Father Green

Chapter 284: League Cup Champion

The first game of the return of the national team is not the league. Due to the impact of the League Cup final, Southampton's League Cup has been postponed until next month.
The opponent in the final is the Bradford team from the British Championship, and the final venue is the new Wembley Stadium.This is not the first time a team from a low-level league has reached the final of the Carabao Cup. As the most dark horse in English football championships, it is not easy for a team in the English Championship to enter the final. Strange.

Cardiff City last season, before Wigan Athletic, Leicester City, Luton, etc., so Bradford broke into the League Cup final, the major news media just sighed "Another A dark horse" and that's it.

Southampton was lucky and got the home team in the draw, so they could wear the home jersey and use the home team's dressing room.

The home and guest locker rooms of the new Wembley Stadium are the same as those of the Premier League teams. The sound insulation and comfort of the home team are very good, but the visiting team's locker room is not satisfactory.

This is not because the builder is reluctant to spend money, but it is deliberately made to put pressure on the visiting team. This has become a culture of English football.

"None of the teams that have reached the final is a weak team, and there is no so-called dark horse! Any team that can reach the final all the way is a reflection of their strength, so we cannot face Bradford in this game. main idea."

"The opponent is a Championship team, but we were also a Championship team before. How many teams that reached the final at the same time are easy to bully? Coefficient of the League Cup and FA Cup finals, can compete with low-level leagues Is there any team that won these two cups after killing the Premier League team or even the giants? Yes! And there are more than one and more than once, so we can’t think that just because the opponent is the English Championship team, it’s a sure thing. The FA gave us the trophy after the semi-finals."

"On the contrary, we still need to be 12 points! Because once the opponent is given a chance to win this game...Guys, I believe we will become the laughing stock of the whole of England and even the whole of Europe."

"What will everyone say? Hey, the Saints team that could kill Manchester United, Arsenal and other giants actually lost to a mid-level team in the English Championship. Looking back at the history of the League Cup, the first reaction when people discuss this season's League Cup is that we Lost to Bradford in the Championship! Just as people still remember in 1990-1991, Sheffield Wednesday beat Manchester United in the final!"

In the locker room of the home team, Charlotte is "insuring" the team!After learning that the opponent in the final was Bradford, Charlotte could smell the emotion of underestimating the enemy in the team through the fence outside the Staplewood training base.

Yes, in this final Charlotte sent all young players, but this is not because Charlotte underestimated the enemy, but in his mind, it is very easy for this lineup to play against Bradford, but he must not let the emotion of underestimating the enemy spread throughout the team.

Bradford naturally understands that Southampton is not easy to deal with. They are currently three points ahead of Manchester United in the Premier League standings, and they are firmly seated at the league leader.Such a team is not easy to deal with the previous Aston Villa, which seemed to be relegated.

In this final, Bradford formed a defensive formation, giving a five-four-one iron barrel formation.The confrontation will definitely be sieved by the opponent, so they can only defend. If they can defend until overtime or even a penalty shootout, then they will have the upper hand.

In the game, Southampton had an absolute advantage, almost bombarding the opponent's goal, but they just couldn't break through the opponent's goal.

Until the end of the first half, both sides maintained a score of zero to zero.Such a result surprised the media. In the Premier League this season, there are very few teams that have misfired Southampton's offensive firepower, but they did not expect that the Saints, who have been massacring in the Premier League, would instead meet the Championship team. There was nothing I could do.

During the intermission, Charlotte adjusted his tactics. He replaced Florenzi with Pogba.The midfield partners in this game are Ward-Prowse and Roma Sao Nian Florenzi, and when they replaced each other, Charlotte also explained to Roma Sao Nian that this was a tactical adjustment. The performance is still very satisfactory.

Pogba has a good long-range shot, and Ward-Prowse has some accomplishments in free kicks, so in the second half, Charlotte can only choose long-range shots and set-piece tactics when facing the bus. The only way to break the dense defense.

In the opponent's five-four formation, there are three central defenders, two defensive midfielders and two full-backs. Such a defensive posture cannot be blamed on the attacking line headed by Sterling, Harry Kane and De Bruyne. Minutes without breaking the opponent's goal.

The penalty area is full of people, what can they do if the ball can't get in?
Charlotte's adjustments quickly paid off. Pogba's powerful long-range shot frightened Bradford 15 minutes after the start of the second half. Finally, in the No.60 second minute of the game, Pogba made a long shot. The shot hit the opponent's defensive player and refracted into the penalty area. Harry Kane, who had been in the opponent's penalty area, seized the opportunity to make a supplementary shot and blasted the opponent's goal.

