The little episode of Beckham inviting him to transfer did not affect Gu Ran's mentality.

In the next few days, Gu Ran continued to train and pick up as planned.

Without the Hollywood actress as a tool to gain talent points, the speed of obtaining talent points was indeed much slower, but Gu Ran still relied on the automatic exchange of white bubbles and got 2 talent points.

Gu Ran allocated these two talent points to flexibility and jumping respectively. In this way, the flexibility attribute reached 75 points and the jumping attribute reached 76 points.

Soon, the game day arrived.

On Saturday, August 28, the fourth round of the English League One, Southampton's home game against Rochdale began.

In this match, Southampton, playing at home, is a relatively strong team, while Rochdale, playing away, is a typical weak team.

Rochdale has been in the middle and lower reaches of League One and League Two for many years. In the first few games of this season, they lost more than they won and are currently ranked 18th in League One.

Therefore, Coach Adkins did not field the entire main lineup for today's game.

Southampton's tactic in this game is a fast break with a 4231 formation - although Southampton's main tactic is defense and counterattack, there is no need for defense and counterattack when playing against a weak team, and they can just rely on Gu Ran A to crush the team.

If we don't even dare to crush the weaker teams, then there's no need to play the following games.

Gu Ran naturally started the game and appeared directly at the central midfielder position.

Key players such as Lallana, Schneiderlin, Gully, Walton, Richardson and Jaidi were all rested.

The Rochdale team sent out their entire main lineup.

Before the game, William Hill gave the odds of home win 1.19, draw 7.25, and loss 12.40 - such exaggerated odds show that the bookmaker is very optimistic that Southampton can easily crush Rochdale.

As soon as the game started, the Rochdale team, which had the first kick-off, knocked the ball back to their own backcourt for a protective pass.

Southampton fans booed the Rochdale players for their negative attitude.

Southampton players rushed up and pressed the ball without hesitation.

Rochdale tried to use their physical strength to fight back against Southampton, but as soon as the bodies of the players from both sides came into contact, Rochdale could not hold on.

Southampton is at least a team with a Premier League foundation, while Rochdale has no foundation at all.

The Rochdale team adopted the tactics of luring the enemy deep and passing the ball behind them, hoping to play to their strengths and avoid their weaknesses.

In the second minute of the game, Rochdale made a long pass from the backcourt, the ball went directly across most of the field and passed to the front of Southampton's penalty area.

Southampton pressed very high, so Rochdale's shot did go behind Southampton.

but……

There is a key factor in the behind-the-back tactic, and that is speed.

Either you wait for the Southampton defense to turn around or you have to get in, otherwise the ball behind you will be meaningless.

The forward of the Rochdale team sprinted madly to meet the challenge, but before he could reach the right position, he was knocked away by Gu Ran's side shoulder.

After Gu Ran intercepted the ball, he immediately counterattacked, pushing the ball all the way from the front of his own penalty area. While attracting the attention of the Rochdale defenders, he made a long-distance pass to the left side of the penalty area.

Chamberlain rushed to the goal without being marked, and immediately kicked the ball after getting it - scoring! Three minutes into the game, Southampton was leading 1:0! This was Chamberlain's first English League One goal this season! Chamberlain himself didn't expect it! And this goal was not scored with his face, but with his feet! After scoring the goal, Chamberlain slid to his knees and rushed to Gu Ran, hugging Gu Ran's thighs tightly! Chamberlain finally experienced the happiness of the team star Lallana!

Southampton got off to a dream start at home.

The game continues.

The Rochdale team was simply unable to withstand Gu Ran's organization and connection in the midfield.

This is not actually a tactical issue, but a strength issue.

Facing a "strong team" like Southampton, Rochdale was right to adopt defensive counterattacks and long passes, but the problem was that the strength gap between the two sides was too big. Rochdale was not fast enough when attacking, they were slow to receive the ball when making long passes, they were not strong enough in confrontation, and they could not stick to the opponent when defending and were always easily gotten rid of - this strength gap was visibly large, and it could not be made up for at the tactical level.

In the 11th minute, Gu Ran appeared on the right with the ball. The defense line of Rochdale team quickly followed Gu Ran to move to the right. After Matthews lowered his shoulder, Gu Ran easily tore through the defense line and sent a fatal cross into the penalty area.

Striker Connolly headed the ball, but it was slightly off target.

It was a false alarm for Rochdale.

In the 17th minute, Lambert dribbled the ball on the right and passed it into the penalty area. Gu Ran ran in a ghostly manner and shot the ball directly in the air! The goalkeeper of Rochdale, No. 13, the 195cm tall Owen Williams, did not even react and watched the ball burst into the goal.

The score on the big screen immediately changed to Southampton 2:0 Rochdale.

