Chapter 909 It’s hard to be a good person these days!

The tactics are still the familiar ball control tactics.

The players are still the same familiar faces.

Even the head coach standing on the sidelines, Luis Enrique, has the temperament of the young coach Guardiola back then.

However, Barcelona is no longer the Barcelona of six years ago.

Times have changed and things have never stopped changing.

Remember what people said when Guardiola's Barcelona swept across Europe?

The only thing that can defeat this team is time!

As time goes by, the players grow older.

When Xavi dragged his 35-year-old body to run on the court, when Iniesta dribbled the ball heavily on the court with the steps of a 30-year-old, when the once young Messi, Busquets and Pique began to become the team's backbone and veterans, who dared to say that it was not time that defeated Barcelona?

Luis Enrique hopes to bring more changes to the team, so at the center position, he introduced Spanish local center Llorente from Juventus at a high price, hoping to enrich the team's offensive means.

However, Llorente, Neymar and Messi have never been able to form a good chemical reaction.

The team brought in Turan from Atletico Madrid at a high price in the midfield, but in this crucial game, Enrique chose the aging Xavi.

Perhaps, he believes that the peak combination of Xavi, Iniesta and Busquets can help the team reverse the situation and defeat the Saints at this critical moment.

On the defensive line, the combination of Alba, Mascherano, Pique and Alves, plus the German Lion Ter Stegen, is in no way inferior to the Barcelona team of that year.

But some things have changed, they have just changed.

Back then, Barcelona was able to dominate its opponents regardless of whether they were playing at home or away, and put all opponents under pressure to the point of suffocation.

But what about now?

Luis Enrique's team continued to press forward without hesitation and did not use the conservative strategy of the first round, because they had to score at least two goals to ensure promotion, so they had to give it a try.

The players pressed, robbed, and counterattacked on the spot quite decisively.

They are trying to do what they did in Barcelona during their peak years.

In fact, they are very sure that they are more eager and work harder than they did in the past.

However, the group of people standing opposite them did not panic and be at a loss like their opponents back then, nor were they confused by their pressing and oppression.

Even the two young central defenders on the back line seemed to be used to it and felt that they had no problem dealing with such pressing and oppression, and they seemed to be able to do it with ease.

This made Barcelona players angry, annoyed and unacceptable.

They tried their best to prove that they were still good enough, and tried their best to shout and tell their opponents, damn it, this is Camp Nou!

They pressed and oppressed like crazy.

Can’t advance in the middle?

No, let’s just play high ball!

Isn’t there a Llorente in front?

The high balls were directed towards Llorente.

Therefore, Llorente firmly suppressed Southampton's defense in the front area of ​​the penalty area, and then used his excellent physical fitness and heading ability to control the first landing point.

Then, let Neymar and Messi compete for the second point. Once they get the ball, they immediately move to the wing, and the two full-backs come up to attack. Messi, Neymar and Llorente then quickly enter the penalty area.

This set of tactics is a bit simple, but very practical.

And in fact, Luis Enrique's tactics are indeed correct.

Llorente's supporting role in the frontcourt was very obvious, almost completely suppressing the two young players Varane and Nastasic.

However, Southampton was always able to firmly control the second landing point.

Bielsa's tactics are also very targeted. Knowing that you are behind in the first round, you will definitely fight hard in the second round.

After the massive attack, the already weak defense line must have become even more empty.

Therefore, Southampton’s strategy is to defend and counterattack!

Fully utilize Hazard's ability to get the ball in key areas of the frontcourt, get the ball in the ribs or on the wing, attract Barcelona's defensive attention, and then have teammates attack the opponent's defense, or have the midfielder complete the attack.

It turns out that Bielsa's tactics are clearly more effective.

It was Matic who intercepted the ball in front of the penalty area and quickly passed it to David Abala on the left, who dribbled forward and passed it to Hazard.

The Belgian's possession of the ball attracted the attention of Alves and Busquets, and Suarez led Pique and Mascherano, leaving gaps in Barcelona's defense.

Di Maria came from behind and after receiving the pass from Hazard, he quickly broke through Busquets' defense and passed the ball directly behind Mascherano. Sanchez rushed over from the right and shot the ball into the goal, making it one to zero!

If the first goal was a bit sudden, then the second goal completely convinced Barcelona.

When Barcelona tried to pass the ball to the frontcourt again and gave it to Llorente, Matic grabbed the first point when he headed the ball. Nastasic reacted quickly, rushed up, got the ball, dribbled past Iniesta, and made a long pass with his left foot.

The ball quickly came to the frontcourt.

Barcelona's defense retreated quickly, but Suarez was faster.

The Uruguayan striker and Mascherano determined the landing point of the ball at the same time, but Suarez was one step faster. He got there before Mascherano and lightly kicked the ball.

This pick made Mascherano miss the ball.

When he landed again, Suarez quickly chased after him and shot the ball directly.

The shot was at a very tricky angle, almost brushing the left post and going into the goal. Ter Stegen was powerless to do anything and could only watch the ball go into the net, two to zero!

At this time, the first half was less than thirty minutes long!

