Chapter 138: The Key

After winning their first win of the new season, Leeds United's morale has risen a bit, which will be very good for them in the upcoming fixtures as they start to meet strong opponents from the second round of the league.

The opponent of the second round of the league ...... "Reds" Liverpool!

The opponent of the third round of the league ...... "Gunners" Arsenal!

Fourth round of league opponents...... Jose Mourinho's "Blues" Chelsea!

Simon? Grayson looked at such a schedule and wanted to scold his mother, this England FA is to catch their own team as a victim, although this schedule can raise the excitement of the Premier League from the beginning of the season, but it is really not a good thing for the "Young Guards", Leeds United has been played by the English FA last season, this time it was arranged like this at the beginning of the new season, this is accidental...... That's fucking accidental.

In the summer, Leeds United just bought Madias? Caruzo will strengthen the team's defence, and it will take some time for the Argentine international to integrate into the team's backline and form a tacit understanding with others, but now...... This time is gone!

Relatively speaking, although opponents such as Liverpool, Arsenal, and Chelsea have also brought in reinforcements, they are not in such an important position as a central defender, and their impact is still much smaller.

Last season, the "Reds" changed coaches halfway through and invited young young coach Brenden? Rodgers, although the final results were not ideal, still invested heavily in bringing in stars this summer, they poached Hamsik from Napoli for 24.5 million pounds, and bought Bryce from Paris Saint-Germain for 12.25 million pounds? Matedi, £11.5 million poached Miroslav from Fenerbahce? Stoch, £11.75 million poached centre-back Yaroslav from Shakhtar? Leksky, it can be said that this time England's most well-established "Red Army" is really mad.

In the first round of the league. Liverpool are also away from home with Gabriel? Torge and José? Enrique's goal eased up 2-0 away at promoted Millwo.

It is not clear from the scoreline how strong the "Reds" are today, but if you look at the footage of the game, you will see that Brendan Rodgers' rebuilt Liverpool team is completely different from last season, they are more efficient on the pitch, only 51% of the possession rate and produced as many as 16 shots on goal. It's just a little lacking in the ability to take chances, otherwise the score would never have been just 2:0.

However, who knows whether the "Red Army" is retaining its strength?

Simon? Grayson's guess is still correct, Liverpool finished sixth last season and have to play the Europa League qualifiers, which is already a shame for the "Reds", and if they can't pass the qualifiers, it will be an absolute shame.

So Brendan Rodgers, after retaining his strength in the first round of the league, let go of a bit in the Europa League. The "Red Army" defeated the Portuguese team Ganmares with a score of 3:0 at home, and in the game, Rodgers did not send Gerrard and other main players at all, and even replaced his three main defenders in the 60th minute of the game.

Just after this game, Suarez, the leading scorer of the "Reds" and the first to open the scoring for the team in this game, was asked in an interview with reporters about the upcoming match against the "Young Guards" at home, and the Uruguayan said: "We have a full squad and a strong team. We are also familiar with the manager's tactics, so now we will be invincible. We have what it takes to make any opponent cry at Anfield! ”

As soon as Suarez's words came out, it caused an uproar, and Leeds captain Jonny? Hausen responded immediately: "Suarez? Oh, you mean the guy who didn't score many goals in Liverpool last season but claimed to be the number one striker? Hehe, he's far worse than Fernando! And he has a very bad memory, just over four months ago. We look like we've already conquered Anfield, right!? ”

Under the provocation of reporters, the war of words seems to have the momentum of kicking off, but Liverpool's captain Gerrard is very calm: "There is no need to say some unnutritious words, we are players, no matter how good we say, it is useless." Let's go to the arena and compare the ranks. ”

"Bun" Gerrard is still holding a fire in his heart, last season Liverpool and Leeds United played twice, away and the opponent played a 0:0 draw, but the home team lost 1:2 to the opponent, which is a very unhappy thing for the "Red Army" standard-bearer, any team that took away the victory from Anfield Stadium will make Gerrard feel uncomfortable, after his debut in the 1998~1999 season, in the sixteen years so far, every team that has taken away the victory from Anfield Stadium, he even remembers, Every time he gets a chance to play against these opponents, he fights hard.

