May 12, at 15:00 sharp.
In the final game of the Premier League, Leeds United faced Wolves at the Amazon Stadium.
This game was hailed as the Chinese Derby by the media all over the world, because the capital from China is behind the two clubs.
Originally, there were many conspiracy theories that the Wolves would deliberately put water in the game to allow Leeds United to successfully defend the title, but now, with Leeds United winning the championship one round ahead of schedule, this theory has completely dissipated.
White Rose told everyone with real results that her champion came in an aboveboard manner!
Although the boss behind it is from China, the Wolves have deep traces of Portugal.
For example, coach Santo and his coaching team are Portuguese.
For example, there are nine players from Portugal in the first team, including famous stars such as Ruben Neves and Moutinho.
And behind these Portuguese players there is a common agent, Jorge Mendes.
Interestingly, the owner of the Wolves is also a shareholder of Mendes' agency.
Behind everything is a complex capital operation.
But none of that has anything to do with tonight's game at Amazon Field.
From the moment the two sides entered this fantasy stadium, the only thing that can decide the outcome is the performance of the players on the court.
Despite having won the championship ahead of schedule, Leeds United still played with the full main lineup.
At the beginning of the game, Leeds United relied on their home advantage to launch a wave of high pressure against the Wolves and successfully controlled the game.
But the Wolves are also very brave.
This Premier League team ranks 8th this season, and its results are even better than teams such as Everton and Newcastle.
If you look at this season's performance, this Wolves team is an out-and-out dark horse.
Of course, in front of the old dark polo team Leeds United, the Wolves don't have much to show off.
From the tactical level, the Wolves also did not take the usual path.
In the Premier League, there are generally two trends at present. One is Manchester City, Leeds United, Liverpool and other teams. Whether it is passing the ball or high pressure, they all advocate controlling the midfield, controlling the overall situation, and then advancing layer by layer.
One is the style of play of the middle and lower teams. They adopt more traditional English tactics, playing high and combining sides.
These two styles of play have their own advantages and disadvantages. The former requires a high level of technical and tactical players, and usually only the rich and powerful teams can create it. Leeds United is a big exception; the latter is no longer suitable for the current mainstream trend. The advantage lies in its high quality and low price, high cost performance, and local characteristics of England.
Wolves are very different.
Coach Santo has created a compromise tactical style of play for this newly promoted polo team, which is very special but also very simple.
It's just playing midfield!
Many people must be puzzled when they hear this, isn't this the first style of play?
Wrong, the Wolves only fight in the midfield. After grabbing the ball, they streamline their offense as much as possible, and launch a counterattack mainly with long passes.
The advantage of this style of play is that it can maximize the balance of offense and defense.
If you play a long pass, the offensive player in front rushes, it doesn't matter if you lose the ball, the defensive formation in the midfield remains unchanged.
This is how Wolves survive.
Is there any effect?
Wolves are currently ranked 8th in the Premier League, which is the best evidence.
This team has hardly any changes at the tactical level. It is a set of tactics that take all the fronts of the strong team and the weak.
So a very interesting phenomenon appeared, that is, the Wolves are not weak when they are strong, and they are not strong when they are weak.
And this style of play also has a disadvantage, that is, players consume a lot, and injuries and physical fitness will be a problem.
However, by the last round of the league, the Wolves had already missed the European competition, and there was no danger of relegation in the future. For them, this game was basically like a chicken rib, at best, it was for the bonus of the league ranking.
cooked
Fans who are familiar with the Premier League know that in the bonuses of each season, ranking factors are also part of the reason for determining the level of bonuses. Although there are not many, mosquitoes are meat no matter how small they are.
Therefore, after the game started, the Wolves still adopted their usual tactics.
High-pressure midfielder, counter-attack with long balls.
Even the first shot of the audience was a throw-in from the Wolves.
That ultrlong-range throw-in, like a missile, was thrown directly into Leeds United's penalty area, but the header was too high and failed to pose a threat.
Then the two sides continued to entangle near the center line.
The Wolves have long been familiar with their own style of play.
Until the 11th minute of the first half, when Ruben Dias received a cross from De Ligt in the backcourt, he took two steps forward, got a glimpse of the opportunity, and directly made a long diagonal pass with precision. The ball was sent down the right flank behind Wolves' defence.
I saw Dembele rush forward at the fastest speed, and stopped the ball before the football crossed the bottom line.
In order to smash the midfield tonight, the Wolves formed a three-five-two formation, and the three defenders led to a vacancy in the wing defense.
The tall Boli chased back all the way, and took the initiative to stick Dembey.
After the French winger stopped the ball, he first slowed down, and when his teammates in the middle and back caught up, he suddenly accelerated and made a low pass from the bottom.
