Houllier was right.
From the moment Osato blew the whistle, Leeds United's attack never stopped.
Fortunately, during the 15-minute halftime break, Houllier spent a full 10 minutes explaining the defensive positioning arrangements for the second half to the players in detail, which allowed Lyon to withstand wave after wave of attacks from Leeds United.
However, it seems only a matter of time before a goal is scored.
"Leeds United's adjustment at halftime was absolutely brilliant! Bale and Ribery switched positions! How did he come up with that?!" After observing for a long time after the start of the second half, Jon finally gave his analysis, "Leeds United's approach is so different now compared to the first half. In the first half, their attacks were mainly concentrated in the middle, but in the second half, Leeds United relies more on the individual performances of the two wingers, and even Kaká's range of movement has remained limited to the two flanks!"
"Yeah, especially Grosso on the left, I feel like he's starting to struggle," Hunter chimed in, jokingly adding, "Although Grosso has a good sense of position and his defensive moves are quite effective, young Bale seems smarter. He doesn't try to play technical games with Grosso; he just gets the ball and goes for a quick run. Grosso's thirty years old, isn't Bale just bullying an older player?!"
That's true.
During halftime in the locker room, Li Shiguang made an arrangement: to focus on attacking down the flanks in the second half and to have Bale and Ribery frequently switch positions!
Before the game started, when Li Shiguang first saw the Lyon players' positioning, he thought that Houllier was simply going to park the bus and mess with the Leeds United players' mentality.
However, the first half ended after 45 minutes.
Li Shiguang has figured out Hollier's tactics for today.
He didn't just put up a bus.
What the veteran French coach needs to do is to stockpile players in midfield and compete with himself for control of the midfield.
Grosso and Boumsong, the two wing-backs, did not retreat that far when Lyon switched from attack to defense. Instead, they consciously moved closer to the center to help Toulalan defend!
This line of thinking.
It did have some impact on Leeds United's attack, especially in the first ten minutes of the match, causing Leeds United's midfield to become disjointed, which is why Leeds United were suppressed by Lyon and conceded the first goal.
After discovering this situation.
Li Shiguang immediately made adjustments.
Leeds United's next two goals were both related to attacks down the flanks, which allowed Li Shiguang to determine his strategy at halftime and launch a relentless attack on Lyon's two flanks in the second half!
At least for now, it seems to be working well, and it paid off in no time!
Fifty-fifth minute.
Juninho's diagonal pass in Leeds United's half was intercepted by Modric, who then simply looked up before passing the ball back to his own half and dribbling to the wing where Kaká was positioned.
Kaka turned and prepared to dribble down the wing, but Juninho, who had lost possession, immediately pounced on him.
Juninho's interference slowed Kaká down, leaving him no choice but to pass the ball to Bale, who had also dropped back.
With Grosso marking Bale behind him, turning around directly is definitely not an option.
But he wasn't flustered at all.
Because after Kaka passed the ball to him, he immediately passed behind Juninho. With Kaka's explosive power, he only took two or three steps to reach a position parallel to Bale.
Bale didn't even need to stop the ball; with a push of his right foot, he sent it back to Kaká.
And that's not all!
After passing the ball, Bale didn't hesitate at all and immediately turned around and ran towards Lyon's half. Grosso, who was still running forward, didn't have time to react. By the time he reached out to grab Bale, the Welshman had already run past him!
The scariest thing is...
Grosso realized he hadn't caught Bale and immediately turned to chase after him, but as soon as he turned, the ball that should have been at Kaká's feet rolled past him on the right side of the grass!
And ahead of Grosso.
It was a huge open field with absolutely no defensive players!
A simple, direct, and incredibly swift two-on-two pass – Kaká and Bale, with their perfect understanding, broke through Lyon's defense.
Given that they were already about a body length behind from the start.
Grosso knew that even if he tried his best, he couldn't catch up with the incredibly fast Welsh boy in front of him!
"Here it comes... This is Leeds United's specialty: advancing down the flanks! Bale and Kaká execute a brilliant one-two pass on the wing. At this point, there are no defenders in front of Bale, so a cross from the byline or a cutback pass is both possible!"
Accompanied by Rheinkel's excited commentary.
Less than five seconds.
The incredibly fast Bale had already dribbled the ball to the edge of Lyon's penalty area.
At this point, Lyon's three center-backs were already in position.
They saw that they still weren't going to pass the ball.
Revié couldn't hold back any longer. He stopped retreating, quickly adjusted his center of gravity, and pounced on Bale without hesitation.
Bear Grylls' dominant foot is his left foot. Although he can use his right foot, his proficiency with it is undoubtedly lacking.
Therefore, Li Shiguang usually arranges him to be on the left.
Bale prefers crossing from the byline to scoring rather than breaking into the penalty area to shoot.
But the situation is different today.
Now that he's switched to the right, when he cuts inside to shoot, he uses his dominant left foot. Bale is confident when shooting with his left foot!
In addition to that, there is another reason.
The bonus for a goal... is, after all, slightly higher than the bonus for an assist...
So just as Révière was about to arrive.
Bale, who was dribbling at high speed, used his powerful core strength and body coordination to forcefully slow down.
Then he moved his left foot to the side, dribbling the ball about a meter into the penalty area. Then he used his right foot to push off, his boot hitting the grass and kicking up a cloud of dirt.
A simple lateral incision.
Not only did he dodge Revié's sweeping legs as he fell, but he also created an angle for his shot.
One second later.
Bale caught up with the ball and glanced up at Lyon's goal.
He first swung his left leg high, then quickly pulled it back, and slammed the instep of his left foot into the soccer ball, creating a loud bang that could be clearly heard even by the stands behind the goal.
Facing Bale's shot.
Coupet was no longer in such a sorry state. He reacted immediately, pushing off the ground with his left leg and falling to the ground instantly. Then he stretched out his arms, trying to block the ball.
Coupet's outstretched hand felt like it was touching thin air, offering no response. By the time he completed his save, pushed himself up, and turned to look into the goal, the ball—which he had imagined he would stop—was already bouncing and mocking him inside the net...
1:3!
Leeds United score again!
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