Southampton is England’s southern gateway to the world.
The most commendable thing about Southampton is not the beautiful and bustling port, nor the departure point of the Titanic, but the pride of this city - Southampton Football Club!
Southampton has always been famous in England, and even in European football, for cultivating young players.
There have been many outstanding stars who have shined in the Premier League, such as Lallana, Bale, Theo Walcott, Oxlade-Chamberlain, Luke Shaw, Ward-Prowse and so on.
However, as a small club, it is difficult for them to retain outstanding stars produced by their own youth training.
Faced with poaching from wealthy clubs, they can only try to sell these stars at a good price, and then continue to look for high-quality and low-cost substitutes in the transfer market, or directly promote them from the youth team.
And this is also the way for small and medium-sized clubs to survive and operate!
This is their third season in the Premier League since returning to the Premier League with three consecutive jumps in the 11-12 season.
Their own excellent blood-forming ability, coupled with the club's very reasonable operations, allow them to continue to remain competitive in the Premier League.
Even though the "five tiger generals" composed of Lallana, Lambert, Luke Shaw, Lovren, and Chambers were poached last season, and the head coach Pochettino was also poached, almost everyone was criticized. The dismemberment of a wealthy family.
However, they made timely additions in terms of transfers and signings, and under the leadership of Koeman, they played beautiful offensive football!
Moreover, their defense is also impregnable.
After ten rounds, they conceded the fewest goals in the league, ranking fourth in the league!
It can be said that this is definitely a strong team!
Therefore, when he saw Southampton's starting lineup, Ling Feng couldn't help but sigh in his heart:
This must be a tough battle!
Southampton's starting goalkeeper is the British substitute goalkeeper, Fraser Forster.
During the national team training, he was responsible for conducting shooting training with the players.
Therefore, Ling Feng knew this old man's strength very well.
Although not as good as Joe Hart, he is definitely a starter for mid-range teams in the five major leagues.
The four defenders are all well-known Premier League players:
Bertrand, who made his debut in the Champions League final, Portugal international Fonte, Belgium international Alderweireld, and England's newly promoted international Clyne;
In the midfield, French midfielder Schneiderlin is on the left, Northern Ireland international Steve Davis is on the right, and Kenyan midfielder Wanyama is slightly behind to protect;
On the left and right, there are "Smoky Tai Sui" Mane, one of the future Red Arrows, and Serbian magician Tadic.
The one at the front is the Italian center and Luneng legend Pelle!
The overall strength of this starting lineup in a single round, Southampton is not only stronger than Leicester City, but can definitely rank among the top six in the league!
Perhaps Leicester City's frontcourt is slightly stronger than Southampton's.
However, the strength of the midfield and backfield is quite different.
The former uses offense instead of defense, while the latter uses both offense and defense!
This is also the reason why after ten league rounds, Leicester City conceded 13 goals, while Southampton only conceded five goals.
Of course, there is not much difference in strength between the two sides, they are only between equals.
Judging from the score predictions of football experts before the game and the odds of betting companies, they are all optimistic that Southampton can win.
This season, Leicester City's away record is not good.
Maybe it conflicts with the word "West". The only two losses were to Chelsea and Swansea away from home!
When away from home, when the opponent occupies the home court advantage and thus controls possession of the ball, Leicester City will fall into a situation of being passively beaten.
Leicester City's defense cannot be called stable.
Even if you have the ability to counterattack, you often cannot sustain the counterattack and your defense will be breached by your opponent.
Since you can't defend, then attack!
This is why Leicester City uses high-pressure offensive tactics whether at home or away.
As the saying goes, one should remain unchanged in response to all changes, and conquer the world with one set of tactics!
In this away game at St. Mary's Stadium, in Pearson's view, if he wants to escape unscathed, he must turn against the visitors and stick to his offensive football!
"From the first second of the game, we have to suppress Southampton!"
"Be more aggressive in pressing in the frontcourt and don't let them easily control the ball and organize the offense."
However, just as Pearson was giving everyone the pre-game tactical arrangements, another assistant coach, Shakespeare, quickly walked into the locker room and whispered in Pearson's ear.
Then, Pearson frowned, then looked around and said in a deep voice:
"it's raining outside."
"Our tactics need to change a little!"
Rain has an obvious negative impact on football matches.
