Chapter 381 The King of Destruction
The King of Destruction!
When Barcelona defeated Chelsea with difficulty, 1-1 at home and 4-4 on aggregate, thanks to away goals, the whole country of Spain was jubilant, and countless media and fans were singing praises for Barcelona, especially Su Dong.
Even AS, which is known as the mouthpiece of Real Madrid, published such a headline on the front page, describing Su Dong as a wall breaker who dared to break the shackles.
At the beginning of the report, AS wrote this.
"Pink Floyd, a famous British rock band, released an album called The Wall in 1979. The album's creator, Roger Waters, who is also the band's bassist, used a wall that isolates people from the cruel reality as a symbol to explore the dark side of human nature. The most famous song in the album, Another Brick in the Wall: Part Two, has the following lyrics."
“We don’t want ignorance, we don’t want to imprison our thoughts…Teachers, let the children’s creativity fly, it’s just another brick in the wall, you are just another brick in the wall.”
AS said that they don't know whether Mourinho has heard the song by Pink Floyd, but there is no doubt that he is doing what the teachers in the song are doing, he is restricting the creativity of the players.
"Compared to the wonderful first half of the first leg, in this match at Camp Nou, Mourinho thoroughly implemented his tactical thinking on Chelsea. The Blues players unswervingly implemented Mourinho's tactics. They built high walls in front of the goal, and Mourinho was the mason who built the walls."
AS said that the Blues believed that their football was destructive and lacked creativity. There was no sign of Chelsea taking the initiative throughout the game. Even after being reversed by Barcelona again, they did not dare to show up easily.
"It's clear that Mourinho is used to hiding behind a wall."
AS listed the statistics of this game. Barcelona's ball possession rate was as high as 69%, while Chelsea's ball possession rate was only a pitiful 31%. There was a huge gap in ball possession time between the two teams.
What's more terrifying is that Barcelona had as many as 37 shots, which created the highest number of shots for Barcelona in the Champions League this season, but most of the shots failed to pose a threat.
But Chelsea had fewer shots, just two in the entire game.
Thirty-seven to two, such a huge disparity in the number of shots is absolutely staggering.
AS even sarcastically believed that Chelsea's performance at the Camp Nou was not even as brave and aggressive as the relegated La Liga teams.
"Mourinho has no way to find any excuses. This is not because Chelsea players are incompetent, but because of his tactics."
After harshly criticizing Mourinho's Chelsea, AS changed the subject and praised Barcelona for advancing.
AS said that Rijkaard's team always adhered to their own tactical philosophy. Whether at Stamford Bridge or back at Camp Nou, they played unconservatively and insisted on their own style of football, causing Chelsea to suffer the humiliation of elimination.
"Mourinho and his maze did make Chelsea confused and lost their direction, but Rijkaard's team soon got out of the quagmire because they had an indestructible king of destruction - Su Dong!"
"Many people have forgotten how many times Su Dong saved Barcelona, but it doesn't matter."
"The important thing is that every time at a critical moment, whenever Barcelona is in crisis, it is always Su Dong who stands up. He always uses his own ability and incredible performance to lead the team out of trouble and turn danger into safety."
"This time at Camp Nou is no exception."
AS believes that in this match at Camp Nou, Sudong was the Barcelona player who was most closely defended by the opponent. Terry and Carvalho stayed by Sudong's side almost throughout the game. In fact, for most of the game, Sudong was fighting with his opponents and failed to show his strength and advantage.
But in the second half, when Chelsea players began to lose their strength and Terry began to look tired, Su Dong took action.
"Rijkaard made a lot of mistakes before the game and in the first half, but he always did one thing right, which was his trust in Sudon. He chose to replace Giuly with Iniesta. In just a few minutes, Sudon and Iniesta completed a very clever small-scale cooperation and broke Chelsea's goal."
AS said that this was Sudong's eleventh Champions League goal this season, but he also had six assists, which is a very amazing number. "He is almost dragging Barcelona to sprint on the road to the Champions League alone."
“His performance was incredible!”
…
Not only AS, but also Daily Sports praised Su Dong's performance.
"Chelsea scored against Barcelona without even a single shot on goal, which demoralized the Barcelona players and even Rijkaard was probably a little frustrated."
"So far this season, many teams have created problems at Camp Nou through this kind of conservative and utilitarian football. For example, AC Milan was the first team to adopt a strict defensive tactic and almost beat Barcelona in the Joan Gamper Trophy. Later, teams such as Atletico Madrid, Valencia and Chelsea all adopted similar tactics.
