Today, Huang Hao unhesitatingly put Sun Jihai, Lovren, and Van Dijk all in the starting lineup.
Suxi and Vida were substitutes.
Upfront, Huang Hao still deployed the combination of Vardy and Lewandowski, hoping this duo could continue to dominate the Premier League.
In midfield, besides Kante, Huang Hao sent on Mahrez, Ayu, Tadić, and Golonas.
Lacazette, who had just joined Cambridge United in the summer, sat on the bench with Oblak, O'Connor, May, and little Abe.
However, once the match started, the disparity in strength between the two sides quickly became apparent.
Robbie Keane received a through ball from Bale on the left, smoothly dribbled into the box, and unleashed a shot!
Pantilimon bravely dove to parry the ball out for a corner!
The match had already passed 10 minutes, and Tottenham Hotspur, cheered on by nearly 60,000 home fans, had already had 4 shots on goal.
Cambridge United, at this point, had not yet had a single shot.
Opportunities to penetrate Tottenham's box were also few and far between.
"Glory to Tottenham Hotspur,
The Assassin Legion charges forward,
Tottenham Hotspur is the greatest team in the world."
As this song, "Glory to Tottenham Hotspur," echoed repeatedly through Tottenham's stadium, amplified by both the sound system and the fans, Pantilimon was busy making saves in front of the goal, repeatedly denying Tottenham's shots.
Chen Kai and the other members were a bit frustrated, as their supported team seemed utterly helpless at this moment.
It felt like a goal could be conceded at any time.
But on second thought, the opponent was the mighty Tottenham, so everything seemed less awkward.
In the 18th minute, Sun Jihai received a pass from Kante outside the box and immediately attempted a long-range shot!
The ball, like a clearance, rolled straight to goalkeeper Gomes.
Gomes easily squatted down and cradled the ball, and Cambridge United finally registered their first shot of the match.
Two minutes later, Ekotto received a horizontal pass from Modric in the backfield, and before Tadić could even reach him, he quickly passed the ball to Bale upfront.
Before the match, Redknapp had specifically planned against Cambridge United's high press: by quickly releasing the ball, Cambridge United's players would constantly run but gain nothing!
Through this method, Redknapp aimed to continuously exhaust Cambridge United's players' stamina, knowing full well that Cambridge United's high-intensity defense could only be maintained for at most 60-plus minutes!
After receiving the ball, Bale immediately moved from the left wing towards Cambridge United's center!
Just as Kante was preparing to switch defensive positions with Golonas, Bale curled the ball out with the instep of his left foot!
Lovren closely followed Crouch, preventing him from taking the ball and entering the box.
But just before getting the ball, Crouch suddenly stopped short!
Lovren instinctively stopped his steps, following Crouch!
The ball zipped past them!
A gust of wind suddenly blew past Lovren's back! Keane quickly chased the ball from behind, swiftly penetrating the box!
Realizing the danger, Lovren quickly abandoned Crouch and sprinted after Keane!
However, by this time, Keane had already reached the right side of the six-yard box and directly pushed the ball towards the near post!
Although Pantilimon dove to block with incredible speed, the ball still flew through his armpit towards the goal!
Just as the Tottenham fans behind the goal were about to stand up and cheer, the ball directly hit the near post and rebounded in front of the goal!
Van Dijk quickly followed up and kicked the ball towards midfield!
Cambridge United narrowly escaped a goal!
Just as Cambridge United's players were still celebrating not conceding, Tottenham came surging back again!
Modric received a pass from Lennon outside the penalty box, dribbled horizontally for two steps, and then directly unleashed a long-range shot!
Pantilimon once again tipped the ball horizontally out for a corner!
Lennon took the corner, and Crouch headed the ball towards the goal.
It was Pantilimon again, calmly catching Crouch's shot with both hands!
Tottenham relentlessly attacked Cambridge United's goal at an average frequency of once every 3 minutes.
Cambridge United's players, meanwhile, retreated their defensive line, and with the seemingly divine assistance of Pantilimon, they repeatedly sent Tottenham's players away empty-handed!
In the 34th minute of the first half, Keane dribbled into the box, attracting the defense of three players, including Lovren!
Keane lightly back-heeled the ball!
The ball, as if it had eyes, slowly rolled towards the rapidly advancing Keane!
The Irish King unleashed a powerful shot!
The ball once again hit the side netting!
Keane's shot seemed to strike Chen Kai's heart directly!
Standing on the other side of the field, he thought the ball had already gone in!
Just as he was holding his head in despair, he noticed that the Tottenham fans hadn't celebrated as expected, and only then did he realize the ball had hit the side netting!
Chen Kai pounded his chest while looking at Huang Hao.
At this moment, Huang Hao stood calmly, hands in his pockets, observing the changes on the field.
Chen Kai secretly admired him; although they were of similar age, Huang Hao's aura on the field was truly incomparable to his own.
However, just 3 minutes later, Modric once again sent the ball in front of the goal from near Cambridge United's right byline!
Huddlestone leaped high and once again headed the ball towards the goal!
