Chapter 493: Manchester City vs Atletico Madrid, the strongest spear vs the strongest shield!
Winning the league title for three consecutive years is like a shot in the arm for Manchester City, who are about to enter the Champions League.
After winning the league title in advance, Manchester City no longer has to worry about the league and can concentrate on preparing for the European war.
However, their opponents Atletico Madrid are not so lucky! The current situation of winning the La Liga championship is very complicated. After the 35th round of the league, the two teams at the top of the table have exactly the same points, both 82 points.
Real Madrid, ranked third, also has 78 points, only 4 points behind the top team. With three rounds left in the league, Real Madrid still has a theoretical chance of winning the championship.
Although Atletico Madrid has the same points as Barcelona, they are ranked second due to their goal difference disadvantage. What's worse is that Barcelona has already been eliminated by them in the Champions League, which allows Barcelona to focus on competing for the league title this season.
Atletico Madrid, who advanced to the Champions League semi-finals, have to be distracted by the Champions League semi-finals, especially when they have to face a super strong team like Manchester City.
Therefore, even though the two teams have the same points, the outside world is more optimistic about Barcelona.
Although Atletico Madrid's league opponents in the last three rounds are not strong, there is a great hope of winning three consecutive games.
But at the same time, Barcelona's opponents are also very weak, and they also have the possibility of winning three consecutive games.
With everyone winning three games in a row, Barcelona has a 30-goal advantage, which is enough to ensure that they will win the La Liga championship trophy this season.
Therefore, Atletico Madrid coach Simeone is actually very pessimistic about competing for the league title this season.
Their only hope of a comeback lies in Barcelona making mistakes themselves.
If Barcelona doesn't make any mistakes and wins the last three games, they won't have any chance at all.
In this case, Atletico Madrid can only take one step at a time and play well in the Champions League while taking the league into consideration.
Last time they were defeated in the finals, this time they are coming back and they must not let this happen again!
So, after the league game, Atletico Madrid rushed to Manchester without stopping to prepare for the upcoming first semi-final.
The match between Manchester City and Atletico Madrid will be played one day earlier than the other half of the group, so this match has already received unprecedented attention from the outside world before it even started.
There were more and more fans on the streets of Manchester, including Manchester City fans from all over the world and some Atletico Madrid fans who came with the team.
Football hooligans in the UK are very famous, and with so many fans gathered together, fights and disturbances are inevitable.
As a result, Manchester's public security has declined significantly, although it was not good to begin with.
Guardiola attached great importance to Atletico Madrid, which came from afar. He rarely conducted closed training and did not allow fans and reporters to watch outside the training ground.
This approach has aroused the curiosity of the outside world. Is Guardiola preparing a big move for the semi-finals?
Atletico Madrid coach Simeone is also very curious, but he is not idle either. Atletico Madrid is also preparing some surprises for Manchester City.
At the pre-match press conference, when a reporter asked Guardiola about his preparations for the match against Atletico Madrid, Guardiola smiled mysteriously and said:
"Believe me, this will be a surprise, but I can't tell you yet, otherwise it will lose the fun of being a surprise!"
The more Guardiola keeps things in suspense, the more curious the outside world becomes.
Guardiola's characteristic of doing something new during major competitions and even finals has long been known to the outside world, so everyone is speculating whether Guardiola will have any new tricks this time?
"I bet fifty cents that Guardiola is going to do something!"
"Let me guess. Is it a wide midfielder? Three central defenders? Or something else?"
"No one knows what Guardiola wants to do before he plays his cards, so let's wait patiently!"
Guardiola's words at the press conference and the heated discussions in the outside world aroused Simeone's vigilance.
He was a little worried. Did Guardiola, the tactical master, really find a tactic to crack Atletico's defensive system, or did he think of some very strange and novel tactics that he had never thought of? In terms of defense, Simeone was confident that he was not inferior to anyone, but in terms of offensive and tactical innovation, he was not so confident.
A genius like Guardiola is the leader in this area.
However, he is full of confidence in the Atletico Madrid team under his command. In recent years, under his training, Atletico Madrid's strength has steadily improved.