Harry Kane, who scored the goal, was so excited that he took off his jersey and beat his chest.These six and 10 minutes of the game can suffocate him. As a single arrow on the front line, he can't score or help his teammates score, which is not a good thing for him.

Although the goal was scored, Southampton's offense did not stop because of this, they continued to press the offense.

In the No.60 second minute of the game, De Bruyne was brought down at the front of the penalty area, and the referee gave Southampton a set kick.

De Bruyne wanted to handle the ball, but Charlotte gestured for Ward-Prowse to come, and eventually a young Ward-Prowse stood in front of the ball.

His teammates in the youth team, Jack Stephen, Luke Shaw and Chambers, etc. have all had positions in the first team one after another, and he is still playing in the youth team, so Ward-Prowse is concerned about First-team opportunities are cherished.

He took a deep breath, and then swung the football on the run-up. The football drew an arc and crossed the wall, and then flew straight to the goal.

The Bradford goalkeeper took off and lifted this very high-quality free kick over the crossbar with one hand.

Ward-Prowse shook his head regretfully. He felt that the goal could be scored before, but he didn't expect to be saved by the opponent.

Southampton got a corner kick, De Bruyne did not go to the corner kick, but pulled the jersey of the young player Ward Prowse and signaled him to take the corner kick.

The teenager was not discouraged either, and after thanking De Bruyne, he walked to the corner.

Stephens in the penalty area made a gesture to him. Stephens has been teammates with him since the youth teams at all levels, so Ward-Prowse naturally understood the meaning of that gesture.

The football comes out and runs away.After a run-up, Stephens took off to compete for the top, and finally overwhelmed the opponent's central defender with a header.

This time Bradford's goalkeeper failed to save the team, and the football flew into his goal.

Stephens, who scored the goal, ran to Ward-Prowse, and the two hugged each other, and then Harry Kane and Pogba also came up to hug and celebrate.

The commentator at the scene sighed: "Lallana, Stephens, Luke Shaw, Chambers and Ward-Prowse Southampton once again proved to the world that their youth training level is still at the top level. It will be the most precious wealth of the saints in the future!!"

After scoring two goals in 4 minutes, Bradford was completely beaten.

At the No.70 minute of the game, Charlotte started to make substitutions again.The injured Sturridge came on and replaced De Bruyne.This substitution means that Charlotte does not seem to give up the offense, otherwise he will replace Harry Kane instead of De Bruyne on the wing.

At the same time, Charlotte replaced vice-captain Adam Lallana with Danish winger Sisto. This is an opportunity for young players to exercise.

In the end, Southampton defeated Bradford in the British Championship with a score of [-]-[-]. Although the opponent caused a lot of trouble for the Saints' offense in the first half, after all, the overall strength of the two sides lies there. Most of the starters arranged by Charlotte are young players, but it is not something Bradford can fight.

When the game was over, the ready salutes on the stadium began to fire, red and white ribbons floated in the sky, and Queen's famous song "We Are the Champions" was played over Wembley Stadium.

The players on the bench swarmed into the field and celebrated with their teammates.

There was a stark contrast between the celebrating Southampton people and the lost Bradford people who fell on the grass. Charlotte was going to celebrate with his players, but he saw someone not far away. On the lawn, a Bradford-clad player is sobbing.

Charlotte went up and patted the opponent on the shoulder. The opponent turned his head and Charlotte realized that this was the "one" from the opponent's May [-]. The player's face was still immature. Charlotte estimated that the opponent was only sixteen or seventeen years old. look.

At such a young age, he started in the League Cup final, which shows that he is still very promising in Bradford's lineup.It's just that due to the team's tactical play, he didn't get any chances in the 10 minutes of the game, and even the director gave him very few shots.

"Don't cry, kid! Standing in the final at your age is already a very successful thing. Your future is still very long. You shouldn't cry because of a loss in the League Cup. The loss now is God For your test, only a small sapling that has experienced wind and rain can grow into a towering tree." Charlotte said with a smile.

The Bradford player was pulled up by Charlotte and wiped his tears with his jersey: "Thank you, sir!"

Charlotte smiled and hugged each other: "Come on, kid!"

Then he left the field, because he remembered that he had forgotten to shake hands with the opponent's head coach. When he came to the sideline to shake hands with the opponent's head coach, the head coach said in a low voice while shaking hands: "Thank you! I comfort the players!"

Charlotte smiled: "You're welcome!"