I am the king of football

Chapter 86: Peak
After reading out Hull City's starting lineup, Zhan Jun began to count Southampton's starting lineup. Fans may not be familiar with the home team's lineup, so Zhan Jun made a lot of additions.

"For the Saints, they used the 442 formation that the team uses most often this season. The team's No. 9 Bernard and No. 7 Ricky Lambert are the two strikers. These two players have scored a lot of goals since the start of this season. Lambert, the top scorer in the English League One last season, has scored goals so far this season, ranking second in the league's scorer list."

Thirteen goals in eighteen rounds is actually a top scorer-level performance in any league. However, a Chinese striker Qin Hu emerged in Hull City this season. He scored twenty-one goals after eighteen rounds of league games, which can be said to be the top scorer.

However, as the second man behind him, Ricky Lambert is not bad either. He scored 36 goals in the English League One last season to help the team successfully win the championship. This season he has also performed very well and frequently helped the team create opportunities. He and his partner Bernard jointly scored 90% of Southampton's goals.

"In the midfield, young Adam Lallana and Dubravka play as wingers, while defensive midfielder Cork and the Saints' current midfield organizer Schneiderlin appear in the middle. These four players can be called the best midfield combination in the Championship this season. Almost every one of them has the ability to play for a Premier League team."

Zhan Jun never exaggerates when commenting on players, and what he says is naturally reasonable. Both the hardworking Lallana and Schneiderlin, who are excellent in organization and defense, received offers from Premier League teams at the beginning of this season.

If Southampton had not shown enough sincerity and invested a lot of money in recruiting players, and had not made a guarantee with these players that they would be promoted to the Premier League within two seasons, they might have been playing for Premier League teams now.

"On the defensive line, there is Daniel Harding at left back, Richardson at right back, the central defenders are Fonty and Huyveld, and Kevin Davis is the goalkeeper. This is a very stable defensive line and the strongest fortress in front of the Saints' goal."

All in all, the Saints are truly a superb team, which is why they have swept the Championship League since the start of this season. If it weren't for Hull City's sudden emergence, they would have been the first seed for this season's Championship title.

After Zhan Jun introduced the starting lineups of both teams one by one, both teams on the field followed the referee team into the field.

There was a huge roar at St. Mary's Stadium, and the excited Saints fans waved flags and cheered for their team with their loudest roars. However, the thousands of Hull City fans who came from afar were not completely invisible. They also sang praises for their team with flags and drums.

"Okay, the two teams are already standing on the field. According to the captain's rock-paper-scissors game, the home team Southampton has chosen the right to kick off. Lambert and Bernard are ready at the kick-off point."

“Sh ...

As soon as Zhan Jun finished speaking, a long whistle pierced the sky, Lambert pushed the ball out and Bernard passed it to the middle.

"Schneiderlin got the ball and started to organize the Saints' attack. Southampton played their best team in this game and they were determined to win this crucial battle worth six points at home."

The layman watches the excitement, while the expert watches the details. Schneiderlin is not a technical player, but he has an excellent sense of rhythm and organization ability.

As time passed, the ball began to be passed around by different Saints players with him as the core, and no matter how simple the action was, the first wave of Hull City players who rushed up could not intercept the ball.

Slowly, Hull City's lineup was pulled apart and Southampton began to penetrate into their half.

"Catch them, don't let them pass so smoothly~"

Bruce on the sidelines began to give orders loudly. Compared to Adkins who was calm and composed, he was obviously more nervous as he was trying out his new tactics in an official game for the first time.

Fortunately, Hull City's midfielders were not completely defenseless. After Kane continued to harass Schneiderlin, Cavelli and Kupa also joined in the defense. As Paul and Evans began to work together, the ball began to be exchanged. To a certain extent, the two sides were indeed opponents of similar strength. In the first fifteen minutes of the game, the two teams did not create any chances to threaten the goal due to the constant entanglement in the midfield.

But in addition to being stable, the Southampton players at home were obviously more at ease, which allowed them to have more flashes of inspiration when they encountered opportunities.

In the 21st minute of the game, in a head-on confrontation with Kane, Jack Cork intercepted the opponent's ball with fierce pressing and the joint attack of his teammates, and then he passed the ball to Schneiderlin who started to quickly run to the side.

"Schneiderlin pulled the ball away and trapped Evans on the side where he couldn't reach the ball. He kicked the ball with the outside of his foot and it flew directly over the head of Paul who was rushing over!"

"Shu~"

When the camera pulled behind Hull City's midfield defense, Saints No. 9 Bernard had already unloaded the ball, and when Maguire rushed over, he kicked the ball out.

"The ball rolled past Maguire and headed towards the left edge of the penalty area. Almost at the same time, Chester and Lambert rushed towards the ball."

When the distance between a forward who bursts out instantly and a defender who is used to squatting and defending is constant, who will touch the ball first? The answer is straightforward and there is no need to guess.

When Lambert pushed the ball to the left before Chester who was running over, he rushed over and passed the defender in front of him.

"It's a one-on-one opportunity! Lambert's movements are very fast. He goes straight to Gulas and shoots a lob!!!"

"Shh!"

The ball went cleanly over Gulas's lower body as he was trying to save the ball and hit the net. This goal was so easy and effortless.

"Goal! In the 24th minute of the game, Southampton scored the first goal at home. The goal was scored by none other than their team's top scorer Ricky Lambert!"

"boom!"

"Oh oh oh~, we are the great saints, oh oh oh~, we are the invincible Southampton!"

For a moment, the roar and singing sounded in unison, and the home fans became the best 12th men of the team. After the goal was scored, they brought the team's momentum to its peak.

In contrast, the entire Hull City team exuded a kind of helpless embarrassment. Their performance was by no means bad, but unfortunately they still conceded a goal.

Chapter 2 is here! Thank you all for your support!!! Some colleagues in the department have left these days, and there are a lot of things to do. I rush to finish the manuscript every night. Sometimes I don’t proofread carefully. I will proofread it again after publishing. If any friends find typos and problems with the text in the newly updated chapters, don’t worry. Exit and wait and refresh. Daoli will do his best to proofread the article to give you a good reading experience. Please forgive me~
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(End of this chapter)