As Leicester City eliminated rival Stoke City in the third round of the FA Cup, they entered the fourth round.
Therefore, the 27th round of the league, which was supposed to be held on January 25, was postponed to February 12.
Instead, it was a cup match against the Premier League giants "Blues" Chelsea!
This game will be played at the home ground of Leicester City.
In the last round, Leicester City reversed course and defeated Stoke City, which surprised and delighted Leicester City fans.
Coupled with the recent excellent form and winning streak in the league, Leicester City fans are very willing to come to the King Power Stadium to cheer for their team.
In just three hours after the tickets went on sale, except for the 3,000 tickets reserved for visiting team fans, all were sold out!
It has to be said that the FA Cup is a great opportunity for teams in lower leagues to make money.
Let’s talk about event prizes first.
Entering the first round will earn you a £36,000 prize.
The second round is £54,000, the third round is £82,000...
The further you advance, the higher the bonus.
In addition to prize money, ticket sales are also a huge source of income.
Ticket revenue from the two teams will be divided proportionally after deducting costs.
Coupled with the broadcast share and other income, the amount is also quite large.
This is good money for a Championship team.
For teams in lower-level leagues such as League One and League Two, these incomes may be their income for several months, or even half a year!
Therefore, these teams naturally send their main players and go all out.
The wealthy Premier League teams don't care much about Mane.
Therefore, Premier League teams generally use cup games as a training ground for newcomers and substitutes, and rarely send out the main players of the team.
This is why, from time to time, in the FA Cup, low-level teams defeat Premier League teams in upsets!
Of course, even if the Premier League team carries out a comprehensive rotation and a full substitute lineup, it is not an opponent that lower-level teams can compete with.
Players who can play as a substitute in the Premier League team have excellent abilities.
Either there are potential new stars with outstanding talents, or they are veteran players with rich experience in top leagues.
Even if the coaching staff analyzes that Chelsea will make a large-scale rotation in the FA Cup.
However, Leicester City did not take it lightly. Instead, they followed their own plan and carefully practiced the passing and controlling tactics with Ling Feng as the core...
. . .
Belvoir Base.
On the first-team training ground, head coach Pearson’s shouts rang out from time to time:
"Dean (Hammond), dribble less and pass more!"
"Riyad (Mahrez), hold the ball on the right and wait for the defender to put it on..."
"Ling, you get into the top position of the penalty area and receive the pass from the inverted triangle..."
The Leicester City players, who were wearing long training uniforms on the field, were conscientiously executing the coach's tactical arrangements.
In late January in the British Peninsula, a freezing cold wind hit us.
Fortunately, the bright sunshine was shining down, which somewhat drove away some of the coldness in the body.
Soon, the intra-team competition ended with the whistle.
Taking off the orange vest that represented the main force, Ling Feng, who was sweating profusely, came to the sidelines and received a towel and functional drink from the physical coach.
While wiping sweat with a towel, head coach Pearson also came to the sidelines, grabbed Ling Feng's shoulders, and began to say:
"Ling, you performed well just now. However, if we want to control the ball when facing Chelsea, it will definitely not be that easy."
"So, I need you to run and keep receiving passes from teammates..."
While listening to Pearson explaining the tactical details to himself, Ling Feng drank water and nodded from time to time.
Two consecutive weeks of tactical video courses not only allowed Ling Feng to become familiar with the team's tactics, but also made some progress in his related attributes.
And due to the low attributes, even without special training or additional training, Ling Feng's attributes in the [Defense] category have been significantly improved.
[Stealing] has changed from 40 to 42, [Marking] has changed from 35 to 37, and both attributes have increased by two points.
In addition, the [Body] attribute is the most obvious improvement.
Because we know that Ling Feng's confrontation ability is very poor.
So in the past two weeks, Pearson arranged for a physical trainer to conduct specific confrontation training for him.
Under normal circumstances, there are only two situations when the head coach makes small plans for the players in private.
Either this player lacks strength at this stage, but has great potential;
Either the player is strong enough but has shortcomings.
Whether it is the former or the latter, it means that the head coach attaches great importance to this player.
Because, for those players who have no potential or talent, the head coach will not waste time on him...
Under the step-by-step guidance of the physical fitness coach, Ling Feng's [Balance] attribute increased from 62 to 64, and [Strength] also increased from 45 to 47!
Although the improvement is not huge.
However, being able to intuitively see his own growth is enough for Ling Feng to feel that he is getting stronger bit by bit, so he has more motivation to train!
It is worth mentioning that in the last league game, Ling Feng completed the achievements of [English Championship First Goal] and [English Championship Best of the Match]. The two free attribute points obtained were both added to the explosion by Ling Feng.
But this time, after adding points, Ling Feng finally felt a slight difference.
He obviously felt that his explosive power when starting up was slightly stronger.
Not much, but you can really feel it!
The slight changes in his body made Ling Feng think boldly.
What will it look like one day when his [Burst] attribute reaches 99? !
. . .
With the active preparation and training, time quickly came to the day before the game.
It’s also the day when the starting lineup for the next game is announced!
All the players of the first team gathered in the tactical room.
All eyes are focused on head coach Pearson, hoping that his name will appear from the opponent's mouth.
"The starting eleven for tomorrow's game are Kasper (Schmeichel Jr.)..."
"Moore..."
"Riyad (Mahrez)..."
"Ling!"
After the starting lineup is announced, the substitute list comes.
But at this time, Ling Feng turned a deaf ear.
Although I had long expected that I would not have to wait too long for my first start.
However, the moment he heard his name appear in the starting lineup, Ling Feng couldn't help but feel surges in his heart.
In other words, in tomorrow's FA Cup match, he is about to make his first start in the Leicester City first team? !
I recall that more than half a month ago, my first appearance for the first team was in the FA Cup.
And now his first first-team start is also in the FA Cup.
This made Ling Feng sigh:
Could it be that I am a man born for the FA Cup? !
