The days of playing football with Da Luo

Chapter 621 Quarter-final opponent

With the result of entering the top 8 of the Champions League, QPR is no longer an upstart in the media.

When it comes to upstarts, the first choice that everyone thinks of is Manchester City.

First, in July 07, former Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra bought Manchester City, which opened the era of Manchester City's golden dollar football. The team bought people aggressively, but Manchester City got nothing that season.

In 08, Thaksin left Manchester City due to political issues, and the Abu Dhabi Group moved in again.

阿联酋土豪每年花费上亿英镑为曼城买人，然而08-09赛季曼城最终只排名联赛第10，09-10赛季联赛第5。

After continuous investment in 4 transfer windows, Manchester City finally achieved some results in the 10-11 season. The FA Cup champion and the Champions League seat are barely able to hand over to the local boss.

In the 11-12 season and 12-13 season, Manchester City was eliminated in the group stage of the Champions League for two consecutive seasons.

The above are all summed up by the media in one sentence: nouveau riche, no foundation.

QPR was also dubbed the "upstart" at first, but last season's league and FA Cup double champions have made everyone look at QPR with admiration.

And this season, entering the top 8 in the Champions League, let everyone fully understand that QPR may have suddenly become rich, and may not have any glorious history.But QPR is by no means a superficial upstart, but a team with combat effectiveness and cohesion.

After the Champions League game, QPR will soon face the quarter-finals of the FA Cup.Their opponent is Manchester City.

After comprehensive consideration, Ricardo instructed Simeone to give up the game.

QPR, all played by the youth army, lost to Manchester City 3:5 in the away game. The game was soul-stirring. QPR led 3 times and tied 3 times.It was only due to inexperience and bad luck in the end that he lost in the end.

Trident Coutinho, Mauro Icardi and Sterling scored for the team respectively, giving QPR fans hope for the future of the team.

On March 3, in the 17th round of the Premier League, QPR challenged Aston Villa away.The two sides fought 30:1 in the first half. After entering the second half, QPR began to exert its strength. Modric, who returned from injury, instigated two attacks to help the team beat the opponent 1:3.

Manchester United defeated Reading 1:0, QPR still leads by 2 points, and in terms of goal difference, the two teams are already the same.

On March 3, the draw for the quarter-finals and semi-finals of the UEFA Champions League took place at UEFA headquarters in Nyon.

UEFA Secretary-General Infantino and Director of the Competition Department Marchetti presided over the draw, and the ambassador of the final organizer, McManaman, was the guest of honor.

Manchester United has been eliminated by Real Madrid. As the only seedling left in the Champions League in the Premier League, QPR's draw has attracted the attention of the entire British media. Everyone hopes that QPR can draw a weaker opponent.

If there is no top four team in the Premier League, it will inevitably affect the Premier League's Champions League points, resulting in a reduction in the Premier League's Champions League seats in the future.

In addition to QPR, the remaining eight teams are Barcelona, ​​Real Madrid and Malaga from La Liga, Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund from the Bundesliga, Juventus from Serie A and Paris Saint-Germain from Ligue [-].

The draw for the quarter-finals is random, with no seeding and no avoidance of teams from the same league.

The British media hope that QPR can draw the weakest Malaga, and Paris Saint-Germain is also good.If it doesn't work, Dortmund, who set off a youth storm, will also leave.

In the eyes of fans all over the world, teams were gathered together.

Bayern Munich met Juventus, Paris Saint-Germain met Real Madrid.The weakest Malaga was lucky enough to be drawn by Dortmund.

And QPR's opponents are...

Barcelona!

Team Cosmos Barcelona!
QPR first hosts and then guests. On April 4, QPR players will welcome Messi, Harvey, Iniesta and other superstars at the Loftus Road Stadium.

Practitioners in the British media felt dejected and believed that QPR's chances of qualifying were infinitely close to zero.

Although Ricardo is a little bit stronger than Messi, Barcelona's overall strength is more than a little higher than QPR's overall strength...

Moreover, Barcelona is the favorite of the Champions League every year. This is the first time for QPR to participate in the Champions League and the first time to play in the Champions League knockout round.

In terms of game experience, QPR is also a complete defeat.

Even if QPR were lucky enough to get past Barcelona, ​​they would have to face the winner between Bayern Munich and Juventus.

But Simeone doesn't think his signing luck is bad. "Drawing Barcelona is a dream. I didn't expect the team to enter the Champions League for the first time to reach the final or win the championship. To meet a strong team like Barcelona allows us to learn from our opponents. , which is very beneficial to the future development of the team.”

Modric also said: "I have been looking forward to this day for a long time. Entering the Champions League and meeting a team like Barcelona is my childhood dream."

Handanovic claimed: "Actually, there are no underdogs in the top 8 of the Champions League. We are just newcomers to the Champions League. Whoever is drawn is a huge test for us."

The only one who made a different voice was Ricardo.

In an interview, Ricardo sneered: "The game hasn't started yet, I don't know why you think we are going to lose. Is QPR not as good as Barcelona? Let's see in the game. I don't think I will definitely lose. To Messi."

Barcelona players also shouted from the air, Messi said: "I respect Ricardo, but Barcelona cannot tolerate failure. QPR may cause us some trouble, but I believe that the final winner will be us."

Iniesta said: "La Liga without Ricardo has become a lot lonely. Although Cristiano is also a very good star, but his game lacks the feeling of burning passion. I still like to watch Messi and Ricciardo. Regardless of the outcome, I believe it will be two very interesting matches.”

After two weeks of national team matches, on March 3, QRP played an away game against rivals Fulham in the same city.

The previous national team game made QPR players a little breathless, and the injuries of Modric, Klose, Fernandinho and other players in the national team game also cast a shadow over the prospects of QPR.Although Simeone has carried out a certain degree of rotation, he still has not fundamentally solved the problem.

In the first half, relying on the goals of Ricardo and De Bruyne, QPR led the opponent 2:1.

But after entering the second half, Simeone replaced Ricardo in order to reserve strength for the Champions League game, which became a turning point in the game.

Fulham continued to work hard, and finally scored two goals in the 81st and 87th minutes, achieving a reversal.

This is also the first time QPR has been reversed by an opponent this season.

The tragically defeated QPR was once again overtaken by Manchester United. Manchester United defeated Sunderland and now has 77 points. QPR ranked second with 76 points, and the goal difference between the two teams reached another 2 goals.

And Cosmos Barcelona are already on board.

(End of this chapter)