Chapter 566 King of Data
Barcelona defeated Celtic 1-0 at home and advanced to the quarterfinals with a total score of 4-2!
This in itself is not news, everyone thought Barcelona would qualify.
The news is that Barcelona scored a very typical Barcelona goal.
Just three minutes into the game, Xavi scored a goal for Barcelona after 19 consecutive passes.
This goal completely ignited the Camp Nou stadium and caused the 100,000 fans on the scene to go wild.
Ronaldinho and Deco recovered their form, and players like Xavi and Iniesta continued to perform bravely, which earned Barcelona rave reviews after the game.
Daily Sports said that the two-round match against Celtic showed Barcelona's championship potential, especially the return of traditional Barcelona football and the recovery of Ronaldinho and Deco's form, which greatly enhanced Barcelona's strength.
Barcelona's mouthpiece said that in this season's La Liga, it is difficult for Barcelona to pose a threat to Real Madrid, especially after losing 2-4 to Atletico Madrid away from home. Barcelona has basically withdrawn from the championship race and Real Madrid will be the final winner.
"But early withdrawal from the championship race is not necessarily a bad thing for Barcelona, because Rijkaard's team can focus more energy on the Champions League, and the game against Celtic is the best evidence."
Daily Sports believes that sharp offense and solid defense are the magic weapon for Barcelona to advance rapidly in the Champions League this season.
Unlike the setbacks in La Liga, in the Champions League, Barcelona is currently one of the only four teams that remain unbeaten in the Champions League. The impressive record of six wins and two draws puts Barcelona in the first group of the Champions League with Bayern, Manchester United and Chelsea.
"Before, Barcelona's defense was criticized, but now, with five goals conceded, Barcelona has become one of the teams with the fewest goals conceded in the Champions League, and the team's offensive firepower is at the forefront among the Champions League teams."
Daily Sports analyzed that the improvement of offense and defense is precisely the key to Barcelona's success in the Champions League.
…
If only the Daily Sports said this, it could be considered self-praise, but the British media Daily Mail was also very surprised by Barcelona's data and believed that Rijkaard's team was focusing on the Champions League.
In terms of ball possession rate, Barcelona's average ball possession is as high as 62%, far exceeding all other teams in the Champions League. Real Madrid, which is closest to Barcelona, only has 57%, which proves Barcelona's amazing ball possession advantage.
The advantage of ball possession brings an advantage in offense.
In terms of the ability to create opportunities, Barcelona still leads European football, especially in the number of shots on target, which is as high as 63 times. That is to say, on average, there are almost eight shots on target in each of the eight games.
This is absolutely an astonishing number!
The Daily Mail believes that Rijkaard's team has been greatly underestimated by the outside world because of its unsatisfactory performance in the La Liga.
"This is the king of statistics in the Champions League!"
In addition to ball possession and shooting, Barcelona has another statistic that is the most frightening in the entire European football world, that is the number of corner kicks, which is as many as 67 times, averaging more than eight times per game, which is another quite scary statistic, more than 20 times more than the team ranked second, which is enough to prove that Barcelona is the team that advocates offensive football the most in European football.
However, Barcelona only scored one goal from a corner kick, which came from Messi, and it was a lucky goal.
The Daily Mail believes that Barcelona still has considerable potential to tap in this regard. How to improve the team's utilization rate of corner kicks and the efficiency of free kicks in the frontcourt created by Barcelona's best midfield penetration are all issues that Rijkaard should focus on solving next.
But no matter what, the Daily Mail believes that Barcelona is the team with the best chance of winning the Champions League this season.
"When everyone thought that Barcelona's Dream Team II dynasty had collapsed, Barcelona quietly played the most gorgeous offensive football in European football and achieved quite outstanding results, which made people full of expectations for them."
"On the other hand, although Schuster's Real Madrid was far ahead in La Liga, it was eliminated in the round of 16 in the Champions League again, which shows that this team is slightly inferior to Barcelona in terms of hard power."
"Looking at the current European football scene, the only teams that can really threaten Barcelona are Bayern, Manchester United and Chelsea."
…
If only the media said this, it could be considered hype, but Barcelona vice president Bartomeu also mentioned the team's goals for this season when he was a guest on Spanish TV Channel 3.
"We will not give up La Liga, but the team's main focus will be on the Champions League. We hope to win the Champions League again!"
Bartomeu also mentioned the team's summer strategy, saying that Rijkaard would only be able to stay if they win the Champions League, and that Barcelona will also be reorganized this summer, with several stars including Cristiano Ronaldo and Fabregas set to be Barcelona's transfer targets.
"There is no doubt that we want to build a more competitive team. We are fed up with the chaos in the locker room and we need to make a change."
Regarding the funds for signings, Bartomeu said the team will use various means, including but not limited to selling players in the team, to raise a transfer fee of 100 million euros and try its best to bring in Cristiano Ronaldo from Manchester United.
