The city of Swansea is located on the coast of Bristol Bay in southern Wales, with a densely populated population.
Swansea is one of the few cities in Wales that truly has "city status". They received a charter from the royal family in 1969. To commemorate this, Swansea Town Football Club also changed its name to "Swansea City" in the same year.
", and was used until the Ming Dynasty.
Nicknamed "The Swans", their greatest achievement was in the 2012-13 season, when they successively eliminated giants such as Liverpool and Chelsea and became the only Welsh team to win the English League Cup.
The fact is that Wales has its own top league, the Welsh Premier League, which has a total of 12 teams, but Swansea, Cardiff City, and five Welsh teams including Wrexham are participating.
No matches in the English League system.
The reason is also very simple. It is because when those teams were first established, Wales did not have a unified league system, which led them to choose to participate in the English League.
Although the Welsh League was officially established in 1992, many strong Welsh teams, including Swansea, chose to remain in the English League system, thus creating the situation today.
As it turns out, Cardiff City has been in the English Championship for many years, and the only representative of Wales still in the Premier League is Swansea City.
This season, Swansea's time in the Premier League is not easy either.
After 28 rounds, the "Swans" have achieved 8 wins, 3 draws and 17 losses, ranking 16th among all 20 teams with 27 points, and are at high risk of being relegated.
Behind them are 17th-placed Middlesbrough with 25 points, 18th-placed Crystal Palace with 25 points, 19th-placed Hull City with 24 points, and 20th-placed Sunderland with 19 points.
Except for Sunderland, who seem to be at the bottom of the table, several other teams are desperately fighting to stay in the Premier League in the Eastern Conference.
The so-called world of ice and fire, several teams over there are fighting for relegation, while the BIG6 here are fighting for the championship and Champions League seats.
Of course, the suspense about the Premier League championship is actually not that great now.
Chelsea has had another winning streak after losing to Tottenham. Now it has 22 wins, 3 draws and 3 losses, ranking first with 69 points, while Tottenham, which is ranked second, has 59 points, which is 10 points ahead.
distance.
Followed by Manchester City with 57 points, Arsenal with 56 points, Liverpool with 55 points, and Manchester United with 51 points.
With only ten games left in the league, Chelsea must not waste time and maintain its current form. It will be difficult for the following teams to catch up.
So competing for the top four is the focus of the season for the other five teams!
For Swansea, although relegation is very important, they are not willing to give up the FA Cup easily.
They finally made it all the way to the quarter-finals, but if the opponent they encountered now came from a League One team, how could they be willing to give up the opponent's leg to Wei Xin, the semi-finalist?
Therefore, head coach Clement has lined up the entire lineup, striving to defeat York City and then advance to Wembley Stadium!——
The Liberty Stadium, which can accommodate more than 20,000 fans, was already full. At the same time, local Swansea and Yorkshire TV stations paid great attention to that game and broadcast the four-point FA Cup match live.
One final.
And Sky Sports also asked Lineker and Alan Shearer to pair up with England stars to commentate on that game as usual.
But no one would have thought that what was supposed to be a fierce game would turn into such a situation from the very beginning.
Less than 10 minutes into the game, De Ligt made a very necessary mistake at the front of the penalty area. When he was trying to shoot after being brushed by the wrong leg, he stretched his leg to pull someone for a foul. The Swansea forward made a slight mistake.
Lunt fell into the penalty area, and the referee who was chasing him from behind showed De Ligt a yellow card and awarded a penalty kick without even thinking!
Then Swansea's number one set kick was high-legged. "Iceland's Great Sniper" Sigurdsson, who will be the left winger tomorrow, calmly scored the penalty. The home team led York City 1:0!
Such an opening made "Pan Yi's biggest fan" Lineker, including Alan Shearer, feel that tomorrow's York City might be in trouble.
In this game, Swansea and York City formed the same formation. It looked like they were looking for a wrong attack, but they didn't expect the goal to come so quickly.
York City's starting lineup has Baker as the center, Amon and Kulusevski are separated on the wings, Alonso, Rice and Karlström partner in the midfield, and the defense has Alfonso Day.
Weiss, Westerman, De Ligt and Jianyang Fuyasu, goalkeeper No Isaacson.
Lin Liangming was hidden from view in this game. In fact, it was because of Pan Yi's selfishness.
That's because not long after this game, a new round of national team competitions will arrive, and on March 23, the Dragons will miss South Korea's key match.
In order to prevent Lin Liangming from being overtired from traveling long distances, and since he has not been able to start often recently and indeed needs a rest, Pan Yi suggested that Scaloni put him on the bench first.
Of course, it is not very good to use Lin Liangming as a back leg. After all, he is getting better and better at the wing and attacking midfielder positions.
