On August 22, in the second round of the English League Cup, Leeds City faced the English League One team Kingston at home.
In this game, most of the main players, including Hu Lai, got a chance to rest.
Since the start of the Premier League, it has always been a double match a week. There is no need for the main players to play in games like the League Cup.
Because Leeds City has to fight on multiple fronts this season, before the start of the season, head coach Tony Clark made plans for the events the team will participate in this season.
The League Cup is the lowest priority of all competitions.
Belongs to the event that can be abandoned first.
On the one hand, of course, it is because the League Cup has the lowest gold content among the three major competitions in England. It is certainly not as important as the league, and its long history and status in the hearts of fans and media are not as good as the FA Cup. It is useless.
On the other hand, it is because the schedule of the League Cup basically overlaps with that of the Champions League. If the team still plays the League Cup when the Champions League group stage is in full swing, it will be a big loss for Leeds City, which is already fighting on multiple fronts.
The burden is heavier.
The FA Cup is much better in this regard: Premier League teams had to wait until the third round to join the FA Cup, and that time was already early January of the following year. The Champions League group stages were all over, so there was no delay.
Based on these two reasons, Clark decisively gave up the League Cup, or in other words, he positioned the League Cup as a competition for substitute players to get game opportunities and exercise them. As for performance, there are no requirements, just go as far as you can.
It doesn't matter if you are eliminated.
This time against Kingston at home, according to Clark's plan, Leeds City's starting lineup underwent a major rotation.
But even so, they still easily defeated the English League One team Kingston 4:1 at their home court - after all, the opponent was too weak. The English League One team ranked third in the English league system.
level, there is still a British Championship between us and the Premier League level.
Polish talented forward Dominik Laski, who joined the team this summer, finally scored his first official goal after joining Leeds City.
This talented player who is highly anticipated by Polish fans, his performance after arriving in Leeds City was not immediately satisfactory. He is still in the running-in period.
And how many people pay attention to Laski in Poland, how much pressure there is now in Leeds City.
Clark also saw the pressure on Laski, so he specifically started Laski in this League Cup match with the English League One team.
Although Kingston is a League One team and is not very strong, being able to score goals in the game I believe can still greatly reduce the pressure on Laski.
At the post-match press conference, Clark also praised Lasky's performance.
Through the problems Lasky encountered at Leeds City, we can also see how extraordinary Hulay's performance was when he scored five goals in his first three games at Leeds City.
Everyone is a genius, but obviously Hulay is more talented than Laski...
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After the League Cup match against Kingston, Leeds City faced Warship Harbor at home. This was the fourth round of the Premier League.
It is also the new season’s Champions League draw ceremony and the last game before the awards ceremony.
Hulay still failed to score a goal in the game, but he gave his first assist of the season... This came earlier than the assists in previous seasons.
He assisted substitute midfielder Robert Canroy for Leeds City's equalizer.
In fact, in that game, after Hu Lai himself was heavily targeted by the warship port, he opened more spaces and created opportunities for his teammates.
Unfortunately, my teammates’ ability to seize opportunities was poor, and their luck was not very good.
Fortunately, Canroy, who was substituted, lived up to Hulay's pass and hit the football into the goal with almost no one defending.
In the end, Leeds City tied with Warship Harbor at home with this goal, 1:1.
After four league rounds, Leeds City ranks second with three wins, one draw and ten points.
The first place is Liverpool United. They have maintained a complete victory since the start of the season and accumulated 12 points.
From third to fifth place, respectively, are Holt, Wiggerston, and Stan Park Rangers, all with nine points. In the traditional BIG6, Warshipsport, North London Wanderers and London Bridge all have seven points.
Ranked six to eight.
It can be seen that the results of many wealthy teams are obviously not as good as expected.
This is the impact of the World Cup.
Every time there is a major event such as the World Cup or the European Cup, the performance of the wealthy teams will be so ups and downs in the early stages of the following season.
This is mainly because the players in wealthy teams are basically the main players of their respective national teams, and most of the countries where they are located are strong teams, so they have a high chance of going further in the world series.
