Chapter 343 Pain and Happiness
Southampton finally defeated Liverpool 1-0 away from home with a goal from Ibrahimovic.
The result of this game quickly became the headlines of newspapers large and small in the UK and even Europe the next day.
As the most popular English team last season, Southampton's performance this season is still brilliant.
Southampton's strength is evident from their 3-0 victory over Chelsea in the FA Cup and their 1-0 win over Liverpool in the League Cup.
In the famous EC football program Daily Match, host Gary Lineker predicted very confidently that Southampton has a good chance of winning the cup.
"So far this season, of the four Premier League teams participating in the Champions League, Manchester United and Manchester City have been eliminated one after another, while Chelsea and Arsenal have advanced to the round of 16, but the promotion process was also bumpy."
"On the contrary, Southampton, the English Championship team participating in the Europa League, has performed very well in the Europa League. So far, in two rounds of four qualifying games, six rounds of official group matches, and ten games, Southampton has won ten consecutive games."
"Such an outstanding European performance is enough to make the Premier League big brothers participating in the Champions League feel ashamed."
"The current situation of the FA Cup is still unclear, but in the League Cup, Southampton beat Liverpool 1-0 away from home and took the lead on the road to the final.
"What's interesting is that of the four teams in this League Cup semi-finals, three are from the Championship, and the other two are Crystal Palace and Cardiff. No matter which of these two teams advances to the final, Southampton is undoubtedly the favorite to win the championship."
Another guest, Alan Shearer, is also very optimistic about Southampton.
The former Southampton youth player even shouted loudly on the show, "I am very much looking forward to seeing the Saints win the first championship trophy of the new season at Wembley Stadium in late February."
The outside world is optimistic about Southampton, and the Saints are also full of fighting spirit.
After playing Liverpool away, Southampton finally ushered in a buffer period after the devilish Christmas schedule.
Two weeks later, at home, they drew 2-2 with visiting Liverpool.
Dalglish's team gave it their all, hoping to reverse Southampton at St. Mary's Stadium and reach the final.
But Southampton, playing at home, were no pushovers and fought a tit-for-tat battle with Liverpool. The fight was fierce and brutal. Southampton took the lead twice and Liverpool equalized twice.
But in the end, Southampton managed to maintain a draw at home, and then eliminated Liverpool with a total score of 3-2, and successfully reached the League Cup final.
The opponent in the final is the Championship team Cardiff
After reaching the League Cup final, Southampton first defeated Millwall 4-1 in the fourth round of the FA Cup, and then defeated Bolton 2-0 at home in the fifth round of the knockout round, successfully advancing to the quarterfinals.
Southampton's FA Cup quarter-final opponent is Tottenham Hotspur in North London.
The team has performed very well in the Premier League this season and is expected to break the monopoly of the traditional top four on the Champions League.
After entering February, the Europa League resumed and ushered in the round of 32 knockouts.
Southampton won both rounds with a score of 1-0, narrowly defeating Olympiacos of Greece and successfully advancing to the round of 16.
Manchester United and Manchester City, which were eliminated from the Champions League group stage, also emerged from the top 32.
On the contrary, Premier League teams such as Tottenham Hotspur, Birmingham and Fulham have all been eliminated in the Europa League group stage.
This also caused many English fans to shift their attention to Southampton.
At the very least, this team's performance in European competitions has brought honor to English football.
While Southampton was unstoppable on the field, Yang Huan was also not idle.
"Ziqing, it's too late today. I live in Southampton and I have to meet someone early tomorrow morning."
In a Lagonda Conqueror returning from Poole to Southampton, Yang Huan was calling Zhuang Ziqing at One Hyde Park in London.
If a man already has a fiancée, he must have an explanation when he goes out.
Last time he didn't go back to bed and didn't tell her, so she waited in the living room for the whole night and caught a cold.
Yang Huan felt very distressed for a while.
Yang Huan gradually got used to having Zhuang Ziqing at home.
Zhuang Ziqing didn't ask much, she just reminded him to be careful on the phone, and spoke some words of concern to him.
It makes people feel particularly heartwarming when they hear it.
After hanging up the phone, the car arrived at the gate of the Southampton villa.
Long Wu, who was sitting in the driver's seat, opened the door and drove the car straight in.
Xiaobu, who had heard the noise a long time ago, had already opened the door.
It's the end of February and the temperature has risen. Although it's still a bit cold at night, we don't need to wear as thick clothes as in the cold winter.
Xiaobu was wearing a pair of pink coral fleece pajamas, but the collar was open, revealing a large area of pink.
As soon as she saw Yang Huan, she came up to him with a smile and called out in a delicate voice, "Master!"
Yang Huan nodded and said "hmm".
"Master, have you eaten yet?"
"No, I'm going to take a shower first."
After saying that, Yang Huan had already walked in.
"Okay, I'll call you when I'm done."
Xiaobu looked at Long Wu again and called him "Fifth Brother".
"Master looks very tired."
Long Wu and Xiao Bu were also familiar with each other. After all, they had been together for several months. Moreover, this girl was pretty, smart and well-behaved. She was also responsible for their daily life and meals in Southampton, so naturally they were not unfamiliar with her.
"How can I not be tired? I went to a bank in the City of London to apply for a loan in the morning, then went to Gayton, and then went south to Poole. I am tired after running so many places in one day."
Xiaobu curled her lips. She could understand these things, but she couldn't comprehend them.
