Arteta's footwork is indeed very good. Even when he is about to lose his balance, he can still calmly control the ball under his feet.

But, he doesn't want to control the ball now, he wants to pass it now.

Arteta really hopes that Gu Ran can stretch his foot to steal the ball, so that Arteta can use his footwork skills to find the gap and pass the ball.

Gu Ran has a very high basketball IQ!

Gu Ran predicted Arteta’s prediction!

Gu Ran was not in a hurry to kick! At this time, Lambert quickly followed up, and Gu Ran and Lambert teamed up to strangle Arteta!

Lambert kicked the ball first, and Arteta could only avoid Lambert's kick and force the pass into Southampton's penalty area.

Gu Ran made a precise interception and easily blocked Arteta's pass.

Arteta immediately counterattacked on the spot.

Gu Ran dodged Arteta's interception with his toes and made a long pass over the top to Chamberlain who was waiting on the left.

Chamberlain immediately rushed along the left side with the ball! As soon as the ball passed the center line, Everton's Fellaini rushed over like an angry bull, and with a domineering side collision, Chamberlain and the ball were knocked out of the sideline.

Chamberlain's physical confrontation is not bad at all! But in front of Fellaini, he is as weak as a piece of paper.

Chamberlain jumped up angrily, looked at Fellaini's afro, and silently closed his mouth that was about to curse.

Southampton won a throw-in.

Judging from the first wave of the game, Southampton's defense was remarkable and Everton's competitive state was also very good.

After the throw-in, the two sides engaged in physical combat on both sides.

Arteta's movement was very erratic, and Southampton's defense was always in a state of high tension and alert.

Southampton’s strategy throughout the first half was very clear: defend, defend, and defend again.

The game was in the 9th minute.

Everton's No. 7 right midfielder Bilyaledinov penetrated the midfield and made a wonderful two-on-three cooperation with Arteta, directly breaking through Southampton's central defense. Arteta got the ball again without stopping and quickly passed it through the middle! Gu Ran had already started from the left side, but Arteta touched the ball very quickly, so Gu Ran could only retreat to the penalty area.

——I have to say that when playing against a Premier League powerhouse like Everton, being a step slower won’t work.

Arteta's through ball was passed to No. 16 center forward Jermaine Beckford at the top of the arc.

Beckford faced the closed defense of Jaidi and Fonte, and then he made a lob shot with his toes! The lob shot was also Beckford's best shooting method! Fortunately, Southampton goalkeeper Davis was in a good position and reacted very quickly.

Davis jumped high and lifted Beckford's lob over the crossbar with one hand.

Everton then got a corner kick.

Everton's tall players all crowded into Southampton's penalty area, and Southampton's own players also crowded into the penalty area, making it almost impossible to put their feet in the penalty area.

Arteta took the corner.

Arteta took a tactical short corner kick and passed the ball to left-back Leighton Baines outside the penalty area.

Baines, who was not guarded, just swung his leg violently, as if he was kicking a free kick, and shot the ball into the upper right corner!

This tactical corner kick made all the Southampton defenders panic! Davis was standing at the left goal, and it was too late to save the ball to the right goal!

The football was like a cannonball, going straight into the blind corner of the goal!

Just when the football was about to cross the goal line, Gu Ran sprinted over with violent aesthetics, and with an extreme header, he headed the ball out of the bottom line!

All the Everton fans at the scene covered their heads and screamed.

The fans of Southampton and Liverpool all cheered and shouted excitedly! In this ball, the offensive tactics were well coordinated and the outside shots were also wonderful, but Gu Ran's defense was even more exciting and passionate!

This was a sure goal, but Gu Ran blocked it tightly! Everton's players shook their heads and sighed, and many of them had blue skill bubbles under their feet.

Everton got another corner kick opportunity.

This time it was Arteta who took the penalty again.

Arteta kicked a curve ball and the ball landed accurately towards the center point where Fellaini was.

Fellaini jumped high and slammed the football hard with his afro.

The header was powerful! But the angle was too straight! Amid the chaos, Davis calmly caught the ball with both hands.

Everton's strong attack was once again resolved.

Southampton also got some respite.

The game continues.

Southampton still adopted the strategy of full-force defense in the first half. Even if there was an opportunity to attack, they would not rashly expose defensive loopholes. At most, they would pass the ball directly from the backcourt and rely on the two forwards to fight.

When Gully and Connolly couldn't get the ball, they retreated and followed Arteta.

Although both of them were reluctant to do so and it was difficult for them to keep up with Arteta's ghostly movements, they also knew that this game was unusual, so they chose to obey the orders of head coach Adkins.

