Hampden Park Stadium, Glasgow.
The 2006/07 Europa League final has reached the last 5 minutes of the second half of overtime.
The players on the field have reached the stage of exhaustion and have no energy to sprint anymore. The head coaches of both sides have also used up all their substitution quotas, and there are no more tactics left.
It can be said that the rest of the game is left to fate and luck.
George Li stood on the sidelines and felt that he was out of breath. He had never experienced such an intense and intense game.
In the three seasons he has been coaching Leeds United, it is not that he has never played overtime, but he has never experienced overtime in a final or the last round.
Maybe, there will still be a penalty shootout to be played.
He did not expect that the game would reach this level.
In terms of preparation, Leeds United is well prepared for this game. After the league ended, the team had little celebration, and rushed to Glasgow, Scotland, the next day to prepare for the UEFA Cup final.
However, their opponents, the Spaniards, were better prepared.
They came to Scotland to prepare for the game earlier than Leeds United, and the league ended earlier than Leeds United, giving the team more rest time.
While George Lee and his assistants were studying the Spaniard, their opponents were also studying Leeds United.
It cannot be said that Leeds United underestimated the enemy after winning the last UEFA Cup and the recent league championship. They can only be more prepared to accept the Spaniard.
Witnessed by a total audience of 50,670, the Spaniard showed his spirit of daring to fight and fight against Leeds United.
In the 28th minute of the game, Spaniard's left midfielder Rivera broke through from the left and managed to withstand Mills' marking and headed towards the center.
After cutting horizontally into the middle, he flashed past Mills, opened a slight angle, and then took a long shot from 20 yards.
The ball changed direction after hitting Albucheson's leg. Van der Sar did not touch the football and could only watch the ball fly into the goal.
Almost everyone did not expect that the Spaniard would take the lead, and Leeds United, who performed well in the second half of the season, actually fell behind.
A team that could win the Premier League championship from Manchester United, Chelsea, and Arsenal was actually led by a team in the middle of La Liga.
But the Spaniards are actually quietly unbeaten in 15 games in this season's UEFA Cup. Counting the qualifying play-offs, they are unbeaten in 21 games.
The Spaniard, like Liverpool in the Premier League, burst out with amazing energy in the cup.
In the following game, Leeds United launched a fierce attack and began to bombard the Spaniard's goal.
Finally before the end of the first half, through Smith's same left-side cut, he received the sideline ball from Baynes and went directly into the penalty area.
A powerful and heavy shot from the left side of the penalty area equalized the score.
In the second half, Leeds United continued to control the rhythm of the game, and in the 61st minute of the second half, they scored another goal through wonderful cooperation to complete the lead.
During the counterattack, Kuyt received a pass from Gravesen and passed the ball across the middle from the right wing. Kevin Davis grabbed the ball in the small penalty area and stabbed the ball into the goal before the goalkeeper could attack.
The tide is tilting towards Leeds United, who are getting closer and closer to defending their UEFA Cup title.
But they underestimated the toughness of their opponents.
The Spaniard passed a long shot in the final stage of regular time. Honatas scored the lower right corner of the goal from 25 yards in the middle after cooperating with Pandiani to kick the wall.
The two teams had to go into overtime to decide the winner.
George Li held his hands and watched the players on the court intently.
Logically speaking, Leeds United players have an advantage in terms of physical fitness, because the intensity of matches in the Premier League is higher than in La Liga and there are more confrontations. However, because Leeds United had just finished the league, they did not have as much physical reserves as the Spaniard. Therefore, except for a few players who had been replaced, both teams could no longer run.
On the field, both sides were already on the verge of having their bayonets see red. Basically, they kept driving the ball into the opponent's half, and then looked for offensive opportunities through the opponent's mistakes.
It's just that both sides spent the last few minutes cautiously, without giving their opponents any chance.
The game entered an exciting penalty shootout.
At this moment, the overall strength of the team is irrelevant, all are equal, and the performance of the goalkeeper will play a key role.
Van der Sar held a kettle and kept soaking his head with water to calm himself down. Leeds United goalkeeper coach Nigel Martin was communicating with him.
Beside them, Chris Casper was recording something with a notebook, and then told Van der Sar the compiled information. It was probably the habit of some Spanish players to take penalty kicks.
And George Li was discussing with other assistants the order of his team's penalty kicks.
^^^
A few minutes later, all the players on the field except the two goalkeepers came to the midfield and lined up for the penalty shootout.
The first person to take the penalty was Leeds United forward Kevin Davis. He chose to push the ball into the lower right corner of the goal. Although the Spanish goalkeeper Elisos judged the direction correctly, Davis' angle was too tricky. Still got scored.
Then, the Spaniard's first penalty was Luis Garcia, but his shot towards the lower left corner was saved by Van der Sar.
1 to 0.
In the second round, Leeds United's Baines and Espanyol's Pandiani each scored penalty kicks.
2 to 1.
In the third line, Mills took the penalty first. Leeds United's bald right back positioned the ball and retreated a long distance.
After a long run-up, Mills' movement deformed when he finally shot and kicked the ball away.
When it was the Spaniard's turn, Honoras' shot was once again seen through by Van der Sar, and the ball flying to the right side of the goal was once again saved by Van der Sar.
2 to 1.
Almost everyone on the court held their breath, watching the crucial next round.
This is true for the Leeds United players in the midfield, this is true for the Leeds United coaching staff and substitute players off the court, this is true for Helen, Anne, and Mr. and Mrs. Blake in the stands, and this is true for Ferguson, Jim Lee, Mike Lee, and Tony Wilson in the box. The same is true for others, the same is true for Leeds United fans inside and outside the stadium, and the same is true for all the viewers in front of the TV.
Nothing brings as much excitement as a penalty shootout.
Kuyt placed the ball and then took a few steps back. He learned the lesson from Mills when he kicked the ball away and did not make too many runs.
The lack of a run-up does not mean that the goal is weak, and Kuyt chose the left side of the goal, while Ilesos pounced on the right side.
As the ball flew into the goal and hit the net, Kuyt did a simple celebration.
After that, the Spaniard's Torreyon also successfully deceived Van der Sar and scored the ball from the penalty spot.
3 to 2.
The pressure came on Leeds' last penalty kicker.
Leeds United's No. 17 slowly walked out of the wall.
After taking two steps, he made a face at the serious-looking teammates behind him.
"I thought I wouldn't have to play, but it turned out that I still had to rely on the captain..."
Then he turned around and raised his left hand high, the yellow captain's armband shining brightly.