Southampton fans cheered wildly and St. Mary's Stadium became a nightmare stadium for the Rochdale team.

And the nightmare continues.

Southampton's ball possession rate has reached a terrifying 85%.

Rochdale could hardly touch the ball. Even if Rochdale had the ball, Southampton would quickly press forward, either forcing Rochdale to lose the ball directly or forcing Rochdale to lose the ball after passing the ball.

Although Southampton only sent half of its main players onto the field, after coach Adkins placed Gu Ran on the central axis and Gu Ran no longer needed to take on too many defensive responsibilities, the entire Southampton team seemed to have changed its style, with full attacking power and invincible pressure.

Gu Ran's performance in the defensive midfielder position was refreshing, and Gu Ran himself played like a fish in water.

In the 26th minute, Southampton won a corner kick on the left side.

Gu Ran took a corner kick and defender Martin headed the ball, but it hit the post.

Then in the 30th minute, Hammond's tight defense forced the Rochdale winger to make a mistake in their own backfield and the ball rolled out of bounds.

Gu Ran ran over and took the free throw.

When Gu retreated to the billboard and raised the football above his head, the Southampton fans at the scene all felt their adrenaline explode and screamed - they knew what was going to happen next!

The defensive players of the Rochdale team were still confused, and many of them were standing there with their hands on their hips, staring blankly.

Gu Ran took a run, stopped suddenly, straightened his waist and abdomen, and threw the ball with his upper limbs! The football flew more than 40 meters like a strategic grenade, and landed on the restricted area of ​​Rochdale with precision bombing! Martin, the young central defender who had just headed the ball away, jumped again and headed it again!

The football bounced off the ground and went into the goal!

The entire Rochdale team was dumbfounded!

After scoring the goal, Martin excitedly took off his shirt, revealing his chest strap, and rushed towards Gu Ran like crazy! 3:0! Half an hour later, 3:0! The entire St. Mary's Stadium was on fire! It was so cool!

That's right, Gu Ran will never let them down! Of course, because of the uncivilized behavior of stripping on the field, the referee showed Martin a yellow card.

Martin happily accepted.

This was Martin's first goal in the English League One match, so it's worth commemorating it with a yellow card.

Rochdale's nightmare continues.

In the 34th minute, Gu Ran rushed to the frontcourt to force and steal the ball. Rochdale immediately dispatched six players to double-team Gu Ran at the same time, leaving him no chance to pass the ball.

However, the encirclement was too late to wrap him up! Rochdale's defensive players couldn't even keep up with Gu Ran! Gu Ran's speed, impact, physical confrontation, footwork, and football awareness were like a monster breaking into the novice village.

Gu Ran Matthews lowered his shoulder to receive the fried meatball, dribbled with his left foot, and then strengthened his crotch pass. In one wave, he broke through the defense of six defensive players and passed the ball to Lambert who was coordinating next to him.

There was nothing around Lambert. He kicked the ball into the penalty area a few times but no one came to press him. Lambert was not polite and shot directly into the near corner - the ball went in again! The score on the big screen was immediately changed to Southampton 4:0 Rochdale! Gu Ran's power on the central axis was too explosive, he was simply a cake-feeding machine! Southampton fans even believed that as long as Gu Ran was willing, even the goalkeeper captain Davis Gu Ran could feed him a mouthful of hot Gu's cake.

There were still more than ten minutes left in the first half, and Rochdale had already conceded four goals. The team's mentality collapsed.

Gu Ran made 1 shot and 3 assists, and his killing continued.

After all, the more you play against weaker teams, the harder it is to get an SS rating, so you have to work hard.

And there is a high possibility that he will be replaced by Coach Adkins in the second half, so he must score more goals and assists in the limited time.

The game was in the 41st minute.

Rochdale finally got a corner kick through a long counterattack.

After the corner kick was taken, Davis punched him out of the penalty area. Gu Ran immediately started violently, caught up with the football, and dribbled in! All the players of the Rochdale team desperately chased and intercepted Gu Ran's running path!

Gu Ran 1v10, the scene is extremely exciting and spectacular!

Although he was defended and blocked by 10 players, Gu Ran did not feel any special pressure. Gu Ran did not even use any dribbling skills. He just dribbled the ball all the way and defeated the opponent with speed.

Those Rochdale players who were chasing him were just running along, and they couldn't even keep up!

Gu Ranfeng's son, the King of Highbury, was in full swing, taking on 10 men in a row, and in the blink of an eye he broke into the top of the Rochdale team's penalty area with a violent aesthetic posture!

