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Chapter 289 A Different Opponent
The Leeds United training ground was filled with joy and laughter. The players rested for four or five days. Most of them had a happy Christmas yesterday, so they were all in a good mood during training, chatting and laughing happily.

McAllister saw that the morale of the players was quite good, and he felt relieved. Although tomorrow they will challenge Middlesbrough, the strongest opponent in the English Championship, in an away game. With the current morale and state of the players, they may not be without a fight.

During the training interval, Delphi asked Long Bisheng if Li Jie had left. Long Bisheng nodded, and Delphi let out a sigh of relief. He was really scared by Li Jie yesterday, and now he still has lingering fears when he thinks of Li Jie pouring so much beer without changing his face.

"It's fine not to drink with him in the future. My friend has been soaked in wine since he was a child. He used to drink spirits stronger than whiskey in China. Beer is like water to him." Long Bisheng said to Delphi with a smile.

Delphi stuck out her tongue, and then said curiously, "Is there anything Li can do for you?"

He originally just asked casually, but Long Bisheng felt a little embarrassed when he asked, and shook his head after waiting for a while: "It's nothing, just come to my place for Christmas."

Delphi didn't think much about it, but Long Bisheng felt embarrassed. He was not used to deceiving people, but he also knew that Li Jie came to persuade him to transfer to Hoffenheim. Since he had already refused, there was no need to let others know. It would only increase some troubles.

Since the players rested for four or five days, today's training is mainly about exercising the body and recovering the feeling of the game. After training for a while, McAllister arranged a team training game. During the game, the players' movements were very agile.

"Tomorrow we are going to Middlesbrough. I think you should know how difficult this game will be. If we win, our hope of entering the top two will increase greatly. Although we will still have a chance if we lose, our hope will be much slimmer. Therefore, even though we are away and our opponent is Middlesbrough, we still have to strive for victory! Do you understand?"

"Understood!" The players shouted one after another. The team's situation is very good recently. In the first round of the game, they drew a tie with Middlesbrough at home. The scene still occupies a considerable advantage, so the players have no fear of Middlesbrough.

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December 26, Riverside Stadium.

After being relegated to the Championship, the attendance of Middlesbrough's Riverside Stadium has been affected to some extent. However, due to the excellent performance of Middlesbrough in the Championship in the first half of the season and the unbeaten at home so far, the attendance has gradually picked up.

The stadiums in England are often not too big. The average home stadium of a Premier League team can hold about 3 people. Compared with the home stadium of Italy, which can easily have 6 to [-] people, it seems much smaller, but the atmosphere at home is much stronger. The nearest stand is only about one or two meters away from the stadium. Playing in this environment is heaven for the home team, but hell for the visiting team.

Although the Leeds players are used to shouting from fans who are almost close at hand at Elland Road Stadium, the Riverside Stadium is much smaller than Elland Road Stadium, and the pressure brought by the fans is much greater. In addition, this game is indeed very important. During the warm-up, several players began to become nervous.

After entering the locker room, seeing that the head coach McAllister had not yet entered the locker room, Long Bisheng said to himself: "Actually, this game is not as important as the coach said. There are still more than [-] rounds in the league. Winning this game will not let us enter the Premier League, and losing will not make us fall out of the top six. If this game is the last round, then I will be a little nervous."

Although he was talking to himself, his voice was so loud that several teammates laughed after hearing his words. But after thinking about it carefully, this game is only the No. 20 three-round match, and there are 23 league rounds to come. Let alone Leeds is still ranked third.

The tension slowly disappeared from the heart, and the Leeds players regained their sense of normalcy, and their movements became quicker. Although the shouts of the Middlesbrough fans in the stands still faintly spread to the dressing room, the players still quickly changed their clothes and were ready to play.

At this time, McAllister also came in from the outside. Seeing that the players were ready, he nodded and said in a deep voice, "The game is about to start, get ready to play."

