Chapter 1015: Punch away
When Hulay pushed the football to the far end, many Catalan United fans felt despair in their hearts.
After all, they all know Hu Lai's accurate shooting.
But then they saw their goalkeeper Cordero rise up as if he was cheating, counterattacked under extremely unfavorable circumstances, and touched the football with his fingertips!
Just like that, the football changed its final flight trajectory and ran away from the goal...
Everyone's hearts fell back again.
But before their hearts could fall back to their original position, they were grabbed again!
Because they saw another forward player from Leeds City running at high speed.
At the same time, Catalan United's right back Osqui also returned to the goal. After being thrown away by Kamara, he did not chase Kamara, but very smartly went back to defend the penalty area.
His choice allows him to appear in the most critical place now, as long as he can get the football out before Lasky...
Catalan United fans have hope again.
Just when Osqui kicked the football, Laski got ahead of him and blocked the ball with his kick!
Osqui's kick could only hit his leg.
Despite Osqui's interference, Lasky still kicked the football firmly into the Catalan United goal!
After scoring the goal, the Pole stumbled, lost his balance and fell to the ground. He still turned his head and looked at the goal.
After confirming that the football had really entered the goal, he completely ignored the kick he had just received. He struggled to get up from the ground and ran excitedly to the corner flag area to celebrate his first goal in the Champions League!
"Lasky -!! Lasky!! Dominic Lasky!!" Matthew Cox shouted the name of the scorer. "He appeared where he was supposed to appear! And gave a fatal blow! Unexpectedly, it was Leeds City who scored first in the second half! They equalized the score! 2:2!"
In bars all over Leeds, countless Leeds fans were cheering, jumping and hugging.
On the TV, Leeds City players also swarmed in, hugging Lasky in the center.
They slapped the young Polish man on the shoulders, back and head, ruffled his hair, screamed and cheered, delighted with Laski's first Champions League goal.
Although he has scored very few goals since joining Leeds City, he has only scored two goals in the league so far.
However, as long as Laski can play in every game, he will be dedicated and work hard to complete the tasks assigned to him by the head coach.
As a forward, his main task in Leeds City is not to score goals, but to use his running position and foot skills to connect the team's offense and provide support and cover for Hulay.
He did all of these well.
In addition, he never complains, works hard to do his job, and does not only focus on himself on the court without caring about other teammates... The Pole's character makes him popular in the team, and no one feels bad because he scores few goals. He is a parallel importer.
He is indeed not good at it, and the lack of goals is not entirely his problem. From the perspective of the team's tactical position, his performance has passed.
This is different from Seydoux.
Seydoux has been rated by the English media as one of the top ten parallel imports signed by the Premier League this season...
But as a forward, there is still a lot of pressure not to score goals.
So now that he has finally scored a goal in the Champions League, his teammates are also happy for Lasky from the bottom of their hearts.
"Okay!"
"Congratulations Dominic!"
Laski was also very happy, especially after seeing Hu Lai, he pointed his thumb at himself and said happily to Hu Lai: "I moved early this time!"
In order not to miss any scoring opportunity, Laski, who was originally behind Hulay, suddenly changed his running position when he saw Hulay inserting into the blind spot behind Jimenez, and ran forward diagonally.
It was precisely because of this run that put Jimenez in a dilemma, which ultimately led him to make a wrong decision.
Kamara's pass was headed for the back spot, but Lasky continued to resolutely run to the front spot, where he thought he should be. In this way, if there is a chance for a supplementary shot, he will not miss the goal.
And he was right.
Hulay's header was saved by Cordero, giving him a chance to make a supplementary shot.
But if he had not moved ahead of time, the ball would have been picked up by Osqui who returned to the goal.
Lasky is not always able to appear where he should appear so quickly. When he first started at Leeds City, he also had the embarrassing experience of missing scoring opportunities.
For example, in the league match against Stan Park Rangers, Hulay came on as a substitute and shot a shot that caused Stan Park Rangers goalkeeper Victor Lemos to miss. At that time, Lasky was actually very close to the landing point of football, but because he was not prepared, he could only watch the scoring opportunity pass him by.
His first Premier League goal was delayed by almost two months.
As a forward, when playing in Poland, Lasky did not attach much importance to catching opportunities in front of the goal. His good way of scoring was to pass the defensive players through his dribbling and skills, and then take a shot.
If he goes in, he goes in. If he doesn't, he can't do anything.
It's very much like a one-shot deal.
After coming to Leeds City, Premier League defenders caused great resistance to him. His scoring method that had been tried and tested in Poland did not work well in the Premier League. Facing a Premier League-level defense, it is not easy for him to keep the ball and not lose it. He has no chance to score, and even if he does, his shot will be greatly missed due to interference from the opponent's defense.
Lasky is not a fool who knows no tricks. He knows that his method is increasingly difficult to use in the Premier League, so when training and playing with Hu Lai, he began to learn from the Premier League Golden Boot intentionally or unintentionally.
