Football career: From winning the championship to becoming a legend

Before Tottenham kicked off the third time, Jol made a substitution before the game resumed without waiting for Murphy to finish warming up. Malbranque was undoubtedly unbalanced and was being targeted by Sevilla's No. 7. If he didn't make a substitution, Sevilla would definitely use Malbranque's pressure to break through the defense again, and it would be very likely that they would use the Ruby War God card, and the game would be completely over.

After Danny Murphy came on, Tottenham's midfield defense went up a level. They immediately withstood Sevilla's penetration through the center, successfully defended in position, and began to try to launch quick and concise counterattacks.

In the 13th minute, it was Li Qi's turn to be too confident. He thought that the pass from the middle was a sure thing, but it was blocked by Danny Murphy and Zokora. At this time, Sevilla's half of the field was open...

Berbatov received a long pass from Murphy, stopped the ball lightly, and then turned around with a fake move of lowering his shoulders, which immediately deceived Navarro who was defending, and then sent a straight pass that penetrated the depth of Sevilla's defense... Robbie Keane made a high-speed forward run and successfully got past the offside, but missed the shooting angle after dribbling past the attacking Palop on the left side of the penalty area; the ball swept towards the middle was cleared by Escud who returned to defense.

Li Qi kept signaling to his teammates about his mistakes, and he understood in his heart that the high-pressure attacking style at the beginning could come to an end. Tottenham's defensive formation had been stabilized and had no obvious weaknesses; and Sevilla had already scored two goals, so they could retreat and play a steady defensive counterattack.

However, when Sevilla retreated and slowed down the pace to play a defensive counterattack, Tottenham's formation exposed new gaps in the backcourt, and they continued to launch a threatening attack; but Kanoute, Navas and Adriano's shots were all off target.

Of course, Tottenham also has opportunities, but they rely more on the personal abilities of forwards Berbatov and Robbie Keane to create threats, because the originally arranged technical midfield commander has been replaced; of the current four midfielders, except Lennon who is a wing attacker, the remaining three are defensive midfield tough guys, who are tough but not agile enough.

However, at the end of the first half, Xiaosha Ge still relied on his superb personal skills to find a good opportunity at the edge of the penalty area. Unfortunately, the Bulgarian shooter's volley hit the left post and bounced out of the bottom line...

Sevilla entered the halftime break with a 2-0 advantage. At this time, the total score of the two rounds was already 4-1, and the away goal advantage also came to the visiting team, which means that Tottenham had to score at least 3 more goals to turn the tables, and they had to not concede any goals in the second half.

So during the halftime break, many live commentators and guests had basically determined that Sevilla would advance to the semi-finals of the UEFA Cup; but bookmakers were still accepting bets on Tottenham, which was a bit intriguing...

During the half-time break, Tottenham head coach Jol was not a pushover. He directly replaced Chimbonda with Defoe and changed to a 3-4-3 formation, intending to fight hard with Sevilla.

Jol thought that since there was no organizing midfielder, he might as well not use the midfield. He could withdraw a defender, add a forward, and directly use long passes to find the forward to complete the attack. The midfielder could either pass the ball from the wing or charge with his body, or just focus on defense. This would actually speed up the tempo of the game and help the lagging side to launch multiple rounds of attacks.

However, Jol's move was indeed effective. It was a desperate tactic that made Sevilla extremely uncomfortable at the beginning of the second half.

First of all, Sevilla's midfield interception was useless because Tottenham directly threw high balls to the front three; secondly, Sevilla's midfield organization fell into Tottenham's midfield and frontcourt siege. Xiaosa didn't participate much in the pressing, but Defoe was a fast interceptor, and with Robbie Keane and the four midfielders, they made it difficult for Li Qi and Paulson to survive...

This cut off the connection between Sevilla's midfield and frontcourt, leaving Sevilla's originally advantageous forward lineup with no place to play. Kanoute was caught in a constant fight with Ledley King, while Korzakov was closely followed by Tenio.

So for a while, there was a panic in Sevilla's penalty area.

Less than 5 minutes into the second half, Tottenham had a good chance to score. In the 49th minute, Zokora followed Robbie Keane's cover and suddenly broke through with the ball. He passed several people on the left and broke into the penalty area before being pulled down by Navarro. However, Austrian referee Plautz refused to award a penalty.

However, Sevilla's escape did not last long, as the deadlock was broken in the 65th minute. Juan Ramos was preparing to adjust the formation, strengthen the defense, and replace some of the main players in preparation for the weekend's focus battle with Valencia, when Tottenham gave Sevilla a wake-up call for their lack of ambition.

Berbatov took Tainio's diagonal pass and passed it to Robbie Keane at the right time. The latter took the pass and volleyed it with his left foot at the edge of the penalty area! However, before the ball could penetrate the defensive crowd, Defoe, who came on as a substitute in the second half, cleverly blocked the ball into Sevilla's goal from 12 yards.

