90: A stunning debut at Elland Road

Elland Road Stadium.

Over thirty thousand Leeds United fans transformed it into a white, roaring volcano.

A hellish roar converged from all directions, compressing every inch of air inside the stadium, making it tremble slightly.

They waved white scarves, forming a surging ocean, and sang their ancient and warlike team anthem, "Marching On Together."

The momentum was magnificent, as if it would crush all invaders into dust.

In the Sky Sports broadcast booth, the voice of legendary commentator Martin Tyler spread across England via television signal.

"Welcome to Elland Road Stadium!"

"The opening match of the League One new season, and also the highlight of this round, sees former Premier League giants Leeds United host newly promoted Hartlepool United!"

"This newly promoted team from the north spent nearly two million pounds this summer, and their owner, that mysterious Chinese businessman, shocked the entire League with a crazy spending spree. Today is the moment to test their mettle!"

His partner, former Leeds United legend Alan Smith, had a scrutinizing look in his eyes.

"Let's look at the starting lineups for both teams."

"Leeds United has fielded their classic and toughest 4-4-2 formation. The goalkeeper is the experienced Dane, Kasper Ankergren, and up front is the 'Black Wind Duo' combination of Tresor Chandler and Jermaine Beckford, whose attacking power is enough to tear apart any League One defense."

"For Hartlepool United, their head coach Old John has deployed an extremely... I mean, an extremely offensive 4-3-3 formation."

Alan Smith's voice carried undisguised surprise.

"Goalkeeper, number 1, Kasper Schmeichel."

"The defensive line from right to left: number 2 Kyle Walker, number 5 Ryan Shawcross, captain number 4 Michael Nelson, and number 3 Matty Robson."

"Three midfielders: number 8 Jordan Henderson, number 10 Gylfi Sigurðsson, and number 18, Mark Tinkler."

"The attacking trident: number 7 Shaun Maloney on the left, number 9 Jamie Vardy in the center, and number 11 Robert Snodgrass on the right."

"This is a lineup that has almost abandoned defense, aiming to go head-to-head with Leeds United at Elland Road. It's very bold, even somewhat naive."

The whistle for the start of the match sounded.

The Leeds United players, like a pack of white beasts completely ignited by the home atmosphere, launched a wave-like assault, fueled by the thunderous cheers.

They constantly used simple, crude long passes to find their two attacking forwards.

The ball was repeatedly lofted into Hartlepool's penalty area, testing this brand new, young defense.

New signing Kyle Walker was playing his first official match in such a terrifying atmosphere.

Leeds United's left winger tried to break through him with speed, but Walker stuck tightly to his opponent with an even more unreasonable burst of pace.

His astonishing recovery speed, like a blue and white lightning bolt, several times at the most dangerous moments, directly slid the opponent's crosses out for a goal kick.

Another new signing, Ryan Shawcross, stood like an unshakeable mountain in the center of the penalty area.

Facing Leeds United's repeated aerial bombardments, he displayed suffocating aerial ability. Every jump was like a wall rising, using his hard head to powerfully clear the ball out of the dangerous zone.

The defense, for now, withstood the test.

In the VIP box on the top floor of the stadium, Lin Feng leaned back on the soft leather sofa, watching the chaotic battlefield below with a calm expression.

In his mind, on the azure holographic screen, countless real-time data streams representing the players on the field were rapidly refreshing like a waterfall.

The [Opponent Analysis] module ran automatically.

The average distance between Leeds United's two center-backs was highlighted in red by the system—12.7 meters.

Under the opponent's high-intensity pressure, this distance was constantly widening.

That was a fatal flaw.

Lin Feng picked up his encrypted phone and, without hesitation, sent an instruction to Old John on the sidelines.

"Instruction A: Diamond Cut. Have Sigurðsson drop back to draw the opponent's defensive midfielder, while Vardy and Maloney pull wide, attacking the space between their center-backs."

Old John's phone in his pocket vibrated imperceptibly.

He glanced at the message, then calmly walked to the sidelines and made a gesture to the players on the field, a gesture practiced thousands of times in training.

Signal received.

In the 28th minute of the match, the tactical gears began to turn precisely.

Sigurðsson, the Icelandic genius, suddenly stopped his forward run and began to drop back towards the center circle to demand the ball.

This unusual run, like a stone thrown into a calm lake, immediately attracted Leeds United's defensive midfielder to press forward.

He was successfully lured out of his defensive position.

The moment the opponent's defensive midfielder rushed up, Sigurðsson, without even looking, used the inside of his foot to deliver a low, diagonal through ball.

The ball, like a surgical knife, precisely pierced through the widened gap between Leeds United's two center-backs.

Jamie Vardy, like a leopard that had been lurking for a long time, suddenly burst out from the side.

His explosive acceleration allowed him to perfectly evade the offside trap, creating a one-on-one situation.

The heartbeats of everyone in Elland Road Stadium paused at that moment.

Facing the advancing Leeds United goalkeeper Ankergren, Vardy's eyes showed no ripple, only the calmness of a hunter.

He gently pushed the ball with the inside of his foot.

The ball traced a not-so-fast arc, skimming the grass, rolling past the goalkeeper's fingertips, and nestling into the far corner of the goal.

One-nil.

The noisy Elland Road instantly fell into a dead silence.

The more than thirty thousand mouths that had just been roaring were now all frozen, as if a mute button had been pressed.

Only the few hundred Hartlepool fans who had traveled with the team in the away stand erupted in a deafening cheer that stood in stark contrast to the surrounding silence.

Vardy ran to the corner flag, but didn't celebrate wildly.

He simply stopped, turned around, and faced the white ocean of the home stand, placing an index finger in front of his lips.

A provocative 'shush' gesture that enraged the entire stadium.

Before the end of the first half, the Leeds United players, completely infuriated by the goal and the celebration, began to play with increasing aggression.

Their captain, former Celtic legend Alan Thompson, in a midfield scramble, launched an extremely vicious flying tackle, bringing down Jordan Henderson, who was on the ball, along with the ball.

Henderson let out a painful groan, clutching his ankle and rolling on the ground.

The whistle blew.

Players from both sides, like ignited powder kegs, instantly converged from all directions, chest to chest, pushing each other, spewing angry curses.

A conflict was about to erupt.