Chapter 396: One and only, only saints!

'It's horrible'

Platini was amazed to see Southampton's two top center forwards team up to direct such a goal.

“This is really horrible”

Almost everyone around nodded involuntarily.

Who says it’s not?

For other teams, even wealthy ones, having a top center is already a luxury.

But Southampton is different, they have directly acquired two of the world's top center forwards in one go.

This is not the most important thing. The most terrible thing is that these two top centers are on the court at the same time.

My god, do you still want to let other teams survive?

Not to mention Atletico Madrid, even if Bayern Munich, Real Madrid and other teams come, they will still have to surrender.

Who can withstand the impact of these two centers?

Yang Huan, on the other hand, was laughing, looking somewhat proud.

Southampton is like his child. Which parent would not be proud of his child's achievements?

When Ibrahimovic first came to Southampton, he was at the lowest point in his career.

And what about Drogba?

The situation is not much better.

But these two center forwards have regained their form in Southampton and are shining brightly.

Although they are still some distance away from the peak of their careers, their performances are amazing.

Especially tonight, the two of them actually appeared on stage at the same time, which was really surprising.

Yang Huan looked towards the far end of the stands. Qin Yongming and Qian Duoduo's faces turned bitter, as if they wanted to fire all the players and coaches on the court.

Our Young Master Huan was so happy.

With a two-goal lead, Atletico Madrid can still keep its composure and press forward?

Not to mention, Simeone also gave it his all, asking the players to stop defending too tightly and adopt high-intensity pressure and pressing to try to score a goal, otherwise, Atletico Madrid would be finished in this game.

But the question is, will Southampton do what you want?

You said before that you would defend it strictly, so you retreated. I had no choice but to let you do it.

But now, I have the advantage and you want to attack. Have you ever asked me if I am willing?

When the game resumed, Bielsa's team used practical actions to tell Atletico Madrid.

It is easy to push it back, but difficult to push it out again.

The Saints seemed to have tasted the sweetness of the twin tower tactics, and their attack was mostly through the two flanks, advancing into the 30-meter area of ​​Atletico Madrid, and then either of the two center forwards would be pulled out to stand in position and act as a wall.

What’s interesting is that these two center forwards of Southampton not only have beast-level physical qualities, but also have very comprehensive technical characteristics.

Whether it is Drogba or Ibrahimovic, they are both excellent at building walls.

At least, Godin and Miranda can't shake

One is pulled to the perimeter to form a wall, and the other is inserted into the penalty area to wait for an opportunity. Southampton's double tower tactics are so simple and so willful that you just can't resolve it.

Atletico Madrid is in a tough situation now. They want to press forward, but they can't. They want to retreat, but they can't. It's so difficult.

Simeone stood on the sidelines and there was really nothing he could do.

Atletico Madrid itself is not a strong team. They have barely put together a competitive starting lineup, but the depth of their bench is very poor. Even if they want to make substitutions, they can't find anyone to replace them with.

These two are not as good as the players on the field.

If the main players can't hold on, and you replace them with a group of substitutes, a group of young players, won't they be even more unable to hold on?

So Simeone paced back and forth anxiously on the sidelines, almost getting angry.

After Southampton took a two-goal lead, they became more patient mentally and began to organize themselves in an orderly manner.

Under the organization and planning of Toni Kroos and Stroman, Atletico Madrid was bombarded again and again.

The Bed Sheet Army was finally forced into a corner and had to retreat to an area of ​​30 meters.

But anyone could see that Atletico Madrid was holding on with only one breath, and it was only a matter of time before they conceded a goal.

But this team is indeed tough, and they managed to withstand Southampton's attack.

Jeremy Darroch, Sky UK chief executive, was sitting in the chairman's stand at the national stadium.

He stared in amazement at what was happening below the court.

A team from the second-tier league in England actually pushed Atletico Madrid, a traditional powerhouse from the La Liga, into the half court, bombarded them fiercely, and played in a very embarrassing way.

There are not many teams that can obtain such an advantage, not to mention the Premier League, even in the entire European football world.

Without exception, they are the strongest and most powerful families at the moment.

For example, Real Madrid, Barcelona, ​​Bayern Munich, etc.

But Southampton, from the second-tier English league, has done the same as these top teams.

This shocked Jeremy Darroch and made him think of more things.

This season has been a downturn for Premier League football.

Teams such as Manchester United, Manchester City, and Chelsea have been eliminated from the Champions League one after another, and the Premier League teams are no exception, all failing in the Europa League. As early as March, all Premier League teams announced their departure from the European battlefield.

This also made Premier League fans feel dissatisfied

But at this time, Southampton, which was originally not taken seriously and came from the second-level league in England, independently held up the banner of English football, successfully avenged strong teams such as Manchester United and Manchester City, and defeated European giants such as Valencia, Athletic Bilbao and Sporting Lisbon.

More importantly, Southampton reached the Europa League final

Sometimes, a championship can cover up many, many problems.