"Hurry up and get something to eat, I'm starving."
Long Wu urged.
Xiaobu immediately went to the kitchen, and soon the fragrant braised noodles were freshly baked.
Long Wu was also a greedy cat. He was already hungry, so when he smelled the fragrance, he immediately pounced on it and ate it with relish, swallowing most of it. What was even more strange was that he didn't even feel it was hot.
After finishing his meal, he walked towards his room, rubbing his belly contentedly.
"I'm going to sleep, go check on the young master."
Xiaobu looked at his back and smiled, but wondered in her heart, why hasn't the young master come downstairs yet?
I went upstairs and knocked gently on Yang Huan's door, but no one answered.
I reached out and pulled the handle, and the door opened.
"Young Master"
Xiaobu poked his head in quietly and found that there was no one in the room, and there were a lot of clothes thrown on the floor.
Walk in and pick up the clothes on the ground one by one.
The young master lives in Southampton, and she washes all his clothes. He is used to it.
After entering the room, I found that the bathroom door was closed, but there was no movement inside.
Xiaobu was shocked and immediately walked over and knocked hard on the bathroom door.
"Master, Master"
After about twenty seconds, Xiao Bu was almost crying outside and almost called Long Wu for help, when there was a noise inside, followed by Yang Huan's shout, "What's the matter?"
Xiao Bu finally breathed a sigh of relief, "Master, I was scared to death just now."
There was a sound of water coming from inside, followed by the sound of wiping.
Xiaobu was standing outside and her face turned red when she heard the noise.
When Yang Huan opened the door and walked out with a bath towel tied around his waist, Xiaobu lowered his head and didn't dare to look at him any more.
"I just lay down in there and fell asleep accidentally."
Yang Huan patted his head, sat on the edge of the bed, and yawned sleepily.
When Xiao Bu saw him like this, he immediately stepped forward and said, "Master, I learned massage when I was in Tianshang Renjian. How about I give you a massage? I heard it can wake you up."
“Is this true or false?”
“You’ll know if you try it.”
As she spoke, the little girl was quite enthusiastic. She came over on her own initiative, got on the bed, and knelt behind Yang Huan.
"Where to press? I'm ticklish."
"Hehe, press your head"
"Oh, come on then," Yang Huan waved.
Xiaobu rubbed his hands together, then stretched out his hands and gently placed them on Yang Huan's head. With his ten fingers spread out, his two thumbs were just right on his temples. He gently pushed and rubbed his scalp, as if looking for an acupuncture point.
"The master who taught us is said to be a famous Chinese medicine massage doctor in the country. The company invited him to come just to teach the sisters who accompany guests. Originally, I was not qualified to learn, but I secretly watched a few times by myself. Since he studied medicine, I learned it. He took the initiative to say that he would teach me."
Yang Huan closed his eyes, looking very much enjoying himself.
His hair was very short, but Xiaobu's fingers were very nimble. They kept wriggling on his scalp like a snake, sometimes grabbing, sometimes scratching, sometimes pushing, sometimes pressing, using all kinds of techniques, which made people feel indescribably comfortable.
Instead, I didn't hear clearly what she said.
"Young Master, let me press some acupoints for you," Xiaobu leaned over gently and spoke into Yang Huan's ear.
I was so close that I could smell her breath, which had a faint fragrance like that of a girl.
"Hmm" Yang Huan felt so comfortable that he could only make sounds through his nose.
I didn't know what technique she used, but I felt pain on both sides of my temples at the same time.
"Hiss" Yang Huan suddenly felt pain, which was a bit unexpected.
But soon, a tingling sensation came around the temples, as if countless ants were crawling around, making people feel a mixture of pain and happiness.
As if stimulated by the pain, my mind suddenly became much clearer.
"Does it hurt?" Xiaobu asked with concern from behind.
Yang Huan shook his head slightly, "It's okay, I feel comfortable, you continue"
Xiaobu laughed, said "oh", and went to look for other acupoints.
It's just like before, it hurts when you press it, but then it feels very comfortable.
Yang Huan gradually immersed himself in the comfort of this massage and enjoyed it with his eyes closed.
"Young Master, Fifth Brother just said that you should go and get a loan. Are we short of money?" Xiao Bu asked intermittently.
Yang Huan smiled and said, "How could that be? I don't have anything else but a lot of money."
“Then why do you need a loan?”
"This question is difficult to explain. Even if I tell you, you still won't understand. To put it simply, we need money to build hotels, stadiums, and players. Now Citibank is willing to lend us the money at the lowest interest rate. Wouldn't it be a pity if we don't take it?"
Xiaobu nodded, but did not slow down the movements of his hands.
"Besides, there are many benefits to loans. You can also avoid taxes by listing them as liabilities in the financial statements."
"Really?" Xiaobu really didn't understand this.
Yang Huan hummed and said nothing more.
"Then you went to Gayton and Poole. Was there something wrong with the garage and the shipyard?"
"What could possibly happen? I'm just going to a meeting, take a look around, and sign a few orders. Hamad has ordered a super luxury yacht worth over 500 million pounds, and more than 20 Aston Martins and Lagondas. I have to go with him to take a look."
When Xiaobu heard the name Hamad, his expression suddenly changed.
In recent years, that boy came to eat more often, always glancing at her intentionally or unintentionally, which made her feel uneasy.
Whenever I think about it, I always feel uneasy.
"Master, can I ask you for a favor?" Xiaobu asked timidly.