Coach Adkins also emphasized that before 75 minutes in the second half, Southampton's tactics were still based on defense and counterattack as secondary. They must not expose the weaknesses in their defense for the sake of counterattacks, and must not be seized by Everton, who are good at seizing opportunities.

In addition, we must continue to strangle Arteta and try to limit his role on the field to less than 50%. In this way, Everton's offensive effectiveness will drop to 50%.

After the 75-minute physical window, Southampton really exploded.

Before the 75th minute, we had to defend hard, keep the score close, consume Everton's energy, and torment Everton's mentality.

After listening to Coach Adkins' request, the Southampton players were all in high spirits and their tactical ideas were very clear.

After the halftime break, the players from both teams came back on the field and continued the fight! After the halftime talk, the Everton players were full of energy and morale.

It is obvious that Moyes is still very good in terms of players' mentality.

The current 1:1 draw is nothing, and theoretically speaking, Everton does not need to worry about Southampton. Everton's strength is there. As long as they can adjust their mentality and play according to the established tactics, the outcome of this game will not be suspense.

Of course, this is only theoretical.

At the beginning of the second half, Everton launched a series of attacks from Southampton's left side.

Arteta's on-the-spot tactical thinking was correct. Although Gu Ran was guarding the left side, the left midfielder Chamberlain was a time bomb. As long as Chamberlain could be detonated under high pressure, there would be a very obvious gap on the left side of Southampton.

As long as there is this gap, it will be difficult for Gu Ran alone to withstand Everton's Premier League offensive.

Even if Gu Ran could really hold the position by himself, Southampton's defense would be drawn in, allowing Everton to get a better breakthrough point, while at the same time restricting Gu Ran to the left side and preventing him from roaming around.

Everton's calculations are very clear.

Chamberlain was teased many times by "Little Quick" Leon Osman, and it was obvious that Chamberlain was almost unable to control himself.

At the critical moment, Gu Ran took the initiative to exchange positions with Chamberlain. Chamberlain temporarily retreated to the left back position, while Gu Ran moved to the left forward position.

Leon Osman wanted to play tricks on Gu Ran the same way he played tricks on Chamberlain, but Gu Ran got close to him and knocked Osman to the ground.

Osman knelt on the ground with a grin and appealed to the referee.

The referee called a foul on Gu Ran, but did not give him a card because from a defensive perspective, Gu Ran's action was not a foul.

After the game resumed, Osman wanted to rely on his speed to defeat Gu Ran, but Gu Ran was faster than him. Even if Osman stopped suddenly and changed lanes, Gu Ran could predict it in advance and catch up easily.

"Xiao Kuai Ling" was so defensive by Gu Ran that he had no temper at all. In the three words "Xiao Kuai Ling", both "Kuai" and "Ling" were eaten up by Gu Ran, leaving only "Xiao".

The game was in the 61st minute.

Gu Ran intercepted the ball from Osman and went straight to the middle.

Southampton's frontcourt players immediately started running wildly, while the backcourt players continued to hold the defense firmly.

This method seems to be disconnected between the front and back courts, but as long as Gu Ran controls the ball, there will be no disconnection.

Arteta and Fellaini in the middle rushed up at the same time to intercept Gu Ran. They did not expect to steal the ball from Gu Ran's feet. They just wanted to suppress Gu Ran's breakthrough speed and buy more time for their own defense line deployment.

Gu Ran was not in a hurry to break through, but instead dribbled the ball towards the area between the two people.

After finding the right opportunity, Gu Ran suddenly dodged and used a Marseille turn to move the ball back to his own backcourt.

Neither Arteta nor Fellaini expected Gu Ran to retreat, and they immediately chased after him at the same time.

Bang! Fellaini didn't pay attention and bumped heavily into Arteta who had just come over.

Arteta fell to the ground in pain.

Arteta had just suffered a serious cruciate ligament injury. Although he has recovered now, he could not withstand the impact of Fellaini.

During the game, Arteta tried his best not to engage in physical confrontation with opposing players, but no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't defend against his own Fellaini.

Gu Ran, who was in control of the ball, saw Arteta fall to the ground in pain, and immediately kicked the ball out of the sideline without hesitation, interrupting the game.

The referee also quickly blew the whistle to signal Everton's team doctor to come on the field.

Arteta covered his knee and sweated in pain.

Obviously, Arteta will not be able to hold on in the next game.

The Southampton players were all secretly happy!

Arteta is definitely a big worry for Southampton! Although we shouldn't be happy to see Arteta injured and leave the field, to be honest, every Southampton player was relieved.

