A few minutes later, the score remained 1-0 as the two sides went into halftime.
Fifteen minutes later, Li Shiguang returned to the field. He had thought that West Bromwich Albion, who were down by one goal, would attack in the second half. In the locker room, he specifically instructed the players to be fast, ruthless, and accurate when counterattacking.
But when they returned to the field, Robson had already given up. To avoid a humiliating defeat, he substituted his only striker with a defender. All ten West Bromwich Albion players stayed in their own half, bracing themselves for the game and refusing to cross the midfield line! Faced with this defensive strategy, Leeds United's players were somewhat helpless, and the 1-0 score remained until the final whistle.
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After a three-day break, Leeds United faced their first opponent in the FA Cup, Manchester City.
According to the FA's regulations, the FA Cup is divided into eight rounds and is open to all teams in the top ten leagues of England. The matchups and home and away games are determined by drawing lots. Leeds United and Manchester City, both Premier League teams, joined in the third round. The two teams were really unlucky. There were seven or eight lower-level teams in this round, but they were drawn together.
After being overturned by Leeds United in the previous round away game, Manchester City were eager to avenge their defeat at the City Stadium. Manager Pearce seemed to have found inspiration from Leeds United's match against West Bromwich Albion last week, and immediately adopted a defensive strategy. Facing Manchester City's impenetrable defense, Leeds United struggled to find a good way to break through. Li Shiguang had even prepared for a replay, but in the 87th minute, Bale's dribbling breakthrough on the left wing was intercepted by Sun Jihai, who then launched a long ball to Fowler, who calmly slotted the ball into the net against Schmeichel. This late goal ended Leeds United's short-lived FA Cup campaign this season and shattered Li Shiguang's dream of winning the Diamond Chest.
Chelsea's Premier League title hopes were long gone. After 22 rounds, league leaders Chelsea were 21 points ahead of Leeds United. Their only chance to win the FA Cup was the title, but that dream was indirectly shattered today by their own countrymen!
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After the match, Li Shiguang was standing on the sidelines, feeling dejected, when suddenly a familiar voice came from beside him: "Brother Li!"
Li Shiguang turned his head and saw Sun Jihai standing next to him, looking at him with a slightly embarrassed smile.
Officer, is it really necessary? Does cardamom require pig's heart?
With a hint of suspicion in his eyes, Li Shiguang asked, "Is there something you need, Xiao Sun?"
Sun Jihai scratched the back of his head: "Brother Li, are you guys going back to Leeds today? I... I'd like to invite you to dinner."
Huh? Why are you suddenly inviting me to dinner?
Li Shiguang's mind raced, and a possibility suddenly occurred to him: Could it be that this kid wants to come to Leeds United? That's not impossible. Sun Jihai is quite capable, and he has a huge market behind him. If they bring him in, they can do what those big clubs of later generations did: take the team to China for a few friendly matches during the summer transfer window and make a fortune!
Thinking of this, Li Shiguang leaned closer and lowered his voice to ask Sun Jihai, "I understand, when?"
Li Shiguang's move actually caught Sun Jihai off guard. "Brother, I just wanted to invite you to dinner, what do you know?!"
After a little consideration, Sun Jihai set the time for noon tomorrow and the location for a well-known Chinese restaurant in Manchester.
After a good night's sleep at the hotel, Li Shiguang arrived at the restaurant the next day at noon. As soon as he got out of the car, he saw Sun Jihai and another young man with a Chinese face standing at the door. Li Shiguang smiled and said, "Sorry to keep you waiting."
Sun Jihai shook his head: "We just arrived too. Brother Li, let me introduce you. This young man is Chen Guanhai. He was sent to study in England by his father when he was just in junior high school. He's also a huge football fan. Knowing that I was going to treat you to dinner today, this kid refused to go back to London after watching the game yesterday. He insisted on bringing him here to meet you."
After listening to Sun Jihai's introduction, Li Shiguang had a better idea of what was going on. These days, being sent to Europe to study after junior high school must mean that one's family has some connections.
Just as Li Shiguang had thought, Chen Guanhai was a typical rich second-generation. His family was in the real estate business, and his father had also invested in a Chinese Super League club in addition to his main business. Sun Jihai came from this club.
Influenced by his father, Chen Guanhai has loved football since childhood. After studying in England during junior high school, his passion only intensified, and he would attend Premier League matches almost every weekend. In recent years, more and more Chinese players have joined major European leagues. Since Sun Jihai joined Manchester City in 2002, Chen Guanhai, who has known Sun since childhood, hasn't missed a single Manchester City match. Two years ago, Li Shiguang emerged from Leeds United, not only reviving the nearly bankrupt team but also personally leading them back to the Premier League as head coach. This greatly impressed Chen Guanhai. Learning from the news that Li Shiguang was a second-generation Chinese American and a fellow countryman, he decided to get to know him.
Seeing Li Shiguang turn his gaze to him, Chen Guanhai, wearing black-rimmed glasses and looking a little embarrassed, quickly greeted Li Shiguang: "Brother Li, hello! I'm your loyal fan! That's why I shamelessly asked Brother Sun to bring me to meet you! Don't blame Brother Sun."
Li Shiguang wouldn't blame Sun Jihai. Although others saw him as a second-generation Chinese American, he always considered himself a Chinese. Living abroad, he didn't have many opportunities to meet fellow countrymen, so there was nothing wrong with getting to know another countryman who seemed to be quite capable.
After exchanging a few pleasantries, the three of them entered the restaurant under the guidance of Sun Jihai.
The restaurant owner is from the north, so all the dishes on the table are specialties of northern China. Although Li Shiguang prefers spicy food, braised pork ribs from northern China have always been his favorite.
The three of them didn't drink alcohol today. Li Shiguang and Chen Guanhai don't like to drink, and Sun Jihai, as a professional player, doesn't drink at all. In less than half an hour, the food on the table was completely devoured in the pleasant atmosphere of the three reminiscing about their hometowns.
Li Shiguang put down his chopsticks and offered Chen Guanhai a cigar. After taking a couple of puffs himself, he asked Sun Jihai with a mysterious smile, "Little Sun, you probably didn't just want to treat me to a meal today, did you?"
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