After the 17 rounds of the 2014-2015 Premier League season, the Premier League standings are as follows:
Ranked first is Chelsea, with a record of 12 wins, 3 draws and 2 losses, with 39 points;
Ranked second is Manchester City, with a record of 10 wins, 4 draws and 3 losses, with 34 points;
Ranked third is Crystal Palace, with a record of 10 wins, 3 draws and 4 losses, with 33 points;
Ranked fourth is West Ham United, with a record of 9 wins, 4 draws and 4 losses, with 31 points;
Ranked fifth is Southampton, with a record of 9 wins, 2 draws and 6 losses, with 29 points;
Ranked sixth is Manchester United, with a record of 8 wins, 5 draws and 4 losses, with 29 points;
Although Southampton did not score as many goals as Manchester United, their goal difference was greater than that of Manchester United. Therefore, Southampton is now ranked fifth in the Premier League.
Therefore, Southampton is not a weak team.
Currently, they are only 4 points behind Crystal Palace.
This game was naturally called a close match by the British media. Southampton was not a team that Crystal Palace could easily defeat. Many media reporters believe that Crystal Palace is likely to lose in this game.
Southampton has a lot of Pochettino's legacy here, and now they are getting along very well.
And after Ronald Koeman came, Southampton's training became even more powerful.
Southampton is not a weakling now, and this game is really hard to say.
To be honest, the tactics of Southampton and Crystal Palace are slightly similar, and there are similarities in positioning and layout.
Many English media feel that Southampton has a higher winning rate in this game.
Southampton's head coach Koeman said before the game: "At present, our Southampton state is very good. We are confident that we can defeat any opponent. On the contrary, our opponent Crystal Palace is in very bad state. Their main force The right back has just been sent away, which has a huge impact on them. Tong 1 has spent too much energy in the transfer market, which will affect Crystal Palace's performance in this game."
Media reporters all think Koeman is very right.
Now, there are many teams hoping to take a piece of flesh from Crystal Palace.
There are a lot of talented players in the Crystal Palace lineup, including De Bruyne, Goretzka, Mane, Salah, Van Dijk, Laporte, etc. Almost everyone has a team chasing them. This winter transfer, some teams really hope to open up Crystal Palace's star supermarket.
Unfortunately, it has not been successful so far.
Crystal Palace also gave away Zhang Linpeng, and the other players really have no intention of selling.
However, these transfer rumors and the offers from these teams will also consume some of Tong 1's energy. This is good news and opportunity for Southampton!
Koeman feels that they will definitely win this game.
Koeman is confident.
Koeman also said: "To be honest, Crystal Palace's Dutch center back Van Dijk is very good. Now I really like him very much. I hope he can join us at Southampton. We Dutch people know the Dutch best. In my opinion You can become the next Stam. Believe me, Van Dijk, come to Southampton!"
Yes, before the game, Koeman actually wanted to poach Crystal Palace and seduce Van Dijk.
This is really a bit funny.
Of course, Koeman also knows very well that he may not be able to really seduce Van Dijk. What he does is nothing more than creating some trouble for Crystal Palace. It is best to create some civil strife, which is 100% successful.
Of course, he also knows that this is difficult, but he can just deal with Tong Yi and Crystal Palace.
But what if Van Dijk is really tempted? Then Koeman and Southampton will make a lot of money!
Tong 1 responded directly: "Southampton, do you have money? Just seduce our Crystal Palace players? Don't say I didn't give you a chance. Mr. Koeman, come up with 100 million pounds, and I will sell Virgil to you." Southampton, if you can’t get it out, don’t be so careless!”
hiss!
The media reporters all took a breath of cold air, this guy Tong 1 is very tough!
This directly made Koeman blush and turn white, making him very angry. Tong 1 is just looking down on him and humiliating him and Southampton.
Koeman was really angry, and his eyes were spitting fire as he stared at Tong 1.
Tong 1 continued: "Virgil is definitely one of the candidates for the best central defender in the world in the future. Now Southampton is very lucky to be able to take Virgil away for 100 million pounds. I think Coman is Virgil's compatriot. The price of friendship is only given for my own sake, Mr. Coleman, you must seize the opportunity!"
Koeman's face became even more ugly, and Southampton fans and senior management were also very angry.
However, they really have no choice!
Is it really possible to spend 100 million pounds to bring in Van Dijk alone?
Give me a break! Even if Southampton can spend 100 million pounds, it cannot be spent entirely on one person. And they don't think Van Dijk is worth the price. They all think this guy Tong 1 is crazy.
Are there any players worth over 100 million in the world today?
No!
However, at this time, it is difficult for Koeman to say that Van Dijk is not worth 100 million. After all, he had just established a relationship with Van Dijk, recognized his fellow countrymen, and talked about the feelings of compatriots. At this time, if you push down Van Dijk's backstage, isn't this moral corruption?
Therefore, Koeman really has no choice but to swallow the pain in his own stomach.
However, Koeman still said: "If you don't like what Crystal Palace people say, Southampton will definitely win this game. We are confident!"
Tong 1 didn't care about Koeman's words at all. He continued: "To be honest, Southampton's defense strength is actually relatively poor, and their offensive ability is quite good. But, to be honest, their defense is Big problem. In this game, it should be easy for Crystal Palace to beat them."
