Football career: From winning the championship to becoming a legend
Chapter 79: Second leg against Chelsea, Part
According to Murphy's Law - anything that can go wrong will eventually go wrong, bad things will always happen.
So Laco reversed the score through a set-piece in the 28th minute. This was only the second time Laco's shot hit the goal frame in this game.
Munitis took a free kick from the left and passed it into the penalty area. Andrade got into position and headed the ball from 12 yards in front of the goal, slamming it into the lower left corner of the goal. Valdés had no reaction at all...
Although the slow-motion replay of the TV broadcast showed that the Portuguese was suspected of being offside, in the era without VAR, the referee's decision is irreversible. Barcelona actually fell behind at home after a dream start; originally they wanted to win quickly, but now they have to equalize the score as soon as possible...
Fortunately, Ronaldinho's father was in really good shape today. Although Laco has been trying to limit Ronaldinho's breakthroughs, his precise footwork in set pieces cannot be limited.
In the 30th minute of the game, Ronaldinho's father made a free kick from the right, and Larsson headed the ball from 5 yards in front of the goal, but it went wide - this time he just corrected the aim.
Then in the 34th minute, Ronaldinho took a corner kick from the right side. The ball drew a beautiful arc and once again accurately found Larsson who was ambushing in the penalty area. The latter succeeded in scoring again 8 yards in front of the goal in the middle, headed the ball and went straight into the far corner of the net.
This was the Swedish veteran's seventh league goal of the season, helping Barcelona tie the score at 7-2 in the first half...By the way, it seems that the Cameroon Cheetahs haven't broken their fast since returning from the African Cup!
In the final stage of the first half, Ronaldinho had a chance to change the score again, but unfortunately his luck was a bit bad. It was another wonderful direct free kick, but it hit the post and bounced out of the bottom line.
The two sides entered the second half with a score of 2-2. At the beginning of the second half, Rijkaard began to implement the rotation policy unswervingly, first replacing Iniesta, who was not in good form in this game, with Van Bommel as a substitute.
In the first half, Ricardo was still thinking about the African big cat's lack of goals recently. When the game came to the 60th minute, Eto'o responded directly...
Barcelona took the lead again in the 61st minute. Ronaldinho's father took a set-piece to create a threat. This time it was a left corner kick. Marcos missed the ball at the front point, and goalkeeper Molina was shaken and missed the save...
Fortunately, Eto'o received the gift from 4 yards in front of the goal and successfully pushed the ball into the empty net, easily scoring his 19th league goal of the season. This was also his first goal in the last five league rounds and his first goal after returning from the African Cup. He successfully helped Barcelona take the lead again with a score of 5-3.
Then in the 65th minute of the game, Rijkaard replaced veteran Larsson with Giuly, who had just returned from injury, to find his form.
Then in the 75th minute of the game, Rijkaard replaced Deco with the rookie Li Qi, leaving the organization of the midfield to Ronaldinho, who was in great form today. He also rearranged the tactics to a defensive counterattack tactic that focused on controlling the rhythm, saving energy and avoiding injuries...
After Li Qi came on the pitch, he retreated deeper, more like forming a double defensive midfielder with Edmilson, and the work of connecting the forward run and the front court was taken over by big brother Van Bommel...
But to be honest, Li Qi felt that brother Van Bommel did not do well. It might be because he was anxious to perform well that he snatched too much ball from Ronaldinho's father and brother Eto'o, and several of his long shots were obviously too hasty.
Li Qi thought that if it were him, he would definitely hand the ball back to Ronaldinho's father, who had explosive footwork today, and then cut into the air and wait for Ronaldinho's father to feed him the ball! Unfortunately, brother Van Bommel didn't understand; so until the 85th minute of the game, the two sides entered a dull stalemate again.
Laco wanted to counterattack, but substitutes Van Bommel and Li Qi's midfield sweep was very good, and for a while Laco couldn't get through the midfield. However, Van Bommel was too hasty many times and squandered many counterattack opportunities.
Seeing that the game was coming to an end, Li Qi knew that he could not give the ball to big brother Van Bommel; so after making a few short passes to Van Bommel who kept asking for the ball but received no response, Li Qi began to bypass Van Bommel and make direct passes to Ronaldinho's father and big brother Eto'o.
So Barcelona's offensive started up again immediately... It's really embarrassing if anyone is missing...
In the 86th minute, Li Qi successfully intercepted the ball from Munitis' feet, and then passed it over the top to Eto'o on the wing; the latter stopped the ball and passed it directly to the defense. Giuly made a diagonal run into the right side of the penalty area and shot with his waist twisted, but unfortunately the ball was blocked by Juanma and went out of the sideline...
