Chelsea scored a goal just after the start! Southampton players shook their heads and sighed helplessly.

Chelsea were really in great shape for this goal.

Lampard's guidance was simply magical. When Mikel could not play, Southampton sent out the young Ward-Prowse as the defensive midfielder. Ward-Prowse was obviously in a daze from the beginning and could not keep up with Lampard's rhythm of the game at all.

So, on the surface it seemed that Drogba was too aggressive, but in fact it was that Ward-Prowse had not yet adapted to the big competition.

Gu Ran ran to Ward Prowse, patted him on the shoulder and consoled him, "It's okay, we can play back. Don't worry about anything else in this game, just follow Lampard."

Ward Prowse nodded vigorously and quickly.

The game continues.

Whenever Chelsea had a chance, they gave the ball to Lampard, who organized the game.

Ward-Prowse followed Lampard closely, using his body to block Lampard's forward passes and breakthroughs.

Gu Ran also retreated in time and joined forces with Ward Prowse to defend Lampard.

The two teams engaged in a fierce fight near the midfield.

In the 19th minute, Van Dijk intercepted Chelsea's cross and then passed the ball to Gu Ran who had quickly started from the defensive midfielder position.

After Gu Ran got the ball in the empty area on the center line, he dribbled directly to the left.

Chelsea's formation also moved to the left side with Gu Ran.

Gu Ran spotted the opportunity and kicked the ball from a long distance. The ball immediately flew over Chelsea's strong defense line and landed accurately in the empty area on the right.

Henderson rushed over and made a cross before the Chelsea defender rushed over! Salah forced a shot under the pressure of Terry! The ball stuck to the grass and shot straight into the net!

Cech is helpless! The ball goes in! Southampton equalizes the score!

Both sides are back on the same starting line!

Chelsea began to adopt the strategy of pressing high throughout the court, and the competition between the two sides in the midfield and frontcourt became more intense.

In the 33rd minute, Drogba again received Lampard's magic pass at the top of the arc, but this time, Gu Ran retreated very timely and Rudiger's frontal block was just right, so Drogba's volley could not be suppressed and hit the target.

Turning around, Southampton quickly kicked the ball out of the goal and launched a counterattack.

Gu Ran passed the ball towards Chelsea's penalty area while running. Lallana fell into a disadvantage due to Terry's confrontation and pressure. Terry knocked the ball back to goalkeeper Cech, who kicked the ball back to Southampton's half with a big foot.

The two sides continued to engage in a tense confrontation in the midfield and frontcourt.

Although the scene was a bit dull, this was after all a match against Chelsea, currently the strongest team in the Premier League.

It is already remarkable that Southampton could play against Chelsea like this, especially in the absence of their main defensive midfielder.

In the injury time of the first half, the African buffalo Essien tripped Gu Ran at the edge of the penalty area.

Southampton got a free kick in a good position.

Gu Ran's crescent-shaped goal and the fatal penalty easily changed the score to Southampton 2:1 Chelsea.

At the end of the first half, players from both teams returned to their respective locker rooms to rest.

In the second half, Chelsea, who were one goal behind, stepped up their attack.

However, the key player Lampard's physical fitness was at a disadvantage in the confrontation with the young player Ward-Prowse.

Several of Chelsea's attacks had problems in the penultimate pass.

Southampton also made a lot of mistakes and missed several good opportunities.

Fans of both teams were always nervous, and no one knew who the real winner was until the last moment.

However, the balance of victory has clearly tilted towards Southampton.

Chelsea's overall physical fitness is far inferior to that of the young Southampton.

In the 85th minute of the game, Gu Ran teamed up with Ward-Prowse and Van Dijk, and the three of them double-teamed Lampard, using the wolf pack tactics to steal the ball from Lampard's feet.

After getting the ball, Gu Ran immediately turned around and started sprinting. The Son of Wind and the King of Highbury ran at full speed!

Chelsea's defenders desperately chased and intercepted Gu Ran, but they couldn't stop him at all! Gu Ran devoured Chelsea's entire defense in one breath!

At the front of the penalty area, facing Terry's blockade, Gu Ran dribbled past Terry and knocked him down, then shot a powerful shot! Cech leaned forward to save the ball, but the ball was too fast and Cech couldn't touch it!

The ball goes in! Southampton 3:1 Chelsea!

The Southampton fans at Wembley Stadium were all crazy! This score basically killed the suspense!

Chelsea didn't have much time left! Coach Adkins immediately started to make substitutions and changed his strategy, starting to park the bus!

Southampton’s goal is to win the EFL Cup. How they win is not important!

Chelsea launched a crazy attack.

But Chelsea has big problems with physical fitness, and Southampton's defense is really not to be trifled with. Young players such as Luke Shaw, Van Dijk and Rudiger have all grown well.

In addition, Salah also actively retreated to help defend.

The entire Southampton team was simply impregnable! Chelsea did have several good chances to score, but Southampton's defense was too good and Chelsea could never break through Southampton's defense.

After 5 minutes of injury time, the referee finally blew the whistle to end the game! The EFL Cup final is over! The score is fixed at Southampton 3:1 Chelsea, and Southampton successfully defended the EFL Cup title!

At this moment, all Southampton fans were ecstatic! Under the leadership of Gu Ran, Southampton's players created a brand new history!

After the game, Southampton held a large-scale float parade. After the parade, Southampton players went to the bar to party together.

Coach Adkins gave Southampton's main players a day off.

On March 3, the fifth round of the FA Cup kicked off, with Southampton hosting Championship team Queens Park Rangers.

Southampton showed no mercy to Queens Park Rangers. With half of the main players resting, Gu Ran led Southampton to a 4-0 victory over Queens Park Rangers and successfully advanced to the 6th round of the FA Cup.

After this game, Southampton took a three-day holiday to rest.

On March 5th, the Championship match day began, with Southampton challenging Wigan Athletic away.

As all the main players were rested, Wigan Athletic won 2:0 against Southampton, which had an entire substitute lineup.

On March 8, the first round of the second knockout round of the Europa League kicked off, with Southampton challenging Sporting Lisbon away.

...(End of this chapter)