Starting With Real Madrid

Sarri was sitting in his usual spot in the stands, where he had the best view of the game, surrounded by Napoli fans.

As a guest coach studying with the team, he wasn't part of the senior coaching staff, and there weren't enough seats in the technical area for everyone. But this didn't bother him. From the stands, he could watch the game with a clear perspective.

Since arriving in Naples nearly six months ago, Sarri had experienced nothing short of amazement.

In such a short time, Napoli had managed to suppress a top team like Chelsea in the Champions League knockout stage.

Premier League teams are renowned for their fast-paced offense and defense, their physicality, and their relentless attacking style. But against Napoli, Chelsea found themselves outpaced, outmaneuvered, and technically outclassed. Even their renowned footwork was undone by Napoli's superior control.

Hiddink's tactical preparation was not lacking. On the contrary, his use of Essien and the small diamond 4-4-2 formation aimed to strengthen Chelsea's midfield movement and suppress Napoli's midfield dominance. The plan was to disrupt Napoli's play with high pressing in midfield and the attacking third.

Normally, against such pressure, most teams would resort to long balls.

Why?

Because attempting to pass out from the back against such intense pressing carries immense risks. Losing possession in those areas could lead to devastating counterattacks.

Hiddink clearly counted on forcing Napoli into hurried long balls, using Drogba, Anelka, and even Ballack to apply pressure high up the pitch. At one point, they even forced Handanovic into an awkward situation, nearly causing a mistake.

But Napoli refused to panic. They didn't resort to aimless long balls.

Instead, they stuck to their passing game, threading short, accurate passes to work their way out of pressure.

Even Sarri, watching from the stands, was occasionally startled by the risks Napoli took in their passing sequences, but the players never wavered.

A year ago, Sarri would have called such tactics reckless. But after spending months with Napoli, he realized this wasn't recklessness, it was confidence.

Gao Shen had that confidence, and he instilled it in his team.

Every day in training, Napoli drilled their passing and movement relentlessly. Every player, no matter their position, was proficient with the ball. Even someone like Cannavaro, who used to lack finesse, had developed into a competent passer after three years in this system.

Compared to Napoli, Chelsea struggled with the weaknesses common to Premier League teams when forced into high-speed play: frequent passing errors.

This was hardly surprising.

As anyone familiar with basketball could tell you, the faster the ball moves, the harder it becomes to control. Increased speed amplifies force, reduces precision, and raises the likelihood of mistakes.

There's a famous saying in coaching circles: Arsène Wenger's primary focus in training is distance.

Wenger's philosophy was to ensure that every player had at least two or three passing options within a 10-meter radius.

This strategy ensured Arsenal's short-passing game was highly effective in both the Premier League and the Champions League.

But this style came with a cost. To maintain those close passing distances, players needed to run constantly, which significantly increased physical exertion. Arsenal's frequent collapses in the latter half of seasons were likely a byproduct of this demanding system.

Hiddink tried to implement a similar style with Chelsea. But his squad's age and technical limitations made it impractical, resulting in frequent passing errors during the game's fast tempo.

And when passing errors pile up, the consequences are dire.

Chelsea either lost the ball and were immediately counterattacked by Napoli, or they scrambled to regain possession, expending energy and breaking their rhythm.

To make matters worse, many of Chelsea's passing errors weren't even caused by Napoli's pressing—they were unforced.

This only highlighted Napoli's dominance.

Sarri couldn't help but admire Gao Shen.

Everything Gao Shen had predicted before the game was happening exactly as he had envisioned.

Gao Shen had pointed out that Napoli's strengths were their physical fitness and technical skill.

"If Chelsea attacks us from the start, that's great. We'll attack with them, even force them to attack harder. They'll tire out before we do. We can still score even if they drop to the ground exhausted," Gao Shen had said confidently before the match.

"Chelsea is brave, but their technique isn't as refined as ours. No matter how Hiddink sets them up, they'll make passing errors. That's where we'll win."

"He who controls the midfield controls the game!"

"Drogba might be able to hold off our defenders or force us to add another midfielder, but we'll control the midfield. Our fitness and skills will slowly wear them down."

"I just can't see how we lose this game, no matter the tactics. This is a show, a performance for our 55,000 fans!"

Sarri had listened to Gao Shen's pre-match speech in the locker room. At the time, he had been struck by the young coach's confidence and presence.

Now, watching the match unfold, his admiration only deepened.

Gao Shen had identified every critical aspect of the game.

How could Napoli lose a game like this?

…

After ten minutes of play, Napoli had scored twice, leaving Hiddink looking increasingly uneasy.

Should Chelsea keep pushing forward?

If they continued at this pace, it was doubtful they would have the stamina to last until the second half.

Napoli, on the other hand, could maintain this intensity for at least 70 to 80 minutes. Did Chelsea really want to gamble on extra time?

But retreating wasn't an option either. Napoli would only accelerate the tempo, giving Chelsea no chance to catch their breath.

Napoli's pressing was relentless. As soon as Chelsea lost the ball, Napoli counterattacked with speed. If the counter didn't work, they patiently recycled possession, forcing Chelsea to chase shadows.

Even though Chelsea's fitness and energy levels were clearly better than in the first leg, this was Napoli's home turf.

Sarri glanced toward the technical areas.

Hiddink stood at the edge of the visiting team's box, shouting instructions with visible frustration.

In contrast, Gao Shen sat calmly in the home team's technical area, observing the game with composure.

Between the two, which one looked more like a world-class coach?

…

As Sarri pondered this, Chelsea managed to create an opportunity on the pitch.

After building their attack, they advanced the ball to the edge of Napoli's penalty area.

Lampard passed to Belletti on the right, who tried to deliver a cross into the box, aiming for Drogba. But David Luiz read the play, rising first to head the ball clear.

Mikel attempted to recover possession but, pressured by Cavani, could only pass backward to Alex.

Alex advanced slightly and passed to Essien. The Ghanaian controlled the ball and looked for Anelka with a forward pass.

But the passing lane was too obvious. Rakitic intercepted the ball mid-flight, deflecting it high into the air.

Lichtsteiner stepped in, heading the ball down to Thiago Motta, who had positioned himself in space.

With his back to the attack, Motta chested the ball down and played a quick pass to Biglia, who shifted it left to Vargas.

Vargas broke forward quickly, crossing the halfway line, but Chelsea reacted well and regrouped defensively, forcing Napoli's attack to stall.

Vargas and Sanchez found themselves trapped on the left, but Cavani dropped deep to provide support, recycling the ball back to Napoli's defensive line.

Chelsea began pressing higher again, but Napoli's players remained patient, stringing together short, precise passes to move the ball gradually into Chelsea's half.

Despite Chelsea's pressure, Napoli controlled possession, forcing the Blues to chase without success.

"This is Napoli's strength," the commentator noted.

"Their passing and movement are so fluid that Chelsea's players can't react fast enough."

"Look at this sequence, Chelsea hasn't touched the ball for nearly two minutes!"

After circulating the ball to the right, Napoli found an opening.

Di Maria received the ball on the wing, cut inside, and played a quick pass to Sanchez at the edge of the box.

Marked by Belletti, Sanchez spun left and passed to Vargas, who had sprinted forward on the overlap.

Unmarked, Vargas drove into the box and delivered a low cross.

The ball bypassed Cavani, who was tightly marked, and found Di Maria, completely unmarked at the back post.

Vargas' pass was perfectly timed. Di Maria chested the ball down and, with his left foot, unleashed a powerful volley into the top-right corner of Chelsea's net.

3-1!