Reborn Liverpool

Chapter 434 The Champions League advances to the semi-finals (thanks to madman reader 007 for the bimonthly ticket)

After Liverpool disgraced Chelsea in the 34th round of the Premier League, they soon ushered in the second leg of the Champions League quarter-finals.

On April 4th, the UEFA Champions League quarter-final second leg battle was held at Camp Nou. In the end, Barcelona beat Manchester United 17-1 at home. Messi scored twice, Coutinho added icing on the cake, and Barcelona scored 4-3. 0 successfully advanced to the semi-finals.

Manchester United, which lost to Barcelona in two rounds, had no room for struggle. Coach Solskjaer was questioned by many people after the game.

Manchester United star Paul Ince believes that the Red Devils' performance has begun to decline since Solskjaer was "referred to as a regular", and the club's decision was too hasty.

Solskjaer replaced Mourinho, who was dismissed from get out of class, as the interim coach in December last year, and was "regularized" in March this year to become the official head coach of the team.

However, since then, Manchester United has lost 5 games in 3 games. Ince believes that after Solskjaer "turned regular", the team has regressed instead.

"Manchester United look like two different teams now that Ole is the official manager," Ince said. "I've always said it's going to happen. Moving forward is a very, very difficult task."

"When he was interim manager they created a lot of chances and now he's officially got the job they're going backwards!"

"I've always said that if he's on the regular, the pressure is going to go up a lot, and I said that a few months ago. I've seen too many cases where when a coach comes in on an interim basis, the mood goes up and everyone feels like they have something to do. Opportunities, but when he actually became the manager, the players were worse than before."

"As I said before, there are dark clouds hanging over Manchester United. What Ole needs to do is to change the atmosphere. The players have no pressure, just play normally. Now they are in a situation where they are striving for the top four, and the pressure and setbacks will come. They're a bit lost now, they're doing the same now as they were under Mourinho, they're always playing against the opposition."

"The executives were forced to make a (conversion) decision because he was doing so well, the fans and the big names were clamoring to make him a regular, but I couldn't understand why the club would make him in such a hurry, if you could wait until the season At the end of the day, after Manchester United locks up the top four, it will not be too late to make him a full-time player."

Ince played for Manchester United from 1989 to 1995. In the season before Solskjaer joined the Red Devils, Ince left Manchester United and switched to Inter Milan.

……

同一时间举行的另外一场欧冠1/4决赛次回合，尤文图斯主场遭逆转1比2负阿贾克斯，总比分2比3出局。

Although Cristiano Ronaldo scored the first goal with a header, he rewritten his personal Champions League scoring record to 126 goals.But Van de Beek tied the score shortly afterwards; in the second half, Ajax's 19-year-old central defender De Ligt overtook with a header, and Ziyech's goal was invalid.

阿贾克斯自1996-97赛季以来首次打进欧冠4强，也是继2004-05赛季埃因霍温之后首支入围4强的荷甲球队。

Ajax eliminated Juventus with a total score of 3-2, and reached the semi-finals of the Champions League again after 22 years!
After the game, the whole Ajax team came to the fans' stand of the visiting team. All the players sang and celebrated, enjoying the joy of victory with the fans. Tonight's Allianz Arena belongs to them!

Juventus played against Ajax. In the case of a 1-1 away game with their opponents, Juventus was reversed at home and eliminated with a total score of 2-3. In the second round, Juventus scored the only goal for Juventus It is their head star Ronaldo.

After the game, Bleacher report released a picture on social media. The two protagonists in the picture are Ronaldo and NBA superstar James. James' Lakers failed to enter the playoffs this year.

In the picture, the two people have helpless and lost expressions on their faces. Bleacher report wrote in the accompanying text: "The game cannot rely on only one person."

Both Ronaldo and James are the key figures in their respective teams, and they are also the leaders who lead the team forward when the team is in trouble. However, although they are top superstars in their respective fields, the power of one person is limited after all, and the team's record is also limited. You can't get to the top with them alone.

In the previous Champions League 1/8 finals, Ronaldo used goals to help Juventus stage a reversal:

In the first round of the match, Juventus lost 0-2 to Atletico Madrid in the away game. Returning to the home court, Ronaldo used a hat-trick to achieve a reversal and sent Juventus to the quarter-finals of the Champions League.

But this time, Ronaldo's goal failed to help Juventus successfully advance again after all. It is worth mentioning that Ronaldo scored all the goals of Juventus in the knockout stage of the Champions League this season.