So, while on the surface Gourlay and Connolly are two forwards, in reality their roles are more like midfielders.

On the surface, Lallana is an attacking midfielder, but in fact, Lallana is a forward.

On the surface, Gu Ran has been playing at left back, but in fact, he is just reading the game and waiting for opportunities.

Everton's No. 21, agile right midfielder Leon Osman, received the pass from Arteta and fooled Chamberlain in an extremely clever way, then cut diagonally into the middle and made a high pass to the middle of Southampton's penalty area.

The ball was passed very well, right behind Jaidi and Fonte, and in the empty space between them and Davis.

Everton's shadow striker Jose Baxter cut in, but his touch of the ball was not in the right position and it hit the left post and bounced out of the bottom line.

This was the closest attack Everton came to scoring in the first 15 minutes.

Everton fans lamented endlessly.

Liverpool fans happily sang the song "I have an ugly cousin".

The lyrics were so sarcastic that even the Saints fans watching nearby felt they were going too far.

Of course, if the game was against Portsmouth, the Saints fans would sing even more excessively than this.

The game continues.

In the 20th minute of the game, Everton's offensive returned.

Arteta passed the ball to left-back Leighton Baines who was already on the wing, after being disturbed by Gully and Connolly.

Baines cooperated with Bilyaledinov on the wing, passed Schneiderlin, Lambert and Richardson, and Baines quickly dribbled the ball to the bottom line and made a cross!

Center forward Jermaine Beckford jumped high after pulling to the back point, and Gu Ran came over in time to block Beckford's body.

Under Gu Ran's powerful physical confrontation, Beckford, who is 188cm tall and weighs 83kg, did not gain any advantage at all.

The football was headed high by Beckford who lost his balance and flew towards the south stands.

Everton attacked continuously but failed to score.

Everton Toffees fans are starting to get a little dissatisfied.

After all, Southampton is clearly a League One team, they don’t have any big-name stars, and this is Everton’s home ground.

Everton wasted so many chances under such high pressure and failed to score, which was really wrong.

The game continues.

Southampton still retreated to the half court to defend.

Everton began to intensify their attack, with the back line pressing into the half-court area, leaving plenty of space behind them.

Gu Ran's eyes also began to brighten.

In the 26th minute of the game, Arteta made another ghostly run to the middle.

After Fellaini received the pass from the wing, he immediately passed the ball to Arteta.

As soon as Arteta stopped the ball, Gu Ran sprinted over with violent aesthetic acceleration.

Arteta immediately sent the ball between Gu Ran's legs.

Arteta wants to pass the ball through the legs!

But, is Gu Ran’s crotch so easy to penetrate?

As a crotch-penetrating madman, Gu Ran had already predicted what Arteta was going to do as soon as he saw the movement of Arteta's ankle! Gu Ran immediately retracted his legs quickly and easily stopped the crotch-penetrating ball.

Arteta was stunned! This was like passing the ball to Gu Ran!

Gu Ran didn't say anything. He flashed away, got rid of Arteta's hand and pulled him. He made a precise long pass and passed the ball to the attacking midfielder Lallana who was more than 40 meters away! Lallana immediately dribbled the ball forward after stopping it!

The ball was in their own half, so it was not offside! Everton's defense was pressed to the midline. With such a fast attack, Everton's Heitinga and Jagiulka had no time to chase!

Heitinga made a fatal sliding tackle towards Lallana's back! But Lallana changed his line in advance and avoided Heitinga's sliding tackle. Lallana advanced with the ball at a very fast speed!

In the blink of an eye, Lallana made a solo run into Everton's penalty area!

This was also Southampton's first decent defensive counterattack in the first half so far!

Southampton fans and Liverpool fans all cheered wildly.

However, Lallana will be facing a world-class goalkeeper, Tim Howard!

What Tim Howard is best at is saving one-on-one shots and penalties!

Facing Lallana's one-on-one shot, Howard appeared very calm and composed.

Lallana continued to dribble the ball after entering the penalty area, and Howard rushed over to block the angle when he was about to approach the small penalty area! It was difficult to shoot from both sides, so Lallana shot the ball directly at the goal! The football... hit the crossbar and bounced out of the bottom line!

Howard made a great save on this one-on-one shot! Everton fans also gave Howard thunderous applause and cheers for his performance! Lallana knelt on the grass, covering his face and sighing!

In fact, this goal cannot be entirely blamed on him. Lallana's performance in a one-on-one situation was already very good. It's just that Howard has more experience and can exert more pressure in a one-on-one duel.

The game continues.

The score is still 0:0 for the time being.

...(End of this chapter)