavin sprinted forward and took control of the ball again, weaving into the edge of Chelsea's penalty area.
The two players had just pulled off a brilliant one-two in an extremely tight space!
The entire stadium erupted in a buzz.
Arshavin broke into the arc, and Ferreira was the first to charge in and block.
But the Russian danced past him with a slick elastico, completely faking Ferreira out of position.
Ferreira wasn't a center-back to begin with!
Having beaten Ferreira, Arshavin now faced Geremi, who had retreated into the box. He shaped to cut inside again with his left, tricking Geremi just like the last defender. Then, with the outside of his left foot, he nudged the ball laterally to the left.
Now at a better angle, Arshavin chased after the ball, wound up, and blasted it with his left foot.
Cech realized the danger the moment Geremi was beaten.
He immediately abandoned his line and charged forward.
But just as he reached the corner of the six-yard box on the left, Arshavin's shot came flying in.
Caught off guard, the Czech keeper dove desperately to make the save.
But the shot was too quick—he didn't stand a chance.
The ball slid under his body and slammed into the back of Chelsea's net!
"GOOOOOOOAL!!!!"
"Just 4 minutes into the game and Bayswater China draws first blood!"
"It's the Russian international, Andrey Arshavin!"
"Only four minutes in!!"
"Once again, it's Bayswater China's trademark blitz start!"
Arshavin, fired up, raced to the sidelines, slid across the turf, and made a heart shape with his hands across his chest.
His signature celebration.
Behind him, his teammates piled in, surrounding him in celebration.
"No one saw this coming—absolutely no one. Just four minutes in, and Arshavin has already opened the scoring."
"This match is shaping up to be an absolute thriller."
"Both teams clearly came well-prepared."
"But Bayswater China's start has clearly been more targeted."
"Especially Džeko—he's touched the ball twice and both were critical to the goal."
On the sidelines, Yang Cheng had already leapt into the air in excitement.
Behind him, the coaching staff was already in a group hug, celebrating the brilliant opener.
It was spectacular!
Scoring just four minutes into the game—could there be a better start?
But amid the celebration, Yang Cheng quickly strode to the touchline and called out to his players, urging them to return and stay aggressive after the restart.
Keep the momentum going—crush Chelsea in one go!
...
The match restarted.
After striking first, Bayswater China was riding high.
Yang Cheng's game plan had been to hit hard from the very first minute—ideally to flatten Chelsea outright.
Arshavin's goal gave everyone hope.
And that drove Bayswater China's players to push even harder.
On the other side, Chelsea was focused more on shoring up their defense.
They knew full well how much Terry's absence was affecting them.
Bayswater China held the upper hand in midfield. Their aggressive pressing in the middle and final thirds left Chelsea's midfield in disarray.
It was something Yang Cheng had said many times before.
Mourinho never really knew how to utilize creative midfielders.
Chelsea's midfield was dominant physically—stacked with muscle—but lacked ball control players and creativity.
Even with Ballack's arrival, things hadn't improved.
As a result, under Bayswater China's suffocating high press, Chelsea simply couldn't hold the ball in midfield.
Every time they got it, they lost it. And as soon as they lost it, it was pressed again. Win it back, then lose it again.
But that kind of cycle isn't flawless—eventually, you'll make a mistake and fail to win it back in time.
What then?
Even more crucially, with Chelsea's backline and midfielders lacking composure on the ball, how were they supposed to play their way out of Bayswater China's suffocating press?
Disaster nearly struck in the 7th minute.
Ferreira, receiving a pass back from midfield, was immediately closed down by Džeko. His return pass was hurried—he didn't even check Cech's position—and he almost passed it directly into his own goal.
Yes, it was only thanks to a poor pass that it didn't become an own goal.
If his technique had been any better, that would've been an own goal for sure.
Fortunately, Ferreira's clumsy pass turned into a corner instead of a disaster.
But Chelsea was now on high alert.
They all knew how terrifying Bayswater China's set-pieces could be!
Especially when that Mediterranean Italian walked over to the sideline—the crowd immediately began to boo loudly, trying to distract Gianni Vio and prevent him from directing the routine.
With the sharp blast of Howard Webb's whistle, Leighton Baines began his run-up.
