Midfielder.

Chapter 465

It has been called for a long time, and this sentence is used to describe the first round of the Champions League knockout round, which is absolutely appropriate.

After holding back the fans for nearly three months, the flames of the Champions League were finally ignited again at the end of February.

Many big-name teams are like little daughters-in-law who don't make a big start and never leave home. Before the final appearance, they are all secretive. From the tactical arrangement to the final starting list, no one is willing to announce it before the opponent. Anyway, all the suspense should be saved until the opening moment, even if it is boring to do so.

Everyone knows how heavy their opponents are. In the past few months, the head coaches of each team may even have been thinking about how to create trouble for their opponents.

The future of the team is equal to everyone's money, and the long wait is fermenting this emotion.

It's just that compared with the strong teams at the beginning of the season, many strong teams are now in a recovery period.

There is no way, the long season and the injuries that do not know when to cause trouble will always break out at a certain point in time. The unlucky team will have to endure the fate of being ravaged by luck.

In the knockout round, everyone is equal, and no one can stipulate that only the rich teams will advance smoothly.

Dark horses, giants, traditional forces and newly emerging strong teams, all kinds of characters are intertwined like canine teeth, no matter how painful you are, this is the UEFA Champions League, a thrilling knockout match.

If you want to win to the end, then you have to be prepared to step on everyone, there is no other choice.

There is no respect and courtesy here, either kill the opponent or be killed by the opponent.

It can be said that every game here will be bloody, and the competition is also cruel and outrageous.

Although the battle between Chelsea and Barcelona is the most eye-catching matchup in the top [-], UEFA obviously intends to use them as the finale, and the confrontation between the two teams is also the last game.

Good food is not afraid of being late, that's the reason, Chelsea is also happy to be the last to appear, Mourinho has always had nothing to comment on UEFA's arrangements, because what those guys want is ratings.

As for Chelsea three days after the end of the Champions League, they will continue to return to the Premier League to play their lives, they will not care. According to these grandchildren, this is the cruelty of the Champions League, and you must accept it unconditionally.

But now that the league leads so much, Mourinho doesn't care that he still has league tasks after this peak matchup. It doesn't matter if he loses that game, but he can't lose this game.

For the endless booing of the Barcelona fans in these three or four days, Mourinho does not intend to make the opponent too proud in the away game, let alone this guy has been calculating in his mind.

The most exciting matchup is left at the end, but this does not prevent other teams from dedicating perfect games to the fans. However, in the knockout matches of the Champions League, from the first round, there has never been a lack of classic confrontation.

Before that, there were [-] other teams dueling. Although the media in England and Spain were waiting for the scene of sparks hitting the earth, they also had to pay attention to other games before.

After all, this round of strong dialogue is more than just one, like Real Madrid meeting Arsenal, Bayern and AC Milan are the focus of attention of the fans and the media, and it is still unclear who will win.

Mourinho's ecstasy was successful enough, so he took the whole team to watch the other games with great mood, while Real Madrid and Arsenal took the lead in the first matchup.

No one can afford to lose. This is the current embarrassing situation for Arsenal and Real Madrid. Without exception, the two teams have started to decline sharply this season. The league results are also unsatisfactory, and the rankings are not very good.

Real Madrid's No.3 still depends on Deportivo's landslide, and Arsenal will be thankful if they can keep the top four. Therefore, in this Champions League matchup, they really can't afford to lose.

Florentino has been forced to the brink of resignation. Although the internal pressure of the board of directors is great, Lafayette still sat on the VIP seat despite the scolding of the Madrid fans.

And there is a gossip that Lafayette has given the team's coach Carlo a death order before the start of the game. If he can't win Arsenal at home, then he is ready to leave the Bernabeu.

Although this is just gossip, it would not be surprising if Lafayette really said these words.

After all, he is a little bit hard to protect himself now, how can he take care of other people?A natural scapegoat like Carlo is used as a shield at this time. If there is something to do, he will go to the head coach. This is the usual method of being the chairman of the club.

It is estimated that Carlo also felt the pressure, so he can be said to be playing the main force. Even Cicinho, who has just recovered from injury, and Woodgate, who has been on the sidelines recently, are arranged to start.

It is even more impossible for people like Beckham, Ronaldo, Zidane, Guti, and Roberto Carlos to miss such a crucial game. Even Robinho was thrown into the starting list by him.

"We want to use offense to crush our opponents, and Arsenal's offense is really better than their defense."

When Carlo interviewed the Spanish media before the game, he vowed to win the opponent at home, but this guy's statement after the two-game losing streak in the league is more like emboldening himself.

Although Real Madrid's lineup looks very bluffing, but the state of these main players recently has not satisfied everyone, especially the impromptu performances of those superstars, only Beckham is considered stable.

