Seven Hundred and Sixty Second New Warcraft

Leeds United's first game of the new season is on the night of August 6, away to Southampton, the newly promoted Saints.

The Community Shield is on the afternoon of August 7th.

Manchester City went south to London one day earlier and checked into the manor hotel in the West End of London.

After Gao Shen, Carlo, Buenaventura and Pintus settled the players, they quietly left London for Southampton, more than 100 kilometers away.

Both made their way into St. Mary's Stadium, mingling with the fans in disguise.

They were seated in the same area as the Leeds United fans, with tickets also provided by Fernando Lucas.

...

The attendance rate of St. Mary's Stadium is actually quite average. This game only attracted 25,000 people.

In terms of fan enthusiasm, there is still a certain gap between Southampton and Leeds United.

This also makes Gao Shen more fortunate.

The head coach of Southampton, Nigel Adkins, is not well-known, but Gao Shen knows that he brought Southampton to the Premier League in his previous life, but his coaching in the Premier League was not considered successful. Tino replaced.

It was also from that time that Southampton ushered in a comprehensive revival.

At present, Adkins has played for Wigan Athletic for a long time in his career. His biggest coaching experience is Scunthorpe, who has coached for four years. His results are not bad, and he is best at four-three-three.

Leeds United has just undergone a reorganization, and Gao Shen is a little worried about Sarri's formation.

In terms of integrating the team, in fact, Gao Shen has been paying close attention to it and making suggestions for Sarri.

For example, Pogba, Gao Shen told Sarri very clearly that he would put Pogba in the left-hand position of the three midfielders in the four-three-three, and let him play his own characteristics and advantages.

Adam Lallana on the left has excellent skills, but his speed is slow. Kurzawa will often attack, so he must beware of Southampton's counterattack.

On the right side, Bolassier's speed, explosive power, and physical fitness are excellent, and he has his famous stunt [Borasiye's turn], but his handling of the ball after turning is also very problematic, it depends on Sarri has been trained recently.

What Gao Shen is most worried about is actually the back line.

Woodgate failed to participate in the first game, Sarri arranged a combination of Maguire and Koulibaly.

Very young, but all inexperienced.

This will become the biggest hidden danger tonight.

...

As it turns out, Gao Shen was right to be concerned.

After the opening, Leeds United took the initiative to launch a wave of attacks.

Southampton is also not to be outdone. Although they are newly promoted, they played very bravely.

Stephen Dreedle, in particular, was active on the wing.

In the 10th minute, center Lambert created a corner kick. Portuguese defender Jose Fonte made a header and midfielder Hammond took advantage of the chaos to attack and broke the goal guarded by Courtois.

The Belgian goalkeeper was very dissatisfied with this, thinking that his teammates did not keep an eye on his goal.

"It's a little troublesome." Carlo frowned.

Anyone with a discerning eye can see that from the beginning, Leeds United played a little too anxiously.

After losing the ball, the scene was also somewhat chaotic and passive.

Sarri wanted the players to control the ball and play the pass and control style he wanted, but the players were in a hurry, and as a result, they were pressed by Southampton's pressing and oppression, and Leeds United immediately fell into chaos.

Fortunately, there is still a Courtois standing in front of the door.

Although he had just lost the ball, the Belgian goalkeeper performed very vigorously with high blocks and low catches.

"Courtois is really good!" Lopis praised.

At the beginning, he praised Courtois a lot, and even now, he still never forgets it.

The first half ended with Leeds United trailing 0-1.

"This halftime was a bit..." Carlo smiled wryly, unable to say anything.

"From the perspective of physical fitness and performance, the team's preparations are quite sufficient, but they are not stable enough and the integrity is not strong enough." Buenaventura also felt it was a pity.

To put it simply, Leeds United has strength, but they can't play it out.

Not to mention the players, even those who understand football feel very anxious after seeing this feeling.

"Let's see how the midfield adjusts." Gao Shen shook his head and smiled wryly.

...

After changing sides to fight again in the second half, Southampton launched a fierce attack again, trying to win Leeds United in one go.

But in the 52nd minute of the game, after Schneiderlin made a successful steal, he handed the ball to Paulinho, who quickly assigned it to Bolasier on the right.

After the latter stopped the ball, he directly passed the ball alone, and he just threw off Southampton's left back Dan Harding.

Benteke quickly penetrated to the front point, overwhelmed Southampton's two central defenders Martin, and flew the header to the back point.

I saw former Southampton player Adam Lallana quickly plugged in, made a push in front of the goal, and successfully equalized the score!

"pretty!!!"

Like the surrounding Leeds United fans, Gao Shen applauded the team's goal loudly.

