I'm 1.9 meters tall and weigh 200 pounds, can I pull the hem?

A few hours later.

Aston Villa's team bus slowly drove along the highway in Southampton.

Liu Yang leaned back in his chair, wearing headphones and listening to a city introduction of Southampton.

"...This port city is located in southern England, at the mouth of the River Test and the River Itchin."

"Since the Middle Ages, Southampton has been an important shipping hub in Britain."

"For hundreds of years, thousands upon thousands of ships have set sail and docked."

"But the most famous of them is undoubtedly the luxury liner Titanic, which set sail from Southampton on April 10, 1912."

"Snoring..."

Grealish, who had fallen asleep beside him, slowly slumped over, his face pressed against the car window.

With the team's improved performance in these two rounds, he can go to nightclubs without any burdens anymore.

Behind them, Traore was wearing headphones, listening to music, and nodding and swaying his head happily.

This was only his second time being selected for the roster, and he was as happy as a muscular kid.

Liu Yang picked up his phone and opened Southampton's player roster.

"So many familiar faces..."

……

At the pre-match press conference, Gard got a little impatient.

The reporters kept trying to elicit information from him, digging a series of traps.

This caused him to inadvertently reveal that Liu Yang would not be starting in this match.

"Mr. Gard, Liu Yang has performed so well in the last two games, why aren't you starting him?"

"Mr. Gard, are you unwilling to take down your current main force?"

"Mr. Gard, is there still a sense of crisis in the locker room?"

Gard wiped his forehead and gripped the microphone in front of him tightly.

"Liu is an excellent young player, but we are all excellent..."

"But Liu Yang has already scored one-fifth of the team's league goals this season, and he has only played for a little over twenty minutes."

The reporter's sharp words elicited laughter from the audience.

Only Gard looked like he had a toad in his mouth.

The atmosphere at the press conference was cheerful.

Meanwhile, at the Southampton press conference.

Koeman spoke calmly.

"I am very satisfied with the team's performance."

"A great performance against a strong team? I don't think that was an upset. Our roster is very strong, and we can perform well against any opponent."

Last season, he took over Southampton and led the team to a seventh-place finish in the Premier League.

During the off-season, the team's key midfielder, Schneiderlin, was poached by Manchester United for 35 million euros.

Liverpool sold their starting right-back, Clyne, for €18 million.

Koeman made a bold move, spending only seven million euros to acquire 23-year-old Sporting Lisbon right-back Cédric Suarez!

Another €7 million signing from Chelsea: 23-year-old Spanish defensive midfielder Romeu!

They spent another 15 million euros to sign 24-year-old Dutch midfielder Clasie from Feyenoord!

And they also spent 15 million euros to buy a relatively unknown young center-back from Celtic – Virgil van Dijk!

They carefully calculated and used up the more than 50 million yuan from selling people.

After a period of adjustment with four winless games at the start of the season, Southampton have made great strides, rising in the standings instead of falling from last season.

其中不乏3-1力克切尔西、2-2逼平榜首莱斯特城、在安菲尔德1-1绝平利物浦的经典比赛。

All four young new signings have become key players and important rotation players for the team.

British media lavished praise on Koeman, commending his expertise in developing and training young players.

"Liu Yang? I've also studied his videos from those two games. He's an outstanding young man."

"However, it's only been two games. A footballer's career is long, and he still needs to keep working hard."

"Coach Gard made him a substitute?"

"This is a good thing."

"Every now and then, a young genius appears, dominating the field from the very first game. Then all the teams start to study and understand him. Eventually, his magic fades, and he goes from being the genius you all call him to a mediocre player."

"If it were me, I would do the same, letting the young man adapt gradually, while preventing him from becoming too arrogant due to a momentary outburst."

The reporters nodded frequently.

Southampton's young squad includes more than just the players they signed in the summer.

There's also 23-year-old Senegalese winger Mane.

Ward-Prowse, a 21-year-old midfielder developed through the club's youth academy.

……

The news that Liu Yang failed to make the starting lineup quickly spread across the internet.

- [What does this mean? Three goals in two games and he still can't start? Are Aston Villa's players really as strong as Liu Yangqiang?]

I think Gard is not far from being fired; there are good people he doesn't use!

- [Haha, do you guys even know anything about football? Liu Yang can only rely on his physical advantage as a substitute to bully relegation-threatened teams like Newcastle, or weak midfielders like Arsenal!]

Southampton's midfield boasts formidable players like Wanyama, Clasie, and Romeu. Starting them would render you invisible!

