Chapter 136 - Leeds (2)

In the 47th minute, Southampton got a penalty. Kazuki was fouled in the penalty box by Firpo. Facing Illan Meslier, Kazuki was able to execute a penalty kick well. Southampton's first goal came late in the first half. The goal certainly made Leed United frustrated. After 45 minutes of holding off Southampton's onslaught, they did not expect to concede a penalty.

The match entered the break. Both coaches made changes. George pulled Ryan out and replaced him with Kounde. In the first half, Ryan's performance was less than satisfactory, he wasted chances so often that a counterattack was created. With the inclusion of Kounde, George was hope Southampton's left side could be more agresively.

Meanwhile on Leeds United's side, Marcelo Bielsa pushed Kalvin's position forward. The reason was to avoid Bennett. He put Calvin slightly forward then pulled Fernando back. In addition, he also allowed Horizon to move slightly to the center to replace Fernando. On the left, Leeds left-back Reynold will rise to winger.

The match restarted. As before, both teams played quite safely in the early stages. But the changes made by the two coaches were starting to show their effect. In the 47th minute, Fernando stole the ball from Bennet's feet. He then gave it to Calvin. Calvin received the pass and controlled the ball carefully. Orlando went up and tried to steal Calvin's ball. Horrison who moved into the middle was free, Calvin gave Horrison a pass.

But at that moment, Hilton went up and closed the space left by Orlando. He committed a foul to stop the flow of the ball for Leed United. Leed failed to continue the attack, but with that attack, it was shown that Marcelo Bielsa's adjustments were starting to take effect.

In the 56th minute, Luke Ayling intercepted Bennet's cross for Kounde. Luke immediately gave Calvin a flat pass. Just like before, Orlando went up, but this time he really guarded the possibility of Calvin's pass to Horrison, so Calvin chose to give Rodrigo a pass. Rodrigo walked backwards and received the ball from Calvin.

After that, he gave a back-pass to Horizon. Horizon who was in the middle received the ball. Then he poked the ball to the left. Reynold penetrated into the penalty box. He received a pass from Horrison. Reynold then gave Patrick Bamford a pass. The pass seemed too awkward for Bamford, so the striker simply stuck his foot out to change the direction of the ball.

Unfortunately, the ball was too weak so it was easily caught by Dean Smith. Southampton's counter-attack came. Dean Smith immediately gave the pass to Vicente. Vicente received the ball. He then provided a long ball forward to Rustan. Rustan was not guarded by anyone because Reynold's rise, he received the ball and ran quickly towards the Leeds United defense.

Liam Cooper moved towards Rustan. He tried to close Rustan's path to the Leeds United penalty box. Rustan then gave a pass into the middle and then continued to run ignoring Cooper. Kazuki received the ball and directly gave it back to Rustan. Rustan received the ball, he pushed the ball aside as the goalkeeper stepped forward. Then, Rustan kicked the ball into the goalpost.

Kazuki came over to Rustan and congratulated him. Rustan's pace had always been one of Southampton's biggest threats. Despite not scoring personally but Kazuki was happy to see Southampton score the second goal. With this Southampton winning 2-0 over Leeds United.

In the 66th minute, Kazuki was pulled out by George. In the face of the devil's schedule, George wanted to conserve Kazuki's energy as much as possible. George entered Theodore to replace Kazuki. This was Theodore's official debut in the senior team.

In the 69th minute, Leeds hit back. Firpo managed to steal the ball from Theodore's feet. He gave it to Fernando. Fernando moved to avoid Bennet and gave the ball to Calvin. Calvin received the ball, this time he immediately sent a long ball to the right. Raphinha received the ball from Calvin then he pushed the ball forward and was about to cross.

Benson stretched out his leg and blocked Raphinha's cross. Corner kick awarded to Raphinha. Calvin became the one who executed the corner kick. Immediately after the referee blew the whistle Calvin kicked the ball flat to Fernando. Fernando provided rhe ball back to Calvin. Calvin brought the ball, a few moments, later gave a flat pass into the middle of the penalty box.

Patrick Bamford stuck his foot out but he failed to meet Calvin's pass. The result was the ball swinging off the field untouched.Calvin looks frustrated with it. Patrick failed to read his partner's movements. He should have guessed what Calvin wanted to do.

In the 78th minute, Leeds United managed to get the ball. Kounde's cross which failed to be used by Southampton forward. Theodore was successfully guarded by Firpo. The Leeds United central defender headed the ball out of the penalty box. Fernando received the ball and gave it to Luke Ayling. Kounde intercepted Luke and tackled him. Kounde managed to bring down Luke Ayling, but the ball bounced into the middle.

Bennet got the ball and dribbled into the Leeds defense area. Calvin came from behind and gripped Benner's shirt tightly. Bennett passed the ball to Theodore. However, Fernando did a body charge that made Theodore encouraged. Fernando then got the ball. After that he gave it to Reynold.

Shortly after, Reynold crossed the ball into the penalty box. Patrick Bamford managed to get the ball, but Okhalo blocked Bamford so the player had no space to shoot. Bamford grabbed the ball with his feet and spun around. Then, he gave the ball to Raphinha.

Raphinha received the ball, now he was only dealing with the goalkeeper. Raphinha kicked the ball. When all the Leeds fans were about to cheer, Raphinha's shot flew high above the Southampton net. Marcelo Bielsa kicked the water bottle hard when he saw Raphinha waste such a good chance.

Southampton continued to dominate the game towards the end. George also made the final substitution to strengthen the Southampton defence. Leeds kept trying to find goals. Marcelo Bielsa was not afraid to bet.

He replaced several defenders with attackers. But instead of getting a goal, Leeds conceded again in the 89th minute, on a counter-attack, Rustan became the third goal scorer in this match.

The match ended with Southampton's 3-0 win over Leeds United. Rustan was named the best player in the match with two goals. With this win Southampton was getting closer to the half season championship.. The last two opponents Southampton have to face are Manchester United and Arsenal.