However, the host also asked, saying that the Portuguese had mentioned in a previous interview with the media that he would not consider Barcelona because he felt angry about the way Barcelona treated his best friend Sudon.
In this regard, Bartomeu said that he had not heard of such rumors and he believed that the Portuguese was also very interested in joining a historic and prestigious team like Barcelona.
"Here, he will work with the best players, Messi, Bojan, Xavi, Iniesta, etc. They will form a dream lineup, which is a temptation that all professional players can hardly refuse."
Bartomeu looks confident about bringing in Cristiano Ronaldo.
When the host asked the last question, that is, Su Dong said in Germany that he hoped to draw Barcelona in the quarter-finals, Bartomeu smiled and said that he had heard such news.
"We all know that Barcelona is the best team in the Champions League this season. Many teams hope to prove their strength by challenging Barcelona, but this is not something that anyone can control, and we don't mind drawing any team."
But when the host mentioned that Rijkaard once said that he did not want to face Bayern led by Su Dong, Bartomeu smiled awkwardly, but explained: "What he meant was that he did not want to encounter a strong team too early, not that we are afraid of Su Dong and Bayern."
Bartomeu even took the initiative to mention the relationship between Barcelona and Bayern, saying that among the team's summer transfer targets, Bayern's Lahm is a full-back that Barcelona admires very much, and the team is actively working on the possibility of Lahm joining Barcelona.
Another is Daniel Alves of Sevilla.
…
Bartomeu's remarks once again sparked heated discussions in the media.
Well, even the pre-match poaching tactics have come out. Isn’t this a sign that they are going to draw Bayern?
There were even media reporters and fans who were eager for chaos and called on UEFA to manipulate the draw so that Barcelona and Bayern would meet.
"This time, I promise no one will accuse you of being shady!"
Bartomeu's remarks did boost Barcelona's momentum, and many media and fans were attracted to the idea that Barcelona is the number one favorite in this season's Champions League, but the Dream Team II is not without hidden dangers.
After the match against Celtic, Barcelona announced that Messi would be out for six weeks due to a muscle strain and would be doomed to miss the Champions League quarter-finals, which would be a major blow to Barcelona's fighting power.
In addition, after returning to La Liga, Barcelona lost 1-2 to Villarreal at home, which basically sentenced them to death in La Liga. They are far behind Real Madrid and it is difficult for them to have a chance to win the championship.
Later, the Catalan media also revealed an inside story. After being injured, Messi accused the Barcelona medical team in the locker room, believing that the player physical training program they had developed specifically to prevent player injuries was unscientific, which led to his frequent muscle strains.
Barcelona officials denied the accusation, but said the club had accepted Messi's application.
The Argentine did not follow the advice of Barcelona's medical team and stay in Barcelona to recuperate, but chose to return to Argentina for recuperation.
Messi's father Jorge revealed in an interview with Argentine media, "We have doubts about the professional ability of Barcelona's team doctors, so we decided to consider other treatment and training options."
As for the treatment and training plan, Jorge, Messi and Barcelona officials have not disclosed it.
The outside world only knows that Messi will return to Argentina for recuperation.
Only Su Dong who was far away in Munich smiled at Wang Chuqing with great joy: "If anyone of you says Messi is an honest man again, I will be the first to disagree. He is simply a sullen old fox!"
Wang Chuqing was also amused. "Isn't it just borrowing your physical therapist temporarily? Is it necessary to hurt him like that?"
"What do you know?" Su Dong waved his hand. "Do you really think that he is so determined to return to Argentina because he doesn't trust Barcelona's team doctor?"
"Isn't it?"
"It's certain that he can't believe it, but think about it, he can also receive physical therapy in Barcelona, why must he go back home?"
Wang Chuqing was very smart and understood everything immediately. She laughed and said, "I guess he wants to go back and reunite with Xiaofang."
"Isn't that so? I guess this kid has even thought of the words to confess his love." Su Dong knew Messi too well.
This guy never takes a battle without confidence, especially when it comes to relationships.
The most important thing is that his usual image of a shy boy next door is too misleading to the fans. Little do they know that this kid is extremely bad at heart!
"After being with you for so long, even Messi has become a bad person." Wang Chuqing sighed softly.
Su Dong was stunned. What do you mean? Are you following my example?
My God, this kid is already bad, what do you mean he learned bad things from me?
"Am I a bad person?" Su Dong stared at Wang Chuqing with ill intentions, just like Big Bad Wolf staring at Pleasant Goat.
How could Wang Chuqing not understand him?
Blushing, she nodded and said, "It's really bad."
"Then I'm worse."
After saying that, Big Gray Wolf pounced forward.
From the sheep village on the green grassland came the screams of Pleasant Goat.
(End of this chapter)
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