- [You all don't understand. Liu Yang has played too well in these two games, so the coach wants to put him on the bench to keep him in the spotlight until the winter transfer window closes. Otherwise, if Arsenal buys him back, Aston Villa will definitely be relegated this season.]

-【And then we have to mention Almstadt, that fool who loves to take advantage of small things.】

- [I've said it so many times, Arsenal simply can't afford 20 million in the winter transfer window. If Wenger buys Liu Yang, I'll eat 50 pounds of shit on live stream!]

- [Isn't this Brother Xiang? Arsenal didn't win last round, when are you going to pay off all your debts?]

"Achoo!"

Armstadt, who was innocently mentioned, sneezed loudly in his hotel room.

He also saw the news that Gard didn't start Liu Yang.

I don't quite agree with it.

Almstadt picked up his phone, but after thinking about it, he decided not to make a call.

Management can interfere with player recruitment, but it's not appropriate to put pressure on the head coach's lineup and tactics.

……

The night passed quickly.

December 20, St. Mary's Stadium.

During the pre-match training session, a young black player from the Southampton team came over to greet Liu Yang.

"Hello, Liu!"

Although Mane has been playing for England for over a year, his English is still not very standard.

"I know...you are of Chinese descent!"

Seeing Liu Yang nod in affirmation, Mane grinned, revealing eight big white teeth.

"Chinese people... are friends."

Many years ago, as a teenager, Mane left his hometown and joined the youth academy of the French Ligue 1 team Metz.

The captain of the youth team at the time was a Chinese.

At that time, Mane was still an unknown, poor African boy.

When a Chinese reporter came to interview the team leader, Mane pleaded in broken French with the reporter if he could take a picture of him and send it to his mother back home.

After the shoot, he, who was used to being poor, kept asking, "Was this free?"

From then on, the captain took extra care of him.

Years have passed in the blink of an eye, and Mane has now joined the Premier League and become a hot star.

It is said that a number of top clubs, including Liverpool, are very interested in him.

The captain suffered a ligament tear after being fouled while playing in China, and subsequently suffered a series of injuries, causing his career to decline.

……

China's broadcasting platform.

When two relatively unknown teams met, the platform only assigned a young commentator with little experience.

"Alright, the match is about to begin. Let's take a look at the starting lineups for both sides."

"Let's look at the home team, Southampton, first. They've fielded manager Koeman's favorite 4-3-3 formation!"

Goalkeeper: Fraser Foster!

"Defenders: Bertrand, Van Dijk, Fonte, Cedric!"

Midfielders: Wanyama, Clasie, Ward-Prowse!

Forwards: Mane, Pellè, Tadic!

"Let's take a look at the starting lineup for the away team, Aston Villa."

Goalkeeper: Guzan!

"Defenders: Bacuna, Lescott, Okore, Hutton!"

Midfielders: Guy, Carlos Sanchez, and Veretout!

"Forwards: Grealish, Jordan Ayew, and Gasted!"

"Liu Yang, the young Chinese player who had previously performed brilliantly, is still on the bench for this game."

……

A live streaming room on a pirate platform.

"Brothers, the signal is bad today, so we can only use domestic sources. Foreign sources are prone to buffering."

The young streamer, wearing a pirated Aston Villa jersey, broadcasted another Aston Villa match live.

The comments section seemed unimpressed.

Why does this commentator sound so listless? He has absolutely no passion for speaking!

Where's Zhan Jun? Where's Zhang Lu? Can't we get some better commentators?

- [Who cares who's commentating? Everyone's betting on Southampton to win this game, so I'm betting on a draw. I bet on Liu Yang's team to draw the previous three games, and they've won three in a row!]

"Hey, I know you guys want good commentary, but all the famous commentators are busy commentating on the big teams. If it weren't for Liu Yang, who would even pay attention to these two small teams?"

"If all else fails, buddy, turn the volume down on the live stream and do the commentary yourself."

Seeing the barrage of doubts and ridicule in the comments, the junior streamer got a little annoyed.

"Don't underestimate him! Brother Liu Yang led us to victory. I did a lot of research!"

……

With the referee's whistle, the match officially began.

Gasteed kicked off with his weaker foot and passed the ball back to Villa's backfield.

The two sides quickly spread out their formations.

"Okay, Villa's midfield has the ball. Should they control it in their own half?"

"But Southampton's pressing is very aggressive."

"Wow, even this old black guy who plays defensive midfield has rushed up to the forward line to steal the ball!"

"Hehe, the host is about to show off his review results."

