Chapter 1075: Capsize in the Ditch

When the news that Inter Milan lost 0-1 to Southampton at home in the first leg of the Champions League semi-final was spread by the media, it immediately caused a huge response among fans around the world. ＠, x.

Klopp's team won the Serie A and Europa League last season, and their performances in the Italian Cup and Serie A this season have been quite eye-catching, especially in the Serie A, having already won the championship two rounds in advance.

It should be said that the decline of Serie A in the past few years is well known to everyone, but Inter Milan's performance in the past two seasons has made everyone feel a sense of hope, especially this season.

The joining of players including Cuadrado, Pjanic, Jovetic and others, who are not particularly famous but are absolutely powerful, has further enhanced Inter Milan's overall competitiveness.

But it is this semi-final that really makes people believe that Inter Milan will become the hope for the revival of Serie A.

In this semi-final, Klopp's team not only demonstrated excellent overall combat capability and the team's outstanding overall strength, but also showed tenacious fighting spirit and resilience.

Especially the last twenty minutes or so, the fast-paced offensive battle with Southampton was particularly impressive.

"In the press conference after the game, Southampton coach Ancelotti said that the trip to Milan was very dangerous. Klopp's team not only has the strength of the top league in Serie A, but also has the level to show its strength in the European arena."

Gazzetta dello Sport quoted Ancelotti's answer in a front-page commentary.

This top Italian coach, who once coached Juventus and AC Milan, has a very high opinion of Inter Milan and highly recognizes and affirms Klopp's coaching ability.

Not only that, the special football commentator of Gazzetta dello Sport also made an in-depth analysis of Klopp's tactics, believing that after the German coach took over as Inter Milan, he was not only leading the team to improve, but he himself was also improving.

"Inter Milan's performance this season has been more stable, which is inseparable from Klopp's self-learning."

"From Inter Milan this season, we can clearly see the traces of the defensive essence of the Serie A league. Klopp's coaching team has many experts in this area, and the Germans have cleverly learned these and integrated them into their own tactical concepts. This is quite remarkable."

"So, we can see that Inter Milan not only played well this season, but also had more reasonable and balanced results and control of the game. The team's overall offensive and defensive order has also been greatly improved."

"This Champions League semi-final against Southampton is like a test, which fully reflects the progress of Inter Milan and Klopp in the past two years."

"We even have every reason to feel sorry for Inter Milan, because if they hadn't met Southampton, who are stronger than them, but Monaco or Atletico Madrid, Inter Milan would definitely have been able to fight!"

Although the comments of Gazzetta dello Sport are a bit biased, they are not without reason.

If you want to make a difference in the Champions League, your own strength is certainly a major factor, but luck is also important, especially the luck when drawing lots.

If you are not careful and draw an opponent with a playing style that is incompatible with yours, it would be really dangerous.

Just like Guardiola's Bayern Munich, no one denies that Bayern Munich is slightly stronger than Klopp's Inter Milan, but because of the incompatibility of their playing styles, Guardiola's Bayern Munich could only stop in the quarterfinals.

By the same token, Southampton's overall strength is greater than Inter Milan, but Klopp's team only lost by one goal and was even just a little bit away from equalizing the score, which shows that the incompatibility of playing styles is indeed very dangerous.

But no matter what, Inter Milan has won the recognition of fans all over the world with this semi-final match.

Because of this battle, Klopp re-established his position as a top European coach.

While Inter Milan lost to Southampton 0-1 at home, which made fans all over the world extremely regretful, Atletico Madrid defeated the visiting Monaco 2-1 at another glorious stadium in the Spanish capital Madrid.

Both Atletico Madrid and Monaco are teams with strong overall integrity and emphasize high-pressure pressing. Both teams are known for their defense, especially Monaco, which was previously known for its strong defense but weak offense.

However, in this game held at the Glory Stadium, the two teams played a very exciting offensive battle from the very beginning.

Especially Monaco, who played away, did not play conservatively at all, and even put Atletico Madrid in a very embarrassing situation at one point.

But soon, Simeone's team gained a foothold and began to exert its strength.

In the 34th minute of the first half, William made a diagonal pass to Griezmann, the French striker passed the ball across the goal, and Isco scored the first goal for Atletico Madrid.

But after Atletico Madrid scored, Monaco quickly seized an opportunity.

In the 39th minute, Schneiderlin intercepted the ball in the midfield and Verratti made a long pass to Carrasco on the wing.

The Belgian winger dribbled the ball inside and passed it to the front of the penalty area. Kondogbia rushed up and shot directly.

Courtois reacted quickly and flew to save the ball, but Hernandez in front of the goal was smart enough to pick up the ball and push the ball through the goal guarded by Courtois, tying the score at 1-1.

After that, both sides attacked and defended, and no one was able to score again.

The game was very intense, especially in the second half, when both sides fought hard.

This is the second time Monaco has reached the semi-finals of the Champions League. Koeman hopes the team can make a breakthrough. Atletico Madrid has performed well at home this season, not only successfully defending the La Liga title, but also reaching the final of the Copa del Rey. If they can make a breakthrough in the Champions League, they will win the treble.

