Chapter 180: The sprint stage of the season,

Not long after Tottenham kicked off again, the ball returned to the home team Sevilla.

Li Qi, who retreated to the defensive midfielder position, could not often participate in the final pass or shooting of the attack, but he was extremely qualified as the team's defensive barrier. Despite his outstanding physical condition, Li Qi was not a violent defensive midfielder like Gattuso or Davies, but a technical defensive midfielder like Pirlo or Redondo. He mainly relied on prediction for interception and organization for participation in the attack...

Li Qi, who had the ball at his feet, kept turning his head and looking around, observing the whole field, regardless of the sweat dripping from the tips of his deliberately styled bangs. However, he had already made up his mind: since the first goal came from Adriano's forward penetration, Tottenham began to pay more attention to the defense on the right, so they would continue to attack Tottenham's right and the final pass or attack would be given to Sevilla's right.

Although Alves did not start today, Sevilla still had Navas, who has the strongest breakthrough ability in the team, on the right side today; and his opponent was Korean left back Lee Young-pyo. I don't know why, but when I see Asian players, Li Qi always feels itchy, especially Japanese and Korean players, and always wants to have a go at him. It's definitely not discrimination, it should be the resentment from old Li Qi.

Born in 1977, Lee Young-pyo is 29 years old this year and is at his peak. He is 1 meters tall and weighs about 76 kilograms. He does not have outstanding physical fitness, but he has good endurance and explosive power, and is a speedy and agile full-back.

Lee Young-pyo, who became famous in the World Cup in Japan and South Korea, joined Tottenham from PSV Eindhoven in the summer of 2005. This season, Lee Young-pyo has been stable and started almost every game, firmly occupying the position of Tottenham's main left-back.

To quote head coach Martin Jol: "Lee Young-pyo is the best left-back in the Eredivisie and one of the best left-backs in Europe..."

However, Li Qi also knows some of Li Young-pyo's shortcomings, including insufficient offensive passes and breakthroughs, and the most fatal one is that he tends to be sluggish and hesitant in handling the ball under the high-speed transition rhythm!

Therefore, when Lee Young-pyo is paying more attention to defense and protection, a frontal attack may not necessarily have a good effect; but adopting the tactic of making a feint to the east and suddenly exerting pressure on the left wing guarded by him may achieve unexpected good results.

Li Qi first made an attempt around the 25th minute of the game. After struggling with Lennon and Zokora on the left for a while, he suddenly made a straight pass diagonally to Navas who cut in from the right wing.

As expected, Li Young-pyo did not come up immediately, but stayed where he was, waiting for Navas to make a move... and when he saw that Navas had plenty of space to adjust, he naturally did not hesitate to shoot outside the penalty area, about 25 yards away from the goal!

Unfortunately, Navas used his weak foot. Although he had good power, he failed to control the angle and the ball went wide of the far post.

Li Qi nodded slightly. This idea seemed to be feasible, but long shots were not the best choice to greet Navas. In addition, he should practice shooting more in his daily training. As an attacking right midfielder, he didn't score many goals in a season...

After Li Qi had an idea, he greeted Navas and Hinkel coquettishly. Just then, Tottenham pressed forward again and attacked, hiding Li Qi's originally deliberate right-wing ending tactics. Under the high-speed rhythm of offense and defense conversion, without reminders from the coaching staff, the players whose brains were deprived of oxygen and whose adrenaline was surging were unlikely to remember the tactical details of a few minutes ago.

Tottenham's attack lasted only about five or six minutes, and they didn't create many good opportunities. Xiaosa tried a long shot, and Ledley King headed the ball out of the bottom line after a corner kick, and the attack was over. The ball returned to the control of the home team Sevilla, and Tottenham couldn't get it for a while, so they needed to catch their breath.

Li Qi naturally did not want to give Tottenham a chance to recover, so he immediately increased the speed and rhythm of passing and cutting, forcing Tottenham to continue to switch defenses at high speed; naturally, Li Qi's main attack was still on Tottenham's right side, flying up and down continuously, forcing his way through, making a lot of noise on the right side, and attracting Tottenham's defensive focus to the right.

Li Qi was constantly observing and looking for opportunities, but Li Young-pyo had always been very cautious and focused, so it seemed that he had to create some chaos as a cover.

Around the 35th minute of the game, Li Qi sent a straight pass from the left again, and Adriano forced his way down the bottom to create a corner kick. Li Qi's eyes turned, and the opportunity came!

Far away in London, England, Sarafina and her classmates went to a high-end five-star hotel, the Skyline Bar at the Bulgari Hotel London, to hang out. Naturally, the little princess asked for ESPN's live broadcast of the UEFA Europa League.

"Oh! Li Qi made a precise pass through the crowd..."

"Corner kick! It was a bit forced. Adriano forced a cross despite Starteri's defense, but the ball was blocked by the latter and went out of bounds..."

"Adriano picked up the ball, is Li Qi going to take the corner kick? Oh no! Li Qi threw it back to Adriano, it's time to take the corner kick!"