Then came the last minute of regular time, when Li Qi and Ronaldinho's father connected successfully and played a wonderful long-distance cooperation.
First, Edmilson made a tackle to intercept the ball from Tristan, who came on as a substitute, and then Li Qi took advantage of the fact that neither of the two people entangled with each other had stood up and accelerated to steal the ball.
Then Li Qi pretended with his eyes and actions to pass the ball to Van Bommel in front of him, tricking Sergio into shifting his center of gravity, and then he passed a powerful low ball directly to Ronaldinho's father behind him.
After Ronaldinho's father stopped the ball, he pretended to break through with the ball and observed the situation and the positioning of his teammates. Seeing that Giuly's forward run had opened up the center back Juanma, Ronaldinho pretended to pass the ball over the top to Giuly who had entered the penalty area, but in fact he passed the ball back to the middle through the crotch.
The one who made a run in the middle was Li Qi, who had just passed the ball. With no one guarding him at the top of the gourd, he received the ball and adjusted himself calmly, creating the explosive moment. After calmly observing the goalkeeper's position, he made a concealed fake push shot to deceive the goalkeeper's center of gravity, and then, before the defensive players could make up for it, he shot the ball with his right foot and hit the upper right corner of the goal!
"Gooooaaal! Gooooaaal! Goal!" the commentator of the match shouted passionately!
"Li Qi! Li Qi, who came on as a substitute, killed the game! A goal in the last minute of regular time!"
"This was a long-distance 2-on-2 combination. With the help of his teammates' cover, Li Qi and Ronaldinho's pass and cut directly broke through the opponent's defense."
"Then the movement of Giuly and Eto'o helped Li Qi to move away the defensive players, giving him enough space to adjust and kick."
"The final shot was also very exciting. Although it was a shot from the instep, the power and angle were very good, and it just bypassed the goalkeeper who was about to save the ball from the third lane."
"This was Li Qi's fourth league goal of the season, helping Barcelona extend their lead to 4-2, and the game was about to end..."
With the last minute of stoppage time, the Cameroonian cheetah received a pass from Giuly and his shot from 12 yards in front of the goal was saved by Molina; the referee also blew the whistle to end the game, and Barcelona finally defeated La Coruña at home with a score of 4-2.
……
After this round of matches, some media outlets have already believed that Barcelona has won the La Liga title this season: "Barcelona is leading the standings by 10 points, 11 points ahead of Valencia after one more game. There are still 12 rounds left in La Liga, and Barcelona's remaining opponents are few and far between, except for Real Madrid and Villarreal. Moreover, both matches will be held at Camp Nou, so even if they cannot win all of them, there will be no suspense in getting points. The only thing that is slightly disadvantageous to Barcelona is that there are only 12 home games in the 5 games, and 7 away games..."
However, at the press conference after the game, it was obvious that Rijkaard had completely shifted his attention to the upcoming second round of the Champions League quarter-final knockout match: "I was leading at the beginning, but in the end I had to work hard to reverse the score. This is a warning for Barcelona's next game... The reversal of the opponent gave us a great confidence boost. The victory came at the right time, allowing us to face the next important opponent with a good mental outlook. The course of the game helped us a lot. Deportivo took the risk of looking for an equalizer, and the same is true for our next opponent..."
……
Ricardo, who sent Chiara away again on Sunday night, also learned that Rijkaard finally chose him to be included in the squad for the second round of the Champions League knockout match on Tuesday night, instead of Giuly, who had just returned from injury and needed to find his game form and rhythm. Another reason that was not stated but guessed by Ricardo was height and air defense ability. After all, the opponent was Chelsea...
Chelsea lost 1-2 at home in the last round, so in the second round on Tuesday night, Chelsea must win at Camp Nou and score at least two goals to complete the reversal.
Although there has only been one instance in the history of the Champions League where a team lost 1-2 at home in the first leg but managed to turn the tables in the second leg away from home, Mourinho's Chelsea record in European away games is far from outstanding, with five losses in the last seven games.
But this game is different because it hasn’t even started yet…
Before the game, both sides knew very well that this game would be a difficult one. If they were not careful, they would lose everything and all their previous efforts would be wasted.
……
西班牙当地时间3月7日的晚上20时45分,欧洲冠军联赛1/8决赛次回合展开争夺,巴塞罗那坐镇主场迎战蓝军切尔西。
Barcelona coach Rijkaard returned to Camp Nou and fielded the same starting lineup as when they defeated Chelsea at Stamford Bridge in the first leg.
