After a day off, the players returned to the team and headed to London on Wednesday morning, led by Li Shiguang.
That evening, Leeds United fielded their strongest lineup and easily defeated West Ham United by two goals away from home.
This round of matches marked the official completion of the 2005-2006 Premier League season.
On the points leaderboard.
Chelsea unsurprisingly topped the table with a record of 17 wins, 1 draw, and 1 loss, accumulating 52 points and securing the mid-season championship title.
Manchester United, who just lost 0-1 to Chelsea at Old Trafford, are in second place with 41 points from 12 wins, 5 draws and 2 losses.
Tottenham Hotspur finished third with 12 wins, 4 draws, and 3 losses, accumulating 40 points.
Then, in fourth place is Leeds United, who have reached 32 points after a five-game winning streak.
Below Leeds United are traditional powerhouses Arsenal and Liverpool. Both teams have improved their form in recent league matches and, like Leeds United, have achieved a winning streak. They are currently tied with 30 points, but Arsenal is in fifth place due to a superior goal difference, while Liverpool is in sixth.
On the individual leaderboard, Falcao and Deisler both made it into the top ten scorers. Falcao is ranked behind Henry and Van Nistelrooy with 11 goals, while Deisler is ranked ninth with 5 goals.
However, on the assist chart, Deisler leads by a wide margin with 7 assists, followed by Lampard with 4 assists.
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In recent days, major media outlets and independent football figures have published their mid-season summaries of various Premier League clubs and their opinions on winter transfers in newspapers or on social media platforms.
The most discussed and talked-about team is undoubtedly Chelsea, who currently hold a firm grip on the top spot. Mourinho's second season at Chelsea has been remarkably strong; they not only dominate the Premier League but also reached the Champions League Round of 16. Earlier, Mourinho opted to forgo the League Cup and publicly stated in an interview that if he had to choose a domestic cup competition, he felt the FA Cup would be more prestigious.
Moreover, given the Russian's financial strength and his support for Mourinho, Chelsea might make some reinforcements in the upcoming winter transfer window. If Chelsea can maintain their current momentum in the second half of the season, they have a chance to achieve the treble.
Surprisingly, the team that garnered the most discussion wasn't Manchester United, who were ranked second, but Leeds United, who only managed to climb back into the top four after the 18th round of matches.
Experts believe that Leeds United's form has been somewhat inconsistent in the first half of the season. Although they won at home against the odds against the invincible Chelsea and drew with Manchester United, they paid the price for their young and weak squad in the subsequent packed schedule, at one point falling out of the top 10 in the standings. They have indeed won in the last few rounds, but the test of the schedule is coming again. In the eyes of most people, Leeds United is probably going to face another wave of injuries.
Besides evaluating Leeds United itself, some seemingly malicious experts even brought up Li Shiguang's preseason statement about aiming for a top-four finish, claiming that Leeds United's poor performance mid-season was due to Li Shiguang's boastful remarks causing him excessive pressure, which he then passed on to the players, leading to a collapse and a sharp decline in the team's results. These experts argued in their articles that Li Shiguang should retract his unrealistic fantasies, arguing that if the team lacks the strength, it shouldn't try to compete recklessly. They suggested that Leeds United, having just returned to the Premier League, should conserve their energy to aim for a Europa League spot or the League Cup title, which is less important to top teams.
Li Shiguang naturally wouldn't pay attention to these people's comments; he would just follow his own pace!
Of course, aside from some pessimistic voices, Leeds United also has its own supporters, such as Leeds United legend Norman Hunt!
The day before the match against Chelsea, Norman Hunt wrote in his sports column for the Yorkshire Post: "Leeds United's presence has guaranteed the stability of the entire team, without a doubt, and I won't accept any arguments against it! Anyone who criticizes Lee has never seen him train or coach a match! Lee is absolutely one of the most talented football coaches I've ever seen. In my opinion, his in-game management skills are even on par with Ferguson and Wenger, as evidenced by their last encounter. Some people even criticize him for putting too much pressure on the players. I'd like to ask those who say such things, what do you think football is? Child's play? Tell me, what competitive sport doesn't have pressure? Without pressure, how can there be progress? As for the injury crisis caused by the schedule that everyone is worried about, I don't think we need to worry too much. So far, I haven't heard any news that Leeds United will sell any players in the winter transfer window, and looking at Lee's actions in the previous two transfer windows, I have reason to believe that Leeds United will definitely strengthen their squad when the winter transfer window opens! To be honest, I'm really looking forward to it, after all, all the players Lee has bought before have performed very well!"
Li Shiguang saw this article on his way to Stamford Bridge. While thanking the old man for speaking out, he also silently apologized to him for letting him down! Because tomorrow, I will start selling players! But don't worry, I believe that after seeing my signings, you will still have confidence in Leeds United!
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This round, being an away game against Chelsea, saw the two managers, who have been the subject of much discussion recently and have a history of rivalry, become the focus of media attention. Faced with these enthusiastic reporters, Mourinho was naturally very high-profile, repeatedly emphasizing that he would definitely win at home against Leeds United to avenge the away defeat in the first round.
However, reporters noticed that, in contrast to Mourinho's high profile, Li Shiguang was unusually quiet. After arriving in London the day before the match, he locked himself in his hotel room and was not seen near the hotel even during his usual evening walk after dinner when he played away games. This greatly disappointed some reporters who were already familiar with Li Shiguang's habits.
So it wasn't until the next day, when Li Shiguang led the team to Stamford Bridge and got off the bus, that he was caught by reporters. Facing the barrage of cameras in front of him, Li Shiguang simply said that Leeds United would go all out to win the game, and then walked straight to the locker room.
But when the starting lineups for both teams were announced, fans and reporters realized that Leeds United's lineup was completely at odds with their "all-out effort" mentality! Because aside from starting Chiellini and Deisler, Li Shiguang fielded substitutes in every other position!
Finally, facing a Chelsea team that was far superior in strength and had the home advantage, Leeds United's substitutes gave their all, but were still swept 3-0 by Chelsea.
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