Chapter 259 Champions League Knockout Round

Schalke 04, which lost Yang Mage, was tied 1:1 at home by Mainz in the twentieth round of the league.

Monchengladbach drew 0:0 with Wolfsburg away from home.

Bayern Munich also drew 1:1 with Hamburg in the away game.

For a time, the three teams in the first group were all tied.

Only Dortmund's upward momentum remains strong, as strong as a man's morning.

They defeated Nuremberg 2:0 away from home.

Dortmund has 47 points, widening the points gap with Bayern Munich. Bayern Munich has 41 points, Schalke 04 has 41 points, and Monchengladbach has 40 points.

Although Zhou Yi had no assists in the game, he scored a goal.

He's also in solid shape.

Not long after he scored, he was replaced.

Klopp did not let him play the whole game because he considered that there was still a German Cup ahead.

Three days later, Dortmund challenged Keril 1900 away.

As can be seen from the name, this is a team founded in 1900. It has a long history and is older than Dortmund - Dortmund was founded in 1909.

But a long history does not mean good results.

The name of the league that this team currently plays in is called Bundesliga Nord, which is the full name of the Northern League of Germany.

The German league is divided into seven levels. Below the Bundesliga 3 are all amateur leagues, and Bundesliga North is just below the Bundesliga 3. In other words, the opponent Dortmund faced in the German Cup quarter-finals was an amateur team.

Despite this, Klopp does not dare to underestimate this team.

Because they can go all the way to the quarterfinals of the German Cup, it shows that they have strength. You must know that in order to appear in front of Dortmund in 1900, Kyril eliminated opponents that were stronger than them along the way.

In the first round, they defeated Bundesliga 2nd place Cottbus 3:0. In the second round, they eliminated Duisburg, which was ranked 14th in the Bundesliga 2, 2:0. In the third round, the team they eliminated was replaced by Mainz of the Bundesliga, 2:0!

Three German Cup matches,

The amateur team scored seven goals and conceded none.

This performance cannot but attract Klopp's attention.

Cup matches have always been a breeding ground for upsets, and you will pay a heavy price for underestimating your opponents.

Therefore, facing this cup opponent, Klopp did not send a second team to deal with it. Although he made some rotations, he still retained most of the main players.

Zhou Yi is naturally the core that cannot be rotated.

Zhou Yi also proved in the game that he is indeed the guarantee of Dortmund's victory.

Facing dark horse Keril 1900 on the road against many teams, Dortmund took a two-goal lead in the first half.

Zhou Yi assisted a goal and scored a goal himself.

Dortmund scored two more goals in the second half and finally eliminated this dark horse with a score of 4:0.

Ended Keril's 1900 journey in the German Cup.

This is also Keril's best result in the German Cup since the 2002-2003 season.

If they hadn't encountered Dortmund, who had overturned the boat in the gutter and learned a lot from the experience, maybe their dark horse miracle could have taken another step forward...

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In the twenty-first round of the league, Bayern Munich defeated Kaiserslautern 2-0 at home. Dortmund defeated Leverkusen 1:0 at home.

There is a direct dialogue between the bottom two of the first group, Monchengladbach hosts Schalke 04.

In the end, Reus scored a goal and an assist to help Monchengladbach defeat Schalke 04 3:0 at home.

Although Yang Muge worked hard during the game, there was still no way to save the team's defeat. Royce's breakthrough with the ball on the wing was so sharp that there was nothing he could do, and as a defensive midfielder, he couldn't always go to the wing to have a one-on-one with Royce.

The outcome of this game changed the third and fourth rankings in the league.

Monchengladbach surpassed Schalke 04 with 41 points with 43 points and became third, while Schalke 04 fell down.

After reaching a transfer agreement with Dortmund in advance, Royce's hot form helped Monchengladbach catch up. Now they are only one point away from the second-placed Bayern Munich in the league.

And you know, the next Champions League knockout stage games are about to begin.

Dortmund and Bayern Munich will definitely be distracted by Champions League games, and their attention may not be as focused on domestic leagues.

Until then, it’s Monchengladbach’s chance.

Seeing Royce's outstanding performance, Monchengladbach fans increasingly don't want Royce to leave. But there is no way, it is a done deal, Royce will eventually return to the team he has supported since childhood. Monchengladbach is just a stop in the middle of his career...

Perhaps the only thing they can look forward to now is that Monchengladbach, under the leadership of Royce, can finally counterattack giants like Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund, snatch the league championship from them, and bid farewell to Roy with a great season. Sri Lanka.

This is not just a whim of Monchengladbach fans, they really think it is possible.

After all, the Champions League is next.

As for the German team, Bayern Munich is probably the only one that can maintain its form while fighting on two fronts.

Dortmund won the league title last season, but their Champions League run came to a halt in the quarterfinals. If they had continued to move forward in the Champions League, it is hard to say whether they would have won the league championship in the end.

In addition, let’s take a look at Bayer Leverkusen, who also participated in the Champions League this season and reached the top 16. They are now ranked sixth, a full ten points behind Schalke 04, who is fourth in the league. Maybe Leverkusen won't be eligible to participate in the Champions League next season.

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The Champions League games are indeed approaching.

In the middle of next week, two Bundesliga teams, Dortmund and Bayer Leverkusen, will make their debut in the Champions League quarter-finals.

Therefore, in the 21st round of the league, Zhou Yi did not play the entire game. He was replaced in the 72nd minute.

At that time, Dortmund was leading the opponent 1:0, which was a very risky substitution. Because after Zhou Yi comes off the field, Dortmund's midfield control will decrease, and a one-goal lead is too unsafe. Maybe all three points Dortmund gets will fly away.

However, Klopp still replaced Zhou Yi, because the next Champions League is equally important, and he did not want Zhou Yi to get the fullest rest.

Fortunately, Dortmund withstood the opponent's offensive and finally won the game with a score of 1:0, finally not being caught up by Bayern Munich.

This time Dortmund drew an old rival in the Champions League quarter-finals, AC Milan, whom they met in the quarter-finals last season.

When the lottery results came out, there was a burst of laughter.

I think this is too coincidental. Dortmund and AC Milan have met again. Is UEFA trying to create a new pair of enemies?

After the draw results came out, "Gazzetta dello Sport" couldn't wait to shout the slogan of "revenge".

AC Milan does have this confidence.

Last season, after being eliminated by Dortmund in the Champions League, AC Milan won the league championship with a large advantage, ending Inter Milan's previous five consecutive league championships. They went on to win the title by as many as six points ahead of second-placed Inter Milan.

They are also doing well this season.

After twenty-three rounds of Serie A, they have fourteen wins, five draws and four losses, with a total of 47 points. With a five-goal difference, they beat Juventus, who have the same points, and rank first in the league.

After buying out Zlatan Ibrahimovic from Barcelona, ​​AC Milan, which has been in decline for several seasons, seems to be on the verge of a rise.

After their outstanding performance and excellent form, they met their enemy Dortmund who saw them eliminated from the Champions League last season. Naturally, they were extremely jealous and wanted to avenge this hatred.

AC Milan is in good shape this season, and Klopp does not dare to take it lightly. For this reason, he would rather give up a league game and let Zhou Yi get some rest time.

Fortunately, Dortmund still won the league in the end.

They can deal with AC Milan without any distractions.

Although AC Milan shouted the slogan of revenge, Klopp still hopes to add a "new hatred" to the "old hatred" between the two teams.

If AC Milan resented Dortmund for knocking them out of the Champions League once, then resent them again.

Anyway, their resentment will not make Klopp lose a pound of meat... (To be continued.)