"That black guy is French defensive midfielder Wanyama, who's averaging 3.3 tackles per game this season, currently ranking in the top three in the Premier League!"

"A typical dark-skinned, muscular man, 1.89 meters tall, strong and powerful, he runs quite fast and has excellent stamina!"

- [Dude, you're really good at commentary!]

- [Wow, the streamer really put in the effort!]

No wonder the head coach benched the Liu Yang brothers; this black guy is too fierce, much tougher than Arsenal's soft midfielders! The Liu Yang brothers will have a very difficult time playing against someone like him.

Seeing the comments praising him, the young streamer couldn't help but feel a little proud.

"Aston Villa launched a long ball from their own half, looking for the tall forward Gasted... who headed it to Grealish..."

"Oh no, Grealish has conceded a goal!"

"The one who intercepted the ball was Clasie. Don't let his height of less than 1.7 meters fool you; he's incredibly stocky, a typical powerhouse!"

"He easily tipped the ball away from Grealish!"

"Pass to Mane in the attacking third, then to Tadic, and then to Pellè in the middle!"

"Oops, Pellè tripped and fell, he missed the ball!"

"There's no way around it, Pelle is tall and handsome, and his girlfriend is incredibly beautiful!"

"So it's normal to feel weak in the legs sometimes!"

The streamer glanced at the chat again; no one was praising his professional commentary anymore.

The comments were all asking for photos of Pelle's wife.

……

The match lasted for more than 30 minutes, with both sides playing evenly.

"Something's not right, guys. How come Southampton and Aston Villa are evenly matched?"

"One team is clearly in the top half of the bracket, and the other is at the bottom!"

"And this is Southampton's own home ground!"

"Southampton's defense is actually very solid; the central defensive pairing of Van Dijk and Fonte almost never makes any mistakes..."

"But on the offensive end, they had no way to break down Villa's leaky defense."

The young streamer and the viewers in the live stream were completely confused.

Command area.

Saints manager Koeman had a somber expression.

As a disciple of Cruyff, he firmly believed in his mentor's saying: "You must make sure the opposing player who has the worst ball possession gets the ball more often, so that you can more easily gain possession!"

In the context of modern tactics, this means "pressing down on the opponent's weakest link, thereby forcing the opponent to create an opening."

As the game progressed, Koeman realized that Aston Villa didn't seem to have a weak link at all.

Because the whole team is terrible.

When you are full of weaknesses, you have no weaknesses.

Southampton, on the other hand, were drawn into a chaotic rhythm by Villa.

Then, relying on her rich experience in chaotic battles, Vera fought to a standstill with the stronger Saints.

……

"Alright, Southampton now get a throw-in opportunity!"

"Bertrand is taking the throw-in...wait, what did Koeman say to Bertrand?"

Bertrand nodded repeatedly as he listened to his head coach's instructions, and then threw the ball out of bounds.

Soon, Southampton slowed down.

The two defensive midfielders no longer push so high up the pitch, and when they have the chance, they are no longer in such a hurry to cross the ball into the penalty area.

However, to the audience, the two teams not only seemed evenly matched, but the game also became more hypnotic.

Aston Villa didn't seem to be in a particular hurry to attack.

For them, a draw at St. Mary's Stadium would be acceptable.

However, after the 40th minute, Southampton suddenly started to pick up the pace.

Both midfielders – Ward-Prowse and Wanyama – pushed forward into the half!

"Wow, they've suddenly become really fierce in their fighting!"

Is Southampton about to make a move?

"Aston Villa's backline has a very poor ability to distribute the ball out of play!"

Snapped!

Center-back Lescott launched a long ball forward.

"Go find Gasted with a big kick!"

"Van Dyke! His air defense capabilities are outstanding!"

"Van Dijk controlled the ball at his feet and then launched a long pass to the left flank!"

Wow! His pass from the backfield was incredibly precise!

"Mane! He's gotten past a cutter!"

"It can even accelerate in a second stage!"

"One more!"

"Ouch! I've been taken down!"

"Beep!"

The referee stopped the game and showed a yellow card to Guy, who was helplessly throwing his hands up.

Then, a line was drawn two steps in front of the top of the arc.

"That's a great free kick position!"

"Close to the middle, you can shoot with either foot!"

"Guys, I checked, Tadic is known for his set-piece ability... wait? He gave away a free kick?"

Ward-Prowse, the young midfielder wearing the Saints' number 16 jersey, took a deep breath.

"Run-up, shoot!"

"Goal!"

"Wow, what a beautiful curve!"

"The first half is almost over! Southampton have broken the deadlock at home!"