4.008 New Hope
The Leeds United's youngsters were filled with confidence to win away at the leaders and then knocked Chelsea down at home. Young people are like this, when the wind is good, no one can stop them.
Leeds took the lead in the 39th second of the opening game, Kieran Trippier threw a sideline ball, Van Dijk launched an attack with a long pass, Cahill's header was not far away, the ball fell to Milner's feet, and was distributed to Ali near the center circle, Ali low flat ball diagonally, Sane broke through to the edge of the penalty area with the ball on the left side, and fired a left-footed shot into the far corner, 1-0.
It was a goal that made the Leeds players even more excited and motivated.
In the eighth minute, Leeds United made a comeback, Belotti played back from the edge of the box, Salah shot from near the top of the arc, and the ball hit Cahill's body and flew off the line.
In the 17th minute, Salah made a steal in front, and the right side passed diagonally to the back point at 45 degrees, and Belotti shook his head and scored slightly above the goal.
After the stimulus of the opening goal, Leeds United's offensive continued for more than 20 minutes and began to retreat, and the Chelsea gradually took the initiative with their strong winning strength. In the 26th minute, Cesc Fabregas made a steal in the middle and went straight through, Traore stepped forward at high speed on the right, cut inside with the ball, and his low left-footed shot was blocked by Van Dijk. In the 36th minute, Hazard broke the ball on the left side of the front field, and a 45-degree diagonal pass found Cesc Fabregas in front of the right rib, and the latter's header was high.
In the 40th minute, Chelsea won a free-kick on the left side of the field, Cesc Fabregas curled the ball with his right foot into the middle of the box, Branislav Ivanovic headed back, and Ederson flew to seal the ball off the line.
However, Leeds were unable to hold on to their lead, and in the first minute of first-half stoppage time, Cesar Azpilicueta threw a throw-in from the right, Hazard volleyed it over, Traore crossed it near the right touchline, and Costa cut into the box to score and equalis.
In the second half, the Chelsea man's physical problems in the third line were gradually revealed, and the young Leeds United began to take the initiative through non-stop running. In the 48th minute, Milner crossed diagonally from the right, Belotti followed up at the back post, and his left-footed volley was missed. In the 51st minute, Milner broke through with the ball, Belotti took the ball with his back to the front of the penalty area, and Ali inserted a blast and shot high above the goalpost. In the 62nd minute, Kante split the ball, Sane crossed from the left sideline, and Belotti shook his head in the middle and hit the goal high.
After missing a series of chances, Leeds United finally got the catch. In the 69th minute, Milner made a direct pass in the middle, Salah sent a precise diagonal plug on the right side, Ali cut in the ribs, and shot into the far corner from a small angle, 2:1, Leeds United took the lead again.
Li Chengfeng began to make substitutions to maintain the physical advantage of the players on the field, and Leeds United's tactics would collapse without running.
The Chelsea man tried to get back on the scoresheet for the rest of the game but couldn't. They have serious fitness problems and have reservations in their squad for next week's Champions League knockout ties, and although they have been given a few chances, nothing has been gained in the face of Leeds United's frantic defence.
In the 91st minute, Chelsea had one of our best chances, Costa split the ball in the middle, Cesc Fabregas cut forward from the right and crossed low into the middle, which Costa followed up and pushed wide.
At full-time, Leeds United secured a valuable three points with a 2-1 home win over Chelsea. It's not just three points, it's also the hope of the title. The three teams in front of Leeds United, Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur have all lost, and Leicester has only won a draw, Leeds United has chased to third place at once, and there is only a gap of 3 points and 1 point from Tottenham and Leicester in first and second.
When he was 9 points behind Leicester a few rounds ago, Li Chengfeng was already hopeless, who would have thought that the performance of the previous teams would be so bad, and Leeds United caught up in just 3 rounds.
Maybe there's a chance this season? Li Chengfeng looked at the situation after that, the next game is the game of Arsenal away against Tottenham, I hope Arsenal can drag Tottenham.
Arsenal's match against Tottenham was played a day earlier and ended in a 2-2 draw away from Tottenham. This time it was really an opportunity, and it was up to Leeds United to grasp it.
Leeds United, who played in full force, won 1-0 away at Swansea City after a hard-fought battle. To be fair, Leeds didn't play well in this game and the players were a bit constrained. But the fact that they were still able to win shows that the players' ability to play against the wind has improved, which is also a necessary ability for a strong team. Leeds United still have many flaws at the moment, but they are on the right path.
