Chapter 728 The Only Hope

This world-renowned match held at the Bernabeu Stadium ended with a score of 2-2.

Playing away, Southampton relied on goals from Suarez and Sanchez to help the Saints escape from the Bernabeu.

But after the game, there was a huge response from the media across Europe, especially in the UK and Spain.

First, the Spanish Marca newspaper couldn't help but exclaimed that everyone thought Real Madrid had a sure win in the game, but it ended with such a surprising score. The Champions League newcomer Southampton showed amazing strength!

"If I say that Southampton did not lose to Real Madrid at the Bernabeu, I believe everyone will be surprised, but no one will deny this point of view, because whether from the data or the score, the Saints are not inferior."

"We saw that Southampton is a very young but competitive team, and they are very united and have a spirit of sacrifice, which makes them stronger."

"What impressed the reporter was that Ibrahimovic did not score a goal in this game, which may disappoint the fans of the Swedish center forward, because with Cristiano Ronaldo's goal, the Swedish center forward has fallen behind the Royal Superstar by one goal in the Champions League scorer list."

"But from the journalist's point of view, I saw another side, that is Ibrahimovic who didn't score a goal!"

"For the first goal, Kaka's dribbling was amazing, and Suarez's agility in the penalty area was also admirable, but not far away from them, Ibrahimovic held down the Real Madrid central defender for them. Isn't this also a silent contribution?"

"Also, the second goal, Sanchez's goal, a lot of the credit came from Ibrahimovic's assist. If the Swedish center hadn't suppressed Pepe and then passed the ball, it would be hard to imagine how Southampton's attack would continue this time, or even score a goal."

"Yes, although Ibrahimovic did not score a goal in this game, his contribution to the team is still huge."

"Perhaps, as he mentioned in an interview with the media a few months ago, in his career, he has won almost all the honors, but the most important Champions League title has always eluded him."

"There have been rumors that this season will be Ibrahimovic's last season at Southampton. If this is true, then we can probably say that if we don't win the Champions League this season, Ibrahimovic will always have this regret in his career!"

"Perhaps because of this, the Swedish center forward did not play well in the Premier League this season, but performed quite well in the Champions League. This game is just a continuation of his excellent form."

"It's not just Ibrahimovic, but other players as well. They all showed their extreme desire for the championship and honor. They were like a group of hungry guys rushing into a gourmet house."

"On the contrary, we don't see this hunger very clearly in Real Madrid."

Compared with Marca's neutral comments, the comments of another Spanish newspaper AS were more considerate of Real Madrid's reputation and the emotions of Real Madrid's fans.

"A score of 2-2 is acceptable to both sides."

"The Saints took two away goals away from the Bernabeu, but Real Madrid also got a valuable draw when the team was not in great form, which is not unacceptable."

"The second round at St. Mary's Stadium will determine the outcome of this knockout match!"

"This game is worth watching and being alert for Ancelotti and his players. Southampton is not weak. On the contrary, what we saw at the Bernabeu was a strong team that is on par with Real Madrid. Those who think that the Saints are only strong enough to bully weak teams should admit this."

“A draw is regrettable, but it is also an opportunity for everyone to see the Saints’ strength more clearly and prepare more fully for the second round.”

"Judging from the match at the Bernabeu, the match at St. Mary's Stadium a week later will be a life-and-death battle. It will be very cruel and difficult. Everyone must be fully prepared mentally. Only if Real Madrid plays at its best can it bring back a victory from St. Mary's Stadium!"

"Let's bless Real Madrid!"

Unlike Marca and AS, the daily sports newspaper, which is biased towards Barcelona, ​​began to make further reports, saying that Real Madrid performed very poorly at home and Southampton should have won.

British newspapers also praised Southampton's performance, believing that it was beyond everyone's expectations.

The Times believes that "when most people thought before the game that Southampton would suffer a Waterloo at the Bernabeu Stadium, Bielsa's team silenced everyone!"

"2-2, whether in terms of score or in the process of the game, Southampton did not lose the upper hand in the face of such a strong Real Madrid. Even for a long time, the Saints firmly controlled the situation of the game."

"This game gives us every reason to look forward to Southampton going further in the Champions League!"

The Sun also published a column by chief reporter Steven Howard on the front page, arguing that Southampton's performance brought glory to the entire Premier League. At a time when Premier League teams are weak in European competitions, the Saints have independently held up the banner of the Premier League.

It is no wonder that in another quarter-final knockout match that was taking place at the same time, Manchester United drew 1-1 with Bayern Munich at Old Trafford.

Although it was a draw, the process was completely different.

