Dream Training : The Champions

In the 75th minute, Southampton launched a counter-attack. Hilton kicked the ball forward powerfully. Rustan immediately chased after him, he raced with Kieran Gibbs to reach the ball. Rustan ran early, so he had the advantage over Gibbs, but the Arsenal left-back held onto Rustan's shirt so tightly that the Southampton man struggled to show his best pace.

Rustan passed the ball into the middle, he knew if he continued to carry the ball, then Gibbs might steal the ball from him, so Rustan forced to pass the ball. Kazuki received the ball and dribbled it forward. Vermaelen used his body to push Kazuki aside, Vermaelen's push made it difficult for the Japanese player to aim at the goalpost. Finally, Kazuki's kick deviated from the net.

In the 88th minute, Arsenal launched an attack, Mikel Arteta gave the ball to Gervinho. The Arsenal right-wing gave the ball back to Santi Cazorla. Simone gave Cazorla a tight press, but the Spaniard was too slippery for Simone to guard. As a result, Cazorla was able to provide a flat pass to Arteta who went up to the front. Arteta then provided a floating ball to the left.

Theo Walcott penetrates into the Southampton's penalty box. He managed to receive the ball, but the Saints defenders kept Theo tight, so the wonderkid struggled to break through the crowd of Southampton defenders.

In difficult circumstances, Theo first pushed the ball through the gap between Freddy's legs, then, he slipped past Freddy and was about to receive the ball, but Jimmy immediately blocked Theo Walcott's movement, so the player was fell. At that moment, the ball slipped out of Jimmy's control. Walcott immediately stood up and kicked the ball into the middle.

Podolski passed the Southampton players and kicked the ball which in front of him with power. The ball slid strongly towards the goalpost. The Southampton goalkeeper, Luis Ognevo jumped and parried the ball with his fist. The ball was thrown to the right side of the penalty box. Gervinho swiftly preceded Ben Carter, then, he provided a cut-back pass to the front of the penalty box. Cazorla received the ball and sent a through ball. Walcott escaped from the guard, he immediately kicked the ball from Cazorla with great force. As a result, Southampton conceded the second goal.

Luis Ognevo failed to catch Walcott's shot, the reason was that ball hit Okhalo's body before entered the goalpost. This made Ognevo wrong in assessing the direction of the ball. This put Arsenal ahead of Southampton, and the Saints did not have much time to equalize.

Until the end of the game, Southampton failed to score a second goal. As a result, Arsenal had beaten The Saint in the third round of the Carabao Cup. This failure made Southampton realize that their team was not strong enough to face multiple competitions. Maybe it was best if Southampton just focus on the league.

This defeat was Southampton's second defeat of the season. After the game was over. Several media revealed again that Southampton had run out of oil. There were many who believe Southampton's good form at the start of the season will soon crumble.

The 9th round of the English Premier League again presented a challenge for Southampton. They will host Everton. People were still wondering if Southampton could really continue their good form in the league?

On the other hand, Kazuki started running the new feature [Dream Training] he appointed players like Misaki Taro, and Isagi Yoichi from the Japanese national team. Meanwhile, from Southampton, Kazuki was more focused on strengthening the midfield players first. However, a good midfield support will make it easier for Kazuki to score goals.

A few days later, the match against Everton arrived. The day before the match, George surprised the Southampton players by not including Kazuki in the starting line-up. Rotation was one of the reasons why George didn't play Kazuki. The Japanese player had played the full of Carabao Cup match against Arsenal, George was worried that Kazuki would experience injury, so he let Kazuki warm up the bench in this match.

"Good evening everyone, welcome to the 9th round of the Premier League. In this match, Everton will visit Southampton's house.

A surprise issued by Southampton. They didn't place Southampton's most goalscorer, namely Kazuki. With Kazuki's absence, I'm sure Everton will heave a sigh of relief. On the Everton side themselves, despite having changed coaches, while their previous coach, David Moyes moved to Manchester United, while Moyes' job at Everton was replaced by Rafael Benitez who was sacked from Intermilan last season.

Under Benitez coaching, the team nicknamed The Toffees performed quite well by packing 5 wins and 3 draws and 1 defeat. This result is not a bad result for a team like Everton. However, their opponent is Southampton, who at the start of this season appeared impressively. The Saints have only lost once, against Wolverhampton Wanderers.

In this match, Southampton used a 4-3-3 formation.

Goalkeepers: Dean Smith;

Defenders: Vicente, Okhalo, Hilton, Benson;

Midfielders: Simone, Joe Bennet, Rudolf;

Front: Crage, Osmund, Kunde;

Meanwhile, Everton use a 4-3-2-1 formation.

Goalkeepers: Tim Howard;

Defenders: Tony Hillbert, Phil Jagielka, Sylvain Distin, Leighton Baines;

Defensive midfielders: Seamus Coleman, Darren Gibson, Steven Pienaar;

Attacking midfielders: Fellaini, Leon Osman;

Front: Nikica Jelavic.

At the Southampton side, they did not feature Rustan, a winger who had been a mainstay at the start of the season. Ryan was also absent, which was a surprise, because apart from Kazuki, he was the most consistent young player at Southampton. Then, as expected, Kazuki didn't play as a starter.

Meanwhile, Everton use their main formation in the hands of Benitez. Nikica Jelavic is now getting more minutes than Belliand. Meanwhile, several Everton players have also performed very well under Benitez's coaching.

All right, let's watch the first half of the game between Southampton and Everton."

Under Benitez, Everton had become more flexible than ever before. Everton could change their formation from 4-3-2-1 to 4-3-3 or 4-2-3-1 depending on which they need. When they want to control the ball, the formation changes to a 4-3-3, it all changes depending on the situation on the pitch.

Darren Gibson became the most important player of the tactics used by Benitez at Everton. His role, whether in defense or attack was very critical. Darren Gibson's main task was to provide assistance at the back and front lines according to conditions on the pitch. Darren's ability to read situations and his individual skills was enough to place Darren at the level of a big club player.

It's a shame because Darren also has a fatal weakness, which was not good at marking opposing players. So far, Benitez had outsmarted Darren's weakness by bringing Steven Pienaar's figure closer to the middle.. Despite his weaknesses, Darren was a player that Southampton should keep an eye on.