Chapter 487 The devil’s home field, Manchester City at home is invincible!
In the other four games, Bayern won 1-0 at home against Benfica despite the absence of many main players.
Barcelona narrowly beat ten-man Atletico Madrid 2:1 at home.
This match is the focus of this round of the Champions League, and its attention is second only to the matches between Manchester City and Paris Saint-Germain.
The strength of these two teams is very close. They have played against each other many times in the league and know each other well.
In the first half, Torres scored the first goal, but because of his uncalm behavior, the referee showed him two yellow cards within six minutes, and he received a red card and was sent off early.
When Torres was sent off, there was a huge booing at Camp Nou, and nearly 100,000 Barcelona fans were spitting at him, cursing and attacking him.
Atletico Madrid head coach Simeone surrounded the fourth official and argued, saying that the referee's decision was biased.
It was only the 35th minute of the first half and their main striker was sent off. How could they still play like this? No wonder everyone said that Barcelona had a godfather in UEFA. He didn't believe it before, but this time he really believed it! Simeone's words were very intense. After the fourth official informed the referee, the latter came over and showed him a yellow card as a warning.
Simeone resisted the urge to spit at the referee, stood on the sidelines with his hands on his hips, thinking about the next tactics.
Fortunately, it was the forward who was sent off, which did not have much impact on Atletico's defense. However, after losing the fulcrum on the front line, Atletico's counterattack would probably be difficult to be effective.
I just hope that these disciples on the field can hold on and maintain their lead until the end!
However, Barcelona obviously would not miss such a good opportunity. Under the leadership of Messi and Suarez, they launched a fierce attack on Atletico.
In the 63rd minute of the second half, Alves made a cross from the right wing, Alba volleyed the ball from the back post, and Suarez cushioned the ball into the goal in front of the goal, 1-1.
Barcelona equalized the score! This was not a good sign for Atletico Madrid. Barcelona, with its morale boosted, fought more and more bravely in the following time.
In the 74th minute, it was Alves again. He made a cross from the wing and assisted Suarez to score another goal, completing his brace.
In the end, thanks to Suarez's two goals, Barcelona won a hard-fought victory at home.
However, for Atletico Madrid, although this result is not ideal, it is not that desperate.
Although they lost the game, they didn't lose by much and they even had an away goal.
More importantly, they lost after one of their players was sent off. Before Torres was sent off, the initiative on the field was actually in the hands of Atletico Madrid.
However, Atletico's fierce defense and active fighting tactics were at a disadvantage when they met Barcelona, and the number of cards they received was astonishingly high. In this game, Atletico received a total of 8 yellow cards and one red card.
In the last five games against Barcelona, they received five red cards, an average of one per game, which is an astonishingly high rate! Of course, this is also related to Barcelona's style of play. After all, who doesn't know the famous La Masia Film and Television Academy? From Torres's foul on Busquets, it is hard to say that Busquets did not perform.
After the game, Atletico Madrid players including Simeone were very dissatisfied with the result. Simeone even made a harsh statement that they would give Barcelona a severe lesson at the Calderon Stadium!
The loser eats dust. As the winner, Barcelona will naturally not take the harsh words of their defeated opponents to heart.
They have even started thinking about their opponents in the semi-finals!
Compared to Barcelona's success, another Spanish Super League team, Real Madrid, is much more unlucky.
Real Madrid thought they had drawn a great draw and went to the away game with full confidence, but ended up being beaten 2:0 by Wolfsburg at the Volkswagen Arena!
Not only did Real Madrid lose the game, but they also conceded two goals to the opponent!
Now, Real Madrid's promotion situation immediately became dangerous.
Since they did not score any away goals, they had to score three goals against their opponents in the next round at home to advance, and they could not allow their opponents to score any goals.
Once Wolfsburg scores at the Bernabeu, Real Madrid can just walk away! The sudden turn of events made the outside world very pessimistic about this Real Madrid team.
There were even rumors that Real Madrid would fire Zidane because of the crushing defeat to Wolfsburg.
These rumors were very convincing and really fooled a lot of fans. Even some Real Madrid fans themselves believed them.