The box was a mess. Everyone assumed he'd swing the ball into the penalty area directly.
But Baines switched up at the last moment and passed it low to the left side of the box where Ashley Young was waiting.
The Chelsea players in the box collectively freaked out.
A bunch of drama queens!
Why make such a long run-up if you're not going to cross?
Ashley Young had been waiting over there the whole time.
He took a clean touch with the inside of his right foot, turned, and glanced at the penalty area.
He saw two teammates raising their hands at the far post.
That was the signal.
Far post!
Ashley Young swung his right foot and sent in a diagonal cross.
From the edge of Chelsea's left-side penalty area, the ball arced toward the far post.
With Chelsea's defenders swarming and Carvalho nearly sealing off the path to goal, Pepe and Džeko both leapt for the ball.
Pepe had the better position and powered a header back into the middle.
From the earlier corner, José Fonte and several others had crashed toward the near post.
Now, as Pepe's header came back into the center, those players turned and rushed back in.
Lampard tried to swing a leg to clear it, but someone beat him to it in the chaos.
Slippery as an eel, Arshavin popped up out of nowhere and got a toe on the ball, redirecting Pepe's knockdown straight into the bottom left corner of Chelsea's goal.
Cech was stunned.
He had shifted all his weight toward Pepe's direction, only to watch the ball whipped back across the middle—then came Arshavin's snap shot.
There was nothing he could do.
When Howard Webb's whistle blew again, the fans in the stands stared at the pitch in utter disbelief.
No one could have imagined that just eight minutes into the match, they'd be two goals down.
How were they supposed to come back from that?
"Another goal!"
"Arshavin again!"
"We can see that the Russian is on fire today!"
"And with the broadcast camera cutting to the stands, there's his girlfriend cheering him on!"
"She must be his source of inspiration!"
"Two goals—a brace. This must be the best Christmas present Arshavin could give his girlfriend!"
"Chelsea needs to wake up."
"Their backline is just too fragile."
"Less than ten minutes in and they've already conceded two goals—this is hard to believe."
...
No one knew exactly what the Chelsea fans in the stands were thinking at that moment.
But everyone could see Mourinho on the sidelines, shouting furiously at his players.
The Portuguese manager clearly hadn't expected his team to collapse like this, especially on Boxing Day of all days.
He didn't believe the players were deliberately trying to sabotage him.
It had to be panic—pure panic.
Conceding a goal just four minutes in, a three-year winless record against Bayswater China, plus the absence of key players like Terry—it was all too much. Chelsea had completely lost their composure.
What made it worse was that the bastards from Bayswater China, even after going two goals up, were still pressing high, still pushing relentlessly.
How badly was Chelsea being pressed?
It wasn't until the 12th minute that they managed a single pass into Bayswater China's 30-meter zone.
Essien launched a long pass from the back toward the front, targeting Drogba.
Drogba won the aerial duel and flicked the ball toward Kalou on the left wing.
But Piszczek got there first and cleared it.
Then Bayswater China went straight back to pressing high, resuming their attack and forcing Chelsea to retreat and defend again.
...
"This won't do. They're clearly targeting our backline."
Assistant coach Faria analyzed anxiously from the sideline.
"Our midfield is losing control. I suggest we pull back and stabilize the defense first."
Pull back?
Mourinho hesitated.
That would mean going defensive.
In his three seasons at Chelsea, the one thing he had been constantly criticized for was being too conservative.
Some even said he was more defensive than Capello. Was he really going to accept that?
No way in hell was he as rigid as Capello!
"We're at less than 35% possession right now," Faria warned gravely.
A disorganized backline, sloppy defending, and such a poor possession rate—it was a recipe for disaster.
One mistake, and they'd concede again.
"God damn it!"
Mourinho cursed through gritted teeth.
Especially when he saw Shevchenko running around on the pitch, he felt a wave of frustration boil inside him.
If Shevchenko hadn't been such a disaster, Chelsea wouldn't be unraveling this quickly.
Was he really going to park the bus now?
"Don't hesitate any longer!" Faria urged.
He knew what was at stake—Boxing Day, a home match, more than 40,000 fans watching. If Chelsea could turn it around, it would become a legendary comeback.
But if they lost, Mourinho would be torn to pieces by the media again.