In La Liga, after being repeatedly tested by two super teams, Barcelona and Real Madrid, he is confident that his team can defend against the attack of any team, even Manchester City.
The only thing to be wary of is probably the opponent's number 10.
After all, how to limit Lin Quan is a headache for the entire football world.
…
The time finally came to April 27, and a large number of fans began to gather at the Etihad Stadium.
The players of both teams also boarded their respective team buses and headed towards the stadium.
Manchester City's blue bus received a warm welcome from fans as it passed through the streets.
A large number of fans chased the bus, shouting the players' names and cheering them on.
On the bus, some Manchester City players couldn't resist the enthusiasm of the fans on the street and waved to them.
Some of them closed their eyes, as if they were resting and preparing for the upcoming competition.
As for Manchester City captain Lin Quan, he sat next to head coach Guardiola and discussed something with him.
"Are you sure you want to do this? If something unexpected happens in the first half, your plan might fail early!"
Guardiola nodded heavily: "Okay, let's do it. Now that we know the opponent's weakness, we must make good use of this opportunity and catch the opponent's weakness and attack!"
"Okay, since you said so, I'll go crazy with you for once!"
Lin Quan was somewhat helpless. Guardiola, this guy, always had to do something lively when there was an important game, as if he had a disease that made him feel uncomfortable if he didn't do something lively.
But what he said makes some sense. Although Guardiola's new tactics have considerable risks, it is indeed a feasible approach.
And there is one advantage to doing this, which is that it will not give the opponent too many opportunities. As long as there are no major changes, such as red cards, injuries and other major events, it will be very difficult for Atletico Madrid to break Manchester City's goal in this game.
Manchester City players were about to get off the team bus after it arrived at the stadium.
Coincidentally, Atletico Madrid's bus also arrived.
As a result, the players of both teams were involuntarily attracted to each other, and when their eyes met, sparks seemed to flash in the air.
Lin Quan didn't go to see anyone from Atletico Madrid, but he felt someone was staring at him, so he turned around and glanced. What caught his eye was a young player who was about 1.75 meters tall and wearing the No. 7 jersey of Atletico Madrid.
The moment he saw the other person, Lin Quan recognized his identity - Atletico Madrid winger Griezmann!
Griezmann looked at Lin Quan with eyes full of respect and a hint of eagerness to fight! Lin Quan nodded slightly to him and retracted his gaze.
Griezmann has become famous in La Liga in the past two seasons and is a rising young star in La Liga.
He is not only highly valued by Simeone, playing a core role in Atletico Madrid, but also begins to be valued by Deschamps in the national team.
In the future, he will even become the core of the French team, and together with Kante and others, lead the French team to win the 2018 World Cup in Russia.
In terms of strength, Griezmann is very strong and has great potential for the future.
But unfortunately, Manchester City will not give him much room to play in this game. It will be extremely difficult for him and his teammates to take away a victory at the Etihad Stadium!
Hearing about someone is not as good as meeting him in person. Griezmann still admires Lin Quan, but it was not until today that he finally met him.
Although the other person is 4 years younger than him, he does not dare to look down on him at all.
Lin Quan's fame has long been established through two Champions Leagues and one World Cup.
Nowadays, in the entire football world, there are very few people who can match him, let alone surpass him?
Griezmann has a clear understanding of his own strength. He does not think that he can surpass his opponent. On the contrary, he has always regarded Lin Quan as an object of study and reference, drawing nutrients from him to improve himself!
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This move was learned from Benzema, the big brother of the national team! It is said that since Benzema learned Lin Quan's shooting method, his goal efficiency has been significantly improved. In the past two years, the title of Benzema has gradually been forgotten. When mentioning Benzema, everyone will think of the BBC combination in the Real Madrid team.
The fact that he can be ranked alongside superstars like Cristiano Ronaldo shows the outside world's recognition of him.
…
"CCTV, CCTV!"
"Dear viewers, this is the first leg of the 2015-2016 Champions League semi-final between Manchester City and Atletico Madrid, which is being broadcast live for you."
"I'm the commentator Xu Yang!"
"I'm Duan Xuan!"
"First, let us introduce the starting lineups of both teams..."