Although Adam Lallana did not celebrate the goal.

And no one thought that just three minutes later, after Adam Lallana got rid of the ball on the left side of the frontcourt, he dribbled the ball past Jack Cork and sent the ball into the penalty area.

Benteke squeezed Wundt away with his body, greeted the ball and volleyed with his right foot, sending the ball into the goal that was close at hand.

Two to one!

reverse!

"Wow!!!"

This time it was not only Gao Shen, everyone cheered excitedly, including Carlo.

Everyone knows about Adam Lallana's abilities, and now that he is successfully activated, Leeds United's frontcourt offense can immediately gain momentum.

After that, the two teams made consecutive substitutions.

Adkins wants to strengthen the team's offense, and Leeds United is also not far behind.

But it wasn't until the 87th minute of the second half that Leeds United scored again.

This is a press from the frontcourt. Icardi, who replaced Benteke, steals Aaron Martin when he is pressing in the frontcourt. After getting the ball, he enters the penalty area of ​​Southampton and completes the fatal blow.

Three to one!

At this point, Gao Shen's heart was finally let go.

...

"The score is good, but the process is still very thrilling and not stable enough."

After watching the game, Carlo summed up the game on the car back to London.

He is Gao Shen's right-hand man, and he has always been calm in speaking and doing things, and never speaks falsely.

Gao Shen and others did not go to the locker room after the game, but just sent a congratulatory message to Sarri, and then set off back to London.

"To be honest, judging from the process of the game, this Leeds United team is still very good. Whether it is training or physical fitness, they are very good. Although I have not got detailed data, it can be generally seen that there is a lot of running. , Sarri's tactics are in the same line as yours." Buenaventura laughed.

"Take your time, it's only the first round now. Although the warm-up match is good, you still have to gradually enter the rhythm and state of the game step by step. This kind of team that has just been reorganized, there is no way to expect them to play the best game all at once. Good level," Pintus said.

Everyone also nodded.

The entire starting lineup of Leeds United, including the five substitutes, are all newcomers who have just joined the team. They cannot be expected to play at the best level and develop a tacit understanding all at once, so it takes time, games, and accumulation.

By the way, there are only five substitutes in the Championship, League One and League Two.

It's also weird to say.

Last season, the English League Committee voted to change the number of substitute seats from five to seven in the three levels of the English Championship, League One and League Two, following the pace of the Premier League. This is called keeping pace with the times.

But one season later, the clubs voted and changed the seven places back to five.

why?

Because many clubs cannot fill the 18-man roster when they encounter injuries.

This is the status quo in the lower leagues.

In comparison, the teams in the English Championship are actually relatively good.

"Don't worry, this Leeds United team is still very strong, that is, the Pogba you are most optimistic about, and that Paulinho did not play, it is a pity." Carlo laughed.

Everyone also nodded.

Gao Shen has high hopes for these two players.

"However, Benteke is really strong. Jose Fonte and Aaron Martin can't stop him at all. My God, this guy is not in the British Championship. I guess in the Premier League. His physical quality is definitely a tank that can rampage." Buenaventura said in amazement.

"Footwork is also very good." Carlo added.

Everyone said yes.

The most eye-catching player in this game should be Adam Lallana, but his outstanding performance was expected by everyone, and Benteke was beyond the expectations of Carlo and others.

This guy is really a monster!

At the beginning, Gao Shen promised to find a new monster for Surrey, but he didn't expect it to be true.

"In the low-level leagues, with a strong center like Benteke, the team is too comfortable to play. I think the defenders of the British Championship team this season are going to have a nightmare." Lopis slightly Exaggeratedly joking.

Everyone also laughed.

After watching the game, Gao Shen was relieved.

Even if Sarri doesn't perform very well, as long as he plays steadily, the team's ranking will definitely go further than last season.

The most important thing is that Pogba and Paulinho's back-up has not yet worked out, especially the connection between Pogba and Adam Lallana, which has not yet seen a threat.

You know, with the technical ability of Pogba and Adam Lallana, as long as the two are connected, who can stop them in the area of ​​​​the left rib?

Especially when Benteke is at the front.

All fans who are familiar with Paulinho know how brutal Paulinho's back thrust is.

The failure of these two midfielders to perform today may be due to the players themselves or the coach's tactical arrangements.

After all, it's the first round of the league, so it's better to be careful.

In addition, Klein's side didn't put much pressure on him today, and Dreedle's pressure on him was still a bit heavy.

In general, the 3-1 away game against Southampton is a good start.

After Gao Shen breathed a sigh of relief, he could concentrate on preparing for the Community Shield.