Gu Ran walked up and patted Arteta on the shoulder, "Hey, Mikel, are you okay?"

Arteta smiled bitterly and said, "Not very good. I'm afraid I can't continue the game with you, Gu. What I want to say is that you are really very good. Although the game is not over yet, I think I have lost to you, and I am convinced."

Gu Ran quickly said, "Don't say that, Mikel. Our game isn't over yet. Wait until you recover from your injury and we can play again if we have a chance."

Arteta grinned and said, "Okay Gu, we have a deal!"

Gu Ran patted Arteta's shoulder again and said, "Take a good rest."

Arteta was then carried off the field on a stretcher.

On the sidelines, coach Moyes frowned and gave some instructions in the ear of "Little Rooney" Jack Rodwell, who had already taken off his pants.

Jack Rodwell began an emergency warm-up on the sidelines.

The Toffees fans at the scene cheered wildly, this is their Everton prince!

Moyes treated Rodwell more attentively than he treated Rooney back then. He was afraid that Rodwell would get tired after playing for too long and that Rodwell would be talked about too much by the media.

The Toffees also have high expectations for young Rodwell.

Fans initially hoped that Rodwell would inherit Rooney's position because he had Rooney's explosive ability and powerful shooting skills, but Rodwell himself preferred to play as a defender. His idol was Manchester United's "World's No. 1 defender" Ferdinand. However, as he grew up, he moved from a defender to a defensive midfielder.

With his height of 188cm, strong body, and ability to sprint wildly in both penalty areas, Rodwell is definitely worthy of the title of British Imperial Star.

In this day and age, no one doubts that Rodwell will become a world-class star.

Many people even think that Rodwell will be poached by a top club soon like Rooney.

After all, most clubs lack defensive midfielders, especially b2b type defensive midfielders.

In fact, although Rodwell said that he would never leave Everton, the club that nurtured him, in 2012, Rodwell transferred to Manchester City for a transfer fee of 13.5 million pounds and the club's fixed weekly salary.

Rodwell said that joining Manchester City was his dream since childhood...

Making money is not shameful.

It’s a pity that Rodwell didn’t play well in Manchester City.

Manchester City at that time was on the rise, and its tactical system was heavily dependent on the B2B defensive midfielder. However, Rodwell was injured again and again in Manchester City and made very few appearances.

After that, Rodwell gradually faded from being a much-anticipated British star to being just another person in the crowd.

After the resumption of play, Everton has the ball.

The ball should be returned to Southampton because it was Gu Ran who was in control of the ball at the time. Gu Ran kicked the ball out of bounds so that the team doctor could come on the field in time to treat Arteta.

All the cameras were focused on "Beauty Helen" Heitinga, who was notoriously unsportsmanlike.

With a straight face, Heitinga kicked the ball out of Southampton's baseline.

This is equivalent to giving the ball back to Southampton.

Everton fans gave Heitinga a round of applause - Heitinga finally saved Everton's face.

After the ball went out of bounds, Rodwell took the opportunity to come on.

The game continues.

Without Arteta, Southampton's defensive pressure suddenly decreased.

Everton's organisation was in shambles.

Although Arteta's on-field statistics are not that impressive, without Arteta, Everton would be a group of loose sand.

Now, Everton is more centered around the newly-come Rodwell, who organizes the attack.

Gu Ran ran more often to the middle, cooperating with Lambert and taking on the defense of the midfield.

Southampton's defense also became more three-dimensional, and the defensive structure in the half was very solid and reasonable.

After nearly ten minutes, the two sides played back and forth.

Although Southampton's on-the-spot tactics have not yet fully turned into an offensive one, there have been several very exciting and deadly defensive counterattacks.

Any fan can see that the strength of the two teams is changing.

Arteta's injury and departure was really fatal for Everton.

In the 69th minute, Gu Ran made a long pass diagonally to the right side from the backcourt.

Schneiderlin received the ball and knocked it back, then made an inverted triangle pass to Guli who had entered the penalty area. Guli headed the ball...and it went in!

Unfortunately, before Southampton could start celebrating, they discovered that the linesman had already raised his flag.

In this ball, Gu Li was judged to be offside.

Guli looked wronged, he really didn't know where he was offside.

Is it because of excessive body hair? The fans of Southampton and Liverpool immediately booed the linesman.

The Everton fans breathed a sigh of relief with a look of horror on their faces.

The game continues.

Although Southampton was called offside by a hairline, Gu Ran had already been frequently passing the ball in the middle, and Southampton's defensive counterattack was gradually gaining momentum.

...(End of this chapter)