I just wanted to play football, but I became a Hollywood god

Chapter 417 Chamberlain: Southampton can’t do it without me!Coach Adkins admitted his mistake!

The game continues.

Both sides went back and forth, and the offensive and defensive rhythm became faster.

But until the end of the first half, the score on the big screen at Westin Stadium was still Brighton 1:0 Southampton.

The Southampton team played very impatiently, and the players gradually began to act roughly, with the number of fouls reaching 16!
On the other hand, Brighton only committed 9 fouls.

However, in terms of the number of cards received, the referee showed a total of four yellow cards in the first half, with Brighton and Southampton getting two each, evenly divided.

Brighton are very aggressive in blasting through the middle.

This is also the established tactic of Brighton head coach Poyet.

The 41212 attack formation is by no means a desperate attack like the Huddersfield Town team. Instead, it first controls the center and then looks for opportunities to attack.

It has to be said that this kind of tactics and mentality are very restrained for the Southampton team who used 442 to prevent counterattacks at the beginning.

Coupled with the bad weather and venue, the Southampton team played in a bit of a mess.

Gu Ran worked very hard to organize a series of breakthrough passes on the left wing. Almost the entire rain field was full of Gu Ran sprinting and running. Lallana also played a good setter role in the midfielder position. Southampton's offensive surface It seems to be okay.

However, the problem is that Southampton's striker is too weak.

Apart from passing the ball, Lallana had no control over the center of the frontcourt.

So it seems that Southampton's number of attacks is much higher than that of Brighton, and its possession rate is also higher than that of Brighton, but there is no real cooperation in the frontcourt.

Especially when tested by rain and water, it was difficult for Barnard and Garrod to hold the ball.

Several times, Gu Ran had already put the cake in their mouths, but they were half a beat too late due to their stopping skills. In the end, they either missed the shot, were saved by previous predictions, or were shot by Brighton. The defensive line, which was quite focused, was destroyed.

Southampton's competitive state seems to have never been hotter today.

As time went by, Southampton fans became more and more anxious.

On the other hand, Brighton is playing more and more easily.

Brighton's playing style is already very clear, which is to concentrate its superior forces to blast through the middle.

As for Southampton's 442 formation, the two players Lallana and Hammond are responsible for guarding the center. One is forward as the attacking midfielder, and the other is trailing behind as the defensive midfielder. From a defensive point of view, the central axis is very empty.

Lallana, in particular, is not an engineer-type explosive player. In addition, Lallana has just returned from injury, so he obviously suffered a disadvantage in the midfield confrontation.

Southampton needs a strong engineering midfielder to sweep through.

Gu Ran is of course the best choice.

But the problem is that when Gu Ran crossed from the left to the middle to intercept at high speed, there was no protection behind him.

In the past, both Wharton and Jaidi would try to take care of the space behind Gu Ran when Gu Ran rushed to the middle.

But this time the central defender is Siborna, and Siborna's performance... Let's put it this way, Siborna is like a dog seeing a bone for the first time. As long as the football approaches the penalty area, Siborna will follow the ball wherever it goes. Follow wherever you go.

As a result, he couldn't resist, intercept, or steal.

Just follow the ball carrier and run blindly.

If Gu Ran hadn't sprinted back and forth to intercept the middle in the rain many times, let alone the score now being 1:0, Southampton would have been very successful if they could not be beaten by Brighton.

The Brighton team originally played a blasting tactic in the middle, but the Southampton team had such a big space in the middle, and the entire Southampton team was very passive.

Gu Ran's physical energy consumption was also much higher than the previous two games combined.

The Southampton team also suffered two soft persimmons. Today it was rainy and encountered a hard rock. The overall performance of the team was extremely poor.

The rain continued to fall, and every drop of rain was like a small needle pricking the players' faces and bodies.The standing water makes the field slippery, and every run and every pass requires more effort from the players.

The Southampton team's physical fitness has also reached the window period near the end of the first half...

At the 44th minute of the first half, the game was about to end. The fourth official raised his sign and called for 2 minutes of injury time.

The Southampton team relied on Gu Ran's interception moving to the center to force a counterattack.

Lallana received Gu Ran's precise through ball from the backcourt at the top of the arc, and then turned around and hit the goal!
Brighton's veteran goalkeeper Casper Ankergren was well positioned and jumped up to save the ball.

Garrod rushed forward desperately to fight for the second point, but was saved by Brighton's No. 6 center back Adam El-Abboud, who stabbed midfielder Augustine Batipidi who retreated to receive the ball. .

The Brighton team immediately launched a quick counterattack!
Batipidi passed the ball short to Matt Sparrow not far ahead. Matt Sparrow did not wait for Southampton's defensive players to press and immediately passed the ball forward to midfielder Greg Nu. kindness!
Brighton's offensive system presents a simple and direct line through!

Southampton's defensive players all rushed to double-team Nunn, preventing Nunn from passing the ball.But center Christian Baz, No. 11, retreated to Nunn's left side to provide support.

Nunn immediately distributed the ball to Baz!Baz dribbled the ball diagonally into Southampton's right penalty area!
Southampton's defense in the middle was as brittle as paper and was broken through in an instant. No matter how long Gu Ran's whip was, he couldn't use it in a hurry!