"Li Qi received Adriano's short corner kick and cut straight into the penalty area corner..."

"Dunk, don't shoot yet, Li Qi is surrounded..."

"Cross-pass! Navas... adjust, shoot? Not a cross!"

"Back point! Escud! Ferry back to the middle!"

"Chance! Ditch oooooooooo! Ditch oooooooo! Ditch!"

"It's the Russian striker Korzakov! He received Escude's header from the far post and scored with a header from close range in the middle!"

"Sevilla took the lead in the 36th minute of the first half, 2-1!"

"Look at the slow-motion replay... After the tactical corner kick was about to be taken, Li Qi's ball in the corner of the penalty area attracted the attention of most of the Tottenham defenders."

"Then Li Qi made a stealth pass to the other side. This side was relatively empty. Navas and Lee Young-pyo were one-on-one, but there might be Schinkel on the other side, so Lee Young-pyo hesitated and didn't stick to him immediately. This gave Navas the opportunity to adjust his aim and make an accurate cross. In fact, Navas could have shot, but maybe the last long shot was not effective, so he decided to pass the ball behind the goal."

"Escud, who was lying in ambush at the back post, did not seek credit for himself, but passed the ball steadily back to the middle. At this time, the goal was already empty, and Robinson went to block Escud's side. Korzakov got to the position first, leaned forward and headed the ball, smashing it into the net 4 yards in front of the goal..."

At this time, Sevilla fans couldn't even believe their eyes. They played very poorly in the first 15 minutes and had difficulty crossing the half court. But before the end of the first half, their team seemed to have replaced 11 players. They showed extremely high efficiency in offense, with 4 shots, 3 of which were on target, and they scored two goals, immediately reversing the score.

At the end of the first half, Sevilla, who had overtaken the score, retracted their formation and slowed down the game rhythm, playing a steady defensive counterattack. However, Tottenham was still confused: How did they suddenly get beaten? This is a reversal? With the opponent's level at the beginning, it shouldn't be possible. It must be our own mistake...

So Tottenham did not launch a large-scale counterattack, but continued to play step by step. Although it was not like the first 15 minutes, when they could score into the penalty area in a few shots, at least they did not leave Sevilla too many good counterattack opportunities.

So Li Qi was also very patient. When there were no good opportunities, he controlled the ball, slowed down the pace and attracted Tottenham to grab the ball. After all, the next games were still very frequent, and it was best to win at the lowest cost.

Not long after, Sevilla entered the halftime break with a score of 2-1.

Apparently, during the half-time break, Tottenham coach Martin Jol discovered the problem and knew that the first 15 minutes of the first half did not reflect the true strength of both teams. If Tottenham did nothing in the second half, the game would probably be over.

So in the second half, Tottenham tried their best to counterattack and pressed forward, immediately raising the rhythm of offense and defense to the level of the Premier League. For a moment, Sevilla was a little uncomfortable. If they passed the ball a little slower or held the ball a few more times, they would be pressed, intercepted, and fouled... In short, Sevilla could not easily pass the ball in the midfield and backcourt.

Li Qi also felt the pressure for a moment, and repeatedly called on Renato to retreat and assist in the transition. However, Li Qi also knew that it was impossible for Tottenham to hold the ball at this rhythm. If he waited a little longer, until the opponent's old strength was gone and new strength had not yet been generated, it would be time for Sevilla to launch a counterattack.

However, Tottenham is worthy of being a traditional powerhouse in the Premier League. After the kick-off of the second half, they continued to press highly for nearly 15 minutes. Sevilla occasionally counterattacked, but Tottenham returned to defense quickly and accurately, with almost no obvious loss of position.

But just over an hour into the game, Li Qi keenly discovered that Tottenham's midfield was a bit behind. After all, the cool Berbatov himself didn't like to press, and he was just at the front for the sake of showing off. So in order to achieve the effect of midfield suppression, several Tottenham midfielders had to run about one more person, so naturally they couldn't do without recovering their breath.

Just look, when Li Qi received Puerta's diagonal pass again and was about to pass it to Renato, he found that Zokora, who would have stuck to him at the first moment, did not follow him, but chose to stay in the defensive position; Li Qi knew that this little black guy was almost reaching his limit.

We can't let Tottenham take a break, so we need to continue to pick up the pace. Now it's Sevilla's turn to speed up and press forward to siege Tottenham. Some Sevilla players don't understand. Wouldn't it be better to continue to play defense and counterattack steadily? Anyway, they are still leading. But they are inexplicably mobilized by Li Qi's added strength and advance distribution of the ball, and they have to run.

Naturally, the Tottenham players had to run along as well, which was really annoying. They had just rushed for 15 minutes and had no time to catch their breath, but had to continue rushing after Sevilla.