Through slow-motion replay, Defoe was obviously unable to dodge in the process of advancing, and unconsciously used his legs to change the direction of Robbie Keane's shot; and Palop, who had already moved his center of gravity according to the trajectory of the ball, was still helpless against this shot that was not very fast after the deflection and the angle was not tricky...

Tottenham were also lucky to score the first goal of the game and equalize the score. It seems that the goddess of luck has not completely abandoned the home team.

Just like Sevilla at the beginning of the first half, Tottenham struck while the iron was hot and took advantage of the visiting team's moment of distraction due to the loss of the ball and the sudden change in substitution strategy. Two minutes later, they scored another goal to equalize the score!

It was the stylish Berbatov who instigated the attack again. This time, as an all-around center forward, he moved to the left to coordinate, and used his height and long legs to bully Alves. Finally, he created an opening and forced a cross.

Robbie Keane was again responsible for receiving the first pass from Berbatov. This time, the Irish striker in the middle of the penalty area did not choose to attack blindly due to the interference of Navarro, but chose to use his chest to block the ball to the far point...

Lennon, who had been lurking at the back post, took advantage of his outstanding explosive power and with two quick steps, he got to the ball before everyone else and easily poked the ball into the bottom of the net at the near corner of the goal from 6 yards in front of the goal.

Tottenham scored within three minutes, instantly equalizing the score. The home stands were boiling! Tottenham's hope of advancing was rekindled. Instantly, morale soared, and the offensive became more intense! The bookmakers suddenly raised the odds of Sevilla's advancement, attracting gamblers to bet wildly on Tottenham's big comeback!

Juan Ramos was also embarrassed at this time. He had originally planned to replace three main players, Li Qi, Alves and Kanoute, in the 65th minute to save their strength for the weekend game against Valencia. But now, fortunately he did not make any substitutions, and he no longer dared to do so.

I originally thought that the goddess of luck would favor me and I could save some energy, but I didn't expect that this seemed to be a trap set by the goddess of fate! There are still nearly 20 minutes left. So, in order to avoid the inventory in the future, I have to put in some more energy and grit my teeth to hold on!

Fortunately, when he was about to make a substitution, Juan Ramos had already thought of a solution, but the personnel configuration was slightly different. So Sevilla also quickly made substitutions to interrupt Tottenham's wave after wave of attacking rhythm and the morale that had reached its peak.

Juan Ramos brought on Marti and Maresca in the 70th and 75th minutes respectively, replacing Korzakov and Navas.

Juan Ramos, while sending out two defensive midfielders to strengthen the defense, also pushed Li Qi to the front line, which was a reference to Tottenham's rogue style of play. Instead of going through the midfield, he directly made long passes to the front line to organize the attack. The midfield is used to defend in melee combat!

This adjustment, although it did not completely eliminate the threat from Tottenham, at least allowed Sevilla to pose a threat again. The double fulcrums of Liqi and Kanoute immediately revitalized Sevilla's counterattack.

In the 78th minute, Li Qi made a difficult volley from the sideline, stopping Alves' long pass, which was a bit too strong, back into bounds; then, without waiting to stand firmly, he stretched out his long legs and poked the ball to Kanoute who was retreating to receive the ball.

After the two played a wall-to-wall match, Li Qi made a straight pass behind Kanoute with the help of Kanoute's cover. Puerta inserted himself from behind, successfully beat the offside, broke into the left side of the penalty area and made a violent volley! Unfortunately, the ball was saved by Robinson who was concentrating...

Li Qi couldn't help but feel regretful. If Puerta had chosen to pass the ball horizontally, Maresca would have been in position at the far end. If the ball had been passed to him, he would have had a chance to shoot into the empty goal. That would have been a real killer.

Li Qi originally thought that even if he couldn't score a goal this time, it would suppress Tottenham's desperate offensive arrogance. After all, if Tottenham lost another goal, the newly ignited hope would really be shattered. But unexpectedly, Tottenham had gone crazy and didn't care about defense at all. Because there was not much time left, if they lost another goal, they would be out, but if they didn't score again, they would also be out, so they made a gamble to see who would stab who first!

Li Qi was also helpless, so Sevilla was suppressed by the crazy home team again. Both sides tried their best for every pass; there were many fouls and the game was fragmented, but the ball was always circling around Sevilla's defensive third zone. Tottenham had a chance at any time and could rely on luck to score.

And if Tottenham closes the score again, the home team, who only need one goal to achieve a comeback, will obviously become even more crazy and fearless. At the same time, Sevilla, who is worried about gains and losses, may not be able to withstand the pressure and collapse in the last moments of the game.

So after a while of hesitation, Juan Ramos played the third card and replaced Kanoute with Osio, changing to five defenders, leaving only Li Qi to counterattack in the frontcourt or control the ball to the corner flag to delay time. Juan Ramos was thinking about defending the advantage of away goals in the away game. After all, the time advantage was still on Sevilla's side - it was still difficult for Tottenham to score two goals in the last 10 minutes or so.

