Chapter two hundred and forty-two fighting in the rain
Text Volume Chapter 242 In the 34th round of the League Fight in the Rain, Leeds City played before Stan Park Rangers.
So this time the football is still at their feet. Whether they can kick the ball back to Stan Park Rangers beautifully depends on the result of their game.
It's just that it's not easy for them to win this game.
Even if they are at home.
Because their opponent in this round is Manchester Athletic, currently ranked third in the league.
If Manchester United can defeat Leeds City away from home, and Stan Park Rangers can defeat Burley Leeds away from home, the defending champion will regain a seven-point gap with Leeds City.
With few league games left, this is a somewhat reassuring point difference.
This means that even if Stan Park Rangers lose two more games in the remaining four league rounds, they can still maintain their points lead over Leeds City.
But how could Stan Park Rangers lose half of their remaining four league games?
In the hotel room where they were staying, members of Stan Park Rangers' coaching staff gathered in head coach Brooks' room and were watching the game between Leeds City and Manchester Athletic through live TV.
They are not only paying attention to the competitors who win the championship, but also the performance and tactics of Manchester United.
After all, in the next round, it will be their turn to challenge Manchester United away from home.
For Leeds City, Manchester Athletic is the main stumbling block on the way to the title. For Stan Park Rangers, why not?
In the next round, they will go away to face Manchester Athletic.
Even if Leeds City loses to Manchester Athletic in this round, if Stan Park Rangers also loses to Manchester Athletic in the next round, the point difference between the two teams will return to four points, and the situation is still critical.
They have to find a way to beat Manchester United from this game.
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Melly looked at the live broadcast of the Premier League match on the TV screen, and then glanced at the mobile phone.
Above is the chat he had with Ramon Cantero before the game.
Cantero invited him to watch the game again before the game, and vowed that this time he would shatter Hulay's dream of being the Premier League champion!
"Don't worry this time, Merry. I'll put my old and new grudges to rest with him! He won't even think of stepping on my corpse and ascending to the throne!"
This was the last message Ramon sent him before the game.
Not long after saying this, the game started.
So it is very likely that he left the message to himself in the visiting team's locker room.
From the description of the last sentence, Melly can fully feel the determination of his friend Cantero.
Fortunately, this round of Madrid's La Liga match and Cantero's Premier League match are not in the same time period, so there is no conflict, otherwise he wouldn't be able to watch it...
In fact, Melly really hopes that Cantero can successfully prevent Leeds City from winning the championship.
But it is by no means a successful revenge on Hulay, as Cantero said.
In other words, if it’s revenge, it’s Cantero’s revenge. What does it have to do with me, Merry?
I haven’t taken revenge yet!
The reason why he hopes Leeds City cannot win the league championship is because only in this way can he have a high chance of meeting Leeds City in the Champions League next season.
But if Leeds City becomes the Premier League champion, then according to the rules of the Champions League, the defending Champions League champion, last season's Europa League champion, and the top UEFA league champion will automatically become the Champions League seed team next season.
The Kings of Madrid have dominated the league this season. Although they have not yet won the championship ahead of schedule, unless a miracle happens, neither the Catalan United nor the rival Pirates in the same city will be able to snatch the league title from the Kings of Madrid again.
By then, Leeds City will be the Premier League champions, and Kings Madrid will be the La Liga champions. Both teams are seeded teams, and they cannot be grouped together anyway.
It would be difficult for me to meet Hu Lai in the Champions League...
This is also the most important reason why Melli pays so much attention to the Premier League title race.
Although he told Ramon Cantero that he was doing it to cheer for his friend.
His attitude encouraged Cantero, so he said those murderous words.
The words can be said beautifully, but the game... can hardly be called beautiful.
The first half of the game is over, and now the second half has started for fifteen minutes.
The two teams were like people fighting each other in a muddy swamp. They couldn't stand firmly and could only hug each other and wallow in the mud. Because every action in the swamp requires more strength.
This makes their fists look like they are at the end of their strength... There is no beauty in such a fight.
Likewise, this game has been unspectacular so far.
Maybe it has something to do with today's weather. It's raining in Leeds today, and it's not raining lightly.
It does look reminiscent of a swamp melee.
Because the heavy rain made the field slippery than usual, both teams adopted a more simple and direct style of play.
This does not have much impact on Leeds City. They already have a high center forward Lorenzo who has played this kind of tactic.
But Manchester Athletic is a team that pays more attention to ground coordination. The whole team has a strong mainland football style and there are many Latin foreign players. The head coach Hiero Gutierrez is a Spanish coach and he emphasizes
The passing and controlling tactics of Spanish football.
In the past few seasons, Manchester United has used their strong ball control ability to compete with several other strong teams, including Stan Park Rangers, without falling behind.