But Carlo, who already had a premonition that he was going to be a scapegoat, couldn't care so much at this time.

He has no better way to reverse this passive situation other than throwing all his hole cards on the court to compete with his opponent. As long as he loses this game, he will definitely be dismissed immediately.

In order to ensure that his offensive line has enough firepower, Carlo even put Raul, the banner of Real Madrid, on the bench. However, at present, Raul did not make any objections in front of the media.

Compared with Carlo, Wenger's pressure from the club is not so great. After all, Chelsea's rise in the past two seasons is too fierce, and Wenger cannot be blamed for the lack of improvement in the league.

It's just that the record of only four wins in the [-] league games recently really made Wenger a little depressed. There is an element of luck in it, but the reason why Wenger changed his strategic focus to the Champions League cannot be ruled out.

It's not going well on all fronts in England, but Wenger still retains the life-saving straw of the Champions League.

If I can find some self-esteem in this, maybe the embarrassing pressure in the league can be reduced a little.

Real Madrid has the advantage of the home court, and even throws their elite soldiers on the field. Carlo's desperate situation really shows that this guy is ready to win the Arsenal team at home.

But even so, Wenger didn't want to let Real Madrid play against him in the away game. Although Van Persie and Pires had minor injuries, Wenger still put them in the squad, just as substitutes, but otherwise In addition, Arsenal is almost a mobilization of the whole team, and all the main players will play.

Toure, Senderos, Flamini, Cesc Fabregas, Gilberto, Hleb, Ljungberg and Henry, it can be said that Arsenal is also the best, just waiting for the away game against Real Madrid field.

The progress of the game did not live up to the title of a strong dialogue. Amidst the cheers of tens of thousands of fans at the Bernabéu, the two teams played extremely hotly, and the offensive momentum on both sides was crazy.

Throughout the first half, Real Madrid and Arsenal jointly contributed [-] shots, each time the Bernabéu stadium was full of exclamations, but this kind of frantic bombardment only resulted in a draw.

The two sides played very hotly in the first half, but the success rate of the attack fell short due to the abnormal performance of the goalkeepers of both sides. Neither Lehmann nor Iker Casillas let the damn football get through their big hands.

"If Real Madrid continued to play like this in the second half, they would definitely concede a goal in the last 10 minutes."

Mourinho has already made his own analysis after watching the first half of the game. If Carlo does not adjust his tactics in the second half and keeps the team attacking like this, then the physical fitness of the Real Madrid players will definitely be in the final two. In 10 minutes, there was a sharp decline, especially the offensive players in the frontcourt.

Zidane, Ronaldo, these people are not young anymore, and Robinho's performance on the field has always been a bit immature. In the first half, he can be said to be almost invisible, and the midfielder must be replaced.

However, even Raul's seasoned veterans can hardly use their own experience to control the game in such an attack frequency. Carlo's guy wants to win too much, but forgets the sense of rhythm.

While Real Madrid lead nine to seven in shots on goal, that lead is only in numbers.

In terms of quality, Arsenal's counterattack is more powerful, but these guys were not lucky in the first half. Henry's one-handed goal was jointly pressed by Casillas and Ramos on the goal line.

And Henry's pass to Ljungberg from the wing was also wasted by that guy without hesitation.

If you looked at Wenger's expression at that time, you could clearly see that the elegant French old man was cursing, because Ljungberg's amateur footwork was indeed very hated.

Ljungberg was basically facing half of the empty goal, and this guy also grabbed the spot, but the push shot was simply ridiculously high. If there was a plane in the sky, he would directly blow it down.

Although Arsenal's attack is more threatening, in the eyes of those fanatical Madrid fans, all they can see now is that the team's attack is like a tide, and the opponent is almost drowned in it.

"Attack! Attack! We are great Real Madrid! Attack is in our bones!"

This fanatical atmosphere is not only spreading among the fans, even the live commentary at the Bernabéu is constantly clamoring, as if in their view, if the attack continues like this, the victory will belong to Real Madrid sooner or later!
But these fanatical Spaniards forget that their Galacticos are not in top shape.

They are old, even the greatest players can't escape the ravages of time. It was the same in the past, and it's no different now. When Carlo continued this crazy offensive tactics in the second half, trying to kill Arsenal with a stick, The speed of physical consumption far exceeds the imagination of the Madrid people.

Just like Mourinho said, if Real Madrid can't break the deadlock in the first 25 minutes of the second half, then what is waiting for them is likely to be a sharp counterattack from Arsenal, and the old boy Wenger has been very quiet, but he If you think the time is right, you will definitely start without hesitation.