Yes, the head coaches of the two teams were at odds with each other before the game.
This makes fans of both teams full of expectations for this game, and they all want to watch this game eagerly.
Moreover, fans of both teams are full of confidence in their teams and believe that their home team can win.
"Alan, who do you think can win this game?" Mortensen immediately turned to ask his commentator partner Shearer.
Shearer looked at Mortensen and then said directly: "To be honest, I am very optimistic about Crystal Palace in this game. Not to mention Crystal Palace's recent state, and David's recent state is also very good. . There is still a gap between Southampton's strength and Crystal Palace. And what David said is very correct. Southampton's defense is indeed very bad. Their defensive strength is still not enough for them to compete for a Champions League qualification. .Crystal Palace will definitely win this game!"
Yes, Shearer is very optimistic about Crystal Palace, which has caused dissatisfaction among many fans, especially Southampton fans, who have opposed Shearer. But there are also many people who agree with Shearer's words. There is still a big gap between Southampton and Crystal Palace.
Today, the starting lineups of both sides are as follows:
Home team: Crystal Palace, head coach: Tong 1, formation: 4-2-1-3
Goalkeeper: Edouard
Back four [from left to right]: Robertson, Rudiger, Van Dijk and Aurier
Double defensive midfielder: Paulinho and Kante
Single attacking midfielder: De Bruyne
Three forwards [from left to right]: Salah, Ignacio and Mane
Away team: Southampton, head coach: Koeman, formation: 4-3-1-2
Goalkeeper: Ben Foster
Back four [from left to right]: Bertrand, Florin Gardos, Maya Yoshida and Klein
Midfield three [from left to right]: Schneiderlin, Oderweireld and Steven Davis
Single attacking midfielder: Pellet
Two forwards: Bolasie and Ward-Prowse
Look, Nanampdu's midfield and frontcourt are really very good, and their offensive strength and configuration are very good. Even the midfield configuration is okay, but the central defender position is really very weak. No wonder Koeman was very envious of Van Dijk before the game. It turns out that he really wants to bring in Van Dijk!
With Van Dijk, Southampton's strength will definitely make a qualitative leap.
No wonder Koeman wanted to test Tong Yi and Crystal Palace before the game. Unfortunately, the high price of 100 million instantly extinguished Koeman's only thoughts. Without Van Dijk, Koeman is preparing to find some better and younger central defenders in the Netherlands.
Koeman believes that their Dutch central defenders have talent in reserve.
But right now, Southampton's center back is really weak defensively, which is the biggest hidden danger to Crystal Palace. Because there is a tall and strong center like Ignacio in the Crystal Palace formation, this puts a lot of defensive pressure on Southampton!
However, Southamptonians feel that they have the 193cm Gados and the 189cm Maya Yoshida. Although these two are not as tall as Ignacio, the combination of the two can still restrict Ignacio. Moreover, Ignacio is very young now and cannot afford to take on the important role at all.
Therefore, Koeman is still full of confidence in this game.
However, after the game started, Koeman realized that he was really too confident. Although Gados and Maya Yoshida were able to hold back Ignacio and prevent him from easily facing their goal to complete a shot or header. However, these two people could not handle Ignacio at all, which led to Ignacio frequently holding the ball with his back near the front edge of the penalty area, controlling the first point, and then accurately delivering the football to Crystal Palace's advancing forward. Offensive players.
Ignacio became the perfect bridgehead in this game, frequently creating opportunities for his teammates.
Because Ignacio's success rate in controlling the first football goal in this game reached more than 80%.
In a word, these two guys, Gados and Maya Yoshida, were blown away by the young Ignacio!
A crushing blast!
At this time, Southampton fans finally understood what Tong 1 meant?
Their center back combination is indeed a bit poor.
Of course, this central defender combination can be regarded as a good defense combination in the middle and lower reaches. But if you are a team that aims to compete in the European competition or even the Champions League, this central defender combination is indeed a few levels behind.
Now, Southampton's problem is exposed here at Crystal Palace.
In fact, these two people were even more confused when facing Salah and Mane. Their turning and chasing speed were too slow. Therefore, the cooperation between Ignacio, Salah and Mane was accurate. They were really unable to keep up, so that they did not show much of their offensive strength today and were completely devoted to defense.
If it weren't for Forster's outstanding performance, Southampton's goal would have been blocked.
Even at the beginning of the second half, Pellet directly dragged back to participate in the defense to compete with Ignacio for the first landing point and relieve the offensive pressure of the Crystal Palace people.
Not to mention, after Pellet came back, Ignacio's first point control rate dropped a lot.
However, at this time, Crystal Palace already led 3-0.
In the first half of the game, Salah and Mane received assists from Ignacio and De Bruyne to score Southampton's goal. In the second half, Goretzka, who came on as a substitute, scored Foster's goal with a long shot.
At the last moment of the game, Crystal Palace once again got a chance, and Paulinho in the backcourt sent a precise through ball. The forward-moving Mane entered the penalty area, and before the opponent's defender pounced on him, he blasted the Southampton goal with a swinging shot.
Crystal Palace easily defeated Southampton at home 4-0.
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