In this situation, not only Simeone, but everyone in Atletico Madrid tried their best.

Finally, in the 73rd minute of the second half, Griezmann knocked the ball back, Koke made a wonderful pass, and William scored another goal for Atletico Madrid in front of the goal, 2-1.

It was thanks to William's winning goal that Atletico Madrid narrowly beat Monaco 2-1 at home.

After the two Champions League semi-finals, fans all over the world were thrilled to watch the games, not only because the four teams played very excitingly, but also because the two games were full of the players' tenacious fighting and the head coaches' fighting wits and strength.

Even a top-tier team like Southampton was in trouble when facing Inter Milan's overall performance. It can be imagined that the value of the Champions League is indeed quite high.

More importantly, the two semi-final matches not only demonstrated the level of the Champions League, but also basically satisfied the fans' impressions of the four teams, while also leaving enough suspense.

In the second round of the game, anyone who is not careful may capsize at any time.

It turns out that the fans have sharp eyes.

A week later, Atletico Madrid visited Monaco's Stade Louis II to challenge Monaco away.

As a result, Monaco gave Atletico Madrid a blow at the beginning of the game.

In a corner kick opportunity, Mitrovic overpowered Godin and Otamendi and headed the ball in front of Atletico Madrid's goal, scoring the first goal for Monaco!

This goal only came in the sixth minute, but it directly sent Atletico Madrid into hell.

Because according to the total score, Monaco will eliminate Atletico Madrid with away goals and successfully advance to the final.

But Simeone was no pushover. He immediately regrouped, adjusted tactics and launched a crazy counterattack.

Ronald Koeman is worthy of being called an old fox. After successfully launching a sneak attack at the beginning of the game, he began to steadily launch a defensive counterattack.

It's no wonder that Atletico Madrid failed to score despite their fierce attack and they were actually caught by the defense several times. If it weren't for the outstanding performance of center back Otamendi and goalkeeper Courtois, Monaco would have expanded the score long ago.

But at this critical moment, before the end of the first half, Isco dribbled the ball in the middle, relying on his short and flexible body and skillful footwork, he passed three Monaco defenders in a row, and made a straight pass, sending the ball accurately to Griezmann's feet.

The French striker did not miss the opportunity and scored in one fell swoop, equalizing the score for Atletico Madrid.

This time, the situation suddenly changed again.

As both sides entered the second half, Koeman's team had to press forward again, while Atletico Madrid switched from offense to defense, focusing on counterattacks.

After all, Simeone comes from the Serie A league, and he is very good at defensive counterattacks.

In the 63rd minute, Monaco failed to attack for a long time and made a mistake. The ball passed by Fekir to Mitrovic was intercepted by Otamendi, who quickly launched a counterattack.

After Griezmann attracted the attention of the defense in front of the penalty area, Koke made a run into the penalty area, got the ball and made a lob pass to the back post.

Vietto headed the ball in front of the goal, scoring another goal for Atletico Madrid, 2-1!

After completing the reversal, the morale of Atletico Madrid was high, but Monaco attacked Atletico Madrid like crazy, causing panic in front of the goal of the Colchoneros.

In the 81st minute, Belgian young player Carrasco made a series of passes on the wing and suddenly passed the ball to the left. Kurzawa made a cross from behind and Mitrovic headed the ball to the back post in the penalty area. Hernandez scored in one fell swoop and equalized the score again!

Two to two!

Afterwards, although both sides made great efforts in attack, especially Koeman's Monaco, who launched a desperate attack on Atletico Madrid, they still failed to score again in the end.

The two sides ended up in a 2-2 draw.

Atletico Madrid eliminated Monaco with a total score of 4 to 3!

Although they failed to reach the final, Monaco has reached the Champions League semi-finals for two consecutive seasons, showing its strong strength and impressiveness.

Head coach Ronald Koeman also received invitations from teams such as Manchester United, Chelsea, and even Bayern Munich, but Ronald Koeman officially renewed a three-year contract with Monaco before the second leg of the semi-final.

This also made all teams intending to poach him completely give up.

At the Glory Stadium in Southampton, England, although Klopp's Inter Milan performed very tenaciously away from home, they were ultimately unable to defeat Southampton.

Thanks to goals from Suarez and Messi, the Saints beat Inter Milan 2-0 at home and once again reached the Champions League final.

When the list of opponents for the Champions League final was released, the whole world exclaimed.

Southampton vs Atletico Madrid!

Isn’t this the same matchup in the Champions League final two years ago?

More importantly, the performances of these two teams this season are quite eye-catching.

Needless to say, the Saints only need to win the FA Cup and the Champions League, which will be the Grand Slam and seven-time champions.

Atletico Madrid also performed well. They have already won the La Liga title and the Copa del Rey. As long as they win the Champions League, they will be the treble winners. Simeone's team will also create the historical peak of the Colchoneros.

Such a match between two teams is worth looking forward to!