……

The second round match between Liverpool and Porto was played on the second day. Before the game, the coaches of both sides complimented each other, and one was more "nasty" than the other.

Porto coach Conceicao is not a good stubble, he took the lead in a wave of poisonous milk:
"I like the way Liverpool play. I like their style. I like how they play with the ball. They play as well without the ball. Their football is similar to my philosophy on football. There are many aspects of a game. They are the best team in the world all the time."

This wave of "poisonous milk" was sent, and Liverpool coach Klopp quickly dismantled his moves. He first sent vice-captain Milner into battle.

At the press conference, Milner made clear the Red Army's winning attitude:

"To get that kind of praise is because you played good football for a certain period of time, but to deserve it I think you have to win trophies and that's something we haven't done yet and that's what we're trying to achieve. Done. It would be disappointing not to cross the finish line, but we have a chance to change that, the first trophy is always the toughest one."

Then Klopp went into battle in person, and his reverse tainted milk was no less impressive:

"When I analyze games and teams, I'm always straight with the lads, I don't exaggerate or minimize the truth. When we play Manchester City, I don't say that Manchester City are playing shit, or that they are the best in the world. The team, we are just analyzing objectively."

"Now I need to tell the lads that Porto is really good and they already know it. We played Roma, they were uncomfortable opponents, but when they played Porto (in the round of 16), I really don't see Roma having a good chance, Porto controls the game so we have to be ready."

All right!The milk belongs to the milk, and the game still has to be played. On April 4, the Red Army went to Porto in an away game to fight for the semi-finals.

The starting lineups for the two teams are as follows:
Porto (4-5-1):
1 - Iker Casillas;
3- Militao, 33- Pepe, 28- Felipe, 13- Telles;
17-Corona, 22-Danilo Pereira, 16-Herrera (captain), 25-Otavio, 8-Brahimi;

11 - Marega.

Liverpool (4-3-3):

13- Alisson;
66-Alexander-Arnold, 3-Maguire, 4-Van Dijk, 26-Robertson;
19-Fabinho, 7-Milner (captain), 10-Zhang Mai;

11-Salah, 27-Origi, 10-Mane.

Liverpool won the first leg 2-0 at home.In order to win the Premier League, Klopp put Firmino, Wijnaldum, Henderson, Keita and other main players on the bench, Origi served as left winger, and Mane changed to center forward.

波尔图是本赛季欧冠唯一主场全胜的球队，但此前与利物浦7次欧战交锋不胜（3平4负），最近3场更是没能进球，上赛季1/8决赛主场0比5惨败，创下本队欧战主场最惨失利。

Previously, Porto had a net loss of at least 6 goals in the first round of the UEFA Champions League knockout rounds in 2 times, and they were all eliminated in the end.

At the beginning of the game, Porto really launched a massive attack on the Red Army with their home bonus. Fortunately, the three midfielders of the Red Army have very high defensive attributes.

Only 32 seconds into the opening, Mare added a goal, and Corona cut into the penalty area from the right and volleyed from a small angle with his left foot.

In the 14th minute, Porto dropped a free kick into the right side of the penalty area. Pepe volleyed and made a pass in the middle. Marega turned and shot 12 meters in front of the goal and was confiscated by Alisson.

In the 21st minute, Telles took a corner kick from the right. Danilo Pereira headed the ball wide of the far post. Then Telles made a diagonal pass from the left. Marega volleyed with his left foot from 12 meters in front of the goal. Wide to the left post.

Porto's offensive lasted for more than 20 minutes, and Liverpool didn't recover until the 25th minute.

In the 26th minute, Liverpool took the lead with their first shot!Mane went straight from the left rib, Robertson made a cross, and Salah's left-footed low shot from the edge of the penalty area was blocked...

Zhang Mai took the ball with his back and knocked it back to Salah. Salah passed the ball in the double-team of 4 people.

The assistant referee raised the flag to signal offside, but the Dutch referee Markli communicated with VAR and ruled that the goal was valid! 1 to 0, Liverpool lead.

Liverpool has already led 3-0 on aggregate, Porto must score at least 4 goals to reverse, but even at home, who dares to boast that they can play the Red Army's four cities?

In the 39th minute, Militang cut into the penalty area from the right and made a cross. Brahimi pushed a shot 10 meters from the goal and was confiscated by Alisson.