In addition, after Carlstrom's return from injury, Scaloni has more choices in the midfield. Tomorrow's set will at least look good in terms of strength, so Scaloni
There is no reason to reject such a suggestion.
But I didn't expect that there was a problem in the backcourt.
De Ligt's performance has been a bit irritable recently, he was passed by so easily, and he had no choice but to commit a foul at the end.
"Ah, wait for it. Judging from the slow-motion replay, although De Ligt's foul is not required, it seems that his foul was outside the penalty area..." Suddenly, Lineker pointed at the broadcast screen and said loudly
.
Alan Shearer also came over and looked at it carefully, and then nodded: "No. That looks like a misjudgment, so it should be a personal decision."
Lineker shook his head: "If there is no one, it will not be so easy to score. Scaloni seems to be protesting something to the fourth official on the sidelines. He should have seen the replay of the camera, so it looks like
He woke up very excited."
"It's no wonder that he doesn't want to lose in such a demanding game in the FA Cup quarter-finals. Compared with being at the top of English League One, defeating powerful Premier League opponents in the FA Cup will make him even better.
Prove his strength!"
"Huh? The referee came to the sidelines...ah, he actually showed a red card directly to Scaloni and sent him off the field!"
Alan Shearer was shocked: "It's really a penalty! Scaloni was sent off again in the FA Cup! In the third round, he was sent off for a conflict with Arsenal's Xhaka.
Both penalties to the East..."
Lineker said with a wry smile: "But did he make a profit at the time? He exchanged a coach for a player on the wrong side. But now, whether he comes on directly and is one goal behind, the main central defender De Ligt suffered early."
A yellow card, the situation is really not good for York City."
In the live broadcast, Scaloni frequently turned around and said something to the linesman and referee, then walked to the coaching bench, said a few words to his assistants, and then walked into the player tunnel.
"It looks like he will be able to watch football with Pan Yi in the stands tomorrow."
"Fortunately in our misfortune, York City has an assistant coach named De Zerbi. The Italian coach was personally invited by Pan Yi, and when Scaloni was sent off in the East Game, he was very
Well directed the team to beat the wrong leg."
"It can be said that Pan Yi has nothing to lose! Even if he is an assistant coach, his level is extremely high!"
At that time, there were strong boos from the stadium stands, obviously the York City fans who followed the team to the away game were dissatisfied with the wrong penalty call.
Although they were at a disadvantage in numbers, the momentum they created was huge.
Some people were booing the referee, while others were singing the York City team anthem to support the team. The singing was high-pitched and passionate.
At the scene, Westerman looked at De Ligt, who was slightly nervous next to him, and said loudly: "Hey, kid! Don't be nervous, pay attention, stare in front, and check the position of your teammates, just like you usually do in training.
, do you understand?”
Due to Karlström's return tomorrow, the captain's armband has been put on the old Swedish international player's arm again, but Westermann still stood up to remind his young defensive linemen.
That negates the role of the veteran players!
Even though De Ligt was nodding vigorously, the fingers of his legs were still tightly clasped together, and his body was trembling slightly, feeling that he could not relax.
"Sometimes he is deceived by his mature appearance. After all, he is just a child under 18 years old!"
Westerman thought to himself, sighed, walked up to De Ligt, and shouted loudly: "I'm trying to cheer him up! Don't let a penalty kick or a yellow card defeat me!"
"Oh." De Ligt replied, but did not look at the big brother.
"I'm so nervous, man!" Westerman stretched out his legs and held De Ligt's head firmly. The voices of the Swansea fans at the scene made him have to speak with a loud voice. People who don't know that look like that.
Thought they were quarreling.
In fact, Westerman, who also came to Ajax, also understood that the younger brother De Ligt wanted to win that game too much.
Even Coco wants it more than Scaloni, more than the rest of the team!
He wants to use the team's continuous progress in the FA Cup to attract the attention of the Netherlands, that is, the parent team Ajax, and then prove to them whether selling him off was the wrong choice!
They kept De Jong, Van de Beek, and Onana from East, but they only sold De Ligt!
This made the young De Ligt always feel suffocated.
And how do you let Ajax see your performance and how do you prove yourself?
True to that, even winning the championship in a third-level competition like English League One doesn't mean much, but whether you can go further in the FA Cup, or even enter the final and win the championship, will cause a lot of excitement.
Attention all Europe!
So De Ligt especially wanted to perform well in that game.
But precisely because of that kind of psychological baggage, it made him behave a little abnormally.
He was awarded a penalty kick and received a yellow card within 10 minutes, which put him under unbearable psychological pressure.
The more afraid you are of losing, the more likely you are to lose!
"He is obviously red. He will adjust." De Ligt exhaled and Westermann assured.
