During halftime, Gao Bo didn't plan to make any adjustments to the team. He first praised the team's performance, and then, after emphasizing some details for the second half, he walked out of the locker room.
The fifteen minutes passed quickly, and when both teams reappeared on the field, CSKA Sofia was preparing to make a substitution.
A tall player stood on the sidelines.
"His name is Popov, he's 1.93 meters tall, 23 years old, and he's a center forward with very good heading and physical qualities."
When the opposing player stood on the sidelines, Lin Sen came to Gao Bo and said. Lin Sen was responsible for collecting this information.
Gao Bo nodded. He knew what this guy's characteristics were just by looking at Popov's build.
"They're going to play the high ball tactic!" Gao Bo said.
"Do we need to make targeted arrangements?" Lin Sen asked from the side.
"No!" Gao Bo shook his head, "Focus on me and continue to suppress them. Popov is no match for Sol!"
So what if they brought on a center forward? Even if it could create some threats, sporadic attacks wouldn't affect the overall situation.
"We need to score the second goal as soon as possible!"
Gao Bo said as he came to the sidelines. A one-goal lead wasn't very safe.
CSKA Sofia's substitution of a center forward did create some threats, but they were quickly pushed back by Luton.
In the 48th minute, Griezmann took a long shot from the edge of the penalty area, forcing the opposing goalkeeper to make a save. Afterwards, Luton's corner kick was sent into the penalty area, and Sol Campbell jumped high in the penalty area, but his header went just wide of the post.
Luton's momentum was like a rainbow!
The CSKA Sofia fans in the stands had long lost the momentum they had at the start of the game.
Gao Bo also turned around abruptly in regret after Sol's header went wide. When he turned around, he glanced at the stands. The Bulgarian fans seemed a little quiet at this time, and many of the fans who were shirtless had put on their clothes.
Penev's high center forward tactic only had a slight effect at the beginning, but that was it. CSKA Sofia was suppressed again.
Mr. Penev rubbed his stiff face. Under the lights of the Bulgarian Army Stadium, the face of the CSKA Sofia coach was pale.
In the current situation, Penev had to admit one thing... the gap between his team and Luton was too great.
What weakest team!
Maybe... they might even be the strongest team in the group.
If the other two opponents in the group played against Luton, it definitely wouldn't be easy, and if they underestimated their opponent, the result would probably be beyond everyone's expectations.
When Penev thought that Luton might defeat Basel and Roma in succession, he felt much better... He wouldn't be full enough to remind the other two teams. It would be best if they all lost to Luton, so that CSKA Sofia losing to this English League One opponent wouldn't be embarrassing.
Penev originally planned to do something in this game, but the current situation told him that CSKA Sofia's strength was really not enough in the Europa League arena.
For Penev, it would be good to win one of the six group stage matches. As for qualifying from the group... he didn't expect it.
Penev quickly accepted the reality. There was indeed a huge gap in strength between his team and Luton! His goal for this game changed from winning the game before, to accepting a draw later, and now even if they lost by a small margin, Penev could accept it calmly.
Of course, this was just Penev's own thoughts. Of course, he couldn't let the players know about this. Instead, he shouted loudly on the sidelines and did his best to direct the defense.
This prevented the CSKA Sofia players on the field from losing their fighting spirit. As long as they maintained the score of 0-1, maybe they would be lucky enough to get a chance to counterattack and equalize the score.
Attacking an iron barrel formation is indeed not an easy task, and this is true for all teams in the world, including Luton.
Long shots are a common method of attacking an iron barrel formation, and Luton has frequently tried long shots from the outside during this period.
However, after taking too many long shots, CSKA Sofia's defense seemed to gradually adapt to this rhythm.
The score of 0-1 continued until the 73rd minute of the game. Griezmann took the ball on the edge of the penalty area and raised his right foot as if he was going to take a long shot. The CSKA Sofia players didn't doubt it, because before this, Luton had frequently used long shots to attack.
Two defenders stretched out their feet to block, and just as they shifted their center of gravity, Griezmann gently flicked the ball away, and then dribbled into the penalty area!
"Careful!!!!!"
Penev was shocked. CSKA Sofia's defense was also disrupted by this sudden change of pace. They hurriedly supplemented their defense, and in the chaos, the defense in the penalty area was inevitably unable to take care of everything.
Griezmann dribbled the ball to the edge of the small penalty area, and then gently pushed the ball towards the center when the defender came up to block.
Vardy pushed it in the center. Facing most of an empty goal, Vardy wouldn't waste such an opportunity!
"Beautiful!!! Two to zero!!!! Luton scores another goal!!!!"
Leitkinson's voice came from the TV screen, and countless fans in Luton's bars raised their glasses.
"Beautiful!!!!!"
"We're going to win! We're going to win!!!!!"
Luton fans were celebrating, and at this time, the Luton players were also celebrating the goal on the field.
Gao Bo wasn't too excited at this time. He and the members of his coaching staff high-fived each other.
The team's condition was very good, which was inseparable from the work of the coaching staff.
Qingzi also blushed and stretched out her hand. Qingzi's face became even redder after Gao Bo high-fived her. It's a pity that Gao Bo didn't see this scene. After high-fiving, he turned around and sat back in his seat.
For Gao Bo, this game was basically won!
Leading by two goals, taking the initiative throughout the game, and controlling the rhythm of the entire game, such a perfect game scene was something that only happened when Luton was playing in League Two last season - even in the league this season, it was difficult for Luton to play so perfectly, after all, the strength of League One teams was much higher than that of League Two teams.
Of course, this wasn't to say that CSKA Sofia's strength was weak, but that the players' condition in this game was very good, which may be related to the type of game. It was the first time they appeared in the Europa League arena, which made the players quite excited!
And the following game was indeed as Gao Bo expected. CSKA Sofia had no power to fight back. Instead, Luton frequently launched attacks on CSKA Sofia's goal in the following time, but they ultimately failed to score a third goal.
The final result of the game was 0-2!
According to convention, the home team is in front and the away team is in the back!
Luton defeated CSKA Sofia away from home and won the first game of the Europa League group stage!