This summer is the London Olympics. Not only London fans, but also England fans and even Premier League fans hope to have a European Championship trophy to celebrate the arrival of the Olympics.

Since we can't win the Champions League, the Europa League is the same

In the past two months, Southampton has almost become the hope of English fans.

That's the only hope.

What's even more frightening is that this team did not live up to the fans' expectations.

As the CEO of Sky TV UK, Jeremy Darroch can clearly see that Southampton's popularity has skyrocketed in the UK and among all Premier League fans around the world in the past two months.

If Southampton won the Europa League for Britain tonight.

Then, the reputation and influence created will not be inferior to Manchester United, Chelsea and other giants winning a Champions League.

It is foreseeable that next season, Southampton will participate in the Premier League as a newly promoted team, but they will become the most eye-catching newly promoted team in history.

Has anyone ever seen a newly promoted team with two domestic cup titles and one European Cup title?

No one, only saints

All of this will bring unprecedented attention to the Saints and attract the attention of countless fans.

To some extent, Sky TV can do without Liverpool, Arsenal, and even reduce the live broadcast frequency of Manchester United, Manchester City and Chelsea, but it cannot do without Southampton.

This is also the most stalemate point in the negotiations between Sky TV and the Premier League.

Both sides know the value of Southampton, but there are differences on how to divide this piece of cake.

But after watching the game to this point, Jeremy Darroch is very sure that the differences should be resolved.

In any case, Sky TV is determined to get Southampton's match.

Just when Jeremy Darroch made up his mind, there was a sudden uproar in the National Stadium.

The CEO of Sky TV looked up and down, just in time to see the referee on duty quickly running towards Atletico Madrid's half and holding up a yellow card towards Gabi, indicating that this was a free kick opportunity for Southampton in the frontcourt.

The commentary of the on-site commentator came through the radio at just the right moment.

"Toni Kroos made a long diagonal pass. When Carvajal received the ball, Gabi pushed him while defending. Southampton had a free-kick opportunity in the front court about 30 meters away from the goal, on the right side."

Jeremy Darroch immediately realized that this was a great opportunity.

Isn’t Toni Kroos in Southampton a set-piece expert?

In addition, there are center forwards like Drogba and Ibrahimovic in the frontcourt, and Javi Martinez and Varane are also tall and have good heading abilities.

Relatively speaking, Southampton's average height is obviously taller than Atletico Madrid.

This is an advantage when setting the ball

Sure enough, as soon as the referee made the decision, Toni Kroos walked to the right and came to the penalty spot.

He wiped the ball gently, placed it near the serving point, and slowly stepped back.

Atletico Madrid players have started running over to form a human wall.

Southampton obviously had more tall players, and they all rushed into Atletico Madrid's penalty area. The momentum was indeed quite terrifying, causing Atletico Madrid's players to make arrangements in a panic.

Goalkeeper Asenho first pointed fingers at the arrangement of the human wall, and then jumped a few times on the spot to warm up.

Several threatening header players of Southampton were lying in ambush in the penalty area, and no one knew where Toni Kroos's free throw would land and who would compete for the header.

The referee held the silver whistle in his mouth, and Toni Kroos raised his right hand high and made a gesture.

What's the meaning?

The Atletico Madrid players were confused and couldn't figure it out at all.

Someone in the penalty area shouted, "Keep an eye on them, one on one, keep an eye on them all!"

Obviously, it was a reminder to Atletico Madrid players.

But when the referee blew the whistle, everyone was in chaos.

Then I saw Toni Kroos rushing forward quickly, and with a bang, the ball flew out.

Originally, they were staring at each other, and some were even worried about missing someone, so they all grabbed the opponent's jersey.

But now, with people coming and going and running everywhere, it’s hard to tell who has been missed.

Ibrahimovic and Varane both rushed to the front point at the first opportunity.

The two tall players rushed forward, scaring Atletico Madrid's defensive players to follow them.

But the ball obviously did not land at the front point.

Not to the later point

Although Javi Martinez occupied the back post

It's the middle road

"Drogba" Asenho was the first to react and shouted.

The ball landed right in the middle of the small penalty area. Drogba came up from behind and stretched out his hand to stop Godin.

Although Godin pulled Drogba's jersey, he couldn't stop Drogba.

The Ivorian player jumped up before Godin and faced the ball with a lion's head shake.

At this moment, everyone in the penalty area looked at Drogba and saw the ball hit his head, turn in another direction, and fall towards the left goal post.

The free kick was sent from the right side. Asenjo was standing on the right. Drogba suddenly turned his head and attacked the ball to the left. Asenjo was out of reach.

Atletico Madrid had five or six defensive players in the penalty area, but at this time they could only watch Drogba's header hit their own goal line and hit the net.

Everyone stared in amazement.

A feeling of fatigue emerged from the bottom of my heart and then swept through my whole body.

Finished

Three to zero

Atletico Madrid finished

It's completely over.