Maybe...... This is the source of motivation for Gerard to become the standard-bearer of the "Red Army"!

The war of words between the players of the two teams was tepidly sprayed at each other, but the head coaches of both teams were very calm and did not make any remarks, whether it was Simon? Grayson or Brendon? Brendan Rodgers, they all belong to the new generation of homegrown coaches, they are more pragmatic, and they will not like to use verbal warfare to disrupt opponents like Ferguson, Wenger, or even Mourinho, and now this psychological warfare has become less and less effective.

Simon? Grayson has always been speculating about how Liverpool will arrange for this game, because the "Reds" are too strong, and after only swiping four stars in the transfer market this season, it feels like this old giant has been reborn, and their all-star squad seems to give them the atmosphere of "giants" again.

Rodgers is not easy either, he is also pondering the tactical play of the "Young Guard", and unlike the opponent guessing his lineup, Rodgers has found a tactical hole in Leeds United.

After last season's impressive performances by the 'Young Guards', the English Premier League is no stranger to this young team, and everyone knows that Leeds United play a form of football that is both powerful and dangerous.

Last season's Premier League record with 119 goals is a testament to the strength of the Young Guards, and anyone who wants Haleeds United will be left speechless by the solid stats.

And the danger is...... Leeds United are relying too much on their midfield core Shaq!

Although Shaq's performance last season was indeed very calm, averaging 7.05 steals per game, 1.08 dribbles, a pass completion rate of 86%, and an average of 13.4 kilometers per game, he was completely an all-round monster who single-handedly supported the Leeds United midfield, and this performance also earned him an average rating of 8.12.

And if something goes wrong with Shaq, what awaits Leeds United will be ...... Go to pieces!

Leeds United's tactical play is both complex and concise, the complex is that they have too many small areas to cover the whole field, even the goalkeeper Ronedan can be involved in the defenders to pass, the tactics of possession are very similar to Barcelona football, but Leeds United prefer to pursue goals, they tend to beat opponents by large scores, and it is not the kind of goal that is brushed for someone, just because they like to score.

The concise point is that there is only one fulcrum for the "Young Guard" to complete this tactical play...... Sark!

Whether it is the cooperation of the backfield, or the cooperation of the frontcourt, or the lateral transfer of left and right, or even when defending, the "Young Guard" always revolves around Shaq alone.

"Old man" Ferguson announced his retirement after leading the team to win the championship last season, when commenting on many opponents in the English Premier League, he said: "The team that can threaten Manchester United the most is Arsenal, but the most threatening person for Manchester United in the whole league is Shaq, a Shaq is equivalent to half of Leeds United, such a player is too dangerous." ”

Ferguson did not have no purpose, the old man suffered enough when he led the "Red Devils" and the "Young Guards", and lost both legs of the meeting with Leeds United last season, and finally was able to press Leeds United to win the championship or lose the opponent's own mistakes, and then when Leeds United was still in the Championship, the two teams met in the FA Cup or the "Red Devils" lost, but the old man is still retired, and there is no chance to find revenge.

Anyone with a discerning eye knows that the tactical play of Leeds United, in fact, as long as it can limit Shaq's play, it is equivalent to choking the throat of the "Young Guard", and their combat effectiveness will be reduced by at least half, but "how to prevent Shaq" has become a common problem for English super teams.

Once "Professor" Wenger figured out a way to pinch the passing route, and it was indeed defeated Leeds United in both legs last season, defeating the "Youth Guards" 1:0 and 2:1 home and away respectively.

Can these two games ...... To be honest, the "Gunners" didn't limit Shaq's play, and Leeds' core play was still very consistent, but his teammates sometimes couldn't keep up with him, which ultimately led to the defeat.

Rodgers would love to emulate the Gunners, but his team is not suited to do so, because the Reds are still not as strong as the Gunners on a technical level, and it is simply unrealistic for them to fully anticipate Leeds United's passing routes and intercept them!

But...... Shaq is the key to Leeds United's victory, but if the door doesn't exist, the key is ...... What's the use? (To be continued......)