It was not an easy decision.
But the storm Bayswater China had unleashed from the start was absolutely brutal.
They were burning through their stamina like there was no tomorrow.
Just as Mourinho made up his mind and was about to walk to the touchline to shout instructions and make tactical adjustments, something happened.
Ballack, from Chelsea's midfield, tried to play a pass back to Essien.
But Modrić suddenly darted in from the side and intercepted the ball before it could reach him.
After winning possession, Modrić instantly launched the counterattack and passed it to the left wing.
Ashley Young accelerated down the left, surging forward until he reached the edge of Chelsea's penalty area, drawing Geremi out before sliding a pass to Arshavin in the left channel just outside the box.
The Russian brought the ball under control, then immediately started throwing feints. With a few sharp body movements, he faked out Ferreira, who had rushed up to block him. Then, with a step to his right, he unleashed a thunderous shot.
The ball soared over the defenders' heads, curved beautifully, and slammed into the top right corner of Chelsea's goal.
3–0!
Hat-trick!
"Wooooahhh! Wow!"
"Arshavin!"
"Arshavin again!"
"Oh my God, he's scored again!"
"This is unbelievable—he's completed a hat-trick!"
"His first ever hat-trick in the Premier League!!"
"3–0!"
"What on earth is happening to Chelsea tonight?"
"Their once-solid defense—why does it keep getting ripped apart by Bayswater China?"
"Mourinho needs to seriously rethink his tactics and lineup tonight!"
"This is absolutely stunning!"
"It's only been 18 minutes—18 minutes!"
"And Bayswater China already leads by three goals."
"Today is Boxing Day!"
"Chelsea fans came to Stamford Bridge full of holiday cheer."
"But just 18 minutes in, they probably have no mood left to enjoy this West London Derby."
"Because they've just watched their team get utterly dismantled by their West London rivals—right here at Stamford Bridge."
"Remember this name!"
"Andrey Arshavin!"
"He's just scored a hat-trick in only 18 minutes."
"This is the fastest hat-trick in Premier League history!"
"Back on February 25th, 2001, when Manchester United demolished Arsenal 6–1, Dwight Yorke—one of the 'Black Wind Duo'—scored a hat-trick in the 22nd minute."
"But that record was broken today by Andrey Arshavin."
"The Russian completed the fastest hat-trick in Premier League history—in just 18 minutes."
"Incredible!"
...
As the entire Stamford Bridge erupted in applause and cheers for the celebrating Arshavin, in the executive box, Abramovich's face turned very, very dark.
If it weren't for the fact that live cameras were sweeping the stands, he would've exploded on the spot.
"What the hell is this garbage?"
Abramovich could hardly believe his eyes.
"This is the team we spent hundreds of millions of pounds to build?"
Fuming with rage, the Russian actually laughed.
"We spent hundreds of millions—hundreds!—and we're being humiliated like this by a team of scrappy nobodies?"
In Abramovich's mind, Bayswater China had always been a ragtag, semi-pro team lingering in the lower leagues.
But tonight, that same ragtag team had utterly humiliated him.
In front of over 40,000 fans—trampled, crushed, destroyed.
"Peter, how much did it cost to build their squad?"
Abramovich held up two fingers. "Did it even reach twenty million pounds?"
Peter Kenyon hesitated, stammering a little under Abramovich's withering stare before finally replying, "It should've… yeah, probably."
He wasn't completely sure.
But at this point, it didn't matter.
Even if Bayswater China had spent £20 million—so what?
Compared to Chelsea's galaxy of stars, that was peanuts.
So why was Chelsea, with all its big-name players and massive spending, getting humiliated like this at home—by a team built with a fraction of their budget?
"Can someone tell me why?"
No one had an answer for Abramovich.
Because football has never had a guaranteed formula for success.
If spending money always meant guaranteed returns… would it still be football?
But of course, no one dared say that out loud.
It felt as if no one dared speak up in defense of Mourinho or his Chelsea.
With this much money poured in, with a squad that could be considered world-class—how could they be losing like this?
It was as if even Mourinho himself couldn't explain why he just couldn't get Shevchenko to work.
Why was the Ukrainian nuclear warhead just unable to link up with Drogba?
