817: Sure enough, there is a huge gap in strength!
August 18, 2018, Vicarage Road Stadium, Watford, England.
What is being held here today is a match in the 35th round of the 2017-2018 English Premier League, between Watford and Crystal Palace!
Watford is not far from London, so Crystal Palace was the away game that day.
There were still a lot of away fans at the scene, and fans of the home team came to support them.
At this time, the Watford fans at the scene were singing the team's anthem and cheering for the team.
Not many Crystal Palace fans came to the away game today, but the momentum was not bad at all. Their singing was no weaker than that of the fans of the home team, and they even seemed to dominate the scene.
From here, Watford people can see that today's game is not simple.
It should be quite difficult for Walford to defeat Crystal Palace.
But Manchester City fans all feel that the Watford people have a chance, so the Watford people must work hard, take down Crystal Palace and win! After all, Crystal Palace's starters today are all substitutes, so there is nothing to worry about.
Today’s starting lineups for both sides are as follows:
Home team Watford, head coach Gracia, formation 442
Goalkeeper Karnezis
Back four from left to right Holebas, Kabasele, Cathcart and Mariappa
Midfield four from left to right Robert Pereira, Capoue, Doucoure and Will Hughes
Double forwards Okaka and Deeney
Visiting team Crystal Palace, head coach Tong Yi, formation 4213
Goalkeeper Lu Ning
The back four from left to right Theo, Upamecano, Dias and Achraf
Double midfielder Llorente and Joan Armene
Single attacking midfielder Sabitzer
Three forwards from left to right Sancho, Giroud and Gnabry
Tong Yi once again saw his former disciple Hollebas in the Watford lineup. This guy performed very well after coming to Watford, which was a bit beyond Watford's level. It is said that Manchester United, Chelsea and Tottenham Hotspur are chasing him now!
Even Roma and Inter Milan are chasing this left back.
When Hollebas saw Tong Yi during the warm-up in the stadium, he directly stepped forward and gave Tong Yi a hug to thank Tong Yi.
After so many years, if it weren't for Tong Yi, his career would not be so smooth.
Tong Yi also patted Hollebas, hoping that he would continue to work hard and encourage him.
In Tong Yi's view, Holebas is now capable of playing for a wealthy team and should not stay in a team like Watford.
Hollebas is also seriously considering Tong Yi's words. Should he go to other wealthy clubs to develop after this season?
beep!
At this moment, the referee Kavanagh directly blew the starting whistle.
The first one to kick off was the home team Watford. They were not in a hurry to attack, and they didn't even intend to test. They mostly controlled the game in the midfield and backcourt. Seeing this, Watford fans naturally understood that this game was just as their head coach Gracia said
, their main goal in this game was to keep a draw.
Playing like this at this time is naturally to seek stability and maintain peace.
Seeing this, the Manchester City fans were very angry and madly accused the Watford players and coach. They all mocked Gracia for giving Crystal Palace victory and playing match-fixing!
Manchester City fans even called on the Football Association to investigate!
Watford fans were speechless.
These damn Manchester City fans, if you are energetic, then you should pay more attention to your own Manchester City team's games. Wouldn't it be better to go and cheer for your Manchester City team? You must come and watch our game!
At this time, Holebas in the Watford backcourt suddenly made a long pass and found Okaka in the frontcourt!
Okaka directly headed the ball and passed the football to Deeney.
Deeney directly volleyed the ball without stopping, and volleyed the football hard into the upper right corner of the goal.
The game is very fast, so fast that the hearts of Watford fans are flying.
The ball is there!
At this moment, Lu Ning flew sideways in front of the goal, like a roc spreading its wings.
It's a pity that he still didn't touch the football. The football immediately flew over, and then... it missed the crossbar and flew out of the baseline.
The whole audience sighed!
All Watford fans feel it is a pity!
In their opinion, if this goal is scored, Watford really has a chance to win the final victory in this game.
It's a pity that their luck is not very good now. It's a pity that they didn't get such a good opportunity.
The Manchester City fans in front of the TV were so angry that their lungs were almost swollen.
The Manchester City fans' livers also hurt all the time and they were speechless.
This is really a pity. If Deeney is given ten more chances, he may not be able to shoot such a high-quality shot.
what a shame.
And in this game, Watford cannot have too many such opportunities.
By missing this time, Walford almost missed a rare scoring opportunity.
The Watford fans also shook their heads with great regret.
Manchester City fans are even going to curse Deeney, why don't you keep the ball down a little bit?
The Crystal Palace fans were excited and cheered with excitement.
At this time, he naturally wanted to give their players some encouragement and support.
At this time, the fans of Crystal Palace were not panic at all. They would definitely win this game. They believed in their players, even some substitutes.
The Crystal Palace players immediately launched an attack. Midfielder Llorente immediately made a diagonal pass and passed the football directly to the wing.
Gnabry on the wing spotted the football and immediately stretched his legs to catch it, but the opponent's defensive players immediately followed him. Gnabry will let go immediately
He gave up the idea of catching the ball and pushed the football back.
The football rolled towards Ashraf who was following up from the wing. Ashraf didn't stop the ball at all and made a long pass to the front of the penalty area.
Cathcart immediately rushed out and competed with Giroud for the top spot.
