"Can't we keep a close eye on him? Can't we? Huh! Answer me!"

In the locker room, Allardyce was giving a furious lecture.

"What are you thinking? How could you let such an obvious mistake happen? What's the point of our five-defender strategy today? Is this how I taught you to mark your man in training?"

Allardyce was utterly disappointed with Bolton's performance in the first half. He knew that his team was slightly weaker than Leeds United, so in order to win today, he fielded an almost abnormal 5-4-1 formation, aiming to stabilize the defense first, then look for opportunities through counter-attacks, and at the very least, drag the game into penalties.

Unfortunately, the team is already down by two goals 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, attacking might lead to an even faster defeat.

A sense of powerlessness swept over Allardyce. He stood in front of the whiteboard, mechanically writing and drawing, while the Bolton players, who had just been berated by him, sat behind him, not daring to breathe, for fear of provoking Allardyce again.

Meanwhile, the atmosphere in the Leeds United dressing room was completely different from that of Bolton. It would be an exaggeration to describe it as a peaceful and joyful atmosphere. With a two-goal lead, the players naturally had no psychological pressure. As long as they did not underestimate their opponents in the second half, they should be able to advance to the semi-finals with ease.

But Li Shiguang looked at his relaxed teammates, clapped his hands to make them look at him, and said, "You all did a great job in the first half! Especially Luca and Xavi, you two coordinated very well and executed my pre-match tactical arrangements very well."

Everyone was delighted to hear the coach's praise, and Milner, sitting behind the two, patted Modric and Alonso on the shoulder.

But Li Shiguang's speech did not end there.

"However, I still want to remind everyone that we can't relax in the next 45 minutes just because we're two goals ahead. Our opponents definitely won't sit idly by. I expect they'll likely launch an attack in the second half, so we need to keep running and pressing aggressively to disrupt their attacking rhythm! One thing I want to mention is that once the game starts, if we find that their formation is pushed forward, our two wingers need to be more active. James and Maicon, you two push forward boldly. Let's try to score another goal within 20 minutes. If we score another goal, this game will be practically ours!"

····

After a short break, both sides returned to the pitch. Leeds United's lineup remained unchanged, while Bolton made adjustments.

As Li Shiguang predicted, Allardyce brought on a striker, and Bolton switched to their previously more common 4-4-2 formation.

Actually, Li Shiguang had just wondered in the locker room whether Allardyce would field three forwards in the second half, but now it seems that Allardyce is still afraid that Leeds United will seize the opportunity to launch a counter-attack after attacking.

It seems that Allardyce's tirade in the locker room during halftime had some effect, because after the start of the game, Bolton launched a very fierce attack through active running, constantly assaulting Leeds United's defense.

Fortunately, Li Shiguang reminded everyone at halftime, and the Leeds United players were also alerted to Bolton's attack. Everyone was very focused on defense, so Bolton's attack seemed more like a lot of noise than substance, and did not pose any real threat to Leeds United's goal.

Gradually, the Leeds United fans in the stands, who were initially frustrated watching their team being dominated, became excited again. Whenever Leeds United won the ball and launched a counter-attack, they would immediately cheer and encourage their team!

As time went on, the Bolton players gradually became exhausted from the high-intensity running.

As instructed by Li Shiguang, after the start of the second half, whenever Leeds United had an attacking opportunity, Lahm and Maicon would try to move forward to participate in the attack. During these forward runs, they both noticed something, just as Li Shiguang had said in the locker room: whenever Modric or Alonso got the ball in the second half, Bolton would immediately send out three or more players to surround them, striving to intercept the ball in the shortest possible time and stop Leeds United's attack.

But clearly, Allardyce and the Bolton players on the field didn't notice the problem; they were preoccupied with their anxious desire to quickly pull one back.

In the 57th minute, Schmeichel took a goal kick, but this time he didn't choose to kick it directly to midfield. Instead, he passed it to Pique on the defensive line. Due to his declining stamina, Bolton's forwards didn't rush up to press him as they had before after Pique received the ball. So Pique methodically passed the ball to Modric, who was supporting him in front.

Seeing the ball being passed to Modric, Bolton immediately went on high alert. The three players in midfield rushed forward to prevent Modric from receiving the ball. Modric did not actually receive the ball; the moment it rolled to his feet, he passed it back to Pique. Seeing Modric's pass back, Bolton then focused their attention on Alonso, since Leeds United had been playing like this before.

But this time, Pique didn't pass the ball to Alonso again. Instead, he swung his left leg and kicked the ball directly to the left flank of midfield.

By the time Bolton players noticed where the ball was going, Lahm had already received Pique's long pass and started running! The entire midfield was empty, with only Bolton's full-back in front of him!

Lahm's move startled Bolton's defenders, who rushed towards him. Facing two defenders rushing towards him, Lahm looked up and saw Berbatov, who had already made it into space. Without hesitation, he poked the ball out and passed it directly to Berbatov!

"Berbatov!!!" Eddie Gray, with his God's-eye view, shouted. The Bulgarian was in good form today, but he was just unlucky. Several of his threatening shots in the first half were saved by the opposing goalkeeper!

But this was a golden opportunity; he was now facing only the goalkeeper! Bolton's other defenders were all drawn to Falcao and Ribery, a world away from him!

Berbatov didn't waste any time. He adjusted his center of gravity slightly and took a shot before Yusi could rush over!

A moment later, Eddie Gray's voice resounded throughout the entire venue!

"Wow! A skillful shot, a beautiful goal! Berbatov has finally scored his first goal of the day!"

"Congratulations to Leeds United, they are now leading 3-0!"