"You all saw The Observer," Abramovich said, "I just said in an interview that I don't focus on results, I care more about the process."
"But now… what the hell am I supposed to say?"
Silence filled the executive box.
And then, out of nowhere, agent Pini Zahavi suddenly said, "Fire him!"
"Let Mourinho get the hell out!"
Zahavi was Abramovich's friend and had once been Chelsea's go-to man for transfers.
But after Mourinho took charge, Jorge Mendes replaced him.
Still, Zahavi and Abramovich remained close.
Now, when Zahavi dropped that line, everyone in the box was stunned.
"No!" Peter Kenyon immediately objected.
He was genuinely afraid that Abramovich, in a fit of rage, might actually sack Mourinho on the spot.
"Sacking Mourinho right now would absolutely not be a wise move. At the very least, let him finish out the season."
Abramovich wasn't an idiot.
To get where he was, he knew how to think rationally.
Even Zahavi himself seemed startled by his own outburst.
But just like that, the thought that hadn't been there moments ago—Mourinho getting sacked—had now entered the conversation.
Mourinho had done a lot for the club. Firing him now? Impossible.
"Pini, that joke really wasn't funny," Abramovich forced a smile, pointing at Zahavi.
"It's fine, it's fine. Let's just watch the match."
But everyone noticed something.
As soon as Abramovich turned his head away from the group to face the pitch again, the smile on his face vanished.
His eyes, for no apparent reason, turned sharp and cold.
They carried a deadly chill.
Mourinho getting the sack—an option that hadn't existed a few minutes ago—was now real.
...
When Chelsea conceded the third goal, even Mourinho was stunned.
He had truly not expected Bayswater China's blitz to be so ruthless, nor Yang Cheng to be this aggressive.
More importantly, their efficiency was off the charts.
Arshavin tonight looked like he was high on something.
But Mourinho quickly made adjustments. The team dropped back and began to defend deep.
He also pulled both wingers back to reinforce midfield protection.
Up front, only Drogba was left.
It was conservative, but at least the defense stabilized.
Bayswater China also eased off a bit after the third goal.
From the 20th minute onward, they started to control possession rather than press high as aggressively.
That gave Mourinho a bit of relief.
But Chelsea had clearly been stunned by the nightmare opening.
It wasn't until the 32nd minute that they finally managed to break into Bayswater China's penalty area.
It came from a direct pass by Lampard—an attempted counterattack.
Kalou made a fast, well-timed run on the left to break the offside trap.
But Neuer rushed off his line, charging all the way to the edge of the box and smothering the ball.
The German keeper's range was insane.
He frequently came out past the area.
Three minutes later, Chelsea had their first shot of the match.
Lampard took a free kick from 30 meters out—blasted it high.
Then Ballack played a diagonal ball to the right. Shevchenko controlled it and sent in a cross. Drogba volleyed from just outside the box—again, over the bar.
Those were Chelsea's only two shots in the entire first half.
...
"Chelsea will definitely make adjustments in the second half."
"But right now, we have no idea what kind of tactics or substitutions they'll go for."
Yang Cheng remained confident about the second half.
But that confidence didn't come from preserving the current scoreline.
He wanted more goals.
Since this was a life-or-death West London derby, the aim was to go all in—grab a bigger lead, crush the opponent's spirit. Ideally, beat Chelsea so badly that every future match against Bayswater China would be haunted by trauma.
Opportunities like this didn't come twice.
"My guess is there are only two options," Yang Cheng analyzed. "Take off a midfielder, bring on the winger Wright-Phillips, move Shevchenko back up front, and strengthen the attack."
It was a likely scenario.
Go all in.
It was Boxing Day, at home. If they were going to play like this, at the very least they needed a goal, or Mourinho wouldn't be able to show his face to the Stamford Bridge crowd.
"The other option is going full conservative—take off Shevchenko, bring on Mikel, and reinforce midfield."
But that would be sending a passive, even cowardly, message.
With Mourinho, either scenario was possible.
Yang Cheng couldn't predict which it would be, so he walked the team through both tactical options during halftime, including how to respond.
No matter what adjustments Chelsea made, they still couldn't solve the biggest flaw in their backline.
Ferreira and Carvalho.
Both players were just barely over 1.80 meters tall.