But, the game is over!

Southampton scored two goals in a row, with the aggregate score at 5-1. If Barcelona wanted to reverse the situation, they had to score five goals.

This is simply impossible for the Spanish Super League giants!

The entire Camp Nou fell into deathly silence. No one had expected that the second round of the game would go so badly.

Five to one, how could they have a chance to turn the tide?

Not only the fans in the stands, but even the players on the field seemed a little bored.

They couldn't understand why they had tried their best but still got such a result?

Why, a few years ago, they were able to sweep across Europe with this set of tactics, but now, a few years later, they are beaten so badly by their opponents and humiliated at Camp Nou?

There were faint boos from the stands, which was rare in the successful Camp Nou.

But everyone knows that Barcelona fans are venting their dissatisfaction with the team.

If they had just tried a little harder, or even lost standing up, the fans wouldn't have been so disappointed.

But now...

The score was 1-3 away from home, and the score was 0-2 at home in less than half an hour. With such a game and such a gap, how could one not despair?

In the presidential stand of Camp Nou, Rosell wiped his face vigorously, probably trying to hide his embarrassment.

Because those sitting around him were all Barcelona's celebrities and political and business leaders.

They had come with expectations, hoping to see the team complete a bloody comeback, but who could have thought...

Bartomeu let out a long sigh filled with mixed feelings of sadness. He thought he had done his best.

"If we hadn't missed out on Rakitic, Mathieu and Cuadrado last summer, our situation would be different now!" Rosell shook his head and sighed.

A year ago, almost all the players that Barcelona targeted in the transfer market were snatched up by Chelsea.

This directly led to Barcelona's unfavorable recruitment and poor performance this season.

The results in the Champions League were relatively good, reaching the quarter-finals.

But in La Liga, they are currently ranked third in the league, behind leaders Atletico Madrid and Real Madrid.

They were also eliminated from the King's Cup early on.

Such a result will definitely not satisfy Barcelona fans.

Xavi is old, Iniesta is old too, the team's metabolism should have been put on the agenda long ago, but...

"European football today is completely different from what it was a few years ago!" Rosell said sadly.

Yang Huan won the game and was in a very good mood. He nodded and said, "Of course, with the massive influx of capital, European football has definitely changed, and it's a revolutionary change."

"Before, we in Barcelona could buy whoever we wanted. Almost no player could resist our offer. Even a proud player like Ibrahimovic would be impressed by us."

Russell smiled bitterly, "But now, there are so many wealthy teams, the competition is so fierce, and the players are so popular. The appeal of our players is not as good as before."

Yang Huan listened and said nothing on the surface, but he was laughing in his heart, which was understandable.

In the past, who in European football could spend as much money as Barcelona and Real Madrid?

Even Manchester United and Bayern Munich, which are doing so well, still have to think carefully before spending money.

But what about now?

Chelsea is a wealthy team, but Manchester City and Tottenham Hotspur are even richer than Chelsea.

Manchester United has 200 to 300 million pounds in its account, ready to be spent in the transfer market at any time, and Arsenal has 200 million pounds ready to spend.

Bayern Munich is also facing the pressure of aging players and has to spend money.

Not to mention Real Madrid, which has been the leader for more than half a year, but has now been overtaken by Simeone's Atletico Madrid. Needless to say, Ancelotti has been sacked and will continue to spend money this summer.

There is a Paris Saint-Germain in Ligue 1, and they will definitely be very popular.

There were previous reports that the Berlusconi family had decided to sell AC Milan, and the new takeover team, including Thohir, also said that they must spend money.

Think about it, with this kind of spending, how can the transfer fees of the players not be high?

It would be strange if Barcelona could still attract a large number of European superstars by just waving their little fingers like they did a few years ago!

And one thing that must be said is that Barcelona's management did not do a good enough job in attracting players.

If they were too careless and still immersed in the glorious history of the past when Barcelona only needed to make a move and players would flock to them, would Mathieu, Rakitic and Cuadrado be snatched away by Chelsea?

However, it's funny that the players Chelsea brought in last summer were not used much.

Among them, Mathieu and Rakitic are relatively better, but Cuadrado, Icardi and Ranocchia are not favored by Mourinho and are expected to be sent away this summer.

"Hey, Sandro, don't say I didn't tell you something good in advance."

"Um?"

"Chelsea are going to sell Cuadrado. The estimated price is around 20 million euros, so it's a bit of a loss."

But as soon as he finished speaking, Bartomeu shook his head and said, "No, since Cuadrado chose Chelsea last summer, we will not consider signing him now."

Russell also nodded continuously, thinking that this was the truth.

What a joke. Barcelona is a tall, rich and handsome man. It was embarrassing enough that he was dumped by a poor girl last year. If this year, the poor girl divorced the nouveau riche and ran to pick up the leftovers, wouldn't people laugh at him?

So where should Barcelona put this handsome face?

Besides, Barcelona has their own goals.

As soon as Yang Huan felt the malicious looks from Rosell and Bartomeu, he immediately became nervous.

Nimei, it’s hard to be a good person these days!