If Southampton relied on the team's own hard power to play on equal terms with Real Madrid at the Bernabeu Stadium, and the draw was regrettable, then Manchester United won the game quite luckily and hard.

This can be seen from Bayern Munich's 76 percent ball possession rate, which is more than three times that of Manchester United.

There is no doubt that Manchester United is at its lowest point in history. Manchester United deserves respect for being able to tie with the powerful Bayern Munich at home with such a weakened lineup.

However, such an astonishing gap in strength between the two sides cannot help but make people sigh that the former Red Devils are no longer in their glory!

In this situation, Southampton's 2-2 draw with Real Madrid away from home undoubtedly gave people a glimmer of hope.

Not only The Times and The Sun, but also The Guardian, The Mirror, and even The Daily Mail, newspapers that usually don't get along well with Southampton, gave the Saints very high praise this time, which is very rare.

It is believed that since it is difficult for Manchester United to overturn the giant ship Bayern Munich away from home, Southampton has undoubtedly become the only hope for the Premier League team to return to the top four.

After all, since Manchester United reached the Champions League final in the 2010-2011 season, no Premier League team has reached the Champions League semi-finals. This is undoubtedly unacceptable for the Premier League, which is known as the world's number one league.

So, in this situation, almost the whole of England is looking forward to Southampton's successful counterattack, defeating Real Madrid at home, and successfully advancing to the Champions League semi-finals, thus resolving the embarrassment of the Premier League not having a semi-final in the past two years.

Amid the overwhelming media coverage, Yang Huan did not return to England with Southampton, but went to Barcelona that evening after the game.

The next day at noon, I had dinner with Barcelona’s management including Rosell and Bartomeu.

That afternoon, he showed up at the hotel where Atletico Madrid was staying, met with all the players of the team, cheered them on for the evening's game, and personally promised that as long as the team performed well in the Champions League, he would reward them handsomely!

But in this game, Atletico Madrid's situation is not optimistic.

That is, the team's top center forward Diego Costa is injured and out, which is undoubtedly a big loss for Atletico Madrid.

Barcelona, ​​on the other hand, is strong and well-rested. Luis Enrique is also ambitious and wants to defend his position as head coach with the help of a Champions League title.

Therefore, in the battle at Camp Nou, the two sides were at loggerheads and the fight was extremely brutal.

Simeone is a very pragmatic head coach. Although Atletico Madrid is very strong now, it has almost no rivals in the La Liga except Barcelona and Real Madrid.

But when facing Barcelona, ​​especially when visiting the Camp Nou, Simeone's attitude was very correct.

That is to defend, guard it strictly!

This was definitely not an exciting game, because Barcelona played the ball possession style they are good at, constantly passing the ball back and forth to kill time.

Atletico Madrid used a full-court pressing and pressure that exceeded Barcelona, ​​or even anyone's imagination, to ensure that their goal was not lost.

For most of the game, the team was stuck in this stalemate of ball possession and defense.

It was not until the second half that Atletico Madrid, playing away, suddenly broke the deadlock.

Due to Diego Costa's absence, Isco was adjusted to the wing position.

This supernova, who was selected for the Spanish national team and had high hopes from Simeone this season and performed quite well, did not show any fear when facing Barcelona in this game.

It was he who, at the crucial moment of the second half, with four Barcelona players double-teaming him from all sides, used his skillful ball sense, dazzling dribbling movements, and sudden changes of rhythm to carve a gap in Barcelona's defense in an extremely narrow space.

Afterwards, when facing Valdes, he calmly shot the ball into the goal, scoring the first goal for Atletico Madrid!

This wonderful goal even made the entire Camp Nou stadium exclaim!

This talented Spanish midfielder found his position perfectly in Simeone's tactical system. This wonderful goal is just a microcosm of his outstanding performance in the past season.

But it was this goal that completely broke the deadlock on the field.

Barcelona went all out and launched a desperate counterattack.

The Atletico Madrid players were inspired by the goal and, to some extent, could no longer hold back and carry out Simeone's strict defensive task, and made a mistake in the 81st minute.

Central defender Miranda missed a man when defending, and Neymar pushed the ball into the far corner from the left side of the penalty area, equalizing the score for Barcelona.

In the end, the match between the two teams ended with a score of one to one, and Simeone's team took away an away goal and a draw from Camp Nou.

But facing a team like Barcelona, ​​even if they return to the Calderon Stadium, Atletico Madrid dare not say how much of an advantage they have in winning.

However, with the outstanding performance of the players on the team, Atletico Madrid has undoubtedly allowed everyone to see the rise of this team and their future potential!