Gu Ran immediately put pressure on the referee, asking him to let Cattermole and Bardsley leave the field for treatment so as not to delay Southampton's corner kick.

The referee thought Gu Ran's request was very reasonable, so he ordered Cattermole and Bardsley to go to the sidelines for treatment.

This way, Sunderland's wall will have two fewer tough guys.

Southampton temporarily has the advantage in manpower.

The Southampton and Newcastle United fans in the stands were so happy to see Cattermole and Bardsley limping off the field.

Gu Ran walked to the corner area and bent down to position the ball.

At this time, Lallana ran over and asked to take the penalty kick.

Gu Ran rolled the ball forward half a circle on his toes with an "unhappy look" and then ran towards the penalty area.

Southampton has used this tactical corner kick before.

Sunderland certainly did not dare to take it lightly and sent out at least two defensive players to keep a close eye on Gu Ran.

Gu Ran didn't run around, but stood outside Sunderland's penalty area.

Sunderland already had two fewer players on the field, and two more people were assigned to mark Gu Ran to prevent him from taking a free kick after receiving the ball. This resulted in a very empty penalty area in Sunderland.

result……

Lallana dribbled the ball and cut into Sunderland's penalty area.

Sunderland's defenders were dumbfounded.

What is this? Shouldn't a corner kick be a set piece? How can you dribble the ball yourself?

Sunderland's players immediately raised their hands to appeal to the referee! At this time, Lallana rushed into the penalty area with the ball and shot directly!

Sunderland's goalkeeper Minnie was also dumbfounded and missed the best chance to save the ball! The ball went in! The referee gestured to the center circle, indicating that the goal was valid!

All Sunderland players were dumbfounded!

The Black Cats fans were all dumbfounded! The Southampton players celebrated happily!

After a moment's hesitation, the score on the big screen changed to Sunderland 1:1 Southampton! Sunderland's players surrounded the head coach and the linesman, complaining relentlessly.

The linesman calmly explained that Gu Ran had already taken the free kick, but he performed so well that everyone thought that the ball was for Lallana to take the penalty. In fact, the ball rolled half a circle and was already out of the corner circle. It was a beautiful tactical corner kick, but Sunderland did not realize it.

The entire Sunderland team was speechless! They thought Lallana would pass the set-piece to Gu Ran, who would then take the free kick!

As a result...when Lallana ran to ask for the ball, Gu Ran had already started!

After losing this ball...Sunderland wanted to die.

The game continues.

Cattermole and Bardsley, who had received treatment on the sidelines, also returned to the field.

They suffered heavy losses in this fight.

Not only was he injured, but he also indirectly caused Sunderland to be short of manpower and lose a goal that they shouldn't have lost.

Now, both sides are back on the same starting line.

After treatment, Cattermole's physical strength has greatly declined and he can no longer keep up with Gu Ran.

The fourth official raised a sign to indicate that there would be five minutes of injury time in the first half.

Southampton seized the opportunity and, led by Gu Ran, launched a beautiful counterattack. Unfortunately, Lallana's shot was too straight and Minnie failed to catch the ball.

Henderson retreated to get the ball, and without waiting for Gu Ran to press forward, Henderson made a long pass towards Southampton's penalty area.

Welbeck immediately stopped the ball with his chest, and Fonte reached out to pull Welbeck - he just touched it, but didn't pull it! Welbeck took a big step forward with the ball, and then he lost his balance and tripped over his right foot with his left foot!

Welbeck fell in the penalty area!

The referee blew the whistle immediately! Fonte, who was confused, received a yellow card! The referee awarded Sunderland a penalty! The entire Stadium of Light was like a pot of boiling water in an instant! The Black Cats fans cheered excitedly!

The fans of Southampton and Newcastle shouted curses.

Welbeck looked like a victim, lying on the ground with his face covered, and didn't get up for a long time.

I have to say, Welbeck's diving was really bad, with no acting skills at all.

But you can't guard against the blindness of the Premier League referee.

Southampton captain Davis, Gu Ran and others surrounded the referee to appeal.

But the referee still insisted on his decision.

Seeing that the penalty was awarded, Welbeck grinned and climbed up from the grass.

For Hei Bei, diving is much safer than shooting.

There is still a high chance that the shot will not go in, but if you dive, you just need to lie down on the grass.

No. 10 Henderson came to the penalty spot and took the penalty.

Davis took a deep breath and swung his arms back and forth to disrupt Henderson's mentality.

Although Henderson is still young, he has a very calm mentality.

Henderson took a run-up and shot the ball with the outside of his foot into the lower right corner of the goal!

Davis misjudged the direction! The ball went in! In the last minute of injury time in the first half, Henderson scored a penalty kick! The score on the big screen at the Stadium of Light immediately changed to Sunderland 2:1 Southampton! Sunderland was leading again!

With a long whistle from the referee, the first half of the game came to an end.

Players from both teams returned to their respective locker rooms amid the cheers and boos of the fans.

Although Southampton's technical data in the first half was far lower than that of Sunderland, Southampton played very solidly.

Moreover, we were only 1 goal behind.

For Southampton, who once fell behind Tottenham by 4 goals but still managed to tie the game and overtake by two goals, falling behind by 1 goal at halftime is nothing.

What's more, this goal was a penalty kick scored by Sunderland through diving.

After competing against so many strong teams, Southampton's strength in major competitions has greatly improved.

This advantage of Sunderland is no longer considered an advantage in the eyes of Southampton today.

During the half-time break, Coach Adkins quickly reviewed the coordination problems that Southampton had encountered in the first half, and made some temporary adjustments to Southampton's team's positioning and movement.

After the 15-minute break, the two teams returned to the court and changed sides to continue the game.

Southampton's defensive positioning was tighter and more targeted than in the first half.

Mikel's task has also increased. He is no longer focusing on marking Malbranque, but has to mark Cattermole at the same time and limit Cattermole's restrictions on Gu Ran.

Gu Ran's range of activities also became larger.

At the beginning of the second half, Henderson was almost suffocated by Gu Ran's pressure.

...(End of this chapter)