"Look at this time, Valverde takes the ball, a diagonal long pass to the left side of the box, looking for Rashford."
"Rashford challenges Azpilicueta in the air, wins the first ball, and heads it toward the center."
"Haaland is tightly marked by Rüdiger, still no chance. He chests the ball down with his back to goal and passes it to a teammate."
"Enzo surges forward and shoots directly!"
"The ball hits Brozović and bounces back."
"We see that the ball is still with Leeds United."
"Rice comes up to take the ball, one touch, then shoots!!"
"Goal!!!"
"GOALLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL!!"
"Declan Rice!"
"Just before the end of the first half, Rice scores another goal against Chelsea with a long-range shot from outside the box, making it 2-0!"
"The Blues really need to make some adjustments now."
"Being two goals down in the first half is definitely a huge blow for Chelsea."
"More importantly, from the data we currently have, Chelsea's possession in the first half was only 32 percent, with two shots, neither of which was on target. These are very embarrassing statistics."
"It can be said that there is still a clear gap in strength between the two teams."
... After scoring, Rice excitedly ran off the field, celebrating wildly, but was quickly surrounded by his teammates.
This player came through Chelsea's youth academy but was not valued. Later, he was scouted by Leeds United and has now become a renowned and excellent center-back in England and even European football.
At 22 years old, he has become one of the most sought-after defensive midfielders in European football today.
Many British media outlets have even begun to praise him as a top-tier defensive midfielder.
Is there any problem with this?
Actually, there isn't.
After many years of development in the Leeds United youth academy, the current Rice is more well-rounded and technically refined than in Gao Shen's previous life, with more effective participation and support in attack.
It can be said that in terms of performance and data, the current Rice is in no way inferior to top defensive midfielders like Casemiro, Rodri, Busquets, and Fabinho.
This is also why Leeds United has been leading the Premier League this season.
Rice's characteristic is stability.
The current Rice is a true core midfielder, whether for Leeds United or the England national team. Unlike his youth career in his previous life where he played for Ireland, in this life, thanks to the platform provided by Leeds United, Rice has always been a key player, even captain, for various youth national teams.
It can be said that he is now a legitimate future leader-level star for England.
However, his position at Leeds United has also been challenged.
Gao Shen's attitude toward Leeds United players has always been one of competition.
For example, in the defensive midfield position, the two most competitive players are Rice and Tchouaméni.
Many teams in European football feel that Leeds United's setup is very luxurious. Why?
Because on all major rankings, both defensive midfielders have been outstanding.
For example, in defense, Rice contributed 10 successful defensive actions per 90 minutes, while Tchouaméni had 12.
In terms of one-on-one success rate, Rice was 64.23 percent, while Tchouaméni reached 66.14 percent. The former ranked third in Europe, and the latter ranked first.
In terms of interceptions, Rice contributed 5.36 per minute, while Tchouaméni had 6.
From the defensive data, currently, only Real Madrid's Casemiro can compete with Leeds United's duo, with Casemiro's successful defensive actions reaching as high as 12.14, ranking first in European football, but his one-on-one success rate is only 59.6 percent, which is considerably lower.
It can be said, why does Leeds United dare to play with a single defensive midfielder?
It's because Tchouaméni and Rice's performances are outstanding enough.
But current football tactics require more from defensive midfielders than just defense. They also need passing, organization, and attacking contributions.
In this aspect, Rice and Tchouaméni are relatively weaker compared to players like Rodri, Busquets, and Jorginho.
For example, Tchouaméni's defensive stats are impressive, but his passing success rate is only 89.32 percent. This isn't bad, it's one percentage point better than Kanté, but compared to Rodri's 93.67 percent, it's quite a bit lower.
Rice's passing success rate reached 92.24 percent, but he only made 15 forward passes, while Tchouaméni made as many as 17.6.
To some extent, Tchouaméni has a stronger desire to participate in attacking plays and a stronger attacking presence.
This can also be seen in the data. For example, in terms of creating chances, Rice made 6.29 passes per 90 minutes, while Tchouaméni made as many as 8.46, even more than an organizing defensive midfielder like Jorginho.
However, in long passes, Rice's success rate was as high as 72.12 percent, while Tchouaméni's was only 59.9 percent.
In aerial duels, Rice's success rate was 57.36 percent, while Tchouaméni's was 61.19 percent.
From this series of data, it can be seen that while Leeds United's two defensive midfielders have some differences in characteristics—Rice being more inclined toward defense, and Tchouaméni being more balanced in attack and defense—they are actually quite similar, with very close performances and characteristics.
