In the home team's dressing room at Loftus Road, the pre-match atmosphere was lively.

The last time the Riverside Stadium was a stunner in my mind, and the QPR players were not afraid of an opponent of their own strength. Middlesbrough have had an impressive season, and unlike QPR's latecomers, they have been in the top six from the start of the season. After losing to QPR, it ushered in a series of wins. A while ago, Burnley, who had occupied the top spot for a long time, was squeezed down, but the good times did not last long, and the top spot was not yet hot, and was driven down by Queens Park Rangers.

The battle for the top two in the Championship has been particularly fierce this season, with the top three teams separating each of them by one point, and a careless game could threaten direct promotion.

Thanks to the head coach, the atmosphere in the dressing room at QPR has been harmonious for half a season. Still, small groups do exist. For example, James, Robert, and Nedham have a good relationship with several veterans, and their words are relatively weighty in the locker room. Needless to say, the relationship between the three of Patrick, Ian and Zixiang is because they are eye-catching newcomers in this season's schedule, and they are also liked by other players. And the newcomer Timothy Fosu Mensah has also gotten acquainted with Patrick recently, and they are all young players under the age of twenty, so they naturally have a lot of common topics. But Dutch children can only speak average English, and sometimes they don't quite understand what they are laughing at.

But the relationship between these two small groups is somewhat delicate.

At the end of the day, it's mainly that Patrick and James don't get along.

James had been silent for a long time about the female assistant coach, and for a while he was even willing to call Coach Lu Ling, but Gary's words made him want to move again.

At this moment, the other assistant coach in the locker room was discussing something with the coaching staff, Robert glanced at it, and whispered to his friend James, "Look, she and the boss seem to be a good match." ”

James squinted his eyes and smiled a little obscenely when he turned his head, "Oh**yes, maybe I've slept a long time ago." ”

Robert hey hey had fun for a long time.

Patrick might have heard something, and after glancing at the side, James raised an eyebrow. Everyone knows what the relationship between Patrick and Christine is, so they don't usually make loud jokes about it in front of him, not because they are afraid of it, but to avoid unnecessary disputes.

But this time, James was a little unconvinced, and raised the volume at the boy: "Hey, Patrick, Christine will definitely be heartbroken if she goes on a date with her boss." He knew they weren't in that relationship, but he said it on purpose.

Roberto pulled his friend, James is not doing this authentically, he is going to warm up outside in a while, less than an hour before the game starts, and now he is in the locker room to arch his teammate's fire what.

Patrick stood up straight, walked up to the English man who was eleven or twelve years older than himself with a calm face, and said word by word, "Barton, take care of your mouth!"

James was a little complacent when he saw that the provocation was successful, and he loved to see the young man angry. Speaking of which, Patrick-Amber does have a good temper.

Captain Nedham yelled at the two of them to shut up.

Nedham's voice was a little louder, and the first few coaches turned their heads.

Nicholas frowned, his voice was not loud, but he gave the order to the players very harshly, "Give me some points!"

Lu Ling looked at him, maybe it was her delusion, she always felt that the boss's attention to this game was unprecedentedly high. Admittedly, this game was the most important game of the season by any means – but the Spaniard may still have some selfishness, and with his personality, it was a game that could not be lost.

After a while, it was time for pre-match training.

Patrick squinted in James' direction as he stood up, and as he was talking to the captain, the two of them laughed again. Patrick frowned, damn Gary. Ian pulled him, "You can't change their minds. Pat, don't forget the game. ”

The boy was silent for a few seconds, then nodded.

Timothy Fosu Mensah chased after him from behind and put his arm around Patrick's neck, "Yo, what the hell do you have to do with the pretty little teaching assistant?"

Patrick knew Mensah had no ill intentions, but his face turned cold.

Zixiang looked back at this tall and strong boy helplessly, "They are friends who grew up together." Hey, Timothy, you're from their side!"

Mensa grinned and pushed Zixiang out of the locker room.

****

Aitto Karanka is still quite a smart person, at least in the eyes of Nicolas he is a rival. The two have different personalities and different ways of getting along with Jose Mourinho. Aitto has a lot of thoughts in his heart, but he can't express them all, Nicholas has always been outspoken, of course, this does not mean that he does not speak through his brain.

The two men parted ways with the Portuguese, and both chose a Championship team as a fresh start. It's interesting to see their teams sit in the top two of the Championship table.

This is one of the reasons why the media focused on this game, which they ridiculed as the "Mourinho derby". But Nicholas didn't like the name, and always felt that a third person had stolen the limelight. He's never been one who doesn't like attention – preferably positively, of course.

The QPR system is becoming more and more mature, but at the same time, there is also a growing risk of injury. Although Nicholas is already looking for ways to make proper rotations, there are many times when there is really little room for rotation, every game is crucial for direct promotion, and the quality of the bench at QPR is not very satisfactory to Nicholas.

Bristol was a good lesson, he didn't think the team was so reliant on Patrick, but it wasn't. Of course, he doesn't regret it. In the long run, he wasn't wrong.