This time, after passing Pantilimon, the ball hit Cambridge United's crossbar and bounced directly out for a goal kick!
Huang Hao, who had just been calmly watching the match, immediately started yelling furiously at his own defenders!
Chen Kai was so startled that he quickly Shrink his neck, as if he were the one being scolded!
When the referee finally blew the whistle for the end of the first half, Chen Kai realized that his palms were soaked with sweat!
He turned to his companions, and they all let out a long sigh of relief.
Although Tottenham had as many as 15 shots in the first half, Cambridge United, with their united defense, withstood the formidable test, and the score on the field remained 0:0.
However, it was somewhat embarrassing that Sun Jihai's ground-rolling shot was Cambridge United's only shot opportunity in the first half!
The large screens around Tottenham's stadium repeatedly replayed Tottenham's several excellent chances from the first half.
The Tottenham fans around Chen Kai also looked relaxed; although their home team hadn't scored in the first half, if the momentum continued like this, a goal was only a matter of time.
What is absolute suppression? This is absolute suppression!
Somehow, Chen Kai remembered the black guy he met outside the stadium; his three raised fingers, would they really come true?
A draw was clearly an acceptable result for Huang Hao and Cambridge United.
Therefore, at halftime, everyone was in good spirits and condition, apart from being a bit more physically exhausted.
Despite the limited rest time, Huang Hao still pulled out the tactics board and tapped on it with his pen to get everyone's attention.
"Lovren, what do you think of Tottenham?"
Hearing Huang Hao's question, Lovren thought carefully for a moment, then said:
"I think Tottenham focuses more on passing and control, and their attacking routes are relatively fixed."
Huang Hao nodded in satisfaction,
"Although you were heavily suppressed in the first half, if you calm down, you'll find that Tottenham's attacks are basically initiated by Modric, and most of the final execution of the attack is done by Crouch and Keane."
"Lovren is absolutely right; Tottenham's offense is too formulaic."
"So, you know what to do in the second half, right? Freeze Modric! Cut off their attacking line!"
"Kante, leave the central defense to Golonas; your main focus is to mark Modric."
"Also, don't be so polite; if you find that there aren't many opportunities for tackles, then pull!"
"We don't have to play so violently, but everyone! Don't forget your unique skills!"
"Remember, Tottenham is like someone with OCD; use your clever fouls to prevent them from getting their way! Understand?!"
"Understood, Boss!"
After Huang Hao's insightful words, the Cambridge United players' eyes gradually brightened.
They had become somewhat shy and polite after entering the Premier League, but in the second half, they once again "turned bad."
Just 3 minutes into the second half, Keane found another good opportunity in front of the goal!
Bale broke through to Cambridge United's left byline, then cleverly passed the ball to Crouch at the edge of the box.
Crouch shielded the ball, then pushed it directly into the center!
Keane volleyed!
Pantilimon rose up like a spring, once again denying his shot!
"Snap out of it! What are you waiting for!!!"
As soon as Pantilimon parried the ball, Huang Hao's roar exploded in the players' ears.
The players quickly buckled down to deal with Tottenham's attack.
As soon as Modric got the ball, Kante stuck to him.
Modric confidently pulled the ball back with his foot, intending to turn and use his speed to shake off the opponent, but after running half a step, he felt as if his clothes were caught on a branch!
He turned his head to see Kante tightly holding his jersey, while also flashing a row of pearly white teeth!
Such an obvious foul, and referee Atwell immediately blew his whistle!
And just as the whistle sounded, Kante, as if electrocuted, immediately let go and raised both hands above his head, signaling his innocent intentions.
Atwell, seeing Kante's cautious demeanor, naturally did not pull out a card.
However, very soon, Kante repeated the trick.
And then, a third time...
This time, Atwell ran over,
"Listen, if you keep this up, I'm going to have to show a card."
"Understood, understood, I'll be careful, I'll be careful, but Mr. Referee, you know, this guy is too hard to defend!"
Kante nodded like a pecking chicken in response to Atwell's warning, while also not forgetting to complain to the referee.
Atwell looked at Kante with a hint of pity, then turned and blew the whistle for a free kick.
Being pulled repeatedly, and the referee hadn't even given a yellow card, Modric's anger was successfully ignited!
Facing Kante again, Modric was so focused on watching Kante's hands that he wasn't careful and was directly dispossessed by Golonas nearby!
Golonas passed the ball back to Kante, who gave another mischievous smile, turned, and dribbled towards Tottenham's half!
Before he could run two steps, Kante suddenly felt a sharp pain in his calf, and then he fell to the ground!
Atwell ran over again and unhesitatingly showed Modric a yellow card!
"F**k off! Did you see how he just pulled me? Did you see it?!"
Modric angrily pointed two fingers at his eyes, asking Atwell.
His teammates, seeing the situation, quickly came over and hugged him to prevent him from more extreme behavior.
"You'd best mind your language."
Atwell coldly dropped a sentence and then ignored Modric.
Perhaps Modric really should learn from Cambridge United's players; appropriate pulling is completely within the rules, but kicking is not.
Clearly, this art and knowledge of fouling was not a required course for this rising Croatian star.
