Chapter 43: First half

"FUCK!" Clark couldn't help but explode after seeing the loss of the ball.
In fact, when his team was compressed by Catalonia and couldn't even make it through halftime, he was very worried, afraid of losing the ball!
And the facts have proved that what is afraid of.
Sure enough to lose the ball if you are afraid of losing the ball!
Leeds City is not a team that is good at defensive. Under extreme pressure, it will lose the ball. This problem is not something he can solve.
He is very clear about his team's problems.
But he was still very upset when he saw the loss of the ball.
They had a perfect start, but failed to continue the momentum.
"The Catalan United are so strong, Tony. There is no way..." Assistant coach Sam Randyll heard the foul language and comforted him.
When the coaching staff discussed the game's tactics before the game, although everyone agreed with Clark's "first call" tactics, they attacked from the beginning of the game and tried to get the lead.
But they don't think in their hearts that they can defeat Catalonia with this kind of attack.
The reason for doing this is just because Leeds are only good at playing like this, letting them go to Catalonia’s home court to shrink the defense and fight back defensively... I'm afraid that they will lose the ball in the end, and they will be suffocated-that way. It's too awkward to play.
Since both sides are losing, why not choose a way that makes everyone comfortable?
Using Leeds City’s best football to play against the offensive Catalan United on the road, even if you lose, you can win respect and you can also test the offensive quality of Leeds City.
Look at the level of Leeds’ offense compared to the top European offense.
"I know, Sam... I just think it's a pity. After being equalized, I thought we could keep the score until the end of the first half..." Clark shook his head helplessly. "Forget it...I'm behind anyway, so you don't have to think about anything other than the offense. Just keep on attacking. Use offense to push their offense back. You can't defend it firmly."
Assistant coach Randy nodded, then went to the sidelines and gestured to the Leeds City players on the court.
In the hustle and bustle of the Sagrada Familia Stadium, it is useless to shout from the sidelines to the court. At this time, a simple gesture can let everyone know what they are going to do next.
Not all the Leeds players who are in pain of losing the ball have seen the gesture of assistant coach Randyll.
But there will always be people who will see that these people will tell their teammates the latest instructions from the coach.
For example, Pete Williams, currently the captain on the court, noticed Randy on the sidelines immediately after losing the ball and saw his gestures.
He turned around and slapped his teammates hard to remind them to pay attention, and then shouted:
"Offensive! The boss let us continue to attack!"
At the end he added: "Be energetic! We have as much offensive ability as theirs! We must know that this game is our first goal! Their offensive cannot last forever, there will always be times when they slow down. Until then is our chance!"
I have to say that Williams is really precocious enough. Wearing the captain's armband and saying these things to his teammates makes people totally surprised that he is only 21 years old.
After Lorenzo gradually faded out of the team's starting lineup, the captain's armband was worn on Pete Williams' arm. Now he is still the second captain in name, but he is actually the same as Lorenzo as a veritable "captain".
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"Continue to attack" this kind of thing is very simple to say, but it is very difficult to be specific.
Catalan United, who just overtook the score, is now morale strong, and the physical strength is not enough to be exhausted. Of course, when the morale is soaring, it continues to attack the Leeds goal.
Just like before they scored.
At that time, Leeds didn't get any decent offensive opportunities, so how can they use offense to make Catalonia more restrained?
This matter is indeed a big problem for the general team.
But Leeds has its own way:
They have an efficient shooter.
He does not need too many opportunities to seize the few opportunities and create threats.
This is perfect for a team like Leeds whose overall strength is not as good as their opponents.
The Catalan United offensive is very fierce, and it does not mean that Leeds has no chance to hit the frontcourt once.
Especially after the reversal of the score, the mentality of the Catalan United players changed more or less, which created conditions for Leeds to hit the opponent's 30-meter area.
When advancing forward, Leeds does not need to perform very complicated pass and run coordination in the midfield. They often find Kamara and Laski directly in the long pass.
Then they transport the football to the 30-meter area.
The next step is to find a way to hand the football to Hu Lai.
Just like this one.
When Laski relied on the speed advantage on the wing to temporarily overwhelm the Catalan United left-back Francisco Cardron and barely exceeded half of his position, he did not continue to dribble, but chose to pass the football directly to the center.