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Needless to say, the contest between the leaders and No.3 is also very important. Both Middlesbrough and Leeds United attach great importance to this game. Except for the players who cannot play, the two sides have sent their own strongest lineup. Leeds's Long Bisheng, Delphi, Huntington and other important players all appeared on the field, and Middlesbrough's Premier League players such as White, Huth, Downing, and Ariadiere were also sent on the field.

Long Bisheng ran into his old rival David White again, but it was no wonder that among Middlesbrough's defenders, only the 1.9-meter-eight White was able to compete with him in height. Although Huth's physical fitness was quite good, his height was more than ten centimeters shorter than Long Bisheng's. Although this gap can be made up, it will always be close in the whole game.

In less than 2 minutes of the opening, the two had a direct contest in the penalty area. Howson made a pass from the side and Long Bisheng grabbed the first point in the penalty area, but White's close collision caused him to miss the header, and the ball flew high over the crossbar.

Long Bisheng, who had landed on the ground, looked at White in surprise. It was only a few months since the last match, so why did the guard's ability to fight suddenly become much stronger?

What Long Bisheng didn't know was that the game a few months ago really gave White, a young and promising central defender, too much excitement.

Although the game was tied, fans who watched that game could see that in the confrontation with Long Bisheng, White was really at a disadvantage. He basically did not win the whole game in the confrontation. It was only with the help of Huth that he managed to stabilize the situation. White played in the Premier League at the age of 19 and squeezed out former England international Gareth Southgate to become Middlesbrough's main central defender. The future pillar of the national team's defense, Sky Sports commented that "In the old-fashioned game, White is the best central defender in England. He is simply a monster!" It is such a central defender, but he was almost completely defeated by Long Bisheng in a long pass game!
If the opponent got rid of him with speed, agility and technique, White would not care too much, because tall central defenders would always suffer a bit when facing smart forwards, but the opponent was also tall, but defeated him in his best field. How could this not make White, a young and famous defender, feel a huge shame?

Young people are arrogant and unconvinced. After what he thought was a tragic loss, White learned from the pain and decided that he was completely suppressed by Long Bisheng because he was at a disadvantage in physical confrontation. In the past six months, he has continued to strengthen his physical training, and he has been doing confrontation training with Huth, who is the most physically fit in the team. Of course, his strength has increased greatly, and his weight has also increased from just 85 kg to 92 kg.

In the first confrontation, as expected, Long Bisheng could not easily knock him away. With his confidence greatly increased, White continued to follow Long Bisheng closely.

Southgate, who was on the sidelines, saw that White did not fall behind in the fight against Long Bisheng, and he also let go of a big stone in his heart. He is also bound to win this game, but he is a little afraid of the impact of Long Bisheng. You must know that another Leeds United striker, Hooper, is not weak in scoring.

Under Southgate's command, Middlesbrough took advantage of the home court to launch a fierce attack. Downing was still the No.1 in Middlesbrough's offense. He frequently changed positions from both sides to create opportunities for his teammates through his breakthroughs and crosses. Leeds United firmly guarded the middle of the penalty area, allowing Downing to harass from the side, trying to keep the goal open.

Long Bisheng and White had several confrontations again. Although Long Bisheng still won most of the confrontations, White's interference effectively reduced his role on the court to the minimum. In the close confrontation, Long Bisheng began to feel that this opponent is really different from a few months ago!

Looking at White who was full of excitement and closely following him, Long Bisheng sighed in his heart. He didn't know why White had suddenly become so powerful, but he could feel that White must have shed countless sweats in the past few months to increase his physical fitness so much in a short period of time.

Maybe I've become lazy lately?After becoming the silver boot of the World Youth Championship, you start to feel that you are already a first-class star?I am still messing around in the British Championship now!White can improve so much in such a short period of time, at what speed will the stronger opponents in the top league advance?I want to lie down and sleep now, isn't it a little early?
Even a fast rabbit will be overtaken by a tortoise while sleeping, not to mention that he is not a rabbit yet.

Looking at this opponent who had become different, Long Bisheng accelerated his running frequency.

(End of this chapter)