The location of this set piece was near the center line, far away from Chelsea's goal.

With Gu Ran's ability in set-pieces, he actually still has a chance to score directly from a long shot, but the prerequisite is that the opponent's human wall defense is not tight and the goalkeeper's level in saving set-pieces is low.

But Cech is a world-class goalkeeper, and Chelsea's wall is also very strong.

To be on the safe side, Gu Ran took a tactical corner kick and passed the ball to Chamberlain outside the penalty area.

Chamberlain took the ball, made some adjustments, and immediately took a long shot.

Cech reacted extremely quickly and easily saved the ball on the grass.

Southampton fans sighed.

This is also one of the few attacks by Southampton so far.

The game continued and Southampton quickly returned to defense.

The two sides continued to fight in the middle.

In the 31st minute of the game, Lampard saw the opportunity and kicked a high ball. Torres shook off the player defending him and jumped directly to the top! This header was very beautiful and the coordination was almost seamless! Davis was unable to react and didn't even have time to jump up!

Bang! The ball hit the crossbar and bounced out of the bottom line! Southampton escaped again thanks to the "iron guard" Torres! However, before Southampton fans could be happy, Anelka, who followed in front of the goal, grabbed the first point and shot diagonally!

The net vibrated! The ball went in! Anelka crossed his arms over his chest and made a butterfly killer celebration gesture!

After a series of fierce bombardment, Chelsea finally knocked on Southampton's door!

The score on the big screen was immediately changed to Southampton 0:1 (aggregate score 3:4) Chelsea!

The Chelsea Blues fans who came from afar to watch the game were instantly excited!

The Southampton Saints fans covered their heads in pain.

Although they had expected to concede a goal, they still felt heartbroken after it happened.

After falling behind at home, Southampton was in a very passive position.

Southampton had to find a way to score this goal while defending against Chelsea's continued attack.

The game continues.

In the first half, Chelsea continued to maintain high-pressure attacks. Southampton's three lines were tightly suppressed near the penalty area and could not even cross the center line. The situation was extremely passive and crises occurred repeatedly.

Fortunately, Gu Ran sprinted back and forth, constantly helping the defense line to break the siege.

If Gu Ran had not retreated to the back line, Chelsea would probably have extended the score to 3 or 4 goals.

At the end of the first half, the score was Southampton 0:1 Chelsea.

Judging from the scores and data, Southampton was indeed very passive. In the first half, Southampton had only 3 shots, of which only 1 was on target, while Chelsea had a total of 17 shots in the first half, 9 of which were on target - and this was just in the first half.

But from another perspective, Southampton defended against Chelsea's fierce bombardment in the first half, allowing Chelsea to only hit one of their 17 shots.

From this perspective, Southampton completed their defensive task relatively well in the first half.

After leaving the field, both sides returned to their respective locker rooms to rest.

Coach Adkins also fine-tuned the players’ movement based on the intensity of the game in the first half.

While Southampton's players listened to coach Adkins drawing diagrams on the tactical whiteboard, they each held an oxygen tube and breathed oxygen.

The intensity of this game is very high. We have to fight with all our strength in the second 45 minutes, so we must not let down our physical strength.

After the half-time break, players from both teams returned to the field and continued the game.

This was one of the adjustments Coach Adkins made at halftime.

Coach Adkins realized that the reason Chelsea's attack was so smooth in the first half was because both Lallana and Lambert were unable to mark Lampard.

Sure enough, after Gu Ran took over, Southampton’s overall offensive pressure was much less.

With the support of the double defensive midfielders, Southampton's defense became much easier.

Southampton began to stabilize.

Chelsea continued to create life-threatening situations on both sides of Southampton by passing the ball from both wings.

The game was in the 59th minute.

Malouda received the pass from Lampard in the open area on the left. After dribbling sideways continuously, Malouda did not pass the ball to Torres, but suddenly shot!

The quality of the shot was extremely high and it came very suddenly. Davis made an extreme save but failed to touch the ball!

Just as Malouda was about to raise his hands to celebrate, Gu Ran violently retreated and hooked the ball out on the goal line!

Ultimate save!

Chelsea fans were all stunned! Torres quickly stretched out his foot to poke, but Gu Ran's reaction was faster. While Gu Ran was still lying on the ground without getting up, he quickly poked the ball to Walton who came forward to receive it.

Walton immediately kicked the ball! Lallana headed it and was pushed down by David Luiz.

The referee then blew the whistle, judging David Luiz to have committed a foul and awarded Southampton a free kick in the backcourt.

Southampton finally escaped unscathed! Davis immediately hugged Gu Ran and touched his hair to express his gratitude.

If Chelsea had scored this goal, Southampton would have been in real trouble.

The game was in the 66th minute.

Lampard's pass was misplaced due to Gu Ran's pressure and interference. Lambert took the opportunity to intercept and then passed the ball to Lallana who also retreated.

Lallana immediately dribbled forward.

Ramires and Essien immediately double-teamed Lallana.

Lallana made a sudden stop and dodged, then passed the ball to Gu Ran who was being harassed by Lampard.

After Gu Ran got the ball, he did a backward turn in front of Lampard, then instantly accelerated and exploded! Lampard hurriedly chased and pulled.

This time, Lampard also got Ancelotti's permission and mobilized 100% of his defensive strength.

However, Gu Ran's starting speed was too fast and his sprint was too intense. Lampard couldn't keep up with Gu Ran's body at all, let alone pull him back and stop him.

Gu Ran dribbled the ball straight into Chelsea's penalty area!

David Luiz and Terry double-teamed Gu Ran at the same time. Terry was very experienced in blocking Gu Ran's path, while David Luiz aggressively stretched out his foot to steal the ball.

Facing world-class and quasi-world-class defenders, Gu Ran was not at all flustered. With a Matthews shoulder move, he directly knocked Terry to the ground, and then relied on his own physical strength and speed to take on David Luiz!

Passed! The Southampton fans at the scene were all excited! David Luiz was unwilling to be eaten alive by Gu Ran, and immediately slid from behind when Gu Ran had left him behind!

…

(End of this chapter)