World First Church started from the 02 World Cup

Chapter 78 Drogba's Head

The game restarted amid cheers from the home fans.

Leeds United quickly took the lead and launched a fierce attack on Everton's defense.

Both teams use a 4-3-3 attacking formation and are mainly composed of young players, making for a truly exciting and intense match.

You attack, I attack; the pace of the game is incredibly fast, leaving the audience cheering with excitement!

only.

Leeds United, despite their energetic attack, failed to create any further good shooting opportunities.

The reason is that Everton's three midfielders, following Ye Xian's pre-match instructions, began to closely mark Leeds United's three midfielders.

Especially Bowyer, who plays in the center, is an all-around midfielder who can drop back into his own penalty area to assist the defenders in making tackles, and is also good at making through balls to Kewell and Viduka who are making forward runs.

However, Alonso frequently came up to entangle him and helped Drogba, who had dropped back, to press and pressure Bouyer, making it difficult for him to pass the ball freely.

This meant that Leeds United's attacks often only reached the midfield and couldn't be smoothly passed to the front, especially to Kewell.

If the opponent's true attacking linchpin can't get the ball, then Leeds United's attack is effectively crippled.

In contrast, Everton's attack consistently followed Ye Xian's "diagonal passing" strategy, frequently stretching the defensive space of Leeds United's three midfielders and wearing them down.

In the 30th minute, Bowyer received the ball in the middle, and Drogba immediately pressed him.

Bowyer turned to protect the ball, intending to pass it to Bamby on the other side, but Alonso had already positioned himself between the two, blocking the passing lane.

Bowyer hesitated for a moment before preparing to pass the ball back to his own center-back, Woodgate.

But it was too late. When Li Tie saw his two teammates start pressing, he rushed forward in perfect unison and intercepted the ball.

After intercepting the ball, Li Tie did not pass it to Alonso this time, but instead passed it to right-back Alves.

Because Alonso was still trying to get the ball up front, and his position wasn't particularly good.

After receiving the ball, Alves did not continue dribbling forward, but instead made a long pass!

The ball crossed the halfway line, passed over a large part of the field, and landed directly at the edge of Leeds United's penalty area.

There, Cristiano Ronaldo had already started sprinting!

Drogba and Alonso, who were in the middle, were also moving towards the left wing.

At this moment, the Leeds United player closest to the ball was only right-back Danny Mills, who was still five or six meters away!

This is the strong attacking side created by rapid long passes!

Cristiano Ronaldo received Alves' long pass and gained the upper hand in the speed contest with Danny Mills, accelerating past his opponent.

When Drogba saw Ronaldo making his way down the left flank, he started running towards the edge of the penalty area.

This put Leeds United centre-back Woodgate in a difficult position when he came to cover.

This future Real Madrid center-back is unsure whether he should follow Drogba or mark Ronaldo.

No matter what he does, he will always end up neglecting one thing for another.

But in the blink of an eye, he couldn't think that far ahead, after all, Ronaldo had already dribbled the ball from near the byline into the penalty area and was about to reach the six-yard box.

If we don't stop his advance, this Portuguese teenager will be facing his own goalkeeper directly!

So Woodgate gritted his teeth and ran to the wing, blocking the way that was in the direction Ronaldo was heading.

At that moment, Ronaldo cut inside the ball, creating space for a pass.

Then, he volleyed a high ball with his right foot.

Drogba was still standing at the edge of the penalty area, but the moment Ronaldo passed the ball, the Ivory Coast striker immediately accelerated and leaped high at the penalty spot...

A powerful header that could lift a mountain!

A loud bang was heard! The ball, like a bolt of lightning, slammed into the top right corner of Leeds United's goal.

Drogba's head is incredibly hard!

Poor Leeds United goalkeeper Paul Robinson was stunned.

The England national team's starting goalkeeper from the 2006 World Cup was standing there, and before he even turned his head, he could already feel the vibration of the net behind him...

Goal!!!!

"In the 30th minute, Everton, playing away, also broke through Leeds United's goal, leveling the score at 1-1!"

"This is a powerful header from striker Drogba near the penalty spot! Ronaldo's cross was very accurate, which made it very comfortable for Drogba to head the ball."

"Following his performance in the first round, Drogba scored his second Premier League goal of his career."

"Scoring in two consecutive matches, this African striker has made a deep impression."

"To be honest, even though Ip Hian only cost £100 million, many people still think that the summer transfer window deal wasn't worth it because there seem to be too many strikers of this type in England."

"But Drogba quickly responded to the doubts with two goals in two games, and also repaid head coach Ye Xian's trust in him!"

"And he's not just a goal scorer. His strong physique makes him a crucial pivot in Everton's attack, and he can also drop back to participate in defense—he's a very well-rounded player!"

"Wow, Drogba did another knee slide celebration. He might be the player with the most beautiful knee slide I've ever seen..."

……

On the sidelines, Ye Xian clenched his fists excitedly after seeing Drogba score.

He had been waiting for this goal because he was confident in his tactics and the team's attack.

Sure enough, this goal perfectly executed Ye Xian's tactics.

From the pressure on Leeds United's midfield in the attacking third, to the long passes that stretched the opponent's defense, and finally the goal, the whole process was perfect; it could be written into a textbook!

Now, after Ye Xian high-fived his assistant and substitutes to celebrate the goal, he turned back to look at the field and waved frequently.

The intention was clearly to have the players press their advantage, push forward aggressively, and continue to put pressure on Leeds United.

This is Ye Xian's old trick.

I don't know how many matches have been played where the opponent was still stunned after the first goal, and then the goal was quickly scored again!

As expected, Everton's morale soared after equalizing, and the team's fighting spirit was noticeably stronger.

Leeds United, on the other hand, played somewhat disorganized.

After all, they are all young players, and their mentality is a major factor in their success.

The difference between the two sides is that Everton provided timely encouragement and made quick adjustments after conceding a goal.

As for Venables, he wasn't as strong in on-field command.

This made Everton's attack increasingly fierce, and Leeds United could only defend for a while.

In the 42nd minute, Rooney dribbled down the right flank and the ball was deflected out of play by Leeds United left-back Ian Hart, giving Everton a corner kick.

Alonso took a corner kick, which Woodgate headed to the center circle.

Alves got the ball again.

During corner kicks, Everton's two center-backs both made their way into the opponent's penalty area, leaving Grosso and Alves, the two full-backs, behind them.

Leeds United's three forwards rushed toward Alves, hoping to intercept the ball and launch a counter-attack.

After all, Everton's defense was vulnerable at that moment!

But Alves had already quickly passed the ball out – he's listening to Ye Xian too much now!

The ball was kicked over the top, just over the Leeds United striker who had just rushed over to defend, and flew over Drogba's head.

Drogba flicked the ball with his scalp, changing its direction and sending it to the empty right flank of the attacking third.

There, Rooney had already made a high-speed run into the penalty area!

Leeds United's two center-backs, Matteo and Woodgate, were shocked and rushed over to defend, completely forgetting about the Everton players behind them.

Rooney glanced at the six-yard box out of the corner of his eye and then decisively chose to cross the ball.

The ball sailed past two Leeds United center-backs and goalkeeper Paul Robinson's interception, landing at the feet of Stubbs, who was standing in front of the goal.

Everton's captain accepted the gift with a smile and easily kicked the ball into the empty net.

"Goal! The score is now 1-2!"

"A goal from captain Stubbs! Everton are now in the lead!"

"This strong center-back has made over 400 appearances in his career, but has only scored 16 goals, including 3 for Everton."

"And he's already scored a goal in only the second round of matches this season!"

……