After all, Real Madrid has done this many times before. Countless head coaches have been fired by Real Madrid for various reasons, including some top coaches.
Zidane is just a rookie in the coaching world. He has never demonstrated his coaching talent before and cannot be called a famous coach at all.
Although the rumors from outside are just rumors, they are not groundless.
After Real Madrid's defeat away from home, Real Madrid president Florentino's trust in Zidane was indeed shaken.
It would be fine if Real Madrid lost to top teams like Manchester City, Barcelona or Bayern, but they lost to Wolfsburg, which was recognized as a weak team before the game.
In the end, Real Madrid lost so badly, I really have no way to explain it to the fans!
However, the number of head coaches fired by Real Madrid in recent years is really too much. If the coach is changed again and the team continues to be turbulent, it will be difficult for Real Madrid to realize its dream of winning the Champions League for the tenth time.
Therefore, Florentino can only bear the pressure and continue to support Zidane, hoping that he can give a satisfactory answer in the second round! Real Madrid's unexpected loss and Bayern's poor form have caused the odds of Manchester City and Barcelona, who won this round, to soar.
Manchester City's odds have soared to the top of the list and are far ahead of second-placed Barcelona.
After Manchester City and Barcelona, the odds of winning the championship are ranked as Bayern, Atletico Madrid, Real Madrid, Paris Saint-Germain, Wolfsburg and Benfica.
Although Wolfsburg defeated Real Madrid, the outside world is still not optimistic about them. Even their defeated opponent Real Madrid has a higher odds of winning the championship than them.
It seems strange, but it is not. After all, there is a big gap in the hard power of the two teams. Even if Wolfsburg gets past Real Madrid, it will be difficult to pass the next round.
If Real Madrid can reverse the situation and advance at home, they will still be the favorites to win the championship.
…
As for the championship odds, just take a look at them. If they were useful, there would be no need to fight hard in every game.
So after the victory, Guardiola reminded the players to be humble and not to underestimate the enemy, to maintain a good attitude and wait for the second leg next week.
However, having said that, after winning the first leg, the second leg will be much easier for Manchester City.
But the team has a lot of injuries, and I wonder if these people can return in the second round? On April 10, the 33rd round of the Premier League kicked off.
Manchester City played against West Bromwich Albion at home. The opponent was not strong, so the game was not difficult for Manchester City.
For this reason, Guardiola specially put Aguero, who had recovered from injury, in the starting lineup, wanting to examine his condition before the next round of the Champions League.
Aguero played rather cautiously after the opening, which was also the players' instinctive reaction to protect themselves after being injured.
As long as you can overcome the psychological barriers, there will be no problem.
In order to help Aguero overcome his inner demons, Lin Quan took the initiative to give up a penalty he created in the first half and gave the opportunity to Aguero.
Aguero did not waste Lin Quan's kindness, he scored the penalty kick in one fell swoop!
After scoring this goal, Aguero's mentality improved a lot and he played more confidently and calmly.
In the 66th minute of the second half, Lin Quan again assisted Aguero, helping him to score his second goal and securing the victory for Manchester City.
After scoring the goal, Aguero rushed towards Lin Quan, put the foot that Lin Quan passed the ball to him on his knee, and knelt on one knee to wipe his shoes.
"Thank you, Lin. I'm so lucky to have a teammate like you!"
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Aguero's move shocked the fans at the scene. In Manchester City, in terms of seniority, Aguero is actually older than Lin Quan. Not only has he played for the team for five years, he was also the biggest contributor to Manchester City's first Premier League title.
Such a meritorious veteran, who can even be called a Manchester City legend, actually respects Lin Quan so much, which shows Lin Quan's prestige and influence in the Manchester City team.
"Haha, me too. I'm lucky to be your teammate!"
Lin Quan pulled Aguero up and hugged De Bruyne and others who came to celebrate! On the sidelines, Guardiola showed a satisfied smile on his face. After the players on the field finished celebrating, he quickly made a substitution and replaced Lin Quan to let him rest.