Since they travel further, players will participate in more games than other players, be more tired, and have a greater chance of injury.
Even if they are not injured, they will miss pre-season training to varying degrees because they have participated in more World Series games, and will not be able to run in well with the team and adjust their condition.
The final performance in the league was poor performance and sluggish state...
This comprehensive phenomenon is collectively known as "World Cup Syndrome".
And on the national team match days during the league, there is also another name - "FIFA virus".
It all means that the more high-level a club has more international players, the more likely it is to be affected by the national team.
And Liverpool United, Holt, Leeds City and Widgerston have few international players in their teams, so the impact of the interference from the World Cup is naturally not that great.
So they can currently be ranked at the top.
However, we must consider that the league is a long marathon, and the rich team’s foundation and depth of bench determine that they can always adjust slowly later.
Once they take advantage of their scale, teams like Liverpool United and Holt that were originally in the middle and lower reaches will find it difficult to compete with the giants, and will eventually gradually lose their current position and return to the ranking they should be based on their strength.
superior……
The "miracle" like Leeds City last season is really difficult to repeat for other teams.
Even Leeds City themselves find it difficult to replicate.
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After the match against Battleship Port, the league was temporarily suspended to make way for the national team competition.
Logically speaking, Hu Lai should fly back to China at this time to prepare for the national team’s warm-up match.
But this time, he had to go to Paris, France first.
Go there to attend the award ceremony for the best player in Europe.
At the same time, Leeds City Club will also send people to participate in the new season's Champions League group draw ceremony.
Why Paris?
Because Paris is the headquarters of the French "Golden Globe" magazine.
Since UEFA cooperated with "Golden Ball" magazine, they simply merged the Champions League draw ceremony and award ceremony together, so that everything can be done in Paris without everyone having to travel back and forth.
Finally Leeds City manager Tony Clark and club general manager Eric Duffy, as well as player representatives Hu Lai and...Pete Williams gathered at the airport.
“Peter, why are you here?” Hulay was surprised when he saw Williams on crutches at the airport.
Williams said angrily: "What's that expression on your face, Hu? I was also selected for the ten-person candidate list!"
As the core of the midfield for last season's Premier League champion, and was selected for the England team to participate in the World Cup, and also performed well in the World Cup, it is normal for Pete Williams to be selected into the ten-man candidate list for the best young player in Europe last season.
"No... I mean, aren't you recuperating at home? Why did you run out..." Hu Lai quickly explained.
“I didn’t want to come at first, but Delphine advised me to come out and relax, so I came.” Williams introduced Delphine Isabella, who had been supporting him, to everyone present.
Isabella greeted them gracefully, then turned to stare at Williams affectionately, a man and woman in love...
Hu Lai looked at the woman with brown hair and outstanding appearance in front of him. This was the first time he met Williams' girlfriend. After going to Williams' house to make a fuss, he really didn't let Williams take Isha away.
Bella called out to treat her to dinner.
After all, he really doesn’t want to be fed dog food.
But I didn’t expect that when I went to attend the award ceremony this time, I would be fed dog food on the way...
ہ is very questionable.
He asked Clark: "Boss, can you bring your family members to this kind of event?"
Clark nodded: "Of course, it's okay to bring your parents or loved ones. After all, this is a glorious moment for every player, and of course you have to share it with the people closest to you."
Then he looked at the couple in front of him and said with a smile: "Obviously, in Pete's mind, the person closest to him is this beautiful young lady."
Williams did not deny it, but looked at each other and they smiled at each other.
Hu Lai looked up at the ceiling of the terminal building, using this action to hide the expression of rolling his eyes.
Williams noticed Hu Lai's action, and he asked: "What's wrong, Hu Lai? What are you looking at?"
“Nothing, enjoy the beautiful scenery.” Hu Lai continued to look up at the sky.
“Beautiful view?” Williams also looked up, looking at the terminal roof made of steel frames, and frowned: “What kind of beautiful view is this?”
“Haha. The beauty of industry, the beauty of geometry, the beauty of order... You don’t understand, Pete, you are too young.”
