Chapter 286 Xia Xing’s FA Cup journey
In January and February 2016, Leicester City ushered in the first game of the new year and missed Bournemouth at home.
But he didn't expect that Vardy was injured in the east court just after the start, disrupting Ranieri's layout.
At the end of the half, De Laet fouled someone while defending outside the penalty area and received a second yellow card.
A red card and a penalty kick put Leicester City at rock bottom.
De Laet in the East Court was in a low mood, and Ranieri patted him on the shoulder comfortingly.
Because Fox was affected by the flu, De Laet returned to the starting lineup.
But the performance in those two games was simply a disaster.
In one game, he failed to guard Aguero and was forced to equalize the score with a wrong leg.
In that game, he received a second yellow card, was given an east penalty, and was given a penalty kick for the wrong leg.
Previously, in that game, Leicester City played 10 against 11 and had no choice but to draw again at 3-3.
A bad wave of four draws in a row put Leicester City in trouble.
They originally had a clear lead in the league, but now they are about to be overtaken by the pursuers behind them.
Arsenal, ranked second, is only three points behind them; Tottenham, ranked third, is also five points behind.
If it were not for the downturn of the Manchester City duo and the Red Army and Blue Army, perhaps Leicester City's hopes of winning the championship would have been completely defeated.
But even so, they are in danger.
Could it be that like last season, they started to decline halfway through the season until they lost their top four spot?
Fortunately, the Devils' Christmas schedule is over and the team got a short break. They have eight days to rest.
For a period of time after moving east, Leicester City's game will become slightly calmer, and the schedule will not be so intensive.
In January and October, they played against Tottenham in the third round of the FA Cup.
On January 14, in the 21st round of the Premier League, they played away to Tottenham again.
On January 17, the 22nd round of the Premier League was an away game against Aston Villa.
On January 23, in the 23rd round of the Premier League, they faced Stoke City at home.
On January 30, in the fourth round of the FA Cup, they played away at Colchester United.
Although there is not a very intensive schedule, there will be a third-line battle soon.
Moreover, the Champions League knockout rounds are coming in February. Leicester City must strive to grab points in the league during that period and continue to consolidate its top position.
Faced with the wrong situation, Ranieri once again reiterated his strategy.
Strategic training for foreign cups!
In fact, he had already discussed this topic with the players a few months ago.
Although Leicester City has won two FA Cup championships in a row, Ranieri is still not interested in that one.
His goal that season was to perform well in the league and Champions League, not to focus on foreign cup competitions.
In fact, it cannot be said that there is no emphasis on pursuit, because Ranieri does not have so many trump cards.
Although Leicester City had a large lineup that season, the gap in strength between the main players and the substitutes was not small.
Especially if Kante, Vardy, Mahrez, Morgan, etc. are looking for the main force, there are almost no strong candidates for the breakthrough.
Of course, Xia Xing, who is extremely physically strong, is a special case...
Under such circumstances, it is unrealistic to think that competing for the championship on multiple fronts is possible.
Ranieri knows it very well.
Therefore, he did not arrange for substitute players and young players to appear in the two cup matches in January.
There are no main players in Bu Nao.
Summer trip!
For Xia Xing, who is very physically strong, he hopes to play more games.
FA Cup and League Cup, he doesn't want to give up!
Even though Ranieri reminded him repeatedly and suggested that he take a proper rest, Xia Xing still insisted on playing.
In the past, Ranieri could just let him go.
Ranieri thought to himself that Leicester City would most likely not go too far anyway with multiple substitutes coming on.
Since xia wants to play, let him play.
In January October, outside Red Hart Lane, Leicester City played Tottenham as a guest.
In that game Xia Xing once again wore the captain's armband.
Tottenham will play with all their main players tomorrow.
Facing the Leicester City team with almost all substitutes, Tottenham's fighting spirit was high.
For them, the gap in the league that is only 5 points behind is not big, and they can catch up with a little effort.
Although that game was only a cup match, Tottenham looked forward to boosting the team's morale through that victory.
After all, the two sides will meet in the Premier League in four days. If they can win by then, they will be within touching distance of the top spot.
That season many giant clubs were weak, and the two teams from London were also looking forward to reaching the top of the league, which was an excellent opportunity.
From the first minute of that game, Tottenham pressed Leicester City with all their strength.
The 4-2-3-1 formation is very sharp, with Harry Kane leading forward, and behind him are the talented offensive players Eriksen, Alli and Lamela.
All three are talented, and they were the perfect combination for Tottenham to perform well that season.
Behind them, Dale and Carol are very stable.
Judging from the paper strength of that lineup, Yuanji surpasses Leicester City's lineup tomorrow.
In that game, Leicester City's frontcourt combination of Okazaki Shinji and Ulloa was good, but it couldn't compare with Tottenham.
As for the midfield position, Xia Xing's partners tomorrow will be Noyinle, Andy King and Albrighton.
Compared with the main lineup of Kante, Mahrez and Drinkwater, they have indeed dropped a level.
Except for Albrighton's active running on the left wing, which made great contributions on both offense and defense, the other two performed generally.
He worked hard to defend in the half, but he conceded the ball before halftime.
In the 44th minute of the game, Tottenham counterattacked, and Eriksen made a wonderful diagonal pass straight into the penalty area!
Harry Kane squeezed Chilwell away and hit the net with a low shot from outside the penalty area!
1 to 0!
Tottenham scored first!
In front of the British Emperor, the 19-year-old little brother from England was helpless.
In the east half, the side changed sides and the battle resumed. Tottenham still attacked quickly and fiercely.
Regarding whether to defend Harry Kane, Yin Le moved back and participated in the defense as much as possible to assist Chilwell.
For a moment, the connection between Tottenham's midfield and frontcourt was cut off.
Ali's shot from outside the penalty area hit the post, almost expanding the score advantage.
In the 75th minute of the game, Tottenham made substitution adjustments.
They prepared to continue their onslaught.
At the moment when personnel were changing, Xia Xing seized the opportunity!
A cross from the wing accurately found Shinji Okazaki who was penetrating forward!
Forward Tsukimoto shot in front of the goal and the ball hit the net!
Asia Connection, successfully broke through!
1 to 1!
Leicester City once again sees hope of promotion!
In the 86th minute of the game, Fu Xia Xing kicked the ball horizontally and handed it to Andy Jin who was advancing forward.
Although Andy King's shot was high, it was not because it was pulled by midfielder Dier from the wrong side, so Leicester City got a frontcourt goal.
Standing in front of the ball, Xia Xing took a deep breath.
Look in the direction of the goal.
If he takes the initiative to appear in a cup match and wears the captain's armband, he must go all out!
He must win that game!
Slowly back up and take a run!
Take a shot!
The ball hit hard and an arc cut through the night sky at Red Hart Lane!
Bypassed the goalkeeper Lori's fingers!
Directly into the right corner of the goal!
The ball went in!
2 to 1!
Xia Xing scored the winning goal!
(End of chapter)
This chapter has been completed!