In the end, Southampton defeated Sporting Lisbon 5:2 at their home ground, and the total score between the two sides reached 10:3.

Sporting Lisbon tried their best, but in the end they lost with a sincere acceptance.

After this game, Southampton successfully entered the Europa League quarter-finals.

The quarter-finals will also be played in two rounds, and Southampton's opponent is the traditional La Liga powerhouse - Athletic Bilbao, which puts bloodline first.

Two days after the match with Sporting Lisbon, on March 15, the Championship League match day began, with Southampton facing Preston at home.

Because it was a home game, coach Adkins sent Gu Ran, Van Dijk and Luke Shaw as the main players, and the others were substitutes.

In the end, under the leadership of Gu Ran, Southampton defeated Preston 4:1.

Immediately afterwards, on March 17, the Championship match day, Southampton faced their arch-rivals Portsmouth at home.

Coach Adkins sent out his entire starting lineup.

The match was full of tension from the start, and players from both sides played without reservation.

At the end of the first half, Southampton led 4:2. Gu Ran scored twice with long shots and two wonderful passes. Salah and Lallana each scored a goal.

In the second half, Gu Ran was kicked to the ground, with blood gushing out of his calf. However, Gu Ran did not leave the front line despite the minor injury. After a simple bandage, he took the free kick and changed the score to 5:2 with a perfect crescent-shaped scimitar and a deadly elevator ball.

Portsmouth had one man sent off and had to adopt a conservative defensive strategy.

The Southampton team took advantage of the situation and launched a series of deadly attacks under Gu Ran's organization of interspersed movements.

Finally, when the referee blew the whistle to end the game, the score on the big screen froze at Southampton 7:2 Portsmouth.

Portsmouth suffered two defeats in the Championship this season.

And Southampton fans have never been so proud.

After this game, Southampton's main players took a three-day holiday to have a complete rest.

On March 21, the sixth round of the FA Cup resumed, with Southampton away challenging Aston Villa.

Aston Villa is also a strong team in the Premier League, so coach Adkins also sent out all the main players in this game.

At the beginning of the game, the two sides played very closely, and Aston Villa once dominated the ball possession and offensive advantage on the field.

However, in the 17th minute, after Aston Villa's wing breakthrough was broken by Van Dijk, Southampton immediately launched a quick counterattack.

Gu Ran ran out of space in the middle. After receiving the pass from Van Dijk, Henderson immediately passed the ball to Gu Ran while running. Gu Ran didn't even stop the ball, and directly shot a lob from 45 meters away from the goal! Aston Villa's goalkeeper was standing too far forward, and by the time he reacted, it was too late!

The football was lobbed into the net!

All the Villa fans watching the game were stunned.

This ball is so beautiful!

Even Villa fans couldn't help but secretly give a thumbs up in their hearts.

Southampton took the lead.

After conceding a goal, Aston Villa continued to strengthen their attack.

At the end of the first half, Southampton scored another goal with Chamberlain assisting from Gu Ran's counterattack.

In the second half, Gu Ran dribbled the ball back and forth outside Aston Villa's penalty area and was tripped by an Aston Villa defender. The referee decisively showed a yellow card and awarded Southampton a free kick outside the penalty area.

Gu Ran used a crescent-shaped scimitar kick and a fatal elevator to easily score twice.

Aston Villa began to change their tactics to full-court pressing and defensive counterattacks.

After the change of offense and defense, Southampton began to press forward with all their strength, using their physical strength to fight against Aston Villa.

Aston Villa never expected that Southampton would be so strong, and Aston Villa had a very difficult time defending.

Before the end of the second half, Gu Ran cooperated with Chamberlain and Salah and scored a very beautiful long-range shot in the "Gu Ran area", completing a hat trick.

At the end of the game, the score was Aston Villa 0:4 Southampton.

Southampton undoubtedly eliminated Aston Villa and advanced to the FA Cup semi-finals.

Southampton's opponent in the FA Cup semi-final is Manchester United, and the two sides will play on April 14th soon.

After the FA Cup match, all of Southampton's main players were rested.

On March 24, the Championship League match day began, with Southampton away challenging Swindon City.

The Southampton team, with an all-substitute lineup, performed very actively. In the end, Southampton beat Swindon City 1:0.

On March 29, the Europa League battle reignited. In the first round of the Europa League quarter-finals, Southampton challenged Athletic Bilbao away.

Athletic Bilbao is a long-established strong team in La Liga, and its arch-rival is Real Sociedad in the same city.

Speaking of which, Athletic Bilbao is also one of the most special teams in the history of football.

The biggest feature of this team is that it has no foreign players. All the players, including the coach, are of "Basque" descent.

Like Real Madrid and Barcelona, ​​Athletic Bilbao, founded in 1898, is also a famous team in Spain. They are the second oldest team in Spain, the earliest team established in the top league, the only La Liga team besides Real Madrid and Barcelona that has never been relegated, and the fourth-best team in La Liga history.

What fans like most is that the team has always insisted on using local players, that is, players from the Basque region or with Basque descent, for more than 100 years since its establishment. This is unique in the whole of Europe and can be called a rare gem.

Speaking of which, the establishment of Athletic Bilbao has a lot to do with the British.

Before the Industrial Revolution, Bilbao was just an inconspicuous small town in the Basque region. Later, the British came to the city with machinery and equipment, and the small town gradually began the process of industrialization.

In 1894, a young man from Bilbao published a challenge to the local British in a newspaper: Do you dare to have a football match? The British gladly accepted, and the final result of that match was 0:6 between the Bilbao people and the British.

Although Bilbao lost the first football game, the fire of football had already started in Bilbao.

Club Athletic Bilbao and Club Real Madrid were founded in this small town one after another.

Club Athletic Bilbao and Real Sociedad are also known as the "Basque Duo".

…

(End of this chapter)