During the game, predict where the football will land and its next move, and think proactively instead of passively waiting for the ball.
His efforts paid off, and he got his first goal in the Champions League!
When Hu Lai heard what Laski said, he laughed and patted him on the shoulder: "Come on! Keep working hard!"
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It wasn't until the Leeds City players ended their celebrations and returned to their own half that the Catalan United players recovered from the incredible situation.
As Laski ran towards the ball, boos thundered over the Holy Family Stadium, but it failed to stop Leeds City from equalizing.
When Jimenez landed, he saw Laski kicking the football toward the goal. He couldn't help but open his mouth wide, unable to believe what he was seeing.
At the same time, a feeling of self-blame arose in his heart - the goal conceded came from his header error!
Cordero, who was lying on the ground, punched the turf hard.
As a goalkeeper, he has done his best in this defense. It is not easy for him to touch the football and get the ball out while continuously changing his focus.
But his outstanding performance failed to save his goal...
This makes him particularly unwilling as a goalkeeper.
If I make a mistake in my performance, I won't say anything. However, I did a good job in this defense... and still lost the ball!
Damn it!
At halftime, all the Catalan United players agreed that it would be to their advantage to play against each other in the second half.
After all, Catalonia United is famous for its offense, and the teams that played against them at the Sagrada Familia basically didn't end well.
Unexpectedly, in the second half of the confrontation, it was not them who scored first, but Leeds City, who was weaker than them!
Jose Bernal was very dissatisfied with Jimenez's impersonation on the sidelines. He asked his assistant coach repeatedly: "How could he miss it?"
The assistant coach couldn't give an answer, and now was not the time to care about this issue. He asked Bernal: "Are there any adjustments needed?"
Bernal took a deep breath to calm down from his rage: "No, don't make any adjustments and continue attacking!"
He believed that the goal conceded was due to a mistake in the team's defense. It was not surprising that Leeds City's counterattack could reach the 30-meter area, but Jimenez's header was really terrible.
If he didn't take the header, Hu Lai would not have a chance to header the goal, and there would be no possibility of Lasky's follow-up shot.
Therefore, this goal conceded is not a matter of the team's tactical strategy, but purely a matter of the player's personal performance.
In this case, there is certainly no need to adjust tactics and just let the team continue to attack.
If you lose the ball now, rely on powerful offense to get it back!
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"Aha! We made the right bet!" Clark clapped his hands happily, and Lasky's equalizer gave him confidence.
This fully shows that Leeds City's offensive strength is not weak, and it is fully capable of confronting Catalonia United at their home court.
He knows that many teams have nothing to gain from playing against Catalonia in this stadium, but he doesn't care.
Anyway, this is the only way Leeds City can go now. If they don't attack, will they wait for death?
If you were an ordinary coach, you might be very satisfied with the result of the 2:2 draw with Catalan United in the away game. After the equalizer, you would promptly choose the strategy of shrinking the defense, stabilize the defense first, and withstand Catalan United's subsequent rapid counterattack.
Clark is no "average coach."
So when the Leeds City players finished celebrating and returned to their own half, they all received the latest instructions from the boss to them from the sidelines:
Go on the attack.
This came as no surprise to anyone.
Even if they turn around and find that the boss has asked them to set up a bus at the door, then they will think that the boss has been kidnapped...
Continuing to attack is the right way!
After more than two seasons of coaching by Clark, this team has become accustomed to accepting his football style and philosophy.
When encountering difficulties, the first thing to think about is how to improve your offensive efficiency and how to score more goals, rather than how to withstand the opponent's fierce attack...
Isn't football essentially a sport where you compete with your opponent to score more goals? So is it wrong to pursue offense?
Is there anything wrong?
This goal greatly boosted the morale and confidence of the team's players, reminding them of the boss's words during the halftime break.
The boss is right.
Our Premier League championship and Champions League seeding qualifications are all earned through honest hard work based on our strength!
We scored two Catalan goals in this game, so why can't we continue to attack?
Attack, Leeds City!
Keep attacking!
After running across the halfway line, ten Leeds City players went their separate ways and went to their positions.
But each of their eyes shone with confidence.
Leeds City are like country bumpkins. This is their first season in the Champions League.
This was a stage that they had never dared to think about before. When they stepped on it, they were beaten badly by traditional giants like Catalonia and Vesuvius.
It's just that after surviving the opponent's punches and kicks, even though he was beaten until he was already teetering on the edge of the ring, he might fall down at any time. At this time, they put aside their distracting thoughts and punched forward desperately, but unexpectedly found that the arrogant opponent was shaken by this punch!
Therefore, we are indeed capable of competing with the giants from the European continent in the top arena of European football.
Every Leeds City player thinks so, and his heart is burning.
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PS, it’s still the third update of the day, please vote for me~~! (End of chapter)