Dream Training : The Champions

"Good evening everyone, this time skysports will present match week 5th of Premier League. In this round, we will broadcast the match between Leicester City Vs Southampton. I, Jim Kaglin, will be accompanied by my best friend, Micheal Keaton.

Good evening Keaton, who do you think will win tonight?" Kaglin asked Keaton.

Keaton seemed to think for a moment, then he explained, "My guess is Southampton. Leicester have great potential but Nigel Pearson is still looking for a player who can fill the hole left by Maddison. At the moment Drinkwater is projected to replace Maddison but both players have different characteristic. Leicester still need an adjustment."

"Hasn't Southampton also lost some players, say Denilson, Hugo and others. This team is also actually trying to make changes to their tactics. So what is the difference between Southampton and Leicester's changes?"

What Kaglin said was true, Southampton and Leicester were both missing a few key players, but how come Southampton did well at the start of the season when Leicester didn't?

Keaton replied, "Yes, Southampton lost Hugo but they still have Rustan. They lost Denilson but still Ryan. Both players have been filling the hole well so far."

In this case Southampton was lucky. They had young players who were able to perform quite well. This was an added value for Southampton. It must be admitted that the Southampton Academy was indeed quite good in finding talented players.

Jim Kaglin then continued, "let's look at the formation of the two teams. Today Leicester came with a 4-1-2-3 formation.

Goalkeepers: Kasper Schmeichel;

Defenders: Daniel Aimerte, J. Evans, Fofana, C. Soeyuecue;

Defensive midfielders: Ngogi Kante;

Attacking midfielders: Drinkwater, A. Perez;

Forwards: Hugo, Adam Traore, Riyad Mahrez.

Meanwhile Southampton came with a 4-2-3-1 formation.

Goalkeepers: Dean Smith;

Defenders: Freddy, Hilton, Okhalo, Benson;

Defensive midfielders: Rudolf, Simone;

Attacking midfielders: Rustan, Joe Bennet, Ryan;

Front: Kazuki.

Both teams played their new formations this season. Judging from the past few games. The players who were fielded by both teams seemed to be players who performed quite well in several matches. For more details let's watch the first round match take place."

After losing Maddison, Leicester lost their ability to control the rhythm. Instead, they were now better at ball control. This was happened due to the different characteristics of Maddison and Drinkwater. Drinkwater's playing style was stable. He rarely created good chances but his game was so stable that he was often able to carry out his duties in midfield well.

On the other hand, Leicester was also relying more on the wings than before. Hugo and Riyad Mahrez had played quite well on both flanks.

In the early minutes of the game, Leicester who started the first half kick-off immediately controlled the ball. Southampton did not do pressing but made a mid-block strategy by making a wall in midfield. This aims to make it difficult for Leicester players to control the ball.

In the 6th minute, Leicester launched an attack. This started with Kante's action, which cut Rudolf's pass to Bennett. He then gave the ball to Perez. Shortly thereafter, Ayoze Perez sent a cross to the side for C. Soeyuecue who went up front to help Leicester attack.

Soeyuecue received the ball with the inside of the foot. At that moment, Rudolf moved to cover Soeyuecue's path. However, Riyad Mahrez went down to help Soeyuecue. Then the Leicester left-back gave the ball to Mahrez. At that moment Freddy went up to block Mahrez. But the Leicester winger pushed the ball past Freddy then dribbled past the Southampton right-back.

Immediately, Mahrez crossed the ball off into the middle of the penalty box. The ball bounced into the penalty box. But Adama Traore lost in the aerial duel, so Southampton was able to defend their goal from threats.

Traore seems to apologize to Mahrez. The striker position was indeed a hole in the current Leicester squad. Adama was not suitable to fill this role. On the other hand, Vardy's performance was still unstable so Nigel can't just believe him.

In the 11th minute, Southampton launched an attack. Rudolf managed to snatch the ball from the feet of Ayoze Perez. Then, he passed the ball to Bennett. Kante kept Bennett tight, so the player could only give the ball back to Simone.

The Southampton captain dribbled the ball forward then provided a breakthrough pass to the right. Rustan immediately ran a duel with Soeyuecue to get the ball. This time it was Rustan who won the duel. He immediately made a cut-inside into the penalty box. But Soeyuecue suddenly tackled him. Rustan failed to break through while the ball bounced off the field. The referee did not blow the whistle indicating that Soeyuecue did not commit a foul.

Ryan will take a corner. Southampton's players entered the box in a hurry they didn't want to miss any chances to score. After everything was ready, the referee blew the whistle, immediately, Ryan kicked the ball. The ball spun and curled into the goalmouth. At that moment Kasper Schmeichel dashed out of his post and picked the ball up in the air.

Southampton's attack failed, Kasper was able to handle Southampton's corner well. The match continued. Tonight, Southampton did not insist on taking possession of the ball from Leicester. The reason was that because when Rustan was playing, Southampton's counter-attack will be a serious threat to Leicester.

This was proven on the previous occasion. Rustan's speed was able to beat Soeyuecue who was his opponent on the right wing. In the 18th minute, Leicester tried to break into Southampton's goal. Once again, Kante became the start of the attack. He was able to steal the ball from Bennet's feet. Then, he passed the ball to Drinkwater.

Simone moved forward and did a body charge. Drinkwater lost his balance but he was still able to pass in Ayoze Perez. The Leicester midfielder moved forward while dribbling the ball. Perez's hand was active in keeping Rudolf away from the ball. He then gave the bait to Hugo. The former Southampton player broke through the penalty box and received the ball from Perez.

He then shot the ball from the right side of the penalty box. Hugo's shooting angle was too narrow so Dean Smith was able to catch Hugo's shot well. Then, the Southampton goalkeeper threw the ball forward. Simone received the ball then gave Benson a through ball. The Southampton left-back received the ball and carried it across the halfway line.

Afte that, Benson gave Kazuki a long-range pass. The Japanese player was now flanked by two central defenders. He also didn't have the advantage in speed so Kazuki painstakingly passed the ball to Ryan's figure on the left.

Ryan received the ball and pushed it into the penalty box. He approached the goal while dribbling the ball, when the goalkeeper switched to the left side. Ryan passes to the right. Rustan came and kicked the ball. However, the ball drifted far from the target.. Rustan seems to be holding his head regretfully.