"Mr. Wenger! Could you elaborate on Lehmann and Adebayor's performance in the first half? Do you believe Arsenal's loss today was directly related to their mistakes?"
call···
Wenger, who had just sat down, let out a soft breath and looked in the direction from which the sound came.
Hmm! The reporter from The Sun, I'll remember you!
Wenger originally wanted Patrice to attend the press conference in his place, but the guy was a real jerk. After the match, he didn't even go back to the locker room and wouldn't answer his phone. Helpless, Wenger, who didn't want to be fined, had to bite the bullet and attend today's post-match press conference in person.
But he hadn't expected these idiots to be so aggressive! Their first question was so pointed! Adebayo had already been punished by him; if he were to criticize him in public now, it would probably cause conflict in the locker room!
After a moment's thought, Wenger stared at the reporter with an unfriendly expression and said, "Sir reporter, you can say that our first-half deficit was related to their mistakes, but you can't say that their mistakes caused the team's defeat! The team's defeat is related to me, my players, and even everyone at Arsenal. It's not fair to force the blame onto a particular player!"
The reporter from The Sun seemed unwilling to let Wenger off the hook so easily, and continued to ask: "Then how do you explain substituting Adebayor at halftime? To my recollection, Theo Walcott, who replaced him, hasn't played in a competitive Premier League match yet, has he?"
"What's there to explain?" Wenger almost laughed out of anger, and retorted without any politeness: "Have you forgotten so quickly who scored the equalizer? As Arsenal's manager, do I need to explain my tactical intentions to you before I'm outlining them?"
After the Sun reporter, whose face looked slightly grim after being scolded by Wenger, sat down.
Lind from the Yorkshire Post got his chance to ask a question. Dressed in a sharp suit, he stood up and read aloud his prepared question from his notebook: "Hello, Mr. Wenger, I'm a reporter from the Yorkshire Post. Leeds United got 3 points today, and now if they can win their game against Watford in three days, they will climb to the top of the Premier League table on goal difference. This means the competition between Leeds United and Manchester United for the league title will become extremely fierce! I'd like to ask you, which of these two teams do you think will win the final championship?"
Wenger listened to the question with a frown, even though he was very dissatisfied with Lind's answer. But he had to admit that with 12 rounds left in the league, the title was almost certainly going to be contested between Leeds United and Manchester United. Chelsea might still have a chance, but after losing today's match, he and Arsenal were definitely out of contention...
"To be honest, sir, your question has stumped me." After thinking it over, Wenger responded calmly to Lind's question, "Both teams are very strong, but they both have the Champions League schedule to play, and Manchester United even has the FA Cup to play, plus Chelsea and Arsenal to come. It seems a bit too early to say who will win the league title! But if I had to choose, I would probably lean towards Manchester United, after all, Lee and Leeds United are still too young, they don't have much experience competing for titles."
10 minutes later.
In the same venue, Li Shiguang sat in the same spot where Wenger had just been sitting and heard Lind ask the same question.
But from his mouth, the reporters only heard a brief sentence.
The ultimate league title? It will undoubtedly belong to Leeds United!
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Three days later, at Vicarage Road Stadium in Hertfordshire.
The 22 players from both teams were already on the football field, waiting for the referee to blow the whistle to start the match.
Today's match was originally just an ordinary league game, but it has attracted a lot of attention because of Li Shiguang's comments a few days ago and whether Leeds United can surpass Manchester United to take the top spot in the standings!
Before the match, Watford manager Andy Bosroyd gave an interview to the media, in which a reporter asked whether Watford would do their best to stop Leeds United in today's game.
Upon seeing the Manchester Evening News logo on the reporter's chest, Bosrowed carefully organized his thoughts before slowly speaking: "Of course, we will do everything in our power to win this match! But this isn't to stop anyone. Don't forget, we're also fighting to escape the relegation zone. And there are over 20,000 fans cheering us on here—these are key reasons why we're determined to get points in this game!"
In other words, Li Shiguang did not hear Bosrow's eloquent speech.
Otherwise, he would definitely jump out and complain, "Watford, you're the vice-captain, where do you get the confidence to steal points from me?"
And the game did indeed proceed as Li Shiguang had predicted.
Just seven minutes into the game, Leeds United won a corner. Modric's corner kick swept over the heads of the crowd in front of the goal and found an opportunity when Alonso, who had quietly made a run from behind and was completely unmarked, jumped high and headed the ball directly into the near corner of Watford's goal. The perfect connection between Leeds United's two defensive midfielders gave them the lead!
After the game restarted, Watford tried to launch a major counter-attack, but the gap in strength between them and Leeds United could not be bridged by an invisible and intangible home advantage.
In the 30th minute, Sun Jihai, who started the game today, intercepted the ball in the backfield and drove all the way to the edge of Watford's penalty area. Then, in front of the defenders, he passed the ball across to Rivaldo, who had been waiting at the edge of the penalty area. Rivaldo controlled the ball and curled a shot, the ball curving perfectly into the top left corner of Watford's goal.
2-0, Leeds United extend their lead!
In the second half, despite Bosroyd making some tactical adjustments to the team during halftime and giving the players a pep talk for more than ten minutes, there was a reason why they were at the bottom of the table this season.
In the 63rd minute, Leeds United launched an attack through the middle, and Alonso simply played a through ball, sending the ball across the right flank of Watford's defense.
This incredibly easy through pass caught even Ibrahimovic offside when he first received the ball! But Ibrahimovic's surprise was only temporary. Five seconds later, he dribbled into the penalty area and gently pushed the ball past the onrushing goalkeeper to the right of the crowd.
3-0, Leeds United have completely sealed the game!
Watford failed to score a consolation goal in the remaining garbage time.
With the referee's final whistle, they suffered a crushing defeat at home, handing Leeds United the top spot in the Premier League...
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