The two sides had a lot of problems.
"Can you keep a close eye on him? Can you? Ah! Answer me!"
In the locker room, Allardyce was giving a speech in a rage.
"What are you thinking? If such an obvious leak can happen, what's the point of our 5-defender tactic today? This is how I taught you to keep a close eye on people during training?"
Allardyce was extremely disappointed with Bolton's performance in the first half. He knew that the team's overall strength was slightly worse than Leeds United, so in order to win today, he arranged an almost perverted 5-4-1 lineup, which was to stabilize the defense first, and then look for opportunities through counterattacks. At the very least, he had to drag the game into a penalty shootout.
Unfortunately, the team is already 2 goals behind in the first half. If Bolton wants to advance to the next round, they must attack in the second half, but with Leeds United's current momentum, they may die faster if they attack.
A feeling of powerlessness swept through Allardyce's heart. He stood in front of the whiteboard and mechanically wrote and drew, while the Bolton players who had just been scolded by him could sit behind him and dared not breathe, for fear of provoking Allardyce again.
At the same time, the atmosphere in the Leeds United locker room was very different from that of Bolton. It would not be an exaggeration to describe it as a peaceful and prosperous situation. The players who were already leading by 2 goals naturally had no psychological pressure. As long as they did not underestimate the enemy in the second half, they should be able to advance to the top 4 steadily.
But Li Shiguang looked at the relaxed players, clapped his hands and asked everyone to look at him, then said: "Everyone did a great job in the first half! Especially Luca and Xavi, you two worked very well together and executed my pre-match tactical arrangements very well."
Everyone was very happy to hear the coach's praise, and Milner, who was sitting behind the two, patted Modric and Alonso on the shoulders.
But Li Shiguang's speech was not over yet.
"But I still want to remind everyone that in the next 45 minutes, we can't relax just because we are two goals ahead. The opponent will definitely not sit still and wait for death. I predict that they are likely to attack in the second half, so don't stop our running in the second half. Active fighting can disrupt their offensive rhythm! There is one thing I want to say. After the game starts, once we find that their formation is relatively forward, our two wingers must be active. James and Maicon, you two must press forward boldly. We will try to score another goal within 20 minutes. As long as we score one more goal, this game is basically a sure win!"
····
After a short break, the two sides returned to the game. Leeds United's lineup did not change, while Bolton made adjustments.
As Li Shiguang expected, Allardyce sent a striker, and Bolton's formation also changed to 4-4-2, which they played more often before.
In fact, just now in the locker room, Li Shiguang had thought whether Allardyce would play three forwards in the second half, but now it seems that Allardyce is still afraid that Leeds United will seize the opportunity to counterattack after attacking.
It seems that Allardyce's scolding in the locker room during the halftime break has achieved some results. After the game started, Bolton launched a very fierce attack through active running, constantly attacking Leeds United's defense.
Fortunately, Li Shiguang reminded everyone during the halftime, and Leeds United's players also had a warning about Bolton's attack. Everyone's attention in defense was very focused, so Bolton's attack was more of a thunderbolt in the eyes of those who were interested, and did not pose any substantial threat to Leeds United's goal.
Gradually, the Leeds United fans in the stands who were a little depressed watching their team being suppressed became excited again. Once Leeds United intercepted the ball and counterattacked, they would immediately cheer and cheer for their team!
As time went by, the Bolton players gradually became exhausted from this high-intensity running.
Because of Li Shiguang's instructions, after the start of the second half, whenever Leeds United had an offensive opportunity, Lahm and Maicon would look for opportunities to move forward to participate in the attack. During the process of moving forward, they both discovered a situation, which was exactly what Li Shiguang said in the locker room. In the second half, as soon as Modric or Alonso got the ball, Bolton would definitely quickly send out more than three players to encircle them, striving to intercept the ball in the shortest time and stop Leeds United's attack.
But obviously, Allardyce and the Bolton players on the field did not notice this problem.
The problem, they were immersed in the anxious mentality of wanting to quickly get a goal back.
In the 57th minute, Schmeichel kicked the goal kick, but this time he did not choose to kick it directly to the midfield, but passed it to Pique on the back line. Due to the decline in physical strength, after Pique got the ball, Bolton's forward did not rush up to press as before, so Pique also passed the ball to Modric who was waiting in front of him step by step.
Seeing the ball passed to Modric, Bolton immediately felt like they were facing a big enemy. The three players in the midfield immediately rushed up to prevent Modric from getting the ball, but Modric did not get the ball. The moment the football rolled to his feet, he passed the ball back to Pique. Seeing Modric pass back, Bolton focused on Alonso again, after all, Leeds United had played like this before.
But this time Pique did not choose to pass the ball to Alonso again, but swung his left leg and kicked the ball directly to the left side of the midfield.
When the Bolton players noticed where the ball landed, Lahm had already received a long pass from Pique and started running! The entire midfield was empty, and the only one left in front of him was the Bolton full-back who was facing him!
Lahm's move startled the Bolton defenders and they hurried over to him. Facing the two defenders who rushed over, Lahm looked up and saw Berbatov who had already run out of space. He didn't hesitate and directly poked the ball out and passed it to Berbatov!
"Berbatov!!!" Eddie Gray, who had a God's perspective, shouted. The Bulgarian was in good shape today, but his luck was not good. Several threatening shots in the first half were saved by the opponent's goalkeeper!
But this time it was a great opportunity, and the only one left in front of him was the goalkeeper! Bolton's other defensive players were attracted by Falcao and Ribery, and there was a huge gap between them and him!
Berbatov didn't say anything, he slightly adjusted his center of gravity, and shot before Yossi rushed over!
A moment later, Eddie Gray's voice resounded throughout the stadium!
"Oh oh oh oh~~~~A clever shot, a beautiful goal! Berbatov finally scored his first goal of the day!"
"Let's congratulate Leeds United, they are already leading 3:0!"
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