"Damn, thank goodness it went in. This card wasn't wasted!"
Seeing the football fly into the opponent's goal, Li Shiguang, who hadn't felt this kind of excitement in a long time, subconsciously touched his chest.
After the match ended abruptly and the score was reversed, Reading's morale plummeted after the restart, and they struggled to mount any further attacks against Leeds United for the remainder of the game.
The brief three minutes didn't end quickly, and referee James blew the final whistle.
Leeds United narrowly escaped with three points from the Madejski Stadium!
Two days later, Leeds United will play their last match of the eight days at Elland Road against Portsmouth.
This match was played better than the one against Reading a few days ago; at least Leeds United scored the first goal.
In the 29th minute of the first half, Leeds United capitalized on a passing error by their opponents. After intercepting the ball in midfield, Alonso did not choose to dribble forward himself, but quickly passed the ball to Modric next to him. After all, Li Shiguang had specifically instructed before the match that all of Leeds United's attacking organization should be handled by Modric after the start of the game!
Modric was also puzzled. In the past, when he and Alonso played together, Leeds United usually played with a dual-pivot system. Both he and Alonso had strong ability to organize attacks, and the ball possession was equal.
Today is the first time Li Shiguang has specifically emphasized before the game that he should handle all the balls!
However, since the halftime break of the match against Reading a few days ago, Modric seems to have made some breakthroughs, especially in long passes and free kicks.
In the two days since returning to Leeds, he has clearly felt that his free kicks are much better than before, and the dummy wall specifically used for free kick practice on the training ground has suddenly become ineffective against him. In addition, the accuracy of his long passes has also improved significantly, almost to the point where he can hit exactly where he points!
For example, right now, when Alonso intercepted the ball, Modric had already seen his teammates' runs. Podolski on the left and Ibrahimovic in the middle had already moved out of position, leaving a large gap in front of them waiting for him to open up.
Modric didn't even stop the ball. He slightly deflected it in front of his body with the outside of his right foot, then swung his arm and sent a long pass in the direction Podolski was running.
Amid cheers from the fans, the ball quickly crossed Portsmouth's defense and landed directly inside their penalty area.
Faced with a goal already in his mouth, Podolski had no reason to waste it. After slightly adjusting his footwork, he took advantage of the ball's bounce and unleashed an unreasonable volley that sent the ball into the Portsmouth goal.
Ultimately, Leeds United secured a narrow 1-0 victory over Portsmouth at home thanks to a goal from Podolski.
After completing this somewhat tight schedule, Leeds United finally had a week to rest, but Li Shiguang did not slack off. He only gave the players one day off because in the next two weeks, they will face three games that may determine whether Leeds United will have a successful season!
On February 11, Leeds United will travel to London to face Arsenal away from home.
On February 16th, Leeds United will travel to Hertfordshire to complete their rescheduled match against Watford. Assuming Manchester United will defeat Charlton in the next round, the outcome of this rescheduled game will determine whether Leeds United can top the league table on goal difference!
Then on February 22nd, Li Shiguang and most of the Leeds United players will face their first Champions League knockout match, traveling to Camp Nou to play the first leg of the round of 16 against defending champions Barcelona!
····
On Tuesday, after a day off, Li Shiguang threw himself back into his busy training.
On the training field, he was supervising the players running laps while recalling the Arsenal match video he had watched the night before when Simeone suddenly came running over from the sidelines, clutching his ever-present notebook.
"Boss, I have some good news for you, would you like to hear it?"
"What's wrong? You look so sleazy. That French guy has released a new movie again?"
“Yes, yes, I just… Ah! No!” Li Shiguang answered too quickly, and by the time Simone realized what he meant, it was too late. “I’ll sue you for defamation, boss! I’m a father of three now, and I’ve long since moved beyond such lowbrow tastes!”
Seeing Simone's face turn a deep red, Li Shiguang grinned and laughed, "Hahahaha, alright, alright, tell me, let me hear what new gossip it is."
"This isn't gossip, it's serious business." Simeone handed the laptop to Li Shiguang before continuing, "Henry got injured again after the game the day before yesterday. If nothing unexpected happens, he shouldn't be able to play in Saturday's game!"
Hey! Sure!
Looking at the news report on his computer, Li Shiguang's face lit up with joy. Suddenly, he felt that Saturday's game would be much easier. Henry had indeed been frequently injured this season, but Leeds United hadn't faced him in the last match between the two teams. This time, it was finally his turn!
However, if Wenger doesn't change his formation, Adebayor should play on Saturday. It seems like I haven't seen him start in a long time, and I don't know how he's been lately.
Last year, Adebayor was a regular starter for Arsenal, but this season, as Van Persie's form has improved, Wenger, who values teamwork, has gradually benched Adebayor. In most matches, Arsenal's starting attacking duo has been Henry and Van Persie.
With that in mind, Li Shiguang returned the computer to Simeone and quickly instructed, "Diego, find some Emmanuel match videos online from this period. I want to watch them after training."
"Okay." Simone nodded and prepared to walk to the sidelines, but before turning around, that lewd smile reappeared on his face, and he asked Li Shiguang, "Boss! I suddenly remembered, how do you know about that bird? You're not married yet, hehehe, could it be?"
"Go to hell!"
"Hey hey hey hey... Let's talk this out, boss, don't get physical!"
····
London, Kearney training ground.
The players are training under the guidance of assistant coach Patrice, but Wenger is not present on the training field.
At that moment, the professor sat in the club's physiotherapy room, looking worried, and asked the other party, "Cercio, how is Thierry? Will he be able to play on Saturday?"
The person in the white coat opposite him shook his head helplessly and sighed.
"Sigh... Arsène, don't get your hopes up for Saturday's game, he definitely won't play! But we'll try our best to get Thierry playing in the Champions League on the 21st..."
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