He has completed his task, and then it's Hu Lai's.
Hu Lai, who scored a goal, has always been targeted by the Catalan United in the game, but Hu Lai still perfectly demonstrated his excellent judgment of football's position in this attack, as well as the ghostly running position-he first accelerated Rush to the goal and make a fake move to catch the ball directly from the center.
Then he stopped abruptly after only one step, and leaned back and ran forward to shake off Paul Fortune who was following him back.
The French central defender, who only transferred from Paris Hérère this summer to replace Louis Payson, did not expect that Hulay was actually a fake move and was thrown away in an instant. Even if he is fast, it is difficult to catch him back.
Fortunately, Jimenez, another central defender of the Catalan United, was always there, and when he saw Hu Lai stop suddenly, he immediately rushed forward.
When Hu Lai jumped up for a header, Jimenez also killed him, and then leaned his whole body up to interfere with Hu Lai's header.
"Hu Lai!" He Feng yelled in excitement, followed by a regretful sigh: "Oh!"
Under Jimenez's timely interference, Hu Lai turned his head.
Although he didn't enter, he still made a huge exclamation sound from the stands of the Sagrada Familia Stadium. The voice sounded like a cheer to Hu Lai:
"call-!"
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Leeds City's goalless offense initially achieved their tactical goals.
That is to use offense to push back the offensive of Catalonia, at least to make the offense of Catalonia less unscrupulous.
Let them know that behind them, there is a ghost who can wander in the Catalan United penalty area at any time-followed by two central defenders, Hu Lai almost let him score.
This kind of highly efficient forward is indeed a headache for any team.
Catalonia coach Jose Benal also closed as soon as he saw it. With little time left in the first half, he did not let his team continue to besiege Leeds.
He was also afraid of being attacked by Leeds City and scored the goal, and then finally the lead will be gone...
Who are you going to talk about?
Faced with last season's Premier League Golden Boots and World Cup Golden Boots, even Benal did not dare to take it lightly.
So with five or six minutes left in the half, he signaled the team to slow down, retreat to a firm defense, and avoid losing the ball at the last minute.
Leeds finally got the respite they wanted.
However, they were not in their own backcourt, but tried to attack, but they did not fully attack. After all, they still had to guard against being counterattacked by the Catalan United.
Mario Salado is in very good condition today. He has the speed to break through and is the best candidate for counter defense.
Clark was also worried about his home being stolen.
Both sides were afraid of being attacked by the other side, and the remaining minutes of the first half passed in this "tacit understanding".
The two teams failed to create any more opportunities, and the only few offenses were of low quality.
After two minutes of stoppage time, the referee blew the whistle at the end of the game.
"...The first half of the game is over. Although the guest Leeds relied on Hu Lai to take the lead, but in the end they still failed to hold the lead of a goal..." He Feng's voice was a little regretful, but more praises. "Even though it was an away game, Leeds' performance was also remarkable. In the face of Catalan's fierce offensive, they were only one goal behind. This is a good phenomenon. I hope that after the adjustment of the intermission, Leeds can be in the second half. Come up with better performance..."
This last sentence is actually more like comfort.
What performance can be better?
It would be better to lose a few goals...
On the other side, the Spanish commentator was also satisfied with the performance of Catalonia in the first half: "After losing the ball quickly equalized and then exceeded the score... Catalonia exploded with amazing energy in their home court. As long as it can be maintained. With this momentum, Catalonia can score again in the second half!"
He said this with full confidence. The first half of the game has proved this. If there is not much time left in the first half, Leeds would definitely not fall behind by just one goal!
In the broadcast footage, the players from both sides walked off the court.
Their faces were calm as usual, the leading Catalonia players did not smile, and the lagging Leeds players didn't seem to be very depressed.
People can't guess their mentality through these lens details.
But in fact, everyone wants to guess what.
This is an ordinary Champions League group match. Catalonia will win the game at their home court and lock the group's first qualifying round in advance.
As for Leeds City, they showed their courage in the game and did not lose their hope of participating in the Europa League—compared to the death of Catalonia here, it is the next round of group stage home games to defeat the direct competitor of the Gulf Lighthouse. more important.
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PS, the second one will be delivered, and the third one will be at six o'clock in the afternoon, ask for a monthly pass!
(End of this chapter)