When it came to aerial duels and contesting the first ball, they were no match for Džeko.
Most of the time, they were stuck chasing him around.
Which meant Chelsea's defensive structure often got pulled apart.
Then there was Essien—never known for his positioning.
The Ghanaian bull's biggest strength was his tireless running, not his spatial awareness. Playing him as a lone defensive midfielder was torture for him.
Yang Cheng even wondered if using Ballack might work better than Essien.
But Ballack's positioning wasn't exactly stellar either.
Most people overlooked one crucial point.
Makelele's role in Chelsea's midfield was not just defensive.
His passing couldn't match top playmakers, sure, but he was key to linking defense and midfield. He was a vital cog in the team.
Up front, there was Drogba. In midfield, Makelele. At the back, Terry. In goal, Cech.
That was Chelsea's most important central axis.
Lampard?
He scored plenty of goals, yes, but tactically—that was about it.
So with Makelele out, Lampard couldn't control the midfield on his own.
...
Halftime ended, and the teams returned to the pitch.
Everyone noticed—Chelsea made a substitution.
Wright-Phillips came on for Geremi.
After the switch, Essien dropped back to center-back to partner Carvalho.
Ferreira moved back to right-back.
Chelsea's midfield now had Kalou, Lampard, Ballack, and Wright-Phillips.
Up front, the pair of Drogba and Shevchenko.
Even now, Mourinho still didn't take off Shevchenko. Instead, he shifted to a 4-4-2.
Yang Cheng was a bit stunned—he couldn't read what Mourinho was thinking.
Shevchenko had barely touched the ball in the entire first half—why keep him on?
And switching to a 4-4-2… did they really think Džeko didn't understand positioning?
But soon, Yang Cheng noticed changes in Chelsea's defensive structure.
Lampard and Ballack were both sitting deeper, closer to the center-backs.
Ballack and Lampard were all-rounders—solid both in attack and defense—so they could play the middle in a 4-4-2.
Ballack, in particular, was tall and physically dominant, and exceptional in aerial battles.
Mourinho's idea was to shut down Džeko, stop him from dropping between midfield and defense to contest aerial balls and receive passes like he did in the first half.
Tactically, it was an interesting idea.
But after a few more minutes of play, Yang Cheng saw through it and quickly adjusted. He pushed Džeko up front.
Screw it—no more fancy tactical interplay. Let's go direct and unleash Džeko's aerial dominance.
If this had been last season, Yang Cheng might not have been so confident.
But now, after a summer and months of physical conditioning, Džeko's strength in duels and his core power had all noticeably improved.
And standing at 1.93 meters tall, he towered over Carvalho and Essien. How could he not dominate aerially?
After a few attempts, Yang Cheng's adjustment finally produced danger in the 56th minute.
Piszczek sent in a cross from the right, and Džeko met it near the penalty spot with a header.
But it was too straight—Cech caught it cleanly.
Still, it was a very encouraging sign.
Chelsea immediately launched a counterattack of their own.
Kalou, tightly marked by Piszczek on the left, laid the ball off to Lampard.
The Chelsea captain took a shot from 23 meters out—off target.
Both teams were starting to find some rhythm in attack.
In the 59th minute, Leighton Baines received a pass from Ashley Young down the left and whipped in a cross to the far post.
Džeko made a dummy run at the near post, while Arshavin challenged Lampard at the far post—but the header went wide.
Just two minutes later, Ballack sent a chip from outside the box to the right. Wright-Phillips broke into the right side of the penalty area and fired a shot.
The angle was tight, and Neuer covered it well, smothering the ball safely.
Both teams were now showing more signs of life.
Chelsea were desperate not to go down 0–3 without a fight—they wanted some pride back.
But Bayswater China kept control of possession and rhythm, patiently pinning Chelsea down.
By the 60-minute mark, Bayswater China's possession rate had stayed around 60%.
Then, in the 63rd minute, they launched another attack.
Leighton Baines passed to Ashley Young, who trapped it with the outside of his right foot, pulling away from Ferreira. Then, with his right foot, he suddenly sent a diagonal ball into the box.
This left-sided diagonal delivery from Young had become one of Bayswater China's signature attacking plays this season.
