Now Leeds United have successfully qualified for the top spot in the group, and the opponent in the first round of the knockout round is Portuguese Super League giants Porto, a good signing.

Although the real-world Birmingham performed poorly, and did not make a thrilling comeback to qualify until the final round of the group stage, they did not qualify for the task. The league is also in third place, although there is a big gap from the top of the table, and there is basically no hope of winning the championship. But Li Chengfeng can't ask for more from Birmingham, and with their foundation, it is expected that it will take more than ten years of consistent and strong team performance to be recognized, and truly enter the ranks of giants, just like Tottenham before.

As for now, it's better to spend Christmas with Wen Shuting and Emily after thinking so much.

Easy days are short-lived, especially when the manager of a Premier League team is even busier. Li Chengfeng just took a break on Christmas Day and returned to the team. The next league game is against Arsenal, so he can't afford to be careless.

Arsenal are currently seventh, but they are not far from Leeds United, and with only three points separating them, they could return to the top four at any time. Leeds United, on the other hand, will face Arsenal and Manchester City in a row, and the top four positions are not secure.

Fortunately, both of these games are Leeds United's home stadium, and Arsenal's away performance this season has been very poor, winning only two games in the first half, which can be described as miserable.

Arsenal's away malaise is an old problem, and it has basically been because of this problem in recent years, which has led to a lack of title contention. This is also determined by Arsenal's style. Arsene Wenger places too much emphasis on the technical ability of his players, but usually the players with strong technical ability are softer. It's fine at home, but when it's away from home, when others play tough with him, once the whistle is not so harsh, Arsenal's tactics will be problematic and the poor results will not be difficult to understand.

The solution is not nothing, one is to give up this flashy and fragile style of play, but Wenger will not be willing to do so. Another option is to bring in players who have the skills, awareness and toughness, but these players are sky-high and the Arsenal owners are not willing to spend that money. Arsenal's owners are notoriously stingy and, in the words of Arsenal fans, "my son spent more money on Arsenal than Kroenke." ”

With this kind of boss, Arsene Wenger's tragedy is inevitable, and so is this game. Although Arsenal used their skills and combination to take the lead in the first half, in the 25th minute, Lacazette got rid of the defense on the right wing of the penalty area and volleyed from a tight angle, the ball was saved by Ederson bravely, and Mustafi hit a cushion from a small angle on the left wing of the penalty area, and Arsenal led Crystal Palace 1-0.

But in the second half it was Leeds United's world, with the youngsters at Leeds breaking down Arsenal with their pace and physique.

In the 50th minute, Leroy Sane sent a superb cross from the left, and Salah flanked the ball in the middle of the penalty area and hit the bottom left corner, and Leeds United tied the score at 1-1.

In the 89th minute, Salah crossed from the left corner area, and Mbappe's header hit the bottom right corner, 2:1, Leeds United overtook the score.

The final result was a 2-1 win over Arsenal at home to Leeds United, closing the gap on Manchester United, still 12 points away from Manchester City.

The win over Arsenal was just a dessert before the big game against Manchester City, and the next big game against Manchester City was the highlight.

Manchester City have been in good form this season, winning 16 and drawing four of their previous 20 league games without a defeat. Although there are some holes in the backline, their strong control in midfield has ensured the team's defence.

Leeds United's recovery momentum is also very obvious, and the last 13 league games unbeaten with 35 points are not too much. However, everyone is more optimistic about Manchester City, Leeds United only encountered Tottenham and Arsenal during this wave of operations, two strong teams, the gold content is somewhat insufficient, and there are many stumbling performances, which is as strong as Manchester City, there are a lot of big wins of more than 5 goals in half a season, which really makes people feel unmatched.

However, Li Chengfeng is aware of Guardiola's flaws, and he is so focused on his football philosophy that he even puts it above the loser. However, players who fit his football philosophy, especially defenders, usually have a weakness, which is a lack of athleticism, especially in their overall formation-forward style of play, which can often create a big threat with a single counter-attack.

This is also what Li Chengfeng said, where Guardiola's football is unrealistic, he can't find another Messi who can completely suppress the opponent offensively, and there is no way to find a Pique who can wipe the team's ass when he makes mistakes, which is basically an irreproducible castle in the air. Otherwise, if this set was really so easy to use, Li Chengfeng would have reappeared in Leeds United a long time ago. Even Barcelona, after Xavi and Iniesta have grown old, there are other elements, only Pep Guardiola is going further and further on the road of passing and control.

However, Guardiola's tactics, who have been studying for so long, have already learned how to deal with him.

