After all, this is Southampton's home ground. In home games, they still have to pursue some entertainment value, which can greatly please their own fans.

After the match with Southampton, Atletico Madrid adjusted its mentality and was convinced that Southampton was an absolute dark horse team. Therefore, Atletico Madrid started with a full defense and looked for opportunities for counterattack.

The two sides engaged in a back-and-forth confrontation in the midfield and on the flanks.

Southampton has a great advantage in morale, and is stronger in physical fitness and confrontation than Atletico, but Atletico's double-triangle stranglehold tactics are more flexible and varied than the last time they met, and the average individual technical level of Atletico players is much higher than that of Southampton.

Both sides had wonderful scenes.

But the score remained at 0:0 in the first half.

In the second half, Atletico players found an opportunity and after three quick short passes, they sent the ball to Fran in the midfield. Fran used his excellent skills to get past the young Rudiger and Luke Shaw, and then went straight into the flank area of ​​Southampton. While attracting other Southampton defenders to intercept, Fran made a back pass and deceived the defenders and goalkeeper, while Aguero shook off Mikel who was guarding him and used a split shot to poke the ball into the goal guarded by Davis.

Atletico Madrid scored the first goal away from home!

The score on the big screen immediately changed to Southampton 0:1 Atletico Madrid.

However, Atletico's good times did not last long.

As Southampton fans stood up and sang the team song loudly, Gu Ran used his body and footwork to eat up Atletico's midfielders, broke through Atletico's double triangle defense, and then made an Alan Shearer-style long shot that penetrated Atletico's goal, changing the score to 1:1.

After that, the two sides fell into a defensive stalemate.

After 75 minutes, the physical disadvantage of Atletico players became obvious.

Southampton immediately seized the opportunity and attacked with all their might.

After receiving a long-distance pass from Gu Ran in an empty area in the frontcourt, Salah directly took on the Atletico Madrid defender and forced a shot!

The score on the big screen changed to Southampton 2:1 Atletico Madrid.

Trailing by one goal, Atletico Madrid had to change their initial tactics and launch an all-out counterattack.

The contest between the two sides finally became interesting.

Aguero, Forlan and Diego Costa constantly cooperated in the midfield and frontcourt, while Mikel, Luke Shaw and Van Dijk also defended well.

The offensive and defensive rhythm of both sides became faster and faster, and the hearts of the fans at the scene were always hanging high.

In the 88th minute, Gu Ran made a lob shot, making Atletico's young goalkeeper De Gea pay the price for his forward position.

The score on the big screen immediately changed to Southampton 3:1 Atletico Madrid.

In the end, when the referee blew the final whistle, the score on the big screen froze at 3:1.

In this way, all the matches in Group G of the Europa League have ended. Southampton has won all 6 games and has undoubtedly advanced to the knockout stage of the Europa League!

Atletico Madrid ranks second in the group and will need to compete with the third-placed team in the Champions League group for one of the 16 qualifying places.

The results of other groups are as follows: Juventus first in Group A and advance directly, Salzburg Red Bull second and need to play again with the third place in the Champions League group. Group B is Manchester City first and Leverkusen second. Group C is Sporting CP first and Army Sofia second. Group D is Villarreal first and Djamo Zagreb second. Group E is Dynamo Kyiv first and Olympiacos second. Group F is Army Moscow first and Palermo second. Group G is Southampton first and Atletico Madrid second. Group H is Stuttgart first and Young Boys second. Group I is PSV Eindhoven first and Sampdoria second. Group J is Dortmund first and Paris Saint-Germain second. Group K is Liverpool first and Utrecht second. Group L is Porto first and Rapid Vienna second.

On December 18, the Championship match day began, with Southampton playing away against Millwall.

In this game, coach Adkins rested most of the main players again. Fortunately, Southampton's substitutes performed well this time. In the end, they got three points from Millwall with an international score of 2:1 and continued to lead the Championship standings.

On December 21st, the Championship match day, Southampton faced Wigan Athletic at home.

Gu Ran came on the field and led the Southampton team with almost all substitutes, and defeated Wigan Athletic with a score of 4:1.

On December 26, the Championship match day, Southampton, which had just celebrated Christmas and Gu Ran’s birthday, challenged Derby County away.

In the end, in this festive atmosphere, Southampton narrowly defeated Derby County 5:0.

Derby County's manager can finally have a good year.

On December 28, the Championship match day, Southampton faced Nottingham Forest at home.

Because the New Year is coming soon, Southampton’s main players all appeared on the field and joined forces to present a football feast for the fans.

In the end, Southampton defeated Nottingham Forest 8:3.

The reason why Southampton lost three goals was that they adopted a tactic of intensive attack without defense.

On the day after the New Year, January 2, 2012, Southampton played at home against Peterborough United, which was also promoted from the English League One.

Southampton and Peterborough United are also old rivals.

Coach Adkins also deliberately let Gu Ran play for only 15 minutes.

In the end, Southampton won the first game of 2012 at home with a score of 2:0.

In the stock market, the market value of Southampton Football Club has increased sevenfold compared to a year ago. Small retail investors have made a lot of money, not to mention the club's senior management who own shares.

Southampton's financial situation has become very good. It broke free from the quagmire almost overnight and then made a gorgeous transformation. Southampton is the richest team in the entire Championship.

According to rumors, the boss behind Southampton is Gu Ran.

Gu Ran did not confirm the news, but he did not deny it either.

Gu Ran's acquiescence immediately caused a huge shock in the stock market, and the share price of Southampton Club soared again.

When the winter transfer window opened, almost all the top clubs asked Southampton about Gu Ran's price, but Southampton issued warnings one after another, directly stating that their big boss was not for sale.

...(End of this chapter)