At the far post, Džeko charged forward, rose above Carvalho, and aimed a header toward the opposite corner—the top-right side of the goal, trying to beat Cech, who had shifted left.
It was a clean connection, but Džeko had gone for too tight an angle. The ball smashed off the crossbar and bounced back out.
Almost simultaneously, Arshavin, who had been lurking at the edge of the box, dashed forward. He chested the rebound down, sidestepped Essien with a quick touch to the left, then took a step and unleashed a rocket shot with his left foot.
The entire sequence flowed like silk. Essien didn't even have time to react or block.
The ball flew in a straight line, drilling into Chelsea's net.
4–0!
"FOUR GOALS!!"
"My God—Arshavin has scored four!"
"It's the 63rd minute of the second half, and the Russian international has just delivered an unbelievable four-goal haul!"
All of Stamford Bridge erupted into chaos.
There were cheers, boos, curses, and roars from the stands…
It all mixed together—indistinguishable noise.
On the pitch, Bayswater China's players had already rushed toward Arshavin in a frenzy.
The Russian looked like a madman, completely lost in the moment.
No one had expected this.
That Arshavin would actually score four goals tonight!
It was simply unbelievable!
...
Yang Cheng stood on the sideline, equally stunned as he watched his players celebrate. He turned to look at Brian Kidd, and the two shared a knowing laugh.
"Let's keep pressing them a bit longer. Once the result's secure, we'll start making substitutions."
Even as he said it, Yang Cheng sighed.
On the 30th, they had an away match at Old Trafford against Manchester United.
If this match against Chelsea was a West London derby, then the next one was a title decider.
With a schedule like this, Yang Cheng couldn't say for sure what kind of result they'd get at Old Trafford.
But at the very least, they had to give United a tough fight.
Brian Kidd nodded.
Bayswater China's Christmas fixture list really was brutal.
Especially this year—back-to-back clashes with top teams, and all away.
What could they do?
Finally, in the 70th minute, Yang Cheng made his first substitutions of the match.
He brought on the young Theo Walcott for Arshavin.
Then replaced Modrić with Matuidi.
These were moves to preserve energy for the coming battle at Old Trafford.
But after the changes, Chelsea began pushing back.
Just three minutes later, Wright-Phillips tried to burst past Baines down the right and got tripped.
Lampard took a quick free kick, playing a low ball to the penalty spot—but no one was there to receive it.
At the far post, Kalou recovered and crossed the ball back in, only for Piszczek to block it out for a corner.
Chelsea took the corner quickly—Ballack met it with a header, but it went just wide.
The Blues were clearly looking to ramp up their attack.
Bayswater China responded in kind.
Piszczek broke into the right side of the box and crossed for Džeko. The Bosnian striker went for a volley—just wide.
Soon after, Wright-Phillips again cut to the byline and sent a cutback into the box, but José Fonte got there before Shevchenko and cleared it out.
Throw-in.
Chelsea's most dangerous moment of the match came in the 83rd minute.
Lampard delivered a pinpoint diagonal pass to the right. Wright-Phillips sprinted past Baines, controlled the ball near the byline, and cut into the box, then sent a low pass back to the center.
Drogba had a clear chance to shoot but hesitated—allowing Neuer to charge out and smother the ball.
The Ivorian's shot ended up hitting Neuer square in the chest.
This was Chelsea's best chance of the entire game.
After missing it, Chelsea went all-in on offense.
But then, in the 88th minute, Chelsea won a corner.
Bayswater China cleared the ball with a header inside the box.
The Blues had committed too many forward—and no one was left to guard the back.
Walcott, like a flash of lightning, chased down the loose ball. He took a big touch forward and accelerated again.
The English youngster dashed from his own penalty area, burst past the 30-meter mark, raced across midfield, and charged into Chelsea's defensive third…
Bridge chased desperately behind him, head tilted back, running for his life.
But there was no catching Walcott's long strides.
Ferreira, lagging at the back, was Chelsea's last hope.
But just as Walcott reached Chelsea's 30-meter area, before anyone could react, he played a diagonal pass behind Ferreira.
Ashley Young, perfectly timed his run to stay onside, sprinted past and caught up with Walcott's pass, slotting it calmly into the Chelsea net.
5–0!
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