Daily Sports does not deny that there is a serious weakness in Barcelona's lineup, that is, the defense line.
Although Barcelona is the team that has conceded the fewest goals in La Liga this season, after entering the knockout stage of the Champions League, the team has been repeatedly attacked by others. Both Bayern Munich and Chelsea have scored against Barcelona three times in a single game, which made Barcelona's defense look very embarrassed.
"This is certainly because the opponents in the knockout stage have become much stronger and their tactics more targeted, but isn't it also a reflection of Barcelona's defensive loopholes? When defenders like Valdés, Belletti, Oleguer, and Van Bronckhorst took turns making mistakes, Barcelona's defensive problems were fully exposed."
"That's why those teams dare to defend against Barcelona. They are waiting for Barcelona to make mistakes!"
Daily Sports stated that the lineup configuration cannot be changed for the time being because Barcelona's lineup shortcomings are there. They have the thinnest lineup in La Liga, and even the two defensive midfielders Edmilson and Thiago are absent for a long time.
"But Barcelona has the most enviable attacking combination in European football, especially Su Dong."
"Like every game before, Su Dong was fighting with the best central defender combination in Europe from the first minute of the game. He kept looking for opportunities and patiently waited for the opponent to make mistakes."
"Finally, when the opportunity came to Sudon, he grabbed it without hesitation and equalized the score for Barcelona!"
Daily Sports analyzed Barcelona's experience in the Champions League this season. From Juventus to Bayern Munich to Chelsea, in almost every tough battle, there was the shadow of Su Dong behind them.
"Without Su Dong, Barcelona would have hit a wall at the Alpi Stadium, collapsed at the Munich Olympic Stadium, and been thrown into the Thames under Stamford Bridge. But it was Su Dong's outstanding performance that dragged Barcelona forward alone, helping the team defeat strong opponents time and time again and reaching the semi-finals of the Champions League!"
The Daily Sports stated that although Su Dong has only joined the team for one season, he has become the most important key figure in the team.
"Without Su Dong, it is hard to imagine how Barcelona can get out of the current predicament."
…
Mundo Deportivo also believes that Rijkaard made many mistakes, and even in the game, he seemed helpless against Mourinho's tactics. At critical moments, he could only make the choices he has been making this season.
That is trust in Su Dong! "And every time, Su Dong lived up to Rijkaard's trust. He used his performance to help Rijkaard out of trouble and lead Barcelona to victory and defeat the opponent!"
Mundo Deportivo said that in the battle at Camp Nou, Sudon stopped Ronaldinho's pass with his left foot, turned around and passed the ball to Iniesta. The whole action was perfect.
“This is the key to the whole goal!”
"Without Su Dong's move, he wouldn't have been able to turn around and face the goal, and Iniesta wouldn't have received the pass from Su Dong, so naturally he wouldn't have been able to pass the ball back to Su Dong and form an assist."
"Su Dong showed his strength as the World Footballer of the Year in this goal!"
…
Compared with the Spanish media which all sang praises, the British media were dissatisfied with Chelsea's elimination, believing that Barcelona seemed to have the advantage, but in fact there were only a few truly threatening attacks.
"Chelsea beat Barcelona but lost to Su Dong!" said the Daily Mail.
The media believes that Mourinho showed amazing tactical attainments in both rounds of the game. Whether it was the opening attack in the first round or the tenacious defense in the second round, it showed a combat-ready iron-blooded army.
"It's a pity that Su Dong snatched Chelsea's ticket to the semi-finals. He dragged Barcelona, a sinking, shabby iron boat, into the semi-finals. How far can they go?"
The Guardian also believes that Barcelona has exposed very serious problems whether against Bayern Munich or Chelsea, that is, their defense is really quite bad.
"Such a defense is doomed to not go far in the Champions League knockout stage."
"No matter how strong Su Dong is, he can't challenge the entire opposing team alone!"
Especially when the UEFA draw results came out the day after the game and Barcelona faced Benítez's Liverpool in the semi-finals, the British media was in a frenzy.
"Barcelona will be eliminated in the semi-finals!"
In an interview with the media, Benítez was also satisfied with the result of the draw. He said that he was not unfamiliar with Barcelona because he led Valencia to defeat Barcelona last season and Su Dong was in Benítez's team at that time.
"I know better than anyone how to beat Barcelona and freeze Su Dong. I won't give them any chance!"
Not only are the British media full of confidence in Benítez and Liverpool, but the Spanish media are also generally worried.
Benítez, this guy who is as steady as an old dog, is even more difficult to deal with than Mourinho.
(End of this chapter)
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