The first half is not over yet. In addition to the remaining 4 minutes of regular play, there are 3 minutes of injury time.

The players on both sides gritted their teeth, fighting against each other with their physical strength which had reached the end of the window period.

In the 45th minute, Atletico Madrid got an offensive opportunity in the frontcourt. Fran dribbled into the right side of the penalty area. Luke Shaw stepped forward to block him but was obviously a beat too slow. While confronting Luke Shaw, Fran half-turned to protect the ball and knocked it back to the middle. Diego Costa met the ball and shot directly from the top of the arc.

The football hit Gu Ran's body, reflecting a high parabola! Before Diego Costa could compete for the second landing point, Gu Ran jumped up first, headed the ball, and headed it out of the danger zone.

Atletico Madrid missed a good opportunity to overtake the score again due to Gu Ran's positioning and defense.

When Mikel received a red card early and Van Dijk, Henderson and others had not yet fully grown up and could stand on their own, Gu Ran's performance on the defensive end was as outstanding as his performance on the offensive end.

It can be said that Gu Ran is both a father and a mother, and Gu Ran is also the big boss behind the Southampton team, which is equivalent to being a grandfather.

After the game entered the injury time, Southampton's defender-type forward Salah intercepted the ball in the midfield and counterattacked. Sturridge received a through pass from Salah and rushed into Atletico's penalty area alone.

Atletico's double triangle stranglehold formation was immediately activated and the inexperienced Sturridge was tightly blocked, with no chance of breaking through and no way to pass the ball.

Sturridge had no choice but to bite the bullet and shoot towards Atletico's goal.

The kick was very, very forced. The Atletico goalkeeper didn't even need to jump. The football flew over the goal into the stands - Sturridge had missed a shot.

Although neither Atletico Madrid nor Southampton scored in these two waves of attack and defense, the rhythm of the game was already very exciting.

In the last stage of injury time in the first half, Atletico Madrid won a corner kick through another sharp defensive counterattack.

Fran took a corner kick and passed the ball accurately to Southampton's penalty area. The young Rudiger overpowered Atletico Madrid's stars and touched the ball first, heading the ball out of the penalty area.

Diego Costa, who was lying in ambush on the periphery, received the ball and fired a powerful long shot.

Unfortunately, the ball was a little off and hit the goal post and went out of bounds.

After this corner kick, the referee blew the whistle to end the first half.

The score between Atletico Madrid and Southampton is temporarily tied at 1:1.

Players from both teams left the field amid the cheers of the fans and returned to their respective locker rooms to rest and adjust.

In addition to praising the young players for their outstanding performance in the first half, Coach Adkins slightly adjusted the tactics, moving Henderson closer to the middle and strengthening the defense in the middle. In this way, Gu Ran would also be able to play more freely.

After the 15-minute halftime break, players from both teams returned to the field and continued the game.

Just at the beginning of the second half, Southampton launched a quick attack from the left. Gu Ran and Chamberlain made two consecutive two-pass cooperations on the left rib. Atletico's double triangle stranglehold had no time to react. Gu Ran used his personal ability to cut through Atletico's double triangle encirclement, attracted most of Atletico's defensive attention, and then made a direct pass to Lallana who was in the back row.

Lallana didn't even stop the ball, he just shot it! The Atletico defender rushed forward to block it, the ball hit the hand of the Atletico defender, the force was greatly reduced, and it changed direction and flew out of the baseline.

Southampton players immediately raised their hands to appeal!

The Southampton fans at the scene also shouted in unison, "Penalty kick!" However, after consulting with the linesman, the referee did not award the penalty kick, but instead gave the ball back to the Atletico goalkeeper, who took the goal kick! The Southampton fans booed wildly.

Head coach Adkins also complained loudly in the tactical area.

During this period, European football did not yet have video refereeing technology, and even if there were replays on the big screen in the stadium, they would not be used as the main basis for penalties.

Southampton should have been awarded a penalty and should have taken the lead at the start of the second half.

The head coach's decision that favored the home team really made Southampton's young players feel a little uneasy.

The game continues.

Atletico Madrid, who escaped danger, launched a quick counterattack in the 53rd minute.

Diego Costa used his personal ability to penetrate the middle, but the double-team of Mikel and Henderson could not stop Diego Costa at all.

Mikel has already received a yellow card in this game, so he can't make any big moves.

Henderson is a bit soft and doesn't have the temperament of a beast-waisted sweeper.

Diego Costa dribbled past several players continuously, showing his superb dribbling skills, then pretended to pass the ball, but the next second he suddenly shook and took a long shot!

The ball was kicked very suddenly. Davis was very focused, but his body's reaction was still a little slow in the end!

The football hit the inside of the goal post, changed direction and bounced into the net!

The ball went in! After escaping a penalty, Atletico Madrid took the lead thanks to Diego Costa's brilliant performance!

The score on the big screen at the Calderon Arena was immediately changed to Atletico Madrid 2:1 Southampton.

Atletico Madrid fans in the stands cheered wildly.

Southampton's young players became even more impatient.

In the 66th minute, Henderson injured his thigh during a scramble, and coach Adkins had to start substitutions early.

Southampton's midfield is already difficult to sustain and is often torn apart by the attacks of Diego Costa, Forlan and Aguero. Now Mikel has a yellow card and Henderson is injured. It is really a double whammy.

After Henderson was substituted, young Ward Prowse came on.

Although Ward-Prowse is young, he has strong physical confrontation and good physical fitness. He is more aggressive than Henderson.

The game continues.

Under the leadership of Gu Ran, Southampton's young players gradually stabilized their position.

In the 71st minute, Atletico Madrid continuously besieged Southampton's goal in the frontcourt. Van Dijk, Luke Shaw, Rudiger, Gu Ran and others sacrificed themselves to block the attack and resolved the goal line crisis many times in a row. When Atletico Madrid's fourth attack failed, Southampton finally seized the opportunity. Van Dijk took the ball to counterattack and broke through Atletico Madrid's blockade, and rushed along the right.

Gu Ran supported Van Dijk in the flank, and the two of them made continuous wonderful two-pass combinations in the wing area as if they had cooperated countless times.

In the middle, Lallana, Salah and others also followed Gu Ran and ran, ready to respond at any time! Atletico's double triangle encirclement and strangulation were completely unable to restrict Gu Ran's sprinting! ... (End of this chapter)