Westerman nodded and turned back to the game.
We are asking for a resumption of play immediately, but there is no way to keep talking. It depends on the young players' ability to adjust themselves!
Ten minutes later, De Zerbi on the sidelines frowned a little.
He could feel that De Ligt was really out of shape tomorrow. In his previous defense, he was easily escaped by the Korean midfielder Ki Sung-yung on the wrong side. I beg Westman to make up for it in time, and that ball
Coco's deflection caused a Swansea shot.
what to do?
It's only about 20 minutes now, so it's impossible to trade him away, right? Would it be a huge blow to the young players' self-confidence?
"Hey, the boss and the head coach have something to say!" At this time, another assistant coach Caskey came over and whispered a few words into De Zerbi's ear.
De Zerbi raised his head to look into the stands, and happened to see Pan Yi shaking his leg in front of him, while Scaloni was walking next to him, nodding to him.
"Is that indeed a good plan?" De Zerbi nodded, immediately stood up and prepared to adjust the lineup.
It turns out that Pan Yi called.
Of course, he also saw De Ligt's good qualities, so after discussing with Scaloni, he decided to move De Ligt to a midfielder position.
Rice dropped deep to play as a centre-back.
In that case, De Ligt can be allowed to use his offensive talents more instead of participating in defense under the current psychological pressure.
The defense of the midfield can be left to two veterans, Alonso and Karlström.
And being with the two of them may also help De Ligt break away from the shadow of the penalty foul just now faster and better.
As for offense, don't forget that De Ligt was even considered a center forward. Now he plays as an offensive midfielder, which is not a big problem.
As a matter of fact, changes off the court are never as fast as changes off the court.
When the Swansea team took a corner kick, when Ki Sung-yong just took the corner kick, the referee blew the whistle immediately.
Everyone at the scene was stunned when they saw Swansea's main striker Llorente lying near the near post. Next to him, De Ligt stood dumbly, his eyes swept over his face in confusion.
teammate.
He felt as if he was isolated from that world, his mind was buzzing, but it was all empty and red.
The only thing he saw was another yellow card held high, which soon turned into a shocking red card!
Moreover, the referee did not hesitate to point his leg to the penalty spot. Another penalty kick!
All the York City players swarmed around and questioned why the referee gave De Ligt another foul and another yellow card.
The referee kept signaling that De Ligt had hit the wrong player in the face with his elbow!
"The slow motion shows that De Ligt's movements were a habitual reaction after being entangled by the wrong player. Because of his height, he accidentally hit the wrong player in the face, and then another yellow came.
Order, no, no, red dot set meal, it’s really hard to convince people!”
Lineker once again complained about York City. He felt that the referee's tendency to wrong the home team in this game was too obvious.
Alan Shearer also kept shaking his head: "It's too flat. That's York City and that young man is too flat!"
De Ligt walked to the east court in a daze, with teammates constantly comforting him along the way.
The pressure he was under was so great that he couldn't bear it. The live broadcast footage even captured the tears rolling in his eyes, which was very sad.
When they got to the sidelines, De Zerbi and Caskey, including Lin Liangming who was on the bench, and other players came over and patted De Ligt on the shoulder to comfort him.
Everyone knows that De Ligt did not perform well tomorrow, but the two yellow cards and two penalty kicks were not unwarranted, and the young defender cannot be entirely blamed.
When De Ligt returned to the locker room depressed, he found Pan Yi already waiting for him there.
"Remember, those are the hurdles that I will definitely encounter when growing up." Pan Yi said earnestly, "Only when I can truly overcome that hurdle can I become a real star and reach the highest level.
On the playing field, prove your strength to the world!"
Pan Yi didn't say much, then touched De Ligt's head, then turned and walked towards the locker room door.
He is a bright star. If a player like De Ligt can rely on his own strength to survive, he will not grow into a star worth 70 to 80 million in the future.
At that time, just give him some encouragement so that he doesn't think that the current disadvantages of the team are not his fault.
Obviously, Pan Yi's judgment was correct.
After returning to the locker room, De Ligt's head began to regain its clarity after being separated from the atmosphere of the game.
The words of all the players, coaches, and especially the boss Pan Yi also relieved a lot of the pressure De Ligt had been pent up on.
No one blames him!
Everyone is encouraging him!
He should be lucky that he came to such a team.
Is that a team that is ruthless in the East and West!
He must go out, continue to stand with that team, and fight to the end!
Thinking about it, De Ligt shouted to Pan Yi: "Boss, take him with you, he will go to the stands with me to watch the game!"
Pan Yi turned around and smiled happily.
That is his good boy!
——
The game is going on.
As the goalkeeper of York City, Isaacson asked for another penalty kick from the wrong side.