Williams retorted: "Little? I already have a girlfriend."
Hulai: “……”
Damn it, how can he answer this?
Clark, who was watching the show nearby, couldn't hold it back and burst out laughing. Then he patted Hu Lai hard on the shoulder.
Hu Lai glanced at Clark sadly: Boss, what do you mean? It's okay if you don't pat me on the shoulder. If you pat me on the shoulder, it seems like you are comforting me!
Sure enough, after Clark finished filming, both Williams and his girlfriend Isabella started laughing.
Williams also added: "Hu, the bone biscuits made by my grandma are really delicious. Can I bring you some next time I come to train?"
Hulai raised two middle fingers in front of Williams' girlfriend.
Everyone laughed even more happily.
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"alright."
I heard the makeup artist’s soft call.
Li Qingqing opened her eyes.
She looked at herself in the mirror with exquisite makeup, and lost her composure for a moment.
She basically never wears makeup, even if she needs to be on camera.
But this time, for the first time, she allowed the makeup artist of the CCTV crew to apply makeup on her.
Looking at herself in the mirror, she felt strange at first, but soon realized - this is me, Li Qingqing.
Wang Shanshan, who was standing behind Li Qingqing, looked at the beauty in the mirror and was also stunned.
She watched the whole makeup process from the side, so she knew how the makeup looked. But the moment Li Qingqing opened her eyes, she still felt that the beautiful face in the mirror seemed to radiate a soft light, which filled the dressing room.
One light.
It’s like admiring a painting of a lady. When the artist outlines the woman’s eyes, the lady comes alive, walks out of the painting, and stands vividly in front of everyone.
Those eyes...reflected the lights in the house, shining like stars.
The beauty is breathtaking, even making Wang Shanshan a little bit jealous...
However, the CCTV reporter quickly put away his inappropriate thoughts and walked up to Li Qingqing with a smile: "You are so beautiful, Qingqing. With makeup, she is not inferior to those big stars..."
Li Qingqing shook her head a little shyly: "I play football, and I apply so much stuff on my face that it turns into sweat when exposed to the sun. By then, all the beautiful makeup will be in a mess..."
"Actually, there is waterproof makeup...but that's right. If a professional player spends time and energy on makeup every day...it always feels weird." Wang Shanshan nodded and stopped forcing it.
She just tilted her head and looked at Li Qingqing in the mirror again, with a smile on her face: "If you go to see Hu Lai like this, you will definitely scare him!"
Li Qingqing also laughed.
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PS, I’m sorry to ask everyone for a long vacation:
During the European Cup, my wife saw that I had to stay up late watching football and typing, and it was really hard for me to have day and night reversed. So she proposed to take me out to play and relax, instead of sitting in front of the computer all day long, staring at the screen and keyboard.
Hence the next self-driving tour on the Western Sichuan Small Ring Road...
Actually, I originally planned to go out on July 9th, but at that time I considered that the World Cup plot needed to break out at a critical moment, and it was impossible to slow down the update pace, so I postponed it to now.
I made an appointment with my wife’s elder brother and sister-in-law, and the four of us took a car to go around Kangding, Xinduqiao, and Daocheng. We didn’t bring a computer, we didn’t code, and we didn’t bring our children. We completely freed our brains and had enough rest.
However, because there are not many manuscripts saved, only twelve chapters, so in the next nine days from the 22nd to the 31st, only single updates can be made.
Please also understand...
I also want to use this opportunity to go out to temporarily withdraw from the intense serialization state and relax my body and mind, so that I can continue to write down the story of Hu Lai and others with full spirit for everyone, and write it to perfection.
After all, I have been writing this book for more than a year, and I haven’t really had much time to rest. Even on New Year’s Eve, when my family was watching the Spring Festival Gala, I was typing in the study. I wrote four chapters that day... which I have written since I started the book.
The day with the most people - this shows how boring the Spring Festival Gala is.
Finally, starting from the 22nd tomorrow until the end of this month, the 31st, there will be single updates. Please understand.