Li Qi's calculations were naturally very careful. The League Cup knockout round was a home and away double-leg system. A score of 2-1 was not safe. If they lost 0-1 away from home, they would be in trouble. In home games, they must strive for more goals and drain Tottenham's physical energy. Even if they could not score again in the final stage, at least they could ensure that Tottenham would not have the strength to steal another away goal.

If you think about it this way, it’s definitely worth it. Let’s run together. If we run for another 10 minutes, we’ll have a chance to run 90 minutes less in the next round. Just hold on!

Tottenham coach Jol also saw the clues and couldn't help but curse inwardly, but he was not without a solution. He just made substitutions. So he made two substitutions in the 65th and 68th minutes. Danny Murphy and Hector came on to replace Zokora and Stalteri who were already out of breath. Lee Yong-pyo was arranged to play as right back and Hector as left back.

In terms of creating more leading advantages for the second round, Juan Ramos and Li Qi were in agreement; so when he saw Li Qi actively speed up when Tottenham wanted to slow down the pace, Juan Ramos also understood. Seeing Tottenham's substitutions, Sevilla also made substitutions at the same time, Maresca and Mati also came on the field one after another, replacing Navas and Renato, who did not understand the tactical intentions in this game.

The coming on of Matty liberated Lizzie. With the protection of Matty, a full-time defensive midfielder, Lizzie could boldly speed up and move forward, continuing to put pressure on Tottenham's midfield and backcourt.

Tottenham's substitutions gave the team a chance to catch their breath, but the accelerated offense and defense for about 5 minutes also made Tottenham's players very uncomfortable. If the rhythm had not been interrupted by the substitutions, Tottenham's midfield would definitely have collapsed in another 5 minutes.

But even with two substitutions, Tottenham, who were playing away from home, were clearly at a disadvantage in terms of physical strength and running. That was to say, the second purpose of Li Qi's conspiracy had been achieved. It was difficult for Tottenham to have a chance to speed up again. The players' running ability could not keep up, and even if they did, it would not last for a few minutes. As for whether they could still achieve the first goal of scoring more goals, Li Qi was very patient. Li Qi believed that the opportunity should appear after the 85th minute...

Not long after the substitution, seeing that they had achieved their goal of wearing down Tottenham's starters, Sevilla began to slow down the tempo and practiced Tai Chi leisurely, as if they wanted to keep the score until the end of the game. This was actually one of Li Qi's schemes, to lure the snake out of its hole. If Joel gave in, Li Qi would not force an attack, after all, there was no need to take the risk. But once Joel still had illusions and wanted to take a gamble, then Li Qi's chance to score another goal would come.

As expected, the home team just accelerated their attack and Jol was worried about losing the ball again, so he made two consecutive substitutions to adjust the defense and maintain the running intensity in the midfield and backcourt.

But when he saw that Sevilla was retreating again, Jol began to think again: should he take a risk, because scoring an away goal is much more cost-effective than scoring one at home. After all, if he could return home with a score of 2-2, he would basically have one foot in the semi-finals.

So in the 80th minute of the game, Tottenham made the third substitution, Defoe came on to replace Berbatov, who had not been running much. Berbatov was not a big runner to begin with, and he was pushed around by the high-intensity and fast-paced away game. So he just stood there and played coolly...

However, when Li Qi saw Tottenham replace Defoe with Xiaosa, he knew in his heart that the opportunity would come in a few minutes.

Just after Defoe came on the pitch, it was not clear who took the initiative, but the pace of the game suddenly picked up again, especially the fighting and offense-defense transitions in the midfield were particularly intense.

Tottenham did not have no chances. Not long after Defoe came on, he broke into the penalty area and received a diagonal pass from Danny Murphy. He still completed a good shot, but the focused Palop fell to the ground and blocked it out of the baseline. However, this ball was also the last threatening attack of Tottenham in this game.

Afterwards, Lizzie almost reached the front line, and together with Kanoute and Karzakov, he frantically scrambled for Tottenham's defenders, forcing Robinson to frequently kick the ball away. Without Berbatov as the center fulcrum, Tottenham's frontcourt completely lost control of the high ball and was immediately pressed and beaten by Sevilla in the half.

However, in the 89th minute, Li Qi's plan finally came to fruition. This time Robinson's long kick did not go straight to the front court, after all, the ball had been controlled by Sevilla's back line for three consecutive balls; so Robinson wanted to change the direction of the ball to give the team a chance to breathe. If Sevilla continued to press and attack like this, the goal might be lost in the next second.

But when Li Rongpyo received the ball on the right side, he didn't realize that he had fallen into Li Qi's trap. In the past few minutes, Li Qi had deliberately left Li Rongpyo empty, wanting Robinson to pass the ball to him.

Li Qi directed Marti, Adriano and Puerta to form a fan shape to surround Li Yongpyo who was advancing with the ball, cutting off the latter's passing route, and then Li Qi secretly pounced from the side and behind!

Li Qi was betting that Lee Yong-pyo would be confused and indecisive without a suitable ball route. Whether it was hasty passing or excessive dribbling, it was an opportunity for Sevilla...