The grass watered by rain will become silky, the speed of the ball will also increase, and the players' feet will easily slip.
Because the jersey gets wet from the rain and becomes heavier, the player's running ability on the field will be greatly reduced, and the physical energy consumption will be doubled.
If the drainage system of the court is good and there is not much water on the court, you can still play well.
If there is too much water, it will be a disaster for a team that is good at ground coordination!
This is why in many classic battles, the team that was originally at a disadvantage would reverse the game because of rain.
Rain is an important factor that affects the direction of the game and the outcome!
"Play more direct passes!"
"Jesse, Riyad, you should make more inverted triangle passes near the front edge of the penalty area."
"Ling, don't be polite this time, take more long shots!"
On rainy days, long-range shots are a very effective way to score goals!
Because after the high-speed moving ball is stained with rain, it will become silky, and the trajectory will change unpredictablely, and it is also easy for the goalkeeper to make mistakes in saving the ball.
Therefore, every time they encounter a rainy game, both teams will increase the frequency of long-range shots, reduce short-distance passes, and simply and crudely play long passes!
If the handed-in starting lineup could not be changed temporarily, Pearson even planned to replace Lingard and start with big center Ulloa.
In this way, the frontcourt can have a fulcrum to serve teammates, and the entire offense can be more three-dimensional.
Unfortunately, it cannot be replaced.
After hearing the coach's instructions, Ling Feng, who was taking off his gloves, couldn't help but nodded.
Ever since he saw Mahrez wearing gloves as if he was on BUFF, Ling Feng also imitated him in wearing gloves during the game.
Although there is no obvious effect for the time being.
But he really felt that his hands would be warmer and the body heat would not be lost from his hands.
Moreover, when you are knocked over and fall to the ground, wearing gloves can also provide a cushion and it will not hurt so much.
However, if it rains, wet gloves may become another burden on the body.
That's why he decided to take off his gloves
After laying out the tactics and conducting routine pre-match mobilization, the Blue Fox generals slowly walked out of the visiting team's locker room.
At this time, Lingard, who was walking beside Ling Feng, suddenly asked:
"Ling, I have a feeling you will score in this game!"
Hearing this, Ling Feng couldn't help but be stunned.
On rainy days, the probability of scoring from a long shot is indeed higher than usual.
In addition, he was given unlimited firing rights by the head coach in this game, which increased his chances of scoring goals.
Thinking of this, Ling Feng made a "yeah" gesture, and then pretended to be serious:
"Well, I also have a hunch that I will score two goals in this game!"
After saying that, he couldn't help but smile. After patting Lingard's shoulder, he stepped forward.
Originally, Ling Feng was just joking with Emperor Lin.
Unexpectedly, the latter took it seriously.
Looking at Ling Feng's back slightly forward, Lingard's eyes suddenly became firm.
At this moment, Lin Huang could not help but secretly make up his mind that he must pass the ball to Ling Feng more in this game and let him score goals!
To repay him for taking care of me from the first day he rented here!
. . .
When players from both sides lined up to enter St. Mary's Stadium, warm cheers suddenly erupted in the stadium.
Even the drizzle falling in the sky couldn't extinguish the enthusiasm of the fans!
When Ling Feng raised his head, he felt the raindrops hitting his face, which was a little cold.
The rain was not heavy, just a gentle drizzle.
As we enter November in England, there are fewer and fewer sunny days.
The British are used to this.
However, Ling Feng has never tried to play a game when it rains.
Therefore, this will be the first rain fight in his career so far!
After the pre-match ceremony and the referee's whistle, in the eleventh round of the Premier League, the highlight battle between Southampton and Leicester City at home has officially begun!
Southampton's offense mainly relies on the two wings.
Although Mane on the left is not the "fiery King Kong and smoky Tai Sui" of the Liverpool era,
However, excellent speed and breakthroughs have begun to emerge.
Dribbling the ball on the left wing is Southampton's weapon to get started on the wing!
Tadic on the right, although not an orthodox wing player, has average speed and explosive power.
However, his ball protection and passing are both top-notch.
Especially with his wide field of vision, he can always catch his teammates in space and pass the ball out.
In the game that slaughtered "Black Cat" Sunderland 8-0, he contributed a hat-trick of assists!
He currently ranks third in the league's assist list, behind Ling Feng who is far ahead and Xiaofa who is second.