In the 81st minute, Berbatov's shot from the edge of the penalty area was blocked by Navarro and slightly above the crossbar.

One minute later, a corner kick was taken and Dawson's shot from 1 yards in front of the goal was again slightly high.

In the 84th minute, Berbatov's low shot from 12 yards was exactly what Palop wanted...

Li Qi thought, this won't work, he should wait and find a way to steal one and kill the game completely. It's not Li Qi's style to always be passive and get beaten.

However, as the Tottenham team pressed higher and higher, Li Qi gradually discovered that Ledley King was the only player left in Tottenham's half. However, Ledley King was not a player with delicate footwork... So Li Qi's eyes rolled and he immediately came up with a plan.

Li Qi first pretended to withdraw to his own half and left a distance from Ledley King; so that Tottenham teammates could safely pass the ball to him as a transfer, and also let Ledley King control the ball with confidence, adjust and then pass it.

Li Qi was also quietly observing that Ledley King received the pass in the 83rd, 85th and 87th minutes, adjusted it and then steadily passed it to the sides; Li Qi had been waiting for an opportunity, and waited for this opportunity in the 89th minute of the game. Under the pressure of Maresca, Lennon's return pass was a little too big, and it was a half-high ball!

In order to maintain the home team's offensive, Ledley King did not choose to kick or head the ball to disrupt the return pass. After all, the seemingly harmless Li Qi was still some distance away from him. So Ledley King chose a difficult turn and volley to unload the ball. The completion was also good, but the ball stopped a little far from the body...

Blaze! So fast! Just when he was about to regain control of the ball, Ledley King found that Li Qi, who was originally 5 meters away, had rushed up to him in two steps to snatch the ball at his feet. If he didn't deal with it quickly, the ball might be intercepted.

There was no time to observe the running positions of other teammates. Ledley King was reluctant to clear the ball out of bounds and lose possession of the ball. After all, there was little time left and Tottenham had to seize the time to attack. So the only option was to pass the ball back to the goalkeeper...

Li Qi obviously grasped Ledley King's mentality and predicted that he would either clear the ball out of bounds and hand it over to the corner flag area, or pass it back to the goalkeeper. If he wanted to pass it back to the goalkeeper, it would depend on whether Ledley King's waist muscles were flexible enough; because Ledley King turned around to receive the ball at this angle, he would have to twist his waist to pass it back to Robinson, or he could also knock the ball with his heel...

Obviously, Li Qi was not optimistic about Ledley King's flexibility, and the latter also overestimated the strength of his waist muscles. This hasty return pass was not accurate in angle and a bit too powerful, avoiding Robinson's direction and going straight to the baseline.

Li Qi was not originally trying to snatch the ball from Ledley King's feet, so he did not slow down at all when he bypassed Ledley King, and rushed straight to chase the ball rolling towards the baseline.

Robinson cursed inwardly and quickly turned sideways to intercept the ball or clear it, because Ledley King's pass might just be stuck near the penalty area line, and it should be just outside the penalty area line.

But after running two steps, Robinson made one of the most wrong decisions in his life. He wanted to gain position first, block the angle of Li Qi's sprinting, and then use his body to escort the ball out of the baseline or clear it out of the sideline.

Originally, this decision was understandable. If it was an amateur-level match, it would definitely be effective. But in a tournament at the League Cup level, it was obviously an underestimation of the explosiveness and flexibility of the opponent's forwards. Moreover, Robinson himself was still a certain distance away from the ball...

Robinson was seen sticking his big butt out to block Li Qi's sprinting angle, but Li Qi, who seemed to have anticipated this, flexibly ran in a small semicircle to bypass Robinson's blocking position, and also pushed away Robinson's interference. When the ball was about to roll out of the baseline, he barely stopped the ball back into bounds.

In the next step, Li Qi deftly stopped and passed, poking the ball with his toes, and directly penetrated the crotch of Robinson who was trying to make up for the clearance. Then Li Qi turned around again from outside the boundary, bypassing Robinson who was too strong in both blocking and clearing, and controlled the ball near the edge of the penalty area without being marked...

Sarafina and her friends in the box were preparing to drink champagne to celebrate. Of course, Li Qi's solo journey at the last moment still made them all nervous along with the broadcast commentator:

"Lennon got the ball... Maresca pressed him closely, so he was in a bad position and passed it back! The ball was a bit too far!"

"Ledley King turned around and stopped the ball, but it was a little too far...Oh my God! Li Qi was too fast!"

"Kim quickly passed the ball back, but it went astray! Robinson was chasing back..."

"Oh! That's amazing! Is Li Qi driving the rocket? Robinson made a mistake! He was blocked and Li Qi bypassed him!"

"Not out of bounds! Through the crotch! Got it!"

"Ditch oooooh! Ditch oooooh! Ditch!"

……