Before the end of the first half, Alexander-Arnold broke through from the right and made a double-team pass. Milner's front point was 9 meters away from the goal.

Liverpool went into the break with a 1-0 advantage.

In the first half, the number of shots on goal between the two teams was 6 to 1, but Liverpool, which had only one shot, took the lead.

In the second half, the two teams changed places to fight again. Liverpool replaced Origi with Firmino, and Porto also replaced Otavio with Tiquinho Suarez.

In the 52nd minute, Herrera made a cross from the right, and Tiquinho Suarez took a penalty kick and shook his head and missed the right post.

Five minutes later, Mane made a diagonal pass from the right, and Salah missed the header 5 meters in front of the goal.

Liverpool expanded the score in the 65th minute!Alexander-Arnold counterattacked the ball from the right, and Salah pushed his left foot into the near corner 12 meters from the left side of the penalty area, 2-0.

The overall situation has been decided. In the 66th minute, Klopp began to train young players, and Alexander-Arnold was replaced by the younger Gomez.

Porto regained a point in the 68th minute, Telles took a corner kick from the left, Militao leaped high from the edge of the small penalty area and headed into the far corner, 1 to 2.

Unmoved, Klopp continued to replace the main players to rest, and replaced Robertson with Henderson in the 71st minute.

Immediately Henderson sent a direct pass in the middle circle, Mane slid past Casillas single-handedly, and shot an empty goal 9 meters in front of the goal!

Liverpool became more and more courageous in the battle, and then went to two cities in a row:

In the 77th minute, Henderson and Salah cooperated and made a cross from the right. Firmino headed the ball 6 meters away from the goal and headed into the far corner, 3 to 1;

In the 84th minute, Milner took a corner kick from the left, and Mane nodded forward to ferry the ball. Van Dijk easily pushed into the lower left corner 3 meters in front of the goal, 4-1.

Mane made the relay, and Van Dijk added the icing on the cake, which wiped out Porto's last year of struggle, and the game ended shortly afterwards.

客场4比1大胜波尔图，利物浦总比分6比1晋级，成为唯一连续打进近2届欧冠半决赛的球队。

Klopp became the 11th manager to lead the same English team to the top four in European competition at least 3 times, and also the 4th Liverpool manager among them.

……

On April 4th, there will be a Champions League quarter-final second-leg battle. Manchester City beat Tottenham 18-1 at the Etihad Stadium. Sterling scored twice, Bernardo and Aguero scored goals, De Blau 4 assists inside; Sun Xingmin scored twice and Llorente scored a goal.

The total score of the two sides was tied 4-4, but Tottenham successfully advanced to the semi-finals with the advantage of more away goals.

The passionate battle between Manchester City and Tottenham continued from the beginning of the game to the last moment, but in the end Manchester City fell due to a small mistake when they saw the dawn.

After being scored by Llorente, although Manchester City maintained a tie on the total score, they fell into a disadvantage due to fewer away goals. If they want to advance, they can only score more goals.

However, at this critical moment, Guardiola's team failed to perform redemption. A missed opportunity and a small misfortune made his previous efforts come to naught.

In the 85th minute of the game, Manchester City launched an offensive, Fernandinho kicked the ball into the penalty area, Sane headed the ball on the left side and headed the ball to the center of the penalty area...

At this time, Gundogan in front of the goal got the ball, and he was unmarked, which was the best time to score. However, Gundogan hit the goal directly after getting the ball and sent the ball flying.

And a more dramatic scene appeared. The game entered the last moment of stoppage time. Manchester City won the ball by pressing the frontcourt...

At the first moment of the counter-grab, Bernardo Silva tapped his right foot, raised the ball, bypassed Tottenham's defense, and pushed into the penalty area...

At the same time, Aguero, who was originally running back, made an anti-offside action in an instant. Enter!
After the goal, Sterling was extremely excited, and the whole Manchester City team fell into the madness of the lore. Even Guardiola, who has always been calm and refined, couldn't help his excitement and jumped up and down.

However, Manchester City was too happy too early. While Manchester City was celebrating the goal, the referee on duty was reminded by the video assistant referee and questioned the goal.

When looking back at VAR, we can see that at the moment when Bernardo Silva passed the ball, Aguero, who came back to catch the ball, was in an offside position, and the subsequent assists and goals were even more invalid that's it.

Regarding whether this goal was offside, former Premier League whistler Peter Walton gave a professional opinion:
"Aguero's knee is offside, as is the body of the torso attached to it."