After 10 minutes in the second half, Wenger did not continue to settle down. He put Van Persie and Pires on the field at the same time, replaced Ljungberg and Hleb, and began to attack suddenly.

This unprepared offensive frenzy has not been suppressed like Real Madrid. Wenger has obviously found a loophole that can be exploited. Although he has two offensive players, what he wants is a counterattack. counterattack, and Henry is the best terminator for this kind of counterattack.

When the time of the game was approaching 10 minutes, Carlo continued to yell at the players on the sidelines, "Press up! Run more and find their defensive loopholes!", but his yelling paid off. The effect was not obvious. The running of the frontcourt players obviously started to become very slow, and the running response was not as sharp as in the first half. When they started to slow down, Arsenal's speed was faster.

This is definitely after being ravaged by Chelsea several times, Arsenal finally figured out something.

For example, sometimes the offense is not the kind of gorgeous coordination that looks beautiful, and it will definitely break through the goal, but sometimes some very inconspicuous counterattack opportunities can directly knock the opponent down.

Arsenal have been knocked down several times by Chelsea in this very affordable and practical way. This time Wenger finally learned the practical attack of Mourinho. He does not pursue the gorgeousness of the scene, but the last blow , when Real Madrid was still pressing unscrupulously, Henry stabbed very accurately.

When Pires got the ball in the midfield, perhaps Carlo and the tens of thousands of Real Madrid fans at the scene hadn't foreseen what would happen, but after this guy's kick went straight past Ramos, everyone's heart They shrank to stop beating almost instantly, because they all saw a very frightening scene.

Henry that guy didn't know when he was cruising to the side, and at the second when Ramos made a mistake, he suddenly jumped in. Pires' through ball seemed to be born for him. In the simple coordination of one pass and one run, the entire defense line of Real Madrid was left behind by Henry.

In this large space about 20 meters away from the goal, only Henry and Iker Casillas who had abandoned the goal and attacked. The nearest defender was also five or six meters away from Henry, and it was too late to foul.

"Stop him!" Carlo and the others were yelling helplessly. They really hoped to give Casillas a little strength at this moment.

But this time Casillas is facing Henry, a super killer who has been among the top three scorers in the Premier League in the last three or four seasons. Don't expect to scare the opponent with such a fierce attack.

Henry is not a rookie in the Champions League for the first time, and his start is obviously faster than Casillas's reaction. Henry, who has an absolute advantage in distance, did not give Casillas a chance to be a savior.

He lobbed almost five or six meters away from Casillas who was attacking.

A lob shot enough to cross the opponent's fingertips, a clever shot choice, even Anelka, who has always been quiet, couldn't help giving a thumbs up when he saw this shot.

That Henry is no longer the guy who could only be used as a substitute at Arsenal. He has long been a superstar, no matter what level he was in the past, at least now it seems that Anelka wants to compete with such a guy for the national team It is not a very easy task for him to be in the position. Even he himself may know that if he wants to compete with Henry for the main force of the national team, he must risk his life.

The goal 10 minutes before the end brought the entire Bernabeu into deathly silence.

The on-site commentary was silent, and tens of thousands of Madrid fans were also silent. The only ones who were still reveling were the Arsenal players, and the thousands of Arsenal fans who came from afar. This kind of cheering deeply stimulated everyone at this moment. The heart of a Madridista, but the damn score has been rewritten.

In the last 10 minutes, including stoppage time, Real Madrid launched a counterattack like desperadoes, but none of these guys' shots passed Lehmann's ten fingers, and the damn score remained until the end.

The away game was [-]-[-], which was enough for Wenger to leave the Bernabeu with a smile, and when the old man turned around and walked into the player tunnel, behind him was Carlo with a dead face, attacking the whole field, The shot is dominant, but everything is not as important as Henry's goal. Real Madrid lost after all.

What is waiting for Carlo's fate? I am afraid that the Spanish media broadcast footage has already given the answer. Just look at Florentino's expression when he left his seat, like a volcano about to erupt.

Everyone knows that the Champions League is the gamble of Lafayette, but now he has lost the first game of this gamble.

Didn't hold at home, can they get back away?Florentino's current mood can be imagined.

After watching this matchup, Mourinho left a sentence, "This kind of enthusiasm of Spanish fans is sometimes a double-edged sword. It will make the players more excited, but it will also make the players more excited A lot of people lost their minds, I hope the game the day after tomorrow, Camp Nou can also have such a crazy scene."

crazy?Mourinho is not afraid that the Catalans are crazy, what he is afraid of is that those people are not excited enough.

Let these guys be as crazy as possible. Only when all of them start to feel restless can their opportunities come. Don't you guys advocate offense?No problem, come on, let you attack as much as you want!
But the one who has the last laugh must not be you. . .

(automatically updating...)
(End of this chapter)