In the CCTV studio, after introducing the starting lineups of the two teams.
Xu Yang asked, "Duan Xuan, who do you think will win today's match?"
Duan Xuan replied with a smile: "I think both teams have chances. Manchester City has strong offensive strength and the advantage of home court. They should exert their strength on the offensive end, while Atletico Madrid has good defensive counterattack ability. Once they seize the opportunity, they may also create goals. In short, who can win depends on who performs better."
Duan Xuan's answer was flawless, did not offend anyone, and was impeccable.
However, such correct nonsense has attracted a lot of complaints from fans:
"I listen to your words as if they were my own!"
"Good fellow, what are you doing here?"
"Although what I said is all nonsense that everyone knows, it is not wrong. This match can be described as the strongest spear versus the strongest shield!"
"But I still think Manchester City has a better chance of winning. After all, Manchester City has a lot of stars, including superstars like Lin Huang. Atletico Madrid's lineup is a lot less star-studded. Although it also has stars like Torres and Griezmann, it's still no match for Manchester City!"
"Indeed, judging from the value of the two teams, Manchester City is worth more than 700 million euros, at least twice as much as Atletico Madrid!"
"Haha, I think Lin Huang alone is probably better than the entire Atletico Madrid team, right?"
Because of Lin Quan, Manchester City has a large number of fans in the country, far more than the Colchoneros.
However, Atletico Madrid is still a strong team in La Liga after all, and is only one Champions League title away from becoming a top club.
What's more, compared with other teams that spend a lot of money, a relatively down-to-earth team like Atletico Madrid is more likely to win the favor of fans.
Therefore, Atletico Madrid also has a large audience in the country.
At this time, seeing the smug look on Manchester City's fans' faces, Atletico Madrid's fans immediately retorted:
"The high price is useless. Hasn't Real Madrid lost enough games in recent years? If heroes are really judged by their price, then there is no need to play. Just give the award to Barcelona and Real Madrid!"
"That's right. In the past few seasons, a lot of big clubs have been defeated by Atletico Madrid. Real Madrid, Barcelona, Bayern, which one is not more valuable than Atletico Madrid? Which one will not fall when facing Atletico Madrid?"
Ever since Simeone took over as coach of Atletico Madrid, the club has been regarded as a killer of giants.
Many giants have been defeated by them, and they have defeated almost all the giants in the five major leagues.
Such a brilliant record has given Atletico Madrid fans enough confidence, allowing them to not be afraid of Manchester City's great reputation.
"The high price does have some use, otherwise, it would not have been Manchester City but Atletico Madrid who won the trophy at the Estadio de Luz last time!"
Facing the counterattack from Atletico Madrid fans, Manchester City fans did not hesitate and directly put out the record of the only match between the two teams, mercilessly poking the lungs of Atletico Madrid fans.
As soon as this example came out, Atletico Madrid fans suddenly fell silent.
It's not that I was convinced, but I was so angry that I couldn't speak.
Atletico Madrid has yet to win the Champions League, with the closest they came to the title being in the 2013-2014 season.
That time they made it to the final, but unfortunately, they were completely defeated by Manchester City in the final and missed the Champions League.
Most of the players in the Manchester City team that defeated them at that time are still in Manchester City, which makes Atletico Madrid fans somewhat fearful.
They had personally experienced the opponent's strength on the court that year, and they knew the strength of Manchester City's stars better than anyone else.
The fans' quarrel had no impact on the situation of the game, and the players who were warming up on the court obviously could not hear their quarrel.
During the pre-match warm-up, Simeone noticed that there seemed to be a lot of midfielders in the opponent's roster.
Manchester City's four main defensive midfielders were all included in the 18-man roster this time, not to mention the classic combination of Kante and Kroos.
It is not surprising that Fernandinho, who often plays, appears in the roster, but Fernando, who has not played for Manchester City for a long time, is also on the roster.
This confused Simeone! What was Guardiola trying to do? He had so many troops in the midfield and backcourt. Was he planning to fight us in a hand-to-hand fight?
Or does he plan to arrange three defensive midfielders to play?
(End of this chapter)