That time, Swansea's top penalty kicker Sigurdsson was still the one to take the penalty.
The Icelandic international is good at long-range shooting, so he is nicknamed "Iceland's Great Sniper", and his penalty kicks are almost perfect.
Sigurdsson doesn't have much of a run-up when taking penalty kicks, but he can take very tricky angles, which makes it difficult for goalkeepers to guard against him.
Now, when he placed the ball at the penalty spot, he took a step back and turned to look at the referee.
When Isaacson came to the east of the goal, he first looked up at the height of the goal, then looked around, bent his east leg, and slapped his legs hard.
During the European Cup, he once saved two penalty kicks in a penalty shootout with the German team. He wants to try again tomorrow!
At this moment, Isaacson also noticed that behind Sigurdsson, Alonso pointed towards his left leg.
Does that mean there is a high probability that Sigurdsson will kick the left leg?
If you don't like it, just listen to him.
Didn't you listen to Pan Yi's "strategy" when you saved penalty kicks in the European Cup?
Do the world's top coaches and top players always have a database in their minds? It is definitely more reliable than just guessing and betting on one side.
At that time, the referee's whistle sounded.
Sigurdsson took another step back, then suddenly moved forward and shot!
Although his movements may seem simple, there is actually a small fake movement at the moment he takes off, which would make people think that he wants to shoot in a certain direction.
But Isaacson remained unmoved. When Sigurdsson threw the ball away, he pounced directly in the direction Alonso pointed without hesitation.
Then...he really pounced!!!
"Oh my God, I saved it, Isakson saved the penalty!" Lineker shouted loudly.
The York City fans at the scene even burst into the warmest cheers since the game.
I believe that at that time, all York City fans watching the live broadcast in front of the TV and listening to the comments in front of the radio will burst into cheers immediately.
Isaacson has made a great contribution!
He saved Swansea's penalty kick! He held the ball firmly to his chest and didn't even give Swansea any chance to shoot back!
That's endless.
As soon as Isakson fell to the ground, he immediately got up from the ground, like a strong cheetah, grabbing the ball with one leg and throwing it forward with all his strength.
The York City players also reacted immediately. They did not surround Isakson to celebrate the save, but rushed towards Swansea in a swarm.
At that time, the Swansea team suddenly came to their senses and realized that they needed to return to defense.
Center Baker, who was already near the center circle at that time, used his body to hold on to the full-back Olsen who was staying behind to defend on the wrong side - well, he was the one from the Swedish national team. He had just returned from the Swedish national team this season.
Norwich moved to Swansea - and then Baker used his chest to unload the ball and handed it to the running Alonso.
Alonso passed back to Karlström, who passed the ball directly to Rice without stopping. The latter raised his head and passed the ball long.
At that time, Kulusevski was like a flash of lightning, tearing through the opponent's defense. He raised his foot at the front of the penalty area and dumped the ball eastward. With a flexible twist of his body, he passed the opponent's goalkeeper Fabi.
Ansky, pushed the shot directly into the empty goal!
1:1!
Kulusevski opened his arms wildly and kept running. He even ran directly from the wrong side's half back to his own half. In front of the York City fans' stands, he knelt down and celebrated with his arms raised high.
That goal.
The York City fans in the visiting team's stands were like an erupting volcano, and they gave the Swedish youngster their most fervent and enthusiastic cheers without hesitation.
Westerman immediately turned around and rushed toward Isaacson.
"That's great! That's great!" Westerman would repeat that sentence when he was too excited to speak.
From Coco's 0:2 to the current 1:1, it is really a huge reversal!
And the biggest contributor who saved the team from the brink of elimination was of course Isaacson!
Isaacson rushed towards Alonso: "He made the wrong move, he made the wrong move!"
"Isakson saved the penalty kick and launched a fast break. Rice assisted Kulusevski to score a goal and equalized the score! That dramatic turn around was really unexpected."
In the commentary box, Lineker and Alan Shearer were equally excited.
Not only is it such a dramatic reversal, York City has suffered consecutive penalties, which also makes the commentators more inclined now, and they don't want York City to lose because of that.
And was eliminated.
But now, not only did York City not be enlarged, but they evened the score instantly, which of course made all neutral fans excited!
At this time, De Zerbi on the sidelines was also hugging the coaching staff tightly, while Pan Yi, Scaloni, and De Ligt in the stands also jumped up.
Especially De Ligt, who yelled at Pan Yi excitedly, as if he had scored the equalizing goal just because he was there.
"Although it's not a draw now, they rarely play against each other." Scaloni remained calm, "They must make adjustments, otherwise Coco will not be able to withstand the next 70 minutes."
"Yeah." Pan Yi agreed, but he looked confident, "Don't worry, he knows that team can do it!"