Fante and Aaron Martin quickly closed the door on Baz to defend, but Baz's body was extremely confrontational. Fante and Martin had obviously stuck to Baz, but they were instantly knocked open by Baz!
Baz stepped forward and passed the ball across the left side of the penalty area to the middle!
Chris Wood carried Siburne who was pulling his arm, faced the fast-rolling football, and violently shot!
There is nothing Davis can do...

The ball is in!
Chris Wood double-bang!
At the end of the first half, the score on the big screen at Westin Stadium was immediately rewritten as Brighton 2:0 Southampton!
The Seagulls fans at the scene were completely excited!
The advantage of 2 goals made them so happy that they flew into the air!
This is not just a difference of two goals, fans can see that in today's knockout match of the British Championship, Brighton performed far better than Southampton!

If they continue playing like this, Brighton will definitely be able to end Southampton's winning streak and eliminate the last British Championship champion!

Seagulls fans even sang a song mocking Southampton’s super star Gu Ran!
The Saints fans were furious and made various humiliating gestures toward the Seagulls fans, like feeding birds and eating bird food.

This goal also dealt a huge blow to the morale of the Southampton team.

Logically speaking, Southampton's wing attack was very fierce and there were many shooting opportunities in the first half, but they were never able to score.

As a left back, Gu Ran was greatly restrained by Brighton's central attack. In addition, there was a lot of water in the stadium and it was difficult to control the football. Gu Ran had no chance to rush into Brighton's penalty area alone.

This decisive battle in the rain was not only a challenge to the Southampton team, but also a test of Gu Ran's personal ability.

Looking at the Brighton players cheering and celebrating on the field, Gu Ran couldn't help but take a deep breath——

At halftime, it’s time to allocate talent points.

As the referee's whistle blew, the first half of the game ended, and the two sides temporarily tied 2:0!

Brighton players proudly returned to the bus to rest amid the enthusiastic cheers of Seagulls fans.

The Southampton players all frowned and walked back to their buses.

The Saints fans who came from afar never left the game and cheered loudly when Gu Ran and the others left the field.

The rain is still falling, but every Saints fan is very convinced: Gu Ran can create miracles!
Some bold Saints fans even took advantage of this moment to buy the handicap of 2 and chase 3!

When Gu Ran returned to the bus, team doctor Mai Fu and physical therapist Gregory immediately brought a thermal blanket and wiped Gu Ran's whole body. Then they knelt down in front of Gu Ran and helped Gu Ran check his physical condition and perform surgery. Therapeutic massage.

The atmosphere in the bus was a bit depressing.

The other players were covered in rain and fatigue, and there was no trace of fighting spirit in their eyes.

It has to be said that Southampton's schedule is too intensive.

Not only do we have to play in the fierce English League One, but we also have to play in the increasingly fierce EFL Cup knockout rounds, and we also have to play in the English Championship knockout rounds.

There are a total of 7 games this month, and next month, the knockout rounds of the FA Cup will also begin...

With such a dense and highly competitive schedule stacked together, even strong teams are suffocated.

On the other hand, other rival teams basically only maintained two-line operations and gave up everything that should be given up.

The fatigue of the Southampton team is not only physical, but also the mental fatigue of maintaining high pressure for a long time.

With physical and mental exhaustion, the Southampton team encountered the most difficult game this season.

Many players already want to give up on the knockout round of the British Championship.

Of course, not all players have the thought of giving up in their hearts.

Such as Chamberlain.

Chamberlain, who was a substitute today, kept chattering, "I'm so anxious, I'm so anxious! How can we let a bad team like Brighton lead by two goals at halftime? Put me on quickly, without me. The team has to disperse!"

Captain Davis frowned and shouted: "Chamberlain, shut up!"

Chamberlain immediately shut his mouth obediently.

Gu Ran said in a deep voice: "Brighton is No. 2 in League One. Although this is not a League One game, they want to use this game to prove that they are better than us, No. 1 in League One. If we are soft this time Now, if we meet Brighton in the English League One in the future, it will be even more difficult to play. Therefore, whether it is to win the knockout round of the English Championship or to maintain the momentum of our No. 1 League One, we will play hard in this game. We can’t lose! We can’t even have the mentality of surrender! Isn’t it just a headwind situation? Let’s just come back in the second half!”

The players' fighting spirit immediately improved.

Coach Adkins, who was still a little hesitant about giving up the British Championship, immediately said after listening to Gu Ran's words: "Everyone played very hard in the first half. We had many beautiful attacks, but We were a bit unlucky. Our current situation is not as bad as we imagined, we are only two goals behind Brighton. With Gu Ran here, we are definitely capable of catching up in the second half."

"Of course, I am also responsible for the first half. I should have been more decisive in making substitutions and adjusting the formation. I'm sorry to everyone."

The players all gasped!
This is the first time Coach Adkins has taken the initiative to apologize and admit his mistake!
Chamberlain smiled and patted Adkins on the shoulder, "Coach, it's good that you can take the initiative to admit your mistakes, so I forgive you!"

……

(End of this chapter)