It can be seen from the picture that Aguero's offside is not much, maybe only half a body position, one shoulder so close, but the final result is so far away from the dream.

After the game, Guashuai questioned Tottenham general Llorente's goal and the referee's final offside penalty:

"The result was brutal, but it is what it is and we have to accept it. After 20 minutes of the game we were 3-2 up, we also created a lot of chances in the second half and we scored the goals we needed. But unfortunately Yes, it ended badly, congratulations to Tottenham and good luck in the semi-final."

Then Gua Shuai changed his tone and mentioned the handball suspicion of Llorente's lore:
"I support the use of VAR to assist the penalty, but from another point of view, Llorente's goal is a handball, maybe not from the point of view of the referee."

When answering the goal that Manchester City was blown off at the last moment, Guardiola said:

"I watched the situation at that moment and some people above said it was offside. We also missed a penalty in the first leg. But I am proud and proud of the players and our fans, since I came to Manchester City , I have never heard such a good cheer, but the result of football matches is unpredictable."

After being eliminated by Tottenham in front of the Etihad home fans, Guardiola stood on the field and covered his face with a lonely expression, as if he was a bit "faceless to see Jiangdong's elders".

In fact, it is not an exaggeration to evaluate the performance of this famous coach in the two rounds of the Champions League against Tottenham. great time.

In the first round of the Champions League quarter-finals against Tottenham, Guardiola surprised the whole world. In the starting arrangement, De Bruyne, Sane, and Jesus, three of the best offensive players in recent times, were hidden. And it was not until the end of the game that De Bruyne and Sane were replaced, but it was of no avail. In the end, they could only lose away, and they didn't even score an away goal.

As a famous coach in today's football, Guardiola played away against Tottenham, Xue Zang's strongest offensive player, and even sent five defenders to set up the bus at one point, but he just didn't want to grab a goal in the away game.

The result of such a conservative style of play is that after the end of the two rounds, Manchester City can only swallow this bitter pill.

Conservative away, in exchange for passive home.

In this game, Manchester City, who returned to the home court, had no choice but to go all out. Even if Sterling scored a goal at the beginning of the game, it was still not enough to advance.

So we can see that after Sterling scored a goal, Manchester City can only continue to attack.And Tottenham's mentality is obviously much better. With a goal in the first round and Manchester City has no away goals, as long as Tottenham seizes the opportunity, an away goal is enough for Manchester City to drink a pot.

Manchester City's anxiety and Tottenham's calmness formed a sharp contrast.

So in this game Tottenham got many chances to fight back.Sun Xingmin's second goal came from a counterattack.

Although this goal seems to be caused by a mistake by Laporte, the crux of the problem is actually the away loss to Tottenham in the first round and the conservative play without a goal difference.

As one of the biggest favorites in this year's Champions League, Manchester City was eventually eliminated due to some personal paranoia of Guardiola, and this is not the first time, and it will not be the last time.

Before the game, Guardiola tried his best to excuse himself in an interview:
"I know people say I came to win the Champions League, but to be honest, that's not the case. I was in charge of Bayern for three seasons and won every trophy except the Champions League, and people said it was a huge failure. Say what? I take it. I know I have to live with that evaluation."

For giant teams like Manchester City and Bayern, league titles have long been uncommon. The reason why they invited Guardiola here is that they hope to make a breakthrough in the Champions League, but Guardiola himself is "pretending to be stupid" here , It is really embarrassing.

In other words, he seemed overconfident about the fact that "I'm here to let the team play my style of football".

Compared with the impatient Manchester City, Tottenham, who advanced to the semi-finals of the Champions League, was full of joy. After the game, Tottenham coach Pochettino said bluntly that the players played a heroic performance:
"The game was unbelievable, especially the storyline. I'm very happy, very proud. My players are heroes here. I'm happy for them and I'm happy for the fans. In the last moments of the game, seeing the At the moment of the winner, a lot of things went through my head, a huge disappointment. But the referee changed the decision and that's why we love football."

"We showed that anything is possible in football, that you can beat teams that people think you can't play. It's about belief, quality and character, and we finally made the impossible."

"Knocking out Manchester City and reaching the semi-finals of the Champions League is a huge achievement for us. We are very proud to have shown that belief and confidence. Now the players are making history and I am very proud."

Such a magical game, no wonder Pochettino is also hooked.

(End of this chapter)