In terms of age, Rice was born in January 1999, and Tchouaméni in January 2000, which is also very close.
This is also why the competition between the two players at Leeds United is very intense, even fierce.
Similar ages, similar strengths, and similar characteristics have led to extremely fierce competition.
However, the intensity of this competition has been well controlled by Pochettino, so the two players rotate. Whoever is in better form plays, and both have pressure on each other, ensuring that Leeds United's entire midfield performs very stably.
Previously, many people believed that after Tchouaméni's rise, Leeds United would consider selling Rice.
Even at that time, many teams in the transfer market were interested in Rice, and their bids all exceeded 100 million pounds, but Leeds United rejected them without hesitation.
The reason is simple. Five substitutions will be implemented, ensuring that every position has two high-level players, which is the squad configuration for all top clubs.
If one of the two were to be sold, where would Leeds United find a replacement?
"Only small teams need to make choices, we Leeds United are a giant, a top giant!"
This was a definitive statement made by Gao Shen during an internal team meeting.
Leading by two goals at halftime, Leeds United made some adjustments, and after the second half began, they continued to charge toward Chelsea's goal with high spirits.
Rice, facing his former club, truly displayed an exceptionally excellent competitive state, and his performance on the field was extraordinarily enthusiastic. He even showed no mercy toward Mount, with whom he had a brotherly bond and almost married into his family.
The most amusing part was during a defensive play when Rice directly tackled Mount, then helped the Chelsea player up, apologizing profusely, while Mount pointed at Rice and complained incessantly.
That scene was truly exceptionally interesting.
After Chelsea made successive substitutions, especially bringing on players like Pulisic, Ziyech, and Kovačić, attempting to strengthen the team's midfield progression and attack upfront, Leeds United also made adjustments.
Especially toward the end of the second half, as Chelsea players' stamina gradually wore down, Leeds United's players began to exert themselves.
Physical fitness advantage has always been a strength of Gao Shen's coaching and a specialty of Leeds United.
Whether it was Lorenzo Buenaventura and Antonio Pintus, or Pochettino, they all placed great emphasis on physical fitness. As a result, over the years at Leeds United, both veterans and youngsters have had their physical conditioning excellently managed.
Especially after the 80th minute, Leeds United's physical advantage was fully demonstrated.
They even cornered Chelsea and beat them up at one point.
In the 87th minute, substitute Bellingham skillfully dribbled past Brozović, who was defending him, then diagonally passed the ball to the left, to Alphonso Davies.
The Leeds United left-back caught up with Bellingham's pass on the left side of the box, and without stopping the ball, he smoothly sent in a low cross with his left foot, behind the defensive line.
But this time, Haaland in the middle was restricted by Rüdiger, and no one managed to get into position.
The ball slid from the left side of the box to the right side.
Sancho quickly surged forward, stopped the ball near the byline, then made a sharp stop and cut back, neatly evading Chilwell. He then quickly passed the ball back in a reverse triangle to the right side of the penalty spot.
Pedri, who had come on as a substitute, caught up to the incoming ball and, with a push of his right foot, sent it directly toward the left side of the goal.
Coincidentally, the shot went right through a dense crowd of players.
Goalkeeper Kepa's vision was obstructed, and by the time he reacted, he lunged desperately but was already too late.
3-0!
Leeds United players once again rushed off the field to celebrate.
Especially the young Spanish player Pedri from the Canary Islands, who cheered wildly, constantly waving his hands.
Although it was just icing on the cake, this goal was enough to make him proud.
Winning the FA Cup would make Leeds United achieve the Premier League treble.
Beyond that, if they win the Champions League, it would be a magnificent quadruple, something never before achieved in Leeds United's history.
Leeds United players also rushed onto the field, and even the players on the bench and many staff members couldn't hold back and rushed over to celebrate.
The fans in the stands had already fallen into a frenzy.
Pochettino kept applauding his players on the sideline, while on the other side, Chelsea's Lampard looked very helpless.
He had truly tried his best, but this Chelsea team was really far behind Leeds United in terms of strength.
Don't let Leeds United's young players fool you. Each one is exceptionally talented and gifted. What an astonishing force such a group of young players could be when brought together.
And what makes it most despairing, yet also exciting, is that the whole world is eagerly anticipating how far this young Leeds United team can go.
And whether they can create an era of their own dynasty.
(To be continued.)