You must know that the Premier League champion last season was Stan Park Rangers, but the Premier League champion last season was Manchester United. In the Premier League, Manchester United is a perennial championship contender.
Such a team is naturally more affected by the venue than Leeds City.
But the overall strength of Manchester Athletic is very strong, so even if they are restricted by the venue, they can still play almost 50-50 with Leeds City on the court.
Leeds City has the home advantage and their style of play is more suitable for the current environment, but it is still difficult to break through Manchester United's goal.
The two teams remained in a stalemate until the second half. At present, it is still difficult to break the deadlock for a while.
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"The weather is really good for us today!" Stan Park Rangers assistant coach Stephen Brown said with joy when he saw the second half. "Such heavy rain completely hindered the performance of both their teams."
"But we may also encounter weather like this tomorrow." Brooks turned and looked outside the hotel room. He could see the water droplets on the window glass reflecting the light of the street lights outside, like shining pearls.
The rain here is not as heavy as the rain in Leeds, otherwise it would not be a "pearl", but a water curtain. When the rain in Leeds falls on the window glass, it is a water curtain.
Brooks withdrew his gaze from the window and continued: "And this rain is indeed not a good thing for Gutierrez's Manchester Athletic. But it may not be the same for Leeds City..."
Brown pointed to the TV screen and he had a different opinion: "But they also don't have many offensive opportunities."
"Indeed." Brooks did not object to the assistant coach's view, "but they don't need tons of opportunities like Manchester United. Have you forgotten who they have?"
Brown was stunned for a moment, then realized: "Hu!"
Almost at the same time, the commentator Cox yelled from the TV: "HUUUUUU!!"
They looked at the screen at the same time and saw Hulay running to the top of the penalty arc, then turning around, facing away from the direction of the attack, raising his feet to catch the ball. Next to him on the left was Manchester Athletic center back William Nelson, and on the right
Not far away is another centre-back, Sam Hobson.
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Jay Adams noticed that Manchester United's central defender combination was slightly pressed and there was space behind him, so he tried to pass the football directly from the center circle to Hulay in front.
Hu Lai also ran forward when he passed the ball.
However, this pass and run was also noticed by Manchester Athletic's defense, so now the two central defenders Nelson and Hobson are next to Hulay, one on the left and one on the right, forming a defensive situation.
Seeing this scene, Adams quickly accelerated and rushed forward.
He did not stay in the backcourt to prepare for defense, but tried to get closer to Hu Lai to pick up the opponent.
He expected that after the ball stopped, Hu Lai would not be able to turn around when faced with the defense of two central defenders behind him. As a midfielder, he must actively press forward to support the forward.
This is also what head coach Tony Clark requires of his midfielders during the game.
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Hu Lai ran forward to the top of the penalty arc. When he looked back and saw that the football had fallen, he turned around and raised his foot to stop the ball.
At the same time, Nelson quickly moved closer to him, preparing to stick to him and interfere with him getting the ball. Even if he stopped, he couldn't turn around easily.
At the same time, Hobson was still watching eagerly from the side, intending to come up and defend against Hulay alone. Manchester United used two central defenders. As for other Leeds City players, their priority in their eyes was obviously not as high as Hulay.
Williams also saw the dilemma faced by Hu Lai, so like Adams, he quickly pressed forward and shouted: "Pass back!"
He wanted Hu Lai to pass the football directly back to him, because he had seen that the captain Lorenzo next to him was free. As long as Hu Lai could pass the ball back, he could pass it directly to Lorenzo.
side.
But Hu Lai seemed to have not heard Williams' words and had no reaction to his shout. He slightly raised his head and stared at the football flying from the sky after breaking through the rain and fog.
Dense rain fell on his face. He raised his eyes to protect them from the rain and stared at the football intently.
Lift your right foot at the same time.
The football landed accurately on his instep.
Turn around and continue, sending the football forward with your right foot!
His whole body just changed from facing away from the goal to facing directly, and at the same time he also pushed the football into the penalty area!
"Hey, this ball? Beautiful!!!"
As the commentators exclaimed, Hu Lai strode towards the football and entered the penalty area.
At the same time, Nelson was completely fooled by his unexpected move and froze on the spot without moving. However, Hobson, who had been entangled with Hu Lai for the whole game in the last fight, reacted quickly and had already come back.
But he was still too late.
The moment Hu Lai turned around, he was stuck behind Hu Lai.
He was in a hurry to chase back and didn't care so much. He grabbed Hu Lai's shoulder with his upper hand and stretched his foot to try to kick the ball.
He didn't kick the ball, but because of the inertia, he couldn't stop the car, and he knocked Hu Lai sideways to the ground!
In the pouring rain, the Flanders Stadium thundered:
"Penalty kick!!!"
At the same time, the referee's hand pointed clearly and unmistakably at the penalty spot!
The cheers from the stands overwhelmed the sound of the heavy rain.