Manchester City, who kicked off the game first, threatened from the start with skilful link-up, and just two minutes into the game, Danilo picked up a cross and Bessie stopped the ball on the right side of the box with a left-footed shot that went wide of the far post. However, after that, under pressure from Leeds United, Manchester City's attack became sluggish.

Leeds were much better than Manchester City in terms of athleticism and quickly made City mistakes through pressing. In the 9th minute, Bravo and Mangala made a mistake in coordination, the ball bounced to the right side of the penalty area, Mbappe followed up with a low shot, and the ball hit Mangala's leg and flew out of the bottom line. In the 13th minute, Leeds United had another chance, De Bruyne's header was not far away, Alli shot with his left foot from the periphery, the ball was blocked by Otamendi, and Bravo saved the ball with one palm. It looks like Bravo is in good form today and Leeds United will be in some trouble.

However, there was an accident on the field, in the 23rd minute, Jesus was injured, Guardiola replaced Aguero, and finally had a regular center forward on the field.

Pep Guardiola doesn't like to use a centre-forward, especially a big centre-forward. In the past, he had an unpleasant fall out with Samuel Eto'o and Ibrahimovic in Barcelona. When he arrived at Bayern, he quickly dealt with Mandzukic, that is, Lewandowski's comprehensiveness allowed him to gain a foothold at Bayern.

However, Aguero is only good at scoring goals, and other aspects are not very in line with Guardiola's tactical requirements, so there are rumors that Guardiola wanted to deal with Aguero when he first arrived at Manchester City, but he failed to do so. But it doesn't look like Pep Guardiola has given up on finding alternatives, with the arrival of Gabriel Jesus starting to crowd out Aguero's chances. It's just that this sudden injury seems to be going to disrupt his plans.

However, Aguero's goalscoring ability is still very strong, and he almost scored a goal shortly after he came on. In the 29th minute, Danilo split the ball, Aguero won the ball on the left side of the front, dribbled horizontally to near the top of the arc, shot with his right foot, the ball rubbed against Maguire's leg and refracted, hitting the far post and popping up.

Neither side could score in the first half, everyone was entangled in midfield, and there weren't many real chances. However, this stalemate is more beneficial for Leeds, as City's athleticism deficiencies, especially the weakness of the defenders' ability to chase back, make them have a low margin for error when playing high and can suffer a fatal blow with just one mistake. In contrast, Leeds are in a much better situation, at least they have enough running ability to make up for their mistakes.

That was exactly how the game went, with City creating chances on a number of occasions with skilful link-ups, but not much of a threat. They lacked a flashpoint that could change the way Leeds defended. There used to be Messi at Barcelona and Ribery and Arjen Robben at Bayern, but there was a lack of such players at Manchester City. Their passing was flashy and their combination was skilful, but when it came to an opponent as close as Leeds United, it was a bit uneventful.

You can't get the ball into the opponent's goal by passing the ball alone, and no matter how gorgeous the scene is, football is a game that relies on scoring goals to beat the opponent. Leeds are simpler but more threatening.

In the 78th minute, Leeds narrowly took the lead, Salah crossed from the right, and Alli went in and fired a left-footed shot into the far end of the net that was high in the woodwork. Li Chengfeng couldn't believe his eyes, with Ali's footwork, this should be a goal that is nine out of ten, how could it be kicked off.

However, Leeds did not let the victory slip away after all, and Manchester City's weakness was once again seized by Leeds United. In the 91st minute, Kante broke the ball directly and split the ball, Salah ran wildly with the ball into the penalty area and was pulled down, penalty!

Leeds United captain Milner struck the penalty 1-0.

Manchester City tried to equalise in the closing stages, but they really didn't have much to do. Thinking of high balls, there are no high points in the front court, breakthroughs, no explosion points, passing, the efficiency is too low.

In such a short period of time, Manchester City could not do anything, but because they were too anxious, De Bruyne and N'Golo Kante collided and were both carried off the field.

Three people were injured in one game, and the intensity of the game can be seen. Manchester City's losses are much greater than Leeds United's, De Bruyne is the tactical heart of Pep Guardiola, and Jesus also occupies an important place in his passing system, so losing these two players at once is afraid of a big impact. However, Manchester City's squad is thick enough, and the impact should not be too great, not to mention that the transfer winter window is about to begin, and Manchester City is not short of money.

As for Leeds United, the impact is even smaller, although Kante is important, but Leeds United also has a Torreira, who is also a strong defensive midfielder, and it will not have much impact tactically, it is nothing more than that it will have some impact when it is necessary to sacrifice two backs to defend with all their might. However, N'Golo Kante's injury does not look serious and he could recover after a month's rest. Injuries of this magnitude are commonplace in the Premier League, and where does it count.

(End of chapter)

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