The football was quickly passed to the center by Dembele. Vardy quickly advanced, ahead of Wolves captain Cody, and shoveled the ball into the net, one to zero!
Vardy's goal completely ignited the passion of the Amazon stadium.
Although the team has already won the championship ahead of schedule, everyone still hopes to celebrate the team's title defense with a victory.
The 67,000 Leeds United fans at the Amazon Stadium were cheering at the top of their lungs.
Just seven minutes after the last goal, a lateral transfer from Milinkovic.
The ball came to the right side of the field.
Arnold quickly advanced forward, stopped the ball, and crossed it to Bruno Fernandez who ran over to meet him.
Leeds United's right back moved forward at a very fast speed, catching up with his teammate's pass before everyone else, and completed a two-for-one hit to the wall. After catching up with the ball on the right side of the penalty area, he made a low pass.
Vardy at the previous point failed to touch the football under the interference of the defensive players, but Mbapp inserted in the back row, faced the incoming ball, and shot with his right foot, sending the ball into the lower right corner of the goal!
"Leeds United make another victory!"
"Mbappe followed up and scored with a push!"
"Two to zero!"
The entire Amazon stadium completely turned into a sea of celebration.
In the opening 18 minutes, Leeds United already led by two goals.
All the fans are cheering and celebrating the team's victory.
After winning two consecutive cities, Leeds United began to slow down their offensive.
The Wolves also gradually stepped up their moves, which also made the home team somewhat reserved.
After all, for Leeds United, the Premier League championship has already been won, and there is no need to smash the Wolves at this time.
More importantly, the team will have a crucial Champions League final next, and it will be held in this stadium, so the team does not want to be injured again in this situation anyway.
[In view of the general environment,
And that mentality carried over to the game.
Wolves tried to launch a counterattack, but it was not effective, and Leeds United firmly seized possession.
The stalemate in the game continued until the second half, and neither side was able to score again.
Pochettino replaced the teenager Harland during the intermission, replaced the captain Vardy, and at the same time replaced Milinkovic with the teenager Militao.
After two substitutions, the team's tactics in the second half changed suddenly and became a three-back style of play.
Ruben Dias, De Ligt and Militao form a back three, with Robertson, Bruno Fernandez, Kimmich and Trent Alexander-Arnold in midfield, and Mbappe, Harland and Demb in front .
The three-four-three formation made Leeds United more offensive, but this adjustment also brought confusion.
The scene was even once occupied by the Wolves.
It wasn't until Pochettino made a second substitution early in the 65th minute, replacing Demb with the teenager Valverde, and changed into a three-five-two formation, which temporarily stabilized the formation.
It is said to be three-five-two, but it is actually a bit like three-four-two-one. Both Mbapp and Valverde are positioned further back, ambush behind Harland.
Obviously, Pochettino is also adjusting and trying the team's tactics.
The league is under too much pressure, and there is no better time to test it than this game.
After the change, the formations of Leeds United and Wolves look the same, but in fact, they are completely different.
Due to the chaos caused by Leeds United's change, the scene looked a bit bad, but the overall strength of the Leeds United players was obviously better than the Wolves, especially the few players who had just come off the bench. Very active.
More importantly, Harland's sharp knife posed a huge threat to the Wolves' defense.
The Leeds United teenager, who has scored in four consecutive games, is constantly looking for opportunities. His activeness has brought great disaster and pain to the Wolves' defense, especially with the two wingers of Leeds United. UU Reading www.uukanshu.com
Although crossing from the wing is considered inefficient, sometimes it is the simplest, most direct and deadliest tactic with a high center forward.
In the 82nd minute, the defenders of the Wolverines finally failed to keep up with Haaland despite the conservative suffering and torture throughout the game. Arnold's oblique long pass from the right fell precisely to the middle of the penalty area. Haha Rand quickly jumped in and overwhelmed Bennett and Cody. He jumped high and headed the goal.
The cross was well-placed and passed beautifully, and Haaland's header was also beautiful. At the same time, it also prevented the two central defenders, Bennett and Cody, from taking off.
The football was pushed into the right side of the Wolves goal by Haaland, and goalkeeper Patricio was beyond his reach.
Three to zero!
This was also the last goal of the game, and it was Harland who scored in five consecutive games at the end of the season!
The entire Amazon stadium is completely insane!
Scoring goals in five consecutive games is really incredible for a young player who is only 18 years old.
This also allowed Haaland to surpass the Premier League legend Michael Owen and become the youngest player in the history of the Premier League to score 5 consecutive appearances.
You know, when Owen set this record, he was already 21 years old and 247 days old.
But Haaland is only 18 years old.