"Today is a good day~ Everything I wish for will come true~~~"
After parking his car, Li Shiguang hummed a cheerful tune as he returned home. In his opinion, today was indeed a perfect day!
The successful victory over Liverpool immersed the entire Leeds United team in a jubilant atmosphere. While everyone was still celebrating the victory in the locker room, a few pieces of good news further enhanced the atmosphere.
Their match was the last to finish in this round of the Premier League. Earlier, several of Leeds United's main rivals failed to win any of their matches this round!
Third-placed Tottenham drew 1-1 away to bottom-placed Sunderland, now only one point ahead of Leeds United, with a direct clash between the two teams in a week. Arsenal, behind Leeds United, were also held to a 1-1 draw at home by Bolton, widening the gap between them and Leeds United to seven points.
Upon hearing these two pieces of good news, Li Shiguang's face practically lit up with a smile. He immediately waved his hand and announced a two-day holiday this week! Let everyone have a good rest and relax!
Li Shiguang has been in a very good mood these past two days. Early Monday morning, he received a call from Chen Guanhai. The young man is very efficient. He called Chen Guanhai that very evening after returning to London. When Chen Guanhai heard that Li Shiguang had taken the initiative to invite his son to invest in Leeds United, he immediately expressed his willingness to fully support him. However, Chen Guanhai would come to England in a while to negotiate the specific details with Li Shiguang in person.
After hanging up the phone, Li Shiguang breathed a sigh of relief. He had only come up with the idea on a whim that day, and he hadn't thought much about whether it would work out or not. Chen Guanhai's reply at least meant that the first step in a long journey had been taken. Once the deal was finalized, his idea of expanding Elland Road Stadium could be implemented, and he might even have some money left over for the summer transfer window.
Besides this good news, returning to the team itself, Leeds United's simultaneous progress in both the league and cup competitions has greatly reduced the voices of doubt surrounding them. In addition, Rivaldo and Camoranesi have won over Leeds United fans in these few matches, and the occasional criticisms of the winter signings that were previously seen have completely disappeared.
In stark contrast to Li Shiguang's good mood were Benitez and Wenger.
Both veteran coaches are currently facing their own difficulties.
On Wenger's side, Arsenal strategically opted out of the League Cup and FA Cup, leaving only the Champions League and the league to play. Their schedule is relatively easier, and they haven't completely fallen behind in the league, still holding onto hopes of a top-four finish. However, in the Champions League, their Round of 16 opponent is the formidable Real Madrid, a tough battle indeed. Even though Wenger started resting key players two weeks in advance to prepare for this match, they are still considered the underdogs by many.
Compared to Wenger, Benitez is in a slightly better situation.
Liverpool have fallen far behind the teams ahead of them in the league, and given Leeds United's current form, their hopes of finishing in the top four are becoming increasingly slim. However, Liverpool still retains hope of winning the FA Cup and the Champions League. At least compared to Arsenal's opponent Real Madrid, Liverpool's Round of 16 opponent Benfica is considered weaker, so English media generally favor Liverpool to reach the Champions League quarterfinals.
Amidst various pre-match analyses, the knockout stage of the 2005-2006 UEFA Champions League officially kicked off on Wednesday night.
Of the three Premier League teams that have made it to the round of 16, Arsenal and Liverpool will both play tonight.
After a grueling 90-minute battle, the final result was completely unexpected!
Liverpool, favored by most before the match, launched a relentless attack for 80 minutes at the Estádio da Luz in Lisbon but failed to score a single goal. Instead, they conceded a sharp counter-attack by Benfica in the 83rd minute, ultimately returning to Anfield with a 0-1 deficit for the next leg. Meanwhile, Arsenal, the underdogs, secured a victory at the Bernabéu thanks to a goal from Thierry Henry in first-half stoppage time!
Benfica clearly found a way to deal with Liverpool in this match. Throughout the 90 minutes, they successfully limited Deisler and Gerrard's shots to a minimum. Liverpool's attack, as always, lacked finishing ability, wasting several excellent chances...
Watching Benitez, whose face was extremely sour, on TV, Li Shiguang felt sorry for him. If it were him, and Leeds United dominated the game but failed to turn it into a victory, he would probably feel the same way as Benitez right now!
The next day, Wenger, who had escaped the Bernabéu unscathed, was naturally lauded by the English media, while poor Benitez could only silently prepare for the second leg next week, bearing the criticism.
However, the criticism he received didn't last too long, because Mourinho helped him share some of the blame that very night.
Chelsea, who are invincible in the Premier League, lost 1-2 at home to Barcelona, the team they eliminated last year.
Throughout the match, Chelsea's left flank was used as Barcelona's weak point. Messi, who had already displayed immense talent, practically treated Chelsea's left flank as his own, rampaging down the flank. Chelsea's tough players, of course, didn't tolerate this, and their tackles became increasingly aggressive. Finally, in the 36th minute, left-back Del Horno fouled Messi in what appeared to be a relatively harmless defensive play, resulting in a straight red card and his expulsion from the field. Ultimately, Chelsea, playing with 10 men, were defeated by Eto'o in a last-minute winner. After the match, Mourinho criticized Messi's "diving" that led to Del Horno's red card, saying, "We've never lost to Barcelona when we're playing 11 against 11!"
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