The Serbian international is Southampton's source of creativity, as much as Leicester City's.
Therefore, Pearson also specifically highlighted the importance of Tadic and asked the "physical monster" Schlupp who guarded the left to defend him closely.
Then he asked the experienced Cambiaso to be responsible for assisting in defense, which was bound to lock up Southampton's frontcourt commander!
As for the big center Pellet in front, he is a typical standing center.
As long as Tadic's shots are restricted and he cannot touch the ball, with his speed and running without the ball, there is basically no big threat.
Southampton took the lead.
As soon as Pellet passed the ball back, midfielder Schneiderlin, who was holding the ball, immediately noticed that the Blue Fox players in blue pounced on him!
In response, he couldn't help but turn around and pass the ball back to center back Fonte.
The next second, Snedlin felt a breeze blowing beside him, and a blue afterimage ran quickly past him.
And behind the afterimage, there is number seven printed on it!
As the game progressed, Leicester City players became more and more aware of the team's tactics and maintained a very good pressing distance between them.
However, facing the Blue Fox's frontcourt press, the Saints' backcourt players did not panic and passed the ball to the two wings.
At the same time, the two defensive midfielders Wanyama and Snedlin came back to support.
Then, they were surprised to find that there were players wearing blue jerseys everywhere they looked!
The Blue Fox's entire formation was extremely advanced.
Even center back Morgan has even pressed close to the center arc!
Seeing this, Southampton coach Koeman on the sidelines couldn't help but frown.
Is the formation so high? !
Are they crazy?
Although I have studied the opponent's tactics.
However, he did not expect that Leicester City's frontcourt pressure would be so fierce!
You know, this kind of pressing intensity is extremely energy-consuming.
It truly deserves to be the team with the youngest average age in the entire league!
After a difficult pass in the backcourt, the ball finally reached the feet of left back Bertrand.
He first glanced at Snedlin, who was passing by to pick up the ball, but found that Andy King was closely followed behind him.
Seeing that Mahrez was already approaching, he had no choice but to directly pass the ball forward with a long kick.
At the same time, left winger Mane immediately started to move forward.
Fortunately, right back Danny Simpson had quick enough speed and reaction to catch up immediately.
After a wave of body collisions, Simpson took the lead in catching up with the ball and then passed the ball to center back Morgan.
The Blue Fox captain passed the ball directly to Cambiasso.
The latter raised his head and glanced forward, then passed the ball directly to Ling Feng, who was in charge, and he organized it.
However, before Ling Feng turned his back to get the ball, Wanyama came up directly behind him and hit it.
The next second, Ling Feng felt a huge force coming from behind and was immediately pushed to the ground.
Beep!
The home whistle then sounded!
Wanyama, who committed the foul, did not defend himself. Instead, he gave a thumbs up to the referee and stepped back.
Obviously, this black and hard Kenyan beast waist is the player arranged to target him in this game!
In response, Ling Feng just smiled, patted his butt and stood up.
He has gradually become accustomed to this kind of treatment.
However, after the two sides spent five minutes testing each other, the rain did not stop.
Instead, it gets bigger and bigger!
As the heavy rain poured down, Leicester City took the lead in using simple passes to create a wave of threats:
In the tenth minute of the game, Ling Feng collided with Lingard on the left side of the frontcourt. The latter received a through ball, dribbled the ball down the wing, and passed with his left foot without even looking up!
"Lingard!"
"Inverted triangle!"
The ball rolled across the slightly slippery turf and flew straight to Ling Feng, who was well-covered outside the penalty area!
Seeing that there was no one guarding him, Southampton captain Font's eyes widened suddenly and he immediately shouted:
"Back waist!"
"Prevent him from passing the ball!"
Perhaps Ling Feng's passing skills were so good that they ignored a very important thing for a while.
That is:
Ling Feng's long-range shot is also quite threatening!
Therefore, neither of the two central defenders stepped forward to block, but instead prevented him from passing a through ball to Vardy who was diagonally crossing.
Wanyama, who was chasing after him, swooped in at high speed from the left.
However, Ling Feng never thought about passing the ball before catching the ball!
Seeing that no one was blocking in front of him, he didn't hesitate at all. He stopped with his right foot and stopped the ball in front of him.
Then he suddenly took a step forward, and before Wanyama landed with a sliding shovel, he kicked up and shot!
(End of chapter)