It is the final stage of the league and the Champions League, and Lin Quan, the main pillar, must not get injured.
The lessons learned from the injuries of Aguero, David Silva and others have forced Guardiola to be extra vigilant.
If Manchester City had injured Lin Quan at this time, the Big Ear Cup would have been in jeopardy! Although he did not score a goal, Lin Quan still received a standing ovation and cheers from the fans when he left the field.
Lin Quan also smiled and waved to the fans, then walked off the field slowly.
The West Bromwich players on the side had no intention of urging him, and even hoped that he would waste more time. After all, it was not a pleasant feeling to be beaten by Manchester City.
After Lin Quan left the field, Aguero was also quickly substituted.
He has just recovered from his injury and has not yet fully recovered. Guardiola dare not overuse him to avoid injuring new injuries before the old ones are healed.
Good news came one after another in April. After Manchester City defeated their opponents at home and got 3 points to continue to maintain their lead in the standings, two other injured players also returned and resumed training.
David Silva's return has further enhanced Manchester City's offensive capabilities in the frontcourt and enriched their tactical options.
The return of defensive general Van Dijk gave Guardiola peace of mind.
Ever since Van Dijk was missing from the defense, he has been worried about Manchester City's defense.
The combination of Demichelis and Rudiger is far inferior to that of Van Dijk and Kompany in terms of strength. What's more, Demichelis is old and his condition has declined seriously. Maybe it's okay for him to play in the league.
If it really comes to a high-intensity match like the Champions League semi-finals or even the finals, his condition and physical fitness may not be able to hold up.
Therefore, Van Dijk's timely return solved Manchester City's urgent needs.
Good news for Manchester City is completely bad news for Paris Saint-Germain.
In the first leg, they were able to score two goals. In addition to their own outstanding performance, it was also closely related to the fact that Manchester City's defense was put together temporarily.
But in this round, Van Dijk's comeback greatly strengthened Manchester City's defense, making their offense more difficult.
In this game, Paris Saint-Germain used a 352 formation away from home.
This formation exposed their inner cowardice, they were scared!
As soon as Guardiola saw the opponent's formation, he immediately had an idea.
So he waved his hand, signaling the entire Manchester City team to press forward and launch a pressing attack.
David Silva's return gives Manchester City an additional organizing and passing point in the midfield and frontcourt, allowing them to play passing and controlling football more easily.
Van Dijk's return has given Manchester City an excellent sweeper at the back, making it difficult for them to lose the ball even if they face a counterattack from the opponent.
After the game started, Manchester City's offensive was like a tide. They no longer bothered to launch a tactic of opening the game, because from the first second of the game, they had already pulled the intensity of the attack to the highest level! The players of Paris Saint-Germain felt a huge pressure, like a small boat floating on the vast ocean, swaying in the wind and rain under the raging storm, and in danger of capsizing at any time.
In the first 20 minutes of the game, Manchester City had completed 8 shots, 4 of which were on target, and the ball possession rate reached an astonishing 82%!
The game has become completely one-sided. Paris Saint-Germain is like a frail child, trembling under the fierce attack of the giant Manchester City.
This is so scary, is this really the Manchester City we met before?
How come he suddenly became so powerful?
The players of Paris Saint-Germain were beaten so badly that they began to doubt their lives. In the last game at their home ground, they felt they could still compete with Manchester City.
How come now that we are on the road, we are being beaten so badly that we have no chance to fight back, as if the two teams are not even on the same level.
Not only the players of Paris Saint-Germain were shocked, but also the scouts from other teams who came to the scene were shocked:
The confidence that this Manchester City team exudes and their strong dominance at home are really heart-wrenching!
In this state, let alone Paris Saint-Germain, even if they were their own home team, they would still be beaten here! No wonder everyone says that the Etihad Stadium is a devil's home ground. Now that I see it, it really lives up to its reputation!
Although the fans here are not fanatical and can even be described as gentle and polite, the team here is too terrifying, so terrifying that people can't help but bend their knees! At this moment, a consensus emerged in everyone's mind: Manchester City at home is invincible! (End of this chapter)