Upon receiving the ball, Reus immediately turned and charged toward Chelsea's penalty area, but instead of taking the left flank, he moved diagonally toward the center along the flank.
The young German player has a very accurate understanding of his own abilities.
Although he didn't know who would be the finisher in this attack, Reus was absolutely certain that it wouldn't be him. What he had to do was to help his teammates draw as much defensive attention as possible!
As it turned out, Reuss's judgment was correct.
This unexpected run attracted the attention of both Belletti, who was marking him, and Chelsea center-back Alex. Belletti stayed close to Reus, ready to tackle him at any moment, while Alex stood ready in front of Reus.
Seeing Reus's run, Adriano and Kaká understood immediately.
Kaka, who had been receiving the most attention, suddenly slowed down. Seeing Kaka slow down, Makelele and Barak also inexplicably slowed down their pursuit and moved closer to Kaka.
But it was only such a short time difference.
Adriano, who was running towards Chelsea's penalty area along the middle after passing the ball, suddenly accelerated and ran past Reus, heading towards the unmanned left flank!
Reus, who was running, also understood.
When the white figure appeared in his peripheral vision, Reus did not hesitate at all. He flicked his right ankle and passed the ball to his left!
The ball slid through the gap between Alex and Belletti.
It landed steadily in Chelsea's penalty area.
The next second.
Adriano appeared where the football landed.
The only player on Chelsea's defensive line who might have noticed Leeds United's true attacking intent was Cech in front of goal.
But he's just a goalkeeper, and there's only so much he can do.
For example, when Reus makes a pass, he chooses to rush out of his goal.
When Adriano received the ball, Cech had already run out of the six-yard box, and the two met there.
When attacking, Cech lowered his center of gravity to its lowest point, bent his legs slightly to ensure he could fall to the ground at any time, and spread his arms out to maximize his defensive area.
This wasn't the first time Cech had faced Adriano. In those brief one or two seconds, images of the Brazilian's shots flashed through Cech's mind from previous encounters with Adriano. Then, seeing Adriano lift his foot, Cech immediately fell to the ground, making a preemptive move!
From this position, Adriano's favorite move is to curl a shot into the far corner.
And Cech was aiming for the far corner!
But the Brazilian wasn't as stubborn as Cech expected; even after seeing the goalkeeper react in advance, he still wanted to shoot from that spot.
So, the original plan to use the instep of the foot to curl the ball was changed at the last moment before it touched the ball, and the player instead used the toes to gently flick the ball from below!
In the blink of an eye, the football flew over the fallen Cech and smoothly into the goal behind the Czech goalkeeper!
"Gooooooooooooooool!! Goal!!!" Lineker couldn't contain his excitement, standing up and raising his arms in triumph: "Goal!!! In the 37th minute, Leeds United broke the deadlock!!! Lee's tactical approach was flawless! Leeds United found a weakness in the middle! And then Adriano delivered the decisive blow!!"
Although Jon had a wry smile on his face, as a professional commentator, he had to admit that Leeds United's series of plays were indeed beautiful.
"Indeed!! Kaká, Adriano, and Reus each did their job perfectly, tearing Chelsea's defense to shreds! When Reus passed the ball to Adriano, Ballack and Makelele were even right next to Kaká!"
As the ball drifted into Chelsea's goal.
The atmosphere at Elland Road Stadium reached a fever pitch!
The fans, who had been getting anxious watching their team struggle to break through, were finally relieved, and thunderous cheers erupted from the stands!
"Goal!! Leeds United 1-0 Chelsea!!" Eddie Gray's voice blared from the stadium's speakers. "Ladies and gentlemen!! Let's all shout the name of the hero who scored for Leeds United!! It is Adriano Wright!!!"
"Ribeiro—!!"
As the entire stadium chanted his name, Adriano ran towards the corner flag after scoring, grinning as he carried Reus, who was running up behind him, before he could even celebrate wildly.
The next second.
The two were then overwhelmed by their teammates who swarmed over!
In contrast, Chelsea's players appeared somewhat frustrated.
The disadvantages of not having Terry, Lampard, and Drogba on the pitch were crystal clear at this moment.
They stood on the field, heads drooping, looking completely dumbfounded.
Just like his players.
Grant stood silently on the sidelines, his face grim.
Before Leeds United scored, Grant was confident in his impromptu tactical changes, believing that Chelsea had a chance to draw the game if they could use their numerical advantage to stabilize the midfield.
Unexpectedly, the balance on the field was broken before the first half was even over.
To advance, Chelsea must attack and try to equalize or even take the lead. But with Leeds United's four attacking machines, if they capitalize on their chances after launching an attack, Chelsea will likely be torn apart by Leeds United's counter-attacks...
"Boss!! Marco's amazing!!" After hugging and celebrating the attack with everyone on the bench, an excited Simeone ran to the sidelines, put his arm around Li Shiguang's shoulder, who was beaming with joy, and said excitedly, "That was a beautiful pass! Just a light flick, and it went straight through the opponent's defense!"
It turns out that Simeone praised Reus, who provided the assist, not Adriano, who scored the goal.
Li Shiguang raised an eyebrow: "Why do you think I started Marco?! I told you last time that he's very serious in training! And if you want to be a head coach, paying attention to every player you have is a must! Marco voluntarily does extra training on the field almost every day after training, didn't you notice that?"
"Holy crap!?" Simone exclaimed in surprise, "He's working this hard!?"
Li Shiguang chuckled: "Nonsense! Look where we are. To play for Leeds United, talent alone is far from enough!"
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