With a bang, Giroud jumped up and shook his head directly towards the ball, throwing the football to the other side.
Sancho, who rushed up quickly, stopped the ball with his chest, entered the penalty area, and then shot with a kick without waiting for the football to land.
The football roared out and flew straight to Watford's goal.
The Watford fans were instantly frightened. Danger!
They all could see the threat of this ball, and they all took a sharp breath, it was very dangerous.
The goalkeeper Karnezis in front of the goal immediately jumped into the air, but he did not touch the football at all. He was still a certain distance away from the football. The Watford fans were desperate.
It's a pity that Sancho's luck was a little bit worse, and the football missed the goal post and flew out of the bottom line.
The Crystal Palace fans at the scene also felt very sorry, but they still applauded and gave their applause to Sancho.
Sancho immediately turned around and waved to the Crystal Palace fans.
Watford had already kicked the football out quickly, and Okaka jumped up again in the frontcourt. Unfortunately, with a bang, the football was pushed out by Upamecano.
The football shot quickly toward the midfield. Sabitzer kept passing the ball back. Llorente in the middle also didn't stop the ball. He quickly passed the ball diagonally with his legs and directly passed the football to the open space in the front court. inside.
Gnabry held the ball in the space and immediately accelerated and cut into Watford's penalty area. The Watford fans screamed, this is really dangerous!
Llorente's long diagonal ball accurately found Gnabry who was cutting in from the wing, and it was in the air.
The hearts of Watford fans sank to the bottom.
Facing the attacking goalkeeper Karnezis, Gnabry turned slightly sideways and fired a shot with the inside of his left foot, which directly made an arc. The football quickly passed over the side of Karnezis, and then quickly spun. Toward the far end of the goal.
All the Watford fans at the scene were stunned on the spot with their mouths wide open.
Crystal Palace fans chanted Gnabry's name in unison and jumped with excitement.
This ball is really exciting.
This arc is like a rainbow after the rain, gorgeous, beautiful, and deadly!
Karnezis did his best, but still didn't touch the football. The football passed his fingertips and then flew into the goal.
One to zero, Crystal Palace, playing away from home, took the lead.
Seeing this goal, the mentality of the Manchester City fans in front of the TV exploded instantly.
Watford really had no chance in this game. To be honest, they were very speechless. Is it really so easy for Crystal Palace people to score goals? Why did Crystal Palace score a goal all of a sudden?
But to be honest, Crystal Palace’s counterattack was really very good, very good.
Smooth and fast!
There was no pause in passing the ball in the middle, and two or three passes instantly tore through Watford's defense.
Watford's defense has worked very hard, but the Crystal Palace people are strong.
The people on the sidelines couldn't help but shake their heads when they saw this. The Premier League's offensive and defensive transitions are very fast. On this basis, Crystal Palace's transition between offense and defense was even faster. It is understandable that Watford's defense was unable to respond.
The main thing is that Sabitzer and Llorente's passes are so accurate.
And it’s a long-distance diagonal ball!
This relies heavily on passing skills.
The game restarted, and Watford also tried to attack and try to equalize the score.
But at this time, the high-pressing Crystal Palace people stole the ball in the midfield.
Joan Ameni's side broke directly from the feet of the opponent's forward Okaka, and then Joan Ameni immediately pushed the football to the wing. Theo on the wing immediately rushed towards the football, and before the Watford players pounced on him, he passed the ball straight and quickly pushed the football forward.
Sancho in the frontcourt caught the football and immediately passed the ball inside.
Sancho's breakthrough ability is very strong, but the ball was still intercepted by Watford's full-back. The football immediately bounced out. Fortunately, Sabitzer, who followed up in the midfield, got the football. He immediately kicked off the wing and passed the ball. The football roared out and flew quickly into Watford's penalty area.
In the penalty area, Giroud jumped high and beat his opponent to hit the goal with a header.
The football roared out, slightly over the crossbar.
This ball was really threatening. The Watford fans were frightened, but it seemed that they were lucky and the ball flew out of the baseline.
The Crystal Palace's offense did not stop at this time, and their high pressure was still very fierce.
Watford gradually had few chances to pass the half-court, and their formation was suppressed in their own half. Of course, it is also based on their tactics. Watford's side is defensive counterattack.
But at this time, it was really difficult for them to counterattack, and it was very uncomfortable to be suppressed.
The Manchester City fans in front of the TV were speechless, swearing wildly and cursing the Walford people.
At this moment, Crystal Palace stole the ball again, and then passed the ball back and forth at the edge of Watford's penalty area, tearing apart Watford's defense. Suddenly, midfielder Sabitzer quickly pushed the football straight into Watford's penalty area. The football rolled towards Giroud in the penalty area. Giroud held his opponent, but the football was poked out.
However, the football just rolled to the feet of Gnabry on the wing. Gnabry continued to hold the ball and prepared to break through.
Watford's defense was very tight, so Gnabry suddenly pushed the football diagonally to the wing. Achraf rushed forward quickly from the wing and passed the ball without stopping. The football drew a wonderful arc and flew quickly into Watford's penalty area.
In the penalty area, Giroud jumped high and overwhelmed Cathcart, slamming the football into the Watford goal.
Crystal Palace led Watford 2-0 at halftime!
