The Prince of Inter Milan starts with Brother Xiaosa

Chapter 36
  "Show me your real skills in the second half! The fans are watching you! Repay their support with goals!"

At halftime, head coach Martin Jol was a little anxious. If he couldn't win against a bottom-ranked team like Birmingham at home, he would definitely be scolded.

It's understandable that relegation teams sometimes show strong fighting power, but why does Birmingham play so tenaciously against Tottenham on the road?

Maybe you can get some clues by looking at their starting players today.

Swedish midfielder Sebastian Larsson, a former Arsenal player, Muamba, came from Arsenal's youth training, and Swiss center back Djurou, who came to Birmingham on loan from Arsenal.

Not only are many players on the field from Tottenham's rival Arsenal, but this also shows that Birmingham and Arsenal maintain a good relationship.

There’s not much to say, just get back to it in the second half.

After much deliberation, Martin Jol replaced the central defender Kaboul with Hoddlestone who had scored points in the first half.

Don't ask why he wasn't replaced with another centre-back, it's just that he was all injured.

Ledley King, Rosa, and Gardner are all recuperating from injuries, so Hoddlestone can only be used as a central defender.

At the beginning of the second half of the game, the two sides changed sides and fought again.

Tottenham took the lead in attacking. Gareth Bale, who had no performance in the first half, dribbled the ball from the left at high speed and passed near the baseline. Birmingham goalkeeper Mike Taylor played it safe and hit the ball with both fists.

On the outside of the penalty area, Leo passed the ball into the penalty area again before the defensive player could clear the ball. After receiving the ball, Berbatov was knocked down in the penalty area by the visiting team defender just as he was about to hit the goal.

Another penalty, but this time it was Tottenham's.

Although the penalty was created by Berbatov, it was Robbie Keane who took the kick.

The Irishman looked at the opponent's goal with fierce eyes, and Mike Taylor suddenly panicked.

Robbie Keane took three steps and two steps at a time, running, swinging his legs and volleying!
  There were no surprises. The Birmingham goalkeeper's save was half a beat too late, Keane scored a penalty kick, and Tottenham led again 2-1!

The away team kicked off and Leo also returned to defend in front of the penalty area.

Larson received a pass from his teammate and took a long shot from outside the penalty area!
  Leo happened to be in front of him, so he subconsciously stretched his legs to block it, and the ball hit him hard.

The ball was naturally blocked by Leo's self-sacrifice block. Although he would not be injured, Leo still rubbed his aching right leg and whispered:
  "The strength is really not small."

Tottenham quickly took over the game and it seemed they were not satisfied with the score of 2-1.

"Actually, I'm afraid of losing the ball again in the backcourt. A one-goal lead is too precarious."

Leo complained like this.

In the 53rd minute, Leo got the ball at the top of the penalty area. It's not that he didn't have confidence in his footwork and didn't dare to hit the goal with a kick.

There are really too many people in the opponent's penalty area and there is no room for shooting.

If you force the kick, it will be blocked by the defensive player and wasted opportunity.

Robbie Keane and Malbranque crossed the space on both sides of the penalty area looking for opportunities, and Berbatov stayed in the penalty area to attract the attention of defensive players.

"Have it!"

Keane got rid of the Birmingham defender's personal marking from the lower left corner of the penalty area and crossed into the penalty area. Leo passed the ball accurately with a direct pass!

The ball was passed very comfortably, and there was no need to stop and adjust. The Irishman followed the trend and hit a powerful volley!

The ball went straight into the upper left corner of the goal!
  The visiting team's goalkeeper had no reaction and didn't make any saves!
  Three to one!

Tottenham further expanded its lead!
  Robbie Keane screamed to the sky! The Irish forwards have actually been under a lot of pressure during this period. As the team's main forward, Keane has not scored many goals this season, and his performance has also been questioned a lot.

Scoring two goals in today's game finally allowed him to breathe a sigh of relief.

Running to the corner flag area, facing the cheers of the home team fans in the stands, Keane also imitated Berba and carried Leo on his shoulders.

Well, Leo also received his second assist of the game, and this was his first assist to score twice.

But if you receive my assist and score a goal, do you have to carry me on your back? What if in the future other people who can’t carry me have to imitate you and drop me?
  Leo decided to make it clear when he was interviewed after the game that he didn't like being carried on someone's shoulders, as if he were a child.

Even though he had just turned seventeen, he was indeed still a kid on the team.

But that’s for later. For now, let’s be gregarious and celebrate with everyone.

Sitting on Robbie Keane's right shoulder, Leo raised his arms with a bright sunny smile on his face.

"Crack!"

This beautiful scene was recorded by the reporters at the scene with their cameras.

The Irishman, who had already scored twice, was more active in the subsequent games, because he only needed to score one more goal to complete his hat trick.

But sometimes, being too excited is not a good thing.

In the 68th minute, Robbie Keane collided with the opponent's defensive player while fighting for the ball.

The Tottenham striker didn't take it seriously at all, but when referee Phil Dodd pulled out a red card against him, everyone was dumbfounded.

"Both of us touched the ball and you should have seen it change direction.

This is just a fierce collision or confrontation. This is very common on the football field. Maybe it constitutes a foul? I have no idea. But this is by no means a red card move and I don’t mean any harm! "

Keane was very angry and confused about the referee's decision, but Phil ignored it at all and firmly asked him to leave the field.

The Irishman smiled. He applauded the referee before leaving the field, and then gave a thumbs up to express his "appreciation" for his decision.

Looking at the slow motion, Keane did not tackle from behind, and the physical confrontation was not in a key area. In any case, the red card is a bit far-fetched.

If it were to be considered a flagrant foul, the severity was obviously not enough.

No matter what, Phil Dodd, who awarded two penalty kicks and showed a red card today, stole a lot of shots.

If his intention was to report it the next day, he would have done it.

Tottenham played one less player, which became a turning point in this game.

In the 72nd minute, Mike Sheffry assisted Jerome to score, and Birmingham got a goal back!
  Martin Jol replaced Berbatov with Zokola. Now Tottenham has no forward on the field. The Dutch want to strengthen their defense and maintain the current score until the end of the game.

The home team's players completely gave up their counterattack and retreated to their own penalty area, stubbornly resisting Birmingham's tidal offensive.

In the 90th minute, regular time ends. Seeing that there is not much game time left, Tottenham only needs to hold on for three or four minutes to successfully win this game.

Birmingham organized an attack outside the penalty area, Larsson took the ball, and he made an earth-shattering shot nearly thirty yards away from the goal!
  Tottenham goalkeeper Robinson looked desperately at the ball that had landed on the goal line behind him.

Three to three!
  The Swedish midfielder's super long shot in stoppage time helped Birmingham equalize the score!

In the end, Tottenham Hotspur took a two-goal lead at home, but was tenaciously tied with Birmingham, the second-last team in the league, with two consecutive goals!

(End of this chapter)