Leicester City still used a 4-4-2 formation in this game.
Starting lineup, goalkeeper is Schmeichel.
The four defenders are from left to right De Laet, Konchesky, Wes Morgan, and Liam Moore.
The four midfielders are Xia Xing, Andy King, Drinkwater and Matthew James from left to right.
The two forwards are Vardy and Chris Wood.
Pearson did not change his defense because of the strong opponent. He continued to maintain a balance of offense and defense.
Fulham, on the other hand, changed from their usual 4-5-1 formation to a 3-4-3 formation.
They need to be conservative in the Premier League, but there is no need to be conservative when facing the English Championship teams!
Forwards Rodallega, Kacaniklic, and Darren Bent are three Attackers.
The midfielders are Duff, kasami, Sidwell and Karagounis, and
the three defenders are Riise, Senderos, and Richardson, the goalkeeper is Stekelenburg of the Netherlands.
This lineup is considered good even in the Premier League.
Although there are no young talented players, many veterans were once all-powerful figures.
Goalkeeper Stekelenburg has played for the Dutch national team for ten years. At the age of 31, he is in his prime.
Former Liverpool left-back Riise, former Arsenal talents Senderos and Sidwell, former Chelsea winger Duff...
these are all famous names, and they were all once top players in the Premier League.
Although they are older now, they have rich experience in competition and still have strength.
The game started with Fulham firmly in control.
They were not in a hurry to attack, but instead passed the ball steadily in the midfield and backcourt.
Leicester City has already received instructions from Pearson, and this game will be played steadily and not in a hurry.
The two sides competed in the midfield for the first 20 minutes, and there were not many shots.
But in the 25th minute, Fulham suddenly attacked!
Vardy's quick advance and volley from outside the penalty area was punched out by goalkeeper Stekelenburg!
The ball landed at the feet of Senderos.
The Swiss central defender moved the ball to the left wing.
Riise sprints with the ball!
Assisting from the back is a good attribute of Riise!
Even if he is no longer as ferocious as he was at Liverpool, his ball control and experience are still very strong now!
He Drove the ball through midfield!
Facing Drinkwater's defense, he passed diagonally in front!
Veteran Duff catches the ball!
He turned around and pulled the ball, and directly shook away Andy King who was trying to grab the ball!
Decisive and agile!
Sprint quickly!
Right back Moore was close to Duff, but still couldn't steal the ball!
The former Duff was Chelsea's starting striker and was deeply loved by Mourinho.
Two consecutive sideline moves disrupted the pace of Moore's feet!
Keep sprinting!
He Passed Moore!
Cross from the bottomline!
The ball goes straight to the far end!
Forwards Rodallega and Kacaniklic are just covers!
Darren Bent at the back is the point of attack!
Rushing to the backpost!
Shovel shot!
The ball slides into the net!
The ball went in!
1 to 0!
"This offense is so beautiful!
"This is the strength of experienced veterans!
"In the past 20 minutes or so, it looked like Fulham was playing leisurely"
"It seemed like they were careless about the game.
"But in just a moment, they discovered Leicester City's loopholes and attacked quickly!
"Just now, Leicester City's attack from the right came up, and there was a gap on the right.
"The cooperation between Riise and Duff is very tacit!
"Darren Bent's shot in the end was just right!
"1 to 0!
"It is indeed a team from the Premier League, and the style of play is stable! "
The style of play is stable.
This is not only the commentator's understanding of Fulham, but also the Leicester City coaching staff's understanding of Fulham.
Before this goal, Fulham had not had a particularly fierce offensive.
However, they made almost no mistakes.
Especially central defender Senderos, who is worthy of being Arsenal's former genius central defender.
If he was not traumatized by Drogba, he might still be active in the top clubs.
And Stekelenburg also performed very steadily.
Although this team is not conspicuous in the Premier League, it is still much better than Leicester City with its top-level game experience.
Drinkwater's explosive shot was blocked by Stekelenburg, and he kicked the turf hard.
It's so hard to score goals.
On the left wing, Xia Xing's breakthrough also created some opportunities.
However, neither striker took advantage of their opportunity.
In front of a Premier League-level defense, there weren't even many chances to shoot.
The referee's whistle sounded and the first half of the game was over.
Pearson frowned, and when the players all returned to the locker room, he was late.
Faced with this situation, he had no good solution.
What can be done?
The current starting player is already the best card he can play.
but after Thinking twice and he made a change!
Nugent comes on and replaces Vardy!
This season, every time he encounters a situation that is difficult to open up, Pearson often uses a double center tactic.
In the English Championship, where the game style is cross and nod, this approach often pays off.
In the second half, the two teams changed sides and the battle continued, and Leicester City's two wings continued to strengthen their attacks.
Andy King and Drinkwater, who were active in the first half, assisted more in the second half.
The two full-backs De Laet and Moore also frequently pressed forward to help the offense.
At the beginning of the second half, Leicester City did create many opportunities.
But Stekelenburg was like a god, making several wonderful saves to protect the goal.
Without a fast forward like Vardy, Leicester City's offense has become much more monotonous, and Fulham's defense has also become much less difficult.
As for defense, Fulham also made several threatening counterattacks.
Duff and Kasami each had a powerful shot from outside the penalty area.
Although Fulham's veterans are not as good as before, their occasional outbursts are still very threatening.
Facing two accurate shots, Schmeichel stabilized his mentality and took the ball into his arms to resolve the crisis.
Despite this, it still made fans break out in a cold sweat.
Shakespeare on the sidelines was a little anxious: "we always fail to score goals and almost concede the ball. I am really anxious."
Pearson remained calm: "No rush, just wait."
"What are you waiting for?"
"Wait for time. "
Pearson glanced at his watch, and it was already 70 minutes.
He looked back at the bench: "Schlupp, go warm up."
"Okay!"
As an outstanding player from Leicester City's youth training, the 21-year-old Schlupp is fast and explosive and can play all positions in the midfield. .
If his shooting and passing are better, It's possible he can compete for the main position.
But now, Pearson needs him.
Goal?
Assist?
No, it's to disrupt the situation!
Schlupp came on as a substitute for Andy King.
Running onto the court, Schlupp came to Xia Xing's side.
"Xia, the head coach asked me to assist you."
"Oh? Assist me?"
"Yes, you can choose to act according to your own situation, wing or center, passing and shooting are no problem. Don't worry, I will make up The gap left for you."
"Okay! Let's work together and score!"
(End of this chapter)