Encouraged by the news of Tottenham's home draw, Leeds United players started with an active view of Swansea's goal and launched an attack, and got a lot of chances, but perhaps they were too anxious, and the choice of the goalkeeper was not very good, most of them were out of the direction of the goal, and did not pose much of a threat. As for Swansea's counter-attack, as one of the worst attacking teams in the Premier League this season, with Leeds United's defensive ability, as long as nothing else, they don't pose much of a threat.
However, Leeds United, despite their absolute dominance, have been unable to score for a long time, and Swansea's defensive ability is still good, especially when they give up attacking, it is even more difficult to break down their goal.
The game went on for more than 60 minutes, and Leeds United, who had the advantage, still failed to break the deadlock, and Li Chengfeng also became a little anxious. Now he can understand what Ranieri had felt before.
Should you step up your attack at the risk of being counter-attacked by Swansea? Li Chengfeng just hesitated for a moment, and then made up his mind. But if you want to build a big team, you must have the determination to defeat all opponents and strive for victory, even if you pay the price of failure, you must let the players know the team's mood.
Lee Seung-bong was replaced by Alai and added a high point in the frontcourt. In the face of the opposition's dense defence, set-pieces and long-range shots are the best means. Sane was also replaced by Grabry, who is still a stunned man who only knows how to bury his head in the breakthrough, but at this time, the team needs his breakthrough.
Leeds United played a tough attack. In the 81st minute, Salah broke through on the right and crossed, and Aleqiang nodded the ball just over the crossbar. In the 88th minute, Grabry crossed from the left and Modeste's header was blocked by a Swansea defender. The follow-up Salah got the flying ball and passed it to the goal again, but Grabry's pass was blocked by the goalkeeper. In the end, it was Modeste who reached out before everyone else and poked the ball into the Swansea goal, 1:0! The stone in Li Chengfeng's heart finally landed, and this game should be able to be won.
Swansea launched a counterattack, but Leeds United's defense is also at the top level in the Premier League, which is not something that Swansea's level of attack can easily break under normal circumstances. Swansea, who ventured into the attack, almost broke through again by Leeds United's counter-attack, but Modeste missed the goal twice in a row.
In stoppage time, Lee Seung-bong replaced goal-scorer Modeste with James Maddison and won the game safely. Although Leeds United is still in third place, there is only one point behind Tottenham and Leicester in front of them, and it is possible to complete a counterattack at any time. Thinking about the fact that he almost gave up this season's competition before, Li Chengfeng can only sigh that the world is impermanent, this season's Premier League is too unpredictable, and all the strong teams are collectively sluggish, but I am afraid that the Premier League is also the first time in history. Fortunately, this is the case, otherwise Leeds United would have a chance.
In the 30th and 31st rounds, all three teams won, and everyone gritted their teeth and tried to persevere. It's time for no one to give up.
In the 32nd round, Tottenham fell behind and they drew away to Liverpool and slipped to third place. In the 34th round, Leeds United also fell behind, losing unexpectedly at home to Sunderland.
After holding on to many games and still failing to overtake, Leeds United's young people still fluctuated, and this performance was collectively abnormal. Originally, they could still stick to their tactics in the face of strong teams, but they were too eager to face the relegation team Sunderland, and even the defenders pressed to the half to besiege Sunderland, only to be defeated by the opponent's counterattack. If it weren't for Leicester's only one draw in this round, the season would have ended early.
Of course, Li Chengfeng's absent-mindedness is also a reason. Today is the day his child is born in the real world, and he has no mind to care about any competition. Although his person was still on the sidelines, what he was thinking about was the newborn little life.
He also wanted to focus and celebrate the birth of the child with a victory, even if no one in the world knew about it. But some things can't be done by thinking, and when the situation on the field doesn't develop as expected, when he wants to make adjustments, it's already slow.
Leeds United lost a crucial game, perhaps the one that decided the title, much to the chagrin of Lee. But he can't blame anyone else, the problem is more with himself. After the game, he took the initiative to take responsibility and exonerate the players.
However, Li Chengfeng is not reconciled, he hopes to get a trophy to celebrate the birth of his child. However, some hope seems to be slim. This season, the real world of Birmingham City is already empty, with four league games remaining seven points behind Manchester City, leaving only a theoretical possibility. Other cup competitions were also eliminated early. The only thing to be happy with is qualifying for next season's Champions League.
In the CM world, Leeds United only has hope for the league title, but when there are only 4 rounds left in the league, it is expected that Leicester and Tottenham will drop the chain, but I am afraid that there is not much hope.
(End of chapter)
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