The Spaniard walked out of the tunnel to a round of applause from the fans. Nicholas looked at Patrick's figure, if he won this one, he would have to let the kid rest.

Sky Sports has chosen this match live without a doubt. They will only play 75 regular Championship games in a season, and one of the most broadcast teams so far this season is QPR. The core reason is the results, and the second is the homegrown talent of Patrick Amber, as well as the topicality of the head coach and assistant coach.

Nicholas affectionately hugged his former colleague for a few seconds. Speaking of which, he and Ato were not friends.

Aitto joked in his native language, "Oh, Nick, I'm so glad to be with you like this, and I'd love to get back the three points you stole from the last game." By the way, you see that the teaching assistants have a really good eye. ”

His last sentence was a pun. Nicholas grimaced, and soon, he smiled politely, "I hope you're still so optimistic in 90 minutes." ”

No one heard what they said, and the camera didn't catch their mouths. They shook hands again, and in everyone's eyes, they were on pretty good terms.

Lu Ling looked carefully at the man named Aitto Kalanca from a distance, his skin was surprisingly white, and his appearance was typical of Spaniards, anyway, he looked more like a Spaniard than Nicholas. She had always felt that there was a spirit and ambition hidden beneath the man's gentle exterior—perhaps something to do with what Mr. Flores had said to her before, and that she had subconsciously formed an impression.

Nicholas sat down in the dugout, and he saw that his assistant was still staring at Aitto's back, and asked casually, "How are you observing?"

Lu Ling shrugged his shoulders, it was hard to say.

A whistle blows.

The battle for the top spot in the Championship has begun.

Aitto's this time is also 4231, which is not much different from Nicholas's arrangement. The left winger in the front field is former England international Stuart Downing, the forward midfielder is Uruguay international Gaston Ramirez, the right winger is the incredibly fast Albert Adoma, plus the Championship striker Jordan Rhodes, these four people's attacking ability is outstanding in the Championship, and the impact speed genre is the Championship's consistent must-win weapon. In the last game, a few of them brought a lot of trouble to QPR, and if it wasn't for Zixiang's final point, that game might not have been able to be won.

A few minutes later, the managers on both sides walked close to the touchline.

Sky Sports' camera swept over and it was Bill Leslie commentating on the game, who recently joked on Twitter that he had contracted out all of QPR's games this season. Moreover, he also praised Patrick in disguise: "I'm really lucky, because I feel like I'm witnessing the growth of the next Beckham or Rooney." ”

At this point, the camera is on Jose Mourinho who is back at the Loftus Road Stadium.

"Oh, needless to say, Jose must be worried, is he supporting his ex, or is he going to be ex?"

When Aitto was Mourinho's first assistant, Nicolas was the second assistant and it was only after Aitau's departure that Nicolas became the Portuguese's first assistant.

So, speaking of which, it is indeed the ex and the ex.

Middlesbrough's momentum was a world away from the game at Riverside. The crazy Cheng dù who came up to force the robbery made QPR simply have no respite.

In comparison, in this game, the players of QPR who are playing at home are a little slow to heat up.

Patrick felt that his feet were not fully warm, and his body was a little heavy. It felt a bit abrupt for him, and what James said before the game may have been a little distracting for him. He hated being like this.

Mensah took the ball to the centre circle. In recent games, Mensah has often done this, just like Barcelona's Pique. Obviously, this is Nicholas's tactical request.

Mensah's positional sense and coverage, as well as his strong ability to play the ball, are simply superhuman in the Championship. It would not be an exaggeration to say that he is the Championship Gerard Pique, and with him, QPR's central midfield defense is much better.

And when the defensive pressure is reduced, the offense is even less restrained.

Mensah gave the ball to Yu Zixiang on the left.

Patrick was also on the left side of the field.

After Yu Zixiang took the ball, he took a few steps and gave the ball to the feet of Patrick, who was collecting it in the middle. As soon as Patrick got the ball, the Loftus Road stadium played the song of Patrick.

This song is a favorite song of this season for QPR fans, they sing it whenever Patrick has the ball in a game, and when Patrick scores, they can sing this saliva as if it were epic.

Ron, a skinny QPR fan, has always wanted to write a more majestic song for Amber Kid, but unfortunately he has not been inspired. He's actually sixty-seven this year, and somehow, every time he sees Amber Kid, he still feels as excited as a child when he first stepped into this field.

Many local fans in the UK support a team from childhood, when their father or grandfather took them to the stadium to watch their first game, and then a lifetime of loyalty. Whether the team is relegated or wins the championship, whether the owner is British or Malaysian – that loyalty will not change. It's a way of life, but it's also a belief.

Patrick had already brought the ball to the edge of the box. Gomis drew two centre-backs in the box, and Patrick glanced up quickly and struck straight at goal.

This kick was a little off the goal. But there was still a huge round of applause from the home fans.

In the corner of the stands on Loftus Road, a Portuguese man narrowed his eyes.

This kid seems to be a little out of shape today, Jose thought to himself.