Chelsea coach Mourinho fielded a more offensive lineup compared to the first leg, with Drogba and Duff replacing Crespo and Gudjohnsen, and Gallas replacing the suspended Del Horno as the starting left back.
Li Qi, Iniesta, Larsson, Van Bommel and other active players all started on the bench and waited for their chances...
As the famous German referee Merkle blew the whistle, the "Star Wars" in the eyes of many people officially began.
After the start of the game, Barcelona deliberately slowed down the pace of the game and set up a solid defense with 7 players in the backcourt. They did not even pursue ball control as usual, but implemented a more cautious and error-free game strategy, threatening Chelsea's goal through long shots and counterattacks.
In the 8th minute, Edmilson's long shot from 30 yards on the left was too high.
In the 11th minute, Messi passed the ball, and Motta took a long shot with his left foot from 25 yards in the middle, which was easily caught by Cech.
In the 15th minute, it was Messi's turn to take a long shot from 28 yards on the left, but it was easily caught by Cech.
In the first 15 minutes of the first half, Barcelona used technology to control the game, and Chelsea was in a passive position. Mourinho on the sidelines shook his head and sighed at the lackluster and lifeless game after the opening...
However, 15 minutes later, Ronaldinho's father suddenly sped up and the game saw some fierce collisions again.
In the 18th minute, Ronaldinho made an acrobatic heel pass, which was completely beyond Ferreira's expectation. The ball rolled past his legs... Messi received the ball and broke into the left side of the penalty area directly, shooting from a small angle. Unfortunately, the ball was blocked by Carvalho's flying tackle and went out of the baseline.
In the 19th minute, Barcelona's attack turned around and it was Chelsea's turn to attack. Robben took the free kick from the right and sent it into the penalty area. Drogba leaned on Marcos and successfully headed the ball from 7 yards on the left side of the penalty area, but the header was too straight and was also confiscated by Valdes.
However, just when Magic Bird and the audience thought that the pace of the game would return to normal levels, an accident occurred.
In the 23rd minute of the game, Messi was blocked by Makelele when he cut inside with the ball. It was not a deliberate foul. Both sides had the opportunity to touch the ball, but Messi did not control his center of gravity when the two sides came into contact, resulting in a strained muscle in his right leg...
Rijkaard immediately replaced the injured Messi with the Swedish veteran Larsson who has been in hot form recently. Rijkaard also hugged and comforted the extremely frustrated Argentine young talent on the sidelines.
So after this incident that was very unfavorable to Barcelona, the entire Barcelona team retreated to play a slow-paced defensive counterattack, the main purpose of which was not to seek credit but to avoid mistakes...
Chelsea did not have many good ways to break through the dense defense of Barcelona, which had a technical advantage.
Both sides played cautiously, blocking dangerous areas and not allowing free kicks within 20-30 yards of the penalty area, but they were decisive in committing fouls in other positions; so the game was also cut into pieces by fouls. Of course, Chelsea committed more fouls, after all, Barcelona had the technical advantage and was playing defensive counterattacks.
In the 45 minutes of the first half, neither side had any good opportunities and neither made any mistakes. The situation on the field also made the fans drowsy, but this was indeed a tactical success for Barcelona.
The two sides entered the halftime break with a score of 0-0, and Barcelona still led Chelsea 2-1 on aggregate thanks to two important away goals.
At the beginning of the second half, although Barcelona had a series of corner kicks, the game was still slow. In addition, Barcelona successfully used tactical fouls in defense to delay Chelsea's rapid attack, but they did not receive a yellow card...
Out of desperation, the Magic Birds made the first adjustment in the 58th minute, hoping to change the situation. Gudjohnsen and Crespo replaced Duff and Drogba, who had a poor performance in this game.
When facing Barcelona's dense defense, Duff's speed breakthrough, which he is good at, was not very eye-catching, and his function overlapped with Robben on the other wing, so it would be enough to keep only one of them.
Drogba was the focus of the attack in this game. He was always watched by two defenders. Usually, it was Thiago Motta who was in close combat, while Marcos helped to steal or head the ball away. Even though Drogba could win the physical confrontation with Thiago Motta most of the time, it was too late to take care of the ball...
After this substitution, I don’t know whether it was because Magic Bird’s substitution tactics were effective, or because both sides’ physical fitness declined, resulting in a decrease in attention, but the pace of the game suddenly increased!
A professional football player who did not want to be named calmly analyzed to the other players on the bench: "The Magic Bird must have run out of tricks. If we drag it out, we will lose, so he deliberately exposed flaws in defense to lure us into attacking... Ronaldinho's father and Eto'o brother will definitely use their tricks against us! Such a good opportunity should not be wasted..."
……
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