Rochdale goalkeeper Owen Williams immediately left the goal and attacked. Owen wanted to intercept Gu Ran in the penalty area and prevent him from shooting easily. As long as he could stop Gu Ran for even a second, the large team behind him would be able to reinforce and return to defense! However, Gu Ran lowered his shoulder and passed the ball!

This is a Ronaldo-style pass! The Southampton fans at the scene went crazy instantly!

Goalkeeper Owen Williams... was dribbled past! Gu Ran alone defeated the entire Rochdale team! Not a single person was left behind! After dribbling past the goalkeeper, Gu Ran easily pushed the ball into the empty goal, and the ball went into the net amid the screams of the Saints!

5:0!!! Gu Ran scored twice!

This one-stop raw meal also made Gu Ran very happy!

It's so fucking exciting! I'm serious about bullying the weak!

Gu Ran split the wind with one palm, jumped onto the billboard domineeringly, and waved his fist at the saints who admired him! The voice of "Chinese Dad" resounded throughout the St. Mary's Stadium! Every player on the Rochdale team was trembling!

There were 2 minutes of injury time in the first half.

Lambert was tripped while dribbling through the middle, and Southampton got a free kick about 35 meters away from the goal.

The first penalty taker, Gu Ran, naturally stood at the penalty spot.

Goodbye boy draws the bow! Gu Ran shoots with the crescent moon scimitar!

The football is like a sharp razor, with a domineering and violent aesthetic arc force, spinning into the upper left corner of the goal!

Rochdale goalkeeper Owen Williams is stuck again!

The score on the big screen immediately changed to 6:0!

In just 45 minutes in the first half, Gu Ran completed a hat trick of assists and shots!

Gu Ran also became the only player in Southampton's history to complete a double hat-trick in the first half!

Gu Ran's state today was too explosive! With the Saints fans singing the song "There is a young and handsome Oriental man named Gu Ran", the Southampton players returned to the home team's locker room in great excitement.

During the halftime break, Coach Adkins said to Gu Ran with a helpless look on his face: "Gu, you are in really hot form today, I am very pleased. But... can you play a little more restrained? After all, Rochdale is not our mortal enemy. If you keep playing like this, I am afraid you will create a mortal enemy. Although we are not afraid of mortal enemies, but if they get angry and deliberately target you and injure you, then we will suffer a great loss, right?"

Gu Ran smiled and said, "Okay, coach. I will try to play more conservatively in the second half."

Coach Adkins then patted Gu Ran's shoulder in relief.

Halftime is over!

Players from both sides returned to the court and changed sides to continue the game.

Rochdale, which was already six goals behind, had already collapsed and was unable to organize an attack.

The Southampton team restrained themselves for 2 minutes... 2 minutes later, Southampton, under the organization of Gu Ran, launched an indiscriminate and crazy attack!

I gave you a chance, but you didn't make it! Not to mention Chamberlain, not to mention Connolly, even Southampton's midfielders and defenders rushed into the penalty area desperately, posing and waiting for Gu Ran to feed them the ball.

The entire Southampton team had a possession rate of 90%, and the overall running distance was three times that of the Rochdale team! This was a pure crushing victory, a crushing victory that could be seen in the data!

Gu Ran listened to Coach Adkins' request and did not "go forward at every opportunity". Gu Ran just made a long diagonal pass from the midfield and relied on Lambert and Chamberlain to receive the ball.

Unexpectedly, Rochdale couldn't defend against this.

Chamberlain was like a chicken with its blood pumped up. He dribbled the ball down the rim, cut inside, made a cross, and shot.

In the 53rd minute of the game, Southampton forced a corner kick thanks to Chamberlain's attack in the frontcourt.

Gu Ran walked to the corner penalty spot and kicked the ball accurately into the middle of the penalty area.

To be honest, the ball was given very clearly.

But it was such an obvious penalty kick that Rochdale's defenders couldn't defend against it!

Southampton's players were like a group of hungry wolves! They were eager to get the ball! Martin, the central defender, got the first point, but he was disturbed by Rochdale's defenders and the ball didn't get strong enough. Owen Williams, the goalkeeper on the opposite side, had butter hands due to his extremely nervous state of mind and failed to catch the ball, so there was a second point.

Immediately afterwards, defender Fonte grabbed the second point, but Fonte's position was not very good. Fonte still forced a shot directly, and the ball hit the Rochdale defender and bounced out again.

This time, Connolly made a ghostly move, grabbed the third point, and shot with a half-turn from close range!

There was nothing goalkeeper Owen Williams could do...

The ball went in again and again! The score on the big screen was immediately changed to Southampton 7:0 Rochdale! This score was already very exaggerated, and the second half had just begun! The players of the Rochdale team had completely collapsed, and more than half of the players lay on the grass, refusing to get up and continue the game for a long time.

Coach Adkins, who was sitting on the bench, covered his face helplessly - it's uncomfortable to win too much.

Gu Ran spread his hands innocently towards Adkins. He really held back this time. He didn't even have any assists or shots on this ball. It was just that the other players on the Southampton team had been driven crazy by him.

Coach Adkins began to make substitutions.

Coach Adkins wanted to replace all 11 players on the field at once, but unfortunately there were only three substitutions available.

The active Chamberlain was replaced by young defender Tafazoli.

Tafazoli had never played halfback, but Coach Adkins didn’t care.

Chamberlain left the field looking frustrated, as he felt he had a chance to score a hat trick.

Midfielder Lambert was also substituted and Anthony Pulis, who used to be the favorite to slack off, was replaced.

Chamberlain and Lambert could easily form a tactical triangle with Gu Ran. Coach Adkins replaced Chamberlain and Lambert, obviously to break up this midfield triangle and avoid letting the score reach double digits.

Coach Adkins originally wanted to substitute Gu Ran to rest to avoid malicious retaliation from the opposing players, but the fans at the scene cheered so loudly that Coach Adkins had to postpone it.

The game continues.

After the substitution, Southampton's offensive rhythm indeed slowed down.

Gu Ran's many wonderful long and short passes were wasted by non-main substitute players.

Rochdale finally got a break… but not much.

In the 72nd minute of the game, Gu Ran intercepted the ball near the center circle and then kicked the ball into the penalty area.

Connolly headed the ball back and Hammond took the ball and shot directly from long range!

Southampton 8:0 Rochdale!

In the 80th minute of the game, Hammond made a wonderful pass from the right, and after Gu Ran got the ball in the penalty area, he was pulled to the ground in retaliation by at least five Rochdale players who had surrounded him.

Amid the angry roars of Saints fans, the referee immediately showed the Rochdale player a straight red card.

Southampton also immediately won a penalty.

Gu Ran climbed up from the grass. Veteran striker Connolly came forward and asked Gu Ran if he wanted to take the penalty kick, but Gu Ran immediately declined.

Connolly took the penalty and scored it in one go!

The score on the big screen immediately changed to Southampton 9:0 Rochdale!

After this goal, Coach Adkins was determined to replace Gu Ran. If the team continued to play like this, it would only be a matter of time before the score exceeded double digits. The greatly insulted Rochdale was bound to take crazy revenge on the field.

So, amid the applause and cheers of all Southampton fans, Gu Ran left the field while raising his hands and applauding.

The following game time completely became garbage time.

The game ended with the final score at 9:0.

Southampton fans are satisfied!

This is also Southampton's biggest home win record in recent seasons.

Gu Ran's performance in this game was extremely shocking, especially the scene where he 1v11 and devoured the entire Rochdale team, which made all the fans excited and unforgettable.

Among Southampton's 9 goals, Gu Ran scored a double hat-trick with 4 assists and 3 shots, and the remaining two goals were also created by Gu Ran.

There is no solution to this ability.

After this game, Gu Ran's five sub-attributes of "speed", "balance", "short pass", "stop ball" and "creativity" also grew. The speed reached 79 points, the balance reached 76 points, the short pass reached 68 points, the stop ball reached 76 points and the creativity reached 72 points.

Because of his double hat trick and his outstanding performance of eating 11 people alive, Gu Ran also received an SS-level rating from the system, and was able to participate in hidden lotteries and shuffle points.

This time, Gu Ran drew the "back-to-the-basket pass".

The post pass skill was immediately increased from +2 to +5.

This time, Gu Ran reorganized another important practical skill "High-speed sprint dribbling +5".

High-speed sprint dribbling +5 is immediately promoted to enhanced sprint dribbling +1, and 5 general talent points are washed out at the same time.

Gu Ran then allocated 2 of the 5 talent points to physical fitness, raising it to 90 points, and the remaining 3 talent points were evenly distributed to the relatively weak balance, flexibility, and jumping attributes, raising these three physical shortcomings to 77 points.

In this way, Gu Ran's strength was further enhanced.

After the fourth round of the English League One, Southampton rose to second place in the English League One standings.

Peterborough United is still at the top of the English League One standings, but in this round Peterborough United was tied by Brighton away from home and only got 1 point. It is currently ranked first with a total of 10 points, while Southampton is easily following closely behind with a total of 9 points.

The English League One scorer list has been updated, Gu Ran is once again far ahead with 10 goals!

At this point, the August League One schedule has all ended. Southampton's Gu Ran, Lallana, and Lambert were selected into the "Best Team of the Month for ...

After the tactical summary class that afternoon, Coach Adkins announced that the entire team would have a day off and no one was allowed to go to bars to party in preparation for the first round of the British Championship three days later.

…

(End of this chapter)