Chapter 96 The outbreak of grass roots
Southampton has been in good shape recently, which is something that anyone can see. They won consecutively in the league, and the loss in the cup is just a tactical plan. In this case, the entire team will have an upward vitality and will not be afraid of any opponent.
They are also very motivated in the next home game against Sevilla.
Although Sevilla is like them, he is now ranked first in the four-point group, and Sevilla has always performed well in the Europa League. Renato, Canut, Palop and other famous players are still in the team, and they are also popular for winning the Europa League!
But now Southampton is like a full-hearted flat-headed guy. No matter what kind of opponent he encounters, he has the confidence to kill them directly.
This is a kind of momentum and a continuation of their recent good condition.
In this game, Mikhitaryan started, so he had already set the tone of attacking at home.
Southampton's offense also played quite smoothly.
In the thirteenth minute of the game, Schneiderlin, who was forward, received a pass from Mkhitaryan. The Armenian had already made a huge flaw in Sevilla's defense line through a series of breakthroughs. Schneiderlin raised his foot and passed the ball into the penalty area.
Lambert took the ball with his back, and he often divided the ball after he got the ball in such a position. However, this time, he suddenly turned around and broke through after getting the ball!
The opponent's defender was broken through by him. Lambert, who turned around successfully, regained the ball and then shot decisively!
Palop made a mistake in judgment. He rushed to the near corner, but the ball flew towards the far post and then flew into Sevilla's gate!
Southampton fans in the stands began to cheer loudly, and after more than ten minutes, the 25th minute of the game, Southampton once again expanded its lead!
Chamberlain, who was transferred to the left, received a pass from Mkhitaryan and forced the ball out. Giroud in the middle attracted enough attention, but the ball flew to the back point. Lambert, who followed up, headed directly to the goal against the falling ball, and the ball quickly flew into the top of the near corner of the goal!
2-0, Lambert scored twice!
"Ricky-Lambert! Our number one shooter! Great forward!"
The commentator on the scene shouted wildly, to be honest, before the start of this season, everyone felt a little dissatisfied with Kiya not buying a better striker. Lambert and Giroud, plus Austin, these three men scored more than 70 goals in the League One game last season, but that was the League One. Compared with the League One level, it was still a little worse than the League One level. If you don’t fill a striker who can perform well in the League One Championship, can Southampton’s offense really go all the way?
However, it has proved that Lambert and Giroud are not only useful in the Championship, but also in the European arena!
Lambert scored nine in the twelve games of the Championship and Giroud scored five, but Giroud has not scored many goals. His role is in addition to goals, but there are many other aspects.
From any perspective, these forward partners are qualified.
The game continued. After falling behind two goals, Sevilla gradually stabilized his position and began to launch a continuous counterattack, which also put Southampton's defense withstood a lot of tests.
"Our defense has actually improved a lot," Benali said to Kiya.
Kiya nodded. Dembele's joining was very important. His protective ability in the midfield effectively improved Southampton's overall defense. In addition, Wonter and Lovren's cooperation became more and more tacit, especially Navas' speed of integrating into the team was not slow. Southampton's defense, which was originally a weakness, is no longer a weakness.
The only weakness is...
Five minutes after the second half, Sevilla broke through Southampton's left and then launched an attack. Canut's powerful shot in the penalty area was almost saved by Navas, but Rakitic's supplementary shot left him with no choice.
"Left road..." Kiya shook his head. This was because he was mentally prepared, but even if he was mentally prepared, he couldn't resist the problem here.
Dixon's performance is fine. He is so powerful that he can't be considered a weakness in the Championship, but in European competitions, that's the standard weakness.
As for Mills... he is not as good as Dixon.
"If you continue like this, every opponent will know how to deal with us." Benalli whispered.
"Look at it again." Kiya nodded slightly.
One point was recovered by the opponent, but Southampton did not panic because of this. They prepared for the game more patiently. Finally, in the 73rd minute, they made another beautiful attack, and Mkhitaryan, who was on the left, sent a diagonal pass. Lambert stepped forward in time and shot immediately after receiving the ball. This shot, which was only ten meters away from the goal, broke through Sevilla's goal again like lightning!
"Hat trick! Great Lambert! This is his second hat trick this season! He scored a hat trick in the first round of the league, and he scored another hat trick in this Europa League game! Who can say that his strength is not enough to play in the Europa League? A late-achieving shooter!"
The commentator shouted wildly. The English people have always had a high likes for grassroots players. There are indeed many players in England who have played from low-level games. There are actually quite a lot of players like Lambert who are still working at the age of seventeen and have been in the low-level league for a long time...
But now 27-year-old Lambert is at his best in his state, and he is even improving every day, which is really amazing.
It is said that the English national team is also observing him. After all, after returning in the summer World Cup, England also needs new strength.
Not only Lambert, but Larana also received attention. These two local players played in the low-level league are likely to be selected for the next national team as long as they can continue to perform well in this way.
This goal was also the final goal of the game. When the referee blew the whistle at the end of the game, the crazy shouts of Southampton fans came from St. Mary's Stadium.
I scored seven points in three rounds. Although I didn’t have to qualify for the group, the probability was very high.
After all, in another game, Juventus was unpopular, and they encountered a draw again, and tied with Salzburg one-to-one...
Salzburg finally got the first point, but Juventus still only has three points.
Southampton scored first with seven points and Sevilla scored second with four points.
"It's not possible to say that we have advanced to the next level. There are three games left. We lack the experience of stabilizing our mentality in this situation. The more we are at this time, the more we should be careful... Of course, this victory gives us room to be at ease. I thank